Second Chance

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Hiroshi cursed Sasuke of the thousandth time as they made their way back to Konoha. That damn traitor was just too fucking lucky! He thought he had had him when they were tracking the rogue leader. The soushuuha technique had been setup perfectly, and with the Uchiha weak and distracted it would have worked flawlessly. But apparently there was no such thing as flawlessly. Just as he was getting ready to claim his victory, Torikkusuta and Yuzuki dropped down from the trees and stood protectively in front of the traitor. Lucky for him there had been one last rogue hiding in the brush, it was who he had planned to blame the Uchiha’s death on. He quickly diverted the attack to make it look like he was trying to surprise the enemy the entire time. The kunai found their target with several sickening thunks. Hiroshi had smiled as the trio like he had succeeded greatly, all the while cursing in his head.

After that the other two hadn’t left him alone with Sasuke if they could help it. And the times that they were not together as a group, the Uchiha carried himself like there was an extra enemy nearby. There was no way he was going to get another chance on this trip. The opportunity had been wasted and Hiroshi could not help but berate himself for allowing Uzumaki-sama to remain in the traitor’s clutches. At least the trip had not been a total waste he thought as he remembered his encounter during the weeks they had been cleaning up the rogue-nin.

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Rogue sighting his ass, he had been scouring the banks of river country for hours. He knew they had just sent him out so they could talked about his supposed unloyalty. He was the most loyal man to the Hokage in this unit, so loyal that he was willing to remove an unsightly blemish from the Hokage’s view. He did not see the Uchiha as his Captain or someone that he owed any loyalty to, but as an impediment. As soon as the traitor was out of the way he would reclaim his spot as Uzumaki-sama’s right hand man.

He was making his way back up the river when... “Shit,” Hiroshi mumbled, as he ducked behind a tree, but he didn’t think it had been fast enough. There had been a rogue-nin close to the water, and a strong one at that. He must have been there the first time he passed, but with his chakra suppressed. Thinking he was in the clear the rogue must have come out of hiding not suspecting Hiroshi to double back and check the areas he had already passed. The chakra signature flattened back out to almost nothing and Hiroshi knew he was right, he had been noticed.

Hiroshi quickly leap to the branch above as a host of kunai struck the tree where he had been standing. Seeming to anticipated his reaction the masked rogue was on the branch, almost before Hiroshi had completed his leap, delivering a round house toward the ANBU. Hiroshi bent his waist backward to dodge and surprised the enemy by moving toward the attack instead of away. His surprise was quickly overcome as Hiroshi’s left heel crashed down on to the branch were his foot had been moments before.

Hiroshi cursed the speed of his opponent. He had almost hit the koori point, it would have been easy from there. He flipped off of the falling branch and hid in the shrubs trying to located the hiding nin. This enemy was good in the foliage and he wouldn’t be surprised if his was a missing leaf-nin. As if reading his mind, the shrub he was hiding in was suddenly surround in a flurry leaves. The sky turned from blue to red and the ground seem to be slowly swallowing him as the shrub wrapped tightly around his body. He struggled vainly as the plant squeezed him tighter. His struggles grew weaker as his vision began to blacken around the edges.

The rogue nin smiled as he watched the Konoha ANBU twisting on the ground behind the shrub. He approached, happy that the nin was caught so nicely in his genjutsu. He bend over the man and was surprised when he heard a loud ‘KAI.’

Hiroshi waiting and felt the chakra signature drawing closer. Such a simple genjutsu could not hold the right hand of the Hokage, but the other nin self confidence could work to his advantaged, it was a trap of his own making. He felt the other lean over him even though he could not see him with the genjutsu tricking his eyes. He could feel the self satisfaction pouring off the other shinobi, and at the best possible moment he yelled, “Kai!” Breaking the genjutsu he quickly flickered behind the enemy. Using a two fingered fist strike, to control the depth of the blow, he struck the masked shinobi in the Keichu point on the back of his neck. He hit him just hard enough for the nin to lose motor control but not kill the man, he wanted to ask some questions. The shinobi’s breath caught in his throat and his eyes widened before his knees buckled and he hit the ground with a sickening thump.

Hiroshi moved to the ground and roll the shinobi on to his back. He quickly tied the nin’s hands and feet as he would regain his senses in a minute or two. Once he had his feet tied and his hand secure around the trunk of a small tree he turned his attention to the mask. Who was this rogue? It was obvious a missing leaf-nin, but who? There hadn’t been many reports of rogue nin from the village and he assumed the had just about cleaned them all up after the attack on the rogue camp. He grasped the mask and moved into to stare into dark eyes he recognized well.

“Kokuzo?” Hiroshi stared dumbfounded at the brunet. Kokuzo had been a member of ANBU who was presumed dead. Hiroshi had given the shinobi a solo mission shortly after he assumed temporary command of ANBU. He was very competent and Hiroshi had little doubt of his ability to complete the mission, but after a week that the mission should have been completed, the shinobi still had yet to return. Hiroshi had sent out a recon party to check the situation. They had found the target still alive and later found Kokuzo’s broken ANBU mask covered in blood. They finished his mission then returned home with the news.

“Kokuzo, what are you doing alive! I thought you were dead!” Hiroshi yelled while shaking the man, as far as he could with Kokuzo’s arms tied to the tree. Kokuzo’s mouth moved awkwardly as he tried to speak. Hiroshi released his shoulders letting the man fall back to the ground. He must have stuck him too hard, he had affected his speech. It shouldn’t be that long before the man’s motor skill returned but he figured it was a good time to eat something while he tried to piece this new information together in his head.

He moved to the stream and pulled a bottle out of his pack to gather water. Then he moved back toward Kokuzo and leaned against a tree that gave him a good view of the bound man. Pulling a piece of hard biscuit from his pack he began to leisurely nibble the hard bread while sipping his water. He was almost done with the tasteless food he noticed Kokuzo’s legs begin to shift.

Now over his shock, Hiroshi stood and walked calmly over to the man. Siding up toward his head, he crouched down and looked the shinobi in the face. “Can you talk now?” No response came, but he could tell by the stubborn tilt of his once friend’s chin, it was not from lack of ability. “Kokuzo, you’ve worked with me. You know what I could do if you don’t cooperate,” he warned in an even tone.

He saw Kokuzo’s throat work and knew he had him. Siting back and crossing his legs, he tried to appear relaxed as he cocked his head to the side. “So, you’re not dead,” he started casually. “I thought maybe I had overestimated your abilities when you didn’t return, maybe I underestimated them. Was it money, did you find a higher payer than Konoha?”

“Konoha is the sell out not me!” the bound man suddenly shouted.

Hiroshi turned confused eyes toward the man, “What do you mean?”

“They don’t care what the price is as long as they have the most power. They put that abomination in charge, never mind that he’s a demon,” he bit out venomously.

“Uzumaki?” Hiroshi questioned, remembering to leave out san at the last moment. He wouldn’t get any information if he showed respect to someone this man obviously despised. He remembered the rogue leader’s rant about demons before the Uchiha had killed him.

“Him and animals like that thing in Suna are taking over our villages. Soon, we’ll all be under the thumb of demons, but Kain-sama’s not going to let that happen. Even if you kill me, others will join him. He’ll save our world.” Hiroshi shifted uneasily and began to worry his bottom lip between his teeth. Kokuzo saw the hesitation and reached for a hope. “You could join us Hiroshi. You’re a just man, let me go and we could meet them now before your team notices you’re missing.”

“How do I know that I won’t just be killed once we reach your group?” Hiroshi asked doubtfully.

Kokuzo smiled, “You’re saving my life. I’m Kain’s right hand man. No harm will come to you, and we could use someone of your strength.”

Hiroshi looked uncomfortably to the side, “Kain was killed Kokuzo, I saw it.”

The brunet faltered for a second, “That put me in charge Hiroshi. We can’t let these monster take over. Help me, Hiroshi.”

Hiroshi looked toward the forest and back to the man, shifting anxiously on his feet. Seeming to make his decision he reached down and quickly cut the binds from the man. Kokuzo rubbed at the rope sore area then jumped to his feet. “Let’s get going, we don’t want them to find us,” he said hurriedly.

“Wait,” Hiroshi called. He stepped close to the man and scanned their surroundings once more, checking for chakra signatures. “Working for ANBU, would I serve better if I stayed and helped from the inside?”

Kokuzo’s brow creased then relaxed. “You’re right. Use falcons, I can have a man start checking the post at Tanuki Ridge.” He grasped Hiroshi’s forearm and shook as Hiroshi did the same. “We’ll beat this scourge, good luck friend.” He released Hiroshi’s arm and leapt quickly into the trees.

Hiroshi watched as the man got smaller with a smile on his face. A leader of a group of rogue shinobi could be a very useful tool. Still wearing his smile, Hiroshi moved to the stream and began to disrobe. He eased himself into the water and scrubbed any trace of battle or scent of another person. When he got back to the group he would just smugly tell the damn traitor the it had been a useless assignment and he had decided to take a dip.
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Sasuke frowned behind his mask as he watched Hiroshi leaping from branch to branch ahead of him. He knew Hiroshi had made an attempted on his life this mission, Yuzuki and Torikkusuta agreed, but would be able to convince Naruto? He hand been lucky that the other two arrived before he had to defend himself from the surprise attack, but Hiroshi had been lucky that there had been someone there to explain it away. It would be just his luck that Naruto would believe the falsehood.

Konoha came into view and Sasuke could feel his body relaxing. Hiroshi wouldn’t dare try anything so close to the village. Even if everyone did not like the Uchiha, everyone respected his strength and knew he was the best friend of the Hokage. Sasuke allowed a small smile to form behind his mask as they slowed to pass through the gates and sped across the rooftops after they were nodded admittance, soon he would be back home with his dobe.

The group jumped down from the roof tops and made four light taps as they landed gracefully in front of the Hokage’s mansion. Walking behind Sasuke, they entered quietly and people moved out of the way of the imposing ANBU as they made their way down the hallway. Seeing them near the guard immediately open the door to the Hokage’s office as he stepped out of the way. After they entered the guard closed the door firmly and everyone in the building returned to what they had been doing before the ANBU had entered.

The Hokage looked up from his close conversation with the Fifth as the group entered the room. He passed a knowing glance with the elder blonde as his features set in a frown and he leaned back into his chair. Tsunade moved away from the desk and moved to sit in a chair that was placed behind the Hokage and to the right. Naruto looked over the team, who noticed his stiff posture and instantly straightened.

“So,” he drawled in a serious tone. “Who has the reason as to why my best shinobi were out the village for a whole two and a half month?”

Chiinu stepped forward with a readied scroll. “It’s in the report, Hokage-sama,” he said, as he bowed and handed over the parchment. He stepped back as Naruto sniffed and unrolled the scroll.

The blonde gave the report a quick once-over before throwing it into a drawer of his desk. “We will be discussing this Chiinu,” he said with a frown. “But first, Godaime has discovered a medical technique to keep shinobi healthy while visiting foreign countries. She going to immunize,” he looked to Tsunade for conformation of the word, “you against illnesses.”

Tsunade nodded and stood from her seat. “That’s right,” she said. “Everyone sit in a chair. Since you have been out of the village, you four are the last ANBU I have left to treat.” She walked in front of the now seated shinobi. “All I have to do is give you this injection.”

She pulled out a syringe and everyone was surprised when the monkey-masked ANBU jumped out of his seat bolted toward the door. Chiinu reached out and grabbed the boys arm, ready to ask what the problem was, when he suddenly felt like his ear was about to explode. Sasuke released the arm to hold his ear, where Torikkusuta’s fist had connected when spun to escape the Uchiha’s grip. Hiroshi jumped up, shocked by the turn of events, but quickly found his own head connecting back with his chair as the wide-eyed boy swept out his legs from under him. Torikkusuta had his hand on the door when Yuzuki suddenly pounced onto his back.

Naruto and Tsunade stood dumbfounded as they took in the scene before them. Seconds before the room had held four calm ANBU. Now two of their best shinobi were holding their head and cursing in pain while the Tiger-masked ANBU cooed softly into the ear of the ANBU she was holding firmly to the floor. Yuzuki’s eyes flashed toward the dazed pair and Tsunade snapped back to the present. Her eyes showed understanding as she quickly filled the syringe and stuck it into the small piece of flesh exposed on the arm of the ANBU uniform.

Tsunade stood and looked at Naruto with an arched brow, he smiled crookedly and shrugged. Tsunade shook her head and moved to the cursing males. Sitting them back into their seat she administered their injections while checking their injuries.
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Hope you enjoyed, let me know your still reading.
Tereshi