The Dark Side of Akatsuki. Chapter 21

-Urasoe no machi-

-Night-

Naruto had been quite pissed about helping the jackass who had borrowed his food earlier, but really it was the logical choice. The Straw-Hat crew had been outnumbered and outmatched, so kicking that hyena's ass first while they had been distracted was obviously the best move. They'd even managed to abscond with one of the unfortunate henchmen and beaten a bit of information out of them, which helped. Still, they were missing perhaps the most important piece of information, which was a way to gauge the combat strength of their remaining unknown visitors, and what they were even here for in the first place.

So it was that the two shinobi stalked down to the harbor in the middle of the night, their movement hidden in the flickering of torches and the brushing of shadows against the cobbled streets. They should have gone completely unnoticed, but two separate parties witnessed their passage. First, hidden in the shadows of the eaves of a nearby warehouse, a single eyeball watched, blinking once, then disappeared, leaving only the blank wall as it faded away. Inside the Going Merry, Robin opened her eyes.

Second, back in the streets, unseen even by Robin, a cloaked figure melted into existence and began to follow the two boys.

The Straw-Hat's ship was anchored parallel to the dock, and the nearly full moon sat high in the air behind it, illuminating the landscape. By the time Naruto and Sasuke arrived, three foes stood ready for them. The green-haired swordsman from earlier, Zoro, was waiting on the dock in front of the ship with his arms crossed over his chest. Above, Luffy was grinning down at them from the deck as they approached. Visible standing at the stern of the ship, a blonde-haired man in some sort of strange, black, tailored outfit leaned against the railing, smoking a glowing cigarette in the shadows of the night sky. He seemed almost totally disinterested in current events, and neither of the ninja had ever seen him before.

This changed some things. Somehow their surprise attack had been uncovered, and, to make matters worse, there were even more potential combatants. The 'proper' response would be to retreat and wait for a more opportune moment. Naruto fidgeted, lips twitching with suppressed annoyance. Sasuke was going to suggest they do just that; he knew it.

But his partner remained silent. The two ninjas stopped out in the open quite a fair distance away, and their presence was swiftly answered by Luffy, watching them from above.

"Hey! It's you guys again!" he called out, cheerfully. "I guess I owe you, huh? You really beat those guys senseless back there! And thanks again for dinner!"

Naruto immediately started growling and grumbling, though Sasuke wasn't sure what the deal was there. Still, he saw an opening.

"Mind answering a few questions for us, then?" Sasuke asked. When Luffy didn't object, he continued, "Where are you from? Is it true you people came from across the sea?"

"We're pirates from East Blue, and that's a loooong way away from here."

"East Blue? I don't know where that is." Sasuke responded.

"Eh? Well it's gotta be East of here, right? East Blue?" Luffy asked, seeming uncertain. "Zoro, it's East of here, right?"

"Makes sense to me," said Zoro, sounding bored.

Above deck, the man in the black suit pressed his hand to his forehead, groaning.

Beside Sasuke, Naruto muttered, "Totally lying to us."

Sasuke nodded slightly. "How'd you get here, then? Up until a few days ago, it seems, no one could sail to this island at all."

"Ehhh, I let our navigator answer those questions. She knows more about it than me. That's her job."

"Well, we'd like to talk to her."

"Nah, she's asleep," said Luffy.

Naruto frowned and glanced at Sasuke, who nodded back. Then, Naruto said, "If you really wanna pay us back, you could go and wake her up. Otherwise, we're gonna have to beat the tar outta you."

Suddenly, Zoro smirked, and Luffy's grin reached his ears. "Yeah, that sounds more like it! It wouldn't be an adventure on a mystery island without a fight!"

"Shit," Naruto muttered, "They're just mocking us. I'm ready to show 'em who's boss, how about you?"

"Yeah," agreed Sasuke, "But be ready to retreat. All we need from this is to find out how powerful these guys are."

With that, Zoro drew two of his swords, and Luffy began stretching to warm up.

Naruto and Sasuke moved. Naruto covered the distance in a hurry in an attempt to leap up to the ship itself, and with a swift motion Sasuke let loose a storm of shuriken to cover Naruto's advance and prevent the swordsman from engaging him. Swordplay was much more Sasuke's field of expertise. Then he advanced as well, meeting the swordsman in a flash. Their blades met with the resounding clash of steel on steel, and the fight was on.

It was interrupted only an instant later.

The only warning they had was a hissing noise in the night. It was the kind of warning that slithered through their hind brains, making them want to both freeze in place and start running at the same time. A veritable bouquet of serpents came shooting out of the darkness as if they were arrows fired from a bow, forcing Sasuke and Zoro to scramble away from each other, desperately avoiding the opening strike of their mystery opponent. Naruto paused before reaching the ship, reorienting to face the source of the attack.

A man stepped out of the shadows, chuckling in a raspy voice. He wore a long black robe with no adornment save for a number of red, stylized clouds with white borders. His black hair was lank, reaching past his shoulders and covered a fair bit of his face, but his inhuman bone structure and pale skin were quite visible. He was so pale that his skin might have been described as alabaster, but that word didn't fit the deathly pallor they saw advancing on them now. Naruto and Sasuke stared in shock. They had never met the man, but they both recognized him.

Orochimaru, former legend of Konoha, now an S-rank missing-nin belonging to the fugitive organization known as Akatsuki, was smirking at them from his position in a patch of moonlight.

"So sorry to interrupt, but I'm afraid I'll be taking your ship and navigational devices from you, outlanders," he said in a croaking, breathy voice. "You and the two Konoha children should probably pay attention to me instead of fighting each other."

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