Naruto the Scarecrow

Chapter 16

A vicious back handed slap impacted against the left side of Akari's face. While the blow did sting, it was nothing compared to the sting to her pride. She was a fearsome warrior, a former member of the Kinkaku Force; an elite group of S ranked ninja from Cloud that had managed to kill the Second Hokage but even she knew that it would be suicide to fight back.

So she took the blow without retaliation, even though she dearly wanted to slit the throat of the man who had struck her. As she stood there, not moving; her attacker spoke in an even tone.

"You have no idea how angry my employer is Akari. By sheer luck, you managed to capture the offspring of Minato Namikaze and let him slip through your fingers. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

Akari looked the man in the eye while thinking furiously. She knew that she would have to choose her words with care; they could possibly be her last.

"I had no idea who he was. He told me his name was Naruto Tanaka. I had no reason to not believe him. If I had known, or even suspected his real identity, I would've immediately informed Toshiro. I deeply apologise, I cannot excuse my failure."

Silence filled her office as the man walked over to a chair and sat down. During the entire conversation, the man's face had been shrouded in shadow, leaving his identity a mystery. Discreetly using her peripheral vision, Akari took note of the three shinobi that guarded this man, just in case she needed to take action.

Looking back at Akari, the man responded, "You're correct, you can't excuse failure. However, you are fortunate that Toshiro has argued against your termination with vigour. It appears that your joint service still means something to him.

"There are no more excuses though. You are now tasked with retrieving Naruto Uzumaki nee Namikaze and return him to the Pit. He is to be captured alive and kept that way. You will not enter him in any more fights but so long as he is alive, your failure to keep him will be...overlooked.

"Failure to bring him back will result in your termination with extreme prejudice. You know how connected we are, there is no hiding from us. You're lucky enough to not have a time limit on your task; my employer only wants the Uzumaki brat before him alive. I will say however, that the faster you bring the brat back, the more lenient your punishment will be. Do you understand?"

"I understand. I won't fail you."

A soft chuckle sounded from the man. "Be sure that you don't. Just in case you have forgotten who you are dealing with, here is a reminder."

As he finished speaking, the door to Akari's office swung open and Toshiro Tanahashi was dropped unceremoniously on the ground. His body was covered in bruises and Akari could tell that several of his ribs had been broken. Akari shivered unconsciously; Toshiro was a former captain of the Kinkaku Force, at one point he was one of the strongest jonin of the Hidden Cloud village, only behind the Raikage, Darui and Bee. To see a man of his calibre brought down so low was chilling and Akari was violently reminded about the true power of her employers, even if she didn't know their real identity.

The man and his bodyguards left her office and Akari quickly checked on her friend and former captain. Akari started standard medical jutsu and after a short while, Toshiro groaned and opened his right eye. The entire left side of his face was too badly bruised and puffed up to allow his left eye to open.

"Toshiro, I probably shouldn't ask but just exactly who is so angry with us? Who could bring an S rank like you to your knees so easily?"

Toshiro tried to answer but stopped as he had to spit out some of his teeth. Starting again he said in a croaky voice, "The one who wants Naruto is Shoma Nakamura, the Daimyo of the Land of Earth. The power he wields completely dwarfs ours; we have to catch Naruto. Shoma is known in our circles for his penchant for torture. You don't understand, we cannot hide from him, his power is absolute."