Naruto: Lost In Kishimoto - Revenge [Book 2]

Chapter Sixty: Serpents and Iron.

Beth POV

The sun had risen high over the trees of the Land of Fire, a golden hue washing over the earth. My black backpack hung over my shoulder, essential items and weaponry held within it. My sword rested in its holder on my hip, hidden by my black cloak. I wore a pair of black leather pants, ninja sandals, and charcoal tanktop. My leaf shinobi headband resting comfortably around my thigh, pins securing it to the leather fabric.

Taking my sword out of its holder, I sliced a shallow cut into my thumb, forming the signs of the summoning jutsu. Appearing before me was a small blue serpent, its body no bigger then an average brown snake. The serpents eyes were large, their emerald green colour radiant in the light of the sun.

"Kiryuu, I need something of you." I greeted, the snake bowing its head in respect before responding.

"Lady Beth, how may I be of service?" Kiryuu hissed, his respectful mannerisms never ceasing to surprise me.

"I have a message that I need delivered to an ally of mine." I requested, taking a small roll of paper out of my pocket. "He'll be waiting for you at the Hana Inn in Shukuba Town." Holding the paper in my palm, Kiryuu proceeded to swallow the note, securing it for delivery.

"Of course, Lady Beth. I shall deliver this to your confidant as soon as possible." Kiryuu replied, his tongue slithering out of his mouth.

"Thank you Kiryuu. Try to avoid being seen as much as possible." With a final bow of the head, Kiryuu speed off, his blue figure disappearing into the forest brush. Kiryuu was by far the most trustworthy of all the serpents of Ryuchi Cave, his polite nature a welcome reprieve from the other serpents' abrasive personalities.

I had first summoned Kiryuu whilst undergoing one of Kabuto's rigorous experimentations. Kabuto had all but depleted a small amount of my bodies chakra, my body and mind exhausted. The purpose was for Kabuto determine whether his serums and injections had increased my chakra supply. I had spent close to two hours executing my most advanced techniques. Lightning and fire jutsus had allowed me to expend the majority of my chakra, but in addition, Kabuto wanted me to utilise a variety of different skills such as genjutsu and ninjutsu's of natures I wasn't as comfortable with. As such I was forced to execute water jutsus I had yet to completely master, as well as earth techniques from my time with the Third Hokage. Eventually, when my chakra levels had reached a dangerous low, Kabuto had asked me to perform the summoning jutsu, or rather he had asked me to summon Manda. Instead, Kiryuu had emerged, his beautiful blue skin glistening in the firelight. At first, I was a little embarrassed at the size of the serpent, but after speaking with him I realized that meeting Kiryuu had been a blessing. I utilised him continuously across the next year to send messaged to Gaara when Tayuya was unavailable.

Lingering for only a moment longer, I set off towards the Land of Iron, my heart pounding as I thought through what was to come. So much was at stake and yet each detail had the potential to destroy us. I had to first convince Gaara to allow me to accompany him into the Kage Summit, then once inside I had wait for Danzo to begin using the Kotoamatsukami to which I would have to then utilise that information to incite a fight with the Raikage. However, at the same time I couldn't allow the battle to damage the Raikage's willingness to accept the terms of an Allied Shinobi Force at a later time. Should that succeed, Danzo would flee, removing himself from the Land of Iron by the route I determined. I would then follow behind the three Konoha shinobi to the location I specified for Itachi to intercept them, before eliminating the two bodyguards as Itachi attempted to incapacitate Danzo.

Just thinking about the elements of the plan cause an ache to erupt in my temple. Placing a hand to the side of my forehead, I rubbed the spot in a circular motion hoping to diffuse the tension. However, I didn't think the headache would cease until after Lady Tsunade resumed her duties as Hokage.