Baki sighed as he read over the documents on, as of now, his desk. His stewardship of Kaze no Kuni was mired with a feeling of unrest and mild panic from the people. Konoha marshaled their forces directly upon their doorstep, threatening their border garrisons. Small skirmishes were already breaking out throughout the northern defensive lines as Konoha poked and prodded at them, their assaults testing the will of the troops and the competence of the field commanders.
Baki was a commander, he had lead troops into battle before. But being in charge of a single battalion could never compare to being in command of all of them and even though he needed not worry of the morale of his men, considering the cries of outrage and righteous anger the rumors of Gaara, Temari and Kankuro's death during Naruto's attack on Kumo had brought. The demands for revenge were driving them on, but that would only take them so far. Konoha had more troops, more weapons, more supplies and many more ships in the Kiri navy, especially considering Suna had no navy at all.
Baki knew his limits, he knew what he could and could not do. And he knew that he wasn't fit to lead his nation to victory, there was too much at steak, there were too many chess pieces to bring together and organize at once. He could not do this for long, he would mess up eventually, Suna needed a leader. They needed Gaara. But if he truly was dead then Baki wasn't sure what they could do.
Just then, a scuffle was heard outside the door, startled gasps reaching his ears before the doors to the office he currently occupied were thrown wide open revealing the very object of his thoughts standing at the doorway as if he'd been summoned. His blood red hair standing out among the heavy dark brown robes and light background that was the sunlit hallways of the office. Baki shot to his feet, mouth agape as he struggled to find words at the sight of his once upon a time student. "Ka-Kazekage-sama."
The red head's sharp green eyes turned onto his old sensei as he nodded, his strides swallowing tiles as he walked around his desk and towards his seat, watching as Baki backed away to stand beside the table, vacating it. "Baki." His voice was clipped and tight like the crack of a whip. The jounin unconsciously tensed at the sound of it. "Temari is being held prisoner by Konoha, I want the northern border guards to hold tight on the defenses. Order the north eastern units to push the attack into the enemy outposts in River country and the north western forces to strike at the border guards in Kusa and Taki send three Anbu units down to the trade city of Tsugi. There will be ships there that will be waiting to carry them deep into tea country, to attack Konoha where they would least expect it."
Baki, still in a state of shell shock over Gaara's sudden reappearance could only stare stupidly at his former pupil as the man retook charge of the village in mere moments, adjusting himself into the role of high commander. Doing in seconds what he had been conflicted about for nearly two weeks. Gaara's eyes turned to him, their gazes meeting as he continued to stare.
"Today would be nice..." He said wryly.
Snapping out of his daze the Kazekage's former teacher shook himself out of the stupor before bowing respectfully to his commander. "Yes Kazekage-sama." Before marching out of the office.
Some men were born to lead and others were born to follow. Gaara was a natural leader, he was born to lead and a spark of hope lit up in Baki's mind that their Kage was back and with him, weather he was more powerful than the Kyuubi Jinchuriki or not it would not matter, for Suna would attain their final victory.
Tsunade read over the medical files as she walked towards the room that housed Sabaku no Kankuro, it had been nearly two days since Akina's death, Yugito had been inconsolable since then as had been Shizune. All three of them had buried themselves in their work Yugito refused to look at either of the medics.
Shizune, ever the proper Shizune...Tsunade had seen her hesitance, her eyes pleading for the answer as to what had happened to the girl that had driven her to do what she did, four of the guards out of the twenty that had been guarding the base were in critical, another twelve were injured. The four commanding officers were alright thankfully, if suffering from mild chakra exhaustion. Amazingly none of them were suffering chakra poisoning from over exposure to the Kitsune's chakra. One of the medics on hand at the station was something of an expert in dealing with those kids of...
She stopped in the middle of the hallway, going deathly still.
No...
That was no coincidence...they had...been prepared for her attack.
But, that didn't make sense, if they had been prepared they would have known how to subdue her, they would have been ready to implement the countermeasures Zhuge Liang no doubt had in place incase of this eventuality.
Unless they were told not to...Unless they were told to let her escape.
A single name sprang to the front of her mind.
Zhuge Liang.
But...
She shook her head he, he wouldn't do this...Would he?
What reason did he have to?
Akina was his apprentice. He had practically become a second father to the girl, raised her since she came here at twelve years old. He...he wouldn't have ordered this...he wouldn't have ordered her assassination like this...right?
Tsunade shook her head, pushing these thoughts away, it was ridiculous, unthinkable. He wouldn't do that, no one could be so cold.
But still, despite her vehemence somewhere in the back of her mind the seed of doubt had taken root and would soon spread like a fungal bloom as it always does once its in place inside persons mind.
She approached the door, not bothering to knock as she knew he would have no visitors with his brother back in Suna and his sister captured, the only person that could be in the room would be Shizuka, a nurse she had assigned to his care personally. When Gaara had left she had promised that she would see that his brother was taken care of, and she was a woman of her word.
Opening the door she saw Kankuro turn his boredom weary eyes to face her. There was a small stand that held a book infront of him, operated by slight nudges of his chakra in order to turn the page, it was difficult reading the pages considering he couldn't even move his neck but with six pillows keeping him in a slightly angled position he was managing.
Snapping his eyes to her the boy's eyes took on a look of relief mixed with a sense of true joy that finally the boredom and the monotony could be expelled from him at least for a few moments with her visit, even if the visit would not bring jokes and laughter to him.
Tsunade smiled and Kankuro managed to return the gesture as he greeted. "Tsunade-sama." He tried to sound happy at her arrival, he really did but the slight trepidation that shook his voice belied his nervousness.
"Kankuro-san. How are you feeling today?" She questioned pushing away her previously grim thoughts in order to give a bright countenance to one of the patients who's situation was most grim.
She walked over to the side of his bed, quickly checking several of the pieces of equipment that were strapped to him. The IV tubes currently providing antibiotics and other medications for the up and coming operation.
Finally she allowed herself to sit at the side of the bed, watching as Kankuro's eyes followed her movements. "Well Kankuro-san I'm not going to beat around the bush with small talk because I know your not the type for it and neither am I. The operation you've chosen to undertake is very dangerous. The procedure would require surgery on several of the clavicle disks, which are along your upper spinal cords. The majority of these have suffered, splinters, small hairline fractures as well. The shards of bone are pressing against the nerves that run along your spine and that is what is paralyzing you. The procedure would remove the disks and replace them with artificial ones. This will grant you movement again in your arms and down to your waist. But that's where we come to the difficult part isn't it..." She muttered almost to herself before continuing, seeming to visibly sag with her sigh.
"Because you have recently undergone an operation in your lower spine already they were much more fragile than normal when you received your injury. Because of that well..."
Kankuro kept a tense silence, he never expected the news to be good, by any stretch of the imagination but expectations could never compare to the actual experience of having to hear it. He couldn't deal with her attempts at sugar coating it though. He needed to just hear it and get it over with, he could take it. "Tsunade-sama, just say how bad it is."
The blond Sannin looked into his stubbornly determined eyes and sighed. "To be frank. The chances that we will be successful in the second operation, is about the same chance a snowball has for a long life in an oven. The operation can only be attempted once, safely so this will be our only second operation is also very dangerous and the chance of death is an estimated 39 percent. You may not want to take such a huge risk for an operation that has such a high probability of being ineffective anyway.
Kankuro sighed, stiffening his expression, the realization of the cold hard truth that he may never walk fully settling into his mind. Somehow he had always known, maybe even from the very second after he had woken up in this hospital. But he didn't want to accept it. Being a ninja was his entire life. How could...all that...all those years he'd devoted himself to this...how could it all just be taken from him because of one single moment. One single...one single...mistake.
He fought to hold back tears, not willing to show such emotional weakness to one of the most legendary ninja of their time. Tsunade had to admire him for that, she had no doubt that when she left this room he would let his tears fall, but never while she was here. A strong young man...a fine ninja.
"If...if you truly want me to proceed with the operation I will but-"
"No..." He sighed softly, interrupting her. "No...I...I cant decide right now. I just-thank you, I just need time." He said fighting hard to swallow the lump that formed in his throat, to keep his voice steady and even.
Tsunade nodded as she stood up. "I understand." She said, bowing once to the young man who now had his eyes closed in order to hide his quickly vanishing composure. She slipped from the room quietly, closing the door with naught but a sound to show for it. The weary woman rested against it for a moment, closing her own eyes to fight her emotions away, to keep them from bubbling up to the surface.
To those who say that the role of a medic ninja is self gratifying work, a wonderful experience that allowed you to give new hope to those without any she could easily say that they were lying through their teeth, or that they hadn't been at the job long. That load was given to reel you into the job, either by a recruiter or the naive dreams of children. Every day she had to go through countless Kankuro's. The hundreds she helped, the ones she actually did save; their gratified faces, even the looks of appreciation of their loved ones could never come close to having the same impact the look of a man whom you needed to inform his daughter died on the operating table, or who's illness could not be treated and he would die in less than a year. The looks of gratitude, more frequent with her skill true, all melded seamlessly together. Like droplets of water into a stream. But those cases, those few cases who you needed to be the one to take away their last hope, to strip it off of them and leave them bare, leaving them out in the harsh storms without even a single cloak to block the biting chill of the wind. Those were like drops of blood in the water, those you could see. Those you could continue to see for a very long time.
Tsunade sighed, shaking her head before she pushed herself away from the door heading towards her next patient. Yue Ying.
Several minutes later, the medic knocked on her door, receiving the light voice of the Raikage's wife in response. "Its open."
Tsunade twisted the nob, opening it with a click as she entered the room, receiving a bright smile from the woman in greeting. "Tsunade!"
The slug princess nodded, returning the smile with one of her own. "Ying. How have the treatments been?" She questioned pulling up a chair.
"They've been going very well. The doctors and nurses say that with a few more weeks of physical therapy and continued medication I should be back on my feet. They've been going so well I never would have thought you would come to see me personally what with...what happened with the village and with Akina...unless of course there's been a complication."
"No no there hasn't been any complication." Tsunade said hastily, but was confused as she watched Ying sigh.
The rust brown hair seemed to frame the woman's face, her sharp green eyes meeting Tsunade's gaze, a look of sadness passing over her gentle features. "This has to do with Akina doesn't it?"
Tsunade looked visibly startled, as the woman's words had caught her off guard. "How did you-"
"Normally you would have gotten defensive and said something like 'What can't I come see a friend of mine?'" The Kumo kunoichi interrupted, a sigh making its way past her lips, her voice forlorn and saddened. She had been affected, just like most people who had known the girl, by Akina's death. She tried not to let how much the loss had truly affected her be revealed in front of the others. A ninja must show no emotion after all.
That rule applied doubly as much for high ranking ninja. and triple for political figures. She was all three with her husband being who he was. But Akina...Akina had been precious to her, she wouldn't have called it the relationship between a mother and a daughter, but an aunt and a niece, perhaps that at least.
Tsunade lowered her gaze, biting her lip for a moment, wondering just how thin the ice she was about to cross actually was. "Ying...I don't know really how to say this...but...I've been...having thoughts..." She ended trailing off uncertainly as she debated weather or not to continue this conversation.
Fortunately the thought was finished for her. "You suspect Zhuge may have been involved..." Ying said simply, bringing her eyes back to Tsunade's face as the woman kept her gaze away.
Tsunade expected something out of the woman, some kind of vehemence or anger but never in her life would she have expected the words that came from Ying's mouth.
"Yes...I suspect the same."
The medic snapped her gaze back around, meeting Yue-Ying's downtrodden gaze as the woman looked out to the village, catwalks and construction equipment laying strewn across the street, the sound of tools and woodworking having faded into the background of her mind long ago.
Yue-Ying took a breath before continuing. "I...I truly hope these suspicions are unfounded and...that you and I are simply too used to him to not suspect that he didn't have...something prepared to...to stop her. But...
Tsunade sighed, seeing that this conversation was upsetting her long time friend, despite her attempts to hide it. She decided to cut it short. "You know him better than anyone...do you think he may have done..." She couldn't finish her sentence, but once again she didn't have to.
Ying shook her head, small locks of her hair falling over her eyes. "Honestly. I don't know."
Tsunade nodded, before she stood, and left the room, a shiver passing through her body and not due to the air conditioner of the hospital.
Yue-Ying fell back, her head resting against the wall as she released a weary sigh. She had always known a life as the wife of Zhuge Liang wouldn't be easy, she had chosen this, she had chosen him. She loved her husband she really did, and he had proven on several previous occasions that while he may lie to the world, he was always honest with her, even if he didn't want to be at the moment. But still, she could only standby and watch so much of her husbands plans before needing to pull him back.
His intentions were always in the right place that was true. But in his belief that the end justifies the means, she had seen him do truly...evil things. She had always learned to accept it, to accept him. To forgive his actions because she loved him. Not his title not his power. She loved him, and it had lead her to the strength necessary to forgive and accept who he was and what he did. Did that make her evil as well? Perhaps, but she could accept that too. It was not an easy thing to admit, that the man you loved was considered nothing short of a monster by some. She could only hope that he was not involved in Akina's death because if he was...then she...she wasn't sure if she could simply accept and forgive. Not this time.
Temari sighed tiredly as she leaned back in one of the many chairs of the library, a book clasped in her hand about the history of Konoha and several of its "legendary" ninja, men like Hatake Sakumo, and one of the people who had helped found Konoha with the Shodaime the kunoichi Shizuka, who was said to have had a mastery of the wind element unmatched even by the Yondaime.
She wondered if the same could be said concerning Konoha's current Kage, but she wouldn't dwell on that. Hinata had left earlier, returning to her clan estate to get some rest. That was by no means an indication that her guards had also left their post, she could still feel their various chakra signatures, slightly hidden but they weren't really trying, they wanted her to know that they were there.
It was ironic really. The Anbu were the best of the ninja villages second only to the select few chosen to be hunter ninja, their skills were for the most difficult of missions. The most respected and feared of the ranks and classes, but more it was that they feared their new master.
She just couldn't understand it. She really couldn't. Her brother was a Kage, powerful as well as respected. His subordinates followed his orders out of admiration of his leadership skills and respect for his abilities, not fear of them. But these ninja followed this man, not out of respect but out of fear. She could tell.
The way they tensed when his footsteps echoed form down the hallways, the way they hid their presence enough to utterly vanish from her awareness altogether, not re-emerging until they were certain he was far gone like rats scuttling away to cower in the shadows. She just couldn't understand how they could serve under such an individual for long. Any man or woman would hesitate to attack someone they loved or respected in order to defend herself or himself, but a woman wouldn't hesitate to at least attempt defend herself against a rapist, the same as a man would attempt to defend himself against a thief or any other assailant despite their fear of the individual. Hell her fear had certainly done nothing to deter her from fighting him at Sakai.
She shook her head again sighing as she looked up to the ceiling. Closing her eyes to rest them she released a frustrated sigh wishing that she was just somewhere else...anywhere else but in this place. Maybe on a beach...hmm yea.
A beach that was completely deserted, with warm sands beneath her and white waves cooling them as they came to and fro, the sun would be warm with no glare. Oh yea, that's where she needed to be. Once she escaped from this place and the war was over and done with she would be certain to take a long long long vacation and she would find that place and when she did; not even Gaara would be able to pry her away from it.
Her little daydream took her a little too deep into her own mind because the next thing she heard was the bitingly cold voice of her host. "You should train those senses of yours more Temari-san."
Snapping her sharp silver eyes open she sat ramrod straight in her chair, dropping her book as she gripped the armrests of the seat in surprise, her gaze snapping over to the left, finding Naruto standing at the doorway. Her heart leapt up to her throat for a moment, but settled as he walked toward the other end of the library, apparently in search of a book and not her. Thank the gods. With his back turned to her she was able to visibly regain herself, steeling her features and her emotions before she growled. "Its Sabaku to you." She snarled.
Her voice made him pause in his tracks, and for a moment her heart skipped a beat in fear that she may have angered him. But he merely turned his head back, looking at her with a slightly raised eyebrow over his shoulder before continuing his walk towards the shelf that held whatever book he was looking for.
She watched him finger through several of the works, merely giving them minute glances as his eyes ghosted over the titles before moving onto the next.
Resisting the urge to run from the room, or fidget in the chair she leaned back against the soft leather again, attempting to give herself some air of nonchalance; though she wasn't sure how successful she could be under the circumstances she still gave it an effort.
"So when do you plan on starting?" She called to him from her side of the room.
"Starting?" He questioned giving another short look over his shoulder.
"Your interrogation. I know you've got one set up soon." She answered keeping the steely edge in her voice.
Naruto turned back to his books, finally pulling one from the shelf, the title of which read "Advanced Economics" he spoke as he turned back to her, walking towards her with slow, calm steps watching as she tensed up, her fingers tightening around the leather of the armrests as she swallowed but still stubbornly met his gaze.
"You misunderstand the situation Temari." He spoke her name with a slow drawl, taunting her with it, making her skin crawl with a lacing anger with the tone and for the fact she had told him he couldn't use that name, though she never had expected that to hold any weight it was the principal of the thing. But before she could say anything he continued in that same tone. "There is no need to do such a thing given the circumstances. I do not wish to burn Suna simply to rebuild it later. The infrastructure must be intact once the war is done and the last of the villages are under my control. No, I will barter your life, in exchange for control of Suna."
"Then why don't you simply keep me in one of your prison cells? Or is it simply because I'm the Kazekage's sister that I'm getting special treatment?" She questioned, slowly gaining true confidence in her speech as she realized that he was not prone to tear her throat out just yet. He still needed her very much alive. And though she detested the notion of being used in such a way against her own brother he didn't intend to give him the chance to carry such an attempt out.
"Because as I have stated previously, Zhuge Liang has already proven he is more than willing to kill you before, I do not doubt he's still quite as willing now as he was then."
"What? Liang-" Temari began but soon trailed off as memories of the day she first woke up came back to her, Naruto's strange words just before she had lost consciousness. She had been too preoccupied after she had woken up the second time to really recall the conversation but this was almost exactly the same. Naruto seemed to be willing to speak about it again without question, apparently having expected her not to remember. "You claimed the day I woke up, that Liang tried to kill us before...what did you mean by that? I don't remember Liang trying to kill me only you."
Naruto nodded. "Liang is a Genjutsu specialist. He manipulated both you and your siblings to engage me in the battle of Kumo with a Genjutsu he pulled over your eyes. In hopes that with your deaths, you could become martyrs that could rally Suna into opposing me. Your deaths are inconsequential to him. The fact that I did not kill you obviously upset his plans as it has allowed me to bring you here and so he is likely to try and attack you again; if only for the sake of keeping this information from reaching Gaara from the one source he will believe. You. My estate is far more secure than any prison can ever be which is why you are here and not there. The men here know very well what the price for allowing assassins to harm you is. You will be well guarded until your use is complete."
Temari glowered like a wolf, barely restraining herself from striking out at him, if only because of the knowledge that any such attempt would be an exercise in futility. She knew that whatever he told her needed to be taken with a grain of salt, very little of what he said could, or should be trusted explicitly. For all she knew he could say this so that she could tell Gaara after she escaped, and destroy whatever hope the alliance may have of opposing him. Of course this information wouldn't matter if he traded her for control of Suna. Meaning she needed to get out of here, and she needed to discover the truth, if there even was any, of his words for herself.
Naruto stepped forward again, this time even more slowly and whatever tension had bled out of the woman shot right back into her system as he towered over her sitting form.
"You do realize with these circumstances Temari-san, that even should you, by some miracle, escape this place; you would all but sign your death warrant?"
Temari drew in a breath at that watching as he turned and walked out of the room, the Kage robes vanishing as he rounded the corner.
He was right of course. If what he told her was true then Liang wouldn't allow her to come within 100 feet of a Suna or Kumo base. But then again this only added to the fact that his story may not be true, considering the fact that this was simply more motivation to have her stay put.
The Suna Kunoichi sighed. Her eyes now heavy and tired, a headache pounding at her temples as she forced the thoughts away wondering if it was safe to get up and begin heading back to the room.
Spreading out her senses she knew it was safe.
She could feel the presence of the Anbu again.