Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto but.. Naruto owns me. He owns my soul. OoooooOooH.


"My turn, my turn, my turn!" Naruto shoved Sasuke to the side and sat. "I'll destroy you!"

"Look. If Sasuke couldn't beat me, there's no way in hell that you'll even come close."

"Hey!" Naruto waved a fist in the air. "What the hell are you trying to say?!"

"Shikamaru is right, Naruto!" Sakura shoved the blonde in much the same way that he'd shoved Sasuke. "You're way dumber than Sasuke. Let me try."

"You know." Sasuke smiled almost kindly. "Why not let him give it a shot. Who knows? He might actually win."

"You bet I'd win!" Naruto yelled excitedly.

"Well, if you want your ass handed to you." Shikamaru sighed and began setting up the pieces

"Ugh." Sakura crossed her arms. "Fine." She stood. Naruto stuck his tongue out cheekily and sat on the spot across from the renowned child-genius.

Sakura grit her teeth. "Shikamaru. You'd better beat his arrogant, weak ass all the way back to the academy, or we're officially putting you on the same level of stupid as Naruto."

"Yeah. Whatever." Shikamaru moved the first piece. Naruto did the same with utter confidence. Shikamaru matched the move and spoke. "By the way, Naruto, weren't you supposed to be home today? What are you doing here?"

Naruto looked up. "What? How'd you know I was supposed to be home?!"

"You rejected the invitation we sent you."

"Huh? What invitation?" Naruto quickly pushed one of his pieces into place. "I didn't get anything. I thought you were just being jerks and didn't invite me.

Shikamaru leapt one of his pieces into position. "That's weird. Then how did you hear about this Genin reunion-slash-sleepover?"

Naruto made a move and pointed a thumb to Sasuke. "Easy. Duh."

"Ah." Shikamaru struck down the first of Naruto's generals.

Naruto's mouth opened and closed in shock. "You were distracting me!"

"Obviously, but you were the one who put your general directly in line of my assassin. It was right there. You really have no excuse."

Sakura cheered. "Get wrecked, Naruto!"

"Hmph!" Naruto crossed his arms and brought out his second general. "I did that just to make you get cocky. Now that you're gonna be overconfident and everything." Naruto stuck out a fist with a thumb pointed to the floor. "You're going down!"

"You know generally with psychological warfare, you don't tell your opponent what you're trying to do."

"I don't know what you're talking about but you're going down!"

Shikamaru yawned. "So I assume you came to this little sleepover without getting permission from your Dad?"

Naruto grinned. "I left a clone to sleep in my place. He'll never find out."

"You know, you probably could've just asked him. I think he'd let you come over even if you did reject the invitation."

Naruto picked up a piece and shoved it through the ranks of Shikamaru's army. "What invitation?!"

Ignoring the obvious bait, Shikamaru threw one of his cannons across the board. "Oh look. I got another general."

"AAH! What the hell?!" Naruto pulled at his spiky blonde hair in exasperation.

Nearby, Sasuke's voice reached his ear. "There was no invitation."

Naruto's head snapped up as he glared at the Shogi master sitting across from him. "What the fuck?! Are you fucking kidding me?!"

At that, Sakura lost control. She collapsed on her hand and knees, bawling in laughter, causing her best friend Ino to pop her head in from the girl's room. "What's going on? What's so funny?"

Behind her, Hinata could be seen staring intently into the boy's room. "I would also like to know."

"Nothing is funny!" Naruto yelled in response, causing Hinata to flinch. "Shikamaru cheated!"

"Oh. Naruto taking on Shikamaru in Shogi?" Ino smirked and walked in. "I've got to see this."

Naruto pouted, picked up another piece and slammed it into position on the table.

Sasuke put a hand over his eyes. "Naruto, do you realize what you've just done?"

"What?" Naruto quickly scanned the board. "What did I do?"

He looked up at Shikamaru who wore an expression of utter bemusement. "You suck."

"Huh?! What the hell did I do?!"

Sakura, having recovered from her bout of humor, crawled up to the board and picked up Naruto's Kage. She then picked up Shikamaru's earlier assassin and placed it right next to the undefended Kage-piece. "Your shogi intuition is terrible. Do you even know how to play?"

"No way.." Naruto stared dumbfounded at the board before sitting up with a look of sheer determination. He jabbed a finger toward the bored-looking Shogi genius. "I demand a rematch!"

"Uhm yeah.." Shikamaru looked down at the board. "No. You should probably learn some basic strategies first before you challenge me. Else, I'll just keep beating you. It'll be humiliating for you and it'll be boring for me. Your options are to either ask my dad to refer you to some beginner's shogi guides or you can watch me play Sakura."

Naruto huffed and stood up. "You'd better hand her ass to her or I'll-"

"Yeah whatever." Sakura interrupted flippantly. "I'll probably lose since it's Shikamaru, but it won't be anywhere near as stupid as your game."

Naruto sat on the side next to Sasuke. "I bet she loses in ten rounds."

"I wouldn't make that bet if I were you." Sasuke replied.

"Why?"

"Because Sakura's actually pretty good at Shogi." Ino replied, taking a seat next to Sasuke.

Naruto looked to his fellow blonde. "But Shikamaru is.. well.. Shikamaru."

"Yeah." Ino scoffed. "A lazy, good-for-nothing who thinks he's soooo smart. I bet Sakura could give him a run for his money."

"You're on!"

Ino cheered. "Loser has to kiss Sasuke!"

"No." said Sasuke. "Absolutely not. I refuse."

"Yeah!" Naruto said in agreement. "If you lose, you get to kiss Sasuke, which is something you want to do anyway! Loser has to do something that they don't want to do."

Ino looked longingly at Sasuke who did his best to ignore her as he focused his eyes on Sakura's game. "Ok. Then you pick my punishment."

"Well then.." Naruto looked around the room and spotted Hinata standing quietly on the other side of the Shogi-table and watching the game. "You'll have to kiss Hinata!"

Hinata looked up upon hearing Naruto's declaration. Her cheeks began to flush a tint of red. "W-what?"

"You're so on!"

"Wait!" Sasuke spared a glance at the flustered Hinata before looking to both Naruto and Ino. "When I said 'I refuse.' I meant it. I am not kissing Naruto. You shouldn't coerce Hinata into doing anything either."

"Come on!" Ino stared into Sasuke's eyes with what she hoped to be an appealing look. "Don't be like that!"

Sasuke stared back into Ino's eyes and activated his sharingan. His option was clear. Naruto was clearly going to lose the bet, and desperate times called for desperate measures. "No."

Ino pursed her lips glumly for a few moments before quickly recovering with an easy smile. "Fine."

Hinata released a breath of relief. Even if Naruto was most likely going to lose the bet (Sorry, Naruto-kun!), she was still somewhat relieved that she didn't have to be part of the punishment (Thank you, Sasuke-kun!)

"How about loser has to treat everyone here to Ramen at Ichiraku's everyday for a week?" exclaimed Ino.

Naruto grinned. "I like the sound of that!"


-Intermission-


Her eyes snapped open, her meditation interrupted. The door opened and the man responsible for the interruption walked in without ceremony. The small apartment room that she'd been given didn't have very good security, but she knew that she'd added several safety measures. How did the lying traitor get in? Burying these questions along with a slight feeling of fear, Konan spoke first. "I seem to recall asking you to stay away from me. I have no desire to interact with you."

"Ah, but that would be ignoring Minato-sensei's desire for us to get along." Obito sat on the chair a short distance from his former Akatsuki ally. "So, you and Minato-sensei. How did it happen?"

Konan glared at the man. She'd despised him for betraying the Akatsuki, but after learning that he'd been the one who'd slaughtered the original members of the Akatsuki before Yahiko's death, her distaste had turned to outright hatred. If she had her way, Uchiha Obito would be dead. No. Worse. Dying was too good for him. "What do you want?"

Obito crossed his legs in an overt show of disregard to the woman's hostility. "Indulge me." He turned his eyes directly at his fellow tenant. She averted her eyes, turning them to the side. Obito chuckled.

"Is it the sex?"

Konan shot up. "If you have nothing of any value to say to me, Uchiha Obito, then leave."

"I'm not really interested in your bland little relationship anyway." Obito said dryly. "What are you going to do when we declare war on the Hidden Rain?"

A chill crawled down her spine at the words that came out of the traitor's mouth. "What?"

"Ah. I didn't know your ears had gone bad. My apologies. Let me repeat that for you. What are you going to do when the Hidden Leaf declares war on your home nation?"

"They wouldn't! Jiraiya-sensei.. Minato. They promised!"

"To try to find a peaceful solution, yes." Obito laid back. "But how are they going to do that when Nagato has clearly shown that he's willing to slaughter entire villages of people?"

"Nagato must've had a reason for destroying the Hidden Mist. There's no evidence that he'd attack any other hidden village."

"Do you really think so?" Obito examined his former ally, his implanted Sharingan blazing an unearthly red. "You and I both know that Nagato is after the nine tailed beasts. I seem to recall having left a certain Three-tails lying around in the Hidden Mist. He was clearly after the Three-tailed Jinchuuriki that I'd released from my control. He could've taken the Bijuu easily without slaughtering the villagers."

"They were a threat."

"A threat? The Mist was barely recovering from its civil war. They had no incentive or any power to threaten the Hidden Rain. I would know. I controlled the entire nation for ten years."

Konan stared angrily out the window, making sure to keep her eyes from meeting Obito's Sharingan. Her emotions threatened to overwhelm her. "Well maybe if the Hidden Mist had just surrendered their Bijuu peacefully, then-"

Obito burst out laughing. "'Surrendered their Bijuu peacefully'. Are you even listening to what's coming out of your mouth?"
He suddenly jerked back, dodging several projectiles from puncturing his head.

A sea of paper projectiles floated out of Konan's body, every one of them lethal and every one of them pointing toward the Uchiha.

Obito's voice took a dangerous turn. "You cannot defeat me."

The thousands of paper projectiles flew toward the Uchiha. A massive chunk of wood shot up out of the ground, intercepting the attack. "You are a threat to the Hidden Leaf, Konan."

The woman felt a twinge of fear jerk at her senses and she made to escape only to find that her ankles had been snared by tendrils of wood. Soon, her entire body was bound.

Obito's voice spoke dryly from behind her. "Did you think I came unprepared?"

Konan struggled, even attempting to transmute herself into paper, but with no success.

The wood release was the First Hokage's renowned affinity. It was also what he used to subdue the Nine-tailed Fox. Its Chakra-suppressing properties was precisely what made it the source of some of the most powerful sealing techniques.

"I just wanted to talk, but I think that is no longer necessary. I've gotten the information that I wanted." Obito spoke without a single trace of pity. "You are an enemy."

A third voice broke in. "Obito that's enough."

Obito stared grimly at his captive as his mentor came out of hiding. "If I were you Minato-sensei, I would lock her up in a sealed environment until the end of the war. You'd probably disagree with the other option."

Konan turned her glare to the man she'd thought she could trust, a feeling of betrayal settled inside her. "You and Jiraiya-sensei promised you'd reconcile with Nagato in a peaceful way!"

"We promised to try. We failed. With Nagato murdering tens of thousands and refusing to negotiate, there is no way to settle this peacefully."

"You liar."

"You would have me surrender my son peacefully to be killed for the sake of creating some weapon of mass destruction. In what world did you think I would possibly do that?"

"You promised."

"I will not stand by when my village is threatened. It's the same for you isn't it? The lives of my people are in danger. My son is being targeted for death and extraction. I will protect them at all costs."

There was a moment of silence during which one party waited for a response while the other contemplated it. Konan looked into the former Kage's face, tears beginning to trail out of her eyes. Her voice came out a desolate whisper. "I trusted you."

"Konan.. Once Nagato is dead" - Konan winced visibly, giving Minato pause. "Once Nagato is dead, all of it ends. No one else needs to be hurt. He is a threat to all people and nations, including his own. You have to understand."

"And you'll have all the time to think about it while under house arrest." Obito stood up and raised his arms, tendrils of wood began filling up the entire room. The prearranged seals in place, Obito dropped his arms, staring all the while into the deadened eyes of his former ally. "Let's go."


-Intermission-


The leader of the Hidden Rain stood atop the colossal skyscraper that was built at the city's center, staring out at the grey sky. His single arm hung limply at his side.
Jiraiya had sent another letter, and this time, it was more than just a plea, but also a warning. It seems that the sentimental old man still had hope that he would once again succumb to the blind, naive ideals that he'd held in the past - before Yahiko's death. The newly minted 'Shinobi Alliance' probably thought that with their strength in numbers, they could pressure him to back off and back down from his goals.

Now they've paid the price. Many more will suffer, and countless more will die, but it didn't matter. The Shinobi system had to be destroyed. The world didn't need Shinobi. Shinobi merely brought misery and death. After he collected the Bijuu, not only would he rid the world of Shinobi with their power, he would also deter anyone from ever causing pain again. The suffering that he brought would set a standard. Even if he were to die, people would look at this point in history and denounce the pain that he inevitably will have caused. They will denounce him and they will denounce the system that created him.

The many bouts of pointless conflicts, betrayals, and slaughter that the Shinobi system had made commonplace will no longer be deemed a viable societal norm. Thus he would succeed. How could everyone else be so blind? As long as there were Shinobi, there will be slaughter. People will never come to understand one another until he'd succeeded.

Where he and Jiraiya differed was that Jiraiya saw the process and the end result to be one and the same.

He closed his eyes in grim thought. Fighting while missing an arm wasn't impossible. He was still the single strongest Shinobi alive as far as he was aware. However taking on an entire Hidden village - the Hidden Leaf no less - with such a disability was not without its risks. He could of course resume the assault with his original Six Paths of Pain and split his powers among six corpse puppets. It wouldn't be the same, however. If he had tried that course of action in Kumo, his destruction of the village would have without doubt failed miserably. Besides, Kabuto could easily replace his arm for him. The pleasure that the man clearly enjoyed from deceiving his undead Uzumaki reincarnation was unnatural and disturbing, but he wasn't without his uses. Kabuto was very good at what he did, and replacing the lost arm was definitely something that could be managed.

Nagato clenched his remaining fist.

If the Hidden Leaf fell, the rest would submit themselves without a doubt. The Tsuchikage was renowned for his stubborn fence-sitting, a trait no doubt born from the fear of getting his people involved and hurt. It was a good trait in a leader, but when faced with a domineering power that they were certainly incapable of overcoming, such a trait would inevitably lean into appeasement. But until the Leaf fell, the self-righteous leader of Iwa would most likely hold on to a thread of hope - enough to make an attempt to stand against him. He would just have to crush that hope.

After Iwa bowed to him, Suna would come next. It was without question the weakest of the five great nations, and with the death of their former Kage by the hands of Orochimaru nearly a year back, it was still in the process of recovery. Suna had never been known to be the strongest of the Great Five. He wasn't worried.

The loss of Kumo was a heavy blow, but the destruction of the Leaf would ensure the outcome of this war.


-Intermission-


"Come back this afternoon. I'll have the arm and the operation prepared for you then." Kabuto tossed his surgical knife into the air and caught it. "You seem to have a knack for losing your limbs. What's up with that?"

Nagato stared hard at his accomplice for a short, silent moment. "See to it that your puppet finds a solution as soon as possible. Time is our enemy."

Ignoring my question. Typical. Kabuto twirled his surgical knife professionally. "Ok."

"Where is she?"

"Checking the seal." Kabuto grinned. "It'd be an understatement to say that she's in a really good mood right now."

Nagato spared another moment of silence to stare at the snake-man.

Kabuto stared back. "What?"

"I will have a word with her first. The story remains as what we've discussed. You still haven't completely mastered control of her mind?"

"No."

The man turned and left.

Kabuto gave his knife one more twirl and set it down. Clearly the man lacked almost all the qualities that made a good leader. To put it more bluntly, the 'Sage of Six Path Reborn' was an incredibly unpleasant and socially awkward individual. The only reason this orphan of the Second Shinobi War had any amount of support from his people was due to his overwhelming power and abilities. Nothing else.

Kushina detested such a leadership. She believed that those who ruled on strength alone became isolated in their power and their rule, that they'd start to disregard the ideas and desires of the individuals over which they ruled.

Having been a multi-agent spy under many regimes across the continent, Kabuto knew the truth of those words better than anyone else. He'd seen it all. Those who were afraid to lose their position of power, those who cared for nothing but their own desires, those who just didn't care, and.. and Orochimaru. A man whose vision wasn't to make a throne for himself, nor was it to waste his life seeking useless pleasures. Orochimaru wanted knowledge. There was something beautiful in that singular desire, something which Kabuto had shared with his now-deceased mentor. It was a pity. Orochimaru should never have died, not in the way that he did. He should have been immortal.

Kabuto sat and kneaded his head in exasperation. He needed to clear his head. He needed to think.


-Intermission-


He walked through the cavern. The walls around him were a bland rocky grey, jagged and unappealing to his perfect vision. It didn't bother him. He'd long rid himself of his aversion to what others would consider ugly, drab and dreary. There was no purpose to pointless artistry. Ugliness and beauty were subjective constructs. They didn't matter. As long as society could exist without the same pain that he'd suffered - a society of peace - nothing else mattered.

He moved quickly but without haste as he contemplated what he would say to the dead woman. Around him, he began to notice markings of what could only be the outlying portions of the massive seal that the Uzumaki had spent countless sleepless nights and long, lonely days carving into the stubborn rock. Such productivity could only be achieved by the undead.

The markings bloomed before him, flowering out in tight, structured and purposeful patterns from the ceilings of the hollowed passage to the floor under his feet.

Nagato contemplated the utility of the Edo Tensei. When his new arm had been attached, he would have Kabuto reveal to him the secrets of the technique, whether the man wanted to do so or not. He could no longer trust others to uphold their pact with him. Konan's betrayal had taught him better. If she truly cared for him and his goals, she would have submitted her soul. Now it was too late. She was an enemy.

He hated thinking of her as an enemy. Once, a long time ago, he'd sworn to protect her. Her and Yahiko. Yahiko's death had strengthened their interdependence and bond. Or so he'd thought.

After all I've done for her. The ungrateful-

"Ah. There you are!" A voice interjected. "I've been waiting to see you again!"

Nagato stopped as he entered one of the larger caverns in the series of cave complexes that had been dug under the Hidden Rain. It was astounding how the village had so much space so far underground and not a single one of them had known about it, even if the caverns were man-made.

"I was just checking the seal to make sure that there weren't any problems. Isn't it wonderful?"

Nagato let his gaze wander. From floor to ceiling, the heavy density of seal inscriptions glowed a variety of reddish colors. In another time, they would've been beautiful to behold, but now..

"It's a lot less overwhelming than I'd thought, this ten-tails. The seal isn't even filled to quarter-capacity, but I'm so glad! How was it?"

Nagato tried not to smile. The woman was obviously very excited about the success of her long nights of toil. "The capture of the Ten-tails was not as successful as hoped."

The woman's smile lessened slightly.

"But," Nagato held up a hand to indicate that he had more to say. "I have successfully encapsulated several Bijuu. The Ten-tails is now much weaker than it was before. I only have one more task for you."

"Anything." The woman replied, clearly still ecstatic from the success. Nagato noted that her face was completely smoothed of the cracks that had been there since he'd previously seen her. It seems Kabuto has been wasting time developing useless fixes to the Edo-Tensei.

"It seems that the Jinchuuriki that the Nine-tails had devoured are still alive. Some of them have managed to escape. I've-"

"Escaped?!" Kushina blurted loudly. "Does that mean that my son could still be alive?!"

Nagato stared silently at the woman for a short moment. "I do not know. Come with me."

The Sage turned and began walking toward Kabuto's lab. Kushina followed silently. If Jinchuuriki have escaped, then isn't it possible that her son, the Jinchuuriki of the Nine-tails, is still alive? However slim that possibility might be, Kushina could not help but hope. Everything was going well. The Ten-tails was crumbling, and her seal was working to hold whatever it was holding right now. It meant that they could triumph.

It meant that she might still be able to save her son.

"How did you not know that this was possible to begin with? Aren't you the Sage of Six Paths, the creator of the Bijuu?"
Nagato continued walking as he maintained perfect control of his body language and his voice. The question had nearly caught him offguard, but it had a simple explanation. "The Ten-tails has existed long before I was born and is as old as the planet itself. Even I am not fully conscious of all its inner workings."
"Oh. I see." She paused. "Where are we going?"

"To see some of the Jinchuuriki. I'll need help extracting their Bijuu. Kabuto will be coming with us. We will speak further then."

"I understand." Kushina replied. The Sage's desire to end the conversation was clear. He probably had some things to explain to both her and Kabuto and it would be less redundant if Kabuto were there.

"I hope my son is alive."

Nagato gave a short sigh of breath but made no other response.

The two carried on in silence. As they passed the perimeters of the massive seal that held the Eight-tails and its Jinchuuriki restrained, Kushina turned again to admire her handiwork for a brief second. She couldn't help the feeling of hope that flooded her. They were winning, and her son could still be alive.

The image of her little child flashed before her. He'd looked so peaceful in those last moments before she'd died, his chubby little hands and his tiny body imprinted in her mind's eye. The Fates wouldn't be so cruel as to have killed her innocent baby before he'd even gotten to walk his first steps. It wouldn't be fair. They'd already taken so much. Now that she'd started to hope again, she didn't dare contemplate anything else. Even if Minato were dead.. even if he were dead, she could still hold on to the hope that her baby was still alive. He just had to be.

Naruto.


-Intermission-


Tiny paper filaments quietly slipped through the room, leaving not a trace of sound as it crept across the floor. She was merely a clone, but that didn't matter. As long as she achieved her objective,

By the time the village realize that the Nine-tails had been kidnapped, it would be too late.. those traitors. They'd promised to not hurt the people of the Hidden Rain. They'd promised to find a way to reach a peaceful accord. And then they went and declared war on her nation. She couldn't believe she'd let her emotions get the better of her. True, Nagato had attempted to remove her abilities and maybe her life, but he didn't broach any nonsense, lies or false idealism. He knew what he was doing. He knew what had to be done.

She approached the child - the container of the most powerful of the nine Bijuu. When she brought the Nine-tails back to Nagato, he would have no choice but to reconcile and accept her. She will have proved her worth and her convictions. Surely he thought about her.

The papers reached the edge of the mat.

She shouldn't have faltered in the first place, but the release of emotions and thoughts that had been pent up for over a decade had been too strong, and now the Hidden Rain was going to be annihilated. Her people were going to die, and here was her chance to give them the upper hand.

The paper began wrapping around the child who continued to snore blissfully into his pillow. A puddle of drool lay beneath his oblivious cheeks.

Before long, the boy had been completely consumed by the mass of pure white.

The woman paused for a few moments with her bundle as if in hesitation, then, her target acquired, Konan swiftly left the apartment compound.


-Intermission-


"Oh my god!" Naruto exclaimed loudly, causing everyone to jump.

"What's wrong?" Sasuke asked.

"Someone kidnapped my clone!"

Shikamaru put his hands in a thinking position. "Do you know who it is?"

Naruto nodded. "I've got to go tell my dad!"

Sasuke stood. "I'm coming with you."

"Me too." said Sakura. "If someone's trying to kidnap you, then odds are you won't be safe alone." Sakura turned to Shikamaru with an apologetic smile. "Sorry Shikamaru. Maybe we can play again next time."

"That would be nice." Although a little disappointed, Shikamaru understood the import of the situation. Still.. it'd been so long since he'd faced a new opponent who'd offered him such a challenge. It was a pity.

"See ya." With those last words, Naruto departed, taking Team Seven with him.

There was a moment of silence before Shikamaru broke it. "So. Who's up for a game of Shogi?"

He looked around.

Ino got up and started to leave. "I'm going to see what Neji and Tenten are up to." Hinata bowed and followed.

Kiba was still snoring soundly and Chouji was probably in the dining room.

Rock Lee.. the boy in the green jumpsuit smiled from the position he'd taken and offered a thumb up. "I would take your youthful challenge, but I must complete one hundred minutes standing on one arm. If I can't do that, I'll run 200 laps around the village tomorrow. If I can't do that, I'll do one hundred minutes on my thumb! If I can't do that I'll run fifty laps on my hands after I do the 200 laps! If I can't do that, I'll do 2000 push-ups after lunch! If I can't do that-"

"Ok. You do that." Shikamaru yawned and stretched. "I think I'll just go to sleep."


-A/N-


I could probably have split this into two chapters but. Eh. What the heck?

Happy Merry Christmas and New Years and Holidays and everything enjoyable that you might be doing at this particular time of year!

Hohoho! :)