Chapter 38
Tick. Tick. A sharp, quick sound echoed through the empty cave as water droplets fell. No light or sound penetrated the large walls surrounding him. He did not need either of them to exist. For his lone eye saw everything he wanted to see. Sitting on the solitary stone throne, he waited.
Before long, a figure emerged from the darkness. It approached silently. Yet even in the shadows, his solitary eye remained fixed on the figure, and no movement escaped his gaze. Soon, the figure knelt by the throne. It was not a gesture of servitude; the lone man knew that. It signaled failure.
"What did you manage to find?" the lone man asked.
"The Two-tails and Eight-tails jinchuriki are well known."
"Their locations?"
"They are always under observation, and soon their full capabilities and strengths will be revealed," the figure continued. "Both will set out for Konoha soon; it will be more difficult to observe them there."
A solitary red eye stared at the pair of yellow ones. As the lone figure stood, he extended his right arm toward the figure, whose other half was completely shrouded in darkness. Yet, just before he could touch the figure's shadowy, smooth skin, it fell to the ground and melted away like old snow in spring.
"Oh, no, don't push yourself yet," a soft but worried voice said from within the figure as it looked at the lone man. "You need more time."
"Silence," the lone figure said, unconcerned, as he returned to his throne. "I will not die so easily. But I can't remain defeated for much longer. Even in this broken body, I refuse to sit and wait. So continue. What about the rest of the tailed beasts?"
"The Three-tails is still under our control. Despite some distractions, he is doing our bidding," the menacing voice replied. "The One-tail is still a babe, just like the Nine-tail. It's impossible to approach them yet. But we are working on it. Isolating them won't be an issue."
"The Eight-tails and Nine-tails will only be useful at the end of our plan. Focus on the One-tails for now; he will be beneficial in the future with proper nurturing."
"The Seven-tails jinchuriki is unknown; the last one died not long ago, and Takigakure is keeping its secrets well."
"It doesn't matter," the lone man replied. "Sooner or later, they will show their fear of the monster and reveal it to us."
"The Six-tails jinchuriki is dying; he won't last until our plan comes to fruition. Should we take him out now?"
"No, too risky," the lone man answered. "We will pursue the next one, no need to worry."
"That leaves the Four and Five-tails," the soft voice continued. "I'm sorry, but we couldn't find them. Iwa is keeping them somewhere outside the village or has buried them. We couldn't locate them."
The lone figure's red eye glared at the almost smiling white side of the figure. Its face held a playful expression, but its eyes were emotionless. It did not possess any thoughts of its own, only those that were implanted; at least, that's what the lone figure believed. He found it difficult to decipher this being. He was unsure of what Zetsu, both of them, were capable of, so he remained cautious.
"Eep!" the White Zetsu pretended to be scared of the glare. "We will find them. They will reveal themselves sooner or later."
Obito did not care for excuses. They were Madara's will, not his. They served him as long as he shared the same resolve as Madara. For now, it worked well; he was aligned with that will. But his strength—his broken body—only confirmed it. The Fourth Hokage was still too much for him, and he paid dearly for his arrogance. Now, he could only wait until he was restored before taking his next action.
"What have you done to Kumo for them to visit Konoha?" Obito asked, knowing that Black Zetsu was scheming something behind his back.
"The Third Hokage is gaining too much power too quickly," Black Zetsu replied, his yellow eye more sinister than the red eye of Obito. "Kumo was blind to this, so I shared our knowledge with them. Now Kumo is afraid and has to show the world they won't be left behind. So, they decided to act. But I do not know the extent of their plans."
"Kusagakure?"
"We can't keep our eyes on so many destinations at once," the White Zetsu answered. "That's too much work. So why not let some of the distractions disappear? Especially when it benefits us so greatly."
Kusagakure was insignificant to him. Just a weak village that could be eliminated any day. Now, it was a puppet to Konoha. And Obito agreed that it should vanish before it could be used against them. The Third Hokage was already reaching for too much. Greed and the thirst for power always led to downfall. But it mattered little; he was weak, and soon, when his body was repaired, the Third Hokage would be powerless before Obito.
"Have you made contact with Orochimaru?"
"Pakura and Konan will meet him soon," Black Zetsu replied. "Those two are useful tools to test him. But observations need to be made first."
Orochimaru could be a significant asset for Akatsuki. They had powerful shinobi in their ranks, but their numbers were insufficient. Power did not wait, and if he could not seize it now, who knew who might stand before him? He required more strength to achieve his goals, to enact his will, and to end this hell that tormented him and everyone else.
No one should stand in his way, even if Konoha were regaining its power too quickly. Once his body was healed, he might need to make a move against them. He needed to plan it out because he did not intend for it to end like it did last time. This time, he would ensure that Konoha cannot recover so easily.
…
Hunger gnawed at Iruka. He could feel the emptiness in his stomach. Water was not enough. Hunger was never-ending, never-sleeping, and always present. This mission, whether a test or training, had lost its meaning for him; it was hell, and it tormented them. It was hard to think, but not thinking only made him more aware of his hunger.
Iruka noticed Yamato staring at the fruits that the people they were protecting were eating. Those eyes resembled a wolf's, and that sheepish smile couldn't hide it. Shisui's calmness was a facade. He could act composed all he wanted, but Iruka could see his nails digging into his palms, blood trickling through his fingers. He was on edge and doing everything to keep himself in check.
It was absolute madness. They could eat at any moment; food was everywhere, from the caravan they protected to all kinds of wild fruits and berries, not to mention the wildlife they could hunt. Nothing was stopping them; their sensei only told them to endure for as long as possible. But the fact that his sensei was enduring alongside them made Iruka not want to give up.
A week felt like a short amount of time, yet it dragged on, stretching longer with each passing moment. Iruka was at his limit, exhausted, and his limbs felt heavy. Just walking felt like a challenge. But he pushed through, focusing on what he needed to do for the mission and ensuring Yamato and Shisui didn't give up. It didn't matter if it was training or a test; his team would pass.
"The sun is scorching hot," the coachman said as he wiped the sweat from his brow. "This spring is definitely warmer."
"If it's already this warm, I dread to think what summer will feel like," one of the passengers agreed. "Well, we should reach a town soon, right?"
"A few more hours. The horses need to rest, or I worry they won't endure the rest of the journey."
It was a normal conversation, but why did they only start talking when he walked near them? Maybe it was just a delusion, or perhaps his mind was playing tricks on him from hunger. But he couldn't shake the thought. As a result, he began to observe the people he was supposed to protect more closely.
Small details started to surface, deepening his suspicion. First of all, there weren't any children or elderly among them. For a caravan with over fifty people, that was strange. Secondly, he noticed that even though they weren't armed, weapons were within arm's reach from them. Lastly, they were dressed heavily for such warm weather.
"Sensei," uncertain about his suspicions, Iruka approached his sensei.
"Hmm? Have you noticed it, too?" Choza quickly figured out the cause of Iruka's worried expression. "Yeah, they aren't merchants. They're more likely mercenaries."
"Then that means…"
"Now I see why the Third chose you," Choza said with a proud smile. "Yes, they expect an attack, and rather than risk losing their men, they hire shinobi to deal with the attackers."
"Or they might expect their enemies to be other shinobi," Iruka added.
"Or that."
"And they didn't say anything to lower the cost of hiring us."
"Sure looks like that," Choza affirmed. "Well, there are missions like that. Sometimes, even our enemies hire us to lure us into traps. Occasionally, our clients lie like these mercenaries. Every mission we take outside the village has the potential to turn bloody; that's why we must be prepared for anything."
"Isn't there a way to avoid these kinds of situations?"
"No," Choza answered, but he didn't seem too worried. "But trust me, our clients can only lie to us once. We have policies that deal with this kind of people. It is nothing big if it is just a lie, but if it puts our lives in danger, well, you're too young to know what happens to them."
Iruka guessed that it made sense. In the end, they did what they were hired to do, no matter the context. But it would be wise to deal with troublemakers who acted in bad faith towards Konoha. Iruka was clueless about how that was done. However, it wasn't for him to know just yet. Maybe in the future, he will learn more secrets hidden in Konoha.
With his curiosity satisfied, Iruka returned to his usual work, which rekindled his feelings of hunger and exhaustion. He desperately wanted to ask his sensei if they could eat something, knowing an attack might come at any moment. However, seeing his sensei's complete lack of concern suggested that even at their weakest, there was nothing to worry about.
"Someone is approaching from a distance," Shisui warned, activating his Sharingan as he glanced down the road.
"The next town is a few hours away, and this is the only road," Iruka said as his sensei and Yamato joined Shisui. "If they knew we would come to this town, it would be the best place to set up an ambush since it's the only spot we're guaranteed to be."
"What's this about?" Shisui asked, activating his Sharingan once more to examine the clients. "Mercenaries?"
"You only just noticed that?" Yamato replied. "That still doesn't explain why you're worried about an ambush."
"You, who is after you?" Before Sensei could intervene, Shisui approached the group leader, using his Sharingan to uncover the truth.
"Someone has been asking about us, and we received information that he was a shinobi, which is why we hired you and disclosed our next location so you could deal with him before our next job."
"Enough, Shisui," Choza said, clearly unhappy with Shisui's actions. "Regardless of what's going on, they are still our clients; we must conduct ourselves professionally."
"My apologies." They knew Shisui typically didn't act like that; his hunger and exhaustion directed his behavior.
"Let's just deal with him."
Choza managed to catch Yamato before he rushed off toward the unknown person on the road. After all, they couldn't act recklessly. He might not even be a shinobi or their enemy. And if he was, they had no idea what he had in store for them. Even a simple mistake could cost them their lives; well, Shisui and Yamato might be fine since they were prodigies, but Iruka wasn't. Iruka felt like his observation had jinxed them.
A.N. Well, good news, I didn't get the job I wanted, so I still have some free time to write. Money isn't a problem since I still have savings from military service, and you guys support me. Still, I decided to return to my old structure, and from next month, I will have seven extra chapters on my patre on. I am preparing to continue "Blood Waters" and have two more stories planned, but I don't know when I am going to write them.