After Jiraiya's reveal of the Mizukage's death, the team was on high alert. Jiraiya, seeing as they were going to make landfall in only a few hours, decided to start a discussion on the details of their mission; as they were in the middle of it, Naruto spoke.
"So we just grab Tsunade and bail? What if she doesn't want to go?"
Jiraiya reached for a scroll. "Well, that's why there's six of us."
He produced a map of Kakehashi and spread it across a box. It had handwritten notes all over it, and important landmarks were labeled.
"The city is split off into six districts connected by bridges." He then pointed to the northernmost district, "Tsuande is likely somewhere in the Takara district. She won't be easy to find; there are thousands of people and dozens of bars and casinos."
Jiraiya then pointed to the district directly to the west: "We'll be landing here in the Watari district. It's mainly just a bunch of shipyards and warehouses."
"What's the plan when we dock" Kakashi asked
"I was thinking that we split into three teams. We need recon from a vantage point in Takara and someone on the ground, going into bars, looking around, that kind of stuff; the third team will be going with me to the residential district to find my old contact Taro.
"Is this contact one of your spies?" Anko questioned
Jiraiya nodded. "Used to be. We fell out of contact over half a year back, and with the Roku Yurei watching over the city, it's not exactly safe to send someone to check up on him."
"Using this opportunity to do some of your busy work?" Kakashi said jokingly
"It's not totally unrelated, Taro, if he's still alive, can secure us a safe house in the city, away from the prying eyes of the Roku Yurei."
"Safe house? You're making it sound like we're here for the long haul,"
"Maybe it's silly, but I have a sinking feeling that this mission isn't going to be as simple as us grabbing Tsunade and leaving," Jiraiya stood up straight and stretched.
"But maybe that's just my old man's paranoia talking. If we're lucky, we'll be out of here with Tsunade by tomorrow."
Naruto spoke "Wait, who is this Roku Yurei? You guys keep talking about it as if we should know who they are?".
Jiraiya turned to Anko and Kakashi. "Didn't go over the bingo book in your lessons."
Anko put her hand over her chest"I'm offended you would think that, but the Roku Yurei haven't been listed in most bingo books since they took Kakahashi."
Jiraiya clicked his tongue "Ah, I thought I hadn't seen them in the latest ones. Let's see"
Jiraiya unfurled a scroll across it a number of dates; he hovered his finger over each one, whispering the date as he went down "Ah, six years ago, this should have them."
Jiraiya activated the seal and pulled out a well-worn book stuffed with notes. As he flipped through, he said, " To cover the basics, the Roku Yurei is a six-person ninja mercenary group made of B to S rank threats."
"Why haven't I heard of them before?"
"They weren't exactly keen on making enemies with major villages; they mainly just did jobs extremely quickly at a lower rate; they were an annoyance, but not enough of a threat for villages to hire hunter-nin to track them down."
Jiraiya stopped on a page and placed the book upright on the box; the entry was three pages long and was titled Asato Iburi 'The Phantom,' having a sketched picture of the man in the top left.
"This man is the head honcho, Asato Iburi, one of the few of his clan that left their home."
"Iburi Clan?" Sasuke said curious
Anko explained with practiced precision. "It's an isolated clan in the land of fire; they have the ability to turn their body into smoke." She then put a finger to her chin, "Though they mainly stay isolated since weather changes could disrupt their forms, killing or harming them. "
Hinata looked down "That's so sad,"
Jiraiya continued "I doubt he has that issue since he's classified as an A-rank threat, though as long as we keep a low profile, I doubt we'll have to worry about running into him."
Jiraiya flipped to the next page, showing the next page; in the top left was a picture of a skinny man with sparse facial hair, "Ensho 'The Pyromaniac ninja. "He's the least dangerous of the six, you can guess by the name, but the guy is quite fond of fire, and apparently, from what I learned from Taro, he's taking to running what the city calls its guard."
Jiraiya flipped the page again. This time, the entry was only a few paragraphs long, and the threat level was labeled indeterminate. The name read Yakumo, ' The Ghost of the Mist.'
"This one is an enigma even to me. The only information we have on them is that they are a part of the Roku Yurei, and it is assumed that they were the ones who assassinated the Water Daimyo seven years ago."
Kaksahi nodded in recognition. "I remember hearing about that; the Daimyo's room was fully secured with guards at every entrance, but by the next morning the daimyo was found dead, drowned to death in his bed."
The thought sent shivers up the youngest of the team's spines.
The next entry was a few pages long, and the picture was of a woman in a silk dress with a cocky smile; the title read Tsubaki 'The Dancer,' "She's a missing-nin from Suna turned part-time entertainer/assassin; she's extremely proficient in wind jutsu and is classified as A rank threat, Taro also informed me she is quite the celebrity in the city,"
Jiraiya then paused before continuing, "These next two are S-rank threats, meaning if you see them run, that goes for both Kakashi and Anko."
Everyone nodded
The next entry showed a picture of an older bald shinobi who had a milky white eye.
"Dokugan, he's a former mist ninja and was a candidate for Mizukage in the distant past; it's known he has a summoning contract with the tortoises and uses an extremely dangerous form of elemental taijutsu similar to yours, Naruto, instead of wind he uses pressurized water, enough to say, if you run across him run the other way, if we need to fight him I'll be the one to do it."
The next entry had a picture of a young dark-skinned woman with white hair, with a special bounty listing of "Name your price" ; her title read Shizuka, 'Exile of Cloud.'
"Shizuka was a prodigy and was heralded as a possible successor to the current Raikage, until she abandoned her village. They said she fought off dozens of jonin while leaving the land of lighting and even managed to evade the Raikage himself on the way out. She has the storm release kekkei genkai, and I highly recommend that none of us engage her."
"Is she that dangerous?" Sasuke asked intrigued
Jiraiya nodded, "She did all of that I just mentioned when she was fourteen; after a decade, she's become one of the most dangerous shinobi in the world; the Cloud has posted bounty after bounty to get people to retrieve her. But just about everyone who's attempted is dead or maimed."
"What if we have to fight her to get Tsunade," asked Naruto
"If that happens, then it might be best for us to delay the mission until later; Tsuande isn't staying in Kakehashi forever."
Jiraiya snapped the book shut. "This is only important knowledge if we run into them, but as long as none of us do anything to draw their attention, we shouldn't even see them."
Little did Jiraiya know in just a few hours, they would do just that.
The large roulette wheel spun again as the false night sky reflected moonlight off its polished surface; Tsunade didn't blink as she shoved a tower of chips forward
"Forty thousand on black"
She had been on a hot streak, not losing a single spin yet. She was steadily increasing her bet. Shizune recognized what she was doing. Tsunade was looking to lose to ease her superstition about her luck. Shizune only hoped she kept winning, as that may make Tsunade uncomfortable enough to leave the city entirely.
The dealer, a pale man, gave a practiced smile. "As you wish, madam." Shizune noticed clear signs of fatigue on the man, and concerned, she spoke, "I don't mean to pry, but I would suggest taking a break soon. Working while fatigued could lead to a great many health issues."
The man nervously looked around. "Sorry, ma'am, if my appearance unnerves you. I'm fine; it's just my natural complexion." He quickly moved away to collect the next set of chips.
Shizune's grip tightened around TonTon. "Lady Tsunade," she hissed, "We should leave. How do we even know Orochimaru is here? This could be…"
"He's here." Tsuande's voice was flat, her eyes tracking the bouncing ball. "He's probably the one keeping me here by having me win."
As she said that, the ivory ball clattered into black seventeen. Onlookers gave a hollow cheer as Tsundae was handed back eighty thousand chips.
Shizune sighed. She got up, placing TonTon into her master's passive arms. "I'm heading to the restroom,"
"Mm-hmm," Tsuande grunted in response as she began to place another bet. Shizune rolled her eyes as she walked away. Something was very off about this place, and she needed to know what. She walked around the hall, examining more of the workers.
All of them showed the same sign of fatigue the dealer did, and that's when she noticed it, the collars, metal collars that varied in location, were on each of the workers; most of them were covered, but she recognized some seals on the ones she could partially see, she finally found an exposed collar on a dealers neck, as she positioned herself behind them to get a closer look at the seals she froze.
"Enjoying the sights, little healer"?
Shizune whirled. Asato stood inches away, his feather coat blending in with the casino's shadows. She hadn't heard him approach. Hadn't even felt his presence at all.
"I…" Shizune swallowed a breath and worked up her courage. "Your workers are collared like animals."
Asato's smile widened, "Observant. Though I prefer indentured associates." He gestured to a passing waitress. "Yumi here owned thirty million ryo to a loan shark. We cleared her debt."
The woman smiled as she poured Asasto a drink, her tense hand almost snapping the glass.
"At what cost?"
"Ten years of service. Room and board included." He plucked the drink from Yumi's hand and took a sip, "Far kinder than what her previous creditors planned."
"You can't tell me that they all choose to be worked to death."
"Where else would they go? The desperate are the ones who need this option the most. "The fisherman drowning in debt, the farmer whose kidnapped daughter needs saving but doesn't have the money, they come to us." His eyes scanned across the room toward Tsuande. "Just as your master did."
"Tsuande would never…"
"Not for money, no," he swirled his glass. "But what's the going rate for a lost lover or sibling?"
Across the room, gasps were heard as Tsunade placed a massive bet: " Five hundred thousand on black!"
The wheel shrieked as it went through the cycle. The entire casino waited in anticipation. The ball bounced from one last slot to the next, finally landing on red twenty-three.
Tsunade's mountain of chips were taken away.
"Ouch, might want to go check up on her; I'm sure she's hurting after that one."
Shizune walked away, but not before shooting a glare in Asato's direction. In response, he raised his drink at her. She approached Tsunade, who was getting up from her chair.
"Lady Tsunade, staying here will only be giving them exactly what they want."
Tsunade placed TonTon into Shizune's arms. "Like I said, Shizune, we're already here; might as well see it through. Now, let's hit some of the blackjack tables. I think I have around 4k left in chips." Tsunade began walking to a table. Shizune hesitated but sighed as she whispered to herself, "It's just one night." She followed behind Tsuande, her unease never leaving her.
The following morning, the cargo ship groaned as it hit the pier. The team waited for the crew to file out before hopping onto the pier themselves. They ended up gathering behind a warehouse next to the water, going over their assignments.
Kakashi spoke"Okay, Anko and I will visit the bars and casinos to look for signs of Tsuande."
Sakura pointed to one of the taller buildings in the Takara district. "Hinata and I can scout from there. We should be able to cover most of the district with her bykugan."
Jiraiya nodded, "Just make sure you stay out of sight and in disguise. Naruto, Sasuke, stay close to me, and remember tonight, come to Yurei; whether I find my contact or not, we'll have a place set up there."
Everyone nodded
"Okay, disperse."
As each group entered the henges and scattered to do their tasks, none of them noticed a figure perched on a distant warehouse roof, their white porcelain mask gleaming in the weak light. A soft whisper escaped into the morning air: "The dawn brings gifts."
Shizune hesitantly followed behind Tsuande and Asato as he escorted them to the meeting with Orochimaru. He led them to a room with double doors, stood off to the side, and bowed as he gestured to them end.
"And this is where I will leave you two; I hope your meeting is productive." He then made his leave; Tsunade stood in front of the doors for a few moments before taking a step forward and swinging them open.
The door creaked open into a dimly lit room. Half-illumined by the light from a nearby window, the rest was swallowed by shadow. From within that gloom, a tall silhouette stood. Orochimaru, his gaze fixed on the city below. He turned slowly, yellow eyes glinting as a cold smile tugged at his lips.
"Good. You're here."
He stepped forward slightly, the light catching his pale face.
"No need for formalities. Let's skip to the point. Tsunade… do you accept my offer?"
"First, answer me this, can you really bring back the dead?"
"Yes," Orochimaru said simply.
"How?"
"Through a technique pioneered by your great-uncle and perfected by me, the Edo Tensei. Have you heard of it?"
"How does it work?"
"It's quite simple. First, you need a DNA sample of the person you wish to resurrect."
Tsunade stiffened. "A DNA sample? Don't tell me…"
"Yes. I already have samples. I wouldn't have made you this offer otherwise."
"How did you get them?" Tsunade stepped forward, fists clenched. "If you desecrated their graves, get ready to be thrown through a few buildings."
He raised both hands in mock surrender. "Calm down. I would never do something so crude. I've been perfecting this technique long before Dan and Nawaki died. What kind of friend would I be if I hadn't collected a few strands of hair, just in case?"
"You defiled their memory."
"On the contrary. By preserving those samples, I've given them a chance to live again."
Tsunade closed her eyes and drew in a slow breath. She chose to let the outrage settle for now.
"Fine. What else?"
Before Orochimaru could answer, Shizune couldn't stay silent any longer. "You can't be serious, Lady Tsunade! He's admitting this has been in the works for years!"
"Quiet, Shizune."
Orochimaru continued as if uninterrupted. "The next step requires a living sacrifice, someone whose body will house the resurrected soul. With a bit of preparation, seals, and chakra, the sacrifice transforms. The soul is implanted, and the body reshaped into a perfect replica of the original."
Tsunade's voice was low. "Will their bodies be the same?"
"Nearly. There will be some differences, but they'll be effectively immortal, with limitless chakra, as long as the technique remains active."
"And how long do they last? Days? Weeks? Years?"
"Potentially forever. Only a few things can disrupt the Jutsu: a powerful enough chakra-based attack that destroys the vessel beyond regeneration, a Jutsu that affects souls directly, or…"
Orochimaru's grin stretched unnaturally wide. "…if I choose to end the technique. Then, they die again."
Tsunade's eyes hardened. "I accept."
"Lady Tsunade, no!" Shizune stepped in front of her. "He's manipulating you. You can't trust him!"
"Don't you think I know that? I'm so tired, Shizune, I just want my old life back."
"At the cost of someone else's?"
"That's a sacrifice I'm willing to make."
Orochimaru smirked. "How noble."
"You lied to me; you told me you weren't going to accept, but I guess your mind was already made up as soon as you got that letter.."
"You don't understand Shizune. The misery that's my day-to-day life is unbearable. If there's a chance that I can make it go away, I have to take it."
Shizune's voice cracked. "I don't understand?! You don't have the right to say that to me. I gave up my life to follow you and keep you safe; I've been through and seen it all."
"I didn't ask you to do that; you made the choice to follow me."
"Then I guess I chose wrong. I followed you because I thought that under all of that regret and self-loathing, the loving woman who taught me and the one my uncle wanted to marry was still in there somewhere, but if you're willing to do this, then I guess she's gone."
"So that's it, we're done?"
"You can still come back from this, just say no, and we can leave."
"I'm sorry, Shizune. But I can't say no."
Tears began to fall from Shizune's eyes as she turned around with TonTon in hand and left the room without another word, leaving Tsuande in silence. Tsunade then took a seat and put her head in her hands.
Orochimaru chuckled. "Apprentices can certainly be dramatic, can't they"
"Please just shut up."
The Yurei district was a cramped collection of tall buildings mixed in with ramshackle, newly built shacks freshly built to accommodate the growing population; the streets were akin to trenches as the three of them navigated through. Jiraiya continued to lead them deeper until they reached a burnt-out husk of a building. The only thing that signified a shop had been there at all was a signed sign that read Taro's Tea and Tonics.
Jiraiya tightened his jaw.
"Do you think it was Ensho" Sasuke asked lowly
"It would be surprising if it wasn't him, but it's just a building, not a man," Jiraiya then looked up at the sky, trying to find their position in the maze of buildings, "I think it should be this way. Let's go." Jiraiya continued forward, winding through more of the district. After around the fifth turn, he stopped in front of a set of stairs that led down to a door with a dimly lit 'Bar' sign on it. It's good it's still here, he turned to Naruto and Sasuke. "He was a regular here. If he's still alive, they'll know. For now, just wait out here, and don't stray too far. It's way too easy to get lost here.
Jiraiya slipped through the dimly lit door, leaving Naruto and Sasuke waiting outside. Naruto shifted on his feet, restless. "He could, at least, taken us with him inside." A sharp cry cut through the muffled noise of the district. Gaining both of their attention, they peered Down a narrow alley, seeing a family, a thin man and a woman clutching a child; they stood cornered by three rough-looking men. One of them, a burly figure with a scar running down his cheek, leaned in too close, his voice a low growl. "That's two months; I hate to do this, but rules are rules; you can't live in this city if you can't pay." The man swallowed hard, hands raised in a placating gesture. "Please, just a few more days" The thug planted a fist into his stomach. The woman gasped, pulling the child closer. "A few more, nothing. Either you hand over the money now, or we volunteer you to do a couple of months of labor to pay it off. Your choice."
Naruto's fists clenched. As he instinctively moved forward. Sasuke's hand shot out, gripping his arm. "Idiot. You rush in now, and they'll just come back twice as hard when we're gone." Naruto bristled. "So we just let them harass them?" "No." Sasuke's eyes flicked to the thugs, calculating. "But we don't make it obvious." A slow grin spread across Naruto's face. "Oh, I got it." he went into a smaller alley where he wasn't seen, and after a brief moment. Three shadow clones exited the alley, all henged to look like street urchins… Without another word, they darted forward, slipping past the thugs like ghosts. One clone swiped a fat coin purse from the scarred man's belt; another swiped a knife from one of the others. The leader blinked, then roared. "HEY!" The clones took off, laughing.
"Catch us if you can, slowpokes!" The thugs didn't hesitate. They bolted after the clones, cursing, leaving the family stunned in the alley. Naruto pumped his fist. "Yes! Now they'll be chasing shadows all night!" Sasuke nodded. "Good stuff." "Just a master ninja at work.". The door creaked open behind them. Jiraiya stepped out, his expression unreadable, until he took in Naruto's grin and the distant shouts of enraged thugs. His eye twitched.
He sighed, "I can't leave you alone for five minutes." Jiraiya continued walking. Come on, Taro's alive. He'll be when we find him. Send clones out to relay the location to the others; it'll be our meeting point. The three of them then navigated deeper into the forest of buildings.
Hinata and Sakura sat on top of the rooftop. Sakura waited in silence, letting Hinata focus with her Byakugan. After half an hour, Sakura finally spoke.
"Anything?"
Hinata shook her head, her eyes strained from searching. "There are too many people. I know Lord Jiraiya said Tsunade would stand out, but she could easily blend in."
Sakura sighed. "Take a break, and let's move to a different spot; maybe we will have better luck then."
"Wait." Hinata squinted her eyes out of habit, though the action did nothing to sharpen her vision. "I see something."
"What is it?"
"It's some sort of hidden club or casino in an alley. There are two guards at the door; they checked a list before letting a man in."
"An exclusive club, huh? Sakura mused, "What's inside?"
"I don't know; the door leads to a lift that goes quite far down, out of the range of byakugan."
"Do you think Tsuande might be there?"
"Maybe?" Hinata hesitated
"Then it's worth checking out." Sakura stood
"Wait, really? We're supposed to be scouting,"
And scouting also includes investigating anything suspicious. If we just report a hidden lift without knowing what's there, we won't be doing our job." Hinata relented with a resigned sigh. "I guess you have a point."
The two of them leaped to the next rooftop, closing in on the alley. The entrance was unremarkable: a rusted metal door flanked by two bored-looking guards.
"How do we get past them?" Hinata whispered. " Can they use chakra?"
Hinata activated her byakugan "No."
Sakura nodded. "Good, just follow my lead." Sakura stepped over the ledge stuck onto the wall and descended slowly above the door, with Hinata following.
One of the men yawned in the alley when suddenly a bell hit the ground in front of him, sending a chime echoing throughout the alley. His vision then blurred slightly before it quickly cleared up again.
He and his partner quickly exchanged looks as they both got up from their slouch and walked over. He picked it up, looking upward, "Where the hell did this come from?"
The other guard shrugged, "Who knows, maybe a bird dropped it."
Behind them, the metal door closed unnoticed.
Now inside, Hinata turned to Sakura. "What did you do?"
"It's just a genjutsu that delays their perception by about half a minute; it's really only useful against civilians, though."
As she finished her explanation, Sakura took her first real look around. The interior was a stark contrast to the grimy alley; it consisted of a plush velvet carpet, dim lighting, and a single elevator.
"Is the lift the only way down?" Sakura asked
Hinata pointed to a side door. "There's a ladder through there."
They descended the ladder before faint music and raucous cheers reached them. "Can you see anything now?" Sakura asked. Hinata expanded her vision, then gasped. The lift opened into a massive circular chamber filled with tables and bars. At its center was a caged fighting ring where two bloodied men brawled. An announcer's voice boomed. "This next match is for 50,000 ryo off their debts!" One fighter tackled the other, pinning him down and hammering his fists into his skull. The crowd roared as the referee deliberately delayed stopping the match. Hinata's face paled. "What's wrong?" Sakura asked. "They're paying to watch people kill each other." "Do you see Tsunade?" "No." Hinata's voice trembled. The announcer bellowed again, "Now, this brave soul could have left with his 50,000 ryo reduction, but no, he's chosen to take on the challenge of the beast for a chance to clear it all!"
A gate opened, revealing a scarred, foaming bear. The moment the fight began, Hinata shut off her Byakugan, but the man's screams echoed up the shaft. Tears welled in her eyes. "Sakura, this is horrible. Why would people do this?" Sakura's jaw tightened. "If Tsunade isn't here, we should leave." "We can't just walk away!" "What can we do? Storm in and fight everyone?" Hinata paused, then reactivated her Byakugan. "Wait, there's a grate below us. It leads to where they keep the animals." "And what are we going to do when we get there,
"I don't know we'll figure it out."
"This isn't a good idea, Hinata."
"Neither is letting this place continue like this."
Hinata barreled ahead, and reluctantly, Sakura followed.
They made their way through and eventually found themselves above the room where they kept the animals; they were looking through a grate on the ceiling and looking down. The room was dark, and only the sound of occasional growling and scratches could be heard,
"Is there anybody in there"
No, it looks like the animals are pacified with some sort of seals on their collars."
As they dropped down, the true horror of the situation dawned on them; all of the animals were in a terrible state, emaciated and scarred from their previous battles.
Hinata covered her mouth. "This is monstrous; we have to free them."
As Hinata began to walk to one of the cages, Sakura caught her arm. "And how are we going to do that? We're underground."
"Well, we can't just leave them here."
Sakura examined a cage. The wolf inside stared blankly, its fur matted, wounds untreated. "The only mercy left is making sure they don't suffer anymore."
Hinata recoiled. "You're not saying we should kill them?
"Look at them. Even if we freed them, they'd never recover."
"You don't know that, we can find someone to help them, Tsunade's a great medical ninja isn't she."
"Hinata this isn't the time to hesitate, we only have two options right now, either we leave them, or end their suffering as peacefully as possible."
Hinata stayed silent for several seconds; she thought back to her fight with Karui, her inaction only cost her win, but if she chose to do nothing here, the animals would continue to suffer.
"We have to decide now, Hinata; we don't know when someone will come back here,"
"Fine, let's do it."
There were about thirty cages holding around 50 animals. It was a rather easy process. The locks on the cages were beyond rudimentary, and some cages were already unlocked. Hinata numbed their hearts with precise strikes, and Sakura used her kunai, trying to make it as painless as possible.
As Sakura finished, she noticed a door with light seeping through from underneath.
She turned to Hinata, who had just finished up and was visibly shaken. "Hinata, what's behind this door?"
Hinata, already having her Byakugan active to check for anybody approaching, scanned the room: "It's a small room with a glass case, with an animal inside; there are no traps or people."
When Sakura opened the door, she was immediately met with the image of a small green tortoise with light pink spots scattered sparsely on its shell. It was in a glass enclosure on a podium. The tortoise locked eyes with Sakura, got up from its lounging position, and tapped its leg on the glass.
Sakura walked forward. Something about this tortoise intrigued her, so she asked it a question on a whim: "Do you want me to let you out?"
To her shock, the tortoise nodded.
The box had a slightly better lock than the cages outside, but that only meant it took Sakura around a minute to unlock it. As soon as she jimmied it open, Hinata peeked her head inside the room.
"Sakura, we have to go, someone's coming."
"Okay, I got it. " She lifted the lid off the box and reached her hand into it; the tortoise crawled onto her palm.
"Is that a turtle?"
"Tortoise"
"What's the difference?"
"I'll explain later. We need to go!"
As they slipped back into the vent, chaos erupted below. "Lock everything down!" They scaled the ladder just as the club went into lockdown. At the top, Sakura cracked the door open and whistled sharply, putting the guards to sleep with a genjutsu. They scaled back up the building and made their way to their original location. As they settled down, the tortoise shifted in Sakura's grip, its dark eyes knowing. "Now what?" Hinata asked. Sakura exhaled. "Now we report back. And figure out what to do with… this." She glanced at the creature. The tortoise blinked slowly as if amused. Hinata extended a finger out and petted the tortoise on its head."At least we got something out alive out of that place."
Anko and Kakashi had just exited another bar, their search for Tsunade once again fruitless. They took refuge by a secluded canal, the moonlight painting silver streaks across the dark water. Anko dropped her henge with a sigh, sitting heavily at the water's edge. Behind her, Kakashi leaned against the brick wall, dispeling his own disguise.
"We're wasting time," she muttered, "Tsunade's not here."
"Maybe we're early. Or maybe she's being unusually subtle."
Anko huffed, Kakashi had noticed that since learning that they would be going to the land of the sea, Anko had been unusually tense."Somethings been eating at you?"
"Not really it just…" Anko stopped staring out across the water, the soft sounds of the water, and the distant nose of people on the street radiated through the air.
After a minute of silence Anko suddenly pointed a finger across the water. "You see that?" Kakashi followed her finger, his visible eye narrowing as he focused on the shadowy island in the distance.
"That's Jaro Island," Anko said, her voice dropping. "Where they found me after I left the village. This is the closest I've been to it since then." Her hand flew to her shoulder, fingers pressing into the curse mark through her sleeve.
Kakashi shifted closer. "Does it hurt? " "Not right now. But sometimes… phantom pains. From when I first got it." Her fingers dug into the fabric. "Burned and throbbed for days straight. I even tried to…" She swallowed hard. "Luckily, I was being watched."
Kakashi moved to sit beside her "Do you ever want to go back? To recover your memories fully?"
"A part of me does." Anko stared at her reflection in the dark water. "But most of me is terrified of what happened in those six months." She turned to face him, her voice dropping to a whisper. "What if when I remember… I stop being me?" ."That won't happen."
"But what if it does?" Her nails bit into her palms. "People talked about it for years. 'Sleeper agent.' 'Time bomb.' I always ignored them, but now…" Her breath hitched. "What if one day I wake up and hurt the kids? Or you?"
The moment stretched between them, the canal water lapping gently at the docks.
Then Kakashi did something unexpected; he lifted his hand and tugged his mask down just enough to show the curve of his mouth.
The first time Anko had ever seen his true smile.
"The Anko I know would never let anyone control her," he said softly. "Not even him." Anko blinked. Her breath caught.
She turned toward him slowly, eyes narrowing, not suspicious but searching. She saw that scar across his brow, the gentleness in his voice, the part of his face so few had seen.
"Why did you do that?" she asked quietly. Kakashi didn't flinch. "Because I trust you." Her stomach flipped. She looked away, her jaw tightening. Too many things were happening in her chest all at once. Her cheeks were hot. She could feel it blooming across her face; she could only hope it wasn't too obvious. "You don't do that for just anyone," she muttered, more to herself than to him. "No," he said simply. "I don't." She stood then, slowly, carefully, her movements deliberate, like she didn't trust her body not to betray her. "I should circle back to some of the bars, just in case we missed something…." "Anko" "I'm fine," she said, keeping her tone light. Almost. "I just need a bit of air." "I mean, from where I'm sitting, there seems to be plenty, but just be careful." She nodded once, then walked away with her hands shoved in her pockets, doing her best not to look back. The vision of Kakashi's face haunted her for the rest of the night.
In a penthouse of the Gilded Mirage, Asato sat exasperated at his desk. Across from him was a very pissed-off and pacing Dokugan. Behind him, lying with her eyes closed on a couch, was a dark-skinned woman with her long white hair braided into a crown. She had a navy blue military style jacket, over a black shirt, paired with fitted black pants. And knee high boots.
Dokugan looked around again. "Where are the others? You called for a meeting thirty minutes ago."
Asato smirked. "Look on the bright side; at least Shizuka graced us with her presence this time."
Shizuka cracked one violet eye open. "I was already coming to request time away. Consider this a coincidence."
"Coincidence or not," Dokugan growled, "your little vacation's on hold."
She exhaled a laugh and shut her eyes again just as the penthouse door swung open.
Kazehana stepped in wearing her performance silks, flowing emerald green top with golden embroidery, paired with tight black leggings that allowed for full movement. Her blonde hair was pinned up with ornate hair sticks.
Ensho slouched in behind her, wearing his usual ragged red coat over a shirt of interlocking metal plates. His wild orange hair stood in every direction, ash and soot clinging to his clothes.
"I cut my performance short for this," Kazehana said, voice sharp. "It better be urgent."
Dokugan bared his teeth. "Oh, it's gravely urgent."
Ensho snorted. "What now? Your pet turtle escaped?."
"Oh, it's much worse than that; someone broke into my establishment, killed hundreds upon hundreds of thousands ryo worth of exotic animals, and stole my tortoise."
Ensho winced. "Yeah, that's bad.."
"Any idea who did it," asked Kazehana.
"Ninja," Dokugan spat. "The animals were alone for five minutes. That's all it took."
"What sort of fools would be stupid enough to pull that in our city," Kazehana said, appalled.
"I believe I have an answer."
The voice came from the kitchen. Yakumo leaned against the counter, their porcelain mask blank except for the glint of blue eyes beneath the hood of their cloak.
Asato snapped his fingers. "Yakumo! That's why you're my favorite; you are always two steps ahead. Enlighten us."
"This morning, I spotted a group of six leaf ninjas in Watari. The distance was too great to identify all of them, but one was, without a doubt, Jiraiya of the Sanin."
There was a beat of stunned silence. Even Shizuka sat up, both eyes open now.
"What the hell is the other Sanin doing here?" Ensho muttered.
"Better question," Dokugan snarled. "Why's that toad bastard messing with my business?"
Asato waved his hand, "I doubt Jiraiya came all this way to interfere with your little side hustle, Dokugan. He is here for our recent guest, without a doubt."
"Did Tsunade call them" questioned Shizuka
"Doubtful," Asato got up from his desk and looked out across the city. If they're searching for her, they won't leave empty-handed. So…" he turned, spreading his hands. "Let's not scare them off yet. Yakumo, dig up more on our invaders. Until then, everyone stays ready. Just in case, we have to send six messages back home to the leaf."