"Love is not running away or giving up, it is standing and fighting for every moment."

The forest blurred past as the pale ninja hurried down the dusted footpath. He wasn't waiting to be caught, they didn't know the ninja had escaped, they didn't know yet. It had all been well devised, Deidara and Kisame kept close by to him. It would be only moments now before the dreaded alarm went off, it would only be mere seconds before the military mobilized. The three ninja had done as they said they would, they found the blind side to the bases security camera's. They had cracked the code of the small device Orochimaru had stolen off an NW workers corpse, and they had unlocked their jutsu. They had not freed the entire base, they had decided not to, what if the machines could be overridden by a large more important machine? They kept their escape small scale as they darted out the base. As expected however, the military was far superior to their last place of capture. A loud siren echoed three times before falling silent. An unknown noise to most citizens, but to the trained NW's it was a sound of great concern.

"Will the dome not supress our chakara?" Deidara asked as they exited the small forest beside the military base, they found themselves on a long road leading to two different towns. The one they knew and the one unknown to them. Orochimaru looked back at him.

"No, these devices override the chakara suppressors in the dome." He said, "They want to use ninja as weapons, so they made sure they had them under control, but that they could still use us if the need arises."

"Can't we just unlock everyone's chakara? They already know we are gone." Kisame said.

"We are still no match in our scattered numbers. They'll mobilise an army and they will gun down every ninja in the city. If we unlock their powers they will be targets, if we don't they will be left." Orochimaru explained, "I think it is safer to rather collect an established group before freeing anyone."

Gun shots rang through the air and pierced their ears, they were heading for their town, the sound of a helicopter entered the sky and the ninja took coverage from its far reaching light. They stumbled beneath the trees and waited there for a few moments.

"We need to get to Kakashi and the others." Orochimaru said, it had been a long time since he had seen the man he loved, he wasn't sure if he forgave him for his mishaps, but he knew he missed him. The other two ninja nodded, they needed to enter the city undisrupted, but it was proving difficult.

"I can bomb the plane." Deidara offered.

"They'll know where we are." Kisame said. "Or at least that we can see them, in which case they'll know we are close by."

"Then we avoid engaging all in all." Deidara stated, "Which is fine, we could distract them with shadow clones? Send our clones to fight them and make a break for it in the distraction."

"One bullet and our clones are gone, then we've engaged them again." Kisame said.

"I'll go into the city alone." Orochimaru said, "I can stay hidden easily enough, you stick to the coverage of the forest. I'll bring the others here, you work on a way to get out the dome. We'll rely on your birds to get out."

"Alright." Deidara nodded, "Make it out quick, when the time comes we'll blow a hole through the dome, for now we just look for a weak spot."

"How do you find us?" Kisame asked, Orochimaru contemplated it for a moment before making a shadow clone.

"When you find the spot kill my clone. I will get the details." Orochimaru said, his clone watched them all passively. The group nodded and they split ways, Deidara, Kisame and the clone watched the Sannin move undetected past the helicopter by transforming into a small and nimble serpent. The pale ninja had already passed under the flying machine and was well on his way into the city when they saw his shadowy figure return into his human self. The thin long haired silhouette moved with equal grace to its original serpent form and he disappeared into the towns buildings. The cloned Orochimaru gestured for the other two ninja to get a move on and they all ventured deeper into the trees.

The sound of dogs barking caught their hearing, but with jutsu at their disposal they had little trouble getting clean away from the canines. Once again the landscape was steeper and more slippery than they had thought, but what differed was how they could now approach such terrain. They hopped through trees and ran on water which stretched through smaller sections. They skidded down the steepest declines and leaped over the hills running up. The dogs were left behind within seconds and the ninja for once felt truly free despite being stuck in the dome still. Deidara created clay birds which destroyed some of the terrain as they went, leaving the woodland harder to navigate on technology alone. At the same time Kisame had fun manipulating the water to act uncontrollably adding just that much more pressure onto the men pursuing them. It did not feel like they were being hounded when the forest was only filled with the sound of their hurried steps so they all returned to a high energy walk.

"I can't believe one device has allowed us such freedom." Deidara said putting his hands behind his head as he looked up through the leaves.

"I think it was foolish of them to allow the device to bypass the domes workings." Kisame mentioned.

"Well they wanted to use us as weapons, no doubt they wished for us to be able to function in the dome as well as out." Orochimaru replied, "I guess they didn't expect any ninja to attain one let alone hack it."

"How did you hack it?" Deidara asked.

"We've been exposed to those devices before. And as I usually do after all that was over I did my research on them." Orochimaru's clone admitted, it was a habit of his, to over indulge in any new thing he found. He wished to attain all information and he absorbed every tiny detail like a sponge, it was what made him such a dangerous opponent even too the strong. He knew everything there was to know about any situation most of the time. If he could learn about something best believe he would, and once he started researching a specific thing he wouldn't stop until it was completely unravelled.

"That's what they get." Kisame laughed, "They're own bloody fault for underestimating us."

"I wonder how the real you is handling the city." Deidara said, "It's likely to be under serious guard now that we have escaped."

"Well I'm still here, so it's evident I haven't sustained so much as a hit." The Sannin's clone reminded, after all, if his real self got hurt he would end up disappearing into smoke.

"That's true." Deidara said as he started walking backwards so that he could face the black haired male who was a few paces behind him.

"Now for the tough part…" Kisame said, "We need to find a weakness in the dome."

"Well, planes come and go, they are flying machines after all. Perhaps all we have to do is go to one of the many sky doors." Orochimaru suggested, "We can kill whoever is on guard there, I doubt they had much military protection since most ninja cannot fly, the bottom doors are probably the harder ones to target. However we can fly thanks to your birds, so we can aim for the most vulnerable looking door, we'll just have to kill a few NW's."

"I've been waiting too long to do that again." Kisame said looking at the two smaller ninja.

"We cannot kill them before we regroup though." The snake's clone said, "Or else the military will come instantly to aid their fallen port, meaning we will not have time to wait for Kakashi and the others."

"We can set up a trap while we wait." Deidara said, "So that once we decide its time all we have to do is activate our trap. But let's focus on finding a sky port first."

"Of course." Orochimaru's clone said as he followed the blonds step. He was careful not to hit anything, dare he turn to smoke and leave his real self lost in the city. The other two found it slightly amusing as he took extra precautions over the most minor things. No fallen tree was over looked, no low hanging branch ignored. Kisame started walking a little slower before deciding he would have a bit of fun with the situation, after all it was rare to see the Sannin cautious near danger. He was more the type to allow himself to get completely destroyed before simply regenerating into a new self.

Orochimaru, true to his nature noticed the man's odd behaviour and glanced up at him sceptically.

"What are you doing Kisame?" He asked, knowing full well the man was one of a darker humour to most. He was the type to play with fire, he had done so around Itachi and he would certainly never pass up an opportunity to do so with the Sannin.

"Nothing." Kisame lied, "Worried?"

Deidara watched them in confusion, he hadn't picked up on any of the energy circulating, he hadn't noticed the sharks intentions yet.

"Careful of that river." Kisame said flashing a shark toothed grin, "If it knocks you, you could vanish."

"I'm aware thank you-what river?" Orochimaru regretted asking him as the larger male summoned a mild but strong current. The ex-Akatsuki member evidently finding it funny as the ninja scampered out the way to avoid it with such haste.

"Bloody hell what happens if I did disappear you idiot?" Orochimaru hissed, not entirely amused that the joke was at his expense.

"Then it would be a fun search for your real self." Kisame laughed, "Watch your step now."

Once again after the man spoke a current of water miraculously appeared before the ninja, the snake summoner avoided it once more leaving the shark man laughing spitefully. He stopped laughing when he was splashed by his own water as the Sannin commanded wind slightly more forceful to move the water backwards.

His spiked blue hair flopped down slightly as he was splashed and he allowed his dark eyes to fall into the Sannin's amused ones.

"You can thank me later Kisame, I know just how much you like the water." He said sweetly as he passed the man, who from there on decided it was probably best to stop testing the pale ninja. After all, pushing his limits with the calm Uchiha had been far less dangerous than trying to trick the snake. One was good natured and stoic, hardly letting the world bother him out of his duties, the other had a habit of getting revenge twice as hard. If Kisame threw a pebble best believe the serpent would throw a rock. After a few more minutes of walking and analysing the sky to seek out openings they finally found one. Or at least they noticed a disturbance in the pattern of the domes roof.

"That's our gap." Deidara said, he spun around to look at his two comrades, but the Sannin was not there, "Orochimaru?"

"He vanished." Kisame said, the blond looked at him angrily.

"Did you hit him?" He snapped.

"No." Kisame replied, upon realizing what that meant Deidara's anger turned to worry. The real Sannin must have been in trouble.

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Orochimaru entered the city and carried on his way down the street unnoticed, how much easier it was getting away from public eyes now that he had his jutsu. He could feel the pressure of the dome however, he was unable to strain his body as he usually had. He could feel that there was some disturbance while he was still under the influence of the dome. It was as if the device was fighting the domes natural duty. He could feel that conflict inside him. On the one hand he could feel his chakara racing through him, however on another hand he could feel it's struggle to surface at will. He would have to be careful when he chose his jutsu, anything could lead him to messing up and it was hardly the time for mistakes. He navigated through the roads as he had managed to memorize many names and shops. Eventually he ended up in the darker part of the city where he knew the motel was situated. He wondered what the others would think, wondered what Kakashi would say.

It had been so long since he had been by his lover and he had now decided to rather forget the petty argument. It was Asuma's fault, and besides that, it was an argument between the serpent and Asuma. Kakashi had no place to pick sides and make his life hard. They could sort their own feud out, after all they were full grown adults. He reached the motel and took tentative steps inside, he wasn't looking forward to the reunion all of a sudden, a pang of anxiety hit him, and he felt his stomach knot uncomfortably. He greeted the man at the desk and then ran up the stairs, no one questioned his hurried steps but many passed him curious eyes. His black hair swept behind him in a slightly controlled looking manner before stopping to fall around his slim form when he halted outside his door. He tried to open it half expecting it to be open as it always was but the door handle wouldn't allow him to. He then knocked in hopes of someone being home and waited outside for the longest few minutes of his life. There was no response and he knocked impatiently again. This time he caught a passer-by's attention and the man stopped beside him.
"They haven't been home in two days." He said.
"Did you see where they went?" Orochimaru asked.

The man shrugged and shook his head to indicate he had not, the Sannin's hope dropped. How was he too get them out if he had no idea where they were. It would be a waste of time searching the city and the military was bound to come looking for him.
"I see, thank you." Orochimaru replied to the man as he moved away from the door. The NW seemed sympathetic and his eyes appeared weary. Most likely older than his years in nature. He wished the serpent well and they parted ways, Orochimaru asked the man at the desk if he had seen the ninja leave. He was told they left in a car with some man, the car described was not one the Sannin knew. He went outside and leant against a dark grey wall as drizzle started up once more. It eventually got harder and managed to soak his hair. Droplets ran down his face and dripped out from his now strangled looking strands of hair. His arms were crossed over his chest as he tried to think of where he could possibly begin looking. He had given them a phone, but Satoru had confiscated Deidara's one. So he now had no phone to use anyway. He had no money to use a payphone. He then remembered the one person he could rely on to still have his phone.

He had driven to Saura's house on many occasions and had memorized the location, he knew which streets to turn down and which ones to skip. He could see many people watching him as he navigated the wet city. No one else was out in the rain, at least no one else in their right mind. He ignored the looks, he just wanted to get to the other ninja. He felt like a horse separated from its herd, so desperate to simply see one of its own again. So instinctively set on reuniting with what it knew, with where it belonged. He was breathless by the time he reached Saura's large home, he knocked on the door before realizing the man had a bell. After ringing it twice in his impatience the door was swung open. Orochimaru was shocked to see Asuma looking at him. It may have been a first, but the serpent was happy to see the man. Asuma on the other hand looked more shocked than happy.
"Orochimaru?" He said in stunned confusion.
"Why are you here?" He asked.
"I could ask you the same question." Asuma said moving out his way so the Sannin could get out of the rain. Orochimaru slipped into the house his hair still dripping from its exposure to the cold rain.
"I was looking for you guys- you weren't at the motel." Orochimaru said.
"How did you get out the military?" Asuma asked as he lead the Sannin down the hall. Orochimaru trusted him to take him to the others, he knew they were for now on the same side at the very least.

"We escaped- we got hold of one of their devices." Orochimaru said he then stopped midway through the hall and leant up to whisper the next part to the Jonin, "I have my chakara back."
Asuma was shocked even more now and he pulled the Sannin into another room and closed the door. They were in a laundry room it appeared as a machine slushed around different coloured shirts in a swirling motion.
"All of it?" Asuma asked.
"Yes- but it's still not all right... The dome is still trying to suppress my abilities. However the device seems to override the dome." Orochimaru said, "it's difficult to control my chakara like I usually would, but I can certainly do whatever jutsu I wish with enough effort. I can get your jutsu back as well. All of ours. Deidara has his already. We need to get out of here, I can't give you your chakara in front of Saura he will sell us out."
Asuma nodded, he then opened the door and lead the way to the upstairs of the house where Orochimaru could hear the sound of Kakashi's angered voice.
"It's been days." The copy ninja snapped, "how can you expect me to trust some military leader who kidnapped the person I love? Stop defending them already, you're delusional if you think Satoru gives a single care about any of the ninja."

"He obviously doesn't care about your kind as much as you do. Humans are selfish by nature-" Saura could be heard muttering before he was interrupted.
"You're making cop out excuses. For all we know they're both dead!" Hidan said.
"Well what do you want me to do? Demand the fucking military to excuse one ninja because his friends and family want him back?" Saura finally yelled back, almost out of character the NW picked up his phone as it vibrated, his eyes seemed unnerved after that, "people appeal to have family returned all the time, the military has bigger problems."
"What would that be? Suppressing the ninja?" Kakashi snapped now even more angered that the man had checked his phone at such a time, "you came to us. Don't ever tell me we were the ones who started this."
Orochimaru entered the room his golden eyes still apprehensive upon feeling the tense energy. It took the room a few moments to even realize the Sannin had entered. The ninja only turned to look at the door when they saw Shikamaru's eyes jump up. Kakashi looked behind him and his angered eyes took on a new emotion, a seemingly unreadable one. But too the snake they were perfectly clear. He was glad to see his lover was equally as overjoyed to see him. It was a silent few steps but the copy ninja had crossed the distance in secinds before he pulled the serpent into him.

"By the gods." He muttered almost inaudibly. Orochimaru returned the small embrace, his senses feeling much more at ease as the Jonins scent returned.
"I think we have what we came for." Asuma said, "we have no business here."
"And Deidara?" Hidan said getting up hopefully.
"He is waiting for us elsewhere." Orochimaru replied to the immortal, the other ninja got to their feet and Ino passed a small smile to the Nara beside her in relief.
"Did Satoru let you out?" Saura asked coming over, he felt out of his element. The ninja seemed to be much closer to one another and he could never hope to find his way into their tightly knit group. He was of a different species it appeared when he was surrounded by the jutsu wielders.
"Yes." Orochimaru lied, "only for now though."
"I see." Saura said, the Sannin could pick up something was wrong.
"What's the matter?" Orochimaru asked still keeping his facade of innocence up.
"Nothing... I know you're in a hurry... but there was something I wished to give you before you leave. It'll take a moment, I just need to run to my room to fetch it." Saura asked. The ninja had no objections and they awaited the man's return. Five minutes later, once the ninja had grown impatient a loud sound bounced through the skies. Saura entered the room before opening the door.

"What's that?" Ino asked worriedly.
"Forgive me." Saura said, the window reflected a blinding light as a chopper flew beside it, a bright search light entering the room. The group of Shinobi were panicked and the Sannin automatically recognized it as the military's sign.
"Why did you call them?" Orochimaru asked.
"My house is designed to pick up traces of chakara for my own safety." Saura stated calmly, he displayed his phone and it showed an alarm message displayed on the devices screen, "why did you lie?"
Asuma looked at the Sannin, he may have been out of luck but they were still in the clear. He got closer to the snake who was still pressed to the copy ninjas chest.
"Give me the device." He muttered. The snakes frightened golden eyes met his darker ones. A snake subtly slipped out of his sleeve and exposed the device. Asuma snuck it into his own pocket and stepped away from the Sannin, he gestured for Kakashi to do the same but the other Jonin refused. The window broke open as men jumped from the helicopter into the building. From the doors more men poured in their guns ready, they yelled for the ninja to get down while some escorted Saura away.

Ino cried out as men circled them, she was quick to drop to her knees her hands above her head to signal she was going to comply. Shikamaru followed her lead as did Hidan and Asuma. Kakashi didn't want to move but he heard Asuma mutter it was the only way to save the Sannin. Orochimaru looked over at his partner, his yellow eyes indicated he needed him to move away, so hesitantly Kakashi dropped to his knees as well to show he was surrendering. Satoru entered through the window off the chopper.
"Accomplices?" He asked, Saura took his phone out and then shook his head.
"No, they have nothing do to with this." Saura said, "but have them escorted out my house anyway, they shouldn't be detained however."
Satoru gestured for his men to lead the ninja to the far corner of the room, "they can leave once we have ensured the capture of Orochimaru."
Men approached him as the other ninja watched him from the hallway. They saw him attempt to escape, saw snakes erupt and dare the men to approach their summoner. But as they were pulled out of sight they heard gun shots. Then a sickening silence. Kakashi pulled away to get back up the stairs but he felt something painful hit him as well. Ino shrieked but then the world was stuck in an even more ear piercing silence.

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Orochimaru held his chest on the floor of Saura's house, blood ran over his hands and he shook uncontrollably. It was a new pain, one he doubted he could ever familiarize with. His shuddering form failed to obey him and he gasped for air as men pulled him towards them. He heard a gunshot down the stairs and he automatically thought of his lover, had he been killed? It caused the Sannin more grief than he would have allowed his old self to show. He hissed and startled the soldier apprehending him. His old body fell to smoke as he regenerated into a new one. The soldier gasped in shock at the display and backed away as he raised his gun and fired two more shots. The bullets never penetrated the serpents skin as he was ready for the attack.
"He is there!" Satoru yelled as the men lost sight of the quick moving Sannin. However they were fooled by a shadow clone and shot air multiple times. Men blocked the door but the Sannin hadn't chosen to use the door. He transformed into a snake as he exited through the window. He opted for a large transformation, his appearance now that of a constrictor with golden brown scales marked by dark black rings.

He gripped the plane and the propellers sliced some of his flesh, but he ignored the physical wounds and restricted the chopper until the metal started to combust and implode. The pilot yelled for assistance and the men shot at the giant snake. Bullets entered the Sannin and he hissed but it was far too late for the pilot and everyone abroad the flying machine. It's entire body snapped like a stick beneath the restrictor and it fell from the sky. It landed with a loud roaring sound before moments later exploding into flames and setting off the garage below. The car inside responded by blowing up as well and the fire caught ablaze in the garden and surrounding houses, it had citizens in terror as they ran from their homes and screamed their fears. The Sannin returned to his human form and entered the house from below, the soldiers had not expected the snake to be in front of them and were silenced by many smaller venomous serpents. Orochimaru looked around for his lover and met his weakened eyes. He traced his form for any bullet wounds but could see no blood, either way the man looked slightly out of it.

He spent too long looking over his lover to check him for injury and did not hear Satoru's impassive voice behind him. He felt his anger however when something was rammed into his side. He hissed and writhed as he tried to pull out the sword like metal but Satoru passively forced it in deeper. The sensation was far more painful than a usual stab wound. It felt like one of the Uchiha's eternal tortures forced into one blow. He went down without consenting and was then pinned by many strong hands, their weight crushing his small body which could barely breath let alone fight them off. His bones felt as if they were snapping and the crippling metal was still wedged into his side. He writhed below them and tried to surface for air but the more he struggled the more they grounded him.
"Get off!" Hidan yelled as he saw his friend being swallowed by men's figures until his fragile form was completely gone from view, "you're going to kill him-"
"Stay back ninja or else you'll be next." Satoru warned him as he took a step forwards, it was enough to send the immortal back a few inches. He may have been immune to death but he hardly wanted to be caught alive anyway. He knew full well there were worse things than death, and that was coming from a man rather nonchalant about pain.

Orochimaru started losing focus quicker than he would have liked, he tried using his jutsu but it appeared as if he no longer could once more. He felt utterly defenceless, unable to do anything and at the complete mercy of his enemy. His golden eyes were tightly shut as he fought the panic his body attempted to slip into. He had never known the true extent of feeling vulnerable until his eyes briefly opened to look into many pairs of uncaring ones. They were treating him as wolves did their kill. He had no escape and in mere moments they had gone for his throat making the world blur and disappear from his senses.

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Kakashi woke up and jumped to his feet. He regretted it and his vision swirled as he got a major head rush, however he pressed forwards until someone grabbed hold of him. He looked up to find he was staring into familiar yet surprising eyes. Kisame helped the copy ninja stabilize himself until he could finally make a proper evaluation of his situation. Deidara leant on a large clay bird which somehow looked around as if it had awareness, Asuma sat next to Shikamaru as he tampered with something while Ino and Hidan spoke quietly to one another as they passed curious eyes at the blond rogue who appeared to be rather pissed off. Orochimaru was nowhere to be seen and that almost had the white haired shinobi turning around aiming straight for the military base. He was stopped by an worried voice.

"Kakashi?" Ino said as she stood up, she raced over to assist him, she was already good at healing but was still unable to use her chakara. However she was in nurse mode regardless after a few lessons with Tsunade and sat beside the man to check his wounds.

"You weren't hit by a lethal bullet, just a tranquiliser." She informed him, "Not a normal one though, it left quite a wound. Just not a fatal one."

"Where is Orochimaru?" He asked her, her bright eyes dropped to the floor.

"We don't know exactly. He was taken out by Satoru and his men…" She said, "Deidara and Kisame came to fetch us from the motel."

"Taken alive?" Kakashi asked.

"Barely." Asuma said from his seated position, he said it casually. The copy ninja wasn't in the mood to even respond.

"Then why are we sitting here, what's the plan?" Kakashi snapped. Asuma got to his feet as Shikamaru did.

"The plan is to crack this thing and get our chakara back. Then we escape through the dome." Asuma said, "We aren't near cracking it though."

"Where in this plan do we get Orochimaru back?" Kakashi asked his dark eyes staring at the man expectantly.

"Nowhere yet. We plan on freeing everyone though. But first we get out, then we damage the dome from the outside." Asuma said, "If everything goes well we can build an army outside the dome then attack as we did before when we are ready. If Orochimaru is still alive and we find him then that will be the time we rescue him."

"We explained it to Deidara already." Ino said, "As much as we would like to run back to our fallen comrades, this is a war and we can't forget that. If we fail everyone loses their loved ones… being a ninja requires sacrifices"

The word sacrifice hit the copy ninja harder than any bullet may have. Just how many sacrifices did the gods wish to take form him? How many people would he personally have to lose till they had settled their thirst. He was not willing to make sacrifices any longer.

"I'm done making sacrifices." Kakashi said, it was unlike him, he out of all the ninja had always known what his duty was. Asuma reminded him of that quickly.

"You sound like your father Kakashi." He said looking up at him, "and those words made him die a disappointment. We may know he was a great man but the world saw him as selfish. We cannot put our loved ones above everyone else's. As much as we would love to."

"If I loved someone other than him," Kakashi began, "Would you still be saying that?"

"Yes." Asuma said, "And if I ever tell you, I, a Jonin of Konoha, is done making sacrifices for the people who died before me, then I hope you will tell me the same thing."

There was an awkward silence, and it managed to make the disaster that much more unpleasant. However Kakashi had made up his mind. The copy ninja looked over at Deidara and the others.

"How did you return your chakara?" He asked.

"Orochimaru cracked it, but now that he is not here we can't get him to operate it. We've gotten past the code, he already ensured we knew it." Deidara explained, "However we have no idea how to get to our specific chakara strains- or more so your guys strains. Kisame and I have been unlocked and secured."

"Let me look at it." Kakashi said, he recalled his lover excitedly explaining the mechanical specimen. How he enjoyed how his partners eyes lit up and voice bounced with enthusiasm when he had discovered something, when he had finally mastered a concept. The Sannin loved knowledge, and Kakashi loved allowing the pale ninja to babble on for hours about what he had learned. Rarely was it the facts that made the copy ninja listen with full attention but rather his lovers charmed voice, his ways of explaining. He swore the snake summoner could make a room listen about the most boring of things, simply because everything he ever said was so peculiar and different in nature. Some hated him for his different way of functioning, Kakashi found it to be a breath of fresh air.

He took the device from Shikamaru to find he recognised some of its most strange features, of course he also had a rather good memory and had been promoted at a young age to a high level because of it. He mastered things with equal ease to his lover, which was what the Sannin loved about him. He enjoyed a laid back intellectual, someone smart enough to keep up with him yet passive enough to not encourage or provoke his eternal burning flame of passions.

After several quiet minutes chakara flared around Ino, then Shikamaru until finally Hidan, Kakashi and Asuma had aura's glowing as well.

"You did it!" Shikamaru said with impressed eyes.

"Half of it, you were already half way where you needed to be." Kakashi admitted, "So you'll break out and build an army outside the dome then."

"You mean we?" Asuma said.

"No, you, I'm going back for Orochimaru." Kakashi said handing the device over to the man.

"That's insanity they'll just kill you!" Asuma snapped.

"Sacrifices must be made as a Jonin." Kakashi restated, it angered his friend.

"Not foolish ones with hardly any gain." Asuma snapped, "You're going down the same road as your father."

"My father was a man of honour." Kakashi said meeting eyes with the taller male, "If he died a disappointment, I would be privileged to be called the same."

It was the last time they would meet eyes for a while.

Authors note: Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, I will be going away to meet up with family in a few days. I may be late with updating chapters, but I will try my best to stay in check.

Thank you to all those who comment and favourite my works. It means a lot to hear what you all have to say~