—Senpai? If I may ask, and please don't be offended, but... What the hell is wrong with you!?— Takeshi complained to the fossil known as Kakuzu while casually forming a water wall to shield himself from the rain of shuriken thrown at them.
He caught the movement of a variety of shinobi among the trees. More were approaching; probably half of the Village would be upon them in a few minutes.
All this because the veteran Ninja he had as a partner thought it was a good idea to pass right next to Kusagakure without a care, confident that he had killed everyone who saw him. Clearly, he was mistaken.
As soon as they were spotted by a random patrol, the alarm was raised, and waves of Kusa-Nin were chasing and harassing them, which was starting to irritate Kakuzu. Takeshi's jabs weren't helping.
—Just kill them and shut up— he said with a grimace, weaving hand signs and unleashing his always reliable but very flashy wind and fire combination.
The scorching fire, which, with a more precise combination of Yin and Yang, could become Pakura's famous Element, caused a massive explosion in the forest they were running through, wiping out two Kusagakure squads and alerting the others to their position.
—Yeah, yeah, but next time I suggest we don't poke the wolf's den that we already messed with before. Can we agree on that?— Takeshi expressed as he formed signs and a thick mist flooded the surroundings, while five ice clones took positions to attack and distract.
Kakuzu snorted but didn't directly deny the request. After all, it was a miscalculation on his part, even though he hated to admit it.
The Kusa-Nin stopped as soon as they noticed the mist, fearful of entering such a trap without more reinforcements.
Within twenty seconds, other squads arrived, and an elite Jōnin ordered them to advance.
—Don't stray too far from each other and be alert!— he warned his subordinates, his hands blurring through seals quickly and unleashing a small gale to get rid of some of the mist.
As soon as he did, two masked figures jumped onto his position, throwing kunai and compressed water balls.
They wore black cloaks, though without the red clouds. Their faces were hidden by a sinister white mask with a drawing of a mouth showing teeth in the center, and they had black hair, tied back in a ponytail.
The Jōnin managed to react in time, stepping aside and pulling out his own kunai to intercept one of the masked figures while his men dealt with the other.
To his surprise, the masked man turned out to be quite short, barely reaching his chin, but tremendously strong.
The opponent managed to destabilize his stance with a fierce charge, their other hand weaving a single seal and erecting a wall of water that protected them from the shuriken that other Kusa-Nin threw.
—Don't stop. Surround him and kill him!— the Jōnin ordered, more worried about the other masked individual in the red-cloud cloak.
As the Jōnin tried to distance himself, the masked figure in front of him chased after him, giving the other Kusa-Nin no chance to attack with Ninjutsu.
With a sigh of annoyance, the others also engaged in close combat, but that was a fatal mistake on their part.
As soon as he was surrounded by the Kusa-Nin, the ice clone formed a hand seal and exploded into a shower of ice fragments, stabbing the attackers to death, except for the Jōnin, who managed to react in time once more.
—Hyōton!?— he exclaimed in surprise. He quickly noticed four more masked figures, each holding back two or more Kusagakure squads on their own. A bitter feeling invaded the Jōnin as he realized what was happening.
Before he could warn the others, the clones exploded and took a few dead with them, seriously injuring a dozen shinobi.
Meanwhile, the main body and Kakuzu were already far enough from the battlefield.
—Those clones of yours are really useful. You're the first Yuki I've seen employ the technique so efficiently— the living fossil commented after a while.
—I know, they're great. Tough as hell, strong, can use a lot of Ninjutsu, and don't have the distance limitation like the Mizu Bunshin. And unlike Earth clones, they can dissipate very conveniently— Takeshi nodded with a smug smile.
—But they require a huge amount of chakra. Not many of your clan could have reached that level, as they weren't exactly known for their vast reserves— Kakuzu pointed out.
—The same could be said for you. How many Taki-Nin go around shooting Ninjutsu left and right like you do? And your combinations are crazy. You should practice that more, maybe you'll reach the level of Sarutobi Hiruzen— Takeshi returned.
Kakuzu looked at him with a raised eyebrow, slightly confused by that comment. The Yuki nearly rolled his eyes and explained.
—Let's not play dumb, Senpai. Someone like you should be aware of the information about Konoha's Third Hokage. No Kekkei Genkai, no crazy secret techniques, he was a Kage who survived all the Shinobi Wars with pure, raw elemental Ninjutsu.
Why couldn't you do something similar? Combine those chakra natures and unleash a Ninjutsu festival!" the young man encouraged the older man with a thumbs-up.
—I don't know what silly ideas you have in your head, brat, but that's not how things work. I've lived long enough to know my limitations, and that kind of elemental combination is not within my reach. Not in the same way as the Third Hokage— Kakuzu coldly snorted.
After that incident, both Akatsuki members headed to the border of the Land of Grass with the Land of Earth for their mission and Kakuzu's business, completely unaware that their passage through Kusagakure was noticed by some shinobi of dubious origin.
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Kimiko was resting in her chambers, sitting on the floor with crossed legs, one hand swirling with chakra, concentrating on its movement.
Days came and went without her barely noticing, all her focus directed towards increasing her repertoire of abilities and becoming useful to the organization and, above all, useful in Takeshi's eyes.
At her son's suggestion, the kunoichi first learned the Shadow Clone Jutsu before any other technique. A decision that was enormously beneficial, given the Kage Bunshin attribute of sharing memories.
Next was sensory techniques. They had suffered many times from this problem, and Kimiko was more than willing to become a sensor capable of alerting Takeshi of danger.
At night, once her arduous day of physical conditioning and study was over, she dedicated herself to practicing the technique Takeshi had developed on his own and planned to teach to Uzumaki Karin: The Rasengan.
She hadn't done it before because she was too lazy, even naive, thinking that not much could happen to two wanderers in the world. That changed when Takeshi, for some reason, became obsessed with the idea of hiring a Ninja as dangerous as Kakuzu.
Now things had changed, and Kimiko found herself unable to do anything while a bunch of strange and dangerous guys forced her son to join their activities. All because she was a burden.
Had it not been for the hunger she noticed in Takeshi's eyes that night, Kimiko would have seriously considered stopping being a burden on him.
But she no longer thought about such things. Takeshi didn't seem particularly dissatisfied with the turn of events, and you could even say he felt at ease.
He was planning something, Kimiko knew it. What it was and when it would take place, only time would tell. In any case, she would be ready to support him.
She would become a woman worthy of standing by his side.