Eight

Reputation

So yeah. Everyone had their own thing. It was just a little weird to see a bunch of pups pick this one up.

"Why not take the body to study?" he asked. Especially if they were comfortable enough to scavenge and bury them. "You could probably learn a lot more from him."

Shino shrugged a shoulder. "What is there to study? Everything we needed from him we gathered from when he was living."

"Which is safe to say that his goal was to delay us and gather information," Sakura said. She flexed her newly healed hand still fresh with pink skin. "We'll increase our speed to make up for lost time. Kiba? Sensei?"

"We're good," Kiba said, glancing at Shino. "Your kikai?"

"Searching," the Aburame replied simply as he turned the direction toward River. They were already falling back into the formation Pakkun first found them in, and once Kiba was back to the head of the team, he grinned down at the pug.

"Ready?" he prompted.

Pakkun turned around. He wished Boss had warned him about how weird Yuuhi's team was. "Let's move out."

:: ::

"Zetsu," Pein said as he turned his head, the fade of his jutsu finally reaching his senses. "Those two should have shape-shifted back into their original forms. Dispose of them."

"Understood."

"Itachi," he continued. "I know the jutsu clouds your perception and erases visual recognition and other similar stimuli, but is there anything you can confirm of our enemies?"

"They're a four man squad consisting of Hatake Kakashi, Hyuuga Hinata, Kyuubi Jinchuuriki Uzumaki Naruto of Konoha, and Chiyo, an advisor from Suna."

Sasori narrowed his eyes.

"I see. And Kisame?"

"Ah, Zetsu-san was right about it being Yuuhi Kurenai, but I don't know the names of her teammates," Kisame lied. There was power in being one of the older members; he was never at the end of suspicion and no one ever thought he would have any outside motive. "I know one was a medic, one was probably an Inuzuka proficient in seals, and the last was a swordswoman that ended up killing the clone."

Pein tipped his head. "Hm. The team with the jinchuuriki takes priority. Any other back-up will be dealt with when the time comes."

Kisame closed his eyes. Hopefully that meant Sakura wouldn't get into trouble anytime soon.

:: ::

A red torii gate stood poised before a boulder with a single seal that read Forbidden on its face. Rushing waters of a river ran beneath their feet and after a night's rest to replenish their chakra, they'd made it to the heart of River Country with little fanfare and dirt scuffing the sides of their sandals.

"So this is the place, huh," Kurenai murmured.

"The Kazekage is on the other side of this boulder," Pakkun informed them from his perch on one of Kiba's shoulders. "But it looks like they put up a barrier."

"Definitely a barrier," Kiba confirmed as he walked closer. He considered the sequence for a few moments before he caught a whiff of a few scents entering the general vicinity. The rest of his team seemed to have noticed too, the way they moved to angle themselves to cover each other's blindspots; Shino at Kiba's, Sakura and Kurenai's at each other's, Akamaru silently weaving around their legs with his lips pulled back in a subtle snarl.

Sakura deactivated her Perception seals.

Kurenai's flickered in recognition the closer the strangers drew. "Kakashi. You're late."