Unbeta-ed chapter. Please read at your own risk.

Path of Repentance by kailynx

Chapter 2 : Prisoner of Time

o…oOOo…o

It was a scene of dreadful carnage. It was horrible. It was revolting. And even so, he couldn't bring himself to stop.

His Sharingan eyes bored emotionlessly at the destruction around him, ignoring the pathetic resistance and terrified screams coming from his opponents and victims as his body advanced on its own will, striking at everyone who dared to block his path. Every wound he had inflicted, every life that he had taken, he couldn't care at all. Vengeance, hatred, and the temptation to destroy everything around him were too strong to resist.

Not that there were many people left to stop him. Most had either fled the area, scattered with the remains of what used to be Danzo's secret headquarters of Root, or wound up dead trying to be heroic. He didn't really bother to check whether they were totally dead before moving on, though.

Good. Keep going, Sasuke. Kill these people; raze this place to the ground. And don't stop until there's nothing left but the spoils of war.

He paused midway, frowning. One gloved hand touched the side of his head as fleeting moments of uncertainty, self-conscious, confusion and foreboding took place, together with a growing headache. His rebellious nature prompted him to object to such intrusion in his mind. "I take orders from no one. I do what I please. Get out of my head!"

Ah, I see. But know this, Sasuke, your resistance to my probe will only hurt you in the end. Remember, you're under my control now.

"Hn. Like hell you can control me. Now get lost!"

Your stubbornness will bring you nothing but pain. Never forget, you're mine… my personal marionette. You dance when I tell you to.

Sasuke grabbed his head, stifling a biting remark when the voice suddenly became more than annoyance. Pain exploded inside his skull, making him double over clumsily forward. He fought for control, but unseen powers ripped through his mental barriers, as his subconscious slowly succumbed to the silent commands again.

Then a quiet, lethal move near him alerted him to an enemy's presence. However, the momentary relapse hindered nothing of his fighting reflex. Just in time, he rolled over onto his back to avoid a well-aimed kunai and thrust his Kusanagi upward. The blade sliced easily right through the heart of his opponent.

'Hn. Just another moron who had a death wish.'

Simultaneously pulling the chokuto out and kicking the dead body backward before it fell on top of him, Sasuke jumped on his feet, flicking the bloodstain off his weapon. Then he looked around for more Ne-ANBU, whatever left of the faction after he had killed their leader some time ago. He found three of them, injured but determinedly prepared for his attack. He welcomed the numbing pain in his head as well as the destructive instincts, and dashed forcefully to intercept their hand seals before he got bombarded with triple ninjutsu. Two were dead before they hit the ground, and in deliberate motion, he directed his crimson eyes to freeze the third nin on his track, relishing the waves of fear he felt coming from the man.

And watched steely as his final blow was denied when two orange blurs surged by and took the already hallucinating man away.

"Stop, Sasuke! This isn't you at all. Snap out of his control before you regret it!"

Deflecting a rain of kunai coming from behind him with ease, he turned around towards the newcomer. A maniacal grin appeared on his face when he saw a familiar figure stood challengingly before him. He pointed his blade towards the boy, hardly acknowledging the silent fury and troubled expression in the blue eyes.

"So you've finally come. Let's end this, Naruto. Once and for all."

The blond gritted his teeth, clenching and unclenching his fists in futile efforts to suppress his anger. "That's not what I'm talking about! Look around you. Did you realize what you've done? Snap out of it now!"

"Hn."

He's an annoyance, Sasuke. He has been thwarting my plans so many times in the past. Get rid of him. You know you want to.

With a mocking smirk, the Uchiha calmly lowered his gaze to the ground, and when he raised his face again, the tomoe was spinning crazily, the madness Naruto could see there was enough to send jolts up his spine.

Killing intents from both of them slowly filled the devastated area, and Sasuke greedily immersed himself in the rush of adrenaline flowing inside his bloodstreams.

Naruto took on his familiar stance, fingers crossing as a bunch of exact replicas of him appeared randomly in the area. "Call me selfish, but I'll bring you back, Sasuke, no matter what it takes. And this time, I'll keep my promise."

Sasuke ignored the solemn declaration, silently waiting for his opponents to begin their attack.

A barrage of shuriken, their sharp points enhanced with deadly wind-chakra flew towards the Uchiha from all direction, targeting his potential weak spots. Effortlessly, he countered all of them with his own, only to find that they were cut through like some piece of butter. Knowing that it was useless to channel lightning-chakra into his blade, he avoided them instead, instantly burning all of the missiles using his fire-technique. They fell to the ground, chipped, crisped and useless. Using the advantage of his speed, he pinpointed the position of the clones, taking them one by one. The last five, however, was not that easy to kill, but Sasuke also knew that subterfuge was Naruto's specialty.

"Chidori Current."

Huge lightning wave lit the evening as charred trees and soil added to the weird assortment of the destroyed landscape. The clones caught within the jutsu range poofed away, but even before the effect disappeared, his keen senses warned him to turn around. Sasuke did, and was fast enough to avoid a Rasengan aimed at his abdomen. In controlled movement, they inched closer, trading blows back and forth, then took their distance to analyze their situation before they came up with their techniques again.

The cycle went on and on. Chakra was spent gradually, sparks flew when their weapons clashed with each other, and damage was inflicted accordingly. And yet the battle continued incessantly. To a few of the viewers who were confident enough of their skills, or rather suicidal enough to watch the fight, the two's movements were just like a beautifully choreographed dance, albeit a strange and bloody one.

That was when Sasuke realized that something was not quite right. His genjutsu didn't work at all. During their fight he had targeted his adversary with his mind illusion, but Naruto seemed to quietly, easily dispel it off. So that was it. Somehow the blond had improved his skill in dispelling his Sharingan genjutsu, but to what extend, Sasuke was eager to find out.

His lips shaped into a twisted, grim smile as he finally submitted to the constant urging, bloodthirsty command in his head that ordered him to bring the fight to the next level. "Enough of the warming up. Now, I'll bring you hell."

Naruto stared at him unflinchingly, waiting readily for his next move.

He activated his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan just at the same time the part on Naruto's eyes morphed into something else.

Sage mode... Don't hold back now.

Sasuke didn't have time to ponder on that instruction, for he knew instantly that his eyes didn't change – they were still in their normal Sharingan form. Panic, and something akin to fear molded their way into his heart. He started to hear voices, telling him to 'snap out of it'. He tried to call forth his ultimate Kekkei Genkai again, but couldn't. Even his Sharingan wavered a little, black dots started to mar his visualization. Naruto just stood there, didn't make any attempt to attack him, although the blond had now gained the upper hand. Feeling a little bit cornered by this new feeling of insecurities, Sasuke did snap.

Gathering his strength and chakra, he charged towards Naruto with a snarl.

Only to feel greater terror as all of his next movements were easily read, his attacks blocked, his favorite weapon forcefully snatched from his grasp, and his eyes suddenly failed him. Darkness engulfed his vision, different voices yelled relentlessly inside his head, accusing, blaming – condemning him for his corruption. A sense of despair and helplessness went through him as he crawled on all fours, his hand reaching out blindly, trying to find a way out from the dark abyss, but found none.

A presence, its aura so full of malice and hatred, enveloped his soul.

You betrayed me, Sasuke. You'll pay for it. Dearly.

"Aargh! Get the hell away from me!"

Bile rose to his throat, threatening to spill out the meager contents of his stomach. Sasuke fought the urge to vomit, hands flailing weakly to find something he could anchor to, and almost yelped in surprise when his body was flipped on his back as he felt two pairs of hands grabbed his upper body and pinned him to the ground, firmly confining his struggles. Then one of his assaulters spoke. A clear, familiar voice dominated his eardrums as all the other disturbances inside his brains receded to the back of his mind.

"Hush. It's alright now. Just open your eyes and wake up, Sasuke."

He kept struggling, not trusting the vulnerable position he was put into by that person. He couldn't even move an inch.

When the man spoke again, curious impatience laced his bizarre speech. "Uchiha Sasuke, wake up this instance or I, The Great Orange Hokage will kick your butt so hard you'll warp up in a different dimension!" To add to the effect, Sasuke felt his body was shaken roughly, but still, it refused to oblige.

'Orange... what?' There were other series of garbled words coming out of the mouth of his tormentor which he couldn't figure out as he felt darkness temptingly dragged him under again.

"Teme, you'd better get a grip on yourself or I'll transform into Danzo in Sexy no Jutsu and shave your head bald you'll regret it for the rest of your life! Eww fuck, where did that come from?"

And that did it.

Sasuke was jolted back to awareness with a start, eyes widened in shocked as blood pounding in his ears, small beads of perspiration glistening on his skin. He gasped softly, taking a deep breath when he realized that he had been holding it long enough to feel dizzy, then tried to calm his racing heart until it slowed down to the more normal beat.

Alerted of the fact that his Sharingan had been instinctively triggered at some point, the tomoe swirling wildly in confusion at his current condition, he quickly willed it off. He tried to sit up, barely aware that Naruto and his kage bunshin were helping him for the task.

"Danzo…" His lips curled in distaste at the name. "He's dead."

An amused voice answered him. "Of course. You killed him."

He blinked, raising his face to notice two figures in front of him. As his own obsidian eyes met Naruto's cerulean blue, the fire near them making silhouettes of older, concern-looking Narutos no less, he immediately realized that he had been dreaming. A portion of vivid, mixed portrayal of events that relived in his dreams again and again, that had tormented him for years before it faded gradually. And now, it just resurfaced uninvited.

He tilted his head, signaling Naruto that he had calmed down enough to be left to his own device. "It's okay. I'm fine now."

Naruto released his support on Sasuke's shoulders, and immediately stood up, giving Sasuke some time to adjust. Calmly, he took his kunai from the ground next to his friend and put it back into his weapon pouch. Nodding his head to the right, where Sasuke's chokuto had somehow ended up stabbing the tree trunk, the blond commented wryly, "Welcome back to reality, though you tend to already get really physical even before you did."

Ignoring the complain, Sasuke rubbed his face with his hands for a moment, and then got to his feet, taking his sheath with him as he moved to retrieve his weapon. Naruto's clone helped pulling it out and tossed it to him before it dispersed away. Catching it perfectly, he wiped the dirt off the blade and put it back into its sheath. He checked around, noting that there was no permanent damage at their current resting place, except for the mark made by his sword on the tree trunk. Clearly Naruto had managed to stop him before it escalated into an unscheduled spar – with him fighting subconsciously in sleeping mode, but eyes wide opened.

The last time he remembered, his former history with this kind of nightmare often involved him screaming and trying to rearrange the condition of the small room where he was previously quartered. He was once told that he had nearly killed one of the two ANBUs guarding him when he went berserk like a beast on rampage at one night, before they finally rendered him out cold and got Sakura to sedate him. He knew that it was hard to restrain him without injuring anyone in the process, because his natural speed, dexterity and strength were higher than many shinobi. And to the people whom he had hurt in the past, to not give in into temptation and murder him out of revenge was harder. Even if at that time he was declared unstable and chakra bounded, and the ones watching him were trusted people under the direct order of the Hokage.

Those horrible dreams visited him the most throughout the early stage of his captivity, prompting the guards to put him into a strait-jacket and strap him to bed every night. His condition had slowly declined until his chakra was no longer sealed. However, when it occurred later, it had caused greater destruction on the reformatory building in the former Uchiha compound due to his ninjutsu. Thankfully, Naruto had also temporarily sealed his Sharingan, or else he might have truly brought chaos to Konoha again. The Hokage, sensing that something was wrong through the connection between their blood seals had rushed immediately to him with Sakura in tow. With the blond acting as the decoy, Sakura had shot his system down using tranquilizer senbon before treating his wounds afterwards. For fear of assassination attempts, the kunoichi was the only medic-nin allowed to heal him.

It was quite strange. During his breakdown period, after he was done trying to kill himself, and failed each time, he was always impassive, as harmless as a baby when he was conscious. But once the nightmare took over, the mental battle in his mind had somehow turned him physically into a desperate fighter who regarded everyone around him as enemies who must be vanquished.

Many thought that he was a lost cause, yet his friends gave him the chance to recuperate. They expected and tolerated his erratic behavior until he could control himself, at least until the nightmares remained nightmares. Nothing more than that, except him panting heavily and covered up in sweats when he woke up, plus a crumpled bed from his trashing. They had never stopped encouraging him to reclaim his spirit and absorb the redeeming light again. He never asked, but he knew what they wanted. The same thing he craved to do ever since he had let go of his hatred and vengeance.

If only he could forgive himself as easily.

'Damn you, Madara. We'll get you and put an end to your cowardly, worthless existence.'

"…suke, don't just space out on me right after waking up!" Naruto waved his hand in front of him, jerking him to attention. A few small woods were tucked in his other arm. "Go get refreshed or something. We still have about three hours before dawn. You can continue resting if you'd like to."

Startled a little at the last remark, Sasuke quickly regained his composure. "It's alright. I'm going to the stream anyway. Want me to fill up the bottles for you?" Without waiting for answer, he walked towards their makeshift beds, where all of their provisions, some taken out from the scrolls were gathered together. Naruto grinned, carelessly throwing the woods into the dying flame. It caught on them and started burning fiercely again. "Thanks. I'll prepare some food for us. Don't bother checking for fish. The only ones I could sense were probably a little bigger than anchovies anyway."

He nodded. Taking his sling bag and their water flasks, Sasuke made his way to the small waterfall, all the while couldn't help but relate his recurring nightmare to their current mission.

ooo…ooOOoo…ooo

Their too-early-for-breakfast was small; it only consisted of instant porridge Naruto got in his food scroll and a handful of wild fruits he foraged in the bush near their campsite. Resting became their top priority right now, taking into account the hectic day they had gone through the moment they landed in Tsuchi no Kuni. To Sasuke, the time-travelling alone had drained almost half of his chakra reserve, as his energy and chakra pattern was required to allow him into the ride. Considering the incredible amount of chakra the Hokage had released that time to perform the jutsu, Naruto didn't joke when he said that a lesser person would have died if they tagged along. Sasuke was fortunate that he had much larger chakra storage compared to normal shinobi, though by the time they reached this place he was already at his limit.

They had traveled as fast as possible to the west right after they escaped the ANBUs' camp northeast of Kusa earlier last night. However, they decided to retrace their steps up north, entering Taki just before they encountered another set of national borders of Kusa, Taki and Hi no Kuni. They couldn't risk infiltrating Hi no Kuni with their condition at the moment. Due to the unexpected circumstances, they lacked the information and strategy to face the consequences of their actions, not to mention sleep-deprived and starving.

Sasuke, using the experience he had with a few reconnaissance missions into the country previously, led them to a lush forested area he knew was quite hidden from prying eyes. Picking a nice site near a waterfall, Naruto wasted no time to seal the area from unnecessary disturbances while Sasuke lit the fire and spread some ponchos from the scroll in his bag for their beds. Naruto, being a stamina freak that he was, offered to be the first watch, which Sasuke gladly accepted. He lied down and immediately fell asleep.

Only to be snared in an unpleasant dream that woke him up. No, that dream didn't wake him up at all – it was sucking him into an endless abyss, trapping him there like a prisoner of time until Naruto pulled him out to consciousness. He must be exhausted enough last night that he had dropped his guard down. Dead asleep, the nightmare could easily take root inside his brains and seize control the deepest part where his remorseful memories were locked up, causing him to regress.

Or worse, it had something to do with the premonition he was having right now, something that left him with a bad feeling and made him uneasy, like their appearance in this dimension was already known by an unseen force. If that was true, Sasuke had a really good idea what it could be, or to be precise, who he could be.

He raised his head sharply when a transparent medium size zipper storage bag half-filled with succulent wild berries was shoved in front of him. They looked really fresh and clean after being washed, and it seemed that Naruto had munched half of them already.

"Hey, you're doing it again! Eat this, it's not much but it helps to restore some of your energy," Naruto said in concern. Then he grinned, the whisker marks accentuated his face like a fox up to something mischievous. "Or…" he dangled the plastic bag temptingly as if it were some piece of meat to bait a hungry guard dog, "Don't regret it if I finish all of them if you keep spacing out at your own convenience."

Smirking, the dark-haired man snatched the bag from Naruto's hand with ease. "Hn, not on your life. They said food revenge is terrible. And I take this coz I'm sure that there's nothing left out there anymore except for the green ones." He took one into his mouth and found out that it was not too sweet, just perfect to wash the aftertaste of the porridge he ate just now. Knowing that it certainly tasted much better than Sakura's medicine, which shouldn't be consumed recklessly, Sasuke quickly gobbled up the rest of the berries inside the container.

"We need to get some real food later in the afternoon. What we have here could hardly be called a meal."

Naruto's eyes stared longingly at the last berry before it vanished into Sasuke's mouth. "Yeah, I feel like I could eat a jaguar right now." His belly chose that moment to growl loudly, and he rubbed his abdomen soothingly with his hand in an exaggerated manner. "See? It agrees wholeheartedly! Ah… if only they have a ramen stall here!"

"Idiot! The sealing you did wouldn't even let animals larger than rabbit in, and who would be stupid enough to open a ramen stall in the middle of the forest?" Throwing the empty, wet storage bag into the fire near them, Sasuke watched Naruto's antics with laughter in his eyes. "And dobe, there's no jaguar here in Waterfall Country."

Naruto yawned slightly, one hand wiping the moisture off his eyes. "Don't be a smartass. Did you think I didn't know that? I couldn't even find a rabbit hole here. Of course, we got better chance to catch 'em in the evening rather than at this hour." The blond stood up, stretching and yawning deeply this time. He had used up too much chakra since yesterday and he would need to eat a really large amount of food to compensate for that. He threw several dry twigs into the flame to make it last longer before sitting on his poncho.

As if reading his thought, Sasuke said, "If I'm not mistaken, there should be a small town about 15 miles to the east, though I'm not sure it exists in this timeline or not. However, once we find an eating establishment, you can pig out and stuff yourself silly for all I care." He leaned against the nearest tree trunk just across their one-piece beds. A hand was resting on the raised kneecap of his right leg, his left leg stretched out straight on the ground. His other hand rested comfortably on the thigh. His eyelids felt heavy, and he closed his eyes, thinking that one or two extra hours of sleep would be better than none at all.

Lying down on his thin bed on the ground, Naruto yawned again. He stretched his hands upright and propped one of his knee up. Then he intertwined all his fingers and put his hands under his head, supporting it like a pillow. "I can't help it. That's the best way to restock most of my chakra after so many hours of exertion," he grumbled defensively, his voice slurring a little. "Hmm, I got a real nice plan in the morning. But before that, better catch up some zzz's."

A few seconds passed by without any reply, but Naruto didn't mind it. The sound coming from the small insects in the forest was like music to his ears, lulling him into slumber. His body was relaxing contentedly as sleep came to claim him. He took a deep breath, liking the natural calming scent of the tropical rainforest. His drooping eyes were about to close when Sasuke called his name quietly.

"…Naruto," he stirred at the sound. "Thank you." If the blond really looked up in front of him right now, he might have seen one of the rarest genuine smiles that graced Sasuke's features.

"Nah… forget it." His tired face softened a little. "Just rest, Sasuke."

Then Sasuke's smile changed abruptly into an evil smirk, gleaming eyes targeting his unsuspecting prey. "And Naruto… never ever transform into your Danzo's version of Sexy no Jutsu just to shave my hair off, pervert. The thought alone was gross enough. I love my hair. If you ever try to harm it in any way, I might kill you, friend or not." He shot the words out with the usual no nonsense voice of his, a teasing hint palpable there that the stunned Naruto couldn't grasp at first.

Understanding crept in with the red darkening of his ears as Naruto wished for the ground to swallow him and spare him the embarrassment. His reaction was instantaneous. Naruto sat up so fast that his sleepy head turned light-headed from the sudden movement.

"AAACCKKK!"

Scrunching up face muscles, he comically stifled his surprise at being discovered. Creepy Sharingan, plus a creepy Sasuke. He should have known better.

Then he saw Sasuke's smirk got wider, one of his eyes was closed and Naruto realized that the Uchiha just got a kick mocking him with that knowledge. Sasuke's right hand, which rested on his right knee, imitated a gun's shape, with the thumb up and his index finger pointing at Naruto's flushing face.

His hand jerked upward a little. "Gotcha."

Naruto scowled at Sasuke for a moment, and huffed in slight annoyance before reclining into his previous sleeping position. "Damn, I thought you didn't hear that. At least it woke you up so whatever I spit out that time shouldn't matter! It served the purpose, dumbass!" He stared into the dark sky, recollecting past events. "Knocking you out in your current condition wasn't an option. You might sleep forever without Sakura to monitor you."

Sasuke 'hn', adjusting his body to make himself more comfortable against the tree trunk. Of course he knew all about it already. "That's for calling me a stalker, and often laying down stupid requests every time you win our spar."

'Like ordering me to make peace with Sakura, whatever the hell you mean by that, while it should be the least of your concern right now. But I guess I should thank you for being nosey.'

"Heh… yours are worse. What is it about forbidding me from eating ramen for two weeks? Or must have tomatoes in my veggie soup, huh?" He closed his eyes, attempting to frown but smile instead. That man rarely joked around, but at the moment he knew that Sasuke was amused too. 'Hehe, you just gave me another great idea on how to tick someone off, buddy.'

"Ramen shouldn't be consumed every mealtime like you did that time, idiot. And tomatoes are good for your health," Sasuke chided quietly, more to himself. "I thought you already got over it." He watched calmly as the blond slowly drifted into dreamland. Naruto scarcely slept at all since their journey started. That guy at least deserved to rest a little before they moved on with their next course of action.

Whatever questions he had wanted to ask at Naruto would have to wait until tomorrow.

Sasuke looked up at the waning moon. Another two hours before dawn. Perfect. He closed his dark orbs again; his senses began to encompass their surrounding vicinity in a vigilant watch.

ooo…ooOOoo…ooo

[Hidden Stone Village, Land of Earth]

"Akiba-san, please wake up. It's time for your medicine."

He opened his eyes reluctantly to the gentle voice calling out his name. The pillow felt too comfortable, all he wanted just to sleep to his heart content. But he also knew not to cross the kunoichi, for he had had firsthand experience of how scary the woman could be if the patients refused to cooperate, years ago. Leaving with no choice, he grunted a little and tried to brace his battered body into sitting position.

"I'm sorry to bother your sleep. But you know that I must get you up periodically for medication and change your dressing."

The medic-nin put her medical kit on the small table near the bed and helped him with the task. "How do you feel right now, Akiba-san?" she asked cheerfully, filling up a glass of plain water and offered it to him. He gratefully took it from her hand and sipped it slowly. It helped to soothe his parched throat and cleared his mind from the drowsy haze.

"I think I'll live. What time is it, Yuya?" He popped the pills given to him into his mouth, and flushed them down with the rest of the water until there was not a drop left. Yuya nodded in approval and placed the now empty glass back on the table. Motioning to the man to raise up his arms a little, she dutifully removed the old bandages around his torso, checking the progress of his recovery at it.

"4.00 o'clock in the morning. Ah… it seems that your body is healing nicely. The soreness will go in time." At a curious glance from the man, Yuya answered his silent query, "Toga-san's life is not in danger. He's recovering pretty well." Her eyes followed Akiba's direction and smile at the sleeping patient on the other bed next to him. "He should wake up and be his grumpy old self tomorrow, though he should stay in bed for a couple of days." She gave him a knowing look. "Which would make him grumpier."

The man exhaled, feeling a lot better. "That's good news." He looked across the room. There was no other patient in the ward except for the two of them.

"What happens to the rest?" the jounin asked quietly, thinking about the heavy casualties on their side of the battle yesterday afternoon. The difference in their balance of power was so great that they had lost twenty-six lives of their fellow shinobi. And twenty of them had been taken down single-handedly by one person. Twenty freaking Iwa Special Force members. It would be a demoralizing blow to their manpower if words spread out due to the incident.

Yuya's hand stopped at the new binding she was doing on his left shoulder. She looked hesitate for a moment, thinking of the best way to break the news to him. Mangled corpses cannot be kept for long, they must be handled with as fast as possible.

"The bodies of your comrades had gone through the post mortem and were duly cremated. The Tsuchikage would hold a memorial service for them in the morning." She finished her wrapping and packed her things back into the medical box.

Akiba moved his head down at the answer. His eyes closed in a silent respect for those who had perished in the line of fire. They were not just shinobi on misson. Close or not, they were his comrades. Two of them were his current teammates on their border duties. They had shared laughter, pain and even got drunk together.

He would never see them again, but they would always be in his memories.

The jounin raised his face. "Thank you for telling me," he said softly. "Yuya, do you happen to know anything of our elite teams?" He wondered briefly if their bodies would be kept for further inspections on the cause of death. After all, the only living witnesses to their massacre were recuperating in that very room, and he was the only one who could talk right now.

Yuya studied his face for a while, weighing the options whether to tell him the information or not. Finally, she conceded. "I'm not sure if I should tell you this, but there is one casualty."

Akiba couldn't hold his surprise at her remark. He quickly turned his head towards her, suppressing a grunt when his bruised shoulder protested at the movement. "Just one casualty? Who?"

If Yuya sensed something strange about his reaction, she didn't ask. "Yeah. That's what I heard. Sadly, they lost Captain Kuroda. They've been really hush hush about it. I know because I saw his body. After all, I was called here..." The medic-nin stopped before she spoke more of her responsibilities to an invalid.

The man was stunned at her explanation, not caring whether she was about to reveal some classified information or not. 'That brat didn't kill them? Seriously?' Of course he didn't know. He had been unconscious not long after The Yellow Flash left the battlefield, never had the chance to see what happened next. He just woke up in Iwa's hospital a few hours ago to eat some gruel and medicine. Then he went right back to sleep, certainly not coherent enough to ask questions at that time.

"That's not true. Toga just attacked you, and if today's event counts, everyone is helpless against you. Yet you still chose to kill all of them."

Akiba shuddered a little. He didn't miss the sad smile of the young man looking back at him after his accusation. He could never forget those eyes. For one as young as him, he had the tired eyes of a hardened shinobi who had seen enough destruction and misery in the history of mankind, but still struggled to live with it. Eyes full of sorrow, yet never lose the determination and hope.

"Did I, really? Whatever it is, I have my own reason. Cling to the chance you've been given to live, shinobi. Life is too precious to waste away."

"I saw him, talked to him and I live to tell the tale," he whispered solemnly to himself. "Tsuchikage-sama, just what were you planning to do?"

"Akiba-san?" Yuya's worried voice penetrated his thoughts. Before he could assure her that he was fine, there were a few knocks at the door. It opened to reveal the stoic face of the Tsuchikage's assistant.

"Forgive me for interrupting your rest, Akiba-san. I wish to inform you that your presence is required at the headquarters as soon as you are awake this time." Another man walked inside the room, pushing a wheelchair towards him. "Oonoki-sama is concerned for your health, but your testimony is really important to help with our investigation."

The veteran jounin sighed. It would be a long day. "Alright, please take me to him."

ooo…ooOOoo…ooo

"That man was not Konoha's Yellow Flash," the Tsuchikage stated grimly. "Kuroda died in vain trying to persuade an impersonator."

He had replayed his subordinates' accounts many times in his mind and reviewed the written reports until his vision turned blurry. There was only one conclusion. Not only that their hunted preys got away with crucial information, leaving casualties behind, his so-called elite forces had had their figurative asses handed to them effortlessly it was hard to believe – with their lives spared almost without injury, minus one dead, unlucky captain.

An utter humiliation to Iwa, doubled by the fact that some unknown visitors had infiltrated the country unnoticed and got involved in their business with Konoha's ANBU. He had flown to check the battlefield himself, enough to detect from the residue of chakra left by the strangers that something bizarre had taken place. Earth samples thickest with their chakra had been brought to their labs for analysis, taken from the very spot they first appeared. None of the substances being tested matched with any marked top-rated criminals or shinobi in their records, dead or alive.

Strange unknown jutsu had been used, but there was no three-pronged kunai, no such seals marking the man's proverbial technique. No formal uniforms or hitai-ate either. On the other hand, his moles had confirmed that Namikaze Minato was currently in Konoha, training a chuunin team. It denied the insinuation of them being undercover. Unless his information was chicken-feed, he would like to believe the benefits of the doubt.

Oonoki looked down from his seat at the five masked shinobi who knelt in shame in front of him. "Considering that you had to fight two extraordinary S-class opponents, I think I could deal with your failures, as disgraceful as they were. We're not samurai who must reclaim lost honor by committing seppuku, rather we're shinobi who will always use whatever resources available at our disposal to complete our mission."

His elite squad members stiffened briefly at the condescending tone. They couldn't forget his livid reaction much earlier, when they returned to report their failed mission.

"Establish an intelligence network among the countries surrounding Hi no Kuni. Target the regions that would be affected the most once the war breaks out. There is no time limit for this new mission until further notice. Don't ever reveal yourselves to the other similar friendly MOs. We need to fool them first in order to fool our enemies."

The Tsuchikage handed five similar scrolls to each of them, who stood up and stepped forward to receive it. "The rest of the mission statement is inside. You're to lead your respective group, so make sure to brief your teammates later. There are others aside from your yesterday assignment being newly included in the list as well."

"What about the impostors, Tsuchikage-sama? It seemed that they had become involved in the incident somehow. From their interaction with the ANBU team, is it wise to imply that they work for Konoha?" one of the appointed team leaders asked politely.

His eyes lit steely as he contemplated his answer. "They might, or they might not. I have my own suspicions which I can't divulge to anyone right now. They've caught my interest, so I want to know their profiles. Better yet, I want to meet them. Alive, possibly."

He barked again to his loyal subordinates. "Track any suspicious, independent shinobi movement but avoid Konoha at all cost for now. Be clandestine, and try to get as much information as possible. Pose as civilians, mercenaries for hire or whatever. I want the results, and I don't care how you retrieve them. Understood?"

"Hai, Tsuchikage-sama," they replied in unison.

"Good. Remember, secrecy is virtue. The time I let loose of all of you in the showdown is the time Iwa calls for victory."

His excitement ran high at the challenge ahead. His instincts told him that something big was brewing in the near future that was worth his interference. There was no doubt that Konoha would get wind of this too. If his prediction was true, thus, before the war began, it was a race of who could get their hands on the two mysterious shinobi first.

Right after the group disappeared upon his dismissal, his personal assistant walked inside the room. "Akiba-san is here, Oonoki-sama." The aide moved aside to give way for the wooden wheelchair being pushed by his colleague behind him. The jounin sitting on it looked a little pale, but as long as he can talk, Oonoki intended to get the full story from his points of view. There were a few things that he needed to clarify with him.

"Great. Akiba, please forgive me for not being able to pay a visit to your room for this. I was totally occupied until now. Well, shall we start right here?"

ooo…ooOOoo…ooo

[Hidden Leaf Village, Land of Fire]

It was quite a hot day in Konoha, with the sun shining brightly up in the sky. To one Teuchi, the proud owner of Ramen Ichiraku, business ran as usual. Afternoon meant lunch, and lunch meant hungry people visiting his humble shop for delicious bowls of ramen in many flavors and gave him profit. To him, aside from the ups and down in sales, and the occasional praises received from his loyal customers for his secret ramen recipe, his daily routines went normally as usual, at least as normal as he had wished them to be.

He had lived his life long enough to learn that the peaceful environment he was in could be destroyed in an instant if wars broke out. Civilian he might be, but living in a shinobi village taught him a few things on survival. He would often take notes on the news whispered by other travellers and suppliers that visited his stall for a mix of business and pleasure. Of course, considering that a number of his regular patrons consisted of Konoha-nin, he felt that it was part of his civic duty to share some of the troubling news he received with them, all for the purpose to maintain such peace.

"Thank you for the delicious ramen, Teuchi-san!" One of his customers said, paying up for their meals. Teuchi beamed with delight at the praise. "You're welcome. Please come again, na?" The group of three men waved him goodbye then walked away happily with their stomachs full. He took the empty bowls left by the previous customers and put them in the sink to clean up. Just when he was about to get back, loud shouts and running footsteps were heard coming towards his stall.

A dark-haired boy stopped right at the counter, body half-turned to yell enthusiastically at his comrades who walked rather calmly behind him. He punched his right hand to the sky while his left pressed casually at the table. "I'm first again this time! Yeah!" The black-haired kid changed his position to completely face Teuchi, to fully reveal a silver-orange goggle and a grinning face. He pointed his index finger skywards. "One special miso ramen, Oji-san!"

"Alright son, sit down first. Let me take everyone's order and it'll be done in a few minutes!" Teuchi always loved energetic children, and he was quite fond of the kind-hearted boy he had known for quite some time. He smiled to greet the other three that quickly find their own stools. The only adult in the group, wearing a jounin outfit raised his hand in a salute at him then sat between Obito and Rin, a brown-haired girl with purple marks on each of her cheeks.

"Good afternoon, Teuchi-san. How is your business today?" Namikaze Minato, the teacher and leader of the chuunin team asked cheerily.

He returned the gesture in a friendly manner. "Haha, same as usual. What would you like to have for lunch, Namikaze-sensei? The one Obito ordered just now is a newly made recipe, with improved broth and extra pieces of meat." He always made sure to remember the name of his regulars and maintain good owner-customer relationship with them.

The blond turned to look at the girl and the other boy who sat next to her. "Since Teuchi-san already mentioned about this special ramen, I think I would like to have a taste too. What about you two, Rin and Kakashi?"

Rin put her fingers near her mouth while her head looked up above her, as if trying to decide whether to order her usual meal or try a new one. "Em, really sensei? Hold on a minute... It's a nice change from my favorite one, but what if I don't like this new taste?" She was still pondering on her decision when Kakashi, a chuunin with spiky white hair suddenly spoke, "That sounds delicious. I would like to try it too."

"You made a right choice, kid. Three special miso ramen for my regular customers. What about you, young lady?" Rin blushed a little at the remark, all the while feeling embarrassed at her indecision. Her sensei smiled encouragingly at her, "You don't have to think too hard, Rin. It's just lunch. You can always eat your favorite ramen later."

"Oh come on Rin, I'm soo hungry right now… please quickly make your order before my energy runs out and I die of starvation here!" Obito whined, his face already slumped on the table. Both of his arms flanked his head lethargically.

The girl quickly raised her hands in guilt, face totally red in mortification. "Fine, fine. I'll take the special ramen too, Teuchi-san. I'm sorry for troubling everyone!" Satisfied at her pick, Teuchi exclaimed, "Four special miso ramen then. I'll add more extras to make sure you won't regret it!" The stall owner moved over to the small kitchen behind the counter and started to prepare his customer's orders.

Team Minato waited patiently for their lunch, Obito a little bit restless and still full of energy despite his previous claim. Minato sat quietly at the stool, ignoring the chatters among the kids. He had finished their training for today and had allowed them to take some D-class missions on their own to strengthen their teamwork and earn some extra money in the evening. So far, each of them had showed great progress in their training. Kakashi was a prodigy, Rin showed great potential as a medic-nin, while Obito… he was a talented Uchiha, though he might not know that yet.

An Uchiha who was still waiting for his Sharingan to manifest, and hid his frustrations by exchanging spats with Kakashi, whom he regarded as his friend and rival. Sadly, the other person didn't really feel the same way.

Minato tilted his head a little, sensing something in the area that caught his attention. To other people, he was always viewed as someone who looked calm and collected personality-wise, but in truth he was only among those who could hide their problems better than others. Today, he was a little bit eager to leave his teammates to their own devices and took care of something that had been gnawing at him since last week.

"…And who agreed to race with you here?" The deadpan voice came from Kakashi Hatake. The lower half of his face was covered by dark blue mask, while two bored-looking visible eyes stared at something distant. Obito instantly looked at his left, pouting a little bit, then crossed his arms and said, "Well, I'm hungry, and you did run along just now. Besides, it's not like you're paying…"

"Never count on it."

"Cheapskate."

"Idiot."

"Jerkass."

"Sore loser."

"Why you…!"

Minato casually stood up and grabbed the back of Obito's collar with his left hand before the boy managed to jump at Kakashi. "Alright, that's enough, Obito", he said quietly, the voice oozing hidden warning. He turned towards the white-haired chuunin. "And please stop with the provocation, Kakashi. We're trying to have a peaceful lunch here. Or…" His eyes glinted in such a way that they send shivers down the spine of his team members, "Would you prefer we skip this and get back to the training area?"

All three of them suddenly found themselves sitting properly at the table, each started to perspire whenever they remember one of the few occasions Minato-sensei acted like this. Their sensei was a cool and respectable person, though some idiots who ever looked down and took advantage of his doormat attitude had learned their lessons painfully. More than often they would return home with sore bodies and some mental note never to cross him again.

But he was so used to Obito and Kakashi's antics that it shouldn't even tick him off like this. What had happened? Rin stole concern glances at her sensei, realizing that Obito and Kakashi also noticed the difference. Something had been bothering their sensei, and of course they would never know anything about it. Minato-sensei was just too secretive.

"Lunch is coming!" Teuchi announced from his kitchen. The ramen stall owner didn't want to get involved with his customers' problems, but what better way to dissuade a friendly spat than a few bowls of delicious ramen?

By the time Teuchi put their food on the table, Minato had already returned to his usual self, smiling and helping to pass the bowls and chopsticks to his teammates. The rigid atmosphere gradually vanished as it was replaced by the wonderful smell of hot ramen. Obito was inhaling his bowl when their sensei suddenly stood up again and said, "I'm sorry, kids. Something came up and I got to leave." He put a few Ryo on the table, nodding to Teuchi-san. "The bill is on me. Obito, you can have my portion if you'd like to."

"Ah… thank you Minato-sensei," Obito said, grinning ruefully. He picked up his bowl and sat on his sensei's vacated stool near Rin's left side.

"Please enjoy your lunch and see you again in a few days!" That was the last thing the three of them heard from their sensei before he waved apologetically at them and vanished into thin air.

"What was that all about?" Rin asked in confusion.

"Dunno. Let's eat." Kakashi shrugged his shoulders, splitting the disposable chopsticks into two parts and began to lower his mask and eat his ramen. Obito was quick to agree. "Yeah, let's eat. We must appreciate sensei's treat."

ooo…ooOOoo…ooo

Namikaze Minato appeared in a clearing not far from Konoha Proper and looked up in the direction of one of the highest tree branches on the fourth tree from his right, signalling that he was aware of the persons who had asked him to leave his chuunin team and meet up as requested. The ends of his mouth curved slightly, proud at their precaution. "The area is secured. Please show yourselves to me."

Two men dressed in complete ANBU attire, with porcelain masks covering their face jumped from the tree and stepped towards him. They knelt in salute, then stood up and ripped their masks open as a show of respect and sincere intention. Minato nodded, acknowledging their identities and gave them permission to speak.

"Greetings, Namikaze-sama, we're sorry to have to ask you to come here. Condition red was issued to all ANBU members. Something serious had happened and your immediate presence was required at the Hokage-sama office." One of the two ANBUs instantly donned his tiger mask once he delivered the message.

His partner followed suit, but not before he mentioned the second message, "Kitsune team is safe, but they are in need of medical attention… thought you would like to know that."

Minato's expression didn't change, but inwardly he felt an incredible sense of relief at the news. "Thank you very much for your information, Oodora, Kazunoko. Let's go meet the Hokage."

To be continued…

I'll upload beta-ed contents later. Can't believe that people are still reading and subscribing to this fic.

I'm still alive, right now. Somewhere in 2009, I left my crazy job and changed to another which barely required the skills in written or spoken English. I write to improve my English, in case you've forgotten. Been posted at a rural/village area for more than three years, I enjoyed a laidback life there. I'm sure some of you felt like killing me for not updating, but I didn't own a computer and any internet connection at that time except in my workplace. I managed to get a laptop in 2011, but I got demotivated to write as I don't really use the language in my job or in my daily life, and I simply became lazy (the main reason). And actually a large portion of this chapter was written bit by bit during my free time in those years. Behold my fellow readers that you were probably reading the longest time taken for a written chapter in fanfiction history! Yeah, it took more than four years and I didn't feel proud at all. *Sigh*

I changed job again last year in September. Somehow it's hectic too, like the job I left in 2009. But at least now it motivates me to write a little, though the English usage is still at minimum level. I'll update again within ten years. Ja ne.