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Chapter 56: Approaching Day's End
A knock occurs on the Tsuchikage's door as he sits at his desk writing. “Come in.” Chojun says. The door opens and Zen appears in the doorway. “Zen, what are you doing off the mountain?” Chojun asks moderately surprised at his nephew's appearance.
“I needed to talk to you, to ask you about the incident with Sasuke Uchiha and everything that's been happening recently.”
“What do you know?” Chojun looks his nephew in the eyes sternly.
“I'm not completely out of tune about what's going on uncle. I know you've been sending troops out of the village and into other countries. I've been able to feel the vibrations of the village and feel the change in numbers. I've sensed all the large amount of troops you've sent out in the past couple of weeks. They've all left the village for a reasonable amount of time. I'm not an idiot.”
“No, you're definitely not but you're still a child, poking your nose into business that doesn't concern you.” Chojun says.
“Uncle what are you planning on doing?”
“You should be focusing on your training, controlling your Bijuu. You're asking questions you already know the answer to so you should understand why your training is more crucial than you being here.” Chojun lectures.
“Uncle, you've never turned your back on your opponent before and I know that you could fight better than you did. Why did you let Sasuke Uchiha defeat you so easily?”
“Enter!” Chojun snaps and a shinobi in a mask drops down beside Zen, much to the young shinobi's surprise.
“My apologies Tsuchikage-sama, I didn't want to interrupt.” The Anbu shinobi says.
“Zen, leave us now.”
“No uncle, I'm not leaving until you tell me what's going on!” Zen says stubbornly. “I respect you as the Tsuchikage but I'm also your nephew and a loyal shinobi to this village as well, I at least deserve your trust if nobody else!”
“Tsuchikage-sama if I may, maybe he does deserve to know. The way things are turning out now he might have to act and he'll need to be informed.”
“Very well, reveal yourself.” Chojun instructs the shinobi. The shinobi stands up and he he takes off his mask and Lee is revealed to be the shinobi behind the mask.
“Lee?! I thought you were taking the chuunin exams...You mean you've been—”
“Sorry about the deception Nii-san, but I was under orders, you understand right?”
“So what exactly were your orders?” Zen asks.
“I was assigned to gather some information on Konoha. After what I found out in Suna, I knew the two villages were linked so when I reported back, Chojun-sama sent me and my squad to pose as a genin team in the Chuunin Exams as a ploy to gather information.”
“What exactly did you find?”
“Apparently the Jomae Village attacked Sunagakure. Although it seems the real intent of the attack was to cause havoc with Sunagakure's new Jinchuuriki.”
“New...Jinchuuriki?”
“The previous Jinchuuriki for Suna was killed when his seal was broken. Sabotage was the only means of obtaining this feat.”
“So how does that link with Konoha?” Zen asks.
“I didn't know at the time...you could call it a hunch that I associated the secrecy of Suna with Konoha. What I did find out though was that there were very little resources targeted to tracking down or dealing with the Jomae village. I didn't understand this but my time was coming to an end there so I had to leave before there was too much suspicion. When I reported back to Chojun-sama, he had the same uneasy feeling as I did.”
“So in order to further investigate on this situation you were sent on a mission to act as a team of genin in the Chuunin Exams. While participating in the exams you could find out more about Konoha's involvement...But I still don't see how that explains what happened with Sasuke Uchiha?”
“It would explain, if I found out that Konoha was attacked in the same day that Suna's Jinchuuriki was killed.” Lee says. Zen widens his eyes and he shifts his head back and forth between Chojun and Lee.
“You can see where this is getting at right Zen?”
“Sasuke Uchiha...told us about the attack...but you already knew about this from Lee, but you didn't know who was responsible for the attack on either village.”
“The details on Sasuke Uchiha were very vague.” Lee says. “That was something I hadn't reported in my final report to Chojun-sama.”
“I filled in the blanks when I found out our village defenses were penetrated by genjutsu.” Chojun says.
“So...you let Sasuke Uchiha defeat you so—”
“So we could find out about Kabuto Yakushi. He was the only shinobi capable of taking on Konoha and releasing Sasuke Uchiha, while releasing the Ichibi in Sunagakure in a single day. I knew Sasuke Uchiha had more information at his disposal. I wasn't exactly sure if it was more or less of what I had already knew. However I knew getting captured was not in his game plan so I didn't risk it and in the end he did reveal some rather surprising information.” Chojun gets up from his desk and walks over to a closet in his room. “My movements recently have all been a cover for Lee to do some more investigating on my behalf...aside from Suna and Konoha. However that's not your concern.” Chojun opens the closet and pulls out a scroll and he heads over to Lee and gives it to him. “Now Zen I want you to return to the mountain and I want you to continue your training. Do you trust me enough now to follow my commands and my judgment?”
Zen nods his head and turns to Lee. “Can I at least ask...Lee how long have you been a member of the Anbu?”
“Quite a while but I'm not at liberty to say.” Lee smiles and places his hand on Zen's shoulder, “We'll talk later bro but right now we both have a job to do.” Zen sighs and bows to Chojun and he exits the room. Lee turns to the Tsuchikage and lets out a small smile as he places his mask back on. “You might have kept the biggest thing from him, it seems you don't quite trust him still.”
“He's still young and naïve.” Chojun says.
“Yes, but I'm even younger and I'm basically the only other person who knows about what you're planning...besides maybe your father.”
“Don't try your tricks on me, I know exactly how to counter them.” Chojun says sternly.
“Forgive me Tsuchikage-sama, it's because you can that I desire so much more, however I will respect your wishes and restrain myself. Now, as for this document you've given me...”
“It's my response and I want you to deliver it.”
“And as usual I have no which way of discerning what you're reply is, however I shall complete this task, Tsuchikage-sama.” Lee disappears and Chojun goes back to his desk and sits down.
~Outside Iwagakure~
“Phase two of the plan consists of securing our position and assisting Sai in his mission inside of Iwa. Kitsune and Dai will head in from their respective positions and they will join Sai at a predetermined position. You'll be lead their by a trail he's left. The two of you have the most adapt stealth skills in the squad. While you're there, we will secure a perimeter around the entrance points.” Konohamaru says.
“I think I get it now. Three inside, three outside.” Kitsune says. “Squad 1 is inside: Dai, Sai and myself. Dai and I are going to be the ones retrieving the information while Sai acts as our cover. Squad 2 remains outside as a barrier to prevent external interference to keep the inside unaware of our presence, being more adapt to combat and sabotage.”
“So what's the third phase?” Katame asks.
“It's the phase that shouldn't be needed.” Konohamaru says. “It's the escape plan and you only escape when you're in trouble. Once Kitsune and Dai meet up with Sai they complete the second phase once they receive the information and evacuate without being detected. We need only to make it out of the village and village perimeter for this to be a clear call. If anything from this point to that one should go wrong, we'll initiate phase three, but for now, you all have your assignments. This mission is crucial to the village, now lets move.”
“Right.” The team says in unison. The squads head out to continue their mission. Kitsune makes the tiger seal and he disappears from sight just as Konohamaru makes several shadow clones. From his position, Dai gets on his hands and knees and he sinks into the ground as if he were assimilating into the ground and he vanishes. Katame activates his Byakugan and gets in a hiding position and Sho hides in another position some meters away from Katame.
*Alright...everything is set.*
~Mountains Inside Iwagakure~
An Iwa shinobi walks through a long hallway, which is dimly lit with candles along the narrow walls. The shinobi walks until he meets another shinobi standing in the middle of a four way intersection within the hallway.
“*tsk, damn mice!” The shinobi in the center stomps his foot down as a small little mouse runs by him and down the hall to his left. The shinobi walking down the hall places his hand on the shoulder of his comrade and smiles.
“What's the matter, afraid of a little mouse?” The shinobi teases.
“Shut up, I'm not afraid, it's just there seems to be more mice then usual around here. I tell you it's this damn light.” The other says.
“Whatever, the captain wants you back to take the back wing of the fortress.”
“Switching positions again? This is the fourth time today, I don't see the whole necessity of it all.” The shinobi says.
“It's because you're the new guy here, he wants you to get familiar to the labyrinth here so you know how to navigate through here.”
“*tsk* I memorized the place when I took the first tour, but whatever.” The shinobi turns around and begins walking down the corridors. The second shinobi takes out a cigarette and takes his comrades place and he looks down and sees another mouse, which run pasts his foot.
“hmmm, he's right, there are a lot of mice. Might have to set up some more traps.” The mouse runs into a hole into the wall and throughout the large fortress there are several other black mice making their way through the several passages within the labyrinth type foundation. One mouse scurries quickly down one of the hallways until he reaches the end where it's forced to take a left. He continues to follow the path going down several turns. He makes it to a dead end and lifts his nose up into the air. He then runs into a small crack into the wall and he comes out on the outside of the fortress.
Sai sits cross legged, his back against the rocky mountain holding the foundation inside. He has a scroll open and he writes several symbols. The mouse comes to Sai's feet and runs up his leg and arm onto his shoulder. “Have you and the others finished?” The mouse sniffs around on Sai's shoulder as he closes his first scroll, he takes out another. The mouse jumps down and disperses into ink and he makes a map of the complete layout of the maze like fortress. Sai closes the scroll and a heavy wind begins to sweep through the area. Sai hears foot steps to his right and he turns and sees a figure materializing. Kitsune comes into full view before Sai as the wind blows and a few moments later, Dai emerges from the ground in the same fashion as when he disappeared. “That was pretty quick.” Sai says.
“It was more difficult to navigate through the less inhabited areas to tell you the truth.” Kitsune says. “Iwagakure's sensory divisions tend to pick up more in the quieter areas. If I had the earth affinity I would've been able to use the projection fish technique like Dai...”
“No time for complaining, we need to move in now and get this done as swiftly as possible.” Sai gets up and hands Kitsune the scroll. “I managed to scout the inside and construct a map of the fortress. It's very elaborate inside.”
“You want us to take care of retrieving the information from this point correct?” Dai says.
“I'll send in an ink clone with you just in case things go wrong. I used my Choju Giga (Super Beast Imitating Drawing) to scope out the area however the shinobi inside move in an un-patterned rotation so I couldn't find out the exact numbers of shinobi they have on patrol. You two will need to navigate through this and retrieve what we need.”
“What if things do get out of hand? How will you be able to find us?” Dai asks.
“I have several more mice on the inside and another should be coming shortly, I'll make another map and come to your aid if need be. While you guys are there, I'll be preparing what I need should that event rise.” Both shinobi nod and Dai wraps his arms around Kitsune and they sink into the ground and head into the fortress. Sai sits back down and opens the scroll he had from before.
~Inside Fortress~
A tall Iwa shinobi walks down one of the corridors in the fortress. At the end stands another shinobi in front of a metal bolted door with several seals on it and a lock, resembling a safe. The shinobi in front of the door bows as his superior comes before him. The shinobi then makes 3 hand seals and places two fingers in the center of the seals and they disappear and the shinobi turns the lock on the door and it opens. The tall shinobi walks past his subordinate and enters a large room. The room towers with two levels, golden railings line the stairs to the second level. The room resembles a library, the entire back wall was like a large bee hive, curved around with several hundred cubbies and the scrolls inside were the honey. There are a dozen shinobi inside the large room standing at all the corners staring attentively in every direction of the room.
“Captain!” The shinobi in the center of the room approaches the shinobi entering the room.
“I'm here for the report.”
“Sir! There's nothing out of the ordinary to report.” The shinobi says.
“I see, keep up the good work.” The captain takes his leave of the room and the shinobi heads back to his post in the center of the room. From the ceiling, Dai's head sticks out looking down on the entire room. A few moments after the captain leaves the room Dai sucks himself back into the ceiling and he disappears. A few moments later Dai re-emerges in one of the hallways beside an Iwa shinobi. The shinobi stands in the center of a four way intersection. Dai is unseen by any of the other Iwa shinobi ahead, or to either side of him
“There's a dozen shinobi in the room.” He says.
Kitsune acts as if he doesn't know of Dai's presence not moving an inch as the shinobi speaks to him. “So...that's a total of 25 shinobi from here into the room.” Kitsune says softly.
“How do you want to do this?”
“We can't kill the ones in the halls, even if we hide them whenever the next rotation is, they'll notice the trail of disappearances and it'll lead them right too us.” Kitsune says.
“The Captain just did his report in, we can assume the next one will be during their next rotation, in approximately 30 minutes.” Dai says.
“Take care of the one's inside and do it as quietly as possible. I'll make my way to you guys and I'll stand watch. Leave a kunai on the outside of the door if you've managed to successfully take out the patrol in there. Take Captain Sai's clone to assist you.”
“And if I don't manage to kill them all?”
“I'll take care of getting what we need. But the only reason you should fail is if you die.” Kitsune cracks a small smile.
“Don't worry, just taking everything into consideration.” Kitsune drops a scroll behind his back and his left leg and Dai grabs it and disappears again. Just after Dai leaves, Kitsune begins walking down the hall heading towards the main room of the fortress.
“Hey, where are you going?” A shinobi puts his hand on Kitsune's shoulder as he goes walks past him. Kitsune taps the shinobi on the forehead with his index finger.
“Stand and sleep...” Kitsune says softly looking directly into the shinobi's eyes. The shinobi drops his hand and his eyes fall in a daze half open and Kitsune continues on his way. *27 minutes left.*
The room inside the fortress begins to become darker a thick mist begins to encompass the entire room. “What the hell?”
“This is the Hidden Mist Technique!” One shinobi says.
“Hurry! Lock down the—” The shinobi is cut off as his throat is slit by a kunai and the sound if his body impacting the ground is heard in the room.
“Everybody stay on your guard we need to contact the outside!”
“That won't save any of you.” Dai says to himself. The sound of steel slicing tenderly through the bodies of the shinobi resonate throughout the room, followed by hard thuds on the ground. The Iwa shinobi are killed in a rapid pattern by Dai. One of the shinobi in the room inches nervously around the room until he feels the metal door. He quickly makes three seals and unlocks the door. Dai hears the latches on the door open as he stands the top floor of the room. *Damn it!*
The door opens and the shinobi standing in front turns around. “Quickly lock down the fortress, we have intruders!” The shinobi says.
“You don't say.” The guard says. The Iwa shinobi's eyes widen and he looks down and sees a kunai in his stomach and the guard smiles as the shinobi drops. “You're...one of them...” The shinobi drops to the ground dead and Kitsune enters the room as the mist begins to fade.
“Didn't think I'd make it?” Dai says emerging from the faded mist.
“Well you almost let one slip through, like you said, just taking everything into consideration.” Kitsune looks around and sees every one of the Iwa shinobi on the ground dead. “You finished pretty fast though. Are you sure all of them are dead?”
“Yes, we don't have time to chat we only have 22 minutes left. I'll appear above you when I've gotten what we need, if anybody comes before that stall them as long as you can.” Kitsune nods his head and begins to close the door behind him, kicking the dead shinobi all the way inside before he does.
Dai unwraps the scroll Kitsune gave to him. Ink shoots out from the page and a clone of Sai takes shape. “Alright lets get started.” Sai's clone and Dai head over to the back wall and begin unwrapping scrolls. The scrolls are blank and Dai places his chakra inside the scrolls. Coded writing appears all on the scrolls. “They're encoded...”
Sai's clone spits out a small amount of ink onto one of the scrolls he holds and it vanishes on the page and the scrolls begin to tell their secrets. Dai looks over and sighs, “It's going to take us forever to go through all of these...only take the things that benefit us.” Sai's clone nods and the continue to look through the scrolls. Several minutes go by and three shinobi begin walking towards the room coming before Kitsune.
*They're early...* Kitsune takes two steps and bows to the shinobi. “Captain, you're back early...”
“Chojun-sama has ordered for information. Let us in.”
“Ahh, forgive me Captain but I—”
“Open the door!”
Sai's clone opens two of the scrolls and uses his technique and encodes the text. His eyes widen slightly. “This is what we need.” He says. Dai opens up another scroll and begins to walk over to Sai. The Iwa shinobi on the ground in front of the door twitches and looks up, still alive. He brings his hands together slowly to make the tiger seal just as Sai takes out another scroll and deciphers it. Sai notices the shinobi in the back corner of his eye.
“You're not getting out of here.” Sai turns to Dai and the scroll begins to glow.
“Dai!”
“What do you mean you don't know how to open the door?!” The captain yells.
“Oh, Captain, I apologize he's the new recruit he probably doesn't know how to open the door...but then again.” The shinobi looks at Kitsune pondering heavily. “How did they assign you to this post?” Just then an explosion is heard and shakes the foundation slightly.
“Out of the way!” The captain pushes past Kitsune and makes the seals to release the seals. He opens the doors. The three Iwa shinobi see all of their comrades on the ground, dead and Sai stands across the room. Dai lay on the ground dead caught in the immediate shock wave of the explosion.
Kitsune takes one step and Sai throws four kunai towards the Iwa shinobi. They all evade them and they land outside the hallway. Kitsune sees them poof into smoke and they reveal a small bag. “Go, we have what we came here for!” The three shinobi turn and they see Kitsune dart, grabbing the bag on the ground.”
“He's a spy!” The captain says, “After him!” The captain hears his men fall to the ground and he turns and sees the three of them dead and Sai's clone appears in the doorway as the captain turns back around.
Kitsune makes the tiger seal as he runs and he vanishes using his camouflage technique. Outside the fortress Sai notices his clone has dispersed and he stands up. “Damn...hm?!”
Sai leaps back as an explosion occurs in his location out of nowhere. The smoke clears and Sai has his blade drawn. From the dense smoke, Zen emerges and faces Sai.
“You're not going anywhere.” Zen says to Sai.
~Konoha Arena~
“Alright, we're back and ready to start the semi-final rounds.” Kiba shouts. The crowd applauds looking down at the two shinobi standing ready. “For our first match up, we have Koichi Shichiyo vs. Temari Nara.”
The crowd continues to clap and shout loudly. Naruto clinches his fist and sits upright. “What's wrong Naruto?” Kurama asks.
“I have a bad feeling in my stomach for some reason...”
“What is it?”
“I...don't know...”
Naruto looks down at the two genin but his mind is completely unfocused on the chuunin exams, staring through them and looking into a matter that he's unsure and uneasy about.
“Begin!”
To Be Continued...
Author's Note:
Yeah :ghehe: I didn't realize how long I had made this chapter until I did word count. This is my longest chapter thus far for this series. I apologize lol but what are ya gonna do :shrug: Poll for next match up will be there as well. Tell me about this chapter, what you all liked/disliked, etc. To those of you who read/comment/rep this post I thank you, enjoy 
first to post! =DD Let's add more to the many I have to already read, right? Let me know when you're done with them and then I can catch up! 
