Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Lost Soul ❯ Tough Diplomacy ( Chapter 5 )

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

 

A Note from Katana Haibane: Please leave a review! They are like a food source that I have only begun to taste, but can't get enough of! I hunger for them! I welcome all words of wisdom, brilliant bursts of insight, and even constructive criticism. Any ideas that you want to leave with me are welcome as well. I also realize that I misspelled Gaara's name in the last chapter.

 

Chapter 5: Tough Diplomacy

 

Sound Training Grounds # 17 - 1 Week after Konoha Mission

 

Sasuke almost lazily look up into the air as he watched Mikomi preparing to launch an axe kick at his head. Mikomi had been make constant progress with her training to acquire Tsunade's strength but she still wasn't anywhere close to what he considered adequate. Sasuke rapidly spun around Mikomi and gave a little hop into the air as she struck the ground with the kick creating a half foot deep dent in the earth around her for just over a meter. Continuing with his spin Sasuke slammed his foot into the back of Mikomi's head sending her face first into the nearby trees at the edge of the clearing. A pair of shuriken and three kunai came flying from the tree line right at Sasuke's head. Sasuke only had to lean backwards and watch them fly over his head as he did a backwards handspring and stared Mikomi down once again. `Using the Sharingan against someone with her kind of speed is too easy,' Sasuke thought. `How pathetic. I guess speed training will have to be a tandem exercise with her strength training.'

 

“I thought you said that you were going to teach me how to use the Hokage's strength Sasuke-san,” Mikomi said as she relaxed her stance, “How can I learn that technique if you barely use it in our fights?”

 

Sasuke just stared at Mikomi. Rubbing his temples, he explained for the third time why he couldn't use Tsunade's strength that often, “I said before that I don't have the type of body suited for her combat style. You do. Your bones, like the Hokage's, are extremely dense and resilient. Far more so than most people. Also, the ligaments and tendons in her body are not as taught as most people. Combine that with the extra cushioning around those same ligaments and you have a body structure that can unleash strength that massive without destroying yourself. Until my Sharingan picked those facts up from the Hokage I had no idea how she was able to use the technique without killing herself. Very few people can use her strength and I am not one of them. Orochimaru couldn't even use her strength very well if at all either. It places too much of a strain on our bodies no matter how much we train.”

 

“Then could you at least be able to demonstrate it for me one more time? I'm still not fully grasping how to expel my chakra properly.” Mikomi said looking hopeful.

 

Anger started to darken Sasuke's face as he tilted his head towards the ground to try and hid his expression. Clenching his fist he spoke, “Fine.”

 

In a blur of movement Mikomi suddenly realized that Sasuke was right in front of her when he hammered a kick using Tsunade's strength directly into her chest. For the first time in a very long time, Mikomi felt excruciating pain come from one physical attack. She rocketed backwards, breaking though a ten foot thick tree before cracking the one behind it so badly that it collapsed as well. Mikomi hit the forest floor with no breath coming to her. Every bone in her chest felt on fire, heck even being put through the tree had hurt less than that kick had. She knew that she had at least cracked most of her ribs if not broken them completely. As a trickle of air started to make its way back into her lungs, the old and familiar fear returned. Sasuke had purposely set out to hurt her and her defense had been completely useless against that kick. Curling into a ball, Mikomi tried her hardest to keep breathing and not black out. A familiar shadow fell across her as she lay on the ground and her eyes widened in fear.

 

“S…st…stay…” Mikomi gasped as she was overcome by the chest pain to speak any longer.

 

Sasuke looked impassively at the curled up Mikomi, “That is how you properly attack using Tsunade's strength. Since you have a chakra defense of your own, I'm sure you felt the released chakra overwhelm it and in turn felt how it should be released. You should be able to use the Hokage's strength with ease. The sheer amount of chakra you have has gone beyond even my own with only Orochimaru in the Sound above you. Your regeneration makes you a living juggernaut for taking damage. The thickness of your chakra coils allow for practically instantaneous movement of chakra and speedy replacement from your internal reserves. But you are still weak. You have to become faster. Not only that but more often than not incapable of learning the most basic of techniques. You can't use Bunshin and can barely perform a Henge. You don't seem to know when to use Kawarmi as you are used to being able to withstand most damage that you take. Training is over for the day.”

 

Mikomi started to shiver as tears ran down her face uncontrollably. The pain in her chest was starting to get calm a little but Sasuke ripping into her didn't help matters much at all. She couldn't even let her fear and pain out in sobs as her chest still hurt too much.

 

Then she felt a pair of hands grab her and lift her into the air. With the little strength that she had left, Mikomi tried her hardest to escape Sasuke's grip but his hands refused to let got.

 

“Don't move. You'll just injure yourself more. Try and focus your chakra into your chest and do whatever you normally do to produce that healing chakra of yours. It should help.”

 

Mikomi tried her best to slow the rapid beating of her heart that had been brought on by the fear of having someone pick her up. She slowly stopped struggling and was getting ready to try and focus her chakra into her chest when she noticed something was a little off. Sasuke was limping. Mikomi's eyes widened when she realized that the explanation as to why Sasuke couldn't use the Hokage's strength all along had been completely correct. It had damaged his body to even show her it once. Closing her eyes at last, Mikomi focused as much of her chakra as she could into her chest and imagined that she was using the chakra to heal the cuts she often got during her training. Slowly, very slowly the fire in her chest started to cool down to a bearable level.

 

“So…rry Sa-suke. For y…pain.” Mikomi gasped out as she tried to apologize for making Sasuke hurt himself.

 

“Hnn.” Sasuke only continued to walk back towards Orochimaru's Complex.

 

Sasuke sighed, thinking, `Dammit. Another day of training wasted not to mention a request for the Medic Nins. I guess we'll just have to pick things up tomorrow then.'

 

Mikomi's Chambers- 3 hours later

 

A greenish glow surrounded Mikomi's chest as a Medic Nin worked as fast as he could to repair the damage done to the girl's chest. Mikomi had been sleeping peacefully since the operation had begun.

 

When Sasuke-sama had told him exactly what had been done to injure the girl so badly he had been shocked to find that where he had expected an almost shattered rib cage there was only small cracks running through the ribs along with one dislocated rib that was causing breathing problems. Then there was the girl's abnormal healing rate. By his initial analysis he had thought that the healing process would take at least a total of 13 hours to completely repair the damage, not including breaks to restore his used up chakra. Only 3 hours and 1 break later and the damage was almost completely healed up. The only other person that the Medic Nin had seen heal their broken bones this fast was Kabuto, the man who had initiated the medical training program in the Sound.

 

After only a couple more minutes of sending healing into Mikomi's chest and manipulating it to repair the fractures and reset the dislocation properly Mikomi was completely physically healed. All that was left was for her to regain her strength.

 

Turning away from the prone girl, the Medic Nin examined Sasuke's knee to repair the strain that had been placed on it. After a quick scan of the knee and ankle joints, the Medic Nin was able to determine that there was some swelling and bruising around the joints as well as what appeared to be some stretching of the tendons and ligament strain. The ACL in the knee seemed especially affected. “Umm, Sasuke-sama, what did you do exactly again to damage your knee and ankle so badly?”

 

“I kicked her in the chest using the same strength that the Hokage of Konoha uses,” Sasuke said calmly as he gave a glance over towards Mikomi, “Would you mind fixing my knee and ankle now? Or do I need to get you replaced.”

 

The Medic Nin immediately started to trying to heal Sasuke's knee as fast as he could, “Well, whatever technique that you used to damage yourself like this I would avoid using it ever again. It seems to do far too much harm to your body.”

 

“Hnn,” Sasuke said as he watched the Medic Nin at work, activating his Sharingan to watch the process, “Just heal me and get out.”

 

The Medic Nin rapidly manipulated the healing chakra in and around the tendons and ligaments of Sasuke's knee and brought them returned them completely to their original state prior to his injury. Not wanting to risk Sasuke's ire at doing anything but a fast and perfect job, the Medic Nin poured all the chakra he had left into the process to speed it up, finishing in just under a half an hour. Breathing hard, the Medic Nin quickly rescanned Sasuke's knee and ankle. Finding nothing wrong either body part anymore, the Medic Nin quickly proclaimed Sasuke as having a clean bill of health before dashing from the room as quickly as possible in the direction of the haven of the medical facilities in Orochimaru's Headquarters.

 

Sasuke looked over to the table where the Medic Nin had left the items that he had requested. A bag full of soldier pills, enough to keep a person going for a month straight despite the potential health risks. Picking the bag up and tucking it into his Ninja pack he went to fill a bucket full of water. `Well Mikomi, looks like this is the last bit of sleep you're gonna be getting until you have sufficiently mastered Tsunade's strength not to mention increased that speed of yours. I guess some weight training is going to be in order.'

 

Sound Training Grounds # 17 - Midnight 2 Weeks Later

 

Mikomi was panting as she tried to finish the 500th wind sprint that Sasuke had assigned to her before she was allowed to eat another soldier pill. Her eyes were normally red only where the iris was, but after these last two weeks of non-stop training they had begun to resemble red orbs with a floating black dot in the center. The bags under her eyes were beginning to turn black and were starting to expand to the top of her eyes. Her wrists and ankles where she was currently wearing weights were a total mess. Bandages covered her entire forearm and she could no longer wear her boots her ankles were so swollen. Considering that Sasuke had decided to start her off using 50lb. weights on each limb, Mikomi essentially felt as if her arms and legs had been put through a blender set to purée.

 

Mikomi had never been worked so hard in her life. Never felt this sore even after Sadisuto had spent almost a full day using her as a walking punching bag. Never been pushed so hard that she had used up the effects of an entire soldier pill in only half a day. However, try as she might, could not deny that the results that Sasuke had wanted her to achieve were starting to come around. Her muscles had developed more tone and mass over these last two weeks than in the last six months of her training. She could feel her chakra level's expanding rapidly as even though she was instructed to use chakra to help power and push her body to its limits and beyond, it was beginning to take noticeably longer before she ran out. Even her limbs were no longer sluggish with the weights on them.

 

Before these past two weeks Mikomi had always believed that if someone pushed themselves as hard and as far as she had that they would completely destroy their muscles and cause stress fractures to start appearing on their bones. Clearly this was not the case for her, as during the time she went to the Mess Hall to eat a meal before continue training she had actually started to feel her body heal and expand the muscles she was straining so badly. It was times like these she was extremely glad for her regenerative abilities.

 

Finishing her 500th wind sprint, Mikomi dragged herself over to scorched crater she had made on the 11th day of training when she had started to fall asleep while performing the `Grand Fireball Jutsu' and climbed the wooden pole in center that Sasuke had placed there. Reaching the top of the 10 meter high pole, Mikomi greedily reached into the cloth sack Sasuke had left there pulling out a soldier pill and crunching it down. Feeling the rush of energy from the pill start to rejuvenate her - not to mention add fuel to her naturally circulating healing chakra - she leapt off the pole and read the next activity that Sasuke had left for her to complete.

 

Task # 2134 - Breaking the chakra absorbent girder. I'm sure by now you noticed the foot thick metal girder at the northern end of the training field. Your task is to completely shatter half of the six foot long girder using Tsunade's strength technique. If you are able to complete this task before I arrive at 6:30 am I will deem your usage of Tsunade's strength technique adequate for now. If completed before I arrive you may use that time as a break period. I will then deliver a speed test of my choosing. If you pass this test as well then I will make today your final day of constant training and allow you to sleep tonight. However, if you are asleep when I arrive, I will not give you another chance to sleep for another full week.

 

Sasuke

 

A strange gleam seemed to be coming from Mikomi's eyes as she read the reward of sleep, and turned to face the chakra girder. An almost feral smile crossed her features, “Fufufu, I guess I'm gonna have a little bit of fun with you this morning. After all, you are my first step to being able to sleep for the first time in two weeks. Now be a good boy and…” Mikomi approached girder and cocked her right arm back, “CRUMBLE TO PIECES!” A resounding clang rang through the forest as the girder reverberated with the force of Mikomi's punch. It was so strong that even with the modifications to make it chakra absorbent to a degree. Mikomi had cracked it clean in half. Then Mikomi registered the pain in her hand when she saw the indentation on her hand signifying she had punched the corner of the beam, “YEEEEEOOOOWWWW!”

 

Mikomi proceeded to hop around the training ground for a while sucking on her hand she, all the while glaring at the offending piece of metal with a crazed gleam in her eyes. “Hurt me why don'tcha. Grrrrr, I'm gonna make sure your regret it.” For the next hour Mikomi proceeded to punch the now just over three foot high girder into a hundred little pieces before she collapsed down on the ground panting from the exertion. Standing up again, Mikomi decided that it would be interesting to ram the smaller, intact piece of the girder into a nearby rock.

 

Giggling strangely from sleep deprivation, Mikomi proceeded to try to make her way into Orochimaru's Compound, only to discover a rather scenic route as her legs wouldn't take her in a straight line to it. There was now only one thing that was on Mikomi's mind as she made her way to the Mess Hall, `I want my dango. Sweet, sweet dango. Sooooo much sugar. Maybe I should try dipping it in coffee? Bleah, coffee. I want dango!'

 

“Dddddaaaaaaaangggggooooooo!” became Mikomi's battle cry as she lurched inside to sate her hunger.

 

Orochimaru's Mess Hall - 6:00 am

 

Sasuke's left eyebrow was twitching at the sight he had come upon when he had gone inside the Mess Hall for breakfast. There was Mikomi sitting at a table near the serving line juggling plates in her left hand while drinking what looked to be a mixture of coffee and some sort of reddish fruit juice with the other. Stalking over to Mikomi he snatched the sticky plates out of the air and set them down only to get one hell of a kick in the stomach that flipped him over the table behind him. Getting up holding his stomach Sasuke stared incredulously at Mikomi.

 

Mikomi only giggled as her sleepy mind finally registered that it was Sasuke who had grabbed the plates she was playing with, “Oh hiya Sasuke! I thought you were that darn mummy coming to steal my plates again.” Mikomi pointed to the corner of the room where a bandaged Gennin seemed to be lying unconscious.

 

Sasuke sighed knowing he wasn't going to be getting much sense out of Mikomi this morning. She was completely out of it, “First off did you finish breaking up at least half of that girder this morning?”

 

“Uh huh I sure did! The darn thing decided to bite me when I first punched it.”

 

“Alright then,” Sasuke began again, wondering if keeping Mikomi training constantly for two weeks straight was such a good idea after all, “Are you ready for your speed test? And what in the hell are you drinking?”

 

“I sure am ready for my speed test! And I'm drinking green tea with chocolate sauce and beet juice.” Mikomi looked at her glass for a moment, “It sure tastes funny. Well let's go!”

 

A startled Sasuke was dragged out of the Mess Hall by Mikomi who raced all the way to Training Grounds # 17 with Sasuke having no choice but to follow closely behind. “What the hell did I get myself into now?” Sasuke muttered aloud as he came to a stop in front of where the steel girder used to be. On the ground there were chunks of metal all over the place, and half of the girder rammed into one of the rocks at the edge of the clearing.

 

“Alright Mikomi, seems like you passed the strength test adequately enough. For your speed test I want you to run ten wind sprints in three minutes or less, starting at the south end of the training grounds. You can't take your weights off.” Sasuke waited as patiently as he could for Mikomi to make her way to the south edge of the training grounds.

 

When Mikomi decided to sit down and play with a piece of metal from the girder, Sasuke gave her a kick to the chin that sent her flying right to the southern edge, “I will not put up with that stupid and pathetic act of yours for one second longer. Get up and ready to start your wind sprints right the hell now or I won't let you stop training for another week!”

 

Shaking her head and groaning Mikomi stood back up with her eyes seeming a little clearer, “Thanks Sasuke, I think I needed that. What exactly happened since I finished breaking half of that girder?”

 

Frowning, Sasuke shook his head, “You REALLY don't want to know if you don't remember. In any case, for your speed test you have to do ten wind sprints in two minutes without removing your weights. Alright, three…two…one…GO!”

 

Mikomi took off running for all she was worth. The prize of sleep was acting as a great motivator for her right now and she was able to throw all of what little remaining energy she had into the run. When she finally returned to Sasuke after the tenth wind sprint she collapsed heaving on the ground, “h…how did…I do?”

 

“One minute and forty nine seconds,” Sasuke said while looking at the exhausted Mikomi, “Seems that you pass the speed test as well.”

 

“That's good,” Mikomi said before promptly passing out.

 

Orochimaru's Chambers - 2 Days Later

 

Mikomi stood at attention beside Sasuke feeling more awake than she had in the last week. Having slept for two days straight, she felt refreshed and ready to get back to training unless the snake bastard dictated otherwise. She had a feeling that Orochimaru had something other than training in mind for the two of them.

 

Orochimaru finally decided to address Sasuke and Mikomi from his shadow shrouded throne, “It seems that these last two weeks have really paid off for Mikomi-chan haven't they? I can actually sense the change in her chakra capacity. Excellent. Then I guess I can give you the next assignment I have for you.”

 

Walking over to a table that ran along the left side of the chamber Orochimaru picked up a scroll and tossed it over to Sasuke, “Your next mission is an assassination mission. No complaints Mikomi-chan, unless you'd like to be electrocuted for the next ten minutes, hmm?” Mikomi made no move to complain at that threat, “I want you to take out that rather pesky Rice Country Advisor that has been constantly speaking out about my Village Hidden in Sound ever since I created it. His name is Kokoro Tadashii, and he was last spotted by my Tracker Nins just east of Mikomi-chan's hometown. That's right Ko Village.”

 

Mikomi gave a gasp at the name of her birthplace. Not once had she ever imagined that she would ever actually return there. Especially not with being charged to carry out an assassination against a member of the Rice Country Daimyo's council. Her hands started shaking slightly as she curled them into fists to try and stop the shaking. It didn't help.

 

“My Tracker Nins lost track of them due to interference from what appeared to be Chuunin team from Konoha. I want you to go to Ko village, track down the whereabouts of Tadashii, and then bring me back his head as proof of his death. Kill anyone who tries to stop you in this mission. It would also be rather helpful if you framed the Konoha Chuunin as being the ones who killed Tadashii. After all, any doubt placed upon Konoha as being a stable and friendly nation will only help me in the end.” Orochimaru grinned after he finished his speech.

 

Sasuke unrolled the scroll to see the face of a middle-aged man with salt and pepper, close cropped hair. He had slightly plump features, but a scar across the man's forehead indicated that he had once led a less than peaceful life. His nose was rather pointed and small and his eyes were a pale grey. His face was also set in a tightly held neutral expression. After he showed the scrolled to Mikomi he tossed the scroll back to Orochimaru who then placed it back in amongst the other scrolls on his table. Orochimaru handed them both a smaller copy of the picture on the scroll.

 

“You two are dismissed. Don't fail me as I don't give second chances.”

 

Mikomi and Sasuke turned and headed out of the room, pausing as Kabuto entered through the door before continuing out to begin their mission.

 

“You summoned me Orochimaru-sama,” Kabuto said as he bowed before his master, “What is it you require of me?”

 

“Perfect timing Kabuto,” Orochimaru gave a hideous grin as Kabuto stood at attention once again, “I believe that the timing is now right to set my plan into motion as my little weapons seem to be strong enough at last to carry out their assigned tasks. Sasuke has been ready since he began to train Mikomi, while Mikomi has only recently begun to meet my standards for power. So Kabuto, I want you to travel to the Village Hidden in Rocks and meet with the Tsuchikage as a diplomat and gain his alliance for an assault on Konoha. Use any means necessary to ensure his cooperation. However I wouldn't go beyond agreeing to allow him to annex the far smaller Village Hidden in Grass on his boarder to ensure cooperation. We can't have the Rock becoming too powerful after all, since they will belong to me eventually.”

 

Kabuto's pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose and smirked, “Ah, I see. That seems very tactically sound Orochimaru-sama. Is there any form of dress you would like me to wear as an acting diplomat for the Sound?”

 

“There truly is no need,” Orochimaru said as he selected another two scrolls from the ones on his desk, “All you need to do is hand them this scroll that I have written, signed, and sealed that can only be opened by whomever that I have assigned as a spokesman for myself.”

 

“And would I assume that the second scroll is some form of gift for me to give to the Tsuchikage to encourage him to listen to me in the first place?”

 

Orochimaru's grin widened, “Of course.”

 

Kabuto spun the sealed scroll that he was to give as a gift to the Tsuchikage, “Might I be allowed to know exactly what this scroll entails?”

 

“I believe that you have already seen the contents on your inspection to the dig sight for the old Village Hidden in Shadow,” Orochimaru said as he pulled another scroll out from his table that had an identical seal on it, “I am merely giving the Tsuchikage a copy of a rather interesting Doton technique that we uncovered during the digging, one that I have mastered. Essentially it allows the user to cause an area of earth to explode outwards into a field of razor sharp spikes according to the amount of chakra the user puts into it. I plan on teaching it to Sasuke-kun when he returns.”

 

“How appropriate,” Kabuto said as he bowed again to Orochimaru, “I will return when I have succeeded in my mission Orochimaru-sama.”

 

As Kabuto left, Orochimaru decided to leave a parting message in the air, “Of that I have no doubt.”

 

Ko Village - 3 Days Later

 

Mikomi was sick and tired of being cooped up in the room that Sasuke had rented at one of the three inns in her hometown. One of the three she remembered anyway. The second they had gotten there, Sasuke had purchased a room and ordered her to remain inside and not to leave under any circumstances. So now not only was Mikomi back in her hometown with no chance to see if she could recognize anyone from her childhood but she was bored out of her skull. All she had been able to do these last two days was sleep, order room service, look out the small window and do basic exercises such as sit-ups, push-ups and so on.

 

Giving the bed a kick in frustration Mikomi decided that she would rather chance Sasuke's ire than remain cooped up in their room for another minute. Grabbing the money she had earned from selling the medicines in Konoha - 800 ryo - Mikomi slid open the window and glanced down into the alley a story below. With no one in sight, Mikomi pushed herself out the window and flipped down into the alley. With a smile spreading across her face, Mikomi headed out onto the main street.

 

Looking around Mikomi felt her heart aching as she took in the sights she had grown up with. Her home had really changed. No longer was it a small up and coming village, but rather, a small city. Restaurants lined the street along with small shops and services. Coming here under the cover of darkness had hidden much of the city from her eyes, and from here she could see that there were two other inns on the main street, heading towards the city center. Her home had become a tourist attraction. Giving herself a shake, Mikomi decided to head towards where her home used to be. She had to be sure that she no longer had any family left.

 

As she walked down the street Mikomi caught a familiar smell on the air. Stopping in her tracks, Mikomi suddenly realized how close to her old home she was. She could smell the familiar sweet, wafting smell that only one place she could remember from her childhood ever gave off: the old man's sweet shop. Breaking into a half run, Mikomi easily bobbed and weaved her way through the people walking down the street before she saw the old man's shop, Liam's Okashi. Mikomi ran to the entrance and felt her chest tightening again at the sight of the shop. Like all of Ko Village, Liam's shop had expanded a little: he had fresh baked sweets as he used to, but all kinds of interesting taffy and hard candies displayed in jars lining the sides of his shop. It seemed that Liam had hired some help, as there was a young woman running the till and another young man restocking the hard candies that were running out. Seeing everyone gushing over the incredible display of sweets made her smile as she walked into the shop for a bite to eat for old time's sake.

 

As she made her way to the counter to look at the freshly baked goods section she saw a sign that stopped her in her tracks. It read: `The Mikomi Dango Special - Three sticks of double sized dango drizzled with strawberry syrup for only 3 and a half ryo.”

 

“I see the dango special has caught your eye little miss,” came old man Liam's voice from just to Mikomi's left. Speechless, Mikomi couldn't do anything but nod. “One of my best customers a few years back by the name of Yominokuni Mikomi invented that special. Brilliant for someone who was only nine at the time,” Liam smiled sadly, “Unfortunately, this special is only a tribute. She disappeared along with her entire family shortly after she suggested the idea for this special. Bah, excuse an old man for his ramblings. Would you like me to whip you up a Mikomi special?”

 

The tightness Mikomi had been feeling in her chest seemed to multiply ten fold as old man Liam told his story of the `Mikomi Special.' It hurt so bad to be reminded of her family, of her village, of old man Liam's sweets. The fact that Liam had actually created a special to remember her by, not to mention it being the one she had suggested to him in the first place tore at her heart. Somebody at least, remembered her. To Liam's shock Mikomi slid into a crouch, hugging herself tightly. She fought back her tears as hard as she could, but could only succeed in preventing any sobs escaping from her throat.

 

“Hey, hey. You alright Sound Miss? You need some help?” Liam looked down at the tall, slender girl from the Village Hidden in Sound. All throughout Rice country, the symbol on the Hitae-ate was more and more recognizable and Ko Village was no exception.

 

As Mikomi stood up and looked at Liam's shocked face, she smiled. A huge, face splitting grin. The sadness of a moment ago fading away at the joy of being remembered by a man she had always adored - only in part for his dango. Mikomi's grin was infections and Liam smiled back at her, “Glad to see your feeling better Miss. What can I getcha?”

 

“Hey old man Liam, you really don't recognized me at all do you?”

 

Liam blinked. Was he supposed to know who this person was? He honestly never remembered having made any friends with people from the Village Hidden in Sound, let alone one of the ninja that resided there. The purply black hair and red eyes seemed vaguely familiar, but he couldn't for the life of him attach the characteristics to anyone he knew. `Okay, so she thinks I should know her, but I don't recall ever knowing a girl who was as tall as she is with a scar running down from her left eye. That's not something you'd forget. Nor is that strange neck band either.' Liam shook his head, “I'm sorry Miss. Should I know you?”

 

Mikomi's grin never left her face as she nodded once again, “I would think so. I used to be a short rather hyperactive kid. Always ran in hear and raced for the dango. My dad had the same red eyes that I have…”

 

Liam stared intently at the girl in front of him before. `So I really did know her. A few years ago perhaps? `Let's see…purple, almost black hair…red eyes…father had them to…hyperactive dango lover…'

 

Realization hit him like he had taken a kick to the face. “No way,” Liam said in an awed voice, “Mikomi-chan…is that you? You're a Sound Nin?”

 

Mikomi had never stopped smiling this entire time, “Yep old man, that's me. I guess you could say that I survived to become a Sound Nin.”

 

Liam's face broke out into a massive grin before he dropped down close and whispered, “You do realize that most of the village thought your family was dead? They found your home a mess in the morning with only a few blood stains scattered all over the place. The Daimyo helped to fund a rather large memorial hospital in memory of your family where your house used to be. Our entire village supported the idea, although there was one advisor to the Daimyo who disagreed, saying the money should be spent on the military.”

 

Mikomi's smile shrank a little at the news, “I guess it isn't too much of a surprise to me now. I was kidnapped after all. I'm glad that the Daimyo thought so much of my father as to build a hospital in commemoration of him.” Then Mikomi pointed to the sign, “I still would like a `Mikomi Special' in any case. Gotta try it, after all, you did name it after me.”

 

“Alright, one Mikomi Special coming up!” Liam spun away and snatched three of the double length sticks and drizzled strawberry syrup up and down them. Turning back to Mikomi, Liam dropped his voice to a whisper again, “On the house this time. I've made an absolute killing off of this special and I gotta thank you for it some how.”

 

Taking a bite out of the first dango stick Mikomi decided that she may as well do a little bit of work on her assigned mission. She pulled out the picture of the Daimyo Advisor, Kokoro Tadashii. “Hey, Liam, I was wondering if you had seen this guy around anywhere? My partner and I gotta find him.”

 

Liam's lips curled slightly in disgust, “I've seen him alright. Passed by my shop when I decided to close up late one night. Was heading east in the direction of Unagi Grove. That's the guy who didn't want us getting the hospital. He never seemed to like Ko Village, so I guess it would make sense for him to head here if he wanted to hide. Sure seemed like he wanted to in any case.”

 

Finishing off the first of her dango skewers Mikomi gave a shout of happiness that startled several of the customers nearby. With an embarrassed look on her face, Mikomi bowed slightly and apologized before turning back to Liam, “Hehehe. Thanks so much Liam! My partner, a rather dark and brooding guy, has been looking around for the last three days and hasn't found a thing. I can't believe that I beat him to the punch!”

 

Catching Mikomi's hand, Liam smiled again, “Just remember that you're always welcome in my shop Mikomi-chan. I hope that I can see you again sometime, if for no other reason than to say hello.”

 

Nodding again, Mikomi raced back down the street and down the alley she had landed in. She leapt up and clambered in through the window that she had used as her escape hatch and sat down to wait for Sasuke to return.

 

Main Entrance to the Village Hidden in Rocks

 

As Kabuto headed along the main path towards the large gate in front of him he was annoyed when he was suddenly surrounded by a team of Rock Anbu.

 

“What is a ninja from the Sound doing here?” barked the obvious leader of the Rock Anbu squad.

 

Kabuto smirked as he pushed his glasses up on his nose and pulled the scroll Orochimaru had given him from the front of his shirt, “I'm here acting as a visiting diplomat from the Village Hidden in Sound.” Kabuto passed the document that showed his ambassadorial status given to him by Orochimaru, “This document proves it. As you can see by the seal that has been placed on it, only a person who has been willingly given the scroll by Orochimaru-sama can hold it without being consumed by the flames the seal contains. Same goes for those I show it too. I would like to request a meeting with the Tsuchikage.”

 

The Rock Anbu leader looked over the scroll that Kabuto had given him. It looked official and the seal that was placed on it definitely seemed to be something along the lines that one of the legendary Sannin from Konoha would be able to cook up. He rolled it back up and returned it to Kabuto, “Alright that seems official enough. I'll report your request to Tsuchikage-sama. You will remain here outside the gates unless instructed otherwise. If you attempt to forcefully enter the village you will be killed on the spot.”

 

Kabuto smirked again, “I wouldn't dream of it.” He pulled out his second scroll and gave it to the Anbu leader, “Oh and give this scroll as a gift to him as well. It should be enough to convince him to at least listen to me.”

 

Giving Kabuto another wary look, the Rock Anbu took off into the village to report this to the Tsuchikage.

 

A Kabuto waited outside the main gate of the Village Hidden in the Rocks he had no doubt in his mind that the Tsuchikage would give him an audience, especially after seeing what was contained in the scroll that he had given him. After all, if there is a Doton jutsu that the Rock doesn't know about, it tends to grab their attention.

 

The Rock Anbu reappeared ten minutes later, “It seems that whatever was in the scroll you gave as a gift to Tsuchikage-sama has caught his attention. He has granted your request for an audience with him. Please follow me. The Rock Anbu led Kabuto to a smaller door that was built into the large main gates, opened it and led Kabuto through. As they sped over the roof tops of the houses that ran along the streets of the Village Hidden in Rocks. `I'll have to remember that door for later,' Kabuto thought as he examined the way much of the main facilities that the Rock ran their village out of were built into the canyon faces that surrounded the entire village. It truly was a place hidden by the rocks, as Kabuto could not think of a passable way to reach the village from above it. Even if they found a way to approach the village from the cliff tops surrounding it, there was a good fifty meter drop before they reached the first of the buildings in the cliff face, not to mention they probably had some watch towers built up there as well. `I guess this place is supposed to be as impregnable as the earth.'

 

When at last they came to a building in the cliffs that had the symbol for Tsuchikage carved into it the Tsuchikage himself was outside to meet Kabuto. The Tsuchikage was a surprisingly young man with brown hair that reminded a person of windswept cliffs. His eyes were a piercing brown that swam with intelligence and he looked like he was built to withstand a rockslide. Motioning to the Rock Anbu the Tsuchikage dismissed him, “You can return to your patrols now. Alright Sound Diplomat, could I get your name as you come into my office?”

 

Kabuto gave a bow as he answered and followed the Tsuchikage into his office, “My name is Yakushi Kabuto Tsuchikage-sama. As your Rock Anbu no doubt told you Orochimaru-sama himself sent me from the Sound to speak with you directly.”

 

The Tsuchikage nodded and sat down behind his desk and gave Kabuto a hard look, “What exactly does he want? You obviously took some time in acquiring a Doton technique that my village did not know of to get my attention. What does Orochimaru-san want?”

 

“My, my,” Kabuto said as he sat down and met the Tsuchikage's eyes, “Right to the point I see. Simply put, Orochimaru wants Konoha. And he wants to ally himself with your nation to get it.” The Tsuchikage only raised his right eyebrow in response to Kabuto's explanation, “You were badly beaten by Konoha in the last Great Shinobi War correct? Only recently have you regained the power that you once had. Konoha on the other hand, has only grown in leaps and bounds. The Sound is powerful enough once again to be able to challenge Konoha. However we would seek an alliance to ensure our victory.”

 

The Tsuchikage snorted, “Orochimaru-san is certainly an ambitious one isn't he? What will we gain from helping Orochimaru take over Konoha? Hmm? If all that we would gain is revenge then I hardly see the point. Even if Orochimaru promised us several more high class Doton jutsus such as this one I see no reason to help him. He killed the Kazekage to force the Sand to assist in his previous assault on Konoha and he still failed. A lone brat supposedly took out a center piece to your attack plan. I see not reason to have any sort of relationship with a man like Orochimaru.”

 

Kabuto pushed his glasses up on his nose once again as he smirked slightly, “Oh? There is nothing at all that you want from the Sound? If I recall the Rock and the Grass were once both a united part of the Earth country with the Grass village acting as a secondary base to your Village Hidden in Rocks. Didn't they separate from your nation after your loss to Konoha and the decline in your power base?”

 

The Tsuchikage had to grudgingly concede Kabuto's point, “That is true, but not common knowledge. How would Orochimaru-san know of this?”

 

“Quite simple Tsuchikage-sama,” Kabuto said giving the Tsuchikage a smirk, “Orochimaru-sama led the Konoha team that allowed the Grass to separate and gain their independence from your Village's control. It was his plan that allowed Konoha to weaken your Village enough to turn the tides of the Shinobi war before the Yondaime Hokage finished off your forces.”

 

The Tsuchikage's shock was evident on his face before he reset his composure, “Really now? That would explain his knowledge of the incident as it has been kept as an S class secret in the Rock, as in the Leaf as I was told by the late Sandaime. I take it this is the deal he would allow you to make with me. Regain control of our former satellite village in exchange for helping to conquer Konoha.”

 

Kabuto felt that he had the Tsuchikage in his grasp, “Correct Tsuchikage-sama. The Village Hidden in Sound even offers to essentially deliver the Village Hidden in Grass to the Rock. If you can ensure that you hold up your half of whatever plan that Orochimaru does concoct to take them over.”

 

Sitting back in his chair, the Tsuchikage adopted a thoughtful look as he contemplated the motives, pros and cons to forming an alliance with Orochimaru and the Sound, `It doesn't seem as if Orochimaru has any plans to try and kill me off and assume my position as he did with the Kazekage as is offering to deliver an entire village to me. Of course, getting to close to a snake could get me bitten when he decides he wants more than just Konoha. However, we would have regained control over the entire library of Jutsus that the Rock once had.' Breaking out of his thoughts the Tsuchikage looked intently at the man in front of him. He clearly was powerful in his own right to be allowed to act as a diplomat to offer an alliance of war. “Alright then Kabuto-san, I personally accept your offer of an alliance. However, I will have to discuss this matter with the Village Council as it is a matter that cannot under any circumstances be taken lightly.”

 

“Take the necessary time you need to discuss this with your council Tsuchikage-sama. However, I will be returning to the Sound tonight so I suggest that you come to a decision by nightfall.”

 

The Tsuchikage nodded, “I will have one of my Anbu escort you to a nearby lounge for you to relax and wait for our council's decision. I will call for you to return by nightfall.”

 

Half a Kilometer East of Unagi Grove- Sunset

 

Despite his annoyance at Mikomi for disobeying his orders and leaving their room without his permission, he had to admit that she had done the job far more quickly and effectively than he had. It had been a rather stupid decision to leave her behind, Sasuke now realized, as she knew Ko Village far better than he did. She even still knew some people who lived there that remembered her apparently, since that's how she found out exactly where Kokoro Tadashii had been heading.

 

And the information had been bang on too.

 

Roughly two miles south east of Unagi Grove, right near the boarder between Rice country and Fire Country they had found another cluster of trees that had several cabins in the center.

 

All of them under heavy guard by patrolling soldiers under the control of Kokoro Tadashii.

 

“Alright Mikomi, this is your first true combat mission. You will kill, and many times over before we finish the mission.” Sasuke glared straight at Mikomi who only frowned sadly and nodded, “From what I can tell using my Sharingan, Kokoro Tadashii will be located in the cabin that has several Ninjutsu and Genjutsu traps surrounding it. It also seems that Kokoro Tadashii is keeping his best bodyguards close to him as I see no evidence of Konoha Chuunins anywhere outside the trapped cabin.”

 

Mikomi nodded as she continued to look around the clearing at the thirty or so soldiers that were acting as bodyguards for Kokoro Tadashii. What she had found out about Kokoro Tadashii from old man Liam had given her a reason to not be forced into fighting the people guarding him. “Alright then, what's the plan?”

 

“The clearing is too open to be able to initiate any kind of stealth assault. We don't have enough explosive notes to simply slap them on the cabin and run. We are going to have to engage them in combat. It looks like the Chuunin are only going to come out when Kokoro Tadashii himself in threatened, but just to be sure I will begin the engagement with the enemy ninjas by unraveling the traps they set around the large middle cabin. You are going to head into the clearing and simply engage the soldiers that are there. Your defensive ability should make them easy prey if they don't have experience using chakra. Don't leave a single one alive.”

 

Mikomi gulped slightly when Sasuke instructed her not to leave a single person alive. “All…alright Sasuke. Anything else that you need to tell me?”

 

Sasuke nodded, “I want you to finish Kokoro Tadashii, not me. You have to experience killing your target with your own hands before you can truly understanding the art of assassination. Also, remember Tsunade's strength. It should be ingrained into you now, but remember that you need to concentrate a large quantity of chakra to the point of contact and just let it explode from your body.” Sasuke smirked, “Simple enough for you since you are able to manipulate your internal chakra perfectly. You just can mold it too well outside your body. Wait for a count of thirty before you begin your attack. I'm going to head to the other side of the clearing and head for the cabin away from the action. That way the ninja inside should be drawn to me, and the soldiers should be drawn to you.”

 

Mikomi nodded and Sasuke disappeared off into the darkness. Mikomi gave herself a slap on her cheeks, `Alright. It's time you proved yourself to Sasuke. You're not a little child anymore, but a ninja.'

 

As thirty seconds passed Mikomi burst from the shadows and began her attack. She leapt into the air and snapped a kick into the head of the nearest guard, at last being able to use Tsunade's strength on instinct - albeit only at half strength still. Mikomi was shocked when she saw the man's head almost turn 180 degrees and heard the sharp crack of it breaking. As she hit the ground and readied herself to continue her attack on the guards she saw them raising the alarm and charging towards her.

 

`I hope this works this time,' Mikomi thought as she raised her right leg above her head in preparation to perform an axe kick at the five onrushing soldiers. As a myriad of spears and swords were brandished in her direction Mikomi slammed her heel into the ground as hard as she possibly could once they were only a few meters away. The ground cracked and split in the direction of the soldiers for just over six meters in length. It was just big enough to break the soldiers' charge and throw them off balance. As she flashed her hands through a few quick seals Mikomi heard one of the guards she had knocked to the ground with her axe kick sound a horn. The guards from around the field began to sprint in their direction.

 

Mikomi inhaled a deep breath as she took aim at the rising soldiers, “Katon: Grand Fireball Jutsu!” The massive fireball that Mikomi unleashed immediately incinerated the five soldiers that in front of her and caused the others coming to their aid to peel off and circle after her. With no time to think about what she had just done, Mikomi threw out her hand to catch the head of a spear a soldier was using to try and impale her. Crushing the spearhead in her left hand, Mikomi hammered a fist into the left part of the man's chest impaling his lungs and heart on his own shattered rib cage.

 

Knocking away a katana aimed at her shoulders Mikomi was able to catch a glimpse of the shadowy form of Sasuke slit the throat of the only guard remaining on the western half of the clearing and continue on to the center cabin. All that was left for Mikomi to do was to deal with the twenty seven remaining guards.

 

Mikomi knew she had to act fast if she wanted to avoid being surrounded by the soldiers and leapt atop a spear a nearby soldier had used to try and take her legs out. As the spear was forced to the ground due to her body weight Mikomi slammed an axe kick to the back of the soldier's head slamming it into the ground.

 

“DIE BITCH!” Came a cry from directly behind Mikomi. Her eyes widened when she realize that there already was someone behind her. Not wanting to reveal her defense to the soldiers quite yet Mikomi leapt straight into the air twisting around to see who was behind her. Mikomi felt a katana graze the back of her legs as she started to twist in her jump and realized how close she had been to getting her head taken off. She grabbed a kunai out of her hip pack in mid flip, grabbed onto the soldier's shoulders and rammed it right into his eye.

 

When she hit the ground Mikomi knew she had to make some room for herself. Taking the soldiers out one at a time was only going to get her surrounded and killed. With that thought in mind Mikomi pumped chakra into her legs and charged right into the oncoming soldiers. Unprepared for a return charge Mikomi was able to bull her way to the other side of the soldiers. Directly into an oncoming fist, “Too slow.”

 

Mikomi took the blow to the chin and was flung backwards. While it didn't really hurt due to her chakra defense that hardened her skin to the resilience of stone, she suddenly saw the deadly purpose to the attack. She was directly in the middle of the group of soldiers she had just run through. Curling into a ball Mikomi threw as much chakra to the outer parts of her body as possible as close to twenty spears, katana, and one naginta slammed down onto her body. Mikomi gasped in pain as one spearhead was shoved through a gap in her arms and shallowly stabbed into her just below the ribs.

 

Starting to fly through the 47 necessary seals for her next jutsu, Mikomi realized that it was the only shot she had to surviving the next attack from the soldiers as they drew back their weapons as one.

 

The Konoha Chuunin sense the rapid spike in chakra that came from the girl and realized she was alive even after that group attack. He knew the chakra spike only meant one thing: the attacker was unleashing another jutsu. “GET THE HELL OUTTA THERE!” The Konoha Chuunin roared to the soldiers leaping backwards as he shouted. The sounds of Sasuke's battle with the three other Chuunins erupted behind him at the same moment in time.

 

His warning came too late, “RAITON: STORM OF LIGHTNING JUTSU!” Mikomi screamed out. There was a brilliant flash as lightning exploded outwards from Mikomi and struck the guards that were surrounding her. In her desperation Mikomi had pumped so much chakra into the technique that she not only drained almost half of her chakra reserves in an instant, but also killed all but one of the remaining twenty six remaining guards by electrocuting them badly enough to char their skin black.

 

Mikomi was breathing heavily as she got to her feet and faced down the Konoha Chuunin. When she realized there was still a soldier behind her she spun and threw two kunai at his chest. The Konoha Chuunin reacted instantly, throwing two of his own kunai at Mikomi's and charging at Mikomi's back. Unfortunately for the soldier, one of Mikomi's kunai wasn't deflected by the Chuunin and fell to the ground with a kunai sticking out of his chest and barely alive.

 

Mikomi felt the Chuunin's kunai slam into the base of her spine as he tried to finish her quickly. With her defensive technique reinforcing her already protective clothing Mikomi was only sent sprawling forward. Catching herself into a handspring Mikomi spun around to face her enemy only to see him sealing. “Katon: Mythical Fireflower Jutsu!” The Konoha Chuunin shouted shooting several fireballs at Mikomi.

 

Diving backwards Mikomi rapidly sealed for the only technique she knew that could get her through the oncoming fireballs, “Futon: Scream of the Banshee Jutsu!” The blast of wind and sonic energy took out the fireballs, but not the kunai hidden inside them. Mikomi watched as the Chuunin disappeared in a Kawarmi as her sonic attack struck and felt the kunai pelt into her as she threw her arms up to block them.

 

Most of the kunai deflected off of her clothing, but one was able to give Mikomi a cut on the cheek and another stuck into the palm of her left hand. Mikomi cried out as she hit the ground and rolled backwards, pulling the kunai from her palm. She leapt to her feet and looked around for where the Chuunin disappeared off to. Mikomi felt a kunai press into the back of her neck, “Freeze. Make another move and I'll finish you off right now.”

 

Freeze is exactly what Mikomi did. She was out of breath, tired from constantly having to pump chakra into her attacks and defense, not to mention unleashing two high level jutsus almost back to back. At this range, and on open skin, even her incredible defense wouldn't stop a well struck kunai.

 

There was a sudden gurgling sound and the kunai slid away from her neck, allowing her to get to her feet. Sasuke was behind his pulling a kunai out from the neck of the Chuunin who had nearly killed her. “You have to be more observant Mikomi,” Sasuke said in annoyance, “I may not bother saving your life next time if you don't remember to pay attention to your surroundings.”

 

To Sasuke's shock, Mikomi fell back to the ground crying, “I k-k-k-killed a-again!” Despite her injuries, Mikomi curled up into a ball and started weeping amongst the charred bodies of the soldiers she had killed.

 

Even as Sasuke saw Kokoro Tadashii sprinting out into the woods to try and escape the two of them, he knew he had to pull Mikomi together and get her to finish the job. This time, Sasuke pulled Mikomi into a full hug as he tried to calm her down. Mikomi immediately latched onto his chest as she cried her heart out for what she had done. Sasuke held back a frustrated growl and stroked the back of Mikomi's head, “You were chosen to be a weapon Mikomi. You're going to have to get used to this. When you are no longer within the sheath that is the Village Hidden in Sound, you should expect to have blood on your hands.”

 

“I know, I know Sasuke,” Mikomi cried, “I can't help it.”

 

The shuddering sobs that wracked Mikomi's body died out over the next few minutes. `She's getting used to the idea of kill I see,' Sasuke thought, `It took her far longer to get over the last time she killed, and that was only two people.'

 

Sasuke head Mikomi sigh from where her face was buried in his shirt, “I guess it's time to kill the head honcho neh?”

 

Nodding, Sasuke started heading off in the direction that Kokoro Tadashii had run, “I want you to finish him. Do it swiftly and silently before he even realizes that you are there. That is how to do a proper assassination. Let's see you try it. Remember to bring his body back though.”

 

Sasuke began to quickly leap from tree to tree as he tracked exactly where Kokoro Tadashii had run off to. When he heard the loud thrashing through the underbrush that his target was making Sasuke almost laughed, `This is too easy.' Sasuke pointed up ahead and motioned for Mikomi to finish the job.

 

Without a backwards glance Mikomi leapt ahead of Sasuke and bore down on the doomed man. She paced herself with him as she watched him suddenly trip and fall over a tree root and hit the ground hard. Mikomi immediately leapt from the trees and landed in front of Kokoro Tadashii rising head. As her target squeaked in fright, Mikomi slammed a kunai down directly into his skull, killing him instantly.

 

As she wiped the blood on her hands on the body of Kokoro Tadashii, Mikomi realized that killing the man hadn't hurt so much this time around. Her heart still ached for what she had done, but now the pain was more distant. Picking up the body, Mikomi headed back towards Sasuke and the clearing.

 

Sasuke had finished dumping the Konoha Chuunins' bodies inside the central cabin and swapping their Konoha Hitae-ates for ones from the Sound ones when Mikomi returned. “Alright, dump him in the central cabin with the ninja. I'll check the bodies to ensure that no one is left alive. Once you've put him inside, remove his head as proof for Orochimaru and set the cabin ablaze.”

 

Mikomi trudged up to the central cabin and dropped Kokoro Tadashii's body amongst the others. Grabbing the kunai that was stuck in his skull, Mikomi quickly sliced his head off and walked outside the cabin. Setting Tadashii's head on the ground and wiping her kunai off and returning it to her pouch, Mikomi set herself to burn the cabin to the ground. “Katon: Grand Fireball Jutsu.”

 

The fireball struck the cabin and burnt away the one side of it before the rest of it became consumed with flames.

 

Mikomi and Sasuke sped off towards the Village Hidden in Sound leaving the cabin to burn to the ground with the only evidence to remain being the bodies of the soldiers and the Konoha Hitae-ates.

 

Village Hidden in Rocks

 

Kabuto could feel himself becoming impatient. It was nearly nightfall and there still had been no call to meet with the Tsuchikage to discuss the proposed alliance. He paused in his pacing to walk to the fountain pop dispenser and grab a glass of soda before continuing to pace the lounge he had been waiting in for the last eight hours. `It shouldn't take them this long to decide whether to join an alliance or not,' Kabuto thought in exasperation, `Perhaps some of the older members are filibustering to delay time to see how desperate I am to gain their alliance.' Finishing his soda, Kabuto left the glass on the table went to the door to inform one of the Anbu guards that time was up and ask for an escort out of the Village.

 

Just as Kabuto was reaching for the door it slid open to reveal another Rock Anbu, “Kabuto-san, Tsuchikage-sama has asked for your presence in his office once again.”

 

“Finally,” Kabuto said as he allowed himself to be led to the Tsuchikage's office once again.

 

Upon his reentry into the office of the Tsuchikage, Kabuto notice another elderly man sitting beside the bulky Tsuchikage. It was the elderly man who spoke up first, “My name is Zeppeki and the council has elected me to be their voice in this matter. The council has agreed to this alliance on three conditions: one, the Sound forces act as the main attacking forces in the Grass invasion. Two, the Village Hidden in Grass is immediately handed over to the complete control of Rock once it is captured. Three, Rock and Sound supply equal forces for the Konoha invasion.”

 

“Those are the conditions which I will be upholding as well,” the Tsuchikage said as the two stared down the lone Kabuto.

 

Kabuto hid a smirk as he pushed his glasses further onto his nose once again, “Those conditions are acceptable as long as the Sound is allowed to have one of its teams stationed her in Rock to act as attachés for the Sound during our alliance. Agreed?”

 

“If the Sound is willing to reciprocate and allow for a three man team of our own to be stationed in your village as well,” Zeppeki said evenly.

 

“But of course,” Kabuto said, “Turnabout on conditions is fair play. We have a deal then. I would assume that you have pre-made copies for us to amend and sign to render the alliance complete?”

 

The Tsuchikage pulled out two identical contracts and added the two extra conditions that Kabuto and Zeppeki had added on to the agreement. Signing himself, he passed the contracts to Zeppeki and Kabuto to sign. “I sincerely hope that this alliance prove beneficial to us both,” the Tsuchikage said, “Here is your copy of the document for Orochimaru. As you can see they are both identical. One of my Rock Anbu will lead you to the front gate Kabuto-san. Goodbye.”

 

After the Rock Anbu had led him outside the gate of the Village Hidden in Rock, Kabuto began to make his way towards the Sound. As he was passing near one of the stands of trees that dotted the Earth Country he sensed several chakra signatures that were decidedly out of place. They were too far out to be an Anbu patrol and the chances of crossing the path of a returning Rock Nin team was slim out in the middle of nowhere. Masking his presence and chakra the best he could, Kabuto slid into the darkness of the trees.

 

Then Kabuto spotted the chakra signatures he had felt. A three person team of Konoha Anbu. Kabuto quietly followed the team through the trees as he began to make the seals for the Genjutsu he was going to unleash upon them for even the chance of them having discovered Orochimaru's alliance with the Rock.

 

Finishing the seals quickly, Kabuto whispered his technique, “Ninpo: Emptiness of the Abyss Jutsu.” Kabuto allowed a smile to cross his face as the entire team of Konoha Anbu completely missed their next landing and fell through the branches towards the ground. His hands coming alight with his chakra scalpel, Kabuto was on the nearest two Anbu like lightning. Slamming his hands just above the hearts of the two Anbu he quickly severed the connections that lead into their hearts, leaving them to die.

 

The third Anbu member was able to break out of the Genjutsu fast enough to avoid being struck by Kabuto's glowing hands. Pulling their katana from their backs, the Anbu tried to slash at Kabuto through their clearing vision. Ducking under the blade by only a whisker, Kabuto quickly touched his chakra scalpels to the Anbu's wrist while kicking them in the stomach through some bushes and in the direction that a waterfall could be heard. Leaping over the bushes Kabuto brought the katana down in a rapid arc aiming for the Anbu's head. The Anbu barely rolled out of the way of Kabuto's slash, leaving part of his right ear and face mask behind. As the mask fell away it revealed the face of a young man.

 

His vision and hearing still out of whack from the Genjutsu that Kabuto had placed over him, he turned to retreat until he could get he senses better under control. As he sprinted in the direction of the waterfall, Kabuto began to slowly catch up. He put his feet out to stop near the waterfall's edge. Before he could turn around however, Kabuto swung the katana diagonally across the Anbu's back from right shoulder to left him. With a cry of agony the Konoha Anbu flew off the cliff and into the raging waterfall in front of him him.

 

Licking the blood from the katana Kabuto let out a peal of laughter at the incompetence of the Konoha Anbu team he had just taken down. “That was just too easy! Konoha Anbu really has to step things up a notch if those people were considered good enough to make it.”

 

Tossing the katana over the falls as well, Kabuto pulled out a scroll from his hip pack that he kept with him at all times. Walking back over to the dead Anbu members, Kabuto stripped the face masks from them to get a look at their faces. One of them was a young woman who was about 24 years old while the other looked to be of a man in his early 30s. Kabuto grinned, `Perfect. I need a woman age 24-26 for continue my body collection, and a man in his 30's is yet another I needed.

 

After sealing both bodies into his scroll, Kabuto headed straight for the Village Hidden in Sound to make his report to Orochimaru.

 

Orochimaru's Chambers

 

Mikomi and Sasuke entered Orochimaru's throne room bearing Kokoro Tadashii's head as proof of the completion of their mission.

 

“Kukuku. I always wanted to meet Kokoro-kun face to face. I'm glad that I finally have the opportunity,” Orochimaru cooed as he pulled the bloody head from the sac that Mikomi and Sasuke had carried it home in.

 

“We also swapped the Konoha Hitae-ates with ones from the Sound to further discredit Konoha in the eyes of the Rice Country Daimyo and elevate our own standing. With Mikomi using her own version of Tsunade's strength we left an indication that Konoha has essentially declared ware on Rice country by killing one of their advisors.”

 

“I commend you for that stroke of ingenuity Sasuke-kun. The Daimyo has started to put pressure on our village to ease back on our activities, but I get the feeling that he will want to help fund us now. Especially if I hint that I will try and seek revenge on Konoha for their assassination of an advisor that they were hired to protect.”

 

Sasuke looked pointedly at Mikomi for a long moment before she realized what Sasuke wanted her to report, “Orochimaru, I personally dealt with and killed Kokoro Tadashii and burned their dwelling to the ground to leave no evidence that the Konoha Nins died. I also personally dealt with the thirty two standard soldiers that were acting as guards for the target while Sasuke-san dealt with the four Konoha Chuunins. That's all I have to report.”

 

Orochimaru motioned for Mikomi to leave his chambers, “You are dismissed Mikomi-chan.” Once she left the room Orochimaru addressed Sasuke, “A fine job you are doing molding that girl into a weapon for me. You could almost say that the forging is nearing completion. However, I cannot give you a Kusanagi sword quite yet.”

 

Sasuke frowned but said nothing as Orochimaru continued to speak once again, “I want you to ensure that Mikomi has done three things before I give you a Kusanagi sword. I want you to have helped her fully master Tsunade's ridiculous strength, taken her on one more mission for me, and taught her this technique that I have rediscovered from the Shadow ruins.”

 

Orochimaru pulled a scroll from his sash and tossed it to Sasuke. Sasuke quickly scanned the title of the Jutsu, Katon: Nova Detonation Jutsu. “I see, so you want me to add another Katon jutsu to her arsenal. Once I have met your conditions you had better give me that sword.” Turning on his heal, Sasuke walked out of the room without another look at Orochimaru.

 

 

Kabuto returned to make his report only a day after Sasuke and Mikomi had reported the success of their own mission.

 

Bowing, Kabuto presented the contract of alliance that the Rock had written up and signed, “Orochimaru-sama, I have secured the alliance with the Village Hidden in Rock.”

 

Orochimaru took the scroll from Kabuto and unrolled it, “And the concession that you had to make for them to agree to the alliance in the first place?”

 

“I'm afraid that they demanded to have us essentially lead the attack on the Village Hidden in Grass and hand it completely over to them the second it has been captured. Also, they refused to send any more ninjas than we would be sending during the actual takeover of Konoha. Besides that, we have arranged for both of our villages to send one three man team each to act as attachés for the coordination of our positioning and assault proper on both villages. Is this satisfactory Orochimaru-sama?”

 

Orochimaru waved Kabuto's question off, “Of course its fine. After all, we will have men already stationed inside their village when decide to begin our assault on them afterwards. Excellent work Kabuto.”

 

Kabuto smirked as he pushed the glasses up on his face, “I also have another tidbit of good news. I noticed a Konoha Anbu team as I was heading away from the Village Hidden in Rock. Thinking it prudent not to chance Konoha discovering our alliance prematurely, I proceeded to eliminate them, leaving two of their bodies intact. Perhaps we can use these bodies to have two of our own Nins assume their identities using the same `Face Replication Jutsu' that Sasuke and Mikomi used to infiltrate Konoha last time. Then all we need to do is plant false information for them to try and react to as our other plans are being carried out.”

 

“Hmm, that is quite an interesting idea. Alright, bring in a couple of expendable Chuunin who are eager to have an increase in prestige. That way even if they fail their mission, their deaths will remain inconsequential to our plans at large.”

 

A Waterfall Somewhere inSouthernEarth Country

 

Koujaku groaned in pain as consciousness came to him once again. His right ear was burning and his back was throbbing. Looking around he realized that the Genjutsu that had been cast on him had faded and that he was half in, half out of the river that was at the base of the waterfall he remembered being knocked into. Reaching his arm back felt how deep the wound that Sound Nin had given him with his own Katana only to find his right hand useless. Reaching back with his left hand he felt the cut already starting to scab over. `Good, not too deep. If I am able to swing my slashed vest around and apply enough pressure I should be able to make it to a village without dying from blood loss.

 

Gritting his teeth in pain, Koujaku pulled himself to his knees. Leaning forward he let the black vest slide from this arms and onto the ground in front of him. Opening one of the larger pockets on the vest he pulled a length of rope out of it and then put the vest on again with the slashed part at the front. Wrapping the length of rope around the base of the vest he tied it off as tightly as he could using his left hand and teeth. Quickly, he wrapped the rope around the rest of his body to tie the vest to his back to staunch the bleeding. Hauling himself to his feet he forced himself to start moving.

 

`I have to get back to Konoha as soon as possible,' Koujaku thought as he tried to keep moving in a relatively straight line down the river, `Hokage-sama is going to want to know about an alliance between Rock and Sound as soon as possible. This information could be more important than any other report that I have ever made since joining the Anbu forces.'

 

As the sun began to rise on a brand new day, Koujaku fought his own injuries to try and make it back to Konoha alive. And on time to deliver the report of a Sound Rock alliance before the two villages decided to invade.

 

A/N: I anyone really doesn't agree with the way I made Mikomi act after her sleep deprivation the you try staying up for even a week straight. Apparently after I had been awake for that long on the 7th day I decided it would be fun to try to dance around the house in my boxers wearing a lampshade on my head. You can get just as loopy from lack of sleep as from alcohol.

 

P.S. Just another reminder to PLEASE review. They help me write faster not to mention tell me people actually enjoy reading my story. They also help point out exactly where I can improve on my writing. Thanks all!