Chapter 64: Chapter 2:Akatsuki!
It had been two long days since Team 7 had taken on the mission to escort Shibuki, and all three genin were barely holding onto their patience. Shibuki's constant fear of literally everything was grinding on their nerves. If a bird flew too close, he'd jump and scream. If a twig snapped in the distance, he'd hide behind someone, trembling. His whining about how "incompetent" his escort team was—despite the trio doing nothing wrong—was the last straw for their patience.
Yuto was currently standing between Naruko and Hitomi, gripping their shoulders tightly as they both glared daggers at Shibuki.
"Let me go, Yuto!" Naruko growled, her fists clenched as her blue eyes burned with fury. "This guy needs to learn some respect!"
"She's right," Hitomi added coldly, her sharingan flashing momentarily. "I say we use the Shadow Clone Dance of Death strategy and teach him why you don't mess with ninja."
Yuto sighed and tightened his grip. "Relax, both of you. He's our client. No matter how annoying he is, we still have to protect him. Just... think of it as practice for self-control."
Naruko huffed. "Self-control, my ass. I swear, if he screams one more time, I'm—"
Shibuki's shrill voice cut her off as he stumbled over a root, flailing his arms dramatically. "Why can't you three walk slower? I could've died just now!"
Hitomi narrowed her eyes. "Self-control, huh?" she muttered, her hand twitching towards her kunai pouch.
"Yuto," Naruko whispered, her tone dangerously low. "Let me go for just five seconds. Five seconds. I promise that's all I'll need."
"Nope," Yuto replied, dragging them both forward. 'I can't let them break this guy in half, no matter how tempting it is. This is going to be a long mission.'
From his spot at the back of the group, Kakashi chuckled quietly as he observed his team.
'Ah, the joys of teamwork,' he mused, watching Yuto try to wrangle the two hot-headed girls. Shibuki's antics were irritating even for Kakashi, but seeing how his genin handled the challenge was part of their growth.
Shibuki stumbled again, yelping as a harmless squirrel darted across the path.
"I'm doomed!" Shibuki wailed. "How am I supposed to trust you three to keep me safe when you can't even warn me about killer squirrels?"
Kakashi sighed, finally deciding to intervene. "Shibuki," he said in his calm yet firm voice, "the only thing you're in danger of right now is my team losing their patience with you. Try to compose yourself, hmm?"
Shibuki gulped and nodded nervously, but his expression made it clear he wasn't entirely convinced.
Naruko grumbled under her breath. 'He's lucky Kakashi-sensei stepped in. I was one second away from showing him what a killer squirrel really looks like.'
Hitomi, meanwhile, analyzed Shibuki's behavior. 'He's a leader of a village? I don't get it. How can someone so spineless manage a whole village?'
Yuto, trying to keep the peace, kept his thoughts to himself as he wondered about the plot of this event. Since it was a filler episode, yuto doesn't know much about it aside from knowing about Shibuki's name, the general mission about taking him back towards the village, a small appearance of Fuu, the seven tails jinchuriki, this was it. 'I will need to get some information when I get there. Knowing the protagonist Halo, there is bound to be trouble since there was not a single c rank mission Naruto took in the anime. All the missions were either d rank, a rank, and s rank. And all the lower missions Naruto took turned into high Ranking mission as well.'
The group trudged on, tension hanging in the air like a storm cloud. It was going to be a long journey back to Takigakure. The scene then shifted towards another location.
The perpetual rain fell heavily on the rain village as three figures stood in the dim light cave. Pain, the orange-haired leader of the Akatsuki, gazed impassively at Kakuzu, whose attention was fixed on a bundle of cash he meticulously counted. Konan, a purple haired women with a paper flower on her head, stood beside Pain.
"Kakuzu," Pain began, his deep voice cutting through the sound of rain. "Your obsession with bounties is becoming problematic."
Without looking up, Kakuzu replied indifferently, "It's not an obsession. My partners just have the bad habit of stepping into my attacks."
Konan's eyes narrowed, but she said nothing as Pain's gaze remained unwavering. "Weakness in your partners reflects poorly on the organization," Pain said. "Your destructive tendencies undermine our goals."
Kakuzu finally looked up, his green eyes meeting Pain's Rinnegan. "Then give me stronger partners. I'm not here to babysit."
Pain's expression didn't change. "I will assign someone better suited to your...personality."
Konan took a step forward. "We've called you here for another reason," she said. "The old leader of Takigakure has passed, and a new leader, Shibuki, has taken over. Your mission is to assess his strength and gauge the situation regarding their Jinchūriki."
Kakuzu's interest piqued slightly. "The Seven-Tails Jinchūriki?" he asked, a smirk forming beneath his mask. "Do you want her captured?"
"Not yet," Pain replied sharply. "Your orders are to observe. We must ensure that conditions favor our operation. This is a delicate matter."
Kakuzu shrugged, his voice dripping with indifference. "Observation is a waste of my time. If I see an opportunity, I'll take it."
Pain's eyes narrowed dangerously. "You will act only on my orders. Do not jeopardize the mission."
Konan added, her voice a warning, "This is for Akatsuki's long-term goals. Any deviation will not be tolerated."
Kakuzu said nothing, but his thoughts betrayed him. 'If I can capture her without their interference, the rewards could be immense…I can get A Billion ryo easily!'
Pain seemed to sense Kakuzu's defiance but didn't address it further. "Leave immediately. Do not fail."
With that, Kakuzu stood, slinging his money pouch over his shoulder. He glanced at the two leaders briefly before disappearing into the rain. Konan turned to Pain, her voice barely above a whisper. "Do you trust him?"
Pain's gaze remained fixed on the horizon. "Trust is irrelevant. As long as he fulfills his purpose, he is useful."
The two stood in silence as the rain continued to fall, the weight of their plans evident in the heavy atmosphere.
(Pls give me some power stones!)
(Find out next time on Naruto:Eye system)