All right. For Itachi's girl, the votes stand as such.

Ayame: 24

Anko: 11

Shizune 10

A lot of you like seeing dear Ayame with Itachi. Honestly I agree with all of you. Shizune is little too old, and Anko doesn't fit his personality well. Also, imagine the riff formed between father and son, if Itachi's dad saw him dating a civilian, instead of a strong kunoichi.

On a more serious note, I was reading Allan Pike's profile page, and really reading it, instead of just scrolling down to his stories. I really believe in all the things he has listed on it. The serious things. Please, take some time to read them, and think them over.

Sorry, but every now and then, I need to be serious.

Anyways, Allan is back, and you all know what that means. It's time for the reviewer chapters. So, if you want to pop up, and hang with the gang, review me, and I'll start posting you guys in before and after author bits.

Chapter 11

Unlikely Allies

Naruto stretched out his sore muscles, as he sat in training ground 7, waiting for his team. The reason for those sore muscles? A certain green spandex wearing chuunin, who had sparred with Naruto, and with his high speed, at managed to land several hits. Naruto had given as good as he got, and Lee had gone to join his teammates, with a cut lip, black eye, and several bruises. He merely called them, "The signs of our most youthful spar."

Naruto had decided that it would be best if Hinata, Arren, and Eflower got to know each other better. He knew all three of them, but Hinata only really knew him, as did his cousin, and his cousin's girlfriend.

Naruto also wanted the whole team to spar, and show off their moves, so they could get a feel for each other's skills. That way, they could know what the other's could do, and help cover each other's weaknesses.

Naruto was snapped out of his thoughts when he saw the picture of perfect beauty approach him. Hinata smiled, and hugged him, and earned a kiss in return. She giggled happily, before looking around.

"Where are Arren and Eflower?"

Naruto shrugged. "They'll be here soon. Arren is starting to take after Kakashi."

Hinata nodded. "Ummmm, Naruto-kun?"

"Hmmmm?"

"Your cosuin. He's almost ten years older than Eflower, but their going out. Is that right?"

Naruto chuckled. "Arren has a.... unique reason for his age. In reality, he's still a seventeen year old. His body just aged ten extra years due to a 'mishap'."

Hinata nodded. "Okay. So, what shall we do, while we wait?"

"Well, we could go sit over there, and watch the sky for a while."

"That sounds like fun!" Kyuubi's voice rang out, as she poofed into existence. Hinata was a little startled, but relaxed as she saw her love's adoptive sister.

"Kyuubi, it's good to see you again." Hinata said, as she bowed.

"Awwww, don't be all serious like that. I'm not some elder or something. And also, I don't think I like Kyuubi anymore. It's a name that.... brings up some.... bad memories." She said, become somber. Naruto nodded slowly.

"All right. What should we call you then?"

The red haired girl thought for a moment. "How about...... Daini? Daini Keiki Uzumaki?"

Naruto nodded approvingly. "Second Chance? It fit's. All right then. Hinata, meet my sister, Daini."

Hinata giggled, while the former Kyuubi smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Daini."

"And a pleasure to meet you, Hinata. My brother really lucked out with you."

"Yes, I did." Naruto said softly, kissing the top of Hinata's head. Hinata looked up at him, smiling with love and joy, before bringing their lips together into a passion filled kiss. Daini watched for several minutes, before she started making gagging noises. The two separated, looking a little sheepish.

At that moment, Arren and Eflower showed up. Naruto immediatley noticed two things different with them. One was Arren, who was carrying a bow made from burnished steel, with some seals placed along it. A quiver of black flighted arrows hung at his side, with more seals on it as well.

Eflower was also different, because she had a silver necklace on, with a small white sapphire with wings attached to it. She looked quite radiant with it on.

Naruto raised an eyebrow, while Hinata and Daini squealed over the necklace. "Arren, where did you get those?"

Arren smiled sheepishly, while rubbing the back of his head. "Well.... you remember when I was late to proctor your fight with Sasuke?"

Naruto nodded, and Arren continued. "I, um, I made some bets. Bets saying you would beat Sasuke in five minutes or less. Well, the odds of that happening seemed steep to everyone else, so they agreed. When the fight was over, well, I got more than a few hundred ryo's."

Naruto slowly came over, while the girls chatted away. "And you didn't think, to maybe give your hardworking cousin some of the money, considering I did all the work?"

Arren grinned. "Well, I didn't forget you. Here, this is your's." He handed over a large stack of ryo's, which Naruto thumbed through. He nodded.

"All right. Everyone, let's gather round!"

They did, while Naruto placed the money in one of his coat's many internal pockets, and Daini returned to the inside of him..

"I figured we should take a little time to get to know each other, since a few of us aren't well acquainted yet. "I'm Naruto uzumaki Namikaze. I like Hinata-chan, my cousin Arren, his girlfriend Eflower, my nee-chan, ramen, and training. I don't like stuck up emo's, people who prey on weaker people, and a few other people out there. My hobbies are training, and be with those who are precious to me. And my dream is to be the Rokudaime Hokage, and to marry a very special someone." Naruto glanced at Hinata, who blushed. "Your turn."

"My name is Hinata Hyuuga. I like Naruto-kun, his family, my father, nee-chan, and cousin, and cinnamon rolls. I don't like people who make other people feel inferior. My hobbies are training, pressing flowers, and being with those I care about. And my dreams are to change my clan for the better, and to marry the Rokudaime Hokage." Hinata blushed even more, while Naruto's blush almost equaled hers. Arren laughed, as he started.

"I'm Arren Pikku Uzumaki. I like training, my family, Eflower, my cousin's girlfriend, and sitting in the wild to admire nature. I don't like killing, and people who believe themselves superior because of a heritage, or bloodline. My hobbies are training, walking, and hanging out. My dream is to bring a new age to this world. One of real warriors."

"I'm Eflower Angelius, and I like Arren, his cousin Naruto, and his cousin's girlfriend. Also, I like walking, and studying new ways to heal people. I don't like killing, and those who can't distinguish between good or bad in people. My hobbies are training to be a good medic, and walking with my boyfriend, Arren. My dream is to be the best medic I can, and help Arren achieve his dream." Naruto smiled, before continuing.

"Now that we know about each other, you three are going to spar with me, so I can see exactly what each of you can do. So no holding back, okay?"

They each nodded, and Naruto beckoned to Hinata. "You first, since I haven't seen what you can do since I left."

Hinata smiled, as she settled into her Juuken stance. Arren snaked his arms around Eflower's waist, before performing his vanishing act. This time, Eflower vanished too. Naruto got into his own stance as Hinata began to channel chakra into her eyes.

"Byakugan!" The eyes became fierce, and veins appeared next to her eyes. Naruto just smiled.

"Good. Let's go!" With that, he launched forward. Hinata knocked aside the strike aimed at her head, and struck at his chest. He was surprised by her speed, but managed to twist out of the way in time. Hinata followed through with a mid level kick at his side He blocked it with one arm, while striking at her mid-section with his other fist.

The two traded blows. Naruto noted Hinata was a lot faster then she was the last time he had seen her fight, which was at the chuunin preliminaries. She was also stronger, her blows could testify to that.

Hinata was also amazed. She knew Naruto was a lot faster, stronger, and more skilled than before. She had seen him fight Sasuke. But there was a difference between seeing the changes, and experiencing them. Eventually, they separated, and hinata pulled a metal rod from her weapon pouch. It extended into her staff, which she held defensively in front of her. Naruto smiled, and drew two kunai knives, not wanting to break her staff with the reinforced steel of Uzu Izou, or Fuzen Ate. The two charged again, and Hinata struck first. She swung low at his leg, causing him to flip over the attack, only to reverse, and hit him with the other end in the gut. Naruto fell back, holding his stomach, before resuming his stance.

"Nice hit."

"Thanks. Now, Naruto-kun, it's time I show you one of my new moves." She held the staff behind her, while holding one hand up in half the hand sign for the rat.

"Eight Trigrams, Buin Sixty-Four Strikes!" With that, she swung her staff around, and struck him twice, followed by two more blows. As the number of blows increased, she separated top and bottom from the middle, so they acted as three separate, yet connected weapons.

"2 strikes! 4 strikes! 8 strikes! 16 strikes! 32 strikes! 64 strikes!" Hinata finished, landing a final blow, which sent him skidding back. He leaned over, panting, while Hinata hesitated.

"Naruto-kun? Are you okay?"

Suddenly, his chakra flared up, releasing the sealed chakra points. Hinata was momentarily blinded with her Byakugan, and stumbled back. When her eyes cleared, Naruto was in front of her, a kunai held right above her throat.

"Never let your guard down around a enemy, even in a spar. Other than that.... you're fantastic."

Hinata smiled at his words of praise, and reassembled her staff. Naruto nodded approvingly at it. "It's a fine weapon, and it fits you perfectly. Fast, agile, and deadly. Maybe you can show me some of your other moves another time. Arren! Your turn!"

Arren smiled as he passed Hinatafrom the rock he and Eflower were sitting on, and faced Naruto. "All right, cuz, time for a little bit of practice." Arren said, as he slid into his battle stance. His left leg was forward, and both palms open. His front arm was in front of his head, protecting it, while back arm rested diagonally across his body.

"Oh, and just so you know, I increased my weights, so this should be interesting."

Naruto smirked, as he slid into his own battle stance. "Interesting indeed."

The two watched each other for a few seconds, before Naruto rushed forward. Hinata was amazed to see his speed was even faster than in their fight.

Arren smiled, as he flickered from view, only to reappear at Naruto's side. He spun rapidly, launching a back fist at his cousin's head. Naruto ducked, the fist grazing his hair, before going with a right uppercut. Arren back flipped into a handstand, before twisting around on the spot, performing a helicopter kick. Naruto, caught off guard, was hit in the face, only to poof into a Shadow clone. Three more Naruto's descended on Arren. Two went into sliding kicks behind him, while the third jumped in the air, and was spinning into an ax kick.

Arren didn't even flinch, as the three Shadow clones came at him. He began to form his shields on his arms, while pushing off from the ground. He just barely dodged the sliding kicks, while flipping around. He kicked both of the sliding clones in the legs, before he finished the flip with a double kick to the clone in the air. He landed on his feet, his shields fully formed, as the three clones poofed out of existence. But he was panting, as he wasn't used to the weights yet.

Eflower watched with worry, as her boyfriend fought. She never liked fighting, even if it was a spar.

Naruto smiled, as he emerged from the trees. "Well, even with the weights, you're still pretty fast. But I'm done playing around."

"Bring it." Arren said, as he turned to Naruto, and slipped back into his stance. Naruto's smirk grew wider.

"All ready did."

Suddenly four more clones burst from the ground, each holding the same hand sign. "Earth Binding Seal!"

Four pillars of earth rose from the ground, each with a seal on the end of them. They streaked at Arren, before connecting.

Arren didn't even respond, other then to start spinning. Soon, a wall of shield appeared around the spinning Arren, deflecting the earthen seal attacks. The real Naruto waited, as Arren started to slow down, before charging forward, his right fist held at the ready. As Arren stopped spinning, he started to stagger a bit. The spinning defense had made him dizzy.

Naruto took this opportunity to slam his right fist into Arren's jaw. Then he jumped out of the way, as one of his clones set up for a earth jutsu.

"Earth Style, Mud Land jutsu!" That clone slammed his hands on the ground, creating a massive stretch of mud where Arren was standing.

Arren took the hit hard, and it snapped him out of his dizziness. When he saw the mud, he did a swift substitution with Naruto. Naruto was caught in the mud, and fell on his back. Suddenly "Naruto" blew up nothing more than a Divine Wind Clone. The wind caused mud to fly everywhere, except at the two girls.

To the naked eye, it seemed like the mud just went through Arren. In reality, he was moving fast enough to dodge all the mud. He raised his hands when he saw Naruto pulling out several tri pronged kunai.

"Okay, that's not good. Naruto? Shouldn't you save energy for your spar with Eflower?"

Naruto sighed, as he put the kunai away. "Right. Draw?"

"Draw. Now I really need a shower." Arren headed over to a nearby stream, with Naruto doing the same. They both used low level water jutsu's to clean each other off, before returning to the girls. But before Naruto could call Eflower forward, and ANBU with a wolf mask appeared.

"Namikaze-san. Hokage-sama requests your team's presence at the Council Meeting Room. It's urgent"

Naruto nodded, as the ANBu disappeared. "Well, let's go see what the baka council wants now."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Itachi destroyed the message from Jiraiya, before returning to the group. It wasn't even lunch time yet, and Kisame was all ready twitching, his hand grasping his blade's hilt. Itachi stepped into the clearing, ending the "Immortal Brother's" argument.

"I've confirmed it. The Nibi will be escorted to the Fire/Lightning border today. She will be escorted by the Kyuubi, and several other ninja's. If we strike fast, we should be able to secure the Nibi, and perhaps the Kyuubi as well."

"Then let's f$^%ing do it. I'm tired of waiting around in these f$%ing woods."

Itachi glanced at Kisame, and barely nodded. The message was understood.

This is it.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"This is an absolute outrage! We have a valuable asset against Kumo, and we weren't told about it!" A civilian council member roared out. Other's nodded, as did a few of the Clan Head's. Naruto stood at one end of the table, Yugito by him, and his team behind him.

The Council had found out that Yugito Nii was a valuable ninja of Kumo, as well as one of their two jinchuuriki's. It didn't please them that such information was held from them, and even more so that she was being returned home.

"She is a demon spawn, and should be locked away! And if Kumo want's her, too bad!" Another civilian roared out. Naruto stiffened, while Yugito lowered her eyes.

Koharu glared at Naruto. "Why was this information held from us, Namikaze-san? It isn't wise for you to be doing such things, considering the thin ice you are on."

Naruto crossed his arms. "I made her a promise while I was still in exile. She merely wished to return home, and Akatsuki was after her. I promised to return her home, and I will. As for why I didn't say anything, I told the only person who needed to know. Hokage-sama."

"We deserve to know too! This affects the village!"

Naruto stood there, silent. But everyone present felt a cold rage coming off him.

"The only way this affects the village, is if she is not returned, and Kumo declares war on us for wrongfully imprisoning one of their shinobi."

"She's a demon!" A civilian cried out, only to nearly drop dead as Naruto's anger and chakra flared.

"It is no business of your's! You civilian's sit here, acting so smug, and so powerful. Without the ninja's, you would be nothing but whiny little worms with no one to protect you! The point of the civilian council is to vote on matters that involve the civilian half of Konoha, and that's it! You have no right to interfere, or decided matters of shinobi!" Naruto yelled, his voice turning demonic. Every member of the Council shrank back in fear, as did Yugito. Naruto calmed down, and glanced around the room.

"This is a matter involving ninja, and so only ninja should decided what happens. The civilian council was given too much power during the years of the Sandaime. No more. I promise all of you here, that if this Council doesn't shape up, I will resign from Konoha, and go to rebuild Uzu, like my cousin suggested. And I'll take and ninja's or civilians with me who want to go. Is that understood?"

The Council nodded, and Naruto smiled. "Good. Now please, continue your discussion."

Tsunade finally spoke, after several minutes. "I received a letter from the Raikage today."She held up the letter, with the Raikage's seal on it. "This came in from Kumo. We sent a message on the day Naruto and Sasuke fought, telling them we had found Yugito, and were waiting to escort her back home. The Raikage thanks us, and wishes to thank those responsible for her safety in person. Team Outcast, I have your first mission."

The four members of Team Outcast stood to attention, while Yugito moved back against a wall. Naruto came forward, so Tsunade could hand him the mission file.

"You're to escort Yugito to Kumo. At the border, you'll meet a team of Kumo ANBU, who will escort you the rest of the way in. I'm also sending Jiraiya with you, and will have Team's Kakashi and Gai waiting to support you, if necessary."

Naruto nodded. "What about in Kumo? If I remember, they tried to kidnap Hinata, when she was three. What will happen if we go in there?"

Tsunade held up another document. "The Raikage sent this as well. It is an official "Order of Protection" against any and all attacks from the shinobi of Kumo, against you and your team."

Naruto nodded, before turning to Hinata. "Hina-chan, will you be okay? We're walking into the lion's den on this one."

Hinata nodded. "I'll be fine."

Yugito added in. "I'll help. I promise no one in Kumo will harm her, or I'll tear them apart."

Naruto nodded. "All right then. Team Outcast! We leave in one hour. Let's move!"

With that, the group was gone. Tsunade looked around at the Council. "Well, does anyone else have anything to say?"

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

With in the hour, Team Outcast, as well as Link, had formed at the East gate, seeing as how it was the fastest way out of Konoha, without going over Hokage Mountain. Yugito was waiting patiently with them, but Jiraiya hadn't shown up yet. Hinata adjusted the new coat Naruto had bought her with his money, saying it was the first of many gifts he missed out in giving her while he was exiled. Hinata had blushed at the thought.

The coat was similar to Naruto's but it was a pale lavender color. The inside had many pockets, which she used to carry her retracted staff, some medicinal items, and a few storage and empty scrolls. She smiled, as she thought about some modifications she could make to the coat one day. Like an inscription along the back. She noticed Naruto had one, written in blood red thread. It read, "The Black Fox".

Naruto finally threw his arms up in the air. "He's worse than Kakashi sensei sometimes. I'll get him."

Naruto created a shadow clone, who immediately ran off. Twenty minute's later, they heard a loud yell of "ERO-SENNIN!" Followed by Jiraiya yelling, and the faint sound of screaming girls. Five minute's later, Jiraiya came running up to them, while a dust cloud rose in the distance.

Jiraiya raced past them, yelling, "Notimetowaitimportantmissionlet'sgo!" They all turned, to see Tsunade running up, a massive red vein on her forehead, and her eyes filled with bloodlust.

"JIRAIYA!" Tsunade yelled, as Team Outcast followed the Toad Sage, laughing.

They finally caught up with the old pervert a mile away, where he was catching his breath. Naruto chuckled. "Peeping on the woman's hot spring again?"

Jiraiya glared at him. "YOU ALMOST GOT ME KILLED! TSUNADE WAS IN THERE!"

Naruto stopped, gagged, and rushed into some bushes, and proceeded to vomit. At the same time, Daini poofed into existence, bashed Jiraiya on the head, before joining Naruto. Finally, the two of them joined the group.

"I can't believe your reaction to that was so strong, it affected me." Daini muttered, as she wobbled unsteadily. Naruto just drank some water, to rid his mouth of the taste.

After that, they started on their way. Daini, after calming Yugito down about her sudden appearance, and explaining she was Kyuubi, was chatting with the Nibi jinchuuriki, and through her, Nibi. Naruto was walking hand in hand with Hinata, while Arren and Eflower were doing the same. Jiraiya brought up the rear with Link, while muttering about "no good former apprentices", and "super powered teammates who should feel flattered".

Naruto glanced around, enhanced senses trying to detect any and all threats in the woods. Hinata would every so often look around with her Byakugan, but didn't see anything suspicious. "Everything seems fine." She whispered to Naruto.

"I know. But we need to be alert. Itachi and Kisame, along with Hidan and Kakuzu could attack at any time. And Itachi and Kisame will have to keep the charade up until the fight begins. Or, their charade could be a double charade."

Hinata glanced at him. "You don't trust them?"

"If you had seen Itachi break Sasuke's arm, then torture him, and have Kisame dang near kill you with that sword of his, you wouldn't trust them either. But I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.... for now."

Hinata nodded, while glancing around. She noticed Jiraiya was trying to get Link interested in one of his books. "Naruto-kun, I think Jiraiya is doing some you wouldn't approve of."

Link was a bout to cave in, and take the book that the strange white haired man was offering as "valuable help" with his girlfriend Ilia, when a small fireball burned the book into nothing. Naruto lowered his hand.

"Ero-sennin, please don't corrupt him. I doubt his girlfriend would appreciate it."

Arren and Efower started laughing, while Yugito shook her head. Jiraiya glanced at her, then smiled perversely, before whipping out another notebook, and started writing. "The Handsome ninja, and the Sexy Nibi Jinchuuriki." He mmuttered as he wrote, not knowing Yugito's enhanced hearing heard everything. She whirled around, kicked Jiraiya in a "special place", grabbed the notebook, and incinerated it with Nibi's chakra. Jiraiya cried as he rolled on the ground, holding his injured area. Naruto sighed, as he dropped his head.

"He's supposed to be my god father, and the sensei of the greatest shinobi Konoha has ever known."

Hinata smiled, and approached Naruto, only to jump back as a kunai landed in between them. Suddenly HIdan and kakuzu landed in the road ahead.

"Well, well. If it isn't the cat and the fox. How fortunate for us." Kakuzu leered. Hidan just smiled, gripping his scythe and javelin.

Naruto immediately assumed a defensive stance, pulling out Uzu Izou. Hinata followed suit, her staff extended. Arren joined them, his armor forming around him while his shields appeared on his arms. Link came forward, and stood next to Eflower and Yugito. He drew the Master Sword, and the Hylian Shield. Daini went back into Naruto's seal, while Jiraiya got up, and joined Link.

"Well well well. Who do we have here?" Arren slid into his fighting stance. "If I'm not mistaken, you're hidan and Kakuzu, right?"

"Our reputation precedes us." Kakuzu smirks. "Now, why don't you all just hand over Nibi and Kyuubi, and go back home?"

"I have a better idea. Why don't you two just surrender, let us kill you, and go on our way?" Naruto retorted, his grip on his sword tightening.

"Naw. I don't f$#ing think so." Hidan smirked.

"Well, since you are immortal, because you believe in that baka Jashin, we cant' kill you. But that just means I can go all out." Arren hit the release on his arm weights. Moving swiftly, he released his leg weights, which like the arm weights, created a massive crater in the ground. The total amount of the weights had reached 2,000 pounds. Arren glanced back at Jiraiya and Link.

"Naruto, the three of us can handle Hidan. You and Hinata should take the scarecrow."

Naruto smirked. "Good idea. What about the other two?"

"Itachi and Kisame?" Arren whispered, so as not to alert Hidan and Kakuzu. "We'll keep them in reserve. But Itachi can't have his Sharingan activated unless he's fighting."

Jiraiya nodded, as he heard Arren, and made discreet ANBU hand signs behind his back. Itachi, in the woods nearby, nodded as he saw them, and deactivated his Sharingan.

"We're to stay out of this, unless needed."

"Damn it! I wanted to kill Hidan." Kisame muttered, as he leaned against the tree, while Itachi just watched the fight.

Naruto, how strong have you become?

Kakuzu threw his hands up in frustration. "Are we going to fight, or what?"

Naruto shrugged. "If you want to." With that, he and Arren vanished, reappearing to strike at their opponents.

(A/N: The fights take place at the same time, but I'll be switching between them)

Arren, Link, and Jiraiya versus Hidan

Arren lashed out at Hidan with the full force of his arm, transforming it into a blur. The fist smashed into Hidan's head, knocking him back several paces. "Man I forgot how good it feels to have those weights off." Arren said, as he flexed his muscles. Hidan shook his head to clear it out.

"I must admit, that was one hell of a punch. But it's going to take more than that to stop me."

Hidan leapt forward, swinging his scythe down at Arren. Suddenly Link's shield appeared in front of him, blocking the scythe, while Jiraiya finished his hand signs.

"Fire Style, Fire JetStream Jutsu!" Jiraiya let out a thin, concentrated stream of fire from his mouth. It passed over Link, and struck Hidan full in the face. He backed up screaming, and holding his face, only to put down his hands and smirk. His face was burned, but was healing slowly.

"Still not enough. Haven't you got anything better?"

Arren grinned as Nature chakra covered his fist. "Say hello tothe one and only Yosou no Fungeki! " He said, before he charged forward. A sphere of energy formed itself in his fist as he opened it with a primal roar. He slammed his fist into Hidan.

Hidan managed to swing his scythe, and cut Arren's cheek, before being blasted back by the attack. Arren grabbed the slight cut, and looked at Hidan, who was standing up.

"Better, but no where near enough. Now the fun begins." Hidan immediately drew a strange seal on the ground, before licking the blood from his scythe. He turned into a weird voo-doo version of himself, and smirked as he readied his javelin.

"Say hello to the f%$#ing afterlife for me." Hidan said, before plunging the javelin into his stomach.

Arren's eyes widened as deadly pain seared through his body, but he didn't scream. His only reaction was to place both hands on his gaping wound in his stomach.

Naruto and hinata vs Kakuzu

Naruto's left foot smashed into Kakuzu's head, knocking him for a loop. Kakuzu crashed into a tree, before getting back onto his feet. He immediately went through some handsigns, and a giant blast of wind erupted from around him, and headed straight for Naruto. Naruto planted both hands on the ground, and a wall of earth rose up to shield him. Hinata joined him behind it, pulling out her staff. Her Byakugan was activated.

"Naruto, there's something off about him. It's like.... I think he has more than one heart or something."

Naruto sighed, leaning against the wall. "That's something I wish I knew ahead of time. I could really use Kakashi's Chidori right now. Oh well." Naruto listened, as the wind died down. "Get ready."

Naruto whirled, and shoved the wall of earth at kakuzu, before turning to Hinata, and cupping his hands together. Hinata caught on, and used his cup hands as a springboard to launch herself into the air.

Kakuzu jumped over the advancing shield wall, only to find himself heading straight for the Hyuuga girl's staff. She enhanced the strike with chakra, and smashed it down on his head, driving him towards the ground. Below, Naruto did a back flip kick, which connected with Kakuzu, and sent him flying into another tree. Only this time, one of the branches pierced him. Hinata landed next to Naruto, and momentarily gagged at the sight. She stopped when the figure stirred.

"Impressive, runt's. I haven't lost a heart in a while." Kakuzu pulled himself off the tree, his cloak ripping in the process. It revealed what looked like a corpse, with black tendrils coming off his body, and four masks on his back. One of the masks, with the symbol for earth on it, cracked, and fell off.

Naruto slipped into his battle stance, as Hinata backed up, and readied her staff. Kakuzu just smirked.

"Well, let's get a little more serious, shall we?" With that, he ripped the mask from his mouth, as several more tendrils sprouted from it. Suddenly he unleashed a barrage of fireballs from his mouth.

Hinata jumped in front of Naruto, retracting her staff and placing it into her jacket. She stood there with her feet together, one hand to the side, and another held in a sign of concentration.

"Protective Eight Trigrams, Sixty Four Palms!" With that, Hinata started smacking the fireballs away with chakra from her hands. Naruto's eyes widened in amazement.

"This is her new move, for those who have problems with Rotation. It's incredible."

Hinata concentrated on the fireballs, until the last one was deflected. She got back into her Jukken stance, only to hear a scream from Eflower.

Back to the A, L, J vs Hidan fight

Hidan yanked the javelin from his stomach, and then stabbed again at his heart. Arren's hands leapt to his chest. He started to stagger in pain, but his next act surprised everyone. He threw his head back and laughed long and loud.

Hidan was startled. No one had ever done this before. "What the hell is so f%$#ing funny?!"

"This fight is over." Arren said, as he stood tall, totally unaffected by the two gaping wounds. "You just made a big mistake."

"What the f%$ are you talking about!?" Hidan yelled, slightly disturbed as he stared at Arren. He should be lying on the ground, dying.

Behind the fight, Eflower's eyes were wide. She had thought she had lost Arren, but now she knew something was up.

Arren smiled, and put his hand's together. "Why don't I show you? Kai!" Suddenly, he was gone, as was the blood on the ground.

As Hidan's eyes widened in shock, there was an explosion below him. Something hit is nech with enough force to snap it back. As he was launched into the air, Arren emerged from the ground beneath him, and followed him up. Arren's shields now had two very sharp sword like blades emerging from each of them. As Arren came out of the ground, he shouted "U!".

His first attack was followed up with a cross slash to Hidan's chest. Nature chakra surrounded Arren's hand again, as he shouted "Zu!".

Arren sliced off Hidan's arms, before stabbing him through the shoulders, deep enough to penetrate Hidan's heart. "Maki!"

Arren heaved himself upwards, and over Hidan, using his blades in the immortal villain. Sliding his blades out of hidan, Arren twisted around. Opening his palm up, he slammed the chakra sphere into Hidan's chest.

"Seishitsu!" He shouted, before ax kicking the follower of the death god towards the ground. As Hidan raced towards the ground, Arren sent a cutting wave of chakra through him, with it was a roar of "RENDAN!" There was a split second pause, before flames erupted from Hidan's body. There was a dull boom, as a wave of energy crossed the battlefield, sending parts of hidan flying. A crater formed under hidan right before he hit the ground, revealing the true force and power of the attack.

Arren landed on the ground, as smoke rose from the crater. Jiraiya's eyes were bigger than hubcaps, and his mouth was hanging to the ground. Link slowly sheathed his sword and shield, while Eflower cried happily, as she ran up to Arren, and hugged him. "I thought I lost you." She whispered.

"YOU WILL!" Hidan yelled from the smoke, as he emerged. Both his arms were gone, and the Akatsuki cloak was in shreds. His face was horribly disfigured, made even uglier by the snarl on his lips, and the bloodlust in his eyes.

"Come here, you little f$#er! I'm going to rip your arms off with my mouth!" Suddenly an arrow ripped into his chest. Hidan looked down, to see an explosive tag on it. He looked up at the green clad hero, who was holding his bow.

Link smirked as he put the weapon up. "Boom."

Hidan exploded into a dozen pieces. Arren whistled as he looked at Link's bow. "Nice." He said, before hugging Eflower to him. She was shivering in shock at what she had just seen. Lowering his head to her ear, he whispered something to her. Whatever he whispered to her calmed her down. He looked up at Link. "Nice shot. Pity you got to finish him off though. I'll need to fine tune that combo." At Link's puzzled face, Arren explained. "That was the first time I used it. To be honest, I made it up as I went along there."

Jiraiya, hearing that such a fearsome combo had been made up on the fly, fainted.

Back to Hinata, Naruto, and Kakuzu

Naruto was frozen, as he watched his cousin begin to die. Then Arren disappeared, and Naruto felt a surge of relief. He turned back to see Kakuzu was dumbfounded his partner had failed. Naruto took this moment to run forward, and stab Kakuzu through the heart. Kakuzu froze, then smirked at Naruto.

"Two down, but now you're too close." The tendrils wrapped around Naruto's arms, only to drop as Hinata's palm met with Kakuzu's gut, disrupting his chakra, and his control on the tendrils. Naruto leapt back, sheathing his sword.

"Time to end this." Suddenly, there was an explosion, and Hidan's head smashed into Kakuzu. The immortal Akatsuki looked up at his partner. "I think we're screwed."

"Itachi, Kisame, get out here!" Kakuzu yelled. The two did, but just sat back. Kakuzu looked at them. "What are you doing?!"

"Watching." Kisame said. Kakuzu was about to retort, except there was a whistling sound behind him. He turned to see Naruto holding a Rasengan with wind around it, like a shuriken blade. Naruto smirked.

"Behold, the completion of my father's jutsu. Fuuton: Rasen-Shuriken!" With that, Naruto rushed forward at high speed, shoving it into Kakuzu.

The attack blasted him into the air, while the wind ripped into his body. He screamed out, while the remaining mask's shattered. Finally, his dead corpse fell to the ground. Naruto panted, having successfully used that jutsu for the first time. Hinata came and supported him, while he turned to Itachi and Kisame.

"What took you so long?" He yelled at them.

That's it for here. Sorry for the slow update, but me and Allan were trying something new here. Our update speed might decrease on chapters where Arren and Eflower fight. Anyways, like I said, the reviewer chapters are here. So if you want to hang with the gang, send me a review with what you want to say, or act like. I do two people per chapter, just so you know.