Author's Note: Heyo, guys, CannoBaller here with another chapter for you guys today. Hope you guys enjoy it. As always, review if you like the chapter, and even if you don't! Happy Reading!

Chapter 55: Konoha's 12, AWOL?

Tsunade sat down heavily on her chair, putting a hand to her head. Shizune looked shocked; how could this have happened? The Hokage pushed her worry for the Jinchuuriki away and looked straight into Ino's eyes. "How did this happen?"

Ino took a deep breath and began to explain what had happened at the waterfall. By the end, she was in tears. "The plant guy, Zetsu, pulled Naruto into the ground. I was going to give chase, but one of Naruto's blood clones pulled me away, asking me to come to the village for help."

She wiped away her tears and glared at Tsunade. "What are you waiting for? We need to go, we have to save Naruto."

"It isn't so easy, Ino," Tsunade sighed heavily. The Hokage had struggled to restrain herself when Ino was explaining the situation, but she had now calmed herself down and was beginning to plan strategically.

"What? What are you talking about, Lady Tsunade?"

Shizune closed the gap between herself and the Yamanaka, and began to heal her. Tsunade pulled out a map and showed it to Ino. "We made this map with intel from our spies. It shows the locations of the Akatsuki bases throughout the nations. There are eleven of them, and these are just the ones we know. Naruto could have been taken to any of these bases, or to a base we still have no knowledge about. Are you starting to see the problem?"

Ino opened her mouth to argue, but Tsunade cut her off, "Anyway, even if we knew which base Naruto was headed to, we can't simply send a squad of heavy combat ninjas into another country. It would pretty much be seen as an act of aggression which could lead to the beginning of a war. Also, I'm pretty sure that he won't be in our country, the Akatsuki are too careful that way."

The platinum blonde was speechless. She couldn't believe what the Hokage was saying. "Are you implying that we do nothing at all?"

"Ino, the extraction of the Tailed Beasts takes at least three days. Even longer if there aren't nine members," Tsunade said. "In fact, I was surprised to hear that the Akatsuki took Naruto, considering that they don't have enough members to perform the extraction in time."

Even Shizune looked a little wide eyed at that statement. But it was nothing compared to Ino's expression.

"Excuse me, Milady, I need to go and change into my regular outfit," Ino said with her face lowered.

The Hokage looked at her closely, but was unable to understand what was going on in Ino's mind. She said, "Go ahead. I'll call for you in a while, in case we find out anything about Naruto's whereabouts."

Ino nodded quickly and hurried out of the office, hardly noticing that she was completely healed.

Shizune walked over to the Hokage and said, "Are you seriously implying that we aren't going to send a tracking squad after the Akatsuki immediately?"

The Senju did not answer immediately. Instead, she pulled a drawer out of her desk, and pushed a button hidden behind it. A scroll appeared out of nowhere in the otherwise empty drawer, and Tsunade opened it quickly, almost tearing it in her haste.

As Shizune watched in surprise, Tsunade began signing, and the scroll started smoking. As the Hokage finished the hand signs, the scroll revealed a mirror.

"Milady, what is that?"

"Later, Shizune."

Tsunade took the mirror and spoke into it. "This is Tsunade Senju." She scowled, hating using her surname. "I request an immediate emergency meeting at the Council of Shadows."

The mirror began to shine. Shizune looked at Tsunade, clearly confused at what was going on. "Milady?"

Tsunade peered intently into the mirror, and looked satisfied a moment later. "All the other Kages are going to honor the call. I will be gone for a while, Shizune, I want you to handle the situation here until then. And inform Jiraiya that I am heading into a meeting with the other Kages at the Council of Shadows."

Shizune struggled to understand, but nodded. Tsunade sat in her chair, and began signing again. A moment later, a purple door began to form in the office. It seemed to be a portal of sorts. The Senju took a last look at Shizune and said, "If anything goes wrong, I expect that you and Jiraiya will be able to handle it. Am I wrong?"

Shizune shook her head in utmost determination. The Hokage gave her a ghost of a smile and turned the handle of the door, stepping into the darkness beyond.


As soon as she was home, Ino got rid of the remains of her bikini. She quickly got into the shower to cleanse herself of all the grime, blood and sweat she had picked up in the battle.

After she was done, the kunoichi popped two food pills into her mouth, knowing that she needed her full chakra for what she was about to do. Generally, taking more than one food pill at a time was considered dangerous, except for the Akimichi clan, but Ino was angry and upset, so she simply ignored what was otherwise common sense.

She quickly slid into her uniform, the black variant of the purple uniform she used to wear before she was nearly killed by Doraku. Taking a moment to consider it, she decided against wearing her Chunin vest, knowing that its weight would just slow her down.

Ino then went into the spare room, where she and Naruto had created an emergency supply of equipment that could be picked up in urgent situations. She pulled a belt of scrolls out and strapped it around her waist.

Finally, the girl pulled out her Leaf headband, and looked at it. After it had stopped fitting at her waist, the girl had never got around to wearing it. She sighed and tied the headband around her neck, similar to how Hinata used to wear hers. She suddenly remembered that her cellular had been at the waterfall when she had been swimming. It was probably gone by now. 'That means I will have to run around and find everyone the old way.'

The girl took a look at herself in the mirror, and steeled herself. With no more preparation to be done, she shunshined out of the house, on the search for her friends.


Behind the purple door was a small room, no bigger than the Hokage's office. She looked around at the other four doors in the outer wall. They were all closed. A small round table sat in the center of the room, with five chairs around it.

As Tsunade moved to sit in the chair in front of her, the door to her left opened, and the Fifth Kazekage walked in. Two figures detached themself from behind Gaara, and darted out the door behind Tsunade. She grinned at Gaara, whose lips turned upwards ever so slightly.

As Gaara took his seat, the door opposite to his opened up, and Mei Terumi walked in. She inclined her head to Tsunade, and winked at Gaara, who turned slightly pink.

"It's been a while. I hope you are well, Lady Tsunade, Lord Gaara," the Mizukage said. The other two Kages nodded in response. Mei sat on Tsunade's right.

The three of them looked at the last two doors, and Tsunade started tapping her fingers on the table impatiently. "What's taking him so long?"

Finally, the left door in front of her opened, and the oldest Kage of them all walked out regally. Onoki looked at Tsunade with annoyance, as though she had disturbed him at a very important time. He floated upwards into his chair, and said, "Where is A?"

Tsunade frowned at him. "What do you mean? Have you not received the news about A's death?"

Onoki raised an eyebrow at that statement. How had he not heard about this? "This is strange. When did this happen?"

"A while ago. I was sure that the news would have reached everyone."

The Tsuchikage scowled. Then he remembered, and said, "What about the Eight Tails? If A is dead, who is controlling him?"

It was Tsunade's turn to scowl. Trust the old geezer to keep the Tailed Beasts in mind. "The Eight Tails Jinchuuriki is in our village for now. Some of the Cloud village ninjas deserted when A was murdered."

The leader of the Hidden Rock Village said, "That makes me nervous. I do not like the thought of you having control over two of the most powerful Bijuus in the world."

Tsunade said, "I know that, old man. But I called this meeting urgently for a reason. Naruto Uzumaki has been captured by the Akatsuki."

Onoki pursed his lips in thought after hearing that statement. Gaara looked mildly shocked, while Mei had no reaction, having no personal relation with the Jinchuuriki.

Mei turned to Tsunade, and said, "How did you know that Madara Uchiha would not answer the call?"

"The Kages are the only ones who know about the Council of Shadows. They only ever tell their successors about the mirror, and A would never be foolish enough to tell that Uchiha about it."

Onoki came out of his thoughts with a jump, and asked, "What's this about Madara Uchiha?"

Tsunade sighed and explained everything to him. The Tsuchikage was internally shaking by the end of it, remembering the drubbing that Madara Uchiha had given him when he was but a child.

The Hokage said, "That is enough of time wasted already. I need to speak about what needs to be done to find Naruto before his Bijuu is extracted. We cannot allow the Akatsuki to have any more of the Tailed Beasts."

"And?" Onoki shrugged. "What do you want us to do?"

"Ideally," Tsunade said, starting to lose her temper with the old man, "I would want you to help me find him. But, barring that, any updated intelligence you have on the Akatsuki would help. Or at least allow Leaf squads into your countries for a rescue mission in case Naruto is being held in any of your nations."

Onoki looked at Mei, who said nothing. He couldn't gauge her reaction, and wondered whether she had allied with the Leaf. Without A to support him, he knew that the Leaf and Sand alliance would out-speak him. But if the Mizukage had also allied with Tsunade, then he would have no choice. Still, he tried his best.

"Why should we help? Isn't this an internal matter for the Leaf Village?"

Tsunade clenched her fists underneath the table to stop herself from punching the old man on his stone-like nose.

"The Akatsuki will destroy this world if they are allowed to operate, and you know it. I am willing to overlook any transactions you may have made with them in the past, in order to get Naruto back. I hope that you will co-operate."

Onoki turned red in anger at being associated with the Akatsuki, although it was not far from the truth.

'I need help if I'm going to do this.' Ino ran through the streets of Konoha. 'The Akatsuki are extremely powerful. I'm going to need a lot of people for this.'

She decided to call in Shikamaru and Choji first, knowing that they would do anything for her, and Naruto as well. However, she was out of luck, as Shikamaru was not at home, nor at his favorite cloud watching spot. Neither could she find Choji, who wasn't at home either, nor was he at any of their favorite restaurants.

'I could go find Lee and Tenten. They were supposed to be on guard duty today,' Ino thought. She raced towards the gates of the village, but her heart sank when she saw Genma and Raido standing there. She stopped next to them and said, "Hey guys, have you seen Lee and Tenten?"

Raido nodded, "Yeah we just relieved them from duty a few minutes ago. Tenten said something about a shower and Lee said he was going to train for a while."

Ino thanked them and took off towards Tenten's house, not wanting to leave the village to search for Lee in the training grounds. However, Tenten was not at home, as it became evident after she didn't answer ten doorbell rings. Ino decided to look for Team 8, and went to Kiba's house.

However, after half an hour, the blonde wondered whether someone was playing a cruel trick on her. She had not been able to find absolutely anyone out of the Konoha 12. Sakura hadn't been at home, the hospital, or at Ninja Ops. Kiba had been out of the house, probably training as well. And Shino and Hinata might as well be invisible.

After leaving from Shino's house, Ino had been forced to hide from Kakashi, but his casual walk told her that the Hokage had not informed anyone else about Naruto. She wondered whether to approach him, but wasn't sure whether he would help or say the same thing as the Hokage.

Just as Ino was deciding to leave the village and head towards the training grounds, fortune favored her, as Sakura's voice sounded behind her.

"INO!"

She turned around in relief and said, "Sakura, you have to come with…"

Sakura cut her off, "I know what's happened. Everyone's waiting for you at training ground 7."

Ino blinked. Everyone was waiting for her? She nodded and the two of them sped towards the training ground. For the second time, she passed Genma and Raido, this time not even stopping to look at them.

The two guards looked at each other in surprise. In the last half hour, they had seen at least ten of the Konoha 12 running out in the same direction.

"Call Ninja Ops," Genma said, "Something's up."


"Strap him down tight."

"Yes ma'am."

The scientist who was barking orders to her assistants was in her mid-thirties, of average build, and a very pale complexion that looked as though she never went outside in the sun. Her large glasses hid the color of her pupils, which might have been blue or green, depending on the light.

Zetsu handed her Kitsune, and she said, "What is this?"

"A chakra bonded weapon," the black part of Zetsu said. "It is connected to him. Even if it isn't helpful in the extraction process, we thought it might help to study him."

The scientist's eyes gleamed. "A weapon with the Nine Tails' chakra. Never seen something like this before."

Then she put the weapon aside, focusing on the task at hand. "What did you hit him with?"

"Snakeroot Essence," the white side of Zetsu answered lightly.

"Isn't that a little too much?"

"He regenerates," Black Zetsu said, "and that too extremely fast, from what we've heard. Anything else wouldn't have even kept him out long enough for us to bring him here."

"Alright, fair enough. Would you kindly tell Tobi that we are beginning the examination?"

"Tobi?" Zetsu asked in confusion.

"Tobi was left in charge of the Akatsuki, wasn't he?" the scientist asked. Suddenly Zetsu realized that the lesser members and researchers of the Akatsuki still did not know about Madara. He had still kept the Tobi disguise running for them. He nodded and left.


"What are you implying? That I made use of the Akatsuki in some way?" Onoki demanded.

Tsunade said, "I wasn't implying anything. But by the way you are reacting, you let your actions speak louder than your words."

Onoki was about to say something, but Gaara spoke quietly, "The truth hurts, doesn't it?"

The old Tsuchikage was left sputtering at that. Tsunade gave a slight smile to Gaara. 'Thanks, kid.'

Mei proper herself up on the table with her elbows and said, "Every moment we stay here, Naruto Uzumaki gets closed to being killed and his demon extracted. I would rather not have the Akatsuki get their hands on the Nine Tails."

Onoki knew that this was the beginning of the end, he was starting to get cornered. Mei's little statement had confirmed it to him; she was allied with the Leaf and probably the Sand as well.

"I still don't see why I should help you. What's in it for me?"

"You old geezer…" Tsunade began, her temper flaring. Gaara cut in, "Onoki-san, the Akatsuki is led by Madara Uchiha. Do you honestly want to face him? That too with him in control of the Nine Tails?"

Onoki shuddered slightly, despite himself.


"Tobi," the scientist nodded at him as the masked Akatsuki member entered the lab.

"My, my," Tobi said casually. "What a big fish we have here. Should we gut him?"

"Actually," the scientist hesitated, "There is a problem."

"Hmm?"

The researcher walked up to the Jinchuuriki, and placed her hand on his stomach. She sent a little chakra into her hand, and a seal began to glow on Naruto's stomach. The Eight Trigrams seal appeared, and Tobi said, "So?"

"Hold on, Tobi-sama."

As he watched, another seal began shining around the Eight Trigrams Seal. The masked man raised an eyebrow. "Another seal? What does this mean?"

The scientist said, "I took a look at it, and looked it up. This is the Divine Zodiac Seal. One of the strongest seals in the world."

Tobi put a hand to his chin, thinking. Behind the mask, Madara thought, 'This is unexpected. I never expected to have another seal over the Eight Trigrams Seal. For us to break the two seals, this would take a lot more time than expected. Especially since we aren't using the regular extraction method.'

He turned around to the scientist and said, "How much time will it take to drill through both the seals safely?"

The scientist replied, "Around eight days, three for the Eight Trigrams Seal, and five for the Divine Zodiac Seal."

"I see. And what if you go faster?"

"The Five Elements Drill can go much faster, but it greatly increases the risk of the Jinchuuriki dying, or the demon being set free. The seals could probably both be broken in five days, but there would be a seventy percent chance that the Nine Tails would escape and kill us all."

Tobi nodded sagely, "I'd like to avoid that."

"And what if you only drill through the Zodiac seal?"

"I could probably get that done in ten hours or so. But given the way that the two seals have been interlinked, there would be almost a ninety percent chance that the fox would escape."

Tobi nodded. "I guess I'll just have to unravel the seal, then."

"You can do that?" The researcher asked, amazed.

"Maybe." Tobi said, his voice oddly serious. "Leave the room. Everyone."

"Why?" the scientist asked.

"I need my secrets."

The scientist looked at her assistants, who quickly exited the lab. She narrowed her eyes and said, "Are you sure about this?"

"We don't have much of a choice," Tobi replied. "The reports from Zetsu and Deidara show that the Yamanaka girl who was with Naruto escaped. Konoha must already be mobilizing their forces. There isn't enough time to sit around thinking. Besides, unraveling the seal will take me about twelve hours and will be safer than drilling through it."

The scientist nodded and left the lab. Tobi reverted back to his normal dialogue, and looked at Naruto with his Mangekyo Sharingan. "It's been a long time. Out you come, my rebellious servant."


Ino and Sakura came to a skidding stop at the training ground where everyone else was assembled. The platinum blonde took a quick look around, noting who was present. She was unsurprised to see Lee, Tenten, Neji, Choji, Shikamaru, Hinata, Kiba, Shino and Sasuke there. However, she was slightly surprised when she saw Temari and Kankuro standing there as well, along with a female kunoichi she didn't recognize.

"Temari, Kankuro, how come you guys are here?"

Temari smiled, "We came here for a different reason, but heard about what happened to Naruto so we decided to help. After all, we will never forget all that the Leaf, and Naruto in particular, have done for Gaara."

Ino thanked the two of them. She turned around to face the unknown kunoichi. "I don't think we've met before. Who are you?" she asked.

The kunoichi replied, "I'm Sasame Fuma. I'm an old acquaintance of Naruto. I bumped into Sakura as she was calling everyone out to help. I am honored to be able to help out Naruto, who helped me out a lot in the past."

Ino nodded. Sakura said, "Alright, guys, let's move out."

Ino took a deep breath. "Wait a minute," she said. Everyone stopped and looked at her. "Before we leave, I have to tell you guys something."

Everyone looked at her in confusion.

The blonde said, "Naruto was worried that this day would come sooner or later. So he made me promise him that before I let his friends try to save him from the Akatsuki, I would tell them why they had taken him in the first place. Naruto wanted you to know the truth before putting your lives at risk for him."

A few of the people in the group still looked confused. Sakura looked concerned, "Ino, you can't. You know the law. And we need their help."

Ino turned to Sakura. "The law doesn't apply here because this is Naruto's wish," she said, "and anyway, this is not a mission. We could be treated as rogue ninjas from now on, if we do this. They deserve to know the truth."

The girl steeled herself for the reactions from the group and said, "Naruto is the Jinchuuriki of the Nine Tailed Fox."

She looked around, gauging the reactions of everyone. Temari and Kankuro didn't even flinch. Sakura and Sasuke also knew about this. However, what she didn't expect was for Shikamaru and Neji to know about this. Choji looked mildly troubled, and glanced at Shikamaru. Seeing the Nara calm, he decided that he would remain quiet as well.

Lee looked a little shocked, but didn't say anything. Tenten looked at Neji, and seeing his reaction, decided against saying anything at the moment. Shino didn't betray a reaction. Hinata looked slightly worried, and glanced at Kiba. However, the animalistic shinobi was the only one who opened his mouth.

"What the hell, Ino? This isn't the time to be joking around."

"This is no joke, Kiba," Sakura snapped. "Not to us, and especially not to Naruto."

"The Nine Tails is the reason that the Akatsuki have captured Naruto. They intend to extract the demon from within him," Ino said, "and Naruto wanted his friends to know the whole story before trying to rescue him."

"What rescue?" Kiba said harshly, "Why should we even go through with this?"

Before Ino or Sakura could speak up, Shikamaru said casually, "Naruto is our comrade. And more than that, a friend. He has always put our well-being before his own, and helped us through tough situations, though he never needed to, judging by the way we all used to treat him."

"But Shikamaru," Tenten said softly, "we would be helping the demon who killed so many of our shinobi, and nearly destroyed our village."

She looked at Neji after she spoke and was distraught at the disappointment in his face. The Hyuga said quietly, "Iruka sensei's parents were killed in the attack against the Nine Tails. He does not begrudge Naruto for it."

"Yeah, well Iruka-sensei may be some sort of saint," Kiba growled, "but that doesn't mean we put our necks out for that monster!"

"HE'S NOT A MONSTER!" Ino roared and slapped Kiba hard across the face. The force she put into it made Kiba tumble onto the ground. Ino was livid, cold fury radiating from her face.

"He's not a monster! He's a human being, who was forced to become a host for a demon spirit his entire life! If anything, he protected us from that demon, by containing it within his body." Tears began to roll down her face as her emotions began to overwhelm her.

"I know that I'm a newbie in your group, since I'm not originally from this village," Sasame said softly, "and I really didn't know that Naruto is a Jinchuuriki. But from what I know, Naruto is the kindest and most generous person that I know. I had once betrayed him, and he not only forgave me, but also helped me in a difficult time. So, Jinchuuriki or not, I will help him."

"You're right, Sasame," Tenten said, looking upset with herself, "Of course we will help him. Sorry, Ino."

Naruto's girlfriend dried her tears and said, "You don't have to apologize. Naruto expected that people would react like this. He never wanted anyone to feel that they were tricked."

"Well, I'm sorry," Kiba said, "but I'm out. Even if I accept that Naruto and the Fox are two separate beings, that monster killed half of my clan. I think that it deserves whatever the Akatsuki plan to do with it."

"Baka," Neji snorted.

Kiba snarled at the Jonin, "What did you say?"

Neji looked at him in contempt and answered him, "The Akatsuki plan on extracting the demon from Naruto and using it as a weapon. Think, how many more will die if that happens?"

"Akamaru," Shino suddenly said quietly, "Do you want to come with us?"

The large white hound looked at his partner, and then back at the Aburame. He nodded and barked once as if to confirm that he wanted to join them.

Kiba looked stunned. "What? Why, Akamaru?"

The insect user interjected, "Don't forget, that once when Akamaru had been poisoned, he was hallucinating, and even attacked Naruto. Despite that, Naruto went against the Hokage's orders to help him. I'm sure that Akamaru hasn't forgotten that."

"So basically what you're saying is, that even though Naruto wanted us to have a choice in the matter," Kiba grumbled, "If I don't help him out, I'm an ungrateful jerk?"

"Don't forget that you'll also be indirectly responsible for the destruction of the Five Great Nations," Kankuro added sarcastically.

"OK, FINE. I'm in," Kiba said. "But when I see Naruto, I'm going to punch him in the gut for not telling us this sooner."


"Twelve Zodiac animals," Madara muttered to himself, "forming a dodecahedral web. But where does it begin, and where does it end…"

He probed each edge of the seal with his chakra, trying to get a feel of how it interacted with the other edges as well as with the inner seal. The old Uchiha was forced to admit a grudging respect for whoever had designed this secondary seal; it was perfectly balanced. There were no loose edges, no threads that could be unraveled. Unable to find any solution from the outside, Madara moved to hover over Naruto's face.

He pried open one of Naruto's eyes and stared into it with his own Mangekyo Sharingan. "Tsukuyomi."

The Uchiha poured his thoughts into the Leaf ninja's mind. He was slightly amused to see himself standing in the middle of a vast field of flowers. He noticed Naruto standing quite close to him, and the Nine Tails on the other side of the field.

Naruto seemed to be sluggish, looking at the new arrival in confusion. "Wh…who are you?"

This statement caught the Nine Tails' attention. He took one look at the other side of the field, and roared, his crimson eyes flaring in anger.

"UCHIHA! HOW DID YOU GET IN HERE, YOU BASTARD!"

"Now, now, Kyuubi. Is this any way to talk to your master?" Madara taunted the Nine Tails in response. The demon roared and charged towards the Sharingan wielder. However, a net of flowers came up as he tried to close the distance between them, and restricted his movements. He sent a wave of chakra onto the other side in anger, but it had no effect on either of the humans. Naruto blinked slowly, too drugged to know what was going on.

"Why are you here, Madara?" the Nine Tails asked, still angry, but more in control of himself.

"Why, I'm here to set you free, Kyuubi," Madara replied casually. He looked closely at the net of flowers that was now receding into the field it had sprung out from.

"BULLSHIT! You want to put me into that godforsaken statue so that you can use my power as you like." the Nine Tails scoffed.

"Of course I do," Madara replied with malice in his voice, "Did you forget that you belong to me? This little vacation in the Jinchuuriki's stomach has made you mouthy again, but I'll soon teach you your place."

He turned around and began walking away, fading as he did. As Madara began to disappear, he turned around and his voice echoed through the field, "Look forward to it."

The Uchiha lifted his head up and turned his attention back to Naruto's stomach. The fox's display had inadvertently given him the information he required.

"So, start with the smallest animal, the Rat," he whispered, moving his hands over one of the twelve edges, and probing it with his chakra.


"So, now that we all are in agreement to help Naruto, how do we find him?" Lee asked Ino. The blonde kunoichi froze, not having given it any thought yet.

"Well, that's a good question. I guess we should start by heading to the Akatsuki base in the Land of Fire. Even if he's not there, we can probably find some clue regarding where he could be."

Shikamaru nodded and said, "I know where the base is."

Before they could begin, however, Shino said, "Forgive me for interrupting, but I may have a better way."

He pulled out a small cage out of his jacket, and they stared at it. Inside the cage was a small grey beetle, with a long elephantine nose, and bright blue eyes. It was looking old, but Sakura had no trouble recognizing it. "That's the Bikochu beetle."

Shino nodded. "We've been breeding her for the past few months," he said, "But these species don't ling longer than four to five years. I thought she might like one chance to fulfil her primary purpose."

Some of the other shinobi looked confused, and Sakura elaborated, "This Bikochu is focused on Naruto's scent. It can track Naruto from anywhere. But will it still be able to work like before, Shino?"

The insect user propped his goggles higher up his nose and said, "I believe so."

"Well, then, let's head back to the waterfall where Naruto was kidnapped," Ino said. Everyone nodded.


"Enough," Tsunade said, sighing. "We've been over this again and again for the last four hours. It almost seems like you're stalling for something, Onoki."

The old man glared at her, and then said, "I am tired. Perhaps we should retire for the day and continue tomorrow."

Tsunade opened her mouth, but the Mizukage cut in, "Actually, a short break would rather be appreciated."

Gaara said, "I can agree to a fifteen minute break, but any more would be negligent."

"Fine, fifteen minutes it is," Onoki snapped. He floated out of his chair and exited through his door.

"What are you doing, Mei? Why did you agree to the break?" Tsunade said, angrily.

Gaara interjected, "I believe it was so that she could speak to us privately, without Onoki-san's interference."

Mei nodded, and Tsunade said, "Well, what is it you want to say?"

The Mizukage looked at them straight in the eye and asked, "Don't you think Onoki-san is taking this matter a little too lightly?"

Gaara nodded. "I noticed it too. It's as if he isn't bothered by what will happen if the Akatsuki get their hands on the Nine Tails."

"But doesn't he realize what is at stake here?" Tsunade asked them.

Both the Kages shrugged and Mei said, "Unless, he isn't worried about the Nine Tails being extracted."

"What are you thinking, Mei-san?" Gaara asked.

"I can only think of two reasons why Onoki-san wouldn't care if Madara Uchiha got his hands on the Nine Tails again. Either he's got one of the Tailed Beasts himself and knows that there is still time. Or…"

"Or what?" Tsunade said.

"Or, he could be in league with the Akatsuki."


"What now? Why are we stopping again so soon?" Temari asked, annoyed. "We just took a break three hours ago!"

"The Bikochu is nearly at the end of her life and I believe that it would be best not to tax her too much," Shino said, feeding the beetle some of his chakra.

Ino took a look around. "It's almost nightfall, and we're already at the border of the Land of Fire," she said. "Perhaps it would be best to camp here for now, and continue tomorrow morning. After all, we need to be at our best, and this is no ordinary group of bandits we are facing. The Akatsuki are some of the most powerful shinobi in the world."

Sakura nodded. "Though most of the members have been brought down, who knows whether there are more of them that we don't even know about yet, right?"

Everyone murmured in assent. Neji and Sakura took charge, assigning tasks to everyone. Everyone avoided giving Ino any work, knowing the emotional turmoil she must have gone through. Now that they were stopping for a while, Ino found herself slumping against a tree, finding it harder and harder to keep her emotions in check. Just then, a blanket was draped around her neck and she looked up to see Tenten smiling at her.

"How're you doing, Ino?"

The blonde kunoichi tried her hardest to smile, but just couldn't manage it. "It's hard," she whispered. "Just a few hours ago, Naruto and I were having a relaxing day of fun. Now we're all AWOL, getting ready to attack a terrorist organization, and Naruto's life is in danger."

Then she managed a small watery smile, saying, "The only thing that makes me happy is that everyone is here. Naruto was sure that most of you would turn their backs on him, after keeping such a big secret from you."

Tenten said, "I always knew that there was something different about him. I saw it during his fight against Doraku. But I never would've imagined that it was that terrible demon, contained inside him. I can't even imagine the amount of abuse that Naruto must have undergone throughout his whole life."

Ino nodded sadly. The weapons specialist continued, "But what Shikamaru said was right. Naruto is not only our comrade, but also our friend. He would've never hesitated to save us no matter what secrets we had. And I promise that I'll do the same for him now."

Sakura beckoned her, and she said, "Get some rest, Ino. I'll come wake you up when the dinner is ready." Ino thanked her, and finally closed her eyes, feeling her eyelids becoming heavy.

Choji and Kiba were returning to the makeshift camp, a young deer between them. Choji looked at Kiba carefully, trying to make out the expression on his face, but was unable to detect any feelings.

"You sure about this?" he asked Kiba.

"Are you?" Kiba countered. "You didn't seem too happy either, when you found out that Naruto is a…well, about Naruto."

Choji scratched his neck. "I was quite surprised, to be honest," he admitted. "But after what happened during the Sound invasion, with Yori and the Shadow Roc, I can understand how hard a Jinchuuriki suffers. And I have no doubt that Naruto and the Demon Fox are two separate beings. Besides, Shikamaru trusts Naruto, and that's all I need."

"Hmm," was the only response he got, since Kiba didn't have anything to say in favor of Naruto.

As they neared the camp, a shadow approached them. Kankuro's voice preceded him, "Choji, can you take that deer alone? I want to have a few words with Kiba."

"Sure thing," Choji said, lifting the carcass onto his shoulder. He lumbered back towards the camp by himself, a hulking figure in the dim light of the nearby camp fire.

"What do you want? You got a problem?" Kiba said rather loudly, not sure he wanted to be alone with a Sand Village Jonin.

"Yeah, I do, actually," Kankuro replied directly. The Inuzuka tensed, anticipating a fight.

"But for Naruto's sake, I'm not going to make a big deal out of it," the Sand ninja continued. "If you really aren't sure whether you want to help us, turn around and start walking. You'll only be a hindrance if your mind is split two ways."

"And no one will think less of me, I suppose?" Kiba said sarcastically.

"Oh no, everyone will know exactly the type of guy you are, "Kankuro grinned wickedly. "I suppose even Ino wouldn't be able to overlook it."

He began to walk towards the camp, when a question stopped him.

"Why are you even here? You're not even from our village." Kiba asked.

"Yeah, but I owe him big time. Both Temari and me." Kankuro admitted. "I don't know whether you know anything about it, but Naruto saved both, Gaara's life and his sanity. If it weren't for him, Gaara would still be the murderer that he once was, instead of a respected Kazekage. And Temari and I would probably be dead, by Gaara's hands."

"So make up your mind, Kiba," the Jonin said as he resumed walking away. "If you're not fully committed, you'll simply drag us down."

He walked off, leaving the Chunin alone with his thoughts.


Madara stepped back from the comatose form of Naruto with a sigh. His eyes went back to black, from the Mangekyo Sharingan. He took a deep breath and stretched; unraveling one of the strongest seals in the world takes a toll on you. He resumed his Tobi persona, and unlocked the door, slumping his shoulders on purpose; after all, that is the kind of thing Tobi would do. As he exited, he took a look at Naruto's stomach, where the Eight Trigrams seal was still gleaming dully.

"All done," he told the scientist, who was sitting in a chair outside. She got up immediately, and said, "We'll get ready for the removal." She began ushering her assistants back into the room.

As Tobi yawned widely, heading to his room for a short nap, he found himself confronted by one of his newest members, Mayuko. The rogue ninja from the Land of Snow bowed slightly, and began to deliver her report.

"Lord Tobi," she began, but he raised his hand to interrupt her.

"Mayuko, I'm really tired right now, so can you make this quick," he yawned. "And for the umpteenth time, don't call me 'lord', 'boss' or 'master' for that matter. I'm no lord."

"Ok, Tobi," Mayuko said hesitantly, "I'll make it quick. Our spies in the Land of Fire report a small group of the Jinchuuriki's friends have gone missing from the Hidden Leaf Village."

"What? That's it? No specialized tracking unit? I'm disappointed." Tobi pouted. Then he grew slightly serious and said, "Send out an interception unit to delay them, we need as much time as we can get."

Mayuko nodded and darted away. Tobi yawned again and resumed his exaggerated hobble back to his quarters.


The Fire, Wind and Water shadows had all returned to their seats by the time the Earth shadow returned. Onoki flew back into his seat. The rest of the Kages quickly drew him back into the debate, but this time they structured their arguments as to determine Onoki's reasoning. But they knew that the old geezer had been playing such politics long before they ascended to the rank of Kage themselves, so they had set a time limit of two hours.

However, the geezer lived up to their expectations, and as they approached midnight, no one was any closer to an answer.

"I grow weary of this," Mei said. "The issues surrounding Lady Tsunade's proposal have been discussed to far too long now. I do not think there is anything that can be said now to change any of our minds."

She focused her attention towards the Hokage and said, "As you know, I hardly have any manpower that could outmatch yours at the moment. However, apart from that, I am willing to share all of our current intelligence we have on the Akatsuki, and to sanction this rescue mission so your shinobi may enter my country or any of the lesser nations allied with us. Should we put it to a vote?"

"One addendum, if you would," Gaara said. "I would like it stipulated that any hidden village that wished to officially assist the Leaf in this rescue be allowed to do so. It is my understanding that Naruto has made some friends outside the Great Nations, and it would be a shame to start an international incident because they decided to help in this without authority."

Both Tsunade and Mei nodded, while Onoki rolled his eyes.

"Let's put it to the vote, then," Gaara continued, raising his hand. The Hokage quickly followed suit, and Mei raised her hand as well, indicating her agreement. The three of them turned to look at the Tsuchikage.

"Fine," he exhaled, raising his hand as well. He reached into his robes and pulled out a scroll, throwing it viciously at Tsunade. She caught the scroll and set it onto the table.

"That is everything my intelligence units have gathered on the Akatsuki, for all the good it will do for you. I'll expect your data in return by the end of the day," he grumbled. "Now, since you don't need me anymore, I'll be heading to bed."

He exited the portal leading to his office, slamming the door behind him.

Mei stood up as well. "I'm guessing you won't need me any more either," she said. "But I wish you luck, for what it is worth."

"Thank you, Mei," Tsunade told her counterpart warmly. Mei just smiled in response and headed back to her door. Before she left, however, she turned around and gave Gaara a flying kiss. "Good night, cutie."

Gaara turned bright red, and even Tsunade could barely contain her mirth. Mei winked at him as she withdrew, and her portal vanished behind her.


It was early morning when Sakura convinced Ino to submit to a GenJutsu so that she could have a few hours of sleep. Naruto's girlfriend had taken a brief nap before dinner, but as the others settled down, she had found herself wide awake. She had been busy trying to figure out how much time they had left, as well as trying to rid herself of the guilt she felt, ruining her friends' lives and careers, even if it was for Naruto. She was thankful to Sakura's illusions for getting her some rest.

However, Ino's rest was not even close to peaceful, as she dreamt of shadowy figures in black and red cloaks, and weird Tailed Beasts. It was a relief to her when Shikamaru removed the GenJutsu from her. But the end of the nightmare only signified one thing; it was the second day of Naruto's capture.

The group of shinobi were already on the move when the sun came up. They had avoided breakfast, knowing that they would have to stop a little while later, taking a stop for the aging Bikochu. But before they stopped, the ninjas crossed into the Land of Forests, which along with the Land of Silver, occupied the space between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning.

There were three Akatsuki hideouts that they had intel about around that area, one in the Land of Forests, and the other two in the Land of Lightning. None of the shinobi were worried about the Land of Forests; the country was sparsely populated, and didn't have a Hidden Village ever since the Nine Tails demolished the Village Hidden in the Lakes seventeen years ago.

However, the Land of Lightning was a completely different story. Being one of the Great Nations, it could start an international war, trying to get into the country without permission. Aside from that, there were only two ways to get into the country, either through the sea, or through the Land of Silver.

As the name implied, this small country was known for its mineral resources. The country was guarded by the Village Hidden in the Mines, a small shinobi village known for never having lost a battle. Being discovered by them could slow down or potentially end their mission. But crossing the sea between the Land of Forests and the Land of Lightning could amount to the same.

However, all difficulties were wiped from the minds of the Leaf ninjas, as a cloud of shurikens crossed their path, followed closely by little over a dozen warriors, clad in full stealth gear.


Tsunade emerged from the portal and it vanished behind her. As she dropped heavily into her chair, Shizune rushed forward. "Lady Tsunade," she began, but the Hokage cut her off. She set three scrolls on the table in front of her and said, "We got their approval, as well as their intel. Also, Gaara is sending a five man strike team from his village to assist us."

Shizune didn't speak, and Tsunade finally looked up, and saw the anxiety in her face. "What is it?" she said grumpily.

"They're gone," Shizune told her, "Naruto's friends."

"All of them?"

"Not Konohamaru's group. All the rest of the Konoha 12 are gone. Also, I heard that Temari and Kankuro were last spotted with Sakura," Shizune confirmed. "Also, Shibi Aburame reported that the Bikochu beetle keyed to Naruto's scent went missing yesterday."

"Hmm," Tsunade grunted in appreciation, "That's actually not a bad idea."

"You're not angry?" Shizune asked, mildly shocked at Tsunade's casual behavior.

"I actually expected Ino or Sakura to do something like this," the Hokage answered. "If I didn't want them gone, don't you think I would've ordered the ANBU to watch them?"

"Anyway, get Kakashi, Itachi, Kisame and Nagato in here. And Iruka for good measure. We'll send them out to intercept the kids, and meet the Sand village team."

Tsunade picked up one of the scrolls and said, "This is from the Hidden Rocks Village. Check it carefully, I wouldn't put it past Onoki to have some sort of trap in there." Shizune nodded and hurried out.


Lee was annoyed. As he disassembled his quarterstaff into their individual weights and put them back where they belonged, he said, "I thought that the Akatsuki were more powerful than this. But fighting them now makes me wonder if their power is exaggerated."

"Not at all," Shikamaru said. They all turned to look at him. He scratched his head, "I don't know who these guys are, but when I faced Hidan, he was easily as strong as a four man squad by himself."

Temari rose up from the corpse of one of the ninjas and said, "This could be one of their interception units. According to the files we have on the Akatsuki, the organization has too many bandits and renegades to train properly. So they are instead given specialized training. For instance, an interception unit is a sixteen man squad designed to use speed and stealth to delay their enemy."

"Well, they clearly weren't trained enough," Choji said.

Temari shook her head. "Traditionally, these units are meant to go up against a four man squad. We completely outmatched them because we were so many."

Shino recalled the Bikochu; it had continued flying towards Naruto's scent, blissfully unaware of the battle.

"We really should have left one alive to interrogate," Ino said, her old interrogator skills returning for a while.

"If I'm not wrong, there will be another unit on standby, waiting to attack if they don't receive any acknowledgement from this group," Kankuro said, "So I'm pretty sure we'll be able to capture one the next time."

"Come on, we need to go," Shikamaru said. "As soon as this group is found out, they'll have our location."

As the Bikochu returned, the other shinobi nodded, and they set out to rescue their companion.


"Lady Tsunade, if I may have a moment."

The Hokage had just informed the five ninjas she had called about the situation. She told them to go to the technicians and see if they could pinpoint the location of the kids using their cell phones. As the others turned to leave, the leader of the Root moved towards the Hokage's table.

"What is it, Itachi?" Tsunade asked, as Iruka closed the door behind him. The Uchiha met her gaze with determination.

"If you don't mind, I would like you to remove me from this mission," Itachi said directly.

"What? Why?" Tsunade asked, curious, but also close to losing her temper.

"I'm worried about Kiyoko. I don't think I should be leaving her like this."

Tsunade almost laughed. "Itachi, I'm glad that you're being protective of your daughter. But don't you think this takes it a little too far?"

"It's not just that, Milady," Itachi said. "I know for a fact that the Akatsuki works in two-man teams. Before I defected, Deidara was partnered with Tobi, who was a mystery. You saw the ease with which Deidara and Zetsu captured Naruto. What if Tobi is hanging around somewhere, unnoticed, waiting for us to deplete our forces so that he can take Kiyoko? After all, she is the youngest descendant of the Uchiha, and if Madara has found about my family, he will stop at nothing in order to take her from me."

Tsunade considered that; it wasn't an unreasonable argument. It was indeed something the Sannin would have tried back in the day.

"I'll tell you what, Itachi," Tsunade grinned slightly, "I'll have Jiraiya look over Kiyoko and Katsumi while you're gone. And I'll have Shizune go there as well. So don't worry."

Itachi smiled, "Thank you, Lady Tsunade."

"Now go," she ordered. Unable to keep the worry out of her voice, she said, "Get Naruto back before anything happens to him."


Naruto groaned as his head spun around. He started gaining consciousness slowly, and sat up in the field of flowers. Suddenly he became aware of his surroundings, and looked up at the fox, standing on the other side of the field.

"What the…what's going on?"

"Ah, the poison wore off, it seems. Now it's just the sedation that is keeping you down," the fox noted.

"There was someone here earlier, wasn't there?" Naruto noted, vaguely remembering the shadowy figure from before.

"Yes, Madara Uchiha was here," Kyuubi agreed.

Naruto stood up in a hurry. "What? Why?" he shouted.

"Easy now," the fox cautioned. "Madara has removed the Zodiac Seal. So if we upset the chakra balance here, we'll be back in that stinking sewer of the Eight Trigrams Seal? Do you want that?"

Naruto shook his head and said, "Wait a minute. What did you say? The Zodiac Seal? When was another seal put on me?"

The Nine Tails almost laughed. "Don't you remember? Good God, you're as dumb as they come."

Naruto strained his memory…

"Bring him in, quickly," Tsunade ordered. Iruka rushed into the hospital room with Naruto on his back, and put him down on the bed carefully.

"Alright, everyone out! Sakura, stay back."

The rest of the group trooped outside, waiting for news.

"Shizune, check his essentials." Tsunade said. She turned to Sakura, "What happened?"

"He used a few jutsus that completely drained him. I remember one of them being called the Blood Type Reflect or something."

Tsunade was aghast. When did the boy learn that forbidden technique?!

"Explain everything, Sakura."

Over half an hour, Sakura quickly told the Hokage everything that had transpired during their mission to retrieve Neji, about how they had all been kidnapped by the demon Doraku, and how Naruto had fought tooth and nail against it. As she got to the part where Ino had been nearly killed, she faltered a bit.

"Come on, Sakura, I thought I raised you to be a better shinobi than this," Tsunade said.

"Sorry, Milady, the scene was quite…graphic," the pinkette said, and continued, explaining how the boy had changed his own blood type, provided her chakra, as well as kept the Life Sustain Jutsu active, in order to regenerate almost the entirety of Ino's stomach.

Tsunade couldn't believe it. "How is this kid able to pull off such miracles?!" Just then, Shizune said, "He's looking fine, Lady Tsunade. Just a case of extreme exhaustion, coupled with his body rejecting the new blood type. He should be okay once he has a little of his own blood type transfused into him."

"Lucky for us he's been making regular donations to the blood bank for the last three months. We can use his own blood," Tsunade said. She turned to Sakura and said, "Well, I can't say much more until I take a look at Ino, but good job, nevertheless. Wait outside, and call Ino in, please."

Sakura, bowed slightly and exited the room. A few seconds later, Ino came in, and said, "Milady, you wished to see me?"

Tsunade nodded. She moved towards the kunoichi, noting the holes in the stomach of her uniform.

"Can you take off the upper half of your uniform, please, Ino?"

The younger kunoichi blushed slightly, and said, "Umm, Naruto is in the room."

Shizune smiled, "Naruto is still sleeping. And I must say, Ino, you didn't strike me as the shy type."

Ino said, "It's nothing like that, Shizune-san." She took off her top half of the uniform, showcasing the armored brassiere underneath. Tsunade leaned forward and inspected her stomach. She felt around the area where Ino had been skewered, with a green aura surrounding her hands. Once satisfied, she said, "That will do."

Ino put on her uniform again, and Tsunade said, "That is unbelievable. If it weren't for the holes in your uniform, I would never imagine that you had been skewered by an A-Rank Lightning NinJutsu."

Ino smiled at Naruto and said, "He truly outdid himself this time."

"And I'm going to order you people to let him die if he does it again," Tsunade ordered strictly. Ino stared at her and the Hokage elaborated, "Naruto nearly died trying to save you this time, I won't allow it to happen again. Understood?"

Ino nodded. She walked over to the gently snoring Naruto and kissed him on the cheek, before exiting the room.

"Now that that's dealt with, let's move to my next concern. Shizune, can you please get Kakashi in here?"

The Hokage's assistant nodded, and walked off. Tsunade allowed herself a few emotional moments, as she sat next to Naruto, caressing his head. "You idiot. You just can't stay out of trouble, can you? Well, I guess the joke's on me, since I was the one who sent you to train with Jiraiya, of all people."

Suddenly, Naruto's eyes fluttered open, and he mumbled, "Pervy Sage…teach me another jutsu." Then he was back asleep.

The Hokage smiled. She walked outside the room and said, "Don't worry, guys, he's going to be fine. You can go now, I want him to rest a while. I'll allow visitors in tomorrow. He should be up by then."

Everyone nodded and began walking away. Ino waited, however, and so did Sakura. Tsunade said, "I know how you two must be feeling, but you need your rest as well. Ino, you've just recovered from a near-death experience, and Sakura, you must be low on energy after doing what you did. Go home, and rest. Come back tomorrow. This is an order."

"Hai." Both the girls saluted and walked off, talking in whispers.

Tsunade didn't have to wait long before Kakashi appeared in the corridor. He walked up to her as fast he could without looking worried, and said, "Naruto?"

The woman led him inside, and began to explain everything that had transpired, just as Sakura had told her.

"I see," Kakashi said. "So, the fox is capable of passing simply chakra, without its influence. But it seems that it needs to be on the same page as Naruto for that to happen."

Tsunade looked at the boy. "I doubt that Naruto will be able to control the Kyuubi at such a young age. I mean, I know it is Naruto we are talking about, but there are some things that even he cannot do easily."

Kakashi nodded. "So, judging by the way this conversation is going, I don't think that is the only reason you called me in, is it?"

Tsunade snorted, "You wish it was. Now that we have a sleeping Naruto here, this is the perfect opportunity to use the Divine Zodiac Seal on him and strengthen the cage holding the Nine Tails in."

Kakashi nodded slowly, "Yeah, that's a good idea. But why now? We can do it any time."

Tsunade looked at him seriously. "He already knows about the Eight Trigrams Seal and how it works. I don't want him to learn about the Zodiac Seal until the time is right."

"Would it make that much of a difference?" Kakashi responded.

"Have you seen the marks on Jiraiya's chest where Naruto attacked him in the Four Tails state?" Tsunade asked. "If simply loosening the seal slightly could cause that much havoc, imagine what would happen if the seal was removed. Naruto has the key to the Eight Trigrams Seal, and I won't allow him to remove the seal, no matter what. At least until I'm not sure that the Nine Tails is completely under his control."

"Alright, you've given this a bit of thought, it seems," Kakashi said. "But aren't you forgetting something?"

"What?"

"We need someone who can perform the sealing."

Tsunade looked at him in surprise. "You don't know how to do it?" she asked in surprise.

Kakashi tried his best to look modest, and said, "Milady, I never particularly excelled at FuinJutsu. I know a handful of sealing techniques, but the Divine Zodiac Seal is the third strongest seal in the world for a reason. It requires vast amounts of chakra as well as perfect attention while being created, or else it can prove to be catastrophic."

"Wow, I didn't expect this situation. What now?"

"If I may, Milady," Shizune said quietly. Tsunade jumped with a start; she hadn't noticed her apprentice enter the room.

"There is one lady in the village who is able to perform every sealing jutsu that has ever been invented." the younger medic said.

Tsunade looked confused for a minute. Then it clicked. "The curse-breaker?"

Shizune nodded.

Tsunade turned to Kakashi and said, "Can you do something for me? Go to the Hyuga Manor and call for Hiroko Hyuga."

Kakashi bowed slightly and shunshined out of the room. Tsunade turned towards Shizune and said, "Do you believe she will know how to perform this seal?"

Shizune smiled and replied confidently, "If she can't do it, no one else can."

"So, when I was unconscious after the fight with that demon, Doraki or Dokaru, whatever it was, that's when the seal was placed on me?" Naruto asked the fox.

"Doraku," the fox growled, "And yes, that's when the secondary seal was placed on you. However, the Divine Zodiac Seal is much stronger than the Eight Trigrams Seal, and only shows itself when needed urgently."

"I see," Naruto said. "Well, what's going on now?"

"The Zodiac Seal has been unraveled by Madara. Now the Akatsuki are getting ready to drill through the Eight Trigrams Seal," the Nine Tails explained.

Naruto stared at the fox, and said, "How can you sit so calmly? Isn't there anything we can do to stop this?"

"Stop it? Why on earth would I want to stop the only process that might set me free? As of now, I'm just going to sit tight and wait for the Akatsuki to make a mistake," the demon grinned, showing his canines.

Naruto glared at the fox in anger, but there was nothing else he could do.


PS: Thanks for 400 followers. It means a lot to me! :)