I hate that it took so long to release this; my laptop spontaneously wiped itself of all content. 8 pages gone without any sign of a reason. I just wanna get this chapter out fast, this one was a real pain in the ass.


Prelude to disaster; the epilogue of hope

The streets of Keishigakure were as silent as the setting sun. Eyes cast from the windows out onto the road as the slow procession made its way through. The eight Shinobi they knew of were walking aside two they didn't; an old man who kept his distance and a dark skinned man carried on a stretcher by two from the medical unit. From the looks the Jinchuuriki held, there was as little to celebrate for them as the village felt there was. For even Keishi had felt the impact of what had happened out there. And as Naruto looked around, he could see to just what extent the touch of that battle had affected this place.

Dust was strewn everywhere, turning the once pristine village filthy. The shockwaves from the Bijuu's attacks had rendered the village almost like a desert wasteland. The people of the village were clearly afraid, could they have possibly heard the Hachibi's cries, or maybe even seen some of the fight from here? If that was the case, then they probably didn't know what to think in the hour of silence leading up to Yoinokuchi's return. Although in truth, even those who were present at that battle strongly desired answers from the people most responsible for this situation.

The still form of Kirabi had made not a single movement since being placed upon the stretcher and carried away. His consciousness had left him by his own volition; his cry of pain draining the last remaining energy that dwelt within his beaten body. Chances were that he didn't even know where he was, if he was capable of comprehending that much. Even as he was taken into the Jinchuuriki's residence and placed in a bed, there were no signs of recognition coming from him at all.

The room he had been placed in was small; too small for everyone to gather in. Instead they all stood outside in three parts. Gaara, Yagura, Utakata, Fuu and Han stood together with their eyes on Naruto, while Jiraiya stayed behind and out of their line of vision. The tensions hadn't left for a single second, but at this moment they became more pronounced than ever. Naruto wasn't allowed any naivety to what was going on. Too many distrustful looks were fixed upon him for such an error to be made.

"… With the five nations keeping an eye on things over here, we can put our full attention on dealing with Akatsuki before they deal with us." He said, unable to look his comrades in the eye. He stood by Kirabi's open door, his hands in his pockets and his attention fixed on the ground, trying to make himself as small as possible. This wasn't something he could be completely forgiven for even if he tried. "It's a win-win situation; everyone benefits from it."

Of course this was only a part of the problem. Without looking he could still tell that judgemental eyes were set upon him, cold and unforgiving gazes that were still awaiting an explanation to the more important point. But in this aspect Naruto could not act mild. Even though they looked at him like that he felt like it was unfair. "What did you expect me to do, just wait around and do nothing while you all take care of the jobs too big for me to handle?" he demanded, this time turning the accusing look upon them. "Just 'cos the Kyuubi is the hardest to handle I shouldn't bother trying? There's no way I can accept that! Look at what happened out there, all I could do was push him around! Then you guys show up and I have to watch from the sidelines?"

"This isn't a matter of us trying to stop you from gaining the power that lies inside of you." Gaara replied, speaking up where normally he would leave the scolding to someone like Yagura. He gave a frozen look to his one and only friend, and was met with a combination of defiance and unsettlement. Gaara closed his eyes and bowed his head towards his folded arms, an almost defeated look about him. "The fact is that you pursued that power with no consideration about the welfare of those around you. You were willing to put everyone at risk for the sake of that power. Is that all that everything you've done amounts to? A whim only to get replaced by something that interests you more?"

Silently, the other Jinchuuriki seemed to be getting moved to the sideline. To Gaara and Naruto the only people present were themselves. That was why Naruto was able to ignore the others and glare fully at the desert Shinobi, who opened his eyes to see how Naruto would react. "You know that's a load of bullshit!" the swordsman yelled, his teeth gritting in anger at the allegation handed to him. "You think this is fun for me, working with those Konoha bastards and ratting out on Akatsuki? You think I don't know how dangerous the Kyuubi is? One false move, and we're all DEAD!"

From the corner of his eye he noticed Fuu jump at his cry, and remembered that there were more people here. Forcing himself to calm a little, he straightened up and looked to the rest of his group. In spite of what they said, he knew that they were the ones who were truly naïve. "You think the five nations are just gonna let us sit here?" he demanded, making eye contact with each and every person, especially Jiraiya. "Right now out location is convenient for them, but once this is over you think they'll just let us be? If we can't all harness our power then either they or he'll get us. I'm not gonna let him do as he pleases with Akatsuki, so I'm gonna do everything I can to stop him!"

Once again his breathing turned heavy, as the weight of the things he said tired him out. It seemed however his words had had some effect, as no one in front of him were giving him dirty looks any more. Gaara however was not so kind, as he turned his back on Naruto and looked to the end of the hallway. "So what you're saying is that your loyalties lie solely with that person then?" he asked, keeping names aside in the presence of Konoha's Sannin. But even if he didn't give names, the feelings that went with his words were fine indicators as to what he thought. "… Then make your choice. You can go to him and do what you feel is necessary, or you can stay here with us. But if you choose to stay, you will have to accept punishment for what you have done. Decide."

He left Naruto in silence, the other Jinchuuriki following him hesitantly. Naruto looked after them with a stunned expression, only now realising the situation that was put before him. He continued to stare even as they disappeared, even as Jiraiya approached him quietly and calmly. "Sounds like your job has a hell of a lot of stress to it." He said, deciding not to make Naruto any more irate than he already was. With a calm look to his left, he gave an expression of mild surprise. "Looks like you're not the only one who can't just lie around."

Naruto turned his eyes in the same direction as where Jiraiya was looking, noticing that Kirabi had already awakened. Forgetting his problems for a moment he and the Sannin walked into the room, the medic nin stepping aside to allow them proximity with Keishi's guest. "Geez, I would've thought after that you'd at least be out long enough for the rest of us to catch our breath!" Naruto said, putting on a grin that didn't really have much feeling behind it. "Don't worry; you're not a prisoner or anything. Just rest here until you-"

"You're Jiraiya of the Sannin right?"

Kirabi spoke without moving in the slightest, making his mouth even more noticeable as a result. Jiraiya looked down at this man, fully understanding what he was going through and what it must feel like. "You have my condolences concerning your Raikage." He said, knowing that in spite of Kirabi's breaking of the most standard ninja rules, this Shinobi was not so foregone that he would forget the true priority of this situation. "He was as fine a Shinobi as he was strong, and one that fully deserves the respect given to him."

"Who did it?"

Jiraiya and Naruto half flinched at the feelings hidden behind that blank question. Against their expectations Kirabi was not in mourning for his lost Kage, but enraged by how his brother was taken from him. Jiraiya realised this with a sigh; perhaps the Shinobi ways of the past had not reached to the generations ahead of his own. "Unfortunately we don't yet have a name for the person directly responsible." He explained, closing his eyes and folding his arms in a wise manner. But barely a moment later he looked down at Kirabi again, his brow creasing to that of a contemplative statue; cold and firm. "All we have is a description. The Raikage first fought with Uchiha Sasuke, but those truly responsible for defeating him possessed orange hair and heavy piercings. All of them were from Akatsuki."

Kirabi turned his head ever so slightly to look Jiraiya in the face, almost as if he was trying to determine the old ninja's honesty. Jiraiya allowed him the chance to search, while he himself studied what he could of the Hachibi Jinchuuriki. With their attentions so fixed on each other, neither paid much attention as Naruto took his leave, his lip bleeding as a result of his gritted teeth.


A quiet inn was always a poor omen, at least to those who were in charge of the place. Silence always represented the fact that business was low, that few customers were resting here. As a result the people who worked here tended to overcompensate in terms of sound in the hope that it would seem as if the place were busier. It was a classic strategy, but one that tended to make the situation worse if it backfired.

Cleaners dragged their trolleys through the halls, whistling a morning tune. Receptionists closed their sign in books and rifled their papers quite vigorously. Chefs and cooks worked hard in the kitchen to sharpen their utensils. Really, it almost seemed as if they were too busy. That was the impression at least, one that wasn't undeserved. Sitting at the bar quietly was enough to tell Hyuuga Neji everything that was going on around him.

He cradled the glass in his hands and looked at his reflection in the water, his thoughts gone to some far and distant place. He had ridded himself of that Akatsuki cloak, returning to the white asymmetrical shirt that he favoured. Even now being affiliated with Akatsuki was dangerous, to the point where those red clouds were enough to warrant a Shinobi's arrest. It was for that very bothersome reason that Neji could not feel completely comfortable. That is to say, the person beside him was one who donned that cloak regularly. So of course he was a little on edge.

Thankfully it seemed that that person had said all that he wanted to say. He rose to his feet and headed off without the slightest word of farewell, something that Neji was in fact grateful for. As he continued to stare, his reflection in the water curled its lip. "Someone other than myself and Madara knows about my desire..." he thought, recounting the words that the Akatsuki member had just spoken to him minutes before. "Which means that person must have been present at the time I gave Madara my condition for assisting him. In that case, it's someone who both knows Madara's identity and true intentions. Someone who intends to bring him down, from what I have heard. And for some reason, that very same person wishes me to find Sabaku no Gaara of all people… is this related to what Madara told me?"

He closed his eyes and focused his thoughts further, trying to make sense of the things that he knew. The only solution that made sense was that someone had either worked out Madara's scheme, or had in fact learned of it from the man himself. In other words, a genius, or a traitor. But neither of those things led him any closer to a name or a face. The simple fact was that this was most likely the doing of a person who had been involved long before he had arrived on the scene. In that case, just how calculated was his role in this mystery person's plans?

"Neji."

Neji opened his eyes and looked once more in the makeshift mirror of his glass. Behind him stood none other than Uchiha Sasuke, another unwanted person who for some reason seemed to be hanging around him. That person took the seat the Akatsuki man had been using just a minute ago, and looked dead ahead of the bar. "What exactly is it that you want to do?" the Uchiha asked, staring at the bottles stacked on the shelf with blank, lifeless eyes. There was no hiding the fact that his vision had weakened a great deal; he was almost on the verge of total blindness. It was his pride and hatred that seemed to keep him going, something Neji would pity him for if he could bring himself to care.

"Strange… it almost sounds as if you intend to repay me for the assistance, don't you think?" he asked with a smirk, as he lifted his glass to his lips and drained the fluid. The reason he found something like that strange was because Sasuke had already abandoned his subordinates to Akatsuki. Those three had already been put to work by Madara and placed under other members, just like what had become of Sakon and Kidomaru. Neji had to chuckle at how in that regard he and Sasuke shared a common feature. "Manners were never your strong point, why the sudden desire to return the favour?"

He looked over at Sasuke for any sign of a reaction, but found that he was as well as talking to his glass. He knew from the things Sasuke had said not so long ago that the Uchiha's number one desire right now was to go to Konoha and totally obliterate it. Why then was he following Neji around when he clearly wasn't needed? The simple fact was that if Sasuke was here, Madara was definitely watching. To that end Neji knew his actions could not go unnoticed. It was unfortunate then that there was an aspect of his personality that also chose to hinder him; the aspect of sociopathy that he could not resist once it had come to mind.

"Well, I suppose there is no harm in saying it out loud." He sighed, sitting back in his stool and looking up towards the ceiling. He noticed Sasuke turn his head ever so slightly, and knew that his tone had earned that person's momentary attention. Neji knew better than to waste this moment, and so went right in to the words forming in his mind. "According to Madara there is a plot to end his life. The person behind this plot is Sabaku no Gaara. Apparently that person went so far as to speak to Uchiha Itachi about the matter. I'm curious to see just what secrets Itachi gave unto Gaara."

This time he was graced with a response in the form of a turned head from Uchiha Sasuke. His pitch black eyes met with Neji's near white ones, the two staring at each other for several long moments. Then Sasuke rose to his feet, facing the door with his back to the Hyuuga. "Well then lets get going." He said, sounding nothing like a person who was repaying an ally, more like someone who was taking control of the situation. "Take me to where he is."

"I was already on my way you fool."


A door creaked open on old and rusted hinges, allowing an opening into a viridian world. Pale green stone filled this basement room, tall circular pillars supporting the manor above. Light from outside bounced off the greenery and reflected through the small windows up high, adding to the green glow all around. In the places where that sunlight failed to reach, electric lights forced the shadows back. The room was cool, like a forest in the fall.

These were all grand words to say, but none of them were what came to Naruto's mind. As he stepped into the calm basement all he could do was gape and voice only a sound of impression. He was led into this room by Fuu, whose attitude suggested she had been to this place before. She was the one who led Naruto through, taking him to the place that the other Jinchuuriki awaited him. Once more all of them looked severe, but each also shared a faint aura of relief. That Naruto had chosen to come here meant that he was willing to stay after all.

"It's good that you have made this decision." Gaara said, from his position in the wide circle that he and the rest of Yoinokuchi stood in. As Naruto came to the end of this circle he realised a giant seal was painted upon the ground. He could tell just by looking that this was the work of Yagura; he himself understood Fuinjutsu to the extent of being able to create Jutsu traps, yet this was on a whole other level. "Place yourself in the centre and prepare to listen to the terms of this punishment."

Naruto let out a sigh; it seemed that pleased though they were at his decision, they were still unwilling to forget about the things that he had done. And so he made his way towards the middle, his hands slipping into his pockets to mask the growing nerves inside of him. "Damn, without these guys how the hell am I supposed to do anything with the Kyuubi?" he thought to himself, as he came to a stop at the designated place. The seal was certainly a large one, meaning that its purpose was no slight thing. "But this is gonna be troublesome, I can-"

His thoughts were cut short, as his heart suddenly beat out of rhythm. He grabbed his chest from the shock, as not only did he feel that strange thing, but an overwhelming dizziness that seemed to come along with it. He managed to stand his ground, but what he was feeling was far from comfortable. Whipping his head around to search for answers, he found his vision blurred to the point where Utakata seemed to blend with Han, their red and black hovering around Fuu for a moment. He seriously felt like he was about to be sick.

"This is a multiple tier style imprisonment Jutsu designed to incapacitate targets of high risk." Yagura explained, taking the reigns of this ordeal and proving his involvement in the creation of this thing. Naruto strained himself to meet the person's gaze, for the ringing in his ears was keeping him from fully understanding speech. "It dampens your senses so you can't easily resist, and weakens your body considerably. Any chakra you form will be pulled into the seal and released at several locations where it can harmlessly disperse. This is your containment."

"As for the punishment itself, that's where the rest of us come in." Utakata said, continuing where Yagura left off. Naruto lowered himself to his knees to preserve his sense of spatial awareness, and craned his neck over his shoulder to look at the bubble nin. "You see, your task is to channel enough chakra that the seal will overpass its limit and force it to break down. It is our task to hinder you in any way that we can. This seal taps into our Bijuu chakra, so our effort in maintaining it is minimal. So we would advise against losing consciousness; you'll only put yourself in a worse position."

"This is the punishment we have decided for you." Gaara finished, speaking flatly, yet not emotionlessly. Naruto looked straight ahead at his closest human companion, and was still brought to wonder just what it was that was going on in Gaara's mind. Was this sort of thing really the punishment he deemed necessary? "If you can successfully escape this seal without quitting, then you will have proven your dedication to this organisation and this village. Then, and only then, will we continue to accept your ideas."

That was the conclusion of the situation that Naruto was now in. No one else spoke as he was given time to take in what he heard; his physical state slowed him down considerably. "Well, I guess if I have to, this is better than what I imagined." He told himself, as he readjusted his position so he was sat cross legged on the ground. For a while there it had been his fear that he would have to properly do battle with one of the Bijuu, as a means of proving the power of such a beast. "It doesn't seem too hard, I just gotta keep gathering chakra ri-"

"Maybe with this, you will truly understand what it means to be a Jinchuuriki."

Naruto's eyes widened and flew up to Gaara, a mistake considering his condition. But before he could question his ally further, it seemed the barrier aspect of the Jutsu was now coming into effect. A red wall rose around the boundaries of the circle, closing Naruto off from the other Jinchuuriki. Reluctantly he raised his hands into the ram seal, and began to channel the chakra that would come to release him from the prison crafted by the ones he called his comrades.

Now that he sat here, generating chakra in a slow and steady stream, he found he could ease the disorientation by closing his eyes. He could feel the chakra he pulled out being drained from him through the seal, and with it the constant decrease to his stamina. He naturally had a massive supply of energy; it was possible that being a Jinchuuriki was the only reason he could break free from this. If all it took was creating massive amounts of chakra, then that was a simple task indeed.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" he called, switching his hands to the modified ram seal. All around him appeared his exact copies, sitting in the same position and ready to create more chakra. With something like this the task should be easy to do. All he needed now was to have him and all his clones pull out all the chakra contained within them, and then this was would soon be-

FIZZZZZT!

"GAAAH!" the twelve Naruto's cried out, as lightning jumped from the seal and struck their bodies ruthlessly. Clouds of smoke exploded inside the barrier, creating a fog that took several long moments to dissipate back into clear air. When this happened, Naruto was revealed to be sprawled on the floor, twitching in pain as every nerve in his body was impaled with lightning. With difficulty he lifted his head, looking out to the other Jinchuuriki with wincing eyes. "What the fuck was that?"

"Like I said, this is a high level imprisonment style technique." Yagura replied, without the slightest sign of regret for Naruto's suffering. He was the one putting the most effort into keeping the seal going, as the Nehangan told Naruto. "This seal has a limiter that only allows a small quantity of chakra to be pulled out in the way we have mentioned before. Any chakra you generate that stretches over that limit will be absorbed and converted into Raiton chakra, which will then attack your nervous system to cause both pain and force you to stop what you are doing. In other words, there are no shortcuts to this task."

Naruto's teeth grinded together as he hauled himself back to his seat. That was a dirty move, not warning him about that sooner. Either these guys wanted to make sure he got the full message of this punishment, or they wanted to see just how he intended to go about it. In either case, he could not get back to gathering chakra without feeling some form of ill will. "Can't think like that, there are other things to focus on right now." He thought, as he resumed the seal and set to work as his conditions allowed. "Think about what Gaara said… what it truly means to be a Jinchuuriki…"

Once again he closed his eyes to settle himself, and put his thoughts along that path. Could it be that behind this punishment there was a hidden meaning? Something involving what it took to gain the power of the Bijuu? If that was really the truth, then he needed to give this exercise his all. If the other Jinchuuriki were really going to assist him in earning the Kyuubi's power like this, then maybe the way they went about wasn't so bad after-

"YOW!" Naruto yelped, as he felt something cut across his cheek. He slapped the wound quickly and realised he had been hit with something sharp; blood was already dripping from the cut. He whipped his head around accusingly, subjecting himself to that visual torment once again, before assessing who the most likely culprit was. Even though he glared at Fuu, she simply smiled back at him and even offered a friendly wave.

"Let the hindering begin!"


In one of the small countries that lay between Tsuchi no Kuni and Ta, there was a village that lay right in the middle of that space. It was a village that consisted of a surprising number of hydrangeas, almost every street was full of the blooming bushes. The afternoon sun beat down upon this place, giving it a last blast of heat before the coming night. The wind was almost still, but not without dulcet tones from fallen petals scattered across the ground.

A small group of people were making their way through this calm and docile place, offering the village none of the appreciation that it deserved. This group each appeared to be Shinobi from Iwagakure, as the shiny head plates came to suggest. There were eight people in this group, five of them men and three of them women. Well, four men, three women and what appeared to be a boy.

"So this place is in Ta no Kuni?" asked one of the men, a Shinobi with dark brown hair tied back in a tight ponytail. His studious eyes turned down to the boy walking beside him; the only other person with proper experience in the task that they had been given. Kyoei Taiki, the young and creepy Ninja of the Static Storm. "To think that in such a short time those people have successfully created their own ninja village… well chances are the foundations will be hazardous."

"What does it matter if the foundations are stable or not?" asked Kyoei Taiki in return, looking up through his mop of brown hair to fix a pair of fiery orange eyes upon his comrade. Kyonshi Kougai was one of few people left unsettled by the power of this boy; the permanent field of static that rendered peace impossible around him. It was for this reason that Taiki could smirk fully, ensured that his full meaning would be understood. "If you go straight to the top, then it doesn't matter if the foundations are made of gold or grain."

Kougai turned his dark eyes back to the road ahead, looking away from his fellow member of Iwa's Research and Experimental division. He didn't want to say it, but he too had no desire to waste time with meaningless acts if they could get to their targets right away. "Iwa believes that if Akatsuki is seeking the Bijuu's power, then the proper course of action would be to eliminate those Bijuu so that Akatsuki's goal will be impossible to attain." He said, making sure the easily bored Taiki understood their mission. "Don't waste time; if you find an opening then take it."

"Yeah, whatever."

As the group from Iwa's R&E division progressed on, they passed by a café which at the moment was rather full. From inside that café the heads of three people turned around, looking after the group that was walking by them. "Hey, sounds like those guys want to get to the Jinchuuriki first." Said Suigetsu, with a smirk across his lips. He turned around to the person beside him, letting that man see his expression as well. "Want me to get them out the way?"

On the other side of the person Suigetsu spoke to, Juugo looked up curiously too. Both of them had been placed under this particular person, who spent little time on the group from Iwa. "They're weak, go for it." Said Hoshigake Kisame, as he returned to his meal. He had been wearing a rather bitter expression lately, and had not been the greatest person to be around. Neither Suigetsu or Juugo understood the reason, but they felt it had to do with their current mission. "I don't want them to be worn out by the time we get there."

Suigetsu's smirk became a grin, as he understood Kisame's feelings. Wiping his mouth he rose to his feet and left the café, taking his own way after the Iwa group. Kisame didn't spend any attention to this; his thoughts were already at his destination. "To think things have turned out this way." He thought to himself. He didn't like wasted effort, and what he was about to do was make the last three years worthless. It was because of that that he was in a foul mood. "Those two better be ready."