"K-kai!" She pulsed her chakra out to disrupt what she was seeing, despite the uncanny realism. But nothing changed except that her training partner's smug smile widened slightly.
Not a genjutsu, then. Huh.
"What the hell is that?" Aiko breathed, stopping in her tracks.
Obito made a 'herk!' sound and jerked to halt his attack, vines whipping backward. "Something you're supposed to dodge!" he said, voice oddly shrill. "You can't just stop whenever something is interesting. Lots of enemies will have techniques you haven't seen before."
Aiko made a low sound of understanding, frowning slightly. "Sorry, it shocked me. Try again?"
'Shocked' wasn't really the right word. When plant matter had rocketed out of the ground in the middle of their spar, her first thought was that Obito had turned to genjutsu.
'For a second…' Aiko cleared her face as she readjusted her stance, ready to dodge in any direction. But her mind was still stuck on what she'd seen a moment ago. Or rather, what she hadn't seen. For just a second, she had caught the wood-like material moving out of the corner of her eye and had expected to see that her opponent was a completely different man. Someone with carefully mussed brown hair, big sad eyes, and the weirdest forehead protector she'd ever seen.
'I'm sure Obito would love to know that I'm having strange visions,' Aiko thought with some amusement. She could tell him, of course, and he probably wouldn't think she was crazy. But she didn't seriously consider it.
It was either a strange hallucination, or a flash of memory. There would be no point in telling Obito if the case was that her brain was on the fritz. She much preferred the idea that it was a bit of memory from another spar, that Obito's attack had triggered a faint recollection.
Aiko was a hoarder lately. Not of physical things, but little bits and pieces of her old life. She was strangely reluctant to share what she remembered with Obito. Why should she? It wasn't like he'd opened up about the minutia of his childhood.
He probably wouldn't be that interested anyway. Remembering that she had been raised in a crowded orphanage with a skinny blonde boy and a pretty woman who wanted to be called 'Aunt Mikoto' was interesting to Aiko, but probably boring to anyone else.
(She wondered what had happened to the people she remembered. Was Mikoto really her aunt, or just a volunteer as her memory seemed to indicate? Probably a volunteer. They looked nothing alike.)
"Look, forget it." Obito shook his head, disgusted. "Let's try again when I get back." He clenched his hands, cutting off the wood jutsu altogether. "You were doing well until you got distracted by butterflies."
"It's just all the pretty colors," Aiko deadpanned. "I can't help it."
His lips pulled into a smile despite his disgruntlement. "Try to get it out of your system while I'm gone."
"What's on the schedule?" she pried, interlocking her fingers and twisting her arms above her head. Aiko rolled her neck, cracking it while she walked. Her friend winced, but didn't pause in stepping inside and holding the door open for her.
"Well, after a shower," Obito prevaricated, "I'm going to go poke around Suna."
"What's in Suna?" Aiko cocked her head curiously, blinking up at him.
He looked away before responding, eyes distant. His voice remained congenial, though. "A reasonable man."
Aiko snorted. "Well, we can't have that," she said gamely.
Obito huffed a little. "No, we can't," he admitted with a twitch of a smile. "Our business is best done when the great countries are communicating as little as possible. When you live outside the law, effective communication and cooperation between the lawkeepers is less than beneficial to your continued well-being."
"In other words, screw that guy," Aiko concluded cheerily. She flopped down on her customary chair and gave him a cheeky look. "Are you going to kill him or something?"
"Nothing so drastic," Obito scoffed. "Better someone I can predict, for now. No. As I said, he's a reasonable man. If his people are upset and there are reasons for him to be wary of what his allies tell him, he won't commit to a course of action that would help international tension simmer down. He probably thinks that the Mizukage is greedy, the Raikage is impulsively violent, and the Hokage is holding back information." He gave an easy shrug. "A reasonable man wants to believe the best and prepares for the worst. If a couple of patrols go missing here, a spy is discovered there, and he comes across unsettling information every so often, he won't be able to be the voice of reason forming that gaggle of egotistical fools into something remotely competent."
Aiko paused.
"That sounds kind of fun," she admitted. "Can I do that?"
"Maybe later." Obito gave her a sideways look, smiling slightly. "It is pretty satisfying."
She made a rude pfft sound, despite not really being that upset. Her pout had no effect, but she hadn't really expected that it would.
He heaved a sigh and turned to fully face her, clearly amused. "Just come out and say whatever it is."
"I don't know what you mean," Aiko deflected.
He looked unimpressed.
"Alright, fine," she admitted with a dismissive wave. "I may have heard about a job request that sounded interesting. But it seems more like a two-person job."
Obito hummed under his breath, sucking on his cheek thoughtfully. "And you wanted me to adventure with you?" She looked sheepish. "Well, I'm sorry that won't work out. And-" he blinked in realization. "Zetsu is preoccupied for another week or so."
Aiko nodded miserably. "Right. Someone else will snap it up if I wait that long."
He looked at her sad little face, debating internally. She would stay at the base or take a duller mission if he asked. On the other hand, what would it hurt to treat her?
He sighed. "You know, we need a longer term solution for you. Zetsu and Kakuzu are capable of working without partners and prefer not to, and there's no one else I'd trust on missions with you. But taking little jobs whenever something interesting comes up through whatever contacts you've found involves a lot of travel for generally small jobs." Judging by the resigned frustration on her face, Aiko already knew that.
Oh, hell. He rubbed at his temples, feeling a bit sorry for her. All she wanted to do was stay busy and help. Was that so wrong?
"You'll have to work with a stranger on this one," Obito warned. Her eyes immediately brightened, and she nodded hastily. "Kakuzu is not a particularly approachable man."
"That's fine!" Aiko chirruped.
"Alright." He absently pulled down his mask. "I'll contact him right now. Do what he tells you, alright? You'll have to wear the uniform, or at least the cloak, so that he recognizes you. Don't let anyone else see you in it; the cloak is distinctive but reversible. We're keeping a low profile at the moment."
"I know," she stressed, having heard this speech. "I'll wear the stupid cloak."
He held up a hand, struck by one more thought. "Where is the mission? I'll tell him to meet you there."
Aiko shrugged. "Someplace called Kiichigo Fīrudo. It sounds nice."
"Prepare to be surprised," Obito responded distractedly.
~~~
'What a dump.' Aiko braced her elbows on her knees and tried not to frown too vigorously down at the grubby little farming town that had hosted a surprisingly well-paying mission request. 'I wonder who in this town would have that kind of money.'
She had an excellent view of people going about early morning chores from her perch on an overlooking bluff face.
Kiichigo Fīrudo boasted perhaps two hundreds souls—farming families, simple folk who lived off the land. They were currently going about all sorts of wholesome things like milking cows and hoeing fields and – and that was all the farm-ish things that Aiko could recognize to list, but there were doing plenty of other things.
Aiko crinkled her nose in mild revulsion. 'It wouldn't be so bad if it didn't smell so much like goats. This whole place should probably be cited and quarantined.'
She was actually rather thankful for the oversized cloak Obito had stuffed her into before he'd let her leave. The high collar easily covered her nose, which filtered out some of the funktastic smell.
("Deidara was actually closest to your size," Obito had chatted cryptically while she grumpily held her arms out to the side. "Konan's would be less broad through the shoulder if a little longer, but she's gotten rid of all her uniform clothes, so the point is moot.")
Well, whatever. She didn't care that much about bespoke cloaks.
"I take it you are to be my partner?" a low voice ground out.
Aiko took a moment to respond, still scowling down at the villa below. She was not looking forward to getting closer.
"Yes. You must be Kakuzu. Let's get this over with, shall we?"
He responded with a grunt and started walking. Aiko's fingers hovered at her collar for a while—Obito had said that she should take it off after Kakuzu recognized her. More specifically, he'd recommended that they turn the tell-tale cloaks inside out before anyone else saw them. But he'd also ordered her to follow Kakuzu's lead, and he didn't make a motion to remove his cloak.
Besides, the inside of the cloaks were red. She didn't see how that was less conspicuous than black with a couple of clouds.
'Well, I'll do what Kakuzu does,' Aiko decided. 'At least this collar keeps some of the reek at bay. I don't care much if it's right-side-out.'
It wasn't until after they had formally accepted the mission that Aiko realized that her partner was highly uncommunicative. Perhaps not going through the motions of civility with her current partner had been a mistake. Kakuzu-san seemed put-out with her.
Maybe her rudeness had hurt his feelings? He didn't look like a particularly delicate flower, but appearances were deceptive.
'I'll just be extra nice,' Aiko decided.
He apparently made no such resolution.
"You should have been capable of completing this mission without any assistance," Kakuzu criticized after a long period of silence. "If you are worthy of this organization, five shinobi should pose no threat to you."
She blinked in mild surprise. He didn't seem like a talker, but then again, it wasn't like she had much else to do for entertainment while they waited for the band of missing-nin that had apparently been extorting the little town. "All the mission request said was that it was a team mission sorting out gang-related problems," Aiko said finally. "I didn't know that it was such a small number of missing-nin."
That was true, although she'd half expected to find out their opponents were civilians and genin washouts.
Kakuzu grunted, not pleased by her answer. "You should have gathered more information before you accepted the mission. How did you expect to make a profit without knowing how much effort you would be expending? Foolish brat."
Aiko felt her hackles rise at the insult and greedy outlook.
'Don't engage. He's rude, but that's his problem, not yours,' she tried to convince herself. 'Arguing will only waste time and get me mad for no good reason. I'll get the mission done as soon as possible and we'll part ways.'
That in mind, she pressed her lips together and looked away dismissively. After a moment, she calmly managed, "I don't mind doing extra work for the reward. The mission sounded like it would be mildly entertaining and keep me out of the house."
It also counted as her good Samaritan deed for the week, she thought. She didn't share that part. Kakuzu didn't seem the type to appreciate hints of benevolence.
Aiko was actually rather proud of herself when her response came out civilly. Kakuzu grunted in what seemed to be disapproval, but he let the subject drop. It was a relief when a small caravan crested a distant hill and wound around the dirt roads that led into town.
"What's that, eight people on foot?" Aiko confirmed, squinting a bit. "There could be more in the carriage, of course, but I bet that's where the loot is."
This gang was at least ostensibly a group of travelers who offered mercenary protection for merchant's goods. It was actually a pretty good idea, Aiko thought. They'd transport others' goods from place to place as a sort of delivery company. Being on retainer theoretically made the prices much lower than transport protection that could be arranged on an individual basis with shinobi villages, and made it much easier to make multiple trips and sell a lot more merchandise. Produce, in this case.
They were almost certainly smugglers, in Aiko's opinion. That'd be what she would do, if the business was hers. Of course, she would take care to remain on their clients' good sides to skirt under the law and not all but rob them at knifepoint, but no one had ever accused most bandits of being particularly business-savvy.
She stood, giving a little stretch, and then began leisurely walking to close the distance. Aiko wanted to see them up closer. The odds that another group was using this road when the gang was expected were not good, but she'd like to be sure. It would be pretty embarrassing to accidentally murder random travelers instead of the people they'd been contracted to eliminate. They were supposed to be able to recognize their targets by kanji the hired muscle wore—lucky travels.
"That's them," her partner noted. The group was just now noticing the two cloaked shinobi, and raising a small commotion amongst themselves.
'They're deciding whether to be friendly or if we look like too much of a threat,' Aiko decided, curling her fingers around the length of wire she carried.
"Leave a survivor to question," Kakuzu ordered hoarsely. She nodded without thought. She'd already known that.
It took longer to loot the corpses for information than it did to tear them apart. Kakuzu apparently favored brutal ninjutsu. Aiko frowned at the excess, but she was a little jealous, frankly.
Obito had been working on perfecting her weapon skills, and not paid much attention to teaching her ninjutsu at all. He'd conceded that any active shinobi needed to be able to use henge, shunshin, the body-switch jutsu, and a bunshin of some sort, but those were the only combat jutsu he'd taught her.
She really shouldn't complain. Aiko couldn't learn everything at once. It did make more sense to prioritize the little things that helped in tracking and camping like the fire-spark jutsu and the really large jutsu he needed her to learn to help in bijuu extraction than it did to prioritize combat jutsu. Ninjutsu specialists were generally front-line, close-range fighters. And he didn't want her to be one.
'I could be a close-range fighter,' she thought resentfully. 'I bet I'd be good at it. I have lots of chakra.'
Aiko shoved down the internal complaint that Obito was being unfair in favor of helpfully clearing the road of corpses and debris. She glanced at the carriage—the horses attached to it were wide-eyed and distressed, but their hooves were still caught in the mud Kakuzu had made. There really wasn't any need to block the road like that.
He was busy interrogating their sole prisoner, and it wasn't like she had anything else to do…
"Hey, Kakuzu. Let the horses go. I'll take the carriage into town and report the first half of the mission is complete."
By the time she returned (with enthusiastic thanks ringing in her ears and a hefty tip in her pocket) Kakuzu had apparently gotten all he needed and disposed of the gibbering, sobbing survivor. She cast a dispassionate glance at the corpse out of curiosity. He'd apparently sliced the man up—it looked a little like the corpses she'd made with her wire.
' I thought he'd stick with ninjutsu. Then again, I suppose that would have been terribly wasteful in terms of chakra.'
Oh well. It didn't really matter.
"Aren't you going to clean that up?" Aiko asked instead.
Kakuzu stood. "No. We haven't been paid to do so." His lips twisted slightly into a sneer. "I'm sure this mess will be less offensive than the fertilizer currently in use here. Perhaps they should pay us extra for leaving them the bodies."
Aiko was torn between 'that's not very kind,' and 'that's not far off from the truth.' Instead, she cracked a smile. "I didn't know you were funny, Kakuzu." Honestly, she hadn't expected him to make a joke at all, even if it was a bit macabre. "I think I like you much better than Zetsu."
"Spare me your flattery, kunoichi." He began walking away, forcing her to hustle to keep up. "Even if you did not resemble a child, you are entirely the wrong sex to interest me."
Aghast, her jaw dropped.
He thought she was flirting with him? She didn't know if that was arrogant or just so cynical that it was sad.
"What, I can't be nice unless I want something?" Aiko snapped, offended.
All Kakuzu did was snort. "Come along."
The rest of the mission was completed in a tense, sullen silence on Aiko's part, interspersed with occasional brisk orders from Kakuzu. It took them several days to hunt down and eliminate the criminal elements of what turned out to be an actual, legitimate business.
The only time Aiko spoke up was to convince Kakuzu to let the actual owners, their family, and their staff live.
She had to resort to his language to do it, however, because she wasn't thick enough to think 'That's not very nice' would work on him. "We haven't been paid to kill businesspeople," Aiko pointed out. "In fact, allowing them to remain in business offers us future opportunity for further profit."
The woman who had founded the company nodded furiously, clutching her ten-year-old son so tightly to her chest that her fingers were white.
"Either they'll end up accidentally hiring more thugs that we'll get paid to kill without having to do the preliminary research again," Aiko listed in a stroke of inspiration, "or actually, I could replace their missing team. It'd be a long-term mission, paid very well since I can substitute for all the lower-level thugs, and you won't have to be involved at all."
It would also be easy drudgery that gave her an opportunity to get paid exorbitantly to travel and make money on the side moving contraband, but she left that part unsaid.
Kakuzu accepted that argument, but forced the business owner to sign a contract that he wrote up on the spot before he would leave.
"Sorry about him," Aiko apologized to her new employer as soon as Kakuzu's steps had faded. She didn't want his bad attitude to color her new business relationship, after all. "He's a bit of a grump."
The middle-aged brunette managed a quivery smile, still carefully placing her body between Aiko and the door she'd shooed her son through.
"Yeah…" She scratched at the back of her head, mildly uncomfortable with the continued tenseness. "Let's talk business, then? I don't do grunt work, so you'll still have to hire a couple of people to do packing and transport. What's the route like? And oh-" Aiko clapped her hands together sharply, remembering something. "I know it's not in the contract, but I don't sleep outside unless there's really no other option. What kind of accommodations are available in the various stops?"
She wouldn't intentionally intimidate this poor woman any more than Kakuzu had already done, of course. But if asking about accommodation right now netted Aiko a better deal, she wasn't too morally upright to pass that up. Now that she'd met the organization's financial manager, she was beginning to suspect that she would not be getting a wonderful budget for hotels.
Aiko wouldn't need a place to stay tonight, of course. She wasn't that far from a safehouse.
'I'll just stop by and leave a note for Obito,' she thought cheerily, already expecting praise for solving the problem of finding lucrative employment that Obito didn't have to pull another member away from their own work for. 'Other than that, I could start anytime. I wonder if she (Aiko suddenly remembered she didn't even know her employer's name yet) would notice if I made a detour. Moving produce is nice and all, but I'd make a lot more money if I pick up some other merchandise.'
Life was pretty good.
~~~
"I'm afraid that I have something to say."
Even the Raikage shut his trap and turned his stare on the Ame representative, who had somehow managed to find a comparatively dark corner to lurk in, despite the meeting place being both well-lit and circular. Konan had been pointedly, painfully silent except when directly addressed on their first meeting. That had been two months prior. After a flurry of exchanged messages, international opinion has settled enough that it had been possible to arrange another meeting to hopefully settle affairs.
'This can't possibly be any good.' Tsunade raised an eyebrow and leveled an impassive look on the younger woman.
"I would like to confirm the Hokage's report at our last session."
Wait, what?
Tsunade was still trying to figure out Konan's angle when the other woman continued speaking. "The criminal organization known as Akatsuki is still a threat to international relations. As a gesture of goodwill, I have prepared dossiers on the remaining members of the organization."
Displeased, Mei's lips twitched slightly. "There are only a small number of members available," she demurred. "Surely they do not present an urgent issue."
Konan gave a tiny smile. "On the contrary," she said smoothly. "Nagato was neither the leader nor the most powerful member of Akatsuki. The man responsible for forming the organization is one that you might remember, Mizukage-dono." Before Mei could spit fire at her for insinuating that they were social equals or that she was familiar with criminals, Konan waived a hand slightly. "He has been directing international events for longer than I have been alive."
It was a little bit of a thrill to realize that she knew where this was going.
"Uchiha Madara, the original nuke-nin, is responsible for the formation of Akatsuki."
The dropped jaws around the room were sort of hilarious. Tsunade wished a moment later that she had feigned shock when Gaara's eyes narrowed on her slightly.
Despite the clear logistical problems with what Konan had just claimed, no one seemed to dismiss the possibility. That, more than anything else, spoke to just what kind of legend Madara had. Konan hadn't been exaggerating when she described Madara as the original nuke-nin—the originator of that sin against country and kage, in a way. He may have been a Konona-nin, but he was in everyone's history texts.
'This is perfect,' Tsunade realized with a sharp bit of joy. Well, the news itself was bad, but it confirmed her suspicions and would hopefully convince her peers to come to a wiser consensus.
"What do you mean?" Gaara asked sharply, voicing what seemed to be the collective question. "How do you know that this man is Uchiha Madara? And what did you mean by your claim that he has been directing international events?"
It clearly rankled the group to be dependent on Konan for information. That was probably why she had arranged the situation the way she had. She had probably been silently steaming since she had been summoned to that first meeting.
Satisfaction was plain in the victorious glint of Konan's amber eyes, even though she remained generally professional. And why wouldn't she be satisfied? From a position of weakness, Konan had made them all look like fools and took control of the session. "I simply refer to the time when he was unofficially the leader of Kirigakure," Konan demurred.
Mei turned red almost immediately.
"I am certain that Amegakure and Kirigakure have not been his only targets, of course, but I was never privy to Madara-san's whims. Nagato was his intermediary for Akatsuki and thusly contacted him more, but their relationship was… tense," Konan allowed delicately.
Oh, clever girl. By making Akatsuki ultimately Madara's responsibility, Konan had made it that much harder for Mei, at least, to argue in favor of punishing the current regime for the last one's failures under Madara's control.
"Do you have any proof?" A bit out, not bothering to disguise his hostility.
"Little enough," Konan replied honestly. "Other than my own testimony, I have very little proof to offer. Madara-san showed his face to none and shared his identity with almost as few. I believe that the two subordinates he has left in Akatsuki are the ones most likely to have known his identity and been following his will alone." She gave the most graceful sort of shrug Tsunade had ever seen, inclining her head slightly. "I believe that Tsunade-dono may be in possession of some small corroborating information."
As all eyes turned to her, Tsunade resisted the urge to give Konan the stink eye. Little shit. "We had reason to suspect that the Akatsuki known as Tobi was an Uchiha," she admitted levelly. "Nothing concrete, of course, other than testimony based on the recollection of family scent characteristics."
"Smells like cat," Kakashi muttered half-heartedly. It was thoroughly inappropriate for a bodyguard to speak up unsolicited in this setting, but no one batted an eye.
A's face twisted into a sneer. "And I suppose you didn't share this information because you didn't want your village to look weaker than it already does," he accused.
She'd been expecting that. "It was an unconfirmed analysis that the culprit may belong to a specific family," Tsunade countered dispassionately. "There was no reason to jump to the conclusion that the Uchiha in question was a two-hundred year old man long thought to be dead. Had I brought such flimsy evidence to your attention, you would have dismissed it."
"That's very convenient," Mei said flatly.
She was cut off by a rude snort from A. "I'll say it is!" He brought both fists down on the table—apparently unconcerned with the fact that the shinobi brought as personal bodyguards jerked forward at the show of aggression. Tsunade hardly saw him leap to his feet (and she was reminded that A was possibly now the fastest man alive, and certainly not someone to underestimate). "It's obvious that you've been pulling everyone's strings!" he accused, pointing at Tsunade.
Oh, hell.
"I was made promises that you clearly have no intention of fulfilling," he continued, pacing. "The alliance of equals that you spoke so highly of seems to be a convenient fiction. And you," A snarled, rounding on the group. "Mizukage! Kazekage! You should be ashamed to act as lapdogs for Konoha."
"Excuse me?" Mei interrupted, tone dangerously cold and high. "No such relationship exists. Kirigakure is allied with Konohagakure on equal terms for mutual benefit."
"And that's why you jump when she snaps her fingers," A mocked. "Brats. You're practically suckling at her t-"
"Enough."
The Kazekage's voice was enough to halt all of them reflexively, whether it was due to shock or lifelong habit of taking orders. That was a hell of an accomplishment, actually, for a teenager with no real field command experience.
Gaara didn't revel in his minor victory. "This squabbling diminishes us all," he said levelly. Dark-rimmed eyes slowly traveled over every man and woman in the room with the weight of judgment. "Our duty is to ascertain the most reasonable, responsible, and beneficial course of action for our respective nations and to negotiate to a compromise. There is no place here for ego or insult. Amekage, please," he deferred politely, turning his face pointedly towards her. "What threat does Uchiha Madara pose, and what are his goals?"
"He wishes to collect the nine bijuu." Konan's words shocked no one. She visibly hesitated with her next words. "There was a time when Nagato-sama and I believed that Madara-san shared our vision," Konan admitted. "We desired to use the bijuu as an undefeatable weapon to force an end to human wars and violence. Now I suspect that we were tools in his acquisition. Hiding behind other regimes seems to be his modus operandi. I cannot say what he intends with the bijuu, but I do not believe it could possibly be to the benefit of the free world."
This was the first time that Tsunade had heard Nagato's moronic plan referenced since the day he had left Konoha and apparently killed himself in Ame after handing over the reins to Konan. It was just as annoying this time around.
Tsunade opened her mouth to speak-
"I'm done here," A said in disgust, pushing back his chair to leave. "Since none of you are going to come to your senses. Clearly we should be looking at Amegakure," he stressed, pointing one of his enormous sausage fingers at Konan. "If Akatsuki was really led by Uchiha Madara and headquartered there for a decade, that's where we need to begin rooting it out. We don't even know that this woman has abandoned her ties to Akatsuki," he criticized, glaring at Konan.
It wasn't a bad point. But there was also no way for outside parties to interfere in the selection of foreign leaders without setting the dangerous precedent that Mei was so wary of.
"Amegakure chose Konan-san as their representative," Mei said tightly. A muscle jumped in her neck. "As there is no indication of her continued involvement in Akatsuki and she cannot be held responsible for mere membership when the organization controlled the country without punishing every man, woman, and child therein, we must respect her authority over her domain."
A smiled. It wasn't a nice smile. "No, I see where you're coming from," he acknowledged. His body posture shifted from irritation to something confident, feet spread wide and shoulders pulled back.
That apparent agreement gave Tsunade a bad feeling about what was coming.
"I think it's the wrong stance to take and damned stupid, but I respect your consistency in applying the standard you have chosen. However." A leered rather unpleasantly at Konan. "Even if I am to concede that she cannot be internationally prosecuted for mere membership as a war crime, she has committed at least one international violation of treaty, and that must be investigated and punished. Wasn't it at your diplomatic conference, Mizukage-dono, where she attacked and participated in the kidnapping of multiple participants?"
He paused for a moment. Honestly, it was amazing that no one had brought this possibility up before. But Waterfall wasn't represented here, it was to Mei's interests if her disaster of a conference was swept under the rug, and Tsunade couldn't exactly produce Aiko to give testimony against Konan even if she thought it was worthwhile to have the blue-haired idiot thrown down from her position.
'He usually looks like such a moron,' Tsunade thought numbly. She had not expected this from the Raikage at all.
"Ah yes, it was," A answered his own question, since the room was silent. "I recall because one of my soldiers was in that party." He cracked his knuckles, giving the dumbstruck gathering a look that implied he would much rather be exacting a different kind of justice, but would milk this for all it was worth.
Konan was hard-faced and still as stone, but the pulse jumping in her neck belied her calm.
"As the first complainant, I believe that it is my right to take Konan-san here into custody. Unless, of course, the Mizukage chooses to supersede my claim. The crimes were committed in her country, after all."
Mei gritted her teeth. "Thank you for pointing that out, Raikage-dono. Yes. Konan-san, I'm afraid you will be coming with me today. You are expected to turn yourself into my custody with dignity and decorum fitting your station while you are investigated for war crimes." She stood, brushing off her dress. "Make the necessary arrangements with your representatives," Mei added tonelessly. "I will provide them an escort back to Amegakure as a good faith gesture."
' That did not go well.'
Tsunade sequestered herself in her diplomatic quarters –they were in the Land of Rice, this time around—and tried to soothe away her stress with a light novel she had picked up. Shinobi nations didn't get entertainment imports in nearly the amounts or for the low prices that the other countries did, so she'd never seen it. Unfortunately, the story about a little girl chasing rabbits failed to hold her attention. She was staring blankly at the wall when Shizune knocked on her door.
"You have a visitor, Tsunade-sama."
The professionalism in her apprentice's voice let Tsunade know that whoever it was could hear them at the moment. That was the only reason she restrained the groan that wanted to eke out and hauled her tired bones up and out to the front room.
Sabaku no Temari was curled in a chair as if she belonged there. She had also apparently managed to coerce or browbeat Hatake into fetching her tea. He was scowling and slouching slightly as he delicately filled two blue flowered teacups. Tsunade accepted hers with graceful aplomb and settled across from the younger woman as Hatake began to stalk off like an offended cat.
Tsunade kept her voice mild. "Hatake-kun, Shizune-chan. Please feel free to explore town and enjoy yourselves."
They took the platitude for the order it was and scattered. Her two companions were holding together a tentative truce based on avoidance of the elephant in the room. She had a feeling that this conversation might strain their ability to professionally pretend the other was someone else.
"Nice place you've got here," Temari said without looking up from her cup. "I think whoever assigned housing thinks that my brothers and I sleep in a pile like puppies. You have more room. Lots of space for activities."
Tsunade made a noncommittal noise, swishing around her drink. It tasted like crap. That was probably some passive-aggressive rebellion from Hatake-kun. God, she loved that kid sometimes. The Suna girl didn't seem to notice, sipping away gamely.
"I can't help but notice that you've had the same escort the last three times that I've seen you, and that they aren't your usuals," Temari prodded. "I thought you were training the Uchiha and Aiko-san for diplomatic work, what with the way they were always around."
Tsunade gave her an uncharitable look. "Say what's on your mind."
Her hard tone was enough to make the younger kunoichi fidget, pride and the fact that she was a skilled shinobi herself aside.
"I heard rumors that there were two casualties of your invasion, not one," Temari said bluntly. "Why are you hiding what happened to Aiko-san?"
' Rumors? How the hell did she hear that? It's not the most unlikely conclusion, given that almost no one would have seen Aiko alive after Pein. But I didn't realize that anyone was talking about it.'
"Aiko was in Konoha on guard duty when Akatsuki attacked, but she survived."
Sort of. Yes and no.
"That's good to hear, since she's going to be called as a witness for the investigation against Konan." Temari looked up at her, eyes hard and unamused.
'And the amnesiac will give fantastic testimony, I am certain,' Tsunade thought, pitying herself a little.
That information wasn't a shock, but she had to stall for time and obfuscate. She could not impede an international investigation, but Tsunade also couldn't give them the shinobi she didn't have.
That created a delicate conundrum.
' I can't lie. But if I imply that Aiko is on a confidential mission of undetermined length, they'll have to stall the trial. There's no way to force a foreign village to give up information about clients and private operations or compel me to cut it short. They'll have to wait. That won't work forever, of course. I need to ride Jiraiya's ass and get that girl found, yesterday.'
"I didn't say she was available," Tsunade said dryly. "You won't get any more than that from me. It's possible that she will be available for testimony.
Would the record please note that she said 'possible'? Not especially likely, but Tsunade did like to gamble long odds.
Temari gave a rude snort, dropping her cup with a clink and rubbing at her temples with both hands. "Be that way. I just wanted to make sure we were on the same page. You know that my testimony is going to be actively detrimental to Konan's case. I don't know if Aiko has any possibly mitigating information, but she's the only one who could help that rude woman." Temari shrugged. "She spent more time actually with Akatsuki members and conscious than the other two, from what I understand. Yugito-san and Fuu-san will have no reason to pull their punches, especially since Yugito-san's kage is the one forcing this. He's completely right, of course," she admitted grumpily. "This trial is legal and ignoring the old lady's crimes would make a mockery of the treaties she broke.
Tsunade twitched. 'Old lady? Konan is quite a bit younger than I am.'
If Temari hadn't connected those dots, Tsunade wasn't going to be the one to enlighten her.
"But the timing is terrible," she continued for the younger blonde.
The Suna kunoichi nodded, apparently unaware that she was snarling slightly.
Those Sabaku kids were rather sinister, Tsunade thought quietly.
The family resemblance was much stronger when the otherwise pretty kunoichi exposed her teeth and growled slightly like that. Perhaps she'd soaked up the insanity that the Kazekage had shrugged off in order to better fit his nutty skull into his nice new hat. Temari's hair was certainly puffy enough to be hiding some secretive craziness.
It would probably be polite to not notice any of that. She took a sip of tea.
"I can't promise much," Temari said testily, as if concerned that Tsunade would beg her for favors. "But I think Gaara will be more than willing to suggest that we wait a little longer than strictly necessary for an international trial. There's a lot of pomp and circumstance involved, of course, and we'll have to arrange an intermediary like a Daimyo or an impartial foreign leader. So you should have time to drag Aiko out of whatever mysterious hole she's in and get her ready to save Kage Blue-Hair's wrinkly hide."
"Well." Tsunade clicked her tongue. "Thank you, I appreciate your assistance and discretion in this matter."
There was an awkward pause when Temari leaned slightly in, expecting to be trusted with more information. The Hokage blinked guilelessly.
"Right." Temari drew the word out mockingly, letting it turn just a little nasal. "I'm so glad we had this talk. I think it's just peachy keen that we can be so upfront with each other."
That actually did make Tsunade feel the tiniest bit guilty. The younger woman had come over for the explicit purpose of offering her help and expressing concern for their countries' mutual interests.
She realized she'd been manipulated even as she opened her lips to give Temari a bone. "As I informed the Raikage when he huffed and puffed his way into Konoha, Aiko is currently missing in action. I cannot give any more information than that, although I can share that we have reason to believe she is alive and well. Please do not let this information pass beyond yourself and Gaara-dono."
Temari opened her mouth slightly and then didn't breathe for a moment. Once thought had apparently re-asserted itself she pressed her lips together, raised her eyebrows, and nodded slightly. The expression wasn't especially pleasant. "I see," Temari said tightly, swallowing the words. "Thank you for this information, given in confidence. I presume that the Raikage is under the impression that you simply haven't changed her official status and that she actually died at Pein's hands?"
Tsunade carefully didn't nod, letting the younger woman take her lack of dissent as assent.
That was her hope, since Sasuke had opened his yap without her permission. If Aiko really had died (and stayed dead) in that fight, Tsunade might have tried to keep it quiet for a while. It was no secret that the other nations thought Konoha was outright lying about having exactly one fatality in their invasion. Obscuring and minimalizing combat losses to the international audience was practically tradition. No one wanted their enemies to know exactly what their resources were.
So, hopefully, the Raikage would assume Konoha was hiding that Aiko had died. They would be looking for confirmation of that story, not signs of an unprotected Uzumaki out of village walls.
Konoha needed to be the only ones looking for Aiko to have half a chance in hell of locating her. Otherwise, they'd have to sort through counterintelligence and fight competing interests looking to buy the information Konoha wanted.
It would have been nice to come home to an orderly office caught-up on paperwork and a happy populace. For the most part, things were in order. But Tsunade had barely settled into her desk the morning after she arrived back home before the corpse-pale former Root that she'd snagged for her personal guard asked for a chance to speak with her.
"Talk," Tsunade commanded wearily, wishing she'd had more than store-bought cookies for breakfast. That just wasn't enough fuel for whatever trouble he was bound to bring to her attention. And hell, she was right.
"I suspect that the tenuous balance maintained by my former organization has failed," Sai shared calmly. He sounded like he might be commenting on the weather. "ANBU had been maintaining equilibrium for quite some time since Danzo-sama's death. Likely, they were fulfilling lingering orders and scrambling for new leadership. However-"
Reflexively, Tsunade curled her hand into a fist, waiting for the next news to hit her like a blow.
"in recent weeks, Sasuke-san first noticed changes in the mission-taking statistics of upper level shinobi."
Tsunade blinked. Sasuke? She would have thought that his hands were full enough in his absence that he wouldn't be able to start compiling information on anomalies he noted until she returned.
'If nothing else, he's efficient,' she remembered, a little proud.
Sai continued pleasantly, gaze professionally focused on her eyes in a way that even Sasuke struggled to maintain at times. "Several shinobi have significantly increased the number of times they report and petition for additional work. Had this begun months prior, it might have been patriotism. It seems more likely that these are operatives who have been completing extracurricular work until recently and are maintaining a steady workload by supplementing their official missions. This means, of course-"
"That until recently they've been occupied with work that was off-the-books, yes," Tsunade agreed. She was pleased with both his insight and initiative in bringing this to her. "That's good news, as far as I can tell. I prefer to start my mornings that way."
Sai inclined his head slightly. "I would concur with your analysis that these shinobi have decided to remember that their first vow is to the Hokage," he began carefully.
Tsunade caught on with a groan nearly instantly. "But you don't think that this is all of Root, do you," she confirmed. Her shoulders slumped slightly when he nodded. "Wonderful. Does that mean that their former compatriots will still follow whatever agenda Danzo left for them, or are they wildcards now?"
Sai blinked twice, long dark lashes almost shocking in contrast against his skin. "Any who have not chosen to give you their allegiance are likely still committed to Danzo-sama's cause," he admitted with a little trepidation in his tone. "However, they may not share the same interpretation of Danzo-sama's cause, how to go about achieving it, and if they should remain aligned with any or which of his contacts. The situation has every likelihood of becoming complicated and messy."
"Do you have a recommendation?"
She was glad she prodded a moment later.
"Hai, Hokage-sama," Sai said formally. "It is my lowly opinion that now is the time to ensure that the infrastructure ROOT maintained has been destroyed, especially in regards to the underground transportation network. Eliminating those would go a long ways toward preventing collusion within the village. Once isolated, an individual operative is little threat. Additionally, it would be wise to increase patrols and security in the closest sectors to the village to prevent information dealing that is out of your control."
Most of that sounded good, but- "Is there really a possibility that any of Danzo's tunnel system survived?" Tsunade asked a little skeptically.
The question was rhetorical by the end. While the unnatural attack used by Jiraiya's former student had done terrible damage to the village and probably collapsed any tunnels, she couldn't afford not to make sure. Tsunade repressed a sigh. "How far have you gotten on that map I wanted you to make up?" she prodded wearily. That hadn't been high priority, but now…
"It is completed to the best of my memory, Hokage-sama," her ANBU murmured with a slight bow. "I feel confident in my familiarity, but it is always possible that information was withheld from me. In order to be certain, I would ask that either a skilled genjutsu user or a Sharingan wielder accompany me to ensure that no hidden areas remain to pose a risk to village security. I anticipate that it would take several days to clear out the entire structure and make certain that it is unusable."
"Several days? That's not so bad. And your request for assistance will be granted, of course." Tsunade pinched the bridge of her nose, thinking. "How is your doton?"
When the boy hesitated, she waved a hand.
"No matter. This mission is going to be big enough that it makes much more sense to assemble several teams. Your logic in wanting either a Sharingan wielder or a genjutsu master is sound. Kakashi, Kurenai and—well, it'll give Itachi something to do as well," she decided on a whim. "You'll be involved due to your familiarity with the territory, of course, but I won't send down a group that doesn't have at least one expert doton user to keep the group safe in case of cave-in. Yamato meets that criteria," Tsunade mumbled, trailing off.
She was tapping the desk with her fingers and trying to visualize logical configurations when she realized Sai was still standing there at attention.
She cleared her throat a bit sheepishly. "Good work, Sai. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. Please do your best to separate the map into three sections so that three teams can safely access every point labeled without more back-tracking than necessary. I'll call you in tomorrow to begin work on this project. You may go."