A row of people lined up in a straight line before one of their superiors. All were clad in tattered pieces of dark cloth, sodden with new blood and dry with old blood. They all faced forward in the same exact fashion and were lined up in order of height and all were silent as the grave and as still as a statue due to their intense training they had all had up to this point.

The sound of a creaky door filled the tense atmosphere and it slammed shut. A gust of wind blew past, adding to the tenseness of the scene. Soundlessly walking forward, more superiors stopped before the line of prisoners, silently scrutinising them all.

"Number nine, step forward," Madara ordered tonelessly.

The third smallest person in the line took one long stride forwards before halting instantly in the same position as before.

Madara walked over to him slowly before placing a hand on the small boy's shoulder, squeezing tightly. The young boy didn't flinch, however, but instead remained still and emotionless.

"Congratulations, number nine," the Uchiha said, smirking. "You have your first mission. It's a long-term one, as well." Madara gestured to Itachi, who stepped beside him. "Number nine, you will be on this mission with Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame. They will debrief you now, so remain here." He walked away from the blond boy and began walking back to the door. "Kakuzu, Hidan," he said before entering the hideout. "Take the Jinchuuriki back to their cells."

"Aw, damn it!" Hidan cursed, thoroughly annoyed. "Why do we always get stuck with it? Fuck this shit…" he grumbled like a moody teenager, but grabbed the tallest Jinchuuriki and pushed him. "Get goin', idiot," he demanded, and the man began to walk with the other Jinchuuriki in tow. The second smallest glanced back at Naruto, his pale teal eyes boring into the blond boy's sapphire ones before he turned and followed on soundlessly.

Kakuzu remained silent, used to his partner's rants and swearing. He followed the Jinchuuriki in soundlessly, extracting some money from seemingly nowhere and began to count it fondly.

"Everyone else, save for Itachi, Kisame and number nine, come inside. I wish to speak with you all," Madara said, appearing by the doorway again.

"Did he ever even actually go anywhere in there?" Deidara murmured, raising a brow. Sasori ignored him and walked inside. The blond Akatsuki member shrugged before following his partner, and Zetsu trailed behind with a blank look on both sides of his face.

Silence reigned outside once more, the only sound being the wind and the only movement being the trees swaying in the breeze.

"Number nine."

The addressed boy looked up with blank and glassy sapphire eyes to meet one of his masters' gazes, unwavering and fearless of the man's Kekkei Genkai.

Itachi stared back into the Jinchuuriki's eyes without remorse or anguish for what he had caused the young boy. "You are aware of your orders?" he muttered and earned a small nod from the boy. "Speak."

"Yes, taichou," came the surprisingly firm voice. After years of hardly using his voice – save for when learning jutsu – you would think his voice would be hoarse and strained, but it was soft and elegant somehow. It was probably due to his Bijuu.

Itachi nodded in response. "I will debrief you anyway." He pulled out a large dark green backpack and handed it to the blond, who took it slowly but without reluctance, just caution. "We are infiltrating Konohagakure no Sato. You will be posing as a Genin on a team with two other Genin and a Jounin instructor. The highest ranked missions you can receive are C-ranks, and even those are rare for Genin. Your skills are not allowed to become blunt. As such, you will train every day before and after training with no exceptions." The obsidian eyes bore into the silvery blue. "Do you understand?"

"Yes, taichou," the blond said softly again.

"As well as that…" Itachi murmured, his features becoming more serious than before. "Keep an eye on the Uchiha's."

Not even a spark of curiosity entered the boy's eyes, and he merely replied with another, "Yes, taichou."

Kisame raised a brow. "It's weird, isn't it?" he asked, not expecting an answer but speaking anyway. "We get the Jinchuuriki and they're only up for one fight before they break and follow every order we give 'em," he murmured musingly.

Number nine raised his head and offered a miniscule smirk that you would only notice if you had known him all his life. "If I remember correctly, I fought back for the first five years and even now I defy you, Hoshigaki-taichou," he muttered challengingly.

The shark-man grinned back and ruffled the blond boy's hair. "And that's why I love to hate you, kid," he said. "So, when're we headin' out, Itachi-san?" he asked, addressing his partner once more. Everyone was used to number nine's disobedient behaviour, and most had learnt to tolerate it. Only Konan, Pein and Madara punished him for it now.

"We are leaving now," the Uchiha answered tonelessly.

Kisame raised a brow inquisitively. "Already? Don't you need to pack supplies and stuff?" he asked in a bored tone, not really caring.

"You should know that most things don't need to be packed. We already have spare clothes, and we're going to hide our chakra upon entering Konohagakure and we will disguise ourselves. We have ryou to buy necessities there. Number nine has his supplies in that backpack," Itachi replied as he began walking.

"You got that ryou from Kakuzu-taichou, didn't you, Itachi-taichou?" number nine asked with another barely visible smirk.

Kisame whacked him over the head. "Show some respect, bozu," he said, hiding his fondness. The blond boy just rolled his eyes.

"Number nine," Itachi muttered.

The addressed boy's eyes immediately became icier again and he looked up. "Yes, taichou?" he murmured.

"As we are no longer in Akatsuki and are on a long-term mission, we will use your given name." Itachi didn't look at the blond when he said this, but stared on ahead with a blank expression. He hated those icy blue eyes… because he was the one who made them so frosty.

"My… given name…?" the blond repeated impassively. "I understand," he finally said, obviously getting over what was wrong.

Kisame stared down at the blond Jinchuuriki. "Which last name are you gonna use, gaki?" he asked enquiringly.

The blonde stared up at him with an eyebrow raised. "That's a rather stupid question, Kisame-taichou," he muttered.

Twitching, the shark-man asked irritably, "H—how so?" He sounded defensive.

"I will use my mother's last name," said the blond. "If I use that name, it will cause mayhem." He smirked. "Not that I dislike 'mayhem,' but we all have to make sacrifices for the greater good."

Kisame raised a brow. "And so…?"

The blond boy's features once more regained their stoic setting but his usually icy blue eyes seemed to burn.

"I will be known… as Uzumaki Naruto."

Descent into the Maelstrom—Descent into the Maelstrom—Descent into the Maelstrom

Gosangoku: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto Masashi.

POLL

I'd like longer chapters with slower updates.

I'd like shorter chapters with quicker updates.

Please vote or I'll just continue doing these really short chapters. xD If that's what you want, then awesome. If not, tell me in a review. =w=

Let's clarify. The second shortest boy who looked back at Naruto was Gaara. He's slightly shorter than Naruto, and then there's a very short Jinchuuriki whose name I don't know. He's the three-tails. He's a picture of all of the Jinchuuriki — .com/art/The-9-Jinchuuriki-Vector-104236307. Bear in mind that they're younger here, and I'm just gonna assume that even the girls are a bit taller than Naruto seeing as before Shippuuden, most people—including girls—were taller than Naruto. So deal with it. :P