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Tension

Chapter Fifteen

Tension

May 20, 2009

Naruto walked silently behind his two female companions, stewing over the information Kakashi-sensei had given them. He replayed the memory in his head, still reeling from what he'd been told...

"What do you mean it really was the Rinnegan?!" Naruto exclaimed.

A soft hand touched his arm.

"Naruto-kun," Hinata murmured quietly, "calm down, let Hokage-sama finish."

"Hinata's right Naruto," Sakura commented from his other side, "We'll be here all day if you keep interrupting. We still have to get mission details after."

The roused jonin calmed a fraction, though his blue eyes flashed with impatience.

"That humanoid you brought back is no Uchiha," Hatake began, "but the Rinnegan he wielded matches the small amount of data we have stored in the intelligence unit. Rinnegans are a rare, heavily guarded asset of the Uchiha, its protection and secrecy on par with the Byakugan. The information collected has been from observation alone. We've never been able to dissect and study a real Rinnegan, so take this with a grain of salt. Our data, though not in depth, is still the most accurate source of information we have, with the exclusion of Sasuke, that can help confirm or refute whether the dojutsu it wielded carried the same properties of the Rinnegan despite its warped appearance."

Kakashi leaned forward, elbows on his desk, interlacing his fingers beneath his chin.

"Cosmetics aside, it seems to line up with what we know and have seen of the Rinnegan. Having lived through and observed Pain's Asura Path, we've been able to crate a secure area to contain it and are continuing to study it. Until we can make contact with Sasuke, we will assume the Rinnegan, though flawed, is real and treat it as such. That being said, we find ourselves in a dangerous situation. Two weeks ago, we captured two individuals much like the one you brought in."

"Two more with the Rinnegan?" Naruto burst out, unable to contain his question.

The Hokage shook his head.

"No, these creatures didn't have the Rinnegan, but they were also incapable of speech. They had already eaten the others with them when the Anbu showed up and were in the middle of devouring each other. Neither had dojutsu."

"That means that whoever is making them is making them stronger. They're evolving," Sakura commented.

Kakashi nodded.

"The one you brought, Naruto, clears up one question we had. The Hyuuga examiners observed large amounts of chakra being funneled to their eyes at six hour intervals. Each time would cause excruciating pain and redden the sclera."

"Wait a minute, two weeks? Why didn't we know anything about this?" Naruto interrupted.

Kakashi leaned back in his chair, dark eyes taking in his pupil.

"Things are changing in the Leaf. Even you should have sensed that by now."

"Of course I noticed, 'ttebayo. Ever since that creepy adviser showed up."

"The Hidden Leaf is not a dictatorship, even the Hokage has someone to answer to. In light of the casualties we suffered during the war, and the current danger facing multiple non shinobi villages and towns, the daimyo's of each elemental Nation have formed a...coalition of sorts, handing down instructions that they believe will help organize the few ninja left to cover wider areas of their Nation in a more effective manner, and sending "advisers" to see that the new orders are enforced."