Chapitre 18: Chapter 18: Secrets in the Mist Part II
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
Chapter 18:
Secrets in the Mist Part II
Sasuke looked at the sea before him, admiring the sight for a moment. With all the excitement that had happened with that Kiri spy, he hadn't been able to admire the sight before. But now that he had some time to do so, Sasuke was enjoying himself. It was, after all, the first time that he would be setting foot in Kiri. From his position on top of the hill, Sasuke gazed at the small town below him. It was no different from the one that he had visited the day before. They were both simply ports that enriched the Land of Fire's trade with the other smaller off shore nations, one of those being none other than the Land of Water itself. Jiraiya stood beside him with a contemplating look, not that Sasuke could actually blame him. The plan that he had come up with was at best good, not great. There were still many things that could go wrong with it. If only that damn spy had not had a self destruct jutsu ready in the event that he fell under a genjutsu. The Uchiha wasn't even sure how it had worked, only that the man had been brain dead fifteen seconds after Sasuke had put him under his genjutsu and in turn under his control. He had only been able to learn the man's name and that he was indeed in fact a Kiri spy. He had not been able to confirm if Danzo was indeed trying to get Kiri along with his conspiracy. Which just sucked.
"Hmm I don't know if I can get on aboard with this," Jiraiya said after a while. "It's too risky for you to just walk in there, even if you can defend yourself. That would only reveal yourself and prevent us from learning anything. The best possible solution is to have me summon you from the inside. With my skills, it's nothing!"
"I've already considered that," Sasuke stated with a shake of his head. "But that has its own drawbacks too. I already told you how I plan on disguising myself as the Kiri shinobi that I captured. I should be able to get close to someone high, even if it isn't the Mizukage. With your method, though, they'll be wondering just how I got into the village and why I would sneak in there in the first place when I'm from there. Too many damn questions if you ask me."
"Still….."
"Don't worry, I'm good at improvising," Sasuke with a small grin. "If this doesn't work, then we'll go with your plan. Which you can use to sneak in yourself by the way. Once I'm inside, it'll be better if I at least have one friendly in there. For insurance and all."
Jiraiya sighed. "Just why are we doing this again? I mean, just what is it that you expect to find in Kiri?"
"I'm not sure," Sasuke admitted. "But at the very least, I want to meet with the Mizukage to see if he's really planning to attack Uzu."
"You're not planning on killing him, are you?"
Sasuke glanced at Jiraiya, trying to gauge just what the man thought about such a thing. Not being able to find anything, Sasuke said, "No. While that was my original thought, I'm not planning on doing things like that anymore. I wouldn't be standing here with you if that were my intention."
Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "I heard from Sarutobi-sensei how you two almost fought that night. But then you came back a different person. Like usual, mysteries just pile up around you, Uchiha."
Sasuke chuckled. "I suppose so. But I guess I was going through a personal crisis at the time. I was trying to figure out my purpose. Just what I should exactly do. When I first came here, my intentions weren't that clear. I only wanted to keep my clan safe, which was why I clued the Hokage in to who I really was and what I'm trying to do. I figured having him helping me would make that goal easier. But then things got complicated when Danzo got in the picture, which forced me to decide whether I should discard everything or embrace it. As you can see, I've chosen the latter. That's all."
"And you figured all of this out by yourself?" Jiraiya asked with an incredulous look.
Sasuke hummed for a few moments. "I see what you're trying to do…..but unfortunately, I'm not keen on sharing something like that with you. It doesn't really matter anymore."
"I wouldn't say that either, brat," Jiraiya retorted. "But it seems like I'm only going to be able to guess what happened just like with that crazy arm of yours."
"It's nothing," Sasuke stated. Turning back to the town below him, the Uchiha focused particularly on the passenger ship that would soon be leaving to Kiri. "I'll board that thing disguised as the Kiri ninja. No doubt that Kiri has some other spies in the town. That way, they'll know I'll be coming."
"I really wouldn't have pegged you to be so rash about things, brat," Jiraiya commented with a small sigh, still not completely on board with the Uchiha's plan.
"It's not rash," Sasuke said in response. "My genjutsu cannot be penetrated. They'll never know who I really am."
"Arashi was able to see it, though," Jiraiya pointed out, knowing the Uzumaki clan head's name. "Your sharingan was visible at the time. Isn't that what you told us?"
Sasuke brought a hand to his eyes, knowing that the white haired pervert did have a point there. "That's true. But that only happened because I hadn't fully mastered it at the time. I've been toying around with it in the past few days. I've gotten better with it, trust me."
Bringing a hand to his chin, Jiraiya hummed. "Hmm just how does it work anyway? It seems more like ninjutsu than genjutsu to me." The whole point of the jutsu was that Sasuke took not only the appearance of any person he wanted but also the very essence of the chakra. That was the jutsu's drawback, though. Sasuke needed to be familiar with the person's chakra first before he could pull the jutsu off. It was why he hadn't killed the Kiri shinobi right off the bat, other than the fact that Sasuke wanted confirmation as to whether Danzo was trying to pull Kiri into his schemes.
Sasuke averted his eyes, not sure as to how answer that question since he himself didn't know the answer. All he knew was that Hamura had invented it himself. But as to how it synched with him, the Uchiha wasn't sure. After all, from what he had noticed during the time that they had talked, the man possessed the byakugan, not the sharingan. Well, it would at least explain how the byakugan wasn't able to see through the genjutsu. But figuring that he would have to say something at least, Sasuke replied, "It's a multiple hit genjutsu. Basically, unlike the normal genjutsu, this one affects all that see me, even if I don't see them first. In some ways, it's like a genjutsu that I cast on myself as well as my chakra that affects all those that see me. A never ending genjutsu." That was the best way that Sasuke could describe it. He still didn't know everything about it, but he wasn't going to complain. It came in handy in situations like this. Infiltration was much easier.
"That sounds complicated," Jiraiya said after a few moments. Genjutsu wasn't his specialty, after all. He was a ninjutsu kind of man. Always was, always would. "But anyway, don't come complaining to me if shit hits the fan."
Sasuke chuckled for a second time. "Please. Don't compare me to Naruto. I happen to know how I do things."
Rolling his eyes, Jiraiya retorted. "Right. Because the fact that you're stuck in the past in an eight year old body surely lets you know that you always know what you're doing."
Sasuke scowled at the sarcasm. "You know what I mean. But more importantly, I'm not going to change my mind about this. So you can either keep complaining or join me."
Jiraiya actually considered his answer for a second. After all, he could go back to the hot springs to enjoy the beauty that youth brought. But realizing that his curiosity would get the best of him in the end, Jiraiya said, "Fine, fine, brat. I'll tag along. I just know that you won't survive without me."
Sasuke rolled his eyes at that. "Whatever."
Chuckling, Jiraiya handed the young Uchiha a scroll which he retrieved from his kunai pouch. "So if you're really going to do this, then here. Consider this a gift from Sarutobi-sensei. I'm pretty sure you're going to find it entertaining in the near future."
Sasuke merely nodded as he took the scroll from Jiraiya's hands and pocketed it in his own kunai pouch which Jiraiya had so graciously given him the night before. Turning his attention back to the ship below them, Sasuke's sharingan spun to life. "Let's go."
Sasuke was going to infiltrate Kiri.
The Kiri guards had already been informed that something was off with the next coming group of passengers coming to their beloved village that they had sworn to protect. Then again, given the troubled time that the Shinobi world was in at the moment, they had been expecting such a thing for a while now. But in the last few years, all the new tourists that they had gotten were simply merchants and traders. In the last year since they've basically pulled themselves out of the war, however, the number of more actual visitors that simply came for Kiri's more beautiful spots had risen. Which was why they had been more anxious than before. There was no doubt that one of the other villages would use this to try and infiltrate Kiri somehow. As of yet, though, such a thing hadn't happened. No, instead they had gotten word that one of their top spies in the mainland had been seen on aboard the last passage ship to Kiri.
Needless to say, that was odd. Why the hell would he be coming back when the superiors had never given him such an order? They needed him in the mainland, not over here. At any rate, they had been instructed to question him before the Anbu arrived to give him their own set of questions.
The guards glanced at one another for a second as they continued to go through the lines of passengers. The guard at the far end of the gate was the lucky one as Tai stepped up to him with a calm look. He didn't look all that concerned as the guard walked up to him.
"There are a few questions that I would like to ask you," the guard stated, not giving a single hint as to why he was really doing this. "If you would come with me, please."
The chunin in charge of security of the gate entrance followed behind them with a sigh while scratching his head. Dammit, just why the hell did he have to put up with this crap? Couldn't anyone just do what they were told? It would make his job much easier if everyone else followed what they were supposed to do.
The chunnin in front opened the door to a small office-like room which stood by the gate. Said small building was used by the guards during their respective shifts to handle any kind of paperwork caused by either arriving civilians or any that was given to them by their superiors.
"You have a lot to explain right now," the chunnin said with a scowl as he closed the door behind him. The other chunnin simply took to leaning against the wall by the window as he observed his fellow shinobi continue their duties in front of the gate. His superior was the one that was supposed to handle this. He was only here in case things got rough.
"Something came up," Tai said with a shrug. "I couldn't really wait."
"Is this so urgent that you would leave your indefinite assignment?" the chunnin questioned. He still didn't know all the specifics yet. All that he had been told was that the man in front of him wasn't supposed to be here in Kiri at the moment since he had been assigned for espionage in the mainland. The higher ups wanted more info on the business dealings between Konoha and Uzu. Or so they said. The chunnin knew that he had been lucky enough to have been told that much. He could only guess that the situation was that serious.
"It is," Tai stated without a shred of doubt in his face.
Before the chunnin could say more, he suddenly felt five different presences behind him.
"We can take it from here."
Turning around, the chunnin t'ched as he came face to face with an Anbu squad. He wouldn't even bother to ask how they had gotten in. The damn machines were slippery as hell. Nodding to the other chunnin by the window, he walked out of the office with another t'ch. Whatever. This only relived him from the pain of the ass that this whole situation was.
Tai didn't glance at the two retreating chunnin. Instead, his dark eyes were focused sorely on the five Anbu in front of him.
"Now, would you care to tell us what exactly this urgent matter of yours is?" the Anbu from before said. One would immediately deduce that he was the squad leader.
If Tai was surprised that they had been able to hear that much already, he didn't show it. "I can't," he replied with a shake of his head. "This is something that I have to tell Mizukage-sama in person."
One of the other Anbu in the back turned his head to the side for a moment, no doubt glancing at his fellow member to see if he had heard right. Tai could already tell that the whole squad felt the same way.
"We're going to need more than that," the Anbu said in a calm tone. "After all, your last message said that your talks with Danzo's subordinates were going well. Did that change already?"
Figuring that he would have to say a bit more if he wanted to get things moving, Tai replied, "Yes. It seems that Danzo is trying to push us into this affair too much. I was told of Kiri's role and what he expects us to do…it's a steep price."
This time, none of the Anbu moved. They were no doubt running this through their heads, trying to come up with a favorable answer to put an end to this little situation.
"And this is why you've returned?"
Nodding, Tai said, "That's right. This is more important than the mission I was officially given. Mizukage-sama needs to learn of this immediately. I couldn't trust sending out another message again in the event that Danzo somehow found out about it. He already knows that I'm a spy, so the fact that I left just like that leaves no consequences behind."
The Anbu once again became quiet. Tai was beginning to become a little bit irritated with their talk. Just as how he was going to voice his irritation, the Anbu beat him to it.
"Unfortunately, a matter such as this can't be left in the hands of someone with your skill set. Give me the information that you have. If it is indeed as important as you say it is, then there will be no punishment given for abandoning your mission just like that. However, if it is not…..well, you already know of the consequences of such actions."
Seeing as that he wasn't going to get anywhere with the five Anbu in front of him like he had hoped to, Tai sighed. "No, I don't. And you really just made the biggest mistake that you could have."
While the Anbu became confused at that, they didn't have much time to ponder on such things as Tai pounced on them with a kunai in hand. A moment later said kunai was coated in lighting chakra. The Anbu didn't have a chance to defend themselves as they were struck down in an instant.
"Tai" t'ched himself as his form began to change. A few moments later, Sasuke's child form took its place. Looking down at the bodies of the five Anbu, the Uchiha sighed before making his way to the window to gaze at the gate. Well, the good news was that none of the chunnin had heard that. That spared him a commotion that he almost caused. Not that it mattered. With everything that he had just heard from the Anbu, Sasuke was much more convinced now that Kiri was also involved in the conspiracy against Uzu that Danzo had devised for whatever reasons.
The bad news, however, was the fact that he now had five dead Anbu to deal with. Wonderful, just wonderful. Sasuke could already tell that he wasn't going to enjoy covert operations. Nor was he going to be good at them. Oh well. Turning his attention to the bodies, Sasuke decided that it wouldn't be the best of ideas to try and hide the bodies nearby. It left the chance that they would be discovered. Slim as it may be, it was still there. Biting his thumb, Sasuke ran through the seals at a fast rate as he brought his hand down.
After a puff, an average height violet snake appeared. "Yes, Sasuke-sama?"
Motioning to the bodies, Sasuke said, "Take those out of here. I don't really care where you dump them, but not just anywhere here in Kiri."
Nodding, the snake summon set about to just do that.
Some part of Sasuke knew that Naruto would scold him for doing things this way. That was, killing people just like that. But Sasuke knew that they didn't have the luxury to do things lightly. Not with what they were planning on accomplishing. He could only hope that Naruto learned that soon.
Pushing that issue to the side, Sasuke retrieved the scroll from his kunai pouch that Jiraiya had given him. He still didn't know what it was, but the Uchiha figured that it would be better to know now before he moved on to talk with the Mizukage. Opening the scroll, Sasuke took a step back as, with a puff, a Anbu uniform suddenly came out. Placing the uniform in the nearby table, Sasuke was quick to spot the fact that this uniform wasn't just a regular. It looked like it had been modified. Unlike the standard black and gray uniform that Anbu from Konoha were known for, this one was covered in a dark purple color all along the armor plates. The central gray vest remained the same along with the black Anbu pants and sandals. Picking up the mask, Sasuke immediately recognized that it was modeled to be a hawk.
Placing the mask down, Sasuke couldn't help but smirk. The Sandaime had outdone himself this time. No one would pick out the fact that he was from Konoha now. Not only that, but while he could make himself appear to be wearing any kind of clothes as well as seem to be carrying any kind of weapon, it didn't do him any good if he wasn't actually wearing or handling such things. It was why he had dressed up as an Anbu when he had confronted Danzo. And now he could do the same with his talk with the Mizukage.
That simplified things at least.
Jiraiya was taking in the sights. And by that, it wasn't such sights like the unique infrastructure the village implemented in its building structures due to all the humidity in the air. That would the be first thing that anyone would guess the "sights" to be, especially since this was the crazy pervert's first actual visit to Kiri. He had never really gotten to visit the village before since said village was always at odds with Konoha. Besides, it was so far away…and on a whole different body of land too. Why bother?
It went without saying that Jiraiya was rethinking that decision. With one of the biggest perverted grins that he had sported in his life so far, Jiraiya giggled to himself as he kept glancing from one woman to another. He had to admit that Kiri had its own share of fine beauties. While Kumo had its fill with fine dark skinned specimen, Kiri was more…refined? Hmm, maybe refined wasn't the word. Delicate perhaps. Maybe it was because of the cool climate that the women in the village had such creamy skin. Who knew? Jiraiya sure as hell didn't. Not that it concerned him all that much as to why it was this way. Only that it was, period.
But just how had Jiraiya sneaked into the village one might ask. And the answer to that was simple. It was, after all, the same way that he had kept track of Sasuke when the Uchiha had deemed it necessary to go off without him the day before. And that answer were his most powerful and trustful summons. It hadn't been long since Jiraiya had begun to synchronize more and more with the toads. But it was a skill that Jiraiya knew would be invaluable, especially since he was now pretty much done with his senjutsu training. Now, if only he could fix the fact that his body gained toad body parts as a result, he would use it more often. It was really such a downer in Jiraiya's opinion. It killed the fun in trying to flirt with a kunoichi in the middle of combat. Then again, going into that mode was pretty much his ace in the hole. So he didn't think that things would ever escalate to that point…hopefully.
At any rate, after he had successfully sneaked into the village via one of his toads, Jiraiya had immediately taken to walking around the village in a leisure manner. It probably wasn't the best of ideas since Sasuke had pretty much told him the night before how he intended to confront the Mizukage as soon as possible. If there was one thing that had concerned Jiraiya the most when Sasuke had told him of his reasons for wanting to come to Kiri, it was the fact that there was a possibility that the young but powerful Uchiha intended to kill the Mizukage. After voicing his concerns, however, Sasuke had immediately told him that he didn't plan on doing such a thing, just like he had done so again before they had parted ways at the port town. There was the chance that the boy had lied to him, of course. But after having seen how honest the boy had looked when he had said that, Jiraiya hadn't been able to not believe him. It also told the man that he would be next to useless in being there when Sasuke had his talk with the village leader. The Uchiha no doubt didn't want anyone to try and interrupt his confrontation with the Mizukage. Add to the fact that Jiraiya wasn't sure if he could even sneak into the building that housed the Mizukage's office. It would no doubt be filled with guards all over. Of course, that also raised the question as to how Sasuke was going to sneak in. And that was where the beauty of that sneaky genjutsu of his came in.
It was also because of this that Jiraiya was currently kicking back. As far as he could see, he still had some time he could kill before he heard any alarms going off or something.
Sighing in bliss as he continued to walk down the busy streets, Jiraiya continued to ogle the many women that he walked pass by. Spotting the bustiest one that he had seen all day, Jiraiya giggled some more as he quickly followed the woman into a nearby restaurant. Of course, she wasn't at Tsunade's level. But Jiraiya doubted that there would be another woman that would ever be at Tsunade's level during his lifetime. A sad thought really.
At any rate, Jiraiya quickly dashed towards the booth that the woman had been sent to, not waiting at all for one of the workers to see him in. Things happened pretty quickly after that. There was some talking with the woman mostly demanding just who the hell Jiraiya was. That was quickly proceeded by Jiraiya trying his best to flirt with the woman so that he could enjoy the wonderful creations presented to him by Kami himself. And after that….well, Jiraiya didn't know what he did wrong. The only thing he was certain of was the fact that the women here were as feisty as the ones in Konoha if the slap his right cheek was currently sporting was anything to go by.
As Jiraiya continued to sulk while massaging his still stinging cheek, his ears perked up as they picked up the conversation that was taking place in the booth next to him.
"So, it's gonna happen in three days from now, right?"
"That's what the captain said. But I really don't get it. I thought Mizukage-sama had already announced that we were out of the war for good. So why the hell are we taking part in this attack? With Kumo no less."
"Hey now, think about it. You know as well as I do that we don't need those annoying Uzumakis in our waters. Especially since they declared themselves to be 'neutral' when they were clearly on Konoha's side all along. If I have to put up with teaming with Kumo just to get this mission done, then so be it. Besides, it's not like we're even going to be fighting side by side. Those damn Kumo shinobi don't even have a fleet!"
"He's right. None of us are happy with the pair up, but who cares? Uzu is far more annoying than Kumo will ever be. This could be our little payback to Konoha too. I mean, they are allies, after all. It's the perfect chance to avenge all those who were slain by those tree lovers."
"Yeah, I guess you two got me. It's still annoying, though. Bah, whatever. We should just enjoy getting drunk for tonight. This could be our last chance to let loose!"
At this point, Jiraiya tuned out the conversation among the three Kiri shinobi. His brain was trying to understand what his ears had just heard. The main question was just what the hell were they talking about? Was this the plot that Sasuke had discovered in the mainland the day before? But it couldn't be! Jiraiya already knew that it was next to impossible to infiltrate Uzu since it had its barrier set up all around the island. They were the most talented at fuinjutsu, after all. So unless Danzo had somehow found a way to get around that…..no, just no. That wasn't it. Jiraiya didn't know what it was, but something was telling him that something else was going on. At the very least, his perverted tendencies had allowed him to stumble upon something new.
It seemed as if he wouldn't be able to help Sasuke with his talk with the Mizukage, after all. He had his own investigation to run.
Sasuke was pretty confident in himself as he walked behind another Kiri Anbu on his way to meet the Mizukage. He had disguised himself as an Anbu this time around, seeing it more efficient to meet with the Mizukage this way.
After he had put on the Anbu uniform that the Hokage had sent him, Sasuke had been quick to head towards the village tower to report as the team captain of what he had "learned" from Tai with the excuse that the rest of his team was out disposing of the man with him being here because the information he had couldn't wait. Sasuke already knew that "taking care" of Tai would cause issues with the Mizukage since the man hadn't issued the order, but the Uchiha was confident that he wouldn't need to worry about such a thing as by that time he would already be steering the conversation to where he wanted it to go.
What currently did have Sasuke mystified, though, was the fact that he was being guided to some place that he didn't know. He had immediately reported to the Mizukage's office, only to find the room deserted save for a handful of Anbu guards, one of which was the one currently escorting him to where the Mizukage really was. All that Sasuke knew was that he was underground since they had walked down quite a few flights of stairs after they had left the main parts of the tower. Sasuke knew that he would have to keep his guard up in case anything went down.
This continued for several more minutes, an already irritated Sasuke following behind a calm Anbu down a long underground corridor. Just how long would it take anyway? Almost as if his prayers had been answered, there was a sudden explosion of light from the other end of the corridor, no doubt signifying that the tunnel came to an end there.
Sasuke's mood returned back to normal as he was proven correct as he walked into an average sized room with four more anbu guards stationed all along the walls of the room. The only piece of furniture in the room, if it could even be called furniture, was a bleak cube shaped structure which sat directly in the middle of the room. On closer inspection, Sasuke was able to spot a small light within the cube. Was this where the Mizukage was? But that was weird. Why would he need to hide himself from his own shinobi? Unless they already knew that Sasuke was a fraud. But that couldn't be it. The genjutsu was impenetrable. His chakra currently matched exactly to that of the Anbu whose form he was currently stealing. He hadn't done anything suspicious either. Then just what the hell was going on here?
"I hear you have a message of great importance," a voice radiating from within the protective cube said. Sasuke's ears twitted at picking up the sound. The voice sounded…ominous? Not only that, but Sasuke could almost sense as if there was amusement also present in there. But those two didn't mix. Maybe the paranoia was stronger in him than he had first imagined.
Eying the other Anbu in the underground room, Sasuke knew that he would have to deal with them first before he could have a real conversation with the Mizukage. Refocusing his gaze back to the cube in front of him, Sasuke knew that he would have to say something first so that he could make the situation less tense.
"Yes, Mizukage-sama. It concerns with the issue of the spy that came up today."
"What of it?"
"Well, the man claims that we are being lied to by Danzo."
There was a pause. Sasuke became a bit anxious at this. He still wasn't sure just how much Tai had informed his leader of what he had been dealing with, but the Uchiha could guess that it had been everything up to the last time he had been with Danzo's Root. After all, the man had instantly going off to a bar without sending any kind of message to anyone. That did give Sasuke some leeway to insert his own little deceits.
"And where is he now?"
Sasuke hesitated for a moment, an act which was not missed by the other Anbu in the room. Cursing himself in his head, Sasuke answered, "My squad is taking care of him right now, Mizukage-sama. The fact of the matter is that he left his assignment just like that. Such an act cannot go unpunished."
"Hmm interesting little detail. I find it amusing that you would take steps to handle such a delicate matter on your own without consulting me first."
Sasuke had no response to that. Of course, the Uchiha had already seen the Mizukage acting negatively towards his lie as a possibility. So under the circumstances, it was best if he didn't open his mouth anymore than that of which was necessary.
"So, is that all that you have to report?"
Sasuke knew what the man was really asking: if that was all that he had been told before "disciplining" their spy. Sasuke could already tell that the Mizukage wasn't all too please with what Sasuke had supposedly done. Not that it mattered anyway. He just needed to confirm that the Mizukage was allying himself with Danzo in order to bring Uzu to destruction, and he could move along.
"Well, sir, he did say how Kumo has been-"
"Enough of this," the Mizukage interrupted behind his enclosed space. "That information has already been given to me. It seems to me that you are the one who's acting rather poorly under the circumstances. All that you have to show for disposing of a well placed pawn is a mere vague fact."
Frowning behind his mask, Sasuke replied, "Sir, that simple fact is enough to make us pull out of this whole affair." It was another alternative. Sasuke could already see two angles in which he could work with. It seemed as if the Mizukage wasn't going to straight out tell him just what the hell this whole plot was about, nor could Sasuke ask him just like that. But if he could persuade the man to abort whatever plans he had with Danzo, it would be a great second, maybe even first since he could stop the plot all together.
But it was during all of this scheming that Sasuke had made the gravest mistake.
The Mizukage laughed, one which was filled with mirth. "I find it interesting how you're so comfortable speaking out of turn. Not to mention how you find it all right to try and tell me just what I should do."
Sasuke cursed as he noticed how the other Anbu began to tense. They no doubt sensed how something was out of place here too. Great, just great. This was why he wasn't cut out for delicate missions like this all right. Subtly was just too much of a hassle for Sasuke.
"I meant no disrespect, sir," Sasuke said at last, trying to salvage what he could. He needed to throw off the suspicion that was arising around him. Worst case scenario was that this whole thing would result in an actual battle. Well, Sasuke had already been prepared to do that too. So it wasn't that big of a deal. Jiraiya wouldn't like it, though.
The Mizukage became silent for a few moments. It was at this that Sasuke prepared himself in case the Anbu decided to attack him. Not only could he not see just what the Mizukage looked like, he couldn't tell what the man was thinking either.
Then, out of nowhere, laughter filled the room. And it was once again coming from the Mizukage himself. Sasuke just couldn't wrap his head around the man's attitude. Just what the hell was the man thinking?
But Sasuke didn't have much time to dwell on this as the Mizukage said, "I must compliment you on getting this far, whoever you are. Whatever jutsu you're using to hide yourself is perfect too. Unfortunately, you're too much of an amateur to deal with these kinds of situations."
Sasuke immediately brought his sword in front of him in order to block the one from the Anbu in front of him. The other four had already drawn their swords as well.
"Do try and capture him alive. I want to find out just from which village he belongs to."
Sasuke sighed as he once again took the situation in. So, his initial plan of doing things quietly had failed, after all. Things would once again come down to a fight.
Well, it was what he was accustomed to anyway.
Jiraiya knew he had to be careful here. The man had already partaken in similar missions behind enemy lines in the past during his time in the front. But he knew that he couldn't get cocky just because of that. He didn't want things to blow out of proportion here. He wanted to find out if he could discover just what the three Kiri shinobi had been talking about before.
So it was with that in mind that he tailed behind one of the three shinobi that he had heard at the restaurant. The other two had split off from the group, so Jiraiya figured that going after the lone one would be much easier than trailing and capturing two. But so far, it had been frustrating for the self proclaimed super pervert. No matter what, the Kiri shinobi refused to leave the crowded streets. It was annoying since he couldn't make a move unless the man went somewhere else more deserted than these areas. Some part of Jiraiya was just telling him to screw it all and attack the man now. But Jiraiya squashed that part down. His impatience was one of his less desirable traits, but he had learned to reel it under control under these sets of circumstances.
After an hour of Jiraiya tailing the Kiri shinobi who seemed to only wonder about the village center without a single goal in mind did things begin to look up for Jiraiya.
Jiraiya sighed in relief as he noticed how the man turned towards the outer edges of the village. This would no doubt give Jiraiya the chance to jump the man and capture him before interrogating him. But things didn't seem to look up for Jiraiya that well after that as he followed behind the man to one of the more wild regions of the village. Unlike with Konoha, the forest here was much more…wet? Jiraiya guessed that that would be the best way to describe it. But given the fact that it rained here just about every other day and that this whole land was surrounded by water, it shouldn't be that much of a surprise.
Anyway, Jiraiya cursed his luck as the man instantly jumped up to the trees, the village itself already far behind them. He didn't want to alert the Kiri shinobi by following him just like that. But Jiraiya discovered that that option was left out of his control as a barrage of shuriken came shooting towards him. Frowning, Jiraiya instantly took to jumping up to one of the nearby tree branches only to discover that he was surrounded by all three shinobi that he had overheard at the restaurant.
The one that he had been tailing this whole time stood in front of him while standing in another branch. "Just who the hell are you, and what do you want!?" he asked while pointing at him.
Sighing, Jiraiya scratched the back of his head, knowing the cat was out of the bag. "Well, it seems like you already knew I was following you this whole time. I never noticed when you contacted your buddies, though."
"That just shows you just horrible you are at this."
Jiraiya frowned, conceding the fact that the man did have a point there. He had gotten sloppy since he had been tired of following the man for a whole hour. It seemed as if he still needed more practice in keeping his impatience under control. The true art of espionage was in the wait, after all. But realizing that subtle methods were already thrown out the window, Jiraiya shrugged.
"Fine, fine. You got me. I admit it. It was my loss. But that doesn't mean that I still won't be the one to come out on top."
The three laughed at hearing that. "Just look at the situation you're in! Are you really that stupid to think that you can take us all on at the same time!?"
Jiraiya grinned at this. "No, it is you who are stupid. Instead of contacting your superiors, you let your ego get in the way thinking that you could handle someone who was able to infiltrate your village undetected all by yourself."
The man scowled as he pointed at Jiraiya again. "You can talk big right now, but let's just see how well you can do after we're finished with you!"
With that proclamation, the three Kiri shinobi pounced on Jiraiya at the same time who merely grinned before disappearing from his spot in an instant. Three sets of eyes widened at this, and before they knew what had happened, they found themselves being kicked back down to the ground below with a large force behind it. The air was instantly knocked out of them as they hit the ground with a large thud.
Jiraiya reappeared above them while stretching his arms out with the Kiri shinobi from before looking up at him with a pained expression.
"B-bastard….."
Chuckling, Jiraiya bit his thumb as he began to make his preparations for his latest interrogation.
"Let's just see for how long you'll be able to keep that fiery spirit of yours, my friend."
"Chidori Nagashi!"
Three of the Anbu screamed in pain as they were propelled backwards by the stream of lighting that hit them.
Sasuke jumped back with his back against the wall as he looked at the two remaining Anbu. They weren't going to let him just see their Mizukage without first dealing with them. Well, whatever. It wasn't like he was a huge fan of having others butt in with what he was trying to do.
Without a word, the two remaining Anbu dashed towards him at a speed that was befitting their rank. But Sasuke's sharingan was more than enough to read their movements. Bringing their swords forward, the two Anbu slashed nothing but empty air as Sasuke jumped up to the ceiling of the underground room, his blade engulfed in lighting chakra. The two Anbu turned their gaze up to him in order to continue with their attack only to fall short of that as Sasuke went on the offensive himself. Blood gushed out of their torso as Sasuke effectively cut right through them like they were nothing. The two lifeless body fell to the ground with a thud, a puddle of blood beginning to appear around them.
But instead of focusing on this, Sasuke turned his attention to the figure of the Mizukage who now appeared to be standing within his own little protectorate room within the one they were in.
"Most impressive. I guess I shouldn't have expected anything less from someone who was able to get this far into my village. I guess I let my own arrogance get the best of me."
Sasuke knew that the longer the small talk lasted, the more time the Mizukage had to signal for more reinforcements somehow.
"Let's cut the idle chat," Sasuke said, releasing the genjutsu around himself. It didn't matter anymore either way. And it wasn't like the Mizukage would know who he really was. Either way, if the man was surprised at seeing Sasuke's short form, he didn't express it as he remained silent. "We have more important matters to discuss."
"Such as?"
"Such as your plot with Danzo," Sasuke stated, no longer trying to beat around the bush. "I want you to end it immediately."
The Mizukage chuckled. "And what makes you think that I'll do what you say?"
"Because I have the power to make you," Sasuke said through gritted teeth, his frustrations with the Kage as a whole starting to surface. "I don't want to resort to that, which is why I'm even bothering to talk to you in the first place. That was what the whole stunt from before was all about. Because trust me, I have the power to back up my words."
"Point taken," the Mizukage said. "I can already tell that you're a promising shinobi, whoever you are and wherever it is that you come from. However, that still doesn't make me change my mind about this matter. There's nothing you can do to change what's going to happen. Not only that, but I'm positive that you don't even know what exactly is happening at the moment. You're out of the loop, and yet you try to act like you know it all. An amusing prospect."
In his mind, Sasuke cursed. He had taken the Mizukage too lightly it would seem. The man had been able to pick up the fact that Sasuke wasn't one hundred percent sure just what plan he was involved in with Danzo.
"Just what is it that you plan to earn from this?"
The Mizukage chuckled at the question. "That depends on what you're talking about."
Sasuke was taken back by the question, not sure what the Mizukage was referring to. Catching on to this little detail, the Mizukage erupted into laughter once again.
"Hahaha just like I thought, you really don't know what's going on. Maybe I've been given you too much credit. After all, everything that you've done up to this point could be nothing more than a fluke. Although I can't ignore the fact that you somehow got word that Danzo is planning something. That on of itself is no small feat. You're still an amateur, however. The fact that we're in this situation proves that."
Scowling, Sasuke pointed his sword to the Mizukage's figure within the cube. "First of all, why don't you get out of that thing so that we can talk face to face? Or are you too much of a coward to do that?"
Instead of getting riled up at the accusation, the Mizukage laughed even more. "Pride. Such an amusing concept. I'll never understand why you humans value such a thing."
Sasuke paused at hearing that. Humans? Just what the hell did the man mean by that? He was a human himself…right?
Continuing, the Mizukage said, "I have no need for such a thing. One of the oldest and wisest aspects of being a shinobi is secrecy. Those who boast of their strength in the open are nothing but fools who are simple prey for those who understand that the shadows are a shinobi's best ally. Why would I reveal my secrets to you when there is no need to do such a thing? It's simply idiotic. Consider that a free lesson to you from me."
Now, that didn't sit too well with Sasuke. If there was one thing that the Uchiha had had enough of was being treated like a brat. He had been through his fair share of trials to at least earn some level of respect. But another part of Sasuke acknowledged the fact that wishing for such a thing meant that he was still just a brat since an adult would instinctively know that wishing for that was merely childish.
Despite all that, however, Sasuke's ire began to rise towards the man. He had tried being civil. But it seemed as if that meant nothing to the man who was currently preaching him. Maybe an ass whooping would teach him some humility. And at the end of the day, Sasuke already knew that his words meant nothing if he didn't have the power to back them up.
Sheathing his sword to his back, Sasuke then formed a chidori in his right hand. "If that's how you want to do things, then fine. Have it your way."
In the next moment, time stopped as the chidori in Sasuke's hand turned into a lightning blade which Sasuke directed straight towards the Mizukage straight through the wall of the cube the man had encased himself in. Instead of dodging the attack, the Mizukage was instantly pierced by Sasuke's technique which sent him stumbling back.
Sasuke merely watched this from behind the hawk mask that he was wearing.
The three Kiri shinobi found themselves stuck inside one of the weirdest places that they had ever seen. They couldn't even begin to fathom where they were, only that it was slimy and pink. Jiraiya stood before them with his arms crossed. It hadn't taken him a long time to bring the three here, which was essentially the insides of one of the toads that he had summoned. It was one of Jiraiya's more favored techniques which he had mastered years ago. Of course, with the war and all, he hadn't used it in a while even when he had been in stealth missions.
"Oi, what the hell is this place!?" one of the Kiri shinobi said with a roar while struggling to free himself. It was an action that was mirrored by his other two trapped companions.
"Don't even bother trying to get out," Jiraiya said with a shake of his head. "This jutsu is unbreakable, especially to fodders like you."
"Why you-"
"Now," Jiraiya interrupted before the man could curse him out, "why don't you tell me what exactly your Mizukage is planning on doing?"
The three Kiri shinobi paused at this, obviously not having expected the question. "And why the hell should we tell you anything?"
Shrugging, Jiraiya answered, "I would look at your current situation more closely if I were you. You're practically at my mercy. And thanks to your idiocy, no one else knows that you're missing. Not that they could find you even if they tried. But you get what I'm saying right?"
"Spare us the details," one of the Kiri shinobi said with a scowl. "Do you really think we were never prepared for a situation like this? Even we fought in the war already. You can't scare us with idle threats like that."
"Idle threats, huh," Jiraiya repeated with a mutter. They did have a point. He hadn't shown anything to back up what he had said. Great, just great. Why did small fries always have to go on about things like pride? It was annoying.
The third one in their group, however, wasn't sporting such confidence. While he had been certain that they could have taken care of whoever this guy was together, that option had already been thrown out of the window. And what the white haired man had said kept ringing in his head over and over again; they were at his mercy. Even he recognized the truth in those words. And while he had said before that if he ever was in such a situation like this that he would tough it out, actually being in such situation made his knees go weak. He didn't want to die. He had survived the war. So why would he die over a trivial matter like keeping his pride? It made no sense. At least, to him. And seeing the man mull his friend's words in his head, he also knew that it wouldn't be long before the man decided to take even more drastic measures.
With all of that in mind, the Kiri shinobi screamed out, "All right, I'll tell you everything! Just please don't kill me!"
His two friends could only look at him in shock. "What the hell are you doing!?"
He was close to tears at this point. "I don't care what you two say, I'm not dying here! Besides, it's not like he can do anything to stop the ambush!"
Jiraiya perked up at hearing this. "Ambush? What ambush?"
The two other trapped shinobi looked at their so-called "comrade" with angry expressions. "Don't say another word!" they screamed.
Ignoring them, however, he looked at Jiraiya in the eyes, bringing his tears under control. "We've been told that Uzu is planning an attack on Kumo in a few days from now. So we're to ambush them with our own fleet alongside Kumo before they can touch down in land. It's the operation that we've been preparing for a few days now."
Jiraiya's blood ran cold at hearing that. Of course, he already knew what they were talking about. Hiruzen had already informed him of what Arashi had planned out for his attack on Kumo. But still…..how could the information have leaked out? Unless…..
'Danzo,' Jiraiya thought with gritted teeth. Just what game was the bastard playing? Did he really think that aiding the enemy would help Konoha? While Jiraiya didn't like Danzo as a person nor did he like the methods he used, he always knew that the man had Konoha's interest in mind. But this was simply idiotic! It made no sense! Danzo's actions made no sense! Unless he was missing something.
Jiraiya turned to the Kiri shinobi, all playfulness having left his face. The situation had just become that much dire.
"Tell me everything you know. Now."
The three Kiri shinobi couldn't help but shiver at Jiraiya's tone. But seeing no other alternative now, the one that had broken down continued to explain in more detail just what he knew while Jiraiya listened.
He didn't know how Sasuke would react once he heard of this.
Sasuke let his chidori based blade die out, bringing his hand back down to his side. His eyes were on the Mizukage's fallen form, suspicious to the fact that the man had been taken down that easily. It just wouldn't make any sense if that was the case. But realizing that the more time he spent wondering whether the man was defeated or not was more time that more Anbu could be making their way down here, Sasuke walked towards the fallen man.
Cutting a way into the cube with his chidori, Sasuke stepped inside, finding that there was nothing more inside the thing other than the fallen body of the Mizukage. Stopping on top of it, Sasuke t'ched as he gazed at what he could now identify as a corpse. Some part of him still couldn't believe it, though. There was just no way that a Kage could be brought down that easily.
Almost as if trying to answer his question, the Mizukage's body began to change. Sasuke's eyes widened as the body immediately transformed into a being that the Uchiha had too much of an acquaintance with for his tastes. And that being was none other than the one known as White Zetsu.
Taking a few steps back, Sasuke tried to comprehend what he was seeing. He couldn't make any sense of what was happening. His shinobi senses kicked in as he suddenly felt even more arrivals into the room. Turning around, Sasuke came fact to face with a handful of White Zetsu clones sprouting up from the floor with matching grins.
"Well, well, this unexpected. Our cover has been blown," one of the clones said, his grin still in place.
As he gazed at all of the clones, Sasuke couldn't helped but t'ch while still having no idea just what the heck was going on. He would have to agree with Shikamaru on this one, though.
"How troublesome."
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone