Beyond The Stars (Naruto Fanfiction)

Chapter 82~ No Chance

"Kritanta?" I looked next to me and lightly smiled at the white wolf. "Yes, Karliah?"

"I hate to bring this up right now, but it's something we haven't talked about." I brushed my braided her behind my ears, pondering what she could possibly want to talk about. "What is it? We're almost at the Hokage Tower."

"Right, have you ever thought about how Orochimaru knows everything about your location and what you have been up to? Don't you think that is a little unsettling?" I thought it over, slowly nodding. "I thought it had been Kabuto, but he could of only been leaking information during the chunin exams. Somebody else has to still be keeping tabs on me."

"But I don't think it's only you, how would they know so much about Sasuke?" I stopped walking for a moment, this possible traitor situation could be more trouble than I had first thought. "There could be two possible answers, one, there is an intel collector who specializes in stealth. However that should be easily discarded seeing as there are many trackers in the leaf, and we have four wolves with keen smelling who should be able to sniff out a person. The second option, which is most likely to be the truth, there is somebody within the leaf village who knows enough about me to leak to Orochimaru."

"I'm afraid I had also thought of the second option to be the most plausible thing to occur." I dropped the conversation as we made it into the Tower. But this only leaves one question, who is smart enough to be the traitor? I walked into Tsunade's office, seeing her and Shikamaru.

"Late last night Sasuke Uchiha left the hidden leaf village," Alright here we go. What does she want us to do about it? "And we're quite certain he's heading to the hidden sound village."

"He just left?" I could practically hear the confusion slipping off the chunin's tongue. "How could this happen?"

"Simple, Orochimaru must of had him in his clutches."

"What? Wait, that doesn't make any sense. What does Sasuke have to gain by talking to someone as depraved as Orochimaru?" Shikamaru tried to use reason to combat the news he was hearing. "At this point, motive doesn't matter, we need to deal with this situation quickly. I've decided it's time for you two to carry out your first mission as Chunin's."

"So all we gotta do is bring Sasuke back?" He asked, looking back at me ever so slightly. I stood with my arms crossed, my hands laced in bandages from yesterday's encounter. "Yes. However, it must be accomplished without delay and you may find it a more dangerous task than you think. There is a strong possibility that Sasuke is being guarded by Orochimaru's men."

"Well if we're going to be facing opposition I'm going to need to request a team compelling exclusively of Jonin and Chunin." She looked down at her stacks of paper, a small scowl playing onto her face. I started running percentages in my head, looking down at Karliah ever so often. "I can't honor that request."

"What, and why not?"

"You already know the answer. As I'm sure you're aware most of the Jonin have been sent out on missions, only a handful stayed behind to defend in case of attack. Go round un any skilled Genin you think are up to the job, you have thirty minutes to leave this village. Now Kritanta why haven't you said anything?" I let my gaze settle on the blonde-haired Hokage. I thought for a second about how I should phrase these next few words. "I don't think I will participate in this mission."

"Excuse me!" She slammed her palm down onto the desk, her eyes starring into mine with intensity. I took a step forward and pulled off the black piece of fabric on my neck. "Look, I'm assuming you know about my past, probably from Kakashi. What he's going through, is something he has to realize for himself. The only thing we could do that would have any effect on him would just be pushing him in the right direction. I've run through the calculations a few times now."

"Calculations for what?"

"Your chance of him coming back willingly is a 16.3% if Naruto and I were able to talk some sense into him. But then his chances of staying are still slim to none, less than 10%.  But your chances of using force range from 5.3% to probably 36.1% depending on if he is guarded or not. Now honestly those chances are something I'd usually try to overcome, however, there is one thing we all seem to have forgotten." 

"Do you care to enlighten us?" She asked, I could tell she was tensed and bothered by the current situation. Which no one could blame her given the limited options. "Orochimaru has a way of getting into people's heads, especially someone as driven as Sasuke. He has one goal, and he was offered a way to achieve it. Including his one-track mindset, I'd say the overall success of this whole retrieval mission would be 0.02%, and that's being generous." 

I finished talking, looking between Tsunade and Shikamaru. Karliah nudged my side, and pointed in the direction of the window. I quirked my brow, making sure I wasn't being looked at by the two as glanced over to the glass. 

"I get it, Shikamaru you will be taking over the mission. You leave in twenty, go get who you need." The other chunin nodded and slipped out the door. My gaze settled just on the back of the office. I can't feel any chakra coming from the outside, nor can I even sense anybody. I pulled out a kunai and held it firmly. I let it glide through my grip and rush past Tsunade's head and towards the open window. "That was uncalled for! What exactly do you think you're doing!" 

"I can't go on this mission!" I reasoned back, smirking as I felt a break in the wind and a slight signature rushing away from the building. I pocketed my hands and walked towards her desk, lowering my voice. "We were being watched, I don't know how many but one left." 

"You are going to give me a heart attack kid." She let out an elongated breath, placing her hands onto her desk. "My absolutes Lady Tsunade." 

"That doesn't matter now, however, I have an opportunity for you. It's something Jiraiya and I had discussed, and now I'd like your answer." I narrowed my eyes as the words left her mouth. I glanced down at Karliah and saw her nod ever so slightly. 

"Tell me more."