A/N: Hi guys! Sorry about the wait, but I've done nothing but study for the past month and didn't really have time. Anyway, I did go back and edit the other chapters but I didn't change much. You will probably want to re-read the last two chapters before this one though because I've changed my mind on what I'm doing with Sasuke (well I went back to my original idea for his character).

Chapter 10: Only the Beginning

"Guess it really is empty then. What a shame."

Sasuke frowned as he walked out of the cave, trying to hide his disappointment. He hadn't really expected to find Itachi in the nearest Akatsuki base to the hideout but it was frustrating nevertheless.

"Well, I did say that I didn't detect any chakra coming from inside" the red haired girl snapped, while she adjusted her glasses. "Maybe next time-"

"Shut up Karin" Sasuke said harshly, as he walked straight passed her towards the boy sat on the grass. Karin watched Sasuke as he went and noted the change in his chakra.

"He's angry, way more angry than anything I have ever felt before. He's putting on a façade around us, but it's always bubbling below the surface. I don't get it, he was always so cool and calm in the past, what's changed?"

"Suigetsu, I thought you were watching Jugo?" Sasuke asked, sounding more like he was telling him off than anything else.

"I thought I told you that you aren't my boss in this little arrangement" Suigetsu shot back, before he casually took another sip from the flask he held in his hand. Sasuke held his gaze over Suigetsu, who eventually just gave in and laughed. "Fine, have it your way for now if you want. He's in the trees over there talking to animals or something. Pretty creepy if you ask me."

Sasuke ignored Suigetsu's final words and simply walked over to where Jugo was. Before he got there, the giant Shinobi came running out, wide-eyed and in shock.

"Sasuke, I-"

Jugo was cut off by the terrible rage that came over him. Glowing red marks began to rush around his body, turning his skin a sickly green colour and his eyes a terrible yellow. Seeing this horrible change as nothing more than an annoying inconvenience, Sasuke simply summoned a pair of giant snakes from his sleeves and wrapped them around him. Within a minute, he returned to his normal state.

"Finish what you were saying" Sasuke demanded.

"I know where the Akatsuki are," Jugo stammered, looking positively terrified at the information he had just received.

Goku felt his muscles relax and what was remaining of his ki return to a normal method of circulation throughout his body. He knew that his job was done for the day at least but the intensity of the battle and the amount of power he was forced to use was worrying, especially when there was a power on it's way that's many times higher. Although, there was one hope that he could think of. Goku stared back down at the battlefield, where that tremendous power had come from just a few seconds before. Judging by the state of the collapsed boy on the ground and the collection of wooden statues surrounding him, it was clear that the power had been emanating from him. Quite how useful it could be in the future was unclear to him, as the reaction from the people below made it clear that he had no control over this power at all and the sheer evil and that came from it made it doubtful if it could ever be harnessed.

"Hey! Are you going to finish these things off or what?"

The shout from a random voice broke Goku from his thoughts and he turned his attention to the remaining Cybermen that were still engaging the Shinobi below. Counting how many there were, Goku simply stretched out his arm and fired off a succession of ki blasts, each of which decimated the unsuspecting and out – matched creations. A strange silence fell over the battlefield, as the threat they had been facing vanished in the blink of an eye. To say it was a strange situation was putting it lightly and many weren't even sure how they should react. After another few seconds, a raucous cheer broke out across the battlefield all directed at the man they saw as a saviour. Goku didn't have the heart to tell them what he had just heard; they may as well have at least one more happy moment. He sighed and then headed down towards the boy.

"How is he?" Goku asked the nearest man, who had what looked like a metallic headband covering his eye.

"He'll be fine now, he just needs to rest. Using the power of a tailed beast can be quite harmful for the Jinchuriki when they haven't mastered it" the man responded, which just gave Goku more questions than answers. "I'm Kakashi by the way."

"My name's Goku" he replied, taking the hand that had been offered and thinking about how strange the name was. "So, I was told that there should be a commander around here somewhere, is that you."

"Actually, it's him" Kakashi sighed, pointing towards the unconscious man on the ground that was being treated by a medical team. "There's a chance that he'll pull through but you won't be able to talk to him for a long time. If you need to talk to someone with authority, our leaders should be meeting in the Hidden Cloud Village after the battles have been completed, so I suppose that you could talk to them there."

"Okay, I'll have to follow you guys there then, is there anything I can do to help right now?"

Kakashi was startled by the offer and wasn't really sure how to respond. How do you order around the man that had just saved your entire planet?

"Erm, no I think we've got it covered" Kakashi replied cheerily despite the circumstances. "How about I just lead you back to the Cloud Village now?"

"That'll work, my friends will probably go there with the other guys as well" Goku said, as he picked up Naruto. "While we go, tell me more about this kid and where that power is coming from."

"So, what is it then Kakarot? I thought our job was done and now your saying there's more to it?"

"I told you Vegeta, I don't want to explain it twice so just wait until we meet with those cage people okay?"

"I'm pretty sure it was pronounced Kage Dad."

The Z fighters were all in separate stalls changing into the replacement gear they had been given by the Shinobi. Of course, Vegeta couldn't allow such moments to pass without starting an argument.

"Hey, these things look pretty cool!" Goten said as he proudly strut out of his stall wearing a grey outfit over a black mesh that was tight to his skin. He'd even put on the Cloud Village headband he'd been given.

"Yeah, and look at these weapons they gave us!" Trunks exclaimed, as he walked out wearing an identical outfit. "These star things looks so awesome, hey Goten try and block this with that head thing."

Trunks launched the Shiruken at Goten, who was able to move his headbands in time to deflect it. However, rather than doing that it shattered on contact and fell to pieces on the floor.

"Hey, you broke it!" Goten yelled.

"Not my fault it's a piece of crap!" Trunks shot back. Predictably, this soon led to a brawl between the two of them as they ran towards each other. However, before either one could land a blow Gohan sprang to life and moved in between them, catching their wrists and stopping them in their tracks.

"You two need to give it a rest" he said, serious and logical as usual. He was wearing a standard Leaf Village uniform, complete with flack jacket and blue shirt.

"Gohan's right, we're all low on power right now and we still have more fighting to do, so don't waste it" Goku piped up as he stepped into the open wearing an identical outfit to that of his oldest son.

"Why are we still low on power Kakarot? And why do we still have to fight? We destroyed those useless Tuffle's all ready so what more do we have to do?"

Vegeta had finally stepped out, unsurprisingly wearing a unique outfit. He had chosen the uniform usually reserved for the ANBU of the Leaf Village, complete with the katana although he had incinerated what he had deemed a "foolish" facemask.

"I just said I'd tell you what I know soon" Goku began, sounding frustrated. "As for the ki thing, according to Piccolo it's probably a side affect of losing all of the power we had. Anyway, we're wasting time standing around we should get going."

"Not us, we want to see what this place is about" Goten declared and was quickly backed by Trunks. Before anyone could object, the two boys ran off. Goku just shook his head and chuckled, while Vegeta muttered expletives and the word "useless" multiple times.

"Lady Tsunade, glad you could finally join us. How is Jiraiya doing?"

Even though he meant well, every time the Tsuchikage spoke Tsunade felt annoyed. It was just the way he spoke, as if every word was intended to display how superior he was over them all, which of course was not in any way true. Still, she knew it was not the time and place and that it was her job to make sure everyone worked together.

"He's alive, Shizune can handle the rest of the treatment herself" Tsunade responded, keeping things brief on purpose. "I take it those Saiyan people aren't here yet?"

"No, they went to change their clothes" Mei replied, as she gazed out of the window. "We're so high up here it really is amazing. You can even see the birds flying past the window."

"Stop trying to change the subject Mizukage, we're all thinking the same thing here" Ay snarled from his chair in the corner. "They wouldn't want to talk to us like this if something wasn't wrong."

As if he'd timed it perfectly, Goku opened the door just after Ay finished speaking. There was an eerie silence in the room, which as especially odd as it was the first time they had all spoken with each other. Still, it left everyone with no doubt as to what the gravity of the situation was.

"Come on Goku" Piccolo grunted. "Enough of your excuses, you need to start talking."

"There's one more coming" Goku blurted out, not bothering with any more build up. "He told me, just before he died. Their king is on his way and he's much more powerful than the one's we fought. The fact that we can't sense him means that he can suppress his power and crucially we can't track him or predict when and where he'll arrive."

"I see" Tsunade stammered, trying to process the information she was getting. She knew that it was too good to be true; it had all been too simple. "Do you think you can win?"

"Not at this power" Gohan commented despondently. "We don't know how long it will take to restore the ki we recently lost either."

"So, you're saying after all we went through to revive you guys, you can't help us?" Ay yelled, his lightning armour beginning to consume him. Vegeta seemed visibly unimpressed with this attempted show at power and made this known through an audible "pfft."

"There's one person that can help us now" Goku began, surprising everyone present. "Where is Naruto Uzumaki right now?"

"Naruto?" Gaara asked, although he didn't need an answer. "He's in the village isn't he? All of the Jinchuriki are here."

"Yes that's right, we thought it best to keep them here given that they would be defenceless in their own villages without the Kage there" Tsunade explained. "Naruto himself is still unconscious though, the effects of the Nine Tails chakra still hasn't worn off."

"Sorry, I'm lost here" Gohan sighed, although he wasn't alone as both Piccolo and Vegeta seemed similarly confused.

"Naruto has a demon sealed inside of him," Goku said, recalling the information given to him by Kakashi. "That's what that foul ki was that you felt, a fraction of it's power leaked out."

"Wait, why does he have a demon?" Gohan asked, letting his curiosity get the better of him.

"It's to maintain the balance of power between the nations" Mei replied. "There are nine Tailed Beasts in the world and for our own safety we were forced to seal them away within people. These people became known as Jinchuriki, with examples being Naruto Uzumaki and Lord Kazekage here. It is believed that the Nine Tailed Fox is the strongest of the demons so consequently he would be the strongest of the Jinchuriki."

"And these beasts sometimes get sealed in children?" Piccolo asked, which was answered with a nod from the various Kage. "How disgusting."

"For once, the Namek is right" Vegeta scoffed. "It's shameful, you would put these things in children rather than take the responsibility yourselves."

"You don't know anything about it!" Ay yelled, smashing the desk in front of him. Furious, he lunged at Vegeta who simply stood with his arms crossed. Before getting there, a wall of sand stopped his attack.

"That's not going to help things," Gaara said. "Besides, any attack you make will hurt yourself far more than it would hurt him."

"So, you want to control the power of the Nine Tails?" Onoki croaked, laughing under his breath as he did so.

"Is it possible?" Goku pleaded.

Both Tsunade and Ay went to open their mouth but were interrupted by the flattering of wings. A small group of doves flew in through the open window and slowly circled the desk. They looked confused, as if they'd flown in by accident.

"Damn birds" Ay muttered, apparently used to this happening in his office.

"No!" Onoki yelled, suddenly jumping up from his seat. "Those aren't birds."

On the edge of the village, a blonde haired man wearing a black cloak with red clouds was stood on a giant clay owl hovering above the village. He looked through the sight covering his right eye and chuckled as he watched the action unfold. He slowly raised two fingers and brought them level with his nose in front of his face.

"Too late old man" he thought, so excited he could barely stand still. "Once I've dealt with you and those other annoying old bores, I'll simply pick up the Kazekage and my quota is met. My only regret is that I can't see your face as I do this. Now, let us begin."

"Katsu!"