Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Mended Hearts ❯ Turmoil Part 1 ( Chapter 9 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I wish I did, but I don't.
Summary: AU Naruto hides many secrets from Konohagakure no Sato. As time continues, Naruto's precious people learn the hard way that many secrets are best left untouched, and that Naruto is not at all what they believed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Chapter 9: Turmoil Part I~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“We sent squads 5 and 6 with Karasu to scout the border between Fire country and Sound. They reported in once a week as expected, but three months ago, they stopped reporting in. Two months ago, we sent Inoshishi with squads 10 and 12 to investigate, but they vanished as well. We have not heard from them since,” Tsunade studied the six Hunters. “For this mission, the leader will be Zeiguwa. Hunters, bring our shinobe home!”
“Yokaishimasu!” the Hunters barked, and then they were gone.
“What are your orders, Taichou?” Ookami asked as the six Hunters leapt over the rooftops.
Zeiguwa's eyes narrowed behind his mask as he pushed off the walls of two houses to get onto the roof of a taller building. “Collect whatever you think will be necessary. Include a change of civilian clothes,” he said curtly. “We'll meet at the Eastern Gates at dusk.”
“Hai!” the six Hunters parted as they passed into the Hunter's District.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The six Hunters gathered at the East Gates or Konoha just as the sun began to slip behind the horizon. Not a word was spoken, and the six Hunters turned their faces toward the gates, facing the world outside of their village. They stood there together, and in unspoken agreement, they shot out the gates in unison, disappearing into the greenery surrounding the village. The only sign of their passing was a stray leaf that drifted from the branches to the ground.
The sun had vanished behind the horizon as the six Hunters leapt through the trees, their eyes sharp behind their painted porcelain masks. The Sound was not so far away from Konoha, and none of the six Hunters intended to sleep until they reached the borders.
The Hunters arrived at the outskirts of Otogakure by the end of the third day. The six Hunters stood in the shadows, hidden by the poorly maintained outer walls.
“Che,” Hagetake snorted, “How can they have the gall to call this run down dump a Hidden Village?”
“Judging by appearance,” Tora murmured, “I would say that the economy here is rather poor. He probably concentrates most of the Sound's money on plans for revenge against Konoha instead of trying to raise the lifestyle of these people.”
“Feh,” Mizuhebi smirked. “Poor economy or not, the Oto-nin are nothing to laugh at, especially on the battlefields. This will be fun.”
Kurohyou and Ookami rolled their eyes behind their masks and smacked the back of Mizuhebi's head.
“Ow!” he whined. “What was that for?”
“Silence,” Zeiguwa said, his voice quiet. The cold indifference in the younger Hunter's voice sent chills up the other five Hunters' spines.
“Mizuhebi, search the south. Tora, search the East. Hagetake, search the north. Ookami, search the West. Kurohyou and I will search the Otokage tower.”
Zeiguwa extracted a senbon and tossed it into the floor. The senbon sank deep into packed dirt floor, until only an inch showed aboveground.
“We meet back here at dawn.”
“Hai!” The Hunters split up.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“Kurohyou-san?”
“Hmm?”
“Have you ever regretted molding me into what I am now?” Zeiguwa's voice held a trace of uncertainty.
Kurohyou blinked at Zeiguwa's back. “What brought this on?” he asked.
“Nothing… I guess… I'm just curious, I suppose.”
Kurohyou smiled slightly. “I do not.”
“Why?”
“Because if we hadn't, you would most likely not be as strong or as resilient as you are now. Because if we had not taught you what you know, your spirit and body would have broken when you learned of the darker aspects of a shinobe's life after being coddled. Because you are the Hunters' light in the darkness.”
“I see… Anyway, let's finish the mission,” the blonde Hunter said, his voice level. “You search the upper levels; I'll search the lower levels.”
Kurohyou nodded and the two separated.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The six Hunters met up at the designated place just as the sun began to rise, coloring the sky various hues of pink and purple.
“I found Inoshishi and the remains of squads10 and 12,” Tora said. “Their remains indicate that they were tortured, and that they were killed recently. The two female ANBU from squads 10 and 12 were missing, however.”
Ookami shook his head. “I didn't find anything.”
Hagetake nodded. “I found nothing as well.”
Mizuhebi looked sick. “The female ANBU were being held in a hostel about ten kilometers from the center of the village. Both are dead. Their corpses showed signs of both extreme torture and rape. By the look of things, they had been dead for a little over three hours.”
“You followed protocol and destroyed the bodies?” Kurohyou asked.
“Hai,” Tora and Mizuhebi responded and Zeiguwa nodded.
“Squads 5 and 6 are in the dungeons underneath the Otokage tower. The Panther and the Crow in squad 5 are dead. The Wolf, Cat, and Karasu were not with them,” Zeiguwa said, his voice unusually cold.
“The Wolf and the Cat are in a holding cell just below the Otokage's office,” Kurohyou said, “Karasu's corpse was just being removed when I located them. The Oto-nin removing the corpse has been eliminated and protocol has been regarded.”
Zeiguwa's lowered his head to stare at the ground and his shoulders stiffened. Ookmai placed a hand on the younger Hunter's shoulder, knowing that the death of his childhood friend was a harsh blow. Zeiguwa reached up and squeezed the older Hunter's hand before dropping it and looking up.
“We will rest for now. In one hour, we move out. Ookami, Mizuhebi and I will enter the lower levels and remove the ANBU. Hagetake, Tora, Kurohyou, free the Bear, Cat and Wolf. We'll meet at the border in three days.”
“But if any of the prisoners are injured, they may not be able to keep up at that pace!” Tora protested.
“They are shinobe,” Hagetake said firmly. “Injured or not, if they cannot keep up with the pace that Zeiguwa has set, then they should either retire as ninja, or increase the time they spend training.”
“I've said this before, and I'll say it again. How can you call yourself a Hunter with that type of attitude?” Mizuhebi asked, “Coddling shinobe is foolish, and being soft during a mission will get you killed. Our mission is to retrieve the Konoha-nin and bring them back to the village; nothing was ever said about worrying about their physical condition. Three days should be more than enough time to get them out of the Sound.”
“Enough,” Zeiguwa snapped angrily. The harsh tone in the normally reserved and gentle boy's voice made the Hunters flinch. “Control yourselves. Rest, we have a difficult day ahead of us.”
I only hope that we do not meet either Orochimaru or Kabuto. Zeiguwa thought worriedly. Elite we six may be, but immortal we are not. One of us may be able to hold off Kabuto, two or three to incapacitate or kill him, but all six of us at once are barely a match for Orochimaru.
One hour later, the Hunters set off for the Otokage tower. Once in the lobby the six Oinin split into their assigned teams and vanished, three into lower levels, three into the upper levels. They never noticed the two pairs of eyes watching them from the shadows.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Kabuto smiled softly as he leaned against the wall near the door. The seven unmasked ANBU of squads 5 and 6 watched him warily while the Oto-nin polished his glasses with a bit of cloth. The door swung open, and Kabuto smirked, putting out a hand to stop the door before it hit him. He watched through the crack between the door and the wall as the three Hunter-nin entered.
A foolish move in his opinion.
Once the Oinin were fully inside the cell, the Oto-nin pushed the door lightly, and it slammed shut with a bang. Two of the three Oinin spun around to stare at him.
Ookami and Mizuhebi mentally cursed. Zeiguwa simply turned his head fractionally to the right.
“For Oinin, I'm surprised that only one of you noticed my presence,” Kabuto said conversationally, pushing his glasses a little higher on his nose. “But even then, you allow yourselves to walk into a trap?”
Zeiguwa faced forward once more and said calmly, “Ookami, Mizuhebi, free the prisoners.”
“I'm afraid not, Zeiguwa-kun,” Kabuto said. “None of you will be leaving this cell alive.”
“I'm afraid that you will not be the one leaving this cell alive. You have caused me many problems, Yakushi Kabuto, and I become irritated by the lack of progress due to your interference,” Zeiguwa said calmly. “Ookami, Mizuhebi.”
The two Hunters ran toward the chained up prisoners and Kabuto made to intercept them, only for Zeiguwa to appear before him.
“Don't worry about my companions,” the Hunter said coolly, “just worry about yourself.”
The Hunter lashed out with an armored fist. Kabuto ducked and Zeiguwa kneed him in the stomach. The Hunter lashed out with his leg, sending the Oto-nin flying. Kabuto quickly regained his bearings and flipped in the air, channeling his chakra into his legs and pushing off the wall, launching himself at Zeiguwa, kunai in hand. Zeiguwa sidestepped the attack, and in one smooth motion, drew out a handful of shuriken and launched them at his opponent's unprotected back. Kabuto's hand hit the floor and he vaulted into the air, dodging the shuriken and he threw the kunai, which flew past Zeiguwa's head as he leapt into the air. The two nin exchanged a flurry of punches and kicks in mid air, throwing themselves apart as they landed.
Neji watched entranced as the Oto-nin and the second youngest and longest lived of the Hunters fought, unaware of even Mizuhebi's light touch on his wrists, releasing him from the chains that bound his arms over his head. He was only faintly aware of his freedom as his arms, aching and throbbing from being forcibly held in one position for so long, were lowered to his sides.
Ookami and Mizuhebi quickly ushered the four ANBU to the door and Kabuto spun around and moved to stop them, only for Zeiguwa to grab his arm, tug him toward him, and throw him toward the wall opposite the door. Kabuto flipped and pushed off the wall, only to be kicked in the face, sending him back into the wall. The silver haired Oto-nin growled as he pushed himself back to his feet, wiping away the blood the trickled down his chin. He looked up and his eyes widened at the sight of the empty cell in front of him.
“Wha--” something thin and cold slammed into his back. He looked down to see the blade of a katana protruding from his chest, and he watched, feeling strangely detached as it was pulled out, and he fell forward, his eyes wide and unseeing.
Zeiguwa melted out of the shadows, katana in hand. He frowned as the mud clone began to dissolve. He knew better than to think that Kabuto was that easy to defeat, but that didn't mean he could wish for a swift victory for once.
“You do realize that those ANBU are of no consequence to the Sound, right?” Kabuto said, appearing in the shadows behind him. The Hunter did not respond except to cock his head slightly to the right. The Oto-nin sighed and pushed his glasses higher up on his nose. “Of course you knew. You are the Tensai Shinobe, the youngest Oinin in the history of Shinobe as well as the second longest lived, Konohagakure's very own Zeiguwa, the Jaguar in the Shadows. You have never failed a mission, and none of your targets have ever escaped alive.”
“You are wrong,” Zeiguwa said calmly, “I am no Tensai, and even more ludicrous is the thought that I have never failed a mission. Firstly, I failed to prevent Orochimaru from placing the curse seal on Uchiha Sasuke. Secondly, I failed to prevent Uchiha Sasuke's defection to the Sound. My mission had been to guard the Sharingan and to keep it within Konoha, and I failed miserably.”
“Ahh, so you are human after all,” Kabuto said.
“A shinobe may be a tool, but not even a shinobe is infallible” Zeiguwa replied calmly as he sheathed his Katana and fell into a fighting stance.
Kabuto smiled as he fell into a fighting stance also. “This is going to be quite enjoyable.”
“Don't get arrogant!” Zeiguwa launched himself at Kabuto…
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Kurohyou cursed angrily as he was tossed into the wall, again. They had not been expecting Orochimaru to be here due to the early morning hours, which had been incredibly stupid of them, considering that they had been trying to get the Wolf and Cat out of the Tower in broad daylight. Not for the first time, he wondered what Zeiguwa had been thinking when he had formulated the plan for retrieving their village's shinobe.
“This is Konoha's best?” Orochimaru sneered, “I'm disappointed.”
“The Hokage and the Council are satisfied with our work, and Konoha's secrets are kept secret by our skills,” Tora gasped, struggling to her feet. “In the end, so long as our skills are adequate to keep the village safe, then that is all that matters.”
“Our mission is our first priority,” Hagetake hauled himself to his feet, “Hokage-sama desires that the Konoha-nin be brought home. We will complete this mission, or die trying.”
“For the sake of Konoha,” Kurohyou said, pulling out several kunai and shuriken, “We Oinin will do our duty.”
“How touching,” Orochimaru chuckled cruelly, “If you desire death, then you shall have it!” the Snake Sannin laughed as he darted forward…
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
CSA Version 7 Mended Hearts What Are You Hiding?