Hello and welcome to the next chapter. I'm going to be skipping Sasori's fight and it is almost the same as canon except of Sakura getting caught in the Iron Sand web, it was Sava. Okay now let's continue the saga.

Chapter Cover: Claire seating standing with her Taiyoukage cape on her.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

Suspicions and plans

A loud explosion was what woke Jack up the next day and he turned around, trying to see what was it and felt Deidara's chakra lingering everywhere.

Deidara and his explosives, Jack though as he stood up and headed toward the noise to find a group of Konoha ninjas there and one of them was supporting Kakashi who seemed to have become exhausted and he heard Sakura's voice,

"W…What did you do?"

"I send him and the explosion into another dimension," Kakashi gasped out.

Deidara self-detonate, Jack though as his eyes widened in shock, Guess he was crazy after all. Oh, well one less S-ranked ninja to worry about, if Sakura and that old lady is still alive did that mean Sasori's dead.

Suddenly a smirk grew on his face as he watched them take Gaara away from here.

Guess Konoha is going to be more useful than I though, Jack though as he headed toward Sasori's battle ground, meaning the cave.

Half-way there he felt a surge of familiar chakra and found Deidara walking toward the forest, armless…

"So you're still alive after all Deidara," Jack said as he landed by him.

"WHERE THE HELL WHERE YOU?" Deidara yelled at him, "I was ambushed into two Konoha teams and I here I was hoping that you came to my rescue."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Jack snapped, "My mission was to guard you guys while we were in the Sand and till the sealing is over, after that you're on your own."

Deidara growled at him and started walking toward the forest.

"So, what happened to your other arm?" Jack asked after a few moment.

"I'm going to look for it,"

"Well can I land you a hand?" Jack asked with a smirk.

Deidara glared at him, "It's not funny, yeah."

"I'm not laughing, I'm smirking."

"That's still laughing,"

"Is not."

"Is too, yeah,"

"Is not,"

"Is too, yeah,"

The two continued arguing as they reached the forest and they could hear voices from beyong the trees,

"I foud Deidara's arm," a voice said, "I wonder if other piece of himself were spread around here."

Jack snorted as Deidara become red with anger as he yelled, "GET YOUR HANDS OFF THAT."

They arrived at a clearing and found Zetsu standing by a black-wearing man who was wearing an orange mask with swearl on it with a single hole on it. Jack's eyes narrowed at the man, recognizing the mask instantly.

"Eh, you're alive," he yelled.

"Who'se the new one," Jack asked.

"Tobi," Zetsu said, "He will take Sasori's place since the old bastard die."

"I can't believe it," Deidara said, "Sasori-sama got killed by those kunoichis."

"What happened to the Jinchurikin?"

"My part in this is over," Deidara said as he watched the plant-man.

"Haha," Tobi said, "you've only barely made it didn't you Deidara-sempai?"

Deidara glared at him.

"Tobi, I only let things go three times," Deidara said, "If you insult me again I'll gave you a good death, yeah."

"Death by explosion," Tobi guessed.

In a roar, Deidara got Tobi chocking him with both of his legs. Jack let out a sweatdrop at the exchange and hears Zetsu sigh beside him.

"Death by asphixation," Deidara yelled as he chocked the guy.

"Those two buffoons are an embarrassement to Akatsuki," Zetsu said.

"You don't say," Jack said shaking his head.

"Let's head back to HQ," Zetsu said, "Leader-sama, got a meeting to go over with all of the members, including you Jack."

"Really? What does he got in mind?" Jack asked.

"He didn't say," Zetsu said, "So are you coming or not?"

"I will have to," Jack said, "Deidara let go of Tobi, you're going to kill the poor guy, let a Jinchurikin do him in."

"I will like to kill him myself," Deidara said as he let go and Tobi got right back up as if nothing happened.

"Tobi is a good boy," he said.

Why did that guy wanted to join again, Zetsu though as he sighed again.

Beats me, the black side thought.

"Tobi can I talk to you for a minute," Jack asked.

"Yes Jack-sempai, Tobi is a good boy," Tobi yelled as he sped toward Jack only to stand in a stiff line in front of Jack like a military officer.

Jack grab his collar and whispered, "Why are you here?"

"Eh,"

"Cut the crap," Jack growled, "I know it's you."

"Jack-san is scaring Tobi, DEIDARA-SEMPAI, HELP,"

He looked behind him to see that Zetsu and Deidara were already gone, "Eh, where did they go?"

Tobi looked toward Jack again and jumped on a branch in one of the tree and talked in a voice that Jack know only to well,

"Well, it's nice to see that you remembered me Jack?"

"That didn't answer my question," Jack snapped at him, "Why are you here now?"

"I'm tired of hiding in the shadows," Madara said, "it's get boring, so I decide to come up with Tobi, so what do you think?"

"For a smart person," Jack said, "You sure come up with the most annoying characters ever born."

"Tobi is a good boy," he said with the Tobi voice before jumping away.

I didn't expect him to come out this early, Jack thought, That might throw a wrench into my plans, and I got to act quickly and mess up the Akatsuki's plan for good. So far, giving Sakura the antidote for Sasori's poison was a risky business, and it was good that she was smart enough to use it during her battle with Sasori, which I knew was going to be a dangerous fight from the beginning. Well, let's just hope I can play the part before he discover me.

With that he jumped after him.

&&&

Two days later, Claire was seating there when the secretary entered with a scroll.

"Taiyoukage-sama, a scroll from Sava-san had just arrived from Konoha,"

"Good, and it better be good news."

After a few minutes, she read the scroll her face turning to shock.

"You gotta be kidding me," Claire swore outloud reading the scroll she just received from Sava.

She reread the scroll again, to make sure that she was completely sure about what it said,

Claire-sama,

I have located Jack and he is part of the organization called Akatsuki. I have meet up with him in our way to rescue Gaara, The Godaime Kazekage and he had gotten as strong as a Kage, I presume and his new doujutsu is powerful also, and I had not see it's full potential. Hope you are well,

Sava Ookami, Taiyoukagure Chunin.

Claire put the paper down and massaging her temples at the headache that was coming on. This is the worst case scenario that had ever happened since the disaster which they called now the 'Taiyoukagure nightmare' two years ago. Jack joining that organization who the Legendary Sannin himself couldn't not get any info on. She looked at the ceiling and wondered what on earth she was going to do now.

A distant memory came to mind, remembering when Jack had disappeared that fateful day continuing to the destruction of Taiyoukagure. Claire had always had a bad feeling eversince Armstrong had become Taiyoukage some years ago when she was just a chunin, the man who had raised Jack…

Sighing, Claire looked down at the paper in front of her.

So that was what he meant that day, she though, 'we will meet on the battlefield, whether as allies or as enemies.'

She summoned her secretary and said, "Send SOLDIERs to look for Payne and her team, I've got a mission for them, and summon the Head of the Council for me, I've got something to ask them."

The secretary nodded and stepped out.

"How did it come to this?" Claire murmured to herself as she gazed at Team Fox picture, "Am I such a poor leader that I can't even keep my Genin team together."

A few minutes later, two peoples entered dressed in robes. Rodecha a woman who was part of the council with her grayish hair and gray eyes and the other who was Yusuke, a man always dressed in black, and Claire couldn't help but feel a little intimidated by his presence.

"You summoned us Taiyoukage-sama," Rodecha asked, her emotionless face impassive.

"Yes," Claire said, "You two have been choosen by Armstrong-sama to be Head of the Council when he became Kage isn't it?"

"Yes," Yusuke answered, his black eyes borrowing into Claire's brown ones.

"I want to know if there is any connection between the Haruno clan and Armstrong-sama?" Claire asked.

"Why this sudden question?" Rodocha asked.

"One of my students had deflected from the village two years ago and he was raised by Armstrong-sama who leads an bataillon of SOLDIERs into against the Haruno clan, starting the civil war, but one of the question that bothered me was why?"

"Armstrong-sama is a respectful man," Rodocha said, "but he made a lot of rushed decisions that you youngsters might call reckless."

"Have you put your student down into the Bingo books?" Yusuke asked.

"Not yet," Claire said, her eyes shifting toward the man, "I have just received news of his whereabouts and I'm about to send a team to capture him and bring him in for questioning."

"I don't see why would the Haruno clan is tied to this, they've all been destroyed save your student isn't that right Claire-sama?"

"That's what I have though but two years ago one showed up in front of the gates looking for Jack," Claire said, "a SOLDIER who worked with me before reported it, but we decided to keep it quiet between us and I was busy with the village reconstruction, so I abandoned all investigation."

"Another Haruno is still alive?" Rodocha asked, her eyebrow going up a fraction.

"Yes, and her name is Soya Haruno," Claire said.

She noticed their shocks, and Claire inwardly smirked

They know something and since it will be a while for Payne and the other to get here, how about I weedle the truth out of them.

"So you're ready to talk of Soya and why she was looking for Jack?" Claire asked, her eyes shining with a new determination.

&&&

All of the Akatsuki members where standing in a circle and Pein stood as he watched them all.

"We've lost Sasori in the One-Tail," he said, "so Tobi will be taking over partnering with Deidara."

"Tobi is a good boy," Tobi yelled as he punched the air.

Idiot, Jack though as he watched him.

"Sasori's dead," Kisame shadow said, "I though he was invicible with his thousand puppet technique."

"Hidan, Kakuzu you will go after the Two-Tails, my contacts tells me that she had just returned from a mission and it will be a good time to go after it, she is called Yugito Nii"

"We are bout a week or so from Kumo," Kakuzu said, "Since she is a woman, she'll be easier to take care of."

"And after that," Pein, "Mend Deidara's arm, we will need him for the sealing."

"Whatever,"

The two of them buzzed out.

"Itachi, Kisame," Pein said, "you will go after your target the Four-Tailed, and Jack your target is the Five-Tails, his name is Han."

"I though I wasn't going to take care of any of the Jinchurikin?" Jack asked shocked.

"We need to capture as many tailed beasts as possible," Pein said, "Since you're part of the Akatsuki, you will do so."

"Fine," Jack said, "and where is the Five-Tails is located anyway?"

"Iwagakure," Pein answered, "Take care of him later this month after the sealing of the Four-Tails."

"Just awesome," Jack said, "I'm going against the most dangerous country in the world."

"That is all," Pein said before walking out of the room and the rest of the shadows buzzed out.

"I'm hungry," Jack said, "I'm going to grab a bite."

He left the meeting room feeling angry as hell that Pein was going to make him go against a Bijuu already. He didn't want to go against any Bijuu to send them to their deaths, sure he part of the Akatsuki, which the main reason was once he should…

Since I'm going after the Five-Tails, Jack though, Better get out of Rain Country and then maybe I could go to Kumo first and delay them.

Knowing he was taking another risk, Jack summoned Falcon once again. The bird had gotten larger and it's amber eyes gazed at him.

"It's been a while," Falcon said, "I though you were dead."

"Not yet," Jack said, "I need to get to Kumo as fast as you can go."

"Very well," Falcon said as Jack jumped on it's back and the bird took off into the sky and after that flight, Jack will wish he never asked to go as fast as possible.

&&&

Claire listened to what Yusuke and Rodacha told her and she was beyond shocked. Learning that the boy she had trained was part of a clan that had Youkai within them and that Soya was the one who betrayed the clan.

"No wonder he deflected," Claire said as her eyes shifted toward the picture of Team Fox and Jack's smirk on it, "Now for the next question, who was Soya's sensei?"

"I was," Yusuke said, "and to tell you the truth, I knew her very well and she didn't seem the type to do this to her clan, something must have set her off like that, she and Saki were as close as twin sisters could be and they shared everything with each other. Nothing could get between the two."

Claire looked at the two in front of her and sighed, "I still don't understand why Jack joined Akatsuki of all organization…"

A knock was at the door.

"Enter,"

Three ninjas entered. One of them was a young woman with silver hair, dressed in the collarless flak jacket of the Jonins. Her Taiyou headband was on her shoulder with the fishnet shirt underneath the flak jacket and a sword was on her back now. The other was a man with brown hair, wearing his flak jaket on his naked upper body showing the tattoos on his arms with and his black pants. The third was wearing a brown vest, for Double S standard with his headband one like a bandana.

"You called Claire-sensei," Payne asked taking her silver hair out of her eyes.

"Payne, Hunter and Roshi," Claire said, "I have a mission for you, Rodocha-sama, and Yusuke-sama, our conversation is over for now."

The two Head of the Council bowed to her before getting out and the team approached the desk.

"You three have been working together for almost a year now," Claire said as he watched them all, "and I've received good reports from you. Well, Payne we have located Jack."

"Where," Payne asked quickly, wanting to know about her friend.

"He joined the organization called Akatsuki," Claire said, "which is an organization formed of a dozen or more S-ranked missing nins. Your mission is an A-ranked one, to track and capture Jack, bring him back home."

"Where is Sava?" Payne asked, "I'm sure she will be happy to go to the mission with us."

"Sava is in Konoha for now, working as a advisor and helping hand for the upcoming Chunin Exams," Claire said, "She is the one that sended me the info that Jack was in the Akatsuki. Apparently, they crossed path after they had captured the Sand Kazekage."

"That's not easy feat even for Akatsuki," Hunter said.

"Which is why you are going to capture Jack," Claire said, "He might be traveling alone or with another member, take all the precautions you need, and Hunter since Jack is searching for Soya, he might be in the surrounding area of River and the surrounding areas."

Hunter nodded and the team sets out

Just wait Jack, Payne though, I'm coming after you.

Yes, the horrible truth is out. Soya and Saki were twins. Now Claire is sending ninjas after Jack and one of them is Payne? Will all goes well when this two crossed paths? and What is Jack hoping to do with Yugito now he is heading there to Kumo to stop the Akatsuki from capturing her and how will he do it?

Well, all is next in 'Kumo's Jinchurikin' comming up in two days.

Jacques0 out.

R&R.