The shadows of the cloudless night sky hung heavily above the single, torch lit deck of a ship as it heaved, too and fro with the crashing of the waves against its hull.
In the map room/dining area of the ship Hinata sat at the head of the table, rubbing her temples as she fought to stave off a headache. Behind her stood the Captain, whom she learned was named Ishio. Idly pulling on his beard with his fingers, the manstared out the stain glass window towards the cloudless night sky.
The silence between the two was broken as Ishio spoke. "So dear Hyuuga, with your leader dead who will be the one granting me my payment?" He questioned offhandedly, almost tauntingly as he glanced over his shoulder at the Hyuuga clan head.
"No one if you do not shut up." Hinata snapped. Indeed rumors had been circulating around the pirate crew that the great Devil King of Konoha simply "must" have died in the lightning attack. But she knew different. He was alive. He was always alive. Someone like him couldn't be killed.
If she would have taken a moment to examine that last statement however, she may have scoffed at herself.
Couldn't be killed? Any man could be killed, any adversary felled, she had learned this many times in her career. But she just couldn't help it when it came to Naruto. To her, and possibly the rest of the ninja force of the leaf village and its conquered allies Naruto was simply the man that .die. He was just short of god really in their eyes.
Still, Naruto's life aside, he was not the reason for her current headache. No, the reason for her current headache was the Suna Kunoichi whom the medics were still working on, making sure she would remain stable throughout their trip. With the limited equipment that was actually usable on this ship to help medically she was surprised Temari was still even breathing.
She did not want to contemplate just what would be the repercussions, both political and personal if Temari were to die on her watch. She would like to believe that Naruto considered her more than a simple "Commander" but she wasn't willing to bet her life on it.
Breaking her out of her thoughts again, was Ishio's arrogant and smug voice. "Ohhh hit a nerve did I princess?" He questioned before taking a seat next to her, charcoal black eyes glaring into her pale silver ones. "What's the matter eh? Feel the eyes of your enemies closing in around you now that your precious "Devil King" is dead?"
Hinata scoffed. "Please. If you think that such a simple technique could kill him then you are truly ignorant of his power."
"You ninja can't walk on the ocean surface, I know that much." He stated as he leaned back in his chair. "I also know that as we pulled away not a single vessel that wasn't waving a Kumo flag wasn't sinking. If he's not dead he's captured and if he's captured then he's as good as dead."
Hinata outwardly scoffed. If he was "captured" then the entire Kumo/Suna coalition would probably be dead by morning.
Before anymore could be said a knock resounded at the entrance to the captain's private quarters.
"Hinata-sama." Came the familiar voice of one of the medics.
"From what I recall this is my ship, yet they ask for you." Ishio stated in a somewhat amused tone.
Ignoring the increasingly annoying Pirate Captain Hinata responded to the medic. "Come in."
When the door parted it revealed both medics as they entered the map room, their clothes blotched with a few small bloodstains, though it seemed relatively minor so Hinata wasn't panicking just yet.
"Final verdict?" She questioned, cutting right to the chase.
"She's gonna make it." The medic said wiping his hands before placing them on his hips, giving the air of exhaustion which he rightfully held. "The incision on her neck managed to cut the internal jugular, though the cut was only millimeters wide it was still causing trouble throughout most of the procedure. Three of the bracheophalic veins were severed and needed to be reattached. We also needed to remove much of the blood that was already beginning to drown her."
The second medic nodded, putting in his own two cents. "That girl is either a walking miracle or she has a very strong will to live."
Hinata sighed in relief, leaning back in her chair. She was willing to bet the latter.
"Captain, how much longer before we can reach the port of wave country."
"Few days give or take. Your great and wise leader chose one of the best times to launch this attack. Yes, right when the winds are high and blowing from west to east, away from the mainland. Has he sailed many ships before?" He questioned, his tone laced with sarcasm as the smug, taunting smirk remained firmly on his face.
"Hold your tongue Captain. I don't necessarily need you, to crash this ship into a beach and leave the wreck." She stated coldly, her patience quickly wearing thin
"My such a short fuse when it comes to your fearless leader. Don't worry missy, I shan't be botherin' you anymore today. I still do have a ship to sail." He stated giving a minor wave of his hand, complemented with a clearly over-exaggerated bow before he brushed past the two medics, closing the door as he stepped out.
Hinata watched the captain leave, eyes narrowed as the door clicked shut. "That man is either a real fool...or very dangerous."
"He's not even a ninja Hinata-sama. What danger could he pose to you?" One of the medics questioned. Eyebrow raised with skepticism as he looked at the Hyuuga.
"Anyone can be a threat chuunin. Remember that." She stated simply, watching as the man nodded once in acknowledgment. "Now, the two of you are to make sure Temari remains stable until we reach the mainland."
The two ninja nodded before they stepped out of the room, leaving Hinata to her own thoughts.
Jiraiya sighed as he walked over the deck of the ship, injured and dying ninja lined along its edges, pressed against the railing, with a variety of injuries from severed limbs to electrical burns. The light of the moon barely made it possible to distinguish the blood stained wood that marred the deck.
The dead were being tossed overboard as they died, the risk of disease was too great, keeping them aboard to give them a proper funeral at the mainland.
Jiraiya sighed as he rubbed his temples tiredly. This battle was a battle that they didn't "have" to win. But it was not easy to know that so many of their elites had perished in that lightning attack, worse yet to know that it was because he himself wasn't able to stop it.
They went in with 100 elite Shinobi, with over five hundred ships. They were leaving now with barely over 30 elites, most wounded, and barely 20 ships, and 12 of those were probably in such horrible shape they wouldn't even reach the mainland.
Still, all in all the plan was in motion, it would have been better to win. But the defeat was not even a real flesh wound in their war effort.
One thing that was bothersome though was the lack of knowledge on where Ginchiko and Naruto were. He wasn't worried about Naruto, nothing short of a god could kill that boy. Whom he was worried about was Ginchiko the woman was their supreme naval commander. She's the one who knew all the sea fairing tactics and if she died, he wasn't sure if they had another to take her place. Last he heard from Hinata she had gone after Mika, she may be back on the Mainland, or one of the small islands that had been just a few miles away from the battlegrounds.
As he walked up to the elevated platform of the ship the voice of a certain kunoichi brought a small smile to his face.
"Lee, I'll be fine really its not nearly as bad as it looks."
Jiraiya turned his eyes to the starboard side of the ship, where a doting Lee hovered over Tenten's sprawled form, clutching her side where a red blotch was clearly visible on her clothes.
"Let the man dote on you Ten-san. In fact, take advantage of it." Came the voice of Toushiro amused as he watched the two though his smile was quickly removed as a jolt of pain forced him to wince, clutching his side.
Jiraiya smirked before changing his course. Though he'd never been close to any of the three, he'd spoken to each them on one or two occasions and seeing them alive was a great thing in itself. So walking up to the three he spoke to catch their attention. "I'm glad you three made it out alright."
Lee stood ramrod straight bowing quickly before the toad sannin. "Jiraiya-sama."
Walking forward with his cane Jiraiya grabbed Lee by the upper arm before pulling him upwards. "Come on boy. You know I don't like formalities." He said before looking to Tenten and Toushiro. "So what happened to you two?"
Tenten answered first. "Piece of shrapnel from one of the lightning bolts caught me in the side. It didn't hit any organs, just tore into me pretty bad."
Jiraiya nodded before looking to Toushiro. "And you?"
The son of the green dragon sighed as he rested his head against the railing, wincing as he did. "A blond woman with a killer right...a killer left...hell..a killer everything."
At that Jiraiya let a strange expression cross his features. "Tsunade? You fought Tsunade?"
Tenten and Toushiro both nodded though it wasn't without a painful wince.
Jiraiya nodded. "I see. You're lucky to be alive then...either that or she's feeling the effects of her age even more than I am."
Before anymore could be said a yell caught their attention. Bringing their eyes to a ship pulling up next to their own.
"Hey frog man!"
It was none other than Yoshihiro Shimazu standing on the torch lit deck of the ship, his purple armor still firmly in place though several cracks now lined its frame, including one of the shoulder shields which was thoroughly shattered, only a few pieces of the metal holding in place. Next to him was the ever watchful Toyohisa, his spear in hand.
"My ship's sinking fast, captain here estimates it'll only hold up for another hour."
Jiraiya sighed rubbing his temples. "Fine. Bring the men aboard with all the supplies you have."
The former Tsuchikage nodded before speaking again. "You hear from our fearless leader yet or is he still incognito?"
Jiraiya narrowed his eyes as he watched the Tsuchikage. Yoshihiro was always a wildcard. Though he was always the "favorite" to be the first to betray them should the war effort go wrong. He had denied Zhuge Liang's request to join the coalition, and had helped in quell many uprisings of his own ninja against Naruto. But still, though Naruto wasn't dead, his absence could bring out Yoshihiro's true colors. He would need to be watched carefully.
"Not yet. He's probably already returned to the mainland."
Yoshihiro seemed to snort from his place at the ship. "Sure he has." Before turning and walking back towards the ship, barking out orders to the men as he went.
Jiraiya kept his eyes on the retreating figure of the Tsuchikage before turning back to Lee, Tenten and Toushiro who's eyes were also fixed on the rock ninja.
Placing a hand on Lee's shoulder he brought their attention back to him. "I'm glad you three are alright. Make sure it stays that way. This war has enough dead."
Not saying any more the toad sannin continued on his way.
The cawing of gulls was the first thing that reached his ears, the unpleasant feel of water flowing beneath him, along with the sinking sensation of sand as the water pulled away.
Naruto opened his eyes, grateful there was no glare from the sun in the middle of the night before he slowly pulled himself up, feeling the edge of the wave as it washed over his legs again, the back of his soaked cloak covered with sand.
A slow, grating escaped his throat as he pulled himself to his feet, wiping his shoulders he began to look around. He stood on a beach, the sand giving way to rock a few yards inland, with the rock giving way to grass a few feet beyond that which finally gave way to a dense tree line, it was thick and he could smell the moisture from here, indicating plenty of rain. It did not rain this much anywhere near fire country, and Kumo did not have any forests near this dense. Only tea country, just south of wave fit this description, and a few islands around Kiri. The odds that he was washed up all the way in tea country, bypassing nearly 1200 miles of ocean was ridiculous, so he wasn't even going to contemplate that he was there. Eliminating that option, he knew that he must be in one of the tiny islands around Kiri.
Still, it wouldn't hurt to make sure. Eyes quickly finding a small mountain top to the far right of where he stood the Jinchuriki calculated the relative distance before vanishing in a cloud of smoke with a shunshin.
Reappearing just a few feet from the summit Naruto made his way up the rest of the distance.
His eyes shifted to red before he quickly began scanning over the expanse of land. Discovering that he indeed was on an island. A very small island, if he had to guess it was only three miles long or so
Naruto just barely resisted the urge to slap his forehead as he sighed in exasperation.
How very annoying.
Looking to the sky Naruto registered the position of the north star before his hands moved through a quick succession of hand seals.
"Kuchiyose." He muttered before a cloud of smoke surrounded his right arm. When it dissipated it revealed a small blue snake coiled tightly over his arm.
The creatures teal eyes shifted to Naruto's own, languidly awaiting its orders.
"You are one of the few snakes that can survive the cold of the open ocean. You are to carry a message to Kachi Suzume, in Konoha. She'll be at the tower. Tell her that I need transportation off of this island, from my estimation it is the fith or sixth island of Kiri, though I cannot be certain."
The snake slowly nodded. "Yessss, my massssster."
Naruto knelt down placing the creature on the earth before he pointed in the direction of the mainland watching as it slithered away.
As Naruto stood he glanced around the empty forest, deciding that for now it was best to find shelter. Konoha's ships were certainly not going to be the only ones patrolling the ocean, and if Kumo suspected that he was stranded here somehow, he did not want to take the chance that they would catch him unawares.
"I swear, those stinkin' ninja, always acting so high and mighty" One of the crew members grunted as he pulled on a rope attached to a pulley, raising a rope net loaded with barrels over an open portion of the deck that lead to the lower storage area.
"Aye." His crew mate replied as he pulled with him. "Almost makes you wish they hadn't even offered the money. That way we wouldn't have to put up with em."
"Well don't be worrying laddies' you wont have to be dealin' with the little Hyuuga girl for much longer." Came the voice of their captain, causing the two crew members to nearly drop their load in surprise.
Catching themselves before they damaged both their alcohol or their ship the two crew members straightened, with one smiling at the taller man. "Aye captain. We'll be back in wave soon. Where we'll get our money and drop off those free loadin' ninja's real quick.
Ishio let his smirk slowly widen. "Oh we'll be getting our money alright. With a bit more satisfaction that simply dumping them back on the mainland."
Watching the confused faces of his men the captain chuckled to himself before walking off towards the helm of the ship.
The doors to the captains quarters on the ship were slammed open, making a resounding bang echo through the closed space of the room. Bringing Zhuge Liang's eyes to face none other than the Kazekage, who was flanked by none other than Yugito and his brother Kankuro.
"Kazekage-dono." Liang greeted with a slow nod.
The greeting was ignored however as Gaara stepped into the room, the words spilling from his lips without pause or hesitation. "Why are you stopping the search for survivors?"
Liang blinked languidly, taking a deep breath as he knew the real question the Kazekage was asking, but wasn't allowed to openly express due to fear of showing favoritism. 'Why are you stopping the search for Akina.'
Zhuge Liang sighed before he stood up, grabbing a small parchment from his desk before tossing it to the Kazekage, watching as Gaara caught the paper with his sand before bringing it closer in order to read.
"Raikage-sama." Gaara began aloud feeling Yugito and Kankuro discreetly try to look over his shoulder in order to read as well. "Situation on mainland has reached crisis. Leaf ninja have breached through defensive lines Ookami, Kapa, Taka, Tokage and Hebi. Force of an estimated 1,000 leaf ninja is now marching on the village. Expected to arrive in three days time from when I write this message."
There was a silence from the three stunned Shinobi as they continued to stare at the message before the silence was broken by Yugito as she turned her eyes back onto her sensei. "They're...they're marching on Kumo?"
Liang's eyes closed as if in pain, taking a deep breath before he nodded. "Yes."
Kankuro snatched the paper from Gaara's hand, the massive appendage moving surprisingly quickly and without damaging anything in the cramped cabin of the ship. "This message was written two days ago! That means they'll be at the village by tomorrow!"
"That leaves us one day behind." Gaara finished eyes widening as he looked up to Liang. "You're bringing the fleet back to the village in hopes of arriving in time to organize a counter attack."
Silence was his answer.
"But you can't!" The Kazekage protested shaking his head. "The men are all exhausted, at least half of them are injured the others suffering from chakra exhaustion, even with two days rest they wont be in any condition to fight you're setting yourself up for a massacre!"
"And what would you have me do!" Liang suddenly yelled, startling the three with the display of anger that was rarely even associated with the sleeping dragon. His chakra spiked for a brief moment before being cut off rather abruptly, leaving a tired looking Liang as he nearly collapsed, leaning heavily against his desk.
"I have no choice now. I knew when this naval battle started that we would be playing his game, and that I would have no choice other than to play by his rules. He has not only succeeded in weakening our overall Shinobi force...but has also broken through our defenses, injured our already fragile economy and now threatens to destroy our village for a second and final time."
He paused before releasing a bitter chuckle. "Our victory...if it can even be called such. Probably helped him more than it weakened him. The less mercenaries return...the less money he needs to pay."
Liang slowly fell back into his seat, one hand rubbing the bridge of his nose before the thudding sound of footsteps caught his attention. Opening his eyes he looked to the Kazekage as the redheaded ninja stood across his desk.
The Shukaku vessels teal green eyes seemed to shine in the torch lit room before he slowly nodded. "Suna is still your ally. This battle isn't one you need to fight alone Zhuge Liang."
The sleeping dragon seemed to start for a moment, staring at Gaara for a good long while. As if sizing him up. This was the moment that most Kage's would be seeking for a way to escape this alliance in order to salvage their own villages power and ninja.
But here was Sabaku no Gaara, offering his help once again without even a hint of hesitation on his face.
Though Liang could assume that his actions could be fueled by his sisters death, or the naivete of youth. Liang did not think that was the case. Though it was probably a factor, it was not the predominant factor and that did surprise Liang.
Still, shrugging off his confusion Liang stood from his seat, bowing deeply before Gaara. "Thank you Kazekage...however, you do realize; This is one battle you may not come back from."
Gaara shrugged. "There's no chance that Uzumaki himself will be there. How much worse can the fights be?" He answered simply before turning and making his way out the door, brushing past Kankuro and Yugito.
Watching as Gaara walked out of the cabin and onto the deck the thudding heavy footsteps of his brother soon followed him, before Kankuro's voice broke through the air. "Bro wait a sec." The puppet wielder said bringing Gaara to a stop as he caught up to his younger sibling.
"What is it Kankuro?" The red headed Jinchuriki questioned.
"Are you ok...I...well...are you sure your making this decision for the right reasons?"
Gaara let out a snort, half amused, half sad. "From what I recall, you were the one that needed to be restrained by the Anbu when I told you yesterday."
Kankuro's smirk was bittersweet. "Can you really blame me?"
Gaara's smile fell from his lips as he sighed. "No...I guess I cant." He said before walking over to the front of the ship, Kankuro following closely behind.
The Kazekage leaned on the railing heavily before he took a breath. "Kankuro...did I do this? Is it my fault? Did he do this because I decided to fight him instead of surrendering?"
Kankuro undid the clasps on his armored hand, opening the wooden suit to lay his real hand on Gaara's shoulder. Bringing his younger siblings eyes up to him. "Don't think like that Gaara. This isn't your fault, you acted as any Kage would have in your place. He chose to kill Temari, he chose this whole damn war."
Gaara slowly nodded blinking away tears.
Kankuro smirked, deciding to at least attempt to lighten the mood. "Just promise me you'll make it slow."
Gaara chuckled. "And very painful." He finished before looking up to the night sky. 'Temari...sister. Wherever you are, know that I will kill him. I promise you that at the very least.'
"So...this is Kumo eh?" Came the voice of a four armed ninja as a larger man stepped up next to him.
"Doesn't seem like much. Bet that we'll take this city in a day." Was the statement the man made as he came to a stop.
The two were currently watching a city several hundred yards across an expansive plain, the imposing stone walls rising high into the horizon and though they couldn't see anything beyond or on those walls clearly, it was obvious that whatever lay behind the fortification was scrambling to martial their defenses.
"Do not underestimate them. Zhuge Liang's strategic skills are legendary, he may have had a contingency for our advancing while he is away at sea." A white haired man spoke up next appearing next to the two a moment later in a swirl of leaves
"Oh please, I'm sure your prissy ass is just bein' paranoid again." Spoke a redheaded woman, appearing next to the fat one. "Not even that twat licking sleeping dragon could hope to stop us, even if he were here himself."
"She's right bones. Relax a bit. Even if Kumo's fleet does get back we'll have breached the city walls long before then, and once we do that there's no way to stop us." Spoke a feminine looking man wearing purple makeup as he chuckled to himself. "We are so going to tear this place apart, they're gonna need tweezers to pick up the pieces."
"Oh yea." The redheaded female responded with a smirk. "This is gonna be good."
"Let us not forget-" A final voice interrupted next to the five, bringing their attention to one cycloptic Jounin, nose buried in his familiar orange book. "That you five-"
"Ahem!"
"Sorry Ukon, Six...are under my command. You'll conduct this assault according to my orders." He stated firmly watching as varying expressions of discontent filtered across their faces. Even Kimimaro seemed displeased at the notion of not being able to finally cut loose and really wreck some property damage.
Kakashi smirked beneath his mask. "And my orders to you six are..."
He paused for dramatic effect watching as their eyes trailed back to him, a hopeful gleam visible in a few.
Kakashi continued with a simple shrug. "Rip them to pieces."
Their eyes widened for a brief moment before identical smirks crossed their faces. Even the usually stoic face of Kimimaro held a minor upturn of the lips.
As black marks spread over their skin Kakashi slowly glanced behind him to the force of leaf ninja that were about to make their way across the plain.
"Well now...lets see how Kumo enjoys a full on assault by over Two thousand of our ninja." The Copy ninja stated to himself before turning his eyes back to his book, idly turning the page as the army made its way past him and the six next to him vanished before his eyes.