Vengeance of an Uzumaki and Hyuuga
Chapter 2: First Mission
LEGEND: "…" speech
'…' thinking
(…) probably authors notes
Italics will purely be flashbacks
- Scene change
JUST SO YOU KNOW, I OWN NOTHING IN HERE. EXCEPT MY OWN ORIGINAL JUTSU AND ANY OCs THAT I PUT IN HERE!
Five years had passed since Naruto and Hinata joined the Akatsuki with the goal of destroying the Hidden Leaf village. They had trained under Pein and Konan the entire time up until four months ago. That was when they were given their first assignment as members of the Akatsuki. The mission: Scouting out the other Jinchuriki's whereabouts. Having Naruto, the Kyuubi's Jinchuriki, made the mission much easier since the Kyuubi could sense the other tailed beasts chakra signatures with ease. Now Naruto and Hinata walked through a desert going towards their first objective. Their cloaks blew in the wind as they walked. Ever since they joined they had slowly adopted their own looks. Hinata had gotten rid of her jacket permanently. She now wore only the shinobi mesh armor and a black tank top. Her headband hung around her neck with a scratch through the center going horizontally. Her Akatsuki robes were open all the way down. She wore simple black pants and shinobi boots. On her left leg she had her kunai holster tied. She even grew out her hair. It now reached the middle of her back and hung loosely except for a small bun on the right side. It was held up by a paper flower, a trait she had adopted from her teacher Konan.
As for Naruto, he had changed the Akatsuki cloak somewhat. Now instead of robes, it was more of a trench coat that stopped just above his knees in the front, but continued down to his ankles in the back. The back, from about mid-thigh down, it was split in two. You could say it was likes two tails trailing behind him. Also, near the collar there were seven, three inch thick and about two foot long tail-like strips of cloth. Just from a slight look, you could tell that Naruto was toned. He only wore black fingerless and thumbless gloves that went up to his elbows and black pants under the cloak. Across the back of his waist, under the cloak, he had a katana attached. It was about four foot in length and had a red handle with a fox head at the end. His shoes were easily seen under the cloak, and of course they were black like the rest of his outfit. His hair had grown a decent amount too. It was shaggier now and hung down on either side of his face going past his cheeks. The top had taken a spikier appearance, two groups of his hair spiked up more than the rest; almost like fox ears. The whisker shaped marks on Naruto's face had long since darkened due to his training with Pein. His eyes were a different matter altogether. Instead of the usual blue they had always been, they were now purple with a ripple pattern and a slit-like pupil in them; basically a fusion of the Rinnegan and Kyuubi eye. Pein had shown Naruto his real body, a frail one that walked around on a spider like machine, after four years into his training. Naruto also found out that his name was Nagato. He decided Naruto was strong enough to wield the Rinnegan, so he had given Naruto a present on his seventeenth birthday.
Each one of them had matured greatly over the last five years, especially Hinata. Her confidence grew tremendously. She was no longer the shy girl who blushed and stuttered every time she talked to Naruto. Now she was able to keep a conversation with him with ease. Even their feelings had surfaced greatly a couple of years ago. The two of them remembered like it was yesterday.
One year ago, Naruto and Hinata sat on the bed after a long day of training. It was around the time of Hinata's birthday and Naruto said he wanted to show her something later that night. Hinata was eager to know what it was, knowing that it would be the greatest gift she had ever received. Sure the other members had given her gifts occasionally when her birthday came around, but they mostly consisted of weapons.
"So what is it you wanted to show me, Naruto-kun?" she asked, no longer with the stutter in her voice when she talked to him.
Naruto smiled at her as he stood up. He grabbed her hand, making her blush slightly, and walked to the middle of the room with her. "Watch this," he said. Naruto made a set of unique hand seals that Nagato had taught him. "Dimension Warp Jutsu!" Naruto called out as the floor around them became a light blue color and looked like liquid. The two of them sank into the liquid pool. Hinata clung to Naruto as they sank, making Naruto smile.
Suddenly they were in a completely different place. Instead of their room it was now a grassy hilltop with a single, very large oak tree on the top. The scene was an eternal sunset. Naruto led Hinata up to the tree and sat back against the tree. "What is this place Naruto?" Hinata asked amazed.
"A dimension that I created with my new jutsu that Nagato taught me. With it I can create anything in here with only my mind. For example," Naruto turned his attention towards the sunset and focused for a moment. In an instant the scene changed to depict the Hidden Leaf village destroyed. Every building was either on fire or destroyed entirely. The Hokage's office was in shamble and the monument behind it was smashed to bits. None of the faces could be seen anymore. "This is what our dream is, Hinata-chan," Naruto said quietly. He changed the scene back to the sunset hill setting. "But that's not all I want to show you," he said turning back to her.
"Then what is it, Naruto-kun?" she asked tilting her head slightly to give her an innocent look.
Naruto smiled. "This," he said pulling out a small box from behind his back. He handed it to Hinata and sat down next to her.
She was shocked when she saw the box. "W-what is it?" she asked.
"Open it," he told her, speaking softly.
When she did, she gasped slightly. It was a necklace that had the kanji for "love" attached to it. The chain that it hung from had a slight orange glow to it. "N-Naruto-kun... When did you get this?" she asked him completely amazed at the gift.
"A few months. It took me some time to get Kurama's chakra into the chain so that it wouldn't burn up or be too weak. If you are wearing it, we can speak mentally to one another just as long as we aren't too far away from each other. The farthest range I could get it to reach was 100 yards. Here, let me help you put it on," he said to her as he took the necklace from her and undid the link. She turned and pulled her hair out the way for him.
Once he had secured the necklace in place, she turned to him and smiled. "Umm, Naruto-kun. The kanji that's on here. It means love, right?" she asked. Naruto nodded. "So does that mean... that you love me?"
Naruto smiled at her with his most genuine smile. She loved that smile more than his foxy grin that he generally had on his face. "Exactly, Hinata-chan. I-" he was cut off by a pair of lips that had claimed his. His eyes widened when he realized what was happening. Hinata pulled back and looked at Naruto, her face a deep red that Naruto hadn't seen in a while.
"I'm sorry Naruto-kun. I was just so happy that-" she was cut off by his finger on her lips.
"I didn't mind at all. I was just surprised is all," he smiled at her before leaning in and kissing her softly on the lips. The sun slowly setting as the two shared this wonderful moment in their lives.
The two of them walked through the desert slowly, taking their time. It was dark outside, making the desert very cold. Naruto looked up at the moon with his Rinnegan/Kyuubi eye, a small smile creeping at the corner of his mouth. "It's been a while since I've seen Gaara. He became the Kazekage too. This'll be good," he said, smirking. Some of Kurama's chakra seeped out of him and swirled around before going back inside his body.
"Don't get too excited, Naruto-kun," Hinata said, not taking her eyes off the desert ahead of them. "We don't want the One-tail to sense our presence yet."
"Right," Naruto said turning his attention back to the desert. "Sasori-sama said he has a contact here that we need to use."
"I can see the village from here," Hinata said, her Byakugan active, although it wasn't the same as before. Instead of almost pupil less eyes, they now held a silver starburst for the pupil. She had developed her Byakugan to a whole new level, the Drakugan. She had heard a story about it once from her mother, but never believed it. Now she was the only living Hyuuga to wield this Dojutsu. The Drakugan was able to give a 360 degree view of everything around her, like the Byakugan, except it even covered the blind spot. She could still see chakra points, and chakra systems, but could now also read what type of jutsu her opponent was going to use against her. The Byakugan could only read chakra that was about to be used, not the attack type. Also, just like the Rinnegan, it allowed her to use all five of the elemental chakra types; although not as strong as the Rinnegan allowed. It also allowed her to use sort of Kekkei Genkai from the five elements. And to top it off, the Drakugan could see a distance of around ten miles away, while the Byakugan could barely reach two miles.
"How far away?" Naruto asked.
"I'd say the Hidden Sand will come into view in about an hour, so we should reach it in about an hour and a half," she said deactivated her eyes.
"Good. I really want to test Gaara's skills as a Jinchuriki and as the Kazekage," Naruto smirked. The two were silent for the rest of the time. Normally they would've been very talkative and all over each other, but during missions they were as serious as a heart attack. That way they weren't distracted by each other. That could be saved for after the mission with their down time.
As Hinata said the village came into view after about an hour of walking. "I guess now's as good a time as any to use it," Naruto said, taking a small scroll from the weapons pouch behind him. He unfurled it, placing it on the ground. Naruto made a few hand seals then placed his palm on the jutsu formula that was written on the scroll. "Activate," Naruto said quietly as he closed his eyes.
From the Kazekage's building a man was sitting at his desk when he suddenly felt something in the back of his mind flare up. The jutsu now active he stood up and left the building and began to head towards the village entrance/exit. He arrived within minutes and went to the center of the stone corridor that made the entrance. His hand blurred through a series of hand seals, finally stopping with his palms smacked together. "Genjutsu: Sleep Paralysis," he called. A wave of chakra swept through the entire area, knocking out and Sand Shinobi that got caught in the wave. By this point Naruto and Hinata had come up to the village.
"Good work. Sasori is going to need your services later. Head to the base now and wait for him there," Naruto said to the ninja, who nodded in return. The two Akatsuki members walked passed him as he walked out of the village. Naruto turned his head. "Oh and don't be late. Sasori-sama hates it when he's kept waiting," and with that they walked into the village.
"Don't forget we need to trap this entire area before we leave, Naruto-kun," Hinata said.
"How could I forget, Hinata-chan," Naruto said turning and smiling at her before making two shadow clones without the need of a hand seal. He turned to his clones. "Make sure this entire area is booby trapped before you disperse. We don't need any followers," Naruto said, his clones nodding and going off to set the traps.
"Now, let's get the One-tail," Hinata said.
"Kurama, can you tell me where he is?" Naruto asked out loud as a spectral image of the fox appeared in front of Naruto.
"Yes. He's in a meeting currently with his advisors and a few clan heads," Kurama said.
"Good job," Naruto told the fox. With that, the image disappeared and Naruto and Hinata continued walking. They jumped up onto the roof tops and looked around. "Shall we call him out here or should we go get him ourselves?" Naruto asked grinning.
"Call him out here," Hinata said.
Naruto grinned evilly before letting out a large wave of red chakra across the village. "Come out; come out wherever you are Gaara!" Naruto called as he lept onto a roof that was higher than the rest. He was shortly followed by Hinata. "We just want to talk!"
"And take the One-tail with us," Hinata finished.
Suddenly the sand around their feet moved to the edge of the building and formed up in a human shape that slowly became Gaara. "I thought I felt a powerful chakra wave, but I never thought it would be you two," Gaara said in usual emotionless voice.
"Long time no see Gaara!" Naruto said in a very convincing, yet fake, happy go lucky voice.
"Naruto Uzumaki. Hinata Hyuuga. Why are the two of you here?" Gaara asked.
"We just want to talk to an old friend," Naruto replied, his voice still the happy go lucky tone. "Talk about the One-tail, that is. Let us take it and we will leave this village as it is. Refuse and we will destroy everything in sight and defeat you to get it," Naruto's voice changed back to his serious tone.
"That's not going to happen, Naruto. You and I both know that," Gaara said calmly.
"That's what I was hoping you'd say," Naruto said directly behind Gaara. "Almighty Push," Naruto said calmly, sending a shocked Gaara flying to the roof of the building from an unknown force. The fight had now begun.
"Sand Shower!" Gaara called as he landed, his sand catching him. All sorts throwing weapons made of sand flew at Naruto who made a few hand seals.
"Wind Style: Devastation!" Naruto called and swept his arm in front of him, calling forth a large gust of wind that continued to blow as the sand weapons struck. None of the weapons were able to make it through the wall and the wind wall was unable to go forward. They were at a stalemate until Gaara was forced to break his jutsu as a group of small water balls came flying in his direction.
"Drakugan Special Jutsu: Kekkei Genkai Copy," Hinata said, holding her fingers like guns. Water shot from the tips of her fingers at Gaara at blinding speeds.
Gaara's sand shaped up around him and formed a shield around him on all sides. "Third Eye Jutsu," Gaara said within his shield, covering up his eye with his hand. An eye formed out of sand above his shield. "Let's see what you've got, Naruto Uzumaki," Gaara called out to Naruto through his shield.
"With pleasure, Gaara of the Sand," Naruto said back as he made a few hand seals ending in the tiger seal. "I'm gonna cook you inside of the sand. Then we are taking you with us. Fire Style: Dragon Flame Bombs!" Naruto called blowing a large amount of fire from his mouth that spread across the ground and covered Gaara's dome. The eye on the outside consumed in flame, blinding the eye. Gaara removed his hand and winced from the searing light.
"Fine, we'll play that way. But I am not gonna allow you to destroy my village," Gaara said. Suddenly the sand exploded outward, dispersing the flames. All the sand rose up into the air forming a sort of platform that held Gaara atop it. He lifted his arms and sand rose from the ground below the buildings. "Sand Tsunami!" Gaara called as he swept the sand at the two Akatsuki members.
Naruto and Hinata jumped up and away as the sand collided with the roof they were standing on. As they looked down they noticed the sand swirling together in the center. The swirling continued and began to rise, slowly taking the shape of the One-tail's head. "Wind Style: Air Bullet!" the sand behemoth called as a strong blast of wind shot from its mouth up at Naruto and Hinata.
Naruto closed his eyes as red chakra wrapping itself around him. He moved in front of Hinata, raising his hands. The blast of wind was caught in Naruto's grasp, red chakra swirling into the wind. Naruto now had total control of the attack. "My turn," Naruto said smirking, palming the attack with one hand. "Vermillion Air Bullet," Naruto's voice was calm as he threw the blast of Kyuubi chakra infused wind at Gaara. They landed on a building as the attack slammed into a wall of sand that had quickly formed around Gaara at the last minute.
"This battle is gonna take a little while. We need to let the other's know when to get ready," Hinata said.
Naruto nodded as he pulled out a small scroll from his weapons pouch behind him. He bit his thumb and wiped the blood across the scroll. He made a couple of hand seals before slamming his palm onto the scroll. "Summoning!" Naruto called. After the smoke from the summoning cleared, there were two white birds. "Time to let them know that we have engaged the target," Naruto said picking up the birds and throwing them up in the air.
Hinata made a singled on handed seal. "KA!" The two birds came to life and flew high into the air before exploding, the second one going five seconds after the first.
Two explosions could be seen a few miles away from the Village Hidden in the Sand, the second explosion happening five seconds after the other.
"Sasori, my man. It's about time we go in," Deidara said as he watched the skies.
"Hmm. Let's go then," a deep voice that was not Sasori's said. Deidara turned to his partner who was covered in the shell of a puppet.
"Hn. I can't wait to show the Sand what art truly is," Deidara chuckled.
"Hurry up. I don't like to keep people waiting, Deidara," Sasori said dangerously as he walked forward.
"Fine, hn," Deidara put his hand into a pouch and pulled out a white substance, the same substance the birds from earlier was made from. A mouth on Deidara's hand chewed the substance before spitting it back out into his hand. Deidara closed his hand and began to shape the clay. When he was finished he now held onto an owl. Deidara threw the bird into the air and made the same hand seal Hinata had made earlier. "KA!" Deidara called as the bird grew to a very large size after a small explosion of smoke.
"Hurry up!" Sasori nearly yelled as Deidara jumped up onto the owls back before gliding up beside Sasori.
"Art can't be rushed Sasori, hn," Deidara glared at his partner. The two fell silent; the only sound that could be heard was Sasori walking across the desert and a small bell on each of their hats jingling with every step or flap of wings.
Naruto and Hinata dodged a wave of sand that was sent at them, then dodged again as the wave split in two and began to follow them. "Damnit," Naruto cursed quietly to himself as he dodged sand again. He was no longer covered in red chakra, but his Rinnegan was flaring up like crazy. "Almighty Push!" Naruto called as the sand got too close for comfort. The sand was blasted back as Naruto charged forward, drawing his katana and stabbing at Gaara.
Gaara used his sand platform to lift him up out of the way of Naruto's sword. "You're going to have to do much better than that," Gaara said calmly.
Naruto merely smirked as he watched Gaara fly up into the air. Slowly red chakra began to circulate around Naruto. Hinata watched from the side, knowing what Naruto was about to do. As the red chakra began to swirl around Naruto, he put his palm out to the side. The chakra started to take shape in Naruto's palm, forming a long spear with three blades at the tip. "Don't move any closer. I'd much rather have this explode by you than over here near us. Crimson Spear!" Naruto yelled as he threw the spear right at Gaara's chest.
A shocked look came over Gaara's face due to the speed of the spear. He barely had enough time to dodge to the side as the spear sped past him. Gaara turned to watch it sail away, only to see it crash into the side of the canyon the Hidden Sand Village was in. After it hit the canyon side, a massive explosion occurred. The shockwave hit Gaara like a freight train, knocking him off his floating sand platform and sending him down to the roof. No less than twenty buildings were caught in the explosion, each and every one of them disintegrated. Gaara stood up, wide eyed witnessing the destruction of part of the village. His eyes became furious as he turned to Naruto, who wore a sadistic grin on his face.
"And that's why I didn't want it going off near us," Naruto said motioning his head in Hinata's direction.
"You..." Gaara hissed. "You are going to die for attacking my village!" Gaara yelled the last part.
"You shouldn't have moved," Naruto shrugged. Gaara lunged forward, using his sand as whips from behind him. Naruto evaded the whips as he lept back.
Naruto saw an opening in the whips and charged forward, katana poised to stab. The blade went through The right side of Gaara's chest, causing him to yell in pain. Naruto dug the blade into his opponents flesh all the way down to the hilt. "You bastard," Gaara said through clenched teeth.
"GAARA!" a female voice yelled. Naruto quickly pulled his sword free from Gaara's chest and brought it around to block the shuriken that were thrown at his back. As he did this, Naruto sent a strong kick into Gaara's chest, knocking him away so as to not get attacked in the back again.
Hinata charged at Gaara, her Drakugan active and her hand covered in chakra. She began her assault as Gaara blocked with his sand, holding the wound on his chest. Blood was slowly flowing from the wound and over his hand, but he kept his ground.
"And who might you be?" Naruto asked the newcomer. She had brown hair that was tied up into a ponytail. She wore the general dress a Sand Chunnin wore and had a katana strapped across her back. Her green eyes glared angrily at Naruto.
"I'm Katara. And I won't let you harm Gaara anymore," she said angrily.
"Hmm. I doubt that," Naruto said cockily. "I'm way out of your league little girl. Plus I'm a Jinchuriki." Naruto lifted his katana. "Still it would be nice to get some sword practice in after only fighting against the others for so long," Naruto said referring to Kisame and Hidan.
"I'm the best sword wielder in the village. You've made a very poor choice on whom to cross blades with," Katara said dangerously before charging forward, drawing her katana and aiming an overhead slash at Naruto.
Naruto raised his sword with one hand to block. The force from her attack sent a blast of wind away from the two. "That's quite powerful," Naruto complimented, pushing her away from him. "But..." Naruto raised his sword in a slashing position before disappearing. He reappeared right behind a shocked Katara, slicing her cheek before disappearing again. This time he reappeared in front of her and sliced the other cheek in the same spot. "Now allow me to show you how a real sword master works," Naruto said making a single on handed seal. "Cherry Blossom Blade Dance," Naruto said quietly as the wind around him picked up. Red chakra swirled around him and slowly took shape of small flower petals. The chakra petals swirled around both him and Katara as he began to disappear and reappear in random places around his. He made small cuts on her body with every pass he made. The chakra petals swirled around her, each one leaving a small slice on her skin before disappearing. As the petals sliced her they left a burning feeling in that area. Katara screamed as the petals made contact. Katara was able to block a few attacks from Naruto but only to be cut by the chakra blades. After two minutes of this, all the petals disappeared and Naruto stood in front of her, his sword resting on her neck. She was kneeling on the ground, panting. Never had she been through such torment.
Her screams got Gaara's attention in an instant. He turned and saw her in a whirlwind of red petals of some sort. Gaara watched in horror as she was brought to her knees from every attack Naruto used. "KATARA!" Gaara yelled, charging towards her, completely forgetting about Hinata.
Naruto lifted her up and her back to him, his sword resting across her neck. "Make one more move, and I'll slice her throat. She's obviously important to you and you wouldn't want her to get hurt would you?" Naruto asked smirking.
Gaara stopped his approach, looking at Katara with fearful eyes. Suddenly twenty Sand ANBU appeared around the area, Kankuro and Temari were with them as well. "Gaara! Are you ok?" Temari asked quickly. She gasped when she saw the wound on his chest, then glared at Naruto, who only smirked in reply.
"Let Katara go, Naruto Uzumaki," Gaara said dangerously.
"Nope!" Naruto shook his head, acting like Tobi somewhat. Tobi had a knack for making serious moments turning into embarrassing spectacles, a trait that Naruto was now beginning to show. "Why should I Gaara-kun?" Naruto asked sheepishly.
Gaara glared angrily at him. "Because if you don't," Gaara said lifting his hands. His sand quickly grabbed Hinata's wrists and ankles, pulling them away from each other. "I'll kill her."
Naruto barely showed any emotion on his face as he watched Hinata trapped by the sand. Naruto took his sword off Katara's neck and pushed her forward at Gaara roughly. Gaara quickly caught the girl and embraced her as she barely lifted her arms to hug him back. "Are you ok?" he asked.
Before she could answer, Naruto laughed darkly. "No she isn't and neither are you!" Naruto yelled. Just then they both heard the sound of an explosive tag begin its countdown. Katara realized it was on her back, quickly removing her flak jacket and trying to throw it away. She barely got it off and it left her hands before exploding. The explosion knocked them both down onto the roof hard. Gaara was bleeding from his right side much more know and Katara had a broken arm and a few broken ribs. He face and arm were also burned badly. The sand holding Hinata fell away and she disappeared, reappearing beside Naruto. "Let's get him," he said ignoring the ANBU around him.
"We won't let you Akatsuki scum take our Kazekage!" and ANBU yelled charging forward, his tanto raised to kill. Naruto ducked under the slash as Hinata leaned back. Naruto then stood back up quickly and grabbed the man's throat.
"Say what you want about me," Naruto lifted the man up and squeezed tighter. "But don't you ever insult my family like that." Naruto's voice was dangerous as he crushed the man's throat and threw the body over to the other ANBU. The now dead man exploded from explosive tags that Naruto placed on him faster than the eye could see. The explosion killed four more ANBU.
Hinata leaned down and lifted Gaara up. "We'll be taking your Kazekage with us. You can have the corpse when we are done," Hinata said as she pushed Gaara off the side of the building before stepping back and jumping down herself. Suddenly a giant white owl flew straight up, carrying Hinata and Deidara on its back while it held Gaara in its tail feathers. Naruto jumped up and grabbed a hold of one of the owl's feet. They flew up higher and higher as Deidara pulled a small totem made of the same white substance the owl was made from.
"This detonating clay statue is one of my more powerful pieces of art," Deidara called down to the ANBU, Temari, and Kankuro. "Now you will see what art truly is!" He dropped the statue straight down and made a single handed seal. "KA!" The statue exploded into a much, much larger version of it. It fell straight down. "Art...," Deidara made another hand seal, "Is an explosion!" The giant statue began to shine brightly before detonation. The explosion ripping through the sky. Deidara and Naruto both smirked at the blast but as the smoke cleared their smirks vanished. Directly below them was a gigantic rose made out of sand, protecting the village. Gaara had his hand lifted towards the village, he was panting heavily.
"Just...in time" Gaara said, his voice ragged as he began to move the sand flower away from the village so it wouldn't drop onto his village. Even in an exhausted state and close to death state, he upheld his duty as Kazekage.
"Hmm. Admirable," Naruto commented.
"Hn. Whatever," Deidara said quietly.
"G-Gaara..." Katara moaned quietly. "Gaara!" she yelled as Kankuro and Temari supported her weight.
"Katara..." Gaara said before passing out.
"Time to go, hn," Deidara said as the bird flew away.
"STOP!" Kankuro yelled before jumping after them. He pointed to five ANBU "You come with me!" he ordered.
"Right!" the called in unison and followed Kankuro.
"Kankuro! Wait!" Temari yelled after him but Kankuro was already too far away to hear. "Damnit," she cursed and turned to everyone else. "Ready a counter attack force quickly and take her to the infirmary!" she yelled.
"Yes Temari-sama!" one of them said as they all dispersed. One of them took Katara and lept away towards the infirmary.
Temari sighed and looked to the sky. 'Kankuro, you better be safe and bring our little brother back,' Temari thought to herself before leaping off the building towards the Kazekage's office.
"You're late Deidara," Sasori said angrily as the trio finally showed up.
"Sorry Sasori-sama," Hinata said as she jumped off the bird.
"Hn," Deidara smirked as he jumped off the bird.
"Whatever... Let's just get Gaara back to the hideout. I'm tired of this damn sand," Naruto said.
"Right," Sasori said, turning around and walking off, followed shortly by Naruto and Hinata.
"Hn, fine," Deidara said, following them with the bird right beside him.
A large explosion could be heard behind them. "Sounds like they worked," Naruto smirked.
"Good work Naruto-kun," Hinata said smiling at him.
"Thanks," Naruto smirked back.
The group continued on in silence for a while until they heard running. The four tensed up slightly as Deidara turned to look at Hinata slightly who nodded in return. "Drakugan,"
she said calmly. Her eyes changed and her vision increased. "It's only Kankuro. He must've made it through the traps. Hm, no matter. We will dispose of him," Hinata said, somewhat coldly.
"No..." Sasori said. "I'll take care of him quickly. He uses my puppets after all and it would be good to see how well he's taken care of them."
"Yes, Sasori-sama," Hinata said, her eyes going back to normal. Sasori stopped, turning around, facing Kankuro's direction.
"I'll see you all in a moment," Sasori said as the others walked through the desert.
Nobody said anything as they passed by Sasori, who only stared ahead. "Just don't be late Sasori, hn," Deidara called back without looking. Sasori merely nodded.
After a short wait, Kankuro appeared over a sand dune. "Found ya! Now give Gaara back!" Kankuro yelled as he removed two scrolls from behind his back and unrolled them on the ground. He slammed his palms onto them. Two puppets appeared from them as Kankuro summoned the third puppet from the other scroll. Crow, Ant, and Salamander all stood in a protective formation in front of Kankuro.
"Hmm. I haven't seen those three in a long time," Sasori said as Kankuro made the first move, thus beginning the fight. (A/N. The battle stays the same as in canon, so I didn't feel the need to explain it)
"Took you long enough to get back, hn," Deidara said as Sasori rejoined the group.
"I had a little more fun than I expected," Sasori said as they all continued on. They had now exited the desert and were walking through a forest by a river.
"We are almost at the base," Hinata said quietly.
"Good. Our plan is starting. Soon everything will fall into place," Naruto grinned evilly, thinking of his main goal.
Two hours passed by until they came up to a cliff, the river running below. From the top they could see a gigantic rock with a large seal tag attached to it. They all jumped down and landed on the water, walking forward to the rock. Naruto made a set of hand seals, making the rock slowly rise up out of the water.
A multi-colored spectral image of Pein appeared before them. "You're late," he said, his voice static.
"Sorry. Got carried away fighting my creations," Sasori said.
"Either way. Let's commence with the sealing jutsu," Pein said disappearing but reappearing atop a finger from a giant statue in the back of the room. Deidara had the bird drop Gaara on the floor directly in front of the statue before jumping up onto one of the fingers. Sasori, Naruto, and Hinata shortly followed suit, each one standing on a different finger. Suddenly the other fingers had an Akatsuki member standing atop it. The images of Tobi and Zetsu stood in the palm of the statues hands. Each member made a hand seal. "Nine Phantom Dragons Sealing Jutsu!" Pein called out as the mouth of the statue opened and nine white dragons all rushed towards Gaara, enveloping him in an instant.
"How long is this going to take, Pein-sama?" Naruto asked.
"Three days," Pein replied.
(A/N. Time jump here. Since the story is focused on just the Akatsuki, the other characters will not be showing up as much. However, they won't disappear completely)
Three days had finally passed and the sealing jutsu was over. The images off the Akatsuki members vanished, leaving only Hinata, Naruto, Sasori, Deidara, and an almost dead Gaara. Deidara lept down from where he was standing and sat on Gaara. "Just a shell now, hn," Deidara scoffed.
The rest of them all jumped down beside Deidara. "The enemy is hear. They are just outside and preparing to break in. Those seals that are placed out there are truly wonderful," Hinata said calmly as she watched the door.
"How are we going to attack them?" Naruto asked.
Deidara looked at the bird. "Hinata can use my jutsu and take Gaara away with you. Sasori and I will stay here, hn," he said.
Naruto nodded. "I wonder who we are up against," Naruto pondered.
"From the looks of things, it looks like Team Guy and Team Kakashi. Although they have two new people on their squad. Sakura is still there but the other two, I've never seen before. One of them looks emotionless but a worthy adversary. The other is an old lady from the Sand," Hinata finished her analysis.
"Grandmother," Sasori said. "The old lady is my grandmother."
Just then the rock covering the cave exploded into smaller rocks and dust. The four Akatsuki members watched emotionlessly as the four ninja came into view.
"N-Naruto?!" Sakura said, shocked. 'Wow. He has changed,' she thought turning to Hinata. 'And so has she... My friends, why couldn't I help you?' Sakura thought solemnly but then shook her head. 'I can't be thinking like that. They are my enemies now and must be treated as such.'
"Long time no see, Kakashi. Sakura," Naruto said.
"Hand over Gaara now Naruto," Kakashi said firmly.
"Not a chance," Hinata said as she made the bird scoop Gaara up in its mouth before flying over to her and Naruto. They both jumped up onto its back and flew out of the cave.
"Deidara. Go with them. They are going to need your help," Sasori said calmly.
"Hn. Whatever. Just don't die. I'd hate to be given a new teammate. Especially since it would probably be Tobi," Deidara made another bird and flew after Naruto and Hinata. Kakashi and the new team member followed after them.
"Sai, don't engage them unless I say so," Kakashi said.
"Of course, Kakashi-sensei" Sai said putting on a fake smile and leaping away.
"So Grandmother? Shall we begin this fight?" Sasori asked sending poisoned senbon at the two kunouchi.
"Sakura. I'm going to use the puppet master jutsu on you. Don't resist it," the old lady said.
"Right, Lady Chiyo," Sakura nodded as she felt chakra strings attach themselves to her.
"Let's go!" Sasori yelled as the battle officially began.
'So that guy is who replaced me huh? I wonder if they found a replacement for Sasuke...' Naruto pondered as he took a quick glance behind him. Kakashi and Sai were maintaining a decent distance. 'Time to give them a speed bump in the road,' Naruto smirked as he made a set of hand seals. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he called as twelve clones appeared on the large roots that went from one side of the river canyon to the other.
They all charged at the two Leaf ninja, katanas drawn and aimed to kill. "Ninja Art: Super Beast Scroll!" Sai called as five large lions made of ink appeared from the scroll he was drawing on. They attacked the clones, quickly dispersing them and getting destroyed themselves.
"Hmm. I didn't put that much chakra into those clones but they were still pretty powerful. And he defeated all of them," Naruto said to himself as he sat atop the white bird that was carrying him, Hinata, Deidara, and a dead Gaara.
"We should put as much distance between these two as we can," Hinata said, using her eyes to look at the two ninja's chakra systems. Kakashi's had almost tripled from when they fought way back when they started their journey and Sai's was nearly the same level.
Suddenly Deidara screamed in agony. Hinata and Naruto turned and saw a vortex swirling on Deidara's arm, ripping it off at the elbow. "Son of a bitch!" Deidara yelled, digging his other hand into his detonating clay pouch and using his hand to chew some up.
"Deidara-sama!" Hinata yelled. 'Damn! How did I not notice that attack. It had to have been his Sharingan,' Hinata cursed inwardly.
"I'm fine, hn," Deidara grunted. "But that old man is gonna die!" He finished making the small clay bug statues and dropped them making a single hand seal. "KA!" All the bugs made a small puff of smoke before jumping like crickets towards the Leaf ninja. Sai jumped out of the way, but Kakashi was not so fortunate as a majority of the bugs were directed at him anyway. "DIE!" Deidara yelled as the bugs all exploded.
"Kakashi!" Sai yelled, making a bird for him to fly as well. "Let's fight in the skies," he said.
Deidara smirked at the explosion, but it soon turned into a sneer as he saw all the splinters. Suddenly Kakashi lept out of the side of the canyon wall, his signature Lightning Blade in both hands. One aimed for Deidara, while the other for Naruto. Both the male Akatsuki members jumped up and away from the attacks as Hinata and the bird she stood atop engaged Sai in an aerial battle.
"So Kakashi-sensei, how have you been?" Naruto asked as they all landed.
"Naruto... What has happened to you?" Kakashi asked solemnly.
"I've gained power. Much more power than you could ever offer. I'm sure I'm even stronger than that dobe Sasuke," Naruto smirked, drawing his Katana. "Deidara-sama. I can handle him. Go find your arm so Kakuzu can sew it back on later."
"Hn, just don't go overboard, Naruto," Deidara said before jumping off to go find his arm.
"Are you sure a one on one fight with me is wise Naruto?" Kakashi asked dangerously.
"Of course it is. I'm much stronger than I once was," he said as red chakra swirled around him. "Crimson Barrage!" Naruto yelled as he charged forward, striking his katana at Kakashi with lightning speed.
Using his Sharingan, Kakashi was able to barely dodge every attack. He drew a kunai and blocked an overhead slash. "Why do you want Gaara's body back so badly?" Naruto asked as he disengaged from Kakashi.
"To bring him back to his village for a proper burial," Kakashi told his former student.
"That's pretty lame if you ask me," Naruto said, sticking his pinkie in his ear to clean it out. Obviously bored with where that conversation was going. "You should let us have him. His body is crucial to our plans," Naruto said forming a Rasengan in his hand and making a half tiger seal in the other hand.
"What are your plans with his body?" Kakashi asked charging up a lightning blade in his hand.
"That's for us to know and you to find out later," Naruto smirked, turning his eyes to the Rasengan. "Fire infusion." Suddenly the chakra began to glow a fiery orange color, flames occasionally seeping out of the spinning attack. "Let's see what you've got Kakashi," Naruto said charging forward.
Kakashi did the same and brought his attack up as Naruto brought his up, aimed to kill.
"Lightning Blade!" Kakashi yelled.
"Fire Style: Flame Vortex Rasengan!" Naruto yelled, slamming the fiery attack into Kakashi's. The two attacks merely held together for a moment before Naruto's began to spit fire at Kakashi. Suddenly Naruto's fire Rasengan exploded forward, catching Kakashi in a vortex of fire. "Gotcha," Naruto smirked triumphantly, only to be grabbed by his ankle and dragged under the ground, leaving only his head above ground.
"A ninja must always see through deception. Remember?" Kakashi said standing above Naruto. "Now you will no longer be a threat to the Leaf village or any other village for that matter," Kakashi said quietly as he raised a kunai and swung down, aiming to kill Naruto in one swift blow.
"Almighty Push," Naruto said calmly. The ground around him as well as Kakashi was blown away. Naruto now stood in a three meter deep crater.
Kakashi got to his feet slowly, blood was running down his face from a hit to his forehead. "Where did you get that power from Naruto?" Kakashi asked.
"Pein-sama gave it to me," Naruto said matter of factly, turning his Rinnegan eyes to Kakashi. "The same goes for this," Naruto said lifting his hand up. "Universal Pull." Suddenly Kakashi felt his body flying through the air towards Naruto and his raised katana. The blade stabbed all the way through Kakashi's chest, just barely missing his lung and heart. Even though no vital organs were hit, it still hurt like hell.
Kakashi yelled in pain as Naruto twisted the blade around, a sadistic smile never leaving his face. "You know Kakashi, I think Sakura will be the first person I decide to kill when I destroy the Hidden Leaf," Naruto smirked, sending a kick into the Jounins chest. The kick threw Kakashi off the edge of the canyon and down onto a root. The landing was hard and painful as a sharp part of root, stabbed Kakashi through his shoulder. "Pathetic," Naruto said quietly, sheathing his katana in the process.
Hinata jumped down from the sky and landed by Naruto, narrowly avoiding a blast of ink sent her way. "He's too powerful. Those damn ink creations are limitless," Hinata cursed. Naruto was about to speak, but a huge explosion suddenly sounded off back by their hideout.
"Sounds like Sakura and Sasori are having one hell of a fight," Naruto commented. "What about Gaara's body?" Hinata simply shook her head in shame.
"I'm sorry. It got stolen from me and was placed in a sealing scroll that only he can open," Hinata said quietly.
"It's alright. At least we got the one tail. We don't necessarily need the host's body, but it is preferred," Naruto said, kissing her cheek lightly. "Let's go find Deidara-sama," he said, turning to the woods.
"No need for that. I'm right here," Deidara said, waving his arm with the one that was still attached. Naruto and Hinata both rolled their eyes. "It sounds like Sasori is having a hard time," Deidara said. "We should go help him."
"There's no need for that, Sasori-sama has been killed," Hinata said solemnly.
"Damnit!" Naruto cursed loudly, slamming his fist into a nearby tree. "I should've been there to help him!"
"There's nothing you could've done, Naruto," Deidara told him, a little sadness in his voice. He and Sasori had been partners for over fifteen years, losing Sasori was like losing a brother for Deidara.
"Let's get back to headquarters," Hinata said quietly. "But after we retrieve Sasori-sama's body. We can't let them use his body for any reason."
Naruto and Deidara nodded before the three of them disappeared. They reappeared at the site of Sasori's battle. They looked around at the battlefield. There were destroyed puppets everywhere, many of which looked like Sasori himself.
"100 Puppet Summoning," Deidara commented. "Must've been a hell of a battle for him to use that jutsu."
"Even after all this time, I still never got to see that attack," Naruto said, lightly chuckling.
"None of us did," Deidara said. He walked around the battlefield, stopping at a certain puppet. "I found the body he used mainly. But there's so many other puppets." Deidara pulled some clay out of his pouch and made a multitude of clay bombs. He threw them up into the air and made a single hand sign. All the bombs moved to the large amount of puppets and began latching themselves onto them. The three of them lept up onto the ledge of the crater. "Such a shame he doesn't get to see my art up close and personal, hn. And he was always complaining about my art, saying his was better. But art is an explosion! KA!" Deidara yelled as the bombs all exploded, destroying the puppets.
"Let's go home guys," Naruto said as they watched the explosions. They turned and left the scene of the battle. A few hours later they got back their main headquarters.
"Mission accomplished," Hinata said.
"Well for the most part," Naruto shrugged as he walked over to a table and sat down, putting his floor up lazily. Deidara was silent as he went into his room and shut the door. Hinata sat next to Naruto, laying her head on his shoulder. She sighed. "What's wrong Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked.
"Sasori-sama is actually gone. I knew one day some of us would die, but it's never when you expect it," she said quietly. "I honestly expected the first to go would be Tobi," she chuckled lightly.
Naruto laughed to himself. "Yeah, I was expecting the same thing," he said.
"Hey, Naruto-kun?" she asked.
"Yeah?"
"Let's go to bed," she said getting up and grabbing his hand, pulling her with him. He looked up as she winked at him. Naruto smirked to himself, knowing exactly what she was talking about. As they got into their bedroom Hinata shed her Akatsuki cloak, laying it on the table. She turned to Naruto and winked at him. Naruto smirked in return as he took off his Akatsuki cloak and walked over to her. He grabbed her waist and pulled her into him, kissing her softly on the lips. She moaned onto his lips as she sent her tongue to invade his mouth. He smiled as he pulled her tank top and mesh armor off, allowing her breasts to be free. He broke the kiss, leaning down to bit her neck and shoulder where they met. At this a large moan escaped from her mouth. He picked her up by her thighs and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He walked over to the bed and laid her down on her back, leaning up to look into her loving eyes. He leaned down and kissed her lips as she slid her hands up his stomach and chest, slowly wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him closer. She moaned into his lips as he rubbed his hand down her thighs. For the two of them, this was always the best way to end a successful mission. And they would enjoy it to the fullest... At least until morning that is.