The Brutal Riposte (Part 1)

"It's so hot here..." Hinata sighed out. Her light purple blouse was lying next to her feet on the body of a hill-sized red butterfly.

"-e! Dobe!" Sasuke struck the blonde on the back of his head.

"Ugh... What the heck, Teme?!"

"You were drooling. If you're so easily distracted by Hinata's body hidden behind a mesh shirt, you will become a liability down the line. Get a grip!"

"Uh, but ~ttebayo." Naruto's eyes inadvertently kept turning towards Hinata.

"Heh, you were right, Kana-chan. Naruto-kun and Hinata-chan are cute together."

"Yeah, I especially like when Hina-chan is torn between showing herself off in front of Naruto or keeping herself tame."

"... They're a headache if you ask me." The masked jōnin grumbled, "So? Why is this girl with us?"

"Ah, you mean Temari-chan?" Pakura's pointed at the unconscious young woman sleeping in her arms, "She was attacked by Orochimaru somewhere around here and came back to Konoha to alarm us."

"To Konoha? It would be quicker to run to Suna, so, how come?"

"Doofus-kun, from what I have read in Izumi's report, Temari-chan was bitten by a small nasty sand snake."

"Exactly." Pakura continued, "The desert contains a plethora of venomous creatures. Sunagakure's shinobis are taught how to discern those and on the means of how to combat each venom. Temari-chan wouldn't survive a day in the desert without the slowing agent found in the foliage of Lands of Fire."

"Hmm..." Kakashi's eye smiled at the young kunoichi, "I see Suna has some talents out there as well. Luckily, with both of you here, we don't have to worry about the venom. Maybe we should take a break? Holding a boss summon active for so long must be taxing for you, Kana-chan."

"Nope, we don't have the time for that, Doofus-kun."

"Thanks to Psyche-san flying us over, we will save a day of travel. Are we being chased?" Kakashi questioned.

"No. But we're getting pulled into a trap. Did you saw that one ANBU at the camp? I'm pretty sure he was one of the Root."

"Haa..." He sighed, "Yeah, I thought so too. And I got taught to always trust your gut feelings - in the end, it's a much healthier lifestyle."

"I hate when someone is pulling one over me, and I can't defend myself." Kaname clicked her tongue.

"Yeah, I know the feeling, Kana-chan." Thoughts of the betrayal of the people she once called family flashed through Pakura's mind.

"Listen, when shit hits the fan, I want you to protect them. Don't worry about me."

"It's when not if with you, huh?"

"You know I'm a trouble magnet, but I'm serious about this, Kakashi." The man rarely heard her pronouncing his name - it happened only when Kaname had a heart-to-heart request for him, "The kids have gotten better, but Akatsuki is too much for them. I'm just a single person - despite the shadow clones..."

"Kana-chan?" Pakura turned towards her best friend that stopped in the middle of her sentence.

"Motherfucker! Thinking it through, I'm pretty sure on what's that Snake bastard's plan is!"

"Ho? Not that I doubt you, but you think you got it figured out? How?"

"Easy, Doofus-kun. I don't like to admit it, but Orochimaru and I think alike. How do I know what he will try to do? Because I would do the same if I was in his shoes."

"So? What should we expect this time?" The silver-haired jōnin rose his eyebrow in question.

"If I was him, I would use Akatsuki to attack that nosy woman on multiple fronts. So many she wouldn't be able to fight back."

"Hahaha, hearing you call yourself nosy is rare," Pakura admitted.

-----

*Crack*

"Fu-!" A teacup split in Tsunade's hand, spilling a hot liquid onto her knee.

"Heh, you should be careful, Tsunade. Your gorilla strength is insane." Jiraya laughed at her.

"Kiss my ass, pervert!"

"That's a rather... poor choice of words, my Hime."

"Ugh..." She groaned in anger. Luckily for the Toad Sannin, their old teacher opened the office doors and entered the room accompanied by two people Tsunade could turn her anger towards.

"I don't care what his orders are, Koharu. I'm here to stop the senseless slaughter before it began!"

"But Daimyō-" Homura tried to defend the other councilor.

"Is wrong. Tell me, Sensei, do we really need them here?"

"We're His voice! You can't just wave us off, Tsunade!"

"For you, it's Hokage-sama. We're not friends, Councilor Koharu."

"I know that you don't like when someone puts roadblocks in front of you, Tsunade-chan. Unfortunately, changing the council requires Daimyō's approval." The previous Hokage rebuked her request to overall smirks of his late teammates.

"Hmm, ANBU won't do it. I can ask Flat Board. She doesn't like to be ordered around by me, but I reckon she will make an exception for the two of you."

"You can't attack us, Tsu-" The blonde's intense glare instantly made Homura rethink his words, "Ehem... Hokage-sama."

"No... No one will suffer in My village." Tsunade put a lot of weight on 'my'. But accidents do happen. Who knows, because of your old age, you may trip and fall off Hokage's Mountain... Multiple times. Knowing her, she won't even leave a trace of foul play. I'm sure neither one of you trained in several decades - even if you were shinobi once, you two are currently weaker than an academy student! Now leave before I call Flat Board back! I had enough of your stupidity for a month!"

"Konoha's well-being is more important than Suna's! We can gain a lot of clientele by erasing one of the competitors. Can't you see this, Hiruzen?"

"Koharu-chan, please, just leave. Daimyō, his advisors, and you are wrong - war is never the answer."

Jiraiya breathed out in relief once two Konoha Council members left the room. Only then Tsunade noticed him standing behind her chair as if he gave her a unanimous vote of confidence. Her previous conversation with Kaname instantly surfaced in her mind, making a blush emerge on her cheeks.

"Stupid Flat Board..." She hid her face behind her arm. But it seemed that her teacher noticed the rose color brightening her face and smiled approvingly.

"Are you okay, Tsunade-hime?" Seeing her discomfort, Jiraiya patted her shoulder.

"Don't touch me, pervert!" She yelled out at him.

The Toad Sannin jumped back as if she zapped him, "I- I'm sorry, Tsunade-hime. I just-"

"Haah... No, I overreacted... Sorry, Jiraiya, I was... Angry." She interrupted.

"Sure you were, Tsunade-chan." The old man teased.

"Not a word, Sensei." She pleaded.

"Hohoho, better late than never." He laughed when Tsunade struck her desk, "Im going to Suna - it's better to have a reserve plan. Have fun." He winked at Jiraiya and flickered out the window.

"... Tsunade-hime, what the heck was that?" The white-haired man pointed at the previous location of their teacher.

"Not your bloody interest!"

"Okay, okay! Don't yell at me, Tsunade-hime." He took a step back before she decided to deliver one of her legendary punches to his gut.

*Knock-knock*

"This knocking? Shizune, you can come in." Tsunade shouted out, happy for the chance to change the topic of conversation.

"I'm sorry, it's important, Tsunade-sama." Toad-sannin's black-haired assistant entered the room.

"Sure what it is?"

"Ehm... I have news, two good and a bad one."

"Well - could be worse, start with the bad one."

"Hai, Tsunade-sama. It seems someone alerted Sunagakure of Fire Daimyo's orders - their armies are marching east towards our borders."

"... Could be worse, let's hope that Sensei and Flat Board succeed." Tsunade nodded.

"It's not that?" Shizune racked her brain.

"What do you mean?"

"If this is not bad news, then something else will happen. Something really-really bad, Tsunade-sama."

"... You're babbling, Shizune. What are the good news?"

"You don't under understand, Tsunade-sama! One of your lottery coupons won the third main prize, and-"

"Heh, I can see how that is a reason for worry. Nothing good happened with you winning your bets, Tsunade-hime."

"You don't say?!" The Hokage shot back.

"LISTEN TO ME!" Shizune raised her voice, astonishing the Sannins, "Another one of your coupons won the big prize, Tsunade-sama!"

Tsunade faceplanted her desk.

"Oh... That's bad." Jiraiya scratched the side of his head.

"ANBU!" Tsunade groaned.

"Yes, Hokage-sama. What do you require." Yamamoto flickered towards her.

"Find Kaname's broth-, haah... I mean the commander and bring him here."

"As you wish."

"I will go after Sensei." Jiraiya offered.

"No, I need you in Konoha. I will send a group of Anbu and, once they're back, Team Guy after him. I'll protect the village, but it's the Flat Board's kids who are being targeted, don't let Orochimaru put his fingers on them. I believe she is his main target - she wouldn't be able to fight back if he held Haru and Kushina captive."

"Heh, I see that we made a good choice." Jiraiya agreed.

"Huh?"

"With you being the Hokage, Tsunade-hime. From what I've heard, it's your first true test. Not many shinobis would keep a clear head under pressure."

Tsunade smirked, "Just keep constant watch over her family, Jiraiya."

------

"Honorable Siblings..." Baki bowed before two elderly people.

"He called for us, Sister." Ebizō was an elderly man characterized by heavy-lidded eyes and very long eyebrows that framed each side of his face.

"Sister? Are you dead?" he calmly waited for the response.

Chiyo, his sister, an elderly woman with black eyes and grey hair tied in a bun, sat upon the bank of a pod, with a fishing rod hanging from her hands.

"Sister?"

"Bwahaha! No way! I was playing dead!"

"Don't be so foolish... Sister." Ebizō admonished her, continuing their favorite pastime.

Not sure if they forgot about him, Baki once again called out to the elderly, "... Honorable Siblings, please, you have to listen to me."

"No, we don't have to. We should be long gone. It's your time, time for the younger generation, do something for yourselves. We're just old books set aside on a dusty shelf - forget about us." Ebizō replied, keeping his eyes on the float.

"We're on the brink of another war. Our Kazekage, Shukaku's host, was taken captive, one of his siblings is missing, and another one is dying three floors above our heads. Chiyo-sama, you are the best iryōnin in Sunagakure's history and our best chance at saving Kankurō's life."

"Hmm, it seems that Sunagakure requires our help once again, Sister." the old man's words were left without a reply, "Are you still playing dead?"

"... Sister?"

"Bwahaha! I got you again." the woman laughed.

'This is going to be a long day...' Baki thought, leading two elderly towards the stairs.

...

"Incredible, I'm not sure who did that, but he must be a true poison master. This boy was injected with several lethal, chakra-enhanced venoms. My entire life, I researched how to improve my poisons with chakra but was unsuccessful. Gods know how they would react if I tried to neutralize them."

"What can we do now, Chiyo-baasama?" a young kunoichi in iryōnin uniform asked.

"What's your name, girl?"

"Maki, Chiyo-baasama."

"Maki, there were two iryōnins out there that made a complete fool out of my poisons during the second shinobi war. You have better chances at asking for Slug Queen's help. That Uchiha she-demon will never help us."

----

"*Achoo*!"

"You okay, granny?" Haru lightly pulled at Sachi's hand.

"Heh," she pulled the boy closer to her side, "Just a sneeze, Haru-chan, nothing to worry about."

"Get back here!" The woman heard her granddaughter chase after the ninken.

'Ah, it's so peaceful...'

----

"Uchiha she-demon?"

"Bwahaha, when I was younger, I got myself some respect on the fields of Ame, young Maki. I was known as the mistress of poisons and puppets. But she... That woman with her husband at her side put fear in all our hearts. Nothing could stop that pair mowing us down."

"Then what happened, Chiyo-baasama?"

"I'm not sure - that woman just disappeared from the battlefield. I doubt even a devil would take her with him, meaning she is most likely still alive in Konoha. But that was so long ago..."

"Not that long, Sister. Give or take a quarter of a century ago."

'Uh... Now I know who Kaname takes after...' Baki deadpanned, "There is also a problem with asking Hokage-sama to come to Sunagakure."

"Huh? Slug Queen became the Hokage? At last! Hiruzen died from old age?"

"No Chiyo-baasama." Baki replied, "Sarutobi-sama is still alive. The problem is that several hours ago, we send out our armies east to defend our borders."

"I always said that allying ourselves with Konoha will bite us in the back." the elderly woman grumbled.

"... There is a lot of history between the second shinobi war and our times, Chiyo-baasama. But we don't have the time for that now. Can you help Kankurō? His life is in danger."

"I will ease his passing - that's the best I can do." she turned her head sideways.

-----

"I see Suna!"

"Naruto-kun? How do you know it's Suna?"

"Hehe, I was here before, Hina-chan. Sis took me for a trip when I was younger ~ttebayo."

"Lucky sob."

"Got a problem, Teme?! I'm sure that Hokage-Jiji must have taken you to Suna as well!"

"Yeah, so? I'm not the one that traveled half the world. What I saw were only three countries, Dobe. The farthest Hinata was from Konoha was during our Wave mission."

"Uh..."

*Clap*, Kakashi interrupted their dispute, "Okay, enough. Sasuke, you will have a chance to see the world someday, well, only if we survive the next several hours."

"What do you mean by that, Kakashi-sensei?"

"By that, Hinata-chan, I mean that Akatsuki is the one that waits for us." Kakashi watched thrilled as his younger teammates turn their sight towards Naruto. Their expressions changed drastically - he noticed determination and boiling anger hidden behind Sasuke's eyes. Hinata's reaction scared him - chakra waved off the young woman in thick waves. 'I wouldn't want to be in Akatsuki member's shoes after she meets one. That always shy Hinata is ready to butcher her enemy...'

"Is that Baki down there?"

"He looks like him. Psyche-san, take us down, please." The light cast a red hue over the Sunagakure's main square after it traveled through enormous transparent-red wings.

'She likes to enter with style, no doubt about that. Kaname is not alone? Is that Pakura? Maybe there is still a future for our village...' Baki walked towards the giant insect, bobbing his head at the passersby to clear the area.

"Hey there, Baki-san. I heard you might have needed help." The black-haired woman waved down at him.

"Come down, Kaname! Kankurō is in critical condition!"

"Yeah-yeah, there is no hurry." Kaname landed next to the Sunagakure's jōnin. "Show us the way."

-----

"That's! The White Fang of Konoha! DIE!" Chiyo's charged at Kakashi the moment his face showed from behind the corner. Her speed astounded everyone present.

"Oya?" Kakashi let the elderly pass next to him.

Chiyo bounced off the wall and once again jumped at Kakashi with kunai in her hand.

Naruto and Sasuke intercepted the woman - parrying her attack and repelling her, "What the heck, Scarecrow-sensei, doesn't deserve to be attacked just because of his looks, old hag!"

'Naruto, does it mean I deserve to be attacked for other reasons?' Kakashi gloomily dropped his head.

Ebizō caught her sliding across the room, "Sister, please look closer. It's not Sakumo."

"Uhh?" Chiyo strained her eyes, looking hard at Kakashi's face. Her occupied mind was interrupted by a woman's voice shouting orders behind her back and turned towards it. "That face?! It's her! What are you doing standing there? Run, you fools! We're under attack!"

"Sister!" The old man couldn't keep hold of her.

"Hinata-chan, Orochimaru's venom is chakra enhanced. You can find it in Kankurō veins with Byakugan." Kaname was occupied with the dying boy Naruto's age and didn't watch the old granma charging at her from the side.

"Nee-san!" Hinata shouted in alarm, just a moment before a rusty kunai impacted her future sister-in-law's side.

"Huh?" The kunai Chiyo tightly held in her hand evaporated with the body of her nemesis.

"Kana-chan, please don't!" Pakura called out, stopping Kaname before she used the stolen kunai to eliminate her attacker.

"If you say so..." a melodious voice sounded from Chiyo's back. Only then she noticed something prickling her neck.

"Sister, are you okay?!" Ebizō crouched next to her in worry.

"Wh-what happened?"

"I said you need to look harder at these people, Sister. They're much too young to be our enemies of the previous war. You attacked her - Without justification! You were lucky that this girl spared your life!"

"Ah..." The elderly squinted her eyes at the she-demon look-alike. Despite the obvious resemblance, the young woman spinning the kunai on her finger lacked the ever-present smirk and the haughtiness of that accursed clan. The absence of glowing red eyes was also a big giveaway. "Bwahaha! It was only a play - I knew they were different people!"

"Wait, Sister! Don't laugh so hard - you're bleeding!"

"Huh?" She put her palm on her neck and swiped a small trickle of blood away. Chiyo's eyes rotated between the small red traces of blood on her hand and her trusty kunai in possession of the woman. When she connected all the dots, her grey eyes grew in worry, quickly grabbing three vials of colorful liquids from the bag hanging on her hip and downing them in an instant.

"S-sister!?"

"Bwahaha! I forgot to take my medications, Brother!" she croaked in laughter, only Ebizō noticed a droplet of sweat falling down his sister's cheek.