Chapter 29

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Star Wars.

AUTHORS NOTES:

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I'm happy to announce that I now have a beta-reader. ghostalker15 has agreed to collaborate with me and I'm really looking forward to the improvements that will be made as a result.

Last time:

"It was an eventful visit but I am very happy we came." said a pleased Hinata. "We all enjoyed our time here and thank you for your hospitality Lady Alyssa."

Alyssa smiled and hugged Hinata goodbye. They had become close in the last couple of weeks and had promised each other to stay in contact. Alyssa stated, "Lady Hinata and Lord Naruto; our home will always be open to you. Feel free to visit us whenever you wish." She reached in her pocket and got out an encrypted key card. "This will grant you access to your part of the 'Cinnamon account.' I foresee you becoming very wealthy in the upcoming years."

Hinata accepted it gratefully and the crew of the Misfire bid their final farewells before they blasted off of Marplan to their next destination….

Visions in the Darkness

Rahu watched as the reinforced doors of the inner sanctum flew off their hinges from a massive force impact. A gloved fist made a squeezing motion and what was left of the doors were crushed like tinfoil and tossed aside. Two sets of blazing, slitted yellow eyes glared into the room. The cloaked male made a hand motion and the female beside him seemed to vanish into thin air. Several ninjas ran forward to stop the pair but where slaughtered like lambs. No matter what jutsus they threw at this pair the duo could not be stopped. Kabuto led Rahu down a passage where they would mount a defense against these….destroyers.

Rahu heard the screams and felt the anguish of the dying on the floor above as they ran into Kabuto's lab where he performed his Sith alchemy. Between the two of them and Kabuto's beasts they might stand a chance of getting out alive.

Rahu felt her heart beating rapidly and saw her breath condensing in front of her in the cold of the lab. The grotesque beasts that Kabuto created came out of their cages at Kabuto's command and were hissing and growling as semi-acidic saliva dripped out of their malformed mouths.

They heard the noise of heavy footsteps outside the lab. The male had found them! He tore the door of the lab off its mountings with a mere shrug. Then he stepped in and surveyed the lab with those glaring yellow eyes….

"You should never have murdered my beloved wife and child Kabuto." said the terrifying voice of Naruto. "I'm going to enjoy crushing your soul as much as Anko-chan here." He said motioning up to the equally yellow eyed Anko on his right. She was perched up on a beam looking down like bird of prey at Kabuto and the creatures he created through his alchemy. They both were giving off a massive killing intent that both terrified and thrilled Rahu at the same time.

Kabuto snarled. "You may have killed all the ninja I had left but you don't stand a chance against the beasts I've created! They are unstoppable and will feast on your flesh. Go my children!" Kabuto's mindless creatures lunged forward at their master's command completely set on tearing Naruto and Anko apart. Kabuto turned to Rahu. "Stay by my side Rahu-chan; my beasts will protect us."

Naruto held up his hand at the charging beasts and said "Die." A torrent of force lightning erupted from his hand. The creatures howled in pain as Naruto created shadow clones of himself. Each started slaughtering the creatures in the most violent ways possible, both through the force or jutsus. Rahu jumped back as a beast flew past her before its impact against the wall literally crushed it into liquid.

Anko appeared in front of Kabuto from nowhere with her green light saber flashing. Kabuto tried his best to parry her but was overwhelmed by the sheer ferocity of the woman's attack. "This is for Iruka!" Anko yelled out as she cut his sword arm off. He screamed. Then she gave Kabuto a brutal kick in the kneecap crushing it totally and causing his leg to hyperextend backwards. His leg could not bear the weight of his body and Kabuto collapsed in agony.

Kabuto was completely crippled and could not escape. He tried to crawl away but realized it was useless. The alchemist cried out. "Damn you! Damn you! How did you even find me?! This base was all but invisible!"

Naruto slowly stalked through a path in the gore that was once Kabuto's beasts and towered over the now maimed Kabuto. He stabbed Kabuto in his intact shoulder and then his uninjured leg causing him to scream again. With his remaining limbs now useless, all Orochimaru's apprentice could do was wallow in the gore covered floor like a dying animal.

Kabuto looked up from his pathetic position with his face covered in gore and muck and uttered "How?" in a broken voice.

Naruto glared hatefully and then said in a strangely conversational tone, "How did I find you? Why, Rahu-chan here."

Kabuto turned his head to the now smiling Rahu in shock and then screamed in delicious betrayal before he was suddenly silenced by the flash of a green light saber.

Anko deactivated her light saber as Kabuto's head rolled across the floor. She looked at Kabuto's face contorted in agony one last time before she crushed his skull like a melon under her foot. Anko turned to Naruto and kneeled. "It is done Master."

Naruto nodded. "Well done my sweet Anko-chan." He turned to Rahu and spoke. "You have served me well Rahu-chan. As promised you shall become my Sith mistress as Anko-chan is. We three will have children that are both powerful in the force and chakra. Nothing will be able to stop us and all the remaining ninja are now under my control."

Rahu rushed over and kneeled in front of her new Master. "I am yours body and soul Master Naruto." she said with joy in her voice.

"I am no longer Naruto, my pet. That name died with my wife and child. From now on I am Kurama, Dark Lord of the Sith!"

….Rahu came out of her force vision and back to reality.

Rahu positively hated her new master. The dirty old man eyed her like a piece of meat. He was old, wrinkled, scarred and was missing his left arm and leg. He had a prosthetic leg but hadn't ever managed to afford an arm. Orochimaru promised the sick creature a new arm in exchange for training her and Kabuto. His name was Seker and he gave no other name.

She had no doubt that Seker was knowledgeable. The old man had fallen from the Jedi and supported the Sith during the Hyperspace War decades ago. He had learned much under their tutelage. He believed she needed to learn to meditate more properly because her 'lust for battle could override her sense of reason' in his words. Rahu loved the thrill of battle! What was wrong with that?

On the positive side, Rahu was learning a great deal from the slimy old man. He was an excellent teacher. It was just putting up with his nastiness that she couldn't stand. So here she was in the impromptu meditation chamber they had set up here on Kashyyyk. She smiled and thought, 'If my force visions are all like this it won't be so bad. I will make these visions come true!'

Seker saw his female apprentice smiling happily and said in a velvety voice. "What visions could make you smile so my dear?"

Rahu turned to him with a dangerous glint in her eyes. "My enemies lying dead and dismembered before my feet."

The fallen Jedi laughed. He liked this girl! It's a shame she despised him so much. But, it was those dark emotions like hate and lust that gave her the potential to become powerful….

Elsewhere on Planet Kashyyyk

Orochimaru wasn't having the best day. The holographic image he was speaking to was none other than Gaara, Kazekage of Suna. It seemed that once again Orochimaru's deeds in the past were coming back to haunt him.

"Lord Gaara, please be reasonable." said the snake pleadingly. "What you are asking is a huge security risk for me."

Gaara's stony visage stared back emotionlessly at Orochimaru. "It would take two of me to care less about your 'security risks' Orochimaru. My father was stupid enough to believe your words but I am not. You will turn over any Suna shinobi in your group to my command or I assure you that I will see to it that your visions of the sannin being united again never come true. You should thank whatever deities you worship that we are not in person or I would crush you, sannin or otherwise."

Orochimaru knew Gaara meant every word. As far as the snake sannin knew Gaara hated his own father but Orochimaru was nevertheless responsible for the man's death. Orochimaru tried to buy some time. "Please allow me a word with my fellow sannins before I make my decision Lord Kazekage."

Gaara looked slightly disgruntled but motioned Tsunade and Jiraya over before vanishing from the image. Orochimaru felt a little relieved to see his old teammate's faces. He asked, "Is there any way we can avoid this? Lord Gaara seems intent on destroying our alliance."

"He simply wants his people back Orochimaru." said Jiraiya. "I'm not under the impression that you're going to lose that much manpower by handing a few Suna ninja to him. Try to see it from his point of view. In his eyes they are virtually your hostages though Tsunade and I know that's not the case. If you release them to his care as a gesture of goodwill I'm sure he will lose some of his indemnity for you. How many ninja are we talking about?"

Tsunade interjected, "Jiraiya's right on this one Orochimaru. We need his cooperation and he won't budge on this subject. I'm sure eventually you can prove to him your intentions are good if you take this small step. You said most of the ninja under you are from Iwa. What have you got from Suna? Five, ten maybe?"

Orochimaru let out a heavy sigh. "I only have four. They've been well treated I assure you. But if I hand them over they will tell Gaara where my bases are and I have a feeling that the Kazekage will use that information against me later."

"Gaara wouldn't do that. He doesn't want a fifth ninja war." said Tsunade. "He also has agreed to defer to Naruto on these matters. If you agree to this we can meet somewhere neutral so our bases remain hidden. Do these Suna ninjas have exact coordinates of your bases? The worst thing they could do is point out the planet you're based on."

"Tsunade-hime is right Orochimaru. We need this for our alliance." stated Jiraiya. "Please consider it an investment for the future."

"I guess there's no avoiding this issue." said Orochimaru ruefully. Please inform the Kazekage that his four ninjas will be turned over to him as soon as we can find a neutral place to meet."

"We will Orochimaru." replied Tsunade. "When and where do you want to meet?"

The snake sannin looked contemplative for a moment. "Do you want to meet back on Malastare? Just us sannins this time so our apprentices don't get into themselves trouble. I'll bring the four Suna ninjas with me and you can bring Lord Gaara. Afterwards the three of us can talk in private."

Jiraiya's image looked back over his shoulder. "The Kazekage agrees and would like to know their names."

"Of course, I have a Jonin named Baki which you may know due to his skill and three genins named Matsuri, Sari and Yukata." said Orochimaru. "They all seem to be wind users so Baki has been training them as their sensei. To be honest I hate to lose such talent but I guess it can't be helped. I can be out on Malastare in ten days."

Jiraiya said "Make it twelve; we need to make arrangements and borrow a ship for the trip."

The snake sannin nodded, "Very well, I'll see you in twelve days at the same meeting spot my friends."

The holographic image faded out.

Planet Nardil

"Well, that went better than expected." said Jiraiya. "You really know how to play hardball Gaara."

"Unlike you, I have no desire to work with Orochimaru." said Gaara coldly. "You might recall that there was a certain war between Suna and Konoha directly from his actions."

Tsunade replied, "That was in different lifetime Gaara. I think Orochimaru really is trying to change."

"Believe what you will Lady Tsunade. I just want my people back and safe from his clutches" stated Gaara. ""I have things to do so I will speak with you later."

The two sannins watched the Kazekage leave. "I wonder if this will ever work out." sighed Tsunade.

Jiraiya hugged her. "Only time will tell hime."

Gaara went down to see his sister Temari who was currently giving her fan a workout with some wind jutsus. Temari noticed her brother and stopped what she was doing as he came up to her. "I see you aren't slacking off with your training Temari. Where's Shikamaru?"

Temari smiled. It was nice having Gaara around. "Shikamaru is helping to teach the children team tactics and a few basic traps. He's very good at trap making you know."

Gaara nodded. "Yes, he told me that he picked it up from Naruto. Apparently Uzumaki pulled him into some rather elaborate pranks when they were children."

"So I've heard." laughed the wind mistress. "But you didn't come to talk about that. Did you get your midi-chlorians checked and talk to the snake?"

"Oh, I talked to him alright." Gaara said grimly. "He has four of our people and after some negotiating and less-than-veiled threats he agreed to hand them over."

Temari grew concerned. "Are they all right? Has Orochimaru harmed them in any way?"

"Orochimaru has assured me they are in perfect health and the four of them have been treated well." said the Kazekage.

"Well, I'm relieved about that." replied Temari. "Do we know them?"

Gaara was silent for a moment. "Yes, we know some of them well. Our old sensei Baki has three genins with him. They are Matsuri, Sari and Yukata. I helped Matsuri out a bit with her training if you recall. The other two are friends of hers."

Temari was excited. "I can't believe Baki sensei is alive! ...and the three girls…." Temari smirked at her little brother. "You do realize those three are great admirers of yours, don't you Gaara?"

Gaara looked puzzled. "I always knew they respected me as their leader; why do you ask Temari?"

Temari's smirk grew into a full blown feral smile. She chuckled evilly. "Oh, they much more than respect you Gaara. You are their knight in shining armor. When you go to 'rescue' them from Orochimaru, you'll have your own little team of Gaara groupies. Just think of all the fun I'll have at your expense! This is great!" she laughed.

"Surely you're exaggerating." said Gaara with a slight tremor in his voice.

"Oh no, little brother. You'll see my prophecy come true." said Temari grinning maniacally. "You are doomed; doomed I say! Nothing will save you from your biggest fans!" she cackled.

Gaara hastily made a tactical retreat from his laughing nee-chan.

Temari snickered as her oblivious-to-women brother withdrew. "Oh, I forgot to ask him about his midi-chlorian count." She thought aloud. "Oh well, it can wait."

Twelve days later….

Keil Shamshir was once again playing taxi for the ninja with his ship the Flameblade. And, once again he was driving Gaara slowly up the wall….

Gaara was both looking forward to seeing his people and dreading it if Temari's stories about the kunoichis was true. He prayed the Orochimaru hadn't harmed Baki and his team in any way. If they were hurt because of the snake, Gaara promised himself that the universe would be minus one sannin whether Tsunade and Jiraiya liked it or not. Gaara spoke with Shikamaru and the others about Naruto's point of view regarding Orochimaru and it seemed that they were in agreement that Orochimaru couldn't be trusted and Kabuto could be trusted even less.

The Kazekage was brought out of his musings by Keil. "We just entered Malastare space Lord Gaara. I am eager to meet more of your people." said the eccentric Jedi.

"How long until we land?" asked Gaara.

"It will be another hour or so." replied Keil. "Then we will follow Master Jiraiya and Lady Tsunade to this meeting place. It seems you have some misgivings about their old teammate Orochimaru. Several others seem to as well. Why is that?"

Gaara's voice turned cold. "Without going into too much detail, Orochimaru was one of the biggest traitors in Edo's history and subjected many to tortures and human experimentation. He was responsible for murdering my father and dragging my country into a war as well."

Keil's eyes bulged. "Well, no wonder you want nothing to do with him. Why are the others even meeting with him?"

"He claims to have mended his ways since his rebirth." said Gaara sourly. "Jiraiya and Tsunade hope that he has repented and since his goal is the same as ours, uniting the lost ninja, they have an alliance of sorts with him. I would sooner slay him as speak to him but on the tiny chance that he proves himself trustworthy I'm staying my hand. I do it more for Tsunade and Jiraiya's sake than my own. All I'm concerned with right now is getting my people back right now. The three sannin's little meeting has nothing to do with me."

Keil nodded. "We will be there soon Lord Gaara and you will have your people back under your protection."

Planet Malastare

The Flameblade landed at Port Pixelito on Malastare. Soon the group of four (Keil insisted that he come along) tread through the wilderness until they reached the cave the sannins met at before. Jiraiya flared his chakra and Orochimaru stepped outside the cave and motioned it was 'all clear' to come in. Jiraiya signaled back and the four headed into the cave.

Orochimaru greeted them all. "Welcome my friends, Lord Kazekage and….?"

"I am Keil Shamshir. I came along in case Gaara's people needed help moving anything."

The snake looked at his fellow sannins with puzzlement etched on his face but relaxed when Tsunade shrugged and said "It wasn't our idea. He insisted."

"Okay….Welcome Mister Keil. Come Lord Kazekage, your people are eager to see you." Orochimaru said in a friendly tone.

"Lead the way." was Gaara's stony reply.

The group entered the main chamber only to see Baki standing at attention and the three genin looking rather nervous.

"I have arrived." said Gaara. Baki and the girls all looked amazed. Gaara used Suna's own hand signals and asked Baki {Are you unhurt?}

Baki signaled back {We are fine Lord Kazekage}.

Baki turned to the three girls and said, "It really is him. Why don't you greet our Kazekage?" In Baki's mind the three genin would have stated their names and ranks to properly introduce themselves to their Kazekage. But, reality smacked him upside the head as three squealing girls ran him over to see their idol, Lord Gaara of Suna.

Matsuri managed to get to Gaara first and embraced him in a hug. "My Lord, I am so happy to see you once again! You cannot imagine how thrilled I was to hear you were coming to get us and take us back with you. My unwavering faith in you has paid off!" she said with tears in her eyes.

Sari managed to pry Matsuri off and said. "Our Kazekage is too cool and strong to let death stop him! I'm so glad you came for me my Lord, I will always be you biggest supporter! Where is your cool tattoo on your forehead?"

Gaara tried to get a word in edge wise when Yukata plowed over Sari.

"Do you remember me my Lord? I'm Yukata from the Fourth Division." she said batting her eyelashes. "….And I am your biggest supporter, not Sari!"

Sari was about to clobber her teammate for stealing the spotlight but Baki (who had peeled himself off the cave floor after being trampled) yelled "Stand at attention you three! You should greet Lord Kazekage properly not like a bunch of screaming fan girls!"

Gaara stood in shock as he remembered Temari's words; 'Oh no, little brother. You'll see my prophecy come true….You are doomed; doomed I say! Nothing will save you from your biggest fans!'

The Kazekage recovered himself and said. "It is alright Baki. I remember all of you well. It is good to see you."

Baki watched dumbfounded as the kunoichis swooned with hearts in their eyes as they thought in unison 'Soooo cool!'

The Suna jonin resisted the urge to smack himself in the head at the looks in his subordinates eyes. He looked at the (apparently oblivious) Gaara and thought 'Doesn't the idiot see he's making it worse? No. NO! I mustn't think that way about the Kazekage. It's just not proper. Where's Temari when I need her? She could keep them in line.' Then Baki pulled himself out of his thoughts and spoke. "We are honored and grateful you came for us Lord Kazekage."

Gaara nodded and said in a stern tone. "I trust none of you were harmed or mistreated while under Orochimaru's command?" The underlying message was clear: 'The snake is dead if he harmed you.'

The three sannin were sweating a bit until Baki said. "Put your worries at ease Lord Gaara. As you can see we are all fine and were treated well."

"Very well, let us go." said the Kazekage. "Gather your things and we'll head to the ship." The three girls scrambled to get their things while Baki moved at a more sedate pace.

After the four were ready to go, Gaara turned to Jiraiya and Tsunade and said. "I trust you two will meet us back at the ship?" At their affirmation Gaara turned to Keil. "Lead us out Keil."

Keil was relieved everything was all right and replied, "It will be my pleasure Lord Gaara."

Baki bowed to the three sannin only to see his three love struck charges were leaving with Gaara. Waving goodbye apologetically he rushed out to catch up with the others.

After the Suna group left Jiraiya turned to the pouting Orochimaru with a cheesy smile and said. "Well, at least Gaara didn't attack us."

The snake sannin said with slumped shoulders, "He could have at least acknowledged me or thanked me for taking good care of his people. What a grouch…."

"Well let's sit down and visit like we planned." said Tsunade with a slight smirk.

On the Flameblade….

"This ship of yours is much cooler than Orochimaru's Lord Gaara." gushed Yukata. Matsuri and Sari nodded in agreement.

"Actually it's my ship." said Keil with a charming smile. "I'm so glad you lovely ladies like it." The three kunoichi looked at Keil for a moment and then ignored him in favor of Gaara. 'What's he got that I don't have?' wondered Keil. Apparently they preferred the strong silent type….

Baki tried to cheer Keil up. "It's a great ship you have here." he said in a friendly tone.

Keil smiled weakly and said, "All of you make yourselves at home." and went to sulk in the cockpit.

Back in the cave

Jiraiya had set up barriers around the table so the three sannin sat down and started talking about their progress.

"Well, where do we start?" asked Orochimaru. "I see you managed to recover the Kazekage. In retrospect I'm glad that I wasn't able to at the time. It seems his resentment towards me is unwavering. No doubt he would have done his best to kill Kabuto and Rahu had they followed his trail instead of Kakashi's."

Tsunade asked, "Did you have any luck tracking Kakashi and Gai? You said Kabuto had a lead."

Orochimaru shook his head sadly. "Kabuto trailed them for nearly five weeks and they went all over two worlds. In the end we came up empty handed though. The trail ended at a spaceport. They apparently had a job as dock workers loading ships and left in one to an unknown destination. They wandered all over before that. Kabuto said he and Rahu were practically zigzagging across the planet."

Jiraiya commented, "Well such things can't be helped. Have you had any luck finding other ninja or the groups behind the cloning? We've been so busy trying to get by financially and training that we've come up with very few leads. It's frustrating but we were finding quite a few people and now nothing."

The snake sannin nodded. "I haven't found anyone recently but I did find a new Master Jedi named Seker to help train Rahu and Kabuto. He claims to be quite gifted in force visions but wants compensation."

"What does he want in return?" asked Tsunade.

"An arm and a leg." answered Orochimaru.

"….Just how much money are we talking about here?" questioned a peeved Tsunade.

"No, he wants a literal left arm and left leg." explained the snake. "He's about seventy and lost them in a war decades ago. He either wants high-end prosthetics or wants new limbs cloned for him. I can do the limb grafting part of it but the cloning technology we have is all but useless. I was hoping you would be willing to try Tsunade. I need your help on this one."

Tsunade sighed and said grumpily, "I'll need full body scans of him and cell samples to even begin the process. I've been studying the cloning techniques used on us and it seems that a healthy, young adult body can be grown in about five years. I haven't looked into cloning specific limbs or how long it would take but I'll give it a try. How does this old man get around, a wheelchair?"

Orochimaru smiled. "He has a grafted on droid leg that he gets around on but no arm. I've had Kabuto working on this as a side project but our methods have hit brick wall after brick wall. However; I had predicted you would at least be willing to give it a try so I have the cell samples and scans you require here." Orochimaru pulled out the items for Tsunade to examine. "Perhaps you and that apprentice of yours could make some progress. Sakura, wasn't it?"

"It would help get her mind off the problems she's been having. I'll get Sakura in on it." the slug sannin stated.

"Your apprentice is having problems?" asked Orochimaru.

Tsunade silently cursed herself for letting that information slip out. "Sakura is having problems controlling the force. It's vexing to her. She will get over it."

"After seeing Naruto-kun in action it must be vexing." said the snake. "Kabuto is working hard after seeing how powerful Naruto-kun has become. How did you manage to find such gifted apprentices Jiraiya? First the Fourth Hokage and now his son."

"I was just lucky I suppose." said Jiraiya. "Speaking of apprentices, how are things with Kabuto? You seemed to be having some discipline problems with him for a while there."

Orochimaru groaned. "The boy is testing my patience. He seems to have grown more distant from me since his return from searching for Kakashi and Gai. I know he has an attraction to Rahu but that doesn't explain his elusiveness. He seems to be learning a bit from Seker though. He seems more interested in learning about the force than about finding our fellow ninja. I'm concerned about his priorities."

Tsunade and Jiraiya shared a meaningful glance. Jiraiya suggested, "Well, you were concerned about his loyalties before. Perhaps you should keep an eye on him Orochimaru."

"Perhaps I should." the snake said. "Nothing drastic but something to keep him in check. We've talked about Tsunade's and my apprentices. How is yours doing Jiraiya?"

The toad sannin shrugged. "What can I say? The kid has surpassed me. I'm still here as his mentor but he's out on missions of his own now. Frankly, I'm proud of the boy."

"Must be nice." said Orochimaru and Tsunade in unison.

The three sannin decided their business was concluded shortly thereafter and bid each other a friendly farewell. Jiraiya and Tsunade made their way back to the Flameblade both pondering if Orochimaru himself wasn't in danger from Kabuto. They both silently decided to discuss it later. When they made it back to the ship they found Gaara surrounded by talkative kunoichis and Baki sitting over to the side looking left out. After word reached the sulking Keil that everyone was aboard and ready to go they took off for Nardil.

"Quite the little harem Gaara has there." snickered Jiraiya.

"Shut up pervert." replied Tsunade. She secretly thought normally unflappable Gaara's completely lost look at his enthusiastic groupies was funny too. She figured Temari would whip the girls into line once they got back to Nardil though. They were obviously beyond Baki's control….

Jiraiya couldn't help himself. "Well, think about it hime. He's gone from Kazekage to deity and now a sex symbol. What do you think he'll do next? That's a hard list to top."

At this point Senju Tsunade completely lost her composure burst into laughter….

Planet Nardil

The trip to Nardil went smoothly although Gaara had to retreat to his sleeping quarters with Baki guarding the door from time to time. After landing everyone was introduced and Tsunade took some time to find her apprentices to discuss ideas cloning procedures. She found Sakura in the Shamshir meditation chambers focusing on the force. "Sakura, how are you doing?" she asked.

Sakura came out of her meditation and smiled at her mentor. "Welcome back Lady Tsunade. Things aren't perfect but I'm finally making progress." There was life in Sakura's eyes again and Tsunade felt relief. She was finally sure her apprentice was making a recovery.

The slug sannin spoke. "I'm glad to see you smiling again Sakura. How would you like to help me on a little cloning project?"

Sakura cocked an eyebrow. "What would we be cloning?"

We're doing a little study on the possibility of cloning replacement limbs with what equipment we have here. There is a Jedi named Seker helping Orochimaru that is missing his left arm and leg. I have the cell samples right here." She said as she handed them to Sakura.

Sakura touched the vial with the cell samples and seemed to recoil with a grimace on her face as if she had tasted something horrible. "Well, I don't mind doing the study but I absolutely refuse to help this person."

Tsunade was a bit shocked. Sakura refusing to aid someone in medical need? "Why is that may I ask?" she questioned both puzzled and concerned.

Whoever this "Jedi" is tainted by the dark side. He is twisted and evil. He's either a fallen Jedi or maybe even a Sith." explained Sakura. "His very cells reek of cold and death. I don't want to be near them."

"You can tell that just from a cell sample?" marveled Tsunade. "That's amazing Sakura!"

Sakura blushed at the praise. "It's not that amazing. I still have much to learn."

An elderly voice drifted over to them. "You are incredibly gifted as a seer Sakura; there is no need to be so modest." said a statuesque silver haired woman as she walked over.

"Master Leona!" exclaimed Sakura. "I've been meaning to introduce you to one another. Master Leona, this is Lady Tsunade who taught me everything I know about the healing arts. Lady Tsunade, this is Master Leona Shamshir. She is training me to control the force and use my visions productively." The two women bowed to each other in greeting.

"You must be very proud of your apprentice Lady Tsunade. She is very talented. She speaks of you very highly." Leona said with a smile.

Tsunade returned Leona's smile. "I'm so glad you have been able to help Sakura where I couldn't. I must thank you."

"Letting a diamond in the rough go untrained goes against my principles." Leona spoke. "Speaking of which; why are you not training yourself? The force is strong in you Lady Tsunade. You are a wasting your potential when you should be growing by leaps and bounds like Sakura here."

Sakura quickly interjected before Master Leona got on a roll. "We were just discussing these cell samples. I sense the dark side from them. Would you have a look?" she asked holding the samples out as if they were something horribly disgusting.

"Certainly," said Leona, accepting the sample. She cringed slightly but didn't react nearly as badly as Sakura. "Hmmm….Whoever these cells belong to is definitely immersed deeply in the dark side. Probably has some Sith training as well. Why do you have these cells to begin with?"

"We were asked to look into the possibility of cloning some limbs for this person that he lost in a war." explained Tsunade. "Sakura refused to help this person but after she explained his nature I understand why."

Leona turned to Sakura. "Meditate on this sample and see if any visions come to you. I can foresee some things and I'm sure you will too once you apply what I've taught you. This will be a good exercise for you to learn from."

"I'll see you later Sakura. Work hard on this. I know you can do it." said Tsunade as she body-flickered away.

Leona looked at the spot Tsunade had been standing a second ago. "I wanted to talk further with her about future training." Leona huffed. "You ninjas and your ways of escaping. It's really quite annoying….be mindful of your thoughts Sakura dear. I can tell you are barely containing your laughter."

Sakura laughed. "I'm sorry Master but if Lady Tsunade wants to make herself scarce she does not hesitate. I will talk to her later about the possibilities. I don't believe she's interested in force training at this point."

"Very well Sakura. I'll leave you to your meditations. See what those cells tell you but don't make mental contact with the individual they came from. If you sense his presence cut the link." instructed Leona.

Sakura nodded. "I will do my best Master."

A few hours later….

Sakura called Master Leona and requested Lady Tsunade and (of all people) Master Skaros to come. She didn't know much about Skaros other than he was Naruto's Jedi Master and was linked to this vision she had about Seker. "Thank you all for coming." she said as she bowed.

"Tell us what you have seen." instructed Leona. "We will share our views on the matter afterwards."

Sakura began, "From what I've seen this Seker is an old man that fell from the Jedi and joined the Sith during the Great Hyperspace War. He ambushed and dueled Master Skaros and lost his left arm and leg as a result. After that he disappeared and has been hidden from the Jedi ever since. It was foggy but I think you addressed him as Rexus something, Master Skaros."

Skaros let out a raspy laugh. "Rexus Slith. I was a general In the Hyperspace War and drove him out because I knew he was a traitor though his friends from the Jedi Order were in denial about it. We were in the heat of the action at the Battle of Koros Major when the fool tried to attack me from behind. I admit I was a lot more militaristic then and aimed to kill him. I think I used the Juyo form I've been teaching Naruto now that I think about it. Anyway, he came whirling down on me using a poor Ataru form and was wide open. I deprived him of his arm and leg and destroyed his light saber. I was going to finish him off but one of his Jedi friends stopped me saying we shouldn't kill a fallen opponent. I was going to finish him off anyway but we came under attack again and my attention was diverted elsewhere. We never found his body so I figured someone rescued him. I never dreamed he would crawl back into our lives. He must be seventy by now."

Leona clapped once. "Excellent Sakura. Did you see anything regarding the present or future?"

"I foresaw Kabuto is studying strange techniques under Seker's guidance. Through some weird alchemy Kabuto will create a new arm and leg for him from corpses he already has on hand. I sense this will happen whether we do a cell study or not Lady Tsunade. It's a totally different process from cloning I don't understand. It seems more akin to magic than science."

"It's just as well not to understand it Sakura." spoke Skaros gravely. "I've seen truly monstrous creatures created through Sith Alchemy and items created through Sith Magics that are absolutely horrific. It's like a mad scientist's experiments only worse. They are terrible and many have died because of them. I don't remember Rexus having any talent in that area though."

"It's right up Kabuto's alley." grimaced Tsunade. "He helped raise an army of dead warriors to fight us during the Fourth Ninja War that eventually led to our extinction. From the sounds of this Sith Alchemy I have little doubt that Kabuto would have a natural affinity for it. Sakura, did your visions show Orochimaru involved in this?"

Sakura shook her head. "That was one of the strange things. I sensed nothing regarding Orochimaru at all. It was if Kabuto was actually hiding his experiments from the snake. I also saw some creatures I can't describe other than evil."

"It sounds like the work of a Sith alright." commented Leona. "Did you see anything else?"

"I also had visions of that albino girl Rahu helping Naruto-kun by sending information covertly for some reason." Sakura shook her head as if she was trying to clear it. "It was foggy though and I have no idea what kind of information it was."

Leona said, "We'll file the information on this Rahu girl away for later. You've done exceptionally well Sakura. I too sensed that Seker would end up with new limbs regardless of your involvement but I had no idea why or how. The question is what to do with this information. The future is always in motion and this is not the only path it could take."

"Well, we could always tell Naruto-kun." said Sakura. "He's been foaming at the mouth to kill Kabuto for a long time. I have no doubt he'd be happy to go to Kashyyyk and kill the bastard."

Skaros shook his head 'no.' "I trust Naruto but the last thing we need is for him to lose it on a quest against this Kabuto person. He's still not fully trained for such a thing."

"Naruto-kun would never turn to the dark side!" exclaimed Sakura but then ducked her head at blurting it out so loudly.

"We still have to work on that Sakura." said Leona sadly. "Your emotions regarding that boy are still in turmoil."

"I'm sorry Master." said Sakura weakly.

"You're doing better every day Sakura." said Leona. "I have all the faith in the world you'll get there and we as your mentors are here to help you along. Why don't we call it a day? You can go relax with Lady Tsunade and your friends."

Sakura thanked Master Leona and left with Lady Tsunade talking about things other than her visions. She didn't reveal her horrific vision she had of Naruto declaring himself 'Kurama, Dark Lord of the Sith.' She refused to believe that was possible….

POSTSCRIPT:

This chapter went much easier than the last one. I don't know what the hiccup was there. We had a little bit of fun at Gaara's expense. Narutopedia really doesn't reveal a lot about Matsuri and her friends. They will be fleshed out and are competent kunoichis but throwing Gaara off-kilter lightens things up a bit. Next chapter we'll catch back up with Naruto and company's voyages.

One additional note: Originally it was going to be "Menma, Dark Lord of the Sith" but it just didn't have the "umph" Kurama does. Blue out. 3/21/14

This chapter was retooled as of 4/11/14.