Naruto: Akatsuki

'What can I do?'

A young boy, who doesn't remember his own name. Scrawny and dirty. Apart from his blue-coloured eyes, there was no memorable quality. Has abilities to maneuver his chakra to stand on vertical planes and generate a small fire on top of his palm. Have killed before.

Out of all those traits of myself, the only thing I found usable was the fact that I was a young and poor boy. And as soon as such thought reached my mind,

I left the cave.

<...Leave the rest to us.>

Although Konan seemed nervous, Yahiko placed an absolute trust in me. He believed that I will return for sure, and I wasn't going to let him down.

And of course, I had a thought in mind. A very dangerous one it was, for its success relied on a human being's kindness. I felt like laughing. To think I would end up relying on kindness out of all things—it surely was ironic. However, it wasn't the time to forsake what seemed to have the highest chance, just for the sake of my ideal.

Therefore, I walked across the heavy rain.

Mud. Mild bruises. Malnourished state. Wet. Cold. Over the course of days, I accumulated such adversities on purpose.

During the cold nights, I placed myself under the broken ceiling of what used to be a house, with a small flame inside my curled-up form to preserve the heat.

'Ninjas are sensitive on the information.'

I stood in front of ruins, full of poor survivors who lived every day with despair.

'Their eyes are everywhere.'

"Hey, did you hear?" One dirty-looking man whispered to another, "Apparently, Hanzo-sama's daughter, who ran away years ago, was found dead!"

"Heh, as if that's going to change anything! That cold-blooded man cares his own well-being over anything else—"

"Watch your mouth! Sheesh, do you want to get yourself killed?"

Ignoring the others' words, I shouted with a hoarse voice, "Someone, please, help!!"

Of course, no one within the group paid attention. I knew they won't. If a person offers a help while in a trouble, that person is nothing but an idiot. My targets weren't them anyway.

This was just the start. As if having gone insane, I moved from one area to another, screaming for help. My state worsened day by day, and by the seventh day, my eyes, full of dark bags, held nothing but hollowness. I hoped, that no one would recognize the true me, the 'petty thief' who lived by stealing from the others, and it seemed to be working.

"Hey, let me just ask." Today, I was asked by a young boy who seemed to be around my age, asking me out of curiosity, "Why are you screaming help non-stop? A lot of people have been talking about you recently!"

I looked at the boy and answered back then, "My... little brother... is sick."

"Kie! Leave that boy and come over here!!"

Watching as the boy was called by his mother, I decided that now was the time.

"Hey! W-wait!"

Turning my body, I began to walk toward the eastern border of this land. Surely, not only by my thought but by the information that I've heard from this short journey, this is where the Konohagakure ninjas should have their base set up.

'I've... now reached... the enemy territory.'

Within this dark forest where the rain drops got through the leaves and soaked the ground, my walk gradually slowed down. If I walked any further, I may threaten them, regardless of the fact that I was a powerless individual.

"H...elp."

Standing at the spot, I said with a hoarse voice. It was a small one, and I could no longer muster something louder.

But I was pretty certain that this was enough... or so I hoped.

Thud. Falling face-first,

'Either I live... or die.'

I fainted in the rainy forest, and let the dark consume me.

__________

__________

"Ha... ha... ha..."

One blonde woman jolted up from her bed, drenched by the sweat. Her face was pale and full of horror.

'Why... why now?' The woman thought. The nightmare that has been torturing her during the night for the past months, has returned.

No, nightmare wasn't the right word to depict the dream. Instead, it was a wistful one—the one where her now-deceased little brother, Nawaki, was still alive.

"Nawaki..." This woman, named Senju Tsunade, held her tears while biting her lips. Taking a deep breath in such a state, and closing her eyes momentarily, she tried to calm herself down, but to no avail.

Afraid of what she may do in this state, Tsunade stood up. Having been in a combat uniform from the very start, there was no need for her to change; she immediately left her dome-shaped tent.

"Lady Tsunade!"

Immediately after, one shinobi came in and reported in a strict manner, "We found a young boy lying down in front of our base! What should we do?"

"...What?"

This was the battlefield. No civilian would dare to approach the ninjas' bases. Yet, a young boy was found nearby.

What was the chance of that happening?

'A suicide mission... using a child?' Tsunade grimaced upon thinking of such a horrid possibility.

"Where is Jiraiya and Orochimaru?"

Surely, they won't let such an abnormal occurrence pass by.

"They are already at the site, examining the child!"

Tsunade nodded upon hearing the shinobi's words.

"Lead the way."

She swiftly made her way to the site without any stall. Within minutes, two ninjas with unique appearances, Jiraiya and Orochimaru, were standing at some distance away from the boy, with narrowed eyes.

"My shadow clone confirms that there exists no detonation device on the boy." Jiraiya stated with a hum.

"I say that we kill the boy." Orochimaru said with an evident distrust, ready to throw a kunai from his grasp at any moment.

"I already said it, Orochimaru! There is nothing that that boy can do to harm us!" Jiraiya shouted at Orochimaru out of exasperation, "He's just a young boy! Someone who needs a proper care instead of animosity! What is wrong with you?!"

"And what is wrong with you?" Orochimaru retorted coldly, "Are you going to risk the entire front line just because of your petty sympathy?"

"You know very well! This is the boy who's been screaming the word 'help' for days, wandering around without a destination in mind! Are you saying that we should kill the child... who is the product of the war that we've caused?!"

"Yes."

Jiraiya, with enraged eyes, held Orochimaru by the hem of his attire,

"You—"

"Stop." Tsunade interrupted the two with a serious expression, causing Jiraiya and Orochimaru to turn their heads around.

"Tsunade, listen! There's—"

"I already know the gist of it." Tsunade ended Jiraiya's shout and separated Jiraiya and Orochimaru from one another, "Cool your head."

Jiraiya sighed while scratching the back of his head. Orochimaru snorted while crossing his arms.

Moving her attention away from her teammates, Tsunade stared at the fallen boy with a complex emotion.

'After Nawaki's visit by dream, you came. Is this a coincidence, or,' Tsunade looked up, 'a fate?'

No detonation device. No weapon. Not a host of a tailed beast, for the boy's appearance doesn't match the known appearances of the jinchurikis from the Sunagakure and Iwagakure. No abundance of chakra in particular.

A sleeper agent? It was useless for a boy as young as this. Without an ability to become the 'agent of influence' within this power-mediated military, there was no point to implant a child sleeper agent. If the boy was a talented genius, it was more beneficial to nurture him as the strong shinobi.

'Simply put, there shouldn't be anything that the boy could do to cause harm on us,' Tsunade thought.

"...Bring the boy in."

""Tsunade!"" Jiraiya and Orochimaru exclaimed at the same time, but in differing attitudes. While the former had a joy on his face, the latter held the look of disbelief.

"I'll take the entire responsibility for it." All that mattered was that there was a young child who required her help.

'...Is this how Nawaki died, I wonder.'

She just couldn't ignore the boy.