Paradigm

by PersonaJXT

When the Kyuubi attacked, the Yondaime Hokagein a moment of creative genius, decided to seal the demon into two vessels. However, as talented as he was, he was only human and prone to mistakes... Now Naruto lives with a voice in his head. WIP

4. Honing the Edge

Paradigm

Disclaimer – I don't own Naruto or any of its affiliated trademarks.

A/N:

Okay, chapter three is up! I actually had this done for a while, but decided that I had to do some more work on a few sections. And then I actually forgot to post this entirely. I blame my stupid group that I'm doing a presentation with for school. Half the group is never there, and no one wants to do any work. I'm going to end up doing most of the work just so I can pass the class… I have horrible luck with groups – this is the second time in the same semester…

Pondered on whether I should extend the first half for a bit, but then decided against it. Instead I would cut a few sections out and rework the rest of it. And then I ended up having Naruto and co. attack the bandit camp like five times, fully written, before I finally came up with something I liked enough to keep. Rather annoying actually. The word document I keep all my deleted scenes in got bigger by like 40 pages…

I really didn't like this chapter at all. I actually thought about completely scrapping everything I'd written for this and restarting chapter three. But then I figured it'd be too much work. Especially since this all is just setup for the main story. Well, hopefully it isn't too bad. But really, I hated the quality of this chapter. Especially the latter portion.

This chapter got a lot longer than I intended, so I cut it off. It was supposed to be the final chapter of the first story arc, but after I hit eighty pages, I decided to cut it off at the sixty page mark and just post that. The next chapter will probably be shorter than sixty pages, but I may decide to make it a full length chapter since I have the space. After that most likely an interlude, and then a short break as I go over my plot for the main story arc to make sure nothing is wrong.

I don't know if anyone will notice, but I'm trying a new writing style here. Not too sure if the source of my writing woes came from that, or if it was because the content just disagreed with me, but yeah. Any comments on it? I could really use feedback to improve my writing, as it's consistently among my worst subjects.

Just a FYI, I make lots of edits to previous chapters. Mostly minor things like wording and stuff. Chapter 1 is actually on its tenth or so revision, and I'm not done with it yet. Nothing worth going back and rereading yet, but I guess you could if you wanted to.

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Chapter 3

A bandit sentry stood at the outskirts of the camp, on the lookout for any intruders. He was equipped with a poor assortment of mismatched leather armor, and a simple long knife that he gripped tightly in his hands. His shoulders were tense, and his eyes darted left to right nervously.

"Boo!"

The bandit sentry jerked and swung his sword to his right where the voice had come from. When he saw who it was, he relaxed his shoulders and lowered his sword. "O-Oh! I-It's just you, Takeshi-senpai! Don't sca-scare me like that! I could've ta-taken your head off!"

Takeshi laughed. "Hah! The day you can even scratch me is the day hell freezes over! And don't be so serious! It was just a joke!"

"P-Please take things more seriously, Takeshi-sempai! We're on guard d-duty! We can't be messing around!"

"Relax, it's not like anyone's gonna attack! You're way too uptight, Kazuki-kun! And besides, if someone does come, we'll just take care of them!"

"Y-Yeah… I guess…" The nervous man glanced at the edge of the forest, eyeing it warily. "I have a bad feeling though…"

The sound of something heavy hitting the ground startled him, and he turned to see Takeshi grinning widely. A knocked over barrel lay at his feet. "Hah! You should've seen your face! You're so easy to scare, Kazuki-kun!"

"Ta-Takeshi-sempai! S-Stop it! I don't l-like these childish tri-tricks!"

"Fine, fine!" Takeshi managed to say between laughs. "I won't do it anymore. Geez, you're such a tightwad!"

Slightly angry, Kazuki turned away stiffly. A moment later, he heard a loud thumping sound and he whirled to his left, only to see a helmet settling onto the ground. Without turning, he said, "Ta-Takeshi-sempai, y-you said you would stop! You w-won't trick me the same way again!"

There was a pause without a reply, and he frowned. "Takeshi-sempai?" He turned and saw his friend turned with his back to him. "What are you d-doing, Takeshi-sempai?"

"Er, uh… I'm taking a leak?" came the reply.

"H-Here? Why can't you d-do it somewhere else? This place will s-smell…"

"Uh… Quiet, idiot! Don't make me sound stupid!"

"T-T-Ta-Takeshi-sempai?"

"Um… I'm mad! Uh… don't talk to me!"

"S-Sempai, are you alright? You're voice s-sounds off…"

"I… I have a cold! I'm coughing! See?" He coughed a few times.

"R-Right… Hey, Takeshi-sempai, what's my name?"

"Er…" There was an uncomfortable pause. "I dunno, how should I know? Uh, why are you even asking me?"

The nervous man's face grew angry. "Y-You're not Takeshi-sempai! My name is Kazuki! There's no way Takeshi-sempai would ever forget that! You're just some stu-stupid imposter!" Kazuki reached for the alarm whistle strung around his neck with a loose string.

"Aahh, enough this!"

Letting Takehi's body drop to the ground, Suzumi jumped at Kazuki, wrenching the whistle from his hands before he could blow it. A well placed strike to the neck rendered the poor man unconscious. Suzumi glanced down at his crumpled body, an annoyed expression on her face.

"Serves you right for calling me stupid."

She raised a hand to her ear and toggled a switch on her headset. "This is Alpha Three here. I got the last of the sentries on my end, and I'm in position now. How are things on your ends?"

"Yeah, no problem here," Naruto reported through the radio. "There are a lot less guards than yesterday, so it took less time than I thought it would take. Pain in the ass, pulling it off without being caught though."

Shiro answered a moment later. "I've finished on my end as well. Tsubame-sensei should be starting her assault soon. Move to take care of any that try to get away."

"Understood." Suzumi turned off her headset. Not a moment later, a huge force tore through the middle of the camp, not too far off from where she stood. Dirt flew into the air in giant waves, obscuring everything and throwing the entire camp into chaos. Raising a hand to shield her eyes against the small flecks of sand in the air, Suzumi frowned.

"Tsubame-san is so violent… Well, I better get to work as well."

With that, Suzumi took a step forward and disappeared into the turmoil.

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Shiro seemed to flow gracefully through a group of enemies, passing them by before they could react. His hands barely glanced them as he went by, chakra momentarily dancing upon his palms. Though they didn't seem to be visibly hurt, every one of the bandits he touched fell to the ground suddenly, writhing in pain. His Byakugan were fully activated, veins bulging at the edges of his pale white eyes, allowing him to see through the thick dust in the air.

"Wha-What the heck is this kid?" one of the nearby bandits questioned fearfully. Shiro turned his attention to the man.

"The Hyuga clan is undefeatable. Give up and spare yourselves suffering."

"Like hell we'll surrender to a kid! Come and I'll show you just how strong a real man can be!"

Shiro looked to see who had spoken. It was an extremely large man, at least twice the height of an average adult, with bulging muscles that threatened to tear out of the thick armor he wore. He held two giant swords in each hand, and another even larger one strapped to his back. A worn forehead protector with the three lines of the Hidden Mist village was worn around his bulging arm, a line through it signifying that he had abandoned his village.

"Oh! It's Takami-sama! It's Takami-sama!"

"Takami-sama! Beat the crap out of that kid!"

"Yeah! Show him who's boss!

"If it's Takami-sama, then the kid's done for!"

The bandits seemed to become encouraged at Takami's appearance, and the large man welcomed the attention.

"Come at me, boy! Your puny body cannot possibly stand up against my strength!"

Shiro stood silently, gazing at Takami evenly. It only served to further rouse the giant man, and Takami let loose a loud roar. "GRAAHH!!! I shall crush you like the bug you are!"

Hefting both of his weapons above his head, Takami brought it crashing down at where Shiro stood. The blades bit deep into the earth, easily parting the soft top soil. Takami furrowed his forehead. "What is this… Where did that brat go!?"

"T-Takami-sama! Behind you!"

Glancing over his shoulder, Takami saw Shiro standing in the middle of a group of bandits. The bandits all dropped to the ground, clutching at their bodies painfully. Takami growled gutturally. "You dare toy with me… You dare hurt my subordinates… You will DIE!!!"

He swung both his weapons, one after the other, in a wide cleaving arc. He failed to hit the boy, and tried again. And again. And another time. Shiro seemed to glide backwards, always just out of reach of the deadly blade. And then he disappeared. Takami whirled around, looking for the missing boy, and found him standing a few meters away, surrounded by another group of fallen bandits.

"Stop running around and STAND STILL!!!" Takami yelled, becoming frustrated at his lack of success. Deep down he realized he didn't stand a chance against the boy, but his pride forced him to continue on, pushing aside his fear. Swinging his swords once again, he put as much strength into his attack, his muscles straining to keep up with his demands. Anticipation built as he neared his target, his blades slicing through the air.

"You're a bother."

In one swift motion, Shiro slammed his hands into the weapons, shattering both blades with precise applications of chakra. Not to be deterred, Takami dropped his broken weapons in favor of the giant sword strapped to his back. Before he could even swing it, it broke into several pieces on the ground. Takami scowled.

"You stupid brat! Even if I'm weaponless, you still can't beat me! A tiny person like you couldn't possibly penetrate my hard muscles!"

Shiro narrowed his white eyes as the large man charged at him. One moment he was standing in front of Takami, the next he was behind the giant man. Takami came to an uneven halt and stood unmoving for several seconds, before teetering and falling to the ground. Blood leaked from his mouth, pooling onto the ground. Dead silence spread through the bandits as they stared at their champion's fallen body.

"Jyuuken," Shiro said without turning. "It doesn't matter how strong you are on the outside, it destroys you from the inside."

As if Shiro's words had released a floodgate, the remaining bandits suddenly became panicked. They dropped their weapons and started running away. They didn't get far though. Shiro seemed to glide past them, a blur of white that could barely be seen. They fell to the ground.

"Targets eliminated. Proceeding onwards."

Without looking back, Shiro disappeared into the dust, leaving behind the mess of bodies scattered all around.

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Naruto was an orange blur as he plowed through groups of enemy bandits. It was a baffling sight; his small form barreling over full grown adults with seemingly no effort at all. Slamming his right foot into one opponent, he utilized the man's body to kick off and punch another one. Using the momentum from the punch, he whirled into a spinning kick that caught two more bandits in the face. Before their bodies even touched the ground, he was gone, going after another bandit.

"Heh, this is way too easy!" Naruto grinned as he took down two bandits at once.

'…don't get overconfident, idiot,' Reimi warned. '…this isn't a game…'

"Yeah, yeah. Obviously. These guys are way below my level though, nothing to worry about." A blade came perilously close to separating him from his head. A quick backhanded fist knocked the wielder of the blade unconscious. "Well, almost nothing…"

He caught sight of something out of the corner of his eyes, and jumped away just in time to avoid a barrage of kunai. On his guard, Naruto swept his gaze across the line of tall sentry towers where the attack had come from. "Who's there?"

Another wave of kunai came in response, and he twisted out of the way. "Hey! If no one comes out in the next ten seconds, I'm gonna go looking! And you won't like it when I find you!" A stern look came over his face as he sidestepped another kunai. "Ten, nine, eight, seven.... Ah screw this!"

Channeling a huge amount of chakra into his feet, he launched himself into the air to the tops of the sentry towers. The pair of surprised ninja standing there barely had time to register their shock before they were forced to defend themselves against Naruto's furious assault. It didn't take very long before both were down.

"Now, what's next?" Naruto questioned as he looked down from his lofty perch. A barely detectable surge of chakra alerted him to two other ninja coming up behind him, and he ducked under as they both attempted to stab him with their swords. "Hey! More ninjas!"

'…shouldn't Kiriko-sensei be fighting them…? She's supposed to be taking care of the ninjas while we clean up the bandits…'

"Eh, she must've missed these. Or they weren't there. Either way, they're my prey now!"

Stepping lightly on the wooden railing of the sentry tower, Naruto kept just out of range of the two ninja's reaching blades. They were obviously used to working together, and their attacks were synched so that it left Naruto without a chance to counterattack. They kept Naruto retreating until he was at the edge of the railing. Sensing victory, one of them lunged to strike at his upper torso, while the other aimed at his lower torso.

"Urgh…!"

Like a giant scissor, the two blades cleaved into the blonde boy, blood splattering into the air. They pressed their swords deeper, trying to cut him in two.

"Heh, you guys are good… but not good enough…"

The two ninja's eyes widened as Naruto's body was suddenly replaced by a tree log. "Kawarimi!" one of them called out in warning. It was too late. With the force of a sledgehammer, Naruto crashed into them from behind and sent them toppling to the ground far below.

"Oh yeah, man I rule!" Naruto cheered excitedly, adrenaline pumping furiously through his veins. He saw some bandits fleeing away down below, and he grinned. "All right! Ready or not, here I come!"

Racing down the sentry tower, Naruto caught the bandits by surprise. They had just realized he was among them when he started dispatching them with a flurry of punches and kicks. They weren't executed with the most skill or grace, but the sheer force behind each attack sent the whole group of them to the ground, unconscious. Breathing out, Naruto looked around for more enemies. "No one's left?"

'…it doesn't look like anyone's still here…'

"I'm pretty sure there were more of them yesterday though. I wonder where they all went off to."

'…I don't like this… get in contact with…' Reimi hesitated for a moment, 'with Suzumi-san… She should be trustworthy…'

"Trustworthy…? What are you thinking, Reimi?"

'…never mind that for now. Hopefully I'm wrong and it won't matter… just shut up and do what I say…'

"Er, okay…" Naruto shrugged. He wasn't sure what Reimi was planning, but figured doing what she said wouldn't hurt. Twisting the knob on his headset, he spoke into the small microphone. "Uh, Suzumi? You there?"

There was a few moments of silence before she replied. "Yeah, I'm here, Naruto-kun. Anything wrong?"

'…ask her about the lack of people here…'

"Hey, uh… did you find the amount of people here… strangely small? I just got done with the last ones and… Shouldn't there be more of them here?"

"Well… kinda," came Suzumi's response after a pause. "I've been wondering about that too. There's something strange going on here."

"Yeah, that's kinda what I was thinking too."

'…get her to meet you.'

"Uh… Hey, why don't we meet up or something? Whatever happens, it'll probably be safer if we're together."

"Sounds good, I'm heading to your location already anyways. I'll tell Shiro-san and Tsubame-san to-,"

'Stop her…! It's better if less people know…!'

"N-No!" blurted Naruto.

"…No? What do you mean, Naruto-kun?" Suzumi asked curiously.

"Er..." Naruto wracked his brain. "What I meant was… those two are strong enough to take care of themselves… They don't need our help, right?"

"I guess…" Suzumi replied after a beat "Though I don't like it that you're implying that I can't take care of myself…"

"I don't mean anything of the sort!" Naruto backpedaled. "I was just… that is… uh…"

"Oh, don't worry about it so much. I know you didn't mean that," came her voice from behind him.

Naruto startled and turned around to see Suzumi standing behind him. "Woah! I didn't notice you getting here!"

Suzumi shook her head. "Pay more attention to your surroundings. If I were an enemy, you would've just died right then."

"Nah, I wouldn't have missed an enemy," Naruto said earnestly.

"If you say so," said Suzumi with a raised eyebrow. "More importantly, what do we do now?"

"Uh…" Naruto looked lost.

'…I haven't planned that far yet…'

"Crap."

"What?"

"Erm, I mean, we should look for clues!"

Suzumi's face brightened. "Of course, you're right! We should question one of the bandits here and find out where their comrades are!"

"Ah…"

"Hmm? That's what you meant, right?"

"Y-Yeah! That's right! Ahahahahah…"

Suzumi stared at Naruto strangely, before shaking her head. "You're weird, you know that, Naruto-kun?"

They tied up an unconscious bandit and propped him up against a crate. Pulling out a vial of smelling salts, Suzumi forced it under the bandit's nose, keeping it there until he responded.

"Urghh… where am I?" the bandit asked. He tried to get up, and realized that he was bound. "Hey! What's going on here!" He looked around and saw Naruto and Suzumi. Sitting down, he was at about their level and his eyes met theirs.

"We'd like to ask you a few questions concerning the whereabouts of your friends…" Suzumi began politely.

"What?" Realization dawned on the bandit, and he grew angry. "No way! I ain't telling you brats nothing! You can't make me talk!" He spat at Suzumi.

"Eww," Suzumi complained as she hurriedly wiped the saliva off her face. "That was uncalled for. There's no need to be needlessly antagonistic towards me. It will only serve to make your brief time under our care more… uncomfortable..."

"Do your worst!" the bandit growled.

Suzumi glared at the man for a few moments, before sighing. "Well, that didn't work too well. Any other ideas, Naruto-kun?"

"Wait, that's it?" Naruto looked confused. "You're just giving up like that?"

"You want to torture this man then?" said Suzumi with a hint of disgust. "I for one have no taste for that particular method of… information extraction." She shuddered. "Besides, I have no experience in it. I doubt I could do it and garner any real results."

Naruto frowned. "I don't have any experience either but…"

'…I can try if you want me to…'

"That? Well, if you feel up to it…"

'…I wouldn't offer if I wasn't, idiot…'

"Was just a bit concerned, that's all."

"Who are you talking to, Naruto-kun?" questioned Suzumi.

"Nothing. I was just thinking aloud. Hey, I wanna try something real quick. You mind turning around for a bit?"

Suzumi eyed him suspiciously. "You're not going to torture him, are you?" she asked.

"Ah, no! Of course not! Nothing like that! It's just a trick that might work."

"Well, okay," Suzumi said. "I'm trusting you not to do anything weird."

"Thanks. And it's nothing weird." If your definition of weird is broad…

Nodding, Suzumi turned around and walked a short distance away. Naruto turned to the bandit he was now alone with.

"Just you and me now."

"Bah, like a brat like you can do anything!"

Naruto let out a sigh. "What is it with you adults that makes you always underestimate kids? I mean, even after I knock a whole crap load of you out you still think I can't hurt you?"

The bandit glared. "Fine, so you're strong. What're you gonna do?"

"It doesn't matter if you know or not. You won't remember any of it."

"H-Hey! Wait a second here! Stop messing with me here!"

Ignoring the man's complaints, Naruto glanced back at Suzumi to make sure she wasn't watching. "Okay, Reimi, do your thing."

'…okay…'

Naruto allowed his body to transform to Reimi's and allowed her to take control. Taking a moment to get used to her body, Reimi glanced at the still complaining bandit and placed a slim hand onto his forehead. He jerked at the unexpected touch.

"Wha-What are you doing! Stop it! I-!"

The bandit's complaints came to a sudden halt as Reimi's fingers slipped into his skull. His eyes glazed over and his jaw slackened. The tips of his fingers twitched slightly as Reimi forced her entire hand into his head.

'That freaks me out every time I see you do that…' Naruto commented.

"…then don't look, idiot," Reimi answered evenly. She continued to rifle about the man's mind for a while before withdrawing her hand. The bandit slumped spinelessly backwards, his pupils dilating wildly.

'Did you get anything?'

Reimi slowly nodded. "This… isn't good."

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Kiriko faced off against a number of ninja. None of them were Jounin level, but quite a few were close to it. She stood with a sword in each hand; one long and serrated, the other short with spiked tongs jutting out diagonally from the hilt. Her face was blank as she eyed her opponents.

"Careful, guys," one of the ninja surrounding her warned. "This bitch is fucking strong. Let your guard down and you're dead."

"That's obvious," another ninja muttered, gesturing at the number of dead bodies lying on the ground. "We still outnumber her though. No way we can lose to an idiot that walks into the enemy encampment all alone."

Not listening to them, Kiriko's attention was drawn to the space behind them. The little girl from before stood there, smiling. "Hi, Kiriko-chan! How long will it take for you to take care of these guys?"

"…Ten minutes…"

"Hah? Ten minutes? Ten minutes till what? You realize what a complete and utter idiot you are?" one ninja laughed.

"…Your deaths…"

A glint of light off of her blades was the only warning they got before Kiriko attacked. In an instant, she cut straight through one man with the larger of her swords, while slitting the throat of another. There was a moment where no one moved as the weight of what had just happened sunk in. Then, they were all gone in a flash.

Kiriko's two blades wove an intricate web of death as she fought off her enemies. One managed to catch her long, serrated blade with an open handed palm while another occupied her other blade with a kunai. Without hesitating, Kiriko surprised her foes by letting go of both her swords and drawing twin long knives from her waist. The holes in the blade caused it to whistle in the wind as she stabbed the two enemy ninja. Leaving the weapons in their stomachs, she drew yet another weapon – a sword with a blade that was split down the middle – and twisted around to skewer a third attacker that was trying to catch her rear.

The little girl smiled cheerfully as she watched the carnage. "Oh, careful there, Kiriko-chan! Two more behind you!"

Taking heed of the warning, Kiriko spun around, quickly grabbing and sheathing her weapons. In the same motion she drew a giant, bejeweled blade off out of its casing on her back. Swinging it heavily, she cleaved through the two ninja coming at her from behind, before suddenly reversing the motion to cut through three more. The remaining ninja, now more wary of her skills, gave her a wider berth.

"Ahahahaha!" laughed the little girl. "They're all so scared of you now, Kiriko-chan!"

"Damned whore!" cursed a ninja. "Stay away from her! If her swords can't reach you, then she can't hurt you!"

Nodding, one of the other ninja brought his hands together and formed hand seals. "Doton: Jigoku Ana!"

The ground suddenly opened up beneath Kiriko. Jumping backwards, she quickly found that the widening crevice chased after her. She glanced at where the caster of the jutsu stood, then at the rapidly advancing jutsu itself. With a burst of sudden strength, she raised her heavy sword above her head. Chakra lanced up her arms into the sword, and the many gems in the blade gave off a faint light. And then, with supernatural speed, she swung the sword at the ground, right at were the cracks were just reaching.

A huge explosion shook the ground, making it even harder to see as even more dust was sent into the air. The dividing earth was stopped dead in its tracks, and its caster took a step backwards in surprise. He clasped his hands together again to form more hand seals, but suddenly found that his hands were missing. A metallic sound alerted him to the thin and extremely long folding sword that Kiriko was wielding like an oversized whip. He barely had time to open his mouth before he was sliced into pieces.

Kiriko sent the long blade whirling about her, catching several more ninja off guard. Her lashing weapon cut the surrounding area into small pieces, slicing easily through trees and camp equipment.

A ninja made hand seals and sent a lightning jutsu at her. Her flailing blade caught the attack, and the electricity swiftly traveled up the blade and to the hilt, forcing Kiriko to drop her weapon. She instantly drew a long katana that hooked at the point and took a step towards the one that had thrown the lightning, but was forced back when a stream of fire flew at her.

"Kiriko-chan! Keep it up! Don't let them get you!"

Glancing momentarily at the little girl, Kiriko drew her two long knives again and threw them at one of the ninja.

"Heh, just as I thought!" the ninja smirked as he easily dodged the simple attack. "She's one of those close range types! Keep her away and she's harmless!"

Not reacting to the taunt, Kiriko pulled at invisibly thin wires with one hand while drawing a thick, rod-like sword. The two knives attached to the wires reversed their flight, hurtling rapidly at the back of the jeering ninja. He noticed it though, and moved so it would narrowly miss him. "Thought you could get me that easily, did you?"

The rod-like sword flew from Kiriko's outstretched arm to land point down at the ninja's feet. Almost instantaneously, the two flying knives changed their course and impaled the unsuspecting ninja in the back. His eyes widened in surprise, before they dulled and he slumped to the ground.

The ninja's death prompted the others into action. Several tried using lightning jutsu, seeing the effect the first one had. These were mysteriously directed to the rod-like sword, the weapon acting like a lightning rod. A quick tug of her wire and Kiriko's two knives flew into action once again. A few overly-zealous ninja charged at her, and suddenly found their throats missing as Kiriko twirled the two knives dangerously about her.

"Genjutsu! Hit her with genjutsu!"

Several of the ninjas responded to the cry and formed hand seals. Kiriko's world suddenly began swirling and bending, causing her to lose her balance. Several images tried to take shape, but they seemed to have trouble holding a form. The little girl still watching from the side giggled.

"Showing false images to someone who sees them everyday? How effective do they actually think that'll be?"

Kiriko focused her attention on the little girl, her eyes glazing over for a moment. Then, the strange images and twisting world ceased. The other ninjas didn't notice the genjutsu's lack of effect on her, and advanced upon her with supreme confidence. They didn't even have time to wipe the grins off their faces before Kiriko burst into action, slicing into them with a finely made katana.

There were only five ninja left now, but these were the more seasoned and cautious of the group. They were appropriately made wary of Kiriko, having watched as she emotionlessly slaughtered their comrades. The only woman of the remaining ninjas stepped forward. "You're strong," she stated.

Tilting her head to the side, Kiriko didn't respond to the praise.

The woman continued, unaffected by Kiriko's silence. "I have mixed feelings about that strength. On one hand, you're a woman. And I'm all for female superiority. On the other hand, you're an enemy… It would be nice if we could remedy the latter of the two."

Kiriko's eyes wandered to where the little girl stood making weird faces.

"What I'm saying is, would you care to defect and join our side? I'm sure one of your skills would be able to attain quite a bit of power."

The woman frowned when Kiriko drew out another weapon – a particularly splendid long sword that looked as deadly as it was aesthetically pleasing. "You do not wish to accept? I offer you once more chance to reconsider. Even if the strongest of us aren't here, we are still more than a match for a single foe."

The little girl's eyes widened as she noticed what Kiriko was doing. "Oh… You're using that sword? Well, I guess it means you're getting serious… I'd better be off then…" With one last playful twirl, the little girl disappeared. At the same time, Kiriko's eyes seemed to sharpen, developing a clarity that hadn't been present previously.

"…No…" she answered the other woman's question.

The woman shrugged. "Well, it was worth a try. We would've killed you regardless, but I guess you want to do things the hard way." She made a few gestures at her comrades, and they prepared to attack. "Goodbye."

Her eyes widened as Kiriko's image seemed to replicate multiple times, before disappearing from sight altogether. She felt a huge surge of chakra from all around her.

"Oh shi-"

The entire area exploded.

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Suzumi frowned as she chased after Naruto. "Wait, so you're saying the reason that there aren't a lot of people here is because-"

"Yeah!" Naruto answered, racing towards where he knew his teacher was. "Why didn't I realize it sooner? This is bad!"

'…you have a gift for understating, idiot… this is a disaster…'

"What I'm wondering is why Genichiro-san didn't know anything about this." Suzumi said. "He's supposed to be in charge of all information in this area! How could he not know what kind of movements the bandit's were making?"

"Yeah, for him to not know about this… It's unbelievable."

"Yeah, there's no way…" Suzumi's eyes widened. "That's it! Naruto-kun, that's got to be it!"

"Huh?"

"Genichiro-san is the traitor! He must've been passing information to the bandits the whole time!"

"Wait, don't jump to conclusions," Naruto said even as his mind raced to piece everything together. If Genichiro-san, the one directing our overall movements, has been telling the bandits where we'd be then…

'…he got us…'

"Shit, you're right! That bastard! The next I see him I'm going to break every bone in his body! And he lives with the villagers too! For him to just betray them all like that…"

Suzumi nodded. "It's inhuman. He'll have much to answer for once we get back. For now though, let's concentrate on reporting this to Tsubame-san. She should know what's happening here."

They doubled their speed and it wasn't long before they found Kiriko. She stood in the center of a mass of destruction. Pieces of ruined flesh scattered the ground, some just large enough to be recognized as human. Suzumi turned around immediately, nausea coloring her face. Naruto soldiered onwards to where Kiriko stood, ignoring the danger he felt from her. She noticed him approaching, but didn't show that she did, opting instead to stare at an empty spot in the opposite direction.

"Kiriko-sensei, we've got a problem," Naruto said.

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes, before returning her gaze to the empty spot. Seeing that she wasn't going to respond, Naruto continued.

"The bandits, they aren't here."

Again her eyes flicked to him before looking away. Naruto let out a frustrated sound.

"She's in one of her moods again. It's pointless to try to talk to her when she's like this," Suzumi said as she came up behind him. She had a hand over her mouth and was carefully averting her eyes from the many signs of death around them. That she seemed to be succeeding rather impressed Naruto. "I radioed Shiro-san. He'll be here soon and should be able to help." She wrinkled her nose. "And let's move away from here. This smell is getting rather pungent."

They moved away from the carnage, Kiriko following a few moments later. It didn't take very long for Shiro to arrive. Landing silently next to them, Shiro looked askance at Suzumi and Naruto. "What's this all about?"

Naruto answered. "The bandits aren't here, and we wondered why. So we questioned a bandit. We found out that they're raiding some other village."

"Which village?" Shiro asked.

Suzumi shook her head. "We don't know. We wouldn't be here if we did." A look of frustration passed over her face before she continued. "There are three villages that are close enough for them to attack. They'll likely hit them hard and fast. If we want to stop them, we'll have to move fast."

Naruto looked confused. "Only three? Isn't the village we're staying in close too?"

Suzumi shook her head. "Close for ninjas. Not so much for a large group of poorly trained bandits." She saw that Naruto didn't understand and explained. "There's a large river between here and there if you recall. We crossed it easily enough. But the bandits would have to navigate the many miles all the way around the river. That would take many days. More than a week if you take into account the return journey."

"What about a boat?" Shiro put forth. "Couldn't they use that to cross over?"

"Not without alerting everyone. The river is rather big, and the preparation required would be easily spotted. The trees are thin and weak on the bandit's side of the river, meaning everything would have to be transported."

"I see. So building a bridge would be even more impossible."

Something tickled the edge of Reimi's memory, and it took her a moment to realize what. '…Naruto. Ask if building a bridge from the village's side would be plausible…'

Naruto did as she asked, and Suzumi frowned. "Well, yes. Quite easily really. But that would require sneaking people into the village, which would be hard to accomplish. You remember the reception we received when we got there. And we're on their side. Do you really think they'd allow the type of men these bandits are anywhere near?"

"What about traitors?" Naruto asked, again on behalf of Reimi.

"That could be possible…" Suzumi got a curious look on her face. "Why? Do you know something?"

"Er, do I?"

'…Naruto… last night, I saw two men acting suspiciously near the river… they were cutting trees…'

Understanding quickly dawned on Naruto. "Well, crap." Suzumi's confused look prompted him to explain. "Two guys were cutting trees by the river last night."

"You think they betrayed their village?" asked Shiro. "How can you be sure?"

"I'm not."

No answer came for a few moments. They stood there, uncomfortably shifting in position. Finally, Suzumi let out a sigh and said, "We'll go with that for now. It's better than sitting here with our hands under our read ends. Tsubame-san?" She looked to Kiriko, to find that the woman was gone.

"We'll make do without her," Shiro said. "She must've had something important to do."

"I doubt it," muttered Suzumi. She turned to Naruto as Shiro took to the trees. "And you're going to tell me what you were doing out last night. Especially after telling me you were sleeping."

"I never said that-"

"Save it," Suzumi interrupted. "We've got more important matters to attend to."

Naruto watched as she took off after Shiro. "That's not good. She's getting suspicious of us."

'…you could inform her of my existence if you want…'

"Yeah, but you wouldn't like that, right?"

'…no…'

Naruto nodded. "Then I won't tell. Now we just have to hope she forgets about all this. Maybe if something big happens."

'…don't say that… we're unlucky enough already…'

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They moved quickly to get back to the village.

They didn't move fast enough.

The attack on the village was well underway when they got there. Many of the buildings were on fire, and villagers ran over each other to get away from the raiding bandits. Some tried to fight off the invaders, battling with whatever they could lay their hands on. Screams and pained moans could be heard over the din of battle.

Suzumi's face was pale, but she kept her veneer of professionalism up. "It would be stupid to run in without preparing. We should scout out the situation first before we-"

"Bastards!" Naruto growled. Before anyone could stop him, he ran headlong into the fray.

'…she's calling after you…' Reimi told him as he ran.

"Let them. Stopping these bandits is more important than some stupid Shinobi Code of Conduct. You can't convince me otherwise."

'…I had no intention to… I was merely commenting…'

Naruto saw a bandit standing over a wounded old man with a blade raised over his head and moved to stop him. Pulling his arm back, his fist blew into the bandit's jaw, sending the surprised man flying into a house.

"Ninja!" one of the nearest bandits cried, staring at Naruto. "Get the word out! We've got ninjas here!" Other nearby bandits turned to Naruto and brandished their weapons.

Naruto glared at them fiercely. "Bastards! How dare you do this!"

The old man behind him took his chance to run away, not even bothering to look back in his haste.

'…ungrateful louse… not even a word of gratitude…'

"It doesn't matter," Naruto said, eyeing the bandits. "Any complaints you've got? We'll just take it out on these guys."

The bandits had formed a loose circle around him. They were obviously waiting for him to make the first move, and he was more than happy to oblige. They were the same poorly trained bandits he had fought in the bandit camp, and it only took a few moments to dispatch all of them. Naruto glanced around for more enemies.

A glint of steel caught his eye, and he twisted away to avoid being skewered by a kunai. Right as he landed, another kunai came, aimed at his back. Ducking down, he found himself the target of yet another kunai. Throwing himself to the side, he dodged the next kunai that came by leaping upwards. Almost immediately he knew he had been outmaneuvered.

"Shit!"

'…idiot!'

Taking advantage of his lack of mobility in the air, a ninja came down at his exposed back from above. He didn't have enough time to pull off a Kawarimi no jutsu, and he couldn't move away. Seeing no other choice, he curled himself up, using his limbs to protect his vital parts.

"Like I said, it's stupid to run in without preparations."

Suzumi appeared in front of him, scattering sheets of paper in front of her to form a barrier that the enemy ninja impacted painfully. He recovered quickly, and retreated away. Shuriken flew from behind to cover his retreat, and Suzumi pulled her shield around to block it. Naruto and Suzumi landed on the ground, and quickly ducked behind a building for cover.

"Suzumi! What are you doing here?"

"Looking after you, apparently." Suzumi shot an annoyed look at Naruto. "I told you to wait up, didn't I? Now look at the situation you've got us in."

"Where's Shiro?"

"Taking care of the rest of the bandits," answered Suzumi. "Unlike you, he doesn't need a babysitter."

'…worry about Shiro-san later… we've got bigger problems…'

Naruto extended his senses. "They've surrounded us. Watch out, these guys aren't like the ones we've fought so far. I think we've got most of their ninjas here. Jounin most likely. At the very least extremely strong Chuunin."

Suzumi took a step backwards as a kunai sprouted where her foot had been. "Any ideas?"

"Lots. Nothing that would help here though."

They both ducked down under a volley of kunai that embedded itself into the wooden wall. Suzumi scowled. "This isn't going to be easy to get out of with this many foes… I guess I'll have to use that. Naruto, buy me some time here." She climbed into a building through an open window and started unloading paper out of her backpack.

"What?"

"Just do it!" Suzumi ordered. "Keep them distracted!"

Seeing that the subject wasn't up for discussion, Naruto chose to listen to her. Seeing that she had made herself as scarce as possible, he decided the best course he could take was to become as visible a target as he could. Jumping to the top of a nearby building, he looked around. Villagers and bandits alike lay in the streets, some dead and others alive while others fought openly on the streets. Many of the village's inhabitants had evacuated already, and bandits were voraciously looting the many empty houses.

Greedy little bastards…

His gaze trailed to where he could see cut down trees by the mill that served as the bridge the bandits had used to cross the river. He grinned as a thought came to him. "I wonder how much attention I'd get if they lost their easy way home. Reimi, let's try that explosive I stole from that one guy's house that other day. The kinda fat guy with the beard that wouldn't sell me those explosive tags," he said while sidestepping a shuriken.

'…this one?'

A small red ball fell into his hand and he grinned. "Perfect. Let's see how big a bang this little guy can make!" Lighting it, he threw it high into the air and quickly made hand seals.

"Kaze no Te!"

A light breeze flowed from his lips, gently catching the small bomb. It quickly started to move, floating through the air at a brisk pace. He directed it swiftly to where the log bridge was before allowing the jutsu to dissipate. The bomb dropped to the bridge, and for a moment nothing happened.

And then it exploded.

Even from where Naruto stood, he could feel the shockwave that emanated from the explosion site. A tall pillar of fire rose up and spread ashes into the sky and Naruto could feel the heat pulsing against his skin

He stared.

"If that didn't get their attention, nothing will…" he muttered. "…and we really should tell the Hokage that the fat guy is a public hazard… or at least some sort of mad scientist…"

'…that's a big explosion…' Reimi stated. She sounded a bit dazed as she realized she had been carrying that around for a while. '…you're never getting me to carry strange objects again…'

Naruto glanced down at Suzumi, and saw that the bomb hadn't interrupted her work. He let out a sigh of relief. He didn't want to anger her by messing her up. The girl could be scary when angered.

Without warning he twisted his upper torso to the side. A tall ninja materialized next to him a moment after, stabbing with a kunai at where Naruto's heart would've been. Snapping a fist to the ninja's face to daze him, Naruto swept the man's feet from beneath him with a low sweeping kick followed by an elbow blow to the stomach. He went in for the finishing blow but a strange, blue ribbon-like substance lanced at him. He tried to dodge away, but the ribbon-like substance seemed to follow him and managed to nick him in the shoulder with unexpected force. The blonde boy was sent tumbling head of heels before he managed to right himself.

"What was that?" he exclaimed.

A thin man appeared next to the first ninja he had downed, the blue strands retreating into his sleeves.

'…the ribbon things… a bloodline…?'

"Maybe," Naruto said. "Looks dangerous. We'd better be careful."

The first ninja slowly stood up, and Naruto was happy to see his attacks had left a thin trail of blood at the corner of the man's lips. He was less happy when another ninja, this one short and heavily clothed, appeared next to the two ninja that were already there.

"It's three versus one, and there're still the guys that are still hiding," muttered Naruto. "Suzumi, now would be a great time to finish that jutsu…"

'…behind!'

He felt something touch his back, and only his lightning quick reflexes allowed him to escape being chopped in half. A fourth, well-muscled ninja had snuck up behind him with a vicious looking meat cleaver.

As if on queue, the other three ninja launched their attacks right then. Naruto found himself being forced to twist about in ways he had never thought possible. His reflexes were put to the test as a myriad of attacks struck out at him. There were too many of them though, and he couldn't dodge them all.

The strange ribbon in particular was troublesome, able to turn at impossible angles to strike him. Where he tried to block, it maneuvered around and attacked from another side. When he dodged, it chased after him, striking like a fierce hawk. Naruto managed break away from the deadly dance of the ribbons, but the man with the cleaver appeared, waiting behind him. Swinging his blade with surprising speed and accuracy, the strong ninja managed to score a deep gash in Naruto's left arm before the boy could escape. Out of the corner of his eye, Naruto saw the short man do something with his many layers of clothing, and suddenly an array of kunai flew at him in an unpredictable pattern. He was hit several times, and he fell skidding across the roof.

"I can't keep this up!" Naruto realized frantically. He dodged shuriken thrown by one of the hidden ninjas, only for the tall man to knock him down with a well placed fist.

"That's for making me bleed, brat," the tall man sneered.

Glaring, Naruto raised a hand to his cheek and found that there was a cut there. "What the…"

'…there's some trick with his hands…!'

"Surprised? Nasty ain't it. It's called the Gentle Fist. I stole it from some Hyuuga ninja. Right before I killed him."

"Hyuuga?" Naruto repeated warily, remembering how deadly Shiro was. He took a step backwards as the enemy ninja advanced on him.

"Ironic, isn't it?" the tall ninja sneered as neared. "That you'll be killed by a technique Konoha prizes so much." He raised his arm and prepared to strike.

"That base imitation is not the Jyuuken. This is the Jyuuken."

"What the-"

Suddenly appearing behind the tall ninja, Shiro exploded into a flurry of palm strikes that struck at various body parts. It was over in a flash, and the tall ninja fell to the ground, twitching as his nerves fired unsuccessfully.

Shiro let out a breath as he turned away. "Don't bother getting up. You're finished."

Naruto frowned. "I was handling it. I didn't need your help."

"I never said you did," returned Shiro. His Byakugan was activated, and he was on full alert. "We're surrounded. This is a bad situation."

"No shit, I already knew that," growled Naruto as he climbed to his feet. Several more enemy ninja had come out of hiding and were looking eager for a fight. Then he felt a spike of familiar chakra from below, and he grinned. "Doesn't look like they'll be a problem for long though."

Thousands of pieces of paper suddenly filled the air. They circled the sky for several moments. Then they spread out, lining up in neat rows upon rows until there was a sheet of paper for every vertical and horizontal meter.

The enemy ninjas glanced about warily at the paper that surrounded them. A particularly brave one reached out a hand to touch the paper closest to him. Instantly, all the nearby paper rushed in at him, impossibly slicing into his body.

'…oh…' Reimi murmured within Naruto's mind. The blonde boy could only nod in agreement.

The ninja collapsed to the ground in a pool of blood. The others glanced at the paper with newfound respect and fear.

"Kami no Ibara Mori." Suzumi floated up to them on a sheet of paper. "Hi guys, sorry it took so long."

"No worries," grinned Naruto. "We're still alive with all limbs intact. And that's what matters, right?" He glanced at the dead ninja that had been diced into pieces by the paper. "I could've ended up with worse than just a few scratches and bruises."

She wrinkled her nose. "I really don't like this jutsu. Didn't really have a choice in this scenario though."

Shiro nodded. "We all must do our duty. Even if it means sacrificing ourselves."

"Well, I hopefully won't be doing this very often," Suzumi muttered. Letting out a sigh, she plucked a nearby piece of paper out of the air and held it to her lips. "Okay," she said, her voice sounding from all the sheets of paper in the village. "Surrender both your weapons, and yourselves. Failure to comply will lead to your immediate termination."

Naruto saw shuriken flying at Suzumi and drew his own shuriken to intercept. His intervention was unneeded though. A group of paper moved to block the shuriken. Another group killed the ninja on another rooftop that had tried to take Suzumi out.

"Killing me is impossible," Suzumi said into her paper. "Submit yourselves now and you're punishment will be lessened."

"Do you really believe that, little girl?" It was the thin ninja with the ribbon-like weapons that spoke. "We're bandits. Rather infamous ones who've killed many. If we're caught, the only punishment awaiting us is death. There is no lesser punishment for that. Especially for us missing nin. The fate that awaits us is worse than death."

Suzumi frowned. "Then you won't surrender?"

The tall ninja snorted. "You can't keep this jutsu up forever. We'll take our chances with you, rather than the ones you serve." The strands of blue flowed out of his sleeves once again, and the rest of his comrades readied their arms.

"I see…" Suzumi looked truly sorrowful. "Very well then... Farewell…"

The blue strands flailed about as the tall ninja tried to fend off the paper. His allies tried to do the same with various weapons and jutsu. It was all useless. The paper cut without mercy, ending the lives of many in an instant. More than a few managed to escape, but not without severe injury.

Suzumi closed her eyes, her face turning deathly pale. "If they had surrendered… but… not one… I would've have had to… if they…" Her legs wobbled beneath her, and she fell.

"Suzumi!" Naruto cried. He managed to catch her before she hit the ground. "Suzumi! Are you alright?"

Shiro walked over and examined her. "She's just unconscious. Looks like chakra exhaustion. And possibly shock."

"We'd better get her somewhere safe. I doubt any survivors would stick around after that display, let alone try to attack again, but better safe than sorry. Where's Kiriko-sensei?"

"Busy, I think. Follow me, I know a safe spot." Shiro left before Naruto could say a word. Shrugging, the blonde boy hefted Suzumi onto his back and followed after.

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Souju drew his kunai and struck out at his enemy, who met it with his own kunai. They struggled against each other for several moments before they both retreated a step. Twirling his kunai, Souju carefully watched his opponent.

He could hear sounds of battle from nearby. His allies were similarly engaged in combat, and were not likely to be of help anytime soon. "Damnit… this was all planned, wasn't it?"

"Planned?" his opponent frowned. "I have no idea what you mean. We were just hired to kill you." A manic grin appeared on his face. "They said you guys would be strong. Can't say I'm too disappointed."

"Damned missing nin…"

"Let's stop with the prattle and fight, shall we?" the missing nin's eyes lit up as he drew a chain and sickle weapon. "I've been wanting blood for some while…"

Souju threw his kunai and put his hands together to form hand seals. "I don't have time to play with you! Goukakyuu no jutsu!"

A blast of fire blew from his mouth. It exploded into the other ninja as he was deflecting the kunai, taking with it a good portion of the surrounding area. Souju cursed. "Didn't get him? One more time! Goukakyuu no jutsu!" He turned around so the jutsu hit the area behind him. A black shadow flew out of the blast area and landed next to him. Souju gripped the man's upper arm before he could strike and threw him overhead. The other ninja flipped upright in midair and landed softly onto the ground.

"Very good reflexes. I'll have to step up my game if I want to keep up!"

"Like I said, I don't have time to play with you!"

Souju struck at the man with a quick series of punches that were parried away. Switching tactics, he bent low and went for a high kick. He felt his leg being grabbed, and he quickly spun to get loose. Landing on one hand, he used his momentum and attempted to knock his opponent off his feet with a spinning kick. He was rewarded with the sound of a solid hit, and the man hit the floor with a meaty thud. Righting himself, he drew a kunai to kill his foe, but something snagged at his feet and he fell to the ground, losing his grip on his weapon. Looking, he saw that there was a chain around his ankle. He moved to get it off, but a sudden tug caused him to slam painfully into a tree.

The other ninja slowly got to his feet, the other end of the chain in his hands. "Man, for a little guy you sure pack a punch. I've got you now though!" Pulling at the chain, the ninja swung the sickle and gutted Souju. A frown appeared on the man's face. "This feeling…"

Souju's body was suddenly replaced by a log. Before the man could react, the Uchiha boy appeared behind him and stabbed him from behind. "Urgh!" The man stumbled forward a few steps, a hand reaching for his wound.

"You're an eyesore," Souju said. "Get out of my sight." A small sound caught his attention. Looking down, his eyes widened. "An explosive tag!"

The blast caught him off guard, and he was sent flying. He managed to avoid serious injury and roll out of the fall, but the concussive force left him stunned. He lifted a hand to his spinning head. There was a 'kshink' sound, and he was barely able to focus his bleary eyes enough to see the sharp edge of a steel blade at his neck.

"You got me alright," he heard through ringing ears. "Pierced a vital spot, you did. I'm going to die, I can already feel it. It's…" The words turned to gibberish as Souju's vision blacked for a moment. It took a few moments for Souju to recover. "…for me. But I won't be going alone. I'll be taking you along to meet the reaper. I-"

Souju stopped listening, this time on purpose. He mumbled something under his breath.

"Hah?" The other ninja stopped his monologue. "What was that? I couldn't hear you."

"I said… shut up… idiot…"

"I see," the man said seriously. "So this is the way you want to go. Very well, I shall be sure to end your life swiftly."

The sensation of the blade starting to move across his skin brought Souju out of his daze. He jerked his head back in time to avoid having his throat slit, swinging his feet upwards to knock the weapon out of the ninja's hands. Rolling backwards to his feet, Souju stared up at the man. He could see that the wound he had inflicted was bleeding heavily, and the explosion had taken its toll. It didn't look like his assailant could even move from where he stood, let alone continue the fight.

"Heh, you won't even allow me company on my journey to the River Sanzu. You wound me."

Breathing heavily, Souju replied, "Just die already… I don't want to waste anymore time than I already have…"

The man tried to laugh, but ended up coughing up blood. "Taken out by a cocky brat like you… If my buddies could see me now…" With that, he fell to the ground. Souju stumbled towards him and felt his pulse. He was dead.

Taking a moment to clear his head of the last of his dizziness, Souju slumped himself onto the ground. "Damnit, I let my guard down with this guy."

"Indeed you did."

Souju glanced upwards and saw a familiar man standing on a tree branch. He scowled. "Itachi-san… How long were you there?" When it became apparent an answer wasn't forthcoming, Souju shook his head. "That long, huh? Figures you'd stand there and do nothing. Were you planning on watching me die? Like you did with my teammates?"

"Your teammate's deaths were… an unfortunate casualty," Itachi said without inflection.

"Oh, I'm sure you're tearing yourself up." Sarcasm dripped from Souju's words. "Especially how eager you were for me to – how did you put it? – end their suffering."

"It would have relieved them of their pain."

"They were my best friends!" snarled Souju, uncharacteristically losing his calm. "They were my teammates! I grew up with them! To tell me to kill them with my own hands… What kind of monster are you?"

Itachi shook his head. "You could've been great. A short lived flame perhaps, but great nonetheless. A pity, considering the situation."

"What the heck are you talking about?"

"You do not know the true nature of our heritage."

"So what if I didn't use the Sharingan against this guy," Souju said crossly. "I didn't want to waste chakra."

Itachi didn't answer. A moment later, a woman ANBU landed next to the stoic Uchiha. She barely spared a glance at Souju before giving her report.

"Taichou, I still haven't found any sign of Shisui-san. What do we do?"

Glancing dispassionately at the distraught young woman, Itachi said, "We shall return to Konoha."

"What? But what about Shisui-san?"

"It is obvious he is not to be found."

"But-"

"Shiho."

The single word from Itachi put an end to any further protests from the woman. She clenched her fists and looked away.

Watching from below, Souju looked upon the scene with trepidation. "Hey, what happened to Shisui-san? What happened to my cousin?"

Shiho looked sympathetically down at Souju. "We don't…" She gave a quick glance at Itachi and rethought her words. "I… don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?" he demanded.

Again Shiho glanced at Itachi. "Perhaps we should speak of this later. You probably aren't in the best of shape right now anyways."

Souju inwardly frowned. She doesn't want Itachi around? "You're right," he said. "The rest of my team should be around here too. I should see if they need assistance."

"I'll go with you," volunteered Shiho.

"No."

"What? Why?" Shiho looked a bit flustered.

Itachi looked behind Souju where three ANBU were just arriving. They looked worn, but were without injury. The rugged looking man with the deer mask stiffened when he saw who was there.

"Itachi-kun…"

"Shikaku-sempai," Itachi returned evenly. "It's been… a long time."

Their gazes met and they watched each other for several moments. It was Itachi that turned away first. Shikaku frowned beneath his mask, before looking to Souju.

"We should go. We've been delayed enough as it is."

Souju nodded. He saw that Shiho looked none too happy at this, but shrugged it off. I'll make sure to talk to her when I get back. I have to make sure Naruto and the others are alright first. Together with the rest of his team, he took off into the trees.

Shiho nervously watched as they quickly disappeared from view. Then she turned to her superior. "Um, we should get going as well?"

"Yes," Itachi said, but made no move to do so. He kept his gaze on Shiho, and she began to feel uncomfortable. Under normal circumstances she would've been more than happy to have his attention like this, but the disappearance of Shisui had set her on edge. Still, she was a kunoichi and hadn't earned her rank for nothing. Gathering her courage, she took a deep breath.

"Come on, let's get going," she said as she started off towards Konoha, sure that once she was there she would be able to sort her thoughts and make sense of the situation.

Behind her Itachi watched her go. A slight frown found its way onto his face. "This is… a complication… He will be angry…" He drew out his long ANBU sword. "…I apologize for what I must do."

Shiho would not make it back to Konoha.

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Naruto sat impatiently on a chair. He was in Genichiro's underground rooms, having gone there to recover.

Suzumi lay unconscious on a bed in front of him. Her chakra had been completely depleted by the jutsu she had used, and it would be for some time. She would recover though, and that was the important thing.

The door opened and Naruto looked to see Shiro. "Find anything?" the blonde boy asked.

Shiro shook his head. "I have seen no trace of Tsubame-sensei, or of Genichiro. The remaining bandits have cleared out of the village. When the villagers return, they will have to bury a lot of bodies."

Naruto grunted. He had seen all the corpses on his way here. It was the first time he had seen that many corpses and the horrible sight frankly unnerved him. Reimi's reaction to it had been far worse, and her ensuing nausea had spread to him, almost causing him to throw up. It would be a long time before the village could begin to rebuild itself. Still, it was over now and the first step towards healing could be taken.

"I'm going to go back out to look for Tsubame-sensei," Shiro said. Naruto nodded and the Hyuuga boy left.

The blonde boy watched Suzumi for a while before boredom won out. Deciding that watching Suzumi wasn't going to do anything to help, he got up and went to the main underground room. There was nothing to do there either, and he sat down on one of the chairs.

"What the heck is Kiriko-sensei doing," he muttered. "She's been missing for a while now."

'…she betrayed us.'

"She wouldn't do that!" Naruto said angrily.

'…she isn't all there in her head, or haven't you noticed that?'

"Just, no. She wouldn't. She's probably hunting down that bastard Genichiro or something."

Reimi wasn't convinced at all by Naruto's argument, but didn't want to antagonize him anymore so she dropped the subject. Instead, she turned her attention to the myriad of weapons, books, and scrolls lining the walls and shelves.

'…Naruto… let me have control for a bit…'

"Huh? Why?"

'…I want to read while waiting. Unless you want to read for me…'

"Uh, no," Naruto said, eyeing the scrolls distastefully. "You can do that yourself. Please. Just for a little bit though."

Reimi took control of her body as soon as Naruto had changed, and walked to the scroll shelf. "…it's hard to believe someone who's read so much could do something so evil…"

'Well, just cause a person is learned doesn't mean he'll always do the right thing, you know. Stupid people do stupid things, no matter how much they've read.'

"I guess…" Reimi didn't look all too happy at that. "…it's just disappointing."

'Yeah, well, who's to say he even read any of these. He probably just keeps them here to look scholarly. Whatever the case, they're going to waste now.'

"…then can I take them?" Reimi asked as she took one off its shelf and leafed through it.

'That's a lot of stuff… You're not gonna expect me to read any of it, are you?'

Reimi shook her head. "…I'll find time to read them myself…"

'Eh, whatever. Go ahead. I like the idea of stealing form Genichiro. He probably got these illegally anyways.'

The corner of her lips moved slightly upwards, and she quickly set about disappearing the entire collection of literature into the folds of her clothing. It wasn't long before the shelves were all empty. Reimi turned to look at the last wall that wasn't clear and the weapons that hung off it. "…Naruto?"

'Well, they'll come in use I guess.'

With a happy air, Reimi went and took the weapons on the wall as well. One of them – a small, sturdy looking knife – she decided to keep at her waist where it fit snugly within her obi. Drawing it experimentally from its sheath, she looked at it the hilt curiously where a small depiction of a wave was engraved. Holding it, she felt the slight reaction of chakra from the weapon. She didn't have time to investigate it though.

"Naruto-kun? Shiro-san?" The sound of Suzumi's voice alerted Reimi to the girl's awakening. Quickly she slipped back to Naruto's form just as Suzumi entered the room. "Naruto-kun? What are you…" She noticed the bare walls. "…What happened here?"

"Suzumi! You're awake!" Naruto strode to Suzumi's side. "What are you doing up? You shouldn't be out of bed yet!"

The girl scowled. "I'm not going to stay in bed a moment longer than I need to. What happened to this room?" she asked again.

"Nothing, just did some moving. I really think you should be back in bed." He made to push her back to her room, but the girl dodged away from his hands.

"You know, I've noticed how things appear and disappear around you. Is it your doing? What did you do with the stuff?"

"Like I said, it's nothing. You're looking a bit pale. You should-"

"For the last time, I'm not going back to bed!" Suzumi looked annoyed. "I'm feeling perfectly fine! It's just minor chakra exhaustion! I'll just avoid heavy lifting for a week and I'll be pack to normal in no time! I'm tired, not an invalid!" She took a step and stumbled, but caught herself against the wall. Glaring at Naruto, she added, "And don't think I didn't catch you avoiding my question."

"Heh, never thought you wouldn't," Naruto answered, grinning unashamedly.

Suzumi let out an exasperated breath. It was impossible to stay mad at the boy's infectious smile. She settled on feeling vaguely annoyed. "You can at least tell me where Shiro-san and Tsubame-san are, right?"

"Dunno where Kiriko-sensei is. Shiro's out looking for her."

"Great," Suzumi groaned, frowning. She remembered something and asked, "I assume the village is safe?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, your jutsu got the ninjas. I think a few got away, but they're long gone at this point."

"The villagers?"

"They ran off. Dunno where they went to. I imagine they'll come back in a week or so once they realize there's no bandits left."

"And Genichiro-san?"

"Gone. Probably left before the bandits even got here." It wasn't solid proof, but it cemented the idea that the portly man had been a traitor in Naruto's mind. "The bastard…"

Suzumi moved to a chair and sat down. "So everything's over? The mission is done?"

"I guess so. Kiriko-sensei isn't back yet, so we still have to wait. But after that, we'll head back to Konoha." The blonde boy paused for a moment. "Hey, would this be considered a success or failure? I mean, we came here to take care of the bandits. But the village took a lot of damage and stuff. We messed up big time letting them attack while we were away."

"Taking into account Genichiro-san's likely betrayal, I'd say we did pretty well."

"I guess." Naruto wrinkled his nose. "Hey, what's that smell?"

"Smell?" Suzumi sniffed the air. "I don't smell anything."

"There's a weird smell here. It wasn't here before." Looking around, Naruto's gaze fell upon the smoking canister caught at the edge of the exit. "Shit!"

'…Gas!'

It was too late, and he saw Suzumi in her already weak condition succumb to the gas. Grabbing her body up before it fell, he leapt up the staircase into the ground floor of the house. Rushing out the door, he felt his knees give out underneath him as he felt the effects of the gas. Struggling to stay standing, he jerked around when he heard clapping behind him.

"Very impressive. I made that to be undetectable, and yet you were able to notice it. How interesting."

It was a tall, white-haired young man dressed in what looked like a black doctor's coat. There was a large supply bag that he carried on his shoulder, and a pair of tinted goggles resting on his head. He had a maniacal look in his blue eyes that set of alarms in Naruto's mind.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked loudly as he set Suzumi to the ground. Reimi materialized a kunai into his hand, and he held it out of sight.

"I wonder? How did you know it was there? It becomes impossible to see after exposure to the air, and you noticed it nearly the moment I put it in!" The man looked genuinely curious.

"You're one of the bandits, aren't you?" accused Naruto.

The man frowned. "Hmm, you won't answer my questions? Very well, I suppose that's only fair, though I do take offense at being grouped with those bandits. No, I am what you would call a missing nin. Or perhaps a mercenary would be a better term."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I was offered a job. To kill someone," he said as if he were talking about the weather. "Nasty business that, but when one requires money, one can't be too choosy."

Taking a step back, Naruto grimaced. "You were sent to kill me." It was more a statement than a question.

"Yes," the man answered after a moments pause. "That sounds about right. Though my employer specifically used the term exterminate."

Naruto glanced at Suzumi's still form as he took another step back.

"She would be a hassle to carry if you were to run, wouldn't she?" the man remarked, reading Naruto's thoughts from his expression.

The blonde boy scowled. "If you don't leave, I'll kill you. I'm warning you, I'm a lot stronger than I look."

"Please," scoffed the man. "You're nowhere near as strong as I am. And given your weakened condition at the moment, I sincerely doubt you could even land a blow on me."

The man was right, Naruto knew. But given the situation, there was little he could do. "No choice," he muttered. "I'll have to fight. I'll have to-" Suddenly he felt as if something slammed into his head, and his vision tripled. "Wha-?!" Staggering, Naruto went to his knees. He glared up at the man, and saw him smiling victoriously.

"My gas is finally working, I see. It took longer than I expected for it to take effect. I'm immune to it so I couldn't be sure if it was properly discharging. It's wonderful that my plan went off without a hitch."

"You… were stalling…!" Naruto realized too late. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted another canister silently spewing gas a few feet away/ Damnit…! All the stuff out here… I couldn't smell it…!

'Naruto…!'

"I suppose now would be as good a time as any to dispose of you," the man said. "Hmm, but I still want to know how you detected my gas? Would you mind telling me before I kill you?"

Naruto was breathing heavily now, and he could barely see out of his eyes. The gas was taking its toll on his entire body, and he could feel his strength sapping away. Still, he rallied his strength and glared at the man. "…Go to hell…"

"Now, don't be that way," the man said congenially. "I'm sure once we get to know each other you'll see how proper manners are vital to life."

Naruto could hear the man walking towards him. Glancing sideways, he saw that Suzumi was still unconscious. He was vaguely aware of Reimi's concerned voice, but his muddled mind was unable to understand. But as the man got closer, he knew one thing and one thing only.

I have to stop this guy…!

He waited till the man was closer. It took all his willpower to stay conscious the entire time, but he persevered. When he heard the crunch of dirt next to him, he summoned all the chakra he could muster and threw it out. He almost lost consciousness by doing so, but was gratified when he felt his chakra hit the man. Not wanting to give the man any time to figure out what was going on, Naruto pulled hard at his chakra, causing the man to awkwardly fall towards him. At the same time, he thrust the kunai still in his hand forward.

I got him…!

"Oh, so close. But very good try."

In his haste to attack, Naruto had forgotten about the weakening effect the gas had. He lacked the power to pierce through the man's light armor, and the kunai fell from his slack hand, clattering ineffectually onto the ground. Unable to keep himself upright, he collapsed down next to it. He stared uselessly at the weapon, unbelieving of his mistake. Above him, the man let out a laugh.

"Ha! How very interesting! That is a very unique technique! I wonder, is it a rare jutsu or a bloodline? Perhaps a new level of chakra manipulation? You emit chakra that is capable of attaching to and forcibly moving objects. That's it, isn't it? How distinctively interesting!" He shook his head. "Unfortunately, it is extremely easy to defeat for one such as I."

Naruto was surprised when he felt his chakra suddenly detach itself from the man. It was something he had never felt before, and it had a more demoralizing effect than he would've expected. Reimi's voice in his head was just a faint buzz now, and he could barely keep focus on his surroundings anymore. His eyelids felt as if they suddenly carried the weight of the world, and against his will his eyes closed.

The man frowned. "Now, this won't do. I can't have you falling asleep on me while I'm talking to you." Walking over, he kicked Naruto in the stomach.

"Gaah!" The pain awoke Naruto from his daze, and he looked up to see the deranged man standing over him.

"There, much better!" the white haired man said. "I'm afraid this is but a temporary measure however. You're a much more interesting specimen than I imagined. I suppose I should determine how you're built while you're still conscious. The screams are ever so sweet that way." Saying that, he reached into his bag and pulled something metallic out.

Naruto's eyes widened as he stared at the well cared for scalpel in the man's hands. "…shit." He braced himself for the pain as the man's arm went up. Against his will he flinched as it came down into his chest. "Gaahhh!"

In the same moment he was stabbed, a white blur impacted into the man. Naruto made out through his blurred vision a familiar visage. "Shiro!" He immediately regretted his outburst as the scalpel sliced deeper into his body. He painfully pulled it out and flung it weakly to the side.

The Hyuuga boy kept his attention on the darkly dressed man, using his Byakugan to check the status of his teammates. The lines of his jaw tightened "Naruto-san, can you stand?"

The blonde boy shook his head, trying to stay conscious enough to answer. "Careful… this guy… uses poison gas…. Got me and… Suzumi too… and…" He trailed off, not having enough energy to continue.

"I see…" Shiro was frowning, watching carefully as the man stood up casually and patted dust from his clothing.

"So there you are!" the man said. "Shiro-kun, I believe our name is, am I correct?" He waited a moment for Shiro to answer. "Not willing to reply? I suppose that's a natural reaction, considering the situation. Ah, I'm forgetting myself, where are my manners. My name is Kuro. I suppose I am to be your opponent." He smiled at a thought. "How appropriate for us to fight. White versus black. Poetic, in a sense."

Nonplussed, Shiro settled into a Jyuuken stance. Kuro raised an eyebrow at this.

"Oh? So eager to begin, are we? Well, let's begin then."

Shiro nodded. "Let's."

Naruto tried to stay conscious. He wanted to see what would happen. But the gas took its effect and his world went dark.

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Kiriko stood in a clearing, a large scroll in her hand. A dead ninja lay before her, his headband identifying him as a Konoha missing nin. Several other dead bodies lay in various degrees of mutilation around her.

"Well, have you decided yet? Whether or not you'll be throwing Naruto to the wolves? Metaphorically of course."

The black haired woman didn't need to turn around to know the little girl was speaking to her. She also didn't want to answer the question. Especially since she didn't know what she'd say.

The little girl picked up on this. "You still haven't decided? After all this time?"

It wasn't a subject that she had given much thought to. She didn't want to think about it, it made her head hurt. And her chest. She didn't know why her chest hurt, but it did and she didn't like it.

"Great, and we're running out of time too," the little girl muttered. "We're going to end up flipping a coin if you don't decide sometime soon." Kiriko reached into her pocket and drew a coin out, and the little girl frowned prettily "We're not going to actually flip a coin, you know. It was a joke."

It was then that Genichiro stepped out from the trees. "Tsubame-san, Tsubame-san! I've been looking for you!" He didn't wait for her to reply. "Your mission went well, I take it. The traitor has been eliminated, and you've retrieved the scroll. Very good!" He held out a hand for the scroll, which Kiriko handed over. "Yes, yes. Everything seems to be in order. Now, have you given any thought to my proposal?"

"How will you answer, Kiriko-chan?" the little girl asked. "Will you allow your student's death, possibly saving the entire village? Or will you go and save them and allow the threat of the Kyuubi to remain?"

Kiriko looked down at the coin in her hand for several moments. Then she flicked it upwards, catching it on the back of her hand.

"Tsubame-san…?" Genichiro asked. "Are you okay?"

She stared at the coin. "Tails," she said.

"What?"

Kiriko drew her sword. Immediately several ninja appeared around her. Genichiro frowned. "I see, I see… So you choose to protect the demon. After you left them so unguarded I thought that… Very well, I shall now order your execution as a traitor to Konoha."

"This guy thinks Konoha will still accept him even after all this?" the little girl said with disbelief. "And these guys are all Konoha ninja… all of them traitors?" She frowned. "And when did you decide what tails would be? You didn't, did you?"

Choosing not to answer, Kiriko instead eyed the closest ninja carefully. He had on the garb of an ANBU captain, a rank higher than hers. He had on a salamander mask that hid his face. Stepping forward, he raised a halting hand. "Don't do this out of a misguided sense of loyalty to Konoha. Protecting that foul spawn does not serve Konoha's cause. It's a monster, a beast that can only understand violence. Keeping it alive would only do everyone a disservice. You were old enough to have seen its power when it came. You should understand."

"I don't think she does, captain," one of the other ninja said when Kiriko didn't move. "We should kill her."

Genichiro frowned. "That's what I've been saying. She is to be executed."

The salamander masked ANBU shook his head. "She doesn't understand. If she did, she wouldn't do this. What we're doing is right. We must make her understand."

"We don't have time for this," another ninja said. "We should hurry up and get to where Kuro-san is. I don't trust him to kill the brat by himself."

Kiriko reacted to this, looking to the man that had spoken.

"Relax," Genichiro scoffed. "He won't hurt anyone but the demon fox."

"I wonder about that," the salamander masked ANBU said. "I trust that maniac Kuro as far as I can throw him. We should never have hired him."

"Shut up," Genichiro hissed. "This isn't the time for that again!" Turning to Kiriko, he extended out his hand. "This is your last chance. We'll destroy the demon together!"

SHING!

Kiriko's sword flashed through the air and Genichiro suddenly found himself missing his arm. "Aaagghhh!!!" He screamed loudly, clutching at his bleeding stump, the scroll he had been holding thumping onto the ground. He ignored the dropped item, turning a glare filled with impotent fury at the young woman. "So this is your answer? THIS? GET HER! GET HER!"

"Wait," the salamander masked ANBU said. He turned to Kiriko and let out a sigh. "I see there's no persuading you. It's a pity to kill one as loyal to Konoha as you, even if you're mistaken. I'll ask one more time; won't you change your mind?"

"Kill her! Kill that bitch!" Genichiro screamed. The other ninja looked from the hysterical Genichiro and the salamander masked man, unsure of who to obey. Kiriko made the decision for them by pointing her sword at the salamander masked man.

"…I'm sorry…"

"I see. So your sense of duty is that great. Truly a pity. I can't help but wonder though, what your reply would have been if he were not your subordinate…" He made a hand gesture and the other ninja attacked.

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Reimi didn't know what to do. She was trapped in Naruto's unconscious body. She was unable to do anything with him in this state except futilely wander the corridors of his soul. Worry for Naruto was all she wanted to think about. She could feel that he was there, but he was completely unresponsive. There was nothing she could do, and that bothered her more than she cared to admit.

"…I should try to find out what's happening…" she decided aloud to herself. Shutting her eyes, she focused on a mental image of Naruto's eyes and reached for it with her mind. Her brows furrowed. "…this is harder to do without Naruto…"

She momentarily connected with Naruto's ears, and she heard the sounds of fighting. For a moment she heard Shiro's voice, talking to someone heatedly. Then sound of a tremendous explosion assaulted her mind, causing her to lose her focus from the surprise.

"…at least Shiro's alright…" she muttered before trying for Naruto's eyes again. This time she managed to connect. It took her a few moments to solidify the connection, and then she opened his eyes. She frowned at the sight that met her eyes.

"…stupid ground…"

Loosening her control of Naruto's eyes, she extended the imaginary arm of her mind to Naruto's right arm. She sent a signal for it to move, and she felt it spasm wildly. Checking Naruto's eyes again, she saw that the movement had shifted Naruto's body so that he was looking straight at where Shiro stood.

"… what's he doing?"

From Naruto's position she could see that Shiro wasn't looking too good. He looked like he had taken an explosion to his side, and his white robes were tattered and covered with black soot. A large wound was plainly visible on his arm, and blood stained the bottom of his clothes. Concern flooded Reimi's face.

"…where's the other guy…?"

She strained Naruto's body to move even a little bit as she tried to catch sight of Kuro. Glancing about the torn apart streets, she couldn't find a trace of him. It was as if he had disappeared completely.

"…did Shiro win…?" she wondered.

A sudden movement returned her attention to Shiro, who was using his good arm to fend away at something. "…genjutsu? No… a Hyuuga wouldn't fall for that…" Straining Naruto's eyes, she barely made out a slight distortion of the air that seemed to move erratically. "…ninjutsu?"

Shiro struck forward with his arm, sending a concussive wave out in a wide arc. It impacted the distorted air, and for a moment Kuro's white hair came into view. Another Shiro dove down from above in a flurry of blows. He managed a few good hits to the unseen man before being dealt a heavy blow that dispersed the kage bunshin. Another moment later Shiro fell to the ground, a viscous green liquid suddenly burning at his legs. An invisible force bludgeoned the Hyuuga boy's head, and the boy stopped moving.

Reimi felt a twinge of panic rise up within her. "…Shiro lost…?" As much as she wanted to say Naruto was the strongest, she knew that Shiro was head and shoulders above them in actual combat ability. His apparent defeat meant that his opponent was too much for even him to handle.

She didn't stand a chance at all.

She saw Kuro appear into view, no longer needing to stay invisible. He said something that she was unable to hear, and then spat at Shiro's unmoving body. Kuro kicked him once and the boy moved slightly, revealing he was still alive. Apparently uncaring of that, Kuro left the boy alone in favor of turning to Naruto. Reimi quickly shut his eyes so he wouldn't see. Reaching her mind out, she reconnected with Naruto's ears. She heard Kuro's footsteps stop next to Naruto. She tensed herself, not knowing what he intended to do.

"Now," she heard him say. "I wonder just what it is exactly that makes my clients despise you so… I'm sure no one would mind if I take a look."

Reimi felt Naruto being lifted, and risked a brief glance out of one of his eyes. She saw Kuro standing there with a curious expression, holding Naruto by the front of his shirt. Seeing that the man was off guard, she took a chance and delved into the imaginary room within her where she stored all the objects she took in. Summoning an explosive tag, she activated it and pushed it out of Naruto's body. It floated to the ground, the edges of it igniting with small flames. Then, with great force, it exploded at Kuro's feet.

Or it should have.

Before she noticed anything, Kuro had moved a number of meters away, out of the destructive range of the explosive tag. It was only when she saw the sudden change in surroundings that she realized what had happened. Her surprise was so great that she lost her tenuous control of Naruto's body.

"Stupid brat," Kuro muttered. "He should keep his tools properly stored away."

Relieved that the man had dismissed the explosive tag as an accident, Reimi pondered her next action.

"I have to get away… but I can't face this person in straight combat… It's doubtful he'll dismiss another 'accident' so easily…" She brainstormed possible methods, but found herself woefully lacking in feasible ideas. "…this is more Naruto's territory…" she lamented.

It was always Naruto that came up with the plans – she had never been one for thinking on her feet. She preferred to collect and gather information instead, leaving the application of it to him. Deciding to stick with what she did best, she grabbed control of Naruto's eyes again and peeked them open. She saw the open sky in front of her.

"…Naruto is on his back…?"

Carefully looking out of the corner of Naruto's eyes, she found Kuro going through his bag. He pulled something out of it and then turned around. Reimi was horrified to see it was a scalpel.

Kuro started saying something and Reimi hurriedly connected to Naruto's ear to hear. "…I wonder," she heard him say. "What is it that makes you tick? What do your innards look like?"

Before Reimi could react in any way, he plunged the scalpel into Naruto's stomach and cut downwards. Reimi felt her connection to Naruto's body momentarily fray as it responded to the stimulus. Panicking, she took control of Naruto's arm and tried to punch Kuro. She only managed to have it flail wildly in the man's general direction, but the action succeeded in causing him to remove the scalpel as he back away.

"What's this? Are you awake, Naruto-kun?" Kuro asked curiously.

Reimi didn't respond. Instead, she focused on ascertaining just how much damage had been caused. "…he cut pretty deep… this isn't good…"

Red chakra suddenly swirled around Reimi, almost causing her to lose her concentration.

"...what?"

It flooded the room she was in before continuing on past her. Through Naruto, she could see it appear around Naruto's wound. The flesh there quickly healed, and it wasn't long before there wasn't any sign of any injury left.

"…what was that…?"

Kuro was similarly intrigued. "That reaction… Very interesting! I must find out how you are doing this!" He walked closer and attempted to cut Naruto again with the scalpel. Reimi tried to fend him off, but Naruto's hands were quickly caught and pinned down with large metal stakes. "Now then, let's try this again!"

Reimi watched in horror as the awful man cut into Naruto's abdomen. She tried to wake Naruto so he could do something, but his conscious didn't respond, fading further and further away.

The strange red chakra appeared around the wound again, trying to close it. Withdrawing his hand from Naruto's insides, Kuro observed it curiously.

"How interesting! Such a strange reaction, I've never encountered its like! I was right when I said you were interesting, I just didn't know how right I was! I surprise even myself at times!"

He reapplied his scalpel to Naruto's stomach and cut along the open wound again, watching in fascination as the red chakra hurried to heal it. He made several more incisions all over, cutting deep into Naruto's body.

Reimi started to really panic as her vision started to dim. She didn't have any experience with practical medicine, but even she knew that the amount of damage Naruto's body was taking wasn't good. It would only be a matter of time until it couldn't take anymore and it died, and her along with it.

"Naruto! Wake up! Please!"

She tried mentally reaching for Naruto's chakra; to use it to do something about the madman. It didn't work. His chakra didn't respond to her at all. Her vision was almost pitch black now, and she could hardly see what Kuro was doing anymore.

…I have to do something!

Frantically she tried summoning her own chakra, despite knowing that it was impossible while in Naruto's body. Still she reached for it, grasping at any hope of survival. There was nothing she could do though, and the darkness advanced on her. Before it completely swallowed her up though, she felt a powerful tugging sensation and she went flying backwards.

"What…?!"

A moment later, she found herself in another section of the dark sewers. She frowned. She had been here once before with Naruto.

"…what am I doing here…?"

Her answer came in the form of a loud, guttural growl that she somehow was able to understand. "Mortal, come! Come to me before it's too late!"

The voice came from beyond the giant bars that lined one side of the room, a large paper in its center. She felt a sense of dread emanating from beyond the bars, and she told herself to run away. To get away from whatever lay behind the cage; for obviously those bars were there to keep something in. But for some reason, she found herself unwillingly walking towards the bars. Before she realized what she was doing, she was standing in front of it.

"Mortal!"

Looking up, Reimi's eyes widened. "…Kyuubi…"

Huge red eyes glared down from above. She could barely make out the vague silhouette of the demon fox, its nine great tails waving about behind it. It moved closer, and she instinctively took a step back as its large, white teeth came into view.

This smell…! Its foul breath washed over her, and the smell of rot and death hit her. Trying not to gag, she raised a kimono-sleeved arm to her face and turned her head into it.

The demon beast spoke in its strange, resonating voice. "Our vessel is dying!"

Reimi could only nod in reply, still fighting the nausea that she felt.

"You will save him!"

"…What?" Reimi forgot about her queasiness for a second and glanced up at the beast in surprise. She flinched immediately, hiding her face back into her kimono sleeves. "…forgive me if I'm mistaken, but you don't seem the altruistic type… What do you get from this?" She wanted to save Naruto, but knew better than to trust the Kyuubi.

"Obey me, mortal! Do you not care for the vessel?"

Reimi frowned into her sleeve. "…you're a demon… you don't save people on whim… Again I ask, what do you get from this?"

The Kyubi roared loudly, the sheer force of it sending Reimi tumbling backwards. She came to a stop on her back, her head banging against the hard ground. Her kimono clung to her body, the water having soaked it thoroughly. She stared up at the Kyubi, which was gnashing its teeth angrily. It roared unintelligibly, lashing its tails back and forth.

…did I say too much…? Getting to her feet, she eyed the demon warily, ready to run at a moments notice. The demon fox continued to rage for a few more moments, before it finally calmed enough to speak again.

"Mortal… you try my patience! You will do as I command!"

"…even if you say that, I don't know how. I wouldn't be here if I did… And you still haven't answered my question…"

"It does not matter, mortal! I will gift to you the method by which you will save the vessel! Obey my command!"

"…I only listen to one person, and you're not him."

"Fool! Listen to my command! Do not waste my time!"

Reimi noted a certain minute amount of panic in the great demon's voice, and narrowed her eyes. "…you will die if he dies…" she realized.

"Do not assume to-"

"…it doesn't matter… tell me how I can save Naruto. As long as I know you're not plotting anything to hurt him, I don't care…"

The Kyubi gazed fiercely down at her slight form. "… You are a strange mortal!" It shook his giant head as if clearing its thoughts. "Remove the seal from the cage!"

Looking up at the slip of paper on the bars, Reimi hesitated. "…removing the seal… I assume that would free you…?"

"No, mortal! It will merely lessen the restrictions of my movements!"

"…and how would that help Naruto?"

"Foolish mortal! There is no time for this talk! Do you not see the vessel's death is imminent? This place, this vessel's soul, do you not see its deterioration?"

Looking around, Reimi saw that what the demon fox said was true. The edges of the room were blurry, and what was beyond it was opaque and fading. The blurry edges were slowly advancing towards the center of the room, eating away at its very existence.

…Naruto.

Reimi looked back up at the Kyubi. "…fine, I'll do it… I'll remove the seal…" Walking up to the bars, Reimi glared up at the Kyubi. "…if this is a trick, I will hunt you down and kill you myself…" Then, with a giant leap upwards, she gripped a corner of the seal and pulled.

…Naruto… please let this work…

Red chakra rushed out of the cage, buffeting at Reimi. She was flung against the wall, the force of the chakra pinning her against it. She watched with wide eyes as it filled every corner of the room. Like a crimson tidal wave, it washed through the sewer tunnels, filling the entirety of the endless halls.

"Kukukukuku! Foolish mortal! You have doomed yourself!"

Reimi's eyes widened. …a trick! She mentally kicked herself for trusting the demon, even considering the circumstances. Struggling against the strong chakra, she glared at the Kyubi.

"…you… demon… you…!"

"Mortal! What did you think you were dealing with? I shall take control of this vessel and be free once again!"

Reimi grimaced. …Naruto!

"Just a little more… Just a little more and I will have my freedom!"

Suddenly the chakra the Kyubi was exuding froze. A look of consternation appeared on its face. "What is this? What is happening?" It turned to look at Reimi. "You! Mortal! Stop this!"

"What…?" Reimi had a confused look on her face as she landed on the ground, the demon's chakra no longer holding her to the wall. "…I'm not doing anything…"

The red chakra reversed its course, rushing back towards the Kyuubi. It roared with rage, but couldn't do anything to stop it. The chakra sealed itself into the beast, knocking it off its feet. There was a moment where nothing happened, before a sudden pulse of energy radiated from the Kyuubi. Reimi's eyes widened as it impacted her and carried her off her feet. The next thing she knew, she was crashing into something. She felt a large hand grip her by her neck and throw her. She managed to land in a crouching stance. Glancing around, it barely took her a moment to place where she was.

"…I'm in the village…?" Her eyes locked onto Naruto's body lying a few feet away from her and she almost fell over herself in her surprise. "…wha-what?" she sputtered unintelligently.

"The fuck was that?" Kuro grumbled as he stood. "Something flew out of the kid and…" He noticed Reimi and stared. "…a girl?"

Reimi froze in place.

…uh-oh.

She dove to the side to avoid Kuro's grasping hand but he still managed to grab her hair, pulling her painfully off her feet. The moment he let go, she tried sinking into the ground. She was half submerged when she was again grabbed and dragged upwards. She was thrown backwards and impacted against the side of a building. It took a few moments to throw off the stunning effects of the impact.

"Well, this is a surprise!" Kuro said good-naturedly. "I never expected anything like this! Tell me, what are you?"

Reimi didn't reply. Her gaze inevitably went to Naruto, and she felt her chest seize at the red chakra that swirled about him. …I need to get to him… I need to get him somewhere safe…!

Seeing where she was looking, Kuro stepped directly between Naruto and Reimi. "You worry about Naruto-kun? It seems we have something in common then. I too worry for his life."

"…get away from him," growled Reimi protectively.

"I really am, you know," Kuro continued as if she hadn't said anything. "I wouldn't want such an interesting specimen to expire at such an early stage. There are many things I still want to try first."

"…I said get away…!"

"Really now, don't be that way. It won't hurt him. Much."

Reimi felt anger swell up inside her. It wasn't an emotion she was used to feeling. Drawing up kunai into both her hands, she charged at Kuro. Swinging the two bladed weapons in wide arcs, she found herself missing all of her attacks. Growing even more angered, she summoned a handful of shuriken and launched them point blank at Kuro. Much to her surprise, he somehow managed to dodge them.

"Remarkable," commented Kuro has he continued to dodge her strikes with almost lazy ease. "I did not even see you draw those shuriken. I wonder, what trick did you use?"

"…out of my way!" Reimi increased the speed of her strikes, her frustration building as they all missed.

…I can't defeat him like this…!

Taking a few steps backwards, she took a glance over to where the mangled Shiro lay. He was obviously in no condition to do anything. She didn't even look for Suzumi, knowing that even if the girl was conscious she could do nothing to help.

…I can't rely on anyone… I'll have to find a way myself…! …I'll run!

"Have you decided to surrender yourself?" Kuro asked. "Surely you can see that you cannot win. Take my advice and cease this dull conflict."

"…you're right. I can't win…" said Reimi. "But that doesn't mean you win either…!" She dropped a smoke bomb to the ground, using it as cover as she quickly made her way to Naruto's side. Reaching towards him, the crimson chakra burnt her hand and forced her to step back. "…what?"

She had no time to ponder what the chakra was. She felt Kuro suddenly behind her, and she barely ducked in time to avoid a powerful blow to her head. She spun low to the ground, lashing out with her kunai into the thick smoke wildly. Again she failed to hit him.

"I suggest you give up soon," Kuro said, his unnaturally calm voice piercing through the smoke. "Struggling any further would be rather pointless and cause you unnecessary harm. You're an important specimen as well, and I'd really rather avoid wear and tear."

"…you're crazy…" Reimi glanced at Naruto for a moment, before turning back to Kuro's voice. "…I won't let someone like you lay a finger on Naruto."

The smoke cleared enough for Kuro's grinning face to come into view, a sight that greatly unnerved Reimi. "Fortunately for me, you don't have a choice in the matter."

Reimi felt her legs give out underneath her, and she fell to her knees. "…what?"

"Perhaps you've forgotten," Kuro said as he stepped closer, "but my gas is still lingering in this area. You've been breathing it for a while now. I imagine movement has become quite impossible for you."

It was true. Reimi could feel her strength sapping from her entire body. Her adrenaline left her, and she felt increasingly more lightheaded with each moment that passed. "…you…"

"Do not fret your pretty little head," Kuro said soothingly. "I'll take good care of your body. It won't go to waste. And your friend's too. His body is most fascinating, and I'll make sure to spend much time with it."

Reimi couldn't feel anything anymore, and she could barely see what was in front of her. With the last of her strength she managed to turn herself around towards Naruto. She reached out a wavering hand towards him, unfeeling of the burning sensation as the dark red chakra corroded her arm. "…Naruto…!"

"So concerned for him? I wonder, for what reason?" she vaguely heard Kuro say, but ignored him. Instead, she continued to struggle towards Naruto. Her hand touched his arm just as she felt her consciousness slip.

…Naruto.

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The Hokage eyed the decrepit old man before him warily. The man's body was crippled and old, but his mind was still as sharp as ever. "Danzo… I trust you know why I've called you here."

"Of course," Danzo answered evenly. "I'm not one for beating around the bush. But you were aware of that, I'm sure."

"I see…" Sarutobi gave a weary sigh. "And you don't feel any remorse whatsoever?"

"I protected Konoha. What need do I have for remorse?"

"Completely unrepentant. Do the lives of Konoha's future ninjas mean so little to you?"

"They mean much to me. Naruto's death just means more. His continued existence is detrimental to this village."

"Disregarding young Naruto, what of the other lives you have thrown away? Do you feel nothing for them as well?"

"Hyuuga Shiro was a regrettable loss, but the others are easily replaceable. Tsubame Kiriko is insane, and Kamino Suzumi nothing special. Nothing to make a fuss about."

Furious, Sarutobi stood from his seat. "And you would just have them killed? You are far more dangerous than the Kyuubi ever could be! I should have you arrested and killed right now!"

"Go ahead," Danzo said challengingly. "Have the ANBU you have stationed outside come and imprison me. They're more than a match for a cripple such as I."

Sarutobi stood there, trembling with thinly veiled anger. He glared with smoldering eyes at the old man, his intent to kill almost tangible. Danzo met his gaze with his own, not backing down in the slightest. For a moment, it looked as if the two old men were about to come to blows. But then Sarutobi let out a deep breath and sat back down, looking tired.

"You hold too much sway I expect that if I took such actions it would split Konoha as a whole in a civil war," he said. "That is not something we can afford. Not so soon after the Kyuubi's attack. You know that perfectly well."

"I'm glad you can see reason."

"Don't mistake me," Sarutobi said dangerously. "I may not be able to punish you through official channels, but that does not mean I'm letting you go."

"Oh?"

Sarutobi grinned predatorily. "You'll find that I've taken several steps to dethrone you from your seat of power. The funds you have been siphoning have been cut off completely, and the ninja you've been utilizing have been reassigned. Your ROOT organization is fast becoming just an empty shell."

"Really now."

Sarutobi inwardly frowned at the man's lack of reaction, but didn't let it show on his face. "You'll also find that your plans for young Naruto's death shall not proceed as you hoped. I have already dispatched a team for the sole purpose of ensuring their safe return."

This Danzo reacted to, his face contorting in an ugly expression of anger. "You'd let the Kyuubi live? You are the one with no regard for Konoha! You are the one who would allow that monstrosity into our walls!"

"You are the monstrosity I am most concerned about. Naruto is an innocent boy who has done nothing to hurt us. You would do well to keep that in mind the next time you attempt to murder him."

Danzo took a moment to calm himself. "You tread dangerous grounds, Sarutobi."

"As do you," the Hokage returned coolly.

"Your lax ways will prove to be Konoha's undoing," Danzo warned.

"Perhaps. But I don't believe that will happen." Sarutobi leaned back into his chair. "A word of caution. One day, you will not have the backing you enjoy today. I advise you to watch yourself for when that day comes."

Danzo nodded stiffly, his fury clear in his eyes. "I'll remember that, Sarutobi. I'll be sure to remember." He stood to leave, but couldn't resist one last parting shot. "Watch your back, Sarutobi. It would be… terrible if our Hokage had an unfortunate accident."

Sarutobi watched grimly as the old man hobbled his way out. He didn't like Danzo. The man was too zealous. During the last Great War, his drive to protect Konoha from everything was an asset. But nowadays his methods were overbearing and heavy handed. Still, the sheer amount of followers he had gave him much power and it was difficult to disagree with him. Especially if you wanted to keep your life.

"Danzo..." the Hokage muttered. "He's dangerous but… having him disappear would be dangerous as well. A double edged blade… One I would rather not wield, but am forced to."

At a quick hand gesture, an ANBU appeared kneeling before the Hokage. "Hokage-sama."

"Keep an eye on him. Make sure he can't send any messages whatsoever. I need him to be locked down for the next twenty-four hours. A complete information blackout."

The ANBU nodded. "Understood."

The Hokage shut his eyes as the ANBU left. It had been a while since he'd made a major move like this, but he would show the Council why he was the Hokage. They'd be pissed, of course. But stepping on a few toes wasn't something he was particularly worried about. He carried on the Will of Fire after all.

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"…My head hurts," muttered Suzumi. She cracked her eyes open, and winced at the sudden light. She took a few moments to accustom herself to it. "…What happened? The last thing I…" She froze. "Naruto! He said there was a smell and…"

Quickly realizing what must've happened she tried to get to her feet, but her body felt sluggish and was slow to respond. Still, she was able to move and managed to take a few shaky steps forward. "Looks like all those poisons inoculations I was inundated with when I was young are paying off," she muttered.

She spotted Shiro lying a good distance away. Her eyes widened at his severe injuries. "Sh-Shiro-san!" She started to run towards him, but her slowed reactions caused her to trip over her own legs and fall to the ground.

A loud sound caught her attention as she got back up. She looked and saw a cloud of thick smoke rising into the air, obscuring the ground. "What's that?" she wondered as she sat up.

Vague silhouettes of two people fighting stirred within the smoke. The smaller of the two attacked furiously, but it was obvious the taller one had the advantage. Then, suddenly the smaller one fell to the ground.

"It's over?" Suzumi asked as she scooted forward to try to get a better view.

A concussive wave suddenly blew past her and she raised an arm to shield her eyes. The force of it flipped her onto her back, and she winced at the sudden impact. When she looked again, the smoke had been cleared away and the two figures were visible, one a darkly dressed man with white hair and the other a small girl with a black kimono. Her attention though was instantly drawn to a third person, Naruto who was lying unconscious on the ground. Strange red chakra clung to him, lashing out wildly. Everything it touched seemed to melt away.

"Red chakra? That's… not the right color, is it?"

She saw the girl struggle towards Naruto with what looked to be the last of her strength. She reached out and touched the unconscious boy's arm, braving the rampant chakra that burnt at her skin. And then suddenly the chakra flared upwards, leaving Naruto's body in a dazzling display. The girl's body lifted into the air, and a glowing seal appeared on her stomach. The red chakra disappeared into the seal, and for a few moments all was quiet.

Then, without warning, the red chakra exploded once again into the air, tendrils of it flailing about. After a few moments of wild movement, it coalesced into a vague, floating form of a demonic fox with nine tails. She instantly recognized it from the tales she had grown up hearing. "K-K-Kyuubi?"

It was about the size of a grown man, a fraction of what its true form was told to be. Nonetheless, even just its image imparted a distinct sense of fear. Suzumi found all her limbs devoid of their strength, and it took all her willpower to fight off the terror.

"…so this is the power that cause so much destruction to Konoha… and it doesn't look like it's at even a quarter of its full strength…"

The small black haired girl stood hunched over as the red chakra whirled about her. Her limbs hung limply, almost as if she were a puppet held aloft by invisible strings.

Next to the girl, Naruto lay unmoving. The chakra had moved him from his position, and Suzumi could see that his white shirt was stained red with blood where a large rip was. For a moment she started to panic, before seeing that the boy was still breathing, and had no visible wounds despite what the blood evidenced.

The darkly dressed man stood a few feet away from the mass of chakra. He had a look of utter fascination and rapture on his face.

"Fascinating… How utterly fascinating!" the man yelled loudly. "This is truly a unique find! Is this what one would call a bijuu? A sealed demon within a host! What horribly destructive powers it has!" A maniacal gleam entered his eyes. "That power… I will make it mine!"

Suzumi frowned. This guy is after the Kyuubi? He's crazy!

A thick strand of chakra whipped out with a sweeping motion and knocked the deranged white haired man off his feet. Another snaked out again before the ninja could get back up and wrapped around him. It squeezed tightly, the chakra burning deep into the man's flesh.

The man screamed.

It was a painful sight to even look at, and Suzumi found herself greatly disturbed by the man's suffering. She had to force herself to keep watching, fighting down the urge to look away and throw up.

The man managed to break free of the chakra. He had several large burns across his body, and a good portion of his shoulder was missing. He managed a few hand seals and he disappeared from view. But a moment later the chakra slammed into him before he could get away, and he lost his invisibility almost as quickly as he gained it.

"Such power…!" he cackled madly. "Such power… I can't get enough of it!" Blood spurted out of his open wound, and he frowned. Closing it with a quick healing jutsu, he sighed dejectedly. "But if I do not live, I will not be able to properly enjoy it. Pardon my rudeness, but I must take my leave now."

He took to the rooftops, retreating quickly. The chakra reached out for him, but failed to reach far enough. The chakra gathered itself before launching up after him, pulling the girl along with it. It chased the man as he ran away.

Seeing her chance, Suzumi quickly dragged Shiro to where Naruto was. It was a tiresome task, especially since she barely had any chakra available. She collapsed to the ground next to them, breathing heavily. "I have to get them away from here," she muttered to herself. "If that's the Kyuubi then…" She glanced down at Naruto and frowned. "What happened while I was out…?"

She tiredly moved to check on Naruto's condition. The moment she touched him though, Naruto's eyes snapped open. In an instant he was on his feet, eyes darting about. His gaze fell on Suzumi. "Huh? What's going on here? I was fighting that Kuro bastard and then…" His face fell as he remembered falling unconscious. He glanced at Shiro on the ground and looked surprised. "Shiro? He lost? Shiro actually lost to that psycho?"

"Slow down," Suzumi said as she massaged the sides of her head. "You're giving me a headache with your jabbering."

"Just tell me where the white haired guy went! He's an enemy!"

Suzumi frowned. "I know where he went but… you don't want to follow."

"Huh? Why not?" Naruto asked.

It took a moment for Suzumi to respond. "You… do you feel any… different? Since you awoke, I mean? Like do you feel anything… missing?"

Naruto thought about it. "No, not really. I don't…" His eyes widened. "Reimi…?" He waited for her response, but nothing came. "Reimi? Shit, where's Reimi?!"

"Who?"

"Reimi! She's…" Naruto hesitated before continuing. "I… Reimi is the girl inside me head," he finally said.

Suzumi looked at Naruto awkwardly.

"She talks to me and everything! And she can do stuff!"

Suzumi continued to stare.

"I'm not crazy!" Naruto defended himself.

"I didn't say you were." Suzumi shook her head. "The Kyuubi is sealed inside of you. It would be strange if you didn't have a few oddities. A voice in your head is rather mild compared to what else I could imagine." She paused for a moment, and then admitted, "Well, okay. I wouldn't believe you if I hadn't seen what I did…"

"Huh?"

"There was a girl, and she went after that other guy."

"She what?! We've gotta go help her!"

"I… really don't think she needed help," Suzumi said. "She was kicking him around fairly handily the last I saw."

"What? But she's not…" Naruto looked confused. "She's not that strong. It's not possible that she could beat that guy…"

"…Hey Naruto-kun," began Suzumi uncomfortably. "Have you ever been able to… use the Kyuubi's power… before…?"

"Of course not! I don't even know if I can! What's this got to do with Reimi?"

"Then… that girl is in real trouble… It really didn't look like she was okay…"

"What?" Naruto looked alarmed. "Tell me what you saw."

Suzumi frowned. "Well, it happened really fast and I wasn't in the best condition but…" She told him what she had seen as best she could.

Naruto turned and looked grimly at the destruction the Kyuubi's chakra had wrought. "I'm going after her."

"W-Wait! Don't do it!" protested Suzumi. "You can't go after that thing! The Kyuubi will tear you apart!"

"I have to," Naruto said. "Me and Reimi, we're real close. I don't think anyone else can understand the bond we have. I dunno what's going on here, but I've gotta go after her."

Suzumi shifted in place uncomfortably. "You're right. I don't understand that kind of bond. But I do know the bond between teammates, and I won't let you go get yourself killed."

"You're going to stop me?" Naruto asked, looking at Suzumi's worn condition. "How? You can barely stand yourself."

"You're underestimating me, Naruto-kun," Suzumi chided as she pulled out a kunai.

"You can't beat me. I'm not in the best shape, but you're far worse. There's no chance of my losing, barring a complete and total miracle."

"Who said I had to beat you?" Suzumi raised the kunai to her own neck.

"Su-Suzumi!" Naruto blanched. "What are you doing!"

"Looking out for my much too brash teammate," she said. "And making sure my friend doesn't get himself killed."

"Stop this! Put that kunai away!"

Suzumi shook her head. "Not until you promise me you're not going after that monster."

"Reimi isn't a monster!"

"I'm sure she isn't, normally. But what I saw was not human at all. If you go after it, you will die. I won't let that happen."

"Suzumi…" He stood there, unsure of what to do. I have to get to Reimi, but…

"We're going to find Tsubame-san. We can't deal with the demon fox by ourselves. If you really want to go after her, do it after we've regrouped." Suzumi glanced down at Shiro. "He needs medical attention too, and he's not going to get it here."

Naruto hesitated, and then slowly nodded. "What you say makes sense…"

"Then you'll stop this idiocy?" Suzumi asked hopefully. She unconsciously moved the kunai away from her neck as she spoke

Naruto jumped on the chance. With a flick of his hand, the chakra he had been moving towards her latched onto the kunai and tore it from her hand. Before she could react he was at her side, taking away her equipment pouch from her waist.

"It makes sense," Naruto said, "but I've never been one to consider risks and all that."

She tried to back away from him, but he twisted her arms behind her and kicked the back of her knees, forcing her to the ground. She stopped struggling once it became clear she couldn't break free. "Stop it, Naruto-kun! This is stupid! You can't do it by yourself! There's no way!"

"Hey, who do you think you're talking to?" Naruto said indignantly. "That may be a super powerful demon, but I'm Uzumaki Naruto! Genius ninja of Konoha!"

"More like idiot Genin with delusions of grandeur."

Naruto frowned. "That doesn't sound quite right… But seriously. I'm going after her. No matter what."

Suzumi shook her head and let out a sigh. "I see I can't stop you…" she said after a pause. "Just promise me one thing."

"What?"

"Don't die."

Naruto grinned earnestly. "Of course."

Suzumi suddenly felt Naruto's hands leave her body. She instantly whirled around, but it was too late. He was already gone. She winced as she rubbed her wrist where Naruto had gripped her. "Stupid boy," she muttered. "He's definitely going to get himself killed one of these days…"

She turned to Shiro and frowned before hefting his arm heavily over her shoulders. "She'd better be worth it, Naruto-kun...." Glancing once in the direction Naruto had gone, she started off in the opposite direction, taking Shiro with her.

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Naruto leapt from rooftop to rooftop as he searched for Reimi. A burst of familiar chakra caught his attention and he instantly moved towards it. He came to an open, cobble stoned plaza. A large fountain stood at its center, water leaking from a large hole in its side. Next to it, he saw a large mass of red chakra that towered over a severely hurt Kuro, and at the center of the chakra stood a girl he recognized.

"Reimi!"

The girl didn't react to his voice. Instead, she pounced onto Kuro, her hands clawing at him. The chakra burnt at the man, scorching his skin as he tried to fend her off. Her vicious attack proved too much, and she managed to tear an arm from his shoulder clear off. Her jaws clamped down onto his other arm.

"Grah! Let go of me! I will not… Not in a place like this… Gaahh!"

Naruto moved closer, ignoring Kuro's agonized cries. "Reimi! Snap out of it! It's me, Naruto!" He thought he saw her twitch slightly, her head turning slightly in his direction and decided to keep pressing. "Stop it, Reimi! C'mon, get your act together! Think about what you're doing!"

This time she noticeably reacted. Her arms trembled as if struggling against some unseen force. After a moment, she turned her head to him. Her eyes rolled upwards.

"She's unconscious?!"

Chakra came at him, and he barely retreated in time to avoid it. He scowled. "Damnit, this is going to hurt."

Kuro's body went limp, and his screams abruptly stopped. The chakra shook him a few times to see if he'd react, before dropping the man she turned her full attention to Naruto. The boy unwillingly took a step back as she advanced on him in short, jerking motions.

"C'mon, Reimi! Now would be a really good time to wake up!"

She paused, and for a moment it looked like his words had reached her. But then she started advancing again. Chakra came dangerously close to hitting him, and he took a few more steps backwards. "Uh, this would seriously be a great time to stop this…" A clump of chakra extended from Reimi, hovering above as it prepared to crush him. "Okay, that's enough of that," Naruto growled.

The blonde boy moved backwards some more for good measure and formed hand seals. "Heh, you wouldn't approve of me trying untested abilities here, but this is an emergency. And you're definitely in no position to stop me."

Just as the Kyuubi's chakra was about to hit him, he unleashed his own chakra against it. Almost immediately he felt the sheer difference in power, his knees almost buckling under the strain. Gritting his teeth, he redoubled his effort, pouring out as much chakra as he could channel. Sweat dripped down his forehead, and he winced as it entered his eyes.

Shit… this is harder than I thought! But I can't lose like this…!

Drawing chakra he didn't know he had, he pushed harder against the red chakra. He didn't notice, but his own chakra became visible, slightly tinted red. With a great push, he managed to force Reimi back, sending her body limply toppling to the ground.

Almost instantly she was back on her feet, the red chakra raging forward. Summoning more chakra, Naruto met it head on. He felt himself being pushed back in the face of the onslaught. His strength sapped away, and he felt the onset of chakra exhaustion.

"I can't… I won't lose here!"

With a burst of strength, he dispersed the Kyuubi's chakra. Before it could reform, he dashed forward and grabbed Reimi's limp body by her forehead

"Snap out of it, Reimi!"

Chakra surged forth from his hand into her head, and her body jerked as if struck. He felt a foreign presence in her and gripped it with his chakra. With a hard pull, he dragged a sliver of red chakra out of her head. Stumbling backwards, her eyes fluttered open, surprise evident on her face.

"…Naruto? …what?"

"Sorry, no time to talk!" Naruto pulled the girl and leapt away just as the Kyuubi's chakra tried to return. He landed on the roofs in a low crouch, close to reaching the limits of his stamina.

"…Naruto… what's going on…?" Reimi asked. She had a confused look on her face and was still trying to get her bearings. She glanced down and her eyes widened at the sight of the red chakra. Momentarily it formed into the shape of the nine tailed fox, before it lost its form and turned back into an indistinct mass of chakra. It looked like it was having trouble holding its shape.

"The Kyuubi's chakra got out somehow," Naruto said. "It was controlling you or something. I have no idea how but…"

Reimi glanced away guiltily. "…I may have had… something to do with that…"

"Huh?"

She told him about her removing the seal. "…I didn't think I had a choice…"

Naruto stared at her. "You what?! What are you, stupid? Why'd you go and do something like that?"

"…sorry."

Naruto sighed. "Well, at least it doesn't seem to have fully gotten free. How are you feeling?"

"…I don't think I'm hurt."

"Good. If we work together, I think we can take it out. Don't let your guard down. Just holding it off for a little while drained most of my strength."

Reimi nodded. She reached into her kimono sleeves and pulled out an ornate looking knife she had taken from Genichiro's collection. "…use this…"

Taking the knife, Naruto unsheathed it and gave it an experimental swing. For someone his size, it was more a sword than a knife. "Useful," he said, "especially since I can't use much chakra at this point. Though I'm not sure how much effect it would have on it." He gave it another swing and the blade gave a sudden glow. "Whoa, a chakra weapon! Never thought I'd get my hands on one of these! Heh, this'll be handy."

The sudden feel of the Kyuubi's chakra spiking alerted Naruto to its recovery. "Looks like we're out of time to talk. Let's go."

Reimi nodded weakly, kunai materializing into her hands. "…I don't know how much use I can be to you… but I'll try my best…"

Naruto grinned. "That'll be more than enough."

The blonde boy jumped down at the chakra beast below. He struck at it with his blade, piercing deep into his head. "Take this!" Dragging the sword through the beast, he arced it around his body as he spun away to avoid the grasping chakra. He retreated out of its range before it could recover. "This thing… its speed seems to have slowed some."

Kunai rained down onto the beast, courtesy of Reimi. It dealt only minor damage that was easily healed. The girl frowned at the ineffectiveness of her attack.

"…then let's try this…"

She again threw kunai at the chakra, but this time wrapped explosive tags to the handles. When the kunai pierced into the chakra, she activated the tags. They exploded powerfully, dispersing parts of the red chakra away.

"…did it work?"

Chakra suddenly shot out of the smoke, catching Reimi by surprise. It managed to snag her by her leg before she could get away, and she bit down a scream as it burnt her. Naruto came to her rescue, cutting the chakra with his blade.

"Don't let your guard down," he barked as he forced the chakra to retreat. "It doesn't seem as strong now that it isn't clinging to you, but it'll still kill you if you give it the chance."

"…so-sorry…"

Naruto stared at her for a moment, before being forced to turn his attention back to the fight, using his weapon to fend off the chakra. "You're acting strange, Reimi. It's not like you to be so timid. Snap out of it and help me out here."

"…sorry." The girl gave a slight bow. "…I'll try harder…"

"Right…" Naruto frowned at the girl's strange behavior. Deciding to ignore it for now, he pressed his attack on the red chakra. He slashed at it with his blade wildly, slicing the chakra into pieces as it came.

Reimi rushed past him as he held its attention. More kunai appeared in her hands, and she used them to attack the red chakra. The metal weapons had the same amount of effect as before though, barely even scratching the monster. The chakra retaliated, and she felt a burning sting across her arms as it sent her flying backwards towards a building. Instead of crashing into it though, she passed through its wall. A moment later she came out of the wall and rushed back into the fight.

The chakra Kyuubi launched an attack that sent its chakra flying in all directions, piercing through whatever it touched. Several went after Naruto, but the blonde boy quickly stepped around them. Concentrating, he sent his own burst of chakra out. It struck its target, sending the incorporeal beast reeling backwards.

Before the chakra Kyuubi could recover, Naruto was suddenly next to it, hacking away with his chakra blade. With each stroke he cleaved away more and more of it. But even as fast as he destroyed it, it healed itself twice as fast. In only a few moments it closed its wounds and forced Naruto to back away.

"This thing is tough," Naruto said to Reimi as he landed next to her.

"…it's smaller than before…"

"Yeah. Not by much though. It looks like it can fix itself, but it can't generate anymore chakra. If we can just outlast it, we win. Shouldn't be too hard. Even if it's a super ancient demon of destruction and all that."

"…um…"

"What are you spacing out for? C'mon, let's finish this!"

"…r-right!"

Together, they systematically took apart the monster. Each time it reformed itself they defeated it again, cleaving away chakra with each attack. It retaliated with rapid strikes, but its strength seemed to have disappeared, and they were easily dodged. With each passing hour more of its strength was sapped away, rendering it weaker and weaker. The sun was setting when they finally destroyed the last bit of the chakra.

"You okay, Reimi?" Naruto asked as he collapsed to the ground. He was exhausted in both his physical and mental faculties, and he felt a burning sensation in his muscles when he tried to move.

"…I'm fine… Naruto," she answered. It was obvious that she wasn't though. Her face was unnaturally pale, and her pupils were dilated. She was panting heavily, wincing at each breath she took. "…are you… okay…?"

"I'll live. Nothing serious."

"…good…" Reimi said with a small sigh of relief.

"I've gotta say though, I'd probably be hurting a lot more if it weren't for my quick healing." The blonde boy glanced again at the girl. "Are you sure you're okay? You're really not looking all that good."

"…I'm just… not used to moving so much…" She closed her eyes and her ragged breathing slowed. "…I just need… to rest…"

Naruto nodded. "You and me both. Hopefully nothing else happens. I don't think we've had a real chance to rest for a while now." He glanced at the setting sun. "We should get back to the others. They're probably getting worried by now."

"So worried we came looking for you," said a voice from behind.

Surprised, Naruto turned to see who it was. "Souju! What are you doing here?"

"Kamino-san said you were out here. Figures you'd need help." He nodded at Reimi. "Who are you?"

Reimi froze, unsure of how to reply.

"No one you need to worry about. A civilian," Naruto answered for her as he stood. "More importantly, is everyone alright? Last I saw Shiro was in a rather bad way, and I don't know where Kiriko-sensei ran off to."

"Hyuua Shiro's stable, but he's in pretty bad shape. Tsubame Kiriko is fine physically. Her actions during this mission were rather odd though, and we'll be launching an official investigation into that And that girl is definitely not just a civilian. Not with those kinds of battle wounds."

Naruto shrugged. "I accidentally got her involved. It was my mistake."

Souju snorted. "Yeah right. You'll have to try harder than that if you want to sneak one past me. I know the difference between wounds taken during battle and wounds taken while running away. She was definitely fighting."

"Looks the same to me."

The Uchiha boy stared intensely at Naruto for a few moments, before giving a sigh and turning around. "Well, whatever you say. It doesn't matter much, I suppose."

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Naruto asked. He tried to take a step forward, but found that he couldn't move. "What?"

"…Naruto… your feet are…"

Heeding Reimi's warning, Naruto glanced down. "My legs! What the heck?"

"Kage Shibari no Jutsu. I've bound your shadow to mine. You won't be escaping anytime soon."

Naruto looked to see a Konoha ANBU, his hands together forming a seal. Another large sized ANBU held a kunai to the back of Reimi's neck. The blonde boy glared at Souju. "What's going on here?" he demanded to know.

"Apparently you did something really bad," Souju said. "Though I too would like to know just what that is exactly, Shikaku-senpai."

"That's right," the ANBU mused. "You aren't old enough to remember." He scratched the back of his head. "Well, I can't tell you, but suffice to say it's a pretty weighty matter." He looked down at Reimi. "I remember you, girl."

Reimi's eyes widened as she recognized the man. "…from the Konoha Annal…"

"I got dressed down for your escape that time. Something about letting spies get away with valuable Konoha information."

"Shit! Get out of here, Reimi!" Naruto yelled, knowing what Konoha did with spies.

Responding reflexively to his words, the girl immediately began sinking into the ground, but was knocked out by one of the other ANBU before she could get away.

"Reimi!" Naruto struggled against his invisible binds furiously. "Get your hands off her, you assholes!"

"Calm down, Naruto-san," said Souju. "Stop wasting your energy. You're only making things worse for yourself." He hesitated before adding, "I don't want to have to hurt you."

"Bastard! Let me go, damnit!"

"It doesn't look like he's going to come with us quietly," the ANBU holding Reimi said. "Knock him out."

Souju narrowed his eyes. "Our orders were to ensure his safety."

"Our orders were to make sure everyone is safe," retorted Shikaku. "And that means making sure this kid doesn't go berserk and kill us all." He cast an apologetic glance at Naruto. "No offense, kid. But I've got my team to look after so I'll have you sleep for a bit."

Naruto barely saw the man move before his world went dark.

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A/N:

Spoilers, info, etc.

Blah… I can't believe how much I cut out of this chapter. Over 100 pages deleted/rewritten, 10 or so moved to another section where I keep stuff I'm planning to rework, and then 15 delayed to the next chapter. Really wanted this to be the last chapter for this story arc, but the sheer length is making me add another one. I don't expect the next one to be as long, or take as much time since I already have a sizable amount typed for it. I'll be spending a lot of time correcting this chapter though. I didn't like the last portion of it much at all.

Kuro – He actually had a lot more scenes before I decided to cut them all out before I delved too far into his character. His importance as a character dropped a lot. Kinda worried he's not developed enough now. Same with Genichiro and the salamander masked ANBU, who all shared some scenes. What do you guys think? Did I snip a bit too much? It kinda feels incomplete, but that could just be me.

Haku – Yeah. Haku hasn't made an appearance yet, but I'm wondering whether he/she should be included. I have scenes written for both his death, or her living. The male dying and the female living. Anyone have thoughts on this? I'm having a hard time deciding whether to keep him/her alive.

Jutsus

Yeah, I figure a short list would be good. Probably forgot a few, but I'll try to get them all.

Bunshin – Replication. Makes a illusionary clone of yourself.

Henge – Transformation. A common fandom thing is that its only an illusion, but that doesn't seem to be the case to me since Sasuke obviously used Naruto like a giant shuriken, and Gamabunta expect a Henge to help him hold down Shukaku.

Kawarimi – Exchange. Kinda. Changes spots with a log to avoid a hit. Can really be done with anything, as evidenced by the white rabbit in the Wave arc, but logs are traditional.

Uzumaki Naruto

Dai Bakuretsu Reppudan – Big exploding strong wind ball. Or something akin to that. In a way it's a cross of the Chidori and Rasengan with the wind element. Basically Naruto compresses the air extremely tightly in his hand, and then impacts it against something, releasing all the compacted force. Rather unwieldy because of its random damage, but its flashy so he likes it.

Kaze no Michi – Path of wind. Naruto actually can't use it at full power, and can only lift small objects with it. At full power it can lift a full grown person, and is intended to be used that way. He'll get a technique he likes better than this later, so this will become obsolete.

Fuusoku Kaishin – Wind speed return. Or something close to that. It's akin to the Hiraishin of the Yondaime, but differs in a few major points. First it doesn't use special kunai to activate. Naruto basically infuses a location with his special chakra (which is part of his bloodline, if you haven't figured it out already) and then 'jumps' to that spot using wind as the conduit. Doing so drains the chakra there, so he has to infuse it again if he wants to go back to the same spot. It's a lot slower than the Hiraishin, but a bit more flexible in movement. It's going to get an upgrade later, but not anytime soon.

Kamino Suzumi

Special Paper – Though not mentioned, a lot of her techniques require special paper. Without it, she can only use like a quarter of her techniques. Her dependency on it is a huge weak point. It's a secret that the Kamino's use special paper.

Kami no Kokyuu – Breath of paper. Or can be read as breath of god. Gives paper a bit of autonomous movement that the user can control. What the paper is shaped as can give it different abilities. Such as a crane being used to fly about and spy on things. A tiger would have really sharp claws. And so on. Requires special paper.

Chizu Kasei – Map metamorphosis. Or something like that. She basically grows a map out of special paper.

Kami Bogyou – Paper defense. A rather easy one. Also god defense. Hardens paper which she can use as a shield.

Kami no Omosa – Weight of paper. Or weight of the gods. Basically changes the weight of paper, usually making it heavier. The more chakra you use, the heavier it gets. Another technique that requires special paper.

Kami Yari – Paper spear. Exactly like its name. Paper spears. I guess also god spear. Kinda like this name because it sounds like Kaminari, which is thunder.

Kami Bunshin – Paper replication. Or godly replication. One of Suzumi's 'Big Three' techniques. Requires lots of special paper and an exorbitant amount of chakra. In return, she gets a thinking clone of herself that's able to do a lot of paper techniques.

Tenjou no Emon – Heaven's clothes. Requires a large sheet of special paper. Grants the user what pretty much amounts to the ultimate armor. In a sense, its defensive capabilities are on par with the Kaiten and Gaara's sand defense, and it allows invisibility to boot, along with certain paper jutsu. The second of Suzumi's 'Big Three' techniques. Had to debate for a bit on the naming, but decided Emon suited it.

Kami no Ibara Mori – Thorn forest of paper. Or God's thorn forest. Last of Suzumi's 'Big Three'. Suzumi's actually doing a variation of it here, but it's supposed to be used inside the Kamino main building, where there's paper everywhere. What it does is controls paper all over the place all at once. Being able to use paper jutsu by just thinking about it is amazingly cheap. Think being able to fire any type of fire jutsu from any location. Of course, it uses an exorbitant amount of chakra and paper and would completely drain even a Jounin. That Suzumi can even use it speaks much of her ability, even if she's using a toned down version of it.

Uchiha Souju

Goukakyuu no jutsu – Grand fire blast. Fires a fire ball. Uchiha specialty, even if it's the most basic fire technique supposedly. Elemental manipulation is a Chuunin technique after all. And then Jounin's take it a step further with dual elements and all that.

Hyuuga Shiro

Kage Bunshin – Shadow replication. Makes solid clones, splitting ones chakra to do so. Yeah, I know. Rather odd to see it on someone other than Naruto. But I figured it would be cool for a Hyuuga to do 64 palms with it. I don't think I included the scene where Shiro tried it on Kuro, but I did have it written at one point.

Tsubame Kiriko

I don't think I gave her techniques any names, but her style basically revolves around her thirteen swords and the fourteen special techniques. She's really only sane when she uses the thirteenth sword with the fourteenth technique. And only then is she at her most powerful. Pretty sure I included the scene where she pwns a bunch of ninja with it. But as she's crazy, she can't hold onto her sanity for long so it's a very limited use technique for her. She also used a technique for people finding (third sword, nodachi), but I don't think I included that scene though the results were visible.

Wow, didn't realize Suzumi had that many techniques. A shame since she'll never use them again after this story arc. The bloodlines I left out, as they're not jutsu per se, and I assume everyone already knows the eye jutsu. The rest I'm not talking about yet. Well, that's that I guess. Nothing left to say.

じゃね！