I groaned as I pulled myself out of a bush and glared at Choro.
"I mean-- at least you landed where you were supposed to this time," he said awkwardly as I grabbed the scroll and threw it at his head.
"Why did you place it in a bush?!" I shouted, pulling leaves and twigs from my hair as people started running around in panic, "hey-!"
I stopped a ninja, he looked at me while jogging on the spot.
"What's going on?" I asked.
"Naruto suddenly vanished from Ichiraku Ramen," he told me.
"Oh, he's fine," I waved it off.
"How do you know?" he asked me, "Lady Tsunade is rather worried."
"He was probably reverse summoned by the toad sages," I replied, "after all... Jiraiya is dead now."
"Oh, the key," Choro seemed to get what I was implying, "yeah he's probably fine."
"I'll go inform Tsunade before she the flips the village upside down," I told the ninja, "Choro go train with Inoiché, he's got a new jutsu he probably needs a test subject for."
"Alright," he sighed and walked in one direction while I went jumping off in the other.
I arrived at Tsunade's temporary office and slipped in to see Kakashi and Shikamaru.
"Calm down, Tsunade, he's fine," I said as I walked through the door, "the toad sage's probably reverse summoned him. Jiraiya used to be the holder of the key to his seal, remember, the poor frog is probably trying to figure out who is going to be the poor sucker he sticks himself in the mouth of."
She gave me an irritated look before sighing.
"It's better than thinking that the Akatsuki got him," she said.
"The Akatsuki can't just waltz in and get him here," I told her, "nor can they summon him. There was no need to worry."
Just as I said that, the door opened and in walked Yamato with Sakura who was pulling Naruto along behind her by his ear.
"See? He's fine," I smiled.
Naruto then explained where he'd been.
"You saw the Great Lord Elder?" Tsunade asked, clearly impressed.
"Yeah, he used a reverse summoning jutsu," Naruto replied.
I stared at Tsunade with a grin.
"Alright, alright, you were right," she sighed, "stop looking at me like that."
I'm a genius through and through. Ha! Ha!
"And we went through all that trouble to find you too," Shikamaru complained.
"Lord Fukusaku could've at least let me know before hand," Tsunade sighed.
I mean-- yeah. You're probably right but it was probably just decision made on the spot.
"Yes, but still it's a relief you're ok, Naruto," Kakashi said as Naruto grinned at him. I bet he's smiling under that mask of his.
"Hey, I'm more than ok. I'm going great!" Naruto exclaimed brightly.
Oh, that's good.
"I'm glad but why did the great lord elder summon you?" Tsunade asked curiously.
"Giant gramps sage had something he wanted to tell me," Naruto replied, oh look at that, another person subjected to Naruto's weird nicknames, "a prophecy he had."
"Like the one he foretold to Jiraiya," she commented, "so what did the great lord elder have to say to you?"
"Uh-- well... I..." Naruto seemed to ponder over his answer.
"What is it?" Tsunade asked, seemingly getting annoyed.
"Just give us the clip note version," I told Naruto, hopefully that would make it easier for him to sum everything up?
"Well, I'm going to go to some cool resort and meet an octopus there!" Naruto beamed.
"Huh-?!" Shikamaru gave Naruto the funniest most confused look that I've seen on the kid, to be honest, I have to say, I'm equally confused.
An octopus? Resort? What?
"You're going to what?" Shikamaru asked, probably asking for more information that what we got. It's like we got half-- no, a quarter of a story and the information given to us isn't even in chronological order.
"And... what's that supposed to mean exactly?" Kakashi asked.
"Well-- uh-- this octopus is supposed to cooperate with me somehow," Naruto replied, "giant gramps sage didn't know all the details either... and... he said that I'm going to end up fighting Sasuke."
"Fight Sasuke?" Sakura repeated in mild surprise and worry as Naruto looked down slightly.
Then I need to get to him before Naruto does. Who knows how they'll both end up in the end. I need to tell Sasuke the truth about Itachi. All of this interruption isn't helping me out in the slightest. What a drag.
"But I'm ready now. I've already prepared for it," Naruto told us, forcing on a smile.
"Naruto..." Sakura called out.
"It's alright," Naruto turned to her, "don't worry. Let me handle Sasuke. This is my task."
We were all silent. This silence is deafening, damn.
Sighing, I lean forward and ruffle Naruto's hair.
"You're really brave, Naruto," I told him, "especially because Sasuke once was a teammate of yours, I don't think I'd ever be able to fight my friends in anything not friendly sparring. Your father and mother would be very proud of you."
He stared at me for a moment before grinning.
"Thank you, Shikarei," he said, "I am glad you think so."
I smiled and pulled away from him before looking to Tsunade.
"By any chance could the octopus mean the eight tails?" I asked her, "he is an octopus and... I really couldn't think of anything else the octopus could be."
"That's a good deduction, Shikarei," she nodded, "that might just be it."
"Well, now Naruto's disappearance has been solved, I'm heading over to find my teammates," I said, turning and walking away, "we need to train like hell. See you~"
I put a hand up and glanced over my shoulder as I walked.
"Hey! Shikarei! Before you go," Tsunade called out for me, I paused and looked over to her, "in three days, you and I are going to the hidden cloud."
(Yes, yes, I know Shikaku goes but I'm switching it up a bit)
"Understood," I nodded to her, "I'll see you in three days then."
She nodded and I left the building before heading to the medic nin.
Ren was sat-- no-- he was sleeping.
"Tsk, tsk," I shook my head and kicked Ren's stool from under him, he obviously woke up from that and glared at me as he rubbed his butt.
"What was that for?" he asked.
"You're sleeping on the job, bad Ren," I shook my head again, he just sighed and stood up.
"Is there a reason you're here?" he asked me.
"Training," I stated, he didn't need anything else, he quickly packed his stuff away, "let's go find Choro and Inoiché."
"I bet those idiots are all bruised and scratched up again, I guarantee it," Ren stated.
"Alright, put your money where your mouth is," I said, "I'm betting ¥14,000(£100.40/$132.86) on them not all beaten to hell."
"Then I guess I'll bet the same on they are," he nodded, "half for each person we get correct."
"Alright then. Let the best shinobi win," I said as we headed to where the Akimichis had set up camp. Choro was just sat there, he looked bored out of his mind as his father seemed to be giving him a lecture.
"Choro!" I shouted, he looked up and grinned.
"Sorry, dad, as much as I'd love to sit and listen to your shinobi basics class, I've got to go," Choro said as he stood up and ran over to us, "later!"
He grabbed our arms and dragged us away before we could even say hello or goodbye to Choza.
"Choro?! What's up?" I asked as I tried to free myself.
"He was boring me to death with his whole clan basics and stuff," he told us as he finally stopped pulling us along, "trust me, it was hell."
I looked to Ren and put a hand out.
"Pay up," I told him, he sighed and placed ¥7000(£50.20/$66.43) in my hand. I grinned and pocketed my money; Choro gave us a confused look but I waved him off.
"Let's find Inoiché," Ren glumly said before muttering something along the lines of 'you better have been your clumsy foolish self or I'm going to kill you'.
When we found Inoiché, he was sparring with Ino. She looked exhausted. Poor girl, guess she hasn't sparred against her brother in a while, huh?
"Hey! Inoiché!" Choro shouted, "it's time for training!"
Inoiché and Ino stopped their sparring and spoke a bit before Inoiché came over to us.
"Alright, let's go," he nodded.
"Ha!" Ren pointed at Inoiché's face where there were about three giant cuts, "pay up, bitch!"
Whoa-- bitch? He really got into this.
"Dang," I passed him the money I'd literally just been given back, "I'm literally only giving you the money you gave me. You're making no profit at all."
"I don't care, three minutes ago I was ¥7000(£50.20/$66.43) down, now it's back to the right amount of money again," Ren scoffed as he pocketed the money and then began healing Inoiché's dumb face.
"Do I want to know what just happened?" Inoiché asked.
"No. I don't think you do," Choro replied.
"Alright then," the blonde nodded, "let's go train."
°🥢°
2 days later_Evening_
"Why are we leaving in the dead of night again?" I asked Tsunade as I yawned.
"Because it'll take us a while to get to Kumogakure," she replied, "come on. Wake up. It's time to go."
"Yeah, yeah," I waved her off and we both began sprinting through the trees.
It's too late for this.
I need a nap.
°🥢°
The next day_
Land of lightning_
Kumogakure_
Raikage's Office_
I yawned lightly as everyone took a seat besides the five kage's choice off accompaniment.
Yes.
That means me.
I've been running all evening and I'm not even allowed to sit down.
Oh, life is so harsh.
I stood behind Tsunade, on her right was the Tsuchikage, Onoki, next to him was the Raikage, A, next to him Kazekage, Gaara, and next to him the Mizukage, Mei, then there was Mifune. Accompanying Mifune was Okisuke (from the summit), with Mei was Ao, with Gaara, Temari, with A, some girl I don't know but I think is Mabui and with Onoki... some dude I haven't met nor seen, I don't know who he is.
"You all came quickly," A began the meeting.
"The situation calls for swift action," Gaara pointed out.
Oh jeez-- don't tell me they're going to start playing point out the obvious... I'm too tired for this crap.
"Listen, Princess Tsunade, are you sure you're up to this?" Onoki asked Tsunade, "you know you should've handed the reigns over to someone a little younger. You're getting way too old for this."
Says you, old man.
"You should really speak for yourself, you old fence sitting geezer," Tsunade replied, yes! You tell him, girl!
"Setting aside the whole Danzo mess. I'm so relieved to see you back as Hokage, Lady Tsunade," Mei spoke up with a small smile.
"Let us be done with the greetings," Mifune ordered, "proceed right to our main business. First on the agenda are the eight and nine tailed jinchuriki. Then we'll move onto the location of the enemies stronghold and battle strengths."
A man of purpose. Thank god.
"Some of my shinobi found a location that may be the enemies base," Tsunade decided to skip past the topic of Naruto and B and straight onto Madara, "but it can also be a trap. I think it's best to gather more intel first."
"And we also organised multiple scouting parties," A added on, "they're collecting data as we speak. We must pool and share the intel from each village with each other."
I can say, we as the leaf village, probably have the most information thanks to my extensive research from my days of hunting down Itachi.
"Well... what about organising a separate unit within the allied force that only focuses on intel?" Mei suggested.
"Now that's a good idea," Onoki piped up, "share and share-alike that's what I say."
"Yes, of course, if our nations become driven by greed and self-interest, the Akatsuki will pull the rug from under us before we even start," A pointed out.
"So. Where will we hide away the two crucial jinchuriki?" Onoki asked.
Ah I forgot I actively spoke out for that. Though, we have to all remember that at some point they will have to join the battle. And they will, my eyes proved as much.
I glanced down at Tsunade to see her reacting in shock clearly showing what she was thinking despite my already telling her that this is the case earlier.
"Hide them away?!" she questioned.
"What's the problem?" A asked.
"Naruto and B can lend us battle strength," Tsunade shouted, "why hide them away?!"
"At first, I thought so as well, but our enemies goal in this war is to possess those two," Onoki replied, "considering what could happen, we cannot let them participate."
Participate? You make it sound like it's a game. Jeez--
I rolled my eyes and let out a silent sigh at his words.
Sure, we're losing a lot of battle strength through the loss of the jinchuriki but right now we need them to be safe no matter what. If we lose even one of them, we lose the war indefinitely.
Not to mention, if Naruto wants to be able to fight well during this battle... he needs to be able to actually control the nine tails. We can't have him being controlled and taken over by the beast. Not like during the attack on the village by the Akatsuki, or that one time he fought Orochimaru... or the battle with Zabuza and Haku and so on. Wow, he's lost control a lot hasn't he? Why didn't we try train him to control the beast before now?
"That's what we all decided at the last meeting," Onoki replied.
Indeed.
"Of course, you were still unconscious, Princess," Onoki taunted.
Don't taunt her for that, it's not like she could help it. The woman risked her life to protect the people of our village.
"Our enemy is Madara!" Tsunade shouted, "hold back strength and we'll lose our chance to win, and we won't get another!"
Yeah. He's the kind of guy who just comes at you, kicking you further down when you're already laid on the ground.
"We must hit them hard!" Tsunade shouted.
"The five great nations aim in this war is to protect those two," Gaara spoke up, "your sole voice as Hokage is not enough. Majority shall rule."
"Listen, you stripling, Naruto is--" Tsunade went to argue.
"I know him quite well," Gaara interrupted her before she could even put her argument on the table, "he takes too many risks. Especially when it comes to his friends."
That's true. He's too emotional for a ninja... and no matter what argument is made, this is still the perfect training time for Naruto and the nine tails. The pressure of the war will cause unbroken focus.
It won't be long before his seal is completely gone, Naruto needs to figure out how to deal with the nine tails fast or even if we get past this, we'll have the nine tails to deal with. And that didn't work out too well the last time it was free. I mean-- we lost our Hokage and his wife along with many ninjas lives.
"That is why we're doing this," he finished.
"Before we discuss military strength, the five kage must reach a consensus or no victory will be possible," Mifune spoke up, noticing that Tsunade wasn't going to back down. I sighed and leaned against her chair slightly.
"Sorry, Lady Tsunade, but I think this will probably be for the best. If not for the strategy then for Naruto's training with the nine tails," I whispered to her. She sighed.
"Alright," she nodded, though she wasn't pleased with having to back down, "fine!"
"The slug princess is back to her impudent self. That retort proves that she is well," Onoki scoffed.
What has that got to do with this meeting, sir? Seriously. You're asking for an unnecessary argument here.
"Let's decide where to hide the eight and nine tails," A decided, "any objections, Lady Hokage?"
"None at all," she replied, "just hurry it up so we can move on."
And go home. I'm so tired, man, hurry up.
"I've got just the place in mind," A announced, spit it out then, "it lays inside the hidden cloud, which so far, hasn't produced any Akatsuki members."
Just had to throw that out there, didn't you?
"I set it aside just in case," he continued to drag out his great idea, "Genbu, the island turtle."
Oh. I think I've seen that thing swimming-- floating around during random missions. It looks like a darn weapon, not an island. It's totally spikey but ok.
Tsunade fell serious before looking at A.
"May I speak with you in private, Lord A?" Tsunade requested, A stared at her for a moment before nodding and the two left the room, heading off into the side room. I sighed and decided to straighten myself out. I'm not exactly presentable, to be honest.
The room was quiet as hell, kind of suffocating as well.
"So that's what the eyes of time look like, eh?" Onoki spoke up, I glanced over to him. What's he thinking?
"They're even more spectacular than I've heard," Mei chimed in.
"They're honestly not as great as you think," I told them, "they're a horrific burden that should've been destroyed when we had the chance."
We fell silent again.
Welp.
This is awkward.
"How is Naruto?" Gaara spoke up this time, filling the silence with his slightly emotionless voice.
"He's fine," I replied, "a bit ramen crazy, but fine either way."
"That's good. When we last saw him, he didn't look too good," Temari smiled, I nodded.
"I agree," I hummed, "he must've just been overwhelmed. I mean-- from what I heard; a bunch of his friends dropped one hell of a bomb shell on his shoulders before we reached him. But he recovered because he's Naruto. He's just like that."
The two sand nin nodded to my statement.
Great. The silence is back.
Goddamn it, Tsunade, get back in here! This silence is killing me!
"Shikarei Nara, you fought in the third great shinobi war, did you not?" Mei decided it was her turn to strike up a conversation with me as the centre of a response, "how're you feeling to return to such bloody battlefields?"
I shot her a blank look.
"I don't like it," I stated coldly, "but... I'll fight for my family, so my daughter can grow up in a peaceful, or at least as peaceful as it can get, world. I'll fight even if it takes my life, because a world where the children don't have to worry about such things is a world I'll happily give myself up for."
"Oh, but you're so young!" she exclaimed, surprised.
"Yes. I am. But younger lives have been taken thanks to this messed up shinobi world," I replied, "I've lived a longer life than some others can possibly say."
Like Itachi... Shisui... a lot of the Uchiha children.
Life sucks.
The doors opened and in walked Tsunade and A. Finally.
They must've noticed the heavy atmosphere because Tsunade raised a brow at me questioningly. I just shrugged, pretending I had no idea what was going on.
After that... the meeting was pretty much boring statistics on each villages shinobi strength, things like that. Boring. I got to show off a bit of my strategic flare, but I couldn't do much with us not knowing where we'll fight.
On our way home, Tsunade told me how she's going to disguise Naruto's isolation from the war as an S class mission that only he can do. I along with Yamato and some other ninja will be going along with him while everyone else fights.
I... don't know how I feel about that to be honest, but I have a strange feeling that I'll end up fighting anyway because Naruto will find out about this war. I know it.
But why are they side lining me, huh? I should be one of the most important nin to have on the field.
I'm pissed.