XXX

Other

The rain had lifted early in the morning, leaving the tall battlements moist and cool. The Sun was only just beginning to peak over the distant mountains, and he raised a hand to block out the brilliant shine. It would still be several hours before the ceiling of his turret would shield him from the light.

Man, gotta stop falling asleep on the job, he thought guiltily to himself as he stood up from the chair he had collapsed in in the middle of the night. The village is counting on me to protect it, especially with only the tiniest fraction of jonin and ANBU left. Hope they catch those bastards that killed Asuma Sarutobi soon, so we can finally relax and I can get back to playing shogi with Hoki, instead of playing guard up here.

Yawning, he stood up and approached the edge of the wall. The edge of the forest ran up right against the wall, obscuring a clean sight, but he had been taught what sounds represented nature and what didn't. And if he couldn't tell, the guard in the next turret would probably decipher any movement as well.

Dangerous times, never know what one of the other nations might be coming in for an attack. Just look what happened with Sunagakure.

His eyes drifted away from the calm forest edge and back to the magazine he had been reading before he fell asleep. What am I saying, no one in the right mind would try to attack the Leaf Village. I'm just over thinking this.

There was the smallest of rustles from the forest, out of his sight. Just a deer. He sat back down in his chair and pulled up the magazine. He cast a look down the left and right of the wall at the immediate turrets, but they're occupants were observing their niche to protect, to busy to pay attention to him.

Time to relax, again! Maybe being a guard isn't so bad after all.

There was another sound of movement from the edge of the forest, and for a moment he thought he'd go check what was holding up the deer. Ah, but to now we're getting to the bikini segment of the Miss Kinoichi beauty competition! Shove off, you stupid deer.

The entire wall on his right side imploded as he finished his thought. For a moment, he sat there, petrified. Then the turret started to lean as it's supports gave way to the concussion blast of the explosion, sending the chair slowly sliding but picking up speed. He hurriedly stuffed the magazine into his chunin jacket and jumped away from the turret.

Smoke was unfurling into the air, and from his quick vantage point in the air, he could see that a gaping hole had punctured the concrete foundations of the wall. And in the smoke, he could see fifteen stoic figures.

"ALERT!" he shouted desperately. "ALERT!"

The men from the other turrets were running over, and farther down on the left side, a small group of mixed genin and chunin were coming.

The smoke suddenly split apart as one of the attackers jumped through it. The man was blank faced but resolute, and was aiming straight for him. His hand dived into his weapons pouch and lobbed a trio of shuriken at the incoming target. To his great surprise, the metal bounced harmeslly off the other's face.

"What- AGH!"

The other sank a solid fist into his gut, sending the guard back to earth. He landed painfully on the wall, coughing hoarsely and feeling a line of blood seep from his mouth.

"Who are you people!?" he shouted as he pulled out a kunai knife. He charged at his opponent and made to stab him in the shoulder, where he ought to be able to dislocate his arm and impair the intruder. The other simply observed his advance silently, watching with unemotional eyes. The kunai knife struck the shoulder, but it was like trying to stab a slab of granite. The knife bounced off of his shoulder, not even making a dent.

"Answer me!" he shouted desperately. His emotions were fraught as he realized he would be blamed for not having raised the alarm before. He hoped to cover the mistake by dredging out information. He swung his other arm to hook the other in the face, but this time he ducked.

He's fast, but I'm faster. He jumped into the air and this time put both hands on the kunai handle. With a yell, he brought it down, this time aiming for the base of the skull, putting all his strength behind the downward strike.

The kunai knife's tip broke off on impact, and a jagged crack ran up along the rest of the blade. A moment later, the attacker swung with a closed fist, catching him along his legs. The impact was as if he had had a boulder thrown at his leg, and he was sent spinning away-

"Totesu!" Someone caught him, softening his landing. He looked up and saw it was Hoki. Beside Hoki, another chunin was finishing hand signs.

"Fire Style: Flame Bullet!" The chakra of the chunin condensed into hot flame, and struck the attacker directly. "Got him!"

"Great job!" Hoki called out. "Now, focus on the others- NO, LOOK OUT!"

From the center of the flames, the invader came out, untouched physically and emotionally. His fist caught the other chunin square in the face, and the other collapsed and rolled off the side of the wall. A pair of genin quickly replaced him, and engaged the man immediately.

More of the attackers had leaped onto the wall, and were engaging guards at will. Trios of genin and squads of chunin fought bitterly against the invaders who had penetrated their home, but the fight was not looking good. Hoki jumped away still carrying him, giving him a wide berth of the start of battle. Everywhere, fire release attacks were having no effect, and metal was bouncing off the invaders like nothing.

Who are they? What is their purpose, who are they working for? Is it the Akatsuki? But what on earth could they want in the village itself, when they already have the jinchuuriki?

XXX

Kakuzu

"Predictable as always. There's always the lazy one." They stepped out from the thicket, right onto the main road in front of the gates. "His mistake will cost this village dearly."

"Yeah, yeah," Hidan said peevishly. "Don't go into another explanation rant, you know by now I never listen to a word of it. It's pretty obvious that neither metal of fire are gonna damage those rock clones. We have a clear shot at Sarutobi, so let's get to it!"

Kakuzu cracked his knuckles. "Let's make this fast. We need to stick together and look for the burial crypt. If we get split up and engage multiple opponents individually, the higher the chances are one of them will run off and alert others. Then we'll have the whole village bearing down on us." He tugged at the collar of his Akatsuki cloak with superiority. "Follow my lead."

His partner rolled his eyes, as he knew he would. Like hell I'd let him take the lead on this. This is my bounty, to top all previous ones. He narrowed his eyes at the main gate. But, I gave him that grand entrance he wanted. Now we're both pleased, at least.

The battle in the distance was raging terrifically. The randomization of the rock clones were perfect, there was no way the Leaf shinobi would trace the attack to Hidan and himself. And none have even been destroyed yet. The plan is working perfectly.

They walked into the village as if it were a ghost town. Most of the citizens had retreated into their houses to avoid the conflict blasting away. A little girl, standing alone off to the side, saw them and ran over to them. "Hey, who are you guys?" she asked innocently, sounding more mature beyond her age. "Don't you know there's a battle going on? You should be hiding or helping to fight!" Her face was youthful and innocent, shadowed by the tall buildings standing on either side of them.

Kakuzu chuckled with the irony, but gave no reply. Hidan, however, pushed the girl aside bodily. "Get out of the way, girl. Don't get involved." She stumbled and fell down, but she stubbornly folded her arms and called after them.

"You two need to be helping your village," she said resolutely. Kakuzu turned in surprise, not expecting her to be so rigorous. She can't be more than five, but she's talking to us like she's our mother! Sometimes these young ones just don't understand their place.

"I told you, little girl," Hidan said harshly. "Don't get involved. Go run to your mommy or go play your with your dolls. Come on, Kakuzu, let's get going."

"Where's your sense of loyalty?" she said shrilly to their black and red cloaked backs. "Don't you have any decency left in you rather than to walk away!"

Hidan gave a snarl and unlatched the scythe from his back swinging it around to point at the little girl. Kakuzu frowned from behind his mask. She's just a girl, Hidan, don't hurt her when she's done no wrong, is what he wanted to say. "Leave it," he said instead. "We don't need to start killing yet."

The girl was looking scared now; in her eyes, Kakuzu could see the familiar fear of the cornered bounty. "Who are you people?" she said strongly, her voice not giving away the real emotion in her eyes. "Why aren't you helping?"

There was a familiar look in Hidan's eye as well, and Kakuzu moved to stand in between. "I said no killing," he said again, firmly. "We just need to find where he's buried-"

"Why won't you fight for your village?" the girl asked again, still not moving from the spot. Her eyes were glazed over, drinking in both of them, shifting nervously back and forth... "Don't you have any loyalties?"

That did the trick for Kakuzu. A memory of the Takigakure elders ridiculing him flourished in his mind like a deadly flower. He released Hidan, who swung the scythe in a wide arc to cleave right thrugh the little, innocent girl... who had done no wrong, only doing what she had been told all her life...

"Hidan, STOP!"

The scythe swung in a bright red slash, almost painting the image for where blood would fly-

Tink. Tink. Kakuzu hurt the sound and looked down. Smoke bombs-

Suddenly, the entire scene was lit up in dark smoke. Kakuzu jumped out of it, taking him out of whatever trap might have been set. Three forms had darted into the haze, and Hidan and the girl were still inside. He heard a loud flurry of movement within the cloud, and after two minutes two figures jumped out, both wearing Konoha chunin uniforms. One was sporting a long cut on his right arm, while in his left he was holding the terrified little girl, unharmed.

It's those two from the bounty hunting center, Kotetsu and Izumo, who were with Sarutobi and the Nara boy. How fitting they be the first ones we meet.

"Run!" Izumo shouted to the little girl, pushing her away in the direction of a sheltered alley.

The smoke was clearing, and Hidan was standing in it, completely still. Around a dozen kunai were embedded in his left arm and rib cage. His scythe was dripping red, but so far he had made no move to draw his blasted ritual circle.

Why is he still stalling with that! Those kunai have got to be hurting the idiot. "What a twist of fate you would be the ones to find us," Kakuzu said aloud as he stepped forward to stand next to Hidan. "I have to say, haven't you taken a hint by now?"

Kotetsu narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean, Akatsuki? You haven't told us anything. Rather, we'd like it if you told us where Naruto is."

"I mean that we've killed so many of you, you should learn not one person in this village can stop us," Kakuzu replied, purposely ignoring the pitiful question. They're bravery is admirable, but this farce was over before it began. No chance at all.

The chunin with the wounded arm, Izumo gave a fake smile. "We fought you once already, we know your game. This time, you won't be escaping so easily!"

Kakuzu folded his arms in front of him, amused but keeping his tone neutral. "Where is Asuma Sarutobi?"

Izumo drew out a kunai with his slashed arm, but with a wince of pain, he dropped it. Both Hidan and Kuzu watched it fall with silent laughter.

There was a glint on the ground-

Trap- to late.

A long, thin cord was lying around their feet, invisible in the daylight. There were other chunin and genin on the buildings standing on either side of them. The cord became taut and quickly wound it's way around their ankles.

"Ninja Art: Homing Shuriken!"

The cord snapped into place as the voice echoed on either side. Kakuzu look to his left, and saw that six large fuma shuriken were racing toward them, staying unnaturally close to the wire...

Hidan gave a wild cry, signifying his return to his bloodthirsty nature, and swung the scythe down onto the cord. However, it had no effect; the wire simply took the hit and didn't so much as fray. Ah, not normal wire. It's been infused with chakra, and the jutsu user is having the shuriken connect to the wire to guide it towards us. We can't duck or evade it as long as the cord is touching us, so...

With his arms still crossed, they extended with a wet, hollow snapand grabbed the wire on both ends, beginning to tug it down. I'll just shift the wire to aim at the ground, so the shuriken simply won't hit us-

"Not that easily, like I said," Izuma shouted. "Water Style: Syrup Trap!"

Not this stupid jutsu again- GAH! The water, condensed into a thick, sticky mixture, struck his left arm. It blew it clear off the wire and weighed it down away from the wire. But my right-

"Still no chance, Akatsuki!" Kotetsu said instead. "Water Style: Liquid Bullet!"

A small small glob of water shot out this time and struck his arm in where his elbow joint ought to have been. The thread extension recoiled and he reflexively released the chakra wire, and all the while he heard the dangerous spinning of the approaching fuma shuriken.

"Uh, Kakuzu?" Hidan said, his voice dripping with mock disappointment. "Maybe something more, I don't know, effective?"

"You just don't know when to shut up, do you?" He looked over at Kotetsu and Izumo. "You're right, you did fight us before. But even an old dog like me learns new tricks."

Both their faces contorted, and they each drew a long, sharp kunai sword, the same they had used to stab Hidan before. They rushed forward, aiming to slash through both of them.

He shook his head. "Every single time I walk into shinobi like you, there is always the perfect plan laid out, thinking that it will always go as planned. Like I told the Nara boy, every good strategy works only if things go on the battlefield just as well. You may have stopped my defense... but it would appear you have forgotten about our ability to have a counter offensive!"

The Akatsuki cloak shredded in the back as both flame masks and the wind mask emerged. All the chunin seemed to freeze in time as the two fire masks stretched out to face them, while the wind creaked eerily to face the incoming Kotetsu and Izuma.

They had made the clumsy mistake of only making sure their feet were bound. His hands moved quietly easily through the chakra wire.

"Fire Style: Incendiary Firework Bombardment!"

"Wind Style: Pressure Damage!"

XXX

Hidan

One moment, the brilliant, wonderful exhilaration of battle and potential blood was flooding through him like a river, filling him like an empty reservoir. Then he had been bound by this blasted chakra wire, for the Jashin knew how many times, leaving Kakuzu to once again be the ones to break him out of it.

However, even he began to think dear old Kakuzu must have succumbed to the thrill of battle as well.

Both sides of building erupted in a colossal explosion as the small balls of flame struck them. However, upon impact, they simply did not explode and burn. The explosions multiplied, much like an actual firework, a chain reaction of destruction that rippled across the buildings like a sentient building. The chunin's screams on the roof were almost instantly silenced in the chorus of flame and bombs, something he was sure Deidara would have loved to see.

The foundations of the structures were weakened significantly, and fire was now roaming free. A few moments after the remnant of the jutsu had ended, there was a great stillness and anticipation, until suddenly both building exhaled their last and keeled over, collapsing upon themselves in a great plume of smoke, rubble, and screams as those inside were trapped in their own homes.

It was enough to make him laugh. Definitely have to get Kakuzu to do that more often.

The two chunin from the hunting station, that had so rudely impaled him before, were nowhere to be seen. The road in front of Kakuzu and Hidan had been ruptured and cracked, the force of the exhalation having actually dug into the ground, through the concrete.

The wire shimmered slightly around them, then faded. Hidan swung his scythe again and cut through it swiftly this time, and shook his legs for good measure. "Man, I really hate getting in a bind like that. Get it? Bind?"

Kakuzu retracted his arms and flexed, causing the wire to snap away easily. "You talk to much." He looked around at the destruction he had caused with mild interest. "Did I do that?"

He laughed. "Man, you always forget stuff when you go into that full beast mode of yours. Sure it's not Alzheimer's or something like that?"

"Shut up. Let's get moving, before another attack party finds us-"

Hmm, to late. "Take a look behind you. Already on their way." He flourished the scythe, licking his licks in anticipation. Oh I can't wait for this.

Kakuzu gave a snarl of frustration. "These Konoha-nin just never know when to give up! Ignore them, we need to find their burial crypt."

"Nah, you go on ahead," Hidna said, taking a step forward towards the incoming trio. They looked remarkably young; probably just a fresh genin squad, overconfident in their abilities and no doubt thinking they actually stood a chance. Just the thought of slicing them open, for Lord Jashin, makes my heart flutter, bless me.

His partner gripped his shoulder roughly and shook him. "We stay together. You're not fully immortal, and I'm not at peak strength. Don't be an idiot and let your thoughts get ahead of you."

With a groan, he shouldered the scythe again. "Fine, where to?"

"Stop, intruders!" Oooh, can't ignore a challenge like that!

"Head towards the stone monument of the Hokages."

"Right." Wrong! Kakuzu jumped high into the air, over the heads of the genin. But Hidan instead bolted forward, his face breaking out into a wide grin. Fresh meat, for Lord Jashin!

The sun beat it's rays upon him, bathing him in the embrace of Jashin- It's him, I know it!- and the genin shielded their eyes as the scythe shone brilliantly in their faces.

"Nice knowing ya!" The scythe came down and tore through the kid in the front. His body lurched forward in death, as if still determined to meet him even in death, but it was far short-lived; it took a ghostly step forward, then toppled over in a shower of blood. The last two were smart enough to hear their comrade's demise and duck, avoiding the first strike. But his ease with the scythe was far beyond that of any man; he and it were one. The metal coil sprang around and tripped the youth. The three blades of his weapon curved around as he jumped into the air, guiding it with his palm alone. He had a look at the kids' eyes of shock, one a terrified girl and the other a determined boy, before the tip of the blade ripped into their bodies and went out the other end.

Clang. He frowned as his feet landed on the ground again. That last one stopped the bulk of it from entering by blocking it with a kunai. Tricky guy.

In the distance behind him, he could hear Kakuzu fighting another group of enemy shinobi that had discovered them. He was aware that by having decided to fight the genin, he had cost themselves valuable time they needed to search for Sarutobi.

But after so long without a battle I can actually enjoy, what did he expect! The thrill of killing is just to much to ignore, more valuable than any stupid bounty he could ever get. All earlier doubts over the lust for murder had been erased, he was even regretting not killing the lover of Asuma, the red-eyed bitch Kurenai.

Well, she wasn't really a bitch, but when someone's as weak as her, does it really matter if I offend them or not?

The genin before him was lunging again, and he effortlessly blocked it with the shaft of the scythe. He twisted the reaper's tool and wrestled the kunai out of the kid's hand, then turned sideways and gave a piston-like kick right in the middle of the survivor's chest. He went skidding across the harsh ground with his ribs cracked, where he puffed into smoke-

Shadow Clone? What, how?

"This is for Uncle Asuma! "Fire Style: Ash Pile Burning Jutsu!"

This kid! A dark, choking gray cloud robed him. A trip down memory lane, except this time I don't have the ritual going, nor do I have the immortality helping me out like before. He grimaced. This kid... he's gonna make a great sacrifice.

There was a chink, followed by a great roaring and blinding orange light as the ash became illuminated in fire. He squeezed his eyes shut and ran forward through the haze, blindly swinging at what he thought was the source-

"Fire Style: Searing Migraine!"

"Wait, Kakuzu-!"

The flames around him were suddenly swept away by an even bigger plume of fire, and he felt his skin sizzle and his blood boil inside him. "Hot, hot, HOT, HOT! FUCKING HELL THAT'S HOT!"

His own yell was drowned out by the higher-pitch scream of the kid. Hidan opened his eyes through the eye-watering smoke, and saw a much smaller form stumbling around in front of him. He slashed upward and then sideways through the smoke, and he felt the blades tear through real flesh this time.

The smoke began to clear as he rubbed his eyes, and finally he got a look at his fallen opponent. His hair was standing up, his headband dusty, and his blue scarf burnt with a few live embers still living on it.

And he was still breathing.

"Well?" Kakuzu had walked up and was standing behind him, tapping his foot angrily. Hidan could practically feel the rage boiling off his partner. However, he was much to incensed by the "help" to even care. "Thanks for the wonderful bailout attack. I think I've gotten a great new tan!"

"If you hadn't been so blind to killing," Kakuzu snarled, clenching and unclenching his left hand. "We wouldn't even be here, we could have had Sarutobi and be gone already! Saved the killing for someone worthwhile!"

Hidan glared down at the barely breathing kid. "This kid knew the same attack as Sarutobi, and said something about him being his uncle. Ain't that right, kiddo?" He kicked the boy violently, turning him onto side. "Come on, am I right?"

"U-u-uncle Asuma..."

"See, I told you. Now, where's you uncle buried, kid? You can tell us, we won't hurt him. Just vandalize his grave a bit, that's all. Come on, stop whimpering like a weakling, answer me!" He didn't care how rude and cruel he was being, nor did he care Kakuzu had dropped his fury and was now looking at him with almost affronted eyes. Since when did he give a fuck?

Maybe he's grown soft since killing Kurtz. Yeah, he definitely feels guilt for doing that. Doesn't want to kill as often. But that last Searing Migraine took out a whole other building; he's lit this whole damn village on fire. What's his deal?

"Come on, kid!"

"The... graveyard... the cemetery... outskirts, hidden in the training grounds... p-p-please..."

"On the outside of the walls," Kakuzu said with disgust. "We didn't even need to bother coming in here and risking our lives for this. What a waste of time and money."

Hidan gave the kid a sadistic nod and smile. "Thanks kiddo, you've been great Now, say hi to your uncle and friends for me!"

"HIDAN." The authority in Kakuzu's voice startled him. Never had that gotten out...

"Right..." He hefted the scythe, leaving the kid to live.

"You don't have to kill everything you see, Hidan," Kakuzu said quietly. "Just what we need to make sure our mission is successful. We don't have the time for a massacre."

"You should talk," Hidan grumbled amidst the burning, shattered ruins of the various buildings around them. "Let's just get out of here to the cemetery."

XXX

Other

"That's what I'm trying to tell you! They're not people, they're rock clones! We need explosive tags- Look out!"

He tried to shield the chunin but failed to stop a large, sharp stake of flying wood from impaling the other in the back. The explosion, the source of the flying stake, ended in a spectacular plume of orange flame and gray smoke. Out of it, he saw one of their attackers jump out of, leaping back towards the battlements.

My Byakugan is definitely reading this right, these attackers aren't running the normal chakra network, it's clustered around the base. We've been duped, and I can only guess it's by whoever is running around the village.

"Neji!"

"Sakura, are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine, I'm trying to heal the wounded but we just can't get past the attackers. And we still haven't heard back from Izumo and Kotetsu about the attackers in the village itself-"

Everything is falling apart. "Sakura, the ones of the walls are earth style, solidified clones. That's why fire jutsu and shuriken aren't having any effect on them- WATCH OUT!"

One of the earth clones themselves was approaching fast, fist already drawn back to crush into Sakura's skull-

Sakura whirled and kicked back her clenched fist. Neji's eyes widened as he saw that familiar amount of chakra, all concentrated into her hand smash around the clone's own fist. There was an awful crack in the air, and then suddenly her arm was riping through the clones, smashing it's head open like an egg. The body immediately dissolved, leaving a pile of sand and crumbled earth at their feet.

"Well, that's one down," she grumbled, rubbing her wrist. "Neji, if these are clones, where are they coming from? Use your Byakugan to find out where the chakra source is!"

He only nodded, having already begun to establish the connection.

Because I'm the genius... right, Naruto? You said it yourself... now if only you were here to tell me it again.

"There you are, Neji!" A female voice, Tenten's, broke his concentration. Another body landed beside her, and he recognized the breathing as Lee's.

"The attackers are earth style clones," Sakura explained. "Neji's trying to figure out the source with his long-range Byakugan. If we take out the source, then we can stop this attack altogether..."

Focus. Ignore what's going on around. Focus. The sounds of battle and explosions faded...

"Byakugan!"

Sakura, Lee, Tenten, defenders, assorted clones, animals in the forest, villagers in their homes-

There-

"Neji, what's wrong? Neji?" Lee was shaking his shoulder, but the shock was still apparent. In the forest?

"It's Naruto," he grounded out. "In my sweep, I detected the main attackers: it's the Akatsuki, both of them, like we feared. They're moving in the direction of the graveyard. But I also found Naruto's chakra..."

Now it was Sakura holding him, up in his face. He deactivated the Byakugan and looked her in the eyes. They were full of hope and determination, just like what he was feeling, and what he knew Lee and Tenten were suddenly thinking as well.

"Where is he Neji?" Sakura asked softly.

"He's deep in the woods," he said, standing up and brushing himself down. "We need to divide up duties. The Akatsuki need to be stopped so this attack ends, but we also need to go after Naruto. The longer we wait on either of these tasks, the worse the possibilities could become."

"I'll spread the word about the earth clones," Tenten spoke up, already moving. "Then I'll rustle up whatever help I can get to go after the Akatsuki. You, Lee, and Sakura go after Naruto."

Lee nodded his assent. "Then there is no time to waste," he said gallantly, eyes shining. "It is up to us to turn things around for our village!"

"Lead the way, Neji," Sakura said quietly. Neji could almost read her thoughts, the expression on her face was so intensified. She's not going to loose another team member. Not after Sasuke.

Tenten jumped onto the battlements, going back into the heart of the battle.

We're coming, Naruto. We'll get you back, and put an end to these Akatsuki, once and for all.