Milk and Sake

The 3rd Great Shinobi War hadn't ended. There was a running tension between the nations. The two years of ceasefire was almost coming to an end.

Hiruzen smoked his old lungs out heavily. The Kage summit was the very next day at dawn. There were so many heart stroke inducing matters he had to take care of all at once. All the elders broke their old backs keeping up with the various matters of their jurisdiction.

Danzo made sure to weed out all the enemy nation's spies with his Root and hand them over to get interrogated. Despite his extreme views on ruling with violence, he was an extremely reliable ally in times of chaos.

All of Konoha's scattered citizens were quickly brought under control with his guidance.

His old teammates, Homura and Koharu ran around constantly providing him support with the occasional discussion on the topics to be brought up in the summit.

Homura and him did argue a lot but at this moment, he only had a little time to engage in it and hence dismissed his insistence.

The clan elders of the Hyūga, Yamanaka, Akimichi, Nara, Arubame shinobi families took over logistics and trade. While he and his two old friends worried about diplomatic relations and the treaty with the other nations, everyone else worked to keep Konoha and the Fire Nation safe.

He poured over hundreds of documents of imports, exports, water supplies, territorial and topographical maps, millions of fine-printed laws and numbers.

Koharu sat beside him scribbling away at anything he dictated and Homura revised her notes.

The various established teams carried out exercises and replenished their supplies for the first escort mission of the Hokage after four years. Minato had just become Hokage after destroying the Kannabi bridge, giving Konoha the advantage for his term at office. But he's dead.

There were two hours until the summit. Hiruzen donned his formal battle gear and sat in the palanquin. He closed his eyes to rest his mind and was escorted out of Konoha before the sun rose.

He could hear indistinct screams from the far off forest. Those were the cries of the assassins being killed by the Twelve Guardian Shinobi and some young clansmen.

Some smoke drifted into the sky, reminiscent of a very familiar breath igniting jutsu.

It was reassuring to know his son was alive and still fighting. He didn't want to lose any more family members. Biwako... he would get her some of her favourite flowers on his way back to colour her grave.

..........

Itachi hoped the summit went well. He was tired of watching the dead eyes haunt him. He hoped for peace.

Today, he was tasked with guarding his mother and brother. It was something he did regularly but today was special. All of Konoha was on high alert due to the absence of the Hokage. And his family were one of the very important targets due to their relation with Fugaku.

He traced the perimeter of his new home, the Uchiha Compound, sipping on a pack of strawberry milk. In a matter of a week, his entire neighbourhood shifted to only have distant cousins and strange, old, Uchiha matrons.

There were a lot of smiles being thrown around when anyone made eye contact with anyone. They were relatives, afterall. His little nuclear family suddenly found itself becoming a wonky joint family. Everyday, his house was filled with guests coming with housewarming gifts. So, he had to escape.

And that escape, was "guard" duty.

It was peaceful at home now. But that was just a mask. Those housewarming gifts were them trying to build closer relations with his family because they were segregated from the rest of Konoha. A covert attempt to group up and strengthen their uneasy hearts. It wasn't wrong. But it felt bad to see such strained smiles.

......

Ryūki wanted to learn more about his ward. This was an opportunity. Even though he was merely a guard, and was always monitored by the Nations, he knew the power a Jinchuuriki had. This was a weapon that could raise a country singlehandedly.

Konohagakure and four other nations only rose to such great heights due to the First Hokage distributing the Nine Tailed-Beasts among them.

The First Hokage had established Konoha with the power of the Tailed Beasts and the Senju clan's legacy.

And now, a Tailed Beast was right in front of him. A child, no less. How could he not be tempted?

The men under him were loyal due to him providing them an outlet for their evil urges.

There were two problems. On the outside, he was watched by everyone. He couldn't leave, nor could they enter. So, he had no way to get information except through the Valley of Hell. But even then, they would be found out when they left the Valley.

And so, a new, secret route was needed.

"Get them here."

The men of Choinoke were produced before him.

He branded them with his seal and then placed his hands on their temples. A spark of electricity flickered between his fingers and they fell down in pain.

"You will all be provided with food and drink. Work for me and you will no longer have to eat the red mud in the valley. Run, and you die. Have I made myself clear?"

They trembled and nodded in fear.

They were brought back to the Valley and ordered to dig.

But they had no tools. And so, they dig with their hands, scraping away at rocks and stone. Their nails bled and skin tore but this was all for the sake of getting a few life saving morsels to eat. Some of them ran to their houses to retrieve some rusty kunais they had kept as family heirlooms from the time they lived on the surface and chipped at the cliffside.

This wasn't the first time they tried to escape. But they were bound by a choking seal in their frontal lobes that immediately executed them if they attempted to leave.

But now, they had a saviour descend on them. He took away their chains and bound them to him and promised food and freedom.

Like that, for the next sixty days, they dug away westward, a rough passage with their bones and blood,  extending the length of a small country. Their desperation and bloodline helped them create an impossible route to the outside that extended over half a small country. They dug and dug and finally say the sky.

But Ryūki stopped them from digging further. To their disappointment he commanded them to wait and he left through the tunnel with another subordinate.

The outside was cloudy Ryūki determined he was just inside Konohagakure's border and passed under their border with Yuugakure.

This was dangerous territory because this was very close to the common point between the Land of Hot Water, Land of Fire and Country of Rice. The meeting point for Yuugakure, Konohagakure and the newly established Otogakure (Village hidden by the Sound).

And among these three places with likely the most information stored, Otogakure was safest for him.

He began preparation to gain information about his Yuugakure as well as about the fabled yokai of old folk tales.

Back at the Valley prison, screams echoed through yhe tunnels winding their way to the deepest cell.

The mother held her child close, comforting him in lullabies, trying to drown out the cries for help.

They were her fellow clanswomen being defiled by the dog Yuugakure shinobi. She could do nothing about them but escape into her own thoughts. That's how she missed it.

The creature in the cage stared at her in curiosity. The way she sat, curled up with a small child snug in her bosom. How she softly spoke to it. Her mannerisms, the way she swayed, it observed it all. The screams also intrigued it.

It found itself being able to hear everything being said in the other cells. The maniacal laughter, begging, scraping and scratches. None of it made sense.

.....

Itachi went home come evening, for he wanted to help his mother prepare dinner. But the ladies who came by already helped her with everything. She had Sasuke sitting up on her lap. She talked to him in funny ways making him giggle and imitate her.

"Ah, Itachi. Could you hold Sasuke for a bit, I'll set the table. Your father said the Hokage has returned so he can come back tonight."

Itachi told her to sit and he began setting the table himself. Despite being short, he could easily reach the upper shelves by using chakra control. Mikoto found it adorable watching from behind.

Lately, she wasn't as quiet, being surrounded by so many neighbours chatting away in her ears and giving unsolicited advice on baby care. The new environment somewhat gave her some time to breathe.

Fugaku entered through the courtyard, not bothering with the main entrance. He was in his Police Force uniform which he took off and carelessly hung over a chair before taking Sasuke in his arms and kissing him. Sasuke laughed at the prickly stubble and patted his chin.

"You're back so soon?"

"Yeah, I got off early." He leaned in and used his other hand to pat her back before sitting on the dining chair with Sasuke.

"You didn't wash your hands."

He sighed. Gave Sasuke to Itachi, stood up and washed his hands.

..........

Ryūki waded through a bunch of paddy fields with his head down. He disguised himself as a farmer and observed a few Oto nin patrolling some distance away.

From what he gathered, Otogakure was largely plains used to plant and export rice to the neighbouring countries. It was made up of multiple small halmets connected by dirt roads wide enough for two carts to run side by side.

One small bit of Oto was covered by dense forests and he knew that's where the most shady things were bound to happen. 

As he waded through mud, trying to avoid the saplings, he overheard some rice farmer's wives gossipping in a nearby 'gazebo'.  They fanned themselves with woven mat and spread out their exposed shins. 

Their conversation went something like:

"Ah, did you hear, the nextdoor lady sold her child for this much?"

"That much? Ugh, I can't understand how heartless they could be to sell for such paltry sums."

"Anyway she was quite ugly so I doubt she had any love for her."

"Her husband also didn't do anything. I saw him sneak away to the riverside sake shop and splurge on some bottles. He was singing so loudly he dropped a few."

"Ne, what do you suppose that child..."

It was quite surprising. From their tone, it sounded like it was a common thing to sell humans away without consequences. Their voices weren't low and the Oto ninja could definitely hear them but they didn't react.

He waded further until he reached some bushlings at the edge of the field. Cross through that and he'd meet up with his subordinate.

He was about to enter when a hand grabbed him.

"State your name and purpose. Don't try to run. There are two others here."

He was caught.

The Oto nin glared at him. He  was sure he wasn't a farmer.

A shinobi!

And he fell forwards onto Ryūki.

His comrades came running and surrounded them.

"What-"

"I'm fine, I just felt dizzy. It's alright. I recognise him."

"Huh?"

The Oto nin got up and turned back to his team. "Yeah, he's old man Ya's nephew who stays two counties away."

"Old man Ya doesn't have-"

And they all collapsed.

Ryūki's subordinate hurriedly pulled them into the bushlings and tied them up. The still standing Oto nin began taking his clothes and equipment off and handed them to Ryūki. They hurriedly changed into the clothes and silenced them forever.

Out of the bushlings emerged  two out of the three Oto nin and continued patrolling as before.

............

Ryūki had worked really hard. In a matter of ten days, he managed to infiltrate the core of Otogakure record rooms. It was a testament of his strength and abilities. Too bad Yuugakure decided he was too militaristic for them. A bunch of pussies.

He didn't bother with all the important stuff. He carelessly browsed through them picking out anything related to the supernatural and stopped.

A thick document labelled  "Modification Volunteers" caught his eye. He opened it and was stupified at the sheer number of names written in them.

There were hundreds of names with their ages and place of birth, most of them being Otogakure counties.

Some were even from Yuugakure!

"Young man, is there anything you need?"

He jumped at that and noticed an old man with a broom, sweeping the dust off the floor slowly and looking at him with blurry eyes.

"You are?"

"Oh, I'm just the book keeper here, Sir. I keep things clean. There's always an awful lot of dust. Is there anything you need, Sir?"

"No. I already got it. Be on your way, Old man." With that, Ryūki left, satisfied with his haul.

The old man continued sweeping dust everywhere.

"Why didn't you stop him, Lord?"

A glint of glass shimmered in the corner.

"Ahh. Well, he looked interesting."

He shuffled to the shelves and checked all that the infiltrator was interested in.

"Hmm. Supernatural sightings? Anatomy? Seals... my precious volunteer list, hmm... If I had to guess, he's someone interested in the same field as me."

"Do you want us to keep an eye on him?"

"No need. He might already be on his way back to the Land of Fire. Well, depending on the fact that he managed to reach till here, we'll probably hear about him sooner or later."

"As you wish, Lord Orochimaru."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

............

Unedited

Author's Thoughts in the process of writing:

Did you guys know I have LITERALLY TWENTY new plot points ( I counted) for the overall plot? They'd fix soo many things and force Boruto to go further than just being Naruto's son. The only problem is the time I have to write. I am just so excited to write 24/7 but reality always puts a damper on my enthusiasm.

On second thought, forgetfulness also. I forgot what I was doing in this chapter so there's a lot of exposition which wasn't supposed to be there but in author's Thoughts. This could be two chapters but eh. One mega chapter is fine too.

I forgot where I was going with this chapter. I can't be bothered with Otogakure. It's just as irritating as watching that one episode in Naruto then Sai joins them and they are in Orochimaru's base just running around.

All I write here is only going to be enjoyed in word format. I doubt they can put all this in an anime.

I prefer writing about the Uchihas for some reason. The aren't even relevant rn.

Words I think I use too often: carelessly, suddenly, turned, quite, really, scream.

Special thanks to Libra-no-ninja9 for giving me some motivation.