Waterfall: Part 1
Fuu hummed happily to herself, practically skipping as she made her way up the path to the large wooden hut that sat on top of the hill. Her jovial demeanor drew a few questioning gazes from the civilians around her who weren't used to her antics at this point but she just ignored them. She had more important things to worry about.
"Like the bounty on that Uchiha girl!" She thought excitedly to herself.
When she had turned the raven haired girl into Shibuki, he had been as surprised as she was that there was a rogue Uchiha running around. He had said that the current Bingo Book held no information on her but reasoned that it was possible she had simply defected recently and would be in the updated version.
Which brings her to the reason she was so happily skipping toward Shibuki's residence, according to what she had heard around the village, an updated version of the Bingo Book was due to be delivered today. Normal protocol was that the books would first be delivered to the village leader, and then dispersed to the shinobi of the village based on rank and importance.
Fuu figured she'd just cut out the middleman and go straight to Shibuki to get her copy. That way nobody would be able to claim the bounty before her, an Uchiha was sure to be worth a lot so there were probably going to be people trying to poach the bounty. She had found the girl, that money was hers damnit!
"I can almost taste all the mochi I'll be able to buy." She thought, practically salivating at the thought of those delectable chewy treats.
"You know there's a possibility there's no bounty at all right?" Chomei asked in her head, "She might be one of those ones who defected on a mission, killing her team and disappearing with nobody the wiser."
Fuu hummed to herself, that was a possibility but she found it unlikely. From what she had seen of the girl when she found her, she had been beaten to hell and back. Her armor, which they still hadn't found a way to remove from her unconscious body, had been broken in several places indicating she had been in a battle before she washed up on that shore. That wasn't even mentioning her missing arm.
It was unlikely that she would have been able to kill her peers, people who were likely her equals, as well as her sensei, without being found before she could escape. Not to mention, given the fact that she washed up where she did, she likely came from the Land of Fire in the first place.
The Land of Waterfalls sits smack dab in between of the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth, the massive river at the border runs down from the former into the latter. If the Uchiha had been knocked into the river, she had to have come from the her home country.
"Which means she was likely caught defecting and was pursued." Chomei finished her thoughts.
Fuu nodded as she approached the hut, "She was probably chased down by anbu or something. It would explain why she looked so beat up."
"But not how she escaped. Not everyone has your mobility, she likely had to fight them off. That would be almost impossible for anybody under jonin level."
Fuu just shrugged as she approached the large wooden door, "She might just be strong. She's already got those red eyes the older Uchiha have, maybe she's a prodigy or something."
"Maybe.
"Well I guess we're about to find out." Fuu spoke out loud, raising an arm.
She brought it down repeatedly on the wooden door, screaming to the person inside, "SHIBUKI! IT'S ME, LET ME IIIIIINNNNN!"
There was a crash from inside the hut and then the sound of several objects falling to the ground followed by vigorous cursing.
"You know he hates it when you do that." Fuu just grinned unrepentantly as the door opened to reveal her leader and friend.
Shibuki looked haggard, and Fuu had a feeling it was only partially due to her actions. His brown hair was disheveled, spiking up in random places as if he had been running a hand through it constantly. Dark bags hung under his green eyes which glared at Fuu sleepily indicating he had been taking a nap.
Her assumptions were given further credit as he spoke, "Damnit Fuu, I told you not to knock like that. I was in the middle of my daily nap. You know I need as much sleep as possible if I'm gonna keep this place running." he complained sleepily.
Fuu just scoffed as he let her in, "You know that if you actually went to bed at a reasonable time, you wouldn't need these naps at all right?" She asked the workaholic.
Shibuki just sighed as he walked over to his desk, reaching down to grab a fallen paperweight and putting it back on the wooden surface, "We both know that's not possible, there's always something else to do. Paperwork needs tending, contracts need to be scrutinized, paychecks need signing. Always something." He finished cleaning up around his work station before taking a seat at his desk, Fuu sitting in the chair across from him.
"I assume you aren't just here to chat?" He asked rhetorically, adjusting the papers on his desk into a neat stack.
Fuu grinned, "Not this time Shibuki, I'm here for that Bingo Book! It's payday!"
Shibuki just sighed, reaching down into one of his many drawers and grabbing a small black book from inside. He placed it on the desk and slid it across the surface toward Fuu who grabbed it giddily and immediately began searching through it.
Shibuki closed the drawer as she flipped through the small book eagerly, "I assume you're looking for our Uchiha friend? She should be in the Konoha chunin section."
Fuu immediately flipped to said section and shouted in triumph as she found the girl in question. She was wearing the standard Konoha flak jacket instead of her grey armor and her hair was much longer but the Jinchuuriki recognized her all the same. Her eyes eagerly looked down at the girl's stats and was shocked at what she saw.
Name: Akari Uchiha
Wanted For: Desertion/Assault on a fellow shinobi
Threat Rating: B
Affiliation: Konohagakure
Last Held Rank: Chunin
Registration Number: 95710418
Clan: Uchiha
Bloodline Status: Active (Evolved)
Elemental Affinity(s): Earth/Fire
Skill Assessment:
Ninjutsu: A
Taijutsu: B
Bukijutsu: High A
Genjutsu: C (High B)
Chakra Capacity: High B
Chakra Control: A
Stamina: Low A
Speed: B
Warning! Akari Uchiha has shown abilities far surpassing what was previously known
Important abilities include:
Sealless Jutsu
Proficiency with a Unique Weapon
Evolved Kekkei Genkai
Enhanced sensory Capabilities
Approach with Caution!
Capture Only
Reward: 50,000,000 ryo
"Fifty million?!" Fuu yelled in astonishment as she read that. Most A rank shinobi weren't worth that much!
"They must really want her back." Chomei spoke mildly, "Look at those stats, and she's only B rank? That's odd."
"Who cares!" Fuu thought giddily, "She's worth fifty million, imagine how much mochi I could buy with that! I'd never have to worry about money again!"
"We've really got to talk about your priorities sometime." He deadpanned. Fuu just ignored him, turning to Shibuki and pointing at the entry.
"Shibuki, look at how much she's worth! I'm rich!" She exclaimed happily.
Shibuki just stared at her silently before sighing lightly, Fuu's brow scrunching in confusion at his actions.
"Oh that's not good." Chomei chimed in.
"Fuu," Shibuki started softly, and she had a feeling she wasn't going to like what she was about to hear, "We aren't turning her in for her bounty."
She hated being right, "WHAT! But why!?" She exclaimed, throwing her arms up in outrage.
He pointed at the book in her hands, "Turn to the classified section. Should be in the back of the book."
"Classified?" She muttered in confusion as she looked down at the Bingo Book, "There's a classified section?"
"Not in most of them," Shibuki told her as she flipped through the book, "Usually only jonin and above get the classified section because the ninja in there are almost always more than most can handle. Given that you were the one to find our Uchiha friend, I felt it would make sense to give you access to the section due to what's, or more accurately who, is in there."
Fuu hummed in understanding as she finally reached the section he was talking about. There weren't many pages, only about six, much less than the rest of the book. But as she looked through it, she could already tell the ninja in this section were different from the rest.
"Kami…" She muttered to herself as she looked through the pages. After just a few turns, Fuu could see why this section wasn't standard in every Bingo Book. The classified section was full of S rank ninja, each more dangerous than the last.
Unlike the other sections, under each of the ninja in this section sat a detailed description of their misdeeds and Fuu could feel her stomach churn as she read through them. Infant killers, murderers, and rapists sat side by side, faces on full display for those who wished to hunt them down. Fuu couldn't help but wonder why Shibuki wanted her to see this, at least until she reached the second to last page.
There, smack dab in the middle of the page, sat someone who bore a striking resemblance to the Uchiha in their captivity, crimson eyes staring up at her from the pages.
"Clan Killer Itachi…" Fuu muttered to herself as she read through his entry.
Name: Itachi Uchiha
Alias: Clan Killer Itachi
Wanted For: Destruction of a Founding Clan of Konoha
Threat Rating: S
Affiliation: Konohagakure
Last Held Rank: Anbu Captain
Registration Number: 49418476
Clan: Uchiha
Bloodline Status: Active
Elemental Affinity(s): Fire
Skill Assessment:
Ninjutsu: S
Taijutsu: Low S
Kenjutsu: S
Genjutsu: High S
Chakra Capacity: High A
Chakra Control: S
Stamina: Low A
Speed: S
Itachi Uchiha is wanted for his involvement in the Uchiha Clan Massacre. A massacre in which he and an unknown accomplice killed the entirety of the Uchiha clan, a clan of nearly two hundred individuals, in a single night. He is extremely proficient in genjutsu, owing to his Sharingan as well as natural talent.
Approach with Caution!
Capture Only!
Reward: 400,000,000 ryo
"He killed the entire clan…?" Fuu muttered, horrified at what she had read. The Uchiha clan was well known throughout the entire Elemental Nations for being one of the largest and most powerful ninja clans in existence, and yet in a single night, they were gone. Nearly two hundred individuals, men, women, and children, all snuffed out in the span of a few hours.
"His entry was added in the most recent update, along with that Akari girl." Fuu looked back up as Shibuki spoke tiredly, "And while there isn't any mention of her being involved in the massacre…"
"The implication is there." Fuu finished for him, closing the book and sliding it into her tool pouch, "Two of the only Uchiha left alive being added to the Bingo Book around the same time as the entire clan was slaughtered. You'd have to be an idiot not to connect the dots."
"That would explain why the reward for her is so high as well." Chomei chimed in from his seal, "They probably want her back for questioning."
"There's just one thing that doesn't make sense though." She thought back, looking at Shibuki in questioning. "So why aren't we turning her bounty in? Surely Konoha would be grateful right?" She asked.
Shibuki groaned, rubbing the heels of his palms into his tired eyes, "Why else? It's the council. Those old bastards couldn't agree to leave a room if a paper bomb was burning between them, half of them don't want anything to do with Konoha and the other half want to use her for leverage."
Fuu groaned along with him, "Really? Why does the council of elders even get a say in this? They do nothing but make things harder."
The council of elders was exactly what it sounded like, a council full of Taki's most influential elderly people, both civilian and ninja. They mostly convened to handle matters that affected the entire village, like border policies or taxes and the like.
And yet despite the council being made up of the people who should theoretically have Taki's best interests at heart, the people who were on the council of elders were interested in little else but arguing and disagreeing with each other. No matter how often they convened, it was rare any big changes would be made. All they ever really managed to ever do was make it harder for Shibuki to do his job. It was infuriating, and had led to more than one of her friend's sleepless nights.
That wasn't even mentioning what they thought about Fuu closeness with the man given her status as a Jinchuuriki.
"You should get rid of them. It's not like they do anything useful." Fuu suggested hopefully.
Shibuki just sighed, "Would that I could. They've entrenched themselves too deeply into the main facilities of the village. It would barely run without them, which I'm sure was their plan all along."
"Old bastards. Getting in the way of my big payday…" Fuu grumbled, kicking her foot along the wooden floor.
"I'm sorry Fuu. I wish I could do something but my hands are tied." He apologized, looking truly sorry, "If you'd like, I can arrange an easy high paying mission here in the village. Something that shouldn't take too long but should pay well." He offered.
Fuu waved him off as she turned to exit, "Nah, don't worry about it Shibuki, I'll figure something out. I'll talk to you later. And get some sleep!"
"I wish I could." She heard him mutter to himself as she closed the door behind her. She giggled lightly as she made her way down the path away from his office.
"What now?" Her best friend asked her as she meandered her way back to the village proper.
Fuu sighed, leaning back to look up at the cloudy sky as she walked, "I dunno. Maybe get some mochi? I've still got some money saved up from my last mission."
"We've really got to talk about your mochi addiction sometime. It's not healthy for you." He chided lightly.
"Yeah well, it's not healthy for anybody when I don't have it, so there!" She snarked back as she made her way to her favorite mochi stand.
As she walked, her mind wandered to the girl currently held in the cells in the village. Fuu wondered if someone her age could really commit such an atrocity. Killing off an entire clan, sparing nobody, not even the youngest child. It was horrific.
"You could just ask her." Chomei suggested, "The cells are open to anybody who was involved with her capture. You could just walk in and talk to her."
"We don't even know if she's awake yet. Chakra exhaustion can put someone out for several days, and she was worse off than most who get it." Fuu reminded the Bijuu.
"Only one way to find out. Besides, it's not like you really have anything else planned."
"Ha! That's true. Alright, mochi, and then the cells." She was already salivating at the thought of the treat.
"You have a problem." Chomei sighed in her head.
She just ignored him. He was only a several thousand year old dragonfly made of pure chakra, what did he know!?
~~~
Elsewhere, in a dark and dreary cell, onyx eyes opened and observed their surroundings. Their gaze roved back and forth before eventually falling upon the seal inscribed shackle attached to their sole wrist. After a moment of staring, the owner of the eyes sighed in frustration.
"Fuck."