Of The Five Elements

Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Kishimoto-sensei.

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For the next two days, Rat and Kurotsuchi had been hanging out with each other while the rest of her team remained at their quarter.

The blond ANBU had taken the Iwa kunoichi to a variety of places, albeit only to which a guest of her status was given access. Still, from the outsiders' view, the two looked like an odd pair, coming from two rival villages who'd had a long and bloody history with each other. One would think they would jump at each other's throat; on the contrary, they seemed quite friendly and comfortable with each other's company.

After a long trip to Konoha's infamous Hokage Monument, Rat took Kurotsuchi for a quick stop at Amaguriama, one of the most popular sweet shops in the village. The shop was located on Konoha Tea Avenue, and it specialized in chestnut candies. The shop also serves many other sweets as well.

To Kurotsuchi's surprise, the 'Rock Rice Cake', a famous dessert from her home country, was also on display on the menu. She quickly took a seat and ordered the rice cake, whereas Rat opted for a set of dango.

It was their luck as well to arrive and get the last table available. It seemed that ninja frequented this place in particular as she looked around and noticed nearly all of the customers there wore the headband of the Leaf, with her being the odd one of the bunch.

Once again, her expectation was subverted when none of the customers showed any reaction at the two's presence. She thought those ninja would have apprehended her, or even left at the sight of Rat like the civilians did, but they just sat and enjoyed their snacks, cherishing their break time away from their hectic lifestyle.

Registering the polar reaction for later enquiry, Kurotsuchi quietly waited for her order. She then overheard a young girl with orange hair tied into two very large pigtails hushing something to a brown-haired boy wearing a pair of circular glasses.

"Udon, isn't that Rat-san?" the girl whispered to her friend, for some reason looking wearily at the young ANBU's direction.

"I'm not sure, Moegi. What do you think, Konohamaru?" the boy replied before inhaling a drip of snot back into his nostril. He turned to his right, but his other friend wasn't there. "Konohamaru?"

Then, a young boy wearing a white apron walked up to Rat and Kurotsuchi's table, each hand holding a dish of snack. "Your orders are here. One set of Rock Rice Cake and one set of dango," Said the waiter of the sweet shop before setting down the dishes. All of a sudden, the boy threw the three sticks of sweet dumplings directly at Rat's face. Unfortunately, his aim was a bit off-target, but those sticks were swatted away by Rat nonetheless.

Kurotsuchi immediately stood up, settling in a defensive stance as she thought that was an attack. However, she calmed down a little bit when her guide didn't seem to perceive what had just happened to be a threat.

He simply sat there and looked directly at their assailant. "Your throwing speed was too slow, but first and foremost your disguise was too obvious. Too predictable, Konohamaru."

The boy pulled down his blue scarf that had been covering his face. But his pout was soon replaced by a wide cheeky grin. "Hah! I expected no less from the bodyguard of the Hokage. Just what I need when I become the Hokage myself." He paused his speech after seeing the older girl whom he had never seen before.

"And who is this old lady? Why is she with you, Rat?" Konohamaru asked, pointing at Kurotsuchi. Unfortunately, Konohamaru was too young to know that associating certain adjectives with the female was forbidden. The comment was so absurd that even Rat did a double take at the boy, shocked by what the boy had just uttered. All the while, the other men there grimaced at the boy's insolent remark.

Although the blond ANBU was not that well-versed when it came to women, at least he knew not to ever mention the word 'old' when referring to them. As expected, the Iwa kunoichi's eyes twitched convulsively.

"Who did you call 'old', brat?" Kurotsuchi asked with suppressed anger.

"Who else? You look older that Moegi. You are taller than me, and even than Rat too!"

Apparently, the comment was the last straw. Rat just shook his head in disappointment and, together with the rest of the men there, offered a short prayer for the soon-to-be-fallen young comrade.

Then a shout from that Udon boy alerted the scarf-wearing boy. "Konohamaru! Run!"

Konohamaru looked puzzled by what he was told. Suddenly, a cold aura permeated the air, sending chills down his spines. The boy slowly turned around and almost soiled his pants. An Oni-mask projection appeared in a black menacing background behind Kurotsuchi's face which had turned dark, and her eyes circular white.

"Uh-"

"You're dead."

"Ah!" Konohamaru screamed out in fright after ducking under the hands of his executer. He immediately took off, his long blue scarf slithering on the ground.

But after turning a corner, he bumped into a person and fell on his bottom. "Ow" He nursed his bum pitifully before being forcefully grabbed up by his collar.

"Watch where you're going, brat," said the person into whom Konohamaru ran. He wore a black hoodie and something akin to purple war paint on his face. Standing beside him was a girl with pigtailed blond hair, wearing a thigh-length light purple garments and carrying a giant folding fan on her back. The hourglass-like symbol on their headbands signified their allegiance to the Sand village.

"Hey! Let me go!" said Konohamaru, struggling to get out of the older boy's hold.

"Just let him go, Kankuro. You're making a scene," said the older girl, sighing.

"Come on, Temari. Let me teach this leaf newbie a lesson." He scoffed in a condescending tone before, with his shoulders, dropping something like a trunk covered by bandages on the ground. Before he could unload it though, another presence appeared by his side and pointed a kunai at his jugular.

"Release him at once!"

Kankuro stiffened at the sharp touch of a knife on his throat. He gulped slowly in nervousness, a sweat dripping down the side of his face before he softly put Konohamaru back down. A look of shock was displayed on the face of the Suna ninja and his sister as the kunai was too close to Kankuro's throat for comfort. He then raised both his hands in surrender, for he recognized the figure's mask. That was fast! I couldn't sense him at all.

Just then, another figure appeared rather unconventionally. "Kankuro. What have you done again?" said another boy who had materialized out of a nearby tree before reappearing on the ground in a swirl of sand. He wore a black body suit with a white cloth over his right shoulder and the left side of his hip. He also wore a wide leather band with which he carried a giant sand gourd. However, the boy's most noticeable feature were his spiky auburn hair and a prominent dark circle around his green eyes which gave off a creepy vibe, amplified by his grating voice.

"G-Gaara," said both Kankuro and Temari shakily at the same time. Rat lowered his weapon, intrigued by the new presence.

The Suna siblings immediately backed off, the fear on their faces made apparent by their shaking forms.

Rat remained perfectly stoic and quiet, unfazed by the redhead Suna ninja, whereas Kurotsuchi stood protectively in front of Udon and Moegi who were nursing their friend.

"What's your name?" Gaara asked, with a forbidding expression, his sand starting to flow out of its gourd and hovering in the air.

"I could charge you with attempting to hurt the grandson of the Hokage." Rat stated in a matter-of-fact tone, ignoring the question. The blond ANBU knew who the three were. He also knew that the redhead before him was a Jinchuriki, just like himself.

"You may be shinobi of Sunagakure and not within our jurisdiction, but you are in Konoha right now. And you can be punished for hurting its citizen."

There was a tense silence in the air as the two stood face-to-face, glaring at each other. The tension was so thick it could be cut with a knife. Everyone dreaded that a fight would break out between the two. But much to everyone's relief, Gaara's sand streamed back into its container. A bestial wide grin stretched across the redhead's face, and Rat swore Gaara's eyes turned yellow for a moment, "A fox has seven disguises, but a tanuki has eight."

With that, Gaara turned around then walked away, followed by his siblings who noticeably kept a distance from him.

"Udon, Moegi, take Konohamaru home. Kurotsuchi-san, please return to your quarter. I have some urgent matter to attend to," Rat replied tersely, his words set in a sombre tone.

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"Are you sure this is a good idea, sensei? Our relationship with Suna may turn sourer than it already is if this goes through. You know they hate Iwa almost as much as Iwa hate us. And why do Iwa suddenly want to join our alliance anyway?" asked a man with shaggy white hair. He wore green short shirt kimono, on top of which was a red haori, and matching green pants. There was a large scroll hanging off his back. "It just seems too out of character for them."

Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Three ninja, was standing with his arms crossed in front of the Third Hokage, his height towering over the decrepit form of his former sensei.

The Sannin came back immediately after hearing the news of Iwa's proposal for an alliance with Konoha. Obviously, he was suspicious of the Stone's intention. It could very well be a distraction to make Konoha let their guard down so that Iwa could exact their revenge. Most importantly, in any case that they did so just to get their hands on the secret about the existence of Namikaze Minato's son.

After all, in almost every village, not only Konoha, there were enemies from both inside and outside. Hence, it wasn't that far-fetched that there would be traitors willing to sell out their own village's secrets for personal gains or vengeance.

"I understand that, Jiraiya. I've already discussed with the council. We have reached a consensus that Iwagakure have to fulfill one condition set by us before we accept their deal," Hiruzen answered, understanding the worries of his former student, for he too was perplexed by Iwa unexpectedly reaching out to them.

As far as he was concerned, Rat's saving Onoki's granddaughter shouldn't have been enough to instigate such complete change of the Tsuchikage's heart. Such desperation was very unlike Onoki the Fence-sitter. Something must have happened in the Hidden Stone.

"Wow. Really? You've worked hard, sensei." Jiraiya chuckled, amused by the actuality of the council's reaching an agreement for this sort of matter. "I can imagine Danzo making an uproar over this."

"He did."

Their conversation was cut short when a masked figure appeared in the middle of the room in a swirl of leaves. "My apologies for interrupting, Hokage-sama, Jiraiya-sama. I have a pressing news to report."

The white haired man opened his eyes wide in surprise. "Oh! Long time no see, brat. I see you're doing well, destroying one of Orochimaru's bases and all." Jiraiya said with a proud smile on his face.

"Thank you, sir." Rat responded with a respectful nod.

"You know you don't have to be formal with me. I'm your godfather. You know what? We should go and have a relaxing time together, and maybe you can even help me gather more sources for my next Icha Icha's volume." A joyful smile plastered across the Sannin's face as he mentioned about his book.

A loud cough from the Third Hokage broke Jiraiya out of his dreamy stupor. As much as he wanted to read the new volume, Hiruzen couldn't afford to be distracted when an urgent matter was raised. "There's something you want to report, Rat?"

"Yes. A moment ago, Konohamaru ran into the Kazekage's offspring. And the One-Tail's Jinchuriki was there too. However, the boy seems to be…mentally unstable. I'm worried incidents could occur with his presence here, sir." Rat reported.

"They're sending their Jinchuriki for this year Chunin exam?" Jiraiya exclaimed with his eyes narrowed in suspicion. Any sense of joviality from him was lost as soon as the word 'Jinchuriki' was mentioned. Normally, the big five villages would never let their weapons out of their sight in order to prevent capture or defection. So, for Suna to send theirs here now. "Do you think they are planning something, sensei?"

The Sannin had never been one to be pessimistic, but considering the precarious situation they were currently in, anything could happen. Even comrades would backstab each other, let alone allied villages with their own agendas. He had learned that the hard way.

"I was informed by the Kazekage himself that his son will be joining the exam this year as the boy is already of age and ready for the promotion. What his true intention behind this is, I do not know. But it doesn't hurt to be prepared for any abnormalities while the event is taking place," said the Third Hokage wearily. He was getting too old for this kind of volatile situation.

"Be on the lookout for any suspicious activities. If the situation is as dreary as you've predicted it to be, then I shall tighten the security and increase the patrol around the village's surroundings before the exam starts next week." Hiruzen let out one last weary sigh, massaging his eyes. "Alright. You two are dismissed."

After Jiraiya and Rat exited the room with the former probably trying to coerce the young ANBU into joining his research again, the aged Hokage stared at the pictures of his predecessors before turning his gaze at the picture of a man whom Hiruzen thought had gone too early.

"If you were still here in this seat, I wouldn't be worrying right now."

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The sun had set a few hours already, but the streets were still bustling with people. One would have thought there was a festival being celebrated, with how bright the lights were illuminating the village under the darkening sky.

"For a ninja's village, I didn't expect that there would be a lot of civilians and merchants living here," said Akatsuchi with mild fascination, looking outside through the window from the second floor of the inn in which he was staying.

"I know, right? People are still out and about at this hour." Kurotsuchi remarked while sitting at a table, munching on an apple.

"Have you guys done packing?" Kitsuchi asked. Akatsuchi and Kageki nodded, each with a square wooden luggage on their back. The Iwa Jonin Commander decided to depart as soon as he received the Third Hokage's response.

The four then walked to the main door of their inn before Kitsuchi turned to his daughter. "Don't cause any trouble while you're here, Kurotsuchi. Okay?"

"I'm not a kid anymore, dad." the kunoichi grumbled, pouting and looking away sheepishly.

"Alright. Let's go." Kitsuchi uttered before leaving for the main gate of the Hidden Leaf, followed by the other two boys while Kurotsuchi waved them goodbye from the threshold of the door.

After those three were out of her sight, Kurotsuchi went back in and sat down on the veranda on the other side of the inn. There was a sizable pond with stones and small trees bordering the rim, and a school of small fish swimming around. This side of the inn was cut off from all the sound of the busy district, allowing for a peaceful relaxation.

The clear water reflected the bright moon illuminating the sky while millions of stars sparkled in the dark canvas. A memory of her mother bringing her to the top of the Tsuchikage tower during a full moon flashed through her mind, bringing a nostalgic smile to Kurotsuchi's face. I could get used to this.

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It had been almost a day since the three Iwa ninja had left Konohagakure. And they made camp as soon as they entered the Land of Grass. Despite being the battle front between Iwa and Konoha during the Third War, the Land of Grass, specifically its hidden village Kusagakure, had retained diplomacy with the two great nations, remaining as a neutral faction, and not siding exclusively with any of the power houses. Hence why, ninja from both Iwa and Konoha were allowed to travel through the country as long as the absence of threat was assured.

"Why isn't Kurotsuchi coming with us?" asked Kageki in confusion about his commander's plan while poking the campfire. Although they hadn't been getting along well with each other, the brown-haired Iwa ninja didn't want to leave his teammate alone in an enemy territory, or at least he thought.

"It's for her safety," Kitsuchi curtly replied, his eyes fixated at the fire.

"Safety?" Kageki asked incredulously. "In Konoha?"

"She'll be safe there. For the time being." Kitsuchi answered.

"What do you mean for the time being? Why is she safe there, but not at her home?" Kageki asked, not understanding any of his commander's cryptic answers. He then looked at his plump teammate for reiteration, but Akatsuchi just gazed at the fire with a worried expression.

"Do you really think Kurotsuchi's kidnapping incident was accidental?" Kitsuchi asked, turning his gaze at his brown-haired subordinate.

"I don't know-"

"They knew the exact place where she would be, and the exact time when she would be alone. The timing was too perfect to be a coincidence." Kitsuchi explained.

"But they could have been spying on her for days, or months."

"If that had been the case, why couldn't Tsuchikage-sama have sensed them?" This time it was Akatsuchi who voiced his opinion. Onoki would have sensed any presence within the vicinity of their training area.

"As powerful as Orochimaru is, there was still no chance he could have devised such an elaborate plan. The only possibility of it having happened is that it was-" The commander claimed with a harsh glare into the trees.

"An inside job." Kageki muttered, a look of utter shock appearing on his face. "Then who did it? Who set it up?"

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It was almost midnight, and Onoki still remained in his office, finishing up his paperwork for the day. These past couple days had been rather peculiar for the old Tsuchikage. After the council meeting last week, he had expected much more resistance from his ninja and the public, especially those who had made known their opposition against an alliance talk with other villages.

Surprisingly, everything was going according to his plan, which evoked a hunch of a looming threat. When you were as old and experienced as Onoki, you would know nothing went exactly according to plan. Paranoia was common among ninja, perhaps to the point of being a necessity; however, paranoia saved lives. No matter how uneventful it had been, Onoki of both scales knew it was nothing but the calm before the storm.

Just as he had expected, the door was slammed open before a messenger ninja hurriedly walked in, gasping for breath. The ninja then knelt before his Kage, looking pale, "Tsuchikage-sama. Han sent us a message three days ago, saying that he had been attacked. But we lost communication with him ever since."

"Did he mention who the attacker was?" Onoki asked, narrowing his eyes. Although his relationships with his Jinchurikis were impersonal at best, they were still his ninja. Most importantly, they were the embodiment of his village's status and power. Losing any one of the tailed beasts would diminish the might of Iwagakure. The balance of power between the Big Five would be affected as well.

"The message said there were a pair of ninja of unknown allegiance, wearing black cloaks with red clouds."

Onoki's eyes widened in shock. The Akatsuki? What do they want with the Jinchuriki?