It emerged from the roiling fog without warning: A great maw of a cave, built into the underside of a rocky cliff. There must have been something repelling the fog there, as a scattered system of smaller caves quickly came into view. At the moment, it appeared to be deserted and void of any activity. However, Naruto knew with certainty that just hours before, it had been crawling with sentries. True, there were signs here and there: scattered cigarette butts, and the whitened ashes of an old campfire. But moreover, he had seen it before—in his mind's eye.
By touching the feather of one of Mayu's bluebirds, Naruto had received an influx of its memories. Everything the bird had seen and heard since Naruto and his team had pretended to leave Wave country, was now a part of his own memory. It covered the events he had missed at the procession, including Jiraiya's clash with the three missing-nin. That particular memory continued to show Mayu and Tazuna being taken away by Kakuzu. The final memory was of his teammate, who seemed to have somehow escaped, defending herself against two assailants in the fog-covered marshlands.
Unfortunately, Sai's ink rats were unable to find Mayu in the vicinity. With time running out, their best hope was that she had been recaptured and was being held captive at Gatō's hideout.
Naruto felt a bead of sweat trickle down his brow. There was a simpler alternative to that possibility. Mayu had sent that bluebird to them for a reason; it had been a warning. But it seemed Mayu had not known Naruto as well as she must have thought, for he deliberately chose not to consider it.
As Naruto and the others crouched behind a cluster of shrubs, he glanced at Rai, who was regarding the hideout in silence. In the place of his usual chatter, he had not spoken once since Sai's ink rats had returned. Naruto could only imagine what thoughts were going through his head. Several minutes passed, and in a surge of impatience, Rai rose up and made a move to step forward. Blocking the way with his arm, Naruto shook his head—when two shadowy figures emerged from the cave's entrance.
"They're out there, alright. I can smell the money," said one.
"Hah?" The other raised his nose and sniffed the air. "I don't smell anything."
It was Kakuzu and Hidan, and at the sight of the latter, Naruto stiffened in surprise. In the bird's memory, he had seen Jiraiya inflicting horrific burns on Hidan scarcely hours beforehand. Now, the only signs it had ever happened were faint scarring.
Jiraiya appeared to be wondering the same thing. "Here I thought I'd finally rid the world of one of you crazies." Stepping past Naruto, he emerged from his hiding spot.
"Where's the jinchūriki?" Kakuzu asked, his pupil-less eyes slowly searching the area.
Jiraiya chuckled. "If you mean Naruto, he's on his way back home to Konoha."
"That's…unfortunate to hear."
"So if you'll just get out of my way, I'll take back the two you took from us, and be on my merry way. What do you think?"
"Enough with the banter," Kakuzu growled.
Naruto knew what was coming a split second before it happened—Kakuzu's hand shot out far past its reach, attached to its body by hundreds of thick black threads. It was how he had taken Mayu captive in the first place, at the procession.
Jiraiya bit into his finger and slammed his fist into the ground. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique)!"
The ground shook. From a cloud of hissing smoke, something gigantic and red emerged, towering high above their heads. The sound of keening metal rang in the air as Shirakumo drew his weapon. Meanwhile, ink splattered across Sai's open scroll and an ink lion roared into existence.
Before he left, Rai looked back at Naruto, and finally spoke: "It's in your hands." With that, he ran out to join the others.
Hidan let out an elated laugh. "One, two...three of you! Jashin-sama will be pleased with today's offering!"
It was time to get to work.
Stepping back, Naruto concentrated and felt the chakra in his body begin to vibrate. Electricity began crackling around his feet. Masking his presence in the confusion of the starting battle, he shot across the open ground towards the mouth of the cave—and he was in.
The plan they had put together was a simple one: While the others distracted the Akatsuki members, Naruto would look for Mayu and Tazuna. Once they were secured, their top priority was putting as much distance as possible between themselves and the missing-nin. It wasn't an ideal plan, and the risks were high, but the others (with perhaps the exception of Sai) had all readily gotten onboard.
Whereas the outside of Gatō's hideout had appeared to be completely abandoned, the inside was a different story. A large artificially excavated cavern teemed with several dozen armed men, and multiple tunnels led away to what was presumably the rest of the cave complex.
Naruto began to sprint, his hands coming together to perform the sign: "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique)!" In a single identical motion, he and his clones drew their tantō.
"Hey, what the - " The first man to notice broke off into a strangled gurgle.
His mind had been teeming with the chatter of a hundred questions before, but it was silent now. The only thing on his mind was a series of twisted faces jeering down at an unconscious body.
Sparks of electricity flashed. Spurts of bright blood splashed onto the cave walls, and twitching bodies fell to the ground. The armed men were genin-level at best; they were no match for Naruto and his clones, who made short work of them. Soon, there was only one man left. He was a short man in an expensive suit, and was the shipping magnate locally feared as Gatō. He had ruined the lives of many civilians, but none of that meant anything to Naruto. For him, Gatō was yet another body in his way.
The entire time, Gatō had been backed up against the farthest corner of the cavern. Naruto turned towards him now, and he let out a yelp. He scrabbled backwards, knocking his own glasses askew. His squinty eyes fearfully watched Naruto advancing toward him. The smell of fresh urine stained the air.
"W-wait! What do you want? If it's money, I have a lot of – "
Naruto slashed his tantō across the man's front, killing him. As the body crumpled to the floor, Naruto wiped the blade clean on its suit.
...
The salt marshlands of the Land of Waves were infamous for their ever-changing terrain. More than one luckless traveler had gone astray in the combined elements of fog and mud, and their souls were said to wander the land in search of their lost bodies.
The trail had gone cold for Kakashi's hounds; the only thing they'd been able to find was a single hair clip in the shape of a bluebird.
Tazuna fell to his knees. "That...that belongs to that young girl, doesn't it?"
Without responding, Kakashi lowered himself and stared at the ground. There were signs of a recent scuffle, with freshly turned dirt and broken reeds. He felt a glimmer of pride in his student; she had stood her ground against her opponents, whatever the outcome. What stood out to him most, however, was the sheen of ice covering the earth. While it seemed to be of ninjutsu origin, it was not one native to Wave country: Clearly, outside forces were at work.
Suddenly, the ground trembled. A flock of squawking marshbirds took off from a nearby shrub.
Tensing, Kakashi straightened up. Was it an earthquake? Or a battle of immense proportions? It was difficult to be conclusive with the fog limiting his visibility. Still, he had to wonder what else was occurring in these marshlands.
A massive sword spiraled through the air, cutting through the fog before burying itself blade-first in the ground. In a flicker of movement, a bare-chested ninja appeared, resting on the handle of the sword.
Kakashi's eyes narrowed. If he wasn't mistaken...
"If it isn't the missing-nin from the Hidden Mist, Momochi Zabuza."
"I assume you're Kakashi of the Sharingan," said Zabuza. "I'll have you hand over that old man."
Tazuna turned pale. "If that's the case, why did you all let me go in the first place?!"
"Let you go?" The missing-nin cocked his head. "My orders were to recapture all escapees, dead or alive. How you escaped is none of my concern."
Had Kakashi known he would be clashing against a ninja of Zabuza's caliber, he would never have brought a civilian with him. It was his careless mistake that put an innocent's life at risk—and to correct it, he knew that his usual self wouldn't be enough. Making up his mind, he raised his hitai-ate, revealing the swirling tomoe in his left eye.
"Your opponent is me."