[I don't own the photo, but let's all take a moment to appreciate how adorable it is 😍]
Orochimaru sighed as he watched the two arguing tailed beasts walking beside him. He had tried to intervene several times in vain, so as a last resort, he turned to Team 7 and Gaara and said, "Can you please keep Kurama and Shukaku away from the streets? They're scaring the civilians." The Snake Sannin glanced briefly at the trembling people who had parted so that they could walk through the streets. However both jinchuuriki's only shrugged, and Naruto was the one who replied.
"There's not much we can really do. And besides, I'd rather hear Kurama's arguing out here than in my head." Gaara nodded in agreement, and then decided to add his own input,
"Also, when were you going to tell me that you were the new Otokage?" Orochimaru flushed ever so slightly and rubbed his neck sheepishly.
"Ah, well you see....there was this thing..." The Snake Sannin trailed off. And Tsunade cut in,
"He was going to tell you after we tracked down Deidara and Sasori. As you can imagine, we weren't expecting you to be there." The kunoichi stopped talking as they entered the Otokage's office. Kurama and Shukaku opted to stay outside, much to everyone's relief.
Sasuke's eyes scanned the office as soon as he entered. It was a fairly plain wooden room, not much furniture save for the desk in the back, and the bookshelf by the door. Sasuke didn't notice any rugs, but it could just have been hidden under the mountain of paperwork that was piled on the floor.
Stepping around the files, Orochimaru made his way to his desk. He pushed a few (stacks of) papers and files around before pulling out a smaller scroll and walking back to the group.
"I'm guessing you're here regarding the Akatsuki," The Snake Sannin stated, opening the scroll.
Everyone except the two remaining Sannin crowded around Orochimaru, trying to catch a glimpse of the contents of the scroll. Sakura was having an especially hard time, trying to peer through the shoulders of her much taller teammates. She could just barely see the photos of each Akatsuki member, but that was about it.
"Is this all the information you have on them?" Gaara asked, pulling Sakura to stand in front of him so that she could see as well. Orochimaru hummed in confirmation, but couldn't get another word in as Naruto's face lit up.
"Hey! That's the guy who was doing the chicken dance in the forest dattebayo!" the blonde pointed frantically at the photo next to the name "Hidan". And Orochimaru looked at the blonde in disbelief,
"You saw him and survived?" Naruto nodded, and opened his mouth to ask why that was such a big deal, but then decided to remain silent. They were talking about S-Class criminals after all.
Then Gaara furrowed his brows, scanning the long document once more, "Do we know their objective? They must have some reason to attack two hidden villages." Jiraiya was the one who replied,
"We think it has something to do with the Kages. But we don't know what their goal is exactly," Hearing this, Naruto scoffed, crossing his arms and rolling his eyes.
"Are you kidding me dattebayo? World domination! That's all anyone ever wants these days! I bet TWO cup noodle that this Akatsuki group wants to take over the Shinobi Nations!"
Gaara raised an eyebrow at the blonde's enthusiastic response and turned to whisper to Sakura, "Only two?"
"For Naruto, that's the equivalent of about 3 billion Ryo," Sakura explained with a small, amused smirk. And Naruto, having heard his teammate's statement, gasped and put a hand to his chest as if he had been wounded.
"How dare you! Ramen is the food of the gods dattebayo! It is priceless!" Sasuke sighed and wanted to point out everything wrong with Naruto's declaration, starting with how cup ramen was sold in just about every market for about 300 Ryo a piece. But he then decided against it, not wanting to engage in a pointless argument over instant noodles.
"Hn, can we stay on topic?" Orochimaru pursed his lips, but then gave the ex-Uchiha a forced, irritated smile,
"Of course,"
"Our main goal is to eradicate the Akatsuki," Tsunade began, "But that's easier said than done. After you four left for Suna with Gaara, those two Akatsuki started going crazy. They wiped out all of our shinobi in a matter of minutes."
Kakashi, who had been silent the entire time, furrowed his brows, "So they were holding back when we were there," The jounin looked to Orochimaru questioningly, "And you had how many shinobi with you?"
"25 ANBU, and 15 jounin whom I was planning to promote to ANBU, so 40 shinobi total," The Otokage stated grimly, making Sakura widen her eyes and audibly gasp. How could two people kill that many capable shinobi in a matter of minutes?
"Who are these people dattebayo..." Naruto asked, mostly to himself. How could two people kill that many people with no remorse? That didn't sit well with him at all.
"They're people you can't fight alone and expect to win against," Tsunade stated grimly.
"Or in groups of 40." Jiraiya quipped, earning a few blank glances from everyone in the room. And noticing how awkward it became, the Toad Sage cleared his throat, "Anyway, we're preparing another attack now. This time, we're bringing 50 ANBU,"
"That won't work either." Sasuke said, his face betraying no emotion, "They'll be expecting another sort of attack. The Akatsuki is an organization made up of nukenin legends. If you want to even have a chance of going against them, you need able-bodied shinobi."
"We're sending 50 ANBU,"
"Don't bother, you'll be sending 50 mid chunin-level shinobi to their deaths." The ex-Uchiha deadpanned, making Tsunade raise an eyebrow and cross her arms,
"Are you insulting our training methods?"
"Hn, is there a problem? Nearly half of them were aiming for me instead of Sasori and Deidara. I think my statement is valid."
"I trained them myself!" The Slug Sannin shouted,
"And this is why you're a medical-nin, Tsunade. Leave the ANBU training to those who know what they're doing," Orochimaru stepped in before a fight began between Sasuke and his teammate, though he was also slightly irked at the ex-Uchiha's vocal disapproval of their training methods.
"Alright, that's enough!" The Snake Sannin turned to Gaara, "I had three rooms prepared for you five, they're in the building across from here."
Gaara nodded, getting the message that it was time to leave, "Thank you for your hospitality," Then he exited the Otokage building with Team 7 in tow.
The walk was awkward, to say the least. Kakashi was in the front with Gaara, and they were talking about Otogakure politics. Naruto was glancing worriedly at Sasuke, who was glaring at the ground in front of him. And Kurama and Shukaku were still arguing about something pointless.
Sakura was straggling behind them, glancing back occasionally at the Otokage's building. She had left the place with more questions than answers: Why would the Akatsuki want Gaara and not Orochimaru? How did Orochimaru become Otokage anyway? And how come Sasuke seemed to know so much about the Akatsuki?
YOU ARE READING
Ascending (Sequel to Rock Bottom)
FanfictionIt's been two years since the Danzo incident. Two whole years since the members of Team 7 have had any interaction with one another. But when an emergency letter is sent from Suna informing them that Gaara has been kidnapped, they are quick to retur...
