Naruto watched Kiyomi touch the barrier which had dictated that they teleport to the entrance of the cave that served as Momo's hideout. He heard the barrier sizzle in reaction to the touch of her fingertips and despite his imagining that it stung her, she repeated the gesture a few moments later. Despite the situation, he felt a sense of relief since he could feel Mito as he had been concerned that once Momo realized that she had grabbed the wrong woman that she might harm her.
Naruto had been training with Moegi and Yakumo when he felt Mito's presence within the foxmark network split into multiple ones. Thankfully, Yakumo had quickly given him an excuse to leave by claiming they should practice trying to locate each other if separated during the exam. Naturally, Naruto had used the opportunity to teleport away leaving a clone to be found at a later point. He had then created the clones to teleport to each of the "Mito" he felt. But, instead had been greeted by armed men instead. Men that he had made short work of and were currently occupying Ibiki's cells as he worked them over. Although a few had quickly given up that they were working for a priestess named Momo. The head interrogator was confident they were hiding something since even most bandits would put up token resistance rather than freely admit their crimes.
Still, what the men who were claiming to be bandits had revealed thus far, did fit with the theory that Yoshino had quickly come up with that it was Momo and she had targeted Mito believing her to be Kiyomi. She had come to because of how the kidnapper had known of the Foxmark, and how a means to counteract it to confuse them. Having read extensively about Kanji, Yoshino believed that Momo had disappeared so completely because she had been twisted to be so devoted to him, that with his death, her only purpose for living was revenge.
Yet, Yoshino still believed the woman could be reached which had obviously surprised many of those present. To defend her claim, she had pointed out a curious note that she had found in Hinata's report about what she had witnessed when she had looked at the women of Kanji's harem, which was that of all the women that had been there at the time, only Tayuya's chakra had been a different color then black. The Nara had suggested that on some level Momo had been quite aware of Kanji's true nature, but had found it easier to surrender to the fiction that she had created of him.
Kiyomi had agreed, and then suggested that she go alone, since she was the one that Momo wanted. He had quickly said no, and that he should be the one to go alone. But, Yoshino had stated that it would be better if the two of them went together. He hadn't been all that thrilled at the idea, not wanting to put one of his lovers at risk. Even one that was a Bijuu. Not to mention Tsunade, and his other lovers that had managed to gather had all wanted to go.
But, Yoshino had cautioned against the Family going in mass since Momo had to consider it a possibility considering how it had dealt with Kanji. But, it was likely that whatever the Priestess had in store had been meant for Kiyomi to witness.
He had tried to use that as a reason for why Kiyomi shouldn't go, but Yoshino had countered that at this point it was likely that Mito had revealed to Momo that she wasn't the woman she had wanted to capture. The Nara believed doing so would begin to apply pressure that might cause her to make a mistake, especially if her plan began to unravel. Even if Momo hadn't believed Mito, having Kiyomi appear would be proof and might cause Momo to begin questioning herself. In essence Yoshino believed keeping the priestess off balance only further worked to their advantage.
Naruto had relented and when they had felt Mito's presence the two of them had quickly teleported to it. But, the closest they could move had been the entrance of the cave that apparently Momo was using as a base. A moment later they had been cut off from the rest of the Family, but had suspected as much since the woman wouldn't have wanted them to escape.
Watching Kiyomi, Naruto frowned since he could still feel Mito's presence and guessing she would be at the furthest point from them was concerned at just how expansive the place seemed to be. Wondering how a priestess had been able to come across such a location. He began to suspect that Ibiki's suspicions about the men that had been working with Momo was correct. Feeling rather isolated, he began to grow concerned that whoever might be backing her wanted him cutoff from the rest of his Family. Yet, he quickly dismissed it since he could have easily teleported the rest of them there to attack the unknown threat. Still, a part of him wasn't willing to write it off so easily. But, a moment later Kiyomi's hand tapped empty air where the Barrier had been indicating it had pulled back.
His Bijuu lover looked back at him, prompting him to ask, "Should we just teleport to the edge of it again."
Kiyomi considered it, but motioning to a camera replied, "I think our host expects us to put on a show. If Mito is going to apply pressure to her to force a mistake, it would be best to play along."
Aware Kiyomi could telepathically communicate with her siblings or former hosts he asked, "Can you..."
Kiyomi shook her head not wanting to speak of her abilities since she wasn't sure if the cameras could pick up sound or not. But, having tried to speak with Mito directly replied, "I'm afraid I can only sense her mark same as you."
Naruto nodded before heading towards the doorway that would take them deeper into the base. He noticed a thick fog was covering the floor and raised up to his knees. He feared it was meant to cover some traps so said back to Kiyomi, "Be careful where you step."
Kiyomi smiled at him as she said, "Honestly, do you truly believe some paltry traps pose a threat to me? Let the little bitch do her worst. But if she's harmed Mito then I'll gladly make what I did to Kanji seem like a mild case of sunburn."
Stepping into the room, Naruto felt a sense of paranoia as if a shade from the past was watching him. It was accompanied by a sense of guilt that he couldn't quite place, but pushed it aside as he cautioned his Bijuu lover, "Don't forget that she is just a victim in all this as well."
Kiyomi frowned, but countered, "What of it? I haven't forgotten what was done to her, but it doesn't give her free reign to do as she pleases. Or would you prefer her to cut down Mito before you are willing to deal with her as you did Sasuke?"
Naruto felt the same sense of guilt that he had before, but far stronger than he just had moments earlier. He also felt a sense of anger, but quickly calmed himself as he replied, "No, but I tried to reach Sasuke multiple times. Before we start plotting to simply kill this woman. I think it behooves us to give her the same chance to turn away from revenge."
Kiyomi appeared to need to forcibly calm herself as well, but nodded her understanding. Naruto smiled softly at her before focusing on the task at hand as he moved deeper into the fog covered room.
**************************
Iruka could tell his presence had caught Mawashi Dokuraku, the current Warden of the Leaf's Maximum Security prison, off guard as he stepped into the man's office. He confirmed as much as he said, "Iruka, I admit that I'm a bit surprised by your appearance today." He adjusted his glasses as he flipped through his date planner before explaining, "In my reply to your request to set up a meeting for discussing your program and the release of prisoner OT-Zero-Zero-Four-Nine, I said the seventeenth of next month would be best."
The Chunin instructor frowned since the letter he had been given had indicated the current time and date. "I'm sorry Warden, but the letter I was given said to come today."
"Damn translators," the man replied giving the impression that it seemed to be a recurring issue, "I wished they'd get their heads screwed on straight."
Iruka frowned from the former interrogator's statement as he asked, "Have you reported the issue?"
Mawashi nodded as he said, "I have to the department head. No reason to get the higher ups involved just yet, especially as it may be related to some lingering issues from Furofuki's assault on the village. It mostly been harmless so far, just a few dates or supply quantities that have been off. Truthfully, it happens all the time and is usually just human error. Although the frequency has been rather high as of late."
Before Iruka could respond the warden's intercom went off as a man reported, "Sir, this is the bridge tower."
"Excuse me," Mawashi said before switching on the box to say, "Go ahead."
"Sir, we have a pair of guards from the Hozuki Castle Prison at the other end," the shinobi on duty replied. "They claim to have a H.V.P. and have been ordered to transfer him here. But, I don't have anything on the schedule."
Mawashi cursed as he sent Iruka a look that stated, "See what I mean." But, switching the box on he said, "Control, do they have their orders with them?"
"Yes sir," the man replied quickly, "I already sent the hawk over. The papers look legit, but they don't list the prisoner. They claim he is a gift from the Hidden Grass Leader for his village's admittance into the Alliance."
Mawashi frowned at the irregularity of it, and mumbled to himself, "Gifts from Grass always come with a hidden cost." Switching the intercom back on he said, "Control, I'm coming up. Tell them they better be willing to reveal who this prisoner is to me, or else I hope they kept the receipt."
"Understood sir," the shinobi replied.
Standing, Mawashi focused on Iruka as he said, "You know your way to her cell right. Speak to the head guard on duty in her wing and he'll take you to an interview room."
Iruka nodded as he shook the man's hand before following him out and began heading deeper into the prison.
***************************
Sakura was tossed rather unceremoniously to the ground and couldn't catch herself due to her hands being tied behind her back. The last several hours were a blur as she was still fighting the effects of the gas that she and the medical team she had been leading had been hit with. She had just diagnosed that the disease that she had been sent to the Land of Frost to combat had been genetically engineered. But, more troubling was that it appeared the reason it was so virulent wasn't because of a natural resistance, but because someone was still tinkering with it to combat the doctors' efforts. This led her to believe the culprit was part of the staff at the hospital that had been the headquarters for the efforts to stop the pandemic.
However, before she could send a report one of the doctors she had been working with had come running into her makeshift office. The petite blonde haired woman's youthful appearance had surprised Sakura when they had first been introduced, particularly due to the reports she had read would have led her to believe the woman was much older. At times, she had kind of given Sakura the impression that she was a bit like Koharu, a much older woman walking around in a younger woman's skin.
The doctor, who had introduced herself as Arisu Fushiginokuni, had sounded panicked as she reported that one of the patients appeared to be developing new symptoms. Sakura had followed the woman to the patient's room where she found the rest of her squad already working on the man as boils began to appear on his skin. Sakura began to approach feeling concerned, as they seemed to grow to the point of bursting. Fearing that the unseen hand behind the disease was in fact developing a biological weapon she shouted for doctors to get back. She told them to get out of the room, only to turn to follow her direction and find the room had already been sealed. The boils covering the man's skin burst causing a sickly green poison to fill the room.
Sakura held her breath as she reached the door and wasn't surprised to find it locked. She began to feel drained making her realize the poison was liking being absorbed through her skin. For a moment, she was glad that Arisu appeared to have reacted so quickly since although she could have easily smashed the door down, Sakura didn't to prevent the disease from spreading. But, that all ended as she saw the diminutive woman stand on her tiptoes to peer into the window. The concerned doctor that she had appeared to be before was gone and in her place was a woman obviously enjoying the results of her handiwork.
Holding a small recorder to her mouth she said, "Experiment was a success with the fumes released from patient's blood upon its contacting the air rendering those closet unconscious in moments. Most likely a result of breathing it in." Focusing on Sakura the small blonde woman said, "Particularly as transference through skin seems less reliable, although such a result might also be due to the subject in question."
Sakura began to feel sluggish, and recognized that it was only a matter of time before she was rendered unconscious as well. Hoping to put the woman in the same boat as her, she punched the door off of its hinges nearly crushing the blonde as it smashed into the opposite wall. Due to the lockdown being breached, shutters slammed down closing the hall off from the rest of the building.
The Pink haired medic closed with the woman and picking her up said, "Time for a test of your own medicine doctor."
She was about to toss her into the room closest to the now dead patient who was still venting the fumes. But due to her focusing so hard on the doctor while fighting to stay conscious, she didn't realize they weren't alone until a kick caught her by surprise. The man that delivered it landed where she had been standing as the doctor she had been holding landed unceremoniously on her butt. Sakura worked herself up to her knees and frowned as she recognized Sora due to what had happened in Vegetable Country. But what truly disturbed her was the tall orange haired man standing behind him. Recognizing him from his Bingo book entry of known accomplices of Sasuke's. She focused on the violet haired monk saying, "Sora, I see you still have a penchant for striking foes from behind."
The monk hardly seemed offended as he replied, "It worked so well with that teammate of yours I figured why not do it again."
The medic frowned as she noticed her condition worsening, but the three people opposite of her seemed unaffected. The blonde woman seemed to pick up on her thoughts as she said, "Do you really think that I would be so careless as to leave me or my associates vulnerable to the gas?" Addressing the two men, she said, "Now if you two would be so kind as to grab her, I can finally get out of this backwater hick town and to a proper lab."
Sora smirked as he moved to finish the crouched Konoha-nin off with a kick to the head. But she caught it with one hand surprising him, and then delivered a devastating punch to his stomach that caused him to cough up blood as he flew back at his associates. Juugo easily caught the man, and then retaliated as he pointed at Sakura and his arm morphed into a large claw. His arm elongated, but rather then stretching like rubber, just seemed to grow as it remained a consistent size and shape. But it did so at an incredible pace as it hit her in the chest with enough force to lift her into the air and smashed her into one of the metal shutters hard enough to dent it. Juugo's arm retracted causing her to fall to the floor and Juugo set Sora down as he moved to collect the kunoichi.
Sora though instead of thanking the man said to his back as he tried to push by, "Get out of my way you oaf. I'm going to kill the fucking bitch."
Juugo felt his urge to kill the man and basically everyone in the hotel begin to grow but clamping down on it said, "You know our orders. Sasuke wants her alive."
Sora didn't seem phased as he said, "Fuck what he wants. This is just some mind fuck ploy for him. It's not like the bitch is going to be able to accomplish the task before her fucking teammate gets done with the priestess."
"Nevertheless," the blonde woman said, "You best remember your place. You might feel you can disrespect Sasuke right now. But, soon enough he'll be back on his feet because of me."
Sora turned towards the woman before saying, "Yeah, and what of it, Dorothea. He's showing that he fears that piece of shit jinchuriki's jutsu with this little operation."
"Are you not a jinchuriki as well?" Juugo asked having placed the unconscious woman over his shoulder.
"I'm a Neo-jinchuriki," Sora answered angrily. "Don't link me in with those pieces of shit."
"More like a Pseudo," Dorothea countered with a smirk, "Although it does seem that despite having a counterfeit bijuu, that you are on par with the true jinchuriki." She could tell her remark annoyed the monk, as he tensed as if to attack. But, rather than being concerned simply said, "Instead of posturing, why don't you make yourself useful and kill the rest of her squad. They're all unconscious so it should be easy for you mister Neo-Jinchuriki."
Sora frowned, but simply stepped into the room to quickly kill the unconscious doctors and shinobi. He heard the metal shutter being smashed off its hinges and the sound of combat as the security personnel of the hospital ineffectively tried to stop the abduction taking place. He cursed his greed as he would like nothing more than to kill the little blond haired leech, but Kabuto was paying him rather well to keep tabs on Sasuke. Although considering the man's current state, he couldn't really understand why.
**************************
Sakura picked herself up as her recollection of what happened to lead her to her current situation came to an end. A part of her didn't think it a coincidence that so soon after Naruto's presence had disappeared, she would end up being attacked. Although, she was not quite sure what had happened to Mito, he had given his lovers the sense that his presence disappearing would be expected. But, she began to panic as she tried to take stock if they were aware of hers as she couldn't feel the rest of the Family. Aware that although her chakra was cut off, Mito's improvements on the Foxmark should have still let her feel the other women in Naruto's life. She imagined that a barrier similar to the one that had deprived her and the others of Naruto's presence was also being used on their location. Although, it wasn't definitive proof, she did come to believe that the kidnapping of Mito and her own were linked.
Yet, before she could begin questioning those that had taken her. A voice that took her back to her genin days said, "Hello Sakura."
Her eyes grew wide as she looked towards the voice and to her shock she found herself kneeling before Sasuke. He was wearing the same open chest white shirt that she remembered from her encounter with him when they had tried to apprehend Sasori's spy. He was sitting in a throne that although ornate seemed more like a prop from a play. He smirked at her wide eye stare as he said, "Welcome to the Raven's Nest."
Sakura managed to get to her feet and took a step forward but was stopped as Juugo clamped a strong hand on her shoulder. Sasuke focused on them before saying, "It's fine. I have nothing to fear from my old teammate."
"Like hell you don't." Sakura said angrily as she took several steps towards him, "After everything you've done to Nar..."
Sasuke moved almost quicker than she could follow before she received a kick to the stomach that knocked her back to the grown. The Uchiha held the leg that he had used to strike her in the air for a moment, before slowly lowering it as he said, "Don't misunderstand. It's not that I believe the one-sided bond you felt for me from those Team Seven days is going to stay your hand. I only meant that I never had anything to fear from a weakling like you." Focusing on the three that had brought his teammate before him, he commanded, "You three are to return to our new home. My old teammate and I have something to discuss."
Working herself back to her knees Sakura said, "I don't have anything to discuss with you. Unless it is the terms of your surrender."
Sasuke seemed amused as he moved to retake his seat in the throne, before replying, "If only you showed this level of backbone back when we were genin. I might have taken you up on your offer of joining me."
Sakura felt a sense of disgust at herself for having once offered to toss away her family and friends for the man whose kindest words to her had been, a rejection of said offer. But, she suspected it had been because he didn't imagine that she would serve a use in his quest for revenge as he did for Karin. Guessing he went through all the trouble to arrange their reunion because he now believed he had a use for her she said, "Whatever it is you want from me, you can forget it."
Sasuke frowned as he waved to some men standing guard near the entrance. One of them disappeared only for two different men to enter holding a body bag between them. They set it down before Sakura and then unzipped it. The pink haired kunoichi didn't immediately recognize the silver haired man whose face was revealed, although she had a sense of familiarity. Sasuke quickly clued her in as to why when he explained, "The man you are looking at was a former member of Akatsuki named Hidan. He had the misfortune of being the first victim of Naruto's Rasenshuriken." She noticed a slight quiver of rage enter the Uchiha's voice as he added, "He wasn't the last." He quickly seemed to get over it to state, "According to what I learned this man was supposed to be immortal, able to shrug off even the most debilitating blows."
"What of it," Sakura said hardly caring for the history lesson.
"I want you to find a way to undo the damage that jutsu did to his chakra network," Sasuke explained.
Sakura frowned since having expected the Uchiha to be showing signs of having been hit with the jutsu said, "Why not just repeat whatever fixed you up?"
The Uchiha's eyes narrowed as he said, "Don't make me repeat myself Sakura."
Sakura glared at her former teammate as she said, "I'm not going to help you."
Sasuke held her gaze before he almost seemed to smile as he said, "I'm actually impressed. I almost believed you'd quickly revert to your pathetic fawning self as soon as you laid eyes on me. It appears you've genuinely grown, which is unfortunate." Switching tracks Sasuke stood and began to approach her while adding, "This sure feels nostalgic. It kind of takes me back to the day our team first formed. Do you remember what you said to me?"
Sakura frowned wondering what Sasuke was driving towards since she knew she had been speaking to Naruto about her feelings. But, her attention was diverted to the door behind her as it opened and she heard her father saying, "Look, I'm sure this is all a misunderstanding, if we can just sit down and discuss it, I'm sur... Sakura."
"Dad," the pink haired kunoichi said shocked as her father was being escorted into the room.
But then before she could turn away to tell the Uchiha to let her father go, she heard Sasuke say, "I'm sure that you must recall the part where you said how lucky Naruto was not to have any parents." Her eyes grew wide as suddenly a chidori spear shot past her head, and buried itself into her father's chest.
Her father looked down at his chest for a moment, and looking up focused on her before giving her a small smile. Sasuke retracted the jutsu causing her father to fall to his knees before collapsing. "NO!" Sakura screamed as she quickly ran to him, and knelt by his side.
He reached up to cup her face and recognizing that he was dying said, "I'm so proud of you."
"Hang in there," Sakura pleaded. Turning to Sasuke who watched on dispassionately she begged as tears began to blur her vision, "Please, I can still save him. I'll do what you want...just please."
"Sakura," her father said sternly, "Don't you give into... him... I still have my pride as a shinobi after all... because I still have...you. Tell your mother... I...love..."
"Daddy," Sakura said as his hand fell to the floor and she set her head down on his chest after it stopped moving. She felt Sasuke coming up behind her as she knelt over her father while sobbing. Sounding completely bored with the suffering he had unleashed, he asked, "So tell me. Are you feeling just as lucky?"
Something snapped in Sakura as she quickly spun towards Sasuke and although her hands were bound behind her back, she was aiming to sink her teeth into his jugular like an Inuzuka. Yet, the two men that had escorted her father into the room stopped her. The Uchiha seemed amused as she said, "I'm going to kill you. I swear, I'm going to..."
"Should I mark that down as a not so much," Sasuke asked obviously dismissing the threat. Shrugging he said, "Well, no matter. You really should be able to understand where both Naruto and I are coming from since you still have your mother." Turning his back on her, he explained, "Now, unless you want your mother to join your father in the afterlife, I suggest you do as I say. I assure you Sakura, if you don't, your mother isn't going to turn up alive later as was the case with my own and his. I have a team watching your home and well, I'm sure you can picture what will happen if I tell them to pay her a visit."
Sakura felt the fight leave her as a numbness just settled in over her. She wilted visibly as she replied, "I'll do as you ask."
"That was never in doubt," Sasuke said turning away from her. Addressing the two shinobi holding her, he added, "Take her to the lab."
The men grabbed her to take her away, but she pulled away to quickly move back to her father. She dropped down to her knees and pressed her face against his to feel his warmth before it faded completely. The guards quickly managed to force her to stand and pulled her away.
**************************
Sasuke watched dispassionately as Sakura was escorted from the room. He turned away as several more men entered to remove the bodies, with the two carrying Hidan's taking it to the same lab Sakura was being led to. He returned to the throne and waited for the men to leave before closing his eyes. In the darkness, he felt as if he occupied two places at once and as he said, "What is the status of the operation?" It sounded like two people had spoken at the same time, although one of the voices sounded frail and weak. He felt his anger spike at that as it reminded him that his power had nearly been taken from him and almost wished he had dragged out the death of Sakura's father since it would only increase the pain Naruto felt in time.
The answer came to him sounding like a whisper in the ear, but also like it had come from a great distance. It made him smile as it had told him, "The Third phase has begun."
**************************
Iruka raced up a flight of stairs to the prison's control room as fast as he could. He entered it and wasn't surprised to find it a hotbed of chaos considering the explosion that had shaken the building. He had just finished meeting with Yamame, the former Sound-nin he had hoped would be the first prisoner to be released as a result of his program, when large explosion had gone off. He had turned Yamame over to the guard of her wing, promising her that everything would be alright before quickly racing off to find out what had happened.
He spotted Mawashi standing at the center of the room giving orders to his subordinates. He recognized him speaking to a Chunin that he had taught by the name of Daichi. The young man had been in the same class as Konohamaru. It filled him with a sense of pride seeing the young man acting in a calm and collected manner as the warden shouted commands to him and several other Chunin. He finished, causing his men to break off to fulfill them. Seeing an opening Iruka approached to ask, "What happened?"
"I'm still not sure?" Mawashi replied quickly, "But, it looks like we've been had. That prisoner that was supposedly being transferred turned out to be Udon."
Iruka felt a sudden sinking feeling in his stomach and noticing where the warden was looking saw his former student on a monitor. He guessed the video was showing what had happened when the Warden had arrived in the control room after they parted as one of the two guards escorting the prisoner suddenly pulled the hood of the cloak back. Sure, enough the young man turned out to be the young root operative. Iruka though turned his attention to the two guards with him, the first was a tall man whose lower face was being covered by a mask. Although wearing what Iruka guessed was a standard uniform for the infamous Blood Prison, the Chunin could tell the man had added a few flourishes to it. The other guard was a blonde woman whose expression was blank, although not in a bored way. But almost as if there was nothing really going on behind her teal eyes.
Iruka quickly believed he understood some of what happened as he turned his gaze away from the monitor to say, "Are they accomplices of his?"
"That appears to be the case," Mawashi replied as he pressed a button causing the images on the monitor to shift and show Udon being led into an isolation cell in at the entrance of the prison. The two guards were sitting outside it while some Chunin were looking over the paperwork, suddenly the screen grew static obscuring the picture. Iruka believed that was when the explosion had gone off, and by the time it recovered the Leaf Chunin were down. The tall guard had tossed away his shirt jacket and shirt revealing a dragon tattoo covering his chest. He also had donned a three prong claw on his right hand and now wore what appeared to be a Kirigakure Hunter mask. The woman had also removed the uniform that she wore to reveal she wore a bluish-green leotard that exposed her legs. She dug around in the pockets of one of the two guards and tossed the keys she found to the tall man who promptly freed Udon.
Noticing the front door appeared to have been blown into the room he suspected that there must have been a third party involved who planted the explosive. With that thought in mind Iruka said, "They must have an accomplice inside the prison. Likely a Root member, who slipped through the purge."
"Agreed," Mawashi replied quickly, "He also arranged for the cells to be opened on the first floor and the prisoners there are rioting. I've locked down the Prison and raised the drawbridge, so they are contained. But we need to maintain control until reinforcements can arrive from Konoha."
Iruka frowned though as he said, "It may not be that simple."
"Please explain," the warden replied as he noticed a light on flip on the radio transmitter indicating someone was contacting the control room. "Excuse me," he quickly stated before flipping it on, "This is the control room, report."
"Warden," a pained voice called out that Iruka recognized as Daichi's replied, "I was leading my Squad to secure the Maximum Security wing when my squad was attacked."
"Impossible," Mawashi said his gaze drifting to several monitors showing the riot in progress. Although none of the screens showed Udon or his partners, it was clear the riot seemed to be contained currently. "It shouldn't be possible for them to have reached the Maximum Security lift from their location."
"Ye...yes sir," Daichi answered, "We were attacked by Nobori. He got my key for the lift."
"Shit," the Warden cursed before asking, "What is the status of your squad?"
"I...I think that I'm all that's left. I'm going to give pursuit. Can you spare any reinforcements?"
"Sir," a kunoichi listening to all the status reports called out attracting their attention, "The situation on the first floor is collapsing. It appears that someone knows the release command for the chakra seals. The prisoners have full access to their chakra."
"Fuck," Mawashi cursed before ordering, "Withdraw all personnel but those stationed in the MS wing to the top floor of the Prison. We need to hold the security wing until help can be sent. We cannot let them lower the drawbridge."
Iruka frowned at the command stating, "If you do that then they'll most likely release the other prisoners to increase their numbers. What's to stop them from just destroying the bridge mechanisms to lower it manually?"
"When it was designed, such a scenario was already conceived so the bridge needs to be lowered in a controlled manner. Even if they destroy the lowering mechanism and managed push it so that gravity causes it to fall. If it hits the connecting portion too hard it would cause it to collapse. We also have a self-destruct mechanism that causes the same thing to happen. I doubt most of the prisoners are a part of the plan and so our best bet is to withdraw to defend this location"
Iruka nodded in understanding, but said, "I see, but Udon must be here for the Root members that I'm guessing are being held in the Maximum Security Wing below the prison. I'm not sure how long we'll hold out if they get free."
"Which is why I'll be leading reinforcements to help keep it secure," Mawashi replied. Realizing he hadn't replied to Daichi, he switched the mike back on. "Daichi, pull back to the command floor." He didn't receive a reply so cursed as he began heading to the exit.
Iruka fell into step asking, "I would like to go with you."
Mawashi studied him for a moment, before saying, "Fine, but our primary goal is to prevent the prisoners in the Maximum Security section from getting loose. This isn't the time to be trying to reach lost students."
"You're wrong about that," Iruka said and knew the warden was about to tell him to stay behind. But, he followed it up by adding, "Yet, I know that it can't take precedence over stopping him. However, there is no reason I can't do both."
The warden smirked as he said, "An idealist to the end, huh?"
Iruka nodded before replying, "A teacher's calling is to always try to reach those lost students. They are the ones who need us the most after all."
Mawashi sighed before replying, "Fine, let's go. But, try not to get me killed. From what I've seen of the Root prisoners here, they would say you're the one that needs to be reached."
Iruka nodded before following after the Warden, and feared the man was right. But, most people would have said the same thing about Naruto, so felt to believe it himself would be doing his former student a disservice.
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"This is rather anti-climactic," Naruto said to his Bijuu lover, but didn't receive a response.
Mainly as Kiyomi felt a sense of dread and guilt which made her think of when she had been fighting with Naruto over the fate of Tifa and the other Taki-nin. She wasn't sure why, but as they walked through the empty base, the feeling only seemed to grow stronger. Thinking on it, she recalled the feeling was based in the fear that at some point he would simply tire of her willfulness and abandon her. Or, more accurately begin to see her as a monster, particularly due to her being responsible for taking his parents from him. Still, she had been too prideful to admit as much especially since she had felt that she was acting in his best interest.
The Bijuu wondered why she was thinking about such matters now, but attributed it to the slight rebuke Naruto had made in her feelings towards Momo. After all, she was truly living in a glass house when it came to hurling stones at the priestess's actions. Her initial response to pay the Priestess back, made the red-head wonder if she had changed or if she was even capable of it. After all, it was easy for her to act all high and mighty simply because one of the people she had wronged had forgiven her. She began to feel worse about herself for her reply to him. Particularly since she knew Naruto hadn't reached the point where he had been willing to fight Sasuke to the death easily.
Hoping she hadn't hurt him she said, "Naruto, I'm sorry for what I said earlier."
A part of her imagined her lover would be confused since he normally didn't hold grudges. Not to mention how if he had been offended by her, he would have stated as much at the time. Yet, instead as his gaze settled on her it held none of the warmth that she had grown accustomed to as he said, "Don't worry about it. You are a monster after all."
"W...what," Kiyomi replied in surprise, "You don't mean that."
"Don't I," Naruto said taking a step forward which caused her to step back. "You killed my father and mother. Not to mention have been the single greatest source of pain in my life. Did you truly think I've just let all the slide? You've been useful to me, nothing more."
Each word felt like a knife to Kiyomi's heart, and almost seemed to be the proof of the guilt that had been growing within her had been justified. Naruto took another step towards her, and she mirrored it as she retreated from him. His words became harsher as he said, "Do you truly believe that I could come to love a creature like you? A creature so wrapped up in its own pain that humanity felt it was akin to a natural disaster. But you aren't even deserving of that title as such disasters aren't bitter, menace filled demons who were just in a bad mood."
Kiyomi's back ended up pressed against the wall as she said on the verge of tears, "I'm sorry. I know what I've done in the past is wrong, but I've changed." Yet, Naruto continued to close with her and noticing he was brandishing his blades she feared he was about to attack her so waved her hand before her causing a wall of flame to spring up between them. In her haste and fear, it proved more powerful then she anticipated forcing him to leap back lest he be caught up in it. As such, she immediately tried to say, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean..."
Naruto just gave her a cold stare as he said, "What else should I have expected from a demon?"
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"This is rather anti-climactic," Naruto said having expected to need to fight through legions of villains to reach Mito.
Naruto was confused by Kiyomi's lack of response, and began to wonder if he had been a bit too hard on her for what she had said in regards to Momo. He knew at times his lover appeared to take criticism about how she had been in the past to heart. Especially since at times she did sometimes seem to revert to who she had been when it came to threats to him. He attributed it not just to her feelings for him, but because to her, he represented the many victims there had been of her rampages, and so long as he forgave her then she was in essence forgiven.
He didn't feel the same way as he believed it was truly a matter not so much of outside forces forgiving a person, but that it truly came from within. After all, even if he forgave her that didn't mean there weren't people that she may have wronged who didn't. Tifa, for example, still had a relatively negative view of her. His mother did as well, although that did seem to begin fading as a result of their recent sharing him. Still, Naruto did wish she would have made a more concerted effort to apologize to some of the other people that she had wronged, and not just him. He hadn't mentioned it primarily due to his fearing that then it would be his placing the thought in her head, rather than truly originating from within.
He shook his head to focus on the task at hand, especially as he continued to feel as if a ghost from the past was hovering around him. He attributed his feeling that way due to a sense of guilt about what Kiyomi had said to him in regards to Sasuke. Although, she hadn't accused him of it, a part of him felt that the reason he had been able to cut the Uchiha out of his life was because of his harem. Granted Sasuke had made his decision to cut his bond to him rather clear, not to mention had willful taken the life of several Kumo-nin in his attempt to kidnap the jinchuriki of the Eight Tails. But a part of Naruto felt that if not for his forming true bonds with the women now bound to him, then he might have been more willing to ignore those actions in order to preserve his own with Sasuke.
After all, Naruto recognized that he was in essence a rather selfish person. For proof of that he had to look no further than his old dream of being Hokage. After all, his entire reason for desiring the position wasn't to make the life of other better, but to bask in their admiration of him. In many ways, Naruto felt that was perhaps why he had chased after Sasuke so much as he had acknowledged him as someone whose admiration he had desired.
But, Naruto truly was coming to believe that almost all people were more or less motivated by personal desire. It was just that some desires tended to be more acceptable to outside viewers. For example, Naruto felt his father truly was a great Hokage, but that was simply because he had desired to be so, even more than he wished to be a family man. Naruto felt that much like his own original desires for the position were based in a wish for acknowledgement. His father's actions when Kiyomi had been freed had been based in his desire to be adored by the village, and as such, no sacrifice was too great to achieve it. Even going so far as sacrificing his wife by allowing her death, and burdening his son with becoming a jinchuriki. He might have truly felt doing so would be for the greater good of the world as a whole, but Naruto felt his actions had been rooted in securing his legacy.
He guessed he felt this way because in truth, both his mother and him had been members of the village as well, and he felt that they had deserved to have been protected by the Hokage that day as much as everyone else. He also felt Gaara was in essence falling into the same trap, since it was easy to claim acting for the village negated some of the horribleness of what he admitted to being capable of doing to Sari. But, he felt at the end of the day their actions were as motivated by self-interest as his had been. It was just that since their actions would or had benefited their villages, the people that benefited from them were willing to give them a pass through their admiration. Which had been the goal they were seeking.
Yet, after his final fight with Sasuke, the Uchiha's acknowledgement was something that Naruto felt was no longer worth achieving at any cost, including ignoring the misery he was spreading, and while watching him cut down Mikoto had been the catalyst to this understanding. In truth, it had begun to fade almost as soon as he had first opened the scroll that Kanji gave him. After all, with the temptation of developing something with Ino before him, he had been willing to forget about what had driven him to train for those three years.
As such, Naruto did feel a sense of guilt for in essence abandoning Sasuke to his darkness. Which even though he believed it was rather arrogant of him to think that he could force Sasuke to change. A part of him felt that if not for his lovers, he would have continued to pursue that goal if only to force Sasuke to acknowledge him, and if he had succeeded in browbeating him into submission. He would then have quickly lost interest. Naruto's guilt tended to make him fear that after claiming his goal had been to bring Sasuke back. That once he had achieved his goal it wouldn't have mattered if the Uchiha simply wandered alone once more, so long as he felt that he had achieved his desired acknowledgement that the bond they had was important to the Uchiha.
Granted, Naruto now recognized that a bond required both people to value it, and he had essentially received his answer from Sasuke during their clash at the Valley of the End. Particularly since Sasuke had shown that only his goals had mattered. Naruto felt that was also how Gaara was behaving in regards to his relationship with Sari, since while the bond they shared might have meaning under normal circumstance. Much as his bond had with Sasuke. It quickly took a back seat once it conflicted with Gaara's goals to be recognized as a great Kage. Much, as Sasuke had decided his friendship didn't matter as much as his desire for revenge on Itachi.
Naruto had believed that abandoning Sasuke would be unforgiveable for someone claiming to desire bonds with people. But, he now recognized his unwillingness had been because he had only a handful of them, and he had been rather greedy in not letting one go even as the person it had been with had made it quite clear that his own ambitions were more important. But, having developed truly meaningful bonds it had become easier. Yet, still there was a nugget of guilt that perhaps he had been too hasty to move on.
Naruto felt that guilt manifest as he thought he heard Kiyomi say something, but asking her to repeat it he had looked at her only to find Sasuke standing before him. The Uchiha appeared much as he had during their last clash prompting him to ask while taking a threatening step towards him, "W...what? Where did you come from? Where's Kiyomi?"
The room seemed darker than it had before, and Sasuke took a step back into the darkness as he said, "Don't worry about her? She's easily replaceable. Just like me, right?"
"Cut the bullshit," Naruto replied angrily, "and tell me what you've done with her."
"Why don't you make me loser?" Sasuke replied retreating away from him. He backed up against the wall, and seeing an opportunity Naruto leapt forward to grab him. Yet waving his hand, Sasuke caused a wall of fire to appear between them.
The Uchiha smirked as he said, "Don't pretend you value her. We both know you only care about those who look up to you. It didn't take much to make you abandon me after all."
"Don't try to play being a victim with me dammit," Naruto said angrily. "You can't claim I abandoned you, when you're the one that needed to cut those ties to pursue your own ambitions."
Sasuke chuckled before countering, "Isn't that the kettle calling the pot black. I mean, how long will it be before you cut ties with Gaara if he doesn't get with the program and kiss your ass like everyone else?" Naruto roared angrily before leaping towards the Uchiha through the flames, but he quickly dodged away while laughing mockingly.
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Mito watched Naruto attack Kiyomi, who quickly slipped away as she said, "Please Naruto stop. Y...You said you loved me?"
Her fellow Uzumaki however made it clear he was replying to an entirely differed conversation as he said, "Damn it, you bastard! You can't have it both ways!"
Mito's gaze shifted to Momo who appeared both thrilled with what was happening on the screen, and slightly disappointed. Figuring the best way to get her to open up on what was happening was to focus on what she was displeased with she asked, "Everything not going according to your plan?"
Momo looked over her shoulder before turning back to the screen as she replied, "I'm slightly disappointed he didn't bring all his lovers. I wanted them to butcher each other, before turning her loose to finish them off."
Mito directed her gaze to the screen as Kiyomi backpedaled away and again threw up another wall of flames. Not quite sure how the genjutsu they were under worked, it was apparent she was aware that she was being attacked by Naruto on some level. But, it was apparent he didn't know he was attacking his former Bijuu. The female Uzumaki frowned as she tried to figure out what was affecting the two. She began to rule out that it was actually a genjutsu since she hadn't seen the Priestess actually cast one. She knew there were ways to cast a genjutsu from a distance, but the area effect ones still required some sort of trigger, which could have given Kiyomi or Naruto a chance to defend against it.
Having not seen anything of the sort, her eyes grew wide as she recognized what was causing them to hallucinate. "That isn't just any fog," Mito said in understanding, "It's miasma from a demon."
Momo looked back at her in surprise, before a large grin appeared as she said, "I'm impressed. You're not just another pretty face." Turning back to the screen, she watched as Kiyomi threw up her foxcloak to avoid being cut in half by Naruto's blades. She then used a tail to slap him away before trying to flee. Momo grew annoyed as she shouted, "Don't run you stupid bitch. You're supposed to kill him."
Mito watched Naruto give chase, and began pouring her desire for her lover to calm into the fox mark. She noticed him begin to slow, and she imagined that his feeling her presence was reminding him why was there in the first place. Hoping to distract Momo, she said, "I've heard Monks and Priestess have used Demon Miasma for ceremonies that force them to confront their fears and guilt. I'm guessing we're seeing that at play, but without the safeguards. It couldn't have been easy to collect that much though. Even extremely powerful demons only give off handfuls at a time, and that is mainly from their contact with the demon plane."
"True enough," Momo replied turning from the screens as Mito had hoped. "Yet, there is one place where the barrier between the Demon Plane and our world is razor thin."
It took Mito only a moment to realize what the woman was referring to as she said, "The Festering Wound."
Momo obviously was surprised by her knowledge. "Hm, you're more than just a pretty face, aren't you? The knowledge of that place is a closely guarded secret within the religious cast."
Mito understood why, since it was the place where the Demon Moryo had first entered into the world from the Demon Realm. His doing so had been so violent that it had left a tear in the Land of Demons from which Miasma continuously leaked giving the area a twisted and desolate appearance. Although, he had done so nearly a millennium before she had been born the wound tear had never fully closed. One of the reasons it was believed it hadn't healed was because it was the through it that Moryo kept returning to the human realm after each defeat by the Priestesses that were Shion's ancestors. It was also why Shion's mother, the Priestess Miroku, had defeated him in the manner that she had. She had sought to end the cycle by separating his spirit from his physical form, thus allowing the tear time to heal.
The only reason Mito knew of it was because in her youth her father and she had been contacted by the Priestess of the time, in order to see if the Uzumaki could close it via their sealing techniques. Nothing ever became of it though as there were some monks that didn't want the tear closed as they used the Miasma for their rituals. Plus, there has been some fear that if the tear was closed, it would prompt Moryo to open a new one in another location.
Particularly since it was believed that it had required an incredible amount of time and effort to open the one. The monks that had argued against its closure had made use of the fact that he continuously appeared through it despite his having been repelled time and time again. Mito admitted they did have a point, especially since he had been defeated without escaping the Festering Wound numerous times because of the wards, barriers, and religious sects stationed there. He had only managed to break free the last time when he had confronted Priestess Miroku because he had created his stone army which he had sent through first.
Imagining that with his last defeat, most of those defense had been put back in place Mito said, "I doubt they let just anyone walk up to take some though."
Momo smirked as she replied, "You'd be correct. But, there's uses for it besides just for religious ceremonies so a pretty extensive black market exists. With a few stimulants mixed in it actually makes for a rather powerful high from what I hear."
The Uzumaki couldn't say she was surprised there was a narcotics application for it having suspected a few of the religious orders used the miasma for multitude of purposes to fill their coffers. At least that was why she felt they were so unwilling to go without. But, she let the matter drop as Momo began to turn away. Hoping to keep her distracted, she asked, "What would killing her accomplish?"
"Nothing," Momo replied not swallowing the bait as she didn't want to miss the moment. "In fact I hope she is the one doing the killing. But, that's out of my control now. However... what?" The Priestess frowned as she noticed that Naruto was making a beeline straight for them. She searched the screens for Kiyomi and found her in another room seemingly attacking phantoms. She couldn't understand why Naruto didn't seem affected until it suddenly dawned on her. "You," she said turning towards Mito, "You're helping him somehow." She pulled her blade, and said almost sorrowfully, "It looks like you'll not be surviving this after all."
The Priestess charged, but Mito was prepared especially as the way Momo was carrying it the blade was facing up. So when she was in range, she kicked up knocking the sword up into the ceiling. Momo was caught by surprise at her sudden disarming allowing Mito to lash out with her left leg to kick her in the side of the head. The priestess went spinning away, so Mito then pulled her body up so that she could grip the handle of the sword between her feet. She managed to pull it free and sent it flying into the ground. Now with a foothold, she released her seal causing a surge of chakra to flow through her, which she channeled much the same way her granddaughter did as she leapt up off the sword and kicked the chain where it was anchored into the ceiling shattering it. Then as she landed she smashed the iron gauntlets covering her hands on the floor causing them to shatter. She felt the chakra suppressant seal being to drain what had been released, but using the last bit of her energy quickly devised a counter seal which released it. She sighed pleasantly as her chakra flowed normally again, and was somewhat surprised Momo had moved to attack her.
Focusing on the Priestess she found out why as instead of attacking, she had moved to the seal array that controlled the barriers. The Priestess finished applying her changes, which caused her right hand to begin glowing. She pressed it towards her chest, and then the seal array began pulsing. Mito had a decent idea of what she had done, but Momo explained her actions as she said, "I've modified the barrier so that it will block every path but the one between those two, and the only way to bring down the barriers is to kill me. If you hurry maybe, you'll be able to save them before they reach other. Of course, if you enter into the miasma you'll probably begin hallucinating as well."
Mito wasn't so sure, but she didn't want to take the woman's life either. She took her eyes off her to look at the monitors and saw that Naruto had run right into a barrier. She smiled as he rubbed his face, before standing. She could feel that Kiyomi was panicking and could tell he was as well. But, his concern for her was also quite palpable. As such, she let him know that she had the situation under control via her foxmark. She noticed him sag in relief for a moment before quickly turning away to find Kiyomi.
Momo believing her attention was diverted whispered an incantation, "Disintegrate, you black dog of Rondanini!! Look upon yourself with horror and tear out your own throat!" From between her hands a small ball of energy formed which shot out as a tendril that remained connected via her middle and index finger. The tendril traveled towards Mito who ducked out of the way at the last moment. She then ran beneath it towards the Priestess, who moved her fingers to redirect her jutsu. But as it lowered to try and capture her, Mito rolled towards the side and then leap up to the wall which she began running along. Momo again tried to correct, but Mito leapt over it as it hit the wall instead, she landed before the dark-haired woman. She then delivered a palm strike to her chest. The blow lifted Momo off her feet, and smashed her into the wall behind her. The Priestess bounced off, but before hitting the ground Mito grabbed her and tossed her across the room.
Momo groaned as she struggled to get to her feet. She used the desk the monitors rested upon to help her up to her feet, and seeing Naruto approaching Kiyomi sent a smile towards Mito stating, "It looks like you're too late."
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