Chapter 45
INTERLUDE
~2 YEARS LATER~
TERUMI MEI
Years of infighting had dwindled Kiri's fighting ability, and the world had changed a great deal in that time. Two years ago, Konoha had found itself stabbed in the back by its own allies and had lost its Hokage during the assault, leading many to speculate about its eventual fall.
Even back then, Terumi had rubbished such rumors, knowing well that Konoha would fall so easily, and she was proven right. The village had taken weeks to bounce back and retaliate against the adventurous Iwa and Kumo, and much like before, their village had found itself a new Hero in its time of need.
They had lost an S-ranked shinobi, but another one would rise quickly to take his place. And it was not one of the Sanin, no, for they were old and known. No. This was a new face.
A youngling who was yet barely an adult but had made himself known as an absolute menace on the battlefield. That very menace now stood behind their kage, with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth, as she found herself on a table negotiating an alliance with none other than Tsunade Senju, the Godaime Hokage.
It was a rather unlikely alliance, but one that was much needed for both herself and Kirigakure, which was just beginning to recover from a long and brutal civil war.
The offer had come from Konoha itself, and the progenitor village had been trying to reach a consensus with the rest of the Great Villages for some time now, as it tried to unite them all against the rising threat of the organization known as Akatsuki.
Akatsuki. That name had become synonymous with death and destruction for many, and the organization had razed the entire village of Takigakure just to get their hands on their tailed beast. It was a massacre unlike any other, and there were even rumors that they had managed to take one of Iwa's two jinchuriki as well.
The group had been hunting and capturing tailed beasts for years, and no one knew yet for what purpose.
But hardly anyone doubted that their intentions were sinister and that the organization needed to be stopped. Yet it was easier said than done. The group was made up entirely of S-ranked criminals, who could level entire villages on their own, and their leader was said to be stronger than any man alive.
So, Kiri's own force still in disarray, she had decided that it was prudent that she take the Hokage on her offer and ally their villages against this rising threat, lest they prove unequal in facing it on their own.
"So, with that done, I believe there is only one more matter left for us to deal with," and the blonde woman in front of her was not much fond of small talk, and she preferred it that way.
"I believe so as well," Terumi agreed as the room grew tense, for this was perhaps the most controversial and troubling part of their accord.
"Both of our villages seem to be in possession of something that belongs to the other. Now that we are allies, I believe it to be prudent that we return each other's possession so that this alliance can last a long time," and she doubted that, but at those words, the young Hyuga prodigy behind her reached into his pocket and passed a scroll to the Godaime Hokage, who unfurled it on the table in front of her.
POOOF!
And in a cloud of smoke, it emerged.
"Kubikiribocho," Chojuro gasped from behind her, and here was one of the treasures of their village. The executioner's blade. A symbol of pride for their village, and she would have much liked to recover it on her own, for the price they had asked for it was a steep one.
"Now," and this time the woman's gaze went to the man standing at her back, as she looked at Ao.
"It's time for you to give us back that eye," she demanded, and despite the rush of her chakra, Ao refused to budge as he waited for her instructions.
"Are you certain that there isn't anything else we can give to satiate your demands?" she asked, sultrily as she looked at the Hyuga boy behind her. No doubt the request had come from his clan, and she had heard that he was a cousin to the future clan head and had a rather important position within the clan.
"No," the boy answered, and he had green markings under his eyes, and a fang-shaped earring decorated his ear as he continued with a smile.
"And I wouldn't waste so much time on this," he began, making her frown.
"And why do you say that?" she asked, thinking that he was teasing her.
"Because I am afraid you are in immediate need of this alliance," and it took a few seconds for those words to register, as suddenly the implication dawned on her.
"Ao!" she called out, and he raised his fingers and began sensing.
"I sense nothing," and had the boy bluff or lie.
"You wouldn't be able to sense that far anyway," and it was the blonde girl beside him who spoke then, and she was a Yamanaka if her guess was right, one who was said to have mastered the same technique as their former Nidaime Hokage.
"But the truth is that the Akatsuki has already located one of your bijuu, and unless we move to intercept within the next two minutes, Kiri will find itself short a bijuu...."
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KAKASHI HATAKE
Kakashi was still trying to understand how he had come to be in his current predicament as he found himself in the Hokage office, sitting in the Hokage chair as Lady Tsunade's replacement while she negotiated a truce with Kirigakure.
"I still can not believe how I got myself into this situation," Kakashi lamented his fate as he was forced to labor away in Hokage-sama's place, wasting valuable time that could have been spent reading his favourite book.
"Well, with both Tsunade-sama and Jiraiya-sama away from the village, you are the highest ranking shinobi here," Kato Shizune added, and Lady Tsunade had left her behind just to keep an eye on him, so that he would not simply waste time.
"I can name quite a few people who would be far more suitable for this task than me," Kakashi countered, and the iryo-nin raised a brow.
"Who?" she asked, as Kakashi's gaze turned towards his companion in suffering.
"Shikaku," and the man gave him a glare.
"Don't rope me into this. I have enough on my plate as it is," the Nara clan head retorted, as Kakashi began counting off.
"Asuma would be far more suitable for these tasks," and his father had been Hokage, and he knew more about managing things than he did.
"You are stronger than Asuma-san," Shizune Kato countered.
"Not really," Kakashi countered, but she had made her point.
"Though the most suitable candidate would be Asuma's student. Hikari. He wants to be the Hokage," and his fortunes had changed greatly in the last two years.
Two years ago, he had been recluse who had been kicked out of his clan. Yet now, with the Hyuga clan under a new leader, Hikari had not just been welcomed back into the clan but was now being hailed as a Hero by the rest of the clans as well for his role in uncovering the dark nature of the foundation.
He was respected, and with him living up to his potential, the boy had propelled himself into one of Konoha's most elite ranks.
"Hikari-kun is accompanying Lady Tsunade on the mission," and for good reason. The tensions with Kumo and Iwa had resolved rather quickly, yet after that, Hikari was given a new mission by their leader, one that was far more dangerous than his initial assignment.
Lady Tsunade had pegged the Akatsuki as an existential risk, and so she had tasked him with slowing them down as much as he could. An organization of that status and power was not easy to maintain and required a large sum of capital, at least that had been Hikari's assessment as he took on the impossible task that few would even dare to touch.
But he was right, as he began to track a series of black market transactions and bounty winnings that seemed wholly unnatural. In the end, the money was indeed being used by the Akatasuki, and so a game of cat and mouse began as he began to harass the S-ranked evil organization all by himself.
Stealing bounties, destroying marketplaces, robbing banks. Kakashi could hardly believe that he was given the freedom to do it all, yet slowly but surely, they began to push back and slow down the Akatsuki, and in the two years since the chunin exams, they had managed to secure only two other bijuus.
One from Iwa, and another one from Takigakure rather recently.
And in the meantime, they had lost two of their members to him as well. A great blow, for it was a direct statement to their future allies that for all their strength, Akatasuki were now invincible, and that Konoha had the ability to push back.
"Honestly, I cannot believe he is still alive," and his mission had led to him having more than a few encounters with the said organization, and yet each time he had managed to slip away with his life, and even taking out two of them in his last encounter.
"He was always quite strong, but his growth over the last two years has been simply something else," and that could be attributed to quite a few things, for two years ago, through a supposed miracle, he had managed to gain back his Byakugan.
He was not privy to the truth, but he doubted that it was an actual miracle that made that possible.
"Though one could say that about all of this generation," Kakashi added as he turned towards Kato-san.
"How is Sasuke?" he had not seen the Uchiha clan scion for a month now.
"He is doing very well," she answered with a beaming smile, and as Naruto found himself a Sanin as a teacher, Sasuke was not one to sit idly by and let this rival overtake him.
So, he had made a request to the Hokage-sama, directly asking her to take him under her wing. It was a strange request, yet she had accepted it on the condition that he also learn iryo-ninjutsu from her.
In the end, he had excelled under his tutelage and had long surpassed Kakashi's imagination.
"Still, making an enemy out of an organization like Akatsuki is not for the faint-hearted," and yet he had made himself their enemy number one.
"Still, do you think Lady Tsunade's plan will work?" and she was trying to replicate her own grandfather's actions when he had brought together all of the Five Kages to make peace, only she wished to unite the five villages against the S-ranked organization.
It was a lofty aim, yet it was necessary for no village alone possessed the prowess needed to bring down the S-ranked organization. Iwa had already tried and failed, and the attempt had cost them a jinchuriki.
"Suna and Kiri have joined the truce," Shikaku-san added.
"Now we just need Iwa and Kumo...."
"No," Shizune Kato cut in.
"Not Iwa and Kumo, but either Iwa or Kumo," she began, surprising them both.
"Why?"
"Because the second one of them falls, the other will follow suit at once...."
.
.
.
Back in Kiri, the duo of Hidan and Kakusu stood beside a lake under which the Sanbi was resting, while a single masked shinobi continued to annoy them.
"Hey! Hey! Don't leave me behind, I get scared," and his name was Tobi, and he was a member of the Akatsuki, for his inclusion in the mission still eluded them both.
"Shut up!" Hidan snarled as he spun his scythe at the masked nin, yet much like before, the blades simply passed his body without as much as touching him, as the masked nin clutched his face in angst.
"WHYYYY! I am your ally," and with that, he stepped out of the forest, and beside the lake, as the duo followed him out slowly, both of them absolutely annoyed at his antics.
"Yet you treat me so harshly..." and in the blink of an eye, the air shifted, as Kakuzu's frown deepened as he heard people land behind them.
"We have company," he uttered as Hidan laughed.
"Yeah, finally! It's been ages since I have sacrificed a life in the name of Lord Jashin!" and the fanatic was filled with excitement. Yet, in the blink of an eye, a blade emerged out of the masked nin's chest, who had stopped flailing around, as the zombie duo's excitement turned into frustration in an instant.
"YOU AGAIN!" Kakuzu snarled in rage as he spotted an all too familiar face just behind their masked comrade.
"It's been quite some time," Hikari Hyuga smiled as he greeted the duo, while the masked nin turned and faced him.
"Why do you always attack me? I have never done anything to you?" he began in that nasal voice of his as the veins around those pale eyes tightened, as Hikari's grip over his own blade tightened.
"Because I don't like you at all, Tobi," he answered back.
"Now you are just wounding my heart...."
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