I'll try to stay in character, but the "Silent Hero" Type is kind of hard for me, so PLEASE excuse me if sometimes I will derail into OOC territory. I am not doing it on purpose this time.
I took some liberties about the obects used in Final Fantasy X in place of normal spells, please forgive me.
" You bastard" - demon talking / jutsu
"Let's finish this" - dialogue
" Can it get any worse? " - during flashback/ Thoughts
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or anything else I will use nor I make a profit out of this, I am writing just for the pleasure of doing it.
(Naruto/Final Fantasy X crossover) Pairing Auron/Anko (Because I think she is the one "Closer" to being Like Rikku was in the game).
Chapter 5: Back to normalcy.
Konoha – Hokage Tower -
Auron the former Guardian was sitting on a chair right outside the Hokage Office with his sword laid against the wall next to him as he looked at the people walking by. Things had only just recently returned to normal in Konoha once the final fixing of the damages the Invasion had brought were finally over, and yet, the man knew that he himself would soon be asked questions about the uncanny resemblance between his Aeon and the still-missing nine-tailed fox Biju.
And lo and behold, just few minutes earlier he had been called to the Hokage Office for what he suspected will be that exact kind of questions.
"The Hokage will now meet you." the Hokage's secretary said opening the door for him and receiving a nod in answer as the man recovered his sword.
"Glad you accepted to come here." Jiraiya said gruffly from behind the desk.
"Do not sulk like that, Jiraiya-kun! I did this for years and I am still here, you won't die for some stamping and signing!" Hiruzen said chuckling as he used his sparkling new wooden arm (one of the many ways Suna used to apology) to refill his sake dish.
"Still going to say that being tricked into accepting the job is unfair." he answered grunting.
"He tricked me into staying here too, remember." Tsunade said barging inside the room once 'gently' knocked on the door until the hinges gave-in.
"Let me guess...More budget or you'll cave my skull in?" Jiraiya said sighing.
"Yup! Sign-up!" she said giving him the already-compiled papers.
Sigh! "Okay, I'll reduce the budget for the Elders' retiring fund then, is not like they need all that money." Jiraiya said signing and stamping the papers for approval.
"A Hokage should not accept defeat that easily, Jiraiya." Hiruzen said.
"Do you want to be the one telling her no, sensei?" the New Hokage answered jabbing a thumb towards Tsunade that was already cracking her knuckles.
"Oh, Hell no! I already lost an arm, thank you!" Hiruzen answered laughing.
"Why I am here?" Auron finally asked making the others jump.
"SHIIIT! I forgot you were here!" Jiraiya yelled in surprise.
"Please don't do this again, my boy! My heart can take only so much." Hiruzen added drying the sake he had splashed himself with.
"..." the Guardian simply lifted an eyebrow at that.
"...You really need to teach me how to do that and still make it seem super-expressive." Tsunade muttered impressed.
"By the way, it seems like your Aeon kind of awoke a wasp nest as big as Konoha itself." Jiraiya said returning professional and sighing tiredly.
"Because he looks like the Kyuubi." Auron said nodding.
"Wow! I look like myself! What a shock!" Kurama answered in overly-accentuated drama.
"What do they want?" the swordsman asked.
"Somebody-"
"Danzo." Tsunade said rolling her eyes.
"Somebody." Jiraiya repeated, "Has started wondering if Aeon and Biju were two ways to call the same thing." he finished saying.
"And they are?" Auron asked back.
"I fought that thing, and while I may have missed the tattoos on the tails, I do not remember it wearing those fancy accessories." Hiruzen replied shrugging.
"It's called Fashion, you may want to look it up, old monkey!" Kurama replied huffing annoyed making Auron grumble.
"Yeah, it made me groan too." Jiraiya admitted at hearing that suffuse sound.
"Nothing about the Magic?" Tsunade asked curious.
"Magic?" the other two chorused.
"How would you call tossing a marble at a barrier and summon elemental attacks instead of Jutsu?" the woman answered crossing her arms.
"That too was not easy, but as you explained, it was just parts of monsters you channeled Chakra through to activate them, so those people relented because the expenses of going oversea to hunt those beasts down and come back made it counter-productive."
"Mana, not Chakra." Auron said.
"Same thing, We-"
"Mana is the spiritual power of the body, Chakra is the energy bridging Mana and Chi. Physical Power and Spiritual power."
"That...Was actually insightful." Tsunade admitted earning a one-armed shrug in answer from Auron.
"What now?"
"Now we'll need to explain to them that your Aeon is not a Biju, especially not our Kyuubi." Jiraiya answered.
"...They are not the same thing...Right?" he then asked pleading.
"They aren't." Auron answered.
"Can you prove it? Please? Just to make them shut-up." the Hokage pleaded groaning.
"How?"
"...Eh! That is exactly the problem."
Sigh! "Do we have a Sensor Ninja we can ask? Possibly one that was there the night Kyuubi attacked and remembers what the Biju's chakra feels like?" Tsunade said rolling her eyes.
"Maybe?" Hiruzen answered unsure.
"Auron?"
"Kurama is a Aeon, they do not posses Chakra, just high amounts of Magic." Auron answered.
"Then let's try with the sensor ninja." Tsunade said scratching her eyes.
"I am already on it." a heavily bandaged man said smirking in superiority as he pushed inside a wheelchair with a half-catatonic man on it.
"Oh, yes...Mikichi-kun...he 'kind of' survived in a way." Hiruzen said wincing.
"What happened to him?" Jiraiya asked.
"The Kyuubi stepped on him, if he is alive, it's a miracle in itself, by now he can't even eat or take care of himself, but we just need him to confirm or deny our Auron here has stolen our Biju." Danzo answered glaring at Auron.
"..." with a few heavy steps the Former Guardian moved to be at few inches from Danzo to look at him in the eyes from above his sunglasses.
"..."
"...Can we please go on? Nobody of us here actually has time to waste." Jiraiya finally said as he himself wheeled the poor man out.
"Yes." Auron answered as he followed the Hokage, Hiruzen and Tsunade outside.
"Uh?" it was then that Danzo noticed the few drops of sweat running down his forehead.
"...Very impressive man, very impressive indeed." the bandaged man admitted humming in appreciation.
Few minutes later – outside the Village -
"So! This place should be big enough." Jiraiya said as the group watched the ample area in front of them.
"Aaah! Konoha's own testing ground for new jutsu! So many memories." Hiruzen said with a longing sigh.
"Memories are a waste of time, let's get this over with!" Danzo said taking Auron's jug and emptying its content on the floor.
"..."
"..."
"That was one-hundred ryous worth of Iwa Rum." Auron said coldly.
"Ooow." Jiraiya and Tsunade commented grimacing at that, they understood what a waste of high-class liqueur that truly was and as fellow connoisseursof alcohol, they understood the man's inner sorrow completely and could relate.
"Where is it?! I interrogated few bystanders and they said you summoned the Kyuubi from this bottle!" Danzo growled shaking the jug wildly.
"The jug is the medium, not the container. And Kurama is my Aeon, not a Biju." Auron answered taking back the jug and rising it to the sky so that SOMEHOW a long stream of liquid could come out and repeat the Summoning Sequence.
"...Does it always do that?" Tsunade asked curious once the sky cleared and Kurama landed in front of the group.
"Unfortunately, yes." Auron answered.
"It's outside my control, it's 'Standard Aeon Summoning' Procedure, there is not a Short Version of it." Kurama answered shrugging.
"A bit over-dramatic and absolutely not stealthy, but if the occasion demands you to summon him, stealth had already stopped being an issue." Jiraiya added while looking impressed.
"So? Is it-"
"HE. I am a male." Kurama interrupted.
"Is it a Biju? Is it OUR Kyuubi?" Danzo asked nonplussed.
"I hope that other than an eye they cut of your dick too."
"They did. AH!" Hiruzen blurted-out before noticing and covering his mouth with both hands.
"HIRUZEN!" Danzo screeched with a red face.
"SORRY! I DIDN'T MEAN TO REVEAL THAT!"
"Nnh...Nnh!" the poor man looked at Kurama intently, making the giant fox bend down to lock eyes with him.
"Nnnh?"
"So?" Danzo asked again.
"...Nnh." the man shook his head in the negative, all while still moving slightly back on his seat.
"Well, considering that he may very well have a natural aversion for ANY form of giant foxes, he is still not showing the sheer terror somebody meeting again the monster that almost killed them should have..." Tsunade said humming in thought.
"I think we can give dear Kurama the benefit of the doubt." Jiraiya confirmed.
"Thank you." Kurama answered as his body broke down into pyryflies to return inside Auron's bottle.
"Then the next order of business should be decide in what shinobi to seal it to have a Jinchuuriki-like ninja."
"..."
"..."
"...What?"
"Danzo...You sometimes sound like a parody of yourself...Do you even think about something that is not related to Power/Military campaigns/Konoha's power/YOUR power/etc?" Hiruzen asked worried.
"Do you have a hobby or something at least?" Tsunade added with a sad expression.
"I frame copies of Successful Mission Reports, but I fail to see what this has anything to do about Konoha needing to be the strongest-HEY! Where are you going!?"
"Let's go, Auron-kun. I know a bar that serves some wonderful Whiskey directly from oversea! And a little bird told me that just yesterday they got a new shipment so today it will be the perfect time to have few samples." Hiruzen offered as he and the Guardian walked away.
"As you wish."
"I am coming too, I feel like having some myself, sensei." Tsunade added soon following them.
"I still need to finish my paperwork before taking a pause, so I'll better get it done before night comes." Jiraiya said yawning and disappearing with a shunshin.
"Hmm, hnn!" the man on the wheelchair wheeled himself away while muttering something that sounded like a VERY poor excuse to leave Danzo alone.
"..." a very cold wind then blew around the solitary bandaged man making his robes flutter.
"I am not one-dimensional, I am a very interesting character with a tragic background and great relevance." He said stubbornly to himself.
"Yes, yes I am. They just don't understand how interesting I am with my worrying about the well-being of Konoha, or its future, or its position of power, or my being a better Hokage, or what our enemies may be doing right now, or..." the man kept saying as he walked away ALONE towards his empty house where he lived ALONE because his old wife 'for some reason' decided she wanted to divorce him and take the kids and grand-kids away.
But it was clearly a sign she was not as invested in Konoha's future as he was, Danzo thought.
The next day – Konoha – Training ground 7 -
"Just leave me alone, Dobe!" Sasuke growled as he marched away from the group.
"Stop cutting people off, Bastard! We are friends! We are here to help you!" Kiba answered trying to stop him from leaving.
"I don't need friends!" the Uchiha boy answered as he ran away.
Sigh! "Everyday he gets worse." Kakashi muttered sighing in dismay.
"Troubles?"
"AH! Auron-san! Good evening."
"Kurenai was looking for Kiba, what is happening?" the former Guardian asked.
"I am just desperately trying to help one of my students snap out of his funk, but the temporary dismantling of our Team only aggravated the ongoing issues I have." the masked man answered groaning.
"You are still short of a Genin?"
"Dear Tezuka-kun is recovering, but doctors confirmed he won't be a ninja anymore once out of the Hospital, too much damage." Kakashi answered.
"And Kiba?"
"I tried to see if the quasi-rivalry between the two would have helped, but even that and the fact that Team 7 could still train together even without taking Missions was not enough. He is cutting everybody off and simply isolating himself."
"I see."
"Hey, if I am not mistaken...In a week there will be the 'anniversary' of our first death, you know, the battle at the Valley of the End." Kurama suggested unsure.
"Things will repeat?"
"I don't know, but if they do, this time there will be nobody there to fight the brat to stop him, contrary with when you were a Genin, this time the kid managed to alienate everybody, so there won't be a 'Friend' still determined to help him." the Aeon answered making the Guardian hum in thought.
"A Ryou for your thoughts?" Kakashi asked once noticed the moment of introspection of the man.
"Just personal matters. If you want to resolve this, you'll have to break through his ego first, that layer is way more thick than what you believe." Auron answered while walking towards the sad-looking Inuzuka heir.
"Sensei?" the boy said in surprise as he noticed only in that moment that the man was in the Training Ground at all.
"Kurenai is looking for you, there is a Team Meeting." the man said.
"Oh! I-I must have missed the memo." the boy tried saying with a forced smile.
"Hn. Just go."
"Okay!" the other answered nodding, somehow catching the message that he was not in trouble.
"Be strong, Kakashi. Your real trial as a sensei starts now." the man said as he walked past Kakashi while following Kiba.
"What do you mean?"
"You will see."
"...I don't understand." the masked Jounin muttered looking extremely troubled.
With Auron and Kiba -
"When we reach Kurenai, I will alert the others as well."
"About what?"
"For a while Kurenai will need to work without me."
"Without you? Why?" the boy asked shocked.
"I need to go on a Mission, it will take few days."
"A mission, Auron-sensei?"
"More I can't tell you."
"Oh! That secretive!? Sounds awesome!" Kiba said excited.
"Unfortunately it is not."
"Don't worry! You are awesome! You will pull it off!"
"Hn."
"...A bit more enthusiasm no, eh?" the Inuzuka heir commented sighing in dismay.
"It's not who I am."
"Yeah, and I miss THAT 'You' a lot!" Kurama answered with a sad expression.
"Just be careful, okay?"
"I will." Auron answered with a small nod.
Later that day – Mission Center -
"What exactly are we looking for?" Kurama asked as he watched his Partner skimmed through a huge pile of Mission scrolls.
"For a Mission in the area of Grass Country." Auron muttered in answer.
"Why?"
"The Valley of the End is the shortest path to Grass Country, from there is two days of (Shinobi speed-wise) walk to Sound Village."
"And by Sarutobi's own admission, Sound Village may very well be under the direct control of Orochimaru. Reached the place, the Uchiha brat could have been brought anywhere...Had he survived the clash between the Rasengan and the Chidori." Kurama said in realization.
"Exactly. But we need an excuse to be outside Konoha before and during that day."
"Why not stopping it altogether?"
"The Sound Four will start the kidnapping, they are the snake Sannin personal bodyguards and main Lackeys, we need them in Konoha so to capture and interrogate them."
"And this means hope things will play along just the same, and so letting the whole Recovery Mission happen."
"Things are already in motion."
"And just like a river, things cannot be stopped completely without making a mess, following the flow remains our best option." Hiruzen added as he joined the room.
"...You were listening in." Auron said with a raised eyebrow.
"More likely I was making sure nobody was eavesdropping or disturbing you, and as you said, those four are the main lead we have about Orochimaru's overall plans, even if knowing my former student, they too may know very little." the former Third Hokage answered while handing a scroll to the former Guardian.
"Here. A Five-days-long mission in Grass Village, I placed an order for a decorative bronze plaque for my home there...Well, I did it under fake name, but I will still use it to decorate my living room all the same."
"Thanks." Auron answered pocketing the scroll.
"I too was aware of the upcoming date, and I managed to nudge things along so that the Sound Four will be captured alive for questioning, whatever loyalty they have won't last with the Special Preparations I asked Ibiki and Anko to be ready with, in this week they will organiza their best tricks."
"Good. I will deal with Sasuke-san then. Good day," Auron answered with a small bow as he walked towards the door.
"Will you fight the boy?"
"No, I have other plans." he answered before closing the door behind himself.
"...I hope he doesn't plan on killing him to avenge his honour, his old self was against that, but the current him kind of worries me." Hiruzen muttered to himself unsure.
A week later – Valley of the End -
"GATSUGA!" a very exhausted Kiba yelled while betting his whole being in a last attack as his jutsu summoned around himself a drill-like tornado overcharged in chakra.
"CHIDORI!" to that Sasuke, showing the monstrous transformation of the second level of Cursed Seal turning him into a demonic-looking entity, answered with a black-coloured chidori jutsu sparkling in wildly flaying lightning.
WHAM!
The two techniques collided for barely an instant before Sasuke's lightning destroyed the tornado around Kiba, and if the Inuzuka boy could survive the thing with only a deep gush on his back instead of being pierced through, was all thanks to the backlash of the Gatsuga failing and his own spinning launching him away...That and Sasuke's own unwillingness to hurt him causing him to subconsciously dropping the technique as soon as the other boy's jutsu went dispersed.
"GUAAAAAH!" Kiba screamed in pain as he was launched against the stones under their battle ground in a splattering of blood from the deep wound on his back, it was clear that a huge scar will be remaining along his spine from their fight.
"Ahh...Ahh...Ahh...I-In the end...I am still weak...I could not kill you...I am pathetic..." Sasuke said growling while wheezing in agony from the transformation, his fight with Kiba AND his barely escaping the clutches of the ANBU squads that somehow were waiting for him and the Sound Four to leave Konoha.
"Grrr..." Akamaru, he too having took a heavy beating during the fight, summoned his last strength to stand protectively in front of Kiba.
"...The Dobe is lucky...He always had somebody there ready to help him, I was alone...Always alone...But not anymore." Sasuke, dropping the transformation, said taking away his forehead protector and tossing it at Akamaru.
"I'll be strong, powerful. Then being alone won't be an issue anymore..." he then said groaning as he dragged himself away only to stop abruptly.
Because he saw Auron himself calmly sitting on a small rock right in front of the giant waterfall dominating the Valley of the End, sitting alone and drinking as he watched the old statues of Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju forever locked in a fighting stance one against the other.
"A toast to the fallen, may you be always remembered."
Gulp!
"A toast to the living, may your life be one of Peace."
Gulp!
"And a toast to the Gods, may their eyes never find on our happiness, less misery befall on our life."
Gulp!
Auron recited between gulps, those were the words of the teachings of his time as a monk, only customized to reflect his view on the whole cult of Yevon, Destiny and Gods as a whole.
"It's the strangest prayer I ever heard." Sasuke admitted as he carefully approached the man.
"The Cult of Yevon has always done things its way, that is why I left it." the other answered.
"Are you here to stop me as well?" the young boy asked in barely-hidden dread, he knew that a Jounin was the last enemy he could face in his current state.
"Are you leaving Konoha?"
"...Yes." he answered taking a fighting stance.
"On your own free will?"
"Yes. Nobody threatened me. I feel like the Village is holding me back."
Chink!
To Sasuke's surprise the former Guardian moved his bottle on a near flat rock.
"You are doing this on your own free will and will shoulder its consequences. Then drink with me a last time, next time we meet we'll be enemies. As a farewell between warriors of Konoha." Auron answered.
"..." Sasuke was speechless about the offering, but then he remembered, the man in front of him was not a shinobi born in Konoha, but an outsider from a different land, and a disgraced monk at that.
"...Who says the wine is not drugged?" the young boy asked with narrowed eyes.
"Hn." Auron answered showing the small dish he had been drinking from barely a minute before.
"Ah!...Yes, sorry." the Uchiha survivor admitted sounding almost ashamed as he took the bottle in his hands.
"May I?"
"Hurry up, they will arrive shortly." Auron answered unfazed.
"Thank you, Auron-san. If ever we'll see each-other again, it will be as enemies." the boy said taking a big gulp with his eyes bulging-out with how strong the wine was.
"Good." Auron said nodding as he got up to walk towards Sasuke…
Thud!
And pluck the bottle from the boy's hands an instant before he fell down face-first on the floor.
"Eh! That drug sure works wonders!" Kurama said amused.
"It does." Auron admitted as he hosted Sasuke on his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
"H-How? You said..."
"I said the wine was not drugged, not the bottle's rim." the Guardian answered.
"And yet you were drinking from it." Sasuke groaned as he felt his body being absolutely unresponsive to his commands.
"I used another bottle to fill the dish."
"Oh. So Konoha asked you to stop me?" the boy asked sounding especially betrayed by that.
"No, I have used that drug for a Mission I was returning from, I decided to dip my hand after watching you fight Kiba."
"Why you stopped me? Konoha holds me down, I will never flourish there." the Uchiha boy said almost in tears.
"...Call it revenge if you want, or Fate. I stopped you from doing something extremely stupid as you were ready to throw away everything to follow the offer of a monster."
"I-"
"You are not alone, you never were." Auron cut him off as they reached the group of ANBU already patching-up Kiba and Akamaru under the intense scrutiny of Kakashi himself.
"...You felt this was coming, don't you, Auron-san?" the masked Jounin asked looking at the waterfall with empty eyes.
"Bitterness and powerlessness make us do stupid things, we latch on lies and empty promises desperately in hope for salvation, and we condemn ourselves." Auron answered unceremoniously throwing Sasuke at Kakashi that barely managed to catch the flying boy.
"Personal experience?" a near ANBU asked with a sad tone.
"Ready to go, Kiba?" the man ignored the question as he looked at his student being moved on a stretcher.
"Good as new, sensei." the Genin groaned in answer with a weak smile while his dog companion slept next to him.
"Let's go then."
"Auron-san!" Kakashi called-out before the group could depart.
"Hn?"
"You meant this when you talked about my trial as a sensei, isn't it?" the other asked.
"He believes to be alone and that Konoha is holding him back, if that is not true, help him understand that before it's too late, or he will escape again and throw his life away on empty promises..." Auron answered.
"Like Jecht and Braska-san?" Kurama asked sadly.
"And many other before them that sacrificed themselves to hold Sin back for a short time." Auron answered.
"Sometimes even just a temporary solution is better than nothing, it still gave people some measure of Peace in-between sacrifices. No matter how wrong the whole things is."
"True."
"What life was yours before you came here? What happened?" Kakashi muttered to himself too low to be heard as he followed the Guardian and ANBU back to Konoha.
Unknown to him, Sasuke too was having similar thoughts as he watched that strange man, almost sensing the shadows of the man's past hanging above him in such a similar way to his own to almost scare the boy down to his core.
"Will I be like that? Is ITACHI like that? Powerful and yet alone and plagued by memories and pasts sins? Is that the price for power?"
The paralyzed boy was silent the whole way back to Konoha, and yet his eyes never left the back of Auron's head, as if he was trying to see though the man to look for some answers to his own deeply-buried doubts.
Meanwhile – Konoha – Hokage Tower -
"So, Jiraiya-kun, news?" Hiruzen asked with narrowed eyes.
"Mostly bad news, sensei." the current Hokage answered sighing in dismay.
"Please elaborate."
"The Kyuubi still has to surface, and at the same time this Akatsuki Organization I was keeping tabs on has dropped any and all work as a mercenary group to turn into full-fledged Terrorists."
"Uh? How so?" Hiruzen asked curious.
"There have been several attacks on minor Villages and probing ones on major ones like Mist and Iwa, especially against Mist and their Jinchuuriki, same going for Iwa."
"Uhm...You suspect something?"
"More or less, sensei, the recently attacked Kumo too and literally focused on the Two-tailed Jinchuuriki living there. So they are either trying to see how they would fare against a Biju Vessel should they decide to attack a Village…Or the Jinchuuriki themselves are their Target." Jiraiya explained tiredly passing a hand on his face.
"And the other Villages? What are they doing about this?" Hiruzen asked worried.
"As far as I can tell, Ay the Raikage is out for blood, but since the Akatsuki never seem to have had a Base of Operation anywhere, thus making tracking them very difficult, that meat-head can just growl and shake his fists at the wind since he has not a clear target to attack."
"And Iwa?"
"Onoki went the other way around, he is turning his Village into a fortress as we speak, since he too can't find where those fools meet to organize, he prefers to wait for them to come to him and fight on Iwa's territory so to have the advantage of playing in a well-known play-field." Jiraiya answered.
"I see, should the Jinchuuriki be their real target, what do you think they want from them?"
"Honestly, sensei? I have no idea...I am torn between two options, they want to steal the Biju so to seal them into their men to become more powerful OR they want them gone so to freely attack their Village whenever they want. The fact though that none of them came here makes me think that SOMEHOW they know we no longer have a Jinchuuriki, contrary to the other Villages that think we have one and are keeping him or her very well hidden."
"We also have Auron-kun's Aeon, Kurama." Hiruzen said smirking.
"Yeah, and I am doing my best to make sure everybody knows he is not a Biju...And believe it or not somebody is 'Shipping' that Aeon with our Biju, others instead fear that should the two creatures actually copulate we'll have an army of proto-Kyuubi to use to create more Jinchuuriki." Jiraiya answered in disbelief.
"...Really?"
"It's gossip, sensei, even I admitted defeat in front of such imagination."
"So they are shipping Kurama with himself? I know that fox is a bit narcissistic, but that would be too much even for him! At least I can rest assured that his being reborn as a Aeon should not put him and Auron in the Akatsuki's hit-list too soon." the old man thought sighing as he and Jiraiya kept talking about the results of the man's Spy Network's inquires around the Elemental Countries.
At the same time – hidden base uner Rain Village -
Contrary to what every other Kage and their respective spies believed, the Akatsuki Organization DID posses a secret Headquarters, a secret base to be precise, deeply hidden under the Kage Tower of Rain Village and so out of the others' list of possible hiding spot because of said preposterous position.
"So? No trace of the Kyuubi still?" the Leader of Akatsuki, a man with orange hair and strange purple eyes, asked with a growl.
"None whatsoever." answered the Leader's spy, he was a man whose body was vertically divided in two with one half pure-white and the other pure-black, all encompassed by a fly-trap-like plant.
"I can't believe they managed to hide that Jinchuuriki from us...It never happened before..." the man's black half said with a tone of pure disbelief.
"If even Zetsu is failing, it means that they know we are looking for the Biju." the only woman of the assembled group said with a thoughtful expression.
"Konan is right, somebody must have talked." another member said gruffly.
"If we have a traitor then give them to me, I am sure that before Jashin takes their life they will talk, Yahahahaha!" another answered with a deranged laugh escaping him.
"Just to be on the safe side, we'll have a little round of cleaning to be sure we don't actually have spies in our ranks, should this happen, you two will be free to play with them as you wish once they told us for who they work for. Just see to not kill them before we got our answers, Hidan and Kakuzu, do not challenge me."
"As you wish, Pein-sama!" the two men answered nodding.
"Deidara? How did the Villages react to our small attacks?" the Leader then asked.
"Huhuhu! Just as we expected! That paranoid idiot of Onoki is closing every hole of the Village to prepare for an incoming attack, of we let him close every escape route he has in his blind paranoia, smoking out their Jinchuuriki will be way easier! Ay instead is foaming at the mouth to find us, wasting resources to avenge his pride." the blond man answered looking extremely amused.
"Good, prepare a fake attack on Rain Village too, just to divert attention from here as possible location for our HQ. As for the rest, continue as usual, see how many thugs we can take in to act as distraction for the various Villages, until we are ready, we can't start with our hunt, ESPECIALLY if the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki is still nowhere to be found." the Leader ordered.
"Yes, Pein-sama!" the assembled members of Akatsuki answered as one before leaving, so that only Pein and Konan would remain in the room.
"What do you think?" the man asked.
"I still don't like this plan, nor I like that man calling himself Madara, especially with how fanatically he pronounces that name." Konan answered bluntly.
"I am aware of your dislike, just as I am aware of your being against our employing S-Class Missing-nins as our main force."
"And yet we are working with them." Konan answered bitterly.
"Just be patient, soon we'll be done with them and that masked fool of Madara...Or Obito, if we have to use his real name." Pein answered smirking making Konan turn around to look at him in surprise.
"Just like you don't trust him, I too don't, nor him or his dear friend Zetsu. That is why I say that once done collecting Biju me and you should go somewhere nice and far away, like a Tropical Island conveniently not appearing on the maps."
"How do you..."
"There is very little that can be hidden from the Rin'negan, and after Danzo's betrayal I am even more paranoid when it comes to our partners in crime. I am the only one that can summon the Gedo Mazu statue, so once filled it with the Biju as 'Madara' suggested, I will send it away and disappear from the scenes. I never was fully convinced that just by having a super weapon we'll achieve World Peace, it never sounded convincing if you ask me! It would have made us to be the Supreme target of everybody in the Elemental Countries and THEN it would have caused a World War for the possession of the ultimate weapon...And that is not Peace if you ask me." Pein explained.
"So you think Obito-san's plans are different from what he told us?" Konan asked with narrowed eyes.
"I have some 'gut feeling' so to speak; he looks and acts too smart to believe that just because we have a super-cannon loaded in Biju Chakra then everybody will live in Peace with a big smile on their faces. No, the statue must just be the first step of something bigger he is not telling us, especially if that Thing feels 'Alive' whenever I summon it. I don't like this, but FOR NOW, we'll have to play along." Pein answered with a grave expression.
"Zetsu can infiltrate everywhere, how can we escape him?" Konan asked worried.
"We'll find a way, I will protect you, I promise." Pein answered grabbing her hand.
"I am counting on it." the woman answered with a small smile.
At the same time – with Zetsu – Opposite side of the Base -
"Welcome back, Obito-kun." White Zetsu said smiling as a masked man appeared next to him from a vortex distorting Reality itself.
"Don't use that name! We still can't show our hand." Obito answered bitterly.
"Have no fear, the other boys are out playing while Konan and Pein are busy planning the next step of our plan." White Zetsu answered chuckling.
"Still no trace of the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki?" Obito asked.
"Not a shred! We can't find him or her and it's driving me nuts!" Black Zetsu answered growling.
"You sure we can't use that guy's Aeon? That thing looks like the Kyuubi's long lost Big Brother." White Zetsu added sighing.
"That thing has no Chakra inside, no matter how incredible it sounds, so even if we capture it, the Ritual will simply try to pull water out of a rock. It would be just a waste of time, effort and resources." The black half answered annoyed.
"We'll manage, we are still finalizing our forces so there is no rush, and considering Jiraiya is the current Hokage, I am not surprised that old man managed to hide the Jinchuuriki's identity even from your eyes, there is hardly a Spy Master able to match him unfortunately." Obito answered with an annoyed tone.
"Ooh! But I'll find out who's the bastard all the same! It's a matter of honor now!"
"Do as you please, in the meantime, I should have found a good alternative in case we can't find the Kyuubi by the time we have done collecting the other eight Biju." Obito answered.
"Oh! Do tell!" White Zetsu said looking very interested in the thing.
"At least like that we'll be able to use the incomplete Ten Tails to hunt down the Kyuubi, they can't hide a Fox if the Village around it ceases to exist!" Black Zetsu mentally added.
"It is quite simple, We'll just need to locate two very infamous brothers and a young brat..." Obito answered as under his mask, his face morphed into a smile of pure malice.
Back to Konoha – the next day -
Hiruzen and Jiraiya were once again meeting in great secret in the Hokage's Office with the Spy Master showing a satisfied smile on his face while he filled his and Hiruzen's dishes in wine.
"To your operation, sensei! As we speak Ibiki and Anko are mind-raping the Sound Four for everything they know while Kakashi is personally forcing the Uchiha Brat to talk about his issues with the help of Inoichi, the boy will either resolve his issues or die drowned in those two endless talking!" Jiraiya said offering a toast to the former Third Hokage.
"I would chalk it up more on Luck than abilities, Jiraiya-kun. It was Luck I intercepted that spy of Orochimaru organizing the kidnapping and it was Luck both our ANBU and Auron-kun were open to help." Hiruzen answered with a smirk as he accepted the wine.
"Luck and the powder of a Spiran Monster's horn able to paralyze even somebody with a Cursed Mark, we had to wait for the effects to wear-off by themselves because even Tsunade could not counter it!" the Sannin replied laughing.
"Details, my boy! Mere details!" the old man replied chuckling.
"Be as you say, something tells me the Snake Bastard will be VEEEEEERY angry right now! We fouled his plans and thanks to the Cursed Marks on the Uchiha boy, on Anko AND on the Sound Four, I am very close at unraveling how they are made so to remove them! I can even say that in a week or so I will crack open the formula and freely remove them." Jiraiya said smugly.
"Hohoho! Wonderful! Very wonderful!" Hiruzen commented pleased.
"Next order of business though is the Akatsuki, we need to prepare for their coming somehow." Jiraiya said dropping his smile to show a more worried expression.
"We all will train hard, Jiraiya. From the ANBU down to the Genin, we'll make our training ten times harder and more intense! Or even one-hundred times harder!" Hiruzen said with a determined expression.
"So we should act as if going to war?" the Hokage asked grimly.
"Those people, as you said, may have Plans for the Jinchuuriki, and if they really want the Biju (ALL OF THEM) under their control, they must be planning for something big. And without a Jinchuuriki of our own to back us up, we'll have to be extra prepared, they won't spare us just because we don't have what they want." Hiruzen explained.
"I'll see what I can do, sensei. I'll try to alert everybody that starting from tomorrow we'll raise the bar for our requisites, just like we did last time during a Shinobi War. If Onoki is locking-down Iwa, and Ay is mobilizing every Shinobi of Kumo just like Suna and Mist are, we cannot lag behind and take measures for when this Wasp Nest those people woke-up will explode into a frenzy.
"Dark Times are approaching, Jiraiya...I fear this small Peace we had up until now won't last long, especially since we also added Orochimaru to this by thwarting his plans."
"I'll need to talk with Auron, even if no longer a Biju, if the Akatsuki gets desperate enough they may target him as well." Hiruzen thought in worry as he could clearly see the situation slowly spiral out of control.
He just hoped they all will have enough time to prepare, especially since starting that moment, they could no longer rely on the memories of the Guardian's past life, they were on their own against unknown menaces and in uncharted territories now, failure was not an option now more than ever.
End of the chapter -
Omake – Kurenai, please follow the rules! -
Team Kurenai, with the addiction of Auron, Zabuza and Haku, were just returning from a long-term Mission when a group of daring Missing-Nin intercepted them.
"WAIT! What is this music! And why you others are all standing in place?!" Kurenai asked disturbed.
"It's the battle theme, Woman! Now fight!" Zabuza said from the sidelines where he, Haku and both Hinata and Kiba stood in wait.
"WHAT!? What are you even doing down there! Come here!" the woman replied furious.
"Only three at a time, sensei." Shino replied nonplussed while nobody moved.
"COME ON, WOMAN! ATTACK! It's your damn turn!" one of the Missing-nin, they too just in a group of three while the others were on the back in wait, yelled annoyed.
"Turn?"
"Turn-based Combat, Kurenai, it's your turn." Auron answered while pointing at the Roster showing the battle turns.
"WHERE THAT THING EVEN COME FROM?!" the Genjutsu expert shrieked in shock.
"Thank God we do not follow that 'ATB Bar' set of rules, she would have killed us all with her tantrums." Kurama commented making Auron sigh and shake his head.
"You know what?! WHATEVER!" Kurenai yelled as she charged one of the Missing-nin unopposed and attacking him while the man didn't even tried to dodge or defend himself.
She also decided to not comment on the '1267' number that appeared above the man's head once her attack connected.
"Your ATK is too low, Kurenai." Auron commented as one of the Missing-nin attacked him to show a 232 number.
"OH, DO SHUT UP!" she answered furious.
"COME ON, SWITCH HER WITH ME, PARTNER! MY OVERDRIVE BAR IS FULL! I WANT TO UNLEASH MY SPECIAL MOVE!" Zabuza yelled whining from the backlines.
Sigh! "This Team is driving me crazy...I am sure of it..." Kurenai muttered in despair as the others around her kept acting as if all of that was normal until the battle was over.
(Insert Final Fantasy Victory Fanfare)
"What the...WAIT! Why I got so little Exp!?" Kurenai asked looking extremely offended.
"You did little besides complaining, Kurenai." Auron answered simply as the group walked away.
"BULLSHIT! I FOUGHT AS WELL! I DESERVE THOSE EXP POINTS!"
"Not with that attitude, sweaty!" Zabuza answered laughing.
"AAAAAARGH!"
End of the Omake.
Sorry about the Omake's quality, I had this idea floating inside my head for a while but didn't know how to develop it, I hope the end result was acceptable.
SO! This now begs the question, how to treat the Time-skip? Auron cannot undertake Sage Training as he is not part of a Summoning Clan...So how to make him stronger (IN A BELIEVABLE WAY) so to later face the Akatsuki and the others?
Please help, I do not want to ruin the story by taking the wrong turn, I trust your judgment enough to be very open to suggestions. Thank you!
Next order of updates will be:
OP Familiar
Umbra Familiar
Legend of Zelda
Thrice Cursed
It's the Hands I guess.
Thank you for reading me, I will see you around the net, Bye!
Tr230.