Uchiha Naruto: The Sage

Chapter 25

The following Day

The way to Kumo had not been all that fast paced. They were travelling at fair speeds not in much of a hurry. It was forced much by the fact that Yugito could not run at her full speed and neither Naruto nor Sasuke were willing to carry her all the way back to her home. But even so if one of them was willing to do that, she would not have accepted the help. She was a proud kunoichi and would not want to be seen as weak. It was already enough that Naruto had to bail her after being defeated by Hidan and Kakuzu. Her pride as a kunoichi still mattered and she would make sure that it was not defiled by anything.

She could never really forget that battle - the battle between her and the two Akatsuki members who attempted to capture her. It was a battle unlike any she had ever experienced before in her whole Jinchuriki life. Those two had been monsters, and she had the Intel given to them by Jiraiya, but still, it proved worthless as the two could not just die. She had hit them with all she could, but they took her out even in her Bijuu form. It was unexpected. And she had been happy thinking that she could take them on after she had seen them, but that was not to be. They had beaten her painfully and that hurt her pride as a hailed perfect Jinchuriki. An S-rank battle was nothing she had thought she would experience in such a manner. She could not count sparring with Bee because they never really went all out in fear of hurting the other. But when going against enemies, she had no such fears.

But Naruto was able to beat them. As far as she had been told. Sasuke did not fight at all. The blond was the only one to have fought both Akatsuki members. It raised much questions about his power. His heroics in Kirigakure were known worldwide. But some people did not actually believe in his power. She had also thought that some people were exaggerating about his strength. But all evidence pointed that he had done it all. And here she was, he had rescued her from the Akatsuki all by himself without the help of his fellow Uchiha.

Just how powerful is he?

Thinking of the blond; there was something he had said that was troubling her; ''...So it was a setup.'' he had spoken those words. She had been thinking about them for quite some time now. She was not the most loved in Kumogakure. It was possible that someone might have set it up so that she could be captured. But she was quite surprised that someone would even go that far. The Akatsuki were evil. Who could have the heart to sell her to them? She was positive that the Raikage had not been the one to assign her the mission to go to outside the village.

She was given the mission by one of the higher ups in Kumogakure. It was an important mission to retrieve some important documents in Shimo. She was not supposed to see what was inside once she got hold of the documents. But she never got to reach her destination because once she was out of the village; those monsters came into her view. And now she was returning home without completing her mission. That is if there was a mission to begin with. Still, it hurt her that someone would go as far as to sell her to the criminal organization, Akatsuki.

She had served Kumogakure in all her might and will. Even though she was not loved as Killer Bee, she was still loved to some degree. But it was not everyone who liked her guts. But even so, she continued to live within Kumo, serving it. She protected the people who hated her. She did not only shield those who liked he. She was a protector of the village, thus she could not choose who to protect. As long as one was a citizen of Kumo, her protection was guaranteed without question, even if someone spat on her.

The Raikage will surely kill someone if it was indeed a setup. She was like family to him. She knew that he cared for her. He was very emotional for a big man and would not hesitate to act rashly to the betrayal. It is indeed an act of betrayal that she was sent away from the village without support, he was going to kill someone without mercy. He would surely be infuriated and act without even investigating the matter thoroughly. The man was quite rash sometimes. Forget the consequences, he would say when angered.