Wow, it's been a LONG time since I updated this early. Maybe that energy drink really did work after all (don't buy those tiny Lucozade shots, they taste like medecine), or maybe this chapter was jsut exciting. True enough, I upped my rating to M with this. Well, you'll see what I mean. Any suggestions to what the world outside the five nations would be like would be interesting, I'm still forming thoughts in my head.

Disclaimer: So not to spoil the latest manga chapter (489) I will simply say this. HOLY FUCKING SHIT!

In the land of the shadows

The dawn sun broke through the windows of the large, empty warehouse, casting its bright morning light upon the blood soaked floors of the building. Bodies lay casually strewn across the ground, up on the walkways and even in the rafters, each one lying in a pool of their own life water. Utakata wandered through one of the higher up rooms of the building, holding a couple of plastic cups filled with clean, cool water. He descended down the steel steps to the ground floor, taking care to avoid any of the bodies lying in his path.

"Ooh…" he heard a groan, coming from not too far away. He took a sip from one of the cups; he was already anticipating a bad mood, "My fucking head!"

He stepped around one of the large turbines at the bottom of the stairs, spotting Hidan laying on the ground not too far away, his cloak removed from his upper half and hanging around his waist. If not for what he had seen last night, the sight of the spike running through his temporary partner's gut would have worried him.

"You're quite an impressive person, Hidan-senpai." he said, crouching down next to the man. Hidan reached up and pulled the spike out of him, before moving to a sitting position. He grabbed his head, wincing in pain.

"Shit." he cursed, looking at the circle of blood around him, perfectly matching his amulet, "Jashin-sama's gonna be pissed I fell asleep in the middle of a ritual."

"Jashin-sama?" Utakata asked, handing the other cup to Hidan. The silver haired Shinobi accepted it, but gestured for silence. Utakata gave a nod of understanding, before reaching into his Kimono and pulling out a vial, "Here."

Tipping some of the contents into the cup, the water inside changed to a pale blue. Cocking his brow, Hidan raised the cup to his lips and drained it. Once satisfied, he tossed the cup aside and began rubbing his neck, getting to his feet. Utakata joined him, still a little concerned about the blood pouring out of his wound, "Shouldn't you take care of that?"

Hidan gave Utakata a curious glance, before looking down at his wound. But all he did was shrug, and pull his cloak back onto his shoulders, "It's fine, that doesn't bother me."

He gave a look around the warehouse, glancing over his work from the previous night. Utakata couldn't help but feel unease at the prideful expression Hidan wore; he seemed more than a little pleased with his work.

"Ah, excuse me senpai." he said, distracting Hidan from his dark form of entertainment, "Perhaps we should visit the authorities and receive the reward?"

"Tsk." Hidan grunted, with an annoyed look. He turned his back on Utakata, making his way toward the large open entrance of the warehouse, "Like I care about that. You do it if you want; I'm going someplace dark, and very quiet."

With that he left, vanishing from sight as Utakata watched. The younger Shinobi considered going after him, he doubted a blood stained man would be very welcome in the streets. But then again, it didn't sound like Hidan was in any hurry to head to public places. And so he took his own, disgruntled look around, before turning and heading in the other direction.

* * * * *

Fukahimei, the second largest, and by extension the second most fraudulent town in all of Kage no Kuni. This was a place where even the humour was always dry, and dreams were buried beneath the layers of dust and sand that covered the craggy earth. In this place, the only ones who prospered where the ambitious, and the cowardly. To that end, it was the perfect place for a certain element to gather.

Inside one of the many bars the town held, a commotion like many others brewed in the same old fashion. Someone had knocked over another man's drink, and compensation was demanded. A thug looking to be in his forties rose sharply to his feet, knocking his chair over in the process. He glared behind his thick, greying moustache, his bonnet hiding his shiny head. He reached over and grabbed the source of his aggravation, a young man with light brown hair tied back in a low ponytail.

"What the hell do you think you're doing bastard?!" he demanded, pulling the young man close by the scruff of his neck. The young man shrank back, a scared look on his tanned face, "That was some fine wine you just spilled there!"

"No it wasn't." commented one of the man's more dim witted accomplices. The man gave his comrade a sharp look, and the other person quietened with a quick apology. The man then turned his gaze back to the younger man, a cunning grin growing on his wrinkled face.

"I think you owe me a little something." he said, raising his free hand to rub his thumb and fingers together. The signal was clear, and the young man's distress grew.

"I'm very sorry!" he cried, his hands gripping the man's as he tried to keep his voice steady, "I don't have any money!"

"Is that so?!" the man yelled, raising his fist to the boy. But then a flash of light distracted him, and he turned his glare across the bar. Another man sitting at a distance held a large camera in his hands, while a man next to him took notes. Angrily, the man turned to his brainless accomplice, "Take care of those guys will ya?"

Before he could get an answer, the man whirled on the spot and dragged the young man out into the street. As he left, the other man and a couple others got to their feet, and made their way over to the very nervous looking reporters.

"I- I'll pay you back!" the young man pleaded, as he was pulled into the alley next to the bar. He was ignored however, and tossed into the overflowing trash cans at the end of the alleyway.

"Oh you'll pay alright." the older man said, taking a small piece of what looked like varnished wood from his pocket. But then with a flick of his wrist, the young man's horrified eyes reflected in the metal of the blade that snapped out from its container, "I hear organs sell pretty well on the market. Guess I'll find out for myself."

"No, wait!" the young man exclaimed, raising a desperate hand. He was ignored however, as the man drew nearer, "Please!"

Suddenly, with a bone crunching smash, the older man was removed from his feet and thrusted into the brick wall. Crying out in pain, he dropped his weapon as he grabbed the blackened hand of the man gripping his throat.

"Perhaps there's something you can give us instead." Kakuzu said, his voice dripping with danger. The old man gave the large Shinobi a terrified look, amidst his gasps for air.

"Man, Kakuzu-san, you couldn't have jumped in before he threw me to the trash?" asked the younger man, as he got to his feet. After lightly brushing himself down, he raised his hands together and formed the ram seal. In an instant, his entire appearance changed, and Naruto stood in his place.

"Y-you're ninja?!" the old man wheezed, looking from Naruto to Kakuzu. The older of the two reached behind him and removed the giant blade he was wearing on his back, and tossed it to Naruto, "Bastards!"

"That isn't what we want to hear." Kakuzu said, lifting the man higher off the ground, "Where is Okamoto Gisaku?"

The old thug choked under Kakuzu's grip, but put on a strong glare of defiance. He then took in as much air as he could, before spitting on Kakuzu's mask, "Let him have it!"

Suddenly the door behind them was kicked open as the thug's friend from inside the bar charged out, wielding a rusty pitchfork. He raised it high into the air and brought it down upon Kakuzu, crying out in the process. But before it could make contact, Naruto grabbed the makeshift weapon by the handle, stopping it in its tracks.

"Hey man, you're kind of interrupting." he said, before snapping off the end of the tool with a flick of his wrist. He was distracted from anything more however, as he heard the old thug's splutters.

"Wait… please." he rasped, his voice barely audible. Kakuzu's grip was tightening, and the old man's face was turning purple. But then he suddenly released the choking man, who landed on his feet and staggered, "I… I…"

He never got to finish his sentence however, as right then Kakuzu through his rock solid fist into the old man's face. The wall behind cracked with the pressure, there was no longer a head between Kakuzu's hand and the brick. There was a lot of other stuff however. Naruto stared stunned at Kakuzu, who was breathing slowly and heavily. He watched as his head whipped around, his eyes settling on the person who had tried to attack him.

"Oh my-" the man cried out, making to escape. But Kakuzu grabbed him before he could get away, and threw him against the very wall his comrade's blood and other such things was spattered with. Kakuzu pressed his hand against the man's face, forcing his cheek onto the gruesome blend of flesh, blood and bone.

"Where. Is. Okamoto. Gisaku?!" he snarled, in a voice that even made Naruto take a step back.

"He- he- he's at Little Shiro's place!" the thug spluttered, praying he wouldn't meet the same fate as his comrade.

"And where is that?" Kakuzu asked, his face nearly touching the thug's.

"Down at the bottom of town!" the thug speedily replied, "Please, let me go!"

Satisfied that was all he needed, Kakuzu pulled the thug's head back and struck it against the wall, knocking him out cold. He then tossed the unconscious man aside, onto the corpse of the fool who spat on him. Raising his arm to wipe the spit off onto his sleeve, Kakuzu turned to Naruto, "Let's go."

"H-hai!" Naruto replied. Right now, at the moment, the last thing he intended to do was annoy this guy. So he quickly followed, leaving the alleyway as they began to head south.

"Wow… uh…"

"Yeah." Naruto agreed, with an uncertain look, "Wow."

* * * * *

Yagura stepped out of the carriage, landing on cobbled ground. He looked over the area, raising a brow in the process. He had been raised in Kirigakure, with its chill air and buildings covered in moss and the likes. He had gone from that to Amegakure, a place filled with buzzing lights and obscene monuments protruding from the buildings. Yet here, in this place, he felt more alienated than ever.

What stuck him first was just how square the place seemed. The buildings, the stones beneath their feet, even the area they stood in was a massive square. He glanced over the slates upon the roofs of the stone buildings, the glass windows of the busy shops; he had never seen so much of one shape in a single place.

"What's up with this country?" he thought, as Gaara and Itachi appeared behind him. When both of them dropped down on the ground, the driver of the carriage headed off, the sound of the horses hooves striking the stone echoed as they left. Kisame raised his sedge hat, slipping it onto his head.

"This is gonna be annoying." he muttered, turning around to face the others, "Where too?"

"We'll check in here." Itachi replied, turning and heading towards the far side of the area. Up ahead was a small monumental clock, a stone structure standing in the centre of the square. And past it was a large, very official looking building. It stood at the top of a set of stone stairs, columns holding up the overhanging piece of stonework of the oversized edifice.

All around people were giving strange looks to these newcomers, though in Yagura's opinion the right belonged as much to him as it did to them. He would never have imagined it possible, but there was a strange sense coming from these people, a sense of self righteousness he didn't like at all. It felt like they were looking down on him, even though they made no apparent expression.

"Damn it these people are easy to read." he thought, as they began the climb up the stairs. By the large oak doors at the top of the stairs, two guards were stationed. They both wore grey bandanas, tied tight around their shaven heads. Black tank tops and dark green slacks made up the rest of their uniform, with the addition of heavy leather boots on their feet. Neither of the guards made eye contact as Itachi and the others approached, but once the group reached the doors they moved identically.

"Your business here?" asked one of the guards, as he and his workmate stood before the group. Like before they failed to make direct eye contact, and gripped their hands behind their backs.

"We're looking for Kishourai Industries." Itachi replied, giving away as little as possible. The guards seemed content with that, but neither lowered their defences.

"You have passes?" asked the other guard. Yagura and Gaara followed suit to their seniors' as Kisame and Itachi pulled out their passes. For the first time one of the guards moved his eyes, studying the passes and forms closely while the other maintained his averted gaze.

"These are fine." said the first guard, before jerking his head to his right, "Head in that direction, keep going until the second junction and take a right. Kishourai Industries base of operations is the compound five hundred yards from there."

Itachi nodded in thanks, before he and the others turned to their left and followed the directions. Yagura glanced over his shoulder to the guards, both of whom had returned to their positions. Even now neither looked to the group, maintaining their vigilant watch ahead of them.

"What's up with that?" he thought, turning his head back to the front. He looked over to Gaara, but his age mate seemed to think nothing of it. With a slight look of annoyance, he decided to take the same state and ignore it for now, "Guess it doesn't matter."

* * * * *

Utakata lay upon the bough of a tree, resting in the cool shade with his arms folded behind his neck. Below him was the canal that ran right around town, the surface was as still and calm as he was. Having laid there for quite a while, he had dozed off into only slight awareness of his surroundings. Because of this he was unprepared when the bough was suddenly pulled aside.

"HWAH!" he cried out, as he fell through the air. With a loud thud he landed on his rear, wincing in pain as he sat up, "What…?"

"C'mon, get up." Hidan said, replacing his scythe on his back. Utakata looked up at him through a single eye, confusion and pain causing him to lose his composure, "I'm sick of this place, let's go."

Still feeling sore, Utakata raised himself to his feet. He looked again at Hidan, who was waiting for him to right himself with a bored expression, his pinkie inserted deep within the caverns of his ear, "Shouldn't we wait for Kakuzu-san to-"

"Ah screw him." Hidan interrupted, removing his finger and flicking away a clod of wax. He then turned around and made his way to the bridge leading out of town, "Hell if I'm hanging around just cos that bastard told me to."

Reluctantly, Utakata followed Hidan out of the village, soon getting over his mild injury but maintaining an annoyed look. He let it slip however when Hidan glanced back at him, and just wore a faintly bored expression as they walked. In the end he figured it was best to at least try and figure out if Hidan had a destination in mind, they'd need some way to meet up with Kakuzu and Naruto after all. And so he sped up a little to walk beside Hidan, intending to engage in simple conversation.

"So senpai, where are we going?" he asked, casually looking over to his left. Unnecessarily, Hidan pointed straight ahead to the empty road off to the distance.

"There's a Jashin temple I wanna visit." he said, dropping his hand to his side, "I wanna pay it a visit, since it's one I haven't been to yet."

"Sorry but, who is Jashin?" Utakata asked, looking over to Hidan questioningly. Hidan looked to Utakata from the corner of his eye, a thin smirk appearing on his face. He then casually held his hands behind his back, closing his eyes in a conspicuously casual manner.

"Jashin-sama is god." he said, in a simple tone. Utakata raised a curious brow, considering the sight he had seen earlier religion was the last thing he'd expected this person to be involved in, "He watches over those of us who bring total slaughter and destruction."

With his other brow following its brother, Utakata gave Hidan a shocked look. He had far from been expecting an answer like that, something that sounded as incorrect as that did, "A god who wishes death and destruction? I can't say I'm familiar with that sort of following."

"Heh, and that's why you're a heathen." Hidan replied, his smirk widening. He then turned his head to look directly towards Utakata, his purple eyes honing in on Utakata's single visible one, "Of course, if you become a Jashinist and take Jashin-sama as your god then he can still forgive you."

"Ah, sorry." Utakata said, raising his hand in the single prayer sign for apology, "I think the situation is dangerous enough as it is."

From the looks of things, saying that only served to annoy Hidan. The person now confirmed as a Jashinist wore a scowl as he looked ahead again, his arms falling back to his sides. Utakata could tell that he had offended him, though that was an obvious deduction.

"Though it does sound interesting." he said rather quickly, "I'm guessing from your yelling last night that it has something to do with how you fight?"

Hidan let out a long, drawn out sigh at Utakata's question. Though rather than annoyed, he seemed only discomforted instead. He reached within his cloak, his hand lowering further and further. Misinterpreting the gesture as further vulgarity, Utakata raised his eyes to the road ahead, his brow creased in astonishment.

"You're gonna make me read out of this, aren't ya?" Hidan asked, as he removed his hand from his person. Confused, Utakata looked at him, only to realise Hidan was in fact holding a small leather-bound book in his hand. Upon that book was the circumscribed triangle identical to the amulet he wore, marked in black. With a quick flick of his thumb he undid the clasp keeping the book closed and snapped it open, before reading out in a bored voice, "To any who meets Jashin's infinite gaze, horror's unlike any imaginable shall be born witness. And so to his most faithful of disciples, he ensures their eyes never meet, by blocking them from the gates of the afterlife."

Once he finished reading the passage, he closed the book and returned it to the confines of his cloak. He then looked at Utakata with a cocked brow, as if challenging a question. Not quite satisfied with the explanation, Utakata decided to take that challenge.

"So… as long as you continue to worship Jashin… you'll never die?" he asked, his eyes narrow as he wore a confused look.

"Eh, long as you stay on his good side you don't gotta worry about it." Hidan replied, with a shrug, "Keep piling up the sacrifices and he'll keep you alive."

"You sound almost disinterested." Utakata commented, wearing a weak smile. They reached the top of the hill that they had travelled down just the other day, before taking a slightly different path to the left. Hidan rotated his stiff shoulders, a complacent look on his face.

"It sounded cool the first few times, but I prefer just dealing with the sacrifices." he replied, rolling his neck from side to side, "The bastard that showed me Jashinism made me learn to read first, which was fucking annoying."

Utakata let out a small laugh, suddenly understanding Hidan's sour mood. Though he couldn't quite believe what he said, Jashin sounded a little far fetched to him. But he decided to keep it to himself; he wasn't going to cause problems because of a difference in beliefs.

* * * * *

"Man, this sucks." Naruto thought, as he pressed his back against the wall behind him. He stood outside a fairly small manor, surrounded with mahogany walls that ran a complete perimeter to the large gates at the front. Before him was an unstable hill covered in boulders, none of them looking the least bit safe to stand upon. The sound of cries and smashes filled the air as Kakuzu fulfilled the role Naruto preferred and distracted them. That left him with the task of infiltrating and locating their target.

A shadow at his feet made him raise his eyes, where he spotted six large and very familiar forms. Akira and the other dogs looked down at him, tongues lolling and tails wagging. Naruto raised a hand to them, a closed fist which opened up to his fore and middle fingers stretching out, while his thumb jutted aside. The dogs caught the signal immediately and disappeared from sight, heading to assist Kakuzu from the shadows. After a few moments of silence, Naruto turned around and took a step back. Channelling his chakra, he leapt up and over the wall, landing on the walkway to the house inside. Though his descent was silent, he was intercepted by thugs acting as guards from both sides, six men wielding long knives while two carried lethal looking harpoons.

"GET HIM!" one of the thugs yelled, flinging the harpoon straight at Naruto. At the same time, the man on the other side did the same.

The two oversized arrows flew through the air, threatening to impale Naruto on both sides. But Naruto didn't let that bother him as he quickly spun on the spot. As both of the harpoons soared past him, he reached out and touched the bases. With a loud cracking sound they both shattered into countless shards of wood, leaving only the metal head intact. Far from done however, Naruto continued the motion once more, throwing his hands out to either side. He wore a maniacal grin as he channelled chakra through his palms, wind blasting through the air in a fierce gale.

"GOOWAH!" the thugs cried out, as every one of them were struck with many dozens of wooden darts, and the ones who originally threw the weapons were impaled with the blades. They all fell back, clutching their eyes and stomachs as blood flowed over their clothes. Though two were certainly close to dead, judging by the gaping holes in their stomachs, Naruto proceeded to finish the rest off by plunging his hands deep into the sleeves of his haori and pulling out shuriken. Then with a silent toss, the final four were felled clutching their throats in agony. Naruto straightened up, a smirk spread across his face.

"You're enjoying this too much. Stop it."

Naruto chuckled to himself as he gripped Eko's hilt and slashed through the paper wall in front of him. He seriously doubted there were many more guards inside, there was much too much noise going on down in the courtyard to imply otherwise. And so he stepped inside what looked like a spare room, and made his way into the hall. He glanced up and down either side with a speculative expression, but seemed to conclude nothing. He looked to Eko for suggestions, awaiting the blade's response.

"Basement?"

"Heh." Naruto chuckled, deciding to take Eko's idea and try it out. He turned the blade in his hand, so that the tip pointed towards the wooden floor. He then changed his grip by letting go of the hilt and placing his hand upon the cross guard. A quick burst of chakra later and the floor shattered as Eko shot downwards, followed by Naruto who dropped down the hole after him, "GUESS WE'LL FIND OUT!"

* * * * *

"Y'know, this isn't so bad." Hidan said, lightly kicking his foot up and down from his resting position. He and Utakata lay down in two giant bubbles, hovering high above the ground as they floated in the direction Hidan had instructed. The trees had all blended into a single, massive form and the clouds were so close one would have believed they were in the mountains of Kaminari no Kuni.

"It does certainly beat walking, doesn't it?" Utakata asked, looking down at the river below them with a faint twinkle to his eye. He sat cross legged, once more raising his appearance as a monk to curious standards. Hidan on the other hand lay with his hands behind his head and one leg crossed over the other. Though he had been reluctant at first, he seemed now oddly relaxed, "Not quite as "gay" as you thought, huh?"

"Hey, you tell anyone about this and I'll fucking sacrifice you, got it?" Hidan warned, with a dangerous look. Utakata wasn't intimidated however, and kept a small smile as he looked at Hidan.

"Don't worry about it, I wouldn't want the negative karma." he replied, before shifting himself to a lying position, propped up on an elbow as he looked at Hidan, "On that note…"

Hidan cocked a brow as Utakata raised his hand in a seal. Before he even had the chance to look worried, Hidan's bubble suddenly burst, and he began a sharp descent downwards.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!"