Naruto: The Unwoven Threads of Fate

"Oh! Oh! Escorting the Daimyo around the country? Maybe bring a villain to justice?"

"Actually yes." Tsunade cuts in. "You'll be bringing a villain to justice."

"That's so cool!" Naruto's eyes widen and beam in excitement. "Who is he? When do I leave? Is anyone coming with me?"

"I'll explain everything else in a moment." Tsunade assures her genin. "I'm waiting for the rest of the team to get here so I only have to do it once."

"You called for us, Hokage-sama?" A new voice says from the door as a singular head pokes inside.

"Yes, Yamato, please come in." Tsunade waves in her jounin. "Bring the others too."

Three more people enter the office. First, obviously, is Yamato with his unique style of forehead protector that covers his cheeks too. Next is a very pale shinobi with beady black eyes that seem void of any and all emotion. Lastly is another shinobi with spiky unkempt black hair and a huge white dog following on his heels.

"What's going on here Hokage-sama?" None other than Kiba says as he strides into the office as if he owns the place. His hands are laced together by the fingers and he has them on the back of his head. He walks in as if he's the most important person in the room - the village. Akamaru is right behind him, inadvertently pushing the pale one out of the way in his haste to follow his partner. "Are you finally giving me the promotion we all know I deserve?"

"You are too unrefined for a promotion." The monotonous voice of Sai drones into the room as he efficiently enters the office. "You're quick to anger and violence and have issues with self restraint. All traits of a bad shinobi."

"What did you just say about me punk!" Kiba whirls on Sai as Akamaru bares his teeth. "Wanna say that again to my face?"

"I fail to understand where your anger is coming from." Sai states as he tilts his head in confusion. He glances over to Yamato - who already looks like he'd rather be anywhere but here with these people - and asks a question. "Was it wrong of me to state the truth? I thought we were always supposed to speak true."

"Ahem." Tsunade clears her throat to cut to the chase and avoid all this bullshit. "Remember where you are and why you're here."

"Yeah but you haven't told us why we're - oh hey Naruto." Kiba can't help but become distracted as he sees his friend. "When did you get here?"

"He was here before you entered my office." Tsunade growls out as her patience is pushed to its limit. "Now, as… amusing as it is to watch how my shinobi act around each other, we all have more important things to do. For instance, I have to run an entire village full of idiots who think they can waltz in here and chat and you all have to go hunt down a missing nin."

She throws a scroll at Yamato who catches it out of reflex and with a wince of pain. Tsunade put way too much force into the throw.

"We've got a lead on one of Suna's missing nin, Mukade. He's heading to the ruins of Roran to mess with something or other there, the scroll details it more. All I know is that the Fourth sealed something and he's planning on messing with the seal. Yamato is the team leader. Naruto you're the front line. Sai you're the support, travel and assisting in combat. Kiba, you're the tracker. There's a scent sample in the scroll. Get the others to the target." Tsunade barks out the assignment. "Bring him in alive if possible so we can hand him over to Suna as an act of good faith. If you can't, we'll just hand his head over."

"Hell yeah!" Kiba and Akamaru both let out a whoop of excitement in unison. "We'll get him in no time!"

"Search and retrieval." Sai says to himself. "I'll have to prepare my inks for this. Snakes excel at coiling and restraining or perhaps an octopus? Birds to get there faster of course, an efficient shinobi is a good shinobi."

"Oh! Oh! Maybe we'll run into Gaara!" Naruto exclaims as he punches the air in enthusiasm. "I haven't seen him in forever! This is great!"

"This is terrible." Yamato groans out. "I have to keep two balls of energy and one emotionally stunted kid in check. How long is this mission for?"

"Two weeks." Tsunade smiles at someone else's discomfort. As petty as it is, she's feeling a faint sense of victory. "Now get out of here! I'm busy! And for the love of God don't mess this up, It should be easy!"

That Night, Somewhere in the Land of Iron

"We'll make camp here." Kabuto's cool and crisp voice cuts through the air, bringing all three of us to a halt. There's a slight mist rolling through the clearing he's chosen, we're most likely close to a large body of water. It's a rather eerie clearing, with twilight glistening on the horizon and the ominous mist. Perfect setting for a horror movie. There's not really a good place to set up defenses but neither is there a good place to sneak up on us or set an ambush. It's not the best, nor the worst. But there's just one problem.

"What do you mean camp?" Sasuke asks in confusion as he lands next to Kabuto. "We're not there yet."

"We're not even in the right country yet." I chime in with my own two cents. "Unless you have some ulterior task that we don't know, why the hell do you want to stop here?"

"You two honestly have no idea, do you?" He breathily pants out. Sweat is rolling down his forehead and his shirt is damp. He's huffing and puffing and slightly wavering on his feet like standing is a challenge. "Neither of you realize how ridiculous it is to run for that long and you want to keep running?"

"I'm a freak." I casually shrug. I mean really, I'm fucking broken. I can run all day like it's nothing. "I usually call it quits when I'm there or Sasuke says to stop. I don't really do missions with anyone else."

"I've run much farther before, this trivial distance was nothing to me." Sasuke lies through his teeth. He's breathing heavily himself but nowhere near as bad as Kabuto. "What's the problem Kabuto? Stamina issues?"

"I'm a medic-nin." He states like that explains everything. "That mean's I'm quick in short bursts. I excel at dodging and weaving around attacks. What medic-nins in general don't excel at are impressive feats of strength, except Tsunade, and being able to maintain high levels of physical stress. Mental stress? Oh, we're exceptional at that. When you're literally holding the life of someone in your hands you don't want to mess up. Then you're expected to move down the line and do it again. And again. And aga-"

"Yeah yeah we get it." I interrupt him from continuing his tirade. "You're good with your hands but somehow still leave your girlfriend disappointed."

"Exactly - wait what?" Kabuto sputters out in his exhausted state.

"Sasuke. You want a hammock?" I continue while blatantly ignoring the team leader.

"If you're offering." Sasuke accepts in a heartbeat. "Your hammocks are way better than the ground."

"I know right?" I fly through a set of hand signs and touch the ground. "Summoning Jutsu: Murasakino."

"Oh hello Alvarcus! How can I help?" Murasakino with her purple scarf eagerly greets me as she poofs into existence. Six of her eight beady eyes drag themselves up and down Sasuke. "Does he need more clothes?"

"No - wait yes actually. He could use a few more pairs." I take in Sasuke's appearance again. "Definitely needs some color variation though. Dark blue and black make for a dreary appearance."

"Says the guy wearing dark green and black." Sasuke mutters to himself. Unfortunately for him, we're all shinobi here and heard him.

"Piss off I have my red scarf." I snap back at him before turning back to Murasakino. "That's not why I summoned you this time. We're making camp here. Could I trouble you for two of your lovely hammocks?"

"Why of course!" Murasakino springs into action the moment the words left my mouth. "Two hammocks, not a problem!"

"Ahem." Kabuto clears his throat while adjusting his glasses.

"Fine." I grumble. "Three hammocks."

Days Later, the Ruins of Roran

"Mukade!" A familiar fox like orange blur shouts out as his fist slams into the stomach of his enemy. This enemy doesn't double over in pain as the fist connects, instead it crumbles into dozens upon dozens of pieces that skid across the ground. "Quit hiding behind your puppets and show yourself!"

"This guy is a Suna puppeteer." Two blurs, one grey and one white, land next to the orange one. "They're good at hiding as their toys take out the enemy. In an environment like this he thinks he has the upper hand. It's all windy and the whirling sand is kicking up a storm. Makes spotting him a pain in the ass."

"It also removes one of my stronger aspects. With this dust cloud it is impossible for me to spot the target from the air." A black and white blur lands behind the others. "However, Kiba stated that Mukade thinks he has the advantage. Kiba implied that we do, not him."

"Well duh!" Kiba barks out - with one from Akamaru as well - at Sai as his nose twitches. "Sure the wind makes it harder to pinpoint him down, but I can sniff the bastard out! Inuzuka's don't need to see to find someone!"

It's at this moment that the three boys and dog barely hear a sound over the whipping wind. It's the sound of wood dragging on stone. It's the sound of a puppet reassembling itself.

"Oh come on this thing won't stay down!" Naruto groans out. "This is like the fourth time it's gotten back up!"

The hulking puppet with its bulbous head and long naga like body violently twitch as it becomes whole once more. It turns its lifeless green eyes towards the boys before it. The puppet springs into action, slithering across the long ruined street with surprising speed.

"Let me and Akamaru give it a go!" Kiba shouts over the sandstorm as he bends down low.

"I advise against this course of action." Sai monotonously says. "Puppeteers are known for-"

"Fang over Fang!" Both Kiba and Akamaru rocket off in twin twisters of claw, tooth and nail. They slam into the puppet and it's body simply can't take the stress. Both drills pierce straight through, ripping the once formidable piece of woodworking to splinters.

Splinters that suddenly spark as no less than twenty five explosive seals ignite.

"-rigging their puppets should they receive fatal damage." Sai, somehow even more dryly than normal, finishes.

"Oh shit!" Kiba yells as he leaps away from the puppet turned bomb. Sai simply steps behind a large piece of what once was a building, grabs Naruto by the collar and yanks him behind too.

A cacophonous boom thunders as the seals activate. The heat wave is felt by all the shinobi as small bits of shrapnel litter the area.

"Fuck me." A groan comes from Kiba as the dust settles. Well it doesn't settle, it's just absorbed by the sandstorm going on. "Mom is gonna be pissed."

"Perhaps you should worry about more immediate threats." Yamato levelly scolds his temporary genin. Yamato rises up from his kneeling position and his wooden wall that shielded both him and Kiba recedes into the ground. "Like what you're going to do to make this up to me. Really? You're supposed to be the cream of the crop, the best of your generation, heir to your clan and I had to step in and save you?"

"Okay so I'm having a bad day!" Kiba grumbles out as he stands up and dusts himself and Akamaru off. "Everyone has bad days!"

"Bad days in our profession get us killed." Yamata scolds Kiba again. "You misstep, you die. Then I get to tell your family about it."

"Geeze you don't need to be so harsh I get it!"

"Uh guys?" Naruto shouts out to everyone else. "Was this giant hole here a second ago?"

He's standing on the edge of a jagged rip in the ground that seems to fall forever. It goes so deep that light simply fades as it enters, never reaching the bottom. There's no wall to this long drop, it's as if the shinobi are standing on a platform with a tear in it.

"Well, looks like we're catching a break." Kiba proudly declares as his back straightens. "He's down there. I can smell him."

"So the Inuzuka can be useful." Sai drones out as he quickly paints a large bird for everyone to ride down.

"Screw you of course I'm useful!"

"So." Kabuto narrows his eyes and raises a hand to shield them against the biting sting of the whirling sands. "This is the ruins of Roran. Quite the desolate place."

"Yep." The sting of the sand doesn't bother me. One, I'm wearing sunglasses. Two, the Jiongu is made out of much more durable stuff than… uh… eyeball flesh? Is it even a flesh? Fuck if I know, the sticky part. That's what I'll call it. "The ruins of Roran. The once great city so technologically advanced that it was supposed to usher in a new age of civilization. It came crashing down in a single night, no one knows why. Nothing states a specific reason, just one day it was there, the next only rubble. Imagine how far society could have come if it didn't fall."

"Do you think it was sabotaged?" Sasuke asks as we all start to weave our way through the ruins. "It was what, twenty or thirty years ago that it fell? Maybe it got caught up in one of the Shinobi Wars, probably the Third. We're quite good at toppling cities and governments in a single night."

"Eh. Maybe." I shrug. "It's not out of the realm of possible. Hell I've toppled governments in a couple days and I didn't even go there for that reason!"

"I know. That's what scares me." Sasuke shudders. "Imagine if you were motivated. The things you could do."

"Oh Sasuke, you have absolutely no idea how right you are." I sinisterly smile at Kabuto's back. "Fear the day that some does the unthinkable. Fear the day that someone earns more than my anger, more than my hatred. Fear this day most of all, the day that someone motivates me. Because that is the day that they've signed their death sentence. It matters not how long I must wait because I can be very patient. Like a fine wine, it only sweetens with time."

"Do you know what motivates me?" Kabuto dryly speaks as he moves deeper into the ruins. "Being given a mission to complete with a timetable. Come, loitering around here isn't going to find us the kunai. Do you know specifically where it is?"

"To a point." I respond with a roll of my eyes. "It's underground somewhere, most likely in the center of the city. Good news, I've brought an earth heart. Excavating won't be an issue."

"I can't wait to get out of this sandstorm." Sasuke says as he falls in pace. "The sand gets everywhere."

"MUKADE!" Naruto shouts out into the giant mechanical room. "SHOW YOURSELF!"

"OR ARE YOU TOO SCARED?!" Kiba roars out.

"Is this a normal tactic?" Sai asks Yamato with a puzzled expression. Puzzled for Sai means absolutely no change in facial structure but simply a slight tilt to the head.

"No." Yamato heaves out a heavy sigh. "They're just idiots."

"COME OUT YOU PANSY!"

"YEAH! FACE US LIKE A REAL MAN!"

"Doesn't this alert Mukade, our target, to our whereabouts?" Sai asks again in puzzlement.

"Yes. Yes it does." Yamato bluntly agrees.

"They don't seem to be acting like proper shinobi." Sai states. "We're supposed to be the shadows of shadows."

"I know, but Mukade already knows we're here. So there's no real point in trying to be stealthy." Yamato points out to his least pain in the ass underling.

"Then why are you letting them continue to shout?"

"I'm hoping that they'll be tired for the return trip."

"That's a big hole." I look down into the endless drop. Sasuke is standing suspiciously far away from the edge. "Oh don't be a pansy and get over here. I'm not going to shove you into this one."

"You can't blame me for being careful." Sasuke keeps one eye on me and the other on the hole. "Our track record isn't the best."

"When did you shove Sasuke into a hole?" Kabuto asks as the three of us study the drop for a means to get down.

"The Pit." We both bluntly state in monotone.

"Ah. The Pit." Kabuto nods. I wonder if he had a stay in the Pit too? "How do you propose we get down?"

"Jump?" I awkwardly offer. All I get in return is unfathomable looks. "Oh come on you had to know that was a joke! Do you really think that I wanted to jump? Me? The dude with the fear of falling suggests jumping into a pit of darkness that we can't see the bottom of and you take it seriously? Really?"

"I can fly down." Sasuke nonchalantly says.

"Wait wait wait. Back the fuck up." I turn to fully face him. "What the hell do you mean you can fly?"

"Version Two. It has wings." Sasuke sums up what should have been a lengthy explanation in five simple words. "Took forever to figure out how to use them properly."

"I… I don't actually have a witty retort for that." I'm staring gobsmacked at him. "You can fly. That's fucking cool. Damn. I wish I could do that, then I'd never fear falling again."

"Whoa hold on a moment." Sasuke interjects. "Did you just say 'I wish I could do that?' I know something that you want to know? I'm going to hold this over you for so long!"

"Just pointing this out." I take a single step towards him. "Now that I know you can fly, I suddenly feel a lot more comfortable with shoving you down in the hole. Want to keep going with your train of thought?"

"Message received." He takes a step away from me. "But how do you two plan on getting down?"

"Simple really." I probably should have said this sooner. "I'll summon a spider and they'll repel down and we'll climb down the web strand as if it was a rope."

"That's… convenient." Kabuto begrudgingly admits.