Mnarutodbz "Hi people I'm back! Before I am going over the reviews I have something to say. Some people send me a few complaints about the spamming of two certain individuals on the review page."

Naruto looks strange "Spamming?"

Vegeta rolls with his eyes "Come on Naruto! You've been doing this crap for so long. Spamming is that one or more persons send a lot of messages."

Mnarutodbz "That's right Vegeta. So people who send in a complaint…I asked the people who were doing it to keep it at a minimum."

Vegeta crosses his arms "It's time you stepped up. I already started to think you were a wimp."

Mnarutodbz "Shut up! Let's go to the reviews. There is one review I wanted to say something but I will make that one very obvious." Then Mnarutodbz seemed to think and he remembered something "Oh yeah and there will be something new added to this section…reviewers can ask questions to the cast!"

Vegeta looked terrified "WHAT! Hell no!"

Mnarutodbz nods "Yes I did! That way people can ask questions to you guys about several subjects…it will be fun."

Vegeta growls "I hope I will get paid overtime for that one…by the way…don't have you reviews to respond to?"

Mnarutodbz "Oh yeah…reviews!"

Storylover213 "nice chapter by the way hope for more soon and wow who would of thought Dante could be such an ass but hey who cares now we get to see Sasori get the shit beat out of him and Deidara also but there is one thing i would like to know about Deidara is he a man or a woman and Vegeta suck it up you know your life wouldnt be interesting without me so take that you panzzy assed bitch"

Vegeta and Dante yell in unison "KILL! LET ME KILL STORYLOVER NOW MNARUTODBZ!"

Mnarutodbz "Nope…remember…do not hurt or kill the reviewers…here have a cookie." And Mnarutodbz throws a cookie at Vegeta and Dante and Mnarutodbz continues "and for your question; Deidara is a man…that one was completely obvious and if he was a woman it would be a very ugly one."

SuperNarutoLover "Good chapter! It became time you took up the original storyline again! I was starting to get worried we wouldn't come back to the original shippuden storyline.

I only don't get the part of Kisame and Kakuzu together. Isn't Kakuzu partnered with Hidan to form the immortal duo?

And good part about letting us experience Sasuke's and Draganth's view...really original.

Keep up the good work!

Mnarutodbz "Well thank you SuperNarutoLover. Well...Kisame made a remark about how Hidan is able to hold out with Kakuzu...they were just picked together to test Sasuke and Draganth.

And I chose to spend almost half a chapter through the eyes of Draganth and Sasuke to let people understand their characters and personalities...sometimes it's fun to write about the bad guys :D"

Digi-Dragon001 "Will Itachi eventually die in an attempt to save Sasuke from the darkness? And Gohan is here? What a surprise! Don't mean to be an idiot or anything, but is this the first he's in this story? And why didn't I see Pan, Videl, Trunks, Goten or Bra here (in the Preview Section)?

Say, Mnarutodbz, can I have my own Preview Section in my future stories?"

Mnarutodbz reads Digi-Dragon001's review "Ehm…I won't tell if Itachi dies or not. And a few chapters back Gohan already arrived in the story. He was just out for a while because he needed to take care of something. And well…no one ask things to Pan, Videl and Bra because they're dead and not in the story and Trunks and Goten also didn't receive any questions although they are still in the story. And I don't really know what you mean with your own preview section…sorry. (And if you send a private message to me please enable the private message feature so that I can reply…thank you)."

Vegeta reads the war between Grocamol and Kagutsuchi Firegod "You mean those people with spamming Mnarutodbz?"

Mnarutodbz nods "Indeed. People…if you're interested in chaos, destruction and pain just go to the reviews and follow the capital letters. Next review."

RedRangerBelt "How long will Dante be in Konoha? How do they find Gaara? Will they be able to stop the Akatsuki from extracting the Shukaku? Did Itachi use a new healing jutsu with his sharingan? Is the Kyuubi afraid of Dante? Why does Suigetsu want Zabuza's sword?"

Mnarutodbz "Welcome back RRB! Good to see you have a bunch of good questions. Well to be honest…I don't know how long Dante will be in Konoha…probably until his job is done. In the end of the last chapter Kankuro revealed a piece of cloth with Sasori's scent on it so I guess Kakashi will summon his nin-dogs to track them down, I hope they will make it in time. You're right about Itachi using a new jutsu with his sharingan."

The nine-tailed fox suddenly intervenes and growls "AND I AM NOT SCARED OF DANTE!"

Mnarutodbz whispers to RRB "Yes he is."

Nine-tailed fox growls at Mnarutodbz and charges.

Mnarutodbz runs away from the mad fox and Goku is forced to take over the review section.

Goku "Ehm…I don't know why that Suigetsu wants Zabuza's sword…perhaps because they are from the same village? Hmm..village rhymes on spinach…" Goku gets distracted because he is thinking about food.

Mnarutodbz stops running for a minute and keeps the nine-tailed fox at bay for a moment "There is one review that is referring to RRB's review…please don't react on it and the best is to ignore it. I already gave my opinion about it and I hope it won't happen again in the future."

The nine-tailed fox attacks again and shoots a shockwave towards Mnarutodbz.

Mnarutodbz's eyes widened and he said "YIKES! Disclaimer please…this. Is gonna hurt…"

Disclaimer "I don't own Naruto, DB, DBZ, DBGT, Devil may cry nor any characters used in this FANFICTION"

Tsunade was sitting in her office and looked outside. She had a bad feeling all day long. She reached for her cup of tea but the cup suddenly started to crack.

Tsunade looked amazed at the cup and thought that is a bad omen…don't tell me!

She suddenly opened the drawer of her desk and took a lottery ticket out and held it to the newspaper. She compared the numbers and thought Just as I thought! I won and it's even a jackpot…I don't like this one bit.

Tsunade stood up and yelled "Shizune."

Shizune quickly opened the door because Tsunade's voice sounded rushed and said "Yes lady Tsunade?"

Tsunade "Did they return already?"

Shizune bowed and said "Yes only Ten-ten is in the hospital…why?"

Tsunade "Find them and bring them to me together with that guy."

Shizune got a startled look on her face "Him? But he isn't even a ninja lady Tsunade!"

Tsunade "I don't care…that old peach of a Kai selected him to come here so I think he can handle the coming situation. Now go!"

Startled by Tsunade's voice Shizune rushed off to get the people Tsunade send her to collect.

One hour later four people appeared in her office. It was Team Gai, made out of Gai himself, Rock Lee, Neji Hyuuga and next to team Gai Tsunade asked for Dante, who was leaning against the wall.

Gai glared at Dante. There was something he didn't like about him…possibly the smooth face that remembered him of Kakashi.

Gai asked "Who is he lady Hokage?"

Tsunade "His name is Dante and he will be accompany you and your team during this mission. You will go to the village hidden in the desert to serve as a back-up for Kakashi, Naruto, Itachi and Goku. It's important you make haste!"

Gai showed his bright teeth when he was smiling and gave Tsunade the thumbs up "Ha! Don't worry we are the fastest team of Konoha."

Lee backed-up Gai and said "Because we are so youthful!"

Gai pumped his arm in the air and said "YES LEE THAT'S THE SPIRIT!" and then he calmed down and he was stroking his chin in an arrogant manner and said with a cocky voice "I only hope that Dante can keep up…can you Dante?"

Gai didn't hear Dante reply and turned around. Dante wasn't leaning on the wall anymore…instead of that Gai could see a note that said:

See you there bunch of slowpokes.

Gai got a red head and screamed "TEAM GAI! MOVE OUT! WE'LL SHOW DANTE THE SPRINGTIME OF YOUTH!"

Neji sighed and said "Here we go again."

And the group fazed out of Tsunade's office. Tsunade sighed and thought I really hope that Dante will be able to hold out with Gai…he can be so hyper-active sometimes.

In the village hidden in the desert

Naruto looked at Kakashi and said "Kakashi…you're a tracker right?"

Kakashi gave Naruto an eye-smile "I'm not…my nin-dogs however…"

Naruto "Very funny."

Kakashi made some hand signs and said "Summoning jutsu." And a bunch of nin-dogs appeared with Pakkun as their leader who said "Yo."

Kakashi held out the piece of cloth that Kankuro retrieved and said "Take in this smell and track it down."

The nin-dogs started to smell the piece of cloth and rushed away to track Sasori down.

Naruto "So…what now?"

Kakashi "We wait until my nin-dogs find Sasori…and hopefully Gaara."

Goku "But what if we're too late!"

Kakashi turned to Goku "Sorry Goku but we are reliable on the nin-dogs for now. The power levels of the Akatsuki members are too low to detect from long distances and last we heard Gaara was out cold so concentrating on his energy is futile."

Goku sighed "Guess you're right."

A nervous silence fell into the room. Naruto broke it when he asked "Kakashi…who was that white fang that old lady was talking about?"

Kakashi put his hand on his chin and said "Who was the White fang of Konoha you say? Hmm…the best way to describe him is…that he was my father."

Chiyo looked surprised at Kakashi and Ebizo said "I thought so. You're resemblance with him is almost too noticeable to be coincidence."

Kakashi rubbed his head while he was laughing. The rest of the day the group was waiting for the nin-dogs to return. When it got past twelve o'clock Kakashi said "Let's turn into the sack people."

Goku "But Kakashi…what about Gaara? What if your nin-dogs return when we are asleep?"

Kakashi "I don't think they will return tonight. The enemy had a head start and I suspect we will have some hard battles coming so it's important that we are well rested."

Naruto "Kakashi is right Goku. Remember what you taught me? Training is important but without rest there is no progress."

Goku sighed in annoyance and his useless position but he had to admit that Kakashi and Naruto were right. They turned in for the night into a peaceful slumber…

The next morning

Naruto woke up when he heard a sound. He was a trained warrior and a Saiyan on top of that so he was used that heard every noise…even in his sleep. It was Kakashi who opened the door and he had Pakkun on his head.

Naruto "It's time?"

Kakashi nodded "its best if you hurry…Goku is already waiting outside and I don't think he will forgive you if you're too late by his standards."

Naruto quickly got dressed and went outside and turned to Kakashi "So…you know which way to go?"

Kakashi nodded "Pakkun told me…although without him it would be hard because I don't know the outlay of this country."

Suddenly a voice above them was heard "Then you need someone who knows this country as the insides of her pocket."

Everyone looked up and saw Chiyo standing on the Kazekage's tower. She jumped down and landed on her feet.

Chiyo smiled and said "I've been so anxious to see my grandson again."

Naruto "You mean Sasori?"

Chiyo nodded "Indeed. I may be an old hag but someone with my knowledge on puppeteers can be quite useful against him."

Naruto smirked "You know what they say…with age people gain wisdom. We would be happy to have you join our party miss Chiyo."

Chiyo laughed "My my, such a polite young man."

Goku "Let's get going…I want to save Gaara as soon as possible. I have a promise to fulfill to Temari."

And the group rushed off. While they were travelling Naruto asked Kakashi "Anything else I should know about? I just woke up."

Kakashi looked at Naruto "Nothing much only Pakkun said that Team Gai and Dante were send here by lady Hokage as back-up."

Naruto "Really? Poor Dante."

Kakashi "Or poor Gai."

Goku turned around his head "Let's pick up the pace…I want to be there before Gai and company are there."

The groups stepped it up and were making good time.

Just outside the Akatsuki headquarters.

Two Akatsuki members were standing outside on the water near a big rock. One was small and had a appearance like Quasimodo. This was the one that introduced himself as Sasori of the red sands.

The other one was taller and had blond hair and one bang was hanging before his eye. He was missing an arm that he lost when he was fighting Gaara. The name of this one was Deidara.

Deidara raised his hand and a red beam came from his ring. The rock started to move and granted access to the two Akatsuki members.

They walked inside while Gaara was carried by a huge bird made of white clay. The two Akatsuki members saw the rest of the organization, although they were just projections.

One with strange eyes that was the leader, Pain, said "So there you are. It took more time than we anticipated."

The deep voice of Sasori said "You can thank Deidara for that and his 'art'."

Deidara wanted to say something but Pain said "Let's just extract Shukaku."

He made some hand signs and a huge stone structure appeared. It looked a bit like an ancient monster (AN: for people who know his stuff...compare it a bit like Anima from Final Fantasy X).

Each Akatsuki member jumped to a finger on the structure and the projection of Kisame said "Thank Kami we have found replacements for Itachi and Orochimaru or else this would take a long time."

Pain "Shut up and concentrate…this will still take a lot of concentration."

All Akatsuki put their index and middle fingers up and seemed to concentrate on something. Suddenly blue energy enveloped Gaara as he was raised into the air. He opened his eyes and his mouth and red energy poured out of it.

The extraction had begun.

With Naruto

The group was travelling at a fast pace. Eventually they had to slow down because Kakashi and Chiyo were slowing down because they couldn't keep up with Goku's speed.

They started to talk when they were underway and the subject came to Jinchuuriki. Goku turned around and asked "What's a jinchuuriki?"

Chiyo "That is the name of someone who is a vessel for a demon…like Gaara."

Goku "But why do people seal demons into humans? I mean it's not like it is any fun for them."

Chiyo smiled and said "The sealing technique has been developed years ago in the hope to turn the tailed beasts into weapons."

Kakashi stepped into the conversation "But the villagers don't understand the purpose and are afraid that the tailed beast will break loose and destroy them. That's the reason why jinchuuriki's have such a hard life."

Chiyo "Indeed. The moment a baby is infused with a tailed beast people either see them as a monster or as a weapon, which causes some…abnormal attitudes to jinchuuriki."

Naruto grinded his teeth "It's just inhuman and irrational. No one deserves that kind of fate no matter if the country gains a powerful weapon or not."

Chiyo smiled "We ninja are instructed to do so and as you might know it is the purpose of a ninja…to serve the village and country you are affiliated to."

Naruto "Than they deserve a good beating. If they can't think for themselves than there is no reason for living. If someone told me to seal a tailed beast into a baby I would tell them to blow themselves."

And Naruto jumped further away from the group. Chiyo looks strange at Naruto and asks Kakashi "What's the matter with him?"

Kakashi "He cares about Gaara and can imagine how hard his life was because if he wasn't adopted he would have experienced the same kind of life."

Chiyo "Same kind of life?"

Kakashi eye-smiled and said "He is the jinchuuriki of the nine-tailed fox but he was adopted as a baby by friends who live far away…away from the angry villagers and the hate."

Chiyo "I see…and that other guy who seems to be in a rush?"

Kakashi "Oh Goku? He is Gaara's brother in law."

Chiyo "Oh so that's the man who was able to conquer Temari's heart."

Itachi "I thought you already knew because everybody in the village hidden in the sand made a huge issue out of it."

Chiyo chuckled "I know…as soon as someone marries someone from another village everyone goes haywire and nag about wars fought in the past."

Itachi "The past is the past. Only what happens now is what truly matters."

Chiyo "You're right young one. I didn't quite catch your name."

Itachi "My name is Itachi Uchiha."

Chiyo almost fell down "Itachi…Uchiha? The man who killed his entire clan when he was at the age of 14?"

Itachi smiled painfully "Yes indeed but that issue was already worked out. I was under orders. I killed them because the council ordered it and if I didn't do it ANBU would do it. I did it so that I could spare my younger brother Sasuke."

Chiyo nodded. She was old and knew that ninja's had to take difficult choices.

They jumped further and a little while back a branch suddenly started to rise. It was Zetsu and he was looking at the group…

With team Gai

Team Gai eventually caught up with Dante. Of course Gai was giving a whole speech about teamwork and that they were in this together but Dante did what he always did when he was annoyed…he simply ignored it.

Of course he could raise his guns but these were his allies and it wouldn't be any good if he killed them. Who knows…maybe they could be helpful later.

Gai looked at Dante while they were jumping from branch to branch and he asked "Dante…what is that thing on your back next to your sword?"

Dante looked at Gai "Can't you tell? It's a guitar. I brought it because it seemed to call me."

Gai "The place we are going isn't a place you should play music."

Dante shrugged but didn't say anything anymore because he didn't see the use of it. The group travelled further and it was quiet for a long time.

Gai suddenly spoke "At this rate we will be faster there than Kakashi."

Lee "Gai sensei! Let's show them what youth can really do!"

Gai gave Lee the thumbs up and said "You're right Lee…let's double our pace!"

Dante had a deadpanned look on his face and said "Listen you morons…we're going into enemy territory and you clones want to rush into it? Be my guest…it would be a lot more quiet."

Gai almost fell down and he glared at Dante while he said "Killjoy."

Dante showed his evil smirk and said "But don't worry…we will arrive earlier than that Kakashi anyway and perhaps we have just enough time to eliminate our opponents."

Lee pumped his arm in the air and screamed "YEAH! LET'S GO!"

Dante growled in annoyance as the group increased its pace while a strange figure that looked like a Venus flytrap looked at them…

At the Akatsuki's hide-out

Zetsu opened his eyes in his projection and said "We have company on the way?"

Pain "Who?"

Zetsu "Two groups. The one closest to our position consists of Might Gai, Rock Lee, Neji Hyuuga and someone I don't know."

The projection of Kisame smirked and said "Please Pain let me take care of them. I've been without action for so long and I really crave to kill someone!"

Pain "Fine. After all you're the one with the biggest chakra reserves…but we will use that technique alright? And what about the other group Zetsu?"

Zetsu "The other group consists of the nine-tailed fox jinchuuriki Naruto Uzumaki, Kakashi Hatake, Goku Son and….this is a real treat…Itachi Uchiha."

Pain "So they've come to bring the nine-tails here as well? How kind of them."

Draganth's projection looked at the projection of Pain and said "Don't think it's so easy. What do you know of that Uzumaki kid?"

Pain seemed to think "Last time we gathered information about him was…right after the chunin-exams."

Draganth "He is a lot stronger than that he lets on…and don't forget about the others that are with him."

Pain nodded and said "Sasuke…since your brother is with them I will let you have the honor."

The projection of Sasuke said "Fine…it became time I got some action. And I need to get the nine-tails anyway since I am partnered with Kisame."

Pain "Just remember not to kill the jinchuuriki. I don't care about the others as long as the jinchuuriki survives."

Sasuke snorted "Tsk…fine."

With Team Gai

Team Gai entered a barren wasteland. There was nothing more than sand and rocks as far as the eye could see. Suddenly Dante stopped.

Rock Lee looked surprised and said "Dante…why are you stopping? Are you starting to get tired?"

Gai "No. He isn't stopping because he is getting tired Lee. He knows that we are not alone in this place."

Then, without warning, the group heard a very strange noise. They looked at the place the noise came from and saw that a sword was sticking out of the ground and was heading their way.

It looked like it was some kind of shark attack. Dante smirked and got Rebellion off his back and placed it in a position to intercept the incoming sword. The sword hit Rebellion and came to a stop.

Dante was struggling to keep his position as the sword wanted to cut through without any success at all.

The sword stopped pushing and went back a little. The ground started to open and a person jumped out of it. It was none other than Kisame, who was smirking towards the group.

Dante smirked as well "Well you guys…it seems we are getting close to the Akatsuki's location if they are willing to send someone to fight us."

Gai looked energized and pointed his finger to Kisame and said "Tell us! Who are you!"

Dante glared at Gai and said "Would you stop doing that?"

Gai "Why? Can't take my youthfulness?"

Dante "Is that what they are calling it these days? In the place I come from they call it annoying."

The discussion between Gai and Dante was cut off when Kisame started to laugh and he said "Sorry big brows but I have to agree with that silver haired chap."

Dante "Unlike you Gai I've studied the bingo book. If I am not mistaken that guy is called Kisame Hoshigaki, the monster of the hidden mist."

Kisame "I'm honored you know me. And what may your name be stranger?"

Suddenly a strange spotlight appeared and Dante got a rose from inside his trench coat and said in a theatrical tone "I'm the salvation of many men and women. I slay evil-doers. Thou art one and thus I will slay thy fish-like behind. My name is Dante."

Gai glared at Dante and whispered "Just as Kakashi…dammit…"

Kisame started to grin "So you think you can kill me so easily? I'm happy to rip you to shreds hehehe…"

With Naruto

The group was traveling among the trees until they came to an open clearing that looked like a path. They stopped when someone appeared. It first looked like a shadow but soon it started to shape into a familiar person.

Naruto stopped and said "Sasuke…"

Itachi saw him too and he was wearing a cloak he knew all too well and he said "So you're part of the Akatsuki now…"

Sasuke grinned evilly "Of course…since you left they had a spot open."

Kakashi "So…you plan to stand in our way?"

Sasuke nodded "Yes. I'm gonna make sure that you guys won't save Gaara…at least…not until we extracted the Shukaku."

Goku got a mad look on his face "I will…."

Goku's sentence was cut off when Itachi stopped him "This is something between me and Sasuke."

Naruto "Itachi…are you sure? He is your brother…"

Itachi "That's why I have to deal with him."

And he stepped forward. Sasuke got a satisfied smile on his face.

Itachi got into a battle position "I wish it didn't have to turn out like this Sasuke."

Sasuke got into a battle position as well "This moment was already decided the moment you killed our clan."

Itachi smiled "Ironic isn't it. I killed the entire Uchiha-clan by myself just to save you and yet here I stand…years later to undo what I saved that day."

Sasuke "I don't know what you are talking about but don't think your mind games will work on me. You pushed me on the path of an avenger and because of that I will make sure you will end your life here today!"

The battle between brothers was about to begin…

With Team Gai and Dante

Kisame and Dante rushed at each other at the same time and their swords clashed. Both showed that they had impressive swordsman skills.

While Kisame was slashing he thought Hmm strange. Sharkskin doesn't seem to absorb his chakra. And every time I attack he either blocks or dodges with ease.

Both swords clashed again and both men were struggling for domination. Neither of them moved an inch and at the same time they jumped back.

Kisame smirked "Not bad. I think I will shift the odds to my favor."

Kisame made some hand signs and cried out "water style: exploding water shockwave" and he spat out a lot of water that filled the entire barren wasteland into a lake.

Dante and Team Gai jumped and were standing on the water. Kisame made a tidal wave and rushed at Dante. Rebellion and Sharkskin clashed once again. Kisame jumped back and made another tidal wave but before Dante could slash at him Kisame disappeared underwater.

Everyone was looking and Gai said "Neji…your Byakugan!"

Unfortunately it was already too late and Neji could only scream "Watch out." But the attack came too soon and Gai, Lee and Neji were trapped in water prison jutsu.

Kisame ascended from the water and while he was smirking he said "That takes care of outside interference."

Dante glared at Kisame. He was thinking over his options. Would he be able to defeat Kisame before his three companions drowned or would he be able to free them before he defeated Kisame.

The last option seemed futile because Dante experienced firsthand that Kisame wasn't a pushover. The first option wasn't good as well because Kisame would surely intercept him. He decided to end this battle as fast as he could.

He rushed at Kisame while he got Rebellion ready to strike. Kisame raised his sharkskin but suddenly Dante sidestepped and swirled Rebellion around while he said Drive!

A shockwave was send to Kisame who didn't suspect that attack and he was hit with the full force of it.

Kisame recovered in mid-air and while he was landing he started to make hand signs and just at the second he landed he cried out "water style: five feeding sharks!" and he slammed his palm on the water.

Dante saw that something was forming beneath the surface but couldn't quite see what it was. Suddenly he felt that he was pulled under water and now he could clearly see what Kisame did.

He saw 5 sharks made of water. One came at him and Dante dodged it and he also dodged the second…and the third. Kisame was grinding his teeth in annoyance because his attack didn't seem to be able to hit Dante. He decided to let all shark charge at once.

The sharks came from all directions and the moment they reached Dante they exploded.

Neji thought This is bad! I have to find a way to get out of this water prison!

He activated his Byakugan once again and looked for a weak spot. He suddenly saw it and he got in the gentle fist stance and did the attack on a certain area. Soon he was free and he did his eight trigrams: 32 palms on both remaining water clones. The fell apart and Gai and Lee were free.

Lee, hasty as always, said "We gotta help Dante! He must be severely injured after a attack like that!"

Lee wanted to rush in but Gai stopped him and said "No Lee…I feel something…it's strange yet familiar. I think Dante has an unsuspected surprise for that fishface…"

Kisame was still smirking but he stopped when he felt something and thought What is this energy I am feeling…it's…strange…almost like it isn't human…

Suddenly the water where Dante was hit started to boil and changed color. Instead of clear blue it started to turn red. Kisame and Team Gai could clearly see that something started to ascend.

First they saw his head, then his torso and eventually his legs. They saw Dante in his devil form.

Neji saw him and said "What in Kami's name is that!"

Gai "That…that's Dante!"

Neji "You sure?"

Gai nodded "I'm sure."

Suddenly Dante quickly glared at team Gai and Gai said "We gotta move now!" and Neji, Gai and Lee jumped away from the water and went to higher ground.

In the meantime Kisame rushed at Dante and got his sharkskin in an attacking position. He slashed at Dante but Dante only raised his arm and blocked sharkskin with his arm alone!

Kisame smirked and pulled the sword back and expected that Sharkskin's blade would shred Dante's arm but surprisingly it didn't. He could only hear that sound of metal against metal.

Dante got his guitar off his back and Kisame smirked and said "What are you gonna do? Karaoke me to death?"

Dante started to play the guitar and bats made out of electricity appeared and rushed at Kisame. Kisame looked surprised and barely dodged the bats.

He was mad because he didn't saw that attack coming and looked around for Dante. He couldn't see him on the water and wisely he looked up. He could see that the sun was blocked by Dante's silhouette. Dante started a hard and fast riff and a huge charge of electricity appeared.

There was nowhere to run for Kisame because water conducted lightning and he was hit by the attack. A loud explosion took place that blinded everyone and when they opened their eyes they could clearly see that the water was starting to disappear.

Dante changed back to his normal form and went to the place where Kisame's dead body should be. He saw the corpse and walked closer to hit. He looked at it and whispered "What the hell…"

With Naruto

The two brothers were standing in front of each other. None of them attacked, it rather looked like they were taxing each other and were already developing strategies.

Sasuke and Itachi both activated their sharingans at the same time. Sasuke's sharingan was just red with 3 black tomoe in it while Itachi's sharingan was silver with 3 black tomoe in it.

Sasuke His sharingan is different. I didn't suspect this. I wonder what Itachi can do with it…

Itachi Something isn't right here. I see Sasuke but I see him blurring into someone else at some moment.

Itachi started to smile and said "I know what's going on here. Pain used the shapeshifting technique to delay us."

Kakashi "Shapeshifting technique?"

Itachi "It is a technique used by the leader of the Akatsuki called Pain. He transfers the chakra of a person in a living sacrifice and the sacrifice will become a perfect copy of the original. It is undetectable, even by the normal sharingan and the only way people can discover it is if a person already fought with the person or that the sacrifice is defeated."

Naruto "I see. So it is Sasuke but at the same time it isn't Sasuke…just a copy controlled by Sasuke from a distance."

Goku "Just make quick work out of him Itachi so that we can save Gaara."

Itachi nodded "I know…the copy isn't even half as strong as Sasuke should be around this time."

Suddenly Itachi was surprised when Sasuke's sharingan changed. The red eyes with the three tomoe disappeared and now Sasuke's sharingan showed a black background and three red intersecting ellipses.

Itachi "So…you've unlocked the mangekyo sharingan? You should know by now that the mangekyo has a price."

Sasuke "I don't care…as long as I can kill you."

And Sasuke rushed at Itachi with a loud scream. Itachi blocked Sasuke's right fist and after that Itachi had to block a ferocious kick. Both started a great taijutsu battle but thanks to the sharingan all attacks were easily dodged or blocked.

Sasuke jumped back and did a hand seal that Itachi knew all too well. Sasuke cried out Fire style: Great fireball jutsu!

Itachi smiled when the great fireball rushed to him. Sasuke saw that the fireball consumed Itachi until there was nothing more than ashes.

Sasuke thought something's wrong here. Itachi don't let himself be killed by the Uchiha-clan's trademark technique…Am I in a genjutsu? No…that can't be because I should see it with my sharingan.

The next second Itachi was standing a few feet away from him. He simply appeared out of nowhere. He didn't come from the ground or the air. It was just like he wasn't there and then suddenly he was there. There was no fading nor movement that indicated he was hiding somewhere…it was like he never moved!

Sasuke That's strange…he isn't doing anything. And where did he come from?

Sasuke wanted to know more and decided he would do another fireball. He made the according hand seals and threw another great fireball.

It was strange for Sasuke…as the fireball moved closer to Itachi, Sasuke was feeling like it was getting warmer.

The fireball hit Itachi and Sasuke was screaming. Sasuke felt like his entire body was burning. He jumped to the right and at the same time he jumped Itachi jumped as well.

Sasuke looked shocked and thought He did the same thing I did! That means that Itachi was able to make some kind reflection at me…but that can't be! First of all there isn't any kind of jutsu that can do that and if there was something like it my sharingan should've recognized it!

Suddenly the air seemed to change. From its azure blue color it became crimson red. Sasuke felt a cold shiver running down from his spine since he experienced this before.

Sasuke "Tsukuyomi? B…but how! I've should've noticed this with my mangekyo sharingan!"

Itachi appeared and he was smiling "This isn't your ordinary Tsukuyomi…this is a more powerful form of it and even the mangekyo sharingan can't recognize it. It's called eternal chain Tsukuyomi. "

Sasuke "Eternal…chain?"

Suddenly Sasuke was back at the point he made his second fireball and soon he felt his body burning again…and then he had the same conversation with Itachi again. It went on and on…like a never-ending cycle.

Sasuke couldn't say other things. He tried to but every time he opened his mouth to say something the same words as before rolled out of it.

For Sasuke this technique felt like an eternity. He has experienced the normal Tsukuyomi before but this was so much worse.

He fell down on one knee and in a last attempt he tried to do the amaterasu on Itachi. He pulled off the technique but when it hit Itachi it immediately faded. Surprised Sasuke deduced that Itachi has put out his Amaterasu technique with his sharingan!

He felt fatigued and fell on his face and stopped moving. Sasuke body changed and Itachi turned the corpse on its back.

Chiyo looked surprised and said "Yura?"

Naruto looked at Chiyo "You know him?"

Chiyo "He had loyally served the kazekage advising council for four years. He disappeared when Gaara was kidnapped. We all thought he was in pursuit of the kidnappers."

Goku "So he was working with the Akatsuki all along?"

Itachi "It seems so. It's not easy to perform the shape shifting technique on someone who doesn't want it."

Naruto "We can't do anything with this kind of information. Let's get going and save Gaara…before team Gai beats us to it!"

The group started to move again in an attempt to save Gaara's life.

At the cave

The projections of Sasuke and Kisame became more visible and opened their eyes.

Pain said "Done so soon?"

Kisame "They were stronger than we anticipated."

Pain "Doesn't matter…we're almost done and you two have stalled them long enough. We are done when they arrive here."

One hour later just outside the cave

Team Gai finally arrived at the location they should be. They looked around but didn't see any sign of Naruto, Kakashi, Itachi or Goku.

But a few moments later they still arrived and Naruto said "So…you're already here."

Gai nodded "We came as fast as we could but we got a little bit of trouble on the way here."

Naruto "We too. It was Sasuke but it was someone else. Itachi said that the leader of the Akatsuki used a shape shifting technique or some sorts."

Dante "That explains why that fish face changed after I killed him."

Naruto nodded "But since we are all here we can storm this place."

Itachi "Don't place your bet on that…"

Naruto "Huh?"

Itachi "I worked for the Akatsuki and knowing them they protect and booby-trapped this location. You see that seal on the big rock?"

Naruto looked on the rock and saw a piece of paper with a Kanji on it and he nodded.

Itachi continued "That is a five seals barrier."

Naruto "So what? One good punch and that barrier is gone."

Itachi "That's the problem. That's impossible with a barrier like that. The only way to get rid of it is to let five people remove the five seals simultaneously. But after that there is one final obstacle…copies are being made of the people who remove a seal so that they can't return immediately..."

Kakashi "They are very thorough…Neji…can you see what's happening inside?"

Neji "I will try…Byakugan." Neji looked inside and saw a big structure made of stone. It had multiple eyes and the minute Neji activated his Byakugan the eyes gazed at him.

Goku "Neji what do you see? Is Gaara still alive?"

Neji "I can't tell…there is something in there that is disturbing my Byakugan."

Kakashi "Okay then don't try it anymore…try to find the other 4 seals instead."

Neji nodded and soon he found the other seals. But the problem was that there were big distances between them.

Gai smiled "I have a solution for that!"

He grabbed inside his bag and took out several headbands with communicators inside of them.

Team Gai, Dante and Kakashi put them on and Gai said "Okay guys…frequency 3 is the one you should have."

Everyone nodded and Lee screamed "CAN YOU HEAR ME?"

Everyone with a communicator was either holding their ears or had their eyes bulge out because of the hard sound.

Gai "Lee…turn down your volume!"

Lee bowed and said "I'M SORRY."

Everyone jumped up again and Dante growled "Learn mini-me some restraint hyperman."

Gai "Shut up! He is just youthful!"

Kakashi coughs "Yeah…right. Anyway got to your seal and if you get lost ask Neji to locate it for you."

Gai nodded and put his hand out. Lee looked at the hand and seriously he laid his hand on Gai's hand.

Gai smiled and looked at Neji who was just staring at them. Gai looked intensely to Neji who, after a few minutes, reluctantly placed his hand on Lee's hand. Gai nodded and smirked and he looked at Dante.

Dante got a disgusted look on his face and said "Hell no!"

Gai gave Dante the same look he gave Neji before. Dante just stared back at him. Eventually Dante said "If you don't stop glaring I will cut that hand off."

Gai sweatdropped and pumped his hand and the rest was forced to do the same movement and Gai said "YOUTH, YOUTH, YOUTH, GGOOOO" and they disappeared to their designated areas.

In the cave

The extraction was done. The blue light around Gaara dissipated and he slowly fell down. The statue disappeared and Pain said "Sasori, Deidara…we have visitors. They are here."

Sasori "I'll capture the nine-tailed fox jinchuuriki."

Pain "Do it but be careful. Our new members said that he is quite dangerous…more dangerous than we anticipated."

And then they disappeared and only Sasori, Deidara and a Gaara that didn't move anymore…

Outside the cave

After a few minutes Kakashi heard Dante speak through the microphone "I'm at the seal."

Just one moment later Gai confirmed that he was by his seal. After that Neji said he was at the right location. The microphone was turned on and Lee asked "Neji, I'm a bit lost, can you direct me to the seal?"

Neji activated his Byakugan and said "Just ten feet to the south on the other side of the tree Lee."

Just a few seconds later Lee said that he was standing by the seal.

Kakashi "Alright…we will remove the seal at the same time when I reach three. One…two…three."

All five seals were removed at once.

At the same time Goku rushed at the big boulder and hit it and the boulder fell apart in pieces, leaving nothing more than dust.

Kakashi heard Gai's voice from his communicator "Uhm you guys…are you seeing what I am seeing?"

Kakashi heard Dante's voice respond "I don't hope so because that would mean I would look exactly like you…but if you mean a clone then yes."

Kakashi heard Gai again "Kakashi…you, Goku, Naruto, Itachi and the old lady should proceed while we are taking care of these things."

Kakashi "Are you going to manage?"

Gai "HA…trust me. We're too youthful to go down so easily."

Dante "I swear…if I hear that word one more time I'm gonna find out how youthful you are when my sword is in your body."

Kakashi turned off the communicator and gave the other three a signal to proceed. They entered the cave and they were standing in front of Deidara, Sasori and Gaara's motionless body.

Kakashi "Were…we too late?"

Goku grinded his teeth "Dammit…you two are going to pay for this!"

Sasori glared dangerously at Goku "Be silent boy…I'm not in a mood to play."

Chiyo stepped forward "You're not in a mood to play? You always like to play with your puppets…grandson."

Sasori's eyes widened a bit "Grandma Chiyo?"

Deidara 'interupted' the reunion when he said "Sorry master Sasori but I'm going to say something that's going to piss you off."

Sasori glared at Deidara who said "I'm going to capture the nine-tailed fox jinchuuriki."

Sasori growled "But you already captured the Shukaku jinchuuriki. And don't forget what our new members said…the nine-tails jinchuuriki is much more dangerous than the other ones!"

Deidara smiled "I'll get him down with my art."

Sasori "That you call that stupid explosions art? True art you can cherish and keep for years…art is everlasting."

Deidara "No…you're wrong master Sasori. That will bore you eventually. True art is beauty that lasts for a mere second so that you can cherish that second for the rest of your life."

And while he was speaking he made a big bird of clay and picked up Gaara in its beak.

Before he could fly away he and Sasori suddenly looked surprised at Goku, who was getting angrier while they were arguing about capturing Naruto.

Slowly his eyes became green and his hair started to stand up and turned blond in shockwaves. Slowly but surely they started to feel that the ground started to shake.

Naruto grabbed Chiyo's hand and said "Itachi, Kakashi…we have to get out of here!"

Chiyo looked shocked "You can't be serious. There is no way that Goku would survive a fight against those two!"

Naruto "Trust me…if we stay here we'll only get in the way. I know Goku for quite some time now and I know the look on his face. He means business right now."

Kakashi and Itachi nodded but before they could get away they saw something flashing. It was Deidara who quickly got on his bird made of clay…but before he could exit the cave Goku already caught up with him and hit him in the face.

Deidara was holding his face as he screamed out in pain. Eventually he pulled his hands away and looked at Goku.

Goku looked completely different. His hair stood up and small currents of electricity left his body. Deidara said "What in Kami's name are you!"

Goku said with a serious face "Gaara's revenge."

With Dante

Dante was looking at his clone. He started to smirk "So this is what Itachi meant. This might be challenge."

The clone didn't reply and look intensely at Dante. Dante kept on smiling and said "The silent tough guy huh? Or did they forget to clone my tongue?"

The clone slowly got Rebellion off of his back and got into a attacking position.

Dante smirked and said "Alright handsome devil….let's dance!"

He rushed at his clone and during the rush he got Rebellion off of his back as well.

Dante made a ferocious strike at his clone but the clone easily blocked it. The clone pushed Dante away and made an attack of his own that was blocked by Dante as well. The original Dante and his clone started a swordfight but soon he noticed that they were evenly matched.

Dante jumped back and before he touched the ground again he already placed Rebellion on his back and got Ebony and Ivory and started to shoot at his clone.

The clone circled the sword around to block the bullets and with the last bullet he threw Rebellion in the air and got his version of Ebony and Ivory as well and started to shoot at Dante who dodged the bullets with some acrobatic moves.

Dante pulled a face like he was having the time of his life and he said "This is what I'm talking about! Bring it on!"

With Gai

Gai was fighting against his clone but it was very tough. It had the same capabilities, the same fighting style and the same weapons. The only thing that was different that Gai could get tired while the clone remained the same no matter what he did.

Gai jumped back and spoke through the communicator "Lee? How are you holding up?"

Gai could get hear Lee panting "I'm holding up but this is a real challenge Gai sensei. If this keeps up we're done for."

Neji spoke "For once Lee is right. They are exact copies of us but they don't get tired that's why they seem to improve while we are fighting them."

Dante entered the conversation as well "Come on fella's! Is this how far your 'youthfulness' goes?"

Gai screamed through the microphone "Oh hell no! Come on team Gai…remember how we started and what our motto is?"

Dante "Never trim your eyebrows?"

Gai "NO! Our motto is 'never give up…'

Lee "become stronger then you were yesterday…'"

Neji "become stronger then you were a second ago…"

Gai "anything to accomplish the mission and serve Konoha!"

Team Gai seemed to be filled with new hope but before Gai started to fight again he asked "Kakashi…how are things going on your end?"

Kakashi "Uhm…we're standing outside the cave for the moment…it's not good to be in Goku's presence at the moment."

Gai "Why?"

Just outside the cave

Kakashi, Naruto, Chiyo, Itachi and Gaara body were outside the cave. They left at Goku's request although Chiyo was reluctant to do so. Eventually Naruto convinced her to leave when he said that Goku couldn't fight all out if they were there.

Kakashi answered through the communicator "Goku seems a bit mad and Naruto, who knows Goku better than us, said that we should get out of his way."

Gai "How bad is it?"

Kakashi "Well…I can say it could get ugly…for the Akatsuki."

With Goku

Goku was standing in front of Sasori and Deidara. The two were looking at Goku with a bit of fear in their eyes. They didn't had any information about Goku and the transformation he did wasn't something they saw every day. On top of that Deidara just saw how fast Goku was when he tried to lure Naruto away using Gaara's body as bait.

Sasori spoke "You stupid brat. Do you really think you have a chance against the two of us? Who do you think you are!"

Goku "I'm the one that will make you two suffer for what you've done!"

Deidara started to laugh "You may be fast but you will need more than speed to beat us!"

Suddenly the golden aura of a super Saiyan appeared around Goku's body and electrical currents danced around his body.

Sasori spoke "Deidara. I hate to say this but you should go after the nine-tailed jinchuuriki."

Deidara looked at Sasori "I tried to do that before but that annoying brat blocked my path."

Sasori glared at Goku "That brat is too cocky and now I feel anxious to break every bone in his body. I will keep him busy."

Deidara nodded "Fine. Just be careful master Sasori…there is something I don't trust with that kid."

Sasori "I know…I have that feeling too. Are you ready?"

And without warning Sasori rushed towards Goku and used his tail to attack. Goku evaded the attack and saw that Deidara was trying to make a break for it. Much to Sasori's surprise Goku didn't make any intent to stop Deidara. Now Sasori was alone with Goku in the cave.

Sasori "Why did you let him go?"

Goku "He is after Naruto…if I kill him or Naruto doesn't matter to me."

Sasori started to chuckle "According to our data Naruto has no chance against Deidara."

Goku "Then you have very wrong data. Naruto wouldn't even break a sweat when he takes your companion seriously."

Sasori snarled "Enough idle talk. You've taken enough of my time and I have an appointment soon! And I hate it to let people wait." And Sasori got into a battle position.

Goku got into a battle position as well and almost immediately rushed at Sasori. Sasori tore off the remaining piece of cloth that was in front of his mouth to reveal that it was a puppet. He opened his mouth and numerous needles came out of it.

Goku stopped and started to dodge the needles.

Sasori thought He dodged all my poisonous needles? How can this be!

Sasori immediately stopped thinking when Goku rushed at him again.

Outside the cave

The group was trying to see into the cave but it was so dark that they couldn't see a thing. The only one who wasn't looking was Naruto. He knew that the two Akatsuki members didn't stand a chance to Goku when he starts to get serious.

The group suddenly saw Deidara coming out of the cave. Naruto looked surprised because he didn't think that he would see Deidara coming out of the cave alive and he thought to himself How was he able to escape? If Goku doesn't want him to leave he wouldn't be here. I think Goku left him out so that I can take care of him.

Deidara smirked when he saw the group and said "What's the matter with the surprised faces?"

Kakashi "How were you able to escape?"

Deidara's smirked grew wider when he answered "Master Sasori is taking care of that brat inside so that I can capture the jinchuuriki."

Naruto looked at Gaara's cold body and suddenly red chakra enveloped him and with a voice filled of anger he said "You want me? Come and get me!"

The water started to explode around Naruto when he powered up. Deidara already prepared some clay figures and send them at Naruto. They came close and started to explode while Kakashi, who was carrying Gaara's body, Itachi and Chiyo jumped out of the way.

Deidara started to laugh and said "Ha…too easy!"

His laugh stopped when he saw Naruto with his arms crossed and with a big smirk he said "What's the matter? You looked like you've just seen a ghost."

Deidara "Y..you should've been…"

Naruto completed his sentence "unconscious? Sorry to disappoint you but you won't capture me so easily."

And suddenly Naruto was gone and appeared in front of Deidara. Deidara saw Naruto's fist coming in like it was in slow motion and he felt an incredible force pushing on his face and he flew backwards against the solid rocks.

Naruto snarled at Deidara and said "Time to finish this…you want to join the action Itachi? I want to try that new combined move of ours."

Itachi smirked and said "Sure." And he unlocked his mangekyo sharingan.

Naruto made some seals that he normally used for his demon style: fire wave jutsu but he and Itachi cried out at the same time: Combined art: Amaterasu fire wave!

A huge tsunami made out of black flames rushed at Deidara's location and enveloped him while he was screaming. The group startled when a large explosion occurred. The flames of the explosion was coming close to their location but suddenly Kakashi pulled up his headband and his sharingan changed into a mangekyo sharingan and some weird hole appeared and swallowed up the explosion. Itachi put out the amaterasu flames and everyone saw that there was nothing of Deidara left.

Itachi said "Darn it…he must have made a clone of himself with that explosive clay."

Naruto got an enraged look on his face and with a loud curse he slammed his fist on the water and accidently made a huge shockwave.

The 'real' Deidara was looking from a distance and thought He is very different compared to the data we have on him. Thank Kami that I made a clay clone before I went into the cave. Fighting him would be suicide…I'm hardly strong enough to beat Itachi because he whooped my ass before. I need to tell Pain about this. I just hope master Sasori beats them. He can surely defeat that brat…right?

In the cave

Goku rushed towards Sasori but he threw in another deadly weapon that Goku easily dodged.

With a smirk Goku said "It's no use…even if your weapons scratched me it isn't any use."

Sasori snorted "Tsk…there is nothing that can resist my poison."

Goku kept on smirking "You still have a lot to learn about Saiyans."

Sasori "What's a Saiyan?"

Goku "I don't feel like explaining it but poisons don't work on us…and it also means that you can't beat me. I can already see you're no match for me!"

Sasori wanted to give an evil remark but Goku was gone…it seemed like he simply disappeared. Sasori startled when he heard something behind him and the next second he was kicked into pieces.

Goku knew it wasn't over. He knew that the real Sasori was inside the puppet. A silhouette stood up and Goku could clearly see a man around his twenties with red hair and brown eyes.

Goku thought According to the information we got about this guy he should be much older…what's going on?

Sasori said "Not bad. You're much stronger than I thought. It's time you met my strongest puppet."

Sasori got a scroll and did some seals and slammed his palm on the scroll. Another puppet appeared.

Sasori said "Meet the third kazekage…probably the strongest kazekage in history!"

Goku got another serious look on his face and said "You're despicable. You use to bodies of other people to fight for you. Learn to stand on your own two legs!"

Sasori looked at him with an expressionless face "You can say all you want…in the end you will scream for mercy."

The puppet rushed towards Goku at high speed while a blade came out of its right arm. It was ready to strike but it hit nothing but air. Goku appeared behind it and with one great strike the entire puppet of the third kazekage was destroyed.

Sasori's eyes grew wide He destroyed my puppet with just one hit! What is he?

Sasori calmed himself and said "Fine…I will fight you myself…it's been a long time since I used my own body to fight."

He removed his Akatsuki cloak and Goku's eyes grew wide when he saw Sasori. Sasori was a puppet himself!

Sasori looked at Goku with maniacal eyes and said "What's the matter? You seemed surprised?"

Goku "I didn't know you transformed yourself into a Ken-doll."

Sasori "What!"

Goku "A Ken-doll…something children play with."

Sasori thrusted his arms forward with a loud scream and hot flames left from his palms.

Goku dodged the flames with ease. No matter what Sasori did with the flames…he couldn't hit Goku. Suddenly Sasori used water under his pressure that was so powerful that it could slice through rocks. Goku dodged these too but apparently he got tired from it and blocked the ray of water with one hand.

Sasori was amazed that Goku was able to do that. He growled and said "Fine…a one on one match isn't ideal for me…so what about my performance of 100 puppets!"

He got a scroll of his back and summoned hundred puppets. He opened a compartment in his left chest and chakra strings connected with the puppets, who immediately rushed at Goku.

Goku just stood there and it looked like he was overwhelmed by the puppets. Sasori suddenly noticed that the ground started to shake. Goku started to yell and with a loud explosion of golden light the majority of the puppets were destroyed.

Goku had more than enough and cupped his hands at his side. Sasori saw much danger in the blue ball that appeared in Goku's cupped hands and ordered the remaining puppets to form a wall to protect Sasori's body. Goku fired the beam and Sasori looked scared when the beam went right through his defence and could only see the bright beam come closer to him because there wasn't any more time to dodge and that meant Sasori's end as well as the backside of the cave that was oblitirated by Goku's blast.

Goku sighed and returned to normal. He left the cave and saw the rest and he also saw that Kakashi was knocked out.

Goku "What happened to Kakashi?"

Naruto "He used a strange technique and fell unconscious…suppose he isn't used to it yet."

Goku "And what about that other guy?"

Naruto sighed "It wasn't the real one. It was a clone made of that strange explosive clay we heard about…that's why Kakashi used that new technique."

Goku "And Gaara…is he…?"

Naruto turned his face away. He checked Gaara's status but didn't want to point out the obvious to Goku. Goku knew what Naruto's response meant and grinded his teeth. Suddenly he felt something strange and he looked at Chiyo who was sitting next to Gaara and placed her hands over his body while it emitted a strange glow.

Naruto sensed it too "O..old lady…what do you think you're doing?"

Chiyo smiled "Like I said…we ninja serve our village only for once in my life I will make the right decision. I heard about how you influenced Gaara. Now that I've met you people I believe that Gaara can make the sand village great again."

Goku "B..but if you do that you'll…"

Chiyo kept on smiling when she said "I know but I have my life behind me. I live in the past every day while the sand village need people who dare to look into the future…eventually the old have to be replaced with the new generation."

Everyone was silent and Chiyo suddenly laughed "Don't worry about it. It's my choice and dying this way is much better than dying in my own bed."

Itachi suddenly thought that Team Gai and Dante were still fighting the clones and he took Kakashi's communicator and said in the microphone "Gai…what's your status?"

Gai "I just defeated my enemy!"

Itachi "Dante?"

Dante said with a lazily voice "Defeated mine some time ago…it wasn't half as fun as I thought."

Itachi "Lee?"

Lee "YES! I DID IT!"

Dante "Ouch…stop yelling you moron!"

Lee "Oops…sorry."

Itachi "Neji?"

Neji "Yes…although it took some time."

Itachi "Then come this way…we're just outside the cave."

Ten minutes later they arrived and saw a very strange scene. Gaara opened his eyes and he looked around like he didn't know where he was while Naruto was holding Chiyo in his arms to prevent that she will sink in the small lake.

Gai "What happened?"

Naruto "Chiyo sacrificed herself to save Gaara. She transferred her life energy into Gaara to resurrect him."

Everyone was shocked but they suddenly they started to focus when they heard the sound of many people.

Dante "More enemies?"

Naruto shaked his head "Even worse...groupies."

A lot of people from the sand village appeared to back up the Konoha ninja. They saw that Gaara was alive and started to cheer. Kankuro was leading them and he saw that Chiyo was dead. He was shocked when he heard that the old woman sacrificed herself to save Gaara's live.

Gaara was touched that so many people of the Sand village come to his rescue. He slowly got up, supported by Naruto. He started to speak "Ninja of the Sand village. I thank you for your help. Here lies Chiyo of the Sand village, one of the two honored siblings. Cherish her life and her sacrifice because without her I wouldn't be here. Let's pay our last respects."

Everyone got silent and started to pray. Although Kankuro was praying he was also thinking about what Gaara said.

(Flashback)

Kankuro was standing behind Gaara who was standing on a cliff with a good view on the descending sun and the ocean. Kankuro wanted to ask him why Gaara wanted to join a normal group of ninja because that would make it only more difficult for Gaara because everyone just saw him as an unstable weapon.

Kankuro "Gaara...I heard you wanted to join a normal ninja squad."

Gaara remained silent for a while when he replied "That's right."

Kankuro "Why? Everyone in the village is afraid of you and the council thinks ill of you as well."

Gaara looked at the sun "During my fight with that Konoha ninja...that Naruto Uzumaki...something changed in me. He and I are closer connected than anyone realises. I saw him fight but not for himself...not for power...not to prove his existence but to protect the things he holds dear."

Kankuro remained silent as Gaara continued.

Gaara "Unlike me he fights to be recognised by the people. With my murderous attitude I was just taking the easy way out...but no more. From now on I will fight to be aknowledged by our people...no matter how hard things are going to get...and maybe one day I can look Naruto Uzumaki in the eye and say 'I've done it...I'm one step closer to you.'"

Kankuro was shocked because he never heard Gaara speak like that. The fight between Gaara and Naruto gave Gaara a whole new perceptive on life and bonds. Since then Gaara tried with all his might to get recognised as a human being and after a long time he finally succeeded.

(End flashback)

Kankuro opened his eyes and looked at Naruto. He thought He is strange. His power is extrodinary and yet he is so full of compassion for others. He succeeded where many others failed...he saved Gaara from the darkness and from the pain of being alone and hated...Naruto...I thank you.

The time for praying was over and some ninja placed Chiyo's body in a bodybag. The group returned and Gaara was surprised that the entire Sand village was waiting for his return. Many people started to make place so that Gaara could pass but he stopped and said "I don't deserve the honour to go first...let Chiyo go first."

Four men carried Chiyo and everyone in the Sand village bowed their heads in respect. It was a touching scene.

Somewhere else

Draganth was standing in front of a projection. No one could ever recognise the person he was talking with because the projection was entirely black and his voice was twisted.

The projection said "How far are we?"

Draganth "They captured just a few tailed beasts."

The projection sighed and said "We're running out of time...I'm being suspected already and this meeting is actually too dangerous for me."

Draganth smirked "Don't worry. I won't let your efforts be in vain...after all it was you who freed me of my sealed planet and when I have the power of the Archfiend I promise you will be greatly rewarded."

The projection snorted "I know that...I planned this entire thing and I gave you enough help already by luring the Saiyans away to their own realm while you were getting accustomed to the energy you gathered...just don't disappoint me or else your fate would be worse than imprisonment!"

And with that the projection disappeared. Sasuke came out of the shadows and said "So that's your partner?"

Draganth grinded his teeth "Yes...and I will reward him properly when the time comes...tsk...thinking that he can control me."

Sasuke shrugged "He seems to have some influence about the recent events...what is his identity?"

Draganth "You will find out soon enough. Now I have to go. Zetsu is waiting for me because Pain ordered me to get Sasori's ring from his dead body."

The next day

The Konoha ninja decided that they should return to their village and report about their succes.

Baki looked at Kakashi and said "Are you able to travel? You still haven't recovered."

Kakashi eye-smiled and said "Don't worry about me...I have good friend who will carry me to the end of the world if they must."

The group paid their last respects to Chiyo before leaving and left the sand village but they were surprised when Gaara was waiting for them at the end of passage.

Gaara "I wanted to thank you for coming after me."

Naruto smiled "Don't worry...we're glad to help. You helped us when we were trying to retrieve Sasuke."

Gaara "After that we were even and now I am in your debt once again."

Naruto "That's...where friends are for."

Naruto stretched out his hand and Gaara placed his own hand in Naruto's.

Goku showed his big grin as well and said "Don't forget to visit us once in a while. Don't forget you and Kankuro are going to become uncles."

Gaara smiled "How can I forget something like that. Give her my best regards."

The group left and Gaara waved them out until they were small dots on the horizon.

The group was walking with Gai and Kakashi as the last ones. Gai was supporting Kakashi because he wasn't totally recovered when he used that new technique. Gai was getting more annoyed by the minute because Dante was teasing them that they were slow.

Kakashi looked at Gai's annoyed face and said "Sorry Gai...I'm not accustomed to my new technique and I would walk myself if I could."

Dante yelled from a small distance "Come on guys hurry up...if this goes on it will take us a full week to reach Konoha!"

Gai couldn't take it anymore and he threw Kakashi in the air. Kakashi started to make a startled noise and everyone looked at them. They saw that Gai was giving Kakashi a piggy back ride!

Naruto That's just wrong...

Goku Even by my standards that's just not right...

Neji ...

Itachi Two old dudes giving each other piggy back rides...it looks even worse than it sounds...

Dante If Kakashi gets hold of Gai's eyebrows he can say giddy-up and ride towards the sunset...bwah...

Lee's eyes widened and said "I understand...YOU'RE TRAINING AREN'T YOU GAI SENSEI!"

Gai showed a big smile and gave Lee the thumbs up.

Dante had a deadpanned look on his face when he looked at Lee and thought Can you get more dense idiot...

Gai screamed "Let's see who's slow now!" and he ran past the group leaving a trail of dust in his wake!

Lee gathered all the backpacks and got in the 'piggy back ride' position and said "Neji..."

Neji looked angry at Lee and said "HELL NO!"

Lee decided that the backpacks were enough and ran in the same direction Gai left, leaving a baffled group behind.

Naruto smirked when he got a idea...

2 days later in Konoha

The two guards were bored because it was a day like any other. Nothing happened. Suddenly they saw a cloud of dust in the distance. It came closer at a fast pace and soon they were able to recognise Gai.

He rushed past the gate and screamed "FIRST PLACE!"

Soon after that Lee rushed through the gate and screamed "SECOND PLACE!"

Gai looked at Lee and said "Well done Lee but I must disappoint you..."

Lee looked strange at Gai and asked "What do you mean?"

Gai "You actually came in third..."

Lee shuddert "T..t..third place!"

Gai turned around and said "I was carrying Kakashi all the time so that's why he came in second place."

The two clones heard a voice they knew all too well...it was Dante and he said "Actually...Gai came in sixth place...Kakashi seventh and Lee eighth place...what took you so long."

Gai and Lee startled and they were shocked. Gai was crying small anime tears and yelled "NNNNNOOOOOOOOOOO"

Mnarutodbz "And this is the end of this chapter...finally."

Vegeta "HEY! Why didn't I get any part in this chapter!"

Mnarutodbz "Because you were on another mission!"

Vegeta "Than follow my mission...not the mission of Naruto and Kakarot."

Mnarutodbz "Deal with it! Better luck next chapter...perhaps some people will ask you some questions...if you're lucky and if you stop being such a jerk sometimes."

Vegeta "Jerk...?...JERK! I'LL SHOW YOU WHO IS A JERK AROUND HERE! FINA..."

Mnarutodbz "Itachi...help me...please."

Itachi "Eternal chain Tsukuyomi!"

Vegeta "aaah...what the..."

Mnarutodbz "So this is the end of the chapter. Don't forget that you people can ask questions to the characters and please don't forget to review. See you next time!"