A/N:Having received only one question, I'll respond to that question here.

Amidamaru88, to respond to your question, I am willing to rewrite the series from scratch if there are compelling reasons to do so. In point of fact, I've done it before. The original version of this story was considerably longer, more rambling, and failed to adequately develop characters in any way, shape, or form. On top of that, upon rereading, several details included in the first few chapters contradicted later events and the tone I wanted to set for the series. Thus, I rewrote this series from its 300,000+ words (in Part I alone!) to its current form, something I would consider to be a cleaner, more straightforward, and better-plotted story. However, to rewrite as opposed to revising the story, I must have some idea of what mistakes I've made, and I must feel that those mistakes are significant enough to warrant rewriting the entire series, which is a pretty hefty endeavor. Having done it before, I'm quite certain that doing so would require a great deal of detail work and probably a lot of typing that might be unnecessary, so I'd prefer not to do it unless I consider it to be necessary. I have gone through and checked grammar and spelling, so I can only assume that your comment refers to the plotline, world, and/or changes to characters. On the 62nd chapter (if I'm doing my math right), I'll be publishing a list of changes that I made and why I made them. At that point, I'd like to hear what mistakes I made and what to do about them. This can include items on the list, if there are significant enough problems to indicate that the reason I included the change to begin with wasn't good enough.

Having said that, if there's sufficient evidence to state that there are crippling story flaws in changes I have made, I will change them. I want to write a good story. For that reason, I have to see good reasons to change what I've already written.

The sky darkened. The flames rose. Sparks shot out from the flaming logs, engulfing the ring of white stone. The moon shone downward, the full round orb casting moonlight upon the ground.

"To join Akatsuki in the first place, you must have power that resembles that of a god to ignorant humans." Kūkyo sighed. Forcing herself upright, she tightened the grip on the sword.

Chinmoku watched the display, unimpressed.

"Fighting power. Strength. Speed. And of course the soul. All these must be above 'what is possible for a human'." Kūkyo paused. She raised her arm. The sword hilt glowed in the light, reflecting the images of the flames rising above the tent.

Deikōgi rubbed her temples. She watched silently, her blue eyes flickering with the flames reflected from the fire.

Chinmoku sighed. "I already understand all this. Akatsuki members are indeed supposed to be at their peak, mentally, physically, and in terms of power. Alternatively, they must possess some unique ability something like yours. I studied the organization rather carefully before deciding to join it. What on earth is your point?" He tilted his head to one side. "Are you trying to bore me out of attacking you?"

"What I am telling you, since you insist on asking, is that you do not possess that kind of power. If you understood it, you would not have challenged me to begin with. It wouldn't be necessary for you to realize that you must die." Kūkyo stepped forward. Her expression grew more serious, darker. "What I am telling you, kid, is that you have no clue what you're getting into. The moment you challenged me is the moment you stepped into the arena of a battle that you are incapable of winning."

The sword slid out of its sheath rapidly. The battered surface of the blade shone, golden light reflected from the edge of the sword.

A withering gust of golden energy blew along the ground.

Chinmoku's eyes widened. What the hell is going on?! What I'm feeling right now shouldn't be possible. Within my worst nightmares, no, even within my dreams, this kind of monster shouldn't be possible! It's as though my soul is being crushed down.

The sword slid out of the sheath. Golden energy surrounded the body. The sword transformed into a hammer. A golden tassel trailed from the hilt of the hammer, blowing upward in the wind.

Hmph. I still can't see it. The nature of her abilities remain a mystery, it seems. Chinmoku's eyes narrowed. No matter. His hand reached upward. His teeth slashed into his thumb. A drop of blood fell from the hand. A dragon formed on the ground. A puff of smoke rose through the air. We'll see how calm she can remain in the face of this.

"No matter how many magic tricks a human possesses, that a human cannot reach the power of a god is also a simple truth." Kūkyo's eyes narrowed. "This isn't the first time I've fought a dragon, you know." She glanced sideways. "My apologies. It seems we won't be able to hide your location forever."

The dragon roared. Several trees collapsed under the weight of the dragon. The dragon's mouth opened wide, scarlet-black flames building within the dragon's mouth. A wave of scarlet flames shot outward rapidly.

Kūkyo grinned. A wave of golden reiatsu spread from her body.

The flames dissipated rapidly.

Chinmoku's eyes widened. "My, my. That's too much already."

"And talking tough can only get you so far. Beyond what is possible for humans, you must possess something exceptional." Kūkyo's eyes narrowed. "Among normal 'humans', my brother is probably the only one who can stand on the same level as me. As a 'god', that is, he's the only one who approaches me in power. He's that kind of freakish existence."

Chinmoku lowered his hand to his side. I see. It's too unfortunate that I can't use my true powers here. He drew out an object from his pouch. As it is, though, I'm too limited. Perhaps it is necessary to attempt some form of alteration here?

The hand lifted. "Let me demonstrate a little of the difference that exists between us." Kūkyo reached upward. Her hand grasped the hammer. Tightening her grip, she smiled coldly at Chinmoku. "Deikōgi-san. This next part will probably reveal us."

"Ah, I get it, yeah. How much are we talking, yeah?"

"Watch carefully. This is what happens when I use my true strength." Kūkyo's hand tightened on the hammer.

Waves of energy and pressure spread from the base of Kūkyo's feet.

Chinmoku's eyes widened. Eh?

The hammer smashed downward. The earth shattered. Pieces of earth flew upward from the ground. The earth shuddered rapidly. Wind blasted along the ground, scouring the void forming before the impact mark..

Chinmoku's eyes widened.

"That is a lot closer to what my actual power is like." Kūkyo's eyes narrowed. "As I said, I'm offering it to you. You have one final chance." She held up the hammer. "Stand down now, and we can talk in ten years or so. As it is, you're too naïve—"

"As I thought."

Kūkyo's eyes widened.

"As I thought, you're underestimating my power. You have given me far, far too much time." Chinmoku's eyes opened. "I haven't just been sitting here idly, you know. It's a difference that I think you are incapable of discerning presently." Black scales ran up and down Chinmoku's arm.

Light poured downward.

"Hm?" Kūkyo's eyes opened wide. "That technique. Sage Mode, is it? I had heard that it came first from Hidden Stone. I suppose it's only rational that you should be capable of using it."

"You heard incorrectly, then." Chinmoku's lips curled upward. His eyes glittered like a dragon's. "First it came from a certain clan that refused to join Hidden Stone. As has been the case historically, such an act resulted in a negative response."

Kūkyo's eyes narrowed. "Don't think it'll be so easy to get rid of me, either. Even if I have been generous with the power and time I have given you."

"I don't. I've simply been analyzing your abilities. You're very kind, showing your capacities to me. As a consequence, I have a clear understanding of how to win this battle."

"Heh." Kūkyo's eyes narrowed. "Analyzed, you say?"

"A ninja shouldn't show their techniques to the enemy. That's a common, simple mistake that will result in your death."

The air glowed. Energy pressed downward.

"And what weakness did I reveal?"

"It's true." Chinmoku smirked. "You can no longer use shinobi techniques."

"I don't consider that to be a weakness. Frost's philosophy is quite straightforward." Kūkyo's eyes narrowed. "Kill anyone who stands in your way."

Chinmoku chuckled.

"Overwhelming might. Losing my shinobi techniques was in every way a gain."

"It was? Then you won't mind my saying it. Your versatility is too low. Even if your strength has improved, you're only a cannon—something you can point at something and use. But cannons can be beat by using various methods. Consider the possibility of using a swamp to defeat a cannon." Chinmoku's lips curled upward. "As that's the case, I have no objection to finishing you using your lack of versatility against you. Information is 'power'. As a consequence—you've given me quite a lot of power to use against you. So I'm quite pleased. I thank you for the generosity you have currently expressed to me."

"My generosity, eh?"

Chinmoku inclined his head.

Kūkyo's eyes narrowed. "You're too carefree."

Chinmoku's eyes widened.

"You don't seriously think I wouldn't take my weaknesses into account when I'm fighting someone else? I am honest, not stupid. Don't confuse me. Don't confuse me for some fool. I'm always quite careful about my own weaknesses, and not just the one I've shown you here. That generosity you're talking about is your own mistaken illusion of matters."

"Swamp of the Underworld." A wave of swamp water washed across the surface of the ground. Bubbles rose through the grass.

Kūkyo's eyes widened. Her feet sunk into the ground.

"Like this, the most probable outcome is your death. What will you do, Kūkyo? What will you do, shinigami?" Chinmoku questioned, his eyes calm.

Deikōgi's eyes widened in shock. No way, yeah. Did she really just lose like that, yeah?

Kūkyo's arm slashed outward. The glowing hammer passed in an arc. A wave of golden light penetrated the ground, blasting into the surface of the technique's swamp.

The swamp blew away. Bubbles flew upward through the air, sent flying by the swing of the hammer.

Chinmoku's eyes widened.

"I'm different." Kūkyo sighed heavily. "I'm different from every opponent you've faced before. There's a distinct difference between me and your understanding of the world. I don't fit into such neat categories.

Chinmoku gritted his teeth.

"Strength doesn't matter. Power doesn't matter. Desire doesn't matter. To the extent that you would understand it, even 'will' doesn't matter. To kill me, you're going to have to surpass all that. Your heart—your essence. you will have to discard all these things." Kūkyo's eyes narrowed. "You will have to become an existence that is comparable to my own, in order to kill."

"I see." Chinmoku sighed heavily. He rubbed his temples as he looked upward.

Kūkyo's eyes narrowed.

"So there's still that much of a difference. I think I begin to see more clearly. Even assuming I did use ninjutsu on you it would have no effect, would it?"

The air glowed.

"No. For the moment, I should put that first assumption aside. Even if I did mean to kill you, I would have to begin with a much more detailed process than that." Chinmoku's eyes narrowed. "Let's attempt something else instead, I think. It is better to attack you using a method that does not affect the brain or the 'soul', but instead the physical body."

Kūkyo's eyes widened.

Chinmoku blurred forward. The hand spun around. A wound opened along the edge of the cutting palm.

"Thought so."

Kūkyo's eyes narrowed.

"You can blow away ninjutsu using that soul force but you can't do a thing to physical attacks."

"Do you really think it wise to confront me in physical combat, after seeing what I have done to the earth around you?"

"It is the only rational decision." Chinmoku paused. "You've already proven that my other two methods of attacking you… no matter how we try this method, it will not work. That is a simple truth."

Kūkyo's eyes narrowed. "Fine. But I should warn you before we begin."

"All these warnings. What on earth do you see in me?" Chinmoku's eyes narrowed. "Could it perhaps be your younger brother?"

Kūkyo's eyes narrowed. She clicked her tongue. "However impossible your situation is, making comments about my family is uncalled for. At any rate, it is necessary to consider your path. Taijutsu. It is one thing I retain regardless of my other situations."

Chinmoku's eyes widened.

"In short, every technique I knew when I was still a shinobi I still know today. Do you understand?" Kūkyo paused to ensure that her words had sunken in. "Just because I can't use one technique or another doesn't put me at any kind of major disadvantage."

"…" Chinmoku swallowed tightly. His hands clamped on his weapons.

"Well, if you're afraid, you should probably give up. It is too simple to be afraid. But you should be. You should absolutely be afraid."

"Is despair the only thing you know how to flap your lips about? It's true that your taijutsu prowess is rather frightening."

Kūkyo's eyes widened.

"If things were so easy, I think you would be sitting on a treasure hoard of wealth from your jobs. No, more than that, you wouldn't have been in the slightest concerned with the forces of Hidden Stone."

"Naturally I have such a thing. Perhaps you should take a step backward from where you presently stand, or your own wealth shall be added to that sum." Kūkyo smirked. "Last chance—"

"You use that word too frequently. I do not think it means what you think it means."

The hand lowered. Kūkyo scowled. "Fine. Have it your way. Third Gate, Release!" Golden light blasted downward. The body glowed. Fumes of gold rose from the body.

Chinmoku's eyes narrowed. On that team, Unmei was the taijutsu specialist. The increase in speed—

Kūkyo's foot spun around. The sandal flew through the air, striking the side of a nearby tree. The bark flew away.

Chinmoku ducked downward. The foot passed over Chinmoku's head. It's problematic, but certainly not beyond defeat. In this world such a thing doesn't exist. Every technique has a counter. If I can work it out, I can defeat her here and now. The pouch opened. Chinmoku reached inside. He swallowed the black pill.

The air glimmered.

A wave of energy blasted outward from Chinmoku's feet.

Chinmoku spun in a circle. His foot shot toward the figure.

Kūkyo dodged backward.

"Heh." Chinmoku smirked.

Kūkyo's eyes narrowed.

"You didn't manage to hurt me." Eh? Yet she still looks so confident. Chinmoku's eyes widened.

"You're the one who gave away some vital information to me." Kūkyo pressed forward. Her eyes narrowed.

Chinmoku fell backward a pace.

"I don't know how exactly your power works, but I can say without a doubt that it relies on 'extended soul force'. In essence it's similar to my own soul force. More simply put, as long as I'm stronger, I can cut you down with ease."

Chinmoku's eyes narrowed. "I have to get stronger than you, huh?"

"You're too young."

"Damn it."

The air glimmered.

"Damn it. Too arrogant. I've been too arrogant." Chinmoku's hand shook on his weapon. His expression grew more subdued. "I made a mistake. I thought that I would win easily."

Light poured downward.

"You see now, more clearly."

"To think I couldn't finish it using level one only."

The air glimmered.

"Level one?"

"Correct. Well, my first level of effort. Let me put matters like that, instead." Chinmoku's eyes widened.

The air glimmered.

The hands clapped together.

Kūkyo's eyes narrowed.

"Summoning: Rashomon."

"Hah. That old technique of Orochimaru-san? That won't kill me, you stupid fool—"

The gate formed in the sky.

Kūkyo's eyes widened.

"My only option is to attack you with something you couldn't see coming. Forgive me in the afterlife." Chinmoku bowed his head.

Kūkyo's crushed body lay beneath the wreckage of the gate.

"No way, yeah!" Deikōgi growled. "There's no way I taught you to fight that rottenly, yeah! Why didn't you take her down using artistic methods, yeah?!"

"Cheating. I don't care about things like that, sensei," Chinmoku remarked, his eyes grave. He put out the light. His brown eyes flickered. "However I win is okay. Isn't right defined by the one who's left standing?"

The gate fell in two pieces. A golden sword slashed through the surface of the gate, cutting it into two pieces.

Chinmoku whirled around, his eyes wide.

"You really are quite something. Of course, you're right. The one who remains standing at the end of a battle defines what it is to be the winner. Being aware of that, you should realize that it's true." Kūkyo inhaled tightly. Her brown eyes narrowed. "Even so, you don't seriously imagine I'd die from something like that, do you? 'The one left standing', at this precise moment, is both of us, meaning that you haven't truly won in this conflict."

Chinmoku's face turned pure alabaster white.

"You pass."

"Hm?" Chinmoku's shoulders relaxed slightly.

"To survive that, I had to use the first release of my sword. Seriously, what a freakish being you are." Kūkyo giggled. "So a member of Akatsuki, one who is neither god nor demon, shall ascend to our heights." She sheathed the sword. "I'll recommend you. Though you have neither the strength nor the skill required, your ability to cheat and win duels has no equal in this world or any other."

"However I have to win is fine by me." Chinmoku's eyes narrowed. "In a fair fight, I've have had no chance from the start. I would have lost in an instant. That's simply truth. I'm as aware of that as you are." He glanced over his shoulder. "I was a better ninja than you were, not a better fighter. That's the simple truth."

"In terms of destiny, even that simple fact could easily be argued." Kūkyo tossed another log of wood on the flames.

Sparks shot upward into the sky. The stars darkened.

"How much longer will we be exposed like this, yeah?"

"Maybe a day, maybe less."

Chinmoku scowled.

"I don't enjoy that fact any more than you two do. The simple fact of the matter is that we need to cross a border, and even gods of death need sleep. I can't simply push through all the time." Kūkyo lay down near the fire. "Keep an eye out for others following us."

"Where's your partner?"

"He's either busy or got lost. Knowing him, either's more than possible." Kūkyo chuckled. She fell into slumber rapidly.