[FFML] [Naruto] One Hundred Days - Chapter Thirteen: The Fire Burns

[Aaron Nowack]

One day, I will figure out how I got to the point where I could look at
a 125 Kb chapter and say, "Hmm; a little shorter than usual."

Anyway, it is that time again. As usual, the previous chapters of this
rather massive story are available at several locations:

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2663204/1/
http://www.narusaku.com/library/viewstory.php?sid=6
http://www.mimiru.net/fanfic/naruto.html

Pick the one where the formatting makes your eyes bleed the least!

Also as usual, I deeply appreciate any and all C&C. Even an one-line
"You rock!"/"You suck!" response is better than silence.

Also, also as usual, I close with the ritual self-deprecating hope that
this chapter won't suck so terribly it makes you long for the worst of
the anime fillers.

One Hundred Days
A Naruto Fanfic
By: Aaron Nowack

Chapter 13: The Fire Burns

************************************************** *********************
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, lemurs!
************************************************** *********************

[Day Seventy-eight]

Most visitors to the Hidden Village of Sound were less than
comfortable when brought into the catacombs underneath the rather
unimposing above-ground structure. There was something wrong with them,
a subtle strangeness that was not of this world. Kabuto knew that this
was indeed the case, as the whole complex had been summoned by
Orochimaru using an unique technique the legendary Sannin had developed.
This had allowed Orochimaru to move the village easily when necessary,
sometimes even within the borders of the Fire Country.
Of course, there was a larger, mock village near the northern
coast of the Rice Field Country. It had served to host inspectors from
the daimyo and visitors from the hidden villages of the Leaf's alliance
while Orochimaru had been first establishing the Hidden Sound. It was a
long time since it had served either purpose. The daimyo now knew well
that it was he who served Orochimaru, rather than the other way around,
and there was no longer a need to deceive the surrounding nations as to
the nature of the Sound.
Usually, fresh recruits were sent there to be trained, to have
their strength evaluated and their loyalty tested. Kabuto was
technically breaking several of Orochimaru's orders by bypassing that
stage, but as the renegade Sannin's most trusted servant, he was
confident that the leader of the Hidden Sound would approve of his
actions. If not, he would be in a troublesome situation, but it was too
late to worry about that.
"So this is the Sound Village?" Mitarashi Kimi asked, amusement
in her voice. "You two must have felt right at home in the ANBU
interrogation center." This was directed at the two rescued members of
the once-feared Sound Five.
"Shut up, bitch," Tayuya growled, but Kidoumaru ignored the Mist
jounin, and even Tayuya's response was half-hearted. Nobody except
maybe Orochimaru was truly comfortable here.
"It's creepy," Aoki Saburo muttered. Kabuto had taken a moment
to heal the male Mist genin's leg wound during their escape, but it
hadn't eared him any trust. Saburo stuck close to his teacher, and
amusingly was constantly trying to position himself where he could
defend his teammate from sudden attack by the Sound.
Kabuto had healed Haruno Midori's wounds as well, but she too
showed no signs of opening up to the medical ninja. It was a pity, but
Kabuto hadn't expected her to. There was no need, anyway. Unlike her
teacher, he could read her perfectly, and unlike her teammate, he knew
how to make her accept what Orochimaru would offer. At least, what
Orochimaru would offer if he approved of what Kabuto had done.
Kabuto halted as they reached a large chamber. Two gray-
uniformed Sound guarded a large set of double doors on the other side of
the room. "Please wait here," he told both the Mist ninja. "I will
speak with Orochimaru-sama."
"Very well," Kimi answered shortly.
Kabuto gestured at Tayuya and Kidoumaru, ordering them to stay.
Then, he stepped forward, allowing the guards to open the doors to
Orochimaru's throne room. He stepped through, and the doors shut
silently behind him.
On his throne, the renegade Sannin smiled cruelly. "I'm
surprised, Kabuto-kun."
Kabuto stepped forward, kneeling humbly before his master.
"Pleasantly, I hope, Orochimaru-sama."
"You brought a few more guests than I was expecting," Orochimaru
said. "You were sent to retrieve Tayuya-chan."
"Yes, Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto paused. "It seemed a waste to
not take Kidoumaru-kun while I was there."
"True," Orochimaru allowed. "I trust you will see to it that he
makes good use of this second chance."
"Of course, Orochimaru-sama."
"What of the Mist?" The legendary Sannin smiled. "I've no use
for them."
"I believe they do have a use," Kabuto replied. He paused. "In
a fight with her sister, Mitarashi Anko released her Heaven Seal."
Orochimaru began to laugh. "Is that so? I'm disappointed in
her. This Mitarashi Kimi should be dead."
"Kimi-san has shown an interest in the power that her sister
displayed," Kabuto stated, and then he waited for Orochimaru to consider
this.
"Interesting." The Sannin laughed again. "This could be
amusing. You have done well." He paused. "What of her students? Why
bring them?"
"Haruno Midori should be of interest to you as well," Kabuto
explained.
"Why?"
"I have reason to suspect that she possesses a latent Bloodline
Limit," Kabuto replied. "A doujutsu."
"So?" Orochimaru shifted in his throne.
"She as well will be interested in an offer of power," Kabuto
said. "It might prove worthwhile to explore how her blood might mix
with Sasuke-kun's, particularly if he and Tayuya-chan prove
incompatible."
"You'd best ensure they don't," Orochimaru said. "I'll hold you
responsible, since you're the one who thought to re-use her for this."
"I saw no purpose in wasting more kunoichi when Tayuya-chan had
already survived acquiring her seal," Kabuto responded.
"I know," Orochimaru said, waving a hand. "I agreed." He
frowned as he thought. "Your point is taken, Kabuto-kun. What of the
boy?"
Kabuto shrugged. "It would have been harder to separate him
from the other two than to take him with me."
Orochimaru laughed. "I see. Why don't you tell me what I need
to know so I can speak with our guests, then?"

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

Morino Ibiki was not a happy man, and he decided to make that
abundantly clear as he strode alone into the academy storage room, which
had been hastily converted into an improvised interrogation chamber.
Usually, his skills would not be wasted on a mere genin, but the Hokage
wanted answers fast, and there wasn't precisely a surplus of sources for
those at the moment.
From where she sat, tied securely to a small chair taken from
one of the classrooms, Shimano Ren looked up at the interrogator.
"You're the second examiner," she stated, surprisingly calmly for one in
her situation.
"Yes." Ibiki stepped forward, judging what tactic would best
work on the Mist kunoichi. "You got lucky. I'm worse on the first
exam."
"Oh?"
Ibiki grinned. "I'm also the head of ANBU's torture and
interrogation squad."
"I see." Ren bit at her lip, and Ibiki didn't say anything,
giving her a chance to consider the matter. "I suppose they wouldn't
send you to tell me I'm free to go," she said after almost fifteen
seconds.
"That could be arranged," Ibiki offered. Ren stared at him
dubiously, and he laughed. "You're just a genin, little girl. Letting
you go free wouldn't harm us in the slightest." He didn't think it
necessary to spell out that this would be more likely to happen if she
cooperated fully.
Ren frowned. "Even so," she began, and then she stopped.
"You're smart," Ibiki said after a moment.
"You're hoping that I'd lead you directly to some sort of hidden
base," Ren said. She shrugged her shoulders as much as her bindings
allowed. "Sorry, Torturer-san. I don't know where any of those are or
even if they exist."
Ibiki didn't smile. "That's likely."
"But not certain," Ren finished. "Right." She hesitated for a
moment, then shrugged again. "I assume you have questions. Ask, and
I'll answer if I can."
"Awfully helpful," Ibiki commented, putting just the right
amount of disbelief in his voice.
"I'm just a genin," Ren said. "I'm sure you could break me, and
I don't know anything worth getting tortured to try and keep safe."
"And you hope being helpful will put you in a position where you
might escape or be released," Ibiki said, "or at least stay unharmed
until the end of the war and any prisoner exchanges."
"I suppose you've seen people like me a lot," Ren replied.
"Yes." Ibiki did let himself grin. It was surprisingly common
for lower-ranked ninja to convince themselves that they should cooperate
with only gentle nudging from the interrogator. The widely held belief
that anyone could be broken helped, even if it wasn't quite true.
Sufficiently skilled torture and genjutsu could break anybody, but not
always while leaving the mind intact enough that the desired information
survived.
"So," Ren said after a moment, "what do you want to know?"
Ibiki answered her with a name. "Haruno Amaya." He paused.
"And Haruno Sakura."
"Ah." Ren hesitated, clearly deciding how much to say, but
Ibiki knew that she would determine it best to tell the whole truth.
"Haruno Amaya has been the Mist's agent in the Leaf Village for over a
decade," Ren said after a moment. "I understand she is Sakura-san's
mother, but I don't know much more." She paused. "Her role in the
operation was to secure the gates before the main attack."
"And Sakura?" Ibiki asked gently.
"You probably know more than I do," Ren responded. "We didn't
even know she existed until we met at the Mitarashi Clan fortress. I
thought at first she might be a Mist agent also, but she isn't."
"Uh-huh." Ibiki paused for a few moments before saying another
name. "Yamanaka Inoichi."
Ren blinked. "He was the jounin who escorted us to the village,
right? Same clan as the girl I fought in the third exam, I know." She
was genuinely puzzled, Ibiki noted without surprise. "Why ask me about
him?"
Ibiki shrugged. "Just checking," he said, and then he turned
for the door.
"That's it?" Ren asked.
"For now." Ibiki smiled, even though she couldn't see. "I'm a
busy man." He sighed as the door shut behind him.
"Ibiki-sama?" one of the chuunin on his squad, waiting for him,
asked.
"Give her fifteen minutes or so to stew," Ibiki said. "She'll
get depressed over agreeing to cooperate so easily, then she'll convince
herself all over again that it's the only logical choice. Go in then,
act like you're disappointed to not get to practice your skills, and ask
her the usual questions."
"Right, Ibiki-sama." The man hesitated. "You're going to go
see Anko-sama?"
"Yes," the special jounin answered grimly.
"I hope we catch her sister," the younger ninja growled.
"If we do," Ibiki said flatly, "she's mine." He thought that
event unlikely, given that she'd been spotted leaving with that damn
Kabuto kid.
"We wouldn't want it any other way, sir," the chuunin answered.
"Good," Ibiki stated and then he strode off. His destination
was the room that had been designed for testing students' escape skills,
and was thus the most secure room in the academy building, despite its
several deliberate weaknesses. Two masked ANBU, not from the
interrogation squad, stood guard at the entrance.
"No visitors," the one on the left stated, her voice flat.
"This is interrogation, not visitation," Ibiki answered, his
eyes narrowing.
"On whose authority?"
"On mine." It was Shizune, appearing from around a corner who
answered. "And Hokage-sama's."
"Thank you," Ibiki murmured to her. The last thing he wanted to
do was waste time convincing the guards that he really did have
authorization to see Anko. Things were so confused that he hadn't
gotten any paperwork for it, which could have been troublesome.
"Understood, Shizune-sama," the male ANBU stated.
"Did you finish with Shimano-san?" Shizune asked.
"Yes." Ibiki grimaced. "Nothing terribly useful. She had no
idea why I'd be interested in Yamanaka Inoichi and provided more
confirmation that Haruno Sakura isn't a Mist agent."
"I'd think the way Amaya-san died would prove that," Shizune
said.
"That makes it highly unlikely," Ibiki said. He frowned
briefly. "I suspect that might have been deliberate on Amaya-san's
part."
Shizune's eyes widened. "You're not suggesting that it was
arranged to provide a cover -"
"No." Ibiki straightened. "It should have been done already,
but it probably hasn't been given the situation. I want the Haruno
residence gone over with a fine-toothed comb. There should be a suicide
note."
"A suicide... oh." Shizune paled. "That's awful. How could
she do that to Sakura-chan?"
"She probably thought she was doing her daughter a favor."
Ibiki shook his head. "I shouldn't speculate more until I've seen the
evidence."
"I'll get a Hyuuga on it," Shizune said. "Let me know when
you're done with Anko-chan. Tsunade-sama wants my report also."
"Understood," Ibiki said, and then he gestured for the guards to
let him in. They complied, then shut and locked the heavy door behind
him.
"Hello, bastard," Anko offered weakly. She was hanging naked in
the center of the room, secured by sturdy, rapidly installed chains.
"Hello, Anko," Ibiki said. He began to walk around her so that
he could check the cursed seal on her back.
The kunoichi posed lewdly in her chains. "Like what you see?"
Ibiki didn't answer him as he stood behind his subordinate.
Three concentric circles, each decorated by several arcane characters,
surrounded the Heaven Seal. In theory, they would contain it almost
perfectly if Anko tried to activate it. Unfortunately, the disruption
they placed on Anko's chakra system would kill her in a week or so if
they weren't removed. "I really am sorry about having to do this," he
said as he laid a hand gently over the seals.
"Don't be," Anko said flatly. "I wrote the rules you're
following, remember? Including the stuff about this exact situation."
"I know." Ibiki grimaced. "That makes this a little difficult,
since you know exactly what I'm going to do."
Anko shrugged. "I told Shizune-sempai that she should rewrite
the procedure based on her observations of the two we caught after the
Uchiha mess. I don't think she had time yet, though."
"That's right," Ibiki said with a sigh. "And I don't have long
before Hokage-sama puts me back on the Haruno mess."
Anko stiffened. "Haruno mess?"
"I shouldn't tell you anything yet." Ibiki's voice was flat,
and his fingers pressed against the cursed seal's dark markings.
"Damn it, Ibiki!" Anko snarled. "You wouldn't just drop a
mention like that if you didn't intend to tell me, so go ahead and do
it, already!"
Ibiki let his hand drop. "Haruno Amaya was a Mist agent."
"What?" Anko's voice was shocked, and Ibiki almost couldn't hear
her next quiet whisper, despite how close he stood. "Sakura-chan..."
"Haruno Sakura killed Haruno Amaya during the Mist's retreat
from the village," Ibiki continued. "Despite this, questions have been
raised as to her loyalty, and it is my duty to investigate them as well
as determine the precise details of Haruno Amaya's treachery." He
grimaced. "As distasteful as parts of that investigation might become."
Anko stiffened. "You aren't torturing Sakura-chan," she hissed.
"What do you think?" Ibiki asked flatly.
"You bastard," Anko snarled. "If you hurt her I'll -" The
kunoichi cut off, taking a deep breath and clearly restraining herself.
Ibiki nodded in satisfaction as he studied the cursed seal,
which hadn't shown even a hint of stirring. "That's one test passed,"
he said. "You can still keep the seal under control when angered."
Anko breathed a sigh of relief. "You bastard," she said good-
naturedly. "You don't need to come up with scenarios that nasty to get
me mad."
Ibiki gave her a sad glance. "Unfortunately, the scenario is
real," he admitted.
"What?" Anko asked, her voice carefully controlled.
"Haruno Amaya really was a Mist spy, and Sakura did kill her."
Ibiki hesitated. "While I do have to keep an open mind, Sakura isn't
under any real suspicion right now." He let himself laugh slightly.
"Hokage-sama would probably have the head of anyone who even suggested
having her put under torture at this point."
"Good," Anko snarled.
"I really am sorry about this," Ibiki said, "but I need to test
your reaction to pain next."
Anko took a deep breath. "Do it."
Before Ibiki could begin, the door burst open. "What's the
meaning of this?" he asked the heavily breathing chuunin who entered.
The man took several deep breaths, absentmindedly fingering a
bandaged wound on his side. "Ibiki-sama," he said once he'd finished
catching his breath. "A squad just brought in a Mist hunter ninja
identifying herself as Haruno Shizuru, and Hokage-sama wants you on her
at once."

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

Naruto stared dubiously at the changes Kaida had made to the
meditation chamber since their last session together. "What's all
this?" he asked, gesturing at the intricate, crimson patterns of sigils
and almost-recognizable characters that covered the floor, the walls,
and even part of the flat ceiling. In the center of the room,
surrounded by already lit calenders, were two blank spots. The High
Priestess was seated in one, and she gestured for Naruto to step into
the other.
As Naruto hesitatingly complied, Kaida smiled. "This is what
almost every fox within a day's travel of the Cloud Village died for,"
she said. "It would have worked better if we'd found one with multiple
tails, but those are rare and harder to catch."
Kaida's words made Naruto notice the bloody stench, and he
grimaced. How could he have missed it in the first place? "What's it
for?" he asked.
"I've had you practicing meditation while I examined you," Kaida
said after a moment. "Today we're going to put that practice and study
to work." She smiled. "I'm sure you've been looking forward to
actually doing something about your problem, right?"
"I guess," Naruto said dubiously. He still didn't see what
precisely Kaida was planning to do, but he had already learned that
asking too many questions would only lead to a lecture on patience, and
Naruto didn't have enough of that to sit through another one.
"It's actually a little convenient that Junhime found out about
you," Kaida commented as she slowly began to work her way through seals.
"It would have been much harder to get enough fox blood if I'd needed to
hide that I was looking for it."
"Oh," Naruto said. He gave the arcane patterns surrounding him
another suspicious glance, wishing that he could understand them. Then
again, he could guess how much study that would take, and he wanted none
of that.
"Activate," Kaida said softly as she finished forming seals,
then placed her hands in the center of two small circles on the floor in
front of her. First the circles, and then the characters surrounding
them began to glow with a harsh, red light. The glow slowly began to
inch along the bloody patterns, slowly expanding from where Kaida's
hands lay. "It will take a few minutes for this large a pattern to
fully charge," she explained.
"Okay," Naruto said when it was clear that she was waiting for
some kind of response.
"How is your training with Junhime going?" Kaida asked casually.
Naruto wasn't able to stop himself from grimacing, and Kaida frowned.
"Has she been giving you any trouble?"
"No," Naruto said flatly. She taunted him, of course, obviously
trying to goad him into acting without thought, but that had been only
part of why he'd grimaced. "I haven't been doing very well," he said
after a moment. "I'm learning the basic techniques, but that's about
it. It's hard."
"It's possible that you just don't have the talent for lightning
element techniques," Kaida said. "It's rare for a ninja of your
experience to be good at more than one or two elements that come
naturally to them, and usually there's at least one element that they
can't use in any real sense at first."
"Oh," Naruto said. "What should I do?"
"Practice," Kaida said. "There's no way around it. The more
you use lightning element techniques, the more easily your chakra will
take on the nature of lightning. The techniques will slowly start not
only to take less chakra, which doesn't matter for you as much, but also
to require less fine control, which does."
Naruto didn't say anything for a while, simply watching the
encroaching glow make its slow way through the twists and turns of
Kaida's pattern, surrounding him and slowly making a spiral in toward
where he sat. "What about Kakashi-sensei?" he asked after some time.
"You have to have patience, Naruto-kun," Kaida answered him,
letting out a long-suffering sigh. "It's not easy to do what I'm trying
to do, and it's even harder since Junhime and her friends are blocking
me at every turn. Sharingan Kakashi is a hated enemy of the Cloud
Village who has been listed in the bingo book for years. His eye alone
is priceless, and it's difficult to try and get Storm to release that
sort of prize."
"I know that," Naruto said sourly. "I just want to know whether
you have any news."
"Some," Kaida said after a moment. "I've managed to convince
the Raikage to hold off on any attempt to transplant the Sharingan for
now, and I've almost managed to secure some improvements in his
treatment."
"That's not enough," Naruto grumbled. "I want him free."
Kaida sighed. "I know that, and I am doing what I can." She
paused. "You aren't thinking of trying to rescue him, are you?"
Naruto hesitated. "I'm not going to do anything stupid," he
answered. If he could find a way to free Kakashi, he would do it, but
even he knew that just charging in would do more harm than good. He
needed more information and a plan.
"Good," Kaida answered after a moment. An instant after that,
the glow had finished creeping along the entirety of the pattern,
filling the room with an unearthly light. "It's time."
"What should I do?" Naruto asked.
Kaida didn't answer for a moment, but when she spoke her voice
was firm and brooked no argument. "You have mentioned a... place inside
of you where you can speak to the Kyuubi. You're going to go there
again, on purpose this time."
Naruto almost bolted for the exit. "Are you crazy?" he asked.
"The last time I was there I couldn't find the way out and I... that
monster..." He trailed off.
"I see," Kaida murmured. "It seems you are more observant than
Jiraiya-kun thought."
"I'm not stupid," Naruto stated. He paused, then risked adding
an "Are you?"
"No," Kaida said tersely. "You need not fear. This," she
continued, waving at the glowing pattern, "will allow me to aid you.
Unless he has the strength to shatter your seal entirely, we will be in
no danger from your guest."
"What if he does?" Naruto wanted to know.
Kaida smiled. "Then we are already dead," she said, almost
cheerfully, "and it doesn't matter one way or the other."
Naruto still wasn't happy with Kaida's plan, but he forced
himself to settle down. "What good will this do?"
"I wish to observe the seal from that perspective," Kaida said,
"but more importantly I wish you to speak to the Kyuubi."
"Why?"
"It seems to me," Kaida answered, "that it would be useful to
reach some sort of accommodation with the demon for the time being.
Jiraiya-kun and I have the skill to make things difficult for him,
though at substantial risk to you. He may be willing to make deals to
stave off that fate, which would buy us the time to find a final
solution to the problem he poses."
"All right," Naruto said dubiously. He didn't quite see why the
Kyuubi would want to make any deals, but Kaida knew what she was doing,
he hoped.
"I want you to meditate like I taught you," Kaida said, "and
focus on your seal. The demon will most likely take care of the rest."
Her hands formed a single seal and her eyes closed, and in response the
crimson glow of the pattern began to brighten.
After half an instant, Naruto closed his own eyes. A timeless
interval passed, perhaps only minutes or perhaps hours, and then he was
standing in shallow, foul water, and on either side of him were the
molding, dark walls he remembered. He could feel the demon fox's humid
breath on his face, sense the monster's anticipation.
"Kaida-sensei?" he whispered, but the High Priestess did not -
or could not - answer him. Taking a deep breath to center himself, he
began to slowly walk forward, knowing that all too soon he would reach
his destination. The faded sunlight that trickled into these halls from
someplace far overhead seemed somehow both fainter and harsher than
before, and Naruto's face was covered in sweat when the hall opened out
into the massive chamber that held the Kyuubi.
The crimson eyes of the fox hung overhead behind the gigantic
gate, but the demon did not speak as Naruto approached. The water
immediately before the bars of the prison almost seemed to flare crimson
for a moment, but if so the Kyuubi quickly retracted his power. Naruto
stopped a good dozen paces from the gate, and he could not make himself
go any further or utter even a single word.
After almost a minute, the Kyuubi began to laugh softly, and
even that small a sound made the water ripple and almost forced Naruto
back. "Why do you come to me?" the demon asked. It's voice was so deep
it hurt to listen to, and it was filled with amused malevolence.
Naruto wondered again what Kaida was thinking. Even if the
Kyuubi did make a deal, how could it be trusted to keep its word? He
could feel evil boiling off the monster like it was something physical.
Such a creature would have interest in deals only to gain some
advantage. Naruto opened his mouth, but his voice did not answer his
commands, and he was silent.
The Kyuubi laughed again, louder this time. "Perhaps you have
come to swear yourself to me, to offer me your fealty and worship in
hope that I will not consume your soul?"
Naruto swallowed. "Never," he managed to say, but his defiance
sounded weak and pitiful even in his own ears.
"Do you wish to challenge my strength, then?" the demon
proposed. His gargantuan face pressed against the bars. "Merely step
inside, brat." Unthinkingly, Naruto took a step back, and the Kyuubi's
mouth opened into a fanged grin. "You know, brat, that I did not lie.
The only way out is through."
Naruto backed away again, unable to find any words. The sense
of the Kyuubi's presence was overpowering, clouding his mind and
stirring primal fears. He could hardly think, much less bargain in this
state. What was he supposed to do?
"You try my patience," the Kyuubi snarled, "and I am not a
creature of patience." Its massive claws pressed between the bars of
the gates, red chakra glowing brightly around them. Naruto stumbled
backward, but more scarlet chakra seeped out from under the gate,
boiling out of the water in massive clouds. From far overhead a massive
drop of blood fell into the water, and the chakra began to solidify.
Naruto froze, and could only watch as a half-formed paw swung at his
face.
Then his body swelled upward. The familiar orange jumpsuit he
was wearing became the robes of the High Priestess, and Naruto's mind
filled with strange, alien sensations. One of his arms raised, and the
chakra claw was batted away, breaking apart and dissolving. Without his
command, Naruto's lips moved, and Kaida's voice said calmly, "Begone."
In an instant, the storm of blood and crimson chakra was gone,
retracted behind the gate. "Interesting," the Kyuubi said, "but
foolish."
"Oh?" Against his will, Naruto found himself stepping forward,
and he caught Kaida's reflection in the murky water. Realization came
to him, and he calmed slightly. Kaida was taking control. "I do not
consider myself a fool, demon."
The Kyuubi chuckled. "What do you plan, then? For what purpose
did you convince the brat to come here?"
"So that I could see this." Kaida gestured at the massive gate.
"Then you are a fool." Red chakra began to fill the space
behind the bars of the gate, a sensation of terrible might pouring from
the demon. If he had control of his body, Naruto would have shivered,
but Kaida remained unmoved.
"I am not alone," Kaida said, and power filled her, an aura of
bright light countering the infernal crimson of the Kyuubi's chakra. It
felt both like and unlike the times Naruto had released the Kyuubi's
rage, and there was no doubt in Naruto's mind that Kaida was in complete
control of this strength.
The Kyuubi only laughed. "You threaten me with a fragment of
that pathetic creature?" Its eyes glowed with amusement. "I have
defeated such before."
"I know," Kaida said calmly, "but then you were not bound and
chained." Her body swelled again, and Naruto was bombarded by even
stranger feelings. He couldn't make sense of what his body was telling
him, but he could feel some part of his alien body reaching out and
shaking the bars of the gate. The Kyuubi backed away, even though
Naruto sensed no real fear. "I will be leaving now, and the boy is
coming with me."
Everything went white, and then Naruto was back in the real
world, sitting and facing Kaida. The crimson pattern covering the floor
and walls glowed brightly for just an instant, then went dark. "What,"
Naruto began,, but he faltered.
"That was interesting," Kaida said. She stood. "I know you
don't understand what purpose that served, but rest assured that our
little adventure aided me greatly, even though the demon proved
unhelpful." She paused. "You will be training with Junhime tomorrow.
I will send for you when I have finished thinking on what I learned
today."

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

[Day Seventy-nine]

Jiraiya let out a quiet sigh as he watched the patrol patterns
around the prison grounds. It wasn't that he was anticipating a
challenge getting in; the guards were Cloud genin, hired by the local
daimyo. It was that he had to do it at all. It was so painfully
stupid, that Sotaru had done such a good job of escaping from the
destruction of the House of the Falling Plum, only to get picked up by
town guardsmen for petty robbery.
That had been difficult enough to find out, but fortunately the
guards in the town where Jiraiya's agent had been captured kept good
records, and Jiraiya had found a full report even though the incident
had occurred almost two years. Otherwise, the trail he'd been able to
pick up from genjutsu-aided interrogation of the bartender Sotaru had
left his message with would have ended there.
He hoped that Sotaru still lived, but he doubted that. If he
could follow the brothel owner's trail, so could Akatsuki, and with the
aid of their member hidden in the Cloud, it would be trivially easy for
them to ensure Sotaru's death. His more realistic hope was that some
clue to the identity of that member had been left behind. If it had
been, he meant to find it.
A few moments' work cloaked the legendary Sannin in a genjutsu,
and he walked past the genin guarding the prison as if they weren't even
there. They were young enough that they likely had a jounin teacher on
hand, though, and Jiraiya kept a careful eye out for him or her. Even
he would be in bad shape if a jounin managed to take him by surprise.
He was still human, after all, and one lucky blow was all it would take
to kill him.
Jiraiya swiftly scaled the walls of the prison, dropping down
into the small courtyard the prisoners used for exercise during the day.
Now, shortly after midnight, it was empty, and Jiraiya paused to study
the layout of the building from this new vantage point. It seemed to be
of fairly standard construction. The windowless side of the building
was likely where the prisoners were held. That was where he would need
to head first.
The door was locked, of course, but that was trivial for Jiraiya
to defeat. There were only a couple dozen prisoners, almost all asleep,
being kept there, and it took Jiraiya only a handful of minutes to
confirm that his agent was not among them. That wouldn't have been much
of a surprise even under more ordinary circumstances; in most of the
Lightning Country the laws did not tend to favor long incarcerations.
However, somewhere in the prison should be a record of all the prisoners
that had been kept there and their ultimate fates. If there wasn't one,
that would also tell Jiraiya something.
First though, he had to find that record room. It wouldn't be
here, by the prisoners. Rather than retrace his steps to the courtyard,
he slipped passed the lightly dozing non-ninja guardsman who sat in the
room separating the cells from the rest of the prison building. His
hands formed seals, and he created a couple of shadow clones to help him
search the building. The three Jiraiya then parted ways, all still
using a concealment genjutsu.
It was actually the real Jiraiya who found the records room, and
he dismissed his replications before casually picking the lock and
letting himself in. The room was dark and poorly kept, the numerous
record scrolls on the shelves lining the tiny room haphazardly sorted at
best. Fortunately, they were labeled, and as Jiraiya had suspected the
records were kept by the date of the prisoners' arrival at the prison.
The information he already had helped him narrow down when Sotaru had
arrived, so Jiraiya was soon enough reading the short record of the
brothel owner's time here.
He cursed when he finished, dropping the scroll. It took all
his willpower to start cleaning up after himself rather than lead
immediately. He needed to talk to Kaida as soon as possible. He didn't
like the idea of letting her know that he'd had his own network in this
country, but it would have to be done. She needed to know about this,
and he would need her help to take down the Akatsuki in the Cloud.
"So what have we here?" a uniformed Cloud ninja said as he
appeared in the door, a short sword pointed at Jiraiya's guts. "Don't
make any funny moves," he added unnecessarily.
Jiraiya let another curse escape his lips. He'd been stupid and
let down his guard. "I'm not an enemy of the Cloud," he offered. "I
don't want to fight you."
"Even if I believed you," the jounin said, his voice making
clear just how far Jiraiya was from being believable, "I'm on a mission
here."
"True," the legendary Sannin agreed. "I'm going to raise my
arms."
"Go ahead," the Cloud ninja said, gesturing with his weapon and
bringing it just a hair too close to Jiraiya's hands.
An instant later, it was Jiraiya who held the sword, and it was
at the Cloud's throat. "You're lucky I was telling the truth," Jiraiya
said before knocking the man unconscious. Unfortunately, a jounin would
have enough defenses against mental attack that Jiraiya couldn't afford
the time to implant false memories. He was just going to have to live
with the results of his sloppiness.
A few minutes later, Jiraiya cursed again as he sped through the
night away from the prison and toward the Cloud Village. He couldn't
get the final lines of Sotaru's short entry out of his mind. "Priestess
Sinobi Junhime, jounin of the Hidden Cloud, arrived to inspect the
prisoner as requested. She confirmed him as the fugitive Sotaru wanted
by the Temple, interrogated him in private, and executed him. Lacking
next of kin, remains were cremated per standard procedure."

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

Sinobi Junhime grinned widely. "You've been waiting for this,
haven't you?" Naruto's unwilling teacher asked her student as she
carefully spun in place, observing the circle of shadow clones that
surrounded her.
One Naruto cracked his knuckles. "I'm going to enjoy this,"
another said. Both sprouted kunai from their foreheads, then vanished
in puffs of smoke.
"I'm not that stupid," another Naruto said, and even as
Junhime's inevitable attack disrupted that clone, the remaining Naruto
charged Kaida's apprentice in unison.
"Uz-" one shouted as he slipped under the woman, kicking upward.
Junhime managed to slice that Naruto with a kunai as he hit her,
disrupting the replication.
Even as that clone's smoke began to fade, another Naruto was
underneath Junhime, kicking her further into air calling out "-zu-"
"-maki," came another clone's voice as it came it for its
attack. There was a brief blurring, and instead of Junhime it was
another Naruto who received the attack. This Naruto didn't vanish, and
the clones milled around in confusion for a few moments before
disappearing in a series of smoke explosions.
"I guess I got lucky to pick the real one," Junhime said with a
smile as she rose from her kneeling position in the corner of the Temple
of the Thunder Dragon's small training ground. "You didn't even get a
chance to try any lightning element techniques." She began to walk
toward the fallen Naruto. "Get up."
The visible Naruto vanished in another puff of smoke, and
Junhime's eyes widened slightly as the real Naruto erupted from the
ground underneath her, chakra whirling in one hand. She danced away
from the strike, grabbing Naruto's forearm and wrenching it behind his
back as the globe of chakra dissipated. "I don't know what it is, but
that looks like a pretty serious technique to be pulling out for a
training session."
Naruto growled at her. "You're supposed to be a jounin, aren't
you?" he asked. Then three more Naruto burst out of the ground around
Kaida's apprentice, forcing the kunoichi to release the real Naruto to
dodge their attacks. She rapidly disrupted the replications before
returning her attention to her opponent.
"I suppose so," Junhime said, laughing lightly. "Maybe I should
take this a little more seriously. Do actually use what I'm trying to
teach you, though." Her hands blurred, and then she flung them forward.
"Raiton: Lightning Wave!" A wall of electricity appeared with a crack
of thunder, flying forward toward Naruto.
In the mere instants he had to react, Naruto sank into the earth
once more. Junhime merely waited for his next attack, and when the
genin reemerged two massive stone hands surged out the ground, grasping
at the kunoichi. The woman danced backward, hands forming seals
rapidly. "Raiton: Twin Thunderbolt Technique!" Two bolts of lightning
descended from the clear sky, shattering the earthen hands. She paused
as the wreckage slowly melted back into the ground. "You're still not
even trying lightning element techniques," she said.
Naruto grimaced at her. "Shut up," he snarled.
"I'm not going to let you touch me with any of your other
techniques," the jounin continued. "The whole point of this exercise is
for you to try the techniques you're supposed to be learning."
"You know I'm not very good with the lightning junk," Naruto
returned. "How am I supposed to hit you with those?"
"This isn't a real fight, boy," Junhime stated, "as much as we
both might wish otherwise. Hitting me isn't the real objective." She
sighed. "Getting you to at least be able use a single lightning element
technique in battle is."
"Is that so?" Naruto asked, his eyes narrowing.
Junhime reacted moments before the real Naruto made his attack,
sending a kunai to disrupt the clone she'd been talking to and jumping
into the air almost too late, as Naruto erupted from the ground beneath
her, ball of chakra whirling in one hand. "Raiton: Lightning Slice!"
Junhime called out, and for an instant a blade of electricity sprung
from one hand, curving down to meet Naruto's technique.
They pushed against each other, then erupted into a brief storm
of chakra that flung both ninja away. Naruto stumbled slightly as he
landed, but he kept his feet. Junhime's landing was perfect, but
another Naruto was already emerging from the earth behind her, his hands
forming a quick series of seals. "Raiton: Shocking Grasp Technique!" he
shouted, and electricity sparked from his hands. Now, Junhime stumbled.
The Naruto standing behind her vanished in a puff of smoke. The
real Naruto grinned. "There. I used a lightning element technique in
battle."
Junhime grimaced, but then she laughed. "Clever," she admitted,
"and that was much more lightning-natured chakra than you'd been able to
handle before." She shook her head. "Hatake was right; you really do
learn best under pressure."
Naruto froze, his grin fading. "What about Kakashi-sensei?" he
demanded.
"Oh, I asked him for some tips for dealing with you." Junhime
smiled brightly. "Sharingan Kakashi tells me anything I want to know
now."
"What did you do to Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked dangerously.
Junhime's reply was flat. "What do you think, brat?"
The Leaf ninja almost turned purple with rage. "I told you," he
began.
"Yes, I know," Junhime said. "You'll make me pay. You have
noticed that's what I want you to do, right?"
"You," Naruto snarled, but with obvious effort he managed to
calm himself.
Junhime applauded. "Very good," she said. "I'm impressed. Not
a sign of the Kyuubi." Naruto just glared at her, and she sighed.
"That's enough for today, I think. Unless Kaida-sama wants you, it'll
be the same time tomorrow." Without waiting for the boy to respond, she
turned around and left the training ground.
"Well, that was entertaining." As he spoke, Kiyomura Zeshin
detached himself from the shadows lining the narrow hallway Junhime was
walking down.
The High Priestess's apprentice snorted, not slowing her pace.
"I told you not to come here, Zeshin."
"Forgive me, Junhime-sama," the former Storm agent said, his
voice perfectly repentant. Junhime snorted again, and the man smiled
before continuing. "However, the matter is urgent, and Kaida-sama is
out, is she not?"
"Urgent?" Junhime stopped. "How urgent?" Without pausing, she
continued. "Don't answer that yet. Follow me." A few moments later,
they were in a meditation chamber and Junhime had activated a genjutsu
to ward against eavesdroppers.
"Elaborate," Zeshin commented.
"I can't afford some acolyte bringing word of this meeting to
Kaida-sama," Junhime replied. "You did make sure no one saw you enter?"
"Well, they did, but I didn't look like myself. I was just
another worshiper, nothing to take note of."
"Good," Junhime said shortly. "Now, what's this about?"
"This is a report that just arrived in the village," Zeshin
said, handing her a scroll.
The priestess unrolled it and began to curse fluently as she
read. "This happened last night?" she asked as she finished. "Who
knows?"
"I've made certain it won't become public," Zeshin replied.
"Kaida-sama will hear nothing, at least until Jiraiya returns."
"This is the last thing we need," Junhime said. "The Toad
Hermit knows now, for sure."
"You were sloppy back then," Zeshin chided.
"Yes," Junhime said shortly. "Damn it. We can't let him reach
Kaida-sama now. We're going to have to go ahead and remove his piece
from the board."
"I figured as much." Zeshin grimaced. "That's not going to be
easy."
"No." Junhime's eyes were hard. "It's going to have to be me.
Can you -"
"Already taken care of." Zeshin pulled out a handful of
scrolls. "Straight from the Raikage's desk, top secret emergency
mission orders for you and four ninja of your choice."
"Excellent," Junhime breathed, accepting the offered scrolls.
"I can't take you with me."
"Someone needs to manage the Kyuubi," Zeshin agreed. "I'm
honored by your trust."
"Everything is proceeding as planned on that front. You can go
ahead and commence the operation as soon as you're ready."
"Leave me a few of our men in Storm," Zeshin requested. "It'll
make things easier."
"I'll need some of them," Junhime said. "Even I'm going to need
strong backup if I'm going to kill one of the legendary Sannin."

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

[Day Eighty]

Sakura would have ignored the loud knocking on the door to
Naruto's apartment if she had been coherent enough to notice it. She
couldn't say what day it was. She couldn't say what she had been doing.
She couldn't say when the last time she had eaten something was, or
indeed even the last time she had done anything other than lie in bed.
All she could say was that her mother was dead and that she was the one
who had killed her. Her whole world had shrunk to that bare fact.
The knocking paused, then resumed again, louder. A male voice
shouted words that were meaningless to Sakura. The pink-haired girl
buried her face in her tear-dampened pillow, instinctively trying to
block the intruding sound that relentlessly prodded her to awareness.
"Go 'way," she found herself mumbling quietly as the knocking increased
in volume once more, accompanied by more meaningless words.
There was another pause, and then the man outside spoke again.
This time, Sakura was unwillingly coherent enough that she could
understand what he was saying. "Haruno Sakura, this is your last
warning! I am authorized by the Hokage to force entry if you do not
respond at once." Sakura raised her head slowly, blinking rapidly as
she tried to gather herself. The man began to count down. "Five.
Four. Thre-"
"Coming!" Sakura managed to shout hoarsely as she somehow rolled
to her feet and stumbled out of Naruto's spare room. Pausing briefly to
rub at her suddenly pounding head, she made her way down to hallway and
through the kitchen. Her fumbling fingers undid the latch on the door
and after a moment longer wrestling with the doorknob, she opened it.
She found herself staring at the vaguely familiar face of a
gray-uniformed chuunin. "I am ordered to escort you to Hokage-sama," he
said, not unkindly. "You have five -" The man cut off suddenly, his
eyes giving Sakura a quick inspection. "You have twenty minutes to
prepare yourself," he finished firmly.
Sakura just stared blankly at him, somehow unable to make the
connection between his simple words and herself. "I," she said, but she
wasn't able to say anything else, and didn't know why she had started to
speak at all.
"You might want to get dressed at least," the older chuunin said
gently, and even in her current state Sakura flushed as she realized she
was wearing nothing but an over-sized t-shirt. "I'll be back in a half-
hour," the man said, and then he was gone.
Without conscious thought, Sakura closed the door and walked
back to the hallway. She passed the open door to her room and entered
the bathroom instead. She stared in dull horror at her reflection in
the mirror, then something approximating her usual morning routine took
over. When she emerged from the bathroom, she was feeling much closer
to human, though she still shied away from thinking too hard. Thinking
would just bring her back to... something she couldn't think about.
She wasted time breaking into tears even at that non-thought,
but eventually she made her way back to the bedroom and began to dress.
She actually didn't have a full formal uniform; a vague memory told her
that she had been supposed to pick some up the morning after the
promotion ceremony. She made do with what she had, though her mind
bizarrely fixated on the choice between a red shirt that had long
sleeves or a shirt that was close to the right color but was short-
sleeved. Deciding that it had been fairly warm for the season, Sakura
slipped on the dark blue shirt, then black pants.
When her hands unthinkingly grasped her uniform armored vest,
she froze. Her mother had given this to her. Her mother who she had...
her mother who had been... her mother. Sakura shook, unable to avoid
the terrible fact. Her mother was dead, and she was the one who had
killed her. Killed her because she was a traitor. Or was it Sakura who
was somehow the traitor? She couldn't think clearly, only remember the
masked smile on her mother's face as she'd complimented Sakura's
strength.
"Why?" Sakura wanted to shout, but couldn't find the voice. Why
had her mother betrayed the village? Why had she given Sakura her
father's vest? Why had she smiled when Sakura had killed her? Why?
"Damn it, Mother," Sakura hissed as she fell to her knees, cradling her
mother's last gift in her hands as tears began to stream down her face.
"Damn it."
Eventually, there was a gentle knocking on the apartment door,
and Sakura stood, putting on the vest. Her mind blank, she went
outside. "I'm ready," she said flatly.
"Here," the chuunin said, thrusting a steaming cup of tea into
Sakura's hands.
"Thank you," Sakura said automatically before taking a sip. She
almost gagged at the unexpected sweetness, but she forced herself to
keep drinking. She might not usually put sweeten her tea, but she
probably needed the sugar.
"Let's go," the gray-uniformed man said after a moment. Sakura
nodded and began to head for the stairs, only to stop as she noticed
that the man was looking at her oddly. She followed his gaze to her
forearm, and realized that there was nothing covering the snake tattoo
that circled around it.
After a long moment, the older chuunin pulled the cloth bandage
he wore for some reason across his face off. "Let me," he said, and
without waiting for any confirmation he wrapped it over Sakura's tattoo.
There was just enough to cover the dark markings, and he grunted as he
made the final adjustments. "There. You don't want to show that sort
of thing off, but you can pull the bandage away easily enough if you
have to."
Sakura nodded slowly. "Thank you," she stated quietly, and
without further words the pair of ninja went down the stairs and out
into the street. The man lead her not to the Hokage's office as Sakura
had unthinkingly started heading at first, but to the ninja academy.
Unusually, masked ANBU stood guard outside it and there was not a child
to be seen.
"This way," Sakura's escort said as one of the ANBU guards
opened to academy door for them. He took her to what had been the
school headmaster's office, but now was obviously serving as Tsunade's
base of operations. As they reached the office, Sakura realized that
her cup of now-lukewarm tea was almost empty, so she drained it and
deposited it in a conveniently placed trashcan as she entered.
"You're late, Kotetsu-kun," Tsunade said irritably, looking
incredibly out of place behind the headmaster's desk. The chuunin who
had escorted Sakura gave her a glance, then stepped forward and
whispered something to Tsunade, who frowned and nodded.
"Hello, Sakura." The pink-haired girl started at the voice,
noticing for the first time that Shikamaru was standing in a corner of
the room facing the desk, looking rather annoyed.
"Hello," Sakura managed to return weakly.
Her classmate's eyes narrowed. "Are you okay?" he asked.
"I'm," Sakura began, but she faltered. How could she possibly
explain what was going on? How could she find the words?
Before she could even start to search out the answers to those
questions, Tsunade finished her quiet conversation with the chuunin and
spoke more loudly. "All right, then, Kotetsu-kun. I've already let
Izumo-kun go, so I'll be quick. Like I discussed earlier, you're being
reassigned to a newly formed combat squad under Sarutobi Asuma. Your
teammates are Kamizuku Izumo and Inuzuka Hana. Report to the western
gate immediately."
The chuunin bowed. "Understood, Hokage-sama." He straightened,
and then he was gone.
Tsunade's hands folded in front of her face. "Haruno Sakura.
Nara Shikamaru."
"Yes, Hokage-sama?" Shikamaru responded with a fair imitation of
attentiveness. Sakura just stood there, and Tsunade's eyes narrowed
before she spoke again.
"You will be replacing Izumo-kun and Kotetsu-kun as my personal
assistants. Your duties will include, but are not limited to, running
messages and relaying orders, preparing reports, meeting with
petitioners, and, if necessary, helping me defend myself against attack.
In the event that I am out of the village or otherwise indisposed, you
will assist Shizune instead. Am I understood?"
"Yes, Hokage-sama," Shikamaru replied, a hint of sourness in his
voice. Sakura echoed him flatly a half-second later.
"This might not be the most glamorous assignment, Shikamaru-
kun," Tsunade said firmly, "but it is a valuable one and is considered
an honor."
"And the only reason we're getting it is so that stronger ninja
can be used in the war," Shikamaru finished.
"That is a reason, yes," Tsunade said. "Do you have a problem
with that, Shikamaru-kun?"
"No, Hokage-sama."
"Good." Tsunade's hands unfolded. "Shikamaru-kun, I need you
to run up to the administrative buildings and get an updated report on
the damage there. Sakura-chan, likewise with the hospital complex, and
then swing by the temporary infirmaries we've set up by there and ask
Shizune for a report on the medical situation. Understood?"
"Yes, Hokage-sama," the two chuunin said, this time in almost-
unison. Shikamaru was gone shortly thereafter, but Sakura hesitated.
Tsunade's eyes softened. "Do you need something, Sakura-chan?"
she asked gently.
"I..." Sakura trailed off.
"I'm not going to say I know what you're going through," Tsunade
said, "but I've been through a similar hell." She paused. "Don't let
this destroy you." Sakura didn't say anything, and Tsunade sighed. "If
you ever need somebody to talk to, I'm here," she said, but her tone of
voice made it clear she knew just how little intention Sakura had of
taking that offer.
Part of her did actually want to talk to somebody, but somebody
like Kakashi, or Iruka, or even Anko. Hell, she'd feel more comfortable
talking to Naruto about this than the Hokage. Even if she could talk to
someone, though, where would she find the words? Her eyes watered as
her mind danced around the terrible matter, but she managed to force
herself not to cry.
"Yes, Hokage-sama," she said flatly after far too long. Then
she left, and she didn't need to turn around to see the worry in
Tsunade's eyes as they followed her path.

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

Naruto stared at the High Priestess of the Thunder Dragon for a
moment. "Isn't your apprentice supposed to be teaching me today, Kaida-
sensei?" he asked.
"It seems," Kaida said sourly, "that the Raikage has a pressing
need for Junhime's services. Now I understand why my teacher made me
resign my position in the Hidden Cloud before I could become his
apprentice."
"You aren't a Cloud ninja?" Naruto asked, blinking. Come to
think of it, she didn't wear a forehead protector.
Kaida seemed to read Naruto's mind, rubbing at her bare
forehead. "I still have the forehead protector," she said, "and none
would deny me the right to wear it if I choose. It would be...
politically foolish, though."
"Why?" Naruto asked.
"If you'd taken me up on my offer to provide some histories
about the First Raikage's life," the High Priestess said irritably, "you
would know." She sighed. "It could be seen as a declaration of my
intentions to seek the title of Raikage. Even you should see why the
current Raikage would have issues with that."
The Leaf genin nodded. "So, what now?" he asked.
"I will train you today, for two reasons." Kaida raised a
finger. "First, because with Junhime gone, there's no one else I can
trust to train you."
Naruto's eyes flashed. "How could you trust her?" he asked.
Kaida laughed lightly. "I know what she knows, and I trust her
to act in the most efficient way to get what she wants without undue
risk. Or, in other words, I trust her to be predictable. So long as
you aren't foolish enough to react to her goading, she won't do anything
stupid."
"I see," Naruto said flatly.
Kaida raised a second finger. "Also, this will aid my work."
"How?" Naruto demanded.
"I want to see how you use the demon's chakra in battle," Kaida
said simply.
Naruto swallowed, backing away and shaking his head. "No way."
"I don't want you to go all the way," Kaida said. "The higher
manifestations of the Kyuubi's chakra could get troublesome even for me.
I only want to see the first stage."
"No," Naruto said firmly.
The High Priestess's eyes narrowed dangerously. "I am trying to
help you, Naruto-kun," she said flatly, "but if you don't cooperate it
will be much harder."
"He's dangerous," Naruto said flatly. "I'm not going to use him
in just a spar. No matter what."
There was a long moment where Naruto thought his defiance might
have pushed the woman too far, but then she laughed. "Very good," she
said, and then there was a sudden knock at the doors of the training
ground. "Come in," Kaida said, raising her voice
In a handful of moments, an acolyte was kneeling before her.
"Forgive the interruption, Kaida-sama," the younger woman said, "but we
have received a petition for sanctuary."
Kaida nodded. "I see."
"Sanctuary?" Naruto asked.
"It's a custom in Lightning Country," Kaida said, "Debtors and
the like, and even criminals, can request sanctuary from the temple. If
I grant it, they have the temple's protection so long as they obey our
rules, stay on temple grounds, and if necessary do penance for their
crimes." She glanced down at the acolyte. "What does our guest seek
sanctuary for?"
"Theft, High Priestess," the acolyte answered, "and murder."
"I see." Kaida smiled a harsh, tight smile. "Well, I suppose I
should see whether our guest truly intends repentance or simply a way to
avoid justice."
"So anyone can ask for sanctuary?" Naruto asked, possibilities
occurring to him.
"Yes," the acolyte answered before Kaida could respond, "but not
all requests are granted."
The High Priestess just sighed, gesturing for the acolyte to
rise. "Let's go," she said softly. "Naruto-kun, you're free for now, I
suppose." She paused, as though she was about to say something, then
just shook her head and left, the acolyte trailing after her.
Naruto waited just a few moments before hurrying back to his
room. He pondered the risks of attempting to sneak out of the temple,
but decided it was too dangerous at the moment. There was no telling
how long Kaida would take, and he felt leaving a shadow replication
behind wouldn't fool her if she went looking for him. Besides, if
Junhime was gone on a mission, there would be plenty of safer
opportunities to search for Kakashi. Instead, Naruto did something that
didn't come easily to him. He forced himself to sit on his bed and
start planning how he was going to save his teacher.

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

[Day Eighty-one]

To the unpracticed eye, there was nothing to show that the man
talking to Kiyomura Zeshin was a member of Storm. Unlike their
counterparts in the Leaf's ANBU or the Mist's hunter ninja, the Cloud's
Storm did not wear masks as part of their uniform. Some Storm did wear
masks, of course, but it was not required. Instead, secret techniques
were used to alter the faces of Storm sent on undercover missions. A
skilled medical ninja like Tsunade of the legendary Sannin could
probably detect and reverse the changes during autopsy of a corpse, but
less intense investigation would find nothing unusual.
An observer aware of such things would have noticed the subtle
differences in the uniform of Zeshin's companion that gave away his
affiliation. There was truly nothing unusual about Zeshin speaking with
a Storm member, however. He was relatively well-known in the village as
an ex-member of that organization. He had many friends there, and even
members of the Cloud's elite special forces units had innocent
conversations with their friends.
The setting of their talk, a popular lunch spot near one of
Storm's public bases, lent itself to that interpretation. The two
talked quietly, but made no particular attempt to avoid being
eavesdropped on. Their conversation stopped briefly when a waiter
brought over their meals, but that was hardly unusual. All in all,
there was nothing to suggest that anything secret was occurring.
Sometimes the best way to hide something was to stick it out
where anyone could see it. Zeshin picked at the salad he had ordered -
a new dish based on Water Country cuisine - while watching his companion
attack his sandwich. "You must be hungry, Murai," he said between
bites.
The other ninja swallowed before answering. "Missed breakfast,"
he rumbled. "Overslept and couldn't afford to be late since things are
so busy."
"You're still doing that?" Zeshin asked with a laugh. "There
are techniques that could help."
Murai grinned. "I think that's my hidden Bloodline Limit," he
said, "immunity to that sort of technique."
Zeshin snorted, taking another careful bite of his salad. "This
isn't half-bad. Want to try some?" he offered.
"Not bad," Murai agreed after a moment.
"Why are things so busy?" Zeshin asked.
"You should know," Murai responded. "When four of our best get
put on an emergency mission, the rest of us have to pick up the slack."
"Imagine how the High Priestess feels," Zeshin said.
Murai let out a bark of laughter. "I bet she wishes she'd made
Junhime-sama resign as a ninja before becoming her apprentice."
"Junhime's mission isn't causing any problems, is it?" Zeshin
asked.
Murai shook his head. "It's okay. I'm bringing in a couple
more people who I think I can trust, but even if they don't work out
everything should go smoothly." He paused to devour the remainder of
his meal. "We'll be ready," he said very quietly. "You just give the
word."
Zeshin answered just as softly. "I'm not certain when that will
-" He cut off suddenly.
Murai looked around. "Something wrong?" he asked. One hand
hovered over the hilt of a hidden weapon.
Zeshin shook his head. "Nothing." He hesitated. "I just...
remembered something. Nothing you need to worry about yet."
"Ah." Murai looked at Zeshin for a moment, then pointed at his
salad. "You going to finish that?"
"Yes," Zeshin answered harshly, and Murai laughed.
A few minutes later, they finished eating and parted ways.
Zeshin casually wandered the streets of the Cloud Village, eventually
reaching a quiet area on the border of the district of the city where
ninja usually lived. Here, he moved more cautiously, making certain he
wasn't being followed before entering a small alleyway. He knelt. "You
summoned me?"
A figure emerged from the shadows. A simple bamboo hat his his
facial features, but the red and black cloak he wore declared his
allegiance. "So, it did work. Good."
In an instant, Zeshin was on his feet, a kunai drawn. "You
aren't," he began.
"No," the other man agreed, interrupting Zeshin. "I am his
partner." The man smiled. "The fact that I knew the technique to
summon you should prove that."
Zeshin didn't relax. "What business have you with me, if you
are who you say you are?"
"I have a mission for you," the man said. "I believe you are
positioned well to know the status of the Kyuubi brat, no?"
"Perhaps," Zeshin said.
"You are aware that another member of our organization has made
her home here?" the man asked.
"It is possible," Zeshin answered.
The Akatsuki member sighed. "I can see this is going to take a
very long time if you won't trust me."
"Tell me your purpose," Zeshin demanded.
"I want you to ensure that the Kyuubi brat remains free," the
other man answered calmly.
Zeshin's grip tightened on his blade. "Treason?" he snarled,
tensing.
"No." There was something in the man's voice that made Zeshin
freeze. "Akatsuki is an alliance of equals," he said, "and care must be
taken to keep it from splintering." He paused, clearly weighing how
much to say. "We are operating according to a timetable, but there is a
faction that intends to gain advantage by securing their targets in
advance."
"And you?" Zeshin pressed.
"Your master and I," the man stressed, "wish to prevent this
without resorting to open conflict that could destroy Akatsuki." He
smiled. "As odd at it sounds, at the moment being defeated is the only
thing that can save Akatsuki."
"I understand." Zeshin sheathed his weapon, then turned to
leave.
"You haven't said whether you will serve me," the Akatsuki
member said dangerously.
"It's pointless," Zeshin answered. "No matter what my decision
is, I have no reason not to tell you I will."
The other man laughed. "Very well." He too turned away. "I'm
not a patient man, though. I didn't travel as quickly as I did just to
wait for weeks and weeks once I arrived here. If I don't see progress
soon, I'll have to take matters into my own hands, and that won't be
good for you or the Cloud."
"You'll have your answer in three days," Zeshin responded after
a moment, and then both men were gone.

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

A tiny part of Sakura was glad for the all-consuming numbness
that had engulfed her since... the event that she couldn't think about
too hard. Had she been capable of feeling and reacting like a normal
human being, she didn't know whether she could have endured visiting the
rapidly more-permanent seeming temporary infirmaries set up around the
ruins of what had been the Leaf's hospital. There were hundreds of
wounded being tended by the over-stretched staff, and at least dozens
that could have been saved had already die because the needed medicine
was buried in the rubble.
Sakura picked her way through the crowded tents until she found
the command center, a nearby building that had survived the attack
intact. An exhausted medical ninja lay sprawled out on a cot set up
near the entryway, obviously still wearing the same clothes he had been
for days. Almost automatically, Sakura began to move more quietly as
she passed him and went up a narrow set of stairs. She knocked once on
the first door on the right, just as she had the day before.
"Come in, Sakura-chan," came Shizune's voice. The pink-haired
kunoichi let herself in. The Hokage's assistant sat behind a small desk
cluttered with handwritten medical reports and looked only marginally
less tired than the sleeping medic below. "Tsunade-sama wants today's
report?"
Sakura just nodded. Tsunade had been keeping her and Shikamaru
busy running from place to place for reports, and Sakura knew far more
than she wished to about how much damage the Mist and Sound had managed
to do. It was another reason part of her didn't mind the dull blanket
of indifference that covered her.
"I haven't had time to write it out today." Shizune yawned.
"We finished the autopsy of that faceless body the ANBU found," she
said. "It's definitely Orochimaru's technique, and we're pretty sure
the victim was the representative from Hidden Star." She yawned again.
"Which means that the woman who delivered the mission request was a
Sound agent, and that Yuuhi-san's mission was another ambush."
"Another ambush?" Sakura asked flatly, surprised at herself for
managing to show that much interest.
Shizune blinked. "Gods, that was this morning wasn't it?
Sorry." She rubbed wearily at her eyes. "ANBU brought in Maito Gai and
Funeno Daikoku's Team Four this morning. As we suspected after getting
the news from Sand, their missions in Rain Country were a setup for an
ambush." She took a deep breath. "Genin Yamashiro Naizen died in
transit, but the only other significant injuries were self-inflicted
severe muscle strain from Maito-san. Tsunade-sama will want to know
about that too."
Sakura nodded. "I understand," she said. "Anything else?"
"Of course," Shizune said, "but nothing that can't wait until I
have a chance to write it down. Things haven't changed much since
yesterday except for the details." She grimaced. "Just a few more
moved from the dying to the dead column."
Sakura knew that she should feel something at this, but couldn't
make herself summon the slightest emotion. "Understood," she said after
a moment, and then she turned to leave.
Later, after she tonelessly repeated Shizune's words to the
Hokage, the older woman nodded shortly. "As expected," she said grimly.
"Shikamaru-kun!"
The other chuunin, who had been leaning against the wall looking
more and more worried as Sakura gave her report, straightened. "Yes,
Hokage-sama?"
"Tell Shiz-" Tsunade halted in mid-word, then cursed. "I guess
I'll have to get the letter for the Star written myself. Never mind.
You two can break for lunch. I'll want you back here at... let's say
two."
The two chuunin nodded and left the Hokage's temporary office.
Shikamaru glanced sideways at Sakura for a long moment, then sighed.
"You're coming to get lunch with me." Sakura just nodded and began to
follow him. Shikamaru sighed again, a brief flicker of worry passing
over his face, but he said nothing as he lead her to a small restaurant
nearby, one of the few that was open at the moment.
Ino and Chouji were waiting for them there. Almost before
Sakura could notice them, Ino was embracing her, tears running down her
face. "Sakura!" she said, her voice choking.
The pink-haired girl was still and unmoving in Ino's arms. Her
mouth opened several times, but it was almost half a minute before she
managed to get out an "Ino?" Almost-emotions churned confusedly under
her protective, unfeeling numbness.
Ino loosened her hold slightly. "ANBU came to me after the
attack," she said. "To ask me about... my... your... Sakura... I..."
She trailed off.
Shikamaru rubbed at his forehead. "Everyone's staring at you,
Ino," he said, glancing around the restaurant.
Flushing, Ino dragged both Sakura and Shikamaru over to the
corner booth where Chouji was still sitting. After glaring almost half-
heartedly at the other patrons for a moment, Ino's attention returned to
Sakura. "Are you okay, Sakura?" she asked softly. Sakura didn't...
couldn't say anything.
Shikamaru sighed. "Of course she isn't," he said, rolling his
eyes. "Would you be?"
Sakura stared at the table uncomfortably. They knew, then.
About... it. Her mother was dead, and she was the one who had killed
her. Sakura began to curl in on herself, that bare fact pounding in her
head. Nothing else mattered. Nothing else could matter.
"Sakura!" Ino's almost-shout managed to pierce the din of the
litany already beginning in Sakura's mind. The blonde's hands reached
out too fast for Sakura to avoid, grasping her own hands. "ANBU... your
mother..." She trailed off again, then snarled, "Damn it!"
"We're here for you," Chouji rumbled suddenly.
"Even this lazy bum here," Ino said, half-releasing her death-
grip on Sakura's hands to gesture at Shikamaru. He sighed, mouthing
"troublesome," but even in her distracted state Sakura could see the
very real concern in his eyes.
There was a sudden cough, and all four ninja finally noticed the
annoyed waitress standing just out of earshot. Ino dropped Sakura's
hands and began to order. Sakura just stared uncomprehendingly at the
menu laying in front of her while the others ordered, and when everyone
stared at her she quickly mumbled "The same." The stares doubled in
intensity, and Sakura realized that it had been Chouji who ordered last.
"As her," she added after a moment too long, gesturing weakly at Ino.
Satisfied, the waitress left.
"Sakura," Ino said. "You don't even like -"
Shikamaru interrupted her. "Isn't that Neji?" he asked,
straightening in his seat. Sakura didn't turn around to look.
"It is," Ino said, "but I don't recognize those two with him."
"New teammates?" Chouji asked.
"It'd be weird," Shikamaru stated after a moment. "His whole
team made chuunin, so I'd think they'd stick together instead of getting
broken up like us."
"You guys have been broken up?" Sakura somewhere found the
curiosity to ask.
"Well, I'm stuck doing Hokage-sama's busywork with you,"
Shikamaru said.
"I'm on reconstruction duty," Chouji added.
Ino grimaced. "And for some reason they've put me working in
the academy to replace the teachers getting called up to combat duty."
She shook her head. "I hate kids."
Sakura realized quickly that her three companions were waiting
for her to say something in response. Even knowing this, though, she
couldn't make herself find anything worth saying. Even something as
unrelated as Ino's last sentence was sending her mind down familiar,
dark paths, and she couldn't escape them.
Ino seemed to grasp the direction of Sakura's thoughts, and her
face darkened. "ANBU wanted to know if my father knew," she said
suddenly. "Whether he was an accomplice." Sakura didn't say anything.
"I don't think he was," the blonde continued, "and I don't think ANBU
thinks he was either."
From somewhere inside of her, a surge of jealousy passed through
Sakura. Even now, she knew how wrong it was, but a dark part of her
wished that it was Ino who had suffered all this. That it was Ino who's
team was broken by betrayal and scattered across the world. That it was
Ino who had killed her mother. That anybody but her was feeling what
she was feeling now.
"I hope," Ino said, and then she swallowed, looking away. "I
hope if he was," she continued weakly, "I'd have the courage to do what
you did." Even Shikamaru and Chouji looked surprised at this statement.
Sakura's eyes burned. "I didn't know," she hissed. She
shuddered once. "I didn't know," she repeated. Sudden anger boiled up
inside of her. "I still don't know. Why? Why, damn it?!"
After a moment, Ino reached out, again grasping Sakura's hands.
"Sakura," she said softly, "it's okay to cry."
And she did.

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

[Day Eighty-two]

It had been almost a week since the Mist had occupied the Wave
Country. The strike had been sudden and made with overwhelming force.
Outnumbered at least five to one, the beleaguered Leaf defenders had
still managed hold out for almost a day before organized resistance
collapsed. The daimyo's small guard force had barely factored into the
fight, and the daimyo had been forced to belatedly invite the Mist to
enter the country before the second day of the invasion had ended.
Team Eight had been out hunting smugglers in the small islands
on the southern end of Wave Country when the attack had started, and by
the time they had learned of it the fighting was almost over. Going to
ground, they had made their way to where the Leaf's command post had
been stationed, near the bizarrely named Great Naruto Bridge, in hopes
of finding other survivors.
They hadn't found any yet, but they had found enough evidence
that there were others. The Mist had sealed the island shortly after
Team Eight had returned, and someone had destroyed the building
commandeered by the Mist to serve as a barracks the day after. Mist
teams hunted the island for Leaf ninja, and Team Eight's most pressing
concern had quickly become escape.
The primary problem with that was that the island was surrounded
by water, lending a powerful advantage to the Mist ninja. Traveling by
sea was far too risky, as almost certainly the enemy's water element
users would detect any such attempt. That left only the bridge as a way
to reach the Fire Country. Unfortunately, the Mist knew that too, and
the bridge was constantly guarded.
Aburame Shino raised a finger, and a small flying insect landed
lightly atop it. He brought the bug up to his face and stared intently
at it for several moments before sending it flying again with a slight
flick of his finger. "It's time," he said shortly.
Inuzuka Kiba straightened. "All right. You ready, Hinata?"
The Hyuuga heiress nodded, looking straight at her teammates
despite the dirty rag that covered her eyes. "Yes... Neji-niisan," she
answered quietly.
Kiba grimaced. "I still hate being called that," he said.
"The Mist team we escorted to the Chuunin Exam may have given
our names and descriptions," Shino stated.
"I know that," Kiba grumbled. "All right, then. Akamaru, let's
go. You too... little sister." Akamaru barked once, and Kiba glanced
sideways at Shino. "You certain those bugs won't hurt him?" he asked.
"No more than fleas," Shino said.
"Let's go," Hinata said, and began to move. Kiba and Akamaru
followed an instant later, the boy grasping Hinata's arm and pretending
to lead her before they left their concealment in a small grove of
trees. They slowly made their way, not to the Great Naruto Bridge
itself, but to a small pier not far away. Unlike the bridge, it was
guarded usually by only a single genin team, though its closeness meant
that the sound of fighting would quickly draw attention from the bridge
guards.
Thanks to a collection of tricks and careful use of the
Transformation Technique, the group made a sorry sight as they
approached the Mist genin team. Running ahead, Akamaru seemed thin an
malnourished, clearly the pet of the beggar boy and his blind sister who
followed after him. Though the economic situation in the Wave Country
had improved of late, it was far from wealthy enough for such a sight to
be at all unusual.
Akamaru stopped as they neared the three Mist genin, letting out
a friendly bark. Laughing, the lone kunoichi on the squad knelt beside
him, gently petting him. "Hello again, little fellow."
"Neji-kun," one of her teammates said.
"Kaede-san," Kiba replied without hesitation.
"Hello," Hinata said quietly, taking a step closer to Kiba.
"It's okay, Hana-chan," Kiba said quietly. "These are our
friends, remember?"
"Why are you here?" the Mist ninja who had remained silent,
clearly the leader of the three, asked firmly. "Did you find another
Leaf supply cache?" It had been a cache made by Team Eight out of their
spare supplies, of course, and Kiba had reported "finding" it to these
three two days ago.
"No," he answered, "but I'm looking out for more, and thank you
again for the food, Toru-san."
The other male ninja, who had joined the kunoichi in petting
Akamaru, grinned. "And you'll be smelling for more, won't you, boy?"
Akamaru barked once in reply, and the boy laughed. "It's almost like he
understands me, isn't it?"
Something shifted in Toru's eyes, and it took all of Kiba's
willpower not to frown. There was a blur of motion, and the Mist
ninja's fist stopped a mere fraction of an inch from Hinata's face. The
disguised Hyuuga didn't flinch.
It was Kaede who responded first, rising and almost shouting
"What the hell are you doing?"
As Toru slowly retracted his arm, his male teammate moved behind
him, laying a hand on his shoulder. "Easy there," he said. "What's
going on Toru?"
"For a minute I thought she," the chastened-sounding ninja
began, but then he shook his head. "It doesn't matter."
"What's going on?" Hinata asked, making confusion plain in her
voice.
"Nothing," Kiba answered, though he stepped between her and the
Mist ninja.
"My apologies," Toru said. Almost as his feet, Akamaru barked,
and after a moment the Mist ninja half-knelt to give the dog a "Times
of war are suspicious times."
"I understand," Kiba replied agreeably, doing his best to hide
his joy. Now that all three of them had touched Akamaru, it was only a
matter of Shino sending a signal to his bugs.
"I'm gla-" Kaede stiffened in mid-word, her eyes flickering
shut.
"Kaede-chan, what's -" Before Toru could finish speaking, he
and his other teammate joined Kaede in sudden slumber, collapsing to the
ground without a sound.
Akamaru let out a happy bark, and Kiba grinned at him. "Good
work," he said, having to remind himself not to pet his partner for the
moment. Shino had explained that these bugs could understand not to
bite a host he placed them on, but couldn't be made to comprehend
distinguishing between targets beyond that. Now that he had signaled
them, they would attack anyone that touched Akamaru. After a moment,
Kiba turned to Hinata.
Before he could say anything, she nodded. "The guards at the
bridge don't seem to have noticed anything."
As if her words had summoned him, Shino emerged from
concealment. He wordlessly walked over to Akamaru, crouching down and
holding one hand over the dog. A moment later, the bug user rose.
"He's safe now."
"Good," Kiba said.
"Hinata," Shino stated a half-instant later.
"I know," the Hyuuga heiress stated calmly. She quickly removed
the rag from around her eyes and swallowed a soldier pill. After taking
a deep breath, she made a rapid sequence of seals. "Shadow Replication
Technique." Three clones appeared, then an instant later two
transformed into copies of her teammates. Hinata staggered, almost
collapsing.
Kiba caught her. "Are you okay?" he asked.
"I'll be fine," she said weakly, pulling away from him and
straightening. Her three clones raced toward the lone boat tied up at
the small pier and set about readying it to sail.
"Kiba," Shino stated.
"I know, I know." Kiba rolled his eyes. He quickly picked up
Akamaru, placing the dog on his shoulder. "Time for us to go." A few
minutes later, he and Shino were hiding within eyesight of the bridge,
waiting for the guards to notice the boat carrying Hinata's clones out
to sea.
It took a few moments, but soon an alarm bell rang, and almost
half of the bridge guards began to race off, some jumping down to the
water, no doubt to run after the boat. Shino held up a hand, warning
Kiba to wait a moment longer. Kiba nodded, but he fed Akamaru a soldier
pill before eating one himself anyway. "We wait for Hinata to lead them
far enough away, then charge, right?"
"You know that," Shino stated, and he dropped his hand. "Now."
Kiba grinned toothily, forming a long sequence of seals as he
channeled chakra in unnatural patterns through himself and Akamaru.
"Inuzuka-Style Rare Beast Transformation: Double-Headed Wolf!" There
was a moment of pure pain as he and Akamaru twisted and merged into one
terrible two-headed monster, but Kiba didn't let himself waste time
before charging the bridge.
The handful of remaining guards barely had time to notice the
oncoming beast before Kiba became a twisting whirlwind of destruction,
crashing through their ranks. The speed was too much for Kiba to
effectively track targets, but he still felt one of his paws strike an
enemy as he came out the other side of their hastily formed defensive
line. A handful of kunai bounced harmlessly off his thick hide as he
stopped and spun about to face the enemy.
He didn't give them any time to recover their wits and try a
stronger attack. Both of his fanged mouths gaped open and twin torrents
of flame poured out of them, scattering the Mist. An instant later,
Shino was beside him, leaping up to sit on his back. "Now," he hissed,
and abruptly Kiba spun about once more and began to race across the
bridge.
It took a moment for the Mist to gather themselves, but then
they charged. There were five of them, most likely chuunin, and Kiba
knew that if they were caught he and Shino would be hard-pressed to
fight them off, much less the rest of the guards, who would be shortly
returning from the distraction of Hinata's boat.
Shino dropped a large handful of smoke bombs, creating a massive
wall of thick black smoke between the pair of Leaf ninja and their
pursuers. Almost as soon the Mist lost sight of them, a huge cloud of
insects poured out from underneath Shino's coat, flying ahead of Kiba.
"Insect Replication Technique," the bug user commanded, and the bugs
formed a perfect image of him and the monster Kiba had become. Without
waiting for Shino's word, the real Kiba leapt off the bridge.
They never hit the water. Instead, as the smoke dissipated and
the Mist guards charged off after Shino's clone, Shino and Kiba, who had
separated from Akamaru and shifted back to his natural form, were
standing on the underside of the bridge. A few moments later, Hinata
joined them.
"No problems," Shino said, and it was clear it wasn't a
question.
Hinata nodded. "There's a ledge hanging under the bridge a
little ways back," she offered.
"Must be to help with repair work of something," Kiba said as he
started heading toward it. A few moments later, they were all seated
there. Kiba stretched his legs. "Glad this is here," he said. "I
wasn't certain if I was up to hanging there all day."
"Hinata," Shino said simply.
The kunoichi nodded, forming a few quick seals. Kiba let out a
deep breath. All there was to do now was hope that Hinata's cloaking
technique held until nightfall. Then they could sneak across the
underside of the bridge and hopefully make it to the mainland without
any more problems. After that, he thought, they wouldn't have any
difficulty evading the Mist forces and hooking up with the Leaf counter-
attack that had to be being prepared.
But for now, all that could be done was waiting.

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

"Not bad," Kaida said. A cold smile graced the High Priestess's
face as she studied Naruto. "Not as good as someone with a real talent
for lightning element ninjutsu, but better than I expected from
Junhime's reports."
Breathing heavily, Naruto let the tiny globe of sparking
electricity hovering above his outstretched finger. "I don't see the
point of this technique," he muttered.
"It's not useful in battle," Kaida agreed, "but it has it
purposes."
"Like?" Naruto asked.
Kaida shrugged. "It provides a bit of light, for one. It's
main purpose, though, is simply training. Changing the size of and
maintaining the sphere tests your ability to control lightning-natured
chakra." She smiled again. "And testing abilities is the best way to
improve them."
After a moment, Naruto nodded. "What next?" he asked, almost
eagerly. He couldn't really say that Kaida was a good teacher, but her
training sessions were so much less stressful than the ones he'd had
with Junhime. At least, unlike her apprentice, the High Priestess
didn't try to goad him into trying to kill her.
"Nothing for now," Kaida said. She smiled much more warmly than
before. "I have a meeting with the Raikage that you wouldn't want me to
miss."
Naruto's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"
"I am given to understand," Kaida said, "that the Raikage has
finally consented to an improvement in Hatake Kakashi's status." She
raised a finger. "He's not being released, but he should be more
comfortable at least."
"Thank you," Naruto replied after a moment. "That's not enough,
though."
"I know that," Kaida said. "I'm doing everything I can to help
him, but it's a miracle that I've managed this much." She sighed. "It
would be easier if it was anyone other than Sharingan Kakashi, but it
can't be helped, I suppose." She laughed. "I'm sure names like Akakawa
Tetsu are as hated by the Leaf."
"Never heard of him," Naruto said automatically.
"I suppose you wouldn't have," Kaida muttered. Then she
laughed. "Then again, the Leaf won the war and Tetsu ultimately became
a missing ninja, so there's less need for you all to remember his
deeds."
"Who was he?" Naruto asked.
"He was one of the Cloud's greatest heroes," Kaida replied. "He
commanded the forces that kept the Leaf from ever destroying the Sky
Village." She shrugged. "After the war he was blamed for the Cloud's
defeat by some and he left. He got mixed up with some other dangerous
criminals, but he hasn't been heard from in years so he's probably dead
now."
Oddly, Naruto thought that Kaida sounded amused telling the
man's story, but he didn't dwell on it. "Thank you for helping Kakashi-
sensei," he said after a moment.
Kaida nodded. "You're welcome," she said gravely, and then she
left.
Naruto immediately headed back to his room, making a point of
yawning and grumbling about how tired his training had left him as he
passed a pair of acolytes in the hallway. He'd need to wait a while to
be certain Kaida was gone, but this was the perfect time to sneak out
and do... well, something to help Kakashi. He still didn't really have
much of a plan, but doing anything was better than just sitting around
waiting for Kaida to pull off the impossible or for Jiraiya to return
and solve everything.
Naruto grimaced to himself as the door to his room shut behind
him. What was the old pervert up to, anyway? Sure, he'd said he
wouldn't be able to travel back and forth between the Cloud village and
the library he was going to study at, but it had been around half a
month. He could have at least sent a letter or something.
Naruto shook his head. He didn't have time to waste with that
sort of thought. After quickly creating a shadow replication and having
it go to sleep, he changed into his disguise as a genin Cloud kunoichi.
Standing in front of a mirror, he quickly used the Transformation
Technique to add the final elements and inspected himself. Not seeing
anything out of place, he listened at his door until he was certain
nobody was walking down the hall outside, then slipped out.
Thankfully, his room wasn't all that far from the public areas
of the temple, and in a matter of moments he was safe in the throng of
pilgrims and other worshipers. In that crowd, another Cloud genin was
hardly worthy of note, and the priests near the gates of the temple
didn't even glance at him as he passed them.
As he made his way down the long road the wound down the
mountain and into the Cloud Village proper, Naruto tried to think about
exactly what he was going to do. Thanks to some careful questioning of
the High Priestess and others, he was fairly certain that he could
identify Storm uniforms. Finding Storm members might tell him where
Storm's interrogation center was, but he didn't like the risk of trying
to follow elite Cloud jounin around. He was far too likely to get
noticed.
To get to the city, he had to pass the Raikage's palace, and
that brought his thoughts to Kaida's meeting. Just what had she managed
to get the Raikage to do to help Kakashi, anyway? He shook his head
again. There wasn't anything he could do about that right now. Picking
up his pace, he entered the ninja district of the city, and settled into
wandering about looking like he knew where he was going.
As he traveled, he kept an eye out for Storm uniforms, but he
only saw a handful, and not in any large clusters that might indicate
the presence of a Storm base nearby. He ruthlessly quashed the tiny
part of him that said that he wasn't going to accomplish anything
Thankfully, his rumbling stomach soon distracted him from that line of
thought, and he paused to purchase a few sweets.
When he stepped out of that store, he found himself looking at
the Cloud's hospital. A couple of medical ninja and doctors were
loitering outside the entrance smoking, and Naruto grimaced as he
wondered which might be about to head to help experiment on Kakashi.
Before they could notice him looking at them, he turned away and began
to walk off at a brisk pace.
"Hey, girl!" came a nervous-sounding, slightly familiar voice
from behind him. Naruto risked a look backward, and saw the doctor who
had helped Jiraiya in Earth Country racing up behind him. Naruto
stopped moving, and the doctor caught up with him.
"You dropped this," he said shortly, pressing a coin into the
disguised boy's hands.
"What do you want?" Naruto asked quietly, smiling like he was
thanking the man.
"I have news for you." The doctor grimaced. "I know I said...
but, well... I just couldn't not tell you."
Naruto barely stopped himself from swallowing nervously.
"What?" he asked, his mind dancing through dark possibilities.
"Sharingan Kakashi," the doctor said, and then he hesitated.
"He's getting transferred from Storm's interrogation squad's control,"
he said after a moment, "over to the Raikage's personal guard." He took
a deep breath. "Raikage-sama wants him to get a full medical checkup to
catch any lingering problems from his interrogation before they become
serious. He'll be at the hospital at two in the afternoon the day after
tomorrow."
Naruto's eyes widened. "Thank you," he breathed.
The doctor looked away. "It was nothing," he said, and then he
abruptly turned around and walked off.
Naruto swallowed as he realized just how big a risk the doctor
had just taken. Hadn't he gotten in trouble with the Rock back in Earth
Country for helping out a Sand prisoner somehow too? Naruto forced his
guilt aside. The doctor had made his choice, and it was up to him to
make it worth something.
Naruto walked quickly until he found a secluded alley where he
could get some privacy. He hesitated briefly then, but ultimately bit
at his thumb, and formed a set of seals. Jiraiya had told him not to
summon while he was here, but that was about sacred places or something,
and this wasn't the temple ground.
There was a small puff of smoke, and soon a toad grinned up at
him. "Naruto!" Gamakichi exclaimed happily.
"Hi," Naruto said, smiling weakly, but then his expression
turned serious. "Listen, is there any way I can talk to your dad
without having to summon him?"
The toad frowned. "What's wrong?"
"I need his help to save Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said, "and I'm
not going to have time to convince him when I bring him out."
After a long moment, Gamakichi nodded. "All right," he said,
his voice all business. "Tell me what you need."

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

[Day Eighty-three]

Sakura stifled a yawn as she locked the door to Naruto's
apartment behind her. She was doing a little better since her... talk
with Ino, but when she lay in bed at night there were no distractions to
keep her thoughts from traveling down those familiar, traveled paths.
What she could remember of her dreams were even worse, and the little
sleep she got was anything but restful.
Sakura yawned again. Thinking along those lines was only going
to lead her back to her troubles, and she was thinking clearly enough to
want to avoid that. Rubbing at her eyes, she turned away from the door
and slowly made her way to the stairs leading down to the street. She
knew she was already running a little late, but she couldn't make
herself care enough to hurry.
She passed a couple of her neighbors on the stairs. One of the
men started to say "Good morning," as she came up behind them, but he
cut off as soon as he turned around to see who it was. The two adults
stopped as she walked past them, and Sakura could feel their stairs on
her back and hear their harsh whispers. Once she might have been
curious at the half-heard word "demon," but again she couldn't summon
the slightest interest.
She did manage to smile weakly at the owner of the Ichiraku, who
was sweeping out the dirt and dust of the previous day, but nothing else
attracted her attention, even as she passed into the areas that had
suffered greater damage in the attack. Despite her lateness, it was
still an early hour, but even now workers were busy repairing some
buildings and demolishing those too damaged to be worth saving. There
was a ninja with each repair crew; Sakura had been in the Hokage's
office when that was ordered due to the number of active explosive tags
and other traps the Mist had scattered throughout the village during
their retreat.
As always, the academy grounds were a hive of activity, though
not for the usual reasons. There were no students there now; Ino had
mentioned that they were holding classes in the evacuation shelters
since the academy had been commandeered by the Hokage. The ANBU guards
and other regulars didn't give Sakura a second look as she headed to the
doors, already used to her presence.
"Haruno-kun!" The sudden shout made Sakura start, and she spun
around to see a slightly distressed-looking Yuuhi Kurenai running up to
her.
A part of her noted with some relief that even in her current
state, she could summon up a bit of happiness that the jounin had
survived the suspected ambush by Sound no worse for the wear. "Kurenai-
sensei?" she managed to ask after a moment.
"Do you happen to know where Anko-chan is?" the older woman
asked. "I went by her apartment after my debriefing, and it was
wrecked. I was dropping by to check since the interrogation squad is
supposed to be operating out of here."
Sakura shuddered. Guilt welled up from inside of her as she
realized that she hadn't even thought about what had happened to her
sometimes teacher. She had seen Shizune carrying her away, promising to
take her to Tsunade, but she hadn't heard anything since. The Hokage
hadn't mentioned anything, but Sakura could have still asked.
Kurenai's crimson eyes widened. "She isn't -"
Sakura managed to shake her head. "At least not when I saw her
last," she forced herself to add. She hesitated. "Do you know about,"
she began, her hand reflexively clutching at her shoulder.
Kurenai paled. "I got her drunk once and she told me what it
was," she said in a horrified half-whisper.
"She did it to..." Sakura couldn't finish for several minutes.
"She saved me," she finally said weakly. "Shizune-sama took her
afterward. I don't know..."
"I understand," Kurenai said gently. "No wonder you looked so
awful. Anko-chan wouldn't want you to beat yourself up so much over
this," she said. A nearby ANBU guard coughed suddenly, drawing the
jounin's attention. "What is it?" He waved her over and whispered in
her ear. Kurenai started once, then swallowed, turning back to the
pink-haired girl. "I... Sakura..." she said, then shook her head.
"There's really not anything worthwhile I can say, is there? Let me
know if there's anything I can do for you."
Sakura managed to get out a polite, meaningless "Thank you,"
before pushing past the the two older ninja and into the building.
Taking a deep breath, she made her way to the Hokage's office.
"You're late, Sakura-chan," Tsunade said as the young girl
entered.
"I'm sorry, Hokage-sama," Sakura replied, her lack of true
repentance more than obvious.
"I've told you before that you don't have to be quite so formal
with me." Tsunade sighed. "We haven't exactly had much time for it to
mean anything, but you are my apprentice."
"Tsunade-sama," Sakura forced herself to say, "can I ask a
question?"
"Of course."
"What happened to Mitarashi-sensei?"
"I was wondered when you would think to ask after her." Sakura
looked away in guilt, and Tsunade sighed again. "I understand," the
Hokage said. "Anko-chan is doing as well as can be expected. She's
under heavy guard with no visitors allowed until we can be certain that
the activation of the cursed seal had no permanent effect on her."
Tsunade's eyes softened. "You'll be among the first to know when she
gets out, I'm sure."
"Thank you," Sakura said weakly.
Tsunade stared at her apprentice for a long moment. "Let's go
to the training ground out back."
"Hokage-sama?" Sakura asked.
"I'm pretty much on top of the paperwork," Tsunade said, "and
there's not much I can be doing right now." She looked away briefly.
"Our forces should be ready to move out tonight or tomorrow, though
we're not spreading the word in case there are spies. I'm going with
them, but I'd feel guilty if I left you without giving a single lesson."
The Hokage stepped out from behind her desk and headed for the door.
"Come on."
Hesitatingly, Sakura followed the older woman out of what had
been the headmaster's office. A few passing ninja gave the pair an odd
look or two, but none of them dared question the Hokage. Soon enough,
they were alone in the training grounds behind the academy, and Tsunade
began to stretch. Sakura slowly copied her, and when they were finished
the Sannin spoke. "All right, Sakura-chan. Let's see what you can do."
When Sakura made no response, Tsunade continued. "Come at me."
Sakura blinked. "I can't -" she began, but she stumbled over
her words, uncertain what she was about to say.
"You don't have to worry about hurting me," Tsunade said gently.
She grinned. "If you can injure me, I deserve to be injured, and unless
you manage to kill me with a single strike I'm not going to be injured
for long." She paused. "In fact, it's probably best if you attacked me
like you wanted to kill me."
Sakura shuddered involuntarily. "I," she said, but no words
came to follow it, nor did she advance on her teacher. Sakura's
thoughts flickered to the last time she had fought, then shied away,
scattering.
Tsunade waited, tapping her foot, but after almost half a minute
she spoke. "If you won't attack, Sakura-chan, I will." The Hokage took
a deep breath, and then she was upon Sakura.
Instinct took over, and Sakura found herself rolling out of the
way of the older woman's charge. Automatically, her hand found the hilt
of the kunai and drew it, preparing to throw it at her attacker. Then
Sakura stopped. She remembered how it had felt wen her kunai had
slipped between her mother's ribs, plunging deep into her flesh. She
remembered the blood.
Then Tsunade was upon her again, and this time Sakura wasn't
able to dodge. An almost casual flick of a finger sent Sakura flying.
The young chuunin landed heavily on her side, and before she could even
think of standing Tsunade was kneeling on top of her, a kunai pressed
against her student's throat.
Sakura swallowed once, shivering at the cool touch of the metal
blade. Her eyes briefly met Tsunade's, but then she looked away. A
moment after that, Tsunade put away her weapon and stood. Shaking
slightly, Sakura sat up. She still didn't look at Tsunade.
Still, she knew that the Hokage's eyes were as hard as her harsh
voice. "I won't let you let this break you, Sakura-chan," she said.
"Stand up." Sakura slowly complied. "If you make me strike first
again," Tsunade continued, "I won't hold back." She smiled mirthlessly.
"I'll beat you within an inch of your life, then heal you so I can do it
again if I have to. I'll make you hate me more than anyone you've ever
hated, but before you walk out of this training ground today you will be
able to come at me with the intent to kill." She straightened. "Now,
come."
The first time, it was all Sakura could do to charge her
teacher, and she earned a nasty pair of bruises in return. The second
time, she managed to try a few halting blows, and Tsunade broke three of
her ribs. Green healing chakra encased the Sannin's hands, and less
than a minute later Sakura was on her feet, fighting again. By the time
Sakura lost count of how many times her teacher had been forced to heal
her, she was lost in the flow of battle, futilely trying everything she
could and too busy to even think of her troubles.
It was almost noon when Tsunade, not even scratched, called a
halt. "Better," was all she said as she released the arm she had
twisted behind Sakura's back. "You have the rest of the day free."
Then she left.
It took Sakura several minutes to catch her breath. Thanks to
Tsunade's legendary healing talents, she wasn't seriously injured, but
she felt sore all over. A few passing ninja gave her curious looks as
she left the academy, but she paid them no mind, too tired to care. Her
stomach rumbled, and she was reminded that it was almost lunchtime and
she had eaten no breakfast. Slowly, she made her way to the restaurant
where she'd met with Ino and her team, almost hoping to see them. She
recognized no one there, though, and so she found herself siting by
herself.
This time, at least, she was collected enough to read the menu
and order something she actually liked. Not that she had cared last
time, as she'd been beyond tasting the little she had actually eaten.
Despite her hunger, she ate slowly, since since even those slight
motions made her ache. Tsunade hit harder than anyone she had ever
seen, much less fought.
The pink-haired kunoichi looked up at a familiar voice, and she
saw Neji and the two older ninja she had to guess were his new teammates
entering the restaurant. Neji noticed her also, and after a moment of
whispering to the two ninja with him he walked over to her. "They
needed a Hyuuga to help search your mother's house and I was picked," he
said without wasting time on pleasantries.
"Oh," Sakura answered weakly.
"You deserve to see this," Neji continued, pulling out two
pieces of paper and dropping them in front of Sakura. Without saying
anything else, he turned away and rejoined his apparent teammates.
The piece of paper on top was clearly part of a longer report,
and large sections were blacked out. What remained said, though far
more verbosely, that based on analysis of the contents and the
interrogation of Shimano Ren and a Haruno Shizuru "the letter" was
believed to be mostly accurate. Sakura swallowed nervously, then pushed
that paper aside and read the carefully copied letter underneath.
"Sakura-chan,
If you're reading this, I'm probably dead and I imagine you hate
me. I don't expect that to change, but I want you to know that I love
you and I always have loved you and maybe to understand why I did what I
did." Sakura's eyed watered, and it was some time before she could move
on to the next paragraph.
"I was, or rather am, a chuunin of the Hidden Mist. I was
assigned to make your father, who was on a mission to our village, fall
in love with me and cultivate him into a source of information on the
Leaf. Instead, I fell in love with him. To be with him, I was willing
to betray the Mist and defect to the Leaf.
"Your father was going to arrange things here, then send for me.
Before he did, I discovered that I was pregnant with you. An
unauthorized pregnancy for one of our clan was very dangerous for both
the mother and child, and I knew I could not wait for your father any
longer. I convinced my superiors that the Leaf would accept me if I
arrived there and that I could become a valuable agent.
"When I finally made it to the village, you were born and your
father was dead. Inoichi was my only ally, and for your sake I couldn't
afford to give the council any reason to reject me. I lied to everyone,
even Inoichi, telling them the same cover story I'd originally used on
your father, that I was a washout from the Mist's academy.
"For a year, I thought it had worked. That was when the Mist
sent a ninja to s