~No One's P.O.V~
Soon enough, the leaf ninja landed on a rooftop, which was their spot. "Now listen closely." Kakashi said.
The leaf ninja turned their attention to him. "Our main objective is to find Itachi and take him into custody or to find Kronosa and bring her back. The Akatsuki are rounding up the tailed beasts and may be already have a three tails. According to Jiraiya, they may have inflitrated the Land of Fire. Now you will be assigned to teams, and you will search a five kilometer radius starting from this centerpoint, if that doesn't work, move the centerpoint and search another 5 kilometers, we'll keep repeating this method until it works." He said.
Everyone nodded. "Now, some of you will be assigned with ninja hounds." he said as he began to weave hand signs.
Then, Pakkun and a bunch of dogs of appeared. Two dogs walked towards Sai, another two walked towards Dachi, and the last two walked towards Hinata.
"Hey what about me?!" Naruto asked.
"Since you're a jinchuriki and a target, you'll get assigned with Nikku and Captain Yamato." Kakashi said.
"And since Kiba and I have ninja hounds of our own, we'll be assigned with them." he added.
"And dont forget Big Bark Bull." Pakkun said.
'Aww man! Nikku gets to hang out with Naruto?!' Dachi thought.
'Yay! I get to hang out with my sibling apprentice! Oh wait- I have to focus on protecting Naruto, it's my priority.' Nikku thought.
Nikku nodded at Naruto, and Naruto nodded back.
"Remember, our main objective is to track either Itachi, Kronosa, or Sasuke's scent, if you do find them, simply verify their location and come back here in the central point. So don't go running off, especially you Naruto." Kakashi said.
"I know." he responded.
"Alright then, scatter!" Kakashi said.
~Nikku's P.O.V~
I walked along with Naruto, barely containing my excitement. Since I don't always hang out with my sibling apprentice all the time.
I looked at Naruto. He looked so tense and determined to find Sasuke Uchiha. I never interacted or met him, so I can't tell what kind of person he is. Except the fact he left the leaf village.
So maybe he's worth saving for.
Just like how Asuka and Dachi are determined to bring Kronosa back to the village.
Oh right.
I bet I was assigned with Naruto because Master Jiraiya wanted me to look out for him. And also because I'm a medical ninja and a ninja who can fight.
I looked around, trying to sense some chakra around. We kept walking and soon went near a forest and sensed something.
"Naruto, Nikku, you know what to do." Captain Yamato said.
"Yeah." Naruto and I said.
Then, he threw a bunch of shurikens into the direction of the forest, and we backed away quickly.
Then, a hooded man made his appearance. "So, you sensed me coming didn't you?" he said.
"Kabuto Yakushi. Hm, it's pretty surprising for you to just show up in front of us." Captain Yamato said.
Who is this Kabuto Yakushi...? I've never heard of him before.
"I just wanted to have a little chat with Naruto." Kabuto said.
"You won't escape, we'll take you in." he said.
"Hey Kabuto, I bet you would know, where's Sasuke now?!" Naruto said.
He chuckled to himself. "You're still all about Sasuke aren't you?"
"They said that Sasuke killed Orochimaru, is that true?" Naruto asked.
"Yeah. It's true alright. Unfortunately, Lady Kronosa refused to take his place." Kabuto said.
Kronosa? Isn't that Dachi and Asuka's friend...? And why would he refer her as 'Lady Kronosa?'
I know I don't know Kronosa, but I know that she's my friend's friend.
"What do you mean she refused to take her place?" I questioned.
"Huh, I never seen you before. You must be new to the leaf village. And to answer your question, Lady Kronosa didn't want to take Lord Orochimaru's place, you see, she's Lord Orochimaru's daughter." he said.
"What? Orochimaru's daughter?" Captain Yamato said with a sense of shock in his voice.
"Yes, Lady Kronosa is Lord Orochimaru's daughter. But she refused to take his place and her loyality still stays to the Akatsuki since she still doesn't believe that Lord Orochimaru is her father." Kabuto said.
"But how?" Captain Yamato said.
Kabuto chuckled. "Lord Orochimaru created her. But apparently Lady Kronosa despises him and doesn't accept or believe him as her father."
We were all speechless from what he said. "But besides that, I brought you a present, something you might like." he said as pulled out a book.
"What's that?" Naruto questioned.
"The information we gathered about the Akatsuki." he said.
"So what about it?" Naruto said.
"It's yours now. You can have it." Kabuto said.
"So Orochimaru is dead, and Kronosa refused to take his place. So, you're trying to negotiate a deal with the leaf village. Is that it?" Captain Yamato questioned.
"No, I'm not foolish enough to think that the leaf village would negotiate with the likes of me." he said.
"So explain. The Akatsuki aren't after you. So why would you help us against them?" he questioned.
"It's simply a gift for Naruto. A token of my gratitude. After all, the Akatsuki is pursuing you."
"Gratitude?" Naruto said.
"Yes, that's right. When Lord Orochimaru died and Lady Kronosa declined me, I lost sense of my identity again of who I was. I never knew my parents or homeland. The enemy took me into custody when I was very little, I was used as a spy since I was a child. Moving to country to country, and to village to village. And the idea of home seemed alien to me until I became Lord Orochimaru's disciple. And now, it's gone again." he explained as he tossed the book near Naruto.
"The pain of not knowing who I am, of being without an identity, you understand it well don't you Naruto?" Kabuto said.
I understand it. I never knew my parents, I just grew up in the sand village. Until, I met Master Jiraiya and met my friends here, in the hidden leaf village.
"I don't want to understand anything you say." Naruto said.
"Hmp. Are you sure? Are you Naruto Uzamaki or the nine tailed fox? I know you must have been despised in the past. You must questioned your identity and who were you meant to be, but you had faith in your strength and told yourself you were Naruto Uzamaki. You forged your own identity, and doing so you overcame the cold stares of the nine tails." he said.
"What does he want with Naruto?" I asked Captain Yamato.
"I don't know, I can't figure it out." he said.
"That's why your so confident, that's why you have no doubts about your identity and why you found friends who welcome and accept you. But my story is different. Instead of going beyond Lord Orochimaru, I stubbornly held tightly to his power. Now I have a much better idea of how you felt Naruto. You made me see. And so I decided that I would try to be like you."
"I'm going to use what I could absorb of Lord Orochimaru to become a better, stronger Kabuto Yakushi." he said as he revealed his entire face.
What did he do to himself..?
"I will find a new identity, and you've me a clue how. That's why I'm so grateful to you Naurto. Lord Orochimaru is a symbol of renewal. He will live inside me as a reminder of what I must overcome." Kabuto said.
"You absorbed that guy?" Naruto asked.
"That's right. I took a part of Lord Orochimaru corpse after Sasuke defeated him and I then simply grasped that piece into my own body." he said as he pulled up his right sleeve.
"And since then, you won't believe the life force it's given me. Everyday, I can feel it steadily consuming my body. It feels amazing." Kabuto said.
"That's unbelievable." Captain Yamato said.
His chakra, I can tell that almost half of it has consumed his body.
"I have to fight desperately, just to avoid to be completely subsumed by it. Everyday I feel my will, to surpass Lord Orochimaru!" he said.
"So, that's why you came here to say this? Heh. Well, you can keep on fighting him in a prison cell in the hidden leaf village!" Naruto said as he started running towards him.
Naruto charged at him, and Kabuto blocking and dodging every attack. While, Captain Yamato started to use his wood style on Kabuto.
"Naruto, Captain Yamato, he's behind you!" I warned.
Cliffhanger! Hope you guys are liking the chapters so far. So, stay swag, and peace out!