Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Between Deception and Truth ❯ Passing Cloud of Rain ( Chapter 8 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: Lord Archive 
Battle comes to Ai and Jiro in the middle of their village.
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Martial Arts / Hentai / Drama | Type: Divergence | Uploaded On: 02.10.2008 | Pages: 5 | Words: 5.5K | Visits: 965 | Status: Completed
Battle comes to Ai and Jiro in the middle of their village.
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Martial Arts / Hentai / Drama | Type: Divergence | Uploaded On: 02.10.2008 | Pages: 5 | Words: 5.5K | Visits: 965 | Status: Completed
Between Deception and Truth
Chapter 8 - Passing Cloud of Rain
By: Lord Archive
Naruto belongs to Kishimoto, all rights reserved. I'm only borrowing them.
---------------------
There was a loud banging at the door. Tsunade scowled as she stood up to answer it, but before she could reach it Hyuuga Hiashi entered the room. His eyes initially focused on Ai, but the gasp and wide-eyed expression from Jiro made him look intently at the boy.
"Hyuuga, I'm not ready to address you about this situation," Tsunade stated firmly.
Hyuuga slammed the door shut behind him. "'Situation?' I was informed early this morning that Jiraiya had returned, yet I received no information about... Hinata."
"As you are keenly aware, that the end of any prolonged mission requires a full debriefing. When that is completed, everything will be explained to you," Tsunade told him in a harsh tone.
"And what will you _explain_ to me? That you turned my oldest daughter into a _boy_?!" Hyuuga pointed at Jiro who was seemingly trying to shrivel up and disappear in his seat.
Tsunade massaged her forehead. "There was a choice given to them of what was more important: their ninja skills or their genders. Naruto decided to choose randomly."
Ai waved her hands. "Hey, don't pin the blame on me that you gave us such a devil's choice."
"Was there not better choices?" Hyuuga demanded.
Tsunade slammed her hand onto the table. "I was only allowed to use a template from a dead child. And while there had been a few of them, the two I choose gave the best potential that they would need to improve and advance themselves."
"The only one who needed to advance was Naruto. Hinata would regain her place after changing back. Any skills she gained would be pointless," Hyuuga argued.
"So you'd give the Kyuubi a protector with no teeth? If Hinata didn't advance, especially as she would lose her bloodline ability, she would've been worthless to Naruto. You knew that, yet you still offered her for the mission. To be the guard _you_ suggested, she needed to become a suitable ninja and that body was the best choice for her. Don't start complaining to me about a decision _you_ had made." Tsunade sat down into her seat. "Now if you want to sit in on the rest of this debriefing, you may do so if you keep your comments to a minimum. Otherwise I will summarize and explain everything to you tomorrow, after we're done with this."
Ai grinned. "Perhaps he should sit in on the next event."
"I'm not sure it is wise to even discuss it," Jiraiya ventured. "The next part deals with a secret that would be dangerous to be known."
"Dangerous or not, that secret may be leading Konoha to it's next war," Tsunade said evenly.
"Then you have given me yet another reason for me to be here." Hyuuga looked about the room before he seemed to reluctantly move around the table to sit next to Jiro and away from Tsunade.
---------------------
---------------------
Ai sat in the living room of her home, scratching away at some wood. She carefully dug a blade into it, but a sudden pounding on the door caused her to jump and more fell away from the wood than she had intended. "Another pointless hobby." She tossed the deformed wood into a pile of other mangled attempts at carving along with poor attempts at painting, knitting and sewing.
The pounding didn't cease as Ai went to the door. She was rather surprised to see Hana panting with tears streaming out of her eyes. "What's wrong?!"
"Bad men... at my home... Mom... Dad... made to do... weird things," she said through gasping breaths.
Ai scowled. "What sort of bad men?"
The poor young girl was hyperventilating. "Not from here... robes with red clouds..."
"WHAT?! Red clouds?!" Ai was more than a little tempted to run for the inn right now. However the Akatsuki was too dangerous to rush into headfirst. Any knowledge could save her life and the village. She bent down to look the girl in the eye. "Hana, this is important. Tell me everything you can about them."
Hana slowly calmed her breathing, but her tears remained. "One was hunched over, the other had no arms. The hunched over one kept complaining about wasting time. The guy with no arms kept saying he needed more, ah, practice. I think that's what he said. He then produced a glowin' arm and picked up a glass to drink from. Then threads came from his new arm and Mom 'n Dad started ta move funny. Like puppets. The hunched one got mad and left. I ran to get you."
Ai gritted her teeth. "Hana, I need you to run to the Higarashi farm and find Jiro. Tell him to make sure everyone is out of the town. And I want you to stay at that farm. I'll make sure this guy doesn't hurt anyone. Now go!"
Hana nodded and started to run. Ai watched her for a brief moment before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.
---------------------
Of all the worst case scenarios, this was, by far, the one Ai wanted the least. An unknown Akatsuki right in the middle of town. For Jiro, the only thing to top it would've been Itachi showing up. The pair rushed from where they practiced and went straight for the inn. They leapt to the top of Taresen's store to assess the situation.
"Interesting chakra I'm sensing." A thin man grinned, his black robe with red clouds fluttered in the wind. The sleeves moved unhindered, showing no signs of arms beneath the silk. "So, the hidden protectors of this town have finally arrived. It's good that my partner left already. He would've been most annoyed at the wait. I made sure to use my time wisely. Wouldn't you say, my little puppets?"
"Yes, Seiki Kon-sama," intoned the innkeeper, his wife and their eight-year-old daughter.
Kon chuckled evilly. "Why don't you greet them?"
Honjin, Saishi, and Keiko suddenly leapt into the air with the speed and power of seasoned ninja. Ai and Jiro had to jump from their hiding places to avoid being hit.
Jiro had already activated his Sharigan and did not like what he saw. "Ai, they aren't trained for those movements. They're tearing their muscles."
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Ai cried out producing a dozen clones of herself. "I hate to do this..." They immediately swarmed the family, tackling them and rendering them unconscious. As painful as her blows would be, the torn muscles would likely be the cause of more agony once this was all over.
"My, you're a brutal one, aren't you? Gaara kept encasing my puppets in sand. Though sadly for you, my defeat at his hands opened me to a new level of power," Kon boasted. "When I fought him I could only control those I touched, and no more than ten. Now this whole village is mine to control. Including you."
Glowing threads shot from the sleeves of Kon's robes. Too many of them to dodge and Jiro was not able to discern how to block such an attack. One by one, Ai's clones disappeared into puffs of smoke.
Jiro found himself pulling out a kunai despite every fiber of his being protesting the action. He shakily raised his foot to walk toward Ai, but he managed to keep himself from moving where he didn't want to go. He would not hurt the person he gave up his entire life for. He would not be a puppet. He would sooner plunge the small metal throwing blade into his own body than into hers.
While Jiro's body jerked and tried to move against his will, slowly his vision began to get clearer. The line of chakra attached to him took a form he understood. It was rather similar to seeing chakra from Byakugan. And the thread held some of the properties of Gentle Fist. Rather than inflict damage on internal organs, the infusing chakra grabbed hold of the outer muscles and made them do Kon's bidding.
Jiro charged his free hand with chakra and severed the thread holding him. "Your trick can't hold me."
Kon, however, wasn't paying much attention to him.
Ai had collapsed to the ground, her grinding teeth echoed loudly. "You think this stupid trick will work on Gaara? It won't fucking work any better on him than it does me!"
"A surviving Uchiha and one of the missing vessels. What secret have I stumbled upon here?" Kon grinned devilishly. "Which one would you be? Seven or eight?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Ai looked up at him, her eyes a deep red. Chakra began to leak from her body, encasing her into cloak of energy. "Want to know? Follow me!"
Kon immediately leapt after Ai, but stopped. He turned and glared at Jiro. "Do not think that leaves me without puppets, Uchiha."
"I'm sure you'll be able to control the animals just fine. You will not sacrifice this village for your own gain," Jiro vowed.
"So you think," Kon laughed. "Let's see you say that after I deal with your bitch. This town will be my personal toy."
"That's assuming it survives Ai," Jiro whispered. He then scowled seeing control lines going for long distances in every direction. The guy was prepared for this. He had set up a full trap. Did the Akatsuki know there was a vessel in this town? How would they have even suspected that there was someone like Ai in this town? "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Jiro called out and set to undo as much of the trap he could with his clones while going to help Ai personally.
---------------------
Rage was all Ai could feel. How dare they hunt her and the others unlucky enough to be chosen to harbor a tailed demon? How dare they invade her home and threaten innocent lives? This freak even tried to make her and Jiro hurt each other. She would not forgive that.
Ai hissed as she spotted Mokkou and his little brother, Shou, standing in a clearing. She leapt in front of them and ordered, "You've got to get out of here. Now!"
"Seiki Kon-sama, your target is here," Mokkou and Shou intoned without emotion.
"Shit," Ai spat and let loose a powerful wave of chakra that blew the brothers a few meters away from her. She wasn't sure it would've worked, using the Kyuubi's chakra to sever whatever controlled them, but she was slightly relieved to see the pair shake their head and look around confused. "Run away! Now!"
"Ai, what's going on?" Mokkou wondered.
"A fight that should never have come here. Run away from me now!" Ai demanded.
"My, what an interesting appearance you've taken," Kon commented. "That shape is similar to the Kyuubi, but that's the nine-tails."
"Run!" Ai pleaded, while glaring angrily at the Akatsuki.
"Do you think you can keep them from my control?" Kon taunted.
Shou screamed as glowing threads of chakra wrapped around his legs.
"Leave them alone, you bastard!" Ai howled in anger. Her chakra leaking out at an increased rate. How dare he hurt a young boy? He didn't deserve to live.
Rock and wood started to explode away from Ai as one tail became three. She let loose a howl then sent a ball of pure chakra at the Akatsuki.
Kon dodged the attack but watched in amusement as the ball continued on for kilometers, destroying everything it touched. "How is it that you are the Kyuubi? Last I heard the vessel had been a boy named Naruto." He paused in thought. "This would be Tsunade's idea, isn't it? Turning you into a girl to hide you from us?"
Ai didn't answer him with anything more than growling and leaping to attack the armless ninja. Kon produced tentacles and used them to move through the trees and dodge the bestial attacks.
Coherent thoughts became harder and harder to hold on to as only rage remained in Ai.
---------------------
Jiro did not like what he saw as he found Ai, landing in the clearing-turned-war-zone with little ability to cover his presence. While they had been training her to control her Kyuubi state, they had yet to go beyond two tails, and now she was already at three. He wasn't sure how much the girl was in control, and how much was the Kyuubi as with each tail she produced her actions turned less human and became far more animalistic. He motioned for the clone he had with him to grab Mokkou and Shou and run.
"Huh? Two of you? What the fuck is going on?!" Mokkou demanded.
"For your own health, it's best you don't know," Jiro's clone intoned as he grabbed the brothers and fled the battle with them.
The real Jiro watched the fight continue. The forest was rapidly losing trees as Ai tried to kill Kon. It would be a fallacy to say the battle was one-sided. The Kyuubi may have an insane amount of power, but the Akatsuki was far more intelligent in this fight. Once Kon devised a plan to defeat Ai, if it was viable, there would be little Ai would be able to do to stop it.
As focused he was in dealing with the Kyuubi, Kon had yet to acknowledge Jiro's presence. He hoped that meant Kon had somehow failed to see him. However, hoping for something didn't make it true, and Jiro was well aware of that fact. Still, he had a plan to deal with the enemy, fading into the woods he waited for an opening. When the Akatsuki momentarily airborne from an explosion caused by the Kyuubi's chakra, Jiro leapt into action.
Chidori flared around Jiro's hand as he shot out of cover and went straight for the Akatsuki, intent on plunging his hand into his foe's chest. The smirk on Kon's face made the teenager frown. A tentacle of chakra whipped out and grabbed Jiro by the ankle. With a mighty pull, he was suddenly hurled toward his fake wife. Jiro immediately dropped the lightning chakra and collided with Ai without hurting her. The same could not be said for him as the Kyuubi's vile chakra burned his flesh.
"You are dead," Ai growled bestially. With impossible speed, she barreled into Kon and carried him off into the distance.
Jiro struggled to stand, fighting the pain and burns. His eyes saw an enormous flare of chakra. He quickly jumped into the pit Ai had made when she went to three tails just before fiery chakra ripped apart the landscape. The explosion last only for seconds, but it felt like an eternity. When Jiro peaked out of the pit, there was no longer a forest. Trees had been blown away and laid strewn on the ground pointing away from the source of their destruction.
Slowly and cautiously, Jiro advanced toward the center of the chakra blast. Kon was shaken, but was unfortunately quite alive. Ai, however, was unrecognizable as being human. Four tails of the dark red fox of destruction waved in the air. Evil and murderous intent exuded from the vile beast. Jiro was sure that touching the Kyuubi now would be far worse than the injuries he had already received.
Whatever the reason for the pause in the battle, it ended abruptly with terrain-altering power as the Kyuubi tried to end the Akatsuki's life with seemingly overkill force. That Kon wasn't even hurt by the extended clawed arm reaching out showed it wasn't necessarily excessive.
Jiro could only watch as this battle continued. Between the failed Chidori, his massive use of clones to sever the Kon's controlling threads from the village, and having the Sharigan active for so long at a higher level, he was almost completely spent on chakra. His injuries didn't help matters.
The Kyuubi barely moved from his spot, launching long distance attacks from where it had been on the formation of the fourth tail. The frustration in the beast's inability to kill its foe became all too apparent when it split into three. The center one still didn't move, while the two new copies dashed about trying to corner and kill Kon.
As immeasurable the power of the Kyuubi was, it was indeed finite. The cost of Kage Bunshin may not be as apparent with normal ninja using it, dividing the power of the Kyuubi in three showed a drastic drop in power. That reduction annoyed the terrible beast even more than Kon's refusal to be hit. The clones were called back and merged with the main Kyuubi.
"I can keep this up all day, but can you maintain such power without killing your host?" Kon taunted.
Four balls of guided chakra shot from the Kyuubi's tales in response. Yet Kon dodged each of the energy attacks, which only ended up destroying more of the landscape.
Jiro smirked. Perhaps his situation in this battle was exactly what was needed. He moved to hide as best he could without the use of chakra and waited.
Kon leapt away from a series of claw strike that came at him in every direction, even avoiding attacks he could not see. When he landed, he looked south. "I have to hurry. URK!" He stumbled forward and turned around. He stared in surprise as Jiro shoved another kunai into him. "How...?"
"I already used up all my chakra. So there was nothing for you to sense." Jiro planted one more kunai into Kon's heart.
As the Akatsuki collapsed to the ground, his lifeblood seeping into the dirt, Jiro looked up at the Kyuubi hoping that the death of Kon would soothe it. The beast seemed to struggle a little, yet it still launched a claw at Jiro. Having no chakra remaining, there was no way for him to dodge. He covered his head and prayed Ai could stop the Kyuubi somehow. He heard an explosive thud, but felt no pain. Looking cautiously, Jiro saw a wall of sand before him.
"What?" Jiro wondered, then looked over and saw four Sand Ninja standing a fair distance away. The obvious leader with his imposing stance had red hair and a tattoo of the word 'love' on his forehead. The other guy of the group had black hair peaking out of bandages covering his face. One of the girls stood closer to the leader than was necessary had light brown hair and dark brown eyes, while the other girl with black hair scowled darkly.
The Kyuubi's struggle with itself seemed to intensify while it growled menacingly towards the Sand Ninja.
The leader ordered, "Matsuri, take the boy and run. Sen cover them. Tetsuo, hang back and make sure I stay awake."
"Gaara-sama, you can't intend to fight that monster alone!" cried out the girl closest to him.
Gaara scowled. "I am no different than Naruto. He woke me up before. It is my turn to return the favor." His gaze returned toward the Kyuubi. "His rage has gotten out of control."
Jiro frowned. "Things have... changed for Naruto. There are many reasons for anger, the Akatsuki being one of the bigger ones. If you know how to stop the Kyuubi, please do so."
"Unfortunately, waking him up will not be simple. None of you are to tell my siblings of what I do here," Gaara commanded.
"Gaara-sama?" Matsuri gasped as sand enshrouded her team leader. The commanding and impassive presence changed to a bestial one-tailed demon.
"Geez. How am I supposed to help him when he jumps straight into the beast? At least he's still human sized," Tetsuo complained. "You all had better leave. If I can't hit Gaara with my Genjutsu and reinforce him against Shukaku, making sure that village survives will be the least of our concern."
Jiro was reluctant to leave, as was Matsuri, but Sen managed to pull them away, fleeing towards the village.
---------------------
Jiro didn't know which was worse, waiting for Gaara to return with Ai or dealing with two girls nervously watching for their leader's return. Sen tried not to be obvious, while Matsuri seemed to hold no reservation about hiding her concern for her leader. Jiro was quite sure these girls held feelings for Gaara that had nothing to do with him being a ninja and their superior. He could relate to them to a certain degree, yet remembering the uncertainty of waiting on Naruto to return from his attempt to bring back Sasuke felt like a different time that was worlds away now.
The disaster kept growing in size and intensity. The nearby forest was being turned into a giant pit. Explosion after explosion of raw power and chakra shook the ground. And if the noise had been bad, the abrupt stop was even more nerve racking. It seemed like an eternity before Gaara, holding a person wrapped in a blanket, and Tetsuo arrived at the village.
Jiro's lack of chakra was the only reason Sen and Matsuri beat him to Gaara.
The Sand-nin leader scowled. "This is not Naruto. What is the meaning of this?"
"A long story," Jiro answered meekly. "One that I wouldn't have been able to tell you before today. However, it is quite clear that our cover has been blown."
---------------------
Before opening her eyes, there was pain. Horrible, needle-like pricks of agony covered her entire body. When she took a tentative look to see where she was, she thought she was dreaming or having some sort of delusion. "Gaara?"
"You know me?" was the reply.
"How can I not? After the fight we had during the fiasco of a chuunin exam, and then... oh, crap." Ai patted her chest, thankful to not feel pain but not pleased at herself for breaking cover. "Can you forget I said that?"
"You really are Naruto, aren't you?" Gaara questioned.
Ai looked away. "Why would you think that?"
"Because you are the vessel of the Kyuubi," Gaara stated simply.
Ai sat up quickly. "That Akatsuki... Oh, man. What happened? I remember him hurting Jiro. I got really pissed and... nothing."
"You kept fighting him as the Kyuubi. The force of your attacks drew us from our border patrol. I knew your foe all too well. A chakra master able to bend and manipulate his own and others to degrees I had not thought possible. With his chakra sensitivity, he was the perfect foil for us vessels. As our attacks are almost nothing but chakra, he would sense and avoid our attacks. Jiro managed to kill him after draining himself of his own chakra," Gaara explained.
"Did I... did I hurt anyone?" Ai wondered nervously.
"Jiro has a few chakra burns, but nothing serious," Gaara answered.
Ai let out a relieved sigh. "Those were from just before I blacked out."
Gaara frowned. "The Kyuubi did try to kill him. Had I been any later, he would've died by your hand."
Ai clutched her blankets tightly. "Damn it! Just when I think I'm gaining some sort of control, it goes wild. Damn that stupid beast!"
"The demons are a curse placed upon us, but they need not rule us. You taught me that," Gaara intoned.
"Yeah, and some days the demons kicks us in the ass," Ai griped. "As much as we try to live our lives, we can't forget we aren't normal. Attacking the village... I could deal with, but Jiro. He just stood there, didn't he?"
Gaara nodded. "He seemed resigned to it."
"Moron would have no regrets." Ai huffed. "You could say he already died once for me, and he'd do it again."
Gaara shifted nervously. "He knows you were born a guy, right?"
Ai laughed. "Yeah, and he was a girl before this mission."
"He wasn't the girl that I..." Gaara trailed off uncertainly.
"Nope. Doubt Sakura-chan would've gone for this. She wouldn't have been turned into a guy from the Uchiha clan, that's for sure. I didn't exactly know her before this, but apparently she had a crush on me," Ai explained.
"This all sounds... complicated." Gaara shook his head.
"More complicated than I like, that's for sure." Ai slipped out of the bed and seized up as she put pressure onto her legs. "Why do I hurt so much?"
"When you became the Kyuubi, the outer layers of your skin burned away. I had thought its coloration was the result of dark chakra, but it was dark red from your blood," Gaara explained.
Ai grimaced. "Yeah, stupid beast sucks shit." Tentatively she walked out of the room in search for food. She found Jiro questioning a bandaged sand-nin about his genjutsu. "Hey, everyone okay?"
Jiro immediately went to her. "Are you okay?"
"More hungry than anything right now," Ai replied.
"I'll get you some food." Jiro sped off toward the kitchen.
Gaara glared towards the door. "Everyone, stay inside. You especially." He pointed at Ai.
Ai scowled. "That bastard's partner is here."
Gaara nodded and left Ai's home. In the street before him stood a hunched figure wearing a black robe with red clouds. "Do you wish to share the same fate as your partner?"
"I got tired of waiting for Kon and I find evidence of a jinchuuriki battle. And now I find you here in the Country of Fire. What brings you here, soon to be Kazekage of the Sand?" the Akatsuki questioned harshly.
"I found evidence of my prey's whereabouts and sought to finish what I had started with his arms," Gaara intoned.
"And where did you learn of Kon's presence here?" the Akatsuki pressed.
"That is none of your business. I do not wish any more harm to this village. Leave now before I change my mind," Gaara demanded.
"Why flee and wait for another time to claim your powers?" the Akatsuki threatened.
"Because it would be highly doubtful you'd live through this battle," a new voice threatened.
"Jiraiya," the Akatsuki hissed. "Things are more complicated here than I thought."
"I'll be taking care of this little trinket." Jiraiya held up a ring.
The Akatsuki growled. "The odds would seem to be against me. As much as I loathe to say it, this will have to wait for another day." With a puff of smoke, the figure disappeared.
"He wasn't even here," Jiraiya muttered.
Ai tentatively stepped out of her house. "I guess it's time to move. Huh?"
"With the Akatsuki showing up after you kicked the crap out of some Rain-nin, I'd certainly say so." Jiraiya folded his arms. "This is the break I was looking for, and you stumbled upon it."
Ai looked confused. "What do you mean?"
"Nothing that concerns you right now. As soon as you're ready, you're getting as far away from Rain Country I can get you," Jiraiya told her seriously.
---------------------
---------------------
"So, you managed to find success within your own failure," Hyuuga commented.
Jiro flinched. "Relying on my own physical abilities was the only way to defeat him."
"If your cover was blown, why didn't you return here?" Sakura wondered.
"We weren't entirely sure how blown it was. All we knew was that it wasn't safe to be in that village anymore. We didn't want to leave, but staying there would've put them at greater risk. We certainly didn't want the Akatsuki to pay us a visit after Jiraiya and Gaara left," Ai griped.
Jiraiya nodded. "The best solution was to move them to a place they would have allies and yet far away from where the Akatsuki are based."
"Where would that be?" Sakura wondered.
"The Land of Waves," Ai grinned.
---------------------
Next Chapter: On Distant Coast
Ai and Jiro move to the other side of the Country of Fire to set up a new life, but this time they have friends around.
For those following Naruto continuity closely, this chapter indirectly explained where the divergence occurred that led to this series. The ring Jiraiya shows Sasori was the one that marked Kon as a member of the Akatsuki, which had previously been owned by Orochimaru. In the Naruto series, Orochimaru still has the ring. For Between Deception and Truth, Sasori was able to retrieve the ring and pass it to Kon whose chakra mastery allowed them to speed up gathering the immense chakra of the jinchuriki much sooner.
---------------------
Sasori joined his fellow Akatsuki in a communicative trance. "Kon has died."
"We already know this," intoned Pain, as he scowled with his many ringed eyes. "His death seems strange though. He should not have fallen to a jinchuuriki."
"It would seem there was not just one, but two. Gaara was there, as was the Kyuubi. Though I do find it odd that the vessel for the Kyuubi was a girl and not Naruto," Sasori explained.
"Tsunade," Itachi stated simply. "She could've given Naruto a different body to try to hide him from me."
"Why would that even matter? Let's just go get the Kyuubi and be done with it," Kisame muttered.
"Without Kon our means of extracting the tailed demons has been severely hurt. It will take some time before we are ready to try again. And without Kon, the Kyuubi will need to be the last one," Pain informed. "Find the missing jinchuuriki and prepare for the time we are ready to complete our plans."
Chapter 8 - Passing Cloud of Rain
By: Lord Archive
Naruto belongs to Kishimoto, all rights reserved. I'm only borrowing them.
---------------------
There was a loud banging at the door. Tsunade scowled as she stood up to answer it, but before she could reach it Hyuuga Hiashi entered the room. His eyes initially focused on Ai, but the gasp and wide-eyed expression from Jiro made him look intently at the boy.
"Hyuuga, I'm not ready to address you about this situation," Tsunade stated firmly.
Hyuuga slammed the door shut behind him. "'Situation?' I was informed early this morning that Jiraiya had returned, yet I received no information about... Hinata."
"As you are keenly aware, that the end of any prolonged mission requires a full debriefing. When that is completed, everything will be explained to you," Tsunade told him in a harsh tone.
"And what will you _explain_ to me? That you turned my oldest daughter into a _boy_?!" Hyuuga pointed at Jiro who was seemingly trying to shrivel up and disappear in his seat.
Tsunade massaged her forehead. "There was a choice given to them of what was more important: their ninja skills or their genders. Naruto decided to choose randomly."
Ai waved her hands. "Hey, don't pin the blame on me that you gave us such a devil's choice."
"Was there not better choices?" Hyuuga demanded.
Tsunade slammed her hand onto the table. "I was only allowed to use a template from a dead child. And while there had been a few of them, the two I choose gave the best potential that they would need to improve and advance themselves."
"The only one who needed to advance was Naruto. Hinata would regain her place after changing back. Any skills she gained would be pointless," Hyuuga argued.
"So you'd give the Kyuubi a protector with no teeth? If Hinata didn't advance, especially as she would lose her bloodline ability, she would've been worthless to Naruto. You knew that, yet you still offered her for the mission. To be the guard _you_ suggested, she needed to become a suitable ninja and that body was the best choice for her. Don't start complaining to me about a decision _you_ had made." Tsunade sat down into her seat. "Now if you want to sit in on the rest of this debriefing, you may do so if you keep your comments to a minimum. Otherwise I will summarize and explain everything to you tomorrow, after we're done with this."
Ai grinned. "Perhaps he should sit in on the next event."
"I'm not sure it is wise to even discuss it," Jiraiya ventured. "The next part deals with a secret that would be dangerous to be known."
"Dangerous or not, that secret may be leading Konoha to it's next war," Tsunade said evenly.
"Then you have given me yet another reason for me to be here." Hyuuga looked about the room before he seemed to reluctantly move around the table to sit next to Jiro and away from Tsunade.
---------------------
---------------------
Ai sat in the living room of her home, scratching away at some wood. She carefully dug a blade into it, but a sudden pounding on the door caused her to jump and more fell away from the wood than she had intended. "Another pointless hobby." She tossed the deformed wood into a pile of other mangled attempts at carving along with poor attempts at painting, knitting and sewing.
The pounding didn't cease as Ai went to the door. She was rather surprised to see Hana panting with tears streaming out of her eyes. "What's wrong?!"
"Bad men... at my home... Mom... Dad... made to do... weird things," she said through gasping breaths.
Ai scowled. "What sort of bad men?"
The poor young girl was hyperventilating. "Not from here... robes with red clouds..."
"WHAT?! Red clouds?!" Ai was more than a little tempted to run for the inn right now. However the Akatsuki was too dangerous to rush into headfirst. Any knowledge could save her life and the village. She bent down to look the girl in the eye. "Hana, this is important. Tell me everything you can about them."
Hana slowly calmed her breathing, but her tears remained. "One was hunched over, the other had no arms. The hunched over one kept complaining about wasting time. The guy with no arms kept saying he needed more, ah, practice. I think that's what he said. He then produced a glowin' arm and picked up a glass to drink from. Then threads came from his new arm and Mom 'n Dad started ta move funny. Like puppets. The hunched one got mad and left. I ran to get you."
Ai gritted her teeth. "Hana, I need you to run to the Higarashi farm and find Jiro. Tell him to make sure everyone is out of the town. And I want you to stay at that farm. I'll make sure this guy doesn't hurt anyone. Now go!"
Hana nodded and started to run. Ai watched her for a brief moment before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.
---------------------
Of all the worst case scenarios, this was, by far, the one Ai wanted the least. An unknown Akatsuki right in the middle of town. For Jiro, the only thing to top it would've been Itachi showing up. The pair rushed from where they practiced and went straight for the inn. They leapt to the top of Taresen's store to assess the situation.
"Interesting chakra I'm sensing." A thin man grinned, his black robe with red clouds fluttered in the wind. The sleeves moved unhindered, showing no signs of arms beneath the silk. "So, the hidden protectors of this town have finally arrived. It's good that my partner left already. He would've been most annoyed at the wait. I made sure to use my time wisely. Wouldn't you say, my little puppets?"
"Yes, Seiki Kon-sama," intoned the innkeeper, his wife and their eight-year-old daughter.
Kon chuckled evilly. "Why don't you greet them?"
Honjin, Saishi, and Keiko suddenly leapt into the air with the speed and power of seasoned ninja. Ai and Jiro had to jump from their hiding places to avoid being hit.
Jiro had already activated his Sharigan and did not like what he saw. "Ai, they aren't trained for those movements. They're tearing their muscles."
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Ai cried out producing a dozen clones of herself. "I hate to do this..." They immediately swarmed the family, tackling them and rendering them unconscious. As painful as her blows would be, the torn muscles would likely be the cause of more agony once this was all over.
"My, you're a brutal one, aren't you? Gaara kept encasing my puppets in sand. Though sadly for you, my defeat at his hands opened me to a new level of power," Kon boasted. "When I fought him I could only control those I touched, and no more than ten. Now this whole village is mine to control. Including you."
Glowing threads shot from the sleeves of Kon's robes. Too many of them to dodge and Jiro was not able to discern how to block such an attack. One by one, Ai's clones disappeared into puffs of smoke.
Jiro found himself pulling out a kunai despite every fiber of his being protesting the action. He shakily raised his foot to walk toward Ai, but he managed to keep himself from moving where he didn't want to go. He would not hurt the person he gave up his entire life for. He would not be a puppet. He would sooner plunge the small metal throwing blade into his own body than into hers.
While Jiro's body jerked and tried to move against his will, slowly his vision began to get clearer. The line of chakra attached to him took a form he understood. It was rather similar to seeing chakra from Byakugan. And the thread held some of the properties of Gentle Fist. Rather than inflict damage on internal organs, the infusing chakra grabbed hold of the outer muscles and made them do Kon's bidding.
Jiro charged his free hand with chakra and severed the thread holding him. "Your trick can't hold me."
Kon, however, wasn't paying much attention to him.
Ai had collapsed to the ground, her grinding teeth echoed loudly. "You think this stupid trick will work on Gaara? It won't fucking work any better on him than it does me!"
"A surviving Uchiha and one of the missing vessels. What secret have I stumbled upon here?" Kon grinned devilishly. "Which one would you be? Seven or eight?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Ai looked up at him, her eyes a deep red. Chakra began to leak from her body, encasing her into cloak of energy. "Want to know? Follow me!"
Kon immediately leapt after Ai, but stopped. He turned and glared at Jiro. "Do not think that leaves me without puppets, Uchiha."
"I'm sure you'll be able to control the animals just fine. You will not sacrifice this village for your own gain," Jiro vowed.
"So you think," Kon laughed. "Let's see you say that after I deal with your bitch. This town will be my personal toy."
"That's assuming it survives Ai," Jiro whispered. He then scowled seeing control lines going for long distances in every direction. The guy was prepared for this. He had set up a full trap. Did the Akatsuki know there was a vessel in this town? How would they have even suspected that there was someone like Ai in this town? "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Jiro called out and set to undo as much of the trap he could with his clones while going to help Ai personally.
---------------------
Rage was all Ai could feel. How dare they hunt her and the others unlucky enough to be chosen to harbor a tailed demon? How dare they invade her home and threaten innocent lives? This freak even tried to make her and Jiro hurt each other. She would not forgive that.
Ai hissed as she spotted Mokkou and his little brother, Shou, standing in a clearing. She leapt in front of them and ordered, "You've got to get out of here. Now!"
"Seiki Kon-sama, your target is here," Mokkou and Shou intoned without emotion.
"Shit," Ai spat and let loose a powerful wave of chakra that blew the brothers a few meters away from her. She wasn't sure it would've worked, using the Kyuubi's chakra to sever whatever controlled them, but she was slightly relieved to see the pair shake their head and look around confused. "Run away! Now!"
"Ai, what's going on?" Mokkou wondered.
"A fight that should never have come here. Run away from me now!" Ai demanded.
"My, what an interesting appearance you've taken," Kon commented. "That shape is similar to the Kyuubi, but that's the nine-tails."
"Run!" Ai pleaded, while glaring angrily at the Akatsuki.
"Do you think you can keep them from my control?" Kon taunted.
Shou screamed as glowing threads of chakra wrapped around his legs.
"Leave them alone, you bastard!" Ai howled in anger. Her chakra leaking out at an increased rate. How dare he hurt a young boy? He didn't deserve to live.
Rock and wood started to explode away from Ai as one tail became three. She let loose a howl then sent a ball of pure chakra at the Akatsuki.
Kon dodged the attack but watched in amusement as the ball continued on for kilometers, destroying everything it touched. "How is it that you are the Kyuubi? Last I heard the vessel had been a boy named Naruto." He paused in thought. "This would be Tsunade's idea, isn't it? Turning you into a girl to hide you from us?"
Ai didn't answer him with anything more than growling and leaping to attack the armless ninja. Kon produced tentacles and used them to move through the trees and dodge the bestial attacks.
Coherent thoughts became harder and harder to hold on to as only rage remained in Ai.
---------------------
Jiro did not like what he saw as he found Ai, landing in the clearing-turned-war-zone with little ability to cover his presence. While they had been training her to control her Kyuubi state, they had yet to go beyond two tails, and now she was already at three. He wasn't sure how much the girl was in control, and how much was the Kyuubi as with each tail she produced her actions turned less human and became far more animalistic. He motioned for the clone he had with him to grab Mokkou and Shou and run.
"Huh? Two of you? What the fuck is going on?!" Mokkou demanded.
"For your own health, it's best you don't know," Jiro's clone intoned as he grabbed the brothers and fled the battle with them.
The real Jiro watched the fight continue. The forest was rapidly losing trees as Ai tried to kill Kon. It would be a fallacy to say the battle was one-sided. The Kyuubi may have an insane amount of power, but the Akatsuki was far more intelligent in this fight. Once Kon devised a plan to defeat Ai, if it was viable, there would be little Ai would be able to do to stop it.
As focused he was in dealing with the Kyuubi, Kon had yet to acknowledge Jiro's presence. He hoped that meant Kon had somehow failed to see him. However, hoping for something didn't make it true, and Jiro was well aware of that fact. Still, he had a plan to deal with the enemy, fading into the woods he waited for an opening. When the Akatsuki momentarily airborne from an explosion caused by the Kyuubi's chakra, Jiro leapt into action.
Chidori flared around Jiro's hand as he shot out of cover and went straight for the Akatsuki, intent on plunging his hand into his foe's chest. The smirk on Kon's face made the teenager frown. A tentacle of chakra whipped out and grabbed Jiro by the ankle. With a mighty pull, he was suddenly hurled toward his fake wife. Jiro immediately dropped the lightning chakra and collided with Ai without hurting her. The same could not be said for him as the Kyuubi's vile chakra burned his flesh.
"You are dead," Ai growled bestially. With impossible speed, she barreled into Kon and carried him off into the distance.
Jiro struggled to stand, fighting the pain and burns. His eyes saw an enormous flare of chakra. He quickly jumped into the pit Ai had made when she went to three tails just before fiery chakra ripped apart the landscape. The explosion last only for seconds, but it felt like an eternity. When Jiro peaked out of the pit, there was no longer a forest. Trees had been blown away and laid strewn on the ground pointing away from the source of their destruction.
Slowly and cautiously, Jiro advanced toward the center of the chakra blast. Kon was shaken, but was unfortunately quite alive. Ai, however, was unrecognizable as being human. Four tails of the dark red fox of destruction waved in the air. Evil and murderous intent exuded from the vile beast. Jiro was sure that touching the Kyuubi now would be far worse than the injuries he had already received.
Whatever the reason for the pause in the battle, it ended abruptly with terrain-altering power as the Kyuubi tried to end the Akatsuki's life with seemingly overkill force. That Kon wasn't even hurt by the extended clawed arm reaching out showed it wasn't necessarily excessive.
Jiro could only watch as this battle continued. Between the failed Chidori, his massive use of clones to sever the Kon's controlling threads from the village, and having the Sharigan active for so long at a higher level, he was almost completely spent on chakra. His injuries didn't help matters.
The Kyuubi barely moved from his spot, launching long distance attacks from where it had been on the formation of the fourth tail. The frustration in the beast's inability to kill its foe became all too apparent when it split into three. The center one still didn't move, while the two new copies dashed about trying to corner and kill Kon.
As immeasurable the power of the Kyuubi was, it was indeed finite. The cost of Kage Bunshin may not be as apparent with normal ninja using it, dividing the power of the Kyuubi in three showed a drastic drop in power. That reduction annoyed the terrible beast even more than Kon's refusal to be hit. The clones were called back and merged with the main Kyuubi.
"I can keep this up all day, but can you maintain such power without killing your host?" Kon taunted.
Four balls of guided chakra shot from the Kyuubi's tales in response. Yet Kon dodged each of the energy attacks, which only ended up destroying more of the landscape.
Jiro smirked. Perhaps his situation in this battle was exactly what was needed. He moved to hide as best he could without the use of chakra and waited.
Kon leapt away from a series of claw strike that came at him in every direction, even avoiding attacks he could not see. When he landed, he looked south. "I have to hurry. URK!" He stumbled forward and turned around. He stared in surprise as Jiro shoved another kunai into him. "How...?"
"I already used up all my chakra. So there was nothing for you to sense." Jiro planted one more kunai into Kon's heart.
As the Akatsuki collapsed to the ground, his lifeblood seeping into the dirt, Jiro looked up at the Kyuubi hoping that the death of Kon would soothe it. The beast seemed to struggle a little, yet it still launched a claw at Jiro. Having no chakra remaining, there was no way for him to dodge. He covered his head and prayed Ai could stop the Kyuubi somehow. He heard an explosive thud, but felt no pain. Looking cautiously, Jiro saw a wall of sand before him.
"What?" Jiro wondered, then looked over and saw four Sand Ninja standing a fair distance away. The obvious leader with his imposing stance had red hair and a tattoo of the word 'love' on his forehead. The other guy of the group had black hair peaking out of bandages covering his face. One of the girls stood closer to the leader than was necessary had light brown hair and dark brown eyes, while the other girl with black hair scowled darkly.
The Kyuubi's struggle with itself seemed to intensify while it growled menacingly towards the Sand Ninja.
The leader ordered, "Matsuri, take the boy and run. Sen cover them. Tetsuo, hang back and make sure I stay awake."
"Gaara-sama, you can't intend to fight that monster alone!" cried out the girl closest to him.
Gaara scowled. "I am no different than Naruto. He woke me up before. It is my turn to return the favor." His gaze returned toward the Kyuubi. "His rage has gotten out of control."
Jiro frowned. "Things have... changed for Naruto. There are many reasons for anger, the Akatsuki being one of the bigger ones. If you know how to stop the Kyuubi, please do so."
"Unfortunately, waking him up will not be simple. None of you are to tell my siblings of what I do here," Gaara commanded.
"Gaara-sama?" Matsuri gasped as sand enshrouded her team leader. The commanding and impassive presence changed to a bestial one-tailed demon.
"Geez. How am I supposed to help him when he jumps straight into the beast? At least he's still human sized," Tetsuo complained. "You all had better leave. If I can't hit Gaara with my Genjutsu and reinforce him against Shukaku, making sure that village survives will be the least of our concern."
Jiro was reluctant to leave, as was Matsuri, but Sen managed to pull them away, fleeing towards the village.
---------------------
Jiro didn't know which was worse, waiting for Gaara to return with Ai or dealing with two girls nervously watching for their leader's return. Sen tried not to be obvious, while Matsuri seemed to hold no reservation about hiding her concern for her leader. Jiro was quite sure these girls held feelings for Gaara that had nothing to do with him being a ninja and their superior. He could relate to them to a certain degree, yet remembering the uncertainty of waiting on Naruto to return from his attempt to bring back Sasuke felt like a different time that was worlds away now.
The disaster kept growing in size and intensity. The nearby forest was being turned into a giant pit. Explosion after explosion of raw power and chakra shook the ground. And if the noise had been bad, the abrupt stop was even more nerve racking. It seemed like an eternity before Gaara, holding a person wrapped in a blanket, and Tetsuo arrived at the village.
Jiro's lack of chakra was the only reason Sen and Matsuri beat him to Gaara.
The Sand-nin leader scowled. "This is not Naruto. What is the meaning of this?"
"A long story," Jiro answered meekly. "One that I wouldn't have been able to tell you before today. However, it is quite clear that our cover has been blown."
---------------------
Before opening her eyes, there was pain. Horrible, needle-like pricks of agony covered her entire body. When she took a tentative look to see where she was, she thought she was dreaming or having some sort of delusion. "Gaara?"
"You know me?" was the reply.
"How can I not? After the fight we had during the fiasco of a chuunin exam, and then... oh, crap." Ai patted her chest, thankful to not feel pain but not pleased at herself for breaking cover. "Can you forget I said that?"
"You really are Naruto, aren't you?" Gaara questioned.
Ai looked away. "Why would you think that?"
"Because you are the vessel of the Kyuubi," Gaara stated simply.
Ai sat up quickly. "That Akatsuki... Oh, man. What happened? I remember him hurting Jiro. I got really pissed and... nothing."
"You kept fighting him as the Kyuubi. The force of your attacks drew us from our border patrol. I knew your foe all too well. A chakra master able to bend and manipulate his own and others to degrees I had not thought possible. With his chakra sensitivity, he was the perfect foil for us vessels. As our attacks are almost nothing but chakra, he would sense and avoid our attacks. Jiro managed to kill him after draining himself of his own chakra," Gaara explained.
"Did I... did I hurt anyone?" Ai wondered nervously.
"Jiro has a few chakra burns, but nothing serious," Gaara answered.
Ai let out a relieved sigh. "Those were from just before I blacked out."
Gaara frowned. "The Kyuubi did try to kill him. Had I been any later, he would've died by your hand."
Ai clutched her blankets tightly. "Damn it! Just when I think I'm gaining some sort of control, it goes wild. Damn that stupid beast!"
"The demons are a curse placed upon us, but they need not rule us. You taught me that," Gaara intoned.
"Yeah, and some days the demons kicks us in the ass," Ai griped. "As much as we try to live our lives, we can't forget we aren't normal. Attacking the village... I could deal with, but Jiro. He just stood there, didn't he?"
Gaara nodded. "He seemed resigned to it."
"Moron would have no regrets." Ai huffed. "You could say he already died once for me, and he'd do it again."
Gaara shifted nervously. "He knows you were born a guy, right?"
Ai laughed. "Yeah, and he was a girl before this mission."
"He wasn't the girl that I..." Gaara trailed off uncertainly.
"Nope. Doubt Sakura-chan would've gone for this. She wouldn't have been turned into a guy from the Uchiha clan, that's for sure. I didn't exactly know her before this, but apparently she had a crush on me," Ai explained.
"This all sounds... complicated." Gaara shook his head.
"More complicated than I like, that's for sure." Ai slipped out of the bed and seized up as she put pressure onto her legs. "Why do I hurt so much?"
"When you became the Kyuubi, the outer layers of your skin burned away. I had thought its coloration was the result of dark chakra, but it was dark red from your blood," Gaara explained.
Ai grimaced. "Yeah, stupid beast sucks shit." Tentatively she walked out of the room in search for food. She found Jiro questioning a bandaged sand-nin about his genjutsu. "Hey, everyone okay?"
Jiro immediately went to her. "Are you okay?"
"More hungry than anything right now," Ai replied.
"I'll get you some food." Jiro sped off toward the kitchen.
Gaara glared towards the door. "Everyone, stay inside. You especially." He pointed at Ai.
Ai scowled. "That bastard's partner is here."
Gaara nodded and left Ai's home. In the street before him stood a hunched figure wearing a black robe with red clouds. "Do you wish to share the same fate as your partner?"
"I got tired of waiting for Kon and I find evidence of a jinchuuriki battle. And now I find you here in the Country of Fire. What brings you here, soon to be Kazekage of the Sand?" the Akatsuki questioned harshly.
"I found evidence of my prey's whereabouts and sought to finish what I had started with his arms," Gaara intoned.
"And where did you learn of Kon's presence here?" the Akatsuki pressed.
"That is none of your business. I do not wish any more harm to this village. Leave now before I change my mind," Gaara demanded.
"Why flee and wait for another time to claim your powers?" the Akatsuki threatened.
"Because it would be highly doubtful you'd live through this battle," a new voice threatened.
"Jiraiya," the Akatsuki hissed. "Things are more complicated here than I thought."
"I'll be taking care of this little trinket." Jiraiya held up a ring.
The Akatsuki growled. "The odds would seem to be against me. As much as I loathe to say it, this will have to wait for another day." With a puff of smoke, the figure disappeared.
"He wasn't even here," Jiraiya muttered.
Ai tentatively stepped out of her house. "I guess it's time to move. Huh?"
"With the Akatsuki showing up after you kicked the crap out of some Rain-nin, I'd certainly say so." Jiraiya folded his arms. "This is the break I was looking for, and you stumbled upon it."
Ai looked confused. "What do you mean?"
"Nothing that concerns you right now. As soon as you're ready, you're getting as far away from Rain Country I can get you," Jiraiya told her seriously.
---------------------
---------------------
"So, you managed to find success within your own failure," Hyuuga commented.
Jiro flinched. "Relying on my own physical abilities was the only way to defeat him."
"If your cover was blown, why didn't you return here?" Sakura wondered.
"We weren't entirely sure how blown it was. All we knew was that it wasn't safe to be in that village anymore. We didn't want to leave, but staying there would've put them at greater risk. We certainly didn't want the Akatsuki to pay us a visit after Jiraiya and Gaara left," Ai griped.
Jiraiya nodded. "The best solution was to move them to a place they would have allies and yet far away from where the Akatsuki are based."
"Where would that be?" Sakura wondered.
"The Land of Waves," Ai grinned.
---------------------
Next Chapter: On Distant Coast
Ai and Jiro move to the other side of the Country of Fire to set up a new life, but this time they have friends around.
For those following Naruto continuity closely, this chapter indirectly explained where the divergence occurred that led to this series. The ring Jiraiya shows Sasori was the one that marked Kon as a member of the Akatsuki, which had previously been owned by Orochimaru. In the Naruto series, Orochimaru still has the ring. For Between Deception and Truth, Sasori was able to retrieve the ring and pass it to Kon whose chakra mastery allowed them to speed up gathering the immense chakra of the jinchuriki much sooner.
---------------------
Sasori joined his fellow Akatsuki in a communicative trance. "Kon has died."
"We already know this," intoned Pain, as he scowled with his many ringed eyes. "His death seems strange though. He should not have fallen to a jinchuuriki."
"It would seem there was not just one, but two. Gaara was there, as was the Kyuubi. Though I do find it odd that the vessel for the Kyuubi was a girl and not Naruto," Sasori explained.
"Tsunade," Itachi stated simply. "She could've given Naruto a different body to try to hide him from me."
"Why would that even matter? Let's just go get the Kyuubi and be done with it," Kisame muttered.
"Without Kon our means of extracting the tailed demons has been severely hurt. It will take some time before we are ready to try again. And without Kon, the Kyuubi will need to be the last one," Pain informed. "Find the missing jinchuuriki and prepare for the time we are ready to complete our plans."