Kapitel 368: Time to Leave?
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Since the entire fight was over, Gaara turned toward Old Lady Chiyo and asked "What are we supposed to do now? Are we going to accept their request and have all the us Kages meet him at the hidden leaf?"
Chiyo nodded and said "Yes I don't see any other way we can take this forward. What I don't get it why do they want to meet in the hidden leaf. Is it just because the hostages that he has belong to the hidden leaf or is there any other reason for this request?"
Kakashi shrugged and said "I don't know that for now but I will have to inform Tsunade-sama about this. I hope the clans don't cause any kind of problems or else we might have to accept the meaningless demands that might be put forth by the Akatsuki. For now, let's take her back to the hidden sand." As Kakashi said that, he and everyone else turned toward Konan.
"Neji block her chakra points and Lee you are in charge of her till we reach the hidden leaf." Yami said as he sheathed his sword and started walking.
"Where are you going ?" Neji asked to which Yami said "I want to see Kakuzu's condition. This isn't a jutsu I have read about in our books. What jutsu was it?"
Naruto puffed his chest proudly and said "Hehe…This is my new jutsu…Wind Style Rasenshuriken."
Yami looked toward Naruto and asked "If you are calling it a shuriken then why can't you throw it?"
"Ummm…you….you are right about that…I-I will work on it." Naruto said hesitantly as he looked a little embarrassed.
This was more than enough to bring a smile to everyone's face and lighten the mood. Yami went ahead to look at Kakuzu's body. He had never seen a body damaged at such a micro level. 'I also need to develop something that would have such an effect on the enemy. Although the time and focus needed to prepare such a risky jutsu during a fight is too demanding of an ask, having an extra weapon in my arsenal won't hurt me and If I am able to infuse a technique like this with my sword then no other swordsman would stand in my way.'
Yami then stored Kakuzu's body in a storage scroll and looked back at his people. They had already sealed Konan's chakra points and were now tending to their own injuries.
"Yami are you injured anywhere?" Sasuke asked to which Yami shook his head and said "No. They weren't capable of even giving me a good scratch. What about the others?"
"Naruto seems a little tired due to his repetitive use of his new jutsu while the others have only minor injuries." Sasuke said and then leaned in closer to whisper something "I think Neji is quite upset with the kidnapping of his sister. I think you should go talk to him."
'When did he learn to become so considerate of other's feelings?' Yami thought but then he looked at Neji who was sitting quietly looking in the direction from where Tobi disappeared.
Yami walked toward Neji and asked "What are you thinking?"
Without even looking at Yami, Neji asked "Why didn't you hesitate for even a second before attacking them? You didn't even consider the option that they gave us in return for the hostages."
"If you hold someone's weakness in your hands, will you ever give it up knowing that there is no middle ground for both parties? Did you even think why they kidnapped leaf shinobis and not shinobis from any other village?" Yami asked.
Neji looked confused at that question and turned toward Yami "What do you mean? Isn't it because it was convenient? Our people were already coming for backup and the Akatsuki must have predicted that."
Yami shook his head and said "Most of the other villages are ruled only by the wishes of the Kage and the individual clans don't have much say in it. They might have the freedom to express their opinions but that is the end of it. On the other hand, the elders of our village and the clan heads need to agree before any action can be taken. The weakness wasn't the people who were kidnapped but the soft side that our village has created."
Along with Neji everyone else also heard what Yami said including Konan. Naruto who took a little time to understand what Yami was trying to say, immediately stood up and walked toward Yami angrily grabbing his collar "How can you say this? Do you mean that the Hokage has no power even though it is the most prestigious position in the village?"
Yami held Naruto's hand forcing him to let go of his collar and chuckled "Heh…why don't you ask the Kazekage here if their village would take a step back and negotiate with terrorist organizations like Akatsuki if some of their clan heirs were kidnapped? And if the clan heads even wanted to negotiate would they have any kind of sway over the Kazekage's decision?"
Naruto looked back at Gaara who shook his head and said "Yami is right…the Kazekage don't have any obligation to listen to the clan heads opinions. At the most, we would try to break free the hostages by sending in a team or two but nothing more than that."
"B-But aren't they your people as well? Why won't you take a step back if it saves their lives?" Naruto asked a little saddened by Gaara's statement.
"Because that is how this world works Naruto…The peaceful policies created by Lord 3rd toward our clans and the other villages have made us a victim. Everyone here has fallen victim to it." Yami said as started walking toward the hidden sand village.
"WAIT…what do you mean by we all are victims of Jiji's (Hiruzen) policies? He was the best Hokage and Grandma Tsunade Is also great." Naruto protested.
Yami sighed indicating that he had no interest in arguing with Naruto and said "Why don't you ask Neji how he lost his father and what Lord 3rd did. Or even better why don't you ask Kakashi why you lived as an outcast surrounded by people's hatred and why your Jiji did nothing to change that."
Before Naruto could even react to this, Kakashi interrupted "Yami that is enough. You have said more than you should have and the fact that you even know what you are talking about tells me you have been snooping around where you shouldn't have been."
Kakashi then looked at Naruto and said "This topic is not to be discussed any further. We are going to the hidden sand and after resting for a day we will leave for the hidden leaf. Sasuke sent a letter to Hokage-sama explaining what happened here and the condition the Akatsuki has put forth."
Naruto and Guy had never seen Kakashi behave like this which created plenty of more questions in Naruto's head 'What is Kakashi sensei hiding from me? Does he know something that he isn't telling me?'
Naruto wanted to ask his questions right away but he knew that there were shinobis from other villages as well. Konan on the other hand felt like there was some of her misconceptions were being broken.
She had grown up with the mindset that the shinobis of the five great villages didn't face any problems of their own but only dished them out onto other helpless villages but here...listening to whatever Yami was saying...she felt that she didn't know the whole story.
She wanted to get as much information as she could before Pain rushes to save her but she knew that right now wasn't the right time.
"By the way, where is that ninja dog?" Temari asked as she looked around. Chiyo shook her head and said "Between the chaos, Tobi used his space jutsu to suck him back in. That technique of his is really too annoying. I don't know how Yami manages to hit him."
Yami didn't bother answering and everyone just continued on their way back to the hidden Sand.
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Hidden Rain
Akatsuki Headquarters.
Among all the rooms at the building, Tobi appeared in one of the rooms and sat down on one of the nearby chairs stumbling a little. He was already breathing a bit heavily. He threw his head backwards as he took deep breaths and removed the orange mask from his face in one swift motion.
"Haaa....Haven't had such a game of cat and mouse in my entire life. This kid really keeps me on my toes. Even taking Konan as a hostage was not a move I could anticipate. I thought he would either accept being a subordinate of Kakashi and let me make the deal on my terms which would give me the upper hand or he would rebel completely and go off alone killing Sasori or Kakuzu but creating a divide between the hidden leaf shinobis. But this kid managed to get the advantage of both without suffering the consequence of any." Tobi kept rambling until he saw Zetsu appear through a nearby wall.
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