Chapter 29 - Shadows Converge: The Hunt for the Jinchūriki Begins

A blazing wind howled across the mist-shrouded valleys of the Land of Waterfalls. A shadow moved swiftly along the periphery of the woods—invisible, silent, yet seen.Naruto crouched on the mossy outcropping, squinting his eyes, black ANBU mask draped at his waist. The drizzle moistened his dark cloak, clinging to him, but he did not stir. Down below, a gaunt caravan crossed the forest highway, attended by Waterfall shinobi in tight formation. Their midst was Fū, green-haired and demure, her eyes scanning all around her with a look of wariness." She knows," whispered Haku beside him, her voice a gentle hiss of wind in reeds. Her ice-blue eyes remained riveted on the caravan. "She's building up to an attack."Naruto didn't respond immediately. His gold-blonde hair was dripping wet, plastered to his forehead, but his mind was as hard as steel. Every instinct he had was telling him this was not going to be a routine extraction mission. Fū being there was too important—too important."I wouldn't have expected any less," Naruto finally replied, his low and serious tone. "She's a Jinchūriki. She's had that target on her back since she was born."Behind them, two other ANBU agents, masked and unmoving, changed positions. The call had come from Shibuki himself—Takigakure's leader had pleaded for Konoha's help in secret, understanding that Akatsuki would sooner or later turn their attention towards Fū. Shibuki had made the difficult choice to send her away, but not without a safeguard: Naruto Uzumaki, Haku, and their best group.And they were not the sole observers.Meanwhile, in the forest deep within—"They're close," Menma breathed, his eyes smoldering with an unholy amber heat as he rested on a rock outcropping. His robes softly rustled in the wind, the black snake symbol of Orochimaru almost invisible beneath his cloak. "Fū is being moved. The smell of chakra lingers like decay."Danzo appeared from the fog behind him, his face frigid and calculating. "Good. The Seven-Tails will bring us closer to power, Akatsuki doesn't comprehend."Several Root agents appeared from the darkness in silence. Orochimaru regarded them from a serpent he had summoned, sneering as he spoke quietly into the ears of his new pawn."Menma. You understand. Bring the girl to me alive. You've seen what I can offer you. Her power, your power—they will be identical."Menma's eyes did not flicker. "I'll bring her. Even if I have to kill Naruto to do so."Orochimaru's tongue flicked out in ill-pleasured excitement. "Good boy."Elsewhere, the second threat moved with no subtlety."Are we there yet?" Hidan asked, dragging his triple-blade scythe behind him. He left a gouged trail of dirt as he rode. "This forest is pissing me off."Kakuzu adjusted the thick scroll buckled around his foreback, his stitched-together face grim. "Yes. Her chakra signature is weak, but the tailed beast is unmistakable. Two-Tails was a cakewalk. Seven-Tails will fight harder."Hidan sneered. "Oh, don't get my hopes up. I'm dying to see some blood."The pair was cutting directly toward the caravan, unconcerned about stealth. They didn't need it.Kakuzu was already planning whose organs he would harvest when it was over.Back with Naruto's team, tension crackled."They're moving faster now," Haku observed, ice-encased senbon between her fingers. "Shibuki must have told Fū. She's on edge."Good, Naruto replied. "We must keep her awake until we can substitute her with our clone. Then we transfer her along the secret route to the meeting point."One of the ANBU, code-named Crow, nodded curtly. "And what do we do if the attackers are already on the grounds?"Naruto looked down the path, his eyes as unyielding as steel. "Then we take them out.Suddenly, a low shudder ripped through the ground. Haku's eyes widened, and she instinctively released her ice release. Trees creaked in the distance—then snapped."They've arrived!" Crow snarled, taking off immediately.Naruto slipped on his mask with one smooth action. "Crow, Wraith—catch Fū. Haku, with me!"Shadows erupted behind the trees.In that moment, chaos.Menma launched a barrage of wind-sharp blades from the shadows, scattering the Waterfall guards. Two of them went down before they even had time to scream. Fū's eyes widened as her senses flared. Chakra—tainted, familiar, wrong."You!" she gasped as Menma emerged from the shadows, his face twisted in a bitter snarl."Hello again, Fū," he said coldly. "You're coming with me."She didn't have time to react as Naruto's body smacked into Menma's from the side, both of them racing through the forest in a whirlwind of leaves and chakra."Menma!" Naruto screamed, fury rising. "Traitor—!"Menma spat, wrenching raw wind chakra from her mouth to send flying back at him. "Still pretending to be the hero? You've always been weak, Naruto. You just don't know it."Air between them cracked as they struggled anew, both summoning chakra-powered kunai. Sparks glared.Haku, meanwhile, had already summoned a wall of ice to protect Fū from flames heading her way."We must leave immediately!" she exhorted. Fū nodded, understanding breaking through. "You've come to rescue me."Yes," Haku replied. "But only if you survive long enough."Meanwhile, far down in Kirigakure...Minato Namikaze faced the war map of the Mizukage, his face stern."We don't have much time," he stated, his voice authoritative. "The Three-Tails is near the coast. If Akatsuki reaches it first, Kiri's equilibrium will be ruined."Mei Terumī crossed her arms, nodded. "I already sent Ao and Chōjūrō. But you'd better be helping us, Hokage."Minato's eyes narrowed, a rare storm brewing in them. "Then I'll lead the mission myself."Outside, waves crashed against the shore, the scent of salt thick in the air.From within those waves, the Three-Tails stirred.And somewhere nearby, Zetsu watched it all.Back at the battle, disaster loomed.Kakuzu and Hidan exploded onto the battlefield from the north, slaughtering the remaining guards like paper dolls.Hidan lapped blood on his scythe with wild glee. "This is more like it!"Kakuzu dove straight into Crow and Wraith, threads exploding out of his body.Naruto saw the newcomers and clenched his teeth. "Akatsuki... now?!"Menma vanished in an instant, reforming beside the just-arrived duo."Ah," he said to Kakuzu, "this complicates things."Kakuzu snarled. "We were sent to bring in the girl. Stand aside."Menma grinned wickedly. "She's mine."Naruto, covered in blood and gasping for breath, pulled himself up beside Haku."This is now a war zone," he growled. "And I'm not losing any of you to capture her."The forest burned behind them. Fū's hands trembled.The Seven-Tails seethed within her.The sky grew dark in an unnatural way, with thick clouds sweeping in as though reflecting the storm that brewed beneath. The trees creaked beneath the strain of crashing chakra, and the battleground, formerly a serene forest path, was now a war-torn ravine carved by lightning and hatred.Naruto's blade met Hidan's scythe in a scream of metal on metal. Sparks danced through the rain-soaked air. Haku formed hand seals, her breath calm, as she reflected glistening mirrors of water in the air while severing Kakuzu's threads that were slicing through the trees like whips.Behind them, Fū stood in the middle of the storm, her fists closed into trembling fists."This can't be happening..." she muttered, her voice cracking as she stared at the bloodshed.It was supposed to be a discreet transfer—a silent relocation. But now, both Akatsuki and Konoha's rogue elements had converged on her like vultures.From her perch within the trees, Haku spoke sharply, "Fū! Get underground now! I've marked the tunnel behind the ridge. Use it—now""But—!"No arguments!" Naruto's voice burned, cutting through the jumble. "You run or you die, and I'm not letting the latter happen!"Fū bit her lip, turned, and melted into the shadows of the landscape as a second explosion shook the ground behind her.Somewhere else in the battle"Ritual! I need blood for the ritual!" Hidan roared, advancing at Naruto in mad arcs with his scythe. "Make me enjoy his screams, Kakuzu!"Kakuzu, battling Crow and Wraith simultaneously, swore. "Enough yelling, kill him!"Naruto capered about like a ghost, sidestepping the killer swings of Hidan with swift shuffles, and then countered with a Raiton-infused kunai aimed at Hidan's throat.It hit—settled deep—and Naruto no longer waited for the result. He pursued with a Storm Release: Arc Surge Wave, a blinding wave of electrical chakra that flowed ahead in a dome.Hidan bellowed—but not in pain. He was laughing."That tickled! Oh, this is gonna be fun!"Naruto's eyes thinned. "You are crazy."Behind him, Menma watched the chaos, arms crossed and still.He didn't join the fight. Not yet."Let them soften each other," he murmured. "I'll take Fū when they're distracted."But he hadn't accounted for one thing—Haku.She moved in complete silence. From the trees above Menma, she dropped like falling snow—silent, deadly, and beautiful. Her senbon glittered as she aimed directly for the tendons in Menma's right arm.But he reacted.Menma's wind chakra exploded at the last moment, forming a barrier of slashing currents that deflected her attack. He spun, thrusting a wind blade into her chest.Haku spun halfway through the air, her cloak ripping as she narrowly avoided being cut in two. She stepped down lightly, breathing between hissing teeth."You've changed," she said coldly. "But not enough."Menma furrowed his brows. "You still cling to his side? Even after they left you and him to perish?"Haku didn't blink. "He saved me. That's more than anyone else ever did."Tch."Back with Naruto—, Idan had finally nicked him.Just a graze on the cheek—but enough for the ritual."Ohhh yes," Hidan laughed as he drew a circle of blood and ash into the muddy ground, stabbing his pike into his own heart with a sick smile. "Now we're going to bond, Naruto!"Naruto staggered. His chest erupted with pain—crisp, abrupt, otherworldly. It was not his injury, but Hidan's voodoo link asserting itself."Naruto!" Crow bellowed, throwing a kunai to shatter the ceremony—but Hidan swatted it aside.Naruto gritted his teeth and struggled through the agony, chakra aflame. He threw three smoke bombs in quick succession, vanishing from Hidan's view."Heh? Where'd he go?"And then the trees on Hidan's right exploded.A figure stepped out of the smoke, lightning crackling about him like a storm god."Storm Release: Wrath Fang!"A massive bolt of energized chakra—in the form of a snarling wolf—hit Hidan, ripping through his bones and slamming his body backward.Still immortal... but now under six tons of tree.Naruto gasped for breath, blood smeared across his lips. "I don't care how much of a god you are. I'll kill you a thousand times if I need to."Elsewhere—beneath the earth. Fū sprinted down the narrow escape tunnel Haku had arranged in advance. Her lungs burned, chakra shimming about her as the creature within her wrestled.Why are you holding back?" Chōmei's voice echoed in her head. "You know they'll kill you if they catch you.""I can't just lose control!" People were trying to protect her!"And what if they die because you tarry?" Fū gritted her teeth. "I won't let that happen. I won't be a monster."You're not," the beast said gently. "But sometimes, even good people have to roar." he was in a room underground—her exit cut off by a familiar figure.Menma.He was already there."End of the road," he whispered, his hand filled with wind chakra."No...," Fū breathed."I don't want to hurt you. Just come with me. I don't care what they do with the beast. You'll be alive."Alive as what?" she snapped. "A prisoner? A weapon? A vessel? "He wouldn't meet her eyes. Behind them, the ground blew up.Ice erupted in spires, and Menma was forced back as Haku returned, bloodied but alive. "Get away from her."She's not yours to protect!" Menma growled, spinning a whirlwind of slicing air."Wrong again," Naruto's voice rang out from behind. "She's under my protection."The whole team was present.Menma sighed. "So be it."Far, far away, on the mist-shrouded shores of Kirigakure...Minato was present alongside Mei, Ao, and a team of top Mist shinobi. Waves crashed hard against the shore as a beastly chakra signature throbbed from under the water.A dark figure floated on the surface—masked, shrouded in vermilion clouds."Tobi," Minato whispered. "So... it starts." Mei narrowed her eyes. "We have to get the Three-Tails first before they do." As the shell-bristed giant animal came out of the ocean, chakra meeting the raging storm above, Tobi raised an arm, and the sea grew calm like a sheet of glass. "This one is our handiwork," he declared. And war followed.