Against the Hounds

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Tenjho Tenge

AUTHORS NOTE: Rather than trying to write all the various teams at once; I'm going to be splitting them up a bit between chapters to prevent confusion. This chapter and the next are mostly dedicated to ANBU Teams Kuro and Aka. Here is chapter 52. Enjoy!

AUTHOR'S NOTE II: Here is a synopsis of the ANBU and ANBU Brat Teams as a little refresher:

Team 7: Jonin Sarutobi Asuma; Chunin Akimichi Choji, Sai and Haruno Sakura. Current assignment: Searching Uzu Island for the Dragon Flower.

Team 8: Jonin Yuuhi Kurenai; Chunin Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba and Kurama Yakumo. Current assignment: On standby

Team 9: Jonin Maito Gai. Chunin Hyūga Neji, Lee Rock and Tenten. Current assignment: On standby

Team 10: Jonin Mitarashi Anko. Chunin Nara Shikamaru, Isuzu Emi, and Yamanaka Ino. Current assignment: Searching Summoning Island for the Dragon Flower. *①

Team 11/ANBU Team Kuro: Jonin Uzuki Yūgao/ANBU Cat. Chunin Uzumaki Naruto/ANBU Fox, Natsume Maya/ANBU Raptor, and Hyūga Hinata/ANBU Raven. Current assignment: Seeking out the Land of Ōrora for the Dragon Flower.

ANBU Team Aka: ?/ANBU Dove, ?/ANBU Bear, Chunin Tomoe Hikari/ANBU Gazeru, Chunin Uchiha Mikoto/ANBU Lynx Current assignment: Prisoner exchange at Hot Springs/Frost Country Border. *②

[ ] signifies hand signs

Last time:

Hokage's Office

Tsunade smiled. "I guess Naruto must have visited you several times in the past few weeks."

"Yes." replied Tayuya brightly. "We talked about our family and how the Uzumaki's weren't really wiped out when Uzu fell."

"Did he tell you who killed Orochimaru for good?" asked the busty blonde Hokage.

"He said you and your advisors fought him tooth and nail and that the snake finally fell." answered the redhead truthfully. "He didn't say how you all did Orochimaru in."

"Your clan head; Uzumaki Naruto-sama killed Orochimaru with a Black Seal." explained Tsunade. "My ex-teammate's very soul was destroyed."

Tayuya's eyes widened. "Holy fuck! Naruto-sama mastered the Black Gate?! That's…Er; pardon my language Hokage-sama."

Tsunade smirked. "No offense taken; we all wanted to say that when Orochimaru's soul went up in flames."

The two women laughed and Tsunade said kindly; "Welcome to Konoha Uzumaki Tayuya!"

…

Later that afternoon; the Hokage was giving out last minute instructions to ANBU Brat Teams 7 and 10. "Both Teams will be going to Port City before separating. Team 7 will head on to Uzu Island by boat. Team 10 will be on a separate boat heading to an island just north of Uzu with a similar ecology called Summoning Island. We don't know much about it other than it's volcanic and summoning research was done there some fifty or sixty years ago." said Tsunade. "Good luck and good hunting."

Anko didn't hesitate. "Let's move out teams. We've got a lot of work to do and not much time to do it…"

Asuma smiled and said, "We'll show those flowers who the boss is!"

The entire group face faulted.

"Was it that bad…?" asked Asuma.

"YES!" was the unanimous reply…

…

Chapter 52

Hot Water Country/Frost Country Border

Team Aka was at the prisoner exchange post between Frost Country and Hot Water Country. The two small nations were on good terms and often conducted exchanges between Fire and Lightning Countries. The unusual thing about this situation was everyone being exchanged was a loyal Kumo ninja…

Kireina was wondering why Team Samui was being traded for her and was worried for their safety. As the Frost and Hot Water ninjas made the exchange, she walked past the other three she'd attended the Kumo Ninja Academy with. She considered them friends. Omoi seemed sullen and distant; he just looked away. Karui glared at Kireina hatefully with burning eyes. Samui was silent and didn't acknowledge her as they passed one another.

It wasn't until Kireina was over with the Kumo ANBU Team Hound*③ that she spoke. "Why did they…?"

The lead ANBU Hound One said; "It's the Raikage's orders. It's not our place to question them. Let's go."

Kireina looked back towards the others and saw the Konoha ANBU Team was already moving out. Team Samui didn't look back…

…

Team Samui was marching slowly and in silence. Omoi in particular looked like he wanted to say something but held his tongue. Team Aka Wondered exactly what the situation was but Samui simply said; "We are doing our duty for Kumo."

As they marched across Hot Water Country at an easy pace, Omoi started to lag behind and Gazeru asked, "What is going on here? You can't be that tired."

Omoi replied, "We were forced to march all the way from Kumo as prisoners without stopping. I am totally worn out."

Team Aka all glanced at each other meaningfully and Dove said, "We'll stop once we get into Fire Country. Then you can get some sleep."

Samui thought to herself; 'We've been locked up forever and now we've been forced to march all this way. It's no wonder we're all tired. I just hope Omoi makes it.'

'Damn Kireina getting herself caught.' thought Karui. 'It was bad enough being treated the way we were in Kumo but being shipped off to Fire Country as prisoners is too much. Damn the Raikage. Bee-sensei was the only person that protested it and he was outraged. What did we do to deserve this fate?'

Omoi was too busy thinking about putting one foot in front of the other to think much other than, 'What a shitty way to die…'

…

Fire Country/Hot Water Country Border

In the meantime, Team Kuro was making excellent progress shooting through the forest canopy of Fire Country but when they hit the Hot Water Country border they were back on the ground. They checked in with the Hot Water Country Border Patrol and at the end of the day they stopped in the Village of Ōkina Suiei to sleep for the night and visited the onsen there.

It was divided bathing, so Naruto was over on the men's side of the onsen while Yūgao, Maya and Hinata were on the women's side. The blonde ninja was relaxing as he overheard the chatter over on the ladies' side. He had a small bottle of sake and was enjoying the burning sensation as it went down. That's when he heard his sensei giggling and talking to his two hime. Adding chakra to his ears he listened to see what joke they were laughing about the blonde heard the raunchiest discussion about sex he'd heard in his entire life. He and Bunshichi got really nasty in a conversation occasionally, but it was nothing compared to this. Naruto was blushing madly as he cut the chakra off from his ears wishing he could unhear what he just heard…

On the women's side all three kunoichi were having a great time drinking and laughing. Yūgao said, "…And that's the long and the short of it girls. Bwahaha! Surprise ol' Naruto-kun with that! Ahahaha!"

…The next morning the three kunoichi were a bit hung over, but Naruto was stone cold sober. After Hinata cleansed the alcohol from their systems with a medical jutsu; the girls saw Naruto was already up with a harried look in his eyes. "Shall we have a nice breakfast before we set out Naruto-kun?" chirped Hinata as innocent sounding as ever.

Naruto nodded robotically. "Sure thing my hime. We can head out whenever you ladies are ready…"

Breakfast was a bit awkward for Naruto but the food was good and he concentrated on eating and trying to forget the things he heard the night before…

After resupplying Team Kuro was on their way again…

…

The trip across the rest of Hot Water Country was easy as they followed the beach along the northern coast. Soon the Team was crossing the northern end of the Hot water Country/Frost Country Border. It was simple enough as they were in the middle of nowhere and far from any border patrols or villages. Once they entered Frost Country proper Team Kuro was travelling through a region called the Ebony Forest because of the conifer trees there being unusually dark in color.

Hinata was in good cheer and enjoying the scenery as she activated her byakugan. "No one is around for kilometers sensei." she said happily.

"Good." replied Yūgao. "It's been smooth sailing so far. Maybe we'll get lucky and not run into anyone."

"It's like autumn here sensei." said Naruto. "I'm not complaining but the change in weather seems so sudden."

The purple haired swordswoman nodded. "The wind off the Inland Sea dumps cold air from the north here in Frost and Lightning Countries. It's pretty much autumn year-round up here except for the winter season when it gets really cold."

Maya looked up and said, "It's overcast but not too bad. It could be raining this evening."

Naruto replied, "Hopefully we'll stay ahead of the rain."

Then a hellish ice storm blew in much to their chagrin. After marching a ways, the conditions started getting so bad that they couldn't even see ahead of them. Not really having any other choice, Yūgao brought the group to a halt in a small clearing. "We'll set up my big tent here and stay in it as a group for warmth. We can't build a fire in this situation, so we'll have to conserve our body heat another way."

"R-remind me never to mention rain again." said Maya through chattering teeth as they set up the tent.

After an agonizing half hour setting up their tent in the icy winds everyone clambered inside and shed their wet gear so they could dry off and stay warm. Naruto broke out one of his 'campfire' scrolls to get some warmth going but they had to extinguish it soon so the glow wouldn't make them visible when dusk arrived. The night turned out to be a brutal one and the four shinobi were all shivering at the subzero temperatures. They were all huddled together trying to keep warm and sleep. Twice the tent tried to collapse on them and shocked them all awake. Team Kuro was miserable…

…

Fire Country

By that time, Team Aka found that their 'guests' were all getting tired and decided to stop in the small Village of Sukoshi in Fire Country to rest for the night. Samui and Kurui were in the front room of the inn under with ANBU Lynx and Gazeru. ANBU Dove was on guard duty and Omoi was sharing his room with ANBU Bear. The four girls were all asleep but Omoi was up and moaning in misery. Bear was getting irked at his roommate disturbing his sleep and finally asked, "What's wrong with you boy? You're acting like you're weak as a baby and if you think… Wait a minute! DOVE! I need a hand here!"

Everyone was awake now and once Team Aka made sure Team Samui wasn't attempting an escape; ANBU Dove was examining Omoi with a standard medical jutsu. She said, "Chakra exhaustion. Omoi is out of chakra and on the verge of dying." Rolling the unconscious Omoi over on his stomach; Dove discovered why. "The yellow spot…" said Dove in a whisper. "He's got The Withering."

Gazeru and Lynx were watching over the lethargic Samui and Karui when Dove came in. "Omoi is dying from The Withering. You two girls have it too, don't you?"

Karui asked, "The Withering?"

Dove growled, "Don't play dumb with me Karui. You've got a yellow spot between your shoulder blades, don't you?"

"Most uncool." said Samui. "A-sama hoped this plague would wipe out Konoha."

Sighing, Dove said, "It doesn't spread that way. It's formulated to spread by needle or dart. Orochimaru made it."

"You mean it's a poison and not a disease?" asked Karui. "We fought Oto troops three months ago and-"

"-We were hit by a senbon attack." finished Samui. "We were only hit twice each but Omoi was really plastered with them. The others that died of it were hit six months ago fighting Oto spies."

Lynx said, "Let me get this straight. The Raikage exchanged you guys in hope that The Withering would spread throughout Konoha and wipe us out?! Didn't he look for a cure?"

Samui replied, "We couldn't find a cure, so A-sama ordered us all quarantined. We were the most recent hit with the yellow spot, so we were considered plague carriers and therefore expendable."

"I knew this was all fishy, but the Raikage has sunk to new lows to use his own like this." said Gazeru.

Karui asked hopefully; "Does Konoha have a cure?"

Dove shook her head. "There was one. We're trying to recreate it. The disease was thought to have gone extinct over one hundred years ago."

"What happened to the records of the cure?" asked Samui puzzled.

"They were destroyed with the Island of Uzu." replied Gazeru despondently.

"…And Kumo helped destroy it…" said Karui sadly. "How ironic…"

Dove pulled out a vial of chakra pills. "Let's give Omoi a chakra tablet. It should prolong his life for a little while. I just hope it doesn't throw him into shock…"

…

Omoi woke up in the morning with a terrible headache. "Ugh…" he said. "I didn't think I'd live to see another sunrise."

Samui said in her usual tone; "Cool; you are awake. You wouldn't have if it wasn't for ANBU Dove. Turns out we have a chakra disease called The Withering. Konoha is working on a cure. It would be cool if we survive this after all…"

Dove poked her head in and asked, "How do you feel Omoi?"

The dark-skinned swordsmen said. "I feel terrible but not like I did. I guess I owe you one."

The ANBU said seriously, "Don't use any chakra at all if you can help it. We're arranging transport to Konoha now so you three can ride there."

"Thank you." said Omoi. "I really mean it."

Dove nodded and said, "You three just try to relax. If all goes well then you'll come out of this alive and well…"

…

Frost Country, Ebony Forest

The sun had broken over the horizon in the Ebony Forest and the ground was covered in heavy snow. Team Kuro's tent was frozen over from the night before and half buried in snow and ice. The bitterly cold weather was brutal by Konoha standards, and the tent was still zipped up for the night.

It was this sight that the Kumo Hunter Nins known as Team Timberwolf came upon. The Timberwolves traveled as a group of eight and answered directly to the Raikage. They all wore furs to protect them from the cold and had masks with one to eight stripes and various wolf motifs. The Captain wore a mask that was a full wolf face and the most garish of the lot. Generally, they lived away from the Village of Kumo so no one could trace them back. Their current duty was to hunt down the ANBU Team that took Team Samui and then try to recover the Kumo Team to preserve Kumo secrets now that the plague had spread.

"The Tree Huggers look like they are still asleep Captain. Maybe they froze to death." said their lead tracker. "They obviously aren't used to the snow here in Frost Country."

The wolf masked Captain looked over at his sensor and asked, "What do you think?"

The very short sensor kneeled and placed her hand on the ground. "Four low chakra signatures all inside the tent sir. That accounts for all the Konoha ANBU at the prisoner exchange."

"They should have run when they got Team Samui." said a heavy fighter with a crossbow. "Circling back was foolish."

A spear user nodded. "Foolish or not; they are trying to steal back Kireina just like we are Team Samui. They just aren't as good at it as we are."

They had a demolitions member on the team as well. She chuckled pulled out an exploding tag tied to a kunai. "Want me to send them to the next life?"

"Don't be an idiot." said a heavy swordsman. "We need at least one of them alive to question and find out where Team Samui is."

The Captain growled; "Surround them in silence. I don't want any of them escaping. Remember, he Raikage is depending on us to recover Team Samui if possible." He motioned to the last two Timberwolves ad said, "You two are with me." The spear user and a chain user both nodded and followed him in.

The chain user smiled under his mask as he ran chakra through his chain and caused tiny barbs to come out along the length of it. "This will make them squeal."

The wolf masked Captain led the other two down to the tent and hand signed ["Do it."] to the chain user who twirled his chain like a whip above his head before ripping through the tent and everyone in it. His chain met no resistance at all as the remains of the tent blew away in the wind revealing an explosive tag that detonated immediately. The chain wielder was at point blank and died instantly. Bits and pieces of the barbed chain were converted into shrapnel and the Captain was badly injured and peppered with the stuff. The Spear user came out relatively unhurt because he was behind his captain.

The sensor whispered, 'No…' in a tiny voice. 'It was a trap…' before she froze up in terror.

That was when the four members of Team Kuro exploded out of the snow surrounding the Timberwolves and attacked with a brace of kunai each. The heavy swordsman was hit with four of the six kunai aimed at him from ANBU Cat and ANBU Raptor. He fell over dead before he hit the ground.

The tracker avoided two of the three kunai thrown at him by ANBU Raven but the one that did connect hit him right above his shin guard in the knee joint and he collapsed screaming in agony.

ANBU Fox threw the last three kunai which the Demolitions expert nimbly avoided with a laugh. "Is that all you've got?" she taunted. Then the woman grabbed one of the kunai out of a tree to throw it back and noticed it was an odd; three prong design that was the stuff of Kumo legend. '…There was said to be only one man faster than the Raikage A…'

That's when she saw a flash of yellow and blood started flying everywhere. The last words of the demolitions expert before her head was taken off by Shippuuhime were, "…YELLOW FLASH…!"

The Captain of the Timberwolves saw flashes of yellow all over the place and was horrified. 'This can't be happening!' He thought. He saw a Raven masked ANBU descending out of the trees and cut his spearman down with the Hakutsume blades. The big spear wielder never saw it coming as the Hiraishin had him mesmerized.

ANBU Raptor charged hard and dodged a few crossbow bolts by diving underground using the headhunter jutsu. The crossbow wielder was looking around wildly when the humming Reiki emerged from the ground beneath him and split him from groin to throat in a spray of gore.

Moving in a blur; ANBU Cat beheaded the screaming tracker; body flickered behind the frozen sensor and knocked her unconscious with the pommel of the Kusanagi.

The Timberwolves' Captain watched as his team of elites was decimated like genins. He noticed that the ANBU they were fighting weren't even the ones they were supposed to be hunting. "This wasn't Team Aka…it's someone else…" he whispered to himself. "We died for a mistake…" Then he took his own life with a kunai.

The Ebony Forest was eerily silent again but the snow and trees were sprayed with blood. Team Kuro was motionless except for ANBU Cat who slapped a paralysis tag on the sensor she'd taken captive. Cat said; "Give me a body count Raven."

"Seven dead, one captured." replied Raven.

"Anyone injured?" asked Cat.

"No." replied Fox.

Raptor shook her head. "Negative"

"I'm unhurt." answered Raven.

"Excellent." replied ANBU Cat. "I'm fine too. Let's clean up this mess and get moving."

Fox made four shadow clones and said; "You guys gather up the Hiraishin kunai. I don't want them found."

Team Kuro rapidly tied up their prisoner and disposed of the bodies. They were all tired from the cold and Naruto was worn from using the Hiraishin so liberally. His body just wasn't used to it yet.

After sealing up the bodies Team Kuro relocated and tried to decide what to do with their knocked-out prisoner…

…

Fire Country, Konoha, Hokage's Office

Tsunade was quietly reading over the report from ANBU Team Aka that Shizune just brought in. "So, A hopes The Withering is a plague that will kill us all eh? He's really a rotten bastard of a man. If he isn't trying to kidnap our people, he's trying to wipe us out through germ warfare."

"News from Team Aka Tsunade-sama?" asked Shizune curiously.

"Yes actually." replied the Fifth Hokage. "It turns out the three chunin exchanged from Kumo have The Withering and the Raikage considers them expendable plague carriers. The reason that interrogation didn't work on the chunin Kireina about the trade is she genuinely didn't know why she was being exchanged for three others. I guess truth is stranger than fiction…"

…

Road to Konoha

Team Samui was riding in a hay filled cart and generally relaxing. Omoi was snoozing but Kurui and Samui were quietly talking. "If only Bee-sensei could see us now." said Karui despondently.

"Actually, it's better than being locked up Karui." replied Samui. "Bee-sensei would probably be riding along with us rapping away."

"I could take up rapping to fill in." said Omoi sleepily.

"That would not be cool." said Samui.

Karui added, "Go back to sleep Omoi."

Team Aka was in a diamond formation around the cart. 'Seems like our guests are a lot more relaxed now.' thought ANBU Bear.

ANBU Dove was doing the math in her head. 'We'll be in Konoha by this time tomorrow. I wonder if they are any closer to locating a cure. Tsunade-sama is the best medic in the Elemental Nations after all.'

'I hope Naruto-kun, Maya-chan and Hinata-chan are alright.' thought Gazeru. 'I know they had a long-range mission but to where...?'

Lynx was thinking along the same lines. 'I hope Fox-kun and his Team are safe. I really want to get to know him better…'

…

Lightning Country

Kumo Jonin Yugito Nii found herself in an odd situation. As the Jinchuruki of the two tails she was one of the strongest Shinobi there was in Kumo. It was therefore odd to her to be the prey instead of the predator. The infamous bounty hunter Kakuzu was after her and had been tracking her relentlessly. She tried to circle back to Kumo Village but the Kakuzu had driven her south towards the Frost Country Border. The blonde woman had already been in two fights with him and was forced to withdraw both times. She decided that if she had to fight him again that she'd go two-tails on his ass to destroy the bounty hunter no matter the cost.

'I really don't want to be forced to enter a massive battle and tear up Frost Country.' she thought. Yugito's dark eyes narrowed. 'I'll make a stand at the Lightning Country Border if I have to. I just need to make it to a border station and hopefully I can get some backup…'

…

Unfortunately for Yugito the very border station she was heading towards had already been wiped out by Kakuzu because he anticipated her move earlier. The ANBU Team Hound escorting Kireina back to Kumo was there at the time and only Kireina and the ANBU known as Hound Three had escaped with their lives…

"Fuck that hurts!" yelled Hound Three as Kireina removed the last of an Earth Spike from his arm.

The kunoichi was getting irritated and said, "Quit your whining ANBU-san! The wound is all cleaned out so I can start healing it properly now. You are lucky that I'm a trained combat medic or you'd be dead by now. Hold still."

Hound Three quieted down and let her work as he looked at the demolished Border Station in the distance. He said, "That Kakuzu character is a monster. They say he's immortal. I wonder why he attacked us."

Kireina shook her head and asked, "Does a beast that steals human hearts honestly need a reason to pillage and destroy? The bingo book says he lives for greed alone. Someday he'll be punished for his crimes."

The ANBU chuckled. "You are related to the Raikage's assistant Mabui-san aren't you? You look and act a lot like her."

"She's my older sister." admitted Kireina. "I guess there is a strong resemblance between us." She finished dressing his wound. "There; that will have to do till we get you to a proper surgeon in Kumo."

"Well, you sure are beautiful." said Hound Three. "You do good work too." he added as he moved his fingers around.

She rolled her eyes but smiled. "I've never had an ANBU flirt with me before. You're a strange one."

He laughed but then said seriously. "Now all we have to do is make it back to Kumo alive…"

…

Frost Country, Ebony Forest

After relocating in a denser part of the Ebony Forest for camouflage; Team Kuro sat down to discuss things and revive their unconscious prisoner. Hinata gently removed the girl's mask and did a diagnostic medical scan on her, "There's no concussion; she's just knocked out. I'll bring her around."

Yūgao watched as the girl came around. She was very small and cute with light blue hair in a pixie cut. "What do you suppose she is; ten years old?" asked the purple haired ANBU.

Hinata shrugged. "It's hard to say. She could be just very petite."

The girl blinked her eyes open revealing they were a similar deep blue to Maya's eyes. "Owww… What hit me?" said the girl in a childlike voice. "Where am I?"

ANBU Raptor replied, "You're deep in Frost Country. What is your name?"

The girl realized at that point she'd been captured and said, "My codename is Wolf Six. I won't tell you anything else." She turned her nose up and looked away… Then her stomach growled loudly.

ANBU Cat asked; "Do you like eating Wolf Six? I'd hate to see you starve to death on the way back to Fire Country…" Then Yūgao added in a sing-song voice, "We're having snow crab for lunch…"

The girl whispered, "S-snow crab?" and started drooling.

Naruto, Maya and Hinata all sweat dropped…

["By the gods; sensei is an evil, diabolical woman!"] hand signed Naruto.

Maya signed, ["What clued you in? Remember our homework assignments at the Academy?"]

Hinata was getting hungry now. ["But I thought we were saving the snow crab for the way back! This is just plain wrong"]

["Too true Hinata-chan"] agreed Maya. ["That poor girl doesn't stand a chance in hell."]

Naruto scratched his chin. ["Perhaps we should mercy kill Wolf Six and eat the snow crab ourselves…"]

…While her students were thinking mutinous thoughts; Yūgao was negotiating food for information… "We're having Octopus and Cucumber salad on the side as well as nice; hot sake to warm us up in this frosty weather…"

["Not the salad too! I worked hard on that!"] signed Hinata.

Maya nodded in agreement. ["This is just amoral! Sensei is just turning the screws now."]

["I'm really hungry…"] signed the drooling Naruto.

…Wolf Six soon revealed she was named Aiko and turned out to be quite talkative when she was drunk…

"This is a feast! I mean; the best restaurants in Kumo don't compare to this…" said the light blue haired girl as she jabbered away.

"Hohoho! So you tried to kill us why…?" asked ANBU Cat.

Aiko said, "We thought you were someone else… We just assumed you were Team Aka that was at the prisoner exchange!"

"…And the other Timberwolves were so mean to me because I'm young!" she added.

"…Then Mom and Dad left the Country…" grouched the pixie cut girl.

Aiko rambled on. "I wanted to be a food critic like my big sister but ended up as a ninja! How's that for getting the shaft?!"

…

"Thank the gods she fell asleep." said Maya as she finished taking notes. "You are a cruel woman sensei!"

Yūgao shrugged. "How was I supposed to know she was some kind of foodie and still in training?"

"Urp…I can't believe we ate so much…" said Naruto.

Hinata was in disbelief. "I can't believe that Aiko talked so much!"

"What are we going to do with her?" asked Naruto. "She practically babbled out everything she knew under the influence."

"This is why I never let Aya drink…" said Maya. "She gets even more bubbly and talkative."

Hinata sweat dropped. "I had no idea Aya-chan could get bubblier than she already is."

"Aiko would be considered an informant at best and a traitor at worst." said Naruto.

Yūgao weighed the pros and cons and finally said, "We could take her with us. She might be our ticket through Lightning Country since she knows the territory like the back of her hand. Sending Aiko home to the Raikage could well be a death sentence."

"Let's see what Aiko wants to do when she wakes up." said Maya grimly. "She might prefer a painless death."

Everyone else nodded. "We'll let her decide her fate then." agreed Yūgao.

…

POSTSCRIPT:

*①: The ANBU Brats were all field promoted to Chunin after the Konoha Crush for meritorious service.

*②: Poor ANBU Dove and ANBU Bear, I really need to give them names and identities, don't I?

*③: Team Hound: It's not canon but I've decided to give Kumo ANBU teams a Team name and then a number for each individual on the team, i.e. Hound One, Hound Two, etc.

Another chapter in the books. Next chapter will be a battle royale featuring Kakuzu. See you next time. Blue out. 9/2/23