Hello again guys! I went home for the weekend for Mother's Day so didn't get to update.. I am going to update this story frequently, I promise!

Also, xXChirushiXx thanks for the review! I realized after I posted the last chapter that I forgot to go back and explain how Naruto would know about Sai/how Sai fits into this story. Oops.. Sorry guys! I'll explain it more thoroughly soon. I just forgot to explain last chapter that he now teams with Kakashi and Sakura along with whatever Chuunin/Jounin they sub in for missions.

Thanks for the follows, favourites, reviews, and even just coming to take a look at my fic! ^^

Edit: mistake fixed! The problem with writing late at night is how tired my brain gets!

-Drazzah

He was just a flicker in the darkness as he lightly leapt from branch to branch high above the forest floor, his speed turning him into a dark blur. He knew he was needed in Konohagakure as soon as possible. He had swiftly altered his plans to accommodate this turn of events, deviating his course from South to East. Since he was constantly reordering the importance of the missions he set for himself, it wasn't much trouble. He had no master to report to so no one cared except for him, and he'd been planning to visit Konoha within the year anyways. One of the perks of being a vigilante, he supposed.

The bone-white porcelain mask he wore gleamed softly in the beams of moonlight that penetrated the canopy of leaves above him. Two red crosses, eerily appearing as if they were coloured with blood, slashed through the mask to conceal eyes that were automatically scanning the darkness around him. They called him the Masked Shadow.

It fit, obviously, but they could have done so much better with the nickname! He couldn't help but be disappointed. Who didn't want a cool, fear-inspiring name after all? However, he knew that hiding everything about himself meant that people couldn't give any identifying monikers to him, so he'd been stuck with a dull one. It was one of the many sacrifices he'd made to complete his end game. Including wearing this damn mask in the first place. It was hot and hampered his vision, but it was a vital tool in his line of work.

He was brought to a halt as he sensed a squad of shinobi up ahead, guarding the border of the Land of Fire. His inky black cloak snapped around him at the abrupt stop, before resettling gracefully as he crouched to wait them out. The group would pass soon. They changed their patterns every month, switching break and patrol times as an extra layer of security. It just so happened that he'd been in the country within the last month so he had taken the time to memorize the current schedule.

He was making good time, especially since after altering his original plans he'd been forced to let a patrol near the Land of Earth's border with Ishigakure catch a glimpse of him. He'd led the shinobi on a false trail before he'd ditched them and turned East. Which is why he was now concealed above these shinobi patiently, despite his need to keep moving forward. He couldn't be spotted entering the Land of Fire after all, nor make any of these ninja sense enough of him to make them uneasy. The earlier Iwagakure patrol would report that they had tracked him progressing South through Ishigakure towards the Land of Wind, information that would be heard by a variety of different people. His next mission was complicated, so it was necessary that certain parties believed he was far away.

A triumphant smile curled his lips, as always hidden by the emotionless mask, as a bolt of excitement went through him. It was time to deal with Danzo.

Danzo, with his self-servicing actions, always presented as benefiting Konohagakure. Danzo, with his illegal program of ANBU. Danzo, who had betrayed multiple Hokage in his quest for power. And most importantly, Danzo, who used a seal applied to the tongues of his subordinates to ensure their silence. He himself wasn't much different in that regard though, was he? His smile faded. This part of himself he truly hated.

While he was delayed here, he reached up to finger the small book concealed beneath his cloak. It was a habit of his when he was lost in thought. This book was his present and his future. Its pages held dozens of names, each belonging to a different person. Danzo was not in it, despite meeting all of his criteria. He never would be.

It was a small object with rough pages bound in brown leather. A bronze buckle kept the secrets recorded on the paper safely inside. So did the seals carefully inked into the supple material. It was his livelihood after all. It was even more well protected than he was thanks to Hiibaba-san. If this was lost, everything was finished.

See, everyone believed that the Masked Shadow was a renegade, because no one really knew what his intentions were. It was more accurate to say that he was a blackmailer. Only the individuals he extorted knew this, however, and they kept their silence without fail even from each other. He made sure of it.

He wouldn't label himself as an extortionist though, because he didn't just ferret out their skeletons and dangle them in front of their eyes as a threat. No, that was too easy. These were people who had done unimaginably evil deeds. Who stood on the backs of others to reach new heights, and committed acts that would always go unpunished because of their influence. So instead, his entire existence had evolved into selecting the ones with the most power politically and becoming their savior. When they got themselves into a tough situation, usually due to their own actions, he sorted it out for them in order to earn a favor that they had no choice but to grant. He saved them, only to bring them to their knees later.

He wasn't doing harm to good people, he absolutely refused to do that. He actually wasn't hurting anyone at all. Since he'd donned this mask, not one person had died by his hands, and in the end he would stop the suffering these people dealt out without any bloodshed. That was his promise to himself, and to them. He'd tried it the way he preferred, and he'd hit a dead end. Fighting the ninja these men hired to do their evil never got to the root of the issue. The trail of money led to men who almost always hid behind their money and hired goons, and were hardly able to battle him evenly. How was defeating them with his fists in such an unfair manner any more brave and satisfying than what he was doing? More would take their place, after all, once they were out of the way.

The mask tilted upwards into a lone shaft of moonlight as he remembered the start to this very long path.

He had met for a time with a special kunoichi. That kunoichi had been a genius with seals years ago, selling them for exorbitant prices, before going into seclusion without a word. At the end of his rope, he had sought her out specifically for the rumors about what she could do, and what she had sold to Danzo. It had taken him months to track the now old woman down, and he still suspected that he'd only found her because she had allowed it. He'd never learned the reason behind her interest in him. She hadn't even told him her name! She'd demanded instead that he call her Sousobo-san. Why she wanted him to call her great-grandmother, he had no idea. He'd hated the formality of it, so he'd in turn just called her Hiibaba-san. Much to her displeasure.

In time, he learned that Danzo had bought the seal he used for Root from Hiibaba-san. He'd tried to murder her afterward to ensure her silence, and so that she couldn't make another seal capable of undoing his. She'd just barely escaped, which is when she went into hiding.

And after he had met her, she had crafted an even more powerful seal in the form of his leather tome, to help him defeat not only Danzo, but those like him, at their own game. Just like Danzo had feared. The Masked Shadow had been born as soon as she'd decided to aid him. He'd never looked back, and to this day she was one of only two people who knew the truth about his identity.

His attention was brought back to the present as he sensed the shinobi leave for their midnight shift change. He quickly shifted forward into a lunging stance, his feet glowing blue briefly. No more time for reminiscing. It was finally time to put these long-awaited plans into motion. In a rush of wind he was gone, just a shadow in the night again. He hoped Danzo was ready for him.

Naruto ducked a fist thrown by the round, long-haired guy before him, the force ruffling his blonde spikes. He slapped his left hand onto the rocky earth, firing his foot at his opponents face. Damn, I missed. He's fast for such a big guy! He flipped backwards, skipping across the ground, as another presence appeared to his right, a kunai slashing down towards him. Whew, these two worked together pretty well.

He wasn't even supposed to be here, and as far as his new team members knew, he wasn't. The meeting three weeks ago had gone as he'd expected. Kakashi would continue on normal missions, gathering information when possible. Naruto would enter Amegakure only when the Akatsuki made a move, and only after a planning session with his team. Meanwhile, he and Jiraiya would separate and gather information from Sunagakure and Hoshigakure respectively.

So of course, after parting ways with Jiraiya, Naruto had gone to the Land of Rain. It really was only a small village on the border the country shared with the Land of Wind, and afterward he would travel to visit Gaara like planned. This stop became necessary when word had reached him that his friend had finally returned from a long journey, and may have information about the Akatsuki.

He had journeyed from Konoha two weeks ago, his course set for the Land of Wind, and wasn't expected to return to Tsunade for three more weeks. She had wanted his visits few and far between, which worked for Naruto. He did have a life outside of Konoha now, after all. This gave him plenty of time to do look into a few items before he was due back.

He hadn't expected a pair of missing-nin from Ishigakure to be nearby his friend's village, though. They'd recognized him as he'd departed for the Land of Wind. They'd laid in wait for him with a plan to capture the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki in order to gain favor with the Akatsuki, and hopefully join their ranks. He tsked, trying to think of an easy way out of this. If he just disappeared, Tanabi-san was in danger since Naruto had just left his village and they may track that connection down.

It was taken out of his hands as the large-bodied shinobi with the mean eyes formed a quick series of seals, slamming both hands into the hard-packed dirt below him, the sunlight glinting off of his slashed forehead protector. The earth rumbled under Naruto's sandals and he quickly formed his own seal. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Two copies popped into being, and they leapt into the air as the earth cracked into a huge chasm below.

The other missing-nin, a tall slender woman covered by a mud coloured dress, back-flipped to a safe distance, her long black hair flowing concealing most of her features. He needed to end this quickly; he was too close to Amegakure as it was! This kind of fight would draw their attention here, to him, before he was ready.

Naruto and one his clones held out their hands, swirling chakra into a large sphere. The third pushed off of the second, which exploded into a white cloud, and simultaneously grabbed Naruto's arm as he spun, flinging Naruto using this momentum directly at the male. "Oodama Rasengan!" he shouted as he rocketed forwards. He was inches away when a barrier of rock slammed in place, protecting his target. They underestimated the power of this technique, though! He slammed the concentrated chakra into the stone, holding it there was shards of rock flew out from the impact, and yelled with the effort. The slab cracked into pieces, Naruto flying through until the glowing ball connected with the ninja he was aiming for.

Instead of a satisfying yell of pain, the ninja morphed into a stone copy of himself. Naruto quickly glanced around, and sensed his target concealed beneath him. The woman was in the same position as before, where she had performed the barrier jutsu from, as she paused in surprise. She quickly regrouped, her hands signing before she raised a her fingers to her lips in a gesture like she was drinking a cup of the sake Ero-Sennin loved so much.

Naruto dashed to the side in a blur, making a large circle towards her, but she released her jutsu in a rush of breath. It covered the site of their battle in a heavy dust, concealing the movements of the two Earth-users while simultaneously blinding him. He coughed the grit from his mouth and adjusted, closing his eyes and using his senses instead.

He heard the woman forming another jutsu, so he quickly made another two Shadow Clones behind her, sending the original clone that had thrown him directly at her as a distraction. As the two concealed in the tree behind the kunoichi were making another Rasengan, he turned his attention to the big guy approaching him from below, though Naruto couldn't pin down the exact location through the chakra-infused cloud surrounding him.

A disembodied voice suddenly echoed. "Why do you fight, boy? You cannot win against the Akatsuki, you must know that. Even a monster like you isn't a match for their power."

Naruto gritted his teeth. "Shut up, damn it!"

He quickly cloaked himself, leaving a clone in his place, reappearing where the ninja had originally gone to ground. He listened to the sounds from the continuing fight to his right, until the larger missing-nin revealed his presence in an attack against the figure he thought was Naruto.

It was the opening he needed. He burst forward, materializing underneath the ninja. Before the ninja recovered from his shock, only having time for his eyes to widen, his head snapped back with Naruto's upward kick, blood spraying from between his clenched teeth. He was lifted in a float, and Naruto hit him with a series of kicks to continue his ascent, following him upwards. They emerged above the cloud of dust, his opponent now parallel to the ground.

Naruto bared his teeth, and with a shout of effort, used his last kick in the series to propel himself above the Earth-user. He did a forward somersault, bringing his leg in an arc over his head to slam into the man's face, sending him in a head-first, downward spiraling plummet. He heard the vibrating thud as he landed. There was a shout from the kunoichi.

Naruto touched down outside of the dispersing dust-cloud. The man's impact had cleared most of it away. Naruto stared at the unconscious man. "I fight because someone has to win. And it has to be me!"

With that, he turned a glare towards his remaining enemy, who had avoided his clones for the most part. She had a tear down her sleeve, and her hand was burned from getting too near the burn of the Rasengan.

"You won't go to the Akatsuki with any information about me." Naruto spoke harshly, his blue eyes hard. "If I hear about them coming to this area, I'll find you and deliver you both back to Ishigakure personally, you got it?"

Her face contorted in anger. "Don't get full of yourself, Jinchuuriki. We may not have captured you here, but the Akatsuki will track you down on their own anyways. They haven't failed yet!"

Naruto had had enough. It was time to leave before anyone else showed up. Orange leaves swirled in a miniature tornado, and in the next second the kunoichi was crumpling to the ground, down for the count, revealing Naruto standing behind her.

He gave a great sigh, dispelling his anger. It wouldn't do him any good. They certainly weren't the only ones who thought this way. He knew they wouldn't go to the Akatsuki. Those members would see this pair as weak, and likely kill them.

He sprang away towards the tree tops, and dug down for his hard-earned speed. He'd lost enough time with those missing-nin. But at this rate, he would be in Sunagakure just past nightfall tomorrow. A journey that would normally take a week would take half that time for him.

He couldn't wait to see the Kazekage again. Gaara had become a great shinobi since they had been children! Naruto had visited him once, a year and a half ago, after the incident with the Akatsuki. He still couldn't believe that he had died, his Bijuu stolen. Naruto was still angered over the fact that he hadn't been able to save his friend when he'd been needed most. It was a miracle Gaara was still alive, and Naruto knew it was only because of the kunoichi from his village, Chiyo Baa-sama.

Yeah, it would be great to see him. Also, Gaara and the Sand shinobi he led were great sources of information. He would get to share what he knew as well, though with the Ichibi gone Naruto doubted Akatsuki would venture into Sunagakure again.

As the terrain morphed from leafy foliage to barren sand, Naruto squinted his eyes against the glaring sun beating down on him. Man, this black coat from Kurama-san was great, but it wasn't fit for the desert! The hidden village couldn't come soon enough for him, but he had a lot of planning to keep his mind off of the heat. And sand. And sun..

He always spent his traveling time sorting out information he could actually reveal, from that which only he, or a select other few, could know. Ah, man, keeping all of this straight was a pain. He decided to fill Gaara in on everything he'd told Kakashi-sensei, Ero-Sennin and Baa-chan about the Akatsuki, plus the intel he'd just gotten from Tanabi-san.

Tanabi-san had journeyed to Kumogakure, making many stops along the way to the Land of Lightning for information, while posing as a merchant. Tanabi-san was a spy, after all, who traded secrets for money. He'd managed to overhear a shinobi saying that the Rokubi was in the nation. The Jinchuuriki, named Utakata, was a missing-nin from Kirigakure, even more rarely seen since the activities of the Akatsuki came to light.

In Kumogakure itself, he'd learned that two ninjas with the Akastuki cloak had been spotted moving north from the Land of Water, one a scary guy with blue skin.

If this was true, it looked like Kisame and his partner were closing in on the Rokubi. At least he knew Killer Bee would be safe, since he was very well hidden, and the Akatsuki never got two Jinchuuriki at once.

There was always the possibility that those rumors were planted to throw off those like Tanabi-san, while the Akatsuki attacked elsewhere. However, Tanabi-san hadn't given Naruto any incorrect information yet.

The Akatsuki would make a move soon. He was ready for it.