AN* Still don't own a damn thing.

Akatsuki Strikes

Yuan was sitting on the porch drinking his tea when he sensed one of his subordinates approaching. Not waiting long a man leapt over the walls and was kneeling before him.

"You shouldn't do that. The Shodai will get mad." Yuan noted as he took another sip.

"Sir. I have news to report."

"I'm listening."

"Two of the targets are on the move. We believe they are heading here."

"They broke through sooner than expected…" Yuan muttered "Who are we talking about?"

"Sasori and Deidara. They are still a few days away and their direction could change but it is safe to assume that Itachi has broken through Setsuna-taicho's genjutsu."

"Very well. You are dismissed; I will report your findings to the Shodai and the rest of the council immediately." Yean said calmly as he stood up and entered the compound. He made his way through the kitchen in which Temari was already up making tea for herself and Shikamaru, who was still in the study, going over the current active shinobi in Konaha.

"Is he still at it?" Yuan asked.

"Yeah. He said he was almost done." Temari nodded.

"Tell him that once he is done to take the rest of the day off. Too much work isn't good for such a great mind." Yuan replied.

"Understood taicho." Temari nodded as she grabbed the two cups of tea. Yuan then climbed the stairs and rapped on Kenshi's door to hear grumblings from four different voices.

"Be right there." Kenshi called out. After a few minutes and a few more grumblings from the occupants of the room the door opened with Kenshi wearing only his pants.

"Sorry to disturb you Kenshi but we have news." Yuan said as he grinned at Kenshi's attire.

"What is it?" Kenshi yawned.

"Sasori and Deidara are on the move. We believe that they are heading this way." Yuan explained.

"They broke through Setsuna's genjutsu this soon…" Kenshi trailed off "Alright. Alert the rest of the taichos let me get ready and I will alert the Hokage." With a nod Yuan walked off to find the rest of the taichos knowing that several of them would be asleep. Kenshi emerged from his room fully dressed and armed and made his way to the Hokage Tower. Once inside and shoving past several ANBU agents that were ordering him to stop he arrived inside Tsunade's office to see mountains paperwork being managed by shadow clones.

"Tsunade?" Kenshi called out as he entered.

"Over here." Tsunade said from a small table where she was eating breakfast.

"We have news." Kenshi said.

"What do you mean?"

"Akatsuki are on the move. We have confirmed reports that two of them are heading this way, we believe that they have broken through our genjutsu." Kenshi began.

"What genjutsu?"

"The truth is that all of the demons are currently with the village, and all of them have had the half seal created on them. We basically have everything that the Akatsuki is after right here. Knowing that they would attack us in full force we cast a genjutsu over all the jinchuruki to make it seem like they were still in their village while they were actually traveling with us."

"And now that they are on the move you think that they have broken it?"

"Yes. We never bothered to cast the jutsu over Naruto since he was banished and would be traveling around, and since they would send Itachi and Kisame after him, since they are the strongest. If they have sent the artist team then they are just doing reconnaissance."

"What do you recommend?"

"Keep a watch on the surrounding area, let Yugure handle this. It is our problem and therefore we would not want you to get involved. We already have plans set up for these situations." Kenshi grinned "I came to warn you so you wouldn't be caught off guard when you start hearing explosions outside the walls of the village." With that he walked off and bumped into Shizune as he opened the door.

"I'm sorry." She gasped as she saw who it was.

"It's not a problem, Shizune-chan." Kenshi replied as he helped her up "I was just on my way out."

"I see." Shizune nodded "I wanted to congratulate you on your marriages."

"Thank you." Kenshi nodded.

"Are you now finished looking for others that share you affections?"

"That's a silly question Shizune-chan. If you want a date all you have to do is ask." Kenshi chuckled as he walked out of the doorway and down the stairs.

"W…Wh…what just happened?" Shizune asked.

"I believe you have a date my apprentice." Tsunade chuckled. Back in the Namikaze compound Kenshi arrived to see that most of the house hold was now awake and that most were either training in the back or researching whatever held their interest.

"I want all of the jinchuruki and their partners to meet me in the office in ten minutes!" Kenshi called out as he walked in to his father's office and sat down in one of the few chairs and waited for the other nineteen to show up. Once all twenty of them were present did he begin the explanation.

"Garra, Makie." The two stepped forward Makie clinging to Garra's arm.

"Yugito, Ako." Stepping forward, Yugito wore her purple shirt that showed her midriff and the same color pants, her blond hair tied in a pony tail, her features that of grace and beauty. Ako wore pale red clothes that matched her containers and her black hair was pinned up showing off her womanly features, both of the two were staring at Naruto which caused Natsumi to hold him closer to her.

'No wonder Naruto has trouble keeping these two in check, they look like they want to jump his bones right now.' Kenshi thought as he called the next pair "Yaugra, Yuna." The next pair stepped forward. Yaugra wore her usual black pants and tanktop along with her green cloak, her dirty blonde hair kept short and her banes held back with her headband, which helped draw attention away from the scar from the bottom of her left eye all the way to her chin. Yuna wore green as well, except hers was a pale green kimono with turtle designs on it over black shinobi clothes. Her hair was a light shade of green and her face was stoic as always.

"Roshi, Yue." The following pair stepped forward. Roshi was a man in his mid thirties, his red hair and full gotee well kept with a brown forehead guard that was almost like a helmet, he wore a pink hakama and top with a brown chest plate over his front. Yue was like his polar opposite, her pale blonde almost white hair was down giving her childlike features an even greater innocent look, she wore blue pants and a white shirt and on her back was a wakizashi.

"Han, Kaede." The tallest of them all stepped forward. Han was giant of a man standing at seven feet with his red armor that covered his entire body, along with the white clothe that covered his face, over is torso was a simple grey shirt and on his back was a red heat generator that produced steam, making use of Magumaton techniques easier for him. Kaede was nearly as tall as Han, standing at six foot eleven inches she wore black armor that was made of plates of metal, on her back were two katanas and at her sides were two more, her brown hair was cut short that she could be mistaken for a man if not for her crystal blue eyes and her red lipstick.

"Utakata, Chao." The laziest of them stepped forward. Utakata wore a simple blue kimono that was open enough to show off his chest and in his hand was a bubble pipe that he used for entertainment and to use some of his more original jutsu standing at the same height as Naruto he left his brown hair in a tumbled mess. Chao was pale skinned girl who was a little shorter then her host, with her black hair in buns and her brown eyes almost closed, she wore white pants and a monks shirt that had the longer front clothe hanging with a yin yang symbol on the bottom portion of it that extend down to her knees.

"Fu, Shiori." The next pair stepped forward. Fu was a darker skin color, about the same shade as Ku Fei, except she was more eccentric and wore a white skirt, and tanktop that was short enough to show off her mesh undershirt she wore, her hair was a pale brown and she had a constant grin on her face. Shiori was very calm but had her hyperactive side wherever Kenshi was concerned, She was a pale one with black hair, a loose silver shirt and baggy black pants with silver lining on them, on her back was a kodachi and her eyes staring straight at Kenshi with burning desire.

"Bee, Ku Fei." The darker skinned pair stepped forward.

"Naruto, Natsumi." The blonde and the fox stepped forward.

"Arachnid." Kenshi finished as the suit wearing demon stepped beside him.

"I have called all of you here because we have reason to believe that the Akatsuki have broken through Setsuna-taichos genjutsu and know that all of us are here." This got all of them to start speaking at once until Han's deep voice overridded them.

"What are we going to do then?" he asked.

"For now we wait and see what they are going to do. At the moment the artist team is on the move so if they start heading here then we will deal with them accordingly."

"I still say that we should just attack them and get it over with." Roshi sighed.

"We have been over this Roshi." Kenshi sighed.

"He is right." Yue giggled which made Roshi chuckle as well.

"You are right little one." He grinned.

"Anyway, I want all of you to stay on your toes. We already know that the Akatsuki are in control of Ame, and that means that soon they will attack and that will draw in the other three nations. As soon as this happens we will be needed to fight. So stay alert and do not leave the village unless assigned a mission by myself, Naruto, or one of the taichos." Kenshi ordered as they all nodded and left the office except for Naruto.

"You really think that it's going to be that bad?"

"I doubt it, but better to prepare for a downpour and get a drizzle then prepare for a drizzle and get a downpour." Kenshi shrugged as he walked out. It wasn't until three days later that Kenshi received word of the approaching storm.

Kenshi was in his father's office again, going over the list of shinobi that Shikamaru gave him and was marking down names of those that they would need to talk to at one point or another, when there was a knock on the door.

"Enter." He said as Naruto walked in.

"They're almost here." Naruto said.

"Got it. Alert Garra and Kankuro that I want them to meet me at the gates of the village in ten minutes. I want you, ninjutsu squads two through four, medic squad's one through five, the Special Forces puppet corps, and information gathering squads one and three to remain on the walls and be ready to assist if Sasori decides to get serious." Kenshi ordered as he stood up and grabbed Black Midnight, leaving Misuteriburedo behind.

"Not taking the rebellious swords?"

"Too much of a risk in this case. I need every advantage I can get if we are going to take these two down with minimal casualties." Kenshi replied as he disappeared in a flash of black.

"Show off." Naruto muttered as he did the same thing except in red. Kenshi was standing at the gate when Garra and his elder brother arrived.

"Alright you two. We have two of the Akatsuki on our doorstep, so we are using artist plan B-4." Kenshi said as the two nodded and walked out of the gates and signaled for the gates to be closed behind them. Once they were fifty yards away from the gates they could see the two Akatsuki members approaching. One was a hunchbacked figure that barely looked human, while the other had blonde hair and was about as tall as Kenshi. The three stopped and waited for the two to approach. It was fifteen minutes later that the two stopped across from them and they stared each other down.

"Who are you?" The blonde asked.

"Kenshi Namikaze, the Shodai Yugurekage." Kenshi nodded.

"Garra no Subaku, the Special Forces Taicho of Yugure." Garra replied.

"Kankuro, the Puppet Corps commander of the Special Forces of Yugure." Kankuro grinned.

"Sasori." The hunchbacked man nodded.

"Deidara." The blonde replied.

"Now that we all know each other, may we ask what you are doing here?" Kenshi asked.

"Well we are here for the jinchuruki." Sasori replied "Like Garra right there." He pointed to Garra who began preparing to attack.

"And why would we let you take them?" Kankuro asked.

"Because if you don't then we will destroy that pathetic village that you are using as a refuge." Deidara grinned as he showed them his hands and the mouths that were on them.

"Really?" Garra grinned "Let's see you put your money where your mouths are."

With that the five began the attack. Garra sent a wave of sand at Deidara forcing him to move away from Sasori and using his sand took to the air and sent the sand after the blonde while moving further away from the village. Meanwhile Kankuro had opened a medium sized scroll on his back and ran some blood on it and unleashed five puppets.

"Well Sasori, meet Crow, Red Ant, Salamander, Specter, and Shark." Kankuro grinned as Sasori looked at each one.

"I remember each one of them. I made them myself; I am surprised that you are using these five together." Sasori laughed "Crow, Red Ant, and Salamander work well together. However Specter is a solo puppet, and Shark only works together with Hammerhead, or Neptune."

"That's what you think. Ever since I left I have been improving the puppet craft and in this way I have surpassed you." Kankuro laughed as he sent them to attack. Kenshi took a step back and watched as Crow started shooting poison canisters at Sasori while Shark shot forward with its bladed arms, slashing at Sasori who brought out a tail to block the attacks. Suddenly from behind Sasori Salamander shot out his tongue and stopped the tail from moving while Red Ant grabbed his arms and legs. Then from above Sasori Specter began to spin and brought out a massive sword from the depths of its white cloak and smashed the back of Sasori revealing that he was a massive puppet. From the wreckage of the massive puppets rose the true form of Sasori. He was a red haired boy who had turned himself into a puppet, and the only part of his body that was real was his heart that still beat inside.

"Impressive." Sasori grinned "I have never seen such raw talent. I will enjoy making you into a puppet once I kill you." Then taking out a scroll from the wreckage he brought out the one puppet that made him into a wanted man, it was the third Kazekage, the one who was a master of the iron sand technique.

"Kankuro, prepare for strategy 12. I will give you the opening." Kenshi sighed as he walked forward, drawing Black Midnight.

"What are you going to do with that?" Sasori laughed as he began moving the puppet to attack.

"Destroy you. This blade is part of a set of four blades, each one chooses a master. Three of them belong to my village, actually to my family, my mother the Red Death owns Red Dawn, and my brother the Nidaime Yugurekage owns Golden Sunset. However, this one is the most selective, it demands some prior knowledge before it will let you use it. My sensei was a great swordsman, a rival to the Red Death, and he taught me the basics of kenjutsu, and left me a scroll to be opened at a certain time. That scroll contained the twenty basic forms of Black Midnight." Kenshi said as he spun the blade in his right hand, then he ran the index and middle fingers on his left hand down the flat of the blade as he took a back stance with his right arm over his head and the tip of the blade at eye level "Black Midnight first strike: Lunging Crane." With a burst of chakra he charged forward and with a powerful thrust he sent the puppet flying. Manipulating the Kazekage he began using his iron sand to attack. Kenshi began spinning the blade in front of him while running forward "Black Midnight second strike: Spinning Moon Shield." As the iron struck it was sent away to the sides while Kenshi moved closer "Black Midnight third strike: Crescent Moon Dance." With a spinning motion he began slashing the puppet knocking it around.

"Finished!" Kankuro shouted as he sent Crow towards the dueling puppet and his leader. Grinning Kenshi leapt back as Crow wrapped around the Kazekage and the chakra lines that connected Crow turned red and started turning the lines connecting the Kazekage and Sasori the same color.

"What on earth?!" Sasori shouted. Once the red lines reached Sasori's finger tips they disconnected and new lines connected Kankuro and the third Kazekage.

"Puppet theft complete." Kankuro grinned.

"What?" Sasori asked intrigued.

"A jutsu that I developed. It allows me to capture another puppet master's puppet and make it into my own. We've been preparing this to use against you for many months." Kankuro grinned as he had the six puppets face Sasori.

"You are a most impressive one. I will enjoy using you as a puppet once I kill you, along with you Kenshi. I doubt you are giving me your best." Sasori laughed as he took another scroll out of the wreckage and summoned one hundred puppets "These puppets helped me destroy an entire nation." Kenshi then raised his hand and thirty shinobi landed next to them.

"Puppet Corps." Kankuro grinned. Then with a single motion they each took out a single scroll and summoned their own puppets. Then with a motion from Kenshi the puppet masters began performing the hand signs to begin capturing the puppets while Kenshi took a different stance with the tip of the blade imbedded in the ground and his arms crossed over the each other.

"Black Midnight fourth strike: Earthen Shield." Kenshi said as he used chakra to enhance his strength and raise a massive barrier that stopped the first few puppets from attacking. Once the barrier fell the puppet masters struck capturing the puppets first initial wave claiming one third of them. Kenshi then charged forward as the puppets began covering him, with Specter on his right and Shark on his left, warding off any puppet that got to close as he made his way towards Sasori, who now had opened up his own weapons. The blades glistened with poison as he watched Kenshi approach. Leaping into the air Kenshi prepared to strike while Specter and Shark blocked all of the incoming puppets.

"Black Midnight fifth strike: Meteor Smash." Kenshi then increased his gravity seals and swung his sword down as he made contact with Sasori's bladed arm that was over his head. Sasori then realized his mistake as he arm gave out and he felt the blade slashing through his head and heading straight for his heart.

"NO!" he shouted as he felt the blade touch his heart.

"Goodbye Sasori. You may now rest for eternity in the afterlife, forever known as the greatest puppet master and the creator of the greatest puppets in the world." Kenshi said as he slashed through the heart. Sasori's eyes then lost the light in them as the rest of his puppets fell motionless before all of the puppet corps.

During all of this Garra was fighting Deidara, using every type of sand and metal that he had in his arsenal, forcing Deidara to try every trick that he knew how to use.

"What is with this jinchuruki?" he muttered.

"You don't stand a chance." Garra laughed. Garra then sent out iron and volcanic bed rock on two different directions and angles, forcing Deidara to send several of his art bombs to stop the attacks. Once the smoke cleared Deidara saw the error of his tactic and saw that there was a massive cloud of red sand that was about to strike him.

"CRAP!" Deidara shouted as he sent a massive owl bomb up to block the incoming sand as he dropped to the ground off of his mount. Once he touched the ground Garra sprung his trap, unleashing the sand he had made from bedrock and had thinly spread over the ground, and had it wrapping around his legs.

"Checkmate." Garra laughed as the sand wrapped around the bomber. Right before Garra could perform the burial the sand exploded and Deidara stood there burnt and bloody.

"I refuse to die!" he shouted as he stuck his hands inside the pouches and pulled his hands out and created another massive owl and took off into the sky, retreating from the sand taicho. Once the former Iwa bomber was out of site Kenshi approached to check and see how his troops had faired.

"No major injuries, but a few have been poisoned." Kenshi sighed raising his left hand, signaling the medic squads arrived on the scene and began the purging the poison from all of the systems.

"Way to go." Naruto laughed as he checked on each one of his comrades. Once everyone had their wounds treated and the poison purged from their systems they returned to Konaha to see that most of the shinobi had been watching the battle and were all applauding the Yugure shinobi.

"Most impressive." Danzo said as he approached "Is there any chance of getting you to start teaching our shinobi?"

"Only if you want to start paying us more. And we would select the trainees." Kenshi nodded as they walked back "Now if you will excuse me I will be back in the Namikaze compound, asleep."