Stardust | Naruto fanfiction

14. 取引 - Torihiki

The Deal.

"A solo mission, huh? The council just wants to get rid of me," I muttered with a chuckle. Ever since Hiruzen died, the council has been on my tail trying to root me out of Konoha. Speaking of ROOT, Danzō has also been trying to get me into his little organization. Tch, how annoying. That little human can't keep his dirty hands to himself.

Little human...? I paused in my tracks, almost falling off the branch I perched on. My brows furrowed as I adjusted my ANBU mask to wipe away the sweat gathering on my forehead. When did I start referring anyone as a little human? A troubled look crossed my features as I shook the thought away and continued on.

The mission was simple;

Find the leader of a group called Ikigai* and report back.

Nothing too hard, right? But knowing the Council, there had to be something more to it. There always was. With Hiruzen gone... there was no one to stop them. The land where this Ikagai can be found was in Kumogakure, The Land of Lightning. Why was it so far away? A sigh passed my lips as I darted from branch to branch. Perhaps it was for the best, I still need time to gather myself after the Hokage's death and such a journey would give me more than enough.

Now, as for this organization, I've never heard of it. Founded by a mysterious leader and amassed with hundreds of rouge nin. They definitely would pose a threat if they focused their attention on Konohagakure. But that's what I'm here for, so they don't pose a threat. I'm already on my fourth day of travel and should be arriving on the outskirts of Kumo within an hour, then I'll scout for their base...

My foot paused mid-air; just above a wire trap. Cautiously I pulled away and back flipped to a higher branch. That was too close. Pay attention Shi! I scolded, fanning my senses out to pick up any more traps. A string of curses tumbled out of my mouth when I realized I had literally jumped into the middle of a mine-field. "I guess that means I've found the base... Not even a challenge. Tch. " Without another sound, I lifted off the branch and launched into the air. Doing a couple flips just for the hell of it, I landed on the other side in a kneeling position.

Click.

A groan left my lips as I face-palmed. "I manage to avoid a whole damn field, and I land on one god-forsaken mine. How careless can I be?" I hissed. The best way out of a situation like this is to use the substitution jutsu, but seeing as I have no chakra that's completely out of the question. Hagoromo never went over this in training! Then again, neither of us had known about my immortality. But just because I'm immortal doesn't mean I'm going to go blowing myself up because it's easier!

My mind whirled as It tried to figure out the possible solutions. Was I fast enough to get away from the explosion? Probably. I mean, I could literally appear and disappear. With that in mind I tensed my muscles and leaped away faster than Kakashi when he sees a new release of Icha Icha. An earth shaking boom erupted behind me as I landed safely away. "They must have packed every one of those things with a punch... I wonder how I would have scattered." I mused as I began to push myself into the upright position.

Only there was a cool metal placed at the base of my throat. "Oh~ who might you be, little lass? This is dangerous territory." A voice cooed from behind. "But it seems you can hold your own, eh? I might have to fix that." Before he could even finish I was kicking my leg out. The heel of my ninja-style boots connected with the base of his chin, causing the man to reel backwards with a grunt of pain. "Oi, you little brat! Is that how you treat a stranger?!" he burst, coming at me with the intent to punch. I easily dodged that and the weapon he decided to sweep at me.