Chapter 14

Into every victory, tendrils of defeat must creep. Naruto and his team did not make it back to Grass without a nasty surprise.

A massive dark cloaked ninja erupted from the underbrush when the team was within ten kilometers of the Grass Country border. "I would speak with Taro of the River, please." The voice was gravelly and inhuman.

A chill went up Naruto's spine as he rested within the body of his puppet Taro.

He recognized this hulking beast.

The useful traitor Kabuto had described him exactly this way. This was a battle puppet of Akasuna no Sasori, the revered, insane puppetmaster from Hidden Sand.

The man was at least twenty years older than Naruto…and had been trained by other puppeteers. It was terrifying looking at this other puppet, looking and wondering what Sasori saw when he looked at Taro.

Would this master of the puppet technique recognize another puppeteer in Taro and Naruto? This was the worst possible person to meet up with on a day like this…with tired chuunin-to-be.

"My name is Taro," Naruto's puppet intoned in a perfectly human voice.

The revolting puppet in front of them gave Taro a careful scrutiny. "You are smaller than I expected. From the wild reports I've received, I figured you for at least fifteen feet tall. Is it true you eat a whole cow for breakfast in the morning?"

"I did not ask for a reputation," Taro said. His students watched and prepared. They did not know that Sasori was stronger even than Orochimaru on a good day.

"Anyone who can gut my old, tricky friend Orochimaru is worthy of a reputation, Taro of the River. I wonder what would happen if you and I were to fight, eh?"

Taro drew the Grass Cutter off his back. With his other hand, he prepared a hundred of his Puppet Clones in case of dire straits. Naruto didn't want to reveal that he was a puppeteer in front of this S-rank monster.

In truth, he wasn't even sure his self-designed puppet techniques would be able to cause any damage to another puppet master. Sasori wore a hardened shell so Taro's micropuppets and chakra poisons were useless. A master puppeteer could just as easily overpower Naruto's chakra strings attached to a puppet army as fall victim to it. If a fight broke out, he would have to go nuclear quickly. Naruto had devastating techniques, but he'd never fought against a skilled puppeteer before.

Naruto remembered a profile he'd read of the Uchiha among the Hokage's papers. "Their arrogance is astounding as they teach their children, 'Only an Uchiha can kill an Uchiha.'"

Naruto was fairly terrified that the real truth was that only a puppeteer could kill another puppeteer. Today was not the day he wanted to test that hypothesis.

After all, he knew from close calls in the past that experience could beat out superior techniques any day of the week.

Upon seeing Taro draw the Grass Cutter, Sasori did not attack. He chuckled. "Excellent. Excellent work, Taro. I see that my spies were not wrong. You have taken that sword from Orochimaru."

Sasori's puppet gave some more gravelly chuckles. "For the pleasure you've given me this day, you may pass. But you interest me, so I'm sure I'll be seeing you again."

The large hulk quickly took off in the direction of Wind Country. Taro and his students did not move until Sasori was no longer visible.

"Was that…." Number Two began to ask.

"They say his parents named him the Scorpion of the Bloody Sands at birth," Taro explained. "He's only gotten worse since then."

Taro's students nodded. They had studied the Bingo Books.

"We'll be running the rest of the way. Keep your senses keen. Presume that we're walking into traps and ambushes. We will not stop, if possible, until we're in the Central Office."

Taro didn't wait for an answer; he began to run. Who knows what some crafty bugger like Sasori could do given enough time?

He allowed a narrow stream of questions to populate his mind. How had Sasori heard about the battle yesterday already? Spies, but who? How had Sasori known Taro's route? Taro hadn't taken a straight line path. He cut through certain segments of the forest; he used roads that were little better than cart trails. Had Sasori's spies marked Taro in some way for tracking purposes? This wasn't a coincidence.

Damn. Damn. Damn!

Naruto needed more experience before he wanted to have a target painted on his back.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Three days had passed since Taro had met Sasori on the road. He'd been stuck in meetings, debriefings, and every other kind of administrivia. He had not had a chance to return to his laboratory since returning.

Naruto wanted out of Taro. He hadn't crawled out since vomiting on himself after his…loss of control with the old storekeeper. He only entered or exited his puppet when he was in a safe place.

Finally, Naruto couldn't stand it any longer. He put in for a two-day leave to 'recuperate' from his experiences. Once they realized that battling Orochimaru wasn't an abstract thing or a great story, but something Taro had actually done and likely something Taro needed to heal or recuperate from, the other jounin looked sheepish and granted him the time off.

He made it quickly to his laboratory complex. While he ran, he thought up more questions he had for Kabuto. He needed a more thorough interrogation on Kabuto's work with Sasori. Orochimaru angered Naruto, but Sasori scared him.

He needed to figure out why. A ninja had to be in control of his emotions. Plus, Naruto had hated to feel fear.

Kabuto should also have some progress on a few new, targeted poisons. A puppeteer couldn't rest on his laurels, after all. He knew more of the wider world now; he knew better the kinds of things he needed in his arsenal.

One new poison was supposed to be a protection against the Hyuuga or the Uchiha, people with special eye-based techniques. They wouldn't be able to use their eyes if they'd been dosed with an ocular nerve poison, right?

It was a fairly extreme measure, but Naruto had heard some horrifying things about Uchiha Itachi. Seeing the Hyuuga in person had also reminded Naruto to be more wary of them. After all the Byakugan could likely detect chakra strings, if the wielder knew what he or she was looking for.

Taro passed through the final door protecting his lab. Naruto piled out of his damned puppet. He had been so busy during his training month that he hadn't left then. That was stupid. He had allowed himself to be preoccupied, to not take care of himself.

He needed a shower. And some food that he didn't have to eat from the tube that came down Taro's mouth and throat. He had gotten tired of eating things that had already been chewed by his puppet's jaws first.

The warm water felt great. He was too old to ride around in a puppet like that. It had been fun at the age of eight. Now that he was nearing fifteen, it was less fun.

Taro's identity was almost at the end of its usefulness anyway. Sasori and Orochimaru were both interested in Taro. It was time for Taro to disappear.

How?

Perhaps Naruto would take over the life of an Iwa peasant farmer…or a tea drying warehouse manager. It was good he'd made other identities so long ago. All the better to slip away.

But, what would he tell his students?

The three of them were probably the only people Naruto had ever formed an emotional connection to, leaving aside the Old Man.

He didn't know what he wanted to do. The answer would come in time.

Taro walked down the hallway to where that worm Kabuto was stored. One needed to be wary even around someone who could no longer mold chakra.

"Tell me if the progress you've made is worth enough to keep me feeding you."

It was a familiar ritual to Kabuto. He was little more than a laboratory rat now. He had thought long and hard about swallowing one or another of the various poisons available to him…or attempting to use them on his captor.

He didn't have the right plan. He didn't know what the seals inscribed inside body would really do to him. He knew the threatened consequences…but it wasn't proof positive.

"The serum you requested is finished. It should work, but I don't have anyone to test it on."

"Unlike your former master, Kabuto, I do not test horrible poisons on innocents. I have a…suitable test subject in mind."

Taro accepted the poison and tucked it away safely. "I have need of your memory again, Kabuto. We're going to talk about your former spymaster, Sasori. Tell me how he met you."

"I've told you this before."

"You're going to tell me again, little ninja without chakra. I have information about this Sasori from other sources than you. I wish to know whether you're lying to me. Convince me, Kabuto."

The silver haired prisoner sighed and began.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

After listening to Kabuto for six hours, Naruto felt like he needed another shower. Kabuto was too dangerous a person to allow to live; powerful, amoral, and cruel; a mimic of great capacity; a spy able to infiltrate a village and remain for years. He locked Kabuto away…the ninja needed to be dealt with, but he was still useful for now.

Naruto took a rather special storage scroll into another part of his laboratory, far away from Kabuto. He sealed himself inside a bare stone room. He formed up chakra strings, ready to immobilize Jiraiya once he reappeared.

When Jiraiya awoke, he found he couldn't move…and he was in a horrible stone cellar. There was a guy in the corner…that Grass jounin.

"What the hell? Where am I and why can't I move?"

"I choose not to let you move, Toad Sage. In fact, you won't move again until we've had a…satisfactory conversation."

"I will kick your ass very soon."

Taro nodded. "Yes, in a straight fight you would likely win. But, know this, Jiraiya, I almost never fight fairly. Why be stupid and give up my advantages…."

"How are you doing this? I've never heard of restraining seals that leave the head free but paralyze everything else."

Taro kept a blank expression. Misdirection was a prime tool of a good ninja. Jiraiya filtered everything through his knowledge of seals and flashy techniques. Wouldn't he be surprised if he discovered two thin strands of chakra kept him lying on the cold stone floor?

"Jiraiya, dead last of his Academy class, member of the Legendary Three, holder of the toad contract, mentor to the Fourth Hokage and the only Leaf ninja to ever exceed your own accomplishments, and godfather to that same man's son…"

Here Jiraiya looked confused.

"Godfather and you don't even remember. Fitting, I suppose. I've read many of your confidential reports to the Hokage over the years, Jiraiya. I know you asked for and received updates on the boy…his name was Uzumaki Naruto, I believe."

"How? How did a Grass jounin steal my coded reports?" The man didn't want to believe.

Naruto wouldn't be parting with any secrets this early. He wouldn't relate how he'd stolen the Hokage's private correspondence years ago. "I have better spies than you do."

Jiraiya had no intention of giving anything away.

"Fine. Let me see what I can guess from what I know of you. I'd say you would look in on the little guy once or twice a year…but without ever introducing yourself. Looked rather too much like your dead student, but he was also a reminder of the fox."

"How did you know…" Jiraiya calmed himself a bit. He was giving away too much. The Grass ninja had thrown him on the defensive. He didn't need to say anything, admit anything.

"Why does this matter? Naruto left Hidden Leaf years ago. I haven't seen him in, what, seven years? If you're with the Akatsuki and looking for his current location, I'd be the last person to ask."

Taro looked amused. "Akatsuki, another topic of interest to me. But, let's finish our discussion on Naruto first. Why did you bother to go look at him if you didn't want to help care for him?"

Jiraiya sighed. "Why do you want to know?"

"My reasons are my own, Toad Sage. Answer the question or prepare to starve for the next week. My patience is gone."

That broke Jiraiya. It wasn't like he was being asked about village security; he was giving his personal opinions on a kid who'd been missing for seven years. "You're right. I was a bastard. I saw how he lived and how he was treated. It was too hard to look at a tiny Minato and remember I'd never see him again."

Taro's smile turned to a neutral stare. "I wondered if you would say something like that. I'm not sure I believe it. We'll return to this topic in the future. Why don't we talk about Akatsuki. Let's start with a former member of theirs, Orochimaru."

Jiraiya's eyes went wide. He hadn't confirmed that Orochimaru had once belonged. Whoever this Grass ninja was, he was very well informed.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

One week after returning from Konoha, Taro was summoned before the Grass Ninja Council. Did they want another report? Naruto was back in his laboratory observing and controlling Taro from a distance. He hoped never to need to ride in the belly of a puppet again.

The Council room was unadorned and plain, as befitted an unpretentious nation like Grass. Taro took a seat at a large round table. Over the next ten minutes, the senior jounin of Grass entered and sat down. None of them nodded or smiled at Taro.

This wasn't a 'happy' meeting then.

The current head of the council, Tenuya, bit his upper lip before speaking. "Grass Country's longstanding ninja philosophy is to survive. We stay out of wars. We stay out of alliances. We do our missions and try to make the best possible lives for ourselves. One of our most important techniques is to purposefully not have Kage-level ninja associated with our village. We value general strength, not individual strength. Those who hit Kage-level have…stability problems in our experience. We have expelled quite a few. You, Taro or whatever your name really is, are a surprise to us. You were thought strong…not too strong…until this business with Orochimaru and then Sasori."

"You're expelling me from Grass Country?" Taro kept blinking rapidly. This was certainly a surprise. As he considered it, it was not unwelcome.

Tenuya looked sheepish at such a blunt question. "Yes. You were able to wound, possibly kill an S-class ninja. You were tracked down by another one. If you remained here, you would draw all the wrong kinds of attention on us."

Taro surveyed the faces of the other Jounin on the Council. Naruto was trying to think through the implications of his expulsion. On balance, this was a positive. Taro needed to disappear; this could be the beginning move of a series of events in 'retiring' Taro.

"If I accept this expulsion, I will not be listed in any Grass Bingo Books, correct?"

"Of course. This is an 'amicable' split," Tenuya said. The jounin knew it was dangerous negotiating these types of splits. If this Taro had as much power as it seemed he did, he could level much of this village and the jounin in the room wouldn't be able to do much about it.

"If my students were to voluntarily choose to accompany me when I left the village, would they appear in any Grass Bingo Books?"

Silent looks passed between the jounin on the Council. Finally Tenuya seemed prepared to speak. "We could arrange that…if your genin team wished to leave with you."

"Good. I think they should be promoted to chuunin for their performance in Konoha."

Tenuya nodded. "We had already approved your recommendation, Taro."

"Thank you. I will be gone by tomorrow at dusk."

Taro made to stand and leave.

Tenuya motioned for him to remain seated. "There is another issue, a delicate one. With your…departure, we feel it would be best for the legendary Grass Cutter, which you recovered, to remain here in Grass Country. Can we come to some sort of agreement on this matter?"

Taro had to smile. These guys had balls. First they kick him out, then they ask him to leave Grass Country's most valued ninja treasure behind.

"I think we can," Taro said. "What do you have to offer?"

The Council looked equal parts pleased and annoyed. They would regain the treasure, but it was likely to be expensive, very expensive.