“I still can’t believe the did this to us,” Kanna Kamori said with a trembling voice, “how could they just leave without telling us anything?”
“They are smart kids,” Akina Kamori tried to comfort his wife, “and excellent shinobi. As long as they stay together, I’m sure they’ll be fine.”
As it was, he wasn’t that sure at all. They were only children after all. And what did he really know? His brother was the shinobi in the family.
It was almost two weeks ago that they had found their son’s bed empty. At first they hadn’t been concerned. It wasn’t uncommon for Daro to get up early to go train. But by evening it became clear that he wasn’t coming back any time soon. And then they had heard his teammates had disappeared with him, along with a recently arrived message, that was addressed to the Kazekage, and a map of the countries around Suna. It was obvious where they were going. Still, no search party had been sent out. The council had forbidden it. And in the absence of the Kazekage, they were the ruling force in Suna.
Akina stood up when there was a knock on the door and he went to answer it. “Hello,” Yuna greeted, “I was just wondering if you had heard anything yet.”
Akina shook his head and looked at Hiro’s sister sadly. “No. Nothing. So no messages?”
“No,” Yuna sighed, “my parents are heartbroken. Mom’s been at home ever since they disappeared. She hardly gets out of bed. I was at Kuro’s house just now. It’s not much better there. They already lost a son a few years back. They don’t want to lose another. Kimi, his sister, is especially upset.”
“Why did they go after their sensei?” Akina asked, “why couldn’t they just wait for her return? What business is it to them what she’s about? I know me and my wife aren’t shinobi, but we have heard the rumors about that woman. Tell me Yuna, are they true?”
“I know for a fact that your son thinks very highly of her,” Yuna answered, “so does my brother. And Kuro… he seems to trust her unconditionally. And I understand that his parents do as well.”
Akina nodded.
“She has always brought them back safely,” Yuna continued, “she has trained them well. They are good fighters. I need to believe they’ll come back safe this time too.”
“But they are not with their sensei now,” Akina said, “and they’re in a strange country. Anything could happen to them.”
“They are headed for Iron,” Yuna said, “they’ve been there before and Hiro will have Kera with him. She’s a trained ninja hawk. She’ll protect them.”
“Daro is our only son. If he doesn’t come home…”
“He will. They all will. You’ll see.”
“Tomoda!” a voice called behind her.
Yuna tuned and saw one of her fellow Jounin standing there. “Tsuyoshi,” Yuna said, “what is it?”
“We need you in the council room. There’s been a message.”
“Is there news on my brother?” Yuna asked breathlessly.
Tsuyoshi shook his head. He glanced at Daro’s father. “No, but your presence is required. You need to come with me.”
“Go on Yuna,” Akina said, “duty calls. If there’s any news, we’ll send word.”
Yuna nodded and followed Tsuyoshi. “What’s going on?” she asked as soon as they were out of hearing.
Tsuyoshi looked at her seriously. “War. We’re being called to Iron. I didn’t want to alert the villagers. Keep it silent will you? We will receive instructions as soon as we reach the campment.”
“War?” Yuna gasped, “what… what happened at the meeting?”
“I don’t know the details,” Tsuyoshi said, “I only know that all shinobi villages are to gather their finest ninja. We are meeting with the council now. They’ll tell us what to do.”
“I… I can’t leave now,” Yuna said, “my brother is missing, my mother won’t live through it if I go as well. The same goes for the Shiraki family, with Kuro. Who will protect the villages?”
“Souta Shiraki will remain in the village to watch out for any messages. The council will decide who will go to the Kazekage’s side. Let’s wait for their decision.”
***
Taryn leaned against a rock wall to catch her breath. She was dead tired, but she had to go on. When she and Sasuke had clashed, she had seen what was on his mind. It wasn’t too late yet. There was a pain she recognized. And even though she knew he wouldn’t listen to her now, she hoped that if she got him away from Madara long enough, she’d be able to talk some sense into him. He wasn’t so different from her, how she used to be.
‘Okay, enough rest. I need to find him quick.’
A soft chuckle made her look up. She stared at the cloaked figure that was standing not far from her.
“Who are you?” she demanded.
“You don’t recognize me?” the man asked, “I’m hurt.” He let down his hood.
Taryn stared at him in horror. What had he done to himself? Half of his body was covered in scales, even his eyes had turned to slits, though he was still wearing glasses. There was something sinister about him that hadn’t been there before.
“Kabuto,” she whispered.
Kabuto laughed darkly and Taryn silently wondered if he was completely sane. What had he done? Injected himself with Orochimaru’s DNA?
Kabuto smirked when he noticed her look. “Like my new appearance?” he asked, “I have a lot more power now. More than you could ever imagine. You won’t think so little of me now. The world will learn to fear me instead of ridicule me.”
“Have you lost our mind?” Taryn asked.
“You always said Orochiamru-sama would never accept me as a vessel,” Kabuto said, “but look at me now. Now I have access to his power. I’m finally complete. We are finally one.”
“You’re just as sick as he,” Taryn spat, “experimenting on our own body and that of others. No good will come of it. It’s disturbing.”
“Speak those who do not understand,” Kabuto said, “you always looked down on me, Taryn. Now I will make you pay for that.” He moved with the speed of light and slammed her against the rock wall.
Taryn gasped for breath and kicked him off. She landed a few hits with her Gentle Fists, but jumped out of the way when he breathed a toxic cloud at her. ‘Snake poison?’ She gasped,.
He grinned at her and threw a few senbon needles at her. Taryn quickly used Kaiten to protect herself. She knew she couldn’t keep it up forever and the moment she came to a halt, she was hit by a new set of needles. Her arm and knee went numb and she stumbled to the ground.
Taryn gritted her teeth and glared at him. ‘I won’t let you win. I won’t die by your hands.’ She rolled out of the way when snake tried to snap at her. Quickly she pulled the needles out of her arm and leg and crawled up. She used a fireball jutsu to destroy the snake.
She couldn’t put much weight on her one leg, but if she stayed down on the ground, it would be over.
She threw a wind attack in Kabuto’s direction, but Kabuto changed into a log of wood before it hit.
‘Substitution jutsu,’ Taryn thought annoyed. She scanned the area, but couldn’t locate him. Suddenly she was pushed aside. She stumbled, but was caught before she could fall. She heard Kabuto chuckle and she struggled against him.
“Well well, what is this?” he said amused while sliding his hand over her stomach, “what a nice little surprise this is.”
“Don’t touch me!” Taryn growled and she pushed him away.
Kabuto laughed darkly. “Oh this keeps getting better by the second. I’ll enjoy killing you.”
Taryn narrowed her eyes and sent another wind attack at him, but he evaded it. There was no way she could let him get close now, so she could only use long range attacks. She tried to gather her chakra while dodging his attacks, but he didn’t give her the chance. He sent attack after attack and it was wearing her out.
Kabuto chuckled again. “I won’t let you use Ryoki,” he said, “you can forget about that.”
He knew her too well. And she had no idea of his powers. If they were the same as Orochimaru’s then she was in trouble. Orochimaru had never attempted to kill her, but Kabuto had wanted her dead since their first encounter.
She answered each attack with one of her own, but it became harder to evade his attacks. Her leg was still not back to normal.
She fell backwards, but managed to crawl up again. Kabuto cast her a look full of hate. “Do you know what your problem is, Taryn?” he growled, “you don’t know when to quit!”
Out of nowhere, vines shot forward and knocked her off her feet. She hit the ground with a loud thud and it knocked the breath out of her. Her vision was blurry for a second and when her focus came back, she saw Kabuto standing over her. “Goodbye Taryn Desertstorm,” he smirked and raised a hand for the final blow.
Taryn closed her eyes and put up her arms to fend him off, but was startled when she heard Kabuto’s screams.
She opened her eyes and gasped. A large hawk was attacking Kabuto, leaving scratches all over his face and arms.
Taryn stared at it uncomprehending.
“Sensei!” She heard behind her. She blinked. Her mind must be playing tricks on her, or she was trapped in a genjutsu. ‘No,’ she checked, ‘there’s no illusion being cast.’
“Sensei, are you alright?” Kuro dropped next to her.
“Kuro?” Taryn muttered and tried to sit up.
“Easy,” Kuro said, “we’ve got it. Just hold still.”
“No,” Taryn muttered, “he’s too strong for you.”
Kabuto hissed an made a few hand seals and vanished. He reappeared a few feet away and glared at the boys furiously. Then he scoffed. “Heh. I see your puppies still tag along with you. I’d love to play with them, but I have another appointment.” He smirked at her and made a few seals. “See you again, Taryn, on the battlefield.” He disappeared.
Hiro gasped. “He’s gone.”
“He’ll be back,” Taryn said as she tried to sit up. She stifled a cry of pain.
“We’ve got you sensei,” Kuro said and he and Daro helped her up.
The world swayed for a moment and Taryn stumbled. Kuro caught her. “You need a medic, sensei,” he said,.
“The camp,” Taryn breathed, “Take me to the camp.
“’What camp?” Daro asked.
“War,” Taryn said, “we’re at war.”
“What?!” All three Genin shouted in shock. “What happened? What’s going on?”
“Not now,” Taryn said, “what are you doing here anyway? I told you not to come after me.”
“I didn’t hear…” Daro started but he gulped when he saw Taryn’s glare.
“Have you forgotten sensei?” Kuro said, “we’re a team. A team never abandons their teammates. No matter what.”
“That’s right,” Hiro added, “a team sticks together.”
“You only get yourself killed without us,” Daro said.
“Don’t think for one moment I won’t yell at you later,” Taryn said.
“You can barely stand,” Kera butted in.
Hiro turned to his hawk. “Kera, can you fly ahead and see if you can find the camp?”
“Sure,” Kera said, “but at least summon one of my sisters to stay with you. War is an ugly business. I don’t want you walking across enemy territory with someone injured. There may be more opponents lurking somewhere.”
Hiro nodded. “I will.”
Kera flew off and the Genin stared at each other.
“War?” Kuro whispered.
“You think our parents are okay?” Daro asked frightened.
“Don’t worry,” Taryn said softly, “you need a clear head or you’re most likely going to die. We’ll know more once we reach the others. We need to get going.” She pushed away from Kuro and headed South. She had only taken a few steps when the world started to swirl again. She grabbed her head to fend off the sudden rush of vertigo and crashed to the ground. The last thing she herd was her team screaming for her.
***
“Why didn’t you let me kill her?” Sasuke asked curiously, “isn’t she trying to cross your plans? You told me to kill Karin because she knew too much. Taryn knows even more and she will cause problems.”
Madara eyed him amused. “Do you want her dead then? She’s Itachi’s lover after all. I would have thought that would at least mean something to you.”
“You want your clan?”
Sasuke narrowed his eyes. “I don’t care if she lives or dies,” he said annoyed. Madara chuckled when he heard the lie in the boy’s voice. “Don’t worry Sasuke. I’m not after her for the moment. I’m not ready to kill her just yet. She might still come in handy.”
***
Taryn groaned and slowly opened her eyes. She blinked a few times against the light and rubbed her face. She was covered with soft blankets and was staring up at cloth.
She was in a tent.
So they had reached the campment then.
Someone was sitting next to her and she turned her head.
Kakashi.
He was staring at his hands, but when he noticed she was awake he turned to her. Something was bothering him and she didn’t have to wait long for him to bring it up.
“Pregnant Taryn?!” he said through his teeth.
“Hello to you too.”
“This is serious.”
“What are you angry about?” Taryn said annoyed, “it’s none of your business.”
“Have you lost your mind?” Kakashi asked.
“It’s not like you didn’t know I was seeing Itachi,” she told him.
“You think that is what I’m angry about? That it’s Itachi’s child?!”
Taryn looked away.
“You could have lost the child,” Kakashi continued a little calmer. Taryn’s eyes went wide and her hand flew to her stomach. “It’s fine,” Kakashi assured her, “both of you. Sakura examined you. I can’t believe you told her not to say anything.”
“Who else knows?” Taryn asked in a small voice.
“Your students,” Kakashi said, “… and your siblings.”
Taryn closed her eyes and bit her lip. “Was he very angry?” she asked, meaning Gaara.
Kakashi sighed and debated on whether to let her suffer some more or tell her the truth. His honesty got the better of him. And this wasn’t the time for petty grudges. “He was mostly concerned about you.”
“Where is he?” Taryn asked.
“He’s with the other Kages at the War council.”
“Shouldn’t you be there too?” she questioned, “you’re Hokage now after all.”
“They sent me to see if you were awake. You’re being summoned. They want to hear what new information you can give them.”
Taryn took a deep breath and stared at her hands. “Sorry for worrying you,” she said softly.
“That’s okay,” Kakashi assured her.
“I had to do this,” Taryn told him.
Kakashi nodded. “I know. I shouldn’t have doubted you. I should have trusted your judgment.” Taryn looked at him questioningly. “Madara told us,” Kakashi continued, “about Itachi.”
For a moment Taryn could only stare at him. “Who is ‘us’?” she whispered.
“Naruto…” Kakashi said, “Yamato and me. He found us when we were on our way to the Raikage. He sacrificed himself, didn’t he? He chased you out of Konoha to protect you. Why did you never tell me?”
“It would have made him a traitor,” Taryn answered, “he shouldn’t even have told me, but I pressed him on it. So he told me, in the end, right before he died. He told me because he trusted me to follow his wishes. And I failed him because I was angry. I was angry and jealous because his dying wish was not for me, but for Sasuke. For a brother that wanted him dead. For a brother that would never understand the sacrifice made for him. So it’s my fault and now I have to fix it. He asked me to protect Sasuke and I failed. If I had only kept him away from Madara…”
“It’s not your fault,” Kakashi said softly. He placed a hand on hers. “You think Sasuke would have gone with you? You know he wouldn’t have. And you would never have told him the truth, would you?” He paused. “The others say you know about Madara’s Moon’s Eye plan.”
Taryn shook her head. “No. I only know where it will lead to. I don’t know why he needs Sasuke… There is a tablet, hidden underneath the Uchiha Quarters in Konoha. It can only be decoded by ocular jutsu. Sharingan, Rinnengan and Byakugan. And each of those eyes can only see a certain part.”
“That’s why Akatsuki recruited you,” Kakashi said.
“Perhaps. I don’t know.” Taryn sighed, “Itachi gave me the key to the room. He was also the one that told me to go with Orochimaru. It was then that he told me Sasuke was still alive. He was afraid Orochimaru would come after his Sharingan. It worked for a while, until Kimimaro got sick.”
“Kimimaro?” Kakashi questioned.
“He was one of Orochimaru’s test cases,” Taryn explained, “he was supposed to become his new vessel, but his illness made him unfit. So Orochimaru needed a new vessel.”
“You,” Kakashi said.
“That’s when I ran.”
“Those Mist shinobi came after you,” Kakashi mused, “that was when I found you.”
Taryn nodded. “I thought I could keep an eye on Sasuke in Konoha, so I went with you.”
“Then why did you leave again?”
“We should go meet with the council,” Taryn changed the subject, “they are waiting for us.” She stood up and walked out of the tent.
“Taryn…”
“You can’t tell anyone,” Taryn cut him off, “ever. Promise me.”
“But if the others…”
“Ever. No one must know. Promise me.”
“Alright,” Kakashi said, “I promise.” He lead her across the camp towards the council. He subtly slowed his pace to match hers. She still wasn’t fully recovered and he didn’t want her to exhaust herself.
“Where is my team?” Taryn asked. They had brought her here, but she hadn’t seen them yet.
“They are safe.” He hesitated. “They are being held into custody at the moment, in your brother’s tent. They disobeyed orders.”
Taryn sighed. “I warned them about following me,”
“Hmm,” Kakashi said, “I thought you would know them better by now.”
They reached the main tent and a Jounin stepped inside to announce them. He came back a few seconds later and let them enter.
Kakashi joined the other Kages and left Taryn standing in the middle of the room. She made a respectful bow.
“Taryn Desertstorm,” the Tsuchikage said, “so you have returned.”
“What can you tell us?” Gaara asked.
“Danzou is dead,” Taryn answered.
The Kages stares at her, but she kept her face off all emotions.
“You killed him?” the Raikage asked.
“I was there,” she told him.
“Uchiha Sasuke,” Gaara stated. Taryn nodded at him.
“Could you have stopped him?” the Raikage demanded.
“Perhaps,” Taryn answered, “I chose not to.”
“Why?”
“I was there to gather information.”
“Danzou betrayed us,” Gaara said, “there was no need to prevent his death. And now we have one less enemy to deal with.”
“You’re wrong,” Taryn said. They all looked at her. “Danzou may have died, but there’s a new piece in play,” she told them, “one that may prove to be much more dangerous.”
“What are you talking about?” Kakashi asked.
“Kabuto,” Taryn said.
“Kabuto?” the Tsuchikage questioned, “wasn’t he one of Orochimaru’s minions?”
“Yes,” Kakashi nodded, “a medical ninja. Very skilled.” He looked at Taryn. “But he’s only a minor player. He’s nowhere near Madara’s level, nor Sasuke’s.”
He fused himself with Orochimaru’s DNA,” Taryn said, “he’s lost his sanity. I assure you, he’s no minor player now. He’s dangerous. There’s no telling in what he’ll do. But if he teams up with Madara, of which I have no doubt, then we may be in serious trouble.”
“He did what?!” Kakashi gasped.
“Orochimaru has collected a lot of jutsu and cells over the years,” Taryn continued, “if Kabuto has access to that, then we have to prepare for anything.”
The Kages looked at each other with slight concern.
“Tell us all you know,” the Tsuchikage said.
***
Hiro peeked through a tear in the Kazekage’s tent. Shinobi were gathering from every ninja village to prepare for battle and to await instructions. “I don’t see Yuna anywhere,” he said, “do you think she’s alright?” He looked at his friends concerned.
“She’s probably in Suna,” Daro tired to comfort him, “to protect out families,”
They looked at each other and sighed. It was only now that they realized the consequences of their action. They weren’t going home any time soon.
“Do you think my parents are okay?” Daro asked in a small voice.
His friends weren’t sure how to answer that.
“Kimi!” Kuro suddenly yelled as he spotted his sister in the crowd. He wanted to run after her, but was grabbed by the collar by Kankuro.
“You’re not gong anywhere.”
“But my sister is there.”
“And you’ll have plenty of time to talk to her, but not now. She has to report for duty and I have orders to keep you here until further notice. You are in serious trouble, you know that don’t you? Consider this our punishment.” Kuro started to tear up. Kankuro sighed. “Listen, I know this isn’t easy. You’ve never experienced war before and I understand that you are worried about your families, but you have to be patient. As soon as Gaara has finished up with the council, he’ll come see you. I’m sure he’ll let you talk to your sister then.” He felt sorry for his sister’s students, but he couldn’t let them run around now. They we just Genin. They were his responsibility for the time being. At times like this he felt relieved that he didn’t have a team of his own. And truth to be told, it wasn’t like he had experienced war himself. He had been born after the previous war had ended. He didn’t like this one bit.
He watched Kuro return to his friends. None of the boys looked very happy at the moment.
Kankuro looked outside again at the Kages’ tent. He had seen Kakashi and Taryn enter not long ago. He inwardly sighed. Hopefully this wouldn’t take long. He was sick of this war already and it hadn’t even started yet.
***
“We need to organize as soon as possible,” Kakashi said,” make a selection of all long and midrange fighters and all close combat fighters. It’s important that each division hold several shinobi of each group.
“”We need to know where the enemy is most likely to strike first,” Gaara said while hovering over a large map of the area.
“Madara and Sasuke were last seen on this bridge,” Kakashi pointed.
“I met Kabuto here,” Taryn said and pointed at the map, a few miles from where Madara had been seen.
“We are here,” the Raikage pointed and we came from this direction. I think it is safe to assume the enemy should be somewhere here.”
“We should assume nothing,” Mifune said, “Madara Uchiha controls the space time continuum. He could be anywhere.”
‘We already sent out scouts,” the Tsuchikage said, “they should return soon.”
“Alright,” the Mizukage said, “perhaps we should wait for their report. For the time being, why don’t we meet up with the shinobi that have gathered here? Once we have a list of all the names and their jutsu and chakra type, we will met again and divide them into groups.”
“I think that is the best course for now,” Kakashi agreed, “we’ll have a better overview if we know everyone’s fighting style.”
“Let’s do that and we will meet back again in the morning,” Raikage said.
One by one the Kages left the tent.
“Taryn,” Gaara said, “please hold for a moment. I need to speak with you.”
She nodded and stepped aside.
Gaara waited until they were alone and then took a deep breath. “I’m having a bit of a problem, Taryn,” he said, “I have three young Genin in my custody at the moment who seem to have a problem with obeying orders.”
“I told them not to come after me,” Taryn said.
“I know,” Gaara said, “and I forbade them to leave the village, but yet I find them here, at a war zone. I don’t think they lack discipline, because I know you’ve trained them well, but they do have a certain disrespect for authority.”
“I will make sure they are properly punished,” Taryn assured him, “they will learn that I won’t tolerate this kind of behavior.”
“That is not all,” Gaara continued, He took out a scroll and a map. “They stole this from the archives and Kuro took the message from the bird watch.”
Taryn took the message and read it. It was the note she had written after the destruction of Konoha. It said to be aware of Danzou and that she suspected him to have ties with either Orochimaru or Akatsuki and possibly both.
“I had already left for Iron when the message arrived,” Gaara continued, “they took it from the tower.”
“They stole it?” Taryn echoed. She wasn’t sure she understood right.
“Apparently they thought it necessary to seek me out,” Gaara said, “against my orders. And they didn’t inform their parents that they were leaving.”
Taryn closed her eyes and rubbed her temple. “What are you going to do with them?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” Gaara said, “that is the problem. They need to know that such deeds can not go by unpunished, but I don’t have the time to deal with it right now. We are at war, Taryn. They shouldn’t be here, but I can’t spare any shinobi to escort them home. They’re going to have to stay here until the war is over.”
“You can not be serious. They are Genin.”
“I have no choice.” He gave her a tired look. “I don’t like this anymore than you do, but there is no other option. I know from your reports that they are skilled enough. They’ll have to join the fight.”
Taryn sat down in a chair and hid her head in her hands.
Gaara sighed. “I’ll try to keep them as safe as possible,” he said, “give them chores to do around the camp or something.” He glanced at her. “How are you holding up, Taryn? And don’t lie to me. I have enough to deal with.”
“I’m fine,” she answered. When he cast her a warning look she sighed. “I’m just tired.”
Gaara looked down. “I can’t give you the time to rest. I would forbid you to join the fight, but I know you’ll just ignore me. So please, promise me you won’t take any unnecessary risks.”
“I’ll fight wherever you want me to,” Taryn promised.
They looked at each other for a long time, but then Gaara nodded.
“Alright. Go have a chat with your Genin then. And we’ll see where we can place them.”