19 Meeting with the spy

"A different boy containing Nine-Tails' chakra? Now that's interesting! Akatsuki will have a use for him." Kakuzu watched a four-tailed dark red beast pommeling their target.

"Meh, we should just kill that pesky Uchiha and take her boy."

"Easier said than done. We had to use almost everything we had to defeat the Six-Tails. Kaname is at the least as strong as he is, and if I remember right, he destroyed you."

"HMPH! You weren't any better! You got creamed!"

Kakuzu ignored the jab, watching the one-sided fight. Whatever the monk's technique was, it barely protected him from the mindless beast. The miniature fox smashed the man into the ground, pushing him deeper and deeper into the soil of the old temple ruins.

"What do you think about the situation?"

"You mean that animal? I can kill it."

"... Fuck. I'll have to talk with Leader-sama to swap a teammate for someone smarter than a vegetable." Kakuzu mumbled.

"Huh? You said something?"

"Akatsuki will need that 'animal' alive. Capture it."

"Boooring!"

"Hidan, let me repeat it for the pigeon-sized muscle you call a brain. ALIVE."

"... Tsk. And the old man? Can I kill him?"

"Yes. Chiriku of the Twelve Shinobi Guardians - he is our target. We need his head tolerably intact. Leave his heart as well. I'll have use for his unique chakra."

"Hahaha! At last! Let's go! Let's go now!" Hidan jumped out of their hidden outpost.

'I feel like I'm taking care of a child...' Kakuzu leaped after the newest Akatsuki member.

------

"I'm going to drug and leave you to the wolf tomorrow if you keep it up, Izumi-chan."

"Sensei?!" Izumi fled from the voice whispering in her ear.

"Could you stop scaring my girlfriend every single time, Kaname-neesan?"

"Nah. Izumi wouldn't be able to sleep then, expecting that a prank is coming, Itachi-kun."

"What do you mean leaving me out to the wolf?!"

"Look at him! You're leaving poor Itachi-kun hanging. His Big Sis has to take pity on him!"

"Uhh..." Izumi blushed, looking straight into her boyfriend's eyes, "It's revenge! You're doing it because I matched you with Utakata!"

Kaname shrugged, "I'll get her wasted tomorrow. You have my blessings to do whatever you want, Itachi-kun. But I want something out of you, information if you would."

"Don't just sell me like an object, Sensei!"

"... Thanks for the offer, Nee-san, but it's not necessary." Itachi replied calmly.

"I know. It's about Fugaku-san."

"Father?"

"Yeah, did he tell you what was his unique Mangekyō Sharingan's powers?"

"Never. what's with the sudden concern?"

"Shame. Orochimaru may have gotten his slimy hands on Fugaku-san's eyes."

The man in front of Kaname closed his eyes and took several deep breaths, "Are you okay, Itachi?"

"Yes, just knowing that the grave of your father was robbed is... unsettling. Thanks, Izumi." he nodded his head, "Nee-san, father never told me what were his powers, but my last meeting with him gave me some ideas."

"Oh?"

"He knew I was coming and didn't fight back - father was waiting for me."

"Powers of prediction? Wouldn't he be able to stop the worst acts in Konoha's history that way? Like the Kyūbi's attack?" Kaname betted.

"Thought so as well, but father made many other mistakes in his life. From what Sasuke told me, he was locked in his room that day an hour before I was hypnotized - father didn't predict him escaping out of it."

"... This... A prediction ability, although it's limited. Thanks, I'll try to find your mother - maybe she knows something more."

"Just tell me what you find, Nee-san."

Finding Mikoto's house empty, Kaname teleported to Hyūga's district. Landing in the garden, she had to deflect a kunai heading her way.

"Ah, sorry! I was training my throws! I didn't expect you to show up in the middle of throwing range, Kaname-neesama!" a young Hyūga ran up to her.

"Hi, Firecracker. Is your mom home?"

"A-are you going to tell on me? I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't throw sharp kunais without supervision-"

"Nope. That was a good throw, Firecracker, but it won't be enough to down a shinobi. You need to surprise your enemy. Next time wrap the kunai's handle with a cloning or explosion seal. Here you go, these are my creat-"

"Ehem!" A loud cough interrupted Kaname.

"Let Firecracker have some fun too, aunty." She pouted.

"Your seals are too overpowered for a soon-to-be genin. One of these could level a house, Kana-chan."

"One? Maybe a small flat, you would need to use at least two for a house, aunty."

"Haah... Not that you're not welcome, but today is rather problematic."

"I'm looking for aunty Mikoto. I thought I could find her here."

"She is in the kitchen. Wait here, I'll call her."

"It'll be faster to just come with you, aunty."

"N-no! J-just wait here!" Shiori hastily rebuked, shooting inside the house.

"Was that an attempt to hide something from me?"

"I- I don't k-know anything!" Hanabi stuttered cutely.

"Hmm. Let's make a deal, Firecracker." Kaname dangled one of her kunais in front of the young princess's eyes.

The girl looked straight into her eyes. After a moment, Hanabi's face beamed with a sadistic smile, "Deal! Mom and Aunty Mikoto are making a cake for you."

"Oh. That's the big secret? You got lucky. Many people would want one of these, you know? Just be careful with it, and please, don't use it in the Academy, Firecracker." Kaname passed the kunai to the girl.

"Of course. It's only a tool for defense, Kaname-neesama. It's perfect for a last-ditch effort." the girl hid the weapon in the backpack lying next to the wall.

"Heh, too few Hyūga's use weapons. So, what's with the sudden intensive training? From what I remember, you're easily the top of your class, Firecracker."

"What do you mean, Kaname-neesama? I need to become a jōnin as quickly as possible! I promised Haru and Kushi that I'll be their Sensei!" Hanabi boasted full of confidence.

"Heh, why did I not hear about it? I'm still not sure I'll let them attend the shinobi academy." Kaname chuckled, patting the girl's head.

"That is a lie, Kana-chan, and you know it." Mikoto jumped into the conversation, "Both Kushi-chan and Haru-chan will be thrown into our world whether you like it or not. And well, you and Utakata-kun are like heroes in their eyes... You have way too many enemies. Your children will be targeted - they should be able to fight back without your help."

"That's... Something I'm currently working on. A little culling is necessary."

"Hehe, I heard you were looking for me?" Mikoto inquired.

"Hmm..." Kaname walked towards the woman and stared into her face.

"W-what?"

The younger Uchiha wiped her finger over Mikoto's cheek, cleaning the leftover cream and taking a taste of it, "Good choice, personally I like the creamy cakes more than chocolate-type, aunty."

"Uhh... That was supposed to be a surprise."

"I want to have some fun too. I planned out a small party, only for family members, you know? Mom just went a full-on dictator mode on the preparations. I don't even have a say on what I'll wear."

"Hehe, yeah, the cake was her idea. But you have bigger problems to deal with, Kana-chan. Don't worry, Shi-chan and I will try to restrain Sensei before she gets crazy with her ideas." Mikoto chuckled.

"Thanks, aunty. I'm sorry to ask you about that, but I need to know. It's about Fugaku-san."

"Yeah?"

"Did he ever tell you what was his unique power of evolved Sharingan or how he got them?"

"... It won't hurt to tell you now. A long time ago, he became a jōnin-sensei to a group of new graduates."

"Damn, I feel pity for the kids already."

"Heh, yeah, he almost sent them back to the academy the first day. But... something pushed him to keep them." the woman recounted, "Somehow, slowly, they sneaked their way into his heart. Fugaku-kun just couldn't stop talking about them, complaining mostly, but it meant that he truly cared. Hehe, it was really cute at the time."

"What happened?"

"Haah... After almost six months of gardening and walking out the dogs, they received their first C-rank mission. It went horribly wrong." Mikoto gasped, "They were to scout out the bandit camp at the border of Hot Water and Ice Countries. Fugaku's plan was perfect - he predicted almost every possible outcome."

"But?"

"But not the start of the Third Shinobi War. When the Cloud Ninja came, a simple recon mission turned into a fight for survival. Pulling the enemies away from his genins, Fugaku-kun was captured. He ordered them to flee. He was about to be executed when they came back."

"Ah, shit..."

"He was able to get away, but the kids..." Grieving for the loss of the young life, Mikoto turned to Hanabi, "They weren't much older than Firecracker is."

"I'm sorry, aunty."

"It's okay. The only thing I can do now is to honor the memory of his genins. Fugaku-kun was heartbroken - he barely ate, slept only for an hour or two, and rarely talked for almost two years. Till the end of his life, I'm sure he blamed himself for their deaths. This event changed him."

"I think I know everything I wanted now."

"Why are you asking about that either way, Kana-chan? My husband died years ago."

"It's... I'll tell you later, okay?"

"Sure thing. Take care, Kana-chan! I have a big ass cake to make for you, C'ya." Mikoto winked playfully.

------

"Hey, Dobe, you okay?" Sasuke shook Naruto's arm.

"Uhh, Ramen." the blonde talked in his sleep.

"Haah." the Uchiha sighed, "That's what you dream about, huh? Wake the fuck up, Dobe!" irritated, he nudged his friend's head.

"Mmh," Naruto sat up, the tail of his green toad nightcap rested on his face, "Where am I?"

"You blew yourself up, you moron. What the heck was that?" Sasuke pointed at a massive crater Naruto was lying in. "We heard a loud explosion, and your shadow clones all popped at the same time!"

"Ah, oups, hehehe. I'm just trying to copy what Sis did with the Rasengan ~ttebayo." The blonde scratched the back of his head.

"You're an idiot, you know that, right?"

"Number one unpredictable shinobi of Konoha strikes again." A silver-haired jōnin joined in on the conversation.

"Naruto-kun, are you alright?" Hinata jumped next to Naruto, checking all of his bruises, "Is anything hurting?"

"I'm okay, Hina-chan. Thanks to the fox, I heal faster, remember ~ttebayo?"

"Good that you're okay, Naruto. Your blunder over the mastering of elemental Rasengan may become a blessing in disguise."

"What do you mean, Scarecrow-sensei?"

"When the explosion happened, a certain man has shown himself and is waiting for us." Hinata explained.

"Huh? Am I missing something? Who is waiting for us and where?"

"Kabuto Yakushi, Orochimaru's little spy." Kakashi clarified.

"And I'm going to take Snake's location out of his dead corpse." Sasuke growled.

Kakashi scratched his cheek, "First things first, Naruto, I appreciate your tenacity, but a stealthy mission is not exactly the right place for testing new jutsus. Especially without supervision, I promise I'll help you once we're back in Konoha, okay?"

"Hehe, sorry!"

"And you, Sasuke, remember we're a team. Orochimaru is strong enough to defeat us with ease. You need your teammates to survive."

"Hmph. Who do you think you're talking to, Kakashi? I'm not trash that would abandon his friends."

The jōnin with gravity-defying hair smiled behind his mask. "Thanks. Now, Hinata-chan, how is the situation there?"

The veins around Hinata's eyes thickened, "Byakūgan! Kabuto-san is still waiting on the bridge, Kakashi-sensei."

"I see. We should proceed with caution, don't dismiss this being a trap."

Team six sneaked towards the nearby crevice and watched a man calmly leaning on one of the bridge's pillars. Kakashi scanned the surroundings - the moment he gave his signal, the entire team moved as one, jumping on the bridge.

"Oh! Naruto, Hinata, Sasuke, and Kakashi-senpai, I didn't expect so big of a welcoming party!" the iryōnin greeted them.

"Kabuto Yakushi, I hope you don't mind answering some of our questions. What are you doing here?"

"Of course I was waiting for you, Kakashi-senpai."

"Enough of this! You wouldn't move far away from Orochimaru! Where is he?!"

"Tut-tut, we're not here to talk about Orochimaru-sama, Sasuke-kun. This is my weekly report for Kaname-san - it needs to reach her as quickly as possible."

"Grr, I don't trust you. Tell us where Orochimaru is!" Naruto's eyes changed color to deep red.

"You don't understand, Naruto-kun. I'm Kaname's spy."

"You're lying." Hinata interrupted.

"No, I'm not. I just like playing on the winning team."

"I'll take the bait. What's in the report?"

"Hah, your confident and calm personality was always bugging me, Kakashi-senpai." Kabuto replied, ticked off at the almost bored attitude. "My report contains the latest Akatsuki's movements. One team infiltrated Ishigakure, the other received an assignment in Fire City. From what I've heard, they're already there." he replied, passing the document to the jōnin.

"Sis is only a single seal away either way. We can call her anytime we want ~ttebayo."

"Don't. I would be killed if someone saw me next to Kaname-san. If Kaname-san wants me to continue my work, I need to stay anonymous."

"Bullshit. You're just trying to save your hide. I had enough. I give you ten seconds to tell me everything I want to know!" Sasuke pulled out his swords.

"And what? Are you going to kill the only spy in Akatsuki she has, Sasuke-kun?"

"Three... Two... One!" he counted down, "Dobe!"

Naruto and Sasuke flickered towards Kabuto, "On it, Teme!"

Uzumaki attempted to use the chakra chains to immobilize his foe. Sasuke was a little more drastic, aiming his slashes at iryōnin's legs. Just a moment before the attack reached Kabuto's body, both young men were blasted away by a tail of an enormous white snake.

"Fufufufu. Welcome, Team Six. I heard you were looking for me?" Orochimaru dug himself out of the snake's mouth.

"I'm sorry, Orochimaru-sama. They were very demanding. I couldn't deflect their attention to the secondary issue."

"We'll talk later about this failure, Kabuto-kun. You can go. I want to have some fun with the kids." The white-faced man acknowledged his subordinate words and turned towards his newest toys, "Fufuf, thank you for coming - you're a perfect way to send Kana-chan a message. Luckily for you, Naruto-kun, Akatsuki is looking for the Kyūbi. It's time to provide you to them."

"Hyah!" Hinata jumped in first, striking the Snake Sannin.

"Oya-Oya, the little Hyūga princess has grown so much!" Orochimaru laughed out, easily dodging all her punches. "Yet, it's still not enough!" he caught her extended arm and threw Hinata back towards her team.

"Hinata-chan, you okay?!" Naruto caught her mid-flight. He sighed with relief when she nodded her head, "You bastard! I'll kill you before Sis comes here ~dattebayo!"

"Huhuhu, don't bother calling for Kana-chan. Her seal won't work here, boy."

"Sasuke, Naruto, Hinata - Plan A!" Kakashi ordered loudly, stood in front of the team, and exposed his Sharingan.

"Hmm, yess~, Kakashi-kun, that technique should be able to damage me. But playing with forces of nature is naughty, fufufu."

'How? I'm sure no one saw the report of our sparring match against Kana-chan.'

"Come, let me show you how I've killed your beloved Hokage. Fufufu, you can't even imagine how delightful I felt watching that old fool's life fade over my blade."

"Sasuke!" Kakashi was too late. His student used a movement technique to appear above the Sannin.

"DIE! <Amaterasu>!" The black flames exploded in ferocity, instantly pouring over Orochimaru and his summoned snake. Sasuke closed his eyes, stopping the taxing technique. At this moment, his body was caught in a bind.

"That would be fatal even for me. Just look at my poor clone, Sasuke-kun, it was completely burned to a crisp." a silky voice of amusement whispered to Uchiha's ear, "You could have grown into a respectable deadly calm tool of vengeance if you came with me. Look at you now! Just like your blonde friend, you became a hot-headed idiot. I'm very disappointed in you."

"Let him go!" Naruto's deep voice growled out, two red, bubbly tails swishing behind his back.

"Look at your teammates. They are so worried about you, Sasuke-chan." Orochimaru's long tongue licked Sasuke's neck, "Yet they can't move because I'm holding you hostage. Isn't it vexing to be so powerless? Let me help you once again. You would be the first - let me check if you survive the second injection."

Like molten lava, hostile chakra spread through Orochimaru's fangs impaling Sasuke's neck. Naruto watched as his friend's mouth opened in a voiceless scream of agony.

Feeling the body of the boy sag in his arms, Orochimaru let Sasuke drop to the ground like a sack of potatoes, "Oh well," he shrugged, "One down, three to go?"

"I'll destroy you!" With the third tail sprouting from his back, Naruto's body shot towards Orochimaru.

"Shit! Hinata, get Sasuke away from here and provide support!" Kakashi launched himself after his student.