Thank you all for being so patient with me for my failure of regular updates! I know anyone who is following this story yet has waited a year for something. Well, here you go! And to any new readers out there, I started this story years ago; before all of this newly added plot stuff. So please don't rant on me about how this isn't Madara.

And thanks always to Soprano-in-Waiting for editing my chapter. If you would please check her out, her stories are steps above mine!

Now please enjoy!


Junpei and Kurama had deftly avoided the attacks of the inexperienced youngsters, and swiftly disabled the invaders. After a brief, but furious fight, the Konoha children found themselves with their arms bound, and their weapons confiscated. The would-be rescuers landed in a pile as they were tossed into the two nearest cells in the bowels of the underground base.

"We failed…" Jiraiya cried. Tears began to track down his cheeks. His cellmates, Ryo and Takashi, groaned as they wormed their way into a more comfortable position than the pile they had been thrown into. Flickering light illuminated the cell opposite theirs. In the shadows, Kari, Ayumu and Makoto could just barely be seen moving as they attempted the same.

"We didn't fail, they were just too strong." Ayumu sighed from across the hall.

"There were only two of them, and the one kid couldn't have been older than Jiraiya!" Makoto complained, as he thumped his head against the solid wall.

"Doesn't matter. We were still beaten by them. It was just bad timing," Ryo reasoned, trying to calm the fighting.

Kari sniffed, trying to hold back tears. "I th-thought we were j-just going to g-grab Arisu, a-and leave." The girl stuttered. Whether it was from shock, or from the chill settling in as they sat on the stone cold floor, they couldn't tell.

"We knew what we were getting into when we went on the mission," Takashi added despondently. "I just hope Arisu is okay."

"Let me out of here!" Arisu screamed. "I didn't know they were coming. I didn't tell them to come!" The kunoichi shivered as she wriggled in the ropes that held her fast to the chair. She had been working to find some way out of the restraints since she had awoken to find herself tied to a wooden chair. At least one of those idiots had been so kind as to put her in a robe, instead of leaving her in the towel.

The room around her melted, as fire started to overtake her surroundings. Arisu clenched her eyes shut, and took a deep breath. She fought the urge to cough from the smoke her mind was being convinced was there. It was just an illusion. She interrupted her chakra for a brief second. When she opened her eyes, the dreary furnishings of her room replaced the roaring flames.

"Decarabia?" She yelled. She knew the genjutsu specialist had to be somewhere nearby to have cast the illusion. "Let me go! I know you're there!"

"Stupid child. You're lucky you are still alive." Kou came through the doorway slowly, followed by Decarabia and Yosuke.

"Just wait until I tell Sasuke what you did to me…" Arisu threatened. The dust-haired taijutsu user stalked forward, and fisted a hand the neck of her robe, pulling her chair precariously onto its front legs.

"He'll do even worse to you once we tell him that you called your little friends here for a rescue mission." Yosuke spat back, roughly releasing the dark-haired teen from his grasp. She tottered a few moments before settling back onto all four feet of the chair.

"I didn't call them! I haven't had any contact with them since I came searching for Sasuke!" She lied, glaring furiously at them.

Light, small footsteps echoed down the hall, before Kurama stopped in front of her door. "Sasuke's ordered everyone to gather up on the clearing. Something's coming, and we all need to be ready."

"Uchiha thinks he can order me around…" Kou muttered angrily, showing the stubbornness of the earth element he has mastered.

"Looks like there are more Konoha ninja approaching," Kurama said seriously, any hint of his usual childish behavior absent from his tone.

"Who?" Yosuke questioned him.

"The Hokage and a group of other nin. Jounin, probably." Kurama answered quickly.

"Daddy?" The bound teen breathed. Hope fluttered in Arisu, reawakening the urge to fight.

Kurama walked over, and cut through the ropes with a blade of wind. He tossed her clothes and gear at her, waiting impatiently outside the room for her to get dressed. Once armed, he grabbed her by the forearm, and led the way through the winding cavern pathways, until the group emerged into a shadowy entrance. They followed a dirt path up to the summit of the mountain. On top, they found Sasuke and the rest of his team already waiting in the flat clearing. The other team members stood restlessly, shifting positions in the sparse, coarse grass. Eyes twitched with every little breeze that shook the brush that grew along the stony ridge. The Uchiha was staring out over the sea as a speck on the horizon grew larger.

It was only a minute before Sasuke turned towards the south. "Hello Naruto." His deep voice echoed through the sea air.

The rest of the group turned to see the furious blond, along with his team, gracefully land in a cloud of dust after they had vaulted from the base of the dormant volcano.

"Where's Arisu?" Naruto demanded. Steel blue eyes spotted his daughter within the center of the group, right next to Sasuke. He took a step forward, "Are you okay?"

"I'm alright, Daddy," Arisu spoke barely over a whisper. Her captor's head jerked up, and his eyes widened in alarm, as his clothes whipped around him in the wind.

"We have company!" Kurama shouted. Dark shadows descended from the sky. Their wispy figures shifted with the winds, yet drew closer, surrounding the two parties on the mountain top. Blood red eyes watched them from all sides.

"What a surprise! You make this so easy for me," The largest black mass spoke with a menacing deep voice. A number of the shadows gathered together, solidifying into the form of a massive, black dragon. Steely black talons clenched the stones of the surrounding ledge, crumbling them to gravel in their grip. The scaled torso towered over the shinobi, as the glowing red eyes surveyed first one group, then the other. Arisu could almost feel the maniacal glee emanating from the great beast. She felt like prey that had been cornered underneath that calculating scrutiny.

"What is that thing?" Lee yelled out.

"That," Sasuke responded coldly, "is Madara."

"Or what was left of him," Naruto finished, slipping into a ready stance.

"What?" Arisu cried in shock. "I thought he was dead! You said he was gone."

The dragon peered at humans below, as its shadowed minions surrounded them. "Oh, no, young one." The beast cackled. "I was weak after those two defeated me; incredibly weak, but not finished. Thanks to Naruto sparing me, I had just enough power to merge myself with the beast I had summoned. It took a grueling fifteen years to get my strength back. And now here I am; to finish what I started all those years ago." He finished, rearing up on his hind legs, wings spread to display the new form. A number of the shinobi stepped back in fear.

"All of the beasts have been dealt with. You can no longer get your hands on their power." Sasuke responded calmly, unfazed by the monster's speech.

Naruto glared at the dragon before him. "And I won't make the same mistake twice!"

Madara only smiled, he raised his clawed hands into the air shrugging, "As you wish."