A/N: School's been keeping me busy, so I haven't had too much research time. Besides, I'm still thinking about implementing this idea or not, and seeing how well it will fit within the context of the story. It may, or may not.

… … …

"I have no doubt...this chakra signature is..."

He half-mutters half-speaks out loud to his partner, who nods as they quickly change their course due southeast. The chakra flare he felt a few moments ago was definitely the same one he felt on night of the Nine Tails attack, the attack which the Uchiha were later blamed for. His bangs weave in and out of his field of vision, the forest speeding past the two cloaked forms as they leap across the branches of its many trees. They continue to follow the trail of the chakra, the minutes slowly blending into one another, the journey quiet and uneventful. He really wasn't in the mood for any bantering with Kisame right now, his eyes narrowing as the blur from his sight loss deterred his progress; the hues of green and brown from the forest canopy blending together before him, making it difficult to tell which was the right branch to land on until it was only a few meters away. By that time he was usually in mid-jump, the trajectory unchangeable at the speed which they were traveling, inwardly cursing for his small error in judgment. With his Sharingan, the chances of making such errors were mitigated slightly, though they did occur every so often, and Itachi was sure his partner in crime noticed.

The younger man was unsure of how to react to the development; he was sure that they hadn't reached the point in their 'relationship' where one would actually take notice If the other was in pain or suffering. Itachi knows though, that Kisame has been keeping tabs on his health, even if the blue skinned shark did not admit it himself. The one thing that came to Itachi's mind was 'why'. It seemed likely that he would never get that information out of the man himself, partners though they may be, their situation was one more suited to 'predator' and 'prey' each never knowing if one would be attacked by the other. At least that's how it started out at first, but as the two men became more comfortable around each other, learning more and more as time went on, Itachi knows that he doesn't have to fear anything like betrayal from the man only a few meters behind and to the left of him. Still something in Itachi knew that Kisame wasn't to be trusted fully, and having him learn about the damage to his sight could be detrimental to both the plans of the Akatsuki and his own agenda. He mentally shakes his head, scattering what was left of his thoughts; all they have to do is follow the nine Tails chakra, grab the jinchuriki and leave. Of course, Itachi had a little business he needs to settle with Sasuke in the Leaf, but that can wait until after their main mission is complete. He doubts that Kisame would mind, seeing that he loved finding a good fight against a strong opponent, and there would be quite a few of those in Leaf who would undoubtedly react to their presence, hidden or no...

… … …

"Interesting...Kid, what's with the little dog hiding in your jacket?"

"Hm? You mean the white one? He's new; just summoned him about a half month or so ago...Something seems off about him though."

Naruto responds to the call of the Nine Tails in his mind, waiting for an answer. All is silent for a few moments, the only noise the wind rushing in the blond's ears as he jumps from branch to branch. He could feel the chakra of the demon getting closer and closer, along with a more familiar chakra that puzzled him greatly. He wasn't really sure what to think about this new development when the fox interrupted his train of thought to begin speaking anew.

"Odd is right, boy. Isn't this the one you summoned using my chakra? Then it makes sense that he's a little off; No human could do this with regular chakra, unless they were a priest or one of the few monks or disciples with ties to the spiritual plane."

"What do you mean? So he's not a normal wolf-dog thingy?"

"Yes, that's what I mean idiot. Pay attention when I'm talking to you dammit! Anyways, this thing feels like a Divine, albeit a weak one. Probably because it is so small, just having been born into the world. Did anything seem wrong when you first summoned him?"

"Wrong? Well...He does have weird markings on his white fur that only Sasuke and I can see; They are an odd red-blood color, and cover most of his body, even his tiny face. I think he can sense demons too, or he knows more about them than I do. The first time we met those imp-like creatures, he started to growl and attack them, and he has an odd jutsu or something he used to kill them..."

Naruto comments, his jacket wiggling a little as the small pup pokes its head out of his white collar. The white wolf just looks at him oddly, its coal black eyes swiveling around to survey its surroundings after a few minutes. The orange clad ninja notices that its gaze is stuck on the northwest part of the forest, where the demon's chakra has gotten stronger. Stopping atop one of the branches lower to ground level, Naruto concentrating on gathering up as much of the Nine Tail's chakra as he could pull out. His focus wavers a little and he inwardly curses as some of the demon's chakra is lost, only about 10% of it going into his shadow clone. He quickly scans the duplicate over, noticing it looks the exact same as he does though the chakra stored within it was only that of the demon's and none of his own was present. That's kinda odd...Something like this has never happened before. I guess it's because I messed up? Naruto wonders as he nods to his clone, which quickly heads off towards the source of the demonic chakra, the real blonde chasing after it.

"What was that about it using a jutsu to kill demons? I highly doubt you remember it, as you humans have awful memories, but describe it to me if it's possible."

"Hmmm...I don't really remember as the little guy hasn't fought too much, though I saw whatever connected with this...black line was cut in half. I'm not sure how he did it, the ability seemed innate, or maybe he learned it...I don't know."

"Figures...Well, there's no helping it, I guess."

The demon king mutters inside his cage, his expression contemplative as he studies the information he has just learned. A black line that cuts anything in half, eh? That definitely sounds like their power. I remember using it myself once...before it was taken back after I stole it some thousand years ago. Those were good times, good times to be a demon at least. The Nine-Tails thinks, his expression softening slightly as he remembers that time, the time when demons and divine both battled for supremacy over the human land. The world has become too soft, slowly losing what made it special in the first place. With all the advancements in technology and medicine, people lived too long and stayed alive with diseases they would normally die from; be it a disability like being born with one less limb or something contracted via parasite or bacteria. The people are losing the will to fight, that primal instinct which compels all beings to cling to survival. In response the world has become weaker, and will soon be unable to sustain the populations of the world for long. Most humans are oblivious to this of course, and are just trying to live out their lives day to day.

The hatred in people's souls, the most important aspect of all things living, is slowly helping the decay of the planet. Humans squabble over resources, killing others and drowning the Earth in their blood. Parents fight with their children or spouses, splitting up families and adding to the darkness inside people's hearts. It is situations like these that drive the world deeper and deeper into chaos, and if the balance shifts towards the darkness enough demons get more powerful due to the desires in people's hearts for death, destruction, greed and lust. Like the thing they were about to face now; the Nine Tails can sense that it's power has grown since the last few centuries they met, most likely due to the conflicts rampant across the land. Watching the boy, the demon notices he has stopped moving, one hand gripping the handle for the blade on his back.

"I think something's coming our way..."

Naruto comments, his eyes narrowing as he stares forward into the brush, his feet taut and bent at the knees. The leaves on the trees rustle in the wind, the only discerning sound in the forest; everything else, aside from the blonde's breathing, was deathly quiet. The small dog in Naruto's jacket growls slightly as it sniffs the air, sensing something approaching. The genin quickly notices the odd scent as well, though something seems familiar to the orange clothed shinobi. He quickly leaps forward, his legs springing into action just as soon as he notices the shadow hidden in the treetops. Naruto quickly takes out his blade, swinging it so it is angled perpendicular to the figure below him. The two connect before Naruto's body even registers the blow, metal screeching along metal, katana meeting dagger in a flash of sparks and light. Naruto cannot hold against the attack, having no footing since he is still in mid-air, and pushes off his opponent's blade. He flies through the air, the wind rushing harshly in his ears, his sandaled feet sticking vertically to one of the trees only a couple yards away from his opponent.

"This guy...He's pretty good. I won't lose though, not to someone who sided with a thing like that!"

Naruto shouts, his eyes still trained on the mysterious figure. Faster than he can notice, the shadowed assaulter lands a roundhouse kick to Naruto's face, sending the blonde flying through the air. He crashes to the ground unceremoniously, the force of the impact kicking up much dirt and causing the genin to spit out blood. Barely lifting his head, Naruto wipes the blood off of his face with his left arm, watching as his attacker drops from the tree trunk onto the soft grass. He's toying with me, I see that now. He could have easily killed me before I got up, but he didn't. Either he's very cocky and likes to enjoy playing with his opponent or something is forcing hm to hold back. Naruto thinks, watching as the person moves under the shadows of the forest towards him. He couldn't make out many details from his angle on the ground, aside from the fact that whomever this was had to be an adult due to their tall build; No child could grow to that height, it was impossible for one's body to grow that tall so quickly. Something else was off to the blonde, the fact that his opponent decides to still keep to the shadows even though his presence was already known.

The man, being an elite fighter, should have understood that sticking to the shadows was useless now; His advantage of surprise had already been taken from him when they clashed. Yet there he was, still sticking to the path nearest to the copse of trees, his katana out and extended towards Naruto. Using his free left hand, the blonde hurriedly stood up to face his opponent, holding out his dagger defensively. Almost as soon as he was ready, the man sped forward, his blade whipping forward in a flash of silver as the metal gleamed against the sunlight. Naruto stumbles under this assault, his legs buckling under him from the pressure of his opponent, who weighed much more than a twelve year old boy. The man, still cloaked in the shadows, pulls his blade back and slices again, this time a horizontal swipe meant to decapitate.

Naruto notices this, but knows he can do little considering the size of his opponent. He backs off instead, the blade just barely missing his forehead and leaving a deep gash near the left side of his face. He winces slightly, but ignores the pain and jumps away from his opponent, who surprisingly does not pursue. The man is just standing there, his body rigid and taut, his form obscured by the lack of light in the area. Instead of questioning his good fortune, Naruto quickly runs from the fight, hoping to lose the man in the thickness of the vast copse of trees. He hops from branch to branch, his speed increasing as his fear mounts. I would have died if I tried to block that hit; Our levels are waaay too different. Besides, how can a child hope to match up with a grown man. The difference in strength and abilities is too vast, he has more experience than I do. If I can lose him in the trees, maybe he'll give up. He didn't seem to eager to fight anyway; I was the one who initiated the attack. He most likely was acting out of self-defense.

Nodding to himself to assuage his suspicions, Naruto can only sigh to himself, looking behind his shoulder occasionally to check if the man is following him. He does not see or smell anything, but something in the back of his mind tells him to be wary. His white pup also is sniffing the air, hoping to catch if anything else is on their trail. Having found nothing, the little pup sticks his head back inside Naruto's jacket, his onyx eyes peeking out from there.

"You didn't find anything else either, huh? Maybe he has decided to leave us alone then..."

Naruto mutters, praying that his hunch is correct.

… … …

"This is more trouble than it's worth..."

Itachi mutters to himself, quickly launching some shuriken to counter against the projectiles sent by his opponent. Even with his degrading vision, the Sharingan helped immensely in times like these, and he flawlessly dodged all of the attacks that came his way. The two had thought it would have been easy to capture the jinchuriki by following his chakra signature, or at least the signature of the Nine Tails. What they did not expect was to encounter this on the way, blocking them from getting closer to their target. Well, it really didn't matter to Itachi, as he sensed that Naruto was coming closer and closer to their current location every passing minute. The Uchiha had never seen something like this before, and why it was opposing them he did not know. All he knew that it was in the way of their mission and so it must be killed. Even with Kisame's help, however, that task was proving more difficult than they had first anticipated.

Being an S-ranked criminal in every known ninja country's bingo book was no easy feat to be sure, and with that notoriety came a certain degree of awe and respect. One could only become a missing nin by being strong enough to evade Anbu, the best trackers and fighters in a ninja village, or in some cases killing Anbu members. Techniques of that level, whether they are martial arts or jutsu, usually take some skill to master that is far above the average shinobi. Most jutsu on the higher tiers of A or S rank could cause irreparable damage if used incorrectly, the least of which being chakra drainage to the point of death. The thing they were fighting now was far above any average Anbu member; It was probably at least twice as powerful as the two of them combined. Both Itachi and Kisame know they need to come up with a strategy to beat this thing and fast, with their target getting closer and closer into their reach.

Easier said than done, seeing as the beast they were fighting was about fifteen meters high in height, with a girth that could easily be around three hundred pounds. The fact that it was big did not mean it was slow, and the creature was easily able to keep up with the duo, though they were still slightly faster. It was white and brow in color with five legs; two located at each side of the monster with an extra in back. It stares out at them from shadowed blue eyes, eyes that are filled with a venomous rage and hatred. Its stance is almost crab-like, one giant stinger located in the of its brown flesh. The beast waves around two giant appendages, something with slight similarity to human hands in shape though the left hand is more similar to a drill used for mining. Both of them had traveled around the Five Ninja Nations for quite a while, yet neither of the two had encountered anything such as this. They highly doubted it was a new species either; something of this power was easily on the level of a Summoning Creature, as no mere human could make something like this appear; not even their leader Pain with his Rinnegan could summon a beat so monstrous and colossal without having much trouble keeping it in check. This meant one crucial thing; That whatever this creature was, it was not of the same plane as most other living beings or summons. Even knowing that much about it did little to help their situation.

"I don't mind a good fight every so often, but this is a little extreme, wouldn't you agree Itachi-san?"

Kisame half-jokingly comments, busy wrenching his giant blade out of the monster's torn flesh. Samehada writhes in pleasure as the blood of the thing envelops it, its master grinning slightly as he understands its joy. It seems that was only the outer skeleton, a white chakra armor hiding the real thing inside. Most interesting... The half-shark half-human looking shinobi thinks, bringing his blade swinging over his head down for another chop. The sword tears again through the white barrier protecting the creature, its brown skin now soaked a dark crimson with its own blood. He hurriedly ducks out of the way as a fireball streams past him, the orange blaze connecting with the brown skin of the monster in front of him. The beast lets out a piercing shriek, its body frothing about to and fro because of the pain, its appendages swiping madly to try and hit one of the ninja.

"This is one tough foe..."

Itachi asserts, his gaze narrowing as he notices the damage from his fireball was starting to heal already. Either this demon was slightly impervious to fire ninjutsu, or it had a regenerative ability similar to the Nine-Tails. Shuriken and kunai had little to no effect; they either bounced off, doing no damage, or the wounds inflicted by them were healed almost instantly. The only thing that seemed to work was Kisame's Shark Skin blade, it's property of absorbing chakra slowly but surely weakening the creature. I may have to leave this to Kisame, as I see no way to hurt the demon myself...Using the Mangekyou here would be a waste and my sight can little afford such a choice. It would be better for me to try and intercept Naruto. Itachi thinks, relaying his idea to his blue skinned companion. Kisame only lets out a feral grin, his white eyes shining devilishly.

"Fine, you're the most suited for capturing him with your genjutsu anyway. I'll stay here and deal with this thing on my own...!"

He comments, watching as his lithe partner dashes off into the forest. The sword wielding shinobi is caught by surprise however, as one of the monster's claws tears into his left shoulder. He grins, the adrenaline of the fight blocking out the pain, and swings his sword horizontally to counter. The powerful blow sends the creature's bottom leg flying, the thing screeching in pain as it registers the lack of a limb. Almost immediately, said left leg starts to regenerate, the white of its bone marrow gleaming against it's brown flesh.

"This will be a good challenge; I'm getting excited!"