The last rays of the sun invaded the room as a blond woman set aside a dusty stack of paperwork: her worst enemy.
It had been a long last few days. The death of Jiraiya and the departure of the blond boy filled her thoughts. As she prepared to leave, a strange presence began to fill the room.
A chakra signature, one she hadn't felt in decades radiated throughout her office. She recognized the technique, strode over to her windows, and pulled the curtains.
"Come in", said Tsunade.
Nothing happened. Then, a black hole appeared in mid-air, and a hand reached out of it. The rest of the body followed it shortly. A man dressed in a black travelling cloak, grey pants, and wooden sandals and a rain hat stood before her. His straw hat hid everything except his mouth due to the angle it sat upon his head. And on her carpet, was a lot of sand.
Tsunade popped a nerve.
"15 years I haven't seen you, and you pull a damn joke on me!" she yelled at the intruder.
"15 years you haven't seen me and you get mad?" the man smiled. He continued, "I was in a desert when I was contacted about that pervert. I was even nice enough to come straight away to your office!"
"As long as you clean up", grumbled Tsunade. Reaching for the sake she hid in her desk, she asked, "What have you been up to these years?"
"I've been adventuring into the world of salesmen", he said, sitting down and taking his cloak off at the same time. A scroll stuck out at the fold of a gray shirt very similiar to Jiraiya's.
"What exactly could you sell?, Tsunade teased, aside from your... talents?
"I sell art, books, metalwork, and information," he grumbled while pouring sake. "I'll give you a discount," he said with a grin.
Tsunade chuckled and downed her cup in one drink.
"It's been quite some time since I stopped by, Tsunade. Tell me, how is Kushina's kid?", he inquired, stretching.
"He's actually turned into quite something , she replied, Why do you ask?"
The man shrugged and took a drink. "I don't know", he stated. He looked thoughtful for a moment and asked, "Can I meet him?"
"He''s at Myobukuzan."
"Did Jiraiya train him?"
"Yes." Tsunade immediately looked sad at the mention of her ex-teammate.
"Do you know who killed him?", the stranger asked.
"According to our info, he is based in the Hidden Rain Village and is the leader of an organization made of S-Class criminals, including some names even you know. Uchiha Itachi, Hoshigaki Kisame, among others. He calls himself Pain."
"Sounds like a charming fellow," he yawned. "Is that bastard Danzo still around? I feel like killing him."
"Unfortunately yes. He has his own division of ANBU," replied Tsunade.
"That's not good at all. Knowing him, he'll grab power as soon as their was an opportunity, if he had enough men.
The stranger drank his sake and stated, "I'll go find a place to sleep. Then I'll look for some aquaintaces of mine. You look tired, so we'll talk more tomorrow."
"What should I call you? Obviously, I can't use your other name," Tsunade said, wondering what he would choose.
The stranger thought for a second.
"These days, they call me Tsubasa. Nice meeting you, Hokage-san," he said with a smile from under his hat.
"Get rid of this damn sand," said Tsunade. She moved towards the nearest window and opened it. The stranger made a single handsign, and the sand blew through the room and out the window.
"Aah! My eyes you idiot," shouted Tsunade. But the stranger jumped out the window and jumped away as fast as he could.
Time doesn't change him at all..., thought the Hokage. A breeze infiltrated the room through the window. Tsubasa was entirely too fitting a name. She shivered, not entirely from the cold. Seeing him brought back memories from the old days.
Some memories that should be forgotten.
"Tsubasa" woke up the next day with a start. "Kami, it's only noon. I don't wake up this early usually. What a bummer. There must be something going on."
His nose twitched. "Smoke?!" He strode to the nearest window and opened it.
Columns of smoke were rising from the center of Konoha. He could hear the explosions from there.
"How random, they're being invaded", he thought unworried. "Maybe I should help out.."
He dressed himself, grabbed a scroll and jumped out the window.
"I don't see an army. Whoever is attacking must be in small numbers. They're ballsy..."
Kakashi lay buried amid the wreckage, his final thoughts circulating through his brain. He finally closed his eyes. He could have sworn he heard footsteps.
Ino, Inoichi, Shizune, and the ANBU member crouched while discussing their enemy. They were connecting the dots when a man in a black cloak with red clouds jumped in their midst, dropping a smoke bomb at the same time. The man snagged one of them and entered her mind. The location of their target was there. "Myobukuzan," he said aloud. His work was finished. He might as well kill the girl...
There was a dark flash and his body fell to the earth, his head following not to soon after. There was a splash of blood. As Shizune lay on the ground gasping for breath, a man in black picked up the head and examined it.
"Impossible!" he said aloud. The Rinnegan! in the east of all places, what the hell was happening? Then he noticed that the blond man was looking at him cautiously, evaluating whether he was a friend or foe.
"You're Inoichi, right?" he asked.
The man nodded in response, and said, "You look familiar, but I don't know your name?"
"Not many do", he countered. He was about to ask the situation when the head disappeared from his hands.
"A summoning?" he thought. Beneath the rain hat his eyes narrowed. He looked up. A man was in midair in the middle of the village. Not Good!!!
"Get down!!" he shouted. Everything was blown away. He felt an enormous surge of chakra at the middle of the massive crater in Konoha.
"That's toad chakra, and.., he paused, a sage?
"You guys look for survivors, I'll see what's going on," he stated before jumping away.
He saw a rather familiar site at the edge of the crater
Rather familiar, because Tsunade didn't look like a 20 year old.
He approached her and said with a smile, "Damn, you look awful"
A pink haired kunoichi glared at him. He ignored her. He reached for the scroll and spread it out. It was longer than it looked. He finally placed his hand on it and summoned a vial filled with a light blue liquid.
He approached Tsunade and said, "Drink this Tsunade, it will help". He poured a drop on her tongue. She looked a bit more lively. Just a bit.
He then demanded, "Now explain what the hell is going on, and who is taking on the Six Paths by himself?"
"Naruto."
"A kid?!"
The pink haired kunoichi looked at him and said," He's very strong"
He looked at her and smiled. Sakura flinched, his smile was very... strange. "Little girl, you don't know the meaning of the word. But you're about to learn it." He turned to Tsunade.
"Tsunade, isn't he the one Mi- the Yondaime used to-
"Yeah", she said breathlessly.
"Hmm. That's not good."He went back to his scroll. Twice, there was a puff of smoke. Sakura just glimpsed two pieces of paper with a bunch of kanji on them.
"What are those for?" inquired Tsunade.
"One is something useful against this Pain", he said with a smile.
"And the other one?"
"That's for when the Kyuubi idiot loses control of himself and decides to take that pet for a walk." He again ignored the girl's furious glare.
"Why will that happen?"
"Cause he's been captured", the man said pointing.
True enough, Naruto lay entrapped within Hungry Ghost's hungry embrace. Until he started to transform into a frog. Freeing himself from the half-frog corpse, he was about to attack God Realm when Fukasaku suddenly went flying towards Pain. A sharpened rod appeared out of Pain's right sleeve and pierced the little frog's body.
"The frogs are gonna lose a lot some summonings," grumbled the man (Gamakichi looked worried). "Maybe I should intervene. What do you think, Tsunade?"
"No. This is his fight." she affirmed.
"Yeah", he said as he saw Pain stick a rod through Naruto's hands. "Well, your loss."
"I'll just wait a bit. If he doesn't find a way out soon, I'll intervene before he ca-"
He paused as he watched Pain stick the little sticks over Naruto's body.
"Sorry Tsunade, he won't get out of there without help", he remarked. He still didn't move.
"Fool..."
Suddenly, a pretty white-eyed girl confronted God Realm.
"A Hyuuga?! She won't last five seconds against those abilities! Is she craz-- Shit! She looks just like- Aw crap!!" he yelled to himself as he watched Pain stab her.
"More work for me", he remarked bitterly.
All of a sudden, there was a massive explosion of some terrifying chakra, and he could vaguely see six tails waving about.
As the six tails moved to engage Pain, he moved quickly to the Hyuuga girl, almost a corpse.
She was very light, and it took no trouble for him to carry her away from the fight, back to where the Hokage was resting.
"Hinata," murmured bubble-gum-head as he lay her down.
Pain had stabbed her heart, she was giving out fast. Sakura could do nothing for her. But he could.
He took out of a pouch a tiny vial. It had a shimmering blue color that seemed to shine with a different hue every moment.
He unstopped the vial and poured a few drops over the wound. "Damn, too much. Just her luck. And her future husband's..."
"Heal her", he told the other girl.
She shook her head.
"I can't heal that kind of -"
"I said, heal her. Or she really will die."
The girl stared at him a moment, nodded slowly, stuck her hands over the Hyuuga's heart, and began to mend the tissue.
There was a roar and a massive explosion of chakra.
He shivered and looked at Tsunade.
"Want me to take care of this?" he asked
"I guess so," she said feebly.
"You should have told me the guy had those eyes. This complicates things. A lot," he remarked before speeding towards the clash.
He waited and waited for an opening, and just as Pain was about to be disintegrated by a huge blast of chakra, a shadow appeared behind the Naruto. It stuck a hand out and slapped something on the back of the his head.
"Sorry boy, but I'm afraid killing him won't do me any good."
The seal began to glow a vibrant red, and the demon chakra started to go into the seal, leaving burnt skin behind.
The man looked at the collapsed boy, and then at Pain. He smiled.
"Your turn now, friggin' corpse!" he exclaimed with glee.
He jumped back and rapidly began making seals.
Katon: Goukakyu no Jutsu!
A massive fireball sped towards Pain. Too big to evade. Only one option then.
"Shinra Tensei." The fireball dissipated at it encountered Pain's repelling technique.
Exactly what was supposed to happen. Before he could turn around, he was caught in an armlock and something was plastered on his head too.
Nothing happened.
"Shinra Tensei", he repeated.
Nothing happened.
"Good, good, now let's have a little chat, the man remarked, but before that..."
Pain's right arm fell to the ground before you could blink.
"I thought you guys stayed in The Sky. Did you or your parents run from home?" inquired Tsubasa.
No response.
"Do you lead this.. Akatsuki"
"Yes"
"And of course, if you're collecting the Bijuu, you'll be using that statue. That means..." he trailed off. Then he said abruptly:
"Who did you send after the Hachibi?"
No response.
"Come on, come on. You need the other demons before getting the Kyuubi, so you obviously sent someone after it. Who?"
Nagato was beginning to wonder. He knew the man was behind him, but he had the constant sensation of a blade being pressed against his neck.
"Why would I tell you?"
"Because I'll show you something in return. You won't regret it. Or I'll take this damn body and cut it into pieces so little you'll you won't be healing him. Jiraiya said he had a student with the rinnegan once. I recognized some of the bodies from the stories he told me. So this must mean something to you..."
"Uchiha Sasuke," Pain said suddenly.
"Beg your pardon?"
"Uchiha Sasuke. We sent him to capture the Hachibi."
"Damn you," he thought. But on the other hand...
"Oh, good. I thought you might actually send someone who knew how to capture a jinchuuriki."
"I've been assured that he is reliable. All that is necessary for our goals is the kyuubi."
"No, the eight-tails host is someone a lot smarter than he looks. Or sounds. What are you going to do when you find out he's failed. Kill him?"
"Those who cannot help Akatsuki progress are unnecessary. If he has hindered us in any significant way or betrayed us, he will be dealt with."
"No matter what Madara wants, I will not stand foolishness from either of them,"thought Nagato.
"Fine. As I said, I will show you something." He took of his hat.
"You are..!"
"Oho! So you are familiar with the East... Get out of here. You're nearly out of chakra. I have plenty. I know your secrets. I already know where you a-"
The Pain puffed. When the smoke cleared, he was gone.
"That went well."He strode over to Naruto. "What an idiot. Couldn't control himself. Well, maybe I am a bit too cold... After all, he's probably not used to seeing comrades killed."
He picked him up and carried him back.
Sakura breathed a sigh of relief when the man appeared with Naruto. She walked over and began to heal his skin.
"Always getting hurt," she muttered.
"But what was that thing the guy used on Hinata? As soon as I healed her tissue, she was fine. Just blood loss. She should've died," thought Sakura with a grimace.
"Satisfied?" she heard the man address Tsunade-sama.
"As always," she replied.
"Good. Now let me talk to him."
Without waiting for an answer, he apppeared next to Sakura and woke Naruto up.
Naruto squinted as his eyes opened. The sun was blinding.
"How long have I been out?", he wondered. He was about to ask when-
WHAM!
Clutching the side of his face, he looked furiously for the offender. It was a tall man, wearing wooden sandals, grey pants, a rain hat, and a black cloak unclasped in front that stretched to his shins. It was billowing in the wind.
"Who the hell are you?! And what was that for?!"
WHAM!
"Respect, idiot. And that was for being stupid. Engaging an enemy you couldn't defeat without destroying what remains of the village. You should've stayed at Myobukuzan. He can't know the way there.
"Hey you-"
"I've lost interest in you, Tsubasa remarked, I have other urgent matters to attend to. Like Uchiha Sasuke. Do you know him? He's from here, and he's about your age."
"Sasuke-kun is our teammate," Sakura interrupted.
"Oh really?"
Tsunade already knew where this was going.
"No. You aren't going."
"Where?, Tsubasa asked innocently."
"I need my shinobi, now is not the time to go after a missing nin. So no."
"Tsunade, who said I need your shinobi? If I really, really want to track him down, I'll do it myself."
Tsunade sighed. Her friend was very hard to interpret. He of course, had known Naruto was on the same team as the Uchiha, but he was right.
If he wanted to, he would retrieve Sasuke by himself. Maybe, he was thinking it might be easier to retrieve Sasuke if there were people he knew present. Maybe he wanted to respect Naruto's feelings? No, more likely, he wanted something else too... Besides, what was there for Naruto to do in Konoha? Maybe his shadow clones would help. And Sakura definently would be a great help. But if Naruto was going, Sakura was going too. And she remembered how Tsubasa was very close to Kushina, he would want to spend time with Naruto, even if it was on a battlefield. And Naruto would start whining to go very soon, too.
"Do you want to go, brat?" Tsunade asked.
"Really oba-chan?!" His eyes gleamed.
She nodded.
"Yes! Now we'll really get Sas-" he stopped. They looked at him.
"Hinata. Is she ok? " he asked. His expression changed to one of worry.
Sakura smiled. Maybe, just maybe he had caught on.
"She's okay. She'll wake up in a few hours."
"Oh. That's good. I thought he killed her."
"We noticed," Tsubasa said, "Funny, such a pretty girl would sacrifice herself for an idiot."
"Anyway, if you guys can get a teammate, we'll leave."
"Then we'll get Sai. But what about equipment?"
"I'll supply you myself."
Fine. We'll go look for them.
"Actually, Sai is on a miss-," Tsunade was saying.
"Naruto!"
Yamato landed in front of them.
"What happened to Kyuubi?" As he asked, Sai and Anko landed next to him; both were shocked by the state of the village.
"A friend of mine took care of him," Tsunade answered, glancing towards Tsubasa.
"Sai, Naruto and Sakura would like your company on a mission," she said.
"Shouldn't I go, Tsunade-sama?" Yamato asked.
"It's okay. I need you here.
"Another?" Sai asked. "I'll go. It's fine."
Tsubasa nodded. "You three meet me at the gate in half an hour."
Sakura started leaving but Naruto hung back.
"Ba-Chan, take of care of Hinata, will you?"
"I would have done so anyway. Why?"
"Oh, um well you see, she um, got hurt because of me so..." he trailed off, growing rather pink.
"Just go."
Then Tsunade realized it. "I didn't see anyone from Root in the fighting!"
Sakura and Naruto were leaving.
Tsubasa seemingly read her thoughts. "Don't worry, Danzo won't think of anything if I'm here," Tsubasa reassured.
"I hope so," replied Tsunade.
"Funny, I don't know who that is," Tsubasa said, looking curiously at Sai.
"He's root."
"Funny. You'd think that he'd be informed of something like that, right?"
There was silence for a few moments.
"He wasn't what I expected. I thought he'd be more like his father," said Tsubasa out of the blue.
"He gets his annoyingness and loud voice from his mother," Tsunade said quietly.
"I meant in terms of abilities."
"Well, Tsunade said with a touch of bitterness, there was no one to teach him."
"You know I can't stay here," he responded.
"But you could have helped him when he left the village!"
He fell silent.
"Would you like me to?"
"You mean it?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"He'll need it."
"For what?"
"For the wars that will come."
"What?"
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about. In the West there is tension between nations and suspicious border movement everywhere. And it's not just there. There has been more shipping of goods from some western nations to the Crossroads, which indicates that the final destination of the goods is here in the east. That can only be trouble. If they were to involve the Elemental Countries in their affairs, you would be crushed. They have numbers, technology, and a lot of skill. And this Akatsuki business is unnerving me. So, will you take me up on my offer?"
"How long would you take him for?"
"Depends on his capacity."
"No more than a year then."
"Done. As long as he doesn't come back addicted to smoking, sake, and women."
"Wonderful to know you think so highly of me," grumbled Tsubasa as he adjusted his rain hat.
Sakura, Naruto, and Sai were waiting at the front gate, although they lent a hand to those nearby, either removing pieces of rubble or healing citizens.
"Who do you think that guy is, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked loudly.
"I think he's a friend of Hokage-sama," Sakura responded.
"He's a meanie. The first thing he does when I wake up is to punch me! After almost dying too!" Naruto ranted.
"I kind of agree. But he saved Hinata. If it wasn't for him..." Sakura said, failing to notice the change of color in Naruto's cheeks.
"He's late," Sai remarked suddenly.
"...They're Kakashi's students," Tsunade told Tsubasa.
"Oh? Did he actually grow up? Maybe it might actually be fun to spar with him now. Little stuckup."
"Do you have any ideas?"
"Huh? For what? You mean for this? Isn't that your job?"
"Shut up. You know a lot of things around the world. You could get help from anywhere."
"Well, you might request some aid from your allies to start. A good deal might be the Raikage."
"Raikage?! The Hyuuga wouldn't stand for that. Why him?"
"Because the eight-tails host is his brother. Uchiha Sasuke attempted to capture him a day or two ago. He would understand your concerns on this Akatsuki, although I'm sure that they failed to capture him, because they sent someone so experienced and unmotivated. Now, the harder part is to replace all the ninja you lost."
"I guess there were quite a few."
"Well, because of the tense situation east of the mountains, a lot of people are rather worried. I know a few clan heads in particular. They might want to migrate away, because a war here isn't as bad as a war there. And they have heard of Konoha and some of its legends. For now, try to fix this mess. I'll help you here in Jiraiya's stead."
He smiled. "I'll offer you a discount on all books, art pieces, and information folders you wish to purchase."
"Thanks a lot."
"I owe Konoha some services. They owe me a lot. And- whoops! I'm late!"
Tsubasa jumped off.
"You're late!" shouted Naruto.
"I didn't ask. Are you better?"
"I guess so."
"Good. We sleep in Lightning Country tonight."
"NANI!? That's too far!"
"Then you can stay."
Naruto made a face and grumbled his agreement.
"Let's go."
They sped off.
Sakura was very tired. It was close to eleven. They were already rather deep into Lightning Country. Maybe it was the soldier pills they had been given. Either way, she was glad to be able to rest. Her eyelids were already fluttering when the man called Tsubasa entered the tent they had made. She sat up.
"Ok young ones, here's the plan: Tomorrow we reach Unraikyo, where Sasuke and a group engaged the Hachibi. I'll go in alone. This way it's easier to get a trace of him. Then we will follow him and force him back to Konoha. Simple as that."
She thought she heard Naruto question something before falling asleep.
Naruto woke up first. It was seven thirty. He was still sleepy when he saw the man sitting cross-legged and staring straight ahead. Wierd. At least he would help.
"You. Go wake up the others, we shouldn't stay too long. A cloud ninja could find us at any moment," ordered Tsubasa.
"Fine. Sai! Sakura-chan! Wake up!" he shouted inside the tent.
Half an hour later they started to leave when Sakura noticed something. He was preparing to leave in a direction away from Unraikyo.
"Isn't it the other way?" she inquired.
"I changed my mind. I went by myself last night. I already got a trace," responded Tsubasa.
"So you just lead us to where he is?"
"No. Follow that," he answered, pointing towards the sky, where there was one birdlike shape flying. He suddenly took off in the same direction the vague shape was headed. They quickly followed.
They continued through the country for about a half a day, and the vegetation slowly became more scarce, giving away to bare valleys. For the Konoha ninjas, it was a rare sight, having grown up in green Fire Country. The terrain here was desolate and dead compared to their homeland.
Tsubasa suddenly signaled for them to stop.
"What is it?" Sai asked.
"He stopped," Tsubasa anwsered, pointing to the birdlike shape. He must think there's a good chakra sensor. Which in this case means we need to plan. It's gonna be easy. I go in first. I just get their attention. And you surround them and come out on my mark."
"What? It's that easy? The chakra sensor was excellent the last time," warned Sakura.
"That's because you didn't have me."
She wasn't convinced.
"If you REALLY have to know, I have a trick that can confuse him or her long enough for you guys to surround them. I don't care really what happens to the others, but taking them alive seems better.
"Naruto, did you do what I told you to last night?"
"Yeah."
"This should be easy then."
"Sasuke should be directly under him", Tsubasa said while pointing. "Go!"
They all sped away through the valley.
But Tsubasa was already gone from their sight.
Karin was busy attempting to use Sasuke's shoulder as a pillow when she suddenly became fully alert.
"Sasuke, someone's coming! I can't recognize him, but he doesn't seem to have a lot of chakra. But -- that's strange," she said frowning.
"What?", replied a bored Sasuke.
"His chakra level is fluctuating. Higher and lower. Now-- now I can't feel him at all!"
"Not like that helps him hide, look," pointed Suigetsu.
A man dressed in travel garb appeared.
"Who are you?" demanded Sasuke while rising to his feet.
"Is something the matter?". The man's voice sounded ironic and sarcastic.
"Don't kid with us, dip shit, retorted Suigetsu. Juugo said nothing.
"So edgy," sighed the man, there's a water source a kilometer down."
"Really?" Suigetsu's face lit up.
"We aren't going there, you idiot! Hey! Where do you think you're going?" shouted Karin.
"Why wouldn't I be going?"
"Are you the one who's blocking me?"
"Pardon me?"
"Oh fine, you can- Sasuke, get down!!"
He saw a flash of pink.
"Shit."
There was a tremendous crater. The group however, was already in the air.
"Now Sai!!"
An ink bird came down and assailed the group with ink pellets. One struck Karin's arm, and she lost her balance due to the shock, creating an opening for Sakura, who jumped up high and kneed her in the gut. Karin collapsed immediately.
Sasuke observed the two of them.
"Where's Naruto?"
He became aware of a screeching sound behind him.
"Rasengan!!"
Sasuke easily evaded the jutsu.
"Long time no see, teme!" Naruto said with enthusiasm.
Sasuke grunted, he noticed the big scroll on Naruto's back. He guessed it wasn't for show.
"Oy, Sasuke, what do you think we should do?" asked Suigetsu. He wasn't worried at all.
"Fight, obviously."
"My favorite anwser!"
"Now, which of these guys is the best?"
"Maybe him?" pointed Sasuke. The man had stood still, not taking advantage of any opening. What a fool.
"Guess I'll leave the kids to the kids!" Suigetsu exclaimed and charged the man.
"Idiot," muttered Juugo.
Suigetsu edged closer and closer and closer, but there was no movement at all from his opponent
"Hyaa!" he yelled as he swung the massive blade.
There was a huge crash.
"What the?" ...
Tsubasa had simply sidestepped at the last second.
"Looks like that thing is pretty heavy, because my great-grandmother could aim better with that toy," teased the man. Suigetsu snarled and charged him again.
Sakura and Naruto meanwhile confronted their former teammate.
"This time, Sasuke, you will come with us!"
"I have no desire to return to Konoha," he said, with a touch of anger.
"Like I care!" Naruto took out a kunai and charged.
"Naruto! Don't be stupid!" shouted Sakura.
"Your death, idiot," Sasuke remarked with no emotion before blocking him effortlessly.
Meanwhile Sai looked at Juugo. Juugo was unsure of himself. He wanted to fight for Sasuke, but he wasn't sure of the extent of his abilities.
"Are you going to fight?"Sai asked.
"If I can," responded Juugo.
Sai took out his scroll. Ninpou: Chouju Gigaa!
Two lions appeared and rushed Juugo.
Naruto struck out again and again, but he could tell that Sasuke was toying with him.
Sasuke blocked once more and pulled back.
"You think you can defeat me and take me back to Konoha? I pity you," said Sasuke while closing his eyes. "I'll show you my power. Power that you can never match. He opened his eyes. A strange flower-like sharingan was imprinted on them. Immediately, Naruto was encased in a powerful genjutsu.
"What the- Aah!" he cried as he began to feel pain. He looked down to see a black sword shoved up to the hilt in his stomach. The world was red and black.
"Aah!" he cried again as he was stabbed in a lung.
"Naruto?" Sakura saw her comrade fall to his knees. "What the hell is going on?"
Tsubasa paused to look at Sasuke. "What a pain. Itachi really did give Sasuke his eyes. I thought he would. I wonder if Naruto can get out of that?"
Naruto kneeled in the world of Tsukuyomi. Suddenly, the pain began to cease. His vision started mixing the real world and the illusion.
Was Sasuke unable to keep the illusion up?
He charged his chakra and forced it out, just like Jiraiya once taught him.
His vision stabilized. But the biggest surprise was that Sasuke fell to his knees panting.
"He didn't use the Kyuubi's chakra, and was still able to get away! How is that possible? And why did I feel like I was fighting an Uchiha for a second? No, that was no Uchiha. That was Itachi. I'm almost sure of it!"
Naruto grinned. "Some power, eh Sasuke?" He laughed. Then he ran forward again, throwing a few shuriken and drawing a kunai.
Sasuke swore and jumped back. That had taken a lot out of him. He still had some options. He could use his sword. Maybe a chidori. Fire techniques too. And there was Ameratsu. All were viable options. Except for one thing: The man fighting Suigetsu.
Sasuke didn't doubt that if the guy wanted to, he could break Suigetsu's neck, step in and save Naruto. If he was as strong as he was, he could only guess. But with Juugo occupied, he would be doing this alone. Maybe, it would be more prudent to use a technique that would finish off Naruto. And the rest of them. The lightning strike was out of the question. That left Ameratsu. It would definitely finish them off. It had worked against the eight-tails. Why not here?
"He's your friend," someone whispered in the back of his mind.
"Was," said a voice that was more like his.
"The only person you ever had any real attachment to, aside from Itachi."
"I don't care. I have only hate for Konoha. He's no friend of mine."
"What would Itachi say? What would he want for you? A life of running away? Of treachery and dishonor? The last Uchiha, a criminal?"
"Shut up!! Itachi is dead!"
"Ameratsu," Sasuke whispered.
His left eye bled and black flames leaped up, eating anything in their path. In this case Naruto.
"Gyaaaah!!!!" Naruto yelled. He attempted to cover himself as the black flames consumed him.
"Naruto!" Sasuke vaguely heard Sakura call.
"Tsubasa looked. "Aw come on. I was just having fun here. But I didn't think he would do that to his ex-comrade.
Then Sasuke felt it. A big pain, coming from his eye. He swore silently, and doubled his concentration.
Naruto was fighting back.
"Impossible! Only an Uchiha can do that, and only one with Mangekyou Sharingan at that!
The black flames began to disappear. Soon, they were gone. Naruto was crouching on the ground, breathing heavily.
"My body responded on its own. Why? Could it be that Itachi actually did give me something?" he thought, remembering his last encounter with the man.
"So that is your power, Sasuke? Not bad at all! Now, I'll show you mine!" he took the scroll behind his back and opened it. He pressed his hand to the paper and a clone appeared, deep in meditation. Naruto quickly undid the jutsu.
Sasuke could now feel tremendous power coming from Naruto. He saw his eyes. The skin around them was red, and his pupils had turned yellow. Not Kyuubi eyes.
Sasuke got up and held his blade in the ready position. Naruto charged at an unbelievable speed. Sasuke could keep up with him though.
He pushed off and charged Naruto.
"Is he that dumb? I have a better weapon, and my reach is longer!"
The two met in the middle. Sasuke swung with such speed that Sakura could barely see it. At the same time he dove towards his left, avoiding Naruto's basic and vulnerable punch.
The sword was still crossing Naruto's chest when he felt something hit his cheek. Before he knew it, Sasuke had landed about 30 meters away. He wiped the blood from his mouth and rubbed his cheek.
"What the hell?"
He got up. Now he had to take this seriously. He was going to lose. He had used his best techniques at the start, and both of them failed, resulting in an immense loss of chakra. He charged his blade with electricity, This might work.
"You don't seem to talk so much anymore, dobe", he remarked.
"Damn Sasuke and his Chidori," thought Naruto.
"That's it!!!"
Chidori is a lightning technique. He was a wind type. He remembered Kakashi's words: The jutsu would be weak against Fire, but strong against Chidori. He wouldn't do a Rasenshuriken. A fuuton rasengan would suffice.
"Kage bunshin no jutsu!" Four clones burst out and five Narutos charged Sasuke.
I can't tell the real one apart, Sasuke noted bitterly. He was weakened enough already. He didn't have the luxury of prolonging a fight. Not with their medic out, and not with that stranger present. He would have to resolve this fast. He dispatched the clones and spotted Naruto forming a rasengan.
"I only need my strength to take you back to the village, Sasuke!"
"There you go again. Talking about dreams and what you can only hope to accomplish."
Sasuke charged, his arm preparing to swing the chidori-charged sword. Naruto smiled and ran forward with the rasengan.
"This doesn't look too good," thought Sakura. The others were engaged, but she doubted she could do much. She would probably be a liability. Her best chance was to wait for an opportunity, as the techniques being used were to strong for her.
"Baka," Sasuke said out loud.
"Hehe," grinned Naruto.
His rasengan collided with Sasuke's charged sword.
There was a huge cracking sound as Sasuke's sword was split into fragments where Naruto had hit his sword.
"What the hell?! His rasengan could match my chidori, but not overpower it," he thought remembering their last real battle.
But the rasengan kept going, and hit Sasuke in the stomach. He coughed up blood and was sent spiraling away into the dirt.
"Now's my chance!" thought Sakura.
The last thing Sasuke saw was a fist coming down on his head.
"Shannaro!!" yelled Sakura.
"Sasuke!", cried Juugo. The distraction was enough for Sai to pin him under one of his beasts.
"Uh-oh,", the man said, they've finished up!"
"Bye Bye!!" Suigetsu's face was introduced to a wooden sandal. He dropped immediately.
"Wow, you actually won," Tsubasa remarked as he walked next to Naruto. He really was surprised.
"I got him by surprise."
"Nah, it wasn't you at all. It was his brother."
"What?"
"Anyway, Sakura, administer this drug to the prisoners, please." He tossed her a vial filled with something yellow and walked to Juugo, now snakebound.
"You're from Tenpin, aren't you?"
"How do you know?"
"Your techniques, which are the result of an enzyme your clan carry. Orochimaru used it to create the cursed seal. You guys are captured. Although it's not like you ever had a chance anyway."
"Sasuke won't come back quietly."
Tsubasa crouched down and whispered, "Do you wanna bet?"
"If I had any money I would."
"Pity."
The trip was relatively smooth. They were in Fire Country not too long after, though they stopped to take a breather. Sakura was startled when she noticed Sasuke was awake.
"Is the drug working?" she thought.
"Don't worry. It doesn't knock them out. It just neutralizes the creation of chakra," Tsubasa assured her.
"Something like that exists?"
"Yeah."
"Do you make it?"
"Of Course not. A good friend of mine does. He's a genius. Of course I can't tell you much about it. He'd get pissed."
"Why do you still think I should go to Konoha?" Sasuke interrupted.
"Why not? Besides your childish behavior, there is no reason not to. There are people who like you. You were well respected. The Uchiha clan were one of the founders of Konoha."
"If you let me go. I'll just run again."
"Sure."
"You don't believe me?"
"What do you have against Konoha?"
"They killed my family!"
Sakura whirled around.
"What?!"
Sasuke smirked. "So you don't know the truth. I suspect not. The elders are too-"
WHAM!
Sasuke's nose was bleeding a lot and the man was holding him by his hair.
"If that's your problem, you and I are gonna have a little chat. How does that sound?!"
"Damn you!"
WHAM!
He dragged off Sasuke, ignoring the his swearwords that indicated his pain.
Naruto and Sai returned with some water.
"Where's Sasuke?"
"Talking with uh, Tsubasa."
"About what?"
She considered it for a moment and said: "I don't know."
2 hours passed when Sasuke and the man returned.
Sasuke was unbound. And walking of his own will. His face was red. It looked like he had cried a bit.
Tsubasa's mouth was empty of emotion.
Sasuke sat with the others.
"Can I have some water?"
Sakura gave a small smile. "Sure!"
Sasuke wouldn't say what had happened, or what had been said for years to come.
He walked unbound into Konohagakure, where he was immediately taken to see the Hokage, who greeted him and informed him. That they would have to assess his behavior and abilities to make sure he wasn't lying. It would be some time before they could trust him again. But he would try his best.
Kilometers and Kilometers away:
"Were you successful, Pain?"
"No."
"What? First Sasuke, and now you."
"There was a complication."
"What?"
"The jinchuuriki is stronger than we thought."
"But that wasn't the problem"
How much do you know about our allies in the west."
"I don't see-"
"Leader."
"Yes Zetsu?"
"This has been confirmed. Falcon has been captured by Konoha."
"Madara, for the first time in a long time, was angry. Naruto could wait. Sasuke couldn't."
Konoha was a beehive of activity as everyone worked to begin the restoration of their village. It turned out that the reason Yamato had not gone on the mission was due to the fact of the usefulness of his mokuton jutsu. He had been able to create cabins for most of the civilian population, and various relief centers for the wounded. Survivors were still being treated, and one lazy figure in particular was in a hospital bed. Again.
Kakashi was reading a book. Icha Icha, surprisingly. He was just re-reading his favorite scene for the umpteenth time when a shadow clouded his vision. He looked and saw a man standing next to his mattress. Tsubasa sat on the floor next to Kakashi.
"So it was you who saved me," he remarked casually.
"Yes."
"I thought I was dead."
"Yes. Luckily, chakra exhaustion is easy to heal."
"Hm. Did you meet him?"
"Yeah."
"I taught him some things, but he's too different from me. He's more like you and his mother."
"Is he like his father?"
Kakashi looked away.
"I can't teach him that. No one here can. That was for you to teach him. That was what Minato would've wanted at least."
Tsubasa shrugged and said, "I'll do it mainly cause Kushina wanted me to help too."
"Get well soon. You have a lot of work coming to you."
Tsubasa left. Kakashi looked after him, and sighed.
"He's right, he thought, I have a lot of work to do. But meanwhile..."
He resumed reading. Not long after, he began giggling. He loved that scene.
Hiashi and Neji were in the Hyuuga compound next to a bed. Hinata was sleeping quite peacefully, giving no indication whatsoever of her horrific injury at Pain's hands.
"Did you see what happened?" Hiashi said after a while.
"I heard that she apparently tried to confront the invader to assist Uzumaki Naruto, she even used a sophisticated jyuken technique that I had no idea she knew. But I guess he was too strong."
"Uzumaki Naruto. I've heard that name before."
Neji smiled. "You have. I think you remember my first Chunin Exam."
"Aah, I remember him. How couldn't I? He withstood your best techniques. And fooled you pretty badly as well.
Footsteps were heard. Hiashi sighed. He knew who was coming.
"Neji, could you please excuse us? And have someone send some sake too."
Neji turned around. The same man who had saved Hinata was there. He curiously eyed the visitor.
"Of course," he said before departing.
"Long time no see, little Hiashi. You-know-who sends her greetings."
Hiashi paled, and Tusbasa laughed loudly. He stopped and looked at Hiashi.
"You know, I saved her only because she looks like her. And because she's your daughter."
"I am grateful."
"I can see the happiness dripping from your words."
He sighed. "She hasn't exactly fulfilled my expectations. I had hoped she would be stronger."
"You didn't fill out that many either, you know."
"Maybe I just compare her with Neji too much."
"The guy that left? Hizashi's kid?"
"Yes."
"Well you should loosen up a bit on her. She very nearly died. She'll be scared for the rest of her life."
"You're one to talk about scarring."
"I'm special. I'll visit again. I'll tell her that you said hi," he added with a grin. Hiashi looked exasperated. Tsubasa jumped out the window.
Neji appeared carrying the sake arrived just as he left.
"He left?
Hiashi shrugged. "Care for a drink?
Neji stared very carefully at his uncle's face before accepting. His face flushed with color as he indulged in the liquid.
Maybe this wasn't so bad.
Naruto was anwsering Ba-chan's summons the next morning.
What the hell would she want now?
He entered her office to find the strange dude called Tsubasa and Shizune.
"Please sit, Naruto. I have a proposition for you."
"Huh?"
Tsubasa said suddenly, "Kid, do you wanna beat that Pain guy next time you meet him?"
Naruto immediately responded,"Hell yeah!"
"He's inviting you to train with him," Tsunade said.
"More training?!"
"Isn't that what you'd like?"
"But I have sage mode already!"
"Yes, and it was enough to crush Pain, was it?" Tsubasa said with a small grin.
Naruto fell silent.
"You do want to win, right? And you don't wanna go crazy with the kyuubi anymore, right?"
Naruto looked at him.
"Can you do that?"
"You'll be stronger than Sasuke for sure."
"But how long will we be gone?"
"A year."
"Nani?!!"
The man sighed and looked at Tsunade, and she could barely make out the glint of a smile. That wasn't a good sign.
"So you want to endanger your friend like that again?"
That hit Naruto hard.
He remembered his fight and Hinata's confession. But most of all, he remembered Pain's cold, merciless eyes as he stabbed Hinata. Eyes that reveled in Naruto's pain.
Naruto looked at Tsubasa.
"Fine."
"Excellent. Pack some things you want to take, if anything survived the wreckage, and meet me in three hours. You can say your goodbyes."
As Naruto left, he turned to Tsunade.
"What about the other prisoners? Did you keep them or release them?"
"We interrogated them and left them to go their own ways. Except for the kid. We're gonna run some tests on him, and then we'll see what he wants to do. Not surprisingly, the others had no wish to stay here."
"Okay. Now, I have one more thing to ask of you," Tsubasa said. He reached into his shirt and pulled out a scroll.
"Examine that. Every part of it. And only you and someone you can trust with your life. When I come back, I'll take a look at your conclusions." He walked away.
Tsunade thought the scroll looked rather gray.
An hour and a half later:
Naruto had only salvaged a few things from his: his team picture, clothing, some magazines and other various belongings. His furniture, plants, and his cup ramen had all been obliterated. All that was left was to say goodbye. He headed to the hospital where Sasuke was being checked.
Naruto barged in to see Sauke without his shirt and Sakura listening to his heart and lungs with an instrument.
"Aha!! I found out why you really wanted to become a medical ninja, Sakura!" he exclaimed with a huge smile.
"Shut up Baka!!" she yelled as her fist contacted with Naruto's nose.
As he lay on the floor clutching his nose. Sakura finished her examinations and showed Sasuke the results.
"The only thing that's unsatisfactory is your eyesight. It has deteriorated since the last medical log. Which is about 3 years old. She closed her eyes.
"Do you have Mangekyou Sharingan?"
"How did you know-"
"We met Itachi once. Kakashi asked him if he was going blind. I surmised that the reason for that was his mangekyou shraingan. And there were those jutsu you used. There's one more thing as well. I don't know if you follow the doctor's orders, but I forbid you from using that ability. It slowly detiorates your vision and reflexes.
Sasuke felt crushed. His best weapon, his brother's last gift was poisoning him. That was a bummer.
"Oh well. Don't worry Sasuke, you'll find out something, somehow. Actually I came to say goodbye," Naruto said suddenly.
Sakura turned around. "What?!"
"Ba-chan wants me to learn something with that meanie."
"Really? Sound fun," Sasuke said sourly. He didn't like the man all that much. But maybe he would forgive him in a few days.
"He's mean! But at least I'll get stronger. I'll be better than both of you before you know it!"
"Don't count on it, dobe."
After a last goodbye, he left the room and made his way to the reception and the exit. He saw two faces walk in his direction.
"Neji! Hinata! What are you doing here?"
Neji sighed. "Hinata needs a checkup, due to her.. injury."
"Oh." That put Naruto down a bit.
Hinata noticed, and said, "Neji, you can go home now. You really don't need to take me the whole way.
"She wants to talk with Naruto," Neji thought. "I'll be back in an hour."
"Hinata," Naruto began, he was scratching the back of his head out of nervousness. He didn't know how to talk to girls that well.
"I'm.. sorry. You nearly died because I wasn't good enough. I promise you, never again willl I let you risk yourself like that!"
Hinata, who reddened as he spoke said, "There's no need to apologize N-Naruto-kun. I went of my own free will. It was my own fault that I couldn't help you..."
But I don't regret what I did in the least.
"We-well .. what, it's almost time for me to go!! I'm gonna leave the village for a while, so I won't be seeing you at all..."
Good luck Naruto-kun," Hinata said with a small smile. Her fingers had resumed their usual habits. She was scared that she would faint during this encounter.
"ByeBye!" he shouted, causing many people to glare at him. Either because of his loud voice or other reasons not unkown.
But Hinata was too busy thinking about how cute he looked when he was nervous. Maybe she had switched places with him. Maybe-
"So, you like him. Lucky him I should say."
"Eep!" she cried out involuntarily as she
turned around to see someone vaguely familiar. Where had she seen him?
"Well, you did get his attention with that life-wasting stunt. Too dramatic for my taste. Anyways, if you want a tip, here's one: people like Naruto admire strength in others. Just be tough. Physically and mentally. Like what you did against Pain. Of course, if you confessed to him, that would have really helped him along."
Hinata was very crimson.
"But I lost."
"Well, no Hyuuga, could beat him, because he's the worst match possible for you guys. That jyuken thing you guys do. There's so little footwork in it. You guys should put some in. And some long range jutsu. Try it out," he finished.
"See ya."
He disappeared.
"You're late!" Naruto yelled as he arrived.
"I said 3 hours. Dumbass. By the way, from now on, you will call me sensei. Not meanie. I will forgive if your tongue slips and you call me Kami. Ok?" Tsubasa said with a smile.
"Where are you going to take him?" asked Tsunade.
"Here and there. He should know his origins, even if vaguely," Tsubasa said quietly.
Tsunade turned to Naruto.
"Train hard Naruto,"
"Bye ba-chan!"
"Shut up you fool!"
A day later:
"Hey, where are you taking me?"
"Oh, you'll know. When we get there."
"Where, there's only a desert around here!"
Oho, you're not as stupid as you look or sound! That's a start."
"Hey!"
"You mean "Hey, Sensei.
"So before we start, I'll introduce myself. Visually." Tsubasa began to take off his hat.
Naruto was curious. He watched slowly. And his mouth dropped.
"Nani?! You use the same thing as Ba-chan!"
WHAM.
"Shut it, you idiot," replied a very young man. He looked like he was in his twenties. Short and messy black hair covered his forehead. His skin had a bit of a tan. He was very handsome. Even the diagonal scar on his left eye and one that stretched from his chin to his temple did nothing to harm his face's appeal. On his mouth, there was a pair of fang tattoos. When he smiled, they looked very real. Add to that a big ring that pierced his left ear, and tiny bells jingled dangled from it. But they made no sound at all, even when he moved his head. But his eyes were his strangest aspect. No matter the expression, they always looked cold and distant. The light in their gray pupils were the only indication of age.
"It's not a jutsu. Dumb ass. I'm naturally beautiful," he said with a fanged smile. His eyes scared Naruto a bit. He could swear that when he looked into them, his breathing became labored. Then he was awoken from the feeling when Tsubasa put his rain hat back on.
"Enough. Now I'm serious. I want to know what you're made of. So we're having a little test. We're gonna play some tag."
"Tag?"
"Yes you idiot. Tag. In the desert."
"For how long?"
"I don't know. But first, give me your things."
He took out a scroll, opened it, and sealed everything in it.
"Good. Now, you're it!"
And he ran into the desert.
"Let's see how long you last. The record is a day..." Tsubasa thought. He looked ahead. He could see a huge sandstorm making its way towards them. This would be fun... for him.
Outside the windows lay a clouded sky. A man and a woman were in the cold, metallic room. The man was on top of a strange 4-legged mechanism.
Around him were corpses, all dressed in the same clothes.
The cables in his back detached, the mechanism holding his arms was loosened, and he climbed down. He had difficulty moving, it seemed. The woman came forward, concern etched on her face. She held out a pill and a glass of water. The man swallowed the pill and drank the glass.
"Thanks." The woman nodded. Now she handed him a coat with red clouds. The same one she wore. He put it on.
There was a knock. Without waiting for an an answer, the door opened. A tall young man with pink skin, a narrow face that was adorned with a crooked nose and crowned by a mane of blond hair which flowed freely past his shoulders. He was wearing a beautiful blue kimono adorned with clouds, and at his belt was a green katana with an emerald adorned hilt. He looked at the state of his visitors and opened his mouth.
He had a soft voice. "Everything worked fine?"
The dark haired man responded.
"In regards to the machine, yes. In terms of our task, not quite. There were some complications. One that might be of concern to both of us as allies."
"What?"
I saw someone I felt certain I had seen before. An enemy. Someone I thought was dead.
"Tell me more. I'll see what I can do to help."
Outside, the clouds were darkening. And so was the future.
