You can discover what your enemy fears most by observing the means he uses to frighten you. ~ Eric Hoffer
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I wasn't wrong in my assumption that we would be taking missions without Kakashi-sensei. It made Mum purse her lips in disapproval, because quite apart from going alone, it also meant we'd had very little down time between missions.
It couldn't be helped though, and we weren't injured or incapable of going, so we went.
"So what do you have for us?" Naruto asked eagerly, as we lined up by the Missions Desk. "Are you going to send us out to fight?"
"Don't be an idiot!" Tsunade snapped. "You wouldn't last five minutes out there!"
"Don't underestimate us. Don't you know the kind of missions we've been doing?"
"Of course I know, brat!" She said, exasperated. "That's why I'm giving you this mission. If you could just hold your tongue for two seconds…" She grumbled softly to herself. "You might not realise it, but sending a newly promoted Chunin off with two Genin isn't done. By rights, you'd either stay with your Jounin-sensei until you had some goddamn experience, or you'd be stuck with a more experienced Chunin squad. The fact that I am sending you off should tell you how well you're doing."
It also kind of said just how pushed they were at the moment, but Naruto looked vaguely appeased, the frown fading from his face.
"Right, no more complaints?" She asked pointedly. "It's a B-rank escort mission. Of course, it could develop into an A-rank mission if you run into trouble," Tsunade continued. She might have been trying to warn us, but given Naruto's expression it seemed to be working more as an enticement. Maybe she knew that.
"So, who do we escort?" Sasuke asked, cutting straight to the heart of the mission.
"I don't know," Tsunade said, leaning back in her chair.
"Hold on, what do you mean, you don't know?" Naruto blurted out.
"Every four years the Land of Tea holds a dedication ceremony at the Great Todoroki Shrine. And each time, we're asked to escort a runner that will participate in the race that's part of the ceremonies. This year, the messengers who were bringing the request were attacked before they could get here," she explained.
Land of Tea? Race? That… sounded familiar actually. After so many missions where I didn't remember, it was rather strange. And in some ways it was both a good thing and a bad thing. Good, because I knew where we were in the timeline now and had an inkling to how this mission would turn out. Bad, because I knew where we were in the timeline now. We had seemed to spin off, and I had thought maybe… things were different…
Team 7 had gone to the Land of Tea just before Sasuke's defection.
Something else to worry about…
I'd known it was coming. It was the entire point of Orochimaru marking Sasuke in the first place. That didn't mean it wasn't worrying.
I closed my eyes, just briefly; barely more than a long blink. First this thing at the border and now Sasuke to worry about, and I'd managed nothing about Akatsuki, and I was trying, I was -
"You'll be heading to Port Degarashi to meet up with Jirocho. He'll fill you in on the details." Tsunade folded her hands together to prop up her chin and regarded us seriously.
"Jirocho?" Naruto frowned, then seemed to click. "Ah! That gambler guy we met!"
"That's all I know. Now, no wasting time. Get going." She waved us off.
We bowed hastily and ducked out of the room.
"It doesn't look good," Sasuke murmured. "If the messengers got attacked…"
"Yeah," I agreed, forcing my mind back on topic. "We should expect to encounter enemies. There's probably something more to the ceremony and race, if the runner needs an escort."
I knew a bit about the Land of Tea in general; it was located to the south-east of Land of Fire and consisted of a peninsula and two long islands. It's main export was obvious, and it was fairly prosperous as countries went. It had no standing ninja village, and the Daimyo's power was pretty weak, with most of the towns and cities having a ruling 'family' or 'organisation'. There were sometimes clashes between Families, but the majority of them never devolved into outright fighting, preferring to stay in the realms of back room politicking.
"Whatever it is, we'll handle it," Naruto said confidently.
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It was dark when we got to Port Degarashi. We made our way to the destination given in the mission scroll; a very nice, traditional looking house. We were ushered inside and directed to a meeting room, complete with tatami mat floor and shrine.
"Hey, boss!" Naruto greeted casually. "Team Seven is here to fulfil the mission. You don't have to worry anymore."
Jirocho chuckled, sounding plenty amused. He was an old guy, with dark grey hair, but still solid and competent looking, dressed in simple blue and grey yukata. "You haven't changed at all, I see."
Naruto tucked his hands behind his head and grinned. "Yeah, well you haven't changed much either, big guy."
"Pleased to meet you, Jirocho-dono," I murmured, bowing politely. "You have the details for our mission?"
"Yes, yes," he clapped his hands together. "Please take a seat and I will explain. Every four years we hold a dedication ceremony at the Great Todoroki Shrine using the Ryoko jewels. At first it was just a rededication of the jewels, then it became a festival, and a race, with the winner of the race being hailed a great hero. In recent years, however, what once was a friendly contest has become much more serious. For generations Port Degarashi has been divided between two Families; the Wasabi and the Wagurashi. Both Families wanted control of the town, which naturally led to disputes. These disputes became increasingly violent, sometimes resulting in all out battles. The rest of the townspeople were caught in the crossfire. Many were injured, or worse. Finally, in an effort to end the cycle of violence, our Daimyo called on both sides to get together and come to an agreement. Henceforth, control of the town would be decided not by street brawls but by a competition."
"The race," I realised. Which meant it was a hell of a lot more important that 'just a race'.
"Indeed." He smiled. "Four years ago, the Wagurashi beat us soundly by hiring a ninja and we found out they've done the same thing this year."
"And that isn't against the rules?" Sasuke wanted to know. It did sound a little dodgy.
"The race has no rules, merely a starting point, a check point and an end point. The first one to reach the end wins, it's as simple as that. The race starts at dawn at the harbour. The first leg of the race is done by boat, and the competitors sail to Nagi Island," Jirocho explained. "The Ryoko jewels are held at the Modoroki Shrine, and each runner has to pick one up and carry it to the finish line, which is at the Great Todoroki Shrine on Ouzu Island."
Sailing. Great. But it wouldn't be long, which was the only saving grace. And I made a mental note to look at the maps of the local area tonight, to see if I could trace out a path. A race wasn't a good time to get lost, though hopefully the runner would know where he was going. If we had more time, I'd probably suggest scouting the course, but that wasn't an option.
"So who are we supposed to be escorting?" Sasuke asked.
"A young man from my Family, Idate," Jirocho answered. "I asked him to come here and meet you so he should be here soon."
There wasn't really that much more to ask. It seemed pretty straightforward. There was a race that had a lot hinging on it, we had to protect the runner, and there were enemy ninja who wanted to stop him winning.
We did end up meeting Idate. He was perfectly polite - under Jirocho's watchful eye - but the look he gave us was less than welcoming. He was a few years older than us and fairly tall and lanky. He had more chakra than a regular civilian, but it wasn't enough for me to think that he was a ninja.
Or rather, anything more than a dropout Genin. Yeah, I remembered that. Still, it wasn't exactly that much of an issue.
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The following morning we were woken early and proceeded to the harbour with the rest of the Family. It was dark and still cold, but it seemed like the entire town had turned out to watch the start of the race. There was music, and fireworks, and plenty of cheering.
"Whoa, I had no idea it was such a big deal!" Naruto exclaimed. "So where are the ninja the other side hired?"
There was the strong pulse of a shinobi's chakra hidden among the dim glow of the civilians. It wasn't out job to go on the offensive though. We were just supposed to protect Idate. "They're here," I said.
"I don't care what you guys do," Idate said, as he went to line up by the starting block. "But whatever happens, just stay away from me."
"Say what?" Naruto protested.
"I've got a race to run. I don't want you in my way." It was almost a valid reason, but the bitter tone of voice belied it.
"That's what we're here for," I said, as calmly as possible. "To stop people getting in your way."
His lips pressed into a flat line and he muttered something that sounded like 'shinobi' as he turned to face the water.
"Attention, attention," The loudspeaker chimed. "The Great Todoroki Shrine race is about to begin! Running for the Wasabi Family; Idate Morino!"
"Morino?" Sasuke whispered, obviously recognising the name.
"Running for the Wagurashi Family; Fukusuke Hikyakuya. Runners, take your marks!"
Fukusuke was older and taller than Idate but that didn't necessarily mean he was faster. In fact, if the Wagurashi were confident in him, they probably wouldn't have hired ninja to take out the competition.
The two crouched into a runners start as the gates to the dock swung open. Over the water, we could see the sun beginning to rise.
"GO!"
They burst into action, tearing out the gates and then towards the waiting boats. Well, Fukusuke did. Idate curved around, running along the dock and parallel to the water.
"What the-" Naruto started. "The ocean is the other way! Where the heck do you think you're going, you idiot?"
"We better go," I said, cutting through the side of the arena. Hey, I wasn't part of the race, I didn't have to go through the gate.
"What's he doing?" Sasuke asked, vexed.
"Maybe he's got a plan," I offered, quietly. "Nothing in the rules says he has to leave from Port Degarashi." I was vaguely aware that sailing relied on water currents and wind gusts, which occurred in patterns or channels or whatever the correct terminology was. The best path across water, therefore, wasn't necessarily a straight line, but the path that took advantage of them.
If we're going to be dealing with boats so often, I really have to start learning this stuff, I mused.
The flat concrete of the dock ended and gave way to dirt paths. We followed Idate up into the trees instead of curving around the bay. Or well, we ran in the trees, and he ran along the ground beneath us. He was fast but not ninja fast, and at least two of us had put heavy effort into training our speed.
"Jeeze, what's the big deal? Why the heck did you come this way?" Naruto asked, as we bounded through the tree branches.
"Will you shut up? It's none of your business anyway, kid," Idate retorted, dismissively, casting an annoyed glance upwards.
"What's with the attitude, pal?" Naruto barked, voice gaining an edge.
"I said shut up!"
I rolled my eyes in exasperation.
We ran on, through the trees and onto a path that wound up the side of a cliff. It was barely wide enough for two people side by side, so Sasuke and I dropped back without comment.
Then I felt it. The slimy crawl of foreign chakra in my system.
"Genjutsu," Sasuke muttered.
I pulsed my chakra, shaking off the illusion, then frowned. "Release!" I said, clapping my hands into a seal. This time, the web of chakra shattered, vanishing to show the real landscape.
Double layered huh? Tricky. You dispelled the first layer and then got caught by the second.
Which did tell us something about the kind of ninja we were about to face. Strategic thinkers. Clever. Good at genjutsu - layering wasn't easy.
"Are they making their move?" Sasuke murmured quietly.
I frowned. "I can't sense anyone around. Either they're hidden from me, or that was just a delay tactic." They would have had to have been close by to set it, but that didn't mean they'd stayed.
"Well, it is a race…" Sasuke said.
Which meant delay tactics mattered. If they could slow us down, it was the same as stopping us. And every little bit added up.
Idate seemed sure of his path, and though Naruto kept asking, he didn't let us in on where he was going. I kept checking to see if the ninja were close by, and to make sure they hadn't set traps or anything across our path. Nothing showed up.
We crested over a hill and found ourselves entering a small hidden bay. Almost immediately, my eye was drawn to the boat prepped and ready on the water.
Planned it all along, huh?
Idate didn't head straight for the boat, but turned towards the small shack set by the forests edge.
"Nagi Island?" Sasuke asked, shading his eyes with a hand. Out across the water, you could see the outline of land.
"Yeah," Idate said, losing some of his aggression. "And the halfway point. We can probably get there in an hour from here."
Thank god, I thought. The less time on a boat, the better.
He knocked on the door. "Hey, gramps. It's me, Idate of the Wasabi!"
"Hey there, I've been waiting for you," the old guy rasped as he answered the door. "I've got things all ready for you. There isn't a faster boat around."
"Thanks a lot," Idate said.
"It's not a problem, Jirocho has done a lot for me, over the years. Just make sure you don't lose to the Wagurashi, I've had about all I can stand from them."
"Don't worry about a thing," Idate said confidently. "I may be the underdog but I won't lose. You can count on it."
With a sigh, I joined the others in clambering onto the boat and getting it moving.
"So what happened to Port Degarashi?" Naruto asked, anger forgotten in favour of curiosity.
"At this time of year, there are some pretty strong seasonal winds blowing hard across the sea," Idate explained. "Back at the starting point, I could see the clouds. I noticed the wind was blowing towards us. On top of that, from that bay, the current flows directly onto Nagi Island. It's much faster." He tapped his temple. "You should use your head a little more."
"Hey!" Naruto protested immediately.
Idate turned away. "I can't believe someone like you made Chunin. Standards must have gone down."
I thought about how Naruto had fought Gaara, the sheer danger of that fight. Let alone his actual Examination fight. "Oh, trust me," I said dryly. "Naruto deserved his promotion."
Naruto went a little pink.
"You're from Konoha, aren't you?" Sasuke cut in, eyes dark. "I thought I recognised your name." And picked up on what Idate probably hadn't meant to say about the Chunin Exams. Gone down implied that he had a baseline to make that judgement from.
"Huh?" Naruto frowned. "Idate… Morino. Oh, wait. Morino. Ibiki Morino. He was the proctor for the First Exam!"
Idate spun back around. "What did you say? My brother? He's alive?"
"Of course he's alive, why wouldn't he be?" Naruto said. "He threw such a curveball at me, the tenth question in…"
Idate ignored his anecdote. "Seriously? He's really alive?"
I nodded. "He is. Does this have something to do with the reason you left?"
Technically, I suppose Idate was a missing-nin. He'd abandoned the village. Given that he hadn't even changed his name, it was a little surprising that he was still around. Then again, if he was just a Genin, it might not have been regarded as worth chasing him down.
And, also, he has a brother highly placed in the Intelligence Division. That didn't necessarily mean Ibiki was covering for him. But it could.
"I… It… That's none of your business!" He shouted. "I don't have to tell you anything!" There were definite signs of panic on his face.
"Shesh, take it easy," Naruto said, flapping his hands. "What are you getting so worked up about anyway?" He had a puzzled frown on his face.
"You don't know anything!" Idate shouted.
"Then why don't you tell me!" Naruto shouted back.
"I left Konoha behind. It's nothing to me anymore," Idate said, turning away. His hand clenched around what looked like an ornate switchblade. "All I want to do is win this race and pay Jirocho-sama back."
"Well, whatever," Naruto said dismissively, but I could see that he was curious.
The rest of the trip was mostly quiet as we headed for the island. It was only as we were closing in on the harbour that things started to happen.
"Three incoming," I said. "Five o'clock." I narrowed my eyes at the ocean. "Stealth jutsu that can cover a whole boat. That's pretty impressive." They were coming at us from an angle, and had managed to get fairly close without being noticed, especially considering that there was nothing to hide behind. It was strange that they had managed to catch up to us, consider that we hadn't even known we were coming this way.
"What should we do?" Sasuke asked, staring over the side of the boat. "Wait them out?"
We didn't really have much choice. We could hardly leave Idate alone to go and attack, which was always the case when body guarding.
"What a sucky time for it to start raining," Naruto grumbled, swiping his hand across his face.
I frowned. "That's not water," I said, staring down at the black drops on my hands.
"It's oil," Sasuke finished. We shared a look.
Not good.
With the glint of the sun off the water, and the angle at which they were attacking, it was hard to see the projectiles as they were fired. Sasuke knocked the first flaming arrow out of the air with a well thrown kunai, sending it sizzling into the water. But even then we could tell that we were fighting a losing battle. They could fire several arrows at once, and even when we were successful, we were depleting our weaponry stocks.
And then water clones started rising out of the ocean.
"Hey, those are the guys from the Chunin Exam!" Naruto exclaimed.
They were. The three Hidden Rain ninja that we'd taken a scroll from. And obviously, they remembered us too.
Hidden Rain… Pein's base of operations. I'd been focusing on tying Akatsuki to Rain, but maybe I was going about it the wrong way. Maybe I could tie Rain to Akatsuki…
It was a thought that had be percolating in my head ever since I'd seen the missing nin in Hidden Waterfall. I hadn't had the chance to question them, too focused on the ambush and the fight that it hadn't even crossed my mind.
The middle of combat wasn't the best time to be thinking of it. And the question of how to manage it remained…
Then it happened. With an ominous 'thunk', a flame tipped arrow slammed into the deck. The oil caught fire almost immediately, spreading rapidly across the ship.
"The fire is out of control; we'll never put it out. We're going to have to swim for shore," I said, sounding surprisingly calm. I really felt like cursing. "We need to keep them from following us."
"Right," Naruto said, forming a cross seal, with eyes narrowed. "Idate! You go on ahead, we'll stop these guys and catch up."
"You can forget about it!" Idate said, voice tight with panic. "What, do you think I'm stupid? You three just probably want to use me as a decoy!"
"What are you talking about?" Naruto shouted, voicing the frustration that made me want to scream.
"You guys want them to focus on me, while you get the heck out of here!" He accused.
"Stop talking nonsense!" Naruto demanded.
"I said, forget it! I don't trust ninja!"
"Get out of here, already! We don't need you getting in our way!" Sasuke ordered. It was harsh, but true.
"Fine!" I snapped. The mission trumped my half-formed plans of taunting them into speaking. It was doubtful that I'd get anything useful out of them anyway. "I'll go with you. You two should be able to handle yourselves, right?"
Sasuke nodded curtly. I didn't think they would have much trouble. They hadn't been that tricky to deal with last time.
"I won't!" Idate shouted.
I didn't waste time arguing with him, snaking my shadow towards his feet and launching us both into the water. I could have run on top of it, but it wasn't a skill most Genin had, so I doubted that Idate could. Keeping low would also maximise the cover that we got from the smoke. Swimming it would have to be.
I looked over my shoulder, and through the thick black smoke pouring off the boat, I could see a horde of Naruto's launching themselves across the water. I smirked grimly. They would certainly regret initiating that fight.
Idate was, thankfully, a strong swimmer. That was good, because the closer we got to the shore, the more the current and waves insisted on trying to slam us into unforgiving rock. I would have popped out of the water and dragged us both in safely, but I could feel someone already there waiting for us.
Now, what kind of ninja travels with a group of Genin? I thought wryly, feeling a brief flash of relief that I had decided to come with Idate. Not that me vs. a Jounin was a particularly compelling thought, but it was better than nothing.
Maybe if I used Earth Walking? But no, the ground was solid rock. Even if I could manage to make it malleable enough to travel through, it would be slow and it would chew through my chakra.
That was out.
The shoreline we were being swept closer to had a jutting bay of flat rock, surrounded by higher, steeper cliffs. There would be no circling around.
Damn.
There was no avoiding it, no picking a better field of battle, and no ambushing him. Double damn.
I let the waves sweep me closer to the rocks, using chakra to stick to them and haul myself out of the water. Idate scrambled up behind me.
"Well, well," someone chuckled. "Now isn't this interesting?"
He was a tall guy, wearing a form fitting blue and white bodysuit with dark green hair. He was wearing a Hidden Rain forehead protector, and carrying a combat umbrella.
"Aoi Rokusho," Idate said, sounding like a curse.
Of course, you know him, I thought sardonically. Why not?
But I recognised the name, too, from out of the Bingo Book. Aoi Rokusho. Chunin missing-nin from Konoha who had defected to join Hidden Rain. Some people did that, avoiding the hunter-nin by seeking protection with another village. Konoha had obviously not cared about him enough to cause an issue over it.
"I was expecting you to run away. It wouldn't be the first time," Aoi said carelessly. "Or does your little friend not know about that?" His eyes glinted wickedly.
"Shut up!" Idate shouted. "That was all because of you!"
"Now, now, Idate," Aoi tsked. "I guess I couldn't expect you to have told her; you've never trusted anybody in your life. You've never thought of anybody but yourself. You abandoned your village, betrayed your brother, and it's still all about you, isn't it? You just don't care what happens to anyone else. A person like that really doesn't deserve to live."
"Your opinion hardly matters," I cut in. "Idate. You have a race to run. Get going."
"Going to run away again, Idate?" Aoi smirked. "How very like you. Don't think that you can get away though, I am so much more than you."
"Idate. Go!" I barked.
Aoi narrowed his eyes and twirled his umbrella. I knew those things could shoot senbon by the dozens, and I wasn't particularly keen on experiencing it.
I dropped my Resistance seal, channelled chakra through my muscles and grabbed Idate, rushing us to the other side of the bay with a burst of speed that was almost Body Flicker level. Running that fast wasn't easy when you were carrying someone that was bigger than you, but it was worth it as I watched the stone ground tear up under the hail of senbon.
I shoved Idate towards the path leading up the cliff. "Go. Jirocho is counting on you, remember?" I said, snapping him out of whatever daze he'd fallen into. His hand clenched around his switchblade.
"Right," he nodded, swallowing heavily. He darted off, picking up speed, and I settled in to guard the path, kunai in each hand. Now I was the one stalling and blocking the path onwards.
"It's pointless, you know," Aoi said. "Fukusuke will already be at the shrine. There's no way that Idate can win."
I studied him with hooded eyes and shrugged. "You can't call the race over until someone has crossed the finish line."
He glowered.
I was starting to get a feel for him. He was the kind of person that used psychological attacks, that fought verbally as much as physically. Smug. Arrogant. Self-entitled. Superiority complex.
"Are you really going to try and fight me?" he asked, tone rife with disbelief. "You're only a Genin, you don't stand a chance. Why don't you just run off home now and keep yourself safe? I'll even let you go." He sounded so very patronising.
"Sah," I drawled. "You're only a Chunin, right? The difference isn't that much."
His eyes bugged out, jaw clenching. Bingo. Direct hit. You can dish it out, but you can't take it, can you?
"I am a Jounin of Hidden Rain," he said poisonously. "You will regret that." It seemed like he was touchy about his rank. Well, when you found an exposed nerve, the only thing to do was to jump up and down on it repeatedly.
"But only a Chunin of Konoha. I guess they must have been desperate, right? To take you in and all, let alone give you a title," I kept my voice light and sweet. "Maybe you even bought them off? Sold them village secrets? I guess they might have given you a rank out of gratitude. Do they have a special name for that, like Honourary Jounin?"
Special Jounin were those that had Jounin level skills in an area of specialisation. There was no such thing as Honourary Jounin. He might have really been a Jounin in skill, but boy, was that stirring him up.
"You little bitch," he swore, spinning the umbrella. I dodged, as chakra surged and brought together the water spray in the air and slammed it down where I had been standing. He was breathing hard, not from effort, but from anger. "I deserved that rank! I always deserved it!"
I spared a moment to wonder if riling him up was really the best way to go about this, but it was a little late now.
"How long do you really think you can keep this up?" He taunted. "You're all alone here. Did your little friends run into trouble?" He mocked. "Did you leave them behind? Just … run away?" His smile was sharp and cruel. "How pathetic."
"Did that happen to you often?" I asked innocently, dodging again and again. His swings were getting wilder. "I guess nobody liked you. I can see why. Did you have to go to Rain to make some new friends?"
He made a low noise, like a growl, and threw down the umbrella. "I'll show you," he promised darkly, pulling out something. "This… this is why they took me. The Sword of the Thunder God, used by the Second Hokage himself."
It pulsed with chakra and ignited.
I stared at it, barely able to keep my jaw from dropping.
That… is a lightsaber. I narrowed my eyes.
Lightsaber.
He did not get to keep that.
Lightsaber.
I was a ninja. I knew there were jutsu and weapons of every description and ability and more. And yet, some things were so deeply ingrained, like the cultural belief that the coolest weapon in the world was made of light and went zshooshm.
"They must not have cared about it that much," I managed. "Since they let you keep it. And I really doubt that you knew anything important, right? Too unimportant to be trusted with and really good secrets. You're nobody. Maybe you traded something else, hmm?"
He crossed the distance between us fast. I blocked the first swing of his sword with my kunai and winced at the low grade shock that they transmitted to me. I jumped back, but I wasn't fast enough, and the blade seemed to spit a web of lightning at me.
I hit the ground rolling, muscles seizing as the electricity ran through them.
With a grunt, I forced myself back to my feet. The lightning blade wasn't really good for me; it forced all the shadows back away from it and it moved. A regular blade was dangerous enough in taijutsu, but a blade that could do distance attacks was a much worse prospect.
At least he was fighting me and not chasing after Idate. That was something.
"I guess…" I spat out. "With hair like that, you look like a girl from the right angle."
His face changed interesting colours and he lunged forward again, swinging the lightning sword like a bat. I launched two exploding tags at him and scrambled out of the way. My hands were still trembling and I didn't want to be hit with that again.
He was good and mad though. I darted away, throwing handful after handful of weaponry at him. Some had explosive tags attached, some had strings of ninja wire strung between them - anything I thought would slow him down.
"Who could it be though?" I taunted. "You're hardly worth anything, and Hanzo has no love for the Leaf."
Pein had killed Hanzo at some point, though I didn't know when, to wrest control over Hidden Rain. The problem was that Hidden Rain was so isolationist - and competent about it - that no one had known. It had probably been before the series started, but regardless, it wasn't a fact that was known to anyone else.
Tie Akatsuki to Rain, or Rain to Akatsuki… either way…
The taunt missed it's mark and Aoi's face twisted into a smug smirk, as he wrested control of the verbal battle. "Oh, you know nothing," he gloated. "No one follows that decrepit old fossil anymore. We have a new god now.
Bingo.
"I didn't take you for the religious type," I said wryly. He must have felt in control of the fight, despite my taunting, because I hadn't even tried to attack him yet. The Sword of the Thunder God was a strong weapon, and it made him even more certain of his own victory, but like all weapons it was only a tool and therefore only as good as the one who wielded it.
"All of Rain lies in his grasp. But you don't know about that do you? Poor little girl, so blind to the world around you. Why even bother?" His voice turned syrupy sweet. "Why don't you just give up and run away home?"
He was really irritating. I liked to think I was pretty level headed; I didn't normally argue with people like this. He wasn't jumping on any exposed nerves like he obviously wanted to be doing, but that didn't mean he wasn't annoying me.
"The one who should give up," someone growled. "Is you!"
Naruto and Sasuke both hauled themselves out of the water and onto the flat rock.
Aoi's eye twitched. "It doesn't make any difference how many of you there are. You'll never defeat me," he declared.
"Never say never," I said, grinning at the boys. Obviously they'd finished up with the Genin team easily enough. It meant conversation time was probably over, but I had something.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto called, fingers in a cross seal. His doubles appeared and rushed towards Aoi as we regrouped.
"Someone needs to go after Idate," I murmured.
The boys cut a glance around the area, as though suddenly realising that he wasn't here.
"Naruto," Sasuke suggested. "Leave a clone to watch the fight, so it can warn you if he gets past us."
"I-" Naruto protested.
"Protecting Idate is the mission," I reminded him. "We don't know if there are any more ninja…"
I was thinking not but it was always possibly.
Naruto saw the logic. "Fine," he said. "But you guys better hurry up. I'm not going to wait around for you forever, you know."
Then he was gone, a blur of orange scrambling up the cliff face. The clones around Aoi were being snuffed out surprisingly quickly.
"Pathetic," Aoi sneered as the last of them vanished. "No one on earth is a match for the Sword of the Thunder God. It's a blade that can cut anything. It even cuts through chakra. That technique stands no chance."
Sasuke's eyes narrowed at him.
Maybe, I considered, it would have been best to send Sasuke off and keep Naruto here.
"Now do you understand?" He gloated. "How pathetically out classed you are?"
"You know," I said. "For someone who keeps talking about how great you are, you seem pretty keen on making us give up so you don't have to fight us. What's the matter, scared we'll win?"
The sword hummed as it cut through the space between us. I ducked out of the way, but Sasuke blocked the attack with his kunai, the way I had at first.
Should have warned him about that, I noted with a cringe.
"I see the stories are true," Aoi said as he threw Sasuke back. "I always heard the last of the Uchiha Clan was a hopeless loser unworthy of the name."
Uh-oh.
Sasuke's face was set with anger, and the Chidori blossomed in his hand so fast I didn't even see the hand seals. It clashed noisily with the sword, and both fighters strained against each other. For a second I thought it might work, then he was thrown backwards, lightning sparking over him.
My hands raced through seals. This jutsu wasn't one that I mastered, but I didn't need it to be.
"Hiding in the Mist Jutsu," I murmured, voice low.
There was so much water around, salt spray in the air, that even I could gather it together. I didn't need to make it thick, to limit visibility; that wasn't what I wanted it for.
"Sasuke!" I called, concentrating on gathering it carefully. "Don't just leap straight at him, that's never going to work! You've got to keep your distance!"
He glanced at me, sidelong, but some of the rage faded and he nodded curtly. He pulled out his fuuma shuriken and retreated a little.
I sighed with relief, glad that he'd listened.
"How touching," Aoi spat. "Defending each other, looking out for each other. Pathetic nonsense. Only a weakling needs to depend on others. Trusting other people to give you the strength you haven't got for yourself…"
Sasuke leapt up and hurled the fuuma shuriken down. From this angle, I could see the second one hidden in it's shadow, and the long looping strand of ninja wire between them.
Aoi sneered and batted them away.
I concentrated the mist, dragging it in close around him, until it became thick and visible.
The Sword of the Thunder God, concentrated lightning chakra, came into contact with the metal of the shuriken, sending electricity thrumming through it. It would have ended there, except for the mist.
In the Preliminaries, Naruto had already shown that wire and water worked wonders in enhancing the effect of lightning jutsu. This was a much smaller scale affair, but the principles were the same.
Aoi screamed as the feedback from his sword hit him.
"Looks like teamwork wins," I said, laconically, as he hit the ground with a thud. I let the mist disperse, soaking the ground with water. Aoi was twitching, half tangled in the wire, and the deactivated sword had rolled from his grasp.
I used my shadow to paralyse him, just in case he was faking, and eyed Sasuke. "Tie him up?"
The question then, of course, was what to do with him. He was, technically, a Konoha missing-nin, so by rights we could take him back to the village as a prisoner. Transporting him would be a pain, though, and technically he was also a Rain ninja so we might not be supposed to take him prisoner.
Pein. Akatsuki. Rain. My mind reminded me, helpfully.
Sasuke finished tying him up, and he hadn't been exactly gentle about it. "What now?" he asked.
I pursed my lips. "Eh, where's the Shadow Clone?"
"Here!" One of the rocks transformed back into Naruto. "Want me to let the boss know you're done?"
"In a sec," I said. "I think you'll need to stay here and watch the prisoner. We should probably try and take him back with us."
I handed him a few knockout tags, because keeping him unconscious would minimise aggravation for all involved, and scooped up the Lightsaber.
The Naruto clone made a clone, which dispersed, and waited for a bit, before obviously getting a reply. "Boss is at the bridge," he informed us.
Sasuke grunted. "Let's go."
.
.
We caught up to Naruto and Idate on the final leg of the race, and had passed Fukusuke sometime before that. Baring any last minute surprises, we were home free.
"I can't believe you won," Idate said.
Sasuke grunted.
I shrugged. "He was arrogant and insulting, but I don't think he was all that strong. He made you want to give up, and when that didn't work…"
Idate blinked. "Yeah," he said quietly. "I always… I always gave up."
Naruto scoffed. "I told you. As long as there's one person that believes in you, that's enough."
"And if you have friends that trust you, that's even better," I said, recalling Aoi's ranting. God knows what having him as a teacher would have been like.
The road up to the shrine itself was surrounded by crowd. The sheer volume of the cheering when Idate rounded the corner was almost deafening.
We kept our eyes open, but there were no last minute attacks and Idate crossed the finish line with the white ribbon fluttering gracefully through the air.
"And the winner is Idate Morino of the Wasabi Family!" The race official shouted.
People swarmed forward to congratulate him. Idate looked overwhelmed at the attention.
I smiled, a little bemused. "You know, this is the third time we've participated in a regime change."
The festival lasted pretty much all day, and when we headed down to the docks for the ferry to take us back to Port Degarashi, we ran into a bit of a surprise.
Pulling up at the harbour was a boat flying the Konoha flag. And on the boat…
"Hey, isn't that Ibiki?" Naruto asked, squinting.
It was. And wasn't that suspicious timing. Or maybe not 'suspicious'. Given that the race was a regular event, Ibiki had probably known about it and who was running in it long before we'd been sent. Maybe he'd meant to have it assigned to someone trustworthy and had been pre-empted by the situation or something and was now cleaning up.
"My team and I are returning to Konoha after our mission," Ibiki explained. "And were notified that there was a team here that would also need to return."
I didn't really want to know what kind of missions the head of Torture and Interrogation went on.
"That's us!" Naruto said, scratching the back of his head.
"Yes," I said. "There's something else though…" I hesitated then shrugged. "We ran into a Konoha missing-nin. He's currently tied up near the top of Nagi Island."
Ibiki raised an eyebrow. "Then we'll stop there and pick him up," he said calmly.
Idate seemed to shake himself out of his stupor. "Big brother?" he said timidly.
"Who are you?" Ibiki said, voice flat and turning to look at him. "Only one person called me that, and he died three years ago."
Can't be a missing-nin if you're 'dead', I thought.
They seemed to communicate with a look though, and Idate smiled and backed down. Well, at least he got something out of this.
We settled onto the boat, and it set off, almost hugging the coast so we could retrieve Aoi.
"To save time, I can take your mission reports now," Ibiki said.
One of my eyebrows tried to rise. Yeah, that wasn't standard practice at all. But if Ibiki was trying to keep Idate safe and out of the reports then it made sense. He did outrank us, and technically, by asking about Aoi, you could say we had consulted him and passed over leadership…
I shrugged. "Alright." It was probably arbitrary to let Idate go, while hauling Aoi in for questioning. But Idate had been a kid taken advantage of, while Aoi was a full grown jerk who should have known better.
Ibiki's response on seeing just who the missing nin was, was a little disturbing. "Aoi Rokusho," Ibiki said slowly, then grinned. It was not a nice smile. "I'll show you how interrogation is really done."
Right.
"You know," I said, frowning. "When we were fighting, he said something weird…"
"Yes?" Ibiki said, patiently. It was strange, for such an intimidating looking man, he could project an aura of calm and trustworthiness.
"About Hidden Rain," I said. "He said 'no one follows Hanzo anymore'. I just thought it was weird; I haven't heard of them changing leaders or anything."
A slight widening of his eyes was the only clue that that hadn't been the kind of question that he was expecting.
"Hidden Rain has always had a fair amount of infighting," he said carefully. "But I'm not aware of any leadership changes either."
I hummed, tipping my head back and staring at the sky.
Maybe…