章 46: PART 3.
"What's wrong?!"
"Oh no... This cannot be happening."
While two nurses murmured their fears behind a wall, the rest of the medical team ran through the corridors of the Hospital with the stretchers and their respective patients. A woman with an almost hoarse voice, but strong, was the highest-ranking in the place currently.
"Evacuate patients immediately! Get them as far away from this flat as possible!" The Woman proclaimed. Those who passed by him with Speed, were hurried by his Alarming orders. His expression was altered, and he looked for anyone who was stuck. "Don't waste any more time! This floor is no longer safe! Take patients to the lower floors and wait for the Ninjas' orders!"
His years in the field taught him what it was like to work under pressure. But that action was only used in MEDICAL situations. Where a patient is in danger and his salvation is in the hands of the Doctor in charge. However, the situation this time was even riskier, oblivious to something she could have imagined.
Iron shot out of the Room of the Nameless Genin. In turn, that entire floor was flooded with iron, and all the medical team and patients were trapped inside.
Iron? That iron?
The only person who was able to use such an ability was the current Kazekage, Gaara. But he manipulated the Sand, unlike a previous Kazekage, who manipulated the Iron. That technique has never been seen since his disappearance and confirmed death, not even with Gaara himself as Kazekage.
Controlling the Iron was something unique and special. It was not a Scarce thing, but IMPOSSIBLE. Never before has there been anyone who could prove their equality with the missing Kazekage. The only ones in the windland who could manipulate the Ore came from the Kage family of the Sand Village.
That this Boy had such a thing under his control, it was to be feared, and she knew it.
Iron was not like Sand. It was truly dangerous. The mere act of letting oneself be trapped and crushed could cause death in different ways. That material was Mortal, and whoever manages to manipulate it, will have many different ways to carry out a massacre if they set their minds to it.
That's why I was here, evacuating everyone who could. Men and women helped the elderly to move, as well as those who were directly unconscious and had no choice but to evacuate them with them bedridden.
The woman ran through the corridors, looking for her orders to reach everyone's ears, and that no life would be lost or left behind like the people on the upper floor.
"Quick, leave behind any unnecessary weight!" He shouted. He used his arms to swim through the tumult of People. "Just think about the patients! ¡We can't-"
"Kyaahh!"
A high-pitched shriek reached his ears, and just that scream was as if a gigantic bubble surrounded them all at the same time. A silence deepened, as if each individual in the place was remembering the exact direction in which the scream came. The waste of people did not allow us to find the Location, but it was too late.
With her eyes wide open like two huge Oranges, the Female Nurse paled as the screams of the people at the end of the farthest corridor increased until reason set in.
A bright black sea collided with the wall at the end of the corridor, and as the only way of escape, it came towards it, taking all the people in between.
Men and women, as well as patients, were sunk under the living Metal, and the only thing she could do before she lost visual consciousness of everything around her, was to cover her eyes with her forearms and grab all the air she could take.
If being sunk in that metallic mass presents her with the opportunity to be conscious, even for a couple of minutes, she would take advantage of the little air in her lungs.
"I hope that young lady is all right..."
(~~~)
The moment witnessed was not overlooked by any of those present. The lack of explanation and the complete absence of the deceased caused the Members of Akatsuki to remain on the sidelines of making any movement out of consciousness.
Kakashi was dumbfounded after the fright he had received. It was not expected that one of the Akatsuki would break free of the Shikamaru technique so easily.
When had it happened? When was it that Kakashi got careless and let it go, just like that?
Shikamaru lay sitting on the ground in a momentary darkness, caused by the clouds covering the glowing moon. His teammate came to his aid as soon as that which threatened his friend's life stopped moving.
Just a few meters from Shikamaru, a hand attached to a grayish vine came out of the ground. It came out of the ground, and in turn, seemed to be the complement of one of Kakuzu's limbs. The greedy Akatsuki had obtained his release through his own technique, which consisted of stretching his limb on the ground, handled by that vine, responsible for many deaths by hanging.
Every Akatsuki had a secret, something that set it apart from ordinary Ninjas. If one was Immortal, then, what was Kakuzu?, that is what Shikamaru tried to consider in the previous nights, but he only came up with some simple plans to defeat him, even though he was one hundred unaware of his techniques.
As a result, he had been taken by surprise. Kakuzu was going to take Shikamaru's life without being noticed, just seconds after his throat had been slit or crushed outright. He may even have used his teammates' seconds of shock to take Shikamaru with his free hand, pull the other out of the dirt, and take the brain off the board.
But his movement had been stopped, as if his thoughts were an open book to that individual.
Just as Kakuzu's hand shot out of the ground, naked, in the direction of Shikamaru, his friends, and Kakashi himself, had no time to react, when a flash momentarily illuminated a tiny spot in the darkness of the forest, and an orange spark passed right by Kakashi's side, and hit the Akatsuki's wrist.
The hand fell to the ground unable to move, and the sound of a small crackling sound had perplexed them all.
While the Akatsuki themselves tried to find out who the new ally was that had joined them, the Konoha Ninjas who were present looked for Shikamaru's savior.
Not far from them, right at the top of a tree, stood an Anbu.
Her body was indisputably that of a Woman. Slim, with noticeable curves and the chest only half noticeable.
Her brown hair was visible behind her Cat Mask. She was not very tall, and she held on to the tree while letting her body, except for her foot and hand with which she held on to the tree, be suspended in the air. His free hand, specifically, his right, pointed his index finger towards them, raising his thumb.
She was equally or more stupefied. This was not thought by the Teenagers, who only saw an Anbu with an unknown ability who had helped his partner. Kakashi, a former member of Anbu, thought so, who knew well the strangeness of this behavior.
Konoha's Anbu were not trained to hesitate, causing him to frown, while exchanging attention with Akatsuki's oddly mute partner.
"Something is wrong." Kakashi deduces, for Kakuzu was absorbed, seeing the hand protruding from the ground with a deathly silence. She did not seem to answer him. "Did he just stop moving?, I don't understand... something very big is happening here, but right now..."
When Kakashi wanted to look carefully at where the Anbu woman was, she became hesitant. As if the simple fact of being observed by Kakashi, made him recompose himself and return to his state of circumspection.
Clearly his body language was no less for the good deduction of the white-haired man, who did not overlook the way in which the Woman lowered her hand with almost tenebrous speed, as if she herself did not understand the situation, or did not want to have reached this point.
"I guessed so. Something strange happens with those Anbus..."
Hidan's clearing of the throat forced Kakashi to become alert. Likewise, Shikamaru got up as fast as he could, and accompanied by his friends, they walked away until they were behind Kakashi-sensei.
They had to be as far away from that hand as possible. Although for a few moments it moved because of Kakuzu's insistence on retrieving it, it did not return to its owner through the ground, until Kakuzu made one last attempt at a long silence.
"Kakashi-sensei." Ino called to him from behind. "They...!"
Although he could not finish his sentence because of the scare with Shikamaru, Kakashi knew the reason for the questioning. Both Akatsuki stared at nothingness, and their concentration on it was almost mesmerizing to everyone.
Hidan, who was the most daring, was as still as a stone in the mud. However, his annoyance was fleeting in his expression. Hunger throbbed with disdain in his being; He wanted to get hold of a victim capable of offering him pain, as soon as possible.
Hatake shook his head slightly, just enough to glance sideways at the black-haired man. He did what he could to make his inquiry reach his ears. Shikamaru frowned, keeping an eye on the two Members of Akatsuki. He was not much different from Hidan when he referred to wanting to take someone down.
"Are you okay, Shikamaru?"
"Eh, yes..."
"I'm glad." He says, returning his utmost attention to the Akatsuki. "I want you to refrain from any unnecessary attacks..."
"You don't need to tell me, I'm the most aware of the power of those two." Shikamaru affirms firmly.
But before continuing with his airs of confidence intermingled with inner rage, Kakashi imprisons him with a palpable tension in his words.
"I don't just mean that. I want you to look around you, don't you notice something strange?"
Being a quiet part of the discussion, Ino and Chōji try to find with their eyes, what Kakashi was thought to be pointing with his verbalized signals.
Shikamaru doesn't know what else to say, when the White-Haired man murmurs to him:
"The Akatsuki cannot be the only Enemy here." Finally declare.
"Huh?!"
"That's bad...!"
Ino and Chōji murmur back to him, and Shikamaru only wrinkles his expression thickly.
Kakashi himself sounded confident with those directions, and had taken into account some factors found in his surroundings while facing Hidan of Akatsuki. He didn't have time to sit still and explain himself in depth; Not when the behavior of the enemy couple had come to nothing.
As he watched the Akatsuki murmur to each other, with the most expressions expressions deadpan possible, he managed to paraphrase some of his last thoughts.
"I have had the impression that I am constantly being watched. But since I was too involved in the battle, I left that detail aside. However..."
"However...?" Ino recomposed, with an obvious sorrow in his throat.
"With what has just happened, you have already made everything clearer to me than before." Kakashi informs them with his gaze well focused forward. Asuma's students could only see him as an analytical captain; A dark Jōnin who had set a target to exterminate. "They had Anbus watching us, but they never meddled in the battle."
Team Ten reacted individually to the news, but the return of Kakashi's testimony pressured them to remain silent, and not look beyond the trees. It was as if Kakashi himself was secretly telling them, "Don't do what I think you'll do. Just look at the Akatsuki."
"They are not what they would have us believe. They did not succeed."
He says.
"They made the Mistake of Staying, and lost the moment the Akatsuki recognized them as Anbus in my presence. Being supposed Anbus, they never helped us, or even returned to seek reinforcements or to serve as simple support. They just stayed there, waiting. If they didn't want to be discovered, or if they were companions of the enemy, they could have overtaken us and done their thing, but they did nothing more than see us from the shadows. When everyone finally fell... I felt everything colder now. I knew they were around here, but with what happened in the sky and this, I still had things to decipher... Until Shikamaru arrived."
"Until I arrived?" Nara's son Shikaku paled a little between the division of being attentive to the enemy, and being aware of Kakashi's words. "What exactly do you mean by that?"
"Shikamaru, you more than anyone else should be aware of the obligations of an Anbu." Hatake sentences. "As a Young Chunin who has earned the respect of adults, you have had to observe an Anbu up close. Do you really think it is possible for one to be left alone watching? Is it just like that?"
"Well... maybe they were waiting for the right moment, weren't they?" He tried to decipher the Akimichi.
But his doubt was revoked with a slight nod by his partner Nara. Proving right the Ninja who has copied more than a thousand Ninja techniques.
"It doesn't make sense if we consider everything that has happened so far." Shikamaru clarifies. His tone becomes sharper with each word spoken. " Since Asuma-sensei died... the world has been turned upside down, as if his very death were a bad omen."
His Friends drown out the nervousness that gets stuck in their throats. At the same time the Akatsuki seemed to be coming to their senses, with the detail of now being more focused on the sky that slept the stars above them.
"The portals, The Village stranded in time, the forbidden parchment... the apparent collaboration of the third party to protect him... and Now, that of heaven."
Shikamaru recounts.
"And let's not forget the supposed breaking of time that that king swore to. If we unite everything in an Order, it can also make sense about those Anbus. Anbus who, being from Konoha, did not lash out at Akatsuki, taking it as a priority to orders from the fifth, to search the surroundings for any suspects who might be familiar with the Portal Incident. But instead, they did nothing; Not even having Akatsuki himself in front of them. Only if we base ourselves on that single detail, the alibi that they are from Konoha, collapses on its own. No one from Konoha, least of all the Anbus, would not lash out at an Akatsuki couple hovering near the village gates."
Yamanaka and Akimichi pale almost at the same time. They had lost the full concentration they had on the initial plan: To leave Konoha without being seen, and to go in search of Akatsuki; Specifically, those responsible for the death of Asuma-sensei.
But the board had turned against them.
The Akatsuki had beaten them to it, and apparently, circumstances for everyone had worsened.
The blonde teenager and the Akimichi were attentive when Shikamaru tilted her head just a little. He seemed to be looking for something through the trees near the road.
"Shikamaru..."
"Kakashi-sensei is right. You may not be wrong." His statement took the white-haired man himself by surprise. He well knew that his theories would always be well received, yet he was always surprised by the insight of the Son of Shikaku. "When the biggest one came for me, that Anbu defended me instantly."
"Ah...! That technique!" Immediately, Ino approaches the vicinity of Kakashi's right shoulder. "What was that, that... kind of light..."
"I have no idea, I've never seen anything like it." He replies, clearly disappointed by his ignorance.
The Ninja who copies, unaware of a Ninja technique?, was to be expected to be disappointed in himself.
"Appears to be a Lightning style Jutsu, Raiton. Its effects seem to be to destabilize its opponent."
"Destabilize?" Ino sees the hole in the ground, where Kakuzu's hand had come out before, against Shikamaru. "The hand..."
By the time he realized it, the limb had returned to its normal state. Kakuzu was clutching his forearm with his opposite hand, and he seemed to be analyzing the same gap that Anbu's previous attack had left for the Konoha Ninjas.
Only Kakuzu's act perplexed the blonde, who did not take long to affirm without regret, after swallowing dry.
"It's... I may be confused."
"That's right." Shikamaru says. "That leads us to believe... that whoever that Anbu is, is not with them. But it is not with us either."
"B-But...! It's an Anbu from Konoha..."
The earth rose from where Hidan's killing weapon had been pulled.
Right next to Kakashi, the weapon he had taken from Akatsuki's religious member was buried, but the red weapon was attached to its owner by a kind of black rope, capable of lengthening its distance. Hidan seized that advantage, and with a jerk the weapon had come back into his hands.
The surprise caused Kakashi to jump back, followed by the younger ninjas who followed.
Apparently, both he and Kakuzu had come to. He kept the smaller dagger inside his cloak. Shikamaru gave a small start. With that same stabbing dagger, Asuma had been killed.
"Good, good! That's enough! You win!" Hidan yells at them, visibly disappointed.
Their reluctant statement has left them perplexed. The ten-team had just had a Deja vu when Hidan snorted in annoyance.
What happened last time, was repeating itself. The same disinterest, with the life of someone dear to them at their feet, inert.
The end of Asuma had been repeated with more than seven Ninjas around.
The most disturbing was the one who had shared Kakashi's concern; The Young One who was suspicious of his own abilities to face them. But even so, he was able to outwit and make Kakuzu dizzy enough so that he wouldn't bother Kakashi, and give Shikamaru time to arrive.
If only I had held out a little longer...
"I don't give a shit if they'll tighten up the security of your fucking village!" Spit. "When I come back, I'll kill them! You'd better wait for us!"
Never before had Shikamaru felt so useless. Or at least, that's what he thought when Asuma left and didn't wake up. But now, tonight, that he had finally decided to find the end of the cause of the destruction of a family in birth, he had stressed it to him: He was useless. It still wasn't strong enough.
Or so he wanted to think... when he saw it. Shikamaru was insightful when he stepped out of his façade of Helplessness and Self-Destruction, and he did not lose sight of Kakuzu.
The large and gloomy Akatsuki, knowing how to snatch light from the eyes alive, held his wrist while he looked at it with supposedly sharp caution. Hidan had just concluded his contempt for the Ninja who inhabited the village he wanted to fill with pain.
Still, Kakuzu had his eyes focused on the deepest corners of the forest. His attitude was distant from that of his companion Akatsuki, even though he had lived through the same experience, apparently.
Shikamaru came to a conclusion.
"Isn't that the hand you were going to use to hang me? What... Can't move your arm?" Thinking about it, Shikamaru hurriedly moved his eyes as much as he could. Without a Sharingan, he had his brain on his side to study the retiring man well, turning his back on them. "No! It's not his arm! Is its... hand? Yes, he definitely can't move his hand... but how?! The full hand?! From the wrist up?!"
His eyes widened in surprise when he found the missing piece, however, at that moment, a cloud of smoke exploded cleanly in the places of the Akatsuki members. By the time the smoke cleared, neither of them was there.
"Did they run away again?!" He assumed hastily. "No... It was the same as the other time. They stood on the sidelines at the same time, and even Hidan calmed down and the two disappeared at the same time. There is no doubt... Someone was talking to them. It is just like the Jutsu of Ino's family."
A funeral silence ensued, carried by the cold breeze of the night through the corpses of those who could not against two members of Akatsuki. For safety, the only Jōnin standing, Kakashi, observed the site where the enemies had previously stood.
He removed all traces of doubt, and his tense muscles rested with impotence. However, they didn't go past the door, it was a really lucky thing.
"Why did they leave?" It was a doubt that was sown. Ino demanded answers. "T-They wouldn't be able to run away! They had to have a reason! Or they could have entered through another door...!"
"The detection team would have already alerted us." Shikamaru replies without looking at her. He stared perplexed at the bloody ground. "I have no doubt... they aborted the attack; Something made them retreat."
"And what could that have been?" Chōji asks. "Even if the thing about heaven wasn't their doing, it wouldn't be a very theirs thing to run away because of it."
Chōji had also not forgotten the day Asuma-sensei left. He remembered the threats of the Akatsuki perfectly, and how suddenly, they retracted fighting on the spot and disappeared in the same way.
Before that happened, they were seen mumbling things, but not to each other. Meanwhile Akatsuki is insane, unscrupulous and unseen, no one would fall back if there was someone among them with a skill similar to that of the Yamanaka clan.
That implied that they still had cards saved, and Shikamaru hadn't taken that into account.
Could it be that they have someone in the shadows, guiding them in the event that something gets out of control? A person who was there simply to return them?
This possibility would contradict the information they obtained from Jiraiya-sama, which surely stated that the Akatsuki moved only in pairs; No exceptions.
So how could the same thing have happened twice? What is similar about these two occasions? Shikamaru drilled into his head for clues to unravel, and by the time Kakashi managed to falter him, his friends had been so perplexed that, even if he was serene, the stain had come to light.
"How did you get here?" He had asked them, scrutinizing them individually with his only eye in sight. "It's not surprising, but that it was precisely you..."
"..."
Ino and Chōji stood by Shikamaru, as if he himself were some sort of guide in the upcoming discussion. After all, he was their captain, without any discussion!
All three had the same rank. But the one with the coldest, most sensible and thoughtful mind was the Nara of the Amistado trio.
Shikamaru was not upset, although he was frustrated. They were already gone, and I wouldn't have the irresponsible thought of wanting to confront them here and now, so close to innocent citizens.
It was better that way. It was just a matter of finding another perfect opportunity. And he continued to think like this, even under the methodical gaze of the Hatake.
I would say that he even understands it, but even what Kakashi-sensei would think, it was still an enigma for him in these circumstances, when they already had too much trouble to focus only on an immortal man with a dagger.
An Immortal who had slain an Innocent man.
"About that..." Ino wanted to save, but an exclamation coming from behind her interrupted her.
Immediately, she, like her companions, turned to recognize the owner of the voice. In front of them, a Ninja had jumped in, accompanied by a dear Battles companion. It was Kotetsu, who gave off the worry in him.
"Kakashi-san...!"
"Okay, they're gone."
"Huh...?"
"They're gone." Kakashi repeats, the usual tired tone had escaped him. He consciously brings his hand to his Ninja headband, and says audibly so that those present can hear him. "I didn't get the opportunity to use my Sharingan, but even so... I'm responsible for tonight's casualties. I take full responsibility, I have no excuse."
"Um...! Hey... I see." Kotetsu says, stuttering. "I-It's a pity... a real shame."
And it's not that man was like that all the time. Akatsuki was no organization that they were only found to play cards.
An organization of that caliber, it was to be feared; It surpassed the power of Ninjas as unique as Asuma, or Jinchūriki of the cloud herself, who until after Asuma's burial, was known of her capture.
Nations did not have friendly relations, and if they could hide the events that made them see themselves as losing power to another, they would do so.
But the loss of a Jinchūriki was a serious thing; A thing that surpassed any crime. Akatsuki was an organization that affected them all equally, so the capture of the Jinchūriki woman and her subsequent death was confirmed shortly after what happened.
Although it would have been useful for them to know that just before Asuma. They could have formulated another strategy that would prevent the mobilization of this type of people through the Tierra del Fuego... if only it had been reported before, that they were already after Naruto's capture.
Having had no time to see his fallen comrades, Kotetsu seemed to regain the resolve with which he had arrived. Apparently, what the white-haired man thought was a glance to make sure he needed reinforcements, was not really a glimpse.
"It's a little reassuring that they're gone... But that wasn't the reason I came!" The man expresses with anguish. He stands firm. "Even more, at the door!"
"It's true! The door!"
In unison, Chōji and Shikamaru gasped as they heard Ino squeal.
Kakashi could only raise an eyebrow with inquisition, but before he knew it, he was already running to the sound of Ino-Shika-Chou and Kotetsu, in the direction of the great gate of the Village.
They grew larger and closer, until finally, Kakashi was able to discern an accumulation of Kotetsu-like Ninjas, keeping distance from an individual on the ground. The Ninjas themselves weren't many, they could be estimated to be between ten to fifteen Shinobi on the stage.
Upon arriving, Kakashi could only ask the question that would start the dispute:
"What's going on...?"
"It's her..." Chōji murmurs. In a hurry, he tries to say: "Hey...!"
"Chōji, stop!"
At Shikamaru's firm voice, and his arm on the Akimichi's chest to prevent him from taking another step, Kakashi can only see what was unfolding in front of him, his eyes immersed in search of answers.
Shikamaru frowns with full analysis. On his other side, Ino tried to attest that Chōji was not going to do anything wrong.
"Look at it well!" He orders them. "Look at his forehead!"
Heeding his words, Kakashi is perplexed in the middle of the Ino-Shika-Chou. Not far from stepping on the ground on the inner side of the great door, lay a violet-haired girl, lying a ball on the ground.
She wasn't screaming at the top of her lungs, but she could if whatever was affecting her didn't squeeze her lungs with enormous force.
His eyes were like two white eggs, thrown back and completely pale, while he held his head between muffled moans, and spun against the ground, as if his body were lit under scorching flames.
Her soft, purple bangs lay disheveled, and it wasn't where it was supposed to be. And there, in the middle of his pale forehead, something was drawn in a bright glassy white tone; As crystalline as a large window in front of a field of flowers, bathed in the sun of the future... a crescent.
The mark on his forehead was small, almost about the size of the mark Tsunade-sama had on his. But its glow was like glass on the ground, reflecting sunlight at its brightest. A small and innocent glow, but troublesome enough to leave them all on their toes.
This sensation was the same as with the moon.
The same fatigue, and at the same time not. A beautiful feeling, but not very pleasant, as if the Chakra were bathed in sticky cold water.
And so, everyone who witnessed the scene lay in their most self-absorbed perplexity. No one could do anything, because there was a constant thought that maybe someone else could do it. The coincidence of the portals with the scroll was something that was not ruled out for those who knew about said scroll.
However, this encounter, with the portals and the moon, as well as Akatsuki, were not overlooked by people who were unaware of the scroll's existence.
The situation was the same for those who knew the truth and those who did not. The only thing missing was the one who gave a strong hand; the one who would decide what to do with what was taking place in front of one of the four gates of the village of the Leaf.
"Uwa...!"
"...!"
Ino slumped nervously in reaction to the girl's whimper. The one with the purple hair was still rolling on the floor, using her feet to lift her body, but falling again.
He was not able to open his eyes and see clearly where he was; The world she saw did not seem to be the same. Her limbs acted as if the world was spinning around her, and those closest to her were afraid to touch her, so there was only one possibility.
"Who is she?!"
"Hm...! W-We don't know!" Ino replied to a serious Kakashi, listening to Shikamaru and Chōji. "We ran into her on the way to—!"
Ino bit his tongue as he let the comb out. But not a second more passed when Shikamaru cleared Kakashi's doubt.
"She bumped into us even before we left the Village." He said. "She was alarmed when we found her. He said something was wrong with the moon."
"Did he mention anything else?!"
Shikamaru thought more about it. He opened his eyes, puzzled.
"She said he needed to find someone who had gotten lost in the woods!"
" What...?!"
"The guards at the gate insisted on stopping her, and she said all that. Chōji adds. - She spoke very quickly and was scared. But when there was that explosion, you were very unwell, and we went to see what you meant, when we ran into you!
"That's right," Kakashi murmurs. His brow furrows, and Saturo's words make him sweat a little cold at his fingertips. "This is no longer a coincidence... It's a Fact!"
The group of Ninjas dissolved in pairs or individually, as soon as the girl began to cry with her eyes closed. With her hands she tried to push away something that disturbed her, but no scream came out.
Those present could only hear attempts at screams, gasps and saliva filtering through his almost asleep mouth.
The crescent on her forehead had effects that no one present could comprehend, and they didn't know if it could be risky for someone to touch her without knowing exactly if she was part of Akatsuki or not.
Ino clenched his bewilderment in a fist. What was he to do?! Their muffled cries could drill deep into his soul! I was sorry!
The pressure persisted over the course of the seconds; And from the seconds, to minutes. The time that passed, was littered with Ninjas running around them, shouting to each other some answer to what they should do.
Kakashi had left the Ino-Shika-Chou behind to be in command until he received some clear order from the Hokage.
He had even ordered Ino to report to him, but when his feet were close enough to the girl, a familiar flash momentarily illuminated a corner of the lush, dark forest.
He leapt back and called those present back with a wake-up call, and everyone had done the same seconds late when an orange spark had been shot a few feet from where Kakashi's foot had once stood.
He opened his eyes as wide as he could. It can't be about that, right? It would be too easy, he thought.
But a part of him, with more vivid ones, WANTED this to have answers once and for all, to put an end to this wave of unknowns that did nothing more than leave Konoha behind with the little information they had about a village they met a few days ago.
But there were no more reasons.
They would no longer have to wait for something bigger to happen, and they would run again to report to Saturo-sama.
The answer to the Akatsuki's surprise was now in front of them; The target that Kakashi had aimed at since he found the thuggish couple in the forest.
With the girl still writhing behind him, the squatting person slowly stood up. The moonlight cleared the view of those present, and his figure and physical complexion were even more obvious to everyone.
A woman.
Brown hair, and slim body. He is around 1.67 meters tall, and his face is hidden behind a mask of a white cat with red whiskers. Their equipment consisted of the essentials for the Anbus; Little weaponry in sight. Bags for the Kunais in hidden places, both at the ankles and behind the armpits.
Kakashi spread his feet, and glared at the person he thought was staring at him. The coldness in his body language told him that he sought to avoid conflict. For she was surrounded, and she herself had gotten in having been able to escape.
"An Anbu...?"
"Hey, what are you doing..."
"Why are you covering it...?"
It was what some Ninja were saying when the Anbu woman stood up straight, just watching Kakashi. The murmurs that questioned her confidence made her look at them out of the corner of her eye. The tiny movement of his mask was enough to freeze them whole; The same queen of ice.
The girl kept screaming muffled behind her, and looking over her shoulder to catch a glimpse of her, she froze watching the girl act as if her lungs were burning.
"Turning his back on me like this..." Kakashi reflects. He frowned at the Ino-Shika-Chou behind him to keep them as calm as he was. Kakashi lowered his fists, but did not deactivate his defense. "Are they colleagues? Isn't that woman an Anbu from Konoha? It is impossible that our vigilance could make such a mistake...!"
The click of something reactivated the sharpness in Kakashi's senses. Just like all the Ninjas surrounding the unknown woman, Kakashi and Team Ten did nothing but remain silent at the act that took place right under their noses.
A belt with hidden needles fell to the ground, followed by a small leather bag with unused paper bombs. Later, the masked woman began to unbutton the buttons of the straps of the small bags she was carrying, the largest being one full of Kunais and scrolls.
All of that was laid on the ground, along with the black jacket he was wearing. With the girl's muffled moans, and in front of a perceptive and analytical Kakashi, Konoha's False Anbu raised her hands to the height of her head in surrender.
She did not reveal her identity, and although Kakashi did not know why, he could tell that at first glance she was unarmed. Her blouse was made of Mayans, and you could simply see a black top underneath it. She had taken off her jacket to bring out the control Konoha now had over her.
She was no longer a threat, but even with that, Kakashi was not stupid to just approach. For she had done twice, in front of him, something that was out of hand and a little beyond his comprehension.
As such, in turn, he seemed to have knowledge about what happens behind closed doors in Konoha and in the sky.
The silence of the unarmed Anbu lasted until she felt a little calm in Kakashi's face.
"I won't make any silly moves."
She says with tumultuous heaviness. His tone of voice was soft, but painful. As if he were confessing to an unforgivable crime. Behind the cat mask, Kakashi was being pleaded with by a Misunderstood Young Woman.
"The girl behind me... He is someone extremely important to me. So please, I beg you not to do him any harm."
As she said that, the purple-haired girl complained about how little saliva she had in her dry mouth. There was no need to hurt her any more if she herself suffered from something that no one understood. But, beyond that, Kakashi noticed one thing.
The imperturbability in the behavior of the Anbu, was trained. He was firm, with his legs apart and his hands raised. But his fingers spread apart and stretched, to ensure that he would not use his unknown technique... they trembled slightly.
The sounds of the girl behind her affected him in some way, Kakashi was sure of that. Although he saw that girl as suspicious, it never crossed his mind to hurt her. He was not someone to hurt children, even if they were Shinobi.
It would be like abusing the strength he had gained through years of experience.
Seeing that there was no growing threat, and it was rewinding until it diminished, the white-haired man wanted to take advantage of the woman's plea to make sure he was not steps away from an extra confrontation.
"Can we know who you are?" Question. "That thing about heaven... the moon. Has it been your doing?"
"Uwahh...!"
None of them wanted to get in Kakashi's way, and they allowed Kakashi to do whatever he wanted as the most powerful Jōnin here.
The girl gasped, tears streaming down her grimy face as her forehead bled from scratches on the floor. The Anbu woman, as rigid as a Maya in the sun, 'spoke in her monotonous tone and with traces of supplication and regret in it.
"Please... don't hurt him."
The tenth team had been left cold in the absence of a response. Shikamaru studied the woman from head to toe. There were no signs of wanting to start a fight now. She spoke sincerely.
After looking at the ground, and being heard of the misunderstood suffering of the minor behind her, the woman in the Anbu mask addresses Kakashi with a slightly nascent assurance in her voice, interspersed with the plea that her words be well received.
"I don't know what happened in heaven." Answer. "But it may be that he knows what caused it."
"I see... so you and those two..."
"However." She interrupts hurriedly and firmly. After sinking his heels into the ground, he continues. "I have nothing to do with those people. Nothing to do with Akatsuki, concerns me."
Kakashi didn't wait any longer.
"What were you doing in the forest, on the outskirts of Konoha?"
"Answer that here... it would not be intelligent." An almost burlenceous tone had leaked out, to which Shikamaru cleared his throat. "Really... I cannot take this subject so lightly; Not with her in that state. If I have to deal with that, I have to ask to see the Hokage immediately."
The conclusion left more than one Ninja stunned. Hokage? Why did an outsider want to see the Hokage?
Moreover, why would a stranger, dressed in Anbu, who claims to know the reason for the phenomenon in heaven, want to see the Hokage personally?
Kakashi lets his guard down, and stands firmly and cautiously.
"Answer what I asked you before."
She doesn't respond.
"Who are you?" Investigate again. "And where is your partner?"
Tension embraced the place like a thick, dark haze. Kakashi didn't consider her dangerous, at least not to him. Therefore, he couldn't allow him to see the leader of the villa directly so easily.
With every dangerous scenario in mind, the ten-team was on guard when Shikamaru frowned on hold. They were ready, and when Kakashi gave the order, they would rush to support him.
The earth beneath the stranger's feet rose to a minuscule height from the ground as she separated her feet even further from herself.
He wanted to reaffirm his resignation; Tell them clearly that she would not make any sudden movements.
The Young Girl's complaints were a reminder of what was at stake if she were to attack. And the ten team lowered their guard a little when they looked at their decision to protect the youngest.
An empty, but vivid, flash swirled in the basins of Shikamaru. The Anbu woman swallowed dryly, and raising her hands in the air, she surrendered to whatever had to happen to her while she finally answered Kakashi's question.
"My name is Soku. As you can see, I am an Anbu from Konoha Village. I come expressly... to dialogue with his Hokage."
The air passes violently through his throat, and his cry disperses into the air.
"And I'm alone!"
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