~~~
"His hideout?" Suigetsu asked as the two left the house that Tazuna was living in. Satsuki nodded her head.
"That's what the others said. But that's not important. We just need to find retrieve that blade then find Naruto." Suigetsu raised an eyebrow.
"You seem to be quite obsessed with him, you know. Star crossed lovers, perhaps?" He had his hands over his head, walking in, lazily manner.
"It doesn't matter what you think or say. Tsunami had said that Naruto was planning to go to the Daimyo's Palace." Satsuki tried redirecting the talk to a different topic.
"Uh-huh. But this is getting exciting. The Executioner's Blade is just within my reach!"
~~~
The Konoha 10 sat on the grassy terrain of the training grounds. Silence was the only thing between them.
They had agreed to meet up before they left for their mission to the Daimyo Palace.
"We're finally facing against the Akatsuki," Kiba said in a low tone. Deep breaths were heard before nods started appearing.
"How can we even be sure it's the Akatsuki? What if it's just some random person sending a meaningless threat to him." Hearing Sakura's statement, the quietness became louder.
"But what if you're wrong? This is a very dangerous mission for all of us," Tenten retorted. She, like many others, know how important this mission was.
Whether it was real or fake -- it didn't matter.
(A/N: I have actually forgotten about Tenten. She has had the least amount of development because of my negligence.)
"I know. . . I know. . . I know. But I just can't help but feel like this is all too wrong. That we're just being lured in to a trap." Shikamaru seemed to agree with this.
"I'm glad I'm not the only one to think this. And I think everyone here has this thought in the back of their mind. The thought that we're just wasting our time going on a mission that could be just a bluff. The Akatsuki are people who are calculating - this isn't in their routine."
"And the fact that this is all happening right after Naruto became a rogue-nin," Ino commented, making Kiba grit his teeth.
"Can stop we bringing up Naruto? This isn't the time." Kiba clenched his hands into a tight fist. A red hue appeared due to the magnitude of his clenching.
"How can we not? Even after everything, Naruto is still the root of all our current problems." As the tension reached its limit, Kiba exploded.
"I. . . don't know! Ok?! I don't know what to do?! Naruto was a friend, but all he did was lie to us. How am I supposed to feel?!" Satsuki left, and now Naruto too.
"Do you think you're the only one who feels this way? We feel betrayed too!" Choji yelled, angered by Kiba. Personal feeling were now being involved.
And it was hindering them.
"Relax, this isn't youthful," Lee told them in a down tone. It was a good effort, but it was not successful on calming them down.
"No. . . No. . . No! I can't handle you guys just repeatedly bringing him up in conversations that has nothing to do with him!" Hatred had sprouted from deep within Kiba.
"Is that your problem? Or is it because you envied Naruto before?" Neji hit a sore spot in Kiba. This brought a surprised look on some faces.
Kiba was a prideful person - opting to not admit some things that would hurt his prideful nature.
"Shut up," said Kiba, trying to remain calm. As the truth was presented through everyone, the whole team started to crumble bit by bit.
~~~
Satsuki and Suigetsu appeared in broad daylight, walking towards the hideout that they were hunting down. With silence looming the air, they were prepared to take back the blade that was taken.
That manipulative bastard. Satsuki thought, knowing Naruto was pulling the strings. Of course any normal person who doesn't specifically know Naruto will not be knowledgeable of this.
But she does.
He somehow knew that we were after the Executioner's Blade. How? This was something that has been in her mind since finding out about Naruto's involvement in this situation.
Maybe it was weird, but Naruto was somehow always in the middle of everything that happens throughout the Elemental Nations.
To some - it's scary.
To others - it's impressive.
It just shows how much influence he has had in just 15 years of living. And more than half of those was in Konoha.
"We're almost there," told Satsuki, getting a nod from Suigetsu with an eager grin on his face. As they continued walking in the sunlight, there seemed to be people from afar appearing in their sight.
"They're here! Get ready!" They heard someone yell within the mass of people crowding before them. Satsuki narrowed her eyes at them.
"How the hell did they find out about us coming here?" A puzzled Suigetsu asked, getting ready to slaughter them all.
Could it be Naruto's doing? She soon shook her head to get rid of him out of her mind.
No - it's not the right time to theorize about Naruto's involvement. Satsuki pulled out her blade that she on her back. With a calm expression on her face, she took lead.
"Rip her to shreds!" They trapped her in a circular shape; she was in the middle of this all. Satsuki took a glance at Suigetsu before disappearing.
"What a show off," muttered Suigetsu, seeing Satsuki standing on top of one of the men that were surrounding her.
"Everyone here will die."
Without remorse, Satsuki struck the man's head with the shining blade that she held. She got off the person by walking off the body of the dead that lied on the ground.
A Chidori appeared and enveloped her hand.
"Chidori Nagashi!"
Tendrils of lightning covered the area. Suigetsu jumped away out of fear of getting electrocuted. He glared at her.
"Hey! Watch it!" Yelled Suigetsu, stepping to the side to dodge a pitch-fork. Grinning, Suigetsu raised his leg and dug his knee in the man's stomach.
Looking back, Suigetsu jumped up in the air and kicked a person's face to the dirt ground. As particles rose, he took down even more people in the army. The grin never leaving his face, blood splattered on the ground with each grunt being taken down.
"I'm letting you take care of these guys! See ya!' Suigetsu ran towards their destination, not caring about Satsuki due to his confidence in her abilities. A groan escaped her lips.
"How annoying," muttered Satsuki, activating her Sharingan. As her hair swayed with each motion that she made, death followed her. The stone-cold expression was plastered on her face as she moved forward.
"AHHH!" They yelled as they lost their lives one by one.
This was what you wanted. Right Naruto? To cleanse this word. She smirked, continuously moving forward as she slashed down her enemies in quick succession. She knew him, and she knew his ideals.
Even though those ideals were something that slowly died out as time went on. Satsuki saw how he grew comfortable with the village, and she knew his goals would be something in his way if he loved his life in the village.
But now, she knows what Naruto wants.
You left the village, that's all I need to know that you are committed to your goals. Satsuki entered the hideout, walking on the creaking floors as she took out the leftover minions that Suigetsu ignored.
How inefficient. She thought to herself, commenting on Suigetsu not doing the job correctly. Walking up the stairs, she made it up to the last floor.
Satsuki saw Suigetsu cut in two halves. Two people stood over him. One was overly thin and old, and the other was holding the Executioner's Blade and was quite buff.
"Are you done yet?" She asked, seeing Suigetsu laugh it off as he rose from the floor, perfectly fine without any injuries.
"Relax!" Exclaimed Suigetsu, dodging the swing of the Executioner's Blade. Smirking, he stretched his hand, he gripped the hilt tightly.
"I have more strength than you." Suigetsu ignored those words, instead just making his arm enlarge and become more buff. Now with the power to overpower his opponent's strength, Suigetsu yanked the blade.
"I think you said something wrong." He threw the man to the nearest wall. Suigetsu looked over at Satsuki. He nodded
"Yes, I am done. Let's go." Satsuki walked down the stairs, with Suigetsu following from behind. He grinned, satisfied that he had gotten his hands on the Executioner's Blade.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" He laughed as the hideout slowly collapsed on top of Tenzen as he was crumbling in turmoil alongside his hideout.
As they walked away, Satsuki looked at Suigetsu.
"You're now my subordinate now that we got the Executioner's Blade. Your leader is now me." He groaned at these words. Suigetsu was not very pleased with him being a subordinate.
"Yeah, yeah. I got it. Who are we going for next?" He asked, his mood now being deflated.
"We're going to look for Karin and Jugo. But first, we're taking a little detour before we seek their companionship."
~~~
"It seems everything is going as I planned." Naruto stood on the destroyed hideout that Tenzen resided in. Standing on the piles of rubble, he looked at the pile of dead bodies.
"Looks like she was able to do things for you." Naruto nodded as he sighed. He arrived at the ruined palace a few hours after its destruction.
"The Hashirama Cells is taking too long to get accustomed to my body. I might actually die if it doesn't get accustomed faster." The effects of the cells were very apparent.
Just yesterday, his paleness wasn't serious, but now the seriousness of this all has evolved even further than he had first imagined.
"You shouldn't have swallowed that finger. It's costing you now," Kurama scolded Naruto's actions. Naruto ignored as he walked on the outside part of the palace.
Weaving a set of hand seals, Naruto expelled his jutsu from his mouth.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball!"
Jumping up in the air, a large fireball engulfed the area in full force. Once landing on the ground, Naruto witnessed a beautiful sight right in front of him.
The brilliant flames and fire reflected his eyes as it began spreading at a very rapid pace. Turning around, he began planning his next move. He closed his eyes, feeling the heat tickling his skin from behind.
He felt no fear.
Life and death was within his hands.
~~~
"Thank you for coming in such short notice," the Fire Daimyo said, bowing down slightly. Seeing this, Konoha 10 and their senseis bowed down as well.
"It's an honor, Daimyo-sama," Kurenai said. It was unfortunate that she had to protect the Daimyo when only sadness and grief was on her mind.
"As you know, the Akatsuki sent me a letter the other day about their plan on killing me." They nodded, hearing fear within the tone of the Daimyo's.
"We're here to protect you at all cost. There is no need to fret," Sakura assured him, getting nods of agreement from the rest of the team.
Even though it seems like they were all getting along, that was not the case. If Sakura was being honest, she was scared of what might happen.
Not scared of the Akatsuki, but scared of the synergy of the team as a whole. This was an important mission and the possibility of them messing it up with just their teamwork is something that could be fearful.
"The party will be held tomorrow evening. I advise you all to sleep in - we have space in this palace." They nodded, although they were actually planning to go on a night patrol.
This was just in case the Akatsuki were to decide to move in with their plans even earlier than their expected arrival. Once Daimyo left, a large exhaled was released.
"This is nerve wracking. What if we fail? The Daimyo is a pillar for the Fire Country." Hinata had voiced her thoughts quite vocally.
"Don't worry! We have it under control!" Guy put his thumbs up, his grin showing his bright teeth that brought the moods up a tiny bit.
"Let's store our stuff away. We'll patrol afterwards." The others nodded, making their way to their rooms. But as soon as they walked, they noticed someone wasn't with them.
"Kurenai-sensei?" Shino called out, making everyone snap their heads towards the departing Kurenai. She turned around.
"You guys go ahead. I'll be the first to go on patrol." As she walked away, Team 8's eyes became gloomy as they looked down. However, Kiba had anger boiling up from inside.
Managing to keep it from exploding, they let Kurenai do her thing. On along with Kurenai, she stood on the roof tiles that she was using to monitor the area.
Sitting on the roof tiles, she looked towards the sun that was slowly setting down. As it slowly went down, she couldn't help but shed tears.
"Why? W-why did you have to leave m-me?" Her face was scrunched as she cried and weep as sadness swallowed he figure whole.
All she felt was hatred towards a single person.
I'll kill you and tear you apart, Uchiha Naruto. She thought, her ruby eyes burning with hatred. Kurenai wanted to kill him.
To take the life of the killer that killed Asuma.
~~~
"HAHAHA! So exciting I can't wait to sacrifice this person," Hidan laughed as he swung his blade wildly. A flame of excitement was burning from within.
"Indeed. His bounty is very large, but we can't kill him," told Kakuzu, disappointed that they couldn't get the bounty of their new target.
"He's quite the dangerous person. That's why this is so exciting! I can't wait to beat him half-dead!" They looked at the letter that they had received recently.
"Dear Akatsuki,
You're hunting someone beyond your control. A God that has descended from the heavens down to the earth. That's who I am. You can find me at the Daimyo Palace in 2 days. I heard there's going to be quite a party there.
- The Kyuubi Jinchuriki"
"Leader-sama told of us that the Kyuubi Jinchuriki has appeared and made his appearance. To think it was that kid Itachi and Kisame encountered a few years ago." Their cloaks followed them as they walked alongside each other.
"What was his name again? Uchiha Naruto? No wonder he thinks himself as a god. He's an Uchiha." Hidan was obviously more agitated to take him down.
They thought it was okay to skip a few tails.
"Tch. I can't stop looking at his bingo book entry. The amount of money that Konoha is willing to pay is unbelievable. I heard the person who raised his bounty was. . . Yuhi Kurenai or something." They looked at Naruto's bingo book entry once again.
Name: Uchiha Naruto
Rank: S-Rank
Age: 15
Height: 5'10 (Originally 5'9)
Bounty: 200,000,000 RYO - Dead or Alive.
Warning: It's better to run if you can. Anything below S-Rank will die immediately.
"How scary. But it doesn't matter - we're the immortal duo that will incapacitate this fishcake." They soon disappeared from sight.
They were now on the hunt for Naruto. But they were in for quite the surprise.
~~~
Naruto looked at his bingo book. He had been learning about the powers of the Akatsuki that he had chosen.
"Hidan and Kakuzu. Interesting. They're practically immortal," Naruto muttered to himself. He was going to have to be careful with them.
There wasn't much information about them, but the information that he could find was quite valuable.
"For Jashin, huh? How pathetic." Naruto couldn't help but smirk at his own words.
"I'll show you how a true God operates."
~~~
Done. This shall be it for today. It's quite short since I don't really want to put too much in this chapter and want to put what I want to put next chapter.
As of now, this chapter has over 2700+ words. Not much, but still adequate enough for my taste. Next chapter should be soon.
I don't know when, but it will be out soon.
2-3 more chapters until this arc is wrapped up.
But until next time.
CYA!