Chapter 25: A Team of Ghosts and Vipers
The day after the spar was a quiet one in Konoha, but the silence was heavy, filled with the unspoken shock of what had transpired. The story of Naruto's return had spread like wildfire, now accompanied by the terrifying tale of how he had effortlessly dismantled Rock Lee. The villagers' fear intensified. The shinobi's apprehension turned into a new, wary respect. Naruto Uzumaki was no longer a nuisance; he was a force of nature.
Inside the Hokage's office, the atmosphere was just as tense.
Naruto stood with his arms crossed, the massive, cleaver-like form of Nozarashi resting on his shoulder. He was leaning against a wall, his expression one of bored indifference. Yachiru sat atop the blade, happily munching on a candy apple. Sakura stood a few feet away, her posture stiff, unable to meet Naruto's gaze. Kakashi was present as well, his single eye betraying a deep weariness.
Tsunade sat behind her desk, her fingers steepled. The door opened, and Jiraiya entered, his usual boisterous energy absent. He stopped just inside the room, his eyes immediately finding Naruto.
The air crackled.
It was the first time they had seen each other since their battle at the riverbank. The memory of it hung between them—the clash of Sage Mode and a fully released Shikai, the shattering of the earth, the final, tearful standoff where one of them had been prepared to deliver a killing blow.
Jiraiya's gaze was filled with a complex mixture of guilt, sadness, and a deep-seated caution he rarely showed. Naruto's expression didn't change, but his eyes, for a fraction of a second, hardened with the memory of his own rage and Jiraiya's pained apology. There was no animosity, but there was no warmth either. There was only the heavy, awkward silence of a chasm that had been created between them.
Jiraiya cleared his throat, breaking the tension, and turned to Tsunade, placing a sealed scroll on her desk. "I have it," he said, his voice grim. "One of my contacts on the border of the Land of Fire confirmed it. Sasori had a spy in Orochimaru's ranks. They were scheduled to meet at the Tenchi Bridge in the Land of Grass in a few days"
Tsunade's eyes narrowed. "A direct link to Orochimaru. This is the best lead we've had in years." She looked up, her gaze sweeping over the room. "Team Kakashi, this will be your mission. Go to the Tenchi Bridge, intercept this spy, and capture them. If possible, use them to get a location on Orochimaru's hideout and... Sasuke."
Sakura's head snapped up at the mention of his name, a flicker of desperate hope in her eyes.
Naruto just scoffed, a low, dismissive sound. Still chasing that pathetic runaway, he thought with contempt.
"There's a problem," Kakashi interjected. "With Sasuke gone and Naruto's... return, Team 7 is a three-man cell, not a four-man one. We're undermanned."
"I've already taken that into consideration," Tsunade said. "You'll be getting two new members for this assignment. One to act as your temporary captain, and one to fill the empty slot on your roster." She made a hand signal to the ANBU. "Send them in."
The door opened again. The first to enter was a man with a standard Jonin flak jacket, his face concealed by an ANBU mask. He had short, brown hair and a calm demeanor. "You summoned me, Hokage-sama."
"This is Tenzo," Tsunade announced. "He will be acting under the codename 'Yamato.' He is a user of the First Hokage's Wood Style. His abilities will be useful in suppression and capture."
Yamato nodded respectfully. Naruto's eyes lingered on him for a moment, a flicker of analytical interest in his gaze.Wood Style, huh? The power of the legendary First Hokage. Interesting.
Deep within the seal, however, a different reaction was taking place. A monstrous, ancient rage stirred.
Wood Style! Kurama's voice roared within the confines of Naruto's mindscape, the sewer walls trembling with his fury. First it was that bastard Madara and his cursed Sharingan, forcing me to fight his pathetic battle! Then, after I was finally free, that fool Hashirama used this accursed power to bind me and treat me like a common pet! Then came the chains of that wretched Uzumaki woman! This world is filled with nothing but cages! Do not trust this man, kit! His power was made to enslave beings like me!
Naruto subtly acknowledged the fox's outburst but otherwise ignored it. The beast's past traumas were not his concern. He filed the information away—this man's power was a threat to the fox, which made it a potential annoyance, but nothing more.
Then, the second figure entered, and the temperature in the room seemed to drop.
He was a boy of about their age, with unnervingly pale skin and a completely fake smile. "I am Sai," he said, his voice as placid as his expression. "It will be a pleasure to work with you all."
Naruto's bored indifference vanished.
His body didn't tense. His Reiatsu didn't flare. He just... changed. His eyes, cold before, now became chips of ice. The faint grip he had on Nozarashi's handle tightened. He recognized the smell. That faint, sterile, emotionless scent of the Root. The scent of Danzo's dogs.
"A pleasure to meet you, Sai," Sakura said, trying to be polite.
Sai's fake smile remained. "A pleasure. Though I've read that women with large foreheads tend to have difficult personalities. 'Ugly,' was the word, I believe."
Sakura's jaw dropped. "WHAT DID YOU JUST—?!"
Sai then turned to Naruto. "And you must be Naruto. I've heard you have a... small penis."
Silence. Absolute, deafening silence.
Yachiru stopped munching. Sakura, Jiraiya, and Tsunade were speechless. Kakashi's visible eye widened in sheer, unadulterated alarm.
Naruto didn't yell. He didn't roar. He just smirked. A slow, terrifying, predatory grin. He pushed himself off the wall, his movements deliberate and unnervingly calm.
"What was that?" Naruto asked, his voice a low, pleasant, terrifying purr. "I'm sorry, I don't think I heard you correctly."
"I said—" Sai began.
He never finished.
Wood shot up from the floor, a thick prison of branches erupting between Naruto and Sai, courtesy of a very panicked Yamato. "That's enough!"
Naruto didn't even look at the wood. He rested his hand on the hilt of Nozarashi. The Wood Style prison, a jutsu that could restrain a Tailed Beast, began to splinter and crack under the sheer, passive pressure of his leaking Reiatsu.
"Get this garbage out of my way," Naruto said, his voice flat and cold, his eyes still locked on Sai. "Or I'll cut it down. Along with the puppet hiding behind it."
Yamato felt a cold sweat run down his back. The pressure was suffocating.
"Naruto, stand down!" Tsunade ordered, her voice booming. "Sai is under my command for this mission! You will treat him as such. Is that understood?!"
Naruto's gaze finally shifted from Sai to Tsunade. For a long moment, he just stared at her. He knew she hadn't betrayed him, but something was off. Her defending a Root agent so vehemently... it didn't sit right. He relented, but a seed of suspicion was planted.
"Fine," he said, the pressure in the room vanishing. "But keep your pet on a leash, Granny." He leaned back against the wall. "And for the record... he's a terrible liar."
Sai's fake smile finally faltered for a fraction of a second, a flicker of genuine surprise in his dark eyes before the mask was back in place.
Jiraiya let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. Tsunade sighed. This was going to be a long, long mission.
Tbc