Chapter 38
Crash!
Thud!
Boom!
"What's going on out there?!" Tsunade and Shizune said at the same time in alarm. They both rushed out the Hokage's office door and turned to the hallway only to be completely stunned, shocked, and horrified, no words could describe how Tsunade felt at this very moment. There, lying in the hallway of the Hokage's building was a worn and tattered Haku as he panted and struggled to remain conscious all the while holding onto the bloody body of one of the Legendary Sannin. Jiraiya.
*Flash Back to a few days ago*
As Haku stood in Tsunade's office after Izaya recovered Tsunade gave her orders. "Haku… Jiraiya is currently in the Hidden Rain Village searching for clues on the leader of the Akatsuki. I'm worried about his safety. Your abilities are suitable in a place like that so I want you to go there and back up Jiraiya. I...I don't know why but I feel uneasy about Jiraiya being there alone. I trust in your abilities."
"Yes!" Haku saluted.
"Mn. I'm counting on you." Tsunade said. Haku disappeared in the next moment.
Swish! Dash! Splash!
Haku placed on a cloak as he had successfully infiltrated the Hidden Rain Village and was now searching for clues on Jiraiya's whereabouts. He used the Transformation Jutsu to look much older and walked into a pub taking a seat in the corner as he ordered something to eat and listened to the conversation going around. He spent about an hour in a few pubs before giving up and decided to go to where Jiraiya would most likely go. Although he really didn't want to, it was for a mission after all so Haku undid the Transformation Jutsu as he resumed his astonishingly handsome self once more. As he walked by the red-light district and entered some of their buildings he eventually got the information he was looking for. Jiraiya had been asking around about Hanzo of the Salamander and also learnt about the civil war being ended in the Hidden Rain Village. He then began asking questions about the possibility of meeting this so called leader who was very mysterious. It wasn't long before Haku discovered a place that was left in tatters and ruins and immediately guessed what had happened.
"Tsk. This doesn't look good. It seems Lord Jiraiya was caught up in a battle. I need to hurry!" He dashed off as he searched for any clues he could find and followed the flow of the battle from the marks and scars left behind.
SCHLICK!
Haku was immediately alarmed at this sound. He had followed the scars of the battle all the way to this remote location on the side of a large tall building by open water when he heard a loud noise that sounded like the stabbing of flesh. He had a bad premonition as his heart rate sped up.
Swish!
Haku jumped as far as he could as he just turned the corner to make it to where he heard the sound of what seemed like a battle. His eyes widened in that moment as he saw a bloody Jiraiya lying on a broken fragment of rock with black rods sticking out his back and writing on the back of a small old frog. Just as Jiraiya had finished writing, Haku had also utilized the Hidden Mist Jutsu and used his incredible speed and agility to dash towards Jiraiya. At the same time five figures clad in the Akatsuki's clothing also jumped down towards Jiraiya.
As those five Akatsuki members were still airborne a dense thick mist obscured their vision causing them to widen their eyes in shock.
Was there someone else in the shadows? Because I stopped my Rain Jutsu I didn't detect any other foreign shinobi enter the country Pain thought.
Haku grabbed Jiraiya's body and dashed into the water below. Before he could do anything else however one of the Pain's said, "Almighty Push!" The area in the surroundings, including the water below and mist in the air were pushed away by a powerful force. Not only was the thick mist dispersed, but Haku holding Jiraiya was also pushed across the water and rolled a few times before being able to stabilize himself on top of the surface. At this moment a cold and powerful frost condensed around Haku as an icy mirror image of himself appeared beside him. The Ice Clone grabbed Jiraiya's body and dashed away as Haku stood across the water a fair distance away from the five Pains.
"Let me guess. One of you is the leader of the Akatsuki." Haku said with an incredibly serious face. The Deva Pain stood forth and said, "I recognize you. You are a shinobi of Konoha. The one who defeated Kakuzu. Your skills are quite impressive. Not only did you manage to slip into the country unnoticed, you even hid your presence as you approached and even used a concealing technique to obscure our vision before reclaiming Jiraiya-sensei's body."
Haku couldn't help but have a bad premonition. He never felt such a sense of danger before when facing an enemy. "You seem to know quite a lot about me. I reckon you won't just let me go." Haku said not taking his eyes off of the five Pains.
"Even though you used a clone to carry Jiraiya-sensei's body away it does not matter. He is already dead. You shall join him shortly." Deva Pain said indifferently.
He said Jiraiya-sensei? Does this mean this is a student of Jiraiya's? And why do they all have the same eyes. Don't tell me...Haku suddenly recalled one of his various lessons that Izaya taught him when they were kids.
*Flash Back*
"Big brother, so you're saying that your Sharingan is one of the three great Dojutsus? Then what are the other two?" Haku inquired.
"That's right Haku. My Sharingan is one of the three great Dojutsus. The other two are the Byakugan, which is distinguishable by their completely white eyes, and the Rinnegan, which is distinguishable by its circular ringing pattern. Out of all three the Rinnegan is the most rare and is considered a legendary existence. Listen Haku. If one day you come face to face with a user of the Rinnegan who is hostile to you, if you do not possess sufficient strength then you run immediately. Use every ability you can think of to escape. Don't try to fight or it won't end well. According to legends and rumors the Rinnegan grants the user some pretty unique abilities that are super powerful like manipulating gravity or even absorbing Ninjutsu. Oi, are you listening to me?" Izaya said as he looked on helplessly at a starry eyed Haku.
"Big brother, I'm listening. You know so much I was just admiring how great my big brother is." Haku replied. Izaya just sighed and said, "Alright. Enough lecturing. Want to help me figure out what abilities my Mangekyou Sharingan has?"
"Mn!" Haku replied.
*End of Flash Back*
So the leader of the Akatsuki possesses the legendary Rinnegan that big brother told me about. On top of that there are five of them! Looks like I can only try to create a moment of opportunity to escape. By the looks of it he isn't too interested in chasing Lord Jiraiya anymore, but rather fixated on me. Lord Jiraiya...please forgive me...I'm sorry that I couldn't make it in time...I was useless. No matter what I will not fail to return your body. Haku silently lamented to himself.
Cling!
Eh? Haku noticed that one of the Pains, the Asura Pain, turned into some sort of mechanized human weapon. What kind of Jutsu is that? Big brother was right when he said that the Rinnegan gives some very unique abilities.
Fwoosh!
Four missiles shot out towards Haku as Haku quickly jumped back and threw four needles with paper bombs attached at the missiles. They exploded in the air as they collided. At this moment a Pain appeared by Haku's right side and threw a punch, but Haku used his superior agility to duck down and jump back, however, the Deva Pain stuck out his hand and said, "Universal Pull!" Haku was immediately pulled back towards the other Pains. Before Haku could react the Asura Pain brought out a giant saw and sliced Haku's body in half only for it to turn into water.
"Oh? Water Clone? To be able to use a Water Clone from right under our noses. Impressive. No wonder Kakuzu lost. He used it when he ducked down to dodge one of the Pain's punches. He used that ducking motion to not only dodge but to splash up water and hide his hand sign for the water clone." Deva Pain analysed. He then jumped over the water and said, "Almighty Push!" The powerful gravitational push caused the water to part revealing Haku's retreating form in the distance.
"Shit, he found me out already." Haku formed the signs of Bird, Snake, Ram and said, "Ice Style Freezing Mist Jutsu!" The surrounding area fogged up again as the temperature decreased astronomically and froze the surrounding water and moisture in the air in the area. Haku then formed the signs of Snake, Dragon, Hare, Bird and said, "Ice Style Mirror Array Clone Jutsu!" The ice in the surrounding area condensed into icy reflections of Haku's image. It appeared as if thousands upon thousands of Haku's were running through the water. Just as Preta Pain absorbed all the icy mist in the air that obscured their vision they saw a bunch of Haku's that was indistinguishable from the original.
"Oh? He obscured our vision first and condensed cold frost in the air, then used a Jutsu that reflected his image through the icy crystals he created in the atmosphere and the surrounding water. It is similar to the Clone Jutsu but on a much wider scale and is more effective at confusion tactics, it also does not consume a lot of chakra as it doesn't create actual physical clones. It is closer to that of a Genjutsu than Ninjutsu. But it still won't be enough. Almighty Push!" Deva Pain analysed, praised, and said. An instant later and all the clone Haku's were destroyed. "Hm? Where is the real one?" Pain said as they all looked around but couldn't find him.
At this moment Haku was deep underwater riding on the Water Dragon Jutsu he activated after successfully faking out the Pain's with his icy fog and icy mirror clones. Thanks to the speed of his Water Dragon Jutsu he had finally caught up with his Ice Clone carrying Jiraiya's body. Just as he was about to release his clone and grab Jiraiya's body he felt a dangerous sensation behind him so he quickly formed the Tiger hand sign and said, "Ice Style Crystal Wall Jutsu!" A strong icy wall blocked a barrage of paper shuriken aimed at him and Jiraiya. Noticing things weren't in his favor he formed the Tiger sign once more and said, "Ice Style Ten Thousand Ice Petals Jutsu!" Thousands upon thousands of sharp icy shards rose up from the water in the area and shot forth at Konan and her paper shuriken with great speeds.
Ting Ting Ting Ting Ting Ting Ting!
Each paper shuriken met an ice shard as they cancelled one another's techniques. Haku commanded his Ice Clone to dash off with Jiraiya once more as he held off Konan while running away himself, unsure of when the other Pains might arrive. Konan switched to using paper bombs instead of regular paper in this moment causing all the ice shards that came into contact with her paper to explode creating a cloud of icy mist at the same time. Haku smirked and formed the sign of Ram saying, "Ice Style Freezing Liquid Jutsu!" The cloud of icy mist began to liquify as Haku formed the sign of Tiger and said, "Ice Style Ten Thousand Ice Petals Jutsu!" Another bout of icy shards shot out from the water and became coated in the liquified icy cloud in the air as they made contact with Konan's paper bombs. Konan widened her eyes in shock as for some reason the explosion became even more ferocious. The range of the explosion increased exponentially and blasted her off a far distance away as she tumbled through the air and rolled herself in an attempt to reduce the force pushing her body away. When she looked back at where Haku was supposed to be he had already disappeared. She turned back to look at the area of explosion in deep contemplation.
"I see. He transformed that cloud of icy mist into liquid nitrogen and coated his ice shards with it. When they came into contact with my paper bombs the heat of the explosion caused the gas cloud created to exponentially expand creating a terrifying force that blew me off balance and far away. He then used that chance to erase his presence and escape. How clever. Pain was right. Konoha's shinobi are quite skilled."
Fwish!
At this moment the five paths of Pain arrived. "Did he escape?" Pain asked.
"He did." Konan replied.
"Hmpf. Impressive. He has quite the skills for one so young." Pain commented.
"It appears that Jiraiya-sensei has successfully abducted one of your bodies." Konan said.
"Yes. Jiraiya-sensei was quite something. If he had known about the truth of Pain from the start we would not have defeated him. I will have to replace the body he stole with another." Pain replied.
"And about the one who escaped with Jiraiya-sensei's body?" Konan asked.
"Forget it. It doesn't matter. Jiraiya-sensei is dead now. While that shinobi did have formidable skills he is no match for us. I need to prepare before grabbing the Nine-Tails. Did you find anyone else noteworthy to recruit in the Akatsuki?" Pain asked.
"Yes. He is one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist known as the Demon of the Hidden Mist, Momochi Zabuza." Konan replied.
"I see. Since Itachi is now dead have Zabuza and Kisame pair up and go after the Eight Tails." Pain said as he walked off.
*End of Flash Back*
Huff. Huff. Huff. "I'm...I'm sorry Lord Hokage...Huff. I-I didn't make it in time. Huff. I-...Huff. I couldn't save Lord Jiraiya. Huff. I could…Huff...Only bring back...Huff. His body…" Haku said out of breath as he finally lost consciousness completely weary from the escape and non-stop running.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Once again the sound of a monitor was heard. I sighed as I sat by Haku's hospital bed waiting for him to awaken. Kimimaro also stood by me. Haku had returned with Jiraiya's body just two days after I retrieved Itachi and Sasuke. I was so focused on Itachi and Sasuke I didn't even have time to consider that Jiraiya might have already left for the Hidden Rain Village I lamented. I looked down at Haku's recovering body and breathed out a sigh of relief. I'm just glad that Haku only expended lots of stamina and chakra and didn't really get hurt when he faced Pain. I then looked at the other side of the curtains where another bed was laid out with Sasuke lying on top also unconscious. Seems Sasuke hasn't woken yet. I suppose hearing the truth about Itachi from Itachi himself put more stress on him this time. Now I wonder how he'll digest everything Itachi left him. He probably awakened his Mangekyou Sharingan after learning the truth before he passed out at their battle site. I turned to Kimimaro. "Maro, did you find anything about Danzo and where he's hidden Root?" I asked.
Kimimaro shook his head before replying, "Yes and no. The other Anbu's and myself found where they were stationed originally. They have long since left. I reckon after their failure at assassinating you they moved their location so as not to be discovered. Things didn't go as Danzo had planned so I'm not sure what he's going to do now or where he disappeared to. Lord Fifth and Lord Third had finally managed to convince the other elders to impeach Danzo's position as an elder of the Leaf. Now Lord Fifth and Lord Third can openly move against him without causing any political strife. Honestly I'm not sure what Danzo had imagined to happen. He was too confident and egotistical. He truly thought that he was irreplaceable and became extremely self-centered. I wonder what else he had prepared before he attempted your assassination."
"Hm...Well, at least the problem of him holding any official power in Konoha is gone. Let's not bother with Danzo for the time being. The problem that's fast approaching is the Akatsuki. Jiraiya died in battle against the leader and Haku barely escaped. My guess is that it won't be long before he decides to strike, now that his base of operations has been exposed." I said. I noticed Kimimaro's frustrated and angry look so I said, "You look angry...Did something happen?" Kimimaro glared at me and said, "You know, Haku and I still haven't forgiven you for just taking off like that without saying a word to us right after you awoke from your injuries."
"Ha...haha...eh...I'm Sorry…" I said apologetically. It was at this moment that a frustrated, sad, and angry looking Naruto walked in. Undoubtedly do to Jiraiya's death. He's probably conflicted on how to feel since he's happy that Sasuke was retrieved but angry and sad at Jiraiya's death. Everyone else who went on the mission to capture Itachi and Sasuke walked in as well. They were Sakura, Sai, Hinata, Kiba, Shino, Kakashi, and Yamato. Hiruzen and Tsunade were also present. They all followed behind Naruto as we all crammed inside the hospital room where Sasuke and Haku were. At this moment Haku regained consciousness.
"Ugh. Where am I?" Haku said a little disoriented.
"Haku. Take it easy. You're in the hospital right now." I replied.
"Hm? Big brother? Big brother I-...I wasn't fast enough...I'm sorry...I couldn't save Lord Jiraiya…" Haku said with a downcast expression. Everyone in the room had a gloomy look on their faces. I just held onto Haku's shoulder in assurance and gave him a soft and comforting smile. "Haku. Look at me." I said. Haku slowly turned his head with a defeated look on it at me.
"Haku. It's not your fault. We heard about everything from one of the toad elders of Mount Myoboku, Fukasaku. Pain was just too strong. You did great bringing back Jiraiya's body, but the most important thing is that you returned alive." I said.
"Mn." Haku merely nodded in a soft whisper.
"Ugh…" Sasuke said as he also awoke at this moment. Everyone turned over to look at him. Naruto and Sakura being extremely nervous about how Sasuke would react to finally being back and Itachi finally being dead. Before Naruto or Sakura could rush over to him Kakashi placed his hand on their shoulders to hold them back to give Sasuke a moment to take everything in. Sasuke looked up at all of us with a complicated emotion in his eyes. He once again recalled everything that Itachi had told him and shown him in his memories. All the pain his brother felt. All the joy his brother had for the village. All the questions and missions and choices and thoughts, everything. Everything that his elder brother had left him. What is a Clan? What is a Village? What are bonds? What is life? What is death? What is war? What is joy? What is hatred? What is love? He contemplated why Itachi made the choices he did. What Itachi wished for. He contemplated the darkness of the Clan. The darkness of the Village. Sasuke then recalled the own bonds and friendships he forged with Team 7. He recalled Izaya, Haku, Kimimaro and the time they spent breezing through the academy together. He recalled the missions he took up with Team 7. He recalled his rivalry with Naruto. He recalled Sakura's unyielding display of affection. He recalled his training under Kakashi and the Chunin exams with everyone else. He recalled the joy of his Clan and also their deaths. He recalled his mother and father and Itachi and the choices they all made. He recalled the final words of his brother…"Although I won't be able to fulfill my duties as Konoha's Uchiha Itachi one last time...I will at least be able to fulfill my duties as your older brother, one last time...In my final moments...Sasuke...Don't blame the Leaf for the choices I made...You are the only one who can restore the honor of the Uchiha Clan now...Don't fall into our darkness...That is my wish...Please forgive me...Sasuke...I will always love you...This is goodbye…"
In the end, Sasuke slowly closed his eyes and took a deep breath. And finally, two images appeared in his mind. A masked man who helped Itachi slaughter the Clan and Shimura Danzo who gave Itachi the order. Rage welled up inside of him as he elected to kill those two bastards. One helped slaughter the Clan out of his own personal spite and the other gave such a painful order to his older brother just because he was a scared shitless dirtbag. Sasuke opened his eyes at this moment revealing his newly awakened Mangekyou Sharingan as tears streamed down his face.
At this moment Kakashi finally let go of Sakura and Naruto as they both slowly walked over to Sasuke. Sakura put her arms around him embracing him in a tight hug whilst Naruto just stood to the side awkwardly with a goofy smile on his face. Kakashi could see the hint of anger and desire to kill in Sasuke's eyes but couldn't quite pinpoint who it was directed towards. After a few more minutes of their reunion Sasuke wiped away his tears and said with a dark tone, "Where is Danzo?" Kakashi narrowed his eyes a bit and said, "Why do you want to know where Danzo is?" Sasuke clenched his fists and said, "I'm going to kill him! After everything he put my brother through!"
Everyone but Hiruzen and I had a surprised expression. Many of them turned towards me with a questioning gaze as they recalled my conversation with Tobi in the forest.
"I see. Then I guess you can help us out." Kakashi replied. Sasuke was a bit startled that Kakashi agreed so readily at his statement to kill Danzo. "What do you mean? I expected more resistance from you as he is an elder of the Leaf." Sasuke said. Kakashi let out a sigh and said, "Danzo has been removed from his position as an elder of the Leaf. He has attempted to assassinate Izaya on multiple occasions already and nearly succeeded. He's not listed in the Bingo Book or anything but this is a matter that we're all looking into. Danzo has fled the village after his failure to kill Izaya and we're searching for him. Dead or alive, however alive is more preferable as there are secrets and answers we wish to learn from him."
Sasuke widened his eyes at this turn of events. Well then, that's fine with me. It's all the better if there isn't any resistance from Konoha. Tsk, then there's also Suigetsu, Jugo, Karin, I still have to find them. They were waiting to make sure no one interrupted my fight with Itachi, but now where are they? I also don't know how I really feel about Konoha yet. Sasuke turned to look at everyone and said, "Aside from me, did you guys bring back anyone else?"
"I'm sorry. I wasn't able to bring back anyone else." I said. Sasuke turned to me and said, "You were the one to bring me back?"
I nodded and replied, "I was. I recovered your brothers body as well."
Sasuke widened his eyes in surprise again and felt his heart constrict a bit. "Why...Why did older brother have to suffer the fate of the Clan by himself…" Sasuke said almost inaudibly. Kakashi turned to me and said, "Izaya, before in the forest when you were speaking to that masked man called Tobi. But it also seemed like you called him Madara. What exactly was going on? It sounded like you knew some sort of secret about Itachi."
Hiruzen was also surprised. Eh? Madara? And it sounds like Sasuke knows the truth now too. I suppose there isn't a point in lying and keeping it a secret anymore Hiruzen silently thought and let out a sigh. Everyone turned to look at me for an explanation while Sasuke said, "You knew about my older brother?" I took a momentary pause before answering, "Yes. I knew. I once met your brother a while back. After speaking with one another we came to a mutual understanding. At first he didn't wish to tell you the truth. He had hoped that after you avenged the Clan to uphold their honor you would return to the Leaf proudly, however, after the two of us spoke he decided that he would have more faith in you, his younger brother that he loved. He decided to believe in your strength and your character. He decided that perhaps you could handle the truth and that you would be able to decide your own choices. Walk your own path. And on that path that you forged yourself, perhaps you may find the happiness that he wished for you."
Sasuke just listened in silence as he lowered his head with a look of incredible loss again. Perhaps I need some time alone away from the village to better come to terms with everything. To find out who I am, what I should do, and how I should feel. Sasuke thought to himself. Everyone just continued to give Sasuke and I a confused expression as they still didn't understand anything since no one was elaborating on what this secret of Itachi's was. Naruto finally couldn't stand it and said, "Well? What the heck is going on? What is the secret behind Itachi?"
Hiruzen let out a sigh and said, "Itachi...Since Sasuke is the last surviving member of the Uchiha Clan and the one Itachi has passed on his will to, depending on what Sasuke decides, that will determine whether or not the truth of Itachi will be revealed." Sasuke looked at Hiruzen for a moment before saying, "I need time...To figure out how I feel about all of this. Until I decide how I feel and figure out what I need to do don't tell anyone about Itachi. That was his wish. Whether I will honor that wish or not will be decided when I can sort out my thoughts."
"Mn. Very well. I am...I understand that this may hold no meaning for you Sasuke. But I am sorry that I could not manage the situation better. I had failed. This village and myself owe Itachi a great many things. The only thing I can do now is to offer you anything you need when you need it. Don't hesitate to come to me." Hiruzen said in a sad tone. Since it seemed that the secret of Itachi wasn't going to be revealed to them anytime soon Tsunade finally said, "What did Kakashi mean when he said you called this masked man Madara?"
I gave a silent and thoughtful look before saying, "When I met Itachi, he told me of a member within the Akatsuki who wore a mask. He said that it was Uchiha Madara. Whether this is true or not remains to be seen. Obviously it doesn't make sense that Madara would still be alive but I suppose it doesn't hurt to be extra cautious."
Hiruzen, Tsunade, Kakashi, and Yamato were extremely shocked at the possibility of Madara still being alive but reigned in their emotions soon after.
"Madara...Hm...If it truly is Madara then the world may be in grave danger." Hiruzen commented.
"Tsk. Uchiha Madara. The Akatsuki. It may be time that we convene a 5 Kage's summit meeting. We also need to discuss Pain. Jiraiya risked his life to gain information on him and even stole one of Pain's bodies. Shizune is performing an autopsy on it and the coding team is deciphering Jiraiya's secret message. Fukasaku has told us Pain's abilities and about his past connection to Jiraiya. Haku, you also met Pain. Is there anything you'd like to tell us? Any additional information will be helpful." Tsunade said. Haku nodded his head, "Yes. When I encountered Pain there were only five of them. From what you just said, it seems that Lord Jiraiya had already successfully abducted one of his bodies before I arrived. One of them had the ability to mechanize himself and another had the power of strong gravitational pushing and pulling. There was even one who had the power to absorb Ninjutsu. I didn't have much time to fight and figure out more of their abilities as I elected to escape with Lord Jiraiya's body. As I was escaping there was a woman who used some form of chakra enhanced papers to attack me and infused them with paper bombs as well. Other than that I don't know much else about Pain."
"Now that we know where the base of the Akatsuki is it means this leader Pain is going to make a move against us sometime soon. We need to prepare. Unfortunately the Akatsuki member Hidan that was captured didn't know much. He probably wasn't very trustworthy or he talked too much. Does anyone have any suggestions?" Tsunade said.
"Fukasaku has told me to go train with him in Mount Myoboku to learn Sage Mode. I will learn how to use Sage Mode as fast as I can to get stronger and fight Pain." Naruto said with determination.
"I met with Pain once already and know I'm not his match. I'm going to ask Mazu to help me train to get stronger as well so I have a chance to be of some help when the time comes." Haku said.
"Okay. Then I have a suggestion. Haku says that Pain has a powerful ability to repel and attract objects. If Pain arrives in Konoha we should utilize the Four Red Yang Formation Barrier to trap him inside. This will help reduce the potential damage inflicted on Konoha." I said.
"That requires at least four Hokage class shinobi to activate. Aside from Lord Fifth and Lord Third, who else will be able to help activate such a technique." Yamato commented.
"Hm. Well it isn't certain that we will use this barrier, but this should be considered as a possible course of action just in case. And one only needs to have enough chakra with a good understanding of the barrier. Kakashi, I believe you should be able to help with this no?" Hiruzen said.
"Yes. I could, but my chakra reserves aren't as great as you or Lord Fifth's. I'm afraid I'll be greatly drained after utilizing this technique and won't be much help in an actual battle." Kakashi replied.
"Then...Let Kimimaro and I help. I've learnt about this barrier from Hiruzen-sensei. Also, I have about 6 to 7 times more chakra than Kakashi-sensei. Kimimaro also has about 6 times more chakra than Kakashi-sensei. If Kimimaro joins Kakashi-sensei in performing the barrier then it shouldn't be a problem. Also, we only need to use this technique if we sense that Pain is going to do something drastic. To keep the technique activated continuously would drain even Kimimaro and I." I said as I also turned to Sasuke at this moment. "I don't know what you'll decide yet Sasuke, but your chakra reserves should also be about 5 times that of Kakashi-sensei. If you decide to help against Pain, it's possible for you to help activate the barrier as well."
Sasuke remained silent but didn't outright reject. I took out some of my special kunai and handed it to Tsunade and Kakashi as I said, "Hold onto these. If we do need to activate the barrier or if you need assistance I can make it to your destination immediately."
"Mn. Very well. I'll draw up a safe passage route for the villagers to take if Pain does attack." Tsunade said. After finishing our discussion the only ones left in the room were Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi, Haku, Kimimaro, and I.
"Big brother, Maro, I'm going to go summon Mazu now and train under him for a bit. I'll try to return as fast as I can." Haku said. We both nodded as Haku left with Kimimaro following suit.
"Sasuke. Come find me later when you're ready to talk. There are some things that I want to inform you of." I said before leaving the room and going around the village setting up my special kunai in strategic points.
Kakashi turned to Sasuke and said with a light smile, "Sasuke. I'm glad that you're back. I need to go prepare just incase a battle does breakout. Come find me if you need anything." He then disappeared in a puff of white smoke leaving only Naruto and Sakura with Sasuke.