My Eyes Chapter 12: Onslaught, a naruto fanfic

My Eyes

By Shiranui the Brave

Author's Notes: Here it is. The action fest to end all action fests. At least before I decide how the end-game will be (I seem to be using the word 'Endgame' a lot…Maybe that'll be the name of the last chapter? Hmm…).

Since this chapter nearly clocks in at about 35,000 words or so, this pretty much makes it the longest My Eyes chapter to date. However, as with all stories, it's not just the number of words you put in, but how entertaining you make your story. With that in mind, I hope you enjoy reading the newest chapter and offer me your valuable opinions and reviews so I can keep improving.

Finally, I'd just like to dedicate this and the next two chapters to two very special people: Firstly, EshtarWind. Being the first writer I ever beta-tested for, she has always been a great source of support for me, and her writings with their simple emotional tones always draw me in (she also has lots more perseverance and stamina than me…). If not for her and her fics, I probably would've never become interested in fan-fiction writing in the first place.

Secondly, and you probably knew this was coming, Arethusa Fellini. For being not only a great friend, but one of the only people I could talk about Naruto with without either driving her crazy or being worried that she had no idea what I was yammering about. Aside from that though, her craft is simply amazing; I'll go out of my way to say she's one of the few best Naruto fan-fiction writers across this site. Oh, and her reviews…well, what can I say? To get a perfect review from her is like fighting to climb a mountain, but once you get there, it's worth it (I'm still climbing though, lol).

For always trusting me and allowing me to be of service to you two and not to mention providing me endless inspiration and willpower to improve, thank you. Now, without any further ado…

Chapter 12: Onslaught

"To the great winged figure of feathers black and a soul incased in chaos, there is no greater power than the one he feels within. There is no recognizable force other than the one resonating throughout his shell. Yes, truly…The Tengu…The most unstoppable demon ever to grace this reality... It can truly be said, that at times, when a Tengu comes to our world; in that rare event when a demonic bird such as it bestows its presence upon this earth, it comes to a great sense of awe. It feels no recognition of its surroundings, no happiness in the beauty that we feel so proud of.

"If anything, it views this world as nothing more than a hallucination it could be having.

"What genius the Tengu are in that case…To make a world such as this when they are in a state of insanity?"

The alarm next to his bed rang ceaselessly. A young boy groaned irritably before slamming his palm on the snooze button. However, in place of that annoying meowing sound that emanated like a forsaken melody from the clock, a voice came to his ears.

"Wake up, otouto. You don't wanna be late on your first day," said the boy above him who resumed his dressing. He dug out his weasel ANBU mask from his drawer before hovering over his little brother again. "I mean it Sasuke. You know it would create a bad image for the clan if you were late."

"Nii-san," the raven haired boy responded groggily, before having the sheets around him removed. "Just let me sleep for an hour more…Then you and I can do our own personal training…"

Itachi sighed as he sat next to his 8 year-old brother. "Sasuke, we've been over this already. You'll get your time when it comes. But right now, if you want to become an official ninja, and for that matter, a member of the Police Force like me and Oto-sama, you have to go to school."

"Hai, hai…" the young boy muttered.

Sasuke groaned again before getting out of bed. He slipped on a pair of black shorts and a high collared shirt which covered his entire neck, having the Uchiha Clan symbol on its back. Oh well, at least I'll get to meet some new people today. Just hope the Hyuuga Clan didn't decide to keep Hinata at home for personal training. I'm gonna look so stupid if she gets stronger than me…You better teach me some good stuff, Nii-san.

After greeting his mother at breakfast (his father having left for his usual meeting with fellow Uchiha Police Force regarding the state of law and order in Konoha; something about some kid painting the Hokage Monument with graffiti was overheard), Sasuke and Itachi got ready to leave.

"Have a good day, boys," she said as she hugged Itachi. The teen smiled kindly in response before disappearing in a cyclone of leaves. "Especially you, Sasuke." She kissed her younger son on both cheeks and hugged him tightly. "Have fun at your ninja practice!"

"Oka-chan! Its training, not practice!" he whined.

This only earned him a playful giggle from Uchiha Mikoto. "As you say, Sasuke. Try not to over-exert yourself, okay?" she said with a gentle smile before he set off running.

That Body Flicker must come in handy for times like this, he thought with honesty. As much as he dreaded it, he still didn't want to make a bad impression on his new teachers.

And then there was 'him'. The Uchiha smiled from the anticipation; he had wanted to become friends with him since he had first heard about his lineage. Then he could have a great sparring partner during school time, not to mention for those times when his beloved elder brother was busy with his ANBU and policing work. Sasuke increased his speed and ran fervently until he could hear the bell for the first class ringing in his ears.

--X--

"Okay that's it for today, class! You're all dismissed," said Umino Iruka, the homeroom teacher, with a smile. The children wished their sensei a good day before calmly filing out of the classroom.

"Sasuke-kun!"

Sasuke stopped and turned around but was immediately sorry that he did so. A mob of girls descended upon him. And just when I almost caught sight of that kid, he thought miserably. But being the boy his parents raised him to be, he couldn't simply ditch the gathering. So there he stood, stuttering again and again as they asked him questions.

"Is it true you know all kinds of jutsu that even sensei doesn't know?!"

"How are you so good at shuriken throwing? Will you teach me, pretty please?"

"Will you help me with my ninja studies, Sasuke-kun? I don't know how to answer some of these…"

"What kind of person is your brother? Is he as strong and kind as every one says he is?"

They weren't flirting with him nor did they want to his approval. They were either genuinely asking for his help, curious or extremely willing to train with him. He wanted to oblige them all, but how could he possibly do so? He had his own studies to worry about. The session had only just started, after all.

Maybe I should get Nii-san to come with me to school…He scares people away pretty easily, he began thinking desperately.

"Oye, what the heck do you think you're doing?!"

The entire gathering, Sasuke included, turned to the source of the noise and immediately felt nervous upon seeing who it was.

"Don't you girls feel bad for heckling a new guy like that?!" screamed the angry figure of Haruno Sakura, as she waved her fist madly. Fearing her temper the group made to disperse.

"Are you alright, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke looked to his right and immediately his face lit up with joy. "Hinata! So you're dad let you come after all?"

"Yes," she said calmly. "He said that in order to understand the advanced techniques of a shinobi, you had to know your basics inside and out. It's very interesting actually. Did you know there's a jutsu for untying ropes?"

"What? Who'd wanna waste chakra on a useless jutsu like that?"

"Well, I'm sure some of us get tied up at least once in their lives…"

Sakura coughed a little, which caused Hinata to apologize profusely. She brought her closer to Sasuke and introduced them.

"Uchiha Sasuke. Pleased to meet you," he said with a smile.

"Haruno Sakura! Nice to meet you too! Hey if you ever need help handling those girls next time, let me know. That's what friends are for, right?" From behind the pink-headed girl she heard Ino's call. "Whoops, have to go. Sasuke-san, Hinata-chan, I'll meet with you two later. It was nice meeting you Sasuke-san!" Sakura moved towards Ino, her red dress fluttering.

"Oh! Is that Sasuke-kun?! Do you think he'll train with me?!"

Sakura sighed and led her friend away for a good girl-to-girl talk.

Hinata giggled to herself. "Looks like you made a lot of friends today. Though a lot of them were with us in our pre-school days."

"Tell me about it…Sometimes I wonder what the big deal about me is. Anyway, shall we go?"

Hinata agreed heartily and took his hand as they walked towards the docks.

--X--

"…And he was right there in front of me, but I missed him! Maybe I could talk to him tomorrow. Still, what an interesting guy."

"What did you say his name was? Naruto?"

"Not just 'Naruto'! He's Hokage-sama's son! The son of the Yellow Flash, Hinata! Imagine what cool moves he must know! I'm sure he must know the Body Flicker and lots of other awesome jutsu! He may even know the Thundergod jutsu…Man, what a lucky guy! But then having Hokage-sama for a father is no small thing…"

"Hokage-sama's son?" Hinata placed a finger on her chin as she looked up at the clouds and thought pensively. "Oh! I heard he was the one who painted the monument with all sorts of graffiti…"

"Nani?!" Sasuke stood up from his point in utter disbelief. "HE did that?! Now I gotta make him my training partner! Did you know he managed to evade 4 ANBU, 7 Jounin, and 5 Chuunin when he did that?! That's simply incredible! Right, Hinata?" The young Hyuuga girl averted her face away from her friend, pouting to herself with disdain.

"Baka," she uttered.

"Eh?!"

"All you've been talking about is 'Naruto this' and 'Naruto that'…If he becomes your training partner, then who will I train with in school and when my father is busy with Neji-Nii-san?"

"Ah," he said with a nervous laugh, "I didn't forget about you, Hinata-chan. Why don't the three of us train together? Then you'll become the head of your clan in no time, and I'll be in the ANBU and the police alongside my brother and father! Wouldn't that be great?"

Sasuke looked out at the pond before him. It was an unusual spot for him, sitting at the harbor was. Since he was little, he always enjoyed going close to the water, but lately other things had begun to form in his mind. Still, that didn't stop him from inviting Hinata to hang with him whenever she got the chance. Not like his parents minded anyway—seeing a Hyuuga in the Uchiha district wasn't something that upset them as much as it did their ancestors (though it did annoy Sasuke sometimes when his brother teased him about bringing a 'cute bride' home; Hinata, not knowing better, actually took that in good spirit). The sun was already on the horizon and looked set to meld into night within just a few moments. His thoughts on the twilight, the co-existence of light and dark before him, caused him to remember a few curious, happy and painful memories.

"Hinata…"

"Hmm," she said, after she removed her sandals and began to lightly splash the water with her feet.

"Do you still think of those times we spent together?"

Hinata looked at his contemplative expression and then back at her reflection in the water. "Yeah. I do. It feels like only yesterday that it all happened…"

"Those times…" said Sasuke slowly.

When we fought both with and against the awful force of our dreams.

"Look at this place," said Kisame, hefting his giant Samehada onto his back as he strutted through the corridors of the Haven with Deidara. "Never thought they could make air-ships this big. Would've been great to get one of these for myself."

Deidara liked to remain quiet just this once. It was for a simple reason actually: all those weeks of being with the annoyingly inquisitive Tobi had finally gotten to him, and he had actually gone cuckoo. Those days when he always used to beat, strangle or blow up the masked brat because he always used to brag to him... somewhere deep inside, a small part of him actually missed those days.

His utter disregard for his own well-being was quite admirable, but his desire to run away from any and all dangerous situations was nothing short of pathetic, he thought, more matter-of-factly than with any real opinion.

To use everything in your arsenal to defeat your opposition; to dominate in the light of amazing finesse; to surpass those fools who called themselves 'geniuses' when all they relied on was their mere genes; in short to showcase one's utter artistic mastery—that was what the exploding clay-fighter lived for. Tobi not only fell beneath his expectations in that regard but Deidara also slowly realized the reason for his oft-repeated cowardice (not for nothing though; even if some Jinchuuriki brat managed to pummel him once didn't discount the fact that he was a member of Akatsuki): The raven-haired, black and white masked S-Class missing Nin was hiding his true abilities.

A fool who can't understand art is one thing but an artist who does not show his talent to this world…Who doesn't realize the responsibility of the gifts he's been bestowed…Doesn't deserve to live!

These angry thoughts rang through his mind and escaped his mouth on more than one occasion. Yet, the blonde still found himself missing his 'junior'. Either it was that, or he was just wishing that he didn't have to settle on being stuck with Kisame to get his work done. The psychopath Shiori with her obsession with Feng-shui would have been better, but she just had to get herself killed and take Tobi along with her. Now he was stuck with the shark-man, and he couldn't even complain about it, unless he wanted to end up like Hidan's head and be tortured for hours on end before being thrown into a pot of molten hot magma for losing against some one who took better care of both his brain and the matter surrounding than he ever did.

But the torture that the foul-mouthed visage, formerly one half of the 'Zombie Brothers', endured would have been far greater than this grunt work. Maybe he was wrong in his analysis of those who were true artistes and those who were not (to which he mentally cringed; if getting to be partners with some one was he didn't like was going to throw him off this much, then he hated to imagine what would happen to his psyche if Kisame had been eliminated). But one thing Deidara would have to admit was that Tobi certainly had his secrets, some that he was willing to find out had he received the chance.

"Tch, another one of these things," growled Kisame, as he looked upon a door with a giant '7' etched on it in red. It served as an indication of two things: One, that they were on the seventh and fourth top-most floor of the FAF Haven where the infirmary was located, and two, that the door, with its obvious gleaming and almost glasslike outer coating was both equipped with some heavy duty chakra-resistant material and reinforced several times over with steel. "The brat who made this ship…He was called 'the Man Who Could Build Anything', right? Do you think he would have noticed such an obvious flaw," he said with an evil smirk as he hefted Samehada off of his back, "In his designs?"

The blue Monster of the Mist brought his heavy shark-scale branded sword down on the door with what would have looked like super-human force, if one didn't notice that he was only using the tip to break through. Chakra armor both restricted in mass production, yet sanctioned by the Snow Country's princess for high-risk operations (how Maxi got the supply needed for the Haven involved an uncomfortable story of 12 shinobi, a sandwich and a shrapnel bomb) that could resist the awesome force of the famed Rasengan—yet so easily was it torn apart by this hulking madman's unquestionable brutality.

"Care to explain to me again how that works, yeah?" said Deidara with curiosity, and a hint of anger when he realized that his normal C1 bombs wouldn't have even made a dent in the material.

Kisame looked at a simple shining piece that formed a small piece of the door, and lifted it up and down in his clawed hands. "Chakra armor from the Snow Country is said to be powered by a portable generator that operates on a number of frequencies. They use this in order to repel common jutsu and chakra powered weapons. Only by destroying those little gizmos could you actually stand a chance against their shinobi. However, they're like magnets…Like absorbs unlike, and also," he said as he heaved the chunk at the walls, which engraved a large dent in their structure, "Like repels like. So if we take a big source of chakra absorbent and bang it against another big source of chakra absorbent—"

"The chakra repelling is no longer has any effect, yeah," finished Deidara with a hand on his chin, as he took in all the information he was hearing. "And the door is nothing more than just another door—"

"That a monster like me would have no trouble ripping apart," he said with an evil laugh, as he signaled Deidara to continue moving.

"Interesting. You're quite informed for a pre-cooked dish of sea-food, yeah," the blonde said with a sneer of utter amusement. Kisame pretended to ignore that remark, and by that he meant to tear the little man and his little clay models apart when this mission was over and done with. Never thought I'd see the day when I'd prefer Itachi's company over that of other Akatsuki members, he said to himself. "We've already made it past the Hokage's quarters located a few floors up, yeah…Seems we have just a couple of more doors to go until we reach all the sick people, yeah…Wonder if Uchiha Sasuke is onboard. I still have to pay him back for stealing my opportunity to kill Orochimaru, yeah…"

"Who cares…What's really important is that I finally get to shave some poor shmuck's skin off," said the shark as he broke his 20th solid steel door so far without breaking a sweat. "No more 'capture-alive' missions! No more controlled fighting! Just plain massacre! Heh, I love it! Nothing but chaos!"

"Yeah," said the artist of explosions as the carnivorous mouths on his hands licked their lips with glee. "Indeed, yeah."

The last barrier to the infirmary had finally been broken. Kisame looked to his left and right at the numerous entrances present. Inside each room, he could make out a large number of empty beds along with sheets and pillows that had been thrown apart. He snickered to himself as he lifted his sword and heaved it on top of his shoulder. "Hide-and-seek, huh?" he said to no one in particular. He both loved and hated to enter that state of mind—the one where his predatory instincts took over. Whether friend or foe, he sometimes had an unhappy habit of tearing apart the closest living thing next to him. On seeing those intense arched eye-brows, Deidara stood next to one of the doorways and let his demonic 'ally' continue his walk down the hallway. As far as he could remember, becoming a victim of one of Kisame's little berserker phases wasn't included in any of the Leader's orders. And the hell with taking the initiative in this case.

"Okay? Stay here and don't move, no matter what," said Ino with a whisper as she cocked the strings on her crossbows. The doctors, nurses and remaining patients had retreated to the room at the very rear of the ship that signified the limits of the infirmary. Alas, it was a dead-end, so other than trying to unsuccessfully create an exit, she would have to defeat or at least delay her enemies until back-up arrived.

"Yamanaka-san," said one of the doctors as he readjusted his spectacles, "Your condition…"

The blonde looked at her delicate frame still situated in the wheel-chair. She wasn't the best choice for this, but since Lee and the other heavy fighters were still out of commission, she would have to do. With a confident grin, she winked at her doctor. "Don't worry. I'll call you if I'm unable to bear whatever they can dish out at me. I am a Konoha shinobi though, so it could be a while. Stay put until then, okay sensei?"

She didn't give the old man time to reply as she wheeled out of the room and sealed it from the outside with the help of a keycard. Calling for the doctor's help when she was in pain wasn't exactly something that she wasn't willing to incorporate in her little impromptu plan; she simply couldn't involve normal individuals in this fight. Especially since the enemy was Akatsuki. She slowly wheeled down the hallway and stopped at the corner, making sure that she heard the approaching footsteps carefully. The faint sound of a blunt object being dragged around on the floor repeatedly could be heard. She readied the explosive-tipped arrows equipped on her crossbows. At the blink of an eye, Ino sped out of the corner and with precise marksmanship, aimed the first arrow at the space between Kisame's eyes. The arrow flew loose; the young Chuunin prayed that it would hit.

What kind of idiot does this woman think I am? Kisame grinned as he tilted his head slightly to the left and let the arrow whistle past his head. "Hey brat, next time you want to try surprising the strongest of the former Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, try remembering that no one knows how to counter silent killing better than us!" Ino's eyes widened in shock, but not at Kisame's dodge. Rather, her attention was now fixed on the lucky target of her arrow—a blonde man (Or is it a woman, she thought with confusion) who was screaming at the top of his lungs at the sharp pain he felt in his hand before it exploded inside the palm's mouth.

"Ow!! That stung, damn it! Son of a bitch, hmm!!" said Deidara as the tongue in his hand took the necessary precautions to minimize the damage done. "What the hell did you dodge for you, freaking excuse of a goldfish?!"

"Heh heh! I thought you were a master artist of explosions, partner!" howled Kisame with laughter.

"SHUT THE HELL UP!! WHO THE HELL IS IMMUNE TO FREAKING EXPLOSIONS, YOU DAMN SUSHI FOR BRAINS?!?!"

"Whatever," said Kisame with a shrug as he teleported out of Ino's view. She gasped with fear and turned her wheel-chair around. Have to get away, she said to herself as her hands worked the rubber handles again and again. If he catches me like this, there's no telling…There's no telling what he'll do to me!

However, she didn't get very far when she saw the enormous blue-skinned monster standing before her. Hastily, she moved her hands on to the wheels once more, trying to backtrack and find another exit. However, on turning around, all she saw was Deidara. The previous comic nature of his injury was now but a memory; he looked at her darkly, with a sadistic smile on his face.

"Little bitch…If there's one thing I hate more than idiots who can't appreciate art, it's Konoha brats who think they can underestimate me and get away alive, yeah!"

Ino felt her body flying out of the cushioned seat; the green patient's robe she was wearing came loose, revealing the bandages around her crotch and thighs along with the undergarments she had on. In vain, she tried to stab the assailant, Kisame, with a kunai she had hidden in them, but her hand stopped before she even knew what was going on. The snapping of the bones in her wrist caused her nerves to twist and her suffering to soar. She screamed in pain as she clutched her left wrist tightly. The shark smirked once again before punching her and positioning her on her back.

"I think I know this woman, yeah…Ain't she the one who was with that Kyuubi brat when he took out Kakuzu?" asked Deidara when he inspected her face closer. "Heh…If I remember correctly though, she really didn't do much, yeah…You listening, fish-breath?"

He wasn't. Kisame was too busy peering at the precious bandages she had below her navel. The intricate patterns of the dressings allowed him to discern what kind of wound it was that had landed her up in that wheel-chair he had just toppled over. It all led to one specific area, and he smiled a mouth full of fangs upon realizing it.

"Hey Deidara," he said, as he oriented the still-covered tip of his Samehada sword on top of her right arm, while he kept his left foot on her left arm. Ino winced and twitched with pain; tears were already spilling down her cheeks. As she looked up at Kisame's upside visage, she remembered the position she was in.

All the hope in the world, she thought with sadness. Please Kami-sama…Use all the hope in the world to save me…Not again…Please not again…

"What's your deal, hmm? Just what are you—"

Kisame brought his free foot down on the area of Ino's body which was bandaged the most.

At that instant, she felt something inside of her break. The blood from her crotch quickly began to stain the white wrappings. Kisame's smile grew wide, the light reflecting off of his pearly fangs. Nothing made sense any more to the young Yamanaka. Not religion, not God, not love, not strength, not friendship, not even family…There was only one reality at that time; one reward that she received for thinking she could make a difference.

Pain. Pure, unadulterated, unflinching, unrivalled pain.

"Aaah!" she screamed in horror. "Aaah! Aaah!" Her lower body began to contort wildly, but her legs wouldn't move. They couldn't move; not when the pain caused by doing so seemed to skyrocket even more. Her arms were bound by the blue monster's effortless strength; he brought his foot down onto her crotch yet again, making the red stain even deeper. The more he pounded, the deeper the crimson shade became. With a little twinkle in his eyes, he thought of using a little variation, and twisted his foot left and right on her precious feminity upon stomping on it again. The injury went beyond mere bandages, as it begun to stain even her panties with its pent-up fluids.

Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop.

"Heh! Now this is what I call fun!" said Kisame as he lifted his bloodied sandal to trample on her once more. "This makes all the waiting worthwhile!"

"Che…Do whatever you want…Shiori's got nothing on you, ya freakin' psycho," he said. Suddenly, his voice became more serious. "Oye Kisame! Behind you—"

The Monster of the Hidden Mist sensed it as well: a figure of great power appearing from behind him, ready to strike. "What in the—"

Kisame brought his hands up and blocked the powerful backhanded punch aimed at his head. The enormous force caused him to roll back a few feet as Deidara stood in shock of what he was now witnessing. The aura of reddish chakra surrounding the figure of Maito Gai with his eyes completely white and the intense pressure of blood rising up to his skin surface showed the amount of power he was now drawing upon. His senses turned towards the exploding clay-fighter and knocked him back a good distance away before he could form any kind of defense against him. Ino was in too much pain to be able to say anything to the Jounin—not that it would have mattered much, since he was in hiding ever since she evacuated the medical personnel to a safer location. The extent of his injuries weeks ago required more than just medical jutsu to cure. But time wasn't something he could spare when it came to protecting the children of the village. The five gates he opened would have to be enough to stop Kisame, if only momentarily. Deidara, as always, didn't quite fit into the equation, and this would soon come back to haunt him.

"We meet again, old pal," said Kisame as he straightened himself up. Upon seeing Gai's unchanged expression, he laughed.

He's in so much pain he can barely keep his form up. Heh… As always, a hopeless idiot.

"I…will…pro…tect…"

"Hmm? What's that?"

"I will," he uttered as blood started to leak from his mouth. His muscles tensed; reddish embers began to take shape on his arms and legs as he readied an attack that Kisame was all too familiar with: Morning Peacock. "I…will…protect…every—"

An explosion broke out, the location being Gai's back. The skin burned off as he howled with pain. The green beast of Konoha fell onto his knees, his face locked in a pupiless expression of horror as he lost consciousness. As he fell, Deidara came into view, his hands in the usual seal of 'Katsu' that he used to detonate his explosives.

"Next time, pay more attention to the little ants on your back, yeah…You never now when they could suddenly blow you to pieces," he said with a smirk, proud of the miniature explosives he managed to make on such short notice. Kisame nodded before walking towards Ino, who was now unconscious from all the pain she had been experiencing earlier. A small pool of blood began to form around her legs, as Kisame brought his sword up to finish the first on his long list of future casualties.

For what its worth, he said with a semi-serious, semi-satisfied and all too sadistic grin, the smell of your blood and the agony of your screams is out of this world.

A gust of wind blew through the hallways, cutting everything but the two Konoha Nin who had tried to stop the Akatsuki commanders from moving forward. Deidara moved towards the hallway he and Kisame emerged from only to feel a shudder at his feet. He gasped upon seeing what it was.

Sand.

The six armed body of Karasu came at him, seconds after he sucked up the sand to create some more exploding clay. He heaved a few C1 homing birds at the puppet, but they were blown back and torn apart by another heavy gust of wind. The zephyrs passed through the explosions before moving onwards towards Deidara in an attempt to shred him apart. The artistic fighter positioned a wall of clay before him that stopped the wind cold; he placed his palm on the matter and it dissolved into dozens of exploding spiders that began to crawl towards their unknown targets. More sand shot out and crushed each one of the spiders before assimilating the damaging energy from the blasts. Deidara hissed at the result and looked at his opponents.

A woman with brownish blonde hair arranged into four ponytails and a half open fan looked at him from her spot just above Ino. Her black dress fluttered with the remaining breeze in the air before she closed her device and started to walk towards the Akatsuki Nin with determination all over her face. Temari bit her thumb and spread the blood on her arm; she made a few symbols before summoning numerous floating scythes to encircle her as she made her way towards her opponent.

Two more puppets creaked side by side with the calm Kankuro as he pocketed his hands and moved towards Deidara along with his sister. The black ant, the scorpion, the crow and the puppeteer—the force of four contained in one Jounin of the Sand as his eyes filled with malice.

Standing in between them, dressed in red and partially recovered from his exhaustion earlier was the strongest of all the Suna warriors. He said nothing. He specifically instructed his siblings not to say anything during the fight that was to occur. For now, there was no need for information. No need to know what Akatsuki's plans were. Only one thing was clear in the mind of Sabaku no Gaara, the Kazekage of Sunagakure—Akatsuki had to be eliminated. The more painfully, the better. A few pillars of sand began to move along with Gaara and his siblings, ready to defend them at a moment's notice, as they made their way towards Deidara. The blonde smirked before running down the way he came. He was sure they would follow him outside; he would reach there first and be ready to bomb them mercilessly with his new jutsu. The only thing he needed as a long-range fighter was space and the outdoors had lots of it. The three Suna siblings gave chase to Deidara, leaving Kisame alone with the lifeless bodies of Gai and Ino.

"Oye! Do you think you can just ignore me and—"

He felt it again. The presence of someone behind him. Odd thing was, it wasn't attacking. The man-shark swung Samehada in a downward fashion only to feel the sword being caught by the figure behind him. Kisame turned around, his eyes full of bloodlust, only to recoil in shock. The predatory habits he always felt, the love for carnage he always harbored—he could see it all in the eyes of the silver-haired man behind him. He could've sworn he sensed more killing intent from the warrior than even that coming from him at the time. Kisame saw Samehada in the stranger's hands and knew what a mistake the man had just made, since all the monster had to do was pull and he would effectively shave his entire palm off. One large tug after another was made but this only brought the man closer and close to his face, until they were finally eye-to-eye. He gritted his fangs when he realized the man was sizing up to him perfectly. The stranger's hand didn't even quiver as it contained the raw power that Kisame was trying to exert on his blade.

"I am not one for dramatic lines, Swordsman," he said with a gruff voice, his eyes not leaving Kisame's for a second. "I'm a lot stronger than Maito Gai is. You may challenge me," he said as he raised his right fist quickly, "At your convenience!"

He brought his fist down just as Kisame oriented the lower portion of Samehada to take the majority of the attack. The shock from the fist resonated through the floor at their feet, as it unhinged a little before a slight cracking and small puffs of dust were generated. The blue shark opened his eyes again to see Shirow flipping through the air before delivering an axe-kick deep into his skull. The metal ground was unable to take any more attacks; it fell through, taking both man and beast with it, making no distinction in the pain that it would inflict on either of them.

"Kamia-dono."

The old man let his vision adjust to the sudden burst of light. He spotted a figure with shoulder length hair the color of emerald offering her hand to him. As he took it, he gazed into her hazel eyes.

"Misaki-chan! Where have you been?"

"At the bridge, helping the Kazekage-sama to get back on his feet. Good thing I was there, but…he seemed very adamant to come with me rather than rest."

Misaki signaled her colleague and with a nod, he left the room only to be immediately greeted by the bodies of Ino and Gai, sprawled across the floor like corpses.

"Such evil," he said, as he rushed towards Ino and began to administer emergency treatment while his colleague began work on Gai's ruptured back. More nurses and medic Nin began to file out from the store room that Ino encased them in for their own protection. A tremor vibrated throughout the floor (what was left of it anyway). The old man saw the giant hole created just a few steps away and looked at the girl medic with concern. "What's happening?"

"Hittori-Nii-sama is fighting against Hoshigake Kisame. His opponent is one those seven, so it appears that he is not willing to hold back," she said before finishing her treatment on Gai and handing him over to a waiting stretcher. "I will join him in a few minutes after I am sure of the safety of our patients."

"Nani?! M-Misaki-chan…You can't be serious…"

Misaki stopped before going to the rest of the patients. "The shinobi of the Haven are all fighting the forces of Akatsuki. Some of the ninjas have even entered the ship and are fighting against the Hittori and other clans of the Leaf. No one else will be able to help Nii-sama at this instant. And besides…"

She turned around and revealed her smiling round face to her fellow medical specialist. "When Nii-sama and I are together, we never lose."

The doctor rubbed his glasses in disbelief before returning to treating Ino. However, only two floors below him, the violent battle between Kisame and Shirow was still underway.

--X--

"Nii-sama."

Shirow lifted his head up as he looked at the remains of the village of the Sound. Most of it was burned; several citizens had died, including many of his fellow clan members. He was under an unbearable feeling of exhaustion, but upon hearing the cries for battle arriving from the direction of his fellow shinobi, he knew it would be time to go to war again. The water pipes in the village had been taken apart systematically, sector by sector. The unwashed blood on his palms was beginning to dry and itched madly. Shirow tightened his forehead protector and turned to face his beautiful sister, Misaki, who had been waiting for his trance to end.

"Speak, Misaki-imouto," he said with a solemn voice.

"We must be going soon. The forces of Akatsuki are enroute to Konoha as we speak. Also…" she said with a bit of sadness, "Sasuke-sama is calling for you. He has something that he wants to discuss with the two of us."

"Understood. Let us hurry then. If Akatsuki's campaign against the Leaf will indeed start before the sun rises, then there is no time to spare."

Shirow kicked aside some rocks with the heel of his foot as he made his way off of the pile of rubble. He stopped after some time when he realized that his sister wasn't following his lead. "What's bothering you, Misaki?"

"Shirow-Nii-sama," she said. Her hands that were folded behind her tightened as she spoke what was on her mind. "Konohagakure…What are they to us know? For the past several years, before Sasuke-sama's arrival, they killed many of our friends and family. Also, I just can't forget…what they did to Tayuya…I…I just find it hard to believe how brutally they killed her…

"She was always the one to tell me, 'Keep your goddamn head up, even if it's raining blood'. The people who killed her…I just don't know what I will do when I am in their presence… What if I lose myself and end up hurting those who were not even involved? I'm scared brother…More than the fighting, more than the carnage…I'm so scared of what I may do…"

Shirow looked at his sister in the eye and let out a rough sigh. "You cannot make distinctions Misaki…Not in this world, not any more…If one shinobi of Konoha killed the one you loved, then it was the will of the entire village that she should have died. They had their reasons, and maybe they were right…"

"Nii-sama!" she said with shock, before he put a hand on her head and continued.

"We are not ones to question what is right and what is wrong. Many of the Sound thought Tayuya was wrong for following Orochimaru-sama and trying to capture Sasuke-sama. Some say she was wrong for helping a man who was lost and tormented to give up not only his life but any evidence of his entire existence. Tayuya was not exactly looked up to by the citizens of Oto…

"However, she was still one of us. Her will represented our will, and even though we could not save her then, it was the way she chose to die—in the service of Orochimaru-sama. We cannot question her loyalty and love for her village in that respect, just as we cannot question the actions of the one who killed her to save his fellow shinobi. So when we arrive in Konogakure, never forget our current duty as shinobi of the Sound and as members of Hittori: Our will to protect Konoha and its people, and to serve Sasuke-sama till the end, is what represents the will of the Otogakure. What has happened in the past and what will transpire in the future will be put aside in front of that fact, as you will learn when you slowly grasp the reality of what is happening there," he said as he calmly began walking away. However, Misaki was still not moving from her spot. She winced a few times before wiping her eyes a little.

"Why do you believe in him so much," she said, the sadness still apparent in her eyes, "In Sasuke-sama..."

"Because," said Shirow as he spotted the Haven getting ready for take-off. He let his arms lay on his sides and closed his eyes, as he felt his exhaustion reaching its peak. "With him…I feel as though…"

Kisame swung the Samehada with all his might, but he was still unsuccessful in landing any blows on Shirow. Another sword slash was caught by Shirow. He clenched onto the shark scales beneath the torn off bandage and hauled Kisame's face into his waiting forearm. This caused the Akatsuki lieutenant to back up a few spaces.

Even though I'm fighting him with half my strength, he's still able to hold his own. Who the hell is this guy?! The pain was almost non-existent at first but it was beginning to grow on the man-shark.

A stab aimed at Shirow's abdomen found its mark; Kisame continued to thrust until pushing the sturdy Hittori into another wall. His opponent was bleeding from the internal pain but his expression still hadn't changed. The same stoic, furrowed and tense face stared at Kisame with enormous killing intent. His eyes seemed to be drilling a hole through the shark's very will.

Upon the collapse of the wall, Kisame leapt on top of Shirow, making sure his entire body's weight was focused at his feet as he stepped on his arms. With apparently no means to counter-attack, Kisame lifted his Samehada up and brought it down with both hands on his enemy's face. The metal floor below his head was dented deeply; it seemed that all life had left his body. Like he was hammering a nail inside a pesky, resistant wall, Kisame smashed his sword against the Hittori leader's head again and again, each time redoubling his power. After his target seized breathing, the shark smirked with pride. Yet another successful kill. He hadn't anticipated a pair of hands grabbing his feet and throwing him off balance. His bleeding temple and cracked forehead protector aside, Shirow still showed no signs of relent.

Just what in the hell is this guy made of, thought Kisame frantically before he felt his entire frame being lifted up.

Down the hallway, where several Leaf and Sound Nins were busy fighting agasint the grunts of Akatsuki, Genma dispatched another one of his enemies before huddling back-to-back with his long time partner, Raidou.

"Just another ordinary day in the life of Konoha shinobi, eh buddy," he said with a bored face and a fighting disposition. An Akatsuki Nin wielding two swords rushed towards the pair maniacally, only to fall dead from a quick senbon lodged into his neck. Genma grinned tiredly at the result. He never thought he'd be happy to get that thing out of his mouth, until he was wounded internally and had to let the blood seep through his teeth while he clutched onto his favorite tool. "How long do you think this'll last?" he asked, as he coughed a few times to give his lungs some rest from the internal blood build-up.

Raidou crossed both kunai in his hands and deflected the shuriken that had been aimed at the different critical areas of his body. "Who knows…These bastards are awfully persistent for being just mere grunts…Where do you think the main members have gone?"

"Don't know, and frankly, I'd rather not find out…"

An enormous thumping sound was heard that rocked the hull of the ship. It knocked all the shinobi present off their feet. Not that they weren't used to that sort of thing, but it was the surprise more than anything that caused a select few to look for its source. Raidou looked to his partner and nodded. The pair leap-frogged over a few more attacking ninjas, stabbing each of them in different areas of their faces before rushing a few steps forward. That's when they saw the unreal. After hearing all the rumors about Kisame and his legendary power, and how he single-handedly took down the container for the Yonbi, it was only natural that the two shinobi of the Leaf would be shocked.

For there was Hittori Shirow holding Kisame by his legs and, from the enormous dent he made in the floor earlier, heaved his heavy frame into a neighboring wall, causing it to collapse into pieces. But he wasn't done just yet. Shirow tightly clenched Kisame's head and rammed it into the floor, causing yet another enormous rumble. The Monster of the Hidden Mist was getting annoyed for sure, but as he revealed his spiteful eyes to his foe, a fist of pure power met his face. The panel beneath him suffered yet another enormous dent in it, and as Shirow raised both of his fists, the two Konoha shinobi thought they heard some strange humming moving through the hallways. A few objects were shaking visibly from this humming but only for a few seconds as the Hittori Clan leader brought the sledge down onto Kisame's head. The ground crumbled once more, taking them even deeper into the vertical labyrinth that was the Haven, and this time the attack was so powerful that the two warriors passed through the next floor, and then the next, and then the next, until one could no longer see them in the darkness. Only a few flashes of light and some distant sword swings, along with the odd rumble or two was enough to inform any observers of their continuing fight to the death.

Raidou simply stood there for a few seconds looking down into the hole with his eyes full of surprise. Genma simply tsked once, and closed his eyes to absorb all that he had just witnessed. After a few seconds, he turned to his partner and asked with all seriousness.

"So…That guy was on our side, right?"

--X--

"Confirmed reaching docking area, number 3," said the man wearing a large spherical helmet that nearly covered his whole head. After scanning the surroundings below, he looked towards his other squad members and nodded. Number 1 stepped forward, and as quietly as possible, each of them proceeded in a flanking position towards the main hangar doors that lead to the warehouse of the Haven. Various supplies and machinery were stored there, most of it junk but along with the subterranean levels and the top, it formed one of the main escape routes of the flying air fortress. The six had already destroyed the emergency chutes that could be used to abandon the ship if it was on fire or under attack—any survivors could then either make a getaway on foot if they were on land, or they could make use of the parachutes tactically located amongst the junk better.

Either way, this dangerous squad of individuals who memorized the past ten years of battle tactics known to all assassins and who gave up their singular identities so that they could think as one cohesive unit had a mission: The shinobi of Konoha were not to leave the Haven alive.

They were just outside the hangar doors when they noticed a strange seal on the door. Upon sensing its inner-most reaches with their chakra, the Dusk Squad found that the metallic gateway had been sealed off to them. Removing the paper present on the door-way would be useless; they had been familiar with this seal before. In the Ninja Reserves where they often used to fill in as instructors, the squad members often came across a special kind of imprisoning technique which consisted of placing a number of special tags across various strategic areas in order to protect a vulnerable area. In order to get by the special sealing, each member of the Dusk Squad would have to locate one of the six special tags (indicated by the '6' for the seal on the hangar doors) and remove each simultaneously. It was quite easy for the members, who already split off in different directions after conveying their orders to one another, to guess what Konoha's tactic was. If they were going to seal this entrance, it would mean that they had other exits planned for the innocents and wounded to escape. However, since Zetsu was on the bottom floors and Deidara and Kisame were on the upper floors, the least possible risk would be to guard them against the Akatsuki mercenaries. Since they chose to seal the door instead, it was all quite obvious.

A six-on-six battle had been planned, where the Konoha ninjas were waiting to ambush the Dusk Squad. Their plan had been found out but who was to say they hadn't anticipated that as well? As the situation stood, they would have to fight to the death.

Number 1 moved upwards to where the nearest balcony was; Number 2 was instructed to stay in the open docking area and pull of the seal on the hangar door when he received the signal; Number 3 chose to use his special skills to infiltrate a few levels below the hangar area, knowing that it would be an enclosed spot and that he would definitely find his seal/opponent; Number 4 caught sight of a shaded area close to the docking area which was a little out of sight from where number 2 was and began to inspect it; Number 5 took a flight of stairs that led him to a lower elevation of the docking area, and which eventually led to a medium sized weapons room; while Number 6 journeyed to a watch tower to the east of the docking area, surrounded as it was by masses of smoldering wreckages that seemed to have some semblance to the gunnery towers they were told about in the briefing. Upon getting into their positions, each member of the Dusk Squad radioed in and gave the word to remove the tags.

"Number 1, two floors up, balcony, removing seal."

"Number 3, furnace room four levels down, removing seal."

"Number 6, watch tower to the east, removing seal."

"Number 4, behind open docking area, removing seal."

"Number 5, weapons cache one level down, removing seal."

"Number 2, main hangar doors, removing seal—"

A punch accompanying the breakage of ceramic erupted over the radio communications network. The seal on the hangar doors, having been half removed and half-torn off, was gone; the barrier shielding the exit door for whatever shinobi were still alive and inside the Haven had been obliterated. However, the Dusk Squad was now face-to-face with each of their enemies.

Her blue denim jacket was buttoned up, hiding the upper portion of her pink tank top from view. The combat slacks she had on were yellowish-green and a bit faded, but she didn't mind one bit—the ample pockets replaced her kunai and shuriken holsters while a pair of straps on the left provided her with a place to keep her sheathed wakizashi. There was a smile on her face as she looked upon the pieces of the mask that she had been broken off when her chakra-enhanced punch grazed Number 2's head. The ninja mask he wore underneath made it clear that she wouldn't be recognizing him anytime soon; she stroked her pink hair back and showed that she didn't really care. As she took her fighting stance once more, Sakura smirked at her opponent who began to circle her as she followed his movements with killing intent.

On an abandoned balcony two floors up, where he was met with nothing but sealed doors that could have led him further into the Haven if their security supervisor was so retarded, Number 1 looked at his opponent with a mixed look of worry and joy. The former because of the silver-haired man dressed in midnight black ANBU gear wielding a hitless kitana in front of him that glistened against the sunlight and the latter upon realizing that said shinobi was the son of the 'White Fang' Hatake Sakumo and the famed Copy Ninja of Konoha, Kakashi. It was often said that he wrote the book on ANBU tactics in his day; Number 1 couldn't help but test his skills against him. The Sharingan in his left eye was steady in its analysis of its enemy; Kakashi lifted the crackling blade in front of him until it was level with his face. In the next instant, both warriors disappeared with a soundless flicker.

The furnace room wouldn't have been such a bad location to fight an enemy. A long narrow corridor with three rows of alternating conveyor belts that ended with a blast furnace consuming each and every bit of junk that fell through the special vents built into the sides and roof of the hallway with aplomb, meant that an enemy of great speed would have their maneuverability decreased by a good 40. This didn't bother Number 3, though. When it came right down to business, he was all about power and brute force. Imagine his surprise when he met some one with neither insane speed nor monstrous strength. Tenten clutched her wooden staff tightly, before peering out of the corners of her eyes for the minimal tools she brought along for this assassination mission. Two scrolls were contained in the pouch strapped at the back of her waist; projectile holsters were belted onto her forearms and shins, her shoulders, her abdomen and on the back of her neck. The simple white attire she wore wasn't going to cause her a hindrance in this battle. And as far as she could remember, she always had this strong attraction to white that dated back to when she had graduated from the academy. The flames of the furnace rose hungrily as more trash was dumped onto the conveyor belts. The arrival of the Weapons Mistress seemed to signal their movement, along with the beginning of the battle.

Number 5 encountered no problems whatsoever, and thought that since the seals had been removed, he should continue his mission. His allies would subdue the enemy ambush for now. Unfortunately, he never noticed the girl dressed in a violet ninja suit whose straight hair drooped downwards. The Byakugan in her left eye made a mental note of his weapons and amount of chakra, while her new left eye burned with the desire for revenge. Hyuuga Hanabi stayed some distance from the Dusk Squad member, and after some time, began to make her pursuit towards the main hangar doors.

Nara Shikamaru yawned. The area behind the open docking area was chosen by him due to the number of light sources and shadows that existed. When everyone around him was envying the new outfits they wore, he decided to stick with his normal Jounin vest and clothes. The chakra trench knives with knuckle-dusters that he had kept in his back pocket had been recently sharpened. Looking straight at his opponent, the fourth member of the Dusk Squad, he remembered the jutsu that he logged into this stage of the plan—one not-so-fancy jutsu, one deadly yet draining jutsu, one used for trapping and then the new jutsu he had invented quite some time back. Spending time on perfecting the new technique should have been his past priority, what with all the taijutsu training he had been receiving from Kakashi in the past few weeks. Equipping the knives, he walked slowly towards the enemy with Ino's face in his mind. But not the same face full of spunk and anger who proudly preened over her long blonde hair. The only image he could dig up in the recesses of his mind was that of her tearful, short-haired head as it spoke from the confines of her wheel-chair. Yet, for some reason, he couldn't help but think about how beautiful she was. It was troublesome to think that way, for sure, but he still felt that it was the truth.

A tower can be many things—it can easily signify the advantage of higher ground as one attacks his enemy from a safe location. It could also symbolize defense—a castle could be made impenetrable if it had a good supply of towers guarding it. But for a member of the Aburame Clan, a tower symbolized a hive, a place where a clan member could just as easily raise insects as he could trap an enemy. Standing with his back to the sun, Shino relayed the reports that various insects were supplying to him as they attacked Dusk Squad No. 6. He knew that this wasn't going to be an easy fight, yet the quiet and composed rage he was feeling was reflected in his orders to his bugs to drain the enemy of his chakra and then devour his entire life-force. After the destruction of his clan's home, he felt that it was only right to honor one's karma, no matter how painful it would, as he had hoped the mercenary beneath him would understand.

And with arrival of their opponents, the Konoha 6 began to put their plan of exterminating the Dusk Squad for ever more into motion.

--X--

"It seems the fight is about to begin," said Hinata, who had once again donned her disguise as the so-called Akatsuki Leader. Her hair was once again orange, the eyes concealed by the plains of emerald green. She conveyed the message to her army of shinobi to attack the Haven, fully aware that soldiers of that level wouldn't stand too much chance against a fully armed battle-ship and the collective personnel of Konoha, Otogakure and the Snow Country. That is, if so called Leaf shinobi, who compromised the bulk of the fighting force, had recovered from their injuries. Sabaku no Gaara's sand jutsu kept the rest of the ship relatively intact, despite the 15-foot wide critical strike she dealt to the right wing; however, a jutsu of that magnitude meant he wouldn't be waking up for a while. Itachi looked to his master, who still had the pronounced Akatsuki straw hat covering her features.

"They're meant to tire them out, yet it seems we will have to perform most of the real work when we attack that airship." Itachi spared a glance to the skies-- Deidara was already making his way to the top-most level of the ship via one of his patented clay-birds. Kisame was burrowing a ride on his own separate clay bird transport, the extra weight of the Samehada and its wielder tipping the creature from one side to the other. Zetsu was smarter-- he tunneled deep underground, and would be making his presence felt in the lower hangar area of the ship. The murderer of the prolific clan examined the ship carefully.

The ship would already be devoid of any non-military personnel-- that's for sure. The large open docking area looks to be one composed of a special chakra fiber, judging by the strange flow of chakra in its 72 inch thick layer. The bridge would be that center-most area overlooking the dock; no doubt the Hokage and Jiraiya-san would be commanding their shinobi from there. It would also function as the main control room for the functioning of the ship's weaponry. The ship's personnel will be eliminated completely if all goes according to plan...

"Itachi..."

The raven haired man looked towards his master emotionlessly.

"Before you kill any one else," she said, a vile smile crossing her lips unseen. "Find Tobi and bid him farewell on my behalf. He appears to be somewhere around that dock."

"Hai," he said, without actually saying it at all. His figure disappearing in a flash was all the words she needed, his cold demeanor being the only reinforcement she needed, and his evil eyes (full of nothing but hate of the deepest kind) being the only reminder that if need be, he would bathe the halls with blood in order to find his target. The perfect killing machine. The devil himself. The perfect tool. In essence, all of this made him the perfect shinobi.

His feathery black ponytail was flowing with the wind and hence constantly thrown back by the velocity of his movements. Even without the Sharingan, he could see the endless number of Akatsuki ninjas falling around him. He made one long sprint across the desert sands, relying on nothing more than his own physical stamina to carry him across. Someone on the bridge of the great Haven finally took note of his advance as dictated by the increasing number of shuriken and kunai that were now being aimed at him. Maxi, the commanding officer on the bridge, recognized the man from Sasuke's description—which was basically, 'He's me but he's not'—and was baffled by how he could be avoiding all that weaponry being tossed at him. He quickly brought up the control panel and patched a message through to the armory, the various sections of the ship firing the projectiles, to switch to the bronze pointed rounds he had in limited supply. Though at first hasty about his own decision, Maxi gave the go-ahead, and before he knew it, Uchiha Itachi was surrounded by a hail of bullets that formed a wall blocking his passage. Annoyed by the prevention of his advance by mere insects, he started doing the impossible—calculating the relative distance and time that each bullet forming the so-called wall would take to reach him, he charged headlong and began to catch the ammunition between his fingers. With rapid movements, almost appearing like a blur, several bullets were plucked out of the air by his hawk-like vision.

"Reports coming in from the gunnery divisions: Approximately 1763 rounds were fired without a single one landing on the target! Target is still approaching ship at high velocity! Estimated time until target reaches the ship is 12 seconds!"

"Dammit! What do we have left?!" screamed Maxi to his personnel.

"600 rounds more of ammunition, 500 kunai, 250 windmill shuriken, and almost 450 shuriken! Exploding tag ammo is scattered across the various ninja projectiles!"

"Right!" screamed Maxi, as he manned his station. "Attention gunners! Distract the target using whatever bullets we have left and lure him into an impasse before launching all exploding tag ammo! I repeat, corner him with all our ammunition and use exploding tag projectiles to eradicate the target completely!"

Itachi adjusted his view slightly, and sighed once more. Two fresh streams of bullets were on his trail, one cutting him off from altering his path while the other made sure to keep him running. This game was starting to tire him as he took a long look at whatever was left of the armies they had sent in to infiltrate the ship. The ninjas that got to the ship as soon as it crashed managed to get inside and would provide just the distraction that they would need to pursue the murder of every shinobi on the airship. Moving back to his current obstruction, the Sharingan master caught sight of a number of kunai, shuriken and windmill blades being launched and planted in the path before him. Of course he could have just turned 30 serious for a brief millisecond and moved far away where the bullets wouldn't even be able to touch him. But he decided to have some fun. The prodigy's expression remained dead-pan, with only a small smirk denoting his intentions. The gunfire was now closed in on him from both sides. The ignited exploding tags had only a second left on their fuse. The raven haired youth lunged forward into the awaiting chain reaction…

The explosions taking place rocked the whole desert. One could swear that the towering stone monuments that overlook the enormous battleground shook to and fro upon the enormous combustion of sulphur and chakra. Maxi shielded his eyes from the blast with his patented goggles, whilst the Snow Country personnel were too busy trying to recalibrate their instruments for locating any more targets.

"Target status?"

"Large obstruction of view from smoke emissions is making analysis difficult. Radar reveals no sign of target anywhere. Still scanning for info on blast radius and decimation of enemy soldiers—" Suddenly, the young engineer, the same one who escorted Tsunade to her room peacefully only a few weeks ago, gasped as she heard what was coming in through her headphones. Her face became a mix of horror as tears began to escape her eyes; she ripped the headset off and covered her mouth sobbing horribly.

"What the hell?" Maxi was about to demand a status report but on seeing his young assistant emotionally detained, he picked up the headset and began to listen in on the proceedings.

The sound of flesh being ripped apart, as a blade skinned the bodies alive, could be heard. Screams of agony and pleading for help went unanswered; the chatter of other soldiers mourning the loss of their comrades and foolishly trying to face off against the murderer was also heard. A tower exploded and another rain of radio chatter could be heard. Something landed in tower B, and within seconds started to torture all the personnel present there. The other neighboring tower, tower D, sensing their comrades to be dead turned their sites on to the tower, aiming to blow it up and defeat the attacker. Little did they know that his plan was merely to cut their tongues off and break their jaws so that they couldn't convey the need for their friends to seize fire. Tower B went up in smoke, taking about 20 personnel with it. Tower C was now heard to be under attack while Tower D recorded seeing millions of demons dressed in black cloaks stabbing them over and over again. Now the brown haired Kagura listened even more intently than ever, because the only sound coming out from the headset were the sounds of static and raging fire.

After another two seconds, only the sound of static remained.

Four gunnery towers had just been annihilated in less than a minute.

A voice suddenly came online and called for whoever was in charge of the strike. Maxi answered the call. "Who the—Just what the hell are you?! How did you even—"

He immediately froze on seeing the figure before him, standing on the ledge of the window-sill just outside of the command deck. His black cloak had not even been stained with any sand or blood and as it fluttered with the breeze, half of it generated from the explosions and fast acrobatics from earlier, the other half being a result of Mother Nature paying her debts to the dead ones, the passage of the red clouds scaring Maxi out of his wits.

He survived almost 2400 rounds of bullets, hundreds of projectiles and a mountain of explosions, wrecked our gunnery compartments on the landing dock, and ran all the way up here onto the window sill…Uchiha Itachi…H-He…He looks like he just came back from a morning walk… Maxi was about to reach for the pistol he kept underneath his table at all times, an antiquated one-shot device that still needed to be perfected, though it no longer required the constant stuffing of gunpowder with every shot like his older models had. He was still unsure if he was doing the smart thing. Itachi continued to stare at him with his emotionless eyes, his mouth partially obscured by his dastardly cloak.

Just as Maxi's fingers touched the handle, a voice rang out through his headset, issuing a cold and commanding, "Don't."

Maxi looked back at the window, as he saw Itachi with his left hand pressing down on the speaker button for the miniature radio in his ear. "Do not tempt me. I am in no mood to waste my time on weaklings like you."

"H-H-Hai," said Maxi. What to do…What could I possibly do?

"I simply want you to answer one question: Is Tobi on this ship?" Itachi's gaze was still piercing into the very depths of Maxi's heart, almost like a genjutsu to extract information from a person. There was nothing he could really do but answer the demon before him, even if he carried no knowledge of the mentioned person.

"W-W-What? W-Who are you talking a-about?"

The demon's gaze intensified and it felt as though the stratosphere itself could not contain his killing intent; almost like it was going to shatter through the very glass of the deck. Afraid to move, Maxi's fingers remained hovering over the pistol, praying for some kind of miracle to happen, but nothing would make Itachi go away. The whole crew, the running of the machines, the battles both outside and inside the ship—he was oblivious to everything. Only those clouds that sifted endlessly before him looked to be real at that moment.

"How may I get to the largest room on the 1st floor the fastest?" said Itachi, his voice a tad crackled but even icier and more cutting than before.

Maxi pointed his trembling fingers at the door behind him. "E-E-Elevator" was all his squeaky voice could utter.

At that instant, his heart stopped. One second, he blinked and the next, the figure of darkness and destruction passed right by him, his black cloak hitting his face once as it adjusted to the gusts of the ship's cooling system. Maxi thought he heard a scream, but wasn't sure if it was his own. As Itachi shifted a little past him, he muttered a lightly audible, 'Thank you'. He then slowly walked over to the door leading out of the command deck and calmly exited the room.

Itachi walked down the abandoned hallway slowly, taking his time to analyze his surroundings. At least now, he could be sure that he would have no interference from Maxi and his crew again—that is, when they finally got around to not seeing him in their nightmares after the next few weeks. The absence of the Hokage on the deck was not very startling, but he had found it odd that he couldn't detect her presence anywhere on the ship. The box-like compartment before him that indicated the floor number and had a control panel on the inside to transport one either up or down rapidly was still a foreign idea to the male. He calmly stepped inside and finding the button with the digit '1' imprinted on it, pressed it. The stainless steel carriage shook, and suddenly the lights turned to the emergency red tinge. Itachi raised an eyebrow not so much in doubt of the structure's ability and construction, but at what may have been a very foolish surprise attack in the making. Technology was still a bit of a difficult subject to him, especially when it came to the newest wares circulating throughout the world today, but he was very thoroughly schooled in sensing danger. However, the second after he shifted his gaze upwards, the lights turned back to normal and the elevator started to move slowly downwards. It began to lurch forwards after the 5th floor…

…Before immediately plunging downwards into the abyss as the emergency lights too went out, taking the raven-haired assassin all the way down to hell.

Itachi's body hadn't shuddered one bit, since his feet were still fastened firmly on the elevator floor through a negligible amount of chakra. He had anticipated such a strategy. The question now was: how was he to react? And that too, in a way that give his opponent the maximum amount of despondency and fear for having literally provoked a sleeping tiger? Itachi's nerves tickled once again—the temperature difference inside and outside the elevator began to grow at a high rate, something he measured upon examining the thermometer indicating the compartment's degree of hotness and using his memory of what the temperature had been outside of it. His eyes moved back down to the door, and he slowly closed them in anticipation.

The elevator hit the first floor violently, almost shattering the reinforced metal sheet beneath it that kept it from moving on to the basement areas where the residential areas were located. On Sasuke's instruction, Maxi created several areas in the ship that would be locked down in such a way that it would be impossible to directly by-pass them without tearing the ship apart. Hence one had to take a few detours here and there to reach such sensitive areas as the ones where the heart of the shinobi populace was residing. This would allow said shinobi populace to mount a proper ambush against any intruder.

This was different though. Today, only one man was planning the counter-attack against the Uchiha prodigy, openly issuing defiance against the man who for years was considered to be the most feared shinobi in the world.

The doors of the elevator split open upon impact with the floor…

…After which ravenous chakra-imbued hell-fires burst into the compartment, flooding it with flames and igniting the very air into a solid crisp.

Useless.

One step forward. Then another. Then one more. After this, the rhythmic walking of the intended target of devastation began in earnest. His cloak was still unaffected, since canceling out Katon had always been like child's play for him. As he made his way down the long corridor, his Sharingan eyes were busy scanning where the target could be in the various rooms, but his superior tracking senses were already unconsciously mapping the path for him to follow. The scowl on his face hadn't changed one bit—all the evil in the world was concentrated solely at his eyes. And right now, his target was some one he wanted to annihilate more than anything else on the ship. Sasuke, of course, didn't count…He already knew of his precious younger brother's coordinates and almost allowed an evil smile on his face on realizing what he was currently attempting to pull off.

He shook off those amusing thoughts of torture and suffering that he had imagined for his kin (though he considered Sasuke's Hinata to be somewhat cute…maybe he would make her yield before him in the next life). Right now, his goal was another Uchiha. Another who had the gall to go up against the Akatsuki and expect to beat them in a fair fight. His silly ideals still hadn't changed from those times when he was just a little runt in the care of the Leader—still wanting to do what was right in his heart even if he had to break everything that was ever given to him out of care and compassion, however artificial it may have been. The Katon's Karyuu Endan that was intended to take out Itachi as soon as exited the elevator, as his target knew that it would take more than an elevator crash to kill the reaper of an entire clan, had been fired off from a large distance away…Determining where wasn't a problem at all. The prodigal bastard took another turn, avoided a double rope trap for an incapacitating combination of explosive notes and electric tags, deflected all the bullets from three ceiling mounted torrents with a kunai before splitting them apart with a weaker version of his Phoenix Flower jutsu and finally lived through, of all things, a cage of blades, where edged weapons of every shape, size and variety yet all sharpened with the intention to rip apart flesh with a single sting erupted from various points on the walls. The raven-haired Itachi found himself pierced at every corner of his body and then felt all of his pain turning to thin air. He continued to walk forward slowly, unwounded as the Kage Bunshin he left behind to take the entire attack faded into smoke.

The room was not that wide or long but its main feature was its height. The walls were made of incredibly strong active chakra absorbing fabric (distinct from the fabric used in the open docking area in that it would absorb chakra without the user's conscious actions) that could kill an ordinary Genin if he kept his hand on it for more than 15 seconds. Sasuke's favorite training area, specifically designed by Kagura Maxi for the sole purpose of dramatically increasing one's chakra reserves and control at an increased rate. Hanabi had been training in the same area for the past few weeks with her sensei, who now sat in the middle of the tower-high space, on a beat up old crate as he supported his arm on his right knee. His black hair had grown a little longer since the days he was with Akatsuki. His clothes were black but he now bore three important features: a flak vest the color of leaves, a forehead protector, freshly prepared, with the Konoha symbol in the middle of it and on the back of his vest was the symbol he looked upto his entire life. A symbol that brought ruin to the uncountable hoards who gazed upon it; one that represented power and pride just as much as it did identity and adulthood. Such were the dispositions of this noble warrior that he now had to turn such false inspirations into victory. However, he still had his hope, and come what may, he would defeat the Uchiha Itachi, even if he had to go down with him.

Itachi stood stationary at the door, ignoring the black and white mask with one eye-hole that had been discarded in a corner of the room. His gaze went up for a few moments as he took in all the details of the room's chakra flow without so much as a worry. A cold objective analysis of the space's properties was what it was, but then that was how Itachi was—if he was in a field of flowers, ready to fight, his first of many battle-ready thoughts would be to make his opponent die by merely choking on the numerous petals around him. It was never a question of 'how?' and always a question of 'what?' when it came to using his full capabilities as a shinobi.

"Hello," he said monotonously as he turned his gaze back towards his opponent, "Tobi."

"Yo, Itachi-sempai," the young man replied with a more jeering tone of sarcasm. He got up to his feet and smiled through the black blind-fold he had on his head. "How's it hanging?"

"I suppose you know why I have been sent for this particular job. But then of course you do…Why else would you go to such lengths," said Itachi as his killing intent rose, "To simply weaken me, knowing that my death would be impossible?"

"Heh. I may be a prankster," said Tobi as he stood on his feet and dusted the back of his black pants off, "But I'm not a fool. I know that a demon such as you won't die unless I send you to hell with my own hands…And even then, I stand to lose a whole lot. Itachi-san, before we begin this life-and-death battle, do you think I could tell you why I'm doing this?"

Itachi said nothing, which already confirmed that he was listening.

"Its all for her, Itachi-san. She was my only friend and the one person who understood….Hinata, Leader, Shinta, Sensei, Hime…I called her by many names, but that did nothing to loosen my love for her. Everything about her is unreal. Everything she wants to do—sacrificing this world to create the world of her dreams, sacrificing people's hearts and happiness to achieve that goal…It all seems so…unreal…" Tobi removed his blindfold and showed the deep scorn on his face that could no longer cry out of pain or happiness. "But it's because of that, because of the fact that I love her so much, that I have to stop her. I won't allow her to become a monster, or feel any more pain…I won't let her destroy everything at the price of her soul!!"

"Such noble words from such a fiery romantic…Not even willing to accept, after all this time, that you were never the one she wanted." Itachi removed his robe to reveal the black metal netting that made up his ninja shirt and shifted his stance towards his right foot, increasing the distance between his legs to prepare for the battle before him. "The time for talking is over.

"Uchiha Itachi of the Uchiha Clan, 2nd in Command of Akatsuki and loyal servant to Hyuuga Hinata-sama."

"Uchiha Obito of the Uchiha Clan, loyal shinobi to the village of Konoha, and the man who's going to kill you!" said Obito as he broke open the crate he was sitting on and removed a peculiar zanbato from its remains. He heaved the heavy horse-slaying sword down, causing a shockwave to careen towards Itachi at break-neck speed. The eldest Uchiha's Sharingan caught the nature of the attack; hence, he dodged it without so much as a second thought and rushed at Obito with the first two fingers of his right hand aimed at his heart. The lightning speed he displayed wasn't enough to hit his target fully; the razor sharp blow merely ripped through Obito's clothes.

Obito positioned himself on the wall and grinned wryly at Itachi, to which the latter began his sprint towards him. As soon as he started to run up the wall, though, his legs felt strange, and only a few feet away from his opponent, he lost his footing. This didn't alarm him in the least though; his free-falling frame never lost sight of Obito even once, and he even tried to make himself look unusually vulnerable to create a false opening. The zanbato slammed against the wall, creating yet another shock-wave aimed at Itachi. He spun his body in mid-air, just letting the attack graze him barely before heaving a hand full of kunai at Obito. The blind youth simply shifted his head to the left and then to the right, before bounding towards Itachi. By this time, Itachi had already reached the floor and with a single index finger, he thrust his body away from the zanbato slash aimed at his upper back and landed on his feet a short distance away. He then stood up and looked at Obito emotionlessly.

Damn, he isn't even winded. I thought the room would have more of an impact on his performance than this. But the fight is just getting started! "Ha! Is that the best you've got? I thought the great Uchiha Itachi would pose more of a challenge than this!"

Itachi gave no response and simply chose to examine the walls of the room. Chakra-absorbing materials always had one weakness: they not only underestimated the amount of chakra one's body was capable of producing but also the way in which one was exactly capable of using it.

"No answer? Boring as usual…Even though you're a genius, no one can truly master climbing these walls. It takes days and days of practice before one can even grasp the proper control and chakra needed. But I guess that's not the only thing you find hard to combat, is it?" he said as he let the edge of the zanbato touch the floor. Itachi's eyes returned to the weapon Obito was holding in his hands as he spoke without any anger at all.

"The Suiton Zanbato," he said.

Akatsuki was always on the hunt for scrolls, specific ninja tools and ninja techniques in their earlier days before actively pursuing the retrieval of the nine Jinchuuriki. The four elemental weapons were also short-listed due to the immense power they contained in the hands of skilled users. One could simply unleash numerous elemental attacks without having to utilize any chakra at all. Konoha held the Raijin Saber many years back, before Aoi stole it and allowed his foolishness to destroy it. The Suiton Zanbato was one of the few weapons that each Akatsuki member was allowed to handle freely, and master at their own pace. Not many took interest in it, and it was only a matter of time before Obito stole it without their knowledge. Even if it was just a weapon, it still followed the elemental affinity cycle. No matter how skilled he was in other jutsu, as long as Itachi was affiliated to the Katon, he was at a natural disadvantage. This had been Obito's planning but…

"Katon: Tajyuu Karyuu no Jutsu!" A giant orb of flame erupted from Itachi's mouth only moments after he acknowledged the zanbato. Not caught off balance by his quick handseals or the speed of the surprise of the attack, Obito oriented the zanbato before him when the orb collided. A copious amount of steam had been generated, but he easily held it off. Not being able to see had its advantages, since he had no vision that could be hindered by the numerous pellets of water that had been sizzled off by Itachi's action. He deflected the attack and sent another shockwave at Itachi, which the prodigy dodged without much effort.

Erratic breathing and heart-beat…That means I have him where I want him! Something nagged Obito but he decided not to give it much thought. In a battle, one had to keep his personal opinions to the side and focus on downing his opponent, no matter what. Itachi's name wasn't meant to be a cruel joke of fate—he was smart, cunning and constantly increased the strain on his brain cells to come up with strategies in a battle. Obito moved the Suiton Zanbato a little closer to the floor, as his hands rested comfortably on the handle.

"Not so easy to use the Sharingan against some one with the same speed as you and no genjutsu that he can fall prey to, isn't it, Itachi-sempai?"

Once again, Itachi was without any answer. Obito listened carefully. His heartbeat was now very uncomfortable, probably due to…fear?

No, thought the former Akatsuki subordinate carefully. Uchiha Itachi doesn't feel fear…It can come to him…But he just doesn't feel it. I guess I'll have to use everything I have before he can lure me into any traps. "You know, Itachi-san, about this ship…There's always a unique advantage to those who train with these chakra absorbing materials the most."

"Do tell," said Itachi at last, without any emotion. He felt a little perturbed by his sudden speech, but then dismissed it as Itachi's way of getting into people's heads.

A jet of water suddenly appeared from right in front of Obito and launched itself at Itachi, who dodged it before returning his eyes to Obito's speech. There were no splashes or droplets created by the sudden burst of chakra-imbued water—it simply melded back into the room's wall.

"Chakra can be absorbed. However, it still follows the laws of energy. That is, energy is always conserved and can never, ever be destroyed. So all those times I was hitting you with those shockwaves from the Suiton Zanbato," he said with a smirk and even though blind, he matched the direction of his eyes with Itachi's, "The energy contained in the form of water chakra still moves around this room, circulating endlessly, until it finally dissipates into heat. But for as long as it circulates, you can call out that chakra any time to attack your opposition. Since we Uchiha are aligned to the Katon, it normally wouldn't be that easy to summon and control Suiton any way I wanted (not that it would be easy for any element without rigorous practice), but as long as I have my hands on this zanbato, all the Suiton elemental chakra flowing through this room will obey my commands. In the end, only those who not only fight on this ship but come to know it and trust it…"

--X--

Can ever really know how to draw on its power!

Member no. 2 of the Dusk Squad thought he was having the perfect day. First, he got to remain on this beautiful open-air dock and just admire the passing clouds of the bright orange-colored sky. He also supposed that the mission he was assigned would be perfectly easy; a real 'drop-in, drop-out' case without any real difficulties. Then, just a few moments ago, he laid eyes on the most beautiful girl he thought he ever saw in his entire life, one whose very strands of hair wavered in the wind like falling cherry blossoms. Her smile was radiant and seemed to produce some kind of unnatural warmth whenever he was about to witness it. What really would have been the perfect day, however, became nothing more than a routine assassination assignment. He hated to kill women, especially women as beautiful and full of spunk as her, but these were the orders of Akatsuki, so he had no right to object.

Now if only the pretty young thing wasn't complicating things by attacking him from all angles with such reckless power attacks. He dodged the punch she threw at him once more, and looked around, unsure of where she had disappeared to or where she was going to strike next. Suddenly, he felt a presence to his left; unsheathing his kunai, he meant to slice her in half, but there it was again. That move she kept using every time she tried to punch him and hit the ground instead. Sakura dragged her leathered fist along the ground and heaved the energy at the Dusk Squad member with full force.

"Verve ball!"

An encircling mass of chakra was somehow dragged out of the thick metal hull and heaved at him with her fist providing a medium for it to travel. The force was roughly equivalent to the infamous Rasengan of the Fourth Hokage and cut through his kunai, shattering the weapon into pieces. Member no. 2 jumped back several spaces and landed on top of the guard-rail, a comfortable distance away from the girl.

She looks like a close-quarters fighter any way, so if I just get some distance from her, I'll be fine. He was already getting ready for the first few stages of his rapidly forming plan when he spotted something heading at him. It looked almost like a blue blade of chakra, and had been thrown at him when Sakura dragged her leg along the hull in a semi-circular arc to perform a kick. With all the strength he could muster, he leapt out of the way and caught sight of the railing being sliced neatly into two.

"Well, well Ojo-san," said number 2 as he looked upon Sakura's face with a hidden smile. "Looks like you've invented a deadly skill."

"Verve Cross," said Sakura as she began to walk towards the Dusk Squad member with a smirk on her face. "Which ever one of my chakra-enhanced hits you've been dodging the entire fight is coming back to bite you in the ass."

"Hmm?" he said with a bit of a chuckle. Haruno Sakura…Apprentice to the Godaime Hokage, and skilled medic Nin of Konohagakure… Said to be the most powerful in basic unarmed combat amongst the kunoichi of the new generation, but aside from that…An interesting personality. "I'm not sure I get it. Care to elaborate for me?"

"Heh. With pleasure." Tapping the hull of the dock with her foot, Sakura began her explanation. "Using the basic principles of energy and chakra absorption, I found that it was possible upon having your chakra absorbed by a specific substance in a specific quantity to draw that chakra out again. By using the different aspects of chakra control, I can draw upon the chakra from whichever one of my missed shots and effectively throw it at you in any shape I wish. That slash of blue chakra that you just saw, which I call 'Verve Cross', is basically the utilization of the angular momentum of my leg in conjunction with the requisite amount of chakra absorption being used to 'drag' out the enhanced chakra within the ground beneath us. Not only that, but the more you evade, the more the chakra within the hull will grow and grow, making the subsequent attacks even more dangerous. And finally, please don't make the mistake of thinking that Verve Cross and Verve Ball are all the moves in my repertoire…"

Chakra absorption? Energy conservation…Wait... "Hold up…That chakra of yours is constantly circulating throughout his hull right? Then how is it that you're able to draw upon it if it's in a bunch of random directions at once?" She could just be using ordinary chakra and trying to catch me off guard…Or maybe make me enter into a close fight with her so she doesn't build up any more of those' Verve' things…

"I may be a major in biology," said Sakura as she tapped the side of her brain arrogantly, "But in the academy, my grades were always at the top. Since the time I first stepped onto this battleship to just several days ago, I've been developing a theory for how chakra circulates through this hull, taking into consideration the magnitude of the chakra, the thickness of the chakra absorbing fabric, the kinetic energy and velocity by which the chakra is moving through the hull and more. For me, physics, and just about everything else in this world, is nothing when I put my mind into it." Running towards the second member of the Dusk Squad with her arms at her sides, Sakura prepared for another attack. Her eyes furrowed as the distance between her and her target grew less.

Darn it…Will it be a punch or a kick? The crash of Sakura's leg against the spot he was standing at five seconds before it impacted gave him his answer. I've got you now, he thought with triumph as a trio of ceramic scalpels emerged from his fingers like claws. He spun on his left foot to gain some extra balance and momentum for the strike and was close to slashing at her throat until he spotted her leg moving back up. The signature trail of blue chakra was being dragged by her right leg and was aimed at where he now stood.

How fast can she find a flow of chakra anyway?! That was barely a few seconds! Nonetheless, he stood his ground and waited for her attack to hit him. After that last Verve Cross she threw at him, he was able to analyze the chakra flowing through it immediately. But then of course he should; after all, he was probably one of the only people in the shinobi world who could analyze the flow of chakra using the exterior, shimmering waves of the substance rather than tracing the interior pathways of the human body, like the Byakugan or Sharingan did. With one swipe of his scalpels, he reduced Sakura's attack to mist.

Rearing his fist back and tightening it into a punch, he made several stabbing motions at the pink haired kunoichi, each of which she dodged with some difficulty. The slashes tore through her jacket's sleeves and trousers' pockets, and she was lucky for the training she received in dodging attacks. This left her with but a few surface scratches. Applying chakra to every sense of her body, Sakura flickered out of the masked warrior's range of attacking. She relaxed a little and examined her wounds.

Nothing too serious, she said to herself confidently albeit with all seriousness. "I've heard about you…You're that guy who can negate chakra using those little scalpels, right?"

"Heh? Seems I'm famous now. Yeah, that's me. Though the real talent lies in the eyes. I can detect just about any flow of chakra after a minute or so of careful observation…You say you have a lot of attacks in your arsenal right?" he said with a sneer. "Better hope one of them hits me sooner or later. Unless, you have an unlimited move-set or whatever…"

"How nice. I was kind of wondering what specific trick you use, but that doesn't matter." Sakura separated her legs a little, making sure that her right foot was behind her as she twisted her hips as far as the would go. "About you evading all my attacks…Why don't we put that to the test?" Dragging her leg along the ground, Sakura attracted a large amount of chakra and created a scythe-like arc of energy which she launched at her enemy using the required amount of momentum.

Verve Cross? As if it'll do any good! Using his scalpels, the Dusk Squad member intercepted and tore through Sakura's attack. He continued his run towards the Special Jounin, oblivious to what she was attempting next.

Using the momentum created by her right leg, she stomped the ground with her right foot, and sure that she had a stable footing, dragged her left leg on the ground to accumulate the required chakra. With a whirlwind-like motion, another arc of bluish, super-powered chakra was generated; however this one did not launch at her stampeding opponent. With both feet now firmly planted on the ground, her right being put before her left, Sakura dragged out a huge amount of chakra as she back-flipped. "Verve…

"Cross Grave!!" The two arcs of chakra joined together and upon combining kinetic energies, howled forth in the form of a cross to slice her enemy apart.

"What the…!"

The ground beneath his feet exploded. This time it seemed that the chakra was not reabsorbed into the hull of the open docking area. Sakura landed on one foot gracefully and looked at the clearing smoke. Beyond it, her opponent was breathing heavily, his arms forming a cross of their own in front of his body. The scalpels were now emerging from both of his hands, totaling to six ceramic scalpels. Member no. 2 looked at Sakura with some frustration; the wounds on her arms and on his forehead could certainly use some of her medical jutsu. Unfortunately, being the gentleman that he was, he was uncertain of asking for either a woman's help or her mercy during a fight. With a bit of a stagger and some effort to fight through the pain, he stood once more; he swallowed the soldier pill he had in hand at the time and felt some of his strength returning as soon as he felt some of the pain leaving his body.

Shit…A cross? Who the hell does she think she is? An exorcist? But I think that I can guess her plan…She'll continually alter the flows of chakra for her attacks and since I'm not able to anticipate them, she'll slowly wear me down before finally closing in for the kill…I'll have to take a different approach here. If she can gauge the movement of the chakra in the metal ground beneath us, she must be able to predict where and in which spot the chakra will congregate. Using her perfect chakra control, she's also able to gauge just how much chakra would be required to pull the hull's chakra out. As it is, I'll have to neutralize her movements somehow, and then create an opportunity to fight her without any fear of her super-strength. He slowly hefted his vest off, and let it fall to the floor. Good thing I saw that blonde girl try this back in the Leaf. This will certainly help to scatter a large number of scalpels in a short amount of time…

Upon pulling a metal cord out of his vest, number 2 heaved the clothing into the area above the centermost part of the docking area. Sakura heard a few of the fabrics unwinding inside, and suddenly realized that her attacker was attempting the same tactic as Ino was during one of their practice sessions. Using her past knowledge of the range of her friend's attack, Sakura jumped out of the way; the vest burst open with almost hundreds of ceramic scalpels emerging at once. The pink-haired kunoichi dodged the numerous projectiles that were being directed to her, oblivious to the number of scalpels being planted into the wide open space of the docking area. When it was all over and after she pulled out the scalpels that had been embedded in her shoulder, Sakura found that the scalpels had been covering nearly the entire area around her. Even worse, it seemed as though the Dusk Squad member had another trick up his sleeve. His kitana, previously sheathed, was now in full view, and he had a predatory look in his eyes.

"This is one of my prized possessions: My ceramic sword. It possesses the same chakra negating properties as the scalpels, only it's a whole lot tougher. I won't have to see the flow of chakra to be able to cut through your attacks, though its more for your weaker attacks then anything else. Let's see if we can't arrange another round of our little fight, Ojo-san."

"A ceramic sword, huh? Like a skilled surgeon earlier and now like a butcher cutting apart its prey?"

"Hmm, I wonder. You could say that, I suppose," said the man as he took a fighting stance making sure that the full length of his gleaming blade was facing Sakura.

"I'd like to ask you something…Every one of your techniques has to do with negating chakra…It also looks like you're unable to utilize chakra at all. This may not be my business, but why so much effort just so you can destroy something that is essential to every shinobi?" said Sakura with genuine curiosity. Indeed, it was her first time meeting someone who like Lee was not only unable to mold chakra for his use but didn't display any of the characteristics of one who had any to begin with.

"Essential to every shinobi? What a load of crap…" he said, which caused a vein to pop on Sakura's head. "Ojo-san, did you know? About a few hundred years ago, there was not a single shinobi who could utilize chakra. They relied on their own stamina, their intelligence and their skill with weapons to get the job done. Ever since the discovery of chakra, the playing field is unfairly tipped in the favor of those with the most. Whoever has the best control is considered talented. Whoever has the most is considered talented. A person who can utilize many jutsu and recompose chakra into elements is considered talented, but for people like me," he said, not with anger or hate but what appeared to be sadness, "People like me can only be considered as hard-workers as compared to people like you."

"People…like me?" repeated Sakura slowly.

"Hai. To me, any one who can utilize chakra is a genius, while any one who cannot is…Well, let's just say they have a harder time at playing survival of the fittest than your kind does…But be that as it may, I will accept," he said as he readied into a stance once more, "You as an equal opponent, since you display one of the most under-rated skills of a shinobi."

"That is?"

"Traps," he said amusingly. "This was all one big trap for me, wasn't it?"

"I wonder," said Sakura with some amusement of her own, as a playful smile came to her lips. She kneeled down and attracted a little bit of chakra using her fingers, after which she rose and pointed an index finger at her opponent. "Though we fight as equal shinobi, I won't blame you for whining if you lose. That is," she said as she smiled gently with her eyes closed, "If you promise me the same."

"Deal—"

"Verve Shot!" shouted Sakura, not waiting for her opponent to finish. An elongated shot of chakra shaped into a bullet-like projectile speeded towards the Dusk Squad member at the speed of sound. Shifting his hands, he managed to deflect the shot using his sword, effectively vaporizing it into mist. Suddenly, Sakura let loose with a multitude of chakra bullets, while member no. 2 sped towards her. Each of the bullets was deflected by his skillful yet elegant sword-play. Mindful of the closing distance between them, Sakura placed her palms on the ground and waited for the required chakra to build into the spot, and at the same time waiting for her opponent to get close enough for a point-blank shot. As the amount of energy in her palms reached critical status, the pink haired medic Nin jutted her hands and released the chakra built up in them, the words, 'Verve Blast' lost in the enormous explosion of force generated by the attack.

Did I get him, pondered Sakura with some exhaustion. As expected, the chakra behind the powerful attack had been returned to the hull. It was with some trepidation that she realized it would be moving at a higher speed than before inside the chakra absorbent material. More speed means more heat generated…Which means it'll be dissipated much sooner. I have to hurry and finish this fight, before I both have no more chakra left in the hull or in my system. For reasons unknown, she found herself thinking about Naruto and Sasuke, and how the separate occasions in which they both rescued her. She wondered what they would think about her little fight taking place. This was her first fight against a powerful foe all by herself. No Chiyo or Kakashi or Team 7 to support her. Will I actually be able to win all on my own? She only broke out of those stressful thoughts when the word 'win' popped into her mind. The cloud of smoke obscuring her view had now cleared, and there was neither hide nor hair of the Dusk Squad member's body anywhere. Only her astute senses as an apprentice of Tsunade managed to tell her of the three scalpels heading toward her face. Pulling her head back, they grazed by her cheek, deeply cutting into the flesh on the surface.

Not wanting to waste time in standing against the volley of projectiles, Sakura moved to the next point where she was sure she could drag out some excess chakra to use in a ranged attack. Her opponent sensed this and continued to heave scalpels at her feet, making sure she followed an exact and calculated path. As soon as Sakura stopped in a specific place, he realized his opportunity and threw a scalpel at the exact same momentum when she was readying for a more powerful Verve Cross. The sharpness of the object pierced her foot with terrifying timing; Sakura screamed with pain before moving whatever chakra she managed to drag out into her hands.

"Verve Windmill!" A bluish windmill blade emitted from her hand and made its way to her opponent in a spiraling fashion. One sword slash was enough to dispose of it, but Sakura was already making her way to the next point. With a victorious smirk, member no.2 readied a few more scalpels.

She's already increased her speed using chakra just so she can prevent the scalpels from piercing her body. Every time she reaches a point, I'll give her a chance to take a little chakra out before scaring her into moving onto the next point. The timing will always be perfect enough to allow that. Once her chakra runs out, he interrupted himself as he threw some scalpels at her hand that just barely managed to attract a little chakra for a second. She withdrew her hand from the spot quickly and started to sprint to the next spot. He prepared three more scalpels in each hand for whatever she would try next. She'll lose the ability to fight.

Sakura was already starting to suffer the effects of blood loss. Healing her wounds wouldn't have been a bad idea but she couldn't afford to waste any chakra at the moment. Whatever was left had to be used for the final attack. After literally running in circles around her opponent, the Special Jounin halted in her 8th spot and faced member no. 2. By her calculations, she had had about 1-2 seconds in each of her spots, adding to a total of about 7-14 seconds before she arrived at her latest position. Her enemy was still waiting for her to make a move as he stood with his scalpels poised and ready to strike. Sakura smirked and readied a small sphere of chakra in her left hand.

Huh? So…she was collecting chakra from each of those points, one bit at a time just so she could create another verve ball to use against me? How intuitive. However, this really is the end for you, Haruno-san. "I've gotten a little tired of your running around…Can't we just settle this with your surrender?"

"I don't know," said Sakura her sarcasm beginning to rise. "I mean, I did put in whole lot of effort in to create this last ditch attempt of mine, so it would be kind of weird if I didn't put up some kind of foolish heroic resistance. Don't you agree?"

"Ah, right. Very well then," he said as he sheathed his blade, his fingers still staying on the hilt. He used his free hand to beckon Sakura. "Come on then."

The teenage cherry blossom smirked once more before rushing at member no. 2; the pain in her foot was getting to be unbearable, and she was still skeptical about the wounds in her left shoulder. Not to mention the multitude of cuts she had incurred on her arms and legs and that stinging pain on her left cheek that was still leaking blood. But none of that mattered as she thrust her hand with all her speed and aimed the Verve Ball within her grasp into the solar plexus of her enemy. He stood resilient, waiting for the right time. As the two fighters stood off, it was clear that only one would survive the encounter…

Sakura made her pass. Member no. 2 had also made his move. She stood there, stationary as he quietly sheathed his sword once more. The wind blew calmly, ruffling through Sakura's hair and the sound whistling through the cracks in the Dusk Squad member's spherical mask. A result was made, and was about to be declared.

The pink-haired kunoichi rubbed her stomach tightly, trying her best to detect that greasy substance against her jacket. She had seen blood many times as a doctor, but she still wasn't used to seeing it pouring forth from her own stomach. She still had the scar from 3 years ago when she had been stabbed clean through the abdomen by Sasori of the Red Mist. However, there was no Chiyo to help her this time. No Kakashi or Naruto or Team 7 to come to her rescue. In the end, was she truly able to win on her own?

"Rest assured that I missed your vital areas," said the number. 2 as he turned to face the kneeling girl. "I don't want to kill you. I can't let you interfere in my mission either. But since you're a part of my mission that brings us to a stalemate. Aside from that particular discrepancy, its your loss, Ojo-san."

On learning that it was not a fatal wound, Sakura began emergency treatment on her stomach as soon as possible and as discreetly as possible. A little blood leaked out of her mouth but she still found the courage to speak, regardless of her opponent's stand or the state she was in. "I guess…in the end, your hate for chakra was stronger than my knowledge…right?"

"I wonder. Yeah. I suppose so."

"Baka…"

What?

After continuing her treatment with her left hand, Sakura raised her right hand, revealing a long blue line of chakra that extended from all the different spots that she was moving from. In effect, it created a net-like structure that enclosed member no.2 within its reaches. And the skilled kunoichi was well outside it's deadly range.

No…How did she…Wait…Could it be that…

"When I was running around from one chakra gathering area to another, it seemed that I was gathering chakra for a Verve Ball. However, right after the first time when the scalpel hit my foot, I realized how useless any of the conventional attacks would be. And since you weren't giving me any time to make a larger Verve attack, I decided to try this, the Verve Whip…"

"You can't honestly tell me that…"

She wiped her mouth after the treatment had been finished and with her back kept to him, shifted her head a little to look at his surprised reaction. "Yeah. All that time I was running around…I was dragging chakra along my feet, creating this little line that would only become visible when I decided to pull it out from the hull. You're surrounded, and there's no way to escape. I appreciate you showing some mercy to me; unfortunately, this is only the beginning for what I have in mind to put you through right now." From one of her pockets, Sakura took out a kunai laced with an exploding tag. "Oh, and one other thing I forgot to tell you about in my little theory: Chakra Resonance."

Resonance? What in the—

"When you find the correct spot where chakra is gathered in an absorbent, you can either 'drag' it out or you can cause it to resonate. Dragging it out means applying the same amount of chakra from your own partial absorption to the hull in order to form a specific attack. However, if you take a highly unequal chakra source and make it collide with the chakra absorbed in the hull, resonance occurs. In layman's terms, you get a shockwave that moves outwards and then applies its full force back inwards. Now, if you would like to run, I suggest you do it now…" she said as she planted the exploding kunai into the ground where the Verve Whip began.

The ensuing resonating tremors rumbled the entire docking area and shattered the numerous scalpels that had resided within the fighting area. It was bad enough that he had no where else to go but up. However, the speed of the resonance was so great that he wasn't even lifted into the air with all of his own momentum. The pain ran through his entire body, starting from his spine; subconsciously he knew that he was playing into Sakura's plan, but not being able to do anything about it didn't exactly fit into his counter-attack.

Nevertheless, as he remained suspended in the air, he never thought that with her assumed speed Sakura would be able to reach up and there and attack him. However, he failed to count on the one move that all powerful Leaf shinobi knew and which he had now fallen victim too.

The pink-haired kunoichi was now behind him, muttering the words 'Leaf Shadow Dance' as she readied her combo. Before she could even attempt any hits though, the young man activated two pairs of three-pronged ceramic blades hidden in his gauntlets and slashed at her in mid-air, using the free-fall to add a little spin to his attack. One slash, two slashes and then finally three—something was being torn apart, but when he laid eyes on her body, he could only make out her smiling transparent visage

Bunshin no Jutsu! But…then, what exactly have I been…?

He took a closer look at his surroundings; little bits of pink and black paper were floating around him. He looked up to see Sakura's jacket open and all the small little chakra notes spilling out from the inner pockets. He discovered their true nature when he realized what was written on the little scraps: the kanji for the word 'explosive'.

Impossible! A Body Flicker couldn't possibly get some one that high up!

"Sakura Blizzard no Jutsu!" said the pink-haired ninja. A lighter in her hands completed the nightmare that member no. 2 was about to experience. The small ember of fire passed by the Dusk Squad member and lit up the neighboring explosive notes, causing a chain reaction to occur. A scream emanated throughout the docking area, one that made Sakura cringe.

Sakura applied chakra to her feet, similar to the way she powered up her kicks and punches and released it just as she landed. She returned to ground level and took a quick look around before falling on both of her knees, as they shook from the pain. That Verve Leap took a lot more out of me than I thought…Didn't think using resonance on my own body to get that high up would hurt so much. The fact that his corpse or any of its remains could not be seen only meant her opponent wasn't down for the count just yet. From the corner of her eye, she managed to see the hangar door a little open from earlier. There was no doubt that he had escaped there but she was beginning to debate if she should go after him or not. In his injured state, how much more harm could he do to any one?

A small smile returned to Sakura's face as she laid back and relaxed, basking in the glory of her first solo victory against an enemy of Konoha. She wondered if how her team-mates would react, since she was still unsure if her attack was a little too much overkill.

Shannaro…I'm becoming less like a woman with every passing battle, she thought with another smile before she dozed off.

--X--

Found you.

Shit. Shit. Shit. She was much more powerful than I gave her credit for… Must have been that damn Sharingan Kakashi who analyzed our individual skills before the fight. It must have been all his plan to pit people that can trump our skills against us, thought member no.2 as he winced with the number of burns he had received. Well, at least she won't accuse me of being rude if I complain to her. The pain was smarting enough but he still found himself daydreaming about his opponent. He settled down behind some crates next to the warehouse entrance, half-resting and half-prepared to catch Sakura off-guard should she try to follow and finish the job. Maybe that's why he hadn't noticed the figure in purple approaching him from the shadows, literally fixated on the scalpels he had in his hands.

Finally found you…After all this time…

The man laughed and turned to her. "Well, doesn't seem like you Konoha Nin are gonna go easy on me…You could at least mask your presence better," he said as he shifted his gaze to the dark-haired girl in purple standing before him. "Another female? Heh…Almost reminds me of that Hyuuga girl—" He heaved a few scalpels at her but she dodged with little to no effort. Member no.2 was a bit alarmed at first, and then he realized just who was standing before him. He thought he finished Hanabi on the monument but it looked as though she still had the gift of sight. Something about her was different though…Something almost…inhuman…

He suddenly grasped his arm in pain.

What in the world?! I…I can't move my arm! Is this…Jyuuken?!

Before he could successfully complete that thought, his arm felt even funnier.

What is this strange feeling? And why is it hurting so much?

His arm was practically swelling up, exceeding its normal proportions until finally, it exploded from the inside. He clutched what was left of his misfortunate limb with pain, the blood gushing out in ample liters of dark red. Hanabi stepped forward a little more, and brushed her hair back so as to reveal her right eye. Member no. 2 screamed in horror, much to the sadistic smile that was forming on her face.

This was indeed what she wanted. The rules of honor amongst shinobi be damned—this man was the one responsible for costing her her right eye and nearly endangering her entire vision. All because they thought of her and her family as nothing more than objects that stood in their way for their mission. Thoughts of these beasts laying a hand on her precious father and elder sister only caused the hot-blooded Hyuuga to clench her teeth in anger.

"What the…" she said as she got up from the hospital bed.

She shouldn't have been able to…but for some reason she could see.

Hanabi placed a hand over her right eye, feeling the scar that was left in its place. She looked around the room a little—a few nurses were passing by, some oblivious to the fact that she was already awake. Through her eyes, she could spot their chakra pathways, flowing with color as always. However, something didn't seem normal with her right eye. For some reason, it wasn't synching well with her left. It wasn't noticing the minute footsteps of the different doctors and nurses; wasn't telling her who moved with a slight limp and who had just had their chest repaired. It felt different... when she watched a patient being patched; it felt like all the details were being etched into her mind to be stored for future use. She was scared now…

Why can I see where is everyone is heading to? Why can I tell which nurse is attending to which patient? Why can I tell that some one is going to reach for a glass of water in the next two seconds, or that a mother is going to cry over the loss of her eldest son in the next three?

Why can I predict people's movements?

There had been darkness soon after. She couldn't remember when she had fallen asleep, that sweet respite that all shinobi in Konoha received from their maddening musing. The room she was now in was totally dark—nothing lit it up at all. From the pitch black void, a voice called out to her.

"What is your dream?"

She found herself subconsciously trying to find the answer to that question, without even asking who she was addressing. The painkillers must still be having an effect, she thought, as she flet herself getting more and more light-headed.

"I already know the answer…Do you?"

It was odd why dead people who she wished she could bring back to life were suddenly appearing before her and dancing and singing like life in the afterlife was child's play. Amongst those people, her memories started to mix. For some reason, her dear sister's body lying lifeless in the middle of the Konoha Stadium after her Chuunin exam several years ago made her jealous; how much she had wanted to be the one lying there, unconscious, yet subject to all the ovation, all the praise, all the applause and more importantly, the smile of her father. Across from her, she could see Hinata being caned several times during training by her father for not being able to learn a specific jutsu. At the tender age of five and peering through the sliding door, she was told by her accompanying Branch household member about how she would be entering the dojo the next day. The great Hyuuga Hizashi, the most excellent clan leader that Hyuuga had ever seen, had great expectations from her, and she should be able to live up to them.

"To protect your family, and your friends and your village and your clan's honor…"

But as much as she wanted to, in the middle of that circus of human lives and experiences, she couldn't stop noticing a certain boy staring at her. The funny thing was, he had been standing next to her the whole time. His looks unnerved her—what was it with those white eyes of his? That's all she ever saw…white. And nothing else. She was a female ninja for crying out loud—hadn't any one ever thought of purple or blue or pink? Why, in her life, was she always trapped in white? But this kid was interesting…he had been draped in gray from the beginning, since she knew him for a very long time (despite not wanting to look at his face). He always dressed in an off-white shirt, and always wore those brown shorts. She felt that she could like this guy—even if he was kind of hostile towards her.

"You want to become stronger…"

Great, she thought with trepidation. There he was again, and he was dressed in, of all the damn things in the world, white. The sash on his waist caught her attention, since it was black. She had never thought about it, but she never saw a single Hyuuga ever wear as much black with their white. Those white robes had to be spotless after all. Then slowly, she felt tears come to her eyes. He smiled upon meeting eyes with her. Those eyes she was so sick of—he no longer had them in his sockets. He no longer had a reason to live, at least according to her, so then why was he smiling?

"You want to be able to take control of destiny with your own hands…"

Why was he smiling when he had no reason to be alive, let alone call himself a Hyuuga?!

"You want something precious to fight for…"

For God's sake…

"You want…"

Why the hell is he so happy?!

"To be free."

For the first time in what felt like hours, she screamed. The shrieking echoed off of the walls. She screamed about the man before her being responsible for giving her this cursed eye. She screamed about the battle on the monument that she lost without even putting up much of a fight. She screamed for being an insignificant little woman, just like before, when her sister would ascend the peak and become Clan Leader while she would be relegated to being nothing more than just replacement should any thing happen to her. To be living proof that something may, would, could or should happen to her Nee-san, and that she would be there to assume responsibility once she was dead and buried was a painful feeling. But despite all these little pains, she cried for the one person who she ever really came to like. Hinata looked up to him as an elder brother, but she always treated him like he was a normal relative of hers. Yet she could never stop that feeling of peace she felt whenever he offered to train her, out of kindness more than obligation, and taught her again and again how to use a specific technique, no matter how many times she got it wrong. One last scream escaped her throat for the one friend she ever had in all her years in the Hyuuga, and for the fact that he was never going to come back.

Rubbing the tears from her eyes, Hanabi stood up and looked at the man before her.

"Did this used to belong to you?" she said, pointing to her right eye.

"Yeah," he answered calmly.

"Do you know how to use it?"

He lips curved into a smile; she thought she saw something odd, like his shadow changing or something into that of someone she knew, but she quickly forgot about it when the tranquilizers in her blood started to wear off. "Like a pro."

Hanabi looked at his face, her will dominating every sense of his body still open for utility. "Please…Teach me."

"How do you like them now…" The words were barely audible, but for now, he was too scared to even care. He regretted going against his nindo and harming a girl, a creature whom he worshipped in the form of his dear mother and sister who died long ago in his arms. He was ashamed that he treated her like just another victim in the on-going war agasint Akatsuki. This was divine retribution for sure. But this was his shinobi way of death—leaving the world as nameless and faceless as when he first joined the Dusk Squad.

"Well?"

She asked once more as her lips pursed together happily and her teeth grinded against each other with gratification.

"HoW dO yOu lIke My EyEs NoW?!"

As the Mangekyou Sharingan blazed angrily in her right eye, she smiled once more and laughed sadistically. Tears could be seen flowing down her left eye, as if the only thing she had left to remind her of who she was before was regretting what she was about to do next.

--X--

"So the famous Copy Ninja Kakashi Hatake…I thought I wouldn't have a chance to test your skills," said member no. 1 of the Dusk Squad as he crossed blades with Kakashi again. The two former ANBU matched Body Flicker speeds perfectly, neither letting up in their analysis of their opponent or in their pursuit for an opening. Despite his Raiton elemental recomposition, Kakashi found that his opponent's blade wasn't breaking. The Sharingan in his left eye revealed the inner secrets of the blade—a chakra absorbent. He exchanged slashes with his opponent once more before they landed on opposite sides facing each other's backs.

"Seems you figured out my kitana," said the masked fighter, as he stood up and cracked a few of the muscles in his neck. He pivoted hi head a little towards the Konoha Jounin and continued. "I heard elemental recomposition is the 'in-thing' for the Leaf nowadays, so I came prepared."

"Funny," said Kakashi nonchalantly as he met him eye to eye. "Wonder if you and your squad considered the same thing when you tried to take that little girl's eye-sight away."

"Ah…You must be referring to Hyuuga Hanabi… She was a troublesome fighter; her mastery of Jyuuken notwithstanding, her intelligence, cunning and ingenuity makes her a very strong Chuunin… I should have known you'd figure out it was me. That Sharingan of yours can predict many things. However, as powerful as it is," he said as he turned around and oriented his sword in front of him, making sure the tip was placed on top of his left wrist and aimed at Kakashi. "It won't be enough against me."

"Is that so…" Kakashi tightened his hands around his kitana and placed it right next to his head with the blade aiming skyward.

Both shinobi started to circle each other, their steps scraping against the solid metal noiselessly. Suddenly, they rushed at each other with the Dusk Squad member alternating his steps and Kakashi calculating the relative opposite of each of them, hence making a superior movement pattern. The enemy's blade was thrust at his throat but Kakashi simply shifted his head to the side and moved his own sword smoothly along the edge to limit the enemy's chances of following up. The decisive attack was coming at the end of the balancing; his enemy withdrew his sword at the exact moment the Copy Ninja was poised to disable the tendons in his thighs. His blade was stopped by an unexpected weapon. The Dusk Squad member was now on one foot, blocking Kakashi's strike with all the might that his other foot could muster. Kakashi took out a wakizashi from the shetah attached to the back of his waist and stopped the enormous force of the enemy kitana.

"A chakra absorbing blade hidden in the tip of your boot…Interesting counter," said Kakashi as he met his opponent eye-to-eye before teleporting away. He stood erect and crossed both blades in front of him. "It's kind of funny…I heard each Dusk Squad member had their own special niche talent…A skill so rarely used yet honed to such perfection that it trumped almost all others. I wonder what yours could be, though."

"About the girl," he said, ignoring Kakashi completely as he spoke his mind, "Hyuuga Hanabi…I think I should tell you that we were not to be executing her…She was only debilitated for posing a problem to our original mission."

"Right…Sure she was," said Kakashi, his Sharingan still keeping a fixed view on his opponent, making sure that he wouldn't make any sudden movements.

"But imagine how bad I felt on knowing that we took an unnecessary action…If only our target stayed at her location…"

"That's basically what it is to you guys, right? Eliminating a source of strength like Hyuuga for the village of Konoha and watching us fall trying to survive in the aftermath."

At this, the shinobi snickered. "Yes, that's totally right. As if you people put up that much of a resistance to begin with. Regardless, I just want you, a fellow ANBU and elite, to know the truth. But then…why don't we make a contest out of it?"

"Sounds good I guess. Though, like you, I'm doing this on hire. So even I won't go easy on you for the sake of information." This guy is not too bad…I wonder how every one else is faring. That was one of the main problems with fighting the Dusk Squad—no one member was stronger than the other. In terms of physical fitness and intellect, they were each alike. So there was no question of the Konoha 6's strongest warrior, namely Kakashi, being matched up with the Dusk's strongest. Luckily, he managed to view a few of their skills earlier on the Hokage monument; hopefully this information would help them come out on top.

"Of course," said number 1, orienting his blade and pointing it straight at Kakashi. "Come, Hatake."

The masked Jounin didn't need the invitation. Applying as much charka into his system as possible, he disappeared from a plain sight with the sound of 'soru' emanating through the air and reappeared next to the Dusk Squad member. The cross-slash combining both the Lightning Recomposition of chakra and the power of a kitana and a wakizashi tore through his opponent who disappeared into a puff of smoke on contact. Kakashi immediately raised his foot up to kick his opponent in the mask, throwing him off balance right after he missed stabbing his back. The Jounin, seeing his opponent stagger only a little, rammed his head into the mask, making a small crack, before grabbing his enemy's weapon arm and heaving him forwards.

"Big mistake."

Kakashi felt a sharp pain emanating through his right shoulder; the same shoulder he was using to throw his opponent. The slack in his strength preceded a small cry of pain, as the Dusk Squad member landed on his feet. Before he had time to react, the masked fighter ran at him with a shoulder tackle into his chest. Another pricking feeling was felt, but using his superior senses, the Leaf Jounin was able to back up and minimize the damage done to his chest. Blood now dripped from just next to his right lung while the dregs from his shoulder started to flow down his arm. A sword slash aimed at his head had Kakashi using both of his weapons to block. He was quick to begin moving his head back before his opponent's knee thrust could connect with his chin; however, he felt the lower portion of his mask being cut into so fast that even his Sharingan eye was caught by surprise. He boosted his chakra determinedly and flickered out of sight to a higher floor. Signs of a battle taking place on the roof of the Hokage's suite distracted him for a bit before he turned his attention back unto his foe. Balancing themselves on the opposite poles of red beacons, the two assassination experts faced each other once more. Kakashi carefully touched the cut on his chin and retracted his hand in pain.

Despite not even bearing the full brunt of the blade, the cut was still deep. As expected from a member of the legendary killing squad.

"Hidden blades contained in different parts of your clothing—a good strategy, but not one that I'll be caught by again," said Kakashi as he sheathed his wakizashi, and clutched his injured right shoulder while holding onto his kitana.

"Indeed. I hate that aspect of the Sharingan. Being able to memorize just about anything, be it maps, tactics, jutsu and strategic positions…It's only obvious you would be able to counter my hidden blades if they were contained within my gear, but," he said as he raised his hand up. The Copy Ninja's eyes furrowed as he witnessed the sheer grotesqueness of his enemy's move. A small blade, the same one that had been used to attack Kakashi again, slowly moved out through the flesh of the Dusk Squad member, his hand twitching from the pain. "Following my hidden blades is much harder when I hide them in my skin, and move them throughout my body to attack at different points. What's more, using the different shape and curvacity of my bones, I can increase the speed and power of my attacks in a moment's notice. Attacking by circulating my blade throughout my body isn't the only thing I can do with this particular technique.."

"I see. And if it weren't for all the steroids and chemicals you take, the pain and blood loss would be fatal to you. But then, any other person would be unable to be able to use that technique with the speed and skill you've displayed thus far, especially being able to maneuver the blade around your vital organs," said Kakashi as he stood erect. His Sharingan eye revealed all the different pathways of his opponent's body. Since the chakra system was a muddled sea of blue due to the drugs he was on, he knew that would have a tough fight ahead. However, even tougher would be predicting where the blade was going to protrude from his body next, since the technique either didn't require chakra or it was indistinguishable in the mess that was now moving throughout his body. "It seems I can no longer be complacent in this battle."

"I already know all about your techniques, Hatake. Your Raikiri, your Mangekyou Sharingan…And I know how to counter them as well," he said, readying his blade again.

"Let's find out if that's the truth," said Kakashi as he dropped his sword and began to concentrate chakra into his right palm. The bluish energy twisted and surged, crackling as it converted into the Lightning sword that formed the basis for the attack. He looked at his foe who had not wasted any time and leapt at him from the opposite pole. Not daunted by the challenge, Kakashi intercepted him in mid-air, his hand thrust out, ready to cut through his sword and pierce his heart. "Raikiri!!"

The Dusk Squad member and the Copy Ninja of Konoha were suspended in air for some time, with the powerful chakra absorbent composing the former's blade and the unstoppable blade of nature contained in the latter's hand caught in a deadlock. Kakashi eyed his opponent for a split second, before pushing even harder. However, something unexpected that made caused Kakashi to widen his eyes in surprise. The enormous force occurring between him and his enemy fanned out in the form of strong gusts as they bypassed each other and landed on the poles once more. He hadn't lost his focus for a second and looked down at the hand that had attacked. The Raikiri was still active, only it looked less powerful than before; if anything, it looked to be exactly half the size it had been before.

"Just perfect," said member one as he tossed away his cracked blade and looked towards Kakashi. For an instant he felt a bit dizzy but shook it off and shifted into a fighting stance. He leapt once more at Kakashi, his hands to his sides as he readied a swinging overhead kick to connect with the side of his skull.

Kakashi knew the advantage was his. Applying more power to his Raikiri, he waited until he could avoid his opponent's move and then cleave his body into two. But when his enemy was but a few breaths away, he felt a pain in his right hand. This caused him to drop his guard and clutch it with pain. The sensation was similar to that of a knife seemingly being pulled out of his blood-stream, through all the bone and tissue and emerging through his flesh. In another second, he felt number 1's kick zero in on his head; the impact caused his body to fall all the way to the open-air balcony where the two were originally fighting. With the help of a little chakra and extensive straining of his leg muscles, the masked ninja managed to land somewhat safely.

"My technique allows me to not only emit a blade from any part of my body," said the Dusk Squad member as he landed safely before Kakashi. "When I make physical contact with a foe, I can project the blade into his flesh and control it with chakra so as to tear him up from the inside. It's a useful technique for those who think they can beat an opponent with simple speed and strength or by relying on cunning. What do you think, Hatake?" He looked carefully at Kakashi, who was still lying on his knees, clutching his hand. This caused the young man to smirk as he raised his hand up. "How about I fragment the blade into several small pieces and control each individually? I could cause severe internal bleeding and you would die wrenching your own blood, or from being suffocated by it from the inside. The options are endless," he said, but this didn't elicit a response from the Copy Ninja either. He simply stayed like that, on one knee, not moving and no longer clenching his right wrist. As the silver haired Jounin revealed his face slowly, the Dusk Squad member was a bit taken aback.

H-His... His mask is gone, he mentally asserted, looking upon the bare chin and cheekbones of his foe. Just then Kakashi's left Sharingan eye began to swirl, alternating from clockwise to counter-clockwise cycles. The clouds in the sky grew dark and for some reason, the Akatsuki Nin was overcome with a sudden intense feeling of fear. What the hell is going on?! Kakashi raised his head even more, and smiled—the multitude of fangs in his mouth glistened hungrily. However there was a slight bulge in his throat. The Jounin opened his mouth wide, wider than any normal human was capable of even attempting and the Dusk Squad member recoiled in horror at the multi-fanged and grotesque beast that popped out. Claws poised, it wriggled its body a little and flung itself at its meal with a sadistic smile, its face becoming that of a weasel ANBU mask.

No! Not that!! NOOO!!

It all abruptly stopped. All the fear, all the anxiety…The clouds reverted back to their normal white hues and moved about innocently, oblivious to the battles taking place. The monster that had supposedly leapt at him was gone as well. Kakashi was no longer kneeling before him in an injured state, either. He was now standing a few feet away from his opponent, his right palm crackling with electricity that eventually died down as he turned to look around. The Dusk Squad member opened his eyes weakly, and felt an immense pain in his lower limbs. Whatever below his knee-caps that could have qualified as his legs had been lopped off, and the blood was now emptying out. Thanks to the enhancements, it wasn't excruciating, but he definitely wasn't gonna be proclaiming how pain-resistant he was in the future for sure. Placing one hand over his mask, he removed the spherical shell and revealed his face to Kakashi who hadn't moved from his spot.

"Genjutsu…huh," he said, getting weaker with each passing second. His light blue eyes met the sky, as he contemplated about his other team-mates. "I don't want to ask but tell me how anyway…"

"That time when I cracked your mask," said Kakashi as he looked upon the defeated man's red-haired visage with relative calm. "I noticed that you injected your little blade into my system," he said as he raised his left hand and dropped the bloodied knife to the ground before continuing, "And worked my Raiton chakra up to the point where I came at you with Raikiri to get it out. The second our visions met during our little stand-off is when I caught you."

"Ha…Is that right…But then, why didn't you use the opportunity to kill me?"

"Hmm," said Kakashi lazily, "Don't know. Maybe 'cause I wanted to have a little chat with you before you met your demise? I guess that could qualify as a reason, couldn't it?"

The man weakly laughed a little. The reputation that Kakashi had obtained as being a skilled warrior who had copied over a 1000 jutsu was known far and wide, but the sense of humor he was displaying was more worth the mission. "Well, since you put it that way, why don't I give you your reward for winning the fight…To pass the time until I die?"

"Yes. Just to pass the time, of course," said Kakashi as he pocketed his hands and covered his Sharingan with his forehead protector.

"I spoke of the truth…You'll only get what I know of that though…The mission we had when we first arrived in Konoha…The Dusk Squad's mission…It has its origins in something else altogether…The plan to eliminate the major clans and factions in the shinobi world was a ruse…In many respects…"

"A ruse?"

"While assignments were given to all our powerful shinobi to wipe out those who threatened Akatsuki directly…The truth is, it was merely the basis for a cover-up…One that we leaked out to the ninja world in the form of a fake plan to kill all the major clans and factions so that our organization faced no threat in the future… Just so no one would get suspicious of the fact that we were all working towards making sure of one person's death without any inquiries or interferences in the Leader's main plan…We never came to Konoha to annihilate the Hyuuga alone…It was meant to signify the day that Akatsuki's target would finally die…That was the planned day for when we would strike at the Hyuuga to get to our target…"

"If that's the case…If you weren't after the Hyuuga…Then Itachi didn't kill his clan because they posed a threat to Akatsuki…And the Seven Swordsmen weren't defeated by their own member…If that's all the case, then why did Hyuuga Neji die? Why was he killed?"

"Hyuuga Neji…" said the Dusk Squad member momentarily. "Strange how the death of one man under circumstances could help the higher-ups to concoct that fake plan…

"As far as I know, he died simply because he interfered in another one of Akatsuki's plans…That involved the capture of the Tailed Beasts…"

Killing him merely because he discovered something relating to the Bijuu?

"A gruesome death I heard, at the hands of no less than Uchiha-sama…But they had to hide the fact of their discovery…It was said at the time that the vessel for this specific Tailed Beast was special, because she not only had good control over her powers, but she could release them fully with no alterations to her health or mental state. They say she's the only Jinchuuriki to have fully synched with her Bijuu and is able to access its immense chakra perfectly…Not only that, but she's even been under training by Akatsuki…So that she could be used to combat Kyuubi vessel when the time was necessary…"

"So, just because Neji found out about their secret weapon, he was put to death?"

"Of course…not…Hyuuga Neji, apparently, was trying to bring the Jinchuuriki back against Akatsuki's will…"

That makes even less sense, thought Kakashi mentally. If he had known that there would be this many details to the truth, he would've neutralized his opponent rather than killed him. "Why would Neji be motivated to do such a thing? He, more than most people, knows the power of Akatsuki first-hand…"

"Because…The Jinchuuriki that was held captive in the country of the Lightning…The woman who is the Leader's personal slave…The one who houses the power of the Hacchibi…Is a shinobi of Konohagakure...A woman by the name of…"

The Akatsuki ninja spoke her name. It was only then that Kakashi realized the full gravity of his misjudgment. As he made to sprint away with thoughts of his entire world collapsing around him, his defeated foe called out to him one last time.

"Hey Hatake…When you…" he said weakly, "When you cracked my mask, was that part of your strategy…or was it just dumb luck?"

Kakashi, almost forgetting about his wish to honor the young man's life and caught up in his desires to revisit his past, stopped and spoke. His tone sounded nonchalant but it was less lazy and more iron-clad in its verbal pattern. "Maybe both…Who knows…"

The Dusk Squad member smiled once more before closing his eyes and letting the last of his blood drain from his body. The Copy Ninja gave his last respects to a fellow ANBU warrior, but for once, he was seriously contemplating why he took on the mission to fight against the Dusk Squad. For his failure to protect young kunoichi like Hanabi and Ino—was it to rectify that once and for all? Was he doing this for the great village that he called Konohagakure?

However, now was not the time for self-introspection, as he increased his speed using chakra while making sure that he still had a good amount left for the encounter that was to come.

--X--

No pain. That is what I feel now.

Her brown hair fluttered a little as she looked out at the Haven.

Nee-san said it would be a better idea if I just flickered next to it, rather than going with the main forces through the front. The massive size of the air-ship dwarfed her little body. She could make out traces of a battle that just concluded on top where the docking area would be. Putting a hand on her chest, she closed her eyes.

Memories. Numerous memories were moving through her head at light speed. Memories of loved ones; memories of pain; memories of her time in the Cloud before Itachi and Kisame came to rescue her…It was the last thought that stuck in her head. Subjected to a large amount of torture that she could never forget. She still remembered when they cut off her fingers one by one on a weekly basis to check and recheck her regeneration status. Those times when they injected all those steroids to induce her to enter a berserker state before releasing her into some moderately populated area to observe her destructive potential and her suspension of reasoning as a Jinchuuriki were also fresh. So much pain and so much torment she both inflicted and undertook…All for the sake of that creature they put into her. The one thing that nagged her day and night, hour after hour, second after second, to kill. To put each and every one of those humans out of their misery before consuming their innards.

The Hacchibi. The Eight Tails of the nine Bijuu, whose strength was second only to the Kyuubi no Kitsune.

Thinking about nice things always helped her to silence it. Those times she spent with Itachi in that beautiful world with the red moon were very memorable, as were those times when she and Hinata slept in the same bed, her "elder sister's" arms wrapped around her as she hummed a soft lullaby to help her sleep. Sometimes, though, she would see other things. Things that weren't a hundred percent familiar. She saw herself when she was but a teen. That man who she always liked…who always hid his face with a mask and who was always so cold to her. Until that day when he saved her, and for the first time, acknowledged her as not only an important comrade but one of his most precious people. Then there was her other friend—always goofy, always crying, yet strong-hearted and courageous when it came to protecting his friends. Another man with long blonde hair and a wide smile that was like the sun shining down on her when ever she was sad was also present; someone whom she admired and looked upto as…as…

"Sensei…"

A tear escaped from her eye as she continued to look at the Haven with a slowly quivering lower lip.

"Kakashi…Obito…"

The memories of those three flashed in her mind once again. The chakra within her began to leak out and with contorted, slit-like eyes of grey, she raised her head up to the Haven.

"Who are you people?"

Everything was gone at that instant.

No more smiling faces or hands caressing her soft head as sweet angels lulled her to slumber with their songs. No more painful memories or bouts of panic preceding a nervous breakdown. No more nightmares that required liters of sedatives to put to rest.

Only one thing mattered to her at the time.

Killing.

Killing Uzumaki Naruto. That was the one thing she had been entrusted with; the one thing only she could do.

She swore she heard her herself crying a while ago, and muttering some strangers' names. And the words she could barely make out at the end…'Gomen ne', was it…? For her, at that moment, it didn't matter.

At the age of about 31 years and as a missing medic Nin from Konoha…It didn't matter.

For Rin, none of it mattered at all.

--X--

The stage had been set. Deidara and Kisame would enter from the topmost floor, where the infirmary was located and take out any of the shinobi who were still injured. Not being at full power meant they wouldn't be able to put up much of a fight. A heartless tactic, but then Hinata wasn't the leader because of her merciful demeanor. If you were going to eliminate the opposition, you had to work from the ground up, moving from the weaker sections to the stronger shinobi. After painfully disposing of their victims, the two would move towards the bridge to intercept the two legendary Sannin. Control of the docking area would be handled by the Dusk Squad. Once they did a proper recon of the area, they could capture any important choke-points before moving in to take out any one foolish enough to escape out onto the dock. The task of eliminating the shinobi in the living quarters would fall on Zetsu. The recreation center of the ship, which conveniently had a large garden and forest contained in it, would work perfectly for the S-Class missing shinobi of the Hidden Grass village. Once he was within contact with nature, he couldn't be beaten. Itachi was already on his way to kill the traitor Tobi. The irony that she really only needed 10 shinobi to complete this entire task wasn't lost on her (nor would it be lost on the hundreds of men who were meandering forth to meet their end at the hands of Maxi's defense systems, bless their souls).

Tobi, thought Hinata wistfully. She still remembered when she first found the proud and loudmouthed youth, trapped under numerous boulders along the Konoha borders during the Third Great Shinobi wars. His entire body was crushed, several of his nerves being severed with no method of repairing them whatsoever. No medical ninjutsu was capable of healing a half-dead, crumbling body, which resembled more corpse than man. More than 70 of his blood was lost as well, and yet the answer to healing him was very simple: Regeneration. Having mastered the skill of transferring the energy of the Eight Celestial Gates to another individual, Hinata literally built him from scratch and began to train him in secret, away from the watchful eyes of the other Akatsuki members until the time was right to initiate his coronation. Still, she had fond memories of being with him-- those times when he first acknowledged her as a big sister, than as one he began to feel attracted to until they finally settled on being best friends. And with friendship came easy manipulation, she thought, relishing in the stupidity of the atypical male shinobi. The idea of getting him to help create her perfect world never entered her mind even once. Not even when he showed excellent doujutsu proficiency.

He was no Uchiha Sasuke. Hell, he wasn't even an Uchiha Itachi.

Obito would remain simply a shadow of his former clan that illuminated against the fire that was Sasuke's revenge. But like all fires whose embers were to be quenched, this shadow was meant to die. He had already performed his small, minutely significant part in her plan any way.

"I don't think we've been introduced yet," she said suddenly. Around her, there were several stone structures, some literally towering over the landscape and even dwarfing the size of the Haven itself. While it appeared deserted, she could feel two chakra signatures, both emitting large amounts of killing intent, though she was impressed by how controlled it was. Like comparing the brute force and carnage of a battle-axe to the almost obsessive precision of a knife. Not far away, on top of a large stone arch, stood Sasuke, his dark wings retracting as he reverted back to his normal tanned form, holding the Kusanagi no Tsurugu tightly in one hand and Hinata, her Byakugan pulsing and inspecting the leader's chakra signatures as thoroughly as possible, with the Tsumugari positioned upside down and concealed behind her back in a Chinese stance of swordplay. The leader removed his/her straw-hat and tossed it aside, so that they could gaze upon the face and eyes of the killer..

"My name is Shinta. Most people call me 'Leader', though."

Diving off the enormous stone structure, Sasuke sped towards the leader, the Level 2 cursed seal once again spreading, only this time accumulating in a black mass over his left hand. The seal speed was fast, but not enough that Shinta couldn't follow, as he made out the combination for the immensely powerful thrust attack, Chidori. As expected from one who mastered the art of partial transformation, Sasuke's hand began to crackle with black electricity until he recomposed into a large black blade encompassing his entire arm. The impact was to be immense as he soared at his enemy, screaming in anger, "Flapping Chidori!"

The very ground was dusted of its sand until all that was left was the earth. Its exterior was raised up and remained that way for some time, levitating in the air due to the opposite polar magnetic forces being produced by the two fighters. The explosion finally rocked the terrain of the Wind Country; the raven-haired Uchiha found himself being thrown back until his body collided with the very structure he had leaped off of.

Using the kinjutsu-infused Raiton elemental energy and recomposing it to make a weapon to attack with…Not a bad strategy he's using against me, Shinta thought, before raising a chakra infused hand to catch the sparkling black whip that was aiming to decapitate his head. Lazily eyeing the area he had thrust Sasuke into, he merely caught sight of the remainders of the Suna Bunshin that came at him with the Flapping Chidori.

Of course he wasn't meaning to hit me with that move...The acceleration by gravity was too less for it to have any effect on my defense. The Uchiha now stood behind him, producing another black electricity whip and began to lash out at Shinta. Seeing that one of his hands was now occupied, the Akatsuki leader began to side-step each and every one of the whip slashes. Seeing the frustration apparent on Sasuke's face, he immediately emitted a large amount of killing intent, his face signaling that he was getting sick of this little game of hit and run. He grabbed the second whip, heaved Sasuke's frame into his waiting kick and immediately swung around to produce two blue-chakra blades that stood floating before him to block the sword slashes from Sasuke and Hinata. Activating her Divine Chakra Combat Parts jutsu, Hinata thrust a large green chakra axe at Shinta's body. With a smirk, he caught it with his hand, only to feel his temper rise again when she lifted a foot covered by a large green cleaving blade to his face. He caught her right leg with his own before immediately seizing Sasuke's other hand which contained an elementally recomposed Raiton blade that would have extended and skewered his eyes out if he hadn't diverted its trajectory.

And for about thirty seconds they stood like that. Three insanely powerful shinobi playing a deadly version of Twister without the colored board.

"Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuuga Hinata," said 'Shinta', with his arms holding their attacks at bay. He appeared completely relaxed as he looked at the two individuals before him. After mentally remarking with disgust at Hinata's slutty fashion sense, he continued. "I suppose you're not here to negotiate the surrender of your comrades aboard that ship, are you?" Not hindered by their silence, he smiled. "I guess I was wrong about taking Uchiha Itachi to be my faithful servant, Sasuke-san…The skill you've shown in eliminating so many of my shinobi is truly befitting of the Uchiha name. I'm sure your parents would be proud if they were alive…But still, one thing bothers me…Seeing that girl with you, I have to wonder…"

"What?" The words were uttered by Hinata. Her grip on the Tsumugari was so tight it began to shake.

"Is she your new stepping stone to gaining the Mangekyou Sharin—"

"Shut up!!" screamed Sasuke. His anger was even greater than any other time Hinata had seen him. His hate wasn't for this leader of Akatsuki, but for a man who even insinuated that he would betray Hinata.

"Right, right…Let's try and keep personal matters out of this," said Shinta as he rolled his eyes. "The fact that you're Sharingan usage is limited in a solid clone was enough to show me earlier that it was a Suna Bunshin... In essence, you need to work better at controlling your emotions. Though you have the raw power, you still lack the utilities in your personality that would turn you into a real shinobi-killing machine. I mean, Itachi would have seen your entire move-list from that one sneer—"

"You have a really big mouth…You know that?" said Sasuke as he smirked angrily, his Sharingan eyes swirling rapidly. "Speaking of moves, I suppose you realize by now that you're about to die, right?"

The leader said nothing, as Sasuke increased his force on the two bluish-white blades of chakra before him. A slight flicker of chakra could be made out from Hinata's side immediately after Shinta felt the weight of her leg, arm and sword disappear. Sasuke back flipped quickly as the indigo-haired Hinata erupted from the ground, her hands joined together to form a giant sledgehammer made of green chakra which swung upwards at Shinta's head. The orange-haired warrior smiled viciously, interested in the direction the game was now taking—it seemed that Hinata had generated a Kage Bunshin in the exact instant that she disappeared from his view and was now using it to try and attack him while she waited for an opening that she could flicker back into. The strategy was useless now that Shinta knew what she was upto but he decided to go along with it, if just for the sake of seeing her skills. He immediately directed both of his chakra blades before him to form a shield against the enormous sledge and after blocking the attack, hit the Kage Bunshin across the face, sending it flying before Sasuke's feet. The Akatsuki leader only now took notice of the thick mist that began to congregate around him as it shadowed both Sasuke and the shadow clone of Hinata from his view.

Suddenly, from the mist, a windmill shuriken twice the size of a normal one appeared, preparing to cut open the vital points in Shinta's neck. He simply let it graze his side while he leapt into the air, but immediately noticed another windmill blade of the same size coming at him almost 100 degrees from his right. He caught the oversized projectile with his right hand, almost insulted that Sasuke would use such a basic attack as Shadow Windmill against him. But he knew how the Uchiha were always trained to keep no more than 7 steps ahead of their opponents when they were both inventing a plan on the fly and not using their Sharingan. His suspicions were confirmed when the shuriken transformed back into its original form—the Hinata that Shinta was waiting to attack. She thrust he hand out and attempted to hit him in the face at point-blank with an enhanced Jyuuken Vacuum Palm Thrust. The shock she received was great—barely had her attack gone off did she feel the enormous chakra scythe that pierced her ribcage. Coughing up a little blood and wondering how Shinta could both divert her hand downwards and dodge her attack at the same time; she looked up into his sadistic eyes that burned with the passion of a million murderers.

"Die."

That word—the one word he wanted to utter to her face ever since he came into this dimension—without any fancy speeches or details as to who he was or why he was doing this much just to get her out of the way; the one syllable that caused his spirits to rise as his temper calmed and resolve rectified his damaged spirit…Was no more hollow-sounding now as it was the other million times he dreamt of uttering it to her.

The smoke accompanying the dispersal of the enemy before Shinta was quickly scattered as a kick laced with chakra impacted agasint him in the chin, propelling him upwards in a spiral-like motion. And it was only in that split second did he realize many truths.

Hinata hadn't come after him in the form of a shuriken—a clone did.

Hinata hadn't just tried to empty out half of his teeth with her martial arts, when she was really using the distraction to stick a special tag onto his body—a clone was.

A clone hadn't been kicked to Sasuke's feet a few moments ago—it was the real Hinata.

The Hinata who, with the help of the Flying Thundergod no Jutsu, was now in front of Shinta with her Byakugan pulsing and training for the kill.

And yet the only thing he could think of was how his interest in this game of keeping one step ahead of a more powerful opponent in an attempt to create an opening had just quintupled.

Wrapping her Combat Parts chakra into small portions that fit around her legs, Hinata began to perform a series of cycle kicks, sending the body of the enemy before her higher and higher. Twisting her body from left to right as she continued to thrust him upwards, she caught sight of his evil smile that showed that her attacks weren't fazing him. His hand, with a special blue blade of chakra attached to it, came at her head, hungry to rip out her skull and vertebrae. Immediately placing both of her feet ahead of her, the razor-edged chakra particles immediately collided with her make-shift defense and sent her flying back down to the earth. Fortunately, Sasuke appeared from behind, and taking her hand, heaved her back upwards, where she began to make the seals for the Thundergod Jutsu once more. Her raven-haired boyfriend wasn't one to back down—upon opening the Initial Gate to dramatically increase his speed he rushed at Shinta with one great leap, clutching both the Tsumugari and Kusanagi in his hands. The leader of Akatsuki felt a simultaneous knee and elbow in his midsection and head respectively, both imbued with Jyuuken chakra that was strong enough to kill a dinosaur. Hinata dodged the (intended) weak fist that he sent at her face with ease and immediately clambered onto his back. From the front, Sasuke appeared and keeping in mind her positioning plunged both swords into Shinta's body without hurting Hinata a bit.

Next, Hinata dislodged herself from his back and along with Sasuke, spun his body to the left into her waiting kick into his mid-section as Sasuke spun his kick to connect with his neck. Faster than their supposedly injured opponent could react, Hinata spun her body to her right and greeted him with a forearm that pushed his ribcage forwards violently as Sasuke somersaulted into a kick, just as he performed at the end of his Lion Combo, into Shinta's abdomen. A snap preceded the twin impacts, which is exactly how the combo worked out. Its principle was to use the attacking force of two simultaneous forces against two opposing bones in the body and make them strong enough to eventually break through those opposing forces holding the system together. The Uchiha warrior grabbed Shinta's upside-down body with his arms and wrapped his legs around his neck, whilst Hinata remained stationary in the air, letting gravity take control of her body as she slowly lilted back down to earth. The Peregrine Falcon Drop, a special move Sasuke hadn't stopped using since his days as a Genin, was performed with such speed, that Hinata swore she saw the Akatsuki Leader's head burning red from the forces of friction present in the air. Sasuke tore through the atmosphere and planted his body into the sand with a great impact, the shockwaves creating additional amounts of sand to spout upwards in a ripple effect. He released his hold on Shinta at the last second and used whatever force and momentum he could to propel himself back up to Hinata.

The combo was nearly finished. The two lovers joined hands and after one last nod from Sasuke, Hinata was launched at Shinta. Both hands were at her sides, maximizing her speed and minimizing her air resistance at the same time. Her chakra began to build up within her body and she held her palms out. The very instant she impacted against Shinta's body would be the time she would push as much Jyuuken into his coronary tenketsu as possible. Even if she had to rip out his heart and the adjoining arteries, she would make the kill. The one thing that would stand before her and any chance she would ever have at living at peace with the man of her dreams was now only a few paces away.

Within a few seconds it will be over, she thought.

In an instant, the corner of her Byakugan twitched, as if not being able to believe what she was bearing witness. Everything was moving in slow motion to her…Everything was supposed to move in slow-motion to her lavender eyes that would burst at the seams if she poured any more concentration into them. And yet, that sight she saw, one so frightening she could have sworn she would die from the dread and hopelessness that began to clutch her heart… It was Shinta getting up. In her vision where sand was flying up at a snail's pace and she could count the number of particles with ease; where the charka moving through her body was like a multi-lined highway of streams calmly circulating back and forth through her body…

…He was moving at the speed of sound.

The second she landed at him and made her attempted strike, another explosion rocked the graveyard of ruins. Hinata opened her eyes again to see Sasuke with his arms wrapped around her frail little body. Had he anticipated what Shinta was going to do next? The Mangekyou Sharingan that he activated swirled once more before returning to its normal three-tomoe form. Yes, he had.

But before they escaped the blast radius of that explosion, another one broke out, sending them even farther away. The shock was too much for Sasuke and Hinata to stand, but it wasn't so much the physical force as the mental shock that rattled them. As their bodies landed back-first against the smooth white sand, the memories of scorning laughter ringed through their senses, shattering whatever hope they had. Hinata simply raised her body up, suppressing the desire to shake her knees from fear, while Sasuke hopped back up and tightened his jaw with surprise intermingled with anger.

The sight that greeted him was almost a traumatic incident in itself. Hinata's Byakugan pulsed and widened as she looked on in shock. "That's…" she began before the same sadistic laugh from before echoed through her ears.

Before Shinta were the two blades created entirely of chakra from before. However, on their left were several pikes made from electricity. On the right of him were a dozen axes and horse-slayer swords frozen with the power of ice, as they perspired under the blazing sun. Above him were several red, blue, yellow, green and purple orbs with innumerable rainbow colored diamonds crafted into them. The remainder of the space was covered with hundreds….Literally hundreds of rocks, sand and soil particles all remolded into broad shining shields--the same ones that pushed Hinata and Sasuke back before the explosion of chakra created from the formation of the arsenal around him. It almost seemed like he was mocking the couple by throwing them back at a time when they wouldn't be able to survive his most powerful attack. More than an insult to their strength though was his face. His expression was now the same as it was about two minutes ago when the fight started: amused, relaxed, no disappointment (since there had been no expectations) and the look of some one who appeared to be humoring a pair of ignorant children.

"He can freely recompose chakra at will," said Sasuke with shock. I can understand doing that with such ease…but so many different elemental structures at once?! I could train for another 40 years and still not be able to achieve that kind of control and chakra capacity with a calm face, even if I was lucky… "What the hell are you…"

"This is the distance between us, Uchiha. You are the level that the greatest geniuses known as Uchiha can achieve, and I," he said, as the orbs, weapons and shields rose higher and higher until they surrounded the couple. Hinata gasped and looked from one to the other—the orbs were beginning to build up chakra and the weapons started to gleam with different colors. "This is my level. The one I achieved by sacrificing everything…Now," he said as he looked up at the orbs. Each object started to concentrate an enormous amount of sunlight which became internally recomposed into a different color of chakra.

Katon, Fuiton, Suiton, Hyouton, Mokuton, Raiton, Doton…Sasuke pricked his index finger with a kunai he had hidden up his sleeve and spread a little on the chakra seal he kept on his right arm. Even if we try to dodge…It would be useless… Without any seals, and hence with as much effort as possible, he began to convert his chakra into summoning something defensive. He felt his normal chakra reserves shift and meld accordingly as he began his jutsu…

Shinta smiled and raised his arms. "Armageddon."

Within the blink of an eye, surrounding them in a 360-degree radius, all the weapons became to home in on Sasuke and Hinata, The orbs built up the energy that had been contained in them and blasted off enormous beams of elementally recomposed destructive power from each of the diamonds contained in them. The Katon axes were already burning and ignited the air as they rushed towards the targets as the Raiton swords and spears crackled and generated micro-electromagnets in the air. Fire, earth, wind, water—the proverbial gathering of the greatest powers that nature had to offer man…and they were now all crashing down on the couple.

For a second, Hinata, with her amazing vision, couldn't see (though with the enormous amount of unresevered chakra bodies surrounding her, that was understandable). Was it too bright or too dark, she wondered, recounting the stories she was told as a child about what it feels like for a shinobi to experience death for the first, and most often, last time. Trying his best not to panic, Sasuke thrust his palms into the ground and released the enormous amount of chakra the seal provided him.

"Rokyuu Rashoumon!!"

At first six demonic and titanic gates erupted from the ground, and fortified the couple, stretching so high up that only a small skylight was left at the top. The weapons and beams hit the walls, creating innumerable dents and cracks. A few of the attacks made their way past the so-called Ultimate Defense and whizzed by Hinata, just missing her jugular by a millimeter. She felt a small shard of ice cutting in to her leg, which made her squeal in pain. Sasuke was now huddled even closer to her than before; she looked upon his bleeding forehead that had been singed by one of the lasers. He tried to protect her with every inch of his body as possible, but the attacks only seemed to be getting stronger, the noises generated by the denting louder and the awful pain his joints felt after just getting sliced in the wrist by a shining blue shuriken less endurable.

Hinata covered her ears, trying to drown out the violence. Tears welled up in her eyes as she screamed out 'Sasuke-kun!' before bawling like a little child.

How could we have been so careless? Shinobi…The warrior that is taught to fight from the shadows, set traps and corner an enemy; one who is skilled in using whatever is in his arsenal and his surrounding environment to defeat his foes, no matter how much they number. Are we shinobi? Are we, who have been unable to put a scratch on our enemy through meticulous planning, effort and much training, truly worthy of the shinobi name? I think…We are…But in this case it won't be enough…After all shinobi haven't been trained to defeat monsters…But to win, we may have to—

The six gates of Rashoumon crumbled, their debris falling onto the space inside. The attacks still continued however and grinded the withered stone into pieces. After ten minutes of non-seized attacking, 'Shinta' looked towards the Haven with a smirk. He pulled out the Tsumugari and Kusanagi blades that were still stuck in him throughout the entire fight, and let them clatter carelessly onto the sand. "Next time we meet, Sasuke-kun, I want to see your full power. I hope you'll stop kidding around then," he said, before beginning his walk towards the battleship ad leaving the remains of his two opponents behind.

This will have to qualify as a warm-up session for now, he thought before yawning with boredom.

Her soft pink hair was laid out across his bare chest. The gentle up and down movements of her breathing let him know of her slumber. The moonlight shone through, providing the only place dwelling within the darkness. How many people knew this would happen, he thought to himself, as he continued to caress her hair, the beautiful strands of silk melting like sand through his fingers. Her naked body felt warm on top of his; the sound of her breathing filled his very being. He couldn't find the right word to express her beauty—it was neither of this earth nor of heaven. He couldn't find the reason why he and she had made love on a peaceful night like tonight. Looking out towards the moon again, he eyed its red shade now emblazoning the skies and he denizens living beneath them.

Sasuke turned his attention back to Sakura, and began to question himself.

This night was to happen…It was to happen on many other nights, but it was this one…This feeling I have when I'm so close to her…Where is it stemming from? This must be what people mean when two soul-mates meet for the first, second, final and then again first time. Yet somehow, this doesn't feel…'right'. The moon is shining bright with no clouds in the sky. Her sweet smell is in my system, with her warmth beginning to clasp over my coldness. I gave everything for her and she repaid me ten times over. This feeling is what I wanted. But why does this not feel normal? Why does this feel like it's not really happening? Who am I? Am I me? Or am I another me? Why does this feel…

"Sasuke," she said as she looked upon his eyes with love. Those green plateaus of mirth and harmony that made up her eyes—he could watch them forever if he so desired. "What's wrong? You look concerned about something."

"Sakura. Is this…real? What we just did—"

That feeling he experienced when she surrendered herself to his heart, soul and exterior; the endless kisses as he paid homage to her lips, her skin, her hands, her abdomen; the distinct identity they acquired as real adults; the new road they were to travel on…It was all there and yet…

"Are you feeling alright, Sasuke-kun?" she asked once more. She hugged him tighter and began to kiss his chest. "Do you…Do you want to do it again?"

He wasn't listening. He now knew that he had never been listening. Because it wasn't him who had made love to her. It was the other him who made her a woman. It was all the work of the other him. And as confusing as it sounded, this was all happening inside of his dream. The dream he always saw once in a while.

My identity…Who I am…The girl I love…The family I had…The life I wanted…The battles I fought…The blood I spilled…The light I hid from…The darkness I embraced…The hate that consumed me…The only family I already killed…The love that she offered me…Was it all a dream? Or was it all just…

…My hallucination…?

The Venus flytrap that was encasing Zetsu's head was a common joke to himself. It housed the evil and gentle sides of his persona. But he could never know which side of him was the real him. Black and white, left and right…he wasn't the type to live listening to only one critical analysis. His pitch black eyes shuttered a little before taking in all the details that were surrounding his body. The robe he had worn since he was a member of Akatsuki was placed back on as he covered his upper torso with it. The recreational environment that the Leader told him about actually did exist. Trees of evergreen and pine; daffodils and daisies all around him; a small stream filtering fresh water laced with nutrients for the plants to lunch off of—there was no doubt that the man who invented this ship wanted to cater to as many people's wishes as possible. A large metal door lay to his right which led to the residential areas, while the one to his left led to the landing area. Burrowing the thick underside of the ship, especially after he gained the necessary momentum from Itachi's calculated digging distance, was not a difficult task. The two-colored Akatsuki member had found his senses to be a little weary as of late. The urge to feed was getting stronger and stronger with each passing minute. He thanked Shinta a grand total of seven times for giving him the job of eliminating whatever shinobi laid on the subterranean levels of the Haven rather than having to go with Kisame and Deidara to the infirmary. He didn't have to ruin his appetite over a bunch of sick and wounded people (even though they were in greater quantity right now). All he could think about was meat. Fresh, tender, juicy, thick, filling, fleshy meat.

Zetsu immediately laughed, the sound emanating from one mouth turning into a duet of mixed pitches and frequencies. The three Konoha Nin who had been waiting from him ever since he arrived were indeed of a very strong level, and yet, they could do nothing against an experienced member of an S-rank criminal organization like Akatsuki. The prey felt heavy. Two of them were more lean and muscular while the third was increasingly flabby. Not a bad meal for starters, he thought as he smiled evilly.

"Yare yare, guess we've been discovered," said the brownish-blonde haired ninja whose hair was tied into a pony-tail. He walked out with his hands behind his head and a bit of a grimace on his face.

"Yeah. Shame we couldn't have gotten the advantage," said his black-haired partner. His black ninja shirt was his most distinguishing feature along with his ragged black beard and mustache. "Ne, Choza?"

Akimichi Choza, leader of his clan looked towards his comrades with a gentle smile on his face. "It's really not that big a deal…Inoichi, Shikaku." His two partners moved to either of his sides. After stretching for a little bit and eliminating any cramps they may have had in their necks and muscles, Zetsu felt the atmosphere change. Suddenly, he could feel his frustration building, but then that only happened on two occasions: when his meal was not as juicy as he thought, or when his food was trying to put up a fight, hence denying him of his rights to consume.

"He's an ugly bastard, that's for sure," said Nara Shikaku as he narrowed his eyes, and exuded utmost killing intent. His once free hands now held a black kusarigama within them, as he lazily swung the chain and ball in his left hand.

"Do you insects really think…You stand a chance against me?" Zetsu smiled sadistically and shuffled a little close to the three. "Don't take Akatsuki members so lightly…It could get you killed, much less in unbearable pain."

Inoichi looked up towards the roof with a dream-like look and crossed his arms. "You've let your guard down."

What?

Falling from the heavens with her two clawed hands outstretched, she made to split his body straight down the middle with unwavering power. Zetsu sidestepped her blow narrowly, the impact throwing up a whole yard of earth. His robe was torn at the side; a pair of yellow eyes looked out at him from the smoldering wreckage before running towards him on all fours. Zetsu evaded her rising fore-claw, before stepping back a few more steps as her hind legs took on a life of their own and began to nip at his chest. In mid-air, she brought both her claws together and made a deep slash downwards at the missing Nin of the Grass. The sonic waves combined with high-speed ripping winds could've meant a serious problem for him. He dodged her attack once more and analyzed her body a little. Long brown hair that was spiked in several places, two red markings below her eyes, a fur made of dark azure and a mouth full of incisors and canines drooling for blood.

Something swished by him—Shikaku heaved the scythe of the kusarigama at Zetsu, missing him by an inch. Before he could say anything berating though, Zetsu felt that odd feeling that he heard about so many times before: not being in control of one's body no matter how much effort was made. He tried to move, once he discovered that the veritable Nara had used the shadow from the chain of his weapon to snare him. Applying chakra to every pore of his body, he broke free of the jutsu, seconds before he was to have his throat snapped by the shadowy hand crawling up his robe. No sooner did he get away when he felt something even odder.

Has the room changed dimensions…No wait, what is this? Trees were planted on the walls, water was flowing from the ceiling in the form of a waterfall, and for some odd reason, he felt like he was the one who was upside-down. The chakra pathways governing his senses had just been not only dulled but thrown for a loop. He caught sight of Inoichi with his hands in an odd handseal. But there was no time to worry about that—for some odd reason, a giant's fist was coming at his head. Zetsu clenched his teeth as the fist, which was about 5 times bigger than him, collided into his face before grabbing him and heaving him all the way into the ground. By the time the plan had been successfully executed, the four clan members regrouped.

"0 parts beast…argh...! Cough…10 parts human…" said the azure creature, before reverting back to its original shape of Inuzuka Hana, leader of the Dog Nin clan of Konogakure. That jutsu is so annoying…But it seems it'll be perfect for this fight. Brushing her auburn strands back, she looked towards Choza."Did we get him?"

The plump leader of the Akimichi retracted his hand, now shrunken back to its original shape, and looked towards Hana with concern. "I'm afraid not…That creature defended himself at the last second, so he'll be back up soon."

"Problematic, but still," said Inoichi as he looked towards his team-mates from the 1st generation of the Ino-Shika-Cho combine with a smile, "At least we can compete with him."

"Yes. But we must finish this battle quickly and rendezvous with our allies…The enemy must be trying to infiltrate the Haven from separate points in order to split our most powerful forces. As soon as this area is secure, we'll head to the infirmary." Shikaku wrapped the chain of his kusarigama around his forearm and stood ready, just as Zetsu's silhouette appeared from the smoke.

"I give you credit…You successfully managed to damage me," he said as his robeless body became visible to the four clan leaders. Whether it was the twitching of his body that seemingly caused several of his bones to break again and again or the blood that started to generate its own green effervescence, something about what the black and white cannibal was initiating began to unsettle the four. His head was bowed as he spoke in a very haunting tone. "However, your foolishness is very disappointing since…"

He lifted his head up, revealing the empty eye-sockets, which were now replaced by flailing green roots leaking green and red blood. "Since none stand a chance against me when I want to devour their bodies' whole!" he said with a sick smile, before the samw green roots began to sprout out of his mouth. Hana, Shikaku, Choza and Inoichi, despite their growing disgust, readied themselves to fight against their foe—

Argh!!

The realities were shifting…

He saw visions of Hinata and Ino making love amidst growing flames and a rapidly forming pool of blood emanating from the blonde's thighs…

Kakashi was fighting agasint himself, and matching himself move for move, until the mirrors they were set on cracked and erupted into a thousand red shards with a swirling Sharingan eye shaking within them…

Sakura and Naruto were dying at the hands of the Kyuubi, with her long hair swirling back and forth as Naruto tightened his grasp on her. His face was replaced with a skull that chattered incessantly, causing her to scream. A few feet away, another Naruto dressed in a flowing black robe with a single cloud at the back and long yellow bangs was busy explaining the significance of the sunrise to a pink haired medic Nin whose hair didn't even reach her neck.

Itachi was sitting before his father, seconds before his death…

The three Sannin were busy shouting at some table and drowning themselves in sake. Orochimaru's large coiled body composed of a hundred white snakes cackled incessantly, while Jiraiya caught a pork-bun in his mouth with a quick and rapid movement of his tongue. A 12 year old Tsunade sat at the table, with the skulls of her brother and her lover being used to elevate her sitting. She laughed a strong old cackle before downing a mug of alcohol.

Itachi was beheaded after felling another enemy ninja, as Mikoto cried out for her son's life in tears…

The clan leaders of the ninja world rejoiced upon hearing of a contest to the death to decide who would be the best clan in all the five shinobi countries…

Two yellow flashes systemically picking apart a giant crow with their 30-feet large cleaving swords smiled evilly. The bird laughed at their vain attempts of murder and slumbered peacefully on one foot.

Hinata looked at him with two children by her side. She smiled at him with love under a black sky full of painted red clouds….

Makeitstop…God…Myheadisspinningaroundandaround…Shitthatstings…ThinkI'mgonnavomit…Can't…think…straight…

--X--

Sasuke opened his eyes and looked at his pale hands. The pain in his head was gone, and the nausea that made him want to vomit disappeared. He got onto his feet, but was unsure of his footing. He looked down but all he could see was the blue sky and white clouds. Yet, it felt like solid footing rather than thin air. The ground changed images soon after. Now it was completely black with numerous stars littering the void. The young Uchiha looked at his clothes. A black shirt and black shorts with no fan symbol on the back. A thought popped into his mind that maybe he was suffering from a bad dream, but that wasn't it. It felt too real to be a dream. He pricked himself and saw blood coming out of his thumb. Not a dream, he concluded.

Suddenly, the ground shifted into an ocean, vast, blue and calm. He smelt the salty vapors of the water at his feet, but felt fear when he saw the reflection in the water. The eyes of the Mangekyou Sharingan were staring right back at him. For some reason, he thought of Itachi but backed off when he realized his brother had died not once but twice.

Wait…What am I saying, he told himself with confusion, as the figure in the water with spiky and long black hair smiled once before muttering 'Ryu' with sadness and dissolving. Makes no sense at all…So many things seem to have happened…And yet, they all feel so fantastic, and unreal…But they feel like the truth. Somewhere in this world, it seems time and space has no meaning…Yet why is it the one place with nothing but the truth? I wonder where this. I wonder if…

The raven-haired youth instinctively turned to the sound of footsteps before him. She was a woman-- that much he could make out from the pure white and semi-transparent robe she had draped over her body. Her skin was pale and deathly, yet she provided the only source of light in the whole infinity of space. Covering her face and features was a strange straw-hat with small strips of bells at its ends. Not one to let his guard down, Sasuke kept a careful watch on the woman's movements. She walked a few steps forward and stopped a few feet away from him. Suddenly, she removed the straw hat she had on and let her shining cobalt hair flow downwards. She smiled as she met his red and black eyes with her lavender ones.

"You're Hinata…No wait, I remember you from somewhere else…Something's not right about you…" Sasuke relaxed a bit when he took a few steps near her. The aura of comfort and solitude that he felt whenever he was with her—it was still there, no doubt about it. But she just didn't feel like Hinata. "Hinata, are you that same person…Are you the one who was the leader of Akatsuki?"

The petite girl tilted her head to one side before letting out a short giggle.

"This doesn't seem right…I remember…" What do I remember? It feels like the whole world emptied all its information into my brain…Like I'm trapped in some kind of ocean full of words that I just can't get a grip on… "Any way…Hinata, where is this?"

Once again, no words were used to answer his question. She simply nodded before running away and taking shelter behind some kind of curtain suspended in the air, and invisible to Sasuke's eyes. The eyes of the Mangekyou were apparently useless in a world like this. No chakra was passing through it…Or rather, it felt like the chakra was everywhere. All-encompassing and suffocating the air—like how one couldn't distinguish the sun when it was the night-time—was how the space felt at the time.

Suddenly, the ground changed one more time. Sasuke looked down and his eyes widened with surprise.

The bodies of his friends were all looking up at him. Some of them were kneeling and praying before being engulfed in some strange black and white mass of ether. In fact, it just wasn't his friends. Nearly every single citizen of the ninja world was being consumed by this energy. No one was spared, but it didn't feel like they were in pain. The ether spread until finally it covered all the countries and water bodies. There was nothing left, but darkness. It wasn't until Sasuke saw the objects in space did he notice the one thing that could be discerned without the help of his doujutsu. He looked at the ether covering the world below him and at the darkness surrounding him. The moon reflected in the space below him was white, but upon looking up at the sky in the realm he was in, the moon was red. Blood red. But the real clenching factor was the darkness.

The exact same energy that consumed the ninja world was the same as the darkness around him.

"Good afternoon, Sasuke-kun."

It was the only voice in the entire room, yet he recognized it instantly. Is it really…

A total number of four white feathery wings were attached to her back as she drew closer to him. The white robe was still present on her body, and her blue hair was being blown about by some kind of invisible wind. The cerulean pupils set across the pallid background; the innocent expression of joy—it was all there but something was missing, just like when he viewed her earlier. Sasuke tensed up and spoke with anger.

"Is this what I think this is?"

"Indeed," said Hinata as she smiled mischievously. Her wings fluttered once before she tilted her head and smiled at something behind Sasuke. He looked behind but couldn't see anything. Something was felt but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. A black feather touched the ground near his feet, followed by another. The thick, black wings of a Tengu were spread widely on his back. He felt them flap once before his gaze returned to Hinata. She giggled once more before she spoke what he knew to be the ultimate of all the truths present in this realm formed by the union of light and darkness, good and evil, angel and devil.

"Welcome to the end…Sasuke-kun."

Author's Notes: Okay, so this chapter, despite having a TON of stuff happening, is obviously not the end. I planned to include all the fights, results, a few showdowns and even a few major and minor plot-twists, but cruel fate didn't allow it to be that way (for Christ's sake people, it was too much. Too much I tell you!!). Simply too many plots have forced me to extend the story even longer—else you wouldn't be seeing an update for another few weeks. Though it was planned to end the story by chapter 14, it seems we're going to be on course for My Eyes to be about 17-20 chapters max. The 'Battle at Haven' arc has now been split into three chapters, starting with Onslaught.

Just to point one thing out: Not all of the events in this chapter are not occurring in a linear order. Each fight, whether it be the Konoha 6 vs. the Dusk Squad or Itachi vs. Obito, is happening all at once.

Since this a long chapter (grins evilly), I feel I should only do proper justice to the Author's Notes and the stuff I want to clarify…

I'm not sure if it's the first time in the story, but for once, it feels like the characters are no longer simply good or bad: Hanabi taking revenge on the one who took her sight (had a major Ringu flashback when I was writing that scene…); Kakashi disposing of his opponent but letting him live long enough for an idle chat (though a major plot point got introduced as result); Sakura trying to balance between defeating her opponent and staying alive; Hinata and Sasuke who, despite training so hard and taking out so many opponents in the past, feeling actual, genuine fear when confronted against a fraction of the AL's power…I also took a bit of a different approach for the Konoha 6 versus Dusk Squad fights, showing a good amount of the fights from the perspective of the different members of the DS. Granted, such a thing may not be the default for remaining battles involving them, so weird did it feel for me.

Another thing I found strange was how Kakashi's fight against member no. 1 from the Dusk Squad resembled that of Sasuke versus Deidara in the manga (which is still going on). If you're not up to date with the manga then be warned because there are some spoilers. Using elementally recomposed Raiton chakra throughout the body, Sharingan genjutsu—sound familiar? Even though the idea of Sharingan genjutsu in the fight was inspired from the manga, the part of using the Raikiri chakra to force out the knife in Kakashi's body was my own original idea. Not to say that I plan on suing the manga author or anything (whoever got to the idea first claims it I guess, and he has tons of money so I'm sure he could take me down ), but it was still very interesting just how similarly Kishimoto and I think. If you found the overall fight underwhelming (which I kind of felt it was) then let me know, since I hate to make fights like that where the advantage rests solely in the hands of one person.

The fight I probably had the most fun writing was Sakura versus member no. 2 of the Dusk Squad. Not just because I got to show off a whole lot of new attacks for Sakura, but also because it gave me the chance to highlight one of Sakura's defining traits: her intelligence. Though able to fight using a very useful ability, one that she developed by herself, she still has to get the job done; that is, its upto her how she uses her skill to kill her opponent. Using the environment to her advantage and being able to devise different variations of the Verve technique versus one who can anticipate and neutralize chakra perfectly—it really sets the stage for a back and forth battle. I hope I've been able to give that impression for those reading it. Also one other thing: you may not have got the exorcist joke, but if you read D. Gray Man then youmost certainly will (even though the joke shares traits of being pun, that is, a term having dual meanings).

Kisame and Shirow were meant to showcase raw unbridled shinobi power, and their fight was akin to a bar-brawl with lots of destruction. And for all those wondering, yes, his super strength and endurance is related to using sound.

Itachi versus Obito wasn't detailed too well, but then, the fight hasn't really gotten underway. Also, for the first time, I was free to showcase Itachi's powers. As can be seen, no matter what the situation, Itachi always seems to excel. For all those who think that the good guys are over-powered, it was a relief to finally show them that like the shinobi in Konoha, shinobi in Akatsuki also keep getting stronger. If anything is going to put their skills to the test, it is these battles with the remaining five members and the Eight Tails. A little of the paradoxical discussions about Itachi's ways of mentally playing with his opponents was introduced in this chapter and will only be detailed further as we go along.

'Teamwork' was the buzzword for Hinata and Sasuke's fight against the AL (whole lot of good it did in the end, though).

When I was writing the portions featuring Ino's torture, I was very, very concerned about how it would be received, even thinking that maybe I would have to bump the rating from Teen to Mature for the story (but then with all the blood, you'd think I'd have better reasons to do so :P); I will most probably provide a disclaimer for this chapter. The fact is, this was a real wild-card to throw in, just like when she was raped during the attack on Konoha. If any one can offer their feedback on the whole issue, I'd much appreciate it, since my main problem seems to be whether such things (torture and rape) are required to be touched upon or not in the world of Naruto.

The various sections in this chapter that don't fit in with the current situation can be thought of as reality being twisted inside-out, where the present is starting to dilute with various visualizations of the future and other representations of the present. Time and space is indeed collapsing, and you can bet that this is all according to Hinata the Akatsuki Leader's plan. How Sasuke fits in is a whole part of what makes the plan tick. For those concerned about the result from their last battle, don't worry. This is definitely not the last we'll hear from our heroes!

In the beginning itself, a direct reference is made to Kazahana Koyuki, the princess of the Snow Country (see the first Naruto movie). It was these kinds of things that I wanted to flesh out more that motivated me to want to modify My Eyes. If you'll look closely, chapter 4 has been changed a bit, and has been renamed 'Uchiha'. Since this chapter was meant to get into the psyche of Sasuke for the first time, I felt that some change was required so that it reflected his manga personality better. Such modifications will continue, and I will be introducing brand-new content for the main story once it's all over and done with (the first things I wanted to have more than anything else: Hebi versus the Ninja Reserves, which details the one month Sasuke spent fighting Akatsuki's foot-soldiers. You'll also find that Karin, Suigetsu and Juugo will make appearances at long last). Arcs detailing Hinata and Sasuke's stay in the Snow and Earth Countries will also be provided with a few fillers showcasing how life in Konoha was proceeding for the two years they were together and other miscellaneous stuff, including the fight between Neji and Itachi which led to the former's death.

Well, that's all for me. I think I should apologize about how long this chapter took, but if I hadn't had my net access taken away or caught a cold or injured my left foot (God, I feel like Kakashi right now), it would have been up about two weeks ago. Sorry for the delay! See you in the next chapter and believe me when I say you won't wanna miss it!

Dual of the Artists! Jinchuuriki Collide! Siblings of the Sound face the Monster of the Mist! Dusk Squad Regroup! Sannin in Dire Straits! The Power of Love? Defeat Shinta! Next! Chapter 13: Fortitude!