Under the Maelstrom

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A/N - Thank you, Tshering Sherpa, Jo Gucoka, & 21 HassanAli, for becoming Azure Awakening Patróns!

<<<>>>

The sun hung low, casting long shadows across the cracked earth. The wind was dry and coarse, dragging sharp grains of sand across shinobis' feet, who stood beside each other in this desolate place.

Konan was visibly sweating. Her cloak was tugged by the wind like it didn't belong here, and maybe it didn't. The fabric clung awkwardly to her frame, soaked more from the heat than from effort. Born and raised in Amegakure, she was used to storms, heavy clouds, and a cold that clung to one's bones. But this? This was something else entirely.

The air didn't move to cool one down. It scraped the skin raw instead.

'This place could use a good rain,' she thought, wiping her forehead with a sleeve that felt uncomfortably hot. Her eyes squinted against the drifting sand, trying to blink away the sting. 

She hadn't said a word since they arrived. Not because she had nothing to say, but because it felt like if she opened her mouth, even that last trace of moisture in her body might vanish for good.

Sasori stood like he was carved into the dunes, cloak barely moving despite the wind. There was no discomfort in his shoulders. He hadn't said a word either, just waited for the two figures slowly approaching from a distance.

Rasa was the first to speak. And of course, it wasn't pleasant.

"You really have no shame, do you?" His voice was sharp, low, barely keeping itself from snapping. "Betray your village, vanish like a rat and then come crawling back as a damn hired hand?"

Sasori didn't blink. He kept staring at Rasa with that same lifeless calm that always unsettled people, the kind of gaze that would make anyone's skin crawl.

'I see… You still don't know,' he thought, a faintest smirk cutting the edge of his lips. 'Still clueless, huh?'

Sunagakure had no idea what had really happened to the Third Kazekage. No one suspected that it was Sasori who killed him. And worst of all, he had turned one of the strongest shinobi in Suna's history into nothing more than a hollowed-out tool. A mere puppet.

If that little secret ever got out, Sasori would become the most hated person in Sunagakure, even more than Yellow Flash. However, he wouldn't have minded that. He had no fondness for the village. No attachment or nostalgia.

But there was something Sasori needed and to gain that something, he needed the negotiations to succeed.

"I'm not crawling back," Sasori said in a flat voice. "You're the ones desperate enough to hire Akatsuki."

Rasa flared his chakra, the sand around him vibrating, as if answering the call. His eyes narrowed with disgust, lips pulled in a tight line. But the shinobi in front of him were not impressed. Compared to the hireups of the Akatsuki Rasa's power was not impressive. Konan didn't flinch, she merely kept looking at the Kazekage with indifferent eyes. However, Sasori's mouth curled. It was not a smile, more like amusement bleeding through.

"Enough," Ebizo said firmly, stepping between them before Rasa could explode. His voice didn't rise, but it cut through the tension anyway. "We came here for help, not to bicker."

He gave Sasori a long look. Not judgmental, not warm either… just tired.

'To think this is where we've ended up… begging help from the same boy who turned his back on the village. No, not a boy anymore…'

"We'll give you your targets, your payment, your terms. Just do the job and keep your end clean," Ebizo said calmly, taking over the conversation as Rasa seemed weirdly agitated. "That's all we need."

Sasori glanced toward Konan, but she still said nothing. Her focus was elsewhere, eyes scanning the horizon, like this whole situation had nothing to do with her.

"And how exactly is Suna going to pay us?" Sasori asked after a moment in a low voice laced with mockery. "Last I checked, your coffers were as dry as this desert."

There was a pause. A long one.

Rasa's expression didn't change, but the veins on his temples got more intense.

Ebizo sighed, realizing he was supposed to step up again. He pressed his lips in regret, before speaking:

"We both know that you want something, so let's stop playing games and get to the point already…" 

<<<>>>

"So the Uchiha finally made their move," Hiruzen muttered, rolling the scroll shut and setting it aside. His eyes were fixed on the space between Shikaku and Jiraiya.

"I'm glad they chose the peaceful route, rather than the one we feared," said Jiraiya, sighing.

'I did everything I could… but fixing our relationship with the Uchiha isn't possible unless we give them exactly what they want, and that's either full independence or a Uchiha Hokage.' He couldn't help but glance sideways at Hiruzen. The problem hadn't started with the old man, but it had grown under his watch. Only because he protected a friend who had crossed too many lines for his own gain.

"Shikaku, what do you think?" Hiruzen asked, clearly wanting to shift the focus before Jiraiya's stare started speaking out loud.

"My stance hasn't changed. Let them go," Shikaku said calmly. Despite the pressure from both outside and within, his voice was level. Confident. "Honestly, I don't think we could stop them even if we tried. And more than that… this might actually be a good thing."

Both Jiraiya and Hiruzen straightened a little at that. They knew Shikaku well enough to know he never said things without a reason.

"Uchiha might be a powerful ally, but they're a dangerous enemy. We've been walking on eggshells around them for years, letting that fear shape too many of our decisions. Even if their distrust isn't entirely misplaced…" he paused, realizing this wasn't the moment to drag up the full history. Not yet. "The point is, with them gone, we can finally act without hesitation."

He looked directly at Hiruzen now.

"Once the Uchiha issue is off the table, we can focus everything we have on dealing with Kumo. And after that, we can deal with the last internal threat to Konoha."

Jiraiya turned toward Hiruzen too. Waiting.

But the Third didn't flinch. He had lived far too many days to let simple stares get under his skin. He just sat there quietly, fingers folded, eyes slightly downcast.

'I can't protect you anymore, old friend,' his thoughts whispered. 'And I won't.'

<<<>>>

B walked through broken trees and shattered stone, the aftermath of A's training spreading for hundreds of meters. He didn't need to sense chakra to know where the Raikage was. All he needed to do was follow the trail of destruction.

A stood in the middle of it all, shirtless, body steaming from exertion. Even without a fight, the ground cracked beneath his stance.

After losing to Maki, A hadn't rested. He trained like a possessed man, unwilling to suffer the same humiliation he did. That loss had pushed him harder than any enemy ever had.

"B, any news?" he asked without turning around.

B grinned, tipping his sunglasses down with a single finger.

"Yo! Ain't no news, bro, not a peep in the wind,

Can't a brother check in without a message to send?

No spies, no lies, just came to say hey.

Big bro's the beast, still grindin' every day!

You gon' get stronger, faster, meaner too.

Ain't a shinobi alive that can do what you do!"

A grunted at the words, but the faint smile gave him away.

"I still can't use the final form of Hell Stab," A muttered in response to B's encouragement. His eyes were locked on his right hand, the bruises and scratches proving how intense his training was. "But I'm close. Very close."

He didn't need to say more. The craters and destroyed rocks around him spoke volumes.

'I don't want to face her again,' A thought, remembering every second of his fight with Maki. 'But if it happens, one of us isn't walking away.'

That battle had taught him something vital - attrition wasn't an option. Not against her. Maki had Samehada constantly feeding her chakra and healing her wounds. Even if A had monstrous reserves and inhuman toughness, he still had limits. But she didn't, time would always be on Maki's side. So, if they fought again, it had to end in one strike.

That's why the final form of Hell Stab mattered. It was his ace. The only technique he believed could kill her outright.

A snapped out of his thoughts as he saw Mabui approaching. She had proven herself more than once during the war against the Land of Water, and after this was over, A was planning to give her an official position. She would not be just an assistant, but someone he could rely on when it mattered the most.

"Lord Raikage," she said, stopping just a few steps away. "The Konoha army is approaching."

<<<>>>

"Kid, are you nervous?" Maru asked, clearly fed up with Kaoru's silence.

"No, I'm not," Kaoru lied, refusing to give the bird the satisfaction.

Maru actually turned his head mid-flight just to glare at Kaoru while lecturing him. "I told you, I can't teach you how we control nature's energy. You don't have…" 

"And I told you, just give me the method. Why do you care if I can master it or not?" Kaoru shouted back sharply, interrupting him.

They'd only been traveling together a day, but after getting chased by that sea creature, they got a lot closer. Maru had become more open, more talkative. Not that Kaoru was complaining, he actually liked it. Akura and Maki had both noticed it earlier. Maru was way softer with Kaoru than with anyone else. Now, with the sky wide and the ocean endless below, the two were arguing like old friends.

"I'm not teaching you because without the right aptitude, you'll die if you try it," Maru snapped, though his voice had dropped. He knew by now that trying to argue with Kaoru was like trying to slice through water, ironically.

As expected, Kaoru ignored the warning completely, remaining silent and staring at Maru's back of the head. He didn't care about the risk. Not if it meant learning something new.

"Fine, kid. I'll teach you something else. But only after you're done with whatever this bastard wants from you," Maru finally relented, clacking his beak as he glanced back at the boy, who was already grinning ear to ear.

"Thanks, Maru. You're the best," Kaoru shouted, and gave him a pat right where his neck met his back.

"Hey, don't do that! I'm not one of those pets you humans keep at home for entertainment," Maru snapped.

Kaoru just laughed.

"Kid, I've been meaning to ask - sometimes I can't sense that little droplet you keep floating around you. How do you do that?"

Kaoru was still practicing his usual trick. A droplet of water hovered around him, following every movement. But this time, he was adding something new - using the ring to drain Yang energy out of it, throwing off the balance between Yin and Yang on purpose.

"That droplet has more Yin than Yang now. But because I keep reinforcing it with my chakra, the balance keeps restoring itself. It's like I've to control two things at once if I want to keep the balance shifted. Sometimes I get it just right and... it does something weird. Like it creates a fake image or illusion. I'm not sure yet," he admitted with a laugh.

The fact that he explained it so thoroughly – well, as much as he could – meant only one thing, Kaoru was proud. Even if he had no idea how to do it without the ring.

"That's interesting. Tell all that to him when we arrive. He'll help you," said Maru, and flapped his wings harder.

Kaoru finally looked around, his eyes widening.

The calm sea was gone. What lay ahead wasn't just choppy waters, it was a huge maelstrom. Winds howled across the surface. Waves clashed like monsters locked in battle.

"Maru… you're not dropping me there, are you?" Kaoru asked, staring at the chaos ahead.

**

A/N - 

Yesterday was cursed. First, I hit every red light like it was a game. Then I got pulled over, my tire popped on the highway, and just when I finally got home… no electricity. Feels like losing power is some kind of global trend these days xD

Anyway, Kaoru and I are back :3

Character Notes:

Konan – Desert-Hating Angel – "If this sand touches my face one more time, I'm making it rain on purpose."

Hiruzen – Sarutobi the Silent – "I'm not saying anything, but mentally I'm throwing Danzo under the bus."

Shikaku – Sneaking His Agenda – "Let them leave. Less Uchiha. Less Danzo. Less work to do equals more time to rest."

Reminder - Break Tomorrow

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The link is also in the synopsis