Damn it, this chapter was so close to getting released on time. Still, I think compared to recent ones this will give the oomph that will really get you guys wild. Alright, explaino time. The attack Naruto used against Jiraiya, the Shiroken, is the A ranked jutsu he has been developing since the start of part 2. For those of you with good memories, you'd know that I changed the name. Figured Kazemori (wind lance) sounded to close to Chidori, and considering it was going against the Rasengan I didn't wanna do that. Hence Shiroken, which translates as "White Sabre". I think it's cooler, but kinda reminds me of a certain Street Fighter guy... damn Ryu!

The sky lights up with an amber warning

Naruto was hard at work, both at the village and in training. He had created another Kage Bunshin to take care of things in Keishi, but not before doing some heavy explaining to Fuu and Yagura. Neither of them had believed his excuse that he had just gone out for training until he demonstrated the results. Yagura was still in a bad mood about being used as the dummy for that little show, but it had done the job. He had been warned not to overdo it, and was left to do as he pleased in that regard.

Of course, that didn't lighten his load in the slightest. If not for the fact that Yagura had already known the Jutsu Naruto displayed to be previously incomplete, he was sure he would not have been allowed out on his own. But the truth was that even though the Jutsu was incomplete back then, he had completed it prior to that day. The true events however were ongoing even now, in that same place just a couple of miles from Keishi's eyes.

It was a battle, but not of the kind Naruto felt at home in. This sort of fight was the kind he often preferred to leave to the more eloquent of his comrades, like Gaara for example. This was a battle of words, an argument between himself and Jiraiya that had been continuing for many days, amongst other actions that Naruto definitely wanted no one to learn of. And like each of those days so far, he felt sure he was going to win this time around.

"Look I don't care about any of this "Will of Fire" stuff; I ain't a Konoha ninja so it doesn't mean anything to me!" he declared, gesturing his emphasis with his hands. It had been a while since he had been able to sit still, even longer since he had been calm. The past three days had all come about exactly the same way, with Jiraiya speaking of philosophies that were totally meaningless to Naruto. "If that place is really built on that belief, then I could never follow it!"

"Stop letting your hatred for Konoha get in the way of doing what is right!" Jiraiya countered, from his position on the smooth stump of a former tree. He wasn't exactly calm either, but years of experience allowed him to keep from doing unnecessary things. It was that very same experience that he put into practice now, all for the sake of proving to Naruto that there was fault in his way of thinking. "If all you let yourself see is the bitterness, then all you can feel is disdain! Those feelings will only create more, and all that will change is that the hatred will grow!"

"And what the hell is gonna change if we don't do anything about it?" Naruto demanded, rejecting Jiraiya's idea full on. His voice had sent what few birds remained in the trees flying off, signifying the growing hatred that Jiraiya spoke of. But Naruto of course held no interest to this; he didn't even notice the birds in the first place. "You've said yourself you don't have any idea what we have to do to bring peace; well I got a hell of an idea! Let everyone know what it feels like to be at war, all the cost that comes with it! In war, all the people know is that their side is right! I say we break down that wall and let everyone know that when it comes to war, everyone is the bad guy!"

Jiraiya stared hard at Naruto, silently wondering if this boy really had the right to say such things. But the bandage around his right hand was a sore reminder that he had failed that battle back there. "If not for the Rasengan, he would have taken my entire arm off." he thought, as the hole in his palm continued to burn. If not for some very handy healing balms he felt sure he wouldn't be able to remain here. Realising this, he let out a sigh and rose to his feet as he came to a decision of which he already knew the response. "We've been talking too long; it's time to get to training."

As expected, Naruto wasn't totally happy to hear that. His already foul expression was accented with a curled lip as he saw completely through what Jiraiya's true thoughts were. "Funny how you always come out with that whenever I say something you know you can't deny." he muttered under his breath. This had become a recurring pattern, like Jiraiya wasn't sure just what he wanted to say back to Naruto, or if he even had anything to say. "You pissed because the "chosen one" doesn't share your ideals?"

Jiraiya had to flinch to that, unwillingly giving Naruto great satisfaction. He hated to admit that Naruto was right, but he had pretty much hit the nail right on the head with that remark. "You say you want to walk the path of peace, but that doesn't mean you really will." he said, with a sort of frankness that couldn't frustrate even the easily aggravated person before him. "But if your idea of peace comes at the cost of great pain, then what you're doing is destroying this world in favour of another. That's not creating peace, that's starting from scratch."

"Do you really think this world can be saved?"

That question forced the old ninja to meet the younger one's gaze, bewilderment becoming everything of his face. Naruto was looking at him not with anger or mistrust, but something of someone lost in a sea of heads, uncertain of which one would lead him on the path he wanted to walk. "If there's something out there that has the power to completely change a person's future without them even knowing it, and that power wants to destroy this world, what the hell are we supposed to do to stop it?" he asked, taking on an unusually meek tone. But that tone lasted for only a moment, before his previous sharp look came back with a vengeance. "Before I even look for peace, I have to do something about that first."

As the wind whistled between the two men, Jiraiya found that he couldn't see Naruto as a boy right now. What he saw instead was a man, a man with a heavy burden that he refused to lighten through any means. For someone looking like that, even if it was him Jiraiya could not look without a feeling of great respect. "That thing he's talking about… isn't it destiny?" he wondered, allowing himself another moment of philosophy before offering Naruto an answer. With that answer, he couldn't help giving a small smirk in response. "Looks like you're thinking like a grown up now… well if that's the case, why are we still talking?"

The light cast across Gaara's face, searing the back of his pitch black eyelids. He groaned as he shielded himself with the back of his hand, having half a mind to take care of that damn sun for disturbing something he very rarely had; a good rest. But what stopped him from continuing that hazardous thought was the basis for said thought. Though he felt that his rest had been a better one than what he could compare it to, he couldn't for the life of him figure out why.

"Guess it figures he'd be the one who's down the longest."

Gaara squinted with one eye as he looked somewhere above his head, to the place where that voice had come from. Both Kankurou and Temari sat against the wall of the shack, both looking almost as haggard as Gaara always did. It was clear to see that neither of them had rested well, and with good reason. But nonetheless Kankurou was looking at Gaara with a grin, his hood pulled down and his face paint wiped off.

"You've been asleep for a couple of days." Temari said, her voice low and a little weak. She didn't look at Gaara, but he could see from her eyes that she wasn't her usual self. It didn't help the unsettled feelings of her younger brother, who had never seen her with such an expression before. Even Kankurou seemed a little wary of it, as if he would much rather see her be her snide, cold self than what she was now. "Does that mean… does the Shukaku still…?"

Her trailed off question hung in the air just like the heat. It caused Kankurou's smirk to slip and Gaara's eyes to turn to the ceiling, as now none of them were able to look at each other. However just a for a brief moment, as Gaara sat himself up, he felt both of his elder siblings' attention briefly flicker back to him. "The Shukaku is completely under my power now." he said, looking out through the open door to the desert beyond. He remembered the time when he could say no such thing, and sought only to kill the people who most wanted to live. He also recalled that back then everyone, including Kankurou and Temari, lived in constant fear of him. "My mind is clear and unaffected by him… he is my pet."

Even though Kankurou and Temari remained silent, Gaara could tell they had relaxed just a little. Sleep always resulted in bad things when it came to him, at least that was the case in the past. He could hardly be surprised that they were still a little tense, he was the same. But that aside, he could see that his brother and sister were now fine. Getting to his feet he made his way to the door, seeing no more reason to stay.

"Wait… Gaara." Temari called, struggling to her feet. Gaara paused in the doorway, but didn't allow his sister even a fleeting glance. She could see he was waiting only as a courtesy; that cold gap between them could not possibly have been filled by the last few days alone. Even though she knew this, she couldn't just let him leave in this manner, for more reasons than one. "Suna sent us out to find you… we can't return unless you come with us. Won't you-"

"Don't waste your breath."

Almost following his order to the letter, Temari sharply inhaled from Gaara's response. He looked out into the broad desert, the smell in the air telling him that the sea was somewhere behind. Looking around, he remembered one very important thing he had heard long ago. "The wind has changed much of the desert, it almost looks like a different place." he said, in memory of the one lesson he learned in class that had always stayed with him. "But no matter how you look at it, it's still a desert. Though its appearance has changed, what it is will always be."

Both Temari and Kankurou knew that of which he spoke, the tale that taught the Genin of Suna to be prepared for any changes to the situation. Neither of them had imagined though that Gaara had interpreted it on a whole other level, never mind countering it like that. As a result they couldn't be sure just what it was that he was trying to say, until he turned his head to look back at them both.

"I love only myself and fight only for myself… get in my way… and I'll kill you."

Two shadows flitted under the cover of the trees, making a stealthy approach to a place filled with small green mountains. These two were wasting no time in heading to some specific area, their movements were far too direct to suggest a random search. They were on the trail of a certain someone who was supposed to be in this area, someone who they believed was doing things that he really shouldn't be doing. His word was finally being put to the test, as Yagura and Fuu moved in to see for themselves.

The former Mizukage pressed his back against bark, reaching out with his hand to signal at his eager apprentice. The two of them were standing many metres above the ground, listening closely to the goings on just behind them. There was something odd up there, something that they couldn't quite determine just yet. It was like the air was trembling, but there was nothing to indicate a single reason for it. With this ominous thought, the two moved in even closer.

"Wait!" Yagura hissed, suddenly throwing his arm out to Fuu. He had just realised that had they gotten any closer, their presence would have most definitely been revealed. Not only that, but the reason for the dark air had now become clear, even if it didn't make a whole lot of sense. Even Yagura, with all the experience he had, couldn't comprehend the scene lying just before him.

A hundred Naruto's sat rigid in a glade, their legs in a meditative position. The mass of men were absolutely still, their hands gripped together in the ram seal. Each of them were like statues, but not in the sense of being motionless. All the clones, and possibly the original, looked as cold as stone, like all the life had been drained from them. However, that was not the worst of it. What was unarguably the worst was that each and every copy had fierce red eyes; the mark of the Kyuubi's influence.

Though Fuu couldn't say just what she was looking at, Yagura certainly could. And it was for that reason which he couldn't stay back. "That moron!" he cursed, before throwing himself through the trees. He cared not about whether he was seen, for right now he knew that there was a disaster about to occur. If Naruto was allowed to do as he pleased, the Kyuubi no Yoko would be unleashed without restraint. "Looks like there's only one way he can understand why this power is too dangerous!"

The one hundred Naruto's lifted their heads suddenly, all looking in the same direction as noise filled their ears. Before any of them could comprehend what was happening however, more than half of them were blasted away by a massive white sphere that broke the very earth apart. Of the original number, less than thirty Kage Bunshin went soaring through the air, their concentration disrupted and the Kyuubi's power released. However as Yagura landed on the ground, he was left unworried about this. The reason was that like the Naruto's, he too was shrouded in a cloak of pure chakra.

"Yagura-kun!" Fuu called out in shock, as she saw her favourite person become obscured by that which enwrapped him. Two long tails of chakra were protruding from the mist; for just a moment Yagura appeared as a horned devil. Fuu clung onto the tree she hid behind, wondering what it was that she was about to witness. "Sh-should I try and stop them?"

Such an option however became much less desirable as the earth began undergoing a relentless transformation brought on by the assaulting Naruto's. Gusts of wind brought on solely by the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki's power caused the trees to bend away from the dramatic scene. Dust clouds were already being thrown into the air by cataclysmic concaves caused by the two monstrous men. Yet in spite of the endless assaults that came from the Naruto's, Yagura was managing to hold his own.

"They can only access the initial state when their numbers are this many." he thought to himself, as he sailed through the air with his twin tails stretching like fierce whips. The chakra around him had already formed into a turtle like beast, with his head situated between a pair of jaw like things. If he released any more chakra, then physical aspects would start appearing. Though those aspects were powerful, they hurt like hell, hence his reluctance to go ahead with it. "But if I take them out one at a time that'll only allow the others to grow steadily stronger. I have to take them all out in one shot, or things will get really bad, really fast."

With these thoughts in mind he opened his mouth wide, the jaws of chakra widening with it. He aimed his head at the sky as a sphere of chakra grew from what was already there, before firing a sizeable glob directly into the sky. Then, as soon as it had left his control potential, he began to dash through the charging Naruto's. The sphere he fired exploded and scattered smaller spheres across the earth, triggering more detonations all around. With this diversion he managed to take out a fair few Naruto's both with his prior attack and his sneak attacks.

But the Naruto's of course were not weakened simply by losing it a little. They took their previous knowledge of Yagura's abilities and used them against him. For one thing, they all knew that when it came to close range combat, he was seriously lacking. Therefore none of them sought to give him much room, and instead smothered him both with attention and Reppushou's. He was forced onto the defensive, and had a hard time doing very much to change it.

"FUUTON: CRESCENT MIRAGE!" cried twenty three voices, as that same number of Kage Bunshin sliced the air with their straight palms. Yagura stopped with a shocked expression as forty six blades of chakra flew at him from every direction, at an already unavoidable range. He cried out in pain as the blades struck him, scoring the chakra around his entire body. Fortunately he was saved from serious injury, but the air had been knocked out of his lungs. "HURRICANE RISING!"

"What?" he thought, as the Kage Bunshin followed up their attack with insane speed. The Naruto copies all started spinning around at an incredible rate, forming cyclones from their chakra alone. Almost two dozen conflicting air currents combined to create a cataclysmic charge of wind that forced Yagura off his feet and into the air. There he was pounded with countless blades of wind, to the point where he couldn't even think straight. "AaaaaaAAAARGGGGHHH!"

Then, just as suddenly as it came, it stopped. The Kage Bunshin's Jutsu came to an end and they all dispelled, clearing the air both of disturbing winds and killer intent. But there was little of this that managed to get through to Yagura, who was barely clinging to consciousness. The Sanbi's chakra left his body as he fell back down towards the ground, faintly aware of what was going on. Even as he saw the real Naruto running to where he was about to land, even as he saw the strange white mass of chakra covering the boy's arm, he didn't understand just what he was seeing.

Then Naruto grabbed him, and threw him against a tree. The shock going through his back was noticeable for only a moment, before that drill of chakra penetrated Yagura's stomach. He felt endless pain as his insides were grinded against by a thousand tiny blades, unable to let so much as a breath escape his petrified expression. Blood sprayed everywhere, as did fragments of organs no one could possibly recognise. In a mere moment Yagura slumped, before the Shiroken finally relented.

There was a dead silence as Yagura hit the ground, one that came with a heavy air. The smell of blood was as thick as the pools on the ground, enough to make anyone unaccustomed to the scent sick. Already Yagura's eyes had glazed over, for too many of his internal organs had been ripped apart. Above him stood Naruto, who glared down at him with yellow eyes. The Kyuubi's influence was not present; he was entirely of his own mind right now.

"YAGURA-KUN!"

Naruto didn't even blink from Fuu's scream, nor flinch as the girl appeared suddenly by the side of the person lying before him. Even though it was futile, she shook him hard in the hope of some life showing. Almost as soon as she realised that was impossible, she lashed out at Naruto with all her strength. But the target of her blind rage grabbed her hand without the slightest sign of effort, twisting it behind her back and forcing her to stand. "Look." he ordered, coldly watching the body of Yagura down there. "Don't take your eyes off him for a second."

Fuu resisted as much as she could, even to the point of using her Nikusui. But Naruto ignored the pain in his hand, and soon didn't even have to worry about it. Just a few seconds was all her resistance lasted, before it came to a sudden stop. Her eyes were forced upon Yagura, stretched wide to their fullest extent. Even now she forgot just what had happened a moment ago, as what she saw now erased those moments almost entirely.

Something grew from the gaping hole in Yagura's stomach. It was like a huge scab, creeping across his flesh until the wound was completely covered. But unlike a scab, this was smooth and shiny, more similar to a shell in fact. In that way there was also the vaguest of transparency to the shell, where it could be seen that things were moving underneath there. But the opaqueness of the shell was not to last, and soon nothing underneath could be seen at all. This point lacked however, as Yagura suddenly let out a shuddering breath.

"Yagura-kun!" Fuu cried again, falling to his side as Naruto released her. Yagura was still only barely alive, his consciousness just enough to see what was going around. He looked at Fuu, and saw the tears of shock that were pouring down her cheeks. Then he looked at Naruto, remembering what had just happened to him. He could almost cast it aside as a hallucination, if not for the way Naruto was looking at him right now.

"You've been doing and saying as you please for way too long now." Naruto said, with a flat look that somehow emanated so much ill intent that even Yagura's frozen heart was chilled by it. In spite of the fact that Naruto looked exactly the same, Yagura was suddenly afraid of him. Being under those eyes was enough to bring him to a cold sweat. "You have your secrets, and I have mine. If you're going to go out of your way to pry, then even if you are a Jinchuuriki, you'll be my enemy."

He kept his stare for a short while more, just to make sure Yagura didn't misunderstand what he was saying. Then he turned around and walked through the wreckage of their short lived fight, before coming to a stop in the middle of the glade. There Yagura and Fuu both watched as he turned his head off into the trees, giving the slightest of nods. To their great shock, he was suddenly enveloped in a cloud of smoke that left absolutely no trace of him thereafter. Somehow, he was nowhere near this place. And it was for that very reason that Yagura was able to relax just a little.

"How… how did he get like that without my noticing?"

The graveyard of giant monsters that Madara called his base was as humid and dusty as ever it was. The stone basin was almost always empty, yet on this day it was filled with an oddly high presence. A small group of Shinobi stood in amongst the bones littered around the place, each and every one of them dressed in the same Akatsuki cloaks. Here there was a very special meeting going on, one which had brought forth reason to gather all the members of Akatsuki.

Deidara, the blond haired bomber, surveyed the scene around him with an expression of clear dissatisfaction. He looked at the faces around and knew that of the ones he most wanted to see, almost all of them were missing. Uchiha Itachi had died by the hands of Uchiha Sasuke, and Sasori had recently fallen to none other than Sabaku no Gaara. His two greatest rivals had been taken out before he had finished with them, and as such he was in quite the foul mood. It didn't help that the other members weren't quite so forlorn about the group's losses.

"Ha ha ha, I think I'm starting to see a pattern here!" called out the loudest member of Akatsuki. The man with the white slicked hair and open collar was turning around with a broad grin, locking his attention onto Deidara with his violet eyes. Already Deidara was annoyed without Hidan having said a single thing yet. "First that babe Konan ditches Leader-teme, then that Itachi bastard hit's the hay, now that ugly fucker Sasori is dead as well! One by one all the self righteous bastards are dropping like flies! How long you think you got left pretty boy?"

"So Hidan, you find Deidara to be pretty do you?" asked the person standing next to the white haired man. Kakuzu's voice was muffled by his mask, but his red and green eyes were clearly making suggestions to his idiotic partner. With his arms folded and his back against a giant rib, he looked almost aloof. But in truth he enjoyed tormenting this person as much as that person enjoyed enraging him. "I should warn you; inter-organisation relationships tend to end poorly."

In amidst the snickering coming from a couple of people, Hidan was left confused as to what had just been said to him. But as always, the point where he realised he had just been mocked was shown by his outraged expression. "THE HELL YOU SAY BITCH?"he hollered, while whipping out from behind his back a large three bladed red scythe. This act might have had some meaning, if he didn't do it almost every time he and Kakuzu spoke to one another. "I'LL END THIS RELATIONSHIP RIGHT NOW!"

Bewilderment aside that Hidan managed a semi-intelligent comeback, there was reason more for the silence that had befallen the rest of the group. From a cave at the far side of the basin another of their members was appearing, or at least someone who was dressed like on of their members. They however had never seen the man in the orange mask, and only one of them knew the complicated story lying underneath it. But of course, that one was staying to the shadows, and would say nothing about it without being ordered to.

"Let's not waste time with needless chatter, there are important matters we need to discuss." said Uchiha Madara, as he left the darkness behind him. For a moment the other Akatsuki members thought to stop him right there, but then other people began to emerge too. A group of men dressed like the Akatsuki were following Madara, each one of them bearing identical aspects. All of them had fierce orange hair, heavily pierced faces and grey eyes with several black circles. Of those men, there was one figure they recognised well; the person they knew as "Leader-sama".

"Something's happening." Deidara thought, his eyes narrowing at the approaching group. Seven men to add to five already present, six of those seven men looking quite impossible. Akatsuki's numbers seemed to have doubled inexplicably; a sure omen that things were not about to calm down any. And to make things even worse, Deidara found his attention fixed on the masked man. Or rather, his attention was fixed on the single visible eye. "Isn't that the Sharingan?"

Madara came to a stop with the men known as Pein gathering behind him. Though they lined up well, he felt rather uncomfortable with the way things were. The reasons for this weren't apparent, but he would rather be in pain than continue this awkward feeling. "It looks like I underestimated you Nagato." he told himself, as he looked at the back of his own head through one of the bodies behind him. If not for the combined powers of the Sharingan and the Rinnegan he wouldn't be able to stand as he was right now. Fortunately he had found a way to use his own body in time with the realms, something which without both would be impossible. "It seems that you're only error was that you let your guard slip simply because I was dead… well I won't be making that mistake anyway."

"The five Kage are on their way to the land of iron."

Madara looked up in surprise at Zetsu, who was in partial hiding at a higher place on the skeleton filling the basin. While the other Akatsuki members threw their attention to the shadowed man, Madara realised he had been absent minded for a moment. "Yes, they most probably have figured us out and want to discuss how to deal with us." he said, quietly grateful for Zetsu's assistance. "At this moment I have sent Uchiha Sasuke and his team out to confront the Kage, but of course that is only diversionary."

Hidan snapped his attention back to Madara, getting a crick in his neck from doing it much too quickly. He wasn't the only one; all the other Akatsuki members had their eyes completely honed on the masked man. However he was different in that he completely misunderstood the situation. "Whoa whoa whoa whoa wait a minute!" he called out, flailing his hands in the air in a frustrated manner. "You saying we're going after the Kage now? Why the hell wasn't I invited to that?"

Unbeknownst to the ever obvious Jashinist, the majority of the people in that room rolled their eyes towards him. Out of everyone there, only Kakuzu was the one "kind" enough to offer explanation to his begrudging partner. "I think you'll find that we are invited to that." he said, before turning his eyes back towards Madara. While he didn't understand just why this person was calling the shots, having Leader-sama behind him was enough for now. "Uchiha Sasuke has become a well known name in the ninja world. Sending him there will divert their attention long enough for us to move in."

"That is somewhat correct." Madara spoke up, as soon as Kakuzu was done. Behind him the bodies of Pein had begun to spread out, forming a circle where all of them and Madara had their backs to the centre. The relevance of this wasn't immediately clear, but there was a purpose somewhere in the obscurity. "If we can kidnap the five Kage we can use them as hostages against the nations and also as proof of our power. But first I would extend an olive branch, one that requires them to hand over the remaining Jinchuuriki."

From the far side of Madara's vision, but not outside the Rinnegan's vision, someone let out a low chuckle. Sitting atop a boulder with his arms and legs crossed, Hoshigake Kisame kept his head bowed as he let out his slight laughter. "So Yoinokuchi has outlived its usefulness eh?" he asked, almost in a joking manner. There wasn't anyone here who didn't know that the ties to the group of Jinchuuriki had been severed, and that Akatsuki's goal had returned to hunting them, like it had been in the past. "But with so many of them who were already on our side… I take it you have a plan that doesn't need them as our allies?"

Madara turned his head towards Kisame, his eye gaining a slight shine as he looked at the seven swordsman. Kisame was the person who had spent most time with the Jinchuuriki, and as such was the one with most questionable faith towards the organisation. Yet since Madara had declared war with the Jinchuuriki, he had heard no complaints from Kisame. In fact, the former Kiri nin seemed somewhat excited by it. "Yes, it is time to initiate the Moon's Eye Plan." he said, in an evocative tone. He smirked beneath his mask as he watched Kisame's fall, the stares between the two of them as tense as the muscles on the shark lover's face. "And to that end, I have this."

Forming a short series of hand seals, Madara planted his hands down onto the ground. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" he called, as a huge puff of smoke exploded behind him. He looked as his group of subordinates stared at what appeared behind him, his eye narrowing as he saw the gapes that grew on their faces. For the first time in a long time he truly felt powerful, to the point where he had to resist laughter. "I put it out of your reach, Nagato, so that you would not do as you liked. However, it was never for a second beyond my grasp. Your interference was for nothing!"