A.N. Welcome to another chapter and a few quick points:

I should have done this back in Chapter 9&10, but better late than never - I want to give a special thanks to Adrian Skywalker; he is the real inspiration behind the rabbit summons. Go check out his stories if you haven't.

Also i missed out a guest in chapter 9 - i'll answer below.

Onwards to Glory


There are many ways to describe moments of dread – civilians whisper of fingers on their spine, warriors muttered of changes in the air, chill in the winds.

For ninjas; it was the absence that was most telling. A build of pressure is expected, they train their whole lives and picking up on the subtleties was child's play for veterans. But in the moment, that one single moment there is nothing.

Nothing….

The greater the sensation; the greater the feeling of nothing, the more dire the situation was. And at that moment, the world seemed to be consumed by an all-encompassing sense of nothing!

Sasori was the first to act.

Two bone spikes popped loose; with a sharp downwards thrust he pinned Naruto to the ground. Half a second later he had Elder Chiyo in a tight grip and leapt backwards.

"Sasori!" she gasped out as they tumbled ungracefully. She winced as various bruises and aches called for attention, but hastily put that behind as she frantically looked over her grandson. With some relief she watched as his body mechanically rose, though much slower than she liked.

"…That was painful" His bland voice carried over to her as he rose to his feet. More cracks appeared across his chest, some traveling as far as his face "relatively speaking that is."

"Baasama, you might want to get ready" Sasori called out as he retrieved two more scrolls. His gaze remained fixed on Naruto's body. While he looked motionless, the cracks on Sasori's face suggested otherwise. Whilst pulling Chiyo away he had barely managed to avoid a blow poised to decapitate both of them. The force behind it was staggering, more so than anything he had witnessed in their fight.

The bones pinning Naruto to the ground began to creak and shake. Cracks appeared across its surface.

Then the pulses began again, each time more powerful than the last.

"Sasori" Elder Chiyo called out with a firm voice. Surrounding her was her ten puppets; the reason for her fame. Sasori nodded and unsealed the contents of his scrolls.

Just in time to hear the roar, and feel the wash of raw power.


Naruto's eyes shot wide open and he gave a soundless scream. Seconds later he was overrun by primal energy; Kyuubi's chakra swarmed over him, reducing his intellect to the whims of the Nine-Tails. Chakra bubbled and his hair whipped around erratically. The orange-red streaks of hair began glowing ominously. Much of Naruto's face became concealed as the hair took shape; two glowing orbs appeared, along with a maw filled with razor sharp hair parading as teeth.

With another roar both Suna Nins knew; the Kyuubi was in control.

The very earth cracked and shook as Kyuubi lurched forwards. Raw chakra formed an oversized limb in place of the damaged one, and headed straight for Elder Chiyo. Chiyo startled at the speed and could barely mount a defence. Suddenly one of her puppet lurched outside her control; the female frame puppet with two broadswords intercepted the Kyuubi controlled Naruto and lashed out with one of its blades. The sword parted the air, streaming for his face when it bounced off a veritable wall of raw chakra. Kyuubi then took a swipe at the off kilter puppet, only to be blindsided by Sasori. Despite the cracks still on the bone body, Sasori moved into an offensive; a bone dagger formed in his hand and he lashed out with multiple strikes towards Naruto's torso.

A smirk appeared on Kyuubi's face, sending warning bells ringing in Elder Chiyo's mind. She snapped into motion but it was already futile.

In a show of flexibility, Kyuubi evaded the rapid strikes and a clawed hand snatched hold of the offending limb. Seconds later, red raw chains of chakra manifested, wrapping securely around Sasori.

Subjugation

The world came out with a guttural snarl. The red chains thrummed violently as lightning and power arced through them. Sasori's body jerked and shuddered erratically, the cries of 'Sasori!' echoing from Elder Chiyo as her puppets came to bare. The kyuubi only smiled menacingly as his hair struck out against the puppets. Meanwhile the lightning attack continued on Sasori, burn marks etching their way across his bound frame. Kyuubi then squeezed his hand, splintering Sasori's bone wrist; the chains then tightened, further causing damage across the body.

All through this Sasori never said a word, no cries of pain, and no snarls of rage. Kyuubi's smile faded, replaced with a sneer. Increasing the tension, Sasori's chest groaned pathetically, before suddenly caving in.

"Sasori!" Elder Chiyo screamed in anguish, her puppets doubling their discordant assault. Sasori slumped and the chains slowly dragged free across the battered frame. The Kyuubi then turned its full attention to the elderly puppeteer; its eyes seemed to drag slowly, from the downed Sasori to the furious Elder.

Sasori's frame exploded violently.

Chiyo gasped in shock, and instinctively brought her right arm up. Panels opened outwards with a rush of chakra and formed a shield, just in time to deflect and block shards of bone and the shockwave of the blast. Kyuubi gave a sharp cry but it was lost in the noise, in a blur of red chakra it darted out of the epicentre. Chiyo noted the torn rags that form Naruto's clothes; form the exposed sections she could see the scale of damage caused by Sasori; blood dripped freely and in several places Naruto was pierced by bone shards.

Then to her immense shock the damage began healing at a rapid pace, the shards were forced out before the wounds sealed up, much of them not leaving so much as a mark. All the while Naruto's hair whipped around in a continued state of frenzy; the hair that formed Kyuubi's face pulsed with more chakra and the menace seemed to only grow.

Chiyo's chakra pulsed in return and her ten puppets circled her, ready for the offensive.

The grin returned on the Kyuubi's face. And then it was moving!

Chiyo traced the motions and her fingers moved accordingly. Two of her puppets darted forwards; a red faced puppet pulled ahead and then its face seemed to jut out of its casing. Four large blades of chakra then appeared and began spinning loudly. The second puppet then extended it hand on a chain and gripped the first. It spun the red faced saw puppet overhead before sending it straight at Kyuubi. The chakra saw clashed with Kyuubi's chakra aura; for what seemed like an eternity the two energies clashed.

Then the saw puppet broke through slightly.

Kyuubi immediately spun out of reach, in the same motion a paw of raw chakra formed and ripped the chest of the saw puppet, all the way up towards the exposed face.

Not once did the Kyuubi break stride as it closed the distance.

Chiyo discarded the critically damaged puppet and moved the others. The female puppet and a blue faced puppet moved up. The broadswords in the female puppets hands became vibrating at high frequencies; Kyuubi's hair lashed out, determined to overrun the new threats, but the strands were cut down with ease.

The female puppet stepped forwards for a scissor blow, only for Kyuubi to halt is charge and bend backwards st the waste. Before it could lash out the blue face puppet appeared at the left side; its mouth opened and a torrent of flames burst free.

The Kyuubi was undeterred. Using the hair as a platform it pushed itself to the right. Naruto's body spun upright as Kyuubi then shaped the hair into two large hands. More chakra surged as the hands came together in a thunder clap.

The very earth around the Kyuubi collapsed and disintegrated. A massive shockwave sped outwards, annihilating the flames and sending the puppets and their wielder flying.

Chiyo felt like a ragdoll as she was bounced and dragged across the floor by the shockwave. She couldn't even cry out from the pain, the wind had been completely knocked out of her. For the most part she hadn't broken anything, although from the way her hip felt she hadn't exactly survived unscathed. Gingerly she rose to her feet and pursed her lips. Her fingers flickered and connected to the nine-no, eight puppets that survived. One of her puppet; the one with red markings and a Kanji for "Dharma" had ended being impaled by several branches and crushed underneath broken trees and rocks. Chiyo lamented the loss, it had been part of a triad; without all three she couldn't utilise their unique jutsu.

She gripped her sore side and prepared for the next onslaught. The Kyuubi seemed content to stand and survey the destruction it caused. Naruto's head cocked oddly as the hair forming Kyuubi's face writhed. Chiyo's eyes widened as she felt the pressure continue to rise.

Then it widened in alarm as a second tail began to slowly form.

Suddenly Naruto's body jerked; Kyuubi wailed in pain and began thrashing around. Lightning chakra surged through him and the thrashing grew worse. Chiyo shifted and narrowed an eye, she could just make out to long and sturdy cables, one sticking through the left shoulder and the other in the mechanical components of the right arm.

Then Naruto suddenly dropped to one knee. The cables pulled taunt arching his back. Another blow swiped the back of his head. Chiyo then made out the figure behind him, her heart filled with wonder and elation.

"Sasori…."


Sasori knew he was being reckless. His earlier fight with Naruto had caused damage to his life support casing. The seals still held but it was like playing with a six-sided dice, with no options but to roll sixes. Every. Single. Time.

At any point, he could simply cease to be…..

And damned if I'm not a little bit curious now.

His chakra surged and more lightning arced through Naruto, dropping his second knee. The hair writhed once more and shifted; forming another face to get a glimpse of Kyuubi's attacker. Sasori wished he could smirk properly at the blatant fury and appraisal.

His body made from Kimimaro had been nice while it lasted, but needs must. This one though did make use of some of the reinforced bones to make it light but much stronger, and better at channelling his chakra.

The lower half incorporated a digitigrade design, giving even greater jumping and motion power. The torso was mostly unchanged; his core encased on the left side. The biggest difference was his arms; just below the elbow the forearm was taken almost completely by scorpion pincers, capable of gripping, crushing or with the proper chakra application slashing and cutting through his intended target. Finally sprouting from his back, in between the shoulder blade were the two thick cables on separate rolls for independent use, in a similar pattern to a two tailed scorpion.

It always paid to have a back-up.

Sasori watched briefly as the Kyuubi struggled from his grip. The growls were growing more menacing and the chakra shroud thickened. Raw Biju energy began travelling up his cables and he could see the components in Naruto's right arm breaking under the sheer weight of power. Sasori narrowed his gaze and moved into action.

Chakra thrummed as he gave another blow to the back of Naruto's head. Then, the cables flexed and in a feat of strength lifted him up and over Sasori. Sasori spun one-eighty degrees and without a word slammed Naruto's body face first into the earth

His pincers clicked multiple times before opening fully. Inside were multiple concealed weapon ports. Chakra surged and immediately a high pressure sound wave battered Naruto's body into the ground. The screech of pain was lost in the sound waves. Kyuubi thrashed as best he could but Sasori was unrelenting in the assault.

So consumed was Sasori in his attempts to beat down the Kyuubi, he failed to notice the figure speeding towards him.

SHANAROOO!

The rumbling of earth was the first warning to Elder Chiyo. Then a pink blur appeared five feet away from Sasori. The earth shifted around the figure, rising and forming a fist, cocked for a sure strike.

"Sakura! No, don't!" The call came out to late. The earth fist sped unerringly and slammed into Sasori. The blow carried him off Naruto, causing a body to still.

Elder Chiyo groan in frustration and a hint of relief. If Sakura was present, Kakashi wasn't far off. The only problem was getting them to stand down long enough, not kill Sasori, and convince them to help stop the Biju wearing their teammate's skin.

Looking back at the downed Jinchuriki, she spotted the second tail, still bubbling to life but at a slower pace. She steeled herself and turned towards the scuffle between Sakura and an irritated Sasori. Her keen gaze found Kakashi; the Jonin was coming in hard on Sasori's blind side. Suddenly two figures had Kakashi's arms chained on either side; the Jonin was brought to his knees, his back was arched as a third wrapped another chain around his neck and pulled.

"Sasori!" Elder Chiyo called out in a stern voice. With his attention focused on her she carried on, "We have no time for you to indulge! Sakura! Kakashi! The Uzumaki boy is losing control, if you have no desire to see this pass then you will assist us now." With that she sent Sasori a sharp look and expectant nod.

Sasori was unnaturally still, much to the discomfort of Kakashi and the nervousness of Sakura. His head then cocked as if considering his grandmothers words.

A ghost of a smile met an infuriated glare. A mocking smile was greeted with an eye twitch and a wrathful glare.

Sasori chuckled at the absurdity of his behaviour and slowly commanded the release of Kakashi. All four drew up, some more reluctant than others as the faced the imminent threat of Kyuubi.


The Konoha Jonin gave wary glances but Sasori paid it little attention, turning back to the struggling Jinchuriki. It was times like these that he somewhat cursed his puppet body, faking expressions wasn't hard, but the disparity with what he was feeling, and what he was expressing was now irritation. His features suddenly felt wooden and unresponsive.

Thought for another day.

Meanwhile Sasori focused on the still struggling Jinchuriki. Whilst they were all stood 'looking iconic' Sakura at least had the good sense to form more of her trademark earth arms to restrain Naruto's body. Sasori approved of her forethought, even if it was doomed to failure, by the way the arms were already crumbling.

"I wouldn't have imagined it would take this long for the Kyuubi to recover" Elder Chiyo mused, "The damage Uzumaki-Child sustained must have been more than significant. The second tail is only half manifested."

"I know someone is going to explain all this to me" Sakura grumbled, a sheen of sweat gathered on her brow. She had an idea; she wasn't Tsunade-Sama's student for nothing, however there were pieces missing.

I am not the most liked in the village, maybe you know or maybe you don't. But the Sandaime is like a grandfather to me, he sponsored my application, took care of me as best he could and would always tell me stories. He was there for me when I needed a leader and there when I needed a guide

Sakura narrowed her gaze at the memory; The Sandaime, Kyuubi, Konoha, Naruto, and even Chiyo? No, not Chiyo. But somehow there was a connection, between the Kyuubi and Naruto. And somehow it was a closed open secret.

She'd beat the answers out of her team later; right now Naruto or Kyuubi, or something was going wild and they needed to restrain him.

"For now I can just manage to hold back the Biju's chakra". All eyes turned to Sasori. "But unless we can fully suppress it then it is a wasted effort."

As if to emphasize the point the Biju chakra bubbled violently and Sasori twitched, as if hit. Slowly his hands came together and the area was awash with chakra. The ground around Naruto pitted and cracked; five figures slowly rose, surrounding the struggling Jinchuriki. Their hands were held in seals and chakra wove around them in a storm.

The figures were non-descript with simple white robes and cowls; their faces were concealed behind large paper scripts. The three around Sasori bore the same features.

With a flick the three puppets moved off and joined the other five; bodies shifted as they encircled Naruto and the chakra storm grew.

"Kami-Sama" Kakashi breathed as his Sharingan revealed just what was happening.

Kyuubi's chakra was an order of magnitude greater than anything they had at present. It was denser and had more volume and capacity. So holding it back was like holding back a waterfall of acid.

Sasori however was holding back the tide, not completely but Kakashi could see a vast amount of 'blue' chakra choking the raw 'red' of Kyuubi. The chakra was more than even what he had seen Naruto ever expend, certainly more than Sasori should have been capable of.

The eight human puppets were the key. Somehow Sasori had managed to link them together and draw and generate their chakra in unison. What's more the chakra created was more than the sum of each one individually.

Kakashi upped the threat level of the former Suna Puppeteer in his mind.


Suddenly, on one of the puppets the paper script turned black. The puppets shuddered then collapsed, completely spent.

Sasori hissed as his chakra took a dive. The second tail was now fully formed, with it the chances of slowing Naruto down were disappearing quickly.

Kyuubi sneered at the Ninjas and took a menacing step forwards. Its eyes tracked each one and came to a stop on Kakashi. The Biju threw a look of such loathing at the Sharingan the Jonin had to take a step back.

Suddenly Kakashi's head was off his shoulders.

Kyuubi looked at the surprised expression in contempt; he crushed the head and flung the broken remains at Sakura, the pieces shifting mid-flight to the broken head of a puppet. Behind Kyuubi Kakashi reappeared. His hands a few feet apart from each other and had lighting chakra arcing between them.

Kyuubi hissed at the current and struck out blindly. Kakashi moved swiftly and was replaced by Sasori. The puppeteer struck with the blunt edge of his pincer, knocking Naruto's body over. Kakashi quickly fished out a seal tag and made to place it on Naruto. Kyuubi's chakra pulsed; a paw of raw chakra form and gripped the ground several feet away, like an elastic Naruto's body away from Kakashi and tumbled to his feet…

Only to fall prey to Elder Chiyo's puppets. Running gambit in-between them was Sakura, throwing up walls and launching earth fists.

The tension continued to rise as the more time passed, the more Sasori's puppets began to fail and the more deadly Kyuubi's chakra became.

Kyuubi pulled back on its assault and gave a haunting smile; a third tail began bubbling slowly.

"Shimata!" Kakashi muttered. He took several steadying breaths and prepared himself. His hands fell into seal, just over his Sharingan.

"Sensei?" Sakura looked worried. She hand left her defensive stance but the strain of battle was taking its toll.

"We have no choice, we cannot let him continue growing more powerful" Kakashi's voice brooked no arguments. He turned towards Sasori and Elder Chiyo "Can you buy more time?"

Elder Chiyo nodded resolutely and stepped forwards. Sasori paid the Jonin no attention as he pulled his puppet batteries to his side. Anticipation filled the air as the third tailed neared completion.

Everything stopped. The sunrays splintered through the clouds. The world's heartbeat sang.

Kyuubi took a step forwards, and instantly manacles, connected by golden chakra appeared on his wrists, legs, and neck.


"Yare yare. To think you would get an old one like me to come out and stop this unruliness of yours, have you no pity on these ancient limbs of mine" All eyes turned to the new speaker.

All eyes looked downwards; sitting on its haunches was a very old lagomorph.

Its fur had more of a dull silver sheen than the pure white it must have been. Its ears dropped backwards on its scalp and long eyebrows and beard trailed its face. In the grasp of its right paw was a rough oval head walking staff. Despite the physical age, blazing silver orbs told of awareness and vigour paired with wisdom, a deadly combination

With an aged groan it roused up and took a single step forwards. The next moment Naruto was doubled over.

The ancient lagomorph let inertia carry his blow. With a quick spin he struck out with a vicious kick, knocking Naruto to the left. With a second step he was on the Jinchuriki's arm, tracing the manacles. Slowly each one lit up and the chakra connecting them strengthened. Each time Kyuubi tried to strike the lagomorph simply faded in a step and reappeared, connecting the chakras and striking with precision.

A desperate claw of red chakra swept out. The lagomorph bent backwards at the waist, to a loud popping sound. It paid no mind, tracing the last link to Naruto's neck, before fading back towards the four Ninjas.

"Ite!" He began to whine as he stooped slightly and rubbed it sour back. Kakashi blinked while Sakura gaped at the sight.

Kyuubi growled and struggled with the manacles. The lagomorph's expression cleared as it faced the Biju.

"You are lost. Return to the dark, in time you may yet see free air."

Kyuubi snarled and tried to move, only to be countered by three blurs.

Ways of Bindings: Kin (Prohibition)

The first lagomorph to fade into view was brow in colouring, with curious eyes; one green and the other blue. If fur was course and short, it wore an ornate armour chest piece and a haori over it. A daisho pair was secured to its waist; Katana and Wakizashi.

With little fanfare it drew its daisho and stabbed them into the ground. Seals formed rapidly towards Naruto's body; immediately the manacles reacted and locked his arms behind him. Cloth bindings formed with iron shaft locks. At that moment the second lagomorph appeared.

The second was pure white, noble in bearing; its silver orbs were the epitome of royalty. It wore an all-white shitagi, with a white kosode over it. A black sash was used to hold the kosode in place. A white long sleeved haori draped over it, along with a silk scarf. On its left side was an all-white katana. It drew its blade free with a soundless flourish and formed a half seal with its other paw, then it flicked its sword downwards and two black binding fabrics shimmered into existence. The fabrics formed an 'X' over Naruto, pinning him to the ground.

"Red seeks to come forth – His anger speaks to us all – Please, lay down thy wrath" Soft cultured tones drifted from the lagomorph; which each line the Haiku scripted over the bindings.

"Your words will not be enough." The air parted with a whistling sound. Kyuubi screeched as the chakra tails were completely severed, the raw chakra diminishing from the attack.

A black, rough furred lagomorph came faded into view; said figure spun rapidly as it twirled its weapon, an ornate and wickedly sharp bisento. Around the blade was the severed chakra of Kyuubi, being reshaped and remoulded. The twirling suddenly stopped, and with a grunt the lagomorph flung the newly shaped seals downwards. The seals pulsed and suddenly larger iron shafts pinned the X shaped bindings further into the ground.

The black furred lagomorph landed lightly on one foot, the action inconsistent with its appearance. It had on an ornate chest piece of overlapping plates, with leather plates hanging from the front, sides and back to protect the lower body. It had on armoured glove like sleeves, extending from the shoulder all the way down the forearms, where it locked into place with the armoured gauntlets. On the shoulders also were two rectangular guards of leather plates. An eyepatch covered on side of its face, but none could question the steel in the glowing amber orb.

As the four lagomorphs stood, none could deny they commanded a terrifying presence


The silence broken as alight chuckle filled the air. Puppets rattled and fell as their strings were cut; Sasori paid them little mind as he slowly moved away from the crowd.

The truth of Art….

I will make an eternity….of every great moment.


A.N Another Chapter in - as always C&C's welcome and thank you all for the support.

Few questions to answer this time;

Guest Chapter 9 - In those situations he didn't need to say much; words are a tool, much like kunais or his puppets - you use the right tool at the right time. when i tried adding dialogue it just fell out of sync with his character and the situation. the fights were his statements.

JP 13 Chapter 11 - Thanks for the comments, really appreciate. As for Byakuya...all that still to come.

Seta 88 Chapter 11 - Thanks man, Kakashi has always been a love/hate relationship. he was to inconsistent at times so i decided to work with the cannon and weave my way through him. His chakra capacity is supposed to be 'low' - okay fine, but up the potency and give us a good reason - sharingan drain, hence why he keeps it sealed most of the time. ohh, Mangekyou drains even more? rip his body apart if it goes wrong, if it goes right, still give him problems, that makes a better dynamic for him - at least to me.

Thank you all again and see you soon.