In Spite of it all (BOOK TWO)

Chapter 15

Kakashi POV~

When Tenzo reported his near encounter, and the note he found, I was severely tempted to laugh out loud. Dangerously close to doing so.

I wasn't the only one, but I was one of the few who even bothered to hold back. Poor Tenzo.

Tsunade rubbed her temples. "He certainly wasn't lying. The Kyuubi's chakra grants him incredible sensory ability, so I'm sure he knew you were there ages before you even arrived." she sighed, sounding almost amused, "If this is his way of saying 'I told you so,' then I suppose we should give up trying to catch him and just agree to his terms. I'd rather Naruto be on our side than fail his trust once again."

"So are we going through with it? The five kage summit?" I asked. At these words, the tension in the room increased. It was just the Hokage, Shizune, the two elders, Tenzo, and myself, but that was plenty of opinions on this matter. A heavy silence fell over us. 

"I think...we'll wait on that. I've shared the information from the letter with the other kage, but I've yet to hear back. I'll let whatever happens, happen for now." her voice hardened, "But it will happen soon. You should understand why we'd all be uneasy about this, considering how this would be the first five kage summit in years and the other Hidden Villages have been quite vocal about our loss of Jinchuriki."

The stiff atmosphere didn't let up, no one managing to find any relief in those words. It was true, the moment the other villages found out about Naruto's disappearance, they were quick to throw dirt on Konoha. In the beginning, there was constant worry over the other villages possibly taking advantage of this and attempting to take on the Leaf. The disruption in balance was not something the other ninja villages would overlook.

After three years, they didn't try anything and the threat eased off a bit, but they weren't afraid to let us know that one step out of line wouldn't end well.

The worry remained. A five kage summit would be just what we needed to mend these fragile relationships and strengthen the weak peace between us, but the Kage are stubborn and unforgiving. It may make them strong leaders but it was hard to get them to get along. It would be too easy to start a whole goddamn war over an argument. 

"That's it for this meeting." Tsunade closed her eyes and waved us out, "Go."

Everyone left silently. The Hokage was clearly stressed, and none of us wanted to be on the wrong side of her fists.

Naruto POV~

'Will Isobu be okay where he is?'

"The brat will be fine for now. We're lucky, having located some of these Akatsuki guys."

'It's Pain.' I scanned the forest in front of me, 'What is he doing? This is way too close to the Leaf village.'

"I have a good idea of what's going on."

'I don't like it. He'd be crazy to attack the whole village by himself,' I paused, 'Right?'

"I wouldn't put it past him. Between the six of them, they could do a lot of damage. Besides, remember what we found out last time?"

I soured, 'Yeah. The real Pain isn't even among them, so even if some of these Pains got caught the one controlling them would still be out there.'

Kurama growled, the rumbling lower and more bitter than usual. "We're helping the Leaf village."

It was a statement, said with a flat, even voice.

I was silent, unable to argue or find a response because he was right.

'I guess? Well, we have to deal with Pain too. He is after us...'