Chapter 13: Kakashi's Fury! The Final Battle Commences!

"You killed one of the few and last who mattered to me. I won't forgive that! No more nice-guy! Are you ready to pay for what you've done?!"

Deidara smirked. "How are you going to fight us, hmm? You and the Jinchuuriki could barely fight me alone the last time we fought. But I look forward to kill you, umm."

Kakashi glared at the younger blond with the ponytail. "Don't trouble your simple mind with that. I still have some few surprises in store for you. Using my Mangekyou Sharingan to mess up your statue didn't quite go as I planned though. But I have still plenty of chakra to fight you jerks. First things first though: Sakura; find Sasuke. My guess is that he is in one of old burial chambers in the vault. Try to find the one with a heavy iron door. Shikamaru; time for you to back off a little. Take Naruto with you. Neji: if you can keep the boy with the funny hair and the girl busy, I will deal with the metal head, the ugly one with the scythe and the annoying blond over there."

The youngsters nodded without questioning. Shikamaru took up a safe position near by the gate; Neji took up a battle stance alongside Kakashi while Sakura headed towards where Kakashi had told her the chambers would be.

"Oh no you don't!"

Devalan charged after Sakura, scythe ready for an attack. Kakashi narrowed his eye, took a half turn to the left, made a couple of hand seals and thrust his hand into the ground. "Earth Element: Stone Spikes Blockade jutsu!"

A long line of 7 metres tall spikes made of stone raised rapidly in the direction of Sakura and Devalan; it came in between of them, preventing Devalan from slashing Sakura in half. He cursed as he jumped backwards; he didn't want to be impaled by those spikes.

Kakashi glared at him and his lips curved in a smile behind his mask. "Don't make me repeat myself. I will be your opponent. And this time…" He narrowed his eye and all in the room felt the wave of killing intent. "I won't hold back."

Devalan glared back and gathered chakra for his teleportation. Something was on his mind. And he wanted answers. He had a suspicion that Itachi had lied. He snarled at Kakashi. "Tell me Cyclops; how is the eye doing? How the hell can you still be alive, when Itachi dealt with you and those brats?? And more importantly: HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET HERE WITHOUT ZETSU NOTICING??!!"

Kakashi merely smirked. "The eye is doing fine, thank you very much. Itachi… deal with me? Don't make me laugh. As I already told you… I'm stronger than he is. I admit he was tough and in the state I was in back then, I would have lost. But he was taken by surprise by my companions. Sakura broke his arm and he took the flight. About us getting here without being noticed: This castle has been in my family for generations. I know this castle and its surroundings like the back of my hand." He held up his right hand, giving them a clear view of the white porcelain ring. "And this ring made it possible for us to enter without having to remove that annoying barrier. And since I'm the last surviving member of the Hatake clan, I make the rules in this castle. And one of them is that extraction of a Bijuu is strictly forbidden. I think that answered all of your questions, don't you think?"

Devalan smirked at his reply. It seemed Itachi thought he had dealt with them. That or he had been too ashamed to acknowledge his defeat. He glared at Kakashi and locked eyes with him. "What a pain in the neck. But I must admit that I'm happy Itachi failed to kill you. Because now I can kill all of you in one go."

"Do you really think it's going to be that easy?"

Devalan's eyes widened when he heard Kakashi's voice from behind. A moment later and Devalan screamed as Kakashi slit his throat.

Devalan fell to his knees, and his hands clutched his windpipe. When he removed his hands, gasping for air, he saw that there was no blood on them. Then he realized. His eyes widened in shock and anger as he glared at Kakashi, without looking at his eye. "You bastard. That was a genjutsu? I can't believe I fell for such a cheap trick."

Kakashi merely chuckled. His and Shikamaru's plan was working. For now anyway. "Well, if you fell for that little stunt, then you are in trouble. Really big trouble. Now then… shall we begin?"

Murdgaki chuckled. "I couldn't have said it better myself. Shall we kill them together, dear sister?"

Blackrose took up position beside him and smirked. "We shall dear brother. But let me have the pink-haired slut. I owe her from last time. And this time…" She glared at Kakashi. "That lightning wielding bastard won't take me by surprise."

They both transformed into their lizards form. The only difference was that Murdgaki had some nasty looking and sharp yellow spikes down the tail and on both arms. And his upper eye-teeth were dripping with venom.

Blackrose made a run towards where Sakura had disappeared. She ran in between the spikes but…

"Ninja art: Shadow Imitation jutsu!"

She was caught by Shikamaru's shadow once again. She stared at him, promising him a slow and painful death once she got a hold on him. "You little worthless… how dare you use that jutsu on me again?! When I get my hands on you I will…"

She was cut off by a cold voice that sounded bitter and amused. "I think you get other things to worry about than him. Like me. 8 Trigrams: Air Palm!"

Neji's jutsu hit her right in the chest; no one had noticed that Neji had slipped himself into the doorway because of Kakashi's little stunt with Devalan. But Blackrose was lucky. Due to the angle, she didn't get impaled by the stone spikes. But she was blasted right through them, so she still got a lot of bruises. Neji chuckled slightly. "I thought Kakashi-san already told you; I will be the ugly freak over there and yours opponent. Thank you for catching her Shikamaru; you work fine as back-up. But don't forget about the others."

Shikamaru smiled one of his usual smiles. "Don't worry Neji. I will stay out of the fighting as much as I can. Just as we agreed. It is a drag, but someone got to keep an eye on those dummies."

Kakashi chuckled at Shikamaru's comment before he fixed his eye on Deidara and Shredkill; Devalan wasn't quite over his shock from Kakashi's genjutsu. He knew about Deidara's and Devalan's abilities. But for now, Shredkill's powers remained an unknown factor. He was the one to worry about.

Deidara smirked. "Well then. It seems I will be able to get a rematch from last time, hmm. And this time, it won't go as it did last time, hm. Or what do you say, Copy-ninja? After all, you ruined my art last time, hm!"

Kakashi looked like he was about to take out his book and read. He had one of his bored expressions. But before he could take out his book, Shredkill cut in. "Enough talk already. Deidara, prepare your bombs. Devalan, get a grip of yourself. Murdgaki and Blackrose; deal with that Hyuuga boy; then you can deal with the pink-haired girl and the Uchiha kid. I don't care what Itachi wants. That boy is nothing more than trouble."

Deidara glared at Shredkill. "Stop acting as you're the one in charge, Shredkill. We will eliminate them without you being all bossy, hm!"

Kakashi narrowed his eye. At least Sasuke was still alive. Although Kakashi wasn't sure if he wanted Sasuke dead or alive. But he would have to think about that later, because Shredkill made his move.

A sphere of chakra gathered in Shredkill's left palm. He chuckled. This ball of chakra would be more than enough to take Kakashi down. He smiled behind his helmet. "Are you ready to die, Hatake? You and those annoying brats are about to get messed up."

Kakashi frowned. Shredkill was right. That ball of chakra would be more than enough to wipe them out. Then he smiled at Shredkill. "Indeed. That ball of chakra will mess us up beyond recognition… if it makes contact, that is. But don't forget…" He tensed a little in preparation. "That I know this castle. It would be a big mistake on your part to underestimate that knowledge. But on the other hand: It would it a lot easier for me to kill you all."

Shredkill felt the anger boil in his veins. Kakashi was annoying him beyond what he thought was possible. And Devalan wasn't on his feet yet. But at least he wasn't trembling. It seemed the genjutsu Kakashi used on him was worse than Shredkill suspected. Shredkill had already used his chakra to scan the entire castle for more enemies, and he found that the ones in front of him weren't clones. Although he had sensed another strong enemy approaching. They would have to finish this fast, otherwise things would become troublesome. And The Leader was more than likely to be in a really bad mood.

He glared at Kakashi, making sure not to lock eyes with him; he had a feeling telling him that it was the way Kakashi ensnared Devalan in that genjutsu.

"Shall we begin, Hatake?"

Kakashi narrowed his eye at the one opposite to him. Those claws weren't jokes; they could do some very severe damage. His gaze wandered on to Deidara; the blond seemed to be almost ready for his attack. His eye moved again, looking at the lizards; like Deidara, they seemed ready to begin fighting. He ventured a quick glance to his side: Neji seemed ready to fight as he stood there, blocking the entrance to the tombs. He had taken up his usual stance in front of the stone spikes, making sure that Sakura and Sasuke could run behind the wall of spikes.

Neji noticed that Kakashi was looking, and gave a curt reassuring nod in response. Kakashi nodded back. Neji was ready. He glanced over his left shoulder, looking at Shikamaru and the lifeless Naruto. Shikamaru looked pale, but he too gave a nod. He made one of his hand seals. He was ready to fight.

Kakashi chuckled. Neji Hyuuga and Shikamaru Nara: an interesting combination. Perhaps the two most gifted of their age group. He was excited to see them in action. After all: He had the narrations about their battles two and a half years ago in the Chuunin exam. He wondered how much they had improved.

He glared back at Shredkill and pulled out a kunai. "Let us begin."

Shredkill and Kakashi launched themselves at each other with incredible speed. They met on the halfway and metal against metal and explosions were heard; blood flew into the air.

___

Sasuke looked up. Explosions? Sasuke didn't understand it. What the heck was going on? Obviously, someone had arrived and was now fighting Akatsuki. And there was more. It was faint, but Sasuke could hear doors being knocked down; and from the sound of it, the one doing it was approaching fast. Sasuke walked up to the door and leaned his right ear against it, trying to hear if he could identify the person causing the noise and asses how far away he or she was. He only got a moments warning to get away from the door as he heard running footsteps and a female voice coming.

"Found you! Hell yeah!"

WHAAMMM!

The massive iron flew inwards, hitting the stone wall with a deafening sound, and when it landed on the floor, dust was raised into a considerable cloud. When the cloud of smoke fell to the floor again, and Sasuke stopped coughing, he took a look at the one standing where the door had been few seconds ago. His eyes widened as he realized who he was looking at.

Sakura was standing in the doorway, her right arm stretched out in front of her and her fist clenched.

She was panting a bit, and her hair was covered in dust. She was wearing boots that was open around the toes. Actually she was wearing the same outfit as the last they had met. Sasuke looked a bit closer. Not quite the same outfit. She wore a shirt that the chuunin and jounin used to wear back in the Leaf. As he stood up, finding a bit support against the wall he spoke up.

"It has been some time… Sakura."

Sakura's eyes widened and she looked to her right. Sasuke was leaning against the wall, panting and covered in dirt, dust and something that looked like blood. He was panting and had some very nasty bruises. Sakura couldn't believe her eyes. This was far from the last time she had met Sasuke. Back then he had seemed so cold and proud. Now he was standing there, looking like a vagabond. She felt tears pooling in her eyes and she moved towards Sasuke.

Sasuke sighed. This was more than he had hoped for. Not only had aid arrived, but it came in a better way than he ever imagined. Sakura was still alive. This meant the ones fighting had to be Leaf sninobi. Most likely Neji Hyuuga, Shikamaru and his old sensei. But he was worried. He had a feeling telling him that they were in for more than they bargained for. Likewise, he was worried for Naruto. He wondered whether they had made it in time.

He when spoke up, his voice was week. "Sakura, who are fighting? Is Naruto still…OUCH!"

Sakura interrupted him by slapping his face with almost full force. He hit the same wall as the door. As he got to his feet again, Sakura was moving towards him again. Sasuke looked at her, utterly confused. "Sakura what the…AWW!"

Sakura slapped him once again. But this time she took a firm grip in his dirty shirt, keeping him standing. Her inner boiled with different emotions. She had wanted him back for so long, but she couldn't forget what happened last time they met. They had been weak against his powers, but this time around the roles were changed. She locked eyes with him. Her voice was something between a snarl and a whisper.

"Time to beat you to your senses. The first one was for leaving the village. The second one was for what you did to Naruto back then. This one…" she slapped him with her right hand, enhancing it with chakra while holding him firmly in place with the left hand. "Is for the last time we met. This one…" another slap. "Is for what you did to Hinata. And this one is for what you did to Naruto now!" She slapped him one last time, before she started to cry. "Why Sasuke? Why did you leave? And why did you do all those things? What have you achieved by it?"

Sasuke didn't respond at all. Blood was dripping from his mouth and nose from Sakura's slapping, but he didn't blame her for it. In his mind, he was thankful. He thought he deserved much more than that. And it was one heck of a wake up call. He hadn't tried to stop her either, even though he could have done it with his Sharingan or his Full Body Chidori. And he doubted he would have succeeded if he had tried the latter. After all, he was almost drained. And he didn't dare to use his Curse Seal, since it was the thing that had gotten him into this mess to begin with. That and his quest for power.

He sighed.

"I'm sorry, Sakura. I think I was jealous. Jealous of Naruto, because he continued getting stronger while I didn't make any progress at all. Too late I realized why Naruto became stronger at the rate he did. It was because he cared for his friends. Especially for you. And me for that matter. And I, as the fool I was, never realized it. Or perhaps I realized it in my heart, but I didn't listen to it. And now… It's most likely too late. Perhaps I can return to the village… perhaps I can't. If they put in jail for my crimes, I will understand it. But I will let the Hokage decide that. Whatever her judgement may be, I will accept it. But I've other things to worry about right now. Sakura: Is Naruto okay? Who are fighting the Akatsuki? How many opponents?"

Sakura considered to slap him again, but decided against it. Sasuke was already in a bad condition. Why he hadn't noticed that some of his rips were broken was a mystery to Sakura. And if they were going to make a run for it, he would need to be at his best. Perhaps it was better just to answer his questions. She sighed and got a worried expression on her face and let go. "There are five opponents. Kakashi-sensei, Neji and Shikamaru are the ones fighting them. I…" she trailed off. It was only because Sasuke briefly placed a couple of fingers under her chin. She continued. "I'm not sure whether Naruto is alive or not. Kakashi-sensei interrupted the extraction with his Mangekyou Sharingan, but I didn't really have time to attend to his injuries."

Sasuke nodded, but he was amazed and confused. How on earth could Kakashi obtain the Mangekyou Sharingan? He couldn't have killed his best friend, could he? Sasuke shook his head. He would have to figure it out later. Or ask Kakashi about it. But that would have to wait for now. But just as he was about to move, two other questions popped up in his mind.

"Sakura, tell me: How did you and the others find this place? And how did you survive Itachi? No one does that."

Sakura paled slightly. This was unexpected. She couldn't tell the truth, because Sasuke wouldn't believe her. And if he did, Itachi and Kakashi would be exposed. And she and the others would be in grave danger. She couldn't let that happen. She tried her best, but her voice was weak and hesitating.

"We fought Itachi together. It was a close call, but we managed to break his arm. We tracked you here with the aid of Kakashi's hounds. I think we should know their tracking abilities better than most. After all… they tracked us down in five minutes back when we genins in Team 7. Do you remember what we did?"

Sasuke almost burst out laughing. He hadn't forgotten the episode Sakura was referring to. Damn, Kakashi had been really pissed. And he hadn't forgotten Kakashi's punishment. The memory was faint, but he had had nightmares for months afterwards. But their reminiscing would have to wait. He had seen through Sakura's lie instantly, but right now he would let it drop. Kakashi, Neji and Shikamaru would need help if any of them was to survive this.

He looked at Sakura. "Sakura. Let's go. They will need our help. And… I've a score to settle with Akatsuki. I won't let them get away with hurting people that cared for me; and still care for me, even if I screwed up big time. Lead the way, Sakura.

As he finished, he activated his Sharingan and started to walk. But he only walked a few steps, before he almost tumbled over due to a pain in his chest.

Sakura caught him by his collar and helped him to sit down against the cold stone wall. She placed a hand on his chest and started healing him. "Don't move Sasuke-kun. Some of your ribs are broken. I will fix them now, and then we will get the hell out of here."

Sasuke merely nodded and deactivated his Sharingan. But he had other plans. He was done running away. If he couldn't fight and beat those guys up there, he would never be able to fight and win against Itachi. But for now, he would just do as Sakura told him.

Sakura really put her all into it, and 10 or 12 minutes later, they was moving upwards, towards the battle awaiting them.

___

Sagato was furious as he sat there in his chakra cage; a cage he had created to ensure their safety during the extraction and even one day afterwards too. It was a good plan, but now that plan was backfiring. Sagato glared at his reflection in the lake right in front of him. He looked exactly like his brother Nagato once did, except for his hair. His hair was slightly darker than his brother's had been, and it had a trace of black in it. And his body was muscular in the same way his brother used to be. Before he started using those creepy bodies 25 years ago. And he had two scars crossing down the right side of his face. One down the eye. That one was from his fight with Itachi. Itachi wouldn't accept him as his leader. But he had bested Itachi. But it appeared that Itachi was still opposing him. He would pay for that. The other scar on his face was from a previous encounter with the Sannin. All three of them. Of course he hadn't fought them at that time, considering that he was only a child during the war when Jiraiya taught Nagato and his friends. But then again: he never needed that training. Aside from the Rinnegan, he had a Bloodline Limit just as powerful, or perhaps better. He was able to copy others' abilities, even if they were unique to one bloodline. In other words: He was able to copy Bloodline Limits. Reason: He and Nagato had different mothers. Nagato's mother wasn't a ninja, but Sagato's had been. Their father cheated on Nagato's mother while she was 8 months into her pregnancy. And it was from that sidetrack he had inherited that ability. His mother had died because of the Sannin. One of their jutsus had hit him and his mother when the Sannin had been fighting, giving him that scar and killing his mother. But who of Sannin who used the jutsu… was something he didn't remember. But he had other things to think about. Going by the explosions, the enemies were fairly powerful. He needed to know more. He channelled some chakra into his ring and spoke with a cold voice.

"All of you; did anyone see who the enemy is?"

Itachi's face appeared in the ring. "No my Lord."

Zetsu appeared. "No. But I can tell you this, my Lord: Whoever they are, they managed to get past my range. Quite a feat if I may say so."

Kisame's face came into sight in the ring where the character for zero normally was. "I didn't see their faces, but they seemed familiar."

Sagato was furious. He couldn't use those answers to anything. And he wouldn't be able to contact the ones fighting. He cursed under his breath. "Damn you Itachi. You plan of taking us here seemed good, but is now backfiring at us. If I find even a hint that can prove you did this on purpose… I will kill you in the most painful way I can think of. But for now… I will wait and give you the benefit of the doubt."

___

Kisame ventured a glance at Itachi. The Uchiha sat on a rock with closed eyes. Kisame was, not for the first time these days, wondering whether Itachi was loyal to Akatsuki or followed his own agenda. He was wondering what happened in the castle and what was on the younger man's mind.

He asked him.

"Itachi-san. Who do you think interfered? And what's going on in your mind?"

Itachi didn't open his eyes. He was silent for a moment. "I've no idea of who interfered. What's going on in my mind? A simple answer is to get my hands on whoever mingled with our plans and kill them. But considering we will have to wait here for another 22 hours, there is good chance that the others will have taken care of them before we get out of this. We can use that time to guess how much resistance Devalan and the others will meet before they kill their opponents."

Kisame laughed a little. "Indeed. We will just have to wait." But in his mind, Kisame decided that he would keep a very close eye at Itachi.

In his mind, Itachi knew that Kisame was suspecting him for being a traitor. But the thing that worried him the most was if Sasuke was alive and if Kakashi had arrived in time.

___

Kakashi cursed under his breath as he jumped backwards, clutching his bleeding left arm. If it hadn't been for the kunai he had held in his hand, his arm would have been cut off. Furthermore, Deidara's bombs had caught him off guard. If it wasn't because Shikamaru had discovered them and pierced them with his shadow, he would have been blown to pieces.

Kakashi panted as he regained control of himself and pushed down the pain. "Thank you Shikamaru; that one was close. Too close. Damn it all. I didn't see those birds coming behind the metal head's back. Missing an eye is really a big disadvantage."

Shikamaru nodded as he pulled back his shadow before he frowned. This wasn't good. They hadn't thought there would be five opponents. Two or three at the most. But five members of Akatsuki were more than he or Kakashi had bargained for. And to make things worse, Devalan was now back on his feet and ready to fight again. Not good. He couldn't provide Neji and Kakashi backup at the same time. Shikamaru glanced to his left. Neji was still keeping the two lizards at bay, although he was bleeding from some superficial wounds on his chest and arms; and he was panting a bit. But the lizards had some really nasty bruises too. Apparently they had charged at the exact same time Shredkill and Kakashi clashed. But Shikamaru hadn't noticed them. But it seemed that they had succeeded in reaching him a little before they were thrown away by his rotation. Reason: There were two dents in the wall. And then there was Deidara. It seemed not all blonds were stupid. He looked down at Naruto; he looked pale. And Sakura still hadn't returned with Sasuke. Not that he cared about Sasuke; the jerk hadn't returned even though his comrades had risked their lives for him. But he was important for Naruto, and Naruto was important for Shikamaru, so if he had to drag Sasuke back, he would do it. It was troublesome, but something needed to get done. Then he came to a decision. He spoke up, his voice loud and clear.

"Kakashi-sensei. If you can deal with the metal head and the ugly one with the scythe, then I will deal with the guy who can kiss his own ass. Neji; can you deal with the oversized reptiles?"

Neji looked at the lizards. Then he smiled. "Of course I can. I'm merely warming up. Besides: Their brute strength isn't going to help them against my Gentle Fist."

The lizards snarled and hissed at Neji's comment. But Shredkill merely chuckled. "That kid isn't stupid. Not at stupid at all. He is right; brute strength won't help against Gentle Fist. But Hatake; do you think it would be smart to leave him alone against Deidara? And a you sure you can fight me and Devalan alone?"

Kakashi looked at Shikamaru. He wasn't sure how Shikamaru planned on fighting Deidara; but then again: Shikamaru hadn't beaten Kakashi in shogi if he was stupid. But Kakashi wasn't sure if he could fight Shredkill and Devalan on his own. But he was more than willing to give it a try. Then he noticed something. Chakra was dancing around Shredkill's claws. That explained why his kunai had been destroyed. The chakra was making the claws' edges beyond razor sharp. But he wanted to know more about it.

"Tell me something: Those claws are you weapons right? Tell me this; which village did you abandon and what kind of chakra element are you using to make your edges so sharp?"

Shredkill merely chuckled again. He wondered why Kakashi wanted to know of those things. Plus he couldn't wait to kill him and those annoying brats. But he didn't see that it could harm him to tell Kakashi what he wanted.

"I origin from the Hidden Cloud Village. My chakra is basically lightning and wind natured. Not that it will do you any good. Why do you ask?"

Kakashi shrugged. It was as he suspected. And he saw that Devalan had readied his scythe. Things were going to grow intense around here. "I was just curios. I think your name was Shredkill, right?" Shredkill merely nodded. Kakashi smiled behind his mask before continuing. "Shredkill and Devalan: I will show why the Hatake clan was known as the best swordsmen in the world. Even the Uchiha clan was no match if we fought with swords."

Kakashi pulled up in the right side of his vest, revealing a tattoo on his right shoulder: Two white fangs. Before any of the Akatsuki moved, Kakashi bit his left thumb and smeared the blood over the tattoo. Two katanas appeared in a small cloud of smoke and was caught by Kakashi. He took up a battle stand with his left arm stretched out and the katana held vertical in his hand, tip pointing up; he held the one in his right over his head, edge pointing upwards and tip towards Akatsuki. He smirked.

"Ready to dance?"

Shredkill looked at Devalan then back at Kakashi. He burst out laughing. "Fool! My claws will cut straight through those blades. But if you want to die that badly… Then I will be happy to accommodate you!"

Shredkill and Devalan charged. Kakashi moved too. He gathered some chakra at the bottom of his feet, jumped and swung his swords.

---

Shredkill thought his claws would destroy the katanas. But his claws were blocked and so was Devalan's scythe. But more happened. As Kakashi's swords were swung, white chakra poured out of him and the swords, making cuts in the ground. And in the Akatsuki's blades. The cuts were small and insignificant, but too many of them and their blades would be broken.

Shredkill looked at Devalan, and saw the same thoughts mirrored in his eyes. They would have to finish this quickly; otherwise they would be in trouble. But Kakashi had other ideas. He moved again, and soon the three of them were engaged in a fierce fight with blades; the blades and their wielders were only a blur of motion. Metal against metal could be heard and white charka and orange-red-yellow flames were flying through the air as they moved, leaving deep marks in the walls and ground.

---

Deidara cursed under his breath. The fight had been on for 15 minutes, and those three blade wielders were still at it with in highest gear. Furthermore, he still hadn't been able to get any of his bombs near Shikamaru; some of them was pierced by Shikamaru's shadow, others were cut in half by the white chakra, others were sliced by blades and the last of them were hit by flames.

It was beyond annoying. But he had a lot of clay left and Shikamaru couldn't reach him with his shadow. But still… Shikamaru was still capable of keeping him at bay with his shadow attack. But just as Deidara was about to launch another attack, Kakashi landed right in front of him, sword ready to decapitate him. But Kakashi's two attacks were blocked by Devalan and his scythe, but some of Deidara's hair was cut by some of the white chakra.

A low growl and a curse erupted from Kakashi's throat before he made another move. Five fast moves with each katana, and Devalan's scythe was cut into three pieces. Devalan just managed to teleport away before his head turned out the same way. Deidara jumped to his right, just as Shredkill landed on the same spot and reengaged Kakashi in a fierce fight with blades.

Deidara glanced at Devalan. He panted slightly and had several cuts. Although the cuts only were superficially wounds, Kakashi had been close to hitting a vital spot more than once. Deidara frowned. He never imagined the Copy-ninja would be so powerful. Of course their previous encounter proved that Kakashi had skills. But that he was skilled enough to keep Devalan and Shredkill at bay with swords by himself was something new. But he soon got other things to worry about, as Shredkill landed on Deidara's right side. Deidara glanced at him too. His cloak was ripped several places and it seemed Kakashi had gotten more than a couple of jabs through Shredkill's armour, as small trickles of blood emerged from several small wounds. And as Devalan, he panted slightly. But what really made Deidara frown was the fact that Shredkill's claws were almost gone. Only five centimetres remained and the tips of them were blunt. Deidara narrowed his eyes at Kakashi.

He panted heavily. He had some few cuts and bruises and blood was smeared all over his arms. His hair cascaded down, covering his face. As he wiped his hair away, they saw nothing but murderous intent beneath the layers of blood and sweat. But his mask was still intact. And his vest had been penetrated a few places, allowing blood to emerge from his torso. Some of the wounds were dangerously close to his heart. Deidara glanced at the katanas. Amazingly enough, they were still fairly sharp. Deidara guessed it was because of the white chakra.

Deidara smirked.

"How are you going to continue this fight, Copy-ninja? You are in no condition to fight us, hm."

Kakashi merely glared at Deidara. He knew he wasn't in a condition to fight them without Deidara telling him. But hadn't used enough of his chakra to use that jutsu. On top of that, his katanas were of no further use. But now he at least know some of Shredkill's abilities. And now he knew his alignment. Shredkill was a former ninja from the Hidden Cloud Village. He sighed as he put his katanas back to the place where he had summoned them; as a tattoo on his right shoulder. Then he narrowed his eye as the five opponents lined up.

"As I already said; don't trouble your simple mind with that. But I can assure you of this: Next time I will be taking more than just some of your hair. By the way: that haircut was needed. You looked like a girl. And frankly… you still do."

Deidara blushed with anger at Kakashi's comment. He turned crimson when he ran some of his fingers trough his hair and felt that the ponytail was missing. He almost cried as he screamed in fury. "You… I'm going… to kill you, hmm! How dare you cut and ruin my hair, hmm?! It is almost art, hmm!"

Kakashi shook his head. "Idiot. Sasori and you don't know anything about art. You can't define what art is out from how long it lasts. You should define art based on how useful it's for others and if others can enjoy it. For example: This is true art." He pulled out his green book.

Deidara glared at him and his jaw dropped. But before he could say anything, a thin beam of chakra was fired at Kakashi; it was Shredkill who attacked. The beam had been fired from his right indexfinger.

Kakashi dodged, but by doing so, his book was almost ripped in two. Kakashi looked at his book and sighed in relief. Amazingly enough, the chakra had hit the midsection of the book. In other words; it was still intact and the pages were readable. He sighed and put his book back into his pouch. He narrowed his eye.

His voice was cold. "Akatsuki: Hit him three times, and even Buddha will get mad. You've hit me several times now, and now I'm not just mad. I'm pissed. Time to teach you a lesson. I will teach you what happen when you hurt the ones precious to me."

He had gathered chakra in his feet while he talked. As soon as he stopped, he launched himself towards Akatsuki with incredible speed, sending stones into the air in his wake.

Devalan snarled something and moved; the impact when they met send stones and dust in every direction.

Shredkill formed a few seals and four rotating rings formed in his hands. He smirked. This would be the end of Kakashi Hatake. No one had ever survived this jutsu.

---

Sakura looked in awe. Although she couldn't see how they moved, she had a good guess. She and Sasuke was standing in the entrance to the tombs, and were looking at the battle before them. The blur of motion that they guessed was Kakashi, Shredkill and Devalan were so fluid and elegant that it resembled a dance or something like that. And going by sound of it, they were fighting with blades. Sakura thought that this was almost like seeing the fight Sasori and Chiyo had with their puppets. Or more specific: The Third Kazekage against 'Mother' and 'Father'. Except that the fighters were moving of their own will and with greater elegance.

She was amazed that Kakashi could fight two of Akatsuki on his own. But she was also really surprised, when she saw that Shikamaru held his own against Deidara. He used his shadow to destroy the flying bombs, and once he saw an opening, he attacked with his Shadow Sewing. And if Deidara wasn't within range, Shikamaru would use his shadow to throw anything within range. Mostly medium sized rocks; most likely some that was cut off the top of the spikes and from the battle so far. But also kunais with and without explosive tags.

Then she eyed Naruto, lying to the left of Shikamaru. From where she was standing, she couldn't see if he was breathing or not. But just as she to run towards them, Sasuke grabbed her around the waist and forced her back, pressing her against the wall. She soon saw why. Neji was engaging two lizards in a violent fight, springing forth and back between the spikes. He also used his rotation. Sasuke nodded in the direction where he had pulled her back; there was a hole in the ground from Neji's jutsu. Sakura paled; if Sasuke hadn't reacted when he did, she would have been smeared. She looked at Sasuke as he took a step backwards.

Her voice was thin. "Thank you, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke merely nodded in response. He could sense Naruto's chakra vanishing. They needed to act fast. Without hesitation, he grabbed Sakura's left hand and started running towards Shikamaru and Naruto. He activated his Sharingan to keep an eye on the fighters, just in case they approached them. But it seemed that Akatsuki members were more than busy with Kakashi, Neji and Shikamaru as their opponents. They reached Naruto, just as Kakashi landed and stopped fighting for a while. They heard him say something and saw the Akatsuki line up, shoulder by shoulder. He turned towards Sakura, just as a distinct green flow of chakra started to emanate from Sakura's hand. His voice was low.

"How is he, Sakura?"

Shikamaru gave a small yelp and looked to his left. He hadn't sensed Sakura and Sasuke approaching at all. He noticed that Sakura was healing Naruto; or at least trying to heal him. But it didn't appear to work. Shikamaru looked at Sasuke and frowned. He never liked him, but seeing that Sasuke seemed to be able to fight by himself was good news. He noticed out of the corner of his right eye that Kakashi and Neji moved once again; Kakashi towards Akatsuki, just to be met by Devalan. Neji moved too and was instantly met by a tail from the largest of the lizards. Neji was thrown through the air by the smack and hit a spike. He groaned and spit up some blood. But he wasn't more damaged, than he could make a counterattack against the other lizard when it moved within his range; he jumped and delivered a kick to its face. Shikamaru turned at Sasuke and spoke.

"Hello there Sasuke. How have you been?"

Sasuke turned his head to face Shikamaru. "I've been better. Now, if you don't mind, I will get going. I have a couple of comrades I need to save."

He had barely spoken these words, before a groan was heard. Then… "Sasuke… is that you?"

Sasuke looked down. Ignoring the explosions around him he spoke. "Yeah, it's me… you big blond knucklehead."

Naruto slowly opened his eyes and looked up at the face of his friend. He looked to his to his right and saw the tears streaming down Sakura's cheeks. "Hey there Sakura-chan, no need for crying. Wait… hold on… Sakura-chan?! How can you still be alive??!! Itachi… he said… he said he killed you!"

Sakura cursed her luck inside her head. She couldn't tell Naruto and Sasuke about Itachi's secret allegiance with Kakashi. Why, why did Naruto have to ask that question as the first thing when he woke up? She glanced at Sasuke. He too seemed to be waiting for an answer. Answer she knew she couldn't give. She smiled.

"Don't worry about it Naruto. You should know how tough Kakashi-sensei and I can be. We are not that easy to overpower."

Naruto gave a weak nod. He couldn't believe it. Kakashi and the others had arrived to rescue him. More than that; they had survived Itachi Uchiha and Kakashi was now engaging Akatsuki in a fierce battle.

Sasuke wasn't satisfied with her answer though, but he didn't push the matter further. They needed battle power, seeing that Neji and Shikamaru soon would reach their limits. But he needed chakra, which he hadn't. He cursed his luck. But he would not give up without a fight. He would give Neji some backup with the remaining of his chakra. He made a couple of hand seals.

"Fire Element: Mythical Firebird jutsu!"

The small fireballs flew past Neji's head and made contact with one of the lizards; the one with the yellow spikes down its tail and arms; the lizard hissed in fury as it was blown through several stone spikes by the impacts.

But Neji was surprised that Sasuke would and could blow the fire around his head the way he did. Neji jumped backwards, standing next to Sasuke, who had his Sharingan activated.

"Thanks Sasuke. That was a close call."

Sasuke merely smirked as the lizards approached again; the one with the spikes had some black spots. Apparently, it scales were protecting it. "You're welcome Neji Hyuuga. What do you say? Shall we show those losers what the two noble clans, Hyuuga and Uchiha of the Hidden Leaf Village can do when combined?"

Neji nodded in response and used his Byakugan to look at Naruto and Sakura. He frowned slightly and informed Sasuke. "Sakura is trying to mend Naruto's shin. Shikamaru is still keeping the blond Akatsuki at bay. However; he, you and I are reaching our limits. I don't think we have enough chakra to keep an offensive; I think we should switch to defence. Unless you activate that mark on your neck."

Sasuke let out a small growl. He wouldn't use the Curse Mark, unless it was absolutely necessary. But if he didn't, it would most likely be the end of them. "What about Kakashi?"

Neji looked around and a serious and curious expression settled on his face. "What? What is that? Shikamaru is holding the metal head with his shadow. Chakra is concentrated in Kakashi's palm. It's… spinning."

Sasuke ventured a quick glance. His eyes narrowed slightly. "That jutsu… I've seen it before."

They heard a familiar jutsu's name being yelled, before they heard another. "No time to look the other way, maggots!"

The lizards launched themselves at Neji and Sasuke who merely jumped back. Neji threw the smallest of the lizards away with his rotation, but it didn't fall. It merely landed between the stone spikes. Sasuke blew another barrage of fireballs at Murdgaki, and even though only two of them hit, it was more than enough to push the lizard backwards.

Murdgaki hissed. "That again, eh? It will be a pleasure to tear you into pieces. You and the ones behind you."

Sasuke looked behind him. They were standing right in front of Naruto, Sakura and Shikamaru. However, before they could move again, they heard Deidara yell something and saw 8 of his fastest bombs fly towards them. Sasuke and Neji cursed. Neji's rotation wouldn't be enough to stop the bombs, and they came too fast for Sasuke to stop them. As they prepared themselves for the inevitable, they heard a sound that in the past would have made them tremble in fear, as that sound was the same as certain death.

The thing that made the sound blocked all of the bombs, as it engulfed them and crashed them, right before they hit their intended targets. Deidara yelled something.

A low and monotone voice spoke from the gate. "It has been some time… Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha."

Sasuke turned around to face the voice's owner and whispered. "You?"

---

Devalan and Kakashi met, and their impact made stones and dust fly in every direction. Their hands were locked with each other in iron grips; they tried to crush each others' fingers. Then, Devalan smiled and teleported away, instantly burning Kakashi's hands. But Kakashi had barely time to be surprised, for just as Devalan teleported away, Shredkill shouted.

"Ninja art: Chakra shurikens!"

Kakashi cursed as two rings made of pure chakra soared towards him; he barely dodged, and they made huge holes in the wall as the sliced through it. Kakashi stared at Shredkill as several rings of chakra came in his direction with incredible speed. If it hadn't been for his Sharingan, they would have hit. But he dodged them too, just to realize that he was standing in a corner, and Shredkill was preparing to launch the greatest amount of those chakra shurikens. Kakashi made a series of seals and shouted.

"Earth Element: Stone Shield jutsu!"

A wall of stone shot upwards, until it was about two or three meters tall.

Shredkill merely smirked. "That won't help you. Eat this!" He send over 50 chakra shurikens towards the wall before he made another move. "Chakra missile!"

The shurikens penetrated the wall with ease and chakra missile blasted it and the wall into oblivion. Shredkill smirked. "And that was the end of Kakashi Hatake."

"Try again, metal head. Earth Element: Decapitation jutsu!" Before Shredkill could utter a curse, he felt Kakashi's hand around his left shin, and was pulled into the ground, until only his head was visible. Kakashi appeared right in front of him from the earth, his Raikiri ready to strike. He muttered at Shredkill. "This is the end for you."

He stroke with his Raikiri at Shredkill's head, but he was thrown backwards as his hand made contact. He was thrown through the air and landed hard with a loud thud. He barely got to his feet, before he was pulled into the air by Devalan and thrown hard into the ground again. But just as Devalan was about to try it again, Kakashi made another series of seals and spoke. "Lightning Element: Thunderbolt Barrage jutsu!"

Devalan was defenceless and hadn't gathered enough chakra for a teleportation as twenty blue and yellow balls of lightning was thrown at him from Kakashi's hands. Devalan was hurled into the air and through the ceiling; and just as he teleported downwards again, he was caught by a now standing Kakashi's jutsu, as the latter continued to hurl those balls at him with greater intensity than before. Devalan had to admire Kakashi for his power and stamina. He was being herded towards Shredkill, who now stood on the ground again, a rather large hole behind him. Devalan smirked in his head. Apparently he wasn't the only one caught off guard. He moved, much to Shredkill's annoyance, behind Shredkill.

Shredkill growled as he invoked another jutsu. "Wind Element: Chakra Shield jutsu!"

A barrier of wind-natured chakra appeared in front of Shredkill, shielding both Devalan and Shredkill from Kakashi's furious attack. The balls were either absorbed or destroyed by the shield. And those who weren't; they smashed large holes in the wall behind them.

Kakashi narrowed his eye and glared at Shredkill.

"So that is how it is. I see now. Your amour is surrounded with a thin layer of chakra all the time, isn't it? And you can increase the amount of it and add either wind or lightning nature to it. That explains a lot. When I attacked with my Raikiri, you added a lot of wind-natured chakra in order to cancel my jutsu out. Then you quickly switched to lightning-natured to throw my away. Isn't that about right?"

Shredkill smirked. "Correct Hatake. I guess nothing can remain hidden for that damn eye of yours. But tell me: How did you survive my attack?? I would have noticed if you used a Replacement jutsu."

Kakashi tried to get his laboured breath under control. "As I already told you. I know this castle as the back of my hand. There are several trapdoors in this castle. One of is in that corner. Evading that attack and take you by surprise was no big thing."

Kakashi noticed the pulsating chakra around Shredkill's hands, but he was caught by surprise as he felt a strong hand clutch around his left upper arm. He turned around and saw Devalan smirk at him.

He swiftly spun around to see another Devalan stand beside Shredkill, glaring at him. Just as he was about to attack, he realized something. The one holding him wasn't a Shadow clone, but something more complicated. His skin was slowly being burned under this Devalan's firm grip. He prepared for Shredkill's attack but he needed to get loose from this Devalan; and he better do it fast. But he also needed to make sure that the other Devalan wouldn't get another hold of him. Then it came to him. He knew what jutsu to use; a jutsu he learned when he joined the ANBU. A jutsu that was forbidden. But if this clone was anything near a Shadow Clone, then it would hurt the real one too. He gathered chakra in the ends of his right index, middle and ring finger and spoke out loud and clear as he took up a stance that was similar to Neji's.

"Demon Fist: 9 Trigrams, 15 Palms!"

Although the strikes were mere small jabs, the effect was incredible. The clone was blown backwards and exploded in flames as Kakashi hit it right over the heart; blood was pumped out of a small wound with explosive force before it exploded.

The real Devalan fell to his knees, coughing up a small blood. He glared amount at Kakashi, disbelief evident in his eye and on his face. "How the hell did you do that? And what kind of jutsu was that?!"

Kakashi chuckled. "It's a jutsu that I found in this castle. In one of the tombs. Although I burned the scroll, I still remember the jutsu effect and how it's executed. In short, I attack your blood circulation. If I had hit the real you with it, you would be dead or be in a very bad condition. When you use a Shadow Clone and then dispel the jutsu, the clone's experience is transferred back to you. Something similar happened here. But also a little of the damage I dealt through the chakra I attacked you with was transferred. A nasty jutsu, don't you think? There are few who have mastered this jutsu, and I'm like a genin compared to them. The two greatest users of this jutsu could do 251 and 503 strikes in one go. Imagine how you would feel if I had dealt that many blows. But I can't. I don't have the strength, nor the speed or skill to do such a thing. And… ARGHH!"

Kakashi had been standing still for too long, and Shredkill's attack hit him; a great surge of lightning and wind-natured chakra had been fired simultaneously from Shredkill's hands and was inflicting massive damage on Kakashi, as his flesh was slowly peeled of.

Shredkill laughed. "You didn't see this one coming, did you?! Since the lightning and wind are being used simultaneously, they amplify each other." He walked towards Kakashi, increasing his attack power, making Kakashi scream in pain. He motioned for Devalan to finish off Kakashi.

Devalan nodded and charged. However: Shredkill's eyes went wide behind his mask. "IMPOSSIBLE!"

Kakashi was back on his feet and was forming seals; although with great trouble due to the pain, seeing that his flesh was ripped away some places, especially his arms, giving a clear view of his bones. The series ended in the tiger seal. His voice was low, but more than enough. To invoke the jutsu.

"Fire Element: Hades' Shield!"

Devalan laughed. "Fool! Do you forget that I can nullify Fire Element jut… WHAT THE HELL??!!"

A gigantic pillar of flames soared upwards and in a 20 feet broad circle around Kakashi. The pillar smashed a large hole in the ceiling, putting it aflame. But what really surprised Devalan wasn't the size of the flame shield. It was the colour. Green flames that consumed Devalan's flames as he tried to stop the shield from expanding. Devalan jumped backwards and managed to get out of the circle's range as it stopped expanding, before it disappeared. He glared at Kakashi. How could that silver-haired bastard be so strong? The area that the shield had covered was nothing more than a large and 5 feet deep crater with scorned stones. Furthermore, it had broken Shredkill's jutsu instantly. And it withstood and repelled his attack. Kakashi hadn't been lying: He was indeed stronger than Itachi. He glanced at Shredkill who nodded. They both charged.

Kakashi panted. That move had drained him for about ¾ of his remaining chakra. He couldn't believe what had occurred. He had used that jutsu once before, but back then it had been normal flames and the shield had only a diameter of 1 or 2 feet and it hadn't caused a tenth of the destruction this one had. He looked at his hands. He couldn't believe it. Even the Nine-Tails' chakra granted him that kind of power. But he would have to think about that later, seeing both Devalan and Shredkill were charging. He had seen how Shredkill did his jutsu. Kakashi channelled chakra into both hands and thrust them fast forward.

Immediately a powerful surge of lightning-natured chakra was fired from his hands; but it wasn't blue: It was green.

Devalan shouted in surprise and tried to teleport away. However, some of the lightning graced him and he was dragged by it with incredible force backwards, until he was slammed into the wall.

Shredkill jumped to the side and lashed out at Kakashi with his right arm. However, Kakashi blocked it with his left, although he yelled out in pain. Nonetheless, he took a firm grip around Shredkill's arm with his left hand and raised his right for an attack.

Shredkill merely smirked. "And what do you plan on doing with that arm. Look at yourself. You're barely standing. And don't forget; my armour will repel that lightning jutsu of yours. Now… Die, you worth…. WHAT??!"

Kakashi blinked. He had seen Shredkill raise his left fist, saw it start moving and then… it stopped. Then he noticed. A shadow formed as an arm was holding and struggling to keep the arm where it was.

Kakashi chuckled between his gasp for air. "Perfect timing… Shikamaru. And Shredkill… I've more than my Raikiri. This jutsu… was invented by sensei… the Fourth Hokage. And… it seems to me that my last jutsu disrupted the flow of chakra around your armour. True, I can't hit you with lightning based jutsus. And since my other arm is occupied for the moment…I can't form seals. However… this jutsu doesn't require any seals, as it's made of pure chakra."

Shredkill's eyes widened as he saw chakra starting to gather and spin violently in a sphere in Kakashi's right hand. Kakashi was right. The chakra flow around his armour had been disrupted. And such a concentrated attack of pure chakra was going to hurt, no matter where Kakashi hit.

Kakashi locked eyes Shredkill. "Take this, you bastard…"

---

Sakura gasped when she saw Shikamaru's shadow grab Shredkill's arm in the last second. But her eyes widened in surprise when she saw the spinning sphere of chakra in Kakashi's hand. Her voice was nothing more than a whisper. "Naruto… that jutsu. Isn't that…?"

Naruto's eyes went wide too. "What? It can't be… Kakashi-sensei can use…"

"RASENGAN!"

"Rasengan?!"

Disbelief was evident in Naruto's voice, eyes and on his face when he saw Kakashi thrust the Rasengan straight into Shredkill's face. They saw Shredkill being hurled through the air by the impact, just to hit the wall with a loud CRAAACK as he fell to the ground. But all of them widened their eyes even more when they saw Shredkill stagger to his feet again, apparently just being a little dizzy. Kakashi however didn't hesitate. He began, although he did it slowly because of the pain, to form all twelve seals in alphabetic order (English names), then reversed, then from the middle of them to the last six, then from the middle to the first five. But before he formed the last seal, the seal to focus chakra and before he spoke the name of the jutsu, he stopped, broke the chain of seals and paled. Reason: Deidara attacked. Not him, but the others.

---

Deidara saw his chance to get all of the youngsters in one go, as he noticed how they were focusing on Kakashi and standing in one big group. He quickly formed eight of his fastest birds and threw them at the youngsters. They were bound to make contact. He laughed and yelled. "Art is a bla… WHAT?!"

---

Sakura saw the incoming birds and threw herself over Naruto, trying her best to shield him from harm. She closed her eyes, as she prepared for the pain and, most likely, death to grip her. But it never came. The explosions came, but nothing else. Or did there? She felt something hard hit her and she had heard a familiar sound before the explosions. She had feared that sound in the past, but now she was certain she had heard it again. But she had thought it was her imagination that played a trick on her. But then she heard Deidara yell in fury and then a low, monotone voice speaking up from the gate.

"It has been some time… Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha."

Then she heard Sasuke whisper. "You?"

She opened her eyes and glanced at the person standing in the gate. She couldn't believe her eyes. And she wasn't the only one.

Deidara paled slightly when he saw the boy with red-brown hair, pale green eyes, and the character for love over his left eye. Deidara's voice was low. "This can't be! You should be dead! How can you possible be alive?! And what are you doing here?!"

Kakashi sighed and ventured a glance at the gate. "So my message reached you, Lord Kazekage?"

As Gaara stepped into the room, sand started to swirl around him and he looked at Deidara. "I've come because I owe the Leaf Village. And I've an old score to settle with you."

The Akatsuki members tensed. The battle was about to reach a new level.

End chapter 13