BK landed on the ground in a crouched position with his hands touching the ground, his head facing up to look above him; an opponent was standing on a tree branch looking him with a grin. The expression on his face could not be seen by the assailant because of his mask.
"Konoha must be getting desperate by making children Anbu," the man said calmly, still standing on the tree branch.
BK didn't say anything. He merely took a standing position as he readied for another attack. He didn't have to win this battle, just hold enough for the others to arrive at his location. He wouldn't need to attack if that was the case. Stalling meant he just had to avoid getting hit and run around a bit but not get too far away from this location. He had plenty of speed to be able to run about, but the man before him was a strong shinobi and he would eventually catch him if he just ran about.
He had to think.
The black haired man suddenly jumped down from the tree and landed on both his feet. "Not going to talk to me, are you?" He said taking a few steps towards BK. "Afraid of death"
Talking would kill some time, BK decided. With that in mind, he placed his right hand in his right pocket and responded. "It's a little difficult to try to talk to a man who is trying to kill you," he responded calmly, even though faced by the situation before him.
The man only seemed to widen his smile because of BK's response. "Anbu are truly well trained dogs," the man said calmly. "To be able to talk so calmly without any fear in your tone... truly impressive given that you're just a brat."
"Why are you doing this?" BK asked calmly.
The man didn't respond to the question; he just blurred out of sight. BK went on guard as he stretched his senses out wide to be able to follow the man's movements. Seeing that the man was a bit too fast, BK threw a smoke bomb on the ground, setting it off. The bomb exploded quickly and covered his body in a cloud of smoke.
The man he sensed the enemy landing in front of him, BK pushed chakra into his knees and jumped up to avoid the man.
"Got you!"
That was what BK heard as he was grabbed by his right foot as he was trying to jump away from the smoke. Had no time to give any reaction as the man pulled him down, slamming him down the ground on his back. He winced as his body brutally crashed in to the ground, leaving his print there.
"It won't be fun if you keep running away," the man said grinning, jumping down at BK, with his right fist charging towards BK's chest.
BK rolled away as the man neared, missing him. The powerful punch crashed through the ground, creating a small boom was it raised small amount of debris.
BK quickly jumped upside down, standing on both his hands while the man was still down the ground, with his fist still imbedded on the ground. He twisted around, using as hands as balance and sent a spinning kick towards the man. The opponent saw it coming and crouched down the ground, facing the upside down redhead. He grinned as he slid his right foot through the ground, trying to kick the Anbu's hands from the ground in order to put him off balance. BK bended his hands a bit as he pushed chakra into his elbow muscles and jumped off quickly as his opponent's sweep slid through below.
Flipping twice, BK went on to land on the ground on his knees and looked at his opponent once more.
The man straightened himself and looked at the masked Anbu with a smile. "You're pretty good. I guess Konoha isn't that desperate," he said.
Once again he blurred out of BK's sight. The masked Anbu's reflexes kicked in as the black haired enemy appeared behind him, with his right foot travelling through the air in tremendous speed, charging towards his temple. BK held his hands in front of his head in a cross position. The kick slammed into his defence. Although it didn't break, he was sending flying away due to the man's power.
As he was being carried by the momentum of the kick, BK flipped several times in order to regain his balance as he knew he was going to hit a tree behind him. That would be a painful experience, one he would rather avoid. As the tree edged closer, BK pushed chakra into his feet and positioned them to hitting the tree instead of his body. The chakra helped him stick on the tree's trunk.
Before he could even release himself once landing, the black haired shinobi flashed in front of him, above the ground. The man twisted around, before sending a right footed kick aimed at BK's chest. The Anbu burst into a murder crows, avoiding the blow that would have glued him to the tree branch.
BK landed on the ground just behind the man and held out his kodachi as the man quickly recovered without even looking pained after his foot slammed into the tree trunk. The man rushed at BK once more, holding a kunai. Both his feet landed in front of BK as he slashed horizontally. BK held his blade well to block the slash.
When the man attempted a side strike, BK channelled wind into his sword and also swung his sword towards the kunai. The kodachi cleanly cut through the kunai without any troubles, greatly surprising the enemy shinobi. BK used the surprise to his advantage by channelling chakra into his right foot as he twisted around and slammed his foot around the man's waist level. The chakra enhanced kick sent the man away from BK but he was quick to recover.
BK didn't give the man a chance to make the first move; he twisted around to face the man; he threw two smoke bombs in front of him. As they exploded, the Anbu did a couple of hand seals. "Futon: Great Wind Breakthrough!"
The redhead Anbu released gusts of winds that sped towards the man. The powerful gusts carried the smoke that BK had made when he ignited the smoke bombs. As the jutsu travelled in tremendous speed, peeling the ground as it caused debris to pick up, BK followed the attack by throwing two explosives tags, hidden in the smoke.
"Earth Style: Mud wall!" The Black haired man shouted as he raised a wall of earth from the ground to shield himself from the gusts of wind. The jutsus clashed, and the defensive jutsu held firm, until BK ignited the explosive tags, causing a loud explosion to rock through the trees as it shattered the mud all.
The man was blown back slightly.
BK suddenly appeared in front of the man, holding his kodachi in a reverse grip. He swung the blade from his right side, charging it towards the man's chest, in a slight upwards slash. The man leaned back slightly before ducking under the strike. He took two steps towards in a second and slammed a powerful punch towards the Anbu's chest, knocking the wind out of his lungs as he was picked up from the ground by the power of the punch.
Before the Anbu could be sent backwards, the man grabbed him by his face and brutally slammed him to the ground. The man took out a kunai and tried to stab BK through his chest, but the Anbu stopped the blow by the side of his kodachi,
BK breathed in some air and released a wind bullet that crashed into the man's body head on, sending him flying backwards. The redhead Anbu quickly recovered. He wiped the blood leaking from his mouth and made a distance from the man.
As he landed a distance away, he frowned behind his mask. He was trying so hard to show that he was beginning to tire out. This was a bit taxing even though he had been trying to avoid using any jutsus that would consume a lot of chakra from him and take away his stamina. He was very thankful that he was a Jinchuriki; otherwise, he would have been worn out already.
He would have to trick the man and use his trump card I order to disable the man. At least the conditions had already been set. He really didn't want to end up revealing it now.
The black haired man took a step toward BK, but was stopped when kunai suddenly flashed past his face in blinding speed, causing him to jump back slightly. The moment he landed on the ground, three Anbu landed around him silently - they'd just appeared out of nowhere.
BK allowed his body to fall down on his butt and winced as he did. He closed his eyes as he counted the seconds. The moment he opened them, the man was down on his knees, bound. He released a long breath and dispelled the clone that was hiding.
Neko walked up to him and offered him her hand. "Sorry we are late. Things turned out to be a lot more difficult than we expected," she said as BK took her hand, standing up with his kodachi on his left hand.
"I can imagine so, but you came up right time," he said calmly.
"You managed to do well on your own though. We came here in a hurry when we realized that the man was stronger than we originally thought," Neko said. "I'm glad you managed though."
"I was a little worried about taking you out on your first mission," Tiger said as he patted the small Anbu on the back in a friendly gesture. "But to be able to hold out against a Jonin-level shinobi is impressive."
BK played his efforts down. "The man had underestimated me a little bit and he wasn't that smart. I just had to think a bit and after sparring with a Sannin you learn a few things." BK turned towards the man and asked. "What are we going to do about him?"
"We have to first move out of here to a new location before we continue with our mission. A fight has occurred around here we are not sure there is anyone else around this place. We need some rest after fighting."
It was understandable, BK thought. Even he could not go on the mission with the way his body felt. He needed to nurse his body a bit and relax his muscle before they went on their true mission. This had just been an annoyance that stood in the way. It wasn't the only obstacle that had stood in the way. Their group had been ambushed by a number of shinobi and they had been forced to separate.
Being the weakest, he was forced to take on only one opponent while the others took on multiple opponents.
Things would not always go according to plan; that was what he had been taught during the training regimes. He may have perfected the Anbu look and learned to control his emotions, but there had been still too much that he didn't know about and that was why he had to be taught by his lively teammates. Well, the others were, the captain wasn't all lively as the other two.
"You can run for about any hour, yes? We need to make as much distance as we can with this place. Some people might be after us again and we can't afford to be held back from reaching the rendezvous place with the other team."
BK looked back to the captain who had spoken. "I can go on," he said calmly.
Neko nodded. She had Tiger write a letter and summoned a messenger bird. The bird was sent back to Konoha with the location of where they would camp. Once that was done, the squad disappeared from the trees along with the man they had subdued.
About an hour and a half later
The long way towards the borders of the Fire Country just away from the Valley of End had been a fast and silent one. The four had focused simply on running towards the borders instead of talking. Chatting about this and that would come after they'd reached their location.
"This will be good enough," Neko said causing the others to come to a halt as they landed on the ground, leaving the high ground of the trees. Their prisoner was bound to a tree with chains and Neko focused on her team once more. "Let's check the parameters. We don't want any surprises. Come back in 5 minutes tops so that we can rest."
"Hai!" the three saluted before disappearing into thin air.
Once they were gone, Neko looked back at the man they had held with a frown. He was a missing-nin from Kumogakure. She could recognize the face any time of the day. BK hadn't realized it because he was new and had probably not read other villages bingo books. If the boy had been an overconfident idiot, he may have been killed and his mother would have killed her - at least that is what she feared.
They had not recognized the man to be a missing-nin when he sped off. But there was no other choice either way. BK couldn't handle a group of shinobis. Perhaps he could hold them back with his clones, but they were Anbu, they had to save up their energy because their world was dangerous and they had yet to complete their mission. It would be failure for them to run out of energy before they could reach their destination.
The five minutes went by and the three returned. Both recorded clear sides and Neko accepted their reports before she had them gather around. "You must be wondering how those people must've known that we were coming."
Panther was first to speak. "The ambush was well-planned. We didn't notice anything until we were forced into separation. They must have known that we were coming, but how did that leak out?"
"Our mission is highly classified, and I doubt there is a spy in our ranks," Tiger added confidently.
"The leak may not have come from our side and it may not be a leak at all," BK gave his own cents after going through some of his thoughts. "Just because they knew we were coming, doesn't mean someone from our side told them."
Neko nodded in agreement with BK. "We are dealing with another group from the other side and our mission is the retrieval of the Intel that has been gathered. It is possible that the person was forced to send a mission to Konoha or they allowed him to send and then captured him. We are dealing with a spy here. If he was caught with his message, they are likely to assume that he has sent the message."
"Not to mention we are dealing with Orochimaru here," Tiger added.
"This may be a trap," Neko said taking out a headband from one of the man she had dealt with. "This is the headband I got from one of those men. It is from the Sound. Knowing Orochimaru, he may have captured our spy and sent those to their deaths."
"Either way, we don't know anything, but have no choice but to still go through with this," Panther said in a firm tone. They were Anbu; this was a necessary step in order to complete their mission. They could be valuable Intel that would lead them into stopping Orochimaru and understanding more about the Akatsuki.
"We have to make a plan though. Once we have rested enough, we will have to make way." Neko said.
Behind his mask, BK frowned at the thought of walking into a trap. He really didn't like the thought but this was a mission and he was a newbie. He had to follow instructions of the captain. But what if they were going to walk into a dangerous trap? How would they escape that trap? BK wasn't about to risk everything with just plan A and B: there had to be plan C and even D for that matter. what was worse was not knowing what they would come across.
It just made him remember that jutsu he assured himself he would only use for his mother's safety. He didn't even carry the damn kunai with him because he'd only made one of those. But he did know the seal, so he could apply it with his chakra. BK didn't want to end up using the jutsu but if everything forced him to do so, he would have no choice.
The mission wasn't so difficult. Really, they just had to go in the sound country and retrieve Intel from one of their own. There was a squad that had gone to gather the Intel, but all other members had been lost in the mission and the last one had said he was hiding in the Sound but could not travel back because he was injured.
The Sandaime had warned them that they might come across troubles since this was Orochimaru's territory, but BK had not thought things would reach this point. If they had gone smoothly, things may have been working well for them and the mission would have been less dangerous than it had become.
Perhaps there was more to the mission than the Sandaime was saying. As far as BK was informed, Anbu didn't question the orders they were given. They simply did as they were told to do. It was possible that the mission could not be as they were told and there was more to things than the Sandaime was letting on. BK wouldn't put it past the old man to do something like that.
He was always plotting after all, and people thought he was too peaceful and weak. BK snorted at the thought.
After an hour of resting and when the group was ready to cross the borders, they were stopped by another squad of Anbu from the Hidden Leaf. Friendlies: no need to be on guard. It was too faster to say that the, the message had reached Konoha and they had deployed. The distance from here and Konoha couldn't be covered in just three hours without rest.
The captain of the squad walked over to Neko as the others remained behind, not willing to start a conversation with their colleagues. It almost felt as if there was some hostility between the two groups.
"Judging by your appearance it seems that you have come across sound shinobi and battled them," the Anbu monotonously said to Neko.
The purple haired Anbu nodded. "We battled them a few kms back, but managed to fend them off. This missing-nin was among them," she said calmly. "So it is true that Orochimaru is using missing-nins to form his military power."
"They mostly have nowhere to run to and being hunted by Hunter-nins is not a joy for anyone unless you're an S-rank criminal. In any case, we will take care of matters, but since this was your catch, the price to his head will be handed to you," the Bird masked Anbu stated.
Neko nodded. She was happy she didn't have to start a fight over the pay. "How did you know about the Sound Shinobi?"
"After you left, we received new Intelligence from Jiraiya-sama and that the mission that had been upgraded to S-rank. The Sandaime Hokage sent us to back you up should have engaged enemies before our arrival or take over the mission if you have not crossed the borders," the Anbu said handing Neko a scroll. "This is your new mission. We will handle this one."
Behind her mask, Neko frowned, but she took the scroll. She didn't open it. "So our message may have yet to reach the Sandaime or may have reached him. Well, it matters not anyway with things like this," she said calmly.
She wasn't about to be accused of insubordination by refusing the Sandaime's orders. She was going to handle the new mission they had been given. She figured the mission was just the Sandaime's way of making it up to them for taking this mission after giving it to them. They had made the start; it would be cruel to send them back home just like that.
Neko shook her head when the man before her just motioned for his team to untie the man they had tied to a tree and disappeared without leaving a trace.
"How did they manage to track us so quickly?" Panther asked. "If they didn't get that message, then it must mean that they didn't know about our location and had just tracked us down."
"So quickly?" BK asked with a raised brow behind his mask. "If it had been easy, they would have found us before we even engaged the Sound Shinobi. They received the message after we left. It couldn't have been too long after we left. An hour at most..."
Neko nodded. "They must have been travelling faster than us because their mission was to catch us before we crossed the borders. We were not traveling at our fastest speeds and were spent time fighting and resting here," she said before adding. "They have an Inuzuka in their group anyway. Their noses are rather sharp, especially for one who has been in Anbu for a little too long."
"What is the new mission, though?" Panther asked, his eyes looking at the scroll on Neko's right hand.
The woman opened the scroll and read it before speaking. "There is a group of bandits who kidnaped women from the Fire capital. They are suspected to be linked to a mercenary group and someone from the Fire Country's Council. Their last movements were sighted towards Tanzaku Town. Our mission isn't to take them out but to find out if they really have a connection with the man from the council."
"Good place... Tanzaku that is..." Panther said in a dreamy tone. "It would make sense why they would go to that town. It would be easy to pick up stray cats," the masked Anbu looked at Neko waving his hands. "I don't mean you," he said quickly.
Neko merely shook her head. "We should set out now so that we can be there by evening. I will relay further details once we reach the Town," the captain said. "Let us head out."
"Hai."
The four disappeared after that salute.
Tanzaku Town
Only one room had been booked for their stay. It was a room for one person that would accommodate all four. They were not planning on staying for too long and this room was to be used as their little meeting room. BK had a complaint about this though.
"Why do I have to pay for this room?" Money was not unlimited to him. Senju riches were not that much and they were disappearing although his mother has failed to mention it. Soon enough, they would have to depend on his earnings as a shinobi, and so he could not afford to be wasting money.
"We didn't have something like this planned," Neko said. "And none of us came here with enough money," she managed to keep her tone flat as she said those words.
"So, if I didn't have any money, we'd be camping out in the forest," BK said with a shake of his head. "Well, this was not planned. What now?"
"We will all hit different places around the town and meet back here at 11pm sharp," Neko said looking at BK. "You have been taught the basics about gathering Intel, can you handle this? There might be some shinobi involved. And given that this involves a member of the government, we have to be careful and our information has to be concrete or they might be a political scandal if our information proves to be false. Our information confirms that they are indeed in this town."
"So we have to search for who is leading the charges. If they are here, they will be scouting all the places this time and will strike at midnight. If we find who and where, we will be able to send a report to Konoha," Tiger said, sounding all too serious. "Can I suspect that we were sent here because someone from the council will also be in this town?"
"Yes," Neko said. "You guys go on your own, BK and I will find this official and tail him," she said taking out a picture. "If you see him before we do, tail him. Avoid using chakra and revealing anything. We don't want to tip them off."
"Hai," Panther and Tiger saluted before both vanished.
Neko audibly sighed as she sat down on the edge of the bed. "While I know they won't do anything to risk the mission, I know those two will no doubt try to have fun while they are at it. Well, as long as they get the job done."
"Is it wrong to have fun?" BK asked, looking straight at the woman.
Neko shook her head. "No," she said. "But not while on a mission. A mission is a mission. They can have their fun back at Konoha, there are no shortages of fun places," she said with a shake of her head, as if she was trying to shake off some thoughts.
BK seemed to think for a few moments before speaking. "I heard that the job of Black Ops can be stressing, and that people have many ways of coping with the experiences of the things that they have to do and see," he paused, tilting his head to the side. "Is going all out for fun their way of coping with the difficulties of Anbu?"
Neko stared at BK for a few moments, thinking. Within the time she has been spending with the young Anbu, she has learned that his file was not exaggerating when it said he was really smart. He was very perceptive even and did really well to hide his emotions. He fitted in well with the way of the Anbu perfectly and didn't seem to object to what came with the life of an Anbu.
"Don't you want to rest? We can continue with this conversation once darkness has descended... I prefer to work with a clear head," Neko said.
"There will be hardly any activities now," BK said looking through the window. "I can force myself to sleep until the night reaches us. It won't be long though. The sun is already setting," he said looking back into the room.
The young Anbu climbed into the bed with Neko looking at him strangely. He picked his side and lay facing up, mask still on with his hands on his chest.
"What are you doing?" Neko asked. She was going to take the bed. He was still a kid, but she was conscious of the fact that he was a shinobi, male and most of all in Anbu. He had gone through some Anbu lessons. Age hardly mattered at this stage.
BK raised an eye brow behind his mask. "Preparing to take a nap," he said calmly. "I paid for this room it's only logical that I take the bed," he turned his head towards Neko. "You've been Anbu for too long, should you have a problem with taking a nap with me?"
Neko blinked. He would suggest that she sleep in the same bed with her? Did he not know anything? What was she even thinking anyway? Naruto was still just a kid. She shook her head.
"If it will make you comfortable, you can put a wall between us and tie me with a chain, I won't mind," BK said calmly. "I'm taking my nap."
He went silent after saying those words.
Neko stared for a few moments. She shook her head, at least those two were not watching. It would be troublesome if they were watching and she would never hear the end of it.
Later
Neko looked at BK with a raised brow; he was transformed into a slender young man with black hair, wearing civilian clothes. Perhaps that is what she could call a perfect disguise. It wasn't genjutsu that one would see through it, but a transformation and the young Anbu had displayed to be able to keep at it for a long time. She wouldn't have to worry about him allowing it to slip through while they were on their mission.
The Anbu captain shook her head as her eyes strayed away from the - admittedly good looking - young man and looked at the road ahead of them. "Why am I acting as your girlfriend again?"
"Because it makes much more sense than a careless parent walking into a bar with her son," BK said calmly. "I have 10 clones searching around for our suspect and a few inconveniences that may be suspicious. We can sit at a bar and 'enjoy' ourselves."
Neko was silent for a few moments. Naruto either didn't notice or didn't care about her discomfort at the idea. He may have transformed into an adult, but underneath, he was still a kid. The woman sighed. This was a mission. This was at least better than being hooked up a drug old fart while searching for information.
"No funny moves," she said to BK.
The young man looked at her with a raised eye brow. "I will make moves when I'm drunk. You should know better than anyone that when you try to say no and I'm being forceful, some people will come in to save the day. From the Intel we got from Tiger one of the abductors will be in the bar... it's likely that he will be the first to make a move to save you from this drunk fool and act nicely to take you back to your room."
Neko stared at the young Anbu for a minute or so. "You thought that by yourself? I feel like I'm not the captain anymore."
BK smiled, "You may be afraid to take the measures you'd normally take with others because I'm still a kid, but I'm showing that this kid has the mind of an adult. The body lacks growth, but the mind is mature. I understand things fully, but this is a mission."
Neko sighed. "I'd considered the thought, but since you don't have a problem with it we can go on with it," she said calmly. "Shall we?" She asked with a smile, holding out her right hand.
BK smiled beautifully and took the hand. "Call me Shiro," he said to the woman. "I'll still with Neko. It fits when being playful... as in my little neko."
The fact that she actually agreed with that, made Neko thank the gods that both Tiger and Panther were not with them.
The two walked into the crowded bar; noisy was the first that came into Naruto's mind, but he would have to bear with it for the success of the mission. The two made their way towards the counter and paid for a few drinks before settling out to a corner.
Neko did a silencing seal as the two settled down. "Found him," she said. "Left from the entrance, past four tables; he isn't alone."
BK didn't look, he merely nodded. "Panther is also here," he said. "I'm guessing those others are associates of his.... How were those two able to find them so quickly anywhere?"
"Their camp; when they left us, they went on to do a clean sweep in the outskirts of the town and the found the camp. With Panther here, we will just have to sit here and wait for your clones to find our target and we will move out. No more acting," Neko said.
"Disappointing," BK said. "I was looking forward to it. The experience would have been worth it..." He said picking up a bottle of beer and then opened it.
"I was wondering why the Sandaime said not to shield you from anything," Neko said. "You seem ready to do anything," she said.
BK put the bottle back on the table after putting it on his mouth. He didn't drink, just made it look like he was drinking. His mother had said no sake until he was 18. He had to hold on until then. "Six blocks from here, a small dumpling stand."
"Let us not wait here anymore. Panther will handle things here," Neko said as she stood up holding one bottle. "Your camera ready? It will be needed to take the pictures that will be our proof."
BK nodded, "IT is ready," he said calmly as he stood up as well.
The two made their way out of the bar and disappeared. They appeared a block away from the stand the target they were looking for. Neko decided it was best they stayed there. As long as they could get some pictures to prove their case, then it was alright. Their mission was to get the proof and report back to the Hokage, nothing more and nothing less.
"Is it often that high ranking officials do something like this?" BK asked as he sat atop of a building with Neko by his side. "They already have money and power. What more do they want?"
"Even a millionaire will tell you it is not enough. These people are always looking for more and with their positions, it is really easy to do it and hide it," Neko said. "We have had missions in which we had to get rid of corrupt officials and make it look like it was a paid assassin. These kind of scumbags are the worst though. Some just steal money, but these are the worst."
BK looked and Neko for a moment. "At least we can confirm that the he is connected with the bandits..." he looked thoughtful for a moment. "Why don't we just capture him and interrogate him. That man he is with is in the pictures Tiger gave us."
"Not our orders," Neko said. "We just have to gather information. I'm assuming the Sandaime Hokage has been looking at this for some time and with high ranking officials, you have to be careful. Sometimes even exposing them doesn't do it. In most cases, this is where we come in."
BK was silent for a few a moments before he responded in a calm tone. "I'm guessing the Sandaime wants to give the evidence as a gift to the Daimyo when we go to see him. I'm sure when we return, I will only have time to rest and then we will depart to the see the man."
Scheming old man, Naruto thought.
"You're really smart for someone your age. Ridiculously so," Neko said quietly. "Yet from what I hear, you don't appear to have any goals. When I was your age, I had dreams. Everyone has dreams. We all do."
"That is true," BK said calmly. "We all have dreams. I'm guessing the Sandaime has also given you another mission to keep watch of me during missions. In Anbu, there must be an S-rank file about Uzumaki Naruto."
Neko said nothing.
"It is nothing to worry about. When I joined Anbu, I knew he would do something like this. I'm not just his successor's son, but I'm also a Jinchuriki. It's only logical that he would like to keep an eye on me especially when I have little regard to human life," the young Anbu stated. "Can you do something for me?"
"What?"
"We never had this conversation and keep..." he trailed off when his camera lenses showed him that the man was now moving. "Are we going to follow him?"
"Yes," Neko said. "We will keep tailing him for two days at least. We will have to know more about the connection with the bandits and other illegal business he is conducting. We will however send the location of the bandit camp to Konoha before midnight. By morning, the Sandaime should be sending a team to handle it."
Two Days Later
Konoha
The mission was done and dusted, and the team had returned to Konoha. Neko alone had gone to report to the Hokage while the others went to Anbu HQ to change and sign off for some time off. Naruto looked into his mask for a few moments before placing everything in his locker, having changed back into his favoured clothing.
"If you were old enough, we'd invite you for some drinks," Tiger said walking past Naruto. "Well, see you next mission, Black Knight."
When did that name even come from? He preferred it over fox. The code name was just literal with him. He did host a nine-tailed fox inside his body. Ino had called him her black knight and so he decided BK would be his preferred code name and the guys were more than happy to accommodate him. Perhaps they understood the situation that surrounded him. Well, they were Anbu and what he held was known to them and most of the population.
Naruto nodded at his two comrades, "Yea," he said.
As the blond was ready to leave, Neko appeared before him. "The Sandaime wishes to speak to you," she said.
Naruto frowned. He was looking forward to seeing his mother. It hadn't been the longest that he was separated from her. Jiraiya had once done something cruel by taking him away from his mother saying they would only be gone for two days, but that turned out to be a month. Naruto had been tempted to use Shisui's eye to compel the Sannin to take him back to his mother when all attempts to get the man to take him back had proved to be fruitless.
Well it was better to get this done and over with. Contemplating about it will only waste more time and he wanted to go home. The blond looked back at Neko and nodded before responded. "I'll go see him now."
Having said that, the blond disappeared from Neko's sight and appeared in the Sandaime's office.
The Third smiled at Naruto. Happy to see the blond once again. Inside he really did have so many questions though. The most troubling was what was Naruto playing at? The Anbu protecting his mother had been taken through some extensive questioning. Even so, Naruto has never trusted his mother's safety with anyone. What was different this time? Was it simply because he trusted his word enough to believe that the Anbu he assigned for the protection of his mother would give his life for her if necessary?
The Sandaime didn't think that it was enough, yet Naruto was willing to permit it. He was willing to leave the village and leave the side of a woman he had once looked at anyone who tried to break them apart with contempt. He had issued the orders, but the blond hadn't fought him over it. There had to be something that the old man was missing.
It is every child's dream to protect their parents, and while Naruto took it to the extreme, it couldn't be that all his dreams ended there. There had to be something that the blond desired. It gave the Third a headache since he could not figure out. It worried him even knowing that there was some darkness within Naruto.
Hiruzen shook his head and strengthened his smile as he focused on Naruto. "How was your first mission outside the village?" The Sandaime asked nicely.
"Fine," Naruto said. "The ambush we encountered made it a interesting... though the part in Tanzaku Town was a bit interesting as well, it was nothing thrilling."
Missions weren't supposed to be for fun. Naruto understood that the Sandaime was asking him about the difficulty of the mission. The response he gave would cover that as well. It wasn't that difficult and if it wasn't because he had been curious about what Anbu actually did when trying to gather Intel; he would have probably found it dull. Naruto was sure both Tiger and Panther would agree with him.
"Gathering Intelligence can be challenging depending on time and place. Say you're doing it in another Hidden Village; there are risks of being caught while doing it and once caught, you will be taken through interrogation or even killed."
Naruto merely nodded. "That is what the captain was saying," he said tilting his head to the side. "What is it that you wanted to speak to me about?" He tried to be polite when asking.
"Your second mission," The Sandaime said. "I'm sure you've already figured that I want to give this Intelligence to the Feudal Lord as a present."
"I just suspected it to be the case knowing that we are going to visit him," the blond said calmly.
The Third nodded with a smile. He wasn't surprised the least. He had expected the blond to work things out. "We will visit the Daimyo in three days. I do hope my present will be enough to work some magic with him and provided you play your part, we will both return happy."
There was really no need to remind him. Naruto didn't even bother to respond to the Sandaime after he had spoken. "Was the anything else, Sandaime-sama?"
Sarutobi shook his head. "You can go; I'm sure your mother is waiting for you," he said smiling.
Naruto nodded and flashed away.
A few minutes after Naruto left, Danzo walked into the office. For the first time he didn't have to shake his head because he had called the war hawk. "I was beginning to think that you were not going to come," he said idly.
"I had some other matters to handle," Danzo responded calmly. "What is it?"
The Sandaime Hokage opened one of his drawers and took out a file. "A squad of Anbu was assigned to a mission to fetch one of our agents who was stranded in the Sound. He was carrying valuable Intel about Iwagakure, and the Akatsuki as well as about Orochimaru's activities. It has been a few days and I have not heard anything from them. Gather your men them on a retrieval mission."
Danzo accepted the file the Sandaime was giving him with a blank look on his face. "I'll get it done," the man said.
"I hope you do."
"IS there anything else I should know?" Danzo asked as he prepared to take his leave.
It was a surprise that his former teammate was giving him the mission. Then again, nobody has ever argued that his men were not effective in doing their job. It could also be that the Sandaime didn't want to lose any more of his men. If they were dealing with Orochimaru, they could be dead already or being held captive to be used for his experiments.
Danzo had worked with the Sannin before and he knew how Orochimaru operated. Even though much of the Intel had nothing to do with him, he would still keep things tight just to mess with his sensei and to hold all the cards. He really should have been eliminated when he fled the village. Danzo had stated that Orochimaru was too dangerous to be left alone, but who listened to him? And now they were making moves because the former Konoha shinobi had formed a village.
"Everything you need to know is the file," the Sandaime Hokage said quietly.
Naruto's House
When Naruto got back home after making a stop at Icharaku to get some takeaway ramen, he found his mother in conversation with Mikoto. It was something that had become a daily occurrence. It was understandable. The woman was the only one who was her really good friend. He was beginning to understand and see the value of friendship. Without anyone to hang out with, his mother would be spending all her days by herself.
Naruto had come to realize that even though his mother didn't have a problem with spending time with him, and enjoyed it every much more than anything, she also needed to be with people her age to talk about things she cannot talk with him. Understanding that had come with conflicted feelings but it brought him a much brighter understanding of how things worked in this world.
Everything explained why she had been insisting back then that he make friends. She knew that she could not be by his side all times. There would be times she had to go out and be with other women. Without friends, he would be home alone bored and if that was the case, she could not really enjoy her life if knew he was home alone, bored.
Naruto didn't want that for his mother.
Hence he had come to understand that friends were necessary. He didn't know how to make them, but he would try to make friends - For his sake and his mother's happiness. He was a little cold to be caring about his happiness even though his mother continuously tells him to make his life enjoyable and have fun.
"Naruto," Kushina said happily as Naruto walked in the living room, holding his hot ramen. "When did you get back?"
Although she sounded happy and looked happy to see him, she didn't walk up to him to give him a hug or anything like that. She just stayed on the couch, with the smiling Mikoto by her side. Naruto wondered if something was wrong. Perhaps she was resisting because Mikoto was present. He shook his head. It wasn't like that. It was probably one of those tough love treatments.
She had been working to get him to learn to be away from her and break away some attachment. It didn't make Naruto happy, but a rational sense in him reasoned that it had to be done because now that he was growing up and he wouldn't always be in his mother's presence. When he grew up, affection wouldn't be shown in the same way as when he was just a child.
Naruto looked at his mother, pushing his thoughts to the back of his head. "Not too long ago," he said smiling before greeting Mikoto.
"How was the mission?"
"It went fine," Naruto said as he sat down. "There wasn't anything that proved to be bothersome and we didn't do much fighting," the blond said to Mikoto who had asked the question. "You both seem good."
"We are," both said simultaneously.
Naruto raised an eye brow. That was a first. He placed his ramen on the small coffee table and looked between his mother and Mikoto. "I'm glad," he said smiling.
Mikoto looked at Kushina for a moment before she stood up. It was Kushina who spoke. "Naruto, walk her out. She wants to speak to you," the redhead Uzumaki said calmly.
Naruto stared at his mother. He had just returned from a mission and he wanted to spend some time with her and this was how things were going to go? He thought she would be more than happy to make up for lost time, but this was normal - normal for other people but abnormal for this family. Things didn't work out like that.
"It is important that I do," Mikoto said quietly.
Before Naruto could say anything, Kushina stood up as well and spoke. "I'll be taking my leave. I have a date with Ino's mother at the hot springs. I might return home a little while later," the woman said smiling. She waved her hand at walked away.
Staring at his mother's back with an expressionless mask on his face, Naruto spoke, "This is just wrong," he said.
Mikoto looked amused. "Your mother does have a life you know. She is your beloved mother and nothing will change that, but she does have to do things that make her happy without you. Being with friends and enjoying her time away can also be relaxing."
Naruto frowned at that. It was still wrong. To think that his mother would do something like this... Naruto had never thought of the possibility, but it was happening and he had to deal with it in a way that wouldn't ruin her happiness. He did want to see his mother after all. He should be happy that she was enjoying her life and would return to him and the end of the day because he was her family.
"What is it that you wish to talk to me about?" Naruto asked.
He suspected it had something to do with both her sons. The woman did know about Itachi's mission and that he knew. It has never been a secret to them of them and they had talked about it. It was the reason the woman called him her hero. The thought still made Naruto happy till this day; to be called a hero even though he hadn't done much. He had merely talked Itachi into making a rational decision.
"Walk with me..."
Naruto looked at his ramen for a moment before looking back at Mikoto. He nodded at her request and followed her as they exited the house. "I never did ask your mother, why do you keep changing places? Sometimes you're here sometimes you're at the Senju compound."
Naruto didn't need to think about the answer. "The compound is a too big for just two people and although it is home, it can never replace this house. This has been our home for a long time and it has so many memories. Besides, in terms of security, it has the best."
Mikoto nodded in understanding. "That makes sense," she said. "But it will still be useful when you do start working on reviving the Uzumaki clan," she paused and looked at the blond - who was walking on her right side. "Wouldn't it be better to make the move permanent when you do try to do that?"
Naruto appeared to think for a moment before he responded. "I have never given that much of a thought," he said quietly. The thought to revive the clan was still there. He could not get away from that.
"Think about it," Mikoto said. "When was the last time you spoke to Itachi?"
Naruto looked into the sky as he walked for a few moments before looking at the road ahead. "At least I know I know no one keeps surveillance on us while in the village. It would be dangerous to speak of this matter as Anbu can read lips," the blond said quietly.
He was Anbu, he knew how those people operated and since they didn't know about Itachi's mission, it was better they did not learn it from him. Anbu could keep secrets but having them know means risking the truth to come out in the open.
"I forget that you're also Anbu," Mikoto said. "If it's not safe, we can talk at my house. Sasuke is still at the academy."
Naruto shook his head. "It is alright. Although the Sandaime has a tendency to spy with his crystal ball, he doesn't hear words and from this angle, he can't read our lips. I don't think he is watching us even."
Mikoto looked at Naruto once again. It was obvious from that statement that he had yet to speak to the Sandaime about the matter, but she was sure that even though they don't speak about it, both knew the truth. She had yet to thoroughly speak about it with the old man either. It was just best with things kept this way. There was an agreement and it was better they didn't break it. Talking about it wouldn't change anything either way.
"I last spoke to Itachi a couple of months ago, but I do send him images of Sasuke."
"Pictures?"
Naruto shook his head. "Itachi gave me Shisui's Sharingan to keep it safe and use it when it is necessary, but that isn't the only Sharingan he gave me to keep safe. Recently, Orochimaru attacked him and tried to take his body for the Sharingan and he has been reluctant to keep it to himself, so he gave it to me since no enemy knows of our connection."
Mikoto seemed to think about what Naruto had just said before she responded. "Fugaku's eyes?"
Naruto nodded. "Danzo took one of Shisui's eyes and knowing that his father also possessed the Mangekyo Sharingan, he took them in fear that Danzo would take them for his uses. I have them both, implanted two crows, just in case something happens."
"What do you plan to do with them?"
"Itachi plans to die by Sasuke's hand to redeem the Uchiha and also help awaken Sasuke's Mangekyo. If something happens to Itachi's eyes before his fight with Sasuke and after, and in both cases Sasuke manages to awaken the Mangekyo, he will go blind. The eyes I have are to prevent that from happening."
"And?"
Naruto sighed. "Use them against Sasuke in case he allows his hatred to consume him and ends up walking the wrong path. There is possibility that someone can manipulate him after learning the truth. If that happens, he can hate Konoha and seek its destruction."
Well if Sasuke was going to play in someone's palm, it would be his. He wasn't going to allow the Uchiha to be manipulated by anyone. It has proved to be a little difficult though, but Naruto would get it done. He had learned a lot from the Sandaime for someone like Sasuke to be beyond him.
"I see," Mikoto said quietly. "So you use the Sharingan to send images to Itachi... next time you write to him, tell him that I wish to speak to him. You're doing fine helping Sasuke, but I don't want him to grow up hating his brother in the way he does."
Naruto merely nodded. "I will get that done," he said. "I guess I can also wait for Sasuke until he gets back from the academy. My mother is away, so there is nothing for me to do."
End of chapter