Chapter 52.2- Gamer of the Desert

“So how is that going to work?” She asked.

“You really want to know?” He asked, pinning her to her seat with his gaze. There was something there. Something serious. Something foreboding. But Karin had never been praised for her caution.

“Yes. I do” She replied.

“Alright then. Come along and don’t say a word.” He said, standing up from his position.

She followed him and noted that they were taking a route through the building that she’d never found even during all her explorations. She noted how he moved his chakra in unique formations, dispelling genjutsu o subtle that only her Mind’s eye of the Kagura allowed her to feel them. Beyond subtle genjutsu however, there were several hidden panels that required special actions to open.

She wasn’t certain whether he was joking or not but there was apparently a corridor that they could only walk down if they did so with one foot up and a hand on their stomachs. Needless to say, it was a complicated path that took them somewhere she couldn’t even recognise. They were at the top of massive cavern, overlooking a meeting.

She almost gasped as they entered the cavern and the chakra signatures within were revealed to her. Only the fact that she was right next to Nagato whose chakra was as strong as all of theirs combined made her keep some semblance of calm.

He gestured for her to follow him as they overlooked the gathering of powerful shinobi.

She noticed one of Nagato’s puppets- Deva- at the head of the group, with Konan by his right hand side. He spoke to them in a tone that brokered no disobedience she noted.

“Tobi has engineered a war between Kumo and Kiri to keep both villages occupied and out of the way as we move for the Hachibi Jinchuriki” Deva said and the rest of the gathering just nodded.

“And Zetsu?” He asked next, turning to another creature in the Akatsuki cloak that served as their uniform. “What do you have for me?”

“I can’t spy on the Kyubi Jinchuriki while it remains in the Hidden Sand Village, but before it entered, the word was that it was going to be attempting an attack on Konoha with the Ichibi Jinchuriki in tow.” The plant creature with two halves spoke next.

“That plays well into our hands, does it not?” The Hunchback one said next.

“It should. Two fish, one spear, ey Itachi?” The big one that stood next to Sasuke’s lookalike spoke out with a sharp smile.

“Precisely” Sasuke’s lookalike- Itachi, his psychopath brother replied.

“Tobi is a good boy” The one in the mask said for some reason and the big blonde one just scoffed.

“I want in on the attack on Cloud. That’s all that matters to me” Big and blonde said.

“I must have misheard.” Konan replied, pinning him with a sharp gaze.

“Because it surely could not be that you think you have the final say on the assignments” She continued, ever loyal and keen to keep order in the group of S-ranked shinobi. It shocked Karin that such a thing could be said in a way that wasn’t entirely ironical. There was order here. No fighting, just ribbing and traded words but no fighting or all out chaos.

“Yes. Yes. Of course. I just wanted to say that I would be very happy to end up being sent on that front, is all. No need to threaten to big out the big guns again” Big and blonde, shockingly enough, was the one to step back from his staring contest with Konan. Again? That was a strange word choice. Karin began to suspect that Nagato had sone something to show him the pecking order. The smile on his face also hinted at that.

She reached out and pinched him, making his smile widen.

“That is Noel Yatsuki. He was a mouthy little one when he first joined. I challenged him to spar and beat him seven times and healed him each time only to beat him again. It was a very good way of forcing a message into his head” He answered her unasked question with a smile.

“Now, pay attention. It’s time to lay down the law” he said, as Deva coughed down below.

“The plan is simple. Sasori, Noel, Tobi, and Zetsu will carry out the attack on the Hidden Cloud village and secure the Hachibi Jinchuriki. As for the Kyuubi and his escort of Sannin, Itachi, Kisame, and Konan will be more than enough to deal with that. I will handle the Kazekage singlehandedly.” He said in a flat tone, that got nods from the entire gathering.

She felt their chakra signatures, noting that they all felt quite pleased with the grouping. Even Sasuke’s psychopath brother was much happier with his placement than his straight face would convey to anyone without her ability.

“With that settled, dismissed.”

OBITO UCHIHA- FOUR WEEKS EARLIER

“So you are the one they call Madara, huh” He resisted the urge to reach out and pop his brain like the overgrown melon it was. What an impudent fool to speak to him in such a manner.

“Orochimaru’s servant. Give me one good reason not to cleave your foolish head from that useless body of yours” He replied, already irritated to have been summoned for a meeting like this by Zetsu of all creatures.

“The same thing I promised our monochromatic friend. An alliance. Ally your interests with that of my master and we will deliver the rest of the Jinchuriki to you.” Obito could not help himself. He laughed. What a foolish serpent. Orochimaru had played this joke on him once before, and it had gotten him nowhere.

“What use do I have for you and your master? Akatsuki is well placed to acquire the remaining Jinchuriki. In case you haven’t been counting, only three of them remain out of our grip.” He replied instead. Part of him wanted to see what Orochimaru would offer. Perhaps it would be entertaining enough that he’d take it before killing this useless servant.

“The remaining three are easily more dangerous than the other six. No one knows quite how strong the Kazekage is. All you do know is that he was able to fight a fully transformed Fourtails one on one, and that he was capable enough to kill the Third Tsuchikage of all people while sealing away reanimated copies of the Second Tsuchikage, and both the First and Second Hokages at the same time. Needless to say only fool would underestimate his strength with all the time he’s had to grow into it. Killer Bee, the Eight Tails Jinchuriki, is perhaps the most powerful of all Tailed Beast Containers. He is a perfect jinchuriki that has perfect symbiosis with the beast within him. Even three of your strongest Akatsuki members going after him together would struggle to win. And then there is the Nine Tails. Uzumaki Naruto is a wildcard. And not because of his personal strength but because of the people who protect him. If it was a fight between what remained of the Akatsuki and the Legendary Sannin, I’d struggle to find many who’d bet on your Akatsuki” He replied. Now, Obito did not laugh. It was a concern he’d had as well.

Itachi’s loyalty was suspect, and he had doubts that Nagato would be willing to do what needed to be done when the time came. In truth, the Akatsuki had managed to carry out their mission relatively unhindered and unmolested, but he had doubts that they’d be able to keep that track record when it came to contesting against the monsters that remained. The Kazekage was also a huge blindspot in their planning. Sure, the One Tails on its own could not be that much of a threat, but the bastard had gone ahead and stolen his left eye from that bastard Kakashi. As if it wasn’t enough that he’d stolen Obito’s kill, he’d gone ahead to compromise one of Obito’s most dangerous Jutsu. He couldn’t be sure if he’d be able to figure out how Kamui worked if they interacted one-on-one, but he was reluctant to risk it with someone who was often considered to be a genius on par with Itachi.

Living up to that monicker, he’d also somehow figured out a way to block Zetsu from accessing the Hidden Sand Village. That meant they had no idea what he’d been planning. After he was joined by the Sannin duo and the Nine Tails, they’d essentially become blind to the activities of two of their targets. It was a messy situation all through.

“And of what help can you and your master be?” He wasn’t still going to bite the snake’s poisoned offering, because he knew that there was nothing good to be gained from that course of action.

“Edo Tensei. You’ve seen how dangerous Danzo could become with an imperfect version. We’ve figured out and perfected the jutsu” he said with a slippery smile. A smug smile that said he knew that the bait he offered was too juicy to avoid biting.

“Very promising. Now listen carefully snake: Longing, rusted, furnace, daybreak, seventeen, benign, nine, homecoming, one” He said, taking pleasure in how the upstart went still on hearing the first word. At the end of the sequence, he’d dropped down to one knee.

“I am yours to command, my Lord" he said in a robotic tone.

Perfect. Obito thought to himself. He owed Sasori one for that code. To think that Orochimaru would send his subordinate to negotiate with the Akatsuki without taking steps to make sure that he was beyond influence. But that was the difference between arrogant Konoha prodigies and the rest of the shinobi world, he figured.

“Are you capable of executing the Edo Tensei jutsu?” He interrogated.

“Yes Master” The boy demurred in reply.

“Good. Now listen and do as I say” He said, coming to a plan in his mind. All the pieces were falling together in his favour.

THE DISPUTED ISLANDS- UNRULY AY

He looked around his people with pride. There were no more disputed islands after their push. This was now the territory of the Land Of Lightning, he told himself. Like his father before him, he was leading the people of Kumo to war. The tip of the spear against which no enemy would manage to stand. He’d already proven that by taking over the Islands in record time. They’d landed their ships to reinforce their already existing garrison on the Isles, and all they had to do from there was take over the Kiri installations before they could send word back to the Main Village’s force. Or at least, that was what they wanted Kiri to think they’d intended.

“Did it go according to plan?” He asked his second in command as he landed next to him.

Darui took a breath before he spoke this time, “Perfectly. The chunin was giving the right amount of leeway to pull off a daring escape. We made it hard, of course. Had to sell the ruse. But there’s little chance he won’t manage to make it back to his village before his wounds become fatal. They’ll hurt like a bitch but they look worse than they really are.” I nodded at him. For such a quiet man, Darui had a sharp mind beneath his head. It was why Ay was so comfortable leaning on him in ways that he wouldn’t have with anyone else. It was also why, if not for the mess with the Yatsuki boy, Darui would have been guaranteed to succeed him.

It was such a shame that his student went on to be such a disgrace to Kumogakure. They weren’t Konoha. They could not have a Kage whose student had betrayed the village. It would create a terrible precedent and set a miserable example for the rest of their people. The displacing of Kumogakure was her greatest strength and any challenge to that could not e tolerated or allowed to continue to exist.

“So now we just pause and wait” He said to his subordinate who nodded at him. He turned and walked into the stronghold that was being rapidly fortified. The goal right now was simple. Make sure that Kiri committed the best of their best to the defence of these islands and the prevention of a future attack on their main islands.

As if Ay would be so foolhardy. Sure, he’d win. But he’d have to drown in so many of his own shinobi’s bodies that it would be a phyrric victory at the very best. That was the point of this plan. Take advantage of the existing impression that he knew he had among the wider shinobi world by committing to a very public expansion of his village’s military prowess. Make every attempt to sell the impression that he was gearing up for a full scale attack on the capital of Kiri itself, and then launch a softer attack against the disputed lands. The point of this attack was to let one or more shinobi return to Kiri with word of the attack. And even more importantly, word of his presence here.

He had no measure of this Mei Terumi, the new Mizukage, but he’d be highly impressed if she managed to make it to that position whilst being a complete idiot. She’d no that if she wanted any chance of stopping him here and preventing him from landing an army at her doorsteps, then she’d have to mobilise in person with all of her strongest shinobi. That was the point of this whole attack here. Draw them out, defeat them on neutral ground, and then move further to Kiri’s mainland. That was the strategy- simple, efficient, and deadly. Just like he liked things.

It ended up taking close to sixteen hours for Kiri to mobilise and begin their attack. He had retired to bed for the night, focused on making sure that he was well rested for what would be coming. It was the sound of screams that woke him up. Not any random screams however. The screams of his own men. He steeled himself at the sound. Some of his people would die today, there was no way to avoid that. But the goal was to lose hundreds and spare thousands in the long run. This would be the war to etch his name with that of the legends.

He stood up from his bed and placed his bracers on. He considered putting on his cloak as well, but decided to spare it the inevitable destruction it would face in battle. He smiled at the thought of how proud Mabui would be at his decision making. His thoughts were going astray again. Just like they always did when he knew battle was coming. He smiled. When was the last time he’d felt this way? He didn’t need to spend a second thinking about it. Minato Namikaze. That was the last man to put this feeling in his stomach.

He walked out of the room he’d taken for his own and noted a mist drifting towards him. Enhanced by his native lightning release, his brain noticed a million things at the same time. He noticed the two chunin down the hall and their slumped positions. He noticed the dryness of their skin, the way they slumped with almost no resistance. He noticed all that while the mist floated his way and made a snap judgement. He activated his lightning cloak and dove through the wall right before the mist reached him.

He landed on the grass and noted his men in combat with the Kiri attackers. They hadn’t been caught by surprise like he’d feared so they were doing a good job of resisting the counteroffensive. He prepared to join his men when he noticed a flash out of the corner of his eyes. He turned and sliced through a stream of lava with a lightning coated knife hand.

“Unruly Ay. You’ve truly lived up to your name” The woman said as she approached. Mei Terumi. Her beauty lived up too every report he’d read. They said her face was enough to make a man question his will to fight, and he agreed.

By her side was a boy he did not recognise. He did however recognise the blades he held- The Kiba blades. He felt his smile sharpen at the sight. It had always been a shame that Konoha held the Raijin no Ken and Kiri, the Kiba blades. No village deserved the legendary blades of lightning release more than his own, and now an opportunity to claim them had come his way. Perfect.

“I have searched high and low for those blades, boy. And now the Gods deliver you into my hands as an act of providence” He said, ignoring Mei to address the boy who wielded blades he had no right to.

“Keep yapping, old man. I’ll shut you up sooner or later. By the way, the name is Mangetsu Hozuki. Don’t forget it” He said before swiping the blades at him.

Ay stood still and allowed the lightning bolt from the blades hit him before channelling the energy to enhance his cloak. A trick he’d picked up as he got better and better with the cloak in his fights with Bee. Hozuki, huh. He shoved the information in his mind while preparing himself to be confronted by the Hydrification jutsu sooner than later. It would be a stupid move, but Ay had faced enough stupid opponents in his time to learn that nothing was to be considered out of limits for the truly desperate. Besides, if he ended up getting caught by surprise and killed by the technique then it wouldn’t be stupid- just genius. That was the difference between stupidity and genius at the end of the day.

The woman weaved some seals and sent a massive stream of lava into the air that rained down on him. Pulling a small bit on his reserves, he dialed up the defensive aspect of his armour for a second to allow the lava hit him with no effect. After that, he decided he’d had enough of being on the defensive and dove at them.

A/N; Stopping here for today, The next bit will be the last bit and will round out the chapter