"Annnd I'm done with this conversation. Bye."

"You still need to get me those documents!" she calls out after her sister's rapidly retreating back.

Rian doesn't respond out loud, but they do note to themselves that they'll need to swing by Emi's quarters at some point. Hopefully to be accomplished with less teasing.

Meanwhile, in Konoha, three twelve-year-olds - a significant portion of what's left of Root - are trying to figure out where to go next. 

"I haven't been able to contact any of the ranking operatives," she says to her companions. "And the ANBU were swarming over the base, so I couldn't even identify who died."

Uchiha Emi's betrayal had caught almost all of them off guard; sure she'd supposedly left Root and even ANBU for the normal ranks, but she'd been one of them, once. Not one of Danzo's most loyal, not like the three here, but she'd been there.

Tetsuma, the codename that Danzo's only successful Hashirama-clone has started using, shifts nervously. "Have you heard anything about the new Hokage? Or who we're supposed to report to?"

"Not really. Jiraiya-sama refused the position, and then disappeared. There's no good candidates left in Konoha, with the Uchiha defected and Danzo-sama dead. We could report to the ANBU head? Or the jounin-commander, Shikaku-sama is handling the military aspects in the Hokage's absence."

"Danzo-sama ordered us not to talk to the ANBU or jounin commanders," Sai says softly. "We're only supposed to report to the Hokage in an emergency."

"The seals are gone. Danzo-sama is dead. All previous restrictions are invalid."

"I don't know. If one of the higher ranked operatives returns... We could get in trouble."

"They're going to go to ground. And we're already in trouble. We're vulnerable right now, to strikes from Orochimaru or the Uchiha, to anyone with a grudge. We need to sort this out."

"There might not be anything to do, other than wait," Sai points out, voice devoid of inflection. "They have to appoint a Hokage eventually."

"If the new Hokage's weak, though..."

"Then we'll hold on until a strong one surfaces. One of us, if we have to."

The other two nod.

Elsewhere in Konoha, in a little tea shop, two men in black cloaks discuss the changes in the village.

"You still familiar with the place?" one, with blue skin and sharp teeth, asks. "It must have changed some since your day."

"Not so much. Konoha has always been soft," the other replies. Most of his face is obscured by a cloth mask, that only reveals his left eye and a few scars twisting around it. "I doubt there's anyone left alive here who will recognize me, though." He shrugs and finishes his tea. "Come, Kisame, we have business to attend to."

His companion smiles and stands. "As you say, Tobi."

Her nin-dog Chamaru whines under his breath shortly thereafter.

She tilts her head towards him, listens, and fights the urge to curse.

She's run into the Seven Swordsmen before.

She is not prepared to confront Kisame.

But with the other unoccupied jounin...

"Chamaru, fetch Gai, Asuma, and Kurenai. We'll try to head them off," she says quietly. "We don't want to provoke them into an unnecessary fight, but we need to know what they're doing here."

Unfortunately -

While Chamaru's able to find Gai, who brings along Akimichi Chouza, he's unable to find Asuma or Kurenai.

Which would probably be related to how Sesshi finds them, fighting two S-ranked shinobi on their own like complete idiots. 

Gai darts in between Asuma and Kisame, while Sesshi intervenes between the unknown and Kurenai. 

Chamaru tries to latch on - goes through the unknown - that's not an illusion, though, he's physically there, Sesshi has to parry a rapid strike from him, that would've caught her by surprise if not for her spars with Emi.

Well. He's physically there when he attacks. 

Sesshi runs through possibilities in her mind - rapid and seamless body flicker is a major possibility, as is some kind of space-time ninjutsu - and engages again, leaving herself open for a moment - 

The strange ninja takes the bait - she tries to parry - it goes through, Chamaru's attack on him does as well - and her enemy's knife practically materializes in her lung, angled to scrape against her spine. She gasps, stabs at her enemy before he can retreat, catching only his sleeve and a thin line of blood.

He stops, regards her for a moment, head titled, then says, "Kisame, stop playing around. What we're looking for isn't here; we're leaving."

He throws another knife at her, which she's only mostly able to dodge - she can't breathe, this sucks - and disappears, reappearing next to Kisame, then twisting out of sight.

"Sesshi!" Kurenai calls out, coming over to her. "We need to get you to the hospital, Asuma too - "

"Wait," Asuma says. "Gai - from the way they were talking I think either Jiraiya-sama or Mariko is their target, you're the fastest -"

"Right!" Gai responds. He doesn't even sound out of breath. Rather than wasting time shouting like he normally does, he disappears in a blast of wind.

Sesshi's lungs choose that moment to give out on her, and she sinks into merciful unconsciousness.

They're in pain. They're in a fuckton of pain, and they've already threatened to kill Kabuto for being annoying - they probably won't, they're not the old Orochimaru anymore, but fuck is it tempting. 

They've been pursuing options. Sending feelers after Tsunade, trying to see if they can just grow new arms from stem cells (and they're cursing themselves for not properly pursuing this avenue of research earlier), and seeking out volunteers, or at least someone who'll trade for possession of their body, on the off chance they have to move bodies early. The pain from their arms is disrupting research, and they find themselves increasingly offloading tasks onto their undamaged half. 

Kabuto approaches them one morning. 

"Orochimaru-sama," he says, voice smooth and sweet. The old Rian hadn't liked him one bit; the old Orochimaru hadn't trusted him. The new Orochimaru's patience is running short. Kabuto seems to pick up on this, and continues with: "We've received news on Akatsuki's movements. They've sent feelers towards Konoha, possibly a team."

Akatsuki could be after Gaara, who was in the village until only recently, according to Orochimaru's spies. Most likely? They're after Mariko.

Orochimaru never liked the organization, and they find that dislike rapidly spiking. They update Rian on the situation and curse their damaged arms; Orochimaru at full power would be able to go toe-to-toe with nearly anyone Akatsuki would actually field - for now they'll have to hope Rian plus a strike team is enough, and speed up their timeline on fixing their damned arms.

Akatsuki is not so much as touching their teammate. Orochimaru's old scorn is well primed to turn to outright hatred. (Rian realizes they didn't know about Mariko's status as the host of the Nine Tailed Demon Fox before this; they also realize they don't particularly care). 

They grab their sister, the still zombified Kimimaro, and Karin - who will be staying well away from the fight. They can't afford to risk the Sound Four on this, as much as they'd like to; those four are extremely unlikely to be a match for even one elite Akatsuki member anyways, even working together.

Akatsuki's elite never travel in more than pairs; their more ordinary spies and operatives work in a variety of configurations. If they're actually going after Mariko, rather than just scouting, this is likely to be an elite pair. Orochimaru doesn't know of any other Konoha shinobi in the ranks, so they're flying blind in terms of who they'll run into.

They close rapidly on Mariko's location - she's like a beacon to Karin, especially now that the other sensor's gotten a look at her chakra - in a town close to Konoha.

Karin reports that two large chakra signatures are nearby Mariko's position. Rian orders the group to slow down and fan out - as much as they'd like to rush in, they need intelligence. Rian will go alone to meet Mariko, while their sister and Karin keep watch, and Kimimaro tries to draw the Akatsuki out of the town.

Rian summons Chihiro, the sensor nin-cat, to take with them, as an early warning system against the Akatsuki. They slow down even farther when they come in sight of the hotel Mariko's in, so as not to draw attention.

Mariko noticed her. Mariko noticed her, and Emi, and the strange sensor, and the fourth member, while they were a good bit out.

She's also noticed the hostile chakra signatures closing on her location. She might be hot-headed, but she's not stupid. 

She moves to the roof of the hotel, so she'll be able to use the open location to her advantage and maybe retreat.

"Rian!" she calls, when her old teammate gets close enough.

"Mariko," they say quietly, jumping up to the roof. They glance over at Chihiro, and say, "Find Jiraiya. Insist he comes with you; let him know about the Akatsuki if you need to."

"The Akatsuki? Are those who I'm sensing? I'm picking up three powerful chakra signatures, coming quickly this way. They'll be here in, oh, two minutes, at current speed."

Three? Shit, that must mean Kisame, with Samehada as the third signature, and Orochimaru didn't have any information on his current partner. 

"We need to go, then."

"I'm not leaving with you."

"You - " Deep breath. Mariko is stubborn. There'll be no talking her into accepting protective custody within the next... Oh, minute. "Then we'll hold them off until Jiraiya comes." They signal to Emi to approach. "Come on, let's at least get outside the town limits, to avoid collateral damage."