21 Iwa's agression

Two more months passed by, and Iwa had become more aggressive towards us, pressuring Kusa and trying to eliminate Konoha's influence in some of the border countries. I had been spending most of my time escorting traders through Kusa. Which was pretty boring, as I had built up somewhat of a reputation after that last fight with Iwa.

They even put a bounty on me for 20,000,000 Ryo, so I was in the bingo book now. I didn't have a cool nickname, but I guess that takes more time.

I had patched up my relationship with Isamu and Ayame. It wasn't the same as before, but I think that's just because we all grew up more. Ayame had become less cold and more apathetic towards things while Isamu calmed down his antics. It was nice but weird at the same time.

I haven't really had time to hang out with them that much though as we were all constantly on missions. Isamu and Ayame were now elite chunin and had started to make a name for themselves. Isamu with his taijutsu prowess and Ayame with her fire release and genjutsu.

I missed sparring with Isamu and helping the Uchiha brats with Ayame. I ended up spending more time with Ayame over the months since she took fewer missions to have time for the Uchiha. While she still isn't much of a talker, she is starting to break out of her shell; she even makes jokes every once in a while.

I've started to see her in a different light. I used to see her as just my teammate, but now that I'm a teenager, I've been starting to notice her more… Feminine aspects. No, I'm not perving on her, but it's hard not to notice how pretty she's getting. I had no interest in the opposite sex for a long time, mostly because I'm not a pedophile, but I think the teenage hormones are starting to get to me.

Anyway, the main gains I've had have been with my training. I started training in shape manipulation, which, thanks to shadow clones, was easy to max out. I also started combining my moves with flames, such as Ikkotsu and Hitotsume: Nadegiri. They are now easily twice as powerful when performed in combination with Shikai. And Bankai… Well, I kind of incinerated a training ground and so I'm not allowed to practice it anymore inside Konoha.

My chakra reserves are also a lot larger now, surpassing even Kisame. And it's not maxed yet. With all my fire release training, I unlocked Zanka no Tachi, Kita: Tenchi Kaijin, which is basically the Bankai version of Taimatsu. I maxed it out quickly since it was relatively simple to learn. Shadow clones are kind of overpowered.

I was broken out of my thoughts as I reached my destination, which was a busy village deep in Kusa's territory. Yep, this whole time I was daydreaming I have also been escorting a merchant. Multitasking for the win.

I had the merchant sign my paper to prove that I actually escorted him safely, before starting my return trip to Konoha. I was going to take my time and stroll back to the village, but I suddenly got a bad feeling in my gut. So I ended up making a record time, finding myself at the village gates within 2 days. As I walked through the gates, the sense of foreboding I had was getting worse, so I immediately headed straight to my house.

When I arrived, I saw my mom and Isamu, both red-eyed as if they'd been crying. I rushed over to them.

"What happened?" I asked, concerned.

Isamu spoke up shakily, "It's Ayame… She was on a border patrol before they were assaulted by a missing-nin. She's… She's the only survivor and was hurt pretty badly. They're stabilizing her right now."

My heart dropped into my stomach.

I flashed out of the house, heading towards the hospital. When I arrived, I went straight to the most secure rooms, because where else would they keep an Uchiha? I pushed out my heat sense until I locked on to a familiar signature. I rushed into the room and saw something I would never forget.

It was Ayame, covered in bandages and pale as a ghost. Worst of all, some of the bandages were covering one of her eyes. She was hooked up to a bunch of machines that I didn't have a single clue about how they worked.

I stood there in silence for about a minute, before a nurse and some anbu rushed into the room.

"Sir, you cannot be here," said the nurse.

I kept staring.

"Sir, you need to leave."

"..."

"Sir, we will have to remove you from the premises if you don't leave." She said once more.

And just as the anbu were about to apprehend me, I spoke hoarsely.

"I'll go… It's just, I know her…"

The nurse's eyes softened a bit, "Right now, she is in critical condition. She needs to be left alone. If she stabilizes, she'll be allowed visitors at that time."

I nodded mutely before turning around and walking out, the anbu following me until I left the hospital.

I looked up into the sky. Is this how you guys felt? How you felt every time I ended up out of commission for weeks at a time, not knowing whether I'd pull through?

I smiled bitterly. I think I finally understood why they were so upset with me back then. I walked back towards my house, to go comfort Isamu and Mom.

If I ever find who did this… They would pay with their lives.

///////

A few days passed by, and Ayame stabilized. She still hasn't woken up, but she was now allowed visitors during the hospital's open hours.

I still trained like a maniac, but I ended up spending at least an hour in the hospital each day. As the only survivor of her team, Ayame would probably be questioned on how it happened. It would be then that we would find out who did it.

Tensions with Iwa kept getting worse as time passed. Another week flew by she finally woke up.

She opened her eyes slowly, before turning her head towards me.

"Kaen…?" She asked weakly.

I just smiled slightly.

"Yeah, that's me."

"How long have I been out?" She asked, eerily similar to me when I first woke up after the Akatsuki incident.

"A little less than 2 weeks."

She grimaced, "That long, huh?"

I just nodded, not knowing what to say. We sat in an awkward silence for some time and just as she opened her mouth to speak, an anbu appeared in the room.

"Tsurugi Kaen, the Lord Hokage has summoned you for an urgent mission." They said, emotionlessly.

I heaved a sigh but nodded all the same. I glanced at Ayame.

"I'll be back soon."

She nodded, "Be careful."

I flashed over to the Hokage Tower, heading to Tsunade's office. When I entered, I glanced around the room, taking account of four jonin that I didn't recognize.

Tsunade cleared her throat once I arrived.

"Okay, now that we're all here, let's get started. Iwa has declared war on Kusa."

Okay, I was not expecting that.

"Our intelligence report suggests they want the trade routes in Kusa since there aren't very many natural resources in Iwa. With the information of the invasion being leaked, Iwa is trying to take advantage of us and expand its trade. Kusa has requested reinforcements from Konoha. You are going to be the reinforcements we send."

She sighed deeply, "The reason we are only sending five of you is because any more would be grounds for Iwa to start a war with us directly, and we can't afford a war right now. Konoha needs time to recover our military strength. You will leave tomorrow morning. Any questions?"

We all shook our heads.

"Okay. Tsurugi, stay behind; the rest of you are dismissed."

She looked at me appraisingly, "I didn't know what to make of you at first, but you have proven to be a capable shinobi and an asset to Konoha. I am promoting you back to jonin so you can take part in this mission."

I bowed, "Thank you, Lord Hokage."

She just nodded before dismissing me. I flashed out of the office and was about to head home, but I saw the jonin earlier waiting for me.

I guess we should probably get to know each other before going on a mission.

I walked over and waved. They looked like friendly guys and gals for the most part, except for the one that was glaring at me.

"I still don't think we should've waited for this kid. It's not like a 13-year-old brat is gonna be useful," he said.

One of the females elbowed him in the side, "Don't be rude, Fumihiro! He's a jonin like us, even if he is a bit… Young."

The other two just sighed. The male that wasn't Fumihiro approached me.

"Hey, I'm Hagiwara Goro, and this is Aikawa Airi. The girl over there is Fukushima Emi, and lastly, there's Imada Fumihiro. Welcome to the team!"

I nodded, "I'm Tsurugi Kaen. It's nice to me you all."

"No, it's not," said Imada, which earned him another elbow from Fukushima.

Hagiwara just sighed, "Let's go get some dinner, yeah? We can get to know each other better and we can introduce our capabilities."

I nodded and started walking with them toward a barbeque joint. We all sat around the table before Hagiwara spoke up again.

"Alright, I'll go first. I specialize in earth ninjutsu and traps. I'm not really good with any weapons besides kunai and shuriken, but I have decent taijutsu."

Fukushima went next, "I specialize in genjutsu and taijutsu. I'm also pretty good with a sword and steel wire."

"I am a tracking and traps specialist. I'm also pretty good with fire ninjutsu." Aikawa said.

Imada went last, grudgingly, "I'm good with kenjutsu and wind ninjutsu. I'm also a sensor."

I nodded, "My specialty is combining fire ninjutsu and kenjutsu. I'm also pretty decent with taijutsu."

We continued chatting around the table as our food arrived. We went into more detail about our abilities and talked about some of our interests and hobbies. Imada was still a bit of an ass, but he wasn't being as rude as he was when we first met.

"Alright, guys. Get a good night's sleep, because we will be leaving first thing in the morning," Hagiwara said.

After that, we all dispersed. I went back to the hospital to visit Ayame again.

"Hey," I said upon entering the room, "I'm going to be gone for a while. I got a mission over in Kusa because apparently, Iwa declared war on them."

"How long will you be gone?" She asked.

"I don't know. A couple of months at least."

"Oh…" She trailed off before going silent.

I looked over at her eye, the one covered in bandages and my rage resurfaced.

"Ayame… Who did this to you?"

She winced, "It was one man. He was huge, covered with a black cloak covered in red clouds. I don't remember much, except that he had stitches across his body."

She got a faraway look in her eyes, "He killed all of them easily… I still don't understand why I'm alive. Something about, getting a bounty soon?"

Well, revenge might be harder than I thought. It looks like I need to get stronger again. I wouldn't recklessly rush an Akatsuki member again until I'm sure I can finish the job.

"Sorry for bringing up the subject. I know it might be hard to talk about so soon after… You know," I said apologetically.

She just shook her head, "It's fine."

I waited for her to say more.

Damn, this is getting awkward again.

"So… I'm going to go. See you later?" I said lamely.

She smiled a bit at that, "Sure. Be safe."

With that, I left to go find Isamu, but it turned out he was already on a mission. So I just went home and informed my mom that I would be leaving. She was worried that I was going to war, even if it was on a smaller scale. So I spent the rest of the evening reassuring her that I would be fine.

After that, I went to bed, hoping that the war doesn't last very long.

///// A/N /////

Hello all. I finally have somewhat of a plan for how I want this story to end. It's still a work in progress though, as I've already scrapped a few ideas. There will be more action next chapter. Ayame getting attacked might be kind of random, so I'll explain my thought process. Basically, Kakuzu is always looking for bounties to collect, and he just so happens to see that there's a new bounty to collect in Konoha. Which happens to be Kaen's bounty. That's my reason for Kakuzu being in the Land of Fire. Hidan was somewhere nearby, but with Kakuzu's personality, I can't imagine that they spend all their time together. I just wanted to add it so Kaen would have more reason to hunt down the Akatsuki and change canon some more. That's pretty much it. Leave a review!