Chapter 25: The Mercenaries

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Chapter 25:

The Mercenaries

"So, you haven't asked me anything yet."

Hatake Sakumo sent a questioning look towards his companion as they leaped from tree branch to tree branch. Normally, Sakumo wouldn't be traveling this way since he was usually with a team. But his partner had insisted on it the moment they had set foot outside of the village. As long as the Anbu could keep up, Sakumo didn't have any problem with it. So he hadn't raised any objections. And thankfully, the Anbu was more than capable of doing that. The powerful jonin knew that he shouldn't have doubted the skills of an Anbu member to begin with, especially one handpicked by the Hokage. But, as hard as it was to believe, the man had come across a few Anbu members that weren't that skilled to begin with. But being the kind of person that he was, Sakumo hadn't questioned why they were in Anbu to begin with. Especially since they had all been rookies to begin with. Unless it was in the heat of actual combat. Then, Sakumo did become an entirely different person. Doing such a thing, however, had made the man one of the Sandaime's most trusted generals in the last war in the front against Iwa. That was where Sakumo had spent most of his time during the long conflict where he fought against both Iwa and Suna forces.

The man shook the thoughts away as they led to another sensitive topic that he would rather not think about at the moment. Turning his attention back to the Anbu in front of him as they continued to leap, Sakumo asked, "And just what exactly am I supposed to ask in the first place?"

Truth be told, from the way he had acted at the gate and so far on their trip, Sakumo was surprised that the Anbu had even talked to him to begin with. Not to mention to actually ask him something. But it worked better for the silver haired jonin. He preferred to get to know whomever it was that he was on a mission with and build some deeper sense of comradeship. At least, in his mind.

Sasuke glanced behind him to look at the jonin. The Uchiha already knew for a fact what the Hokage had been expecting to come out of this mission. For one, to be a success of course. But that was a given. The more important part, though, was that the Sandaime wanted for Sasuke to include Kakashi's father in their little group of people who actually knew just who and what he was. Sasuke didn't know why this was. But that mainly had to do with the fact that he didn't know the man other than that he was the father of the future jonin who had at one point taught him. Sasuke could tell that the Sandaime had some deep level of trust towards the man, if this situation was anything to go by. The Uchiha knew that the Hokage would never risk their secret being find out on a whim. If there was one thing that Sasuke could already see and value was the man's skills. He couldn't deny the fact that he wouldn't mind if the jonin joined him and Naruto in their mission, fighting side by side with one another.

It was a promising idea.

Sakumo felt something that he hadn't felt in a long time: nervous. He didn't know why, but under that mask, he knew that the Anbu was watching him very closely for something. But just what could that be? From the beginning, or well since he had first laid eyes upon the Anbu, Sakumo couldn't shake the feeling that all of this was a pretense for something else. Something more grand. Something that he couldn't even begin to comprehend. It was weird to say the least, especially since the mission didn't strike him anything out of the ordinary. Other than the Anbu of course. Sakumo supposed that maybe he was just feeling apprehensive because of him. Which was weird too since Sakumo didn't feel that way with anyone else. He guessed that it had something to do with the way that the Anbu carried himself. He looked to be like any other member of the most elite organization in the village. But Sakumo knew better. He wasn't a veteran for nothing. His shinobi instincts were pretty much screaming out to him to watch out for whomever this Anbu was.

As for Sasuke, the Uchiha had a sudden brilliant idea. It was his way of paying back the Sandaime for putting him in this situation to begin with. That was, to give him a partner on an assignment that he was more than capable of dealing with by himself as well as trying to add another member to their group without consulting him. It was kind of childish of course. But meh. What was life without a bit of amusement here and there?

"It seems like the Sandaime didn't inform you of all of the details of this mission," Sasuke began in an even tone, giving nothing away.

Sakumo raised another eyebrow. Truth be told the Hokage hadn't given him too many details about the mission to begin with. But that was more because Taki had failed to specify many things with their mission request. The jonin knew that the Hokage had only bothered to send someone to complete the mission so that Konoha and Taki would remain on friendly terms with another. Sakumo already knew that Taki was a great deterrent against Iwa in the western border. Still, part of Sakumo was also annoyed that they would even send a mission request with so much important information missing. Sakumo knew the Sandaime was also annoyed by this fact. Also, Sakumo was taken back by the detached manner in which the Anbu referred their village leader. The man was his superior, after all. Or well, to be more precise, he was both of their superior. But that was beside the point.

At any rate, seeing that the Sandaime had intended to accomplish something more with this mission, Sakumo asked, "And just what might that be exactly?"

The response was instantaneous. "I'm here to assess whether or not you're fit for…..your future position."

Once more, Sakumo was taken by what he had just heard. Just what was the Anbu talking about? To be honest, the only thing that the man could come up with that he could possibly mean wasn't something that Sakumo particularly enjoyed. And that was that perhaps the Sandaime was already looking to find a successor and that he was a likely candidate.

It wasn't like Sakumo disliked the position of Hokage. It was just that he felt as if he wasn't suited for such a task. But still. Sakumo was certain that the Sandaime would have at least told him something about the matter. It was an important decision, after all. A decision which Sakumo didn't think should be left up to some Anbu, no matter how skilled he may be.

Despite his thoughts, Sakumo didn't comment on any of this. He felt as if it was better to play the idiot for now. After all, there was still the chance that he was perhaps wrong and that this was about something else entirely. The man was seriously praying for that to be the case. Sakumo was sure that he would turn Sarutobi down if he came to him about being Hokage. And he honestly didn't think that that was going to change.

"Is that so? Are you allowed to tell me just what position you're evaluating me for?"

This was another way to go about it. If he couldn't go the direct away, then he would have to go for the sides. If he was lucky, the Anbu would just simply tell him whether his fears were true or not. Who knew? Maybe he really was wrong.

The Anbu shook his head. "Unfortunately, I'm not allowed to tell you that. I'm only informing you of this because of the importance of the position at hand. It was decided that it would be best if you were aware of it so that you could really show just how good you are."

Okay, so the part that it had been decided was a complete lie. Or a really stretched out truth. Either way, what Sasuke was saying wasn't completely false either. He wanted to see with his own eyes just what Kakashi's father could do. And if he was anything like his son and the stories he had hard, then Sasuke was confident that he wouldn't be let down here. Those were his intentions anyway.

Sakumo contemplated once more what he had just heard. It was interesting to say the least. But again, just what could the position be…..?

'I'm not going to get any answers out of him, that's for sure,' he thought, quite aware how obstinate the Anbu were about completing their mission. And this one was a special assignment assigned by the Hokage himself. There were zero chances of getting information here.

'I'm just going to have to wait for when the mission is completed so that I can directly ask Sarutobi about this.'

With that in mind, Sakumo merely nodded his head, conveying to the Anbu that he understood.

Sasuke let out a h'mph before refocusing his attention back to getting to Taki as soon as possible. While he didn't know just what the mission dealt with exactly, Taki had at least been gracious enough to tell them that some dangerous group was at work. Sasuke obviously didn't expect this group to be like the Akatsuki, which had been composed of solely S-rank missing ninjas. But at the very least the Uchiha hoped that they were strong enough fighters to put some resistance to them. Sasuke kept his fingers crossed at that.

The rest of the trip was made in silence, something which suited both shinobi well. They each had many things to contemplate on.

Outside of Taki, just a few miles away, stood a small town which served as a resting spot for many teams of said village before they headed out on whatever mission they had been assigned to as well as before returning to their village after having completed their mission. This town also served as a special getaway for the Taki shinobi whenever they wanted a change of scenery from their home village. Because of this, the town had many different attractions in order to lure in more customers from the ninja village. After all, more customers meant more money. And more money meant more profit to their pockets. It went without saying that one of these attractions within the village was none other than the brothels. While many senior shinobi from Taki did frown upon their men visiting such places, it wasn't exactly enforced since said senior members visited them as well. It was one of the best ways to relieve stress after a hard mission or before taking off to one. There was the chance of a mistake happening and never returning, after all.

That being said, many would think of this as the perfect chance to try and entice any shinobi thinking with his lower head in order to try and get information out of him regarding Taki, the most important being just how the hell one got into the village to begin with. The one who had tried this before had been Onoki. On multiple occasions too. The ironic part about all of it was that none of the Taki shinobi had taken the bait. While most were arrogant, even they knew that protecting the entrance to their village was the most important thing. And as such, the moment anything regarding this topic instantly put them on guard. The end result so far had been that Onoki's spies had been identified, forcing the undercover kunoichis to retreat from the area. Not before taking the life of the poor Taki shinobi who had exposed them of course. After the first time that this had happened, the village leader had warned every other shinobi of the possibility of such a thing, wanting for his men to not even go to the brothels to begin with. After all, that was the best solution for the situation. Unfortunately, the temptation was too much. As such, Taki shinobi still went to the brothels despite the danger, their arrogance getting the better of them in the matter. They felt that if they did encounter a spy, then they would easily be able to take them on.

Once again, the whole situation was filled with irony since all the incidents so far had shown that the Taki shinobi had been completely outclassed by Onoki's spies. So, in short: the Taki shinobi were smart and diligent enough to guard the most important secret of their village, but they weren't clever enough to figure out that if they did encounter an enemy spy that they were no match for them. Their arrogance and libido were the reasons that the village leader saw himself in quite the jam about the situation. Fortunately enough, the secret about the village entrance had been kept safe this whole time.

At least, that was the case for the moment.

It was nighttime, the stars in the sky illuminating the dark sky. But no one was concerned about such a detail. Especially not one particular Taki shinobi who was due to report back to the village the next morning with his team from their latest mission. But such thoughts didn't enter his mind as he continued to make out with the attractive redhead in his arms. He honestly couldn't believe his luck this night. There had been rumors that the latest "hostess" in one of the smaller brothels in the town was the most beautiful one out there. He had been suspicious of course. But after he had gone to see the woman with his own eyes, he could honestly say that his doubts were officially gone. Now, he just needed to get his money's worth here. Which was exactly what he intended to do.

At least, that were his intentions until he found himself unable to move. Opening his eyes in panic, he found himself staring into a pair of blue eyes that were filled with amusement. The same eyes that had seduced him the moment he had laid eyes on them just a few hours before.

A few moments later, he fell to the floor on his back, his eyes and mouth wide opened with an expression that could only be described as shock.

The woman licked her lips as she stared at the now dead man, her face taking a seductive look despite the fact that she had just taken a life.

"I hope you enjoyed that hot kiss, dear. Even if it was your last."

"You're as ruthless as ever, Fuka. But I guess I can see why the boss would want to hire you."

Fuka's seductive look was replaced by one of amusement as she sat at the edge of the bed that stood in the center of the room. The Taki shinobi had no doubt been expecting to have put it to good use this night. Too bad for him.

"I don't know what you mean, Shido. If anything, I happen to think that I was gracious enough to send him to the afterlife with such a passionate kiss in his final moments."

Almost like he head appeared out of nowhere, the large figure of a man was made visible to the naked eye by the large window on the other side of the room. This man, named Shido, had two large swords strapped to his back, giving him an even more intimidating appearance despite his already large built. He wore what appeared to have one day been a gray vest, the sleeves ripped away with the buttons opened which exposed his large chest to the world. He wore dark trousers along with a simple pair of black shinobi sandals. A shinobi headband from Iwa with the village symbol slashed through the middle was wrapped around his right arm, signifying that he was a rogue shinobi. The man had a fair skin color and spiky brown hair with brown eyes. There was also a noticeable cut running down his left cheek.

Shido shook his head, his arms folded in front of him. "Whatever. But I'm guessing since you decided to kill him here that he didn't give anything away."

For the first time in the last several hours a look of irritation passed through Fuka's face. "No, he didn't. I'm really starting to get tired of this wild goose chase. I'm not getting paid enough for this."

Shido h'mphed at that. "You know as well as I do what will happen if you double cross the boss. And your charms won't work on him."

Fuka smirked. "You don't have to tell me that. And quit calling him your boss, will you," she added as an after thought. "I know that you respect him and everything, but that's just embarrassing."

Shido let out a small growl. But knowing that no matter what he did he wouldn't able to intimidate the woman, he decided to just let it go. They had more pressing matters to attend to. "More importantly, it seems like our luck has finally turned."

"How so?" Fuka asked, raising a delicate eyebrow.

"According to Goro, the Taki village leader sent out a mission request to Konoha a few days ago concerning us," Shido replied.

His indifference about the subject took Fuka by surprise. "Are you telling me that the old goot knows about us already?"

Fuka had been hoping for the man to have believed that it was just the Tsuchikage acting up again, not a different group altogether. That spelled problems for them since, depending just who Konoha sent, it would be the end of their operation. Fuka was fine with dealing with Taki shinobi. They were nothing more than weaklings. But she knew that Konoha possessed a handful of shinobi that far outclassed her. Along with her two companions on this little job of theirs.

The redheaded woman let out an un-lady like snort in her mind. Little job didn't begin to describe just what they were planning on doing. But it paid well. Not to mention that there was the chance of acquiring some new chakra. But she doubted that there would anyone possessing a powerful enough chakra to replace any of the ones that she already had.

Shido pointed to the corpse of the Taki shinobi lying by her feet. "If you haven't noticed yet, your method of execution isn't exactly common. No single Iwa kunoichi possesses the jutsu that you do. It's not hard to discern that there is someone else doing the killings now. Nor does it take a genius to know what we're after."

This time, Fuka did snort as she stood up from the bed. "Well, I'm sorry for being so useful to the team. And I'm sure their naive leader doesn't know our goal yet. The council does everything behind his back. But anyway, are you trying to say that our reconnaissance is now over?"

"The first part is," Shido replied with a shrug. "Goro will use his camouflage jutsu to follow the shinobi to the entrance. Unlike before, they actually have to lead them there at a normal pace instead of disappearing like usual."

That was another annoying part. Originally, Shido had hoped that all that they would have to do is follow the Taki shinobi to the entrance of the village so that they could infiltrate it. But he should have known that if it were that easy, his home village wouldn't have had a tough time in trying to get inside. He didn't know how, but as soon as the Taki shinobi reached the outpost, they just vanished soon after through whatever means. What they were betting on now was that they couldn't use this method since there were Konoha shinobi due to arrive tomorrow. That was when they would find out the way to the entrance and "sneak in" after that.

Fuka shrugged, not caring either way. She was just glad that she didn't have to put up with seducing more worthless men. But the redhead knew that in her profession as a missing shinobi, most men were just that: worthless. She pushed that line of thought away as it brought memories that she didn't exactly want to dwell on. Ever. They were buried along with her past self.

"Dispose of the body this time," Shido said with a sigh, observing how the woman was about to walk out of the room. "You should know better than to leave evidence behind. That was how they were able to find out about us." He should have been keeping a closer eye on that.

Fuka chuckled as she stopped in front of the door. "You know me: I don't have time for useless men. And that's pretty much what they all are. It doesn't concern me either way. So you do it, dear."

Shido sighed while shaking his head as the woman walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. He didn't know why the boss would ever recommend her. She wasn't the type of person that he could get along with all right. But being a rogue shinobi, Shido knew that his options about his work associates weren't exactly all that opened to begin with. They were all pretty much mercenaries now, after all. She was useful, that was for sure. They would still need her for what was going to come next. And that was all that mattered.

Turning his attention to the corpse still present in the room, Shido brought his hand to his back, unstrapping one of his large swords. He would have to get this done quick and effectively. Not that it mattered. By tomorrow Taki would know that another of its shinobi was missing and more than likely dead along with the other five shinobi that Fuka had already killed this past month. That was how long they had been out here. And hopefully tomorrow would cut that time short.

Shido brought his sword down to the ground with a powerful slash.

Sasuke cast a side glance to his surroundings as he waited a few feet away from the Taki outpost placed in what he could only guess was the entrance of the village. Or near it anyway. Meanwhile Sakumo was the one in charge of letting the guards know just why they were here so that they could be let in. It suited Sasuke just fine since he was in no mood to talk to anyone right now. That was mainly because of the many eyes he could sense around him which belonged to even more Taki shinobi in charge of making sure that no one suspicious entered the village. Sasuke could understand that. However, he was extremely edgy with having so many people "spying" on him like that. Especially since he knew that if he really wanted to, he could destroy the whole village single-handedly. But that was beside the point.

Seeing Sakumo walking towards him, Sasuke relaxed a bit, glad that things would be moving along now.

"They certainly do ask a lot of questions," Sakumo began with a sigh. "Especially since they're wondering just why you're out in the open like this with your Anbu uniform."

"What did you tell them?"

Sakumo shrugged. "Something about you being on special probation by the Hokage. Nothing big. But I'm still curious about that. Just why are you wearing it? This isn't an Anbu mission. At least, not to my knowledge."

Sasuke knew that he couldn't just tell the older man it was because of his genjutsu. At least, not right now. It wasn't the proper time.

"If you pass my evaluation, then you'll know."

Sakumo merely nodded, already aware that the Anbu in front of him was set on his decision. But what really stroke him as odd was that he had said his evaluation instead of the Hokage's. Hmm maybe he was just reading too much into this? No, a shinobi could never be too careful. That was a lesson which he had learned the hard way during the war. He wasn't going to push the subject, though. Especially since they were in the middle of a mission.

Their conversation ceased as one of the Taki guards walked up to them with an annoyed look. Behind that, Sasuke could see that the man was already thinking that they were mere bugs as he stopped in front of them.

"If you would follow me, I'll take you to the entrance now. Not before placing you under our jutsu of course."

Sakumo nodded without hesitation, already aware that if they tried anything Konoha would instantly be on to them. Sasuke, however, wasn't so keen on being put under just like that. Sakumo had already informed him that it was some type of special genjutsu known only to Taki. He hadn't experienced it since, the only time he had been here during his original time, things had gone down the drain when those rogue shinobi had assaulted the village. Oh well. That was what his sharingan was for. But they didn't know he was an Uchiha. So that gave Sasuke the element of surprise. Besides, he was confident he could pull off faking whatever it was that they did to whoever entered their village.

The two Konoha shinobi followed behind the Taki shinobi in charge of the outpost in a normal pace. But before they got too far, Sasuke stopped for a moment in order to glance behind him to the forest that stood in front of him, a small breeze blowing in this beautiful day.

How odd. He didn't know why, but Sasuke was certain that he had seen a human figure in one of the trees. Had he just imagined it or what?

But before he could investigate further with his sharingan, the Taki shinobi spoke up with an annoyed voice that matched his face, "Oi, what's the hold up here?"

Sakumo was looking at him with a raised eyebrow as well.

Glancing to the forest one more time, Sasuke turned back towards them without answering.

Maybe he was just getting a bit too nervous for his first mission.

After the group had left, a human figure did appear in the same spot that Sasuke's eyes had been drawn to before. Soon enough, a male shinobi was made visible to the world, his dark brown eyes scanning his surroundings.

He was a lanky man with short pale blond hair and brown eyes. He was wearing a crimson battle kimono with short sleeves and black shinobi sandals as well as a pair of black battle gloves. Around his neck was a Suna headband with its symbol scratched down the middle, indicating that he was a rogue shinobi.

His name was Goro, a rogue shinobi from Suna who had also been one of its best jonin during the Second Great War until he had defected for reasons that were unknown to others save for himself. His specialty was his camouflage jutsu which he had developed early on in his shinobi career. He had based it on the Nidaime Tsuchikage's own technique. Unfortunately, while it was on par with the now dead man's jutsu, it had drawbacks that the original didn't. For one, it was difficult to maintain since precise chakra control was needed to shroud one's body as well as to suppress the user's chakra. Unfortunately, even Goro himself had difficulties with it, and he knew it. The man hadn't missed how that Konoha Anbu had almost been alerted to his presence earlier. It had been a close call all right. But at any rate, it was still a formidable technique which had placed him working under the revered Chiyo of Suna. While she had been the brains behind Suna's many sabotage missions, he had been the executor. She had developed the poisons while he had sneaked them behind enemy lines. The problem had been that most hadn't been effective since Konoha had a genius of their own: that slug queen, Senju Tsunade. She had been a thorn at Chiyo's side during most of the war, something which the woman had complained about just about everyday.

Goro pushed his thoughts down memory lane to the side as he reactivated his jutsu as a pair of Taki shinobi began to walk towards him. Goro knew that he could be a bit lax here since these shinobi weren't anything special. It was certainly easier than some of the other jobs that he had taken in the past.

The Taki shinobi continued to talk with another, completely unaware of Goro's presence as the man merely walked around them and towards the outpost beyond where the two Konoha shinobi had been taken to.

The rogue shinobi let a small smirk befall his face as he continued on, knowing that his infiltration had been complete. If only this village received more tourists, then he would have found the entrance sooner than this. But that was in the past now. Goro knew that he would have important information to report back, which would allow their group to move on and do what they were all summoned here for. Maybe he could cash in a little extra and see if he could get his hands on some of the Hero Water that this village was so proud of. Goro knew that it would sell wonderfully on the black market. Some people were that interested in that thing. For him, it was nothing more than a means to an end. He knew that Shido's "boss" would agree with him there. Money was important, especially for them. Not that Goro minded. He preferred the life he now had than the one he had had when he had been in Suna. That life had been pointless. But now, it wasn't. He lived for himself, not for some government that didn't give a rat's ass about him.

Goro's eyes sparked in interest when he stopped short in front of a waterfall. He had been here before during his first few days of reconnaissance but had found nothing that could lead him to the village's entrance. But a distance away were the two Konoha shinobi with a few Taki shinobi surrounding them. The one who had led them before was running through a series of handseals which Goro suspected to be the ones to perform their genjutsu.

Perfect. He had been led to the source. Now, he just needed to return to the others.

Fuka enjoyed the feeling of the breeze on her skin as she stood before a small stream in the forest that surrounded Taki. Shido was a few feet away, resting on top of a giant boulder as he inspected his two blades. Fuka found it oddly amusing. Specifically, what she found amusing was the simple male thought that bigger was better. While in some cases this was true, there were plenty where this thought didn't even come close to being correct. And the redhead knew for a fact that in the shinobi world, bigger wasn't better. What mattered more was who was holding the stick, not the size. After all, she had seen countless times before how a novice with a better weapon had lost to an expert with the less appealing one. It all came down to skills in the end.

Fuka shrugged the thought away. Either way, it didn't really concern her. She was only here for a job. And when that job was completed, she would move on to the next just like she had done so far for the last fifty years or so. She had honestly lost count already on just how old she really was. It didn't matter anymore. She was pretty much immortal at this point.

Her thoughts ceased as from behind them their final acquaintance appeared before them with a calm look. Fuka t'ched to herself, still annoyed at the fact that rogue Suna shinobi could sneak up on her like that so easily. She didn't like knowing that there was someone out there who could do that and could come after her head anytime if he was paid to do so. It really made you too scared to sleep at night.

"I'm guessing you got good news for us," Shido spoke up from his spot, taking his eyes from his sword to look at Goro who nodded in consent.

"Yes. I was able to sneak through their defenses while they took the Konoha shinobi to the entrance. It looks like it's through one of the spots that I had already checked."

Fuka fought back an amused grin at seeing an annoyed look appearing on the man's face while the words left his lips. Taki was annoying like that, she supposed. They had so many measures to insure that no one knew of their entrance that it wasn't even funny. Not to mention the fact that they apparently had other ways in which the shinobi came and left the village. But it was understandable, she surmised. If the secret of their village entrance ever got out, they wouldn't last very long. Not in this world where it was pretty much kill or be killed.

"Speaking of which, just who did Konoha send?" Shido asked with a raised eyebrow.

Fuka did have to value something about the man: despite the fact that he liked to charge into battle without a single plan in mind, he wasn't dumb enough to start a fight which he knew he couldn't win. It was why he did his research on his opponent beforehand. It was a good way to survive, all right.

"There was one Anbu," Goro began, obviously perplexed as to why an Anbu member would be out in the open like that. They always took the more dark missions of the villages. "But the one that was more troubling was the other one: Konoha's White Fang."

Both Fuka and Shido froze up at the name, the latter adding a curse to the effect too.

"This might be…..problematic," Shido said at last in a slow tone.

"He's not our concern to begin with," Fuka retorted with a shrug. "Our objective is simple. We just have to avoid him is all."

Goro shook his head. "It's not that simple. That man is one of the strongest shinobi at the moment. He's easily on Kage level. I would know. I've seen him in action before in the last war. He's not someone I'm too eager to cross paths with, even with what we're getting paid for."

"Oi, you can't back out now. It's too late for that," Shido spoke up with a scowl. "You have to finish the mission. It doesn't matter who stands in our way."

'Maybe for you, but I for one would like to keep living,' Fuka thought but didn't comment. She didn't really know why, but Shido held that man in such a high regard. As for herself, she would admit that he wasn't as bad as some other rogue shinobi that she had come across with. Then again, he wasn't even a rogue shinobi. Yet. Fuka was sure that he only had hatred for his village by this point. Not that Fuka could blame him. Anyone in his position would feel the same way. It was only natural, after all.

Goro sighed, bringing one hand up to his face. "You're lucky I have any sense of morals left in me. Someone else might not be so kind."

Shido snorted. "But that's just it: you're here because of who you are and what you can do. At least, that's what he told me. So far, I really don't have any complaints. So I'll trust his judgment."

"As exciting as it is to hear you gloat about your 'boss,'" Fuka said with an amused smile which made the man t'ch, "we really should be going. I'm sure that he won't like the fact that we've kept him waiting for a whole month already. Especially given what he can do."

The sword wielding man actually relented at that, just like Fuka knew he was going to. It didn't take a genius to figure out just how to push the man's buttons: mainly saying anything that dealt with his idol.

Shido hopped off the boulder and to the ground, looking at Goro specifically as he did so. "All right. You're going to lead us to it."

"And the plan to getting in without anyone finding out?" Fuka asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest. Shido hadn't really told them anything in regards to that. All that he had been concerned about was finding the village entrance. But now that they had, it needed to be addressed.

A smirk appeared on the man's face at the question. "Whoever said anything about sneaking in without causing a fuss?"

Fuka raised an eyebrow. While it wasn't exactly what she had asked, it did give her the answer that she was looking for.

Goro tilted his head in the direction from which he had appeared from. "Well then, if that's settled, then follow me."

Fuka followed the two men without uttering a word. It was game time.

Sasuke fought back the urge to threaten all the idiots who kept glaring his way as he and Sakumo made their way towards the office of the village leader. Things here were a lot different than from his time all right. It seemed as if the majority of Taki shinobi weren't fond of those from Konoha. Thinking back, though, Sasuke guessed that it probably extended to any outsider. Glancing to his right, the Uchiha saw how Sakumo took all of this in stride. It was just like Sasuke had expected. After having achieved everything that he had, the man had learned a lot about composure. Unfortunately, Sasuke wasn't in the mood to follow Sakumo's example since the glares had begun to get on his nerves even before they had reached the building entrance.

'We're here to help them, and yet this is the kind of reception they give us,' Sasuke thought. He honestly didn't know how Naruto had been able to put up through this during his childhood.

Sasuke's eyes widened from behind his mask. He needed to calm down. It wouldn't do him any well to snap back. It would only stoop him to their level. He just needed to do what he did best: ignore them. It worked well with his fangirls. He was sure the method was still applicable to the situation here.

The Taki shinobi who had guided them the entire way opened the door to what Sasuke assumed was his leader's office. Thankfully, that was the case. He and Sakumo walked calmly into the office, stopping a few feet short from the man's desk. Taking a good look at him, Sasuke summed the man up in one word: average. He had plain brown hair, brown eyes, and a fair skin color. He was wearing plain brown robes. Unlike with his men, however, his eyes lit up when he caught sight of them.

"Ah, so you're finally here. It brings me great pleasure to see that you have arrived safely."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow from behind his mask, obviously taken back by the man's greeting. The Taki shinobi from before was standing off to the side with a bored look. It was obvious to anyone that he didn't want to be here at the moment.

Sakumo bowed. "Thank you. We came as soon as we could."

The man waved his hand. "Now, now. I'm not into all that formality. I'm only expressing my gratitude for accepting my mission request. Especially since we need it."

The Taki shinobi t'ched, obviously not too pleased at having just heard his leader insinuate that they were incapable of handling their own problems.

He was ignored.

"Yes, on that," Sakumo began, "just what exactly is the situation you're having problems with?"

The village leader sighed as he sank further into his seat. "You probably already know as well as I do that the other nations have tried for years to infiltrate my village. It is mainly because we have managed to maintain this secret that we have yet to face an invasion force. I've also been used to handling spies trying to sneak inside. However, what has been happening over the past month to my shinobi is something more worrisome than this."

"Just what is it?" Sakumo asked with a raised eyebrow.

The man rubbed his forehead as he answered, "Over the past month, five of my shinobi have been found…..dead. But not just dead. It's like their lives were literally sucked out of them. I can't really explain it. But it's unlike anything that I've ever seen before. It was mainly these occurrences that made me rule out Iwa since they're usually the prime suspect. Unless you can tell me otherwise."

The village leader brought a folder from within his desk, placing it on top. Sakumo stepped up, taking the offered folder before he began to scan through it. There were many different pictures that had been taken at the scenes of the crimes. And sure enough, they were odd.

"You would be correct," Sakumo said after a few moments. "This is unlike anything I've ever seen before. Iwa doesn't possess a jutsu that would allow them to do this."

And Sakumo would know. He had spent years fighting them. But the more troublesome part was that he wasn't even sure that this jutsu could belong to any of the five nations. Which could only leave one possibility.

"You're thinking that this is due to a rogue shinobi, am I correct?"

The village leader nodded. "Yes. But not just one: a team. Although I don't have any exact proof to know for sure, it's just a hunch of mine."

"And why is that exactly?"

"Because no single rogue nin would have anything to gain by doing this," he replied with a sigh. "But it's my belief that perhaps someone has hired them for this. So while it may not be the work of an Iwa shinobi, I can't say for certainty that they weren't hired by them."

'He does have some great insight,' Sakumo thought, finding himself impressed with the man's thought process. "I understand then. But do you know for sure what they're after?"

The man shook his head. "Unfortunately, no. The obvious answer would the information about the village passageway, but I'm not ready to dismiss anything else yet. Not until it's been confirmed at least."

Sakumo nodded. "I understand. So if I'm guessing this correctly, you want us to find this alleged group and flush them out, correct?"

The village leader nodded his head in consent. "That is correct. I can't afford to have my shinobi dying out there every time they set foot outside of the village."

"We'll get started right away then," Sakumo said before bowing once again. Despite what the man had said about it, Sakumo had the habit of always maintaining a polite demeanor with Kages and village leaders. And well, with just about anyone else too.

"Thank you," he repeated. "I know that the Hokage was more than likely not pleased with my lack of information that I sent him. But I took that as a precaution in the event that our enemies got a hold of it somehow."

Sakumo merely nodded, knowing that it wasn't in his place to say anything about the matter. Even if the man had hit dead on with his analyzes on Sarutobi's response to the mission details. Not to mention that even he had been bothered by it too.

"Then don't let me keep you any longer than necessary," he said with a smile. "If you need anything, Kaiba here will be at your disposable during your stay here."

The now named Kaiba stepped up, bringing the attention of Sasuke and Sakumo to him with the former having had chosen to stay quiet during the duration of the meeting.

"This also includes if you wish to leave the village for your investigation," the village leader added, almost as an afterthought.

Sakumo nodded for the last time before bowing once more. He and Sasuke then quickly walked out of the room, intent on beginning their mission as soon as possible. Kaiba was right behind them as well.

The door to the village leader's office closed.

"I sense that you're not too happy at the moment, Itachi-san."

Sasuke let his gaze go to the man that stood next to him as they watched the village below them from one of the upper levels of the giant tree that stood in the center of the village. It seemed as if, in order to generate some more income, some parts of the tree were accessible to the public for a certain fee. They had been allowed in for free because Sakumo wanted to consult some things with this Kaiba shinobi who had said that he would meet them here. Sasuke hadn't bothered to pay any attention as to why he had left them to begin with.

"Why would you say that?" Sasuke replied with a small grunt.

Sakumo shook his head slowly. "I'm not sure. It just seems like your whole demeanor changed after we were told just what this mission entails. Forgive me if I'm wrong."

But Sasuke knew that he wasn't. Truth of the matter was that he was extremely disappointed to find out that he would have to go on a hunt for some rogue shinobi instead of an actual fight. At the same time, though, Sasuke knew that it was a million times better than being cooped up in the academy. Even if he did have his father and the others there.

"It's nothing," Sasuke said at last. "Besides, we should be focusing on finding our targets first." If there were even more than one anyway.

Sakumo nodded. "Yes, you're right about that. But it seems to me that leaving and coming back into the village will complicate things during this mission."

Sasuke held himself back from snorting. That was the understatement in the year. There was also the fact that the shinobi population of the village didn't like them even though they knew neither of them. That was going to be a pain, all right.

They let the matter drop as they spotted Kaiba walking towards them with a folder in his hand, making Sasuke realize that that was why he had said that he would meet them here. He had left to get prepared in order to actually help them with their investigation. That certainly put the man a notch up in Sasuke's book all right.

At any rate, it was time to go on a hunt.

Just outside of the village on the other side of the waterfall that Sasuke and Sakumo had gone through just a couple of hours earlier were none other than Fuka with her two other companions.

All around them were the bodies of either unconscious or dead Taki shinobi, the latter being the more prominent of the two. But Shido didn't care about any of this. Instead, his focus was solely on the waterfall before him.

"So, this is where it is right?"

Next to him, Goro nodded. "Yeah. This is the one all right. The fact that there were this many shinobi guarding it proves it."

Fuka glanced at one of the bodies lying by her feet. There was now a huge cut running down his back because of Shido's swords. Years ago, Fuka would have felt some sort of remorse about what she was doing. Even if he wasn't from the same village as she was. But now? That sort of emotion had long since died from her. It was only a hindrance. The world was a cruel place, after all.

"Should we get going?" Goro asked, motioning towards the waterfall.

Shido smirked. "Yeah. It's time that we freed Kakuzu!"

Deep within the village and underground the giant tree that its people were so proud of stood Taki's main prison. This was where they kept all their traitors and targets that they had been able to capture through the years. However, these days, there weren't that many transfers in. Most of the prisoners within the prison were composed of old men and women from days passed. It was the sad reality that the shinobi populace of Taki couldn't handle the bigger fishes out there in the shinobi world.

But there was one particular prisoner within that was more dangerous the rest. He was considered a relic by the warden and the guards. But those that still lived from his day knew that he was the most dangerous and talented shinobi that their village had ever produced. It was one of the main reasons why he was still even alive today since most in his position would have been executed by now.

The shinobi himself knew this, of course. But he didn't consider himself lucky. He would prefer to be dead now instead of rotting inside this prison. Unfortunately, his jailers still wished to use him in the future if the need ever arose. They expected his will to be broken by then so that he would be their puppet and follow their every command. What the fools didn't realize was that he had already staged his escape. And while he would prefer death, he knew that he wouldn't pass this opportunity in order to survive. He had a very handy jutsu under his command, after all. It was another reason that he was still alive today. The main reason actually.

Kakuzu h'mphed to himself at the thought. It had been about two months already that he had finally been able to get his message out to one of his…associates after he had met him during that practice run that his precious village had taken him to. Basically, the elders of the village had wanted to make it perfectly clear that they still intended to make use of him. It was why they had sent him out on a relatively easy mission with a squad of five of the best shinobi in the village keeping a watch on him the whole time. The problem was that the standards of this village weren't high. So, despite having his chakra sealed away, Kakuzu could still make use of his tendrils. The seals only limited him from making use of his technique to the highest caliber, meaning that he only possessed one heart.

At any rate, he had killed two of the five shinobi before making his escape into one of the nearest towns in order to rest. That was where he had encountered a rogue shinobi by the name of Shido.

Kakuzu wasn't an idiot. He knew that he wouldn't be able to get away, especially since only the elders held the key to deactivating his seals. He would be overpowered by the sheer number of shinobi after him. He had given the rogue nin all the information that he could as well as the money he would get in return. After that, he had turned himself in. Kakuzu now realized that it would have been better to find out just where his village had rebuilt the new entrance so that he could have told Shido that and move things along faster. Oh well. Beggars couldn't be choosers. He had hope that he would be out of here soon.

Kakuzu opened his eyes in order to look towards the entrance of his cell. From his sitting position next to the wall, he could make out two of the guards sending him looks of disgust. Not that he cared. He would just have to remember to kill them first before he got out of here and got his hands on the Hero Water. He would make a fortune with that. Not to mention that it was a nice way of paying his village back for the disrespect it had shown him after his defeat at the hands of the Shodai Hokage.

Kakuzu chuckled to himself at the thought. Oh, yes. It wouldn't be too long now.