AN: Yay, 4,500 views. You guys are the shiznits of all shiznits! I hope you guys like the new chapter. I decided to opt for some major plot twists, does that suit well with you guys? Tell me in the reviews!

And to GrimSpeck18, 1. I know you do. 2. I know you do. And 3. We all should know. ^.^

And to Thomas Drovin, I think Kirigi will manage, and you'll see how. ^.^

And to Repentless Wind, I uploaded them back to back. I felt really guilty for promising something, then not performing. . But I hope you like this chapter. I'm sending you for another loop-de-loop. ^.^

And to GrayRay, Yeah, it's planned. And funny thing, I actually had no idea about the whole forks and knives thing. When I was rooming with a bunch of students from Asia last year, I only saw them use chop sticks when they had them, which was the majority of the time. .

And to Organization me, It's a bit of both, actually. Yes the girls are based on real people, but the names aren't the real names. I do that for two reasons, security precautions (stalker, no stalking), and to make it clear that the characters aren't real. They are purely fictional. But I don't know one author who doesn't base fictional characters on real people. They normally do that to people who they want to honor, and the people who I based these girls on happen to have been my closest friends when I went through difficult times. I actually base a lot of my characters on them because I see them as real people, worthy of honoring. So, yay?

And to Gaaras1Girl, Yeah, that was a pretty fast update. I'm glad I got you excited for this chapter. As I said, I'm gonna turn heads with this one. ^.^

And to Azura Soul Reaver, glad you thought so.

I wanna thank the newbie favoriters/alerters. Vampires-ninjas-ohmy, GrayRay, and melodyhina123, thanks and welcome to the family!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its characters etc. You know the drill. Oh, and Kirigi, Mi, Saito, Nogami, Ryuu, Kaori, and Shada belong to Thomas Drovin, which I'm very grateful he's letting me use. Although, I did take some creative liberties with Saito, Thomas. Thanks a bunch!!!

Chapter Seven: The Last Sannin

It was an early Saturday morning. The sun shone bright behind small puffy clouds decorating the light blue sky. The birds chirped cheerily, giving a very happy mood to the day. Although, the day wasn't supposed to be a merry one at all. The entire village crowded into the cemetery, somber faces on everyone. There wasn't a hint of color among the population. Most of the people standing there were crying, while others held faces of poorly masked sorrow. They all held white lilies loosely in their hands containing their memories of the beloved Sixth.

Naruto stood at the front of the crowd, behind a headstone marked "Lady Tsunade: Beloved Sixth Hokage and Last Legendary Sannin. 1955-2013." Hinata stood next to him. Both held quiet and reflecting facial expressions. Naruto nervously fingered his speech cards in his hands. People trickled in slowly, among the last of them were Mr. and Mrs. Nara, and in front of them, Roxanne and Shikamaru. It seemed that Mrs. Nara couldn't focus on anything other than her furiousness of the couple in front her, holding hands as they found a row to stand in. Fred came in not far behind them, joining up with Roxanne. Sasuke and Lynne had come in earlier and were in a couple rows behind Gaara, Cordi, Kankuro, Temari, and Yukina, who were in the first row.

Kiba had returned the night before, and was seen walking in with Ronni. It was obvious he hadn't unpacked from his mission yet because he was still decked out in his usual black leather jacket and black jeans. But he did attempt to clean up a little by slicking back his brown bangs. Akamaru was with them with a black bow tied around his neck, obviously Ronni's doing. She was dressed in a frilly black Sunday dress and her light brown hair tied back into a bun. Gaara had on a formal black suit and black tie, his hair untamed as usual. His shoulders looked a little relieved to not be holding its usual burden of his sandy gourd. Cordi had her dirty blond hair tied back in a half ponytail, small wisps of hair fallen out making her look elegant. She wore a long-sleeved black dress that had a v-neck collar and was bunched at the V's point. Roxanne wore a gray tank top with a black skirt and a black jacket. Her hair was also pulled into a tight bun. Shikamaru on the other hand wore black capris and a long black shirt that was tied across the waist with a twisted white sash, like most everyone else. He kept his rough hair pulled back in his pineapple like ponytail. Sasuke was wearing the same thing, but he didn't touch his hair. Lynne had let her hair lay flat. She wore a black dress with a white sash around her waist. Fred wore a white cami with a black laced top and a black bohemian skirt. Her hair was pulled back into a French braid.

Naruto took a step forward, his black trench coat billowing slightly as a breeze blew through the cemetery. "Good morning everyone," he started, somewhat solemnly. "Today we are here to remember the life of one of Konoha's strongest women, literally and metaphorically. Lady Tsunade wasn't just our fifth Hokage, but a wise leader who coined many strategies to keep our ninja teams safe. She was an ambassador to many of our allying countries. And she was the last of the Legendary Sannins."

He stopped, letting this basic summation of her life sink in. He took a sharp breath then continued. "But she was more than what we all know about her. She was more than this basic history lesson we've learned. She was a caring woman deep down, hidden by her sarcasm and wit. She was the most dedicated person I've ever met. If she had a mission, she would make sure it was done." He stopped and looked towards the sky for a moment, hoping Tsunade's spirit would help him give this eulogy he had issues preparing for.


Madara, Kirigi and Katsumi finally arrived at the Akatsuki meeting cave. In the rock enclosed space stood seven people, all wearing the signature Akatsuki robes, in the shape of a semi-circle. On the right end stood a man with a black top hat, blue eyes shining underneath its shadow. Strawberry blond hair peeked out from underneath the hat's tight embrace. He was of an average height and a wiry build.

Next to him was another man about the same age as the previous one. He was tall with a nice build. He had messy black hair with a red tint to it. His eyes were black and annoyed, especially from the girl he stood next to who was staring longingly at him. She had rosy pink hair that was most of the time considered magenta. She had big innocent blue eyes, which hid how evil she really was. She fluttered her eyelashes at the attractive man next to her who paid her no heed. She had a thin waist, which she showed by tying a tight red sash around it, but had a well endowed chest and.

Next to her was an albino woman, with hair as pale as her skin. Her eyes were a deep crimson red, also showing their annoyance of the young woman next to her. She was thinner than the woman beside her, but was still eerily pretty.

Suigetsu stood next to her, his fangs jutting over his bottom lip as usual. He had grown a little over the years since he worked with Sasuke. He was taller now, less boyish. He had his white hair tied back into a small ponytail and a small goatee sat on his chin.

Next to Suigetsu stood a guy with a black pirate-like hat. He had a cloth tied around his head, masking the lower half of his face. He had very expressive blue eyes as they zoomed through the page of a romantic novel. His reddish brown hair was neatly parted on the left side of his head, some of his right bangs falling over his forehead.

And next to him was a man that at most looked to be in his mid-thirties. He had silver hair that spilled down to his mid-back like a waterfall, and vibrant green eyes that told any onlooker that he was older than he seemed. He looked angelic, or at least ethereal. He was a rather thin man, but tall, taller than anyone else in the room. He held himself in a very proud posture and ignored the other members in the room, other than the ones entering.

Madara smiled at them all, even though they couldn't see it. He was happy they all made it. He jumped onto their speaking ledge, preparing to give them all an announcement. "Ladies and Gentlemen," he called down to them. "We have the prophecy." He added the last little bit by pulling a scroll out of his pocket and waving it in his hand. There was a small applause, which Madara cut off quickly.

"Now, we have all read what the soothsayer's son had to say about it. The son who was plagued by the same vision and wrote down what he saw in his journal, which Ryuu was so kind to show to us," Madara stated, pointing down to the silver haired man at the end and pulling out a small notebook.

He opened it to a marked page and read, "Last night the strangest dream came to me. It was so vivid it was almost real. I was stuck in a huge battle. One side held five dragons with five female riders and five male riders, and about fifty shinobi. The other side held eight of the nine tailed beasts, along with a group of people in black cloaks adorned with red clouds. Both sides charged at each other and a battle ensued. Many of the shinobi were killed. But the riders stayed together. The rider with fire and the rider with sand fought side by side. The rider with water and the rider with a beast of a dog fought together too, as did the rider with wind and the rider with shadow. The rider with earth helped the rider controlling puppets. And the rider with a spiritual power fought next to the rider with eyes of the Uchiha clan. The battle was starting to look grim for the riders when something flashed, and I was awake." He smirked as he finished the entry, then loudly slapped the notebook shut. He barely noticed Kirigi's seriously pensive face after hearing both parts of the prophecy.

"We have heard through the grapevine that they are here. In the journal, it later states the battle is decided after the one event in the battle. And that this one event will only occur if the women do as they are supposed to in the prophecy. The journal also makes it obvious that the group they are fighting is us. They say it's an Apocolypse, but what could they know? We aren't truly ending the world, just making a better one. One which is peacefully under my rule," Madara stated, then muttered, "as our friend Saito is demonstrating constantly." That last statement, Madara would probably wish he hadn't said, but he wasn't too worried about his words now. He thought no one could hear them, but he didn't count on the fact that when one sense is never used, the other four are heightened immeasurably.

Kirigi heard him. He could even hear Madara's smirking expression underneath his mask through Madara's tone of voice as he brought up this new information about the man the magenta-haired girl was fawning over. It disgusted him.

Kirigi had never before heard of this sick demeaning of his friend's life. Saito and Kirigi became friends because he was obviously different from the others in Akatsuki. Kirigi could never figure out why, until now. Saito did not belong there. He was an innocent victim being used as Madara's lab rat. This had answered the question that had been plaguing his mind for the past couple years; why would Madara hire such a nice guy? Akatsuki was so out of character with Saito's personality.

Kirigi understood why he himself was hired. It was blatantly obvious to any of the Akatsuki members that the only reason he was hired was to get back at Sasuke, who betrayed Madara. Madara saw Kirigi as useful, but just barely, for the fact that he was blind, and therefore could not get sucked into an Uchiha genjutsu. As soon as he got Sasuke out of the way, he would be asked to leave in the not-so-gentle way. Kirigi knew this too, but he wanted to be proven as useful as possible during his stay with them. Kirigi took the job for the paycheck, because it was much more than they were offering martial artist teachers, or that was what he had led Madara to believe.

In reality, he had retired from being a martial arts teacher, or even looking for prospective students, years before. He had recently gotten a new job before joining Akatsuki: espionage. When he took this job originally, he was already employed by the late Lady Tsunade to be hired into Akatsuki. She believed Madara would eventually want vengeance on Sasuke for his unconventional way of leaving the Akatsuki, and she was right. She wanted to use that opening as a way to keep tabs on Madara. So, she told Kirigi to do whatever it took to sell his role to Madara. For the past four years of being under both their employments, he was able to handle the jobs, assassinations and such, Madara set for him. Tsunade knew he didn't want to do what this job forced him to do.

Just before getting to Konoha, a week prior to all this, he sent Tsunade a message saying that there would be an attack. He called for a small meeting in the forest just outside the gates. There they discussed how everything would go down during the attack.

(Flashback)

Kirigi stood in the designated forest clearing for his meeting with Lady Tsunade. He had been waiting for her to approach him for the past fifteen minutes. He let out a sigh. She should have been here by now, and she was never late before. But then again, they had only met five times before this.

"Kirigi," he heard the familiar voice of Tsunade call to him. He turned towards her voice, hearing leaves crackle underneath her feet with each step.

"You're late," he growled lightly.

"I'm sorry. I got held up on my shift at the hospital," Tsunade stated. "So, what has Madara got you doing for this mission?"

"Well, my partner's and my main priority for this mission is getting the prophecy. And then a nice pat on the back if we get the jinchuuriki, too," Kirigi stated. He paused, wondering if she had any input on the matter. When she didn't speak up, he continued. "Madara ordered me to hide my partner's adrenaline pills. He wants her to be a decoy for me to get in and get the goods."

"Adrenaline pills?" Tsunade asked, confusion obvious in her voice.

"My partner shifts between personalities based on how much adrenaline is running through her body. When she gets to a calm state, she reverts to her normal self before she had this mental illness, which is caring and wouldn't harm a fly, but scared out of her mind easily enough. When her adrenaline picks up, she adopts this malicious personality that would kill anything that crosses her path," Kirigi explained, his voice tired. Suddenly his face held mild confusion and he said, "I could have sworn I told you this."

"Maybe," Tsunade stated. "It's been a while."

"Clearly," he added, a bit snobbishly.

Tsunade ignored him and continued working out a quick strategy with the information given. "Alright, I will make sure a room is open for her at the hospital. How will I know who your partner is?"

"You'll know," he smiled mischievously at her with his vague answer. He could almost feel Tsunade frowning in disproval at him, but he didn't really care.

"Now, the prophecy," she started, "we obviously can't give you the real one." Kirigi knew that already, but just nodded his head in agreement rather than say anything. "So, I will get a small team of genjutsu specialists to put a genjutsu on a blank parchment, making it look as if it's the real prophecy. It will wear off, though, anywhere between twelve to fourteen hours, so get it to him quickly if he wants to verify that it is the prophecy, not a blank parchment. I'll try and get it on Naruto's desk, but if that is impossible, then I will have it in the archives and I'll hide the original somewhere.

"This brings up another issue," Tsunade stated. Kirigi shot her a curious glance then realized what she was getting at. "Madara will know you betrayed him when the genjutsu wears off. So, before that happens, I want you to get out of there as soon as possible. Right now, you are more useful to us than ever with all the information you have on the Akatsuki. Understand?"

Kirigi nodded, happy to know half the plan was figured out and that she had his back, kind of. "What about the battle? I can guarantee that Katsumi will be itching for a fight."

"Well, we need to keep the Kages away, especially Naruto," Tsunade stated, pointing out the obvious for them both. "I will make sure I'm on hospital duty tomorrow night. Pick up your partner then. I will fight you to help sell your story to Madara until you're able to escape. Do not fight anyone else," she ordered, then adding, "Do whatever it takes to sell your role. Kill me if you have to. I would rather you not, but if that's best, report to Naruto from then on. He will know about this.

"I will try to get Rock Lee to fight Katsumi, but I can't guarantee anything because I'm no longer Hokage. I will put a watch on the outer wall incase anything goes wrong and Katsumi ends up killing someone," Tsunade stated. Kirigi nodded his understanding. "That should be it, then," Tsunade sighed.

"Yeah, sounds right," Kirigi stated.

"See you tomorrow, then," Tsunade said. "Good luck."

"Yeah, you too," Kirigi replied, retreating back to his camp where Katsumi lay sleeping.

(End Flashback)

Kirigi had come to terms with everything that had happened. He was able to handle the fact that he would be on the run shortly, to return to Konoha, a place that he had just made some pretty formidable enemies. He could handle the fact that he had just killed the one person in the world who knew more about him than he did himself. But, he could not handle the fact that Madara had someone who he had become close friends with over the past two years under a spell. He couldn't leave Saito behind to rot as a useless experiment. Saito would go with him.

It was then Kirigi had realized he had tuned out half of Madara's speech due to his reveries, and decided to listen in. "Although, I have a feeling we'll need some assistance for this battle. For that I have just the man in mind. He should still be alive, we'll just have to dig," Madara stated. "For this, I'll need Suigetsu, Katsumi, and Nogami. We leave now." With that he jumped off his perch and started to make his way out, the three he mentioned following behind him.

Kirigi stayed quiet. He knew what he had to do, and that it had to be done soon.


It was time to take flowers up to the grave, letting the memories of Tsunade pass through them for their final farewells. It was silent as each and every person walked up to the grave site, gently placing their lilies on the headstone. Slowly everyone got a turn. After almost forty-five minutes, the last three rows got to pay their respects to her. Shikamaru, Roxanne, and Fred had just gotten back to where they were standing originally when Shikamaru's face changed from its somber serenity to perplexity. Roxanne noticed the instant change, and saw him look to his father as if in question. Shikaku also harbored the same expression, signaling to Fred and Roxanne something was wrong.

"Shikamaru, what is it?" Roxanne asked, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

He was quiet for a moment before whispering, "Someone is trespassing in the Nara forest." He watched his father, almost as if they were communicating telepathically. Shikaku nudged his head back, signaling Shikamaru to check out what was wrong. He nodded, and quietly exited the funeral.

Something about the situation irked Roxanne. So she too exited almost invisibly, not escaping Mrs. Nara's angry gaze though. She jogged up to Shikamaru, who was oddly walking at a fast pace. When he noticed Roxanne was joining him, he stopped. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm going with you," Roxanne stated as if it were obvious.

Shikamaru shook his head slightly with a ghost of a chuckle. "Why?" he asked.

Roxanne sighed and answered, "I just have this feeling in my gut that you're going to need me."

He pursed his lips, then conceded by nudging his head saying, "Come on." They then sprinted to the eastern forest region that hid behind the Nara house. It took them nearly an hour to sprint across the village. They then reached the house and made their way to the backyard garden area. Roxanne barely noticed Shikamaru's shadow possession jutsu on her as they reached the edge of the Nara Forest. But when she did, Shikamaru stated, "It's only a precaution. I don't want you getting lost." They then ran into the forest. Shikamaru seemed to sense where the trespassers were. After what seemed to be endless running, a good two hours, they stopped abruptly at a small clearing in the trees. Roxanne heard Shikamaru mutter "Shit," under his breath. He released her from the jutsu letting her know this is where they were stopping.

"Are they still here?" Roxanne asked.

"No," Shikamaru stated, sounding disappointed with himself. "They got what they came for." Roxanne was confused by what he said and walked around him to see what he was looking at. Instantaneously, she recognized this clearing from the anime. The only difference she noticed was the gaping hole that sat in the center of it. As soon as this registered with her, she understood Shikamaru's anger. Hidan was back.

AN: Alrighty. Review, tell me what you think guys. Did I blow your minds with that last bit ... actually with the whole bit? Who saw that coming? Haha. I'm waiting for GrimSpeck18 to go "O.O WAHT!?!?!?!" Haha, so yeah, review plz, thanks!