Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
"Hmm…."- Flashback
Chapter 26:
Prison Break
"You look like you're about to die."
Those words were enough to put Kakuzu on edge, even though they carried no real malice with them. It was just a plain observation. Not only that, but the man also knew that, in his current condition, he wouldn't even be able to defend himself from a properly trained chunnin.
Despite that, Kakuzu still kept his guard up as he looked up at the woman staring down at him from one of the tree branches from the tree that he was currently using as a back support as he sat under it. The sky over them was pitch-black save for the full moon shining down.
Despite himself, Kakuzu chuckled as he clutched his right arm. Or what was left of it anyway. His shinobi uniform was in tatters. He had just about no chakra left. Given all that, Kakuzu knew that he should be gracious that he was still in the world of the living. The one known as Senju Hashirama had surpassed all of his estimations. He had been completely outmatched. Just what had his village been thinking when they sent him to assassinate the Hokage? Kakuzu knew he was good, but not that good. That man had been a monster, plain and simple. Even with the special jutsu he had received, he had been nothing compared to the Shodai Hokage.
"Yes, I suppose from your vantage point, death would be a friendly gift to me. But I still don't want to die. At least, not yet."
Kakuzu observed how the woman hummed to herself as her feet dangled from the branch. He didn't know if it were because of the moonlight shining down on her, but he did have to admit that she was strikingly beautiful. Specially her red hair. And that was saying something since Kakuzu rarely paid a woman any compliments. That sort of stuff had just never interested him.
"So tell me, stranger on death's door," the woman said with some amusement, "just why is it that you don't want to die exactly? Is it because you have someone special waiting for you? Someone you love? A family member? Hmm?"
Kakuzu scoffed. "Such things are beyond me. I've never had a family. Neither have I ever loved someone nor has someone ever loved me. My shinobi career is all that matters to me."
"Oh," the woman said, "so it's because you feel like you have a sense of duty to your village. How noble. And incredibly stupid."
Kakuzu narrowed his eyes at her. "What exactly is that supposed to mean?"
The woman shrugged. "Exactly what I said. There is no worth in giving yourself for a ninja village. Because, sooner or later, it will betray you. And those that you thought were your friends will turn out to be the farthest from it. It's no different than from before. It's just a much quieter form of conflict now."
Kakuzu paused, obviously surprised that the woman had such a view towards ninja villages. He also knew what she meant by "from before." She was referring to the time before the concept of ninja villages was introduced. It was an era of clan against clan. Kakuzu had grown up in that environment. He still remembered it. It was an age of complete darkness. No one was safe. Hell, his own parents had been murdered right in front of him when he was still just a brat. But such a thing didn't concern him that much anymore. It was the past. Now, he just needed to worry about the present.
"You're a kunoichi, aren't you?"
The woman shrugged for a second time. "Yes, I guess you could say that."
"Then I'm also guessing that you're a rogue shinobi."
At this, amusement began to dance around her shining blue eyes. "In all technicality, I suppose you could call me that. But to the rest of the world and those who knew me, I don't exist. I'm nothing but a ghost now. A ghost that's just traveling aimlessly through the world."
Kakuzu had to admit that the woman did have an artistic side to her. He quite liked it. "Then do tell me, why have you decided to graze me with your presence if I'm nothing more than a man with a foot at death's door?"
She chuckled. "Good question. And there's no real answer. Or rather, you wouldn't like my answer if I told you. But simply, I picked up your chakra a few miles back, even as weak as it is right now. So, I decided to follow you to see if it could lead me to anything fun."
"Sorry to disappoint," Kakuzu said with a groan. "I'm only trying to return back home."
The woman grinned. "Oh? Are you sure that you want to do that?"
"Why wouldn't I?"
She rolled her eyes, jumping down from the tree in order to land a few feet in front of the still sitting Kakuzu. "Don't give me that. I can tell that you're a smart man. You probably already know what's waiting for you back at your 'home' as you call it."
Kakuzu didn't respond for a few moments, knowing full well that the mysterious woman had him there. Some part of himself was screaming at him to not return to Taki. To disappear. To make a new life for himself. But his sense of duty still won out. As well as his hope. He still had hope that his village wouldn't fault him for this. It wasn't his fault. The Shodai Hokage was just too powerful for anyone to take him on like that.
"Your silence tells me everything that I need to know," she added with a smile. "So then really: just why are you going back when the logical choice is not to?"
"Because I still have hope that things won't turn out that way," Kakuzu answered. Which was the truth.
The woman shook her head. "That's unfortunate. And just when you were starting to interest me. Oh well. I guess you're not as bad as some of the other men I've come across with."
"Just why do you despise ninja villages so much?" Kakuzu questioned, not understanding her position. "I consider them a blessing from before."
She sighed. "Yes, I suppose they are better than constant fighting. But there's not much that can be worse than those days. Unfortunately, the ninja system is not a blessing either. To me, they're just a quieter form of conflict like I said before. They might even prove to support worse conflict and hatred than from the days in the past."
"Do you really believe that?"
"Do you really believe otherwise?" she retorted. "Your condition now is all the proof I need to know that I'm correct. After all, your own village sent you out to murder the man who brought this 'blessing' into fruition. And for what? For profit I tell you. Now, instead of clan against clan, it'll be village against village. It'll only be a matter of time before it all blows up. It's the natural flow of things. Violence will always exist."
Kakuzu turned his gaze up to the moon. No matter how much he wanted to contradict her, he couldn't. He knew that what she was telling him was true. And not only that, but he was tired. Really tired. This was the first time in years that he had been able to just sit down and talk with someone. And he was grateful for that, even if he did have a missing arm and she was a rogue shinobi.
"No matter what I say, you're still going, aren't you?"
Kakuzu brought his gaze down towards her. "Yes. Call it what you want. I still have to see this through. That's all."
The woman shrugged. "Well, it's your choice. Do what you want. It'll only get you killed."
Kakuzu chuckled. "What would you do if the opposite happens?"
The woman shrugged again. "Nothing. If what I say doesn't come true, then it all ends well. But it'll only be a happy exception. Nothing more."
Kakuzu smirked. "Then how about a bet?"
She raised an eyebrow. "A bet?"
Kakuzu nodded. "Yeah." He did enjoy making money. Kakuzu didn't know why he did. He just did. He often thought that that was the only reason he had risen up to the ranks so quickly and had become the village's hitter. So that he could make more money. "The bet is to see whether who's right and who's wrong. It's that simple."
The woman hummed. "But what do I get if I win? Because you won't be in any condition to give me anything in the likely event that I win."
"Your belief, of course," Kakuzu said in a simple manner. "You would have proven that you are right, and that I am wrong."
A small smile appeared on her face. "I find it interesting that you're willing to gamble your life away like that."
Kakuzu shrugged. "We're shinobi, aren't we? Our lives are already a gamble everyday."
She chuckled. "Good point, I suppose. I guess I'm willing to play in your little game then. But what do you get if you win?"
"My life."
The woman brought a finger up to her lips, licking it in a slow and sensual manner. "But that's not good enough. I guess I'd be willing to give you the best kiss you've ever had."
If Kakuzu were any other man, he would be blushing right about now. But he didn't do that. Not only that, but he was also missing an arm. He wasn't in any position to actually feel anything of the sort at the moment. Or ever. Still, he didn't mind accepting those terms. Even if he was gambling with his life. Some part of him just didn't really care anymore. He had lost. Terribly so. Kakuzu had always prided himself in being the best of the best. But he should have known that he was just one small fish in one big pond. And he had gone up against one of the biggest fishes out there. Despite that, some part of him did feel resentment towards his village. Just what had they'd been expecting to begin with anyway? This mission hadn't made sense at all from the start. But such was the life of a shinobi. To obey and not ask any questions.
'Is that why I'm going?' Kakuzu wondered to himself. 'Just to prove to myself that I'm mistaken and that she's right?' He didn't know. But he did know that he would never figure anything out if he stayed here and did nothing.
Kakuzu stood up, all the while keeping the woman's form within his vision. "Just what is your name?"
"Fuka."
Kakuzu was taken back by how easily she had answered him. And he could tell that she wasn't lying. He was pretty good at deciphering whether someone was or not. But it was only natural. As far as she was concerned, he was going to be dead soon enough. So it didn't matter if he knew what her name was or not. Interesting woman all right.
"Kakuzu."
Fuka acknowledged his name with a nod. "There aren't that many people's names that I remember. But I'll be sure to remember yours, Kakuzu. Even long after your death."
Kakuzu had to raise an eyebrow at the weird choice of words. "You're about the same age as I am, I would say. So how-"
Fuka chuckled as she slowly shook her head. "Straight to the point, I guess you could say I stole a jutsu that allows me to live for as long as I see fit. I guess you could call it a gift and a curse. But it was necessary at the time."
"Immortal, you say?" Kakuzu repeated, finding it ironic that they were almost in the same situation. "Was this voluntary?"
Fuka closed her eyes, making Kakuzu wonder if she was contemplating her answer or whether to tell him or not. But before he could ask, her eyes snapped open again, a small smile appearing on her face. It fit her quite well, he admitted.
"It doesn't really matter anymore. It's all in the past. This is about you now and whether or not your home will turn out to be the place you want it to be. Even if I think it's futile, I'm still rooting for you."
Kakuzu nodded, turning his head back towards the direction of the road. Or where he thought it was. In his exhausted state, he had completely lost track of where he had been going.
Noticing this, Fuka chuckled as she pointed towards the opposite direction. "The road is that way by the way. And don't worry. No one from Konoha is tracking you. The Hokage must have seen it wasteful. You should feel honored. Not that many people have survived an encounter with that man. I can only think of one really."
"It sounds like you know him personally," Kakuzu commented, turning his gaze back towards her. For a moment he wondered just how she knew of whom he had fought against before he let the matter drop. It didn't matter to him one way or the other.
Kakuzu noticed how…something flashed through her eyes. Was it pain? Regret? Sorrow? Or a mixture of all three? He wasn't able to tell.
Fuka then shook her head. "Of course not. I'm only talking about the stories I've heard. Nothing more. Now, get going, dear. I'll be keeping an eye on you to see whether or not you come out of this alive."
Blowing him a kiss, Fuka disappeared in a small whirlpool of wind.
Kakuzu stared at the spot that the redhead had been at for a few more seconds, wondering if he had really just gone through that encounter. He would definitely rank it as the number one most interesting conversation he had ever had with someone else. Not that he bothered to talk to that many people to begin with. It was just his personality, he guessed.
Turning his attention to where Fuka had pointed to, Kakuzu began to wobble his way through the woods, not questioning for a second if she had told him the truth or not. Nor did he bother to question why this was.
He just continued on his way.
"This is a disgrace to our village!"
Kakuzu didn't say a word as he stood before the council of the elders of the village. While on paper it was the villager leader that held the power, the council was the one that actually had it all. They did everything behind the village leader's back of course. It wouldn't look good on them if word spread of how their village was actually run. That didn't stop them from doing it secretly, however. And their leader was none the wiser.
Kakuzu was actually reaching the end of his patience. Why had he ever believed that anything else would happen other than this? Was he just another fool in the endless lines of them in this world? He would like to think otherwise. But as he stood before the "prestigious" council, still clutching what was left of his right arm, he realized that he wasn't. Like many others, he had been bought by the cheap promises that risking his life for the sake of the village was the best thing to do. That it would secure peace. But then, what about his peace? Where was that? It wasn't here, that was for sure. Not only that, but he wasn't really fighting for peace. He was only fighting for a territory of land. Which wasn't even his!
It was at this moment that Kakuzu truly realized a fundamental truth: humans didn't want peace. They craved conflict. They lived in it. They immersed themselves with it. It was a fundamental instinct that had been preserved through time. And as he stood before the council, he realized that these men gathered here didn't care about him. They didn't care whether he lived or died. While they would prefer that he didn't die, it was only so that he would further their agenda. And if he did die, they wouldn't feel any sort of pity for him. Maybe at the loss of the skills that he provided, but not as the person that he was.
Kakuzu also realized that this truth brought to him a calming peace. Instead of being angry like some other people would react at discovering this, he wasn't. He didn't care. Maybe because at the bottom of his heart he had been expecting this all along. Maybe because he had wanted for Fuka to be right straight from the beginning. She had said it so herself: nothing had changed from the old days before this ninja system had been introduced. It was only a quieter form of conflict. Except that now instead of individual warlords trying to expand their power and profit, it was the shinobi nations trying to achieve those things. But at the end of the day, it came down to those two things: power and profit.
'Profit is everything,' he thought, no longer bothering to pay any attention to the bickering council. 'It's what's kept me alive all these years. Money.' Even when he had lost his parents, he still had had money. It never failed him. It did what it promised him that it would do. It would get him things that he needed. Every single one of those things that he needed in order to survive. The complete opposite of this village and humans. Especially humans. They were the ones to create these circumstances. They were greedy. They only cared for themselves. And they used money as one of the ways in order to advance themselves and step on others along the way.
'I've been a fool all along,' Kakuzu thought, bringing his attention to the stitches of his missing arm. His chakra had recovered enough to give him the opportunity to get out of here. Of course, the downside was that he only had one heart left. The Shodai Hokage had made sure to destroy the rest during their fight, if he could even call it that. And the only element he had left for it was his earth one. It would have to do, he realized. But Kakuzu was confident that he could pull it off. This village was full of lightweights, after all.
"We'll have to send some kind of apology to Konoha for this," one of the members said, a hand on his chin. "It'll be bad for us if they decide to bring this issue forward. We wouldn't be able to stop them if they did."
One of the other members scoffed. "Please. That Senju is a spineless fool. He'll do anything to keep the peace. No. I suggest that we take advantage of this. Something that will tip things in our favor for future conflicts."
"Like what?"
He grinned. "One of the bijuu of course."
There were shocked faces among all the council members. But before they could question him any further as to how they would get this done, one of the members cried out in pain as tendrils from Kakuzu's missing arm shot out towards him and pierced his entire body, effectively killing him in seconds.
"Capture him!"
Kakuzu t'ched as he retracted his tendrils from the council member's corpse as an entire of battalion of Taki shinobi surrounded him. Instead of an arm, he now had a massive whip made out of his special stitches.
He had to give it to the greedy bastards, though. They had been prepared in the event that he attacked them. Still. That didn't mean that he was going down without a fight. Not by a long shot.
Instantly, he charged the crowd of shinobi who watched this with massive grins on their faces. They thought that Kakuzu was an idiot for attacking them of course. He was only one man. What could he do against them all?
The Taki shinobi soon found themselves on the receiving end of a slaughter as Kakuzu began to cut down through the shinobi whom he had once called comrades. But he considered them the furthest thing from that now. To him, they were beneath him and as such needed to be taught a lesson.
The Taki shinobi tried to defend themselves with whatever weapons they had from Kakuzu's attacks. But the man, despite his weakened state, was too much for them. He was soon reducing their numbers to zero.
The council members were all crowded in the back, trying to avert their eyes from the onslaught in front of them. But the one who had spoken last gritted his teeth before he brought his hands together. Out of all of the members in the council, he was the only one who had been a shinobi in the past before he had taken the mantle as one of its members. As such, it had been placed as his duty to do what he was going to in the likely event that their weapon went out of control.
In the center, Kakuzu was beginning to enjoy himself as he continued to kill his once fellow shinobi. Every single one that he killed was another piece of his former self that he shredded and rejected. Kakuzu was now truly accepting the workings of this world: it was kill or be killed; control or be controlled. And he wasn't going to be anyone's little pet toy any longer.
Those had been his goals until he found that he could no longer move his body. He fell to the ground on his knees before he heard laughter from the other side of the room. Turning his head towards it, he saw the council members coming out of their shock as well as one of them with his hands together in the ram seal.
"It seems like the safety measure we payed for was worth it."
Kakuzu's blood ran cold at that before he began to laugh in his mind. But of course! This was what happened to those who were naive. Which was what he had been when he had accepted the forbidden jutsu that the council had bestowed upon him. He should have known that they had something like this under their sleeves. They were too paranoid as to allow someone whom they couldn't control roam about with some great power in their village. The person would be a grave threat to them.
The council member smirked. "Your whole body is under our control now. Those very strings that made you immortal are what will help us make you into our puppet. You are under our control now, Kakuzu. Just like you've always been. Just like you always will be. There is no leaving this village now. You will serve us until your use has come to an end. Is that understood?"
Kakuzu looked up at him with a calm gaze. Like before, he didn't feel frustrated. Or angry. At them. He was angry and frustrated at himself. He had been nothing more than a brat wishing to belong to some place. Now, he saw the reality of things. Human beings didn't accept those things which they feared. They instead rejected them, lashed out towards them, and tried to bend them towards their will. It was exactly what they were doing to him. They knew that he was far stronger than any of them. And if given the chance he could slaughter them just like he had been doing earlier. Even if he was weakened. It was why they were now trying to control him so that they wouldn't have to fear him. Which would never happen because they would always be afraid of him and his power.
"You may bring him to his new home."
Kakuzu didn't bother to try and put up a fight as a pair of Taki shinobi walked up to him and lifted him up by the shoulders in a rough manner. Nor did he fight on the way to his prison cell.
He was only laughing inside his mind the whole time.
Kakuzu opened his eyes, the darkness that was his cell staring right back at him. But he had long since gotten used to this. It didn't bother him anymore. In the beginning, Kakuzu knew that he had been on the verge on going insane. And all because of some assholes who only cared about themselves. If he could, Kakuzu would travel to the past in order to beat some sense into his naive self. But he also realized that that experience had been a changing point in his life. It had made him better. Smarter. And like all good things, it had come with a price.
But Kakuzu was ready to carry that price with him. And he had. Now, it was time to move on with the next stage of his life. Away from this village and the elders and everything that had to do with this damn place.
Kakuzu looked down at his arms, flexing his fingers a bit. He had to get his hand on the way to deactivate the part of the seals that made him the "puppet" of those idiots. Standing up, Kakuzu walked up towards the entrance of his cell, placing a hand on the door. He knew that he could easily smash his way through it and out into the real world. But what good would that do him? He would be captured in the end. It was why he hadn't bothered to attempt an escape all by himself. But now he didn't have to. That idiot sure was taking his time, though. Even though he had called Kakuzu his "boss" too. He hadn't bothered to try and stop the rogue ninja from calling him that. He had had other priorities at the time.
Kakuzu turned away from the door when he heard two guards making their way towards his cell, no doubt going through their routine check up of each cell to make sure that all the prisoners were still there. He didn't want to deal with them right now since it took a lot of willpower in his behalf to not smash through that door and take their lives. It was the willpower that he just didn't have right now. He was getting frustrated. He wanted out of here already. He needed his revenge. He craved it. It was the only other thing he desired other than the Hero Water so that he could get a large amount of money from it. And he would get both. No matter what.
The immortal man returned to his sitting position against the wall, resting his head against it. It wouldn't do him any good if he started to get impatient now. If there was anything that being stuck in this cell had taught him was patience. He had been waiting for nearly fifty years now. Waiting for another few days was nothing. Especially since the reward that awaited him was so much sweeter.
With that in mind, Kakuzu closed his eyes, intent on returning to his peaceful slumber. These days, it was the best way to pass the time. Otherwise, one would soon find himself becoming insane by the four walls staring at you all day in darkness. Sad, but true. Kakuzu had witnessed this a few times before. Shinobi whom he had captured in the past had lost their minds from being locked up in here all day long. But since the council didn't trust the guards to maintain order if they did let the prisoners stretch their legs a bit, there was nothing that could be done about it.
Sleep soon fell on him, much to Kakuzu's contentment.
"Shit! Alert all squads! There are intruders in-!"
The guard didn't get to finish his sentence as he was cut in half a moment too soon, what was left of his body falling to the ground with a thud.
Shido sighed as he sheathed his sword, glancing at all the other corpses around him. Infiltrating the prison had been easy. Too easy. There really wasn't any excitement around here. And that was beginning to irritate him.
He shook his head before he turned his attention to Fuka who was reading through the list of prisoners and where it was that they were being kept.
"Got him," Fuka said, throwing the clipboard aside a moment later. "He's in the lower levels. Looks like he has a whole level to himself."
"But of course," Shido said with a nod. "The boss is that dangerous."
Fuka merely shook her head, already beyond the point of trying to tell him to stop calling Kakuzu that. If he wanted to continue to embarrass himself, then she wasn't going to stop him.
"Oi, we have a problem here."
Both rogue ninjas turned towards where they had come from to see Goro appearing out of thin air.
"What is it?"
"Some of the guards managed to escape," he answered with a sigh. "Unfortunately, I underestimated the warden. He put up more of a fight than I had expected which kept me busy more than I had wanted."
Fuka t'ched, running a hand through her long red hair. "Then we better get this done faster than we originally planned. They'll no doubt alert those two Konoha shinobi. And I don't plan on sticking around in case the White Fang shows up."
"Show us the way then, princess," Shido said with a roll of his eyes. To him, it didn't matter what she said. Why? Because Kakuzu had assured him that she would stick through the job to the end. The same rang true for Goro. While Shido himself didn't know why this would be since most rogue shinobi that he had encountered, himself included, ran away the second they saw that they wouldn't come out on top, he decided to trust what Kakuzu had told him. Again, so far, he hadn't been wrong about anything else.
Grinning, Fuka did just that.
The trio made their way swiftly to their destination with Shido peeking through some of the cells along the way. He got curious. And his curiosity was disappointed when all he saw were old men and women lying down for naps. Really, this was a prison! There were supposed to be dangerous criminals here! Not old men and women! Shido merely shook his head, deciding that it was best to just accept things. Still, it was a pity. He had been hoping to set loose some of the prisoners here so that they could created a diversion in order to cover for their escape. But now that he knew just who the prisoners were, he realized that it wasn't worth the effort.
They walked down the stairs, descending about three floors. No one had bothered to keep track since, according to Fuka, their objective was being kept in the lowest level.
Fuka kept glancing at every cell door they passed by, reading the numbers printed on them. They were getting closer all right. If her calculations were correct, then Kakuzu was probably all the way at the end of the hallway.
'So, after all these years, I'll finally get to see your sorry ass and tell you that you were wrong,' she thought with a small grin. But Fuka knew that there wasn't any point in that since he was already aware of that fact. The thing that she was looking forward to the most was seeing just how much being imprisoned this entire time had changed him. Yes, she was a terrible person all right. The thing was, though: she didn't care. She chose to be this way. So it didn't matter to her if anyone else agreed with her way of thinking or not. It was irrelevant.
Behind the two, Goro t'ched, keeping his eyes and ears opened. They needed to hurry up if they wanted to have enough time to get out of here before the two Konoha shinobi arrived.
But before he could voice his frustration, Fuka stopped in front of one of the cells, a hand on her hips while pointing to the door with the other one.
"Well, here you go. According to the records, he should be in here."
Shido nodded before he unsheathed one of his swords. Fuka and Goro took a few steps back as the larger man did a quick swipe at the door with his large blade, effectively cutting the door in half.
Even Fuka had to raise an eyebrow in admiration. She knew that it took a lot of skill to do something like that. Which she couldn't since she had never bothered to try and learn how to use a sword. It was meaningless to her. That wasn't to say that she didn't applaud those that had great skill with one, though.
Shido grinned in anticipation as he walked into the cell. At least until a giant tendril shot towards him, knocking him back into the wall with a large force.
Fuka and Goro blocked their eyes from the gathering dust of the crash, wondering just what had happened. Hearing footsteps and a groan, they turned their attention to the entrance to see a calm Kakuzu walking out while stretching out his shoulders.
"You guys sure took your sweet time getting here."
Fuka smirked. "Oh? Is that all you have to say to me after all these years? Not even a hello?"
Kakuzu's eyes were instantly on her. Fuka was honestly surprised at not seeing them widen at her appearance since she looked the exact same way since they had last talked. Then again, he hadn't changed either. And she did tell him that she was basically immortal. That was how he had gotten Shido to get in contact with her, after all.
Kakuzu grunted again. "Let's just say that in some part of my stolen heart I feel some level of contentment at seeing you."
The woman couldn't help but laugh at that. "Hahaha! It seems like you really have gotten a lot more interesting since the last time that I saw you!"
"Yes," Kakuzu said with a shrug, "imprisonment has that kind of effect on people." He then cast a glance towards Goro who merely nodded. From the brief time that they had been in contact, Kakuzu already knew that he was that kind of person. Finally, he looked towards Shido who was in the process of getting himself out of the wall. "You did well. I'll make sure to pay you well for this after we get out of here."
"How exactly is it that you intent to pay us?" Goro asked. The question had been on his mind the whole time. But honestly, he wasn't even on this for the money. Which was weird.
"The Hero Water," was his simple response before he began to make his way towards where they had come from. "Now, let's go. I wish to find the council so that I can kill them myself. Then, we shall claim our price."
The three looked among one another before they followed behind Kakuzu. Part two of their mission had been a success.
Sasuke's instincts were screaming in anticipation as he led the way inside the prison. Sakumo, along with a squad of Taki shinobi, followed behind him. They had been informed that a group of unknown shinobi had broken into the prison just about an hour ago. Sasuke and Sakumo were certain that these were the ones that had been causing all the trouble this past month around Taki. But that also made them wonder as to what they were trying to accomplish here. Were they really doing all of this for some prisoner? It was outstanding. But they could ask all the questions they wanted once they captured them.
Sasuke stopped in his tracks when he caught sight of four figures making their way from the lower levels of the prison. The report they had received from the surviving guards had said that there had only been three. So that meant that the fourth one was a freed prisoner. And given their appearance, Sasuke instantly concluded that the one wearing nothing but a pair of black pants was the freed prisoner.
Sakumo walked up to stand next to him, his eyes never leaving the four enemy shinobi. "How do you want to do this, Itachi-san?"
Glancing behind him for a moment, Sasuke instantly knew that the Taki shinobi who had accompanied them would not be of any use to them. "You, stay back and don't interfere," Sasuke stated. "There have been enough casualties here today."
The squad merely nodded, not exactly being fond of dying here today.
On the other side of the room, Kakuzu weighed his options. Glancing at the space around him, Kakuzu knew that the wide open room which had served as the main intersection point for all the different areas in the prison gave him the advantage. But he also knew what he needed to take care of something first before he found himself defenseless like all those years ago.
Behind him, Goro cursed silently, not exactly liking their options now. Kakuzu wasn't at one hundred percent, and he wasn't sure that the three of them could defeat the White Fang.
'But we don't have to defeat him,' he realized. 'We just have to hold him back enough to cover our escape out of here.' That he knew was more manageable.
Goro came out of his thoughts the moment he saw Kakuzu spring into action.
Sasuke's eyes widened when he saw the former prisoner move at a speed which he hadn't been expecting before. Turning around, he was only fast enough to catch a glimpse of the man cutting down their backup squad which had been in the process of retreating.
"Now, now," Kakuzu said with a shake of his head as he held the last of the Taki squad in his hand, choking the life out of him. "I can't have you reporting back to those fools before I can kill them myself."
Kakuzu's senses kicked in just as Sasuke appeared in front of him, his sword already drawn.
Sasuke's eyes widened again behind his mask when he saw his sword come in contact with Kakuzu's hand which the man had raised up a moment before, the blade shattering into pieces.
'What!?'
Sasuke instantly jumped back to get some distance between himself and his opponent, wondering what had just happened.
Sakumo for his part had seen this with interest as well before he was forced to bring out his own sword, intercepting both of Shido's larger blades at once.
'He's fast,' Sakumo thought, surprised that a man of his built was able to move this quickly.
"Oh?" Shido said with a raised eyebrow. "It's not everyday that I meet someone who can actually stop my blades at once. You really are as powerful as I've heard, White Fang."
Sakumo didn't respond, already knowing that he wasn't going to be an easy opponent to defeat. Just like the Hokage had guessed, this really was a high A rank mission. Maybe even bordering on S rank too.
Sakumo then ended their confrontation as he ducked down, sending a kick towards Shido's gut which had the man tumbling backwards before he elbowed the empty air behind him. Only that it wasn't empty air as Goro's form appeared out of thin air a moment later, the man holding his stomach where Sakumo had hit.
'He sensed me coming!?'
The former Suna shinobi didn't have too much time to dwell on this as Sakumo was on top of him in an instant. Goro was barely able to duck to the side as Sakumo's blade came towards him. But he hadn't been fast enough as his right cheek was cut, giving Sakumo the first blood in their fight so far.
Goro dashed back towards Shido who was scowling, not fond of having been bested just like that.
Kakuzu observed all of this with narrowed eyes, admiring this Konoha shinobi's skills. He then turned his attention back to the Anbu before him, dropping the Taki shinobi whom he had choked to death to the ground.
"I'm in need of some replacements for my hearts," Kakuzu said, raising his hand which was completely black along with the rest of his arm. "Just what element do you possess, I wonder?"
Sasuke scowled behind his mask, activating his sharingan. As much as he hated to admit it, Sasuke realized that this prisoner wasn't someone that he could defeat without being serious. Focusing his sharingan on his opponent's hand, Sasuke wondered just what sort of technique it was. It was rock solid.
Off to the side, Fuka merely observed the confrontations before her, wondering if she should make a run for it or what. Some part of her wanted to stay to see how things would turn out. But she realized that if she did, there was a chance that it wouldn't end in her "team's" favor which would put her in quite the pickle. So if she left now, she could probably get out of here with her life and maybe even with the Hero Water. Both sides were tempting all right.
'What to do? What to do?' she thought.
Kakuzu was having a dilemma as well. Despite what he had said, his first priority was still to deal with the council. They were the ones that held his leash. And as long as they did, it wouldn't matter how much he recovered. He would still be at their mercy. Glancing back towards Shido and Goro, Kakuzu knew that they could handle themselves. He would have to meet up with them later.
"Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu!"
Kakuzu t'ched as he turned his attention to the incoming fireball. He should have been expecting this. Konoha was filled with fire users, after all.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes when he saw that the man didn't move an inch from his spot as his attack hit him dead on. He then realized why when as, from the smoke from his attack, he appeared with the same black covering like his arm had been in a few moments before, instead now his entire body was covered in it. Needless to say, Sasuke was really beginning to get irritated with this jutsu. Not only that, but he didn't even have a sword anymore.
He snapped back into focus when he saw the prisoner turn around and dash towards the exit of the prison. Knowing that things would get even more complicated if he let him escape, Sasuke quickly dashed after him.
Shido and Goro glanced at one another, silently telling one another that it would be best if they got out of here too.
Sakumo glanced behind him for a moment, seeing the Anbu's retreating form before he looked back towards his opponents. It would be best if he wrapped things up here so that he could assist the Anbu in dealing with the escaped prisoner.
But the jonin knew that it wouldn't be easy as the skinnier of the two rogue shinobi vanished into thin air just like he had done so before. The other one brought both of his blades forward before he rushed at him, clearly with the intention of ramming his way past him. But Sakumo wouldn't let that be without a fight.
The jonin quickly dashed to intercept the bigger man, his own blade drawn once more. In an instant, they collided with another, both sending their quickest swipes at the other.
One one side, Shido's eyes widened as one of his blades cracked before shattering. He also gritted his teeth in pain as a deep cut appeared on his right shoulder a moment later. He had lost that contest all right. His opponent had been faster than him.
As for Sakumo, he simply turned around to face Shido again, not a single wound on his body.
"Heh, you win this around," Shido said as he too turned to face Sakumo. "But you're mistaken if you think that I'm going to let myself be captured here!"
Sakumo's eyes widened as the man ran through a series of seals at a fast pace. 'He can still use his right arm!?'
"Doton: Iwayado Kuzushi!"
Sakumo stumbled for a moment as the entire room began to shake. He knew about this jutsu. It was one of the more preferred techniques by Iwa shinobi. They used it in their favorite tactic where they lured their opponents into a cave before they collapsed it on them. He had lost many men in the last war because of this. And now, he had been caught in it. Looking back towards where the former Iwa shinobi had been, Sakumo found him already gone, no doubt making his way towards the exit.
Sakumo soon followed behind lest he be crushed by the collapsing room.
"Katon: Hosenka no jutsu!"
Kakuzu t'ched as a volley of small fireballs were shot towards him. Just like the fireball before, he was unharmed as a number of them managed to hit him. But this Anbu was really starting to get on his nerves. Right now, Kakuzu didn't want to draw any attention to himself as he continued to make his way up towards the top of the tree where he would once again breath fresh air. But the Anbu was really starting to spoil that for him.
Behind him, Sasuke scowled as he realized that using the fire style would get him nowhere here. However it was that his opponent was hardening his skin, his fire jutsu could not penetrate it.
'I'm going to have to switch to the lightning style,' he thought. Worst case scenario was him having to resort to the new techniques that he had added to his arsenal.
"Doton: Doro Hoshi!"
Sasuke gritted his teeth as, from out of nowhere, a redheaded woman appeared in midair, launching a river of mud straight towards him which she spewed from her mouth. Not wanting to resort to the Susanoo, Sasuke allowed the technique to hit him, which sent him flying back below.
Kakuzu stopped by one of the openings in the trunk of the giant tree in order to look back towards Fuka who waved at him.
"Consider this free of charge," she said while blowing him a kiss. "I know how you're not at one hundred percent yet. So go do whatever you have to do so that you can, and then we can all get out of this place."
Kakuzu locked eyes with her for a few more moments before he resumed on his way out of the tree and onto the surface. He would have to remember to pay Fuka a little extra after this was over.
Fuka turned her attention back in front of her just as the Anbu jumped back up towards her level. She could tell from his stance alone that he was aggravated by the situation. Not that she could blame him. She had just ambushed him and covered him in mud, after all.
"So," she began while placing a finger to her lips, "what do you prefer? Regular? Or french?" She had never seduced a Konoha Anbu before. She was curious to see how she would fare here.
Sasuke, deeply annoyed that he was being delayed here, tilted his head to the side. For a moment he wondered what she meant before his eyes widened in realization. He merely t'ched a moment later, wondering just why the woman was even asking such a thing in the middle of a battle.
'Whatever. I just have to get rid of her as soon as I can before I chase down that other guy.' Who had also pissed Sasuke off. His pride was taking a heavy blow right now.
Fuka shook her head at Sasuke's lack of response. "Men. Always wanting to get down to business. But I guess that, since I volunteered, I'm the one that's going to have to teach you some manners on how to treat a lady."
Sasuke tensed as Fuka brought her hands together. However, his sharingan read the handseals perfectly.
"Futon: Hanachiri Mai!"
"Futon: Hanachiri Mai!"
Fuka's eyes widened in shock as the Anbu before her copied her technique down to the hand sign. They clashed with one another before dispersing, ending in a draw.
"How did you do that?" Fuka asked slowly, already knowing that it was a stupid question. There was only one clan that she knew of who could pull that off. And incidentally, all members of that clan resided in Konoha. Obviously, she was fighting an Uchiha. A skilled one too. Realizing this, Fuka knew that she would have to be extra careful here about revealing her jutsu. Those pesky eyes of theirs could copy anything save for bloodline techniques, which she had none of.
She took a step back as one of the Anbu's hand was engulfed in lightning.
"Chidori Senbon!"
Fuka t'ched as she was forced to jump out of the way as a barrage of lightning senbon were sent towards her, courtesy of the Uchiha whom she was fighting. She grunted in slight pain as one of them managed to graze her knee, making her land on the other side of the trunk with a limp. No doubt the sharingan was amplifying his precision with those things. But now, Fuka knew that she was in a terrible situation. Her mobility had been reduced, which made her an easy target for the Anbu who had incredible speed from what she had seen so far.
Her eyes then widened as she felt a presence behind her. She was barely able to turn her head before she heard the Anbu bring his hand down on the ground.
"Chidori Nagashi!"
Fuka screamed out in pain as her entire body was hit by the powerful stream of lightning which was enough to paralyze her body completely. Unable to keep conscious, she fell to the ground on her back. Her last thought was how she wouldn't be able to meet up with the others.
Sasuke released his Chidori before he turned his attention upwards to where the exit out of the trunk was. That slippery prisoner had gone through there. He was probably already at the surface. And Sasuke wasn't so fond in the idea of tracking him. That wasn't his expertise. Turning his attention back to the unconscious woman, Sasuke decided that it would be best to get the information out of her.
He just needed to wait for Sakumo to arrive so that they could plan out their next move. Sasuke was certain that the now freed man would be back. He didn't know why. He just did.
Kakuzu stood outside of the tree, looking down at the village that he had once called home. His escape had been a success. Now, he just needed to make sure that he got to the council before they got word that he had escaped. After that, he would rendezvous with the others before they stole the Hero Water and got themselves out of this pathetic excuse of a shinobi village.
For now, though, he would have to keep himself from being found out before he took care of the idiots who had put him in here. If they were even still alive to begin with.
'So it begins…..'