The Shinigami frustrated Gaara.

Even while sitting in one of their camps, eating their rations and speaking with Naruto's second-in-command, there was something about them that got under his skin. He found the individual Shinigami to be quite amicable, it was their organization as a whole that bothered him.

The sheer variety in their ranks meant meeting new officers was always interesting. Quite different from Shinobi ranks, where most ninja were shaped by their early education and induction at the Academy. Shinigami came to the Gotei fully grown for the most part, from all different walks of life. With the wide divide between Noble and Commoner status being more intense than the divide between Shinobi and Civilian lineage.

What frustrated the Godaime Kazekage was the strangeness of the Gotei. The 13 Court Guard, in his humble opinion, held a worryingly unstable position; stuck halfway between police force, hunters, and private army. On the surface, the Gotei fit all three roles, but if pushed to the brink Gaara believed it would fall short.

That lack of concrete identity and duty was dangerous. As Kazekage, Gaara ensured his Shinobi always had clear responsibilities and limits. A Kage didn't force their Hunter-nin to carry out courier missions, or waste ANBU on low-rank protection details. Even setting clear duties for the chunin compared to jounin was essential. Shinobi hierarchy was focused on a centralised concept of capability mixed with effectiveness. Suna in particular had embodied the ideal that no tool should be wasted, Gaara was a perfect example of that mindset in action. Under his rule Suna had carried on in a hopefully more compassionate manner but he hadn't tolerated insubordination in any capacity. The Gotei didn't even have a concrete definition of "insubordination."

It was a mess of conflicting motivations, loyalties and abilities with each Division possessing a shocking amount of autonomy. That might be the heart of his frustration with the organisation as a whole. It was a collection of pseudo-villages forced to operate within the confines set by Central 46. That relationship was imbalanced. As opposed to the symbiosis between a Daimyo and their Village, which relied on mutual benefits to foster cooperation, the Gotei was subservient to Central 46.

Shinobi Villages were no strangers to bureaucracy, it served them as an organisational tool. In the Seireitei bureaucracy was a means for the Nobles to control the Gotei. They used historical precedents and harsh consequences to keep their wildly powerful lapdogs in line. It certainly seemed like Central 46 was less concerned with Hollows than the Shinigami.

The history of Soul Society was still largely a mystery to the Shinobi, though they were working hard to fill that gap. Ostensibly the Gotei 13 was formed on the order of the Soul King, a nebulous figure that supposedly controlled the flow of souls. This Soul King then charged the Gotei 13 with protecting the balance of souls and Soul Society in general. The Shinigami decided that to carry out this order they had to stop Hollows from hoarding souls by purifying them and guide normal Human souls to the afterlife through konso. The Shinobi Council found hints of the early Gotei being a small band of terrifyingly strong warriors that slaughtered Hollows wholesale across what is now the Rukongai. At some point it morphed into a centralized military based in the Seireitei that focused their hunting efforts to the Living World.

Gaara supposed that the Gotei was in a type of perpetual power struggle. Each Division strived to act on its own principals and objectives while keeping outside interference to a minimum. Just from his first hand experience watching the 10th and 7th Divisions interact, it was evident the two Divisions approached nearly every aspect of life differently. Their routines, techniques, and battle strategies differed on a fundamental level. It had taken Naruto months to hammer out some kind of synergy between the two.

The longer Gaara spent among these Soul Reapers, the more he wanted to join Naruto in their ranks. For no other reason than to see if he could instill some Shinobi structure to the organisation. If they were able to keep the Shinobi Alliance from falling apart, correcting the Gotei would be an interesting challenge. The Kage in him also noted that the deeper the Shinobi embedded themselves into the Gotei ranks the safer they would be.

"Gaara!"

Looking up from his tea, he waved to Naruto. His friend had been in a dour mood since Gaara's arrival. Understandable, considering that he was here to help coordinate a joint rescue effort.

A Shinobi scout group had been captured behind enemy lines while carrying out advanced recon of the Grand Alliance core territory. The Gotei and the Shinobi Enclave had agreed that information was too valuable to lose. Gaara had been dispatched with a small team to rendevouz with the closest Gotei force, which happened to be Naruto's battalion.

"Everything's ready. Komamaru'll handle things here while we're gone."

Standing up, Gaara dumped his tea into the small campfire.

"How long do we have?"

"Captain Isshin got us 2 weeks."

"Hopefully we'll be back in a few days."

Walking through the Shinigami camp Gaara had the pleasure of watching Naruto fend off dozens of people vying for his attention. Everything from offers of food to requests for advice. It was reassuring to see the spark of humanity that Naruto was so good at bringing out. Gaara overtook his blonde friend when he was cornered by several Shinigami from something called "Seireitei Communication Monthly" for an interview. Speeding to the camp outskirts, he found his squad.

"The mission's been cleared, Naruto and three of his officers will be escorting us."

Seeing everyone's equipment in good order, Gaara led them to the outer perimeter.

"Karatachi, you and Inuzuka will take the lead. You looked over the target's planned route?"

Karatachi Kagura was a fairly tall man with a fair complexion and messy grey hair. Under his pink eyes was a tattoo with three points running down the left side of his face. He, like the rest of the Shinobi, wore a simple grey-black outfit, complete with reinforced vests and forehead plates. Karatachi specifically, wore a green long-sleeved vest with a high collar and had a blue hilted katana secured to his back.

"Yes Kazekage." Karatachi answered, "We're confident the patrol was captured somewhere near the lakes in District 66. Our search will start there."

Gaara nodded. Karatachi had been slated to take over the Mizukage position in his youth, but had passed on the hat and instead taken over Mist's infamous Hunter-nins.

"Shinobi-san!" a voice called.

The Shinobi met a group of three identically dressed Shinigami. The youngest looking one had called out, a short man with bright silver hair.

"Histugaya Toshiro at your service Shinobi-san." Hitsugaya sketched a quick bow, "We'll be your backup. With me is Shiba Ari from the 7th Division," He pointed to a man with slick black hair and a trimmed mustache. "and Tsukabishi Tsuneo from the Kido Corps." Standing at the back was a towering man with a white face covering, showing only his wrinkled eyes, he also carried no sword.

"I look forward to working together, Hitsugaya-san." Gaara responded.

Gaara turned and pointed to his own squad, "With me is Karatachi Kagura, Inuzuka Momon and Makaiko Sessue."

"Introductions done with?" Naruto's clear voice stopped all conversation. "Then let's go save our people!"

/

Nestled into a small valley deep in District 66 a heavy fist crashed into a man's face. His body pulled at the ropes keeping him fastened to a wooden rack. From the front Hozuki Suigetsu, "The Second Coming of the Demon", looked messy. He was a lean-built man of average height, with straight white hair, almond shaped purple eyes and pointed teeth. The left side of his face was purpled with bruising and his white hair was matted with red clumps. He was nearly bare, the rest of his body looked no better.

The fist swung again, slamming into his stomach this time. Suigetsu gave little reaction except letting a gob of spit and blood hit the floor.

"I'll admit it, you Shinobi are tough. If nothing else interrogating you works up quite a sweat."

The broad interrogator stood at a table, wiping off his knuckles. He set down his cloth and picked up a small cup. Walking back over, he took a moment to regard Suigetsu.

"Would you like a drink?"

Without waiting for an answer, he put the cup to his prisoner's lips. He smiled when the stubborn idiot started sipping.

"I bet that feels nice. Maybe nice enough to tell me where that blind girl hid the information?"

Suigetsu finished swallowing the water, looked up at his gracious host and then promptly closed his eyes and started snoring.

Gritting his teeth, the interrogator grabbed a pitcher of water off the table and smashed it over his prisoner's head.

"Enjoy the drink, it'll be your last until you decide to cooperate."

Then he stormed out of the small tent.

Suigetsu smiled as the water trickled down his body. Clenching his fists he muttered, "I will, thank you."

The water stopped mid motion and circled back up his chest, flowing over his bruises and cuts. The more the liquid circulated the better Suigetsu looked, until the water fully absorbed into his body. His bruises were still purple but had noticeably shrunk. Suigetsu sagged in his ropes, from both relief and exhaustion.

'Someone better be on their way,' he thought, 'I don't know how much longer I can keep my mouth shut.'

Suigetsu slowed down his breathing and tried to get comfortable, the jackass wouldn't be back for a few hours. The Hyuuga wouldn't give up anything and the idiots had seemed hesitant to really go all out on the "poor blind woman".

His random thoughts were interrupted by a small sound from behind him. Tensing, he nearly yelped when something brushed against his ankle. Staring down, he watched a light breeze blow in through a small rip in the tent canvas. That breeze brought in some small sticks, which coincidentally arranged themselves into a short message.

5 minutes, bonds cut, rescue. it read.

'I wonder who they sent after us?'

Counting down, Suigetsu began flexing his legs to get the blood pumping. Five minutes passed and he felt the breeze reenter and his bonds slack. Without hesitation he dived forward. He plucked a small knife from the interrogation tools on the table, still bloody from his session yesterday, as he slid up to the entrance. These Grand Alliance assholes weren't keen on keeping quiet once dinner started. The camp was far enough from the front lines they probably expected some measure of safety.

Angling his head, Suigetsu got a clear view of the tent the Hyuuga was being held in. She'd done a good job of playing up the whole "blind Shinobi brought for secret reasons" schtick. She'd be fine, he was more worried about getting his sword before the party started. He wasn't gonna let that sword go until he'd taken 100 necks with it. Gekko, that Leaf bastard, wasn't coming out of this war ahead of him. He had a reputation to uphold.

Marking the few enemies on watch, Suigetsu slinked out of his cover and around the camp, staying deep in the shadows. Pausing behind a pile of firewood, he let his senses sharpen until he picked up the small touch of Reiatsu he'd imbued into Kubusetsu. Using his knife to cut a small slit into the appropriate tent, he crawled into the camp's storage.

Smirking, Suigetsu stood up and began shifting through the various sacks and boxes for his weapon.

'There she is!'

Stuffed in beside some other (inferior) swords and daggers was Kubusetsu. It wasn't Kubikiribōchō but his own version of the Decapitator was a fine replacement. She was about a third smaller than her predecessor with mirrored cut outs in the base of the blade and along the edge.

"Oh baby, you knew I would come back didn't you?" Suigetsu whispered lovingly.

"You can't even take being captured seriously, can you?"

Suigetsu spun around, pulling Kubusetsu into his hand. From the angle of the voice he adjusted his aim to cut through the speaker's throat. A glimpse of opal white eyes stopped him mid-turn.

Smirking, Suigetsu replied "I take it plenty seriously Hyuuga, especially when it comes time to pay our hosts back."

Staring at him with disapproval, Hyuuga Hanabi stood in a makeshift cloak with some red staining along the shoulders. Her black hair was tied up in a high ponytail that exposed fair features and characteristic Hyuuga eyes. Their captors hadn't spared her looks much consideration, her nose was clearly broken and most of her jaw was yellowed and swollen.

"That I can agree with." she said.

Rustling from the front of the tent had both Shinobi silently diving for cover. Suigetsu threw Hanabi his pilfered knife before they disappeared behind some bedding.

Two soldiers barged in, they seemed to be checking on the food supply. Suigetsu finished mapping out an escape route when Hanabi tapped his hand.

'Rescue, incoming,' she signed with a grin. 'Eliminate, before contact.'

'Identified allies?' He asked her.

Hanabi's smirk was truly vicious between her bloody nose and swollen chin.

'Nine, One'

Suigetsu had to bite down to keep from howling. These assholes were in for a real treat.

Grabbing a small water jug from a shelf he carefully popped the lid. Dipping his hand in, he concentrated on pooling his reiatsu into his hand and back up his arm. Pulling the limb out he made sure the thick layer of water now coating his limb was stable. Crouching, he got a clearer view of his target, the soldier checking a list with his back to the rest of the tent.

Aiming his hand at their throat, Suigetsu silently chanted 'Blade of the hunting shark, hone to the life-blood of my prey, Suiton #12: Katana!' The water around his arm hardened for a split second into a flat rectangle with a point, then shot forward faster than an arrow and pierced the soldier's throat.

Hanabi vaulted from her hiding place and grabbed her target's wrist striking their Reiatsu vent with Juken to put their spiritual system into shock, preventing any fluctuation in energy from being detected. Then she crushed their windpipe with a follow up hit.

She and Suigetsu quietly carried the bodies to the back of the tent. After storing the two corpses out of sight, the Shinobi listened to the soldiers gathering to dine together at the centre of the clearing.

"Pass the stew."

"Nakashi, of everyone here you're the last person who needs a second helping."

That earned a chuckle from everyone around the campfire. Nakashi frowned but grabbed another bowl full regardless. The Alliance soldiers continued ribbing each other while enjoying a hot meal.

"How long before the shark-man talks?" Someone asked.

"He might look tough but I've yet to meet a man that can keep his peace after a few days in my care." Nakashi replied as he went to stand up.

The rest of the circle watched as Nakashi stopped mid-motion, frozen in a squat.

"Nakashi?"

Looking past the interrogator, they noticed the people behind him were similarly statuesque. Someone shouted, "Kido!" sending the entire camp into a frenzy as they noticed the subtle lines of energy snaking across the ground. The cry came too late as a group dropped into their ranks with swords drawn.

Gaara slammed his palm in the dirt while incanting, "Claws of the mountain, Doton #4: Entomb!"

The dirt around him surged up wrapping like snakes around three soldiers, totally immobilizing them. Kicking forward, the Kazekage deftly engaged the guards running in from the perimeter followed by Makaiko whose fist were coated in bloodstained stone gauntlets.

The Inuzuka took a leaping jump over the barracks tent. With a guttural howl, he used a massive burst of reiatsu to send himself spinning with kunai in hand. Shredding into the disorientated men and women.

On the outskirts of the camp, a pair of guards made a break for it. They reached the base of the nearest hill when a thick mist drifted over them. Back to back, they stood with trembling swords looking for something to strike out at.

"You're either cowards or have some common sense, hard to tell which." A soft voice whispered to them. "Truthfully it doesn't make a difference." The mist was smothering, weighing down their limbs. "Blood is blood, the mist doesn't care."

Twin cries echoed off the cliffs, Hitsugaya and the Shiba turned to the sound from the sentries they'd dispatched. Everything seemed to be wrapping up, the fighting in the camp had stopped. Cleaning his blade, Hitsugaya called back to their serene Kido Corps member.

"Tsukabishi, send the message, we've recovered the Shinobi."

/

Uzumaki Karin knocked lightly on the door before double-checking the stack of scrolls in her arms. She stepped through without waiting, moving past various attendants. The Kage Council Chamber was quite full today. Kakashi, Hoseki and Mai were pouring over a map of the front lines while Ay and Kurotsuchi reviewed fresh reports. The other Kage (Tsunade, Onoki and Chojuro) were in the Seireitei as official envoys for the war effort.

"Oi Red!"

Karin saw Mitarashi Anko sashaying over to her. The purple-haired ninja was a senior member of the Intelligence Committee, she was also Karin's very annoying boss.

"Took you long enough," she said while reaching for the scrolls, "Kakashi's been on my ass about these accounts."

Karin dodged backwards, brushing past Anko, making straight for the Kages. "Sorry Mitarashi, these aren't for you."

"I thought you were assigned to Analysis?" Anko pouted.

"I am. These" Karin motioned to the scrolls, "are for another project."

Kakashi finally noticed her entrance and called out, "Karin-chan, perfect timing."

Ignoring Anko's sulky mutters, Karin laid out the scrolls on the table in front of the Rokudaime. Half the scrolls had lists of names, the other half were a collection of rumors and descriptions obtained by the Enclave's expanding spy network.

"Anything catch your eye Karin?" Kakashi asked.

Rearranging the scrolls, he picked up the two she pointed out. He raised his eyebrows, "A pair of strangers out in the west are hunting Hollows in exchange for food. Descriptions fit the last living sightings of Hoshigaki Kisame and Uchiha Itachi."

Turning a bland look to Karin, "All they're doing is hunting Hollows?"

She nodded, "As far as we know. We couldn't pin down where they're based out of, only that they wandered into certain towns from time to time. The people are already giving them nicknames, folk-hero status, if we let it go for much longer making contact might be difficult."

Scratching his neck, Kakashi leaned back. "With Sasuke and Naruto tied up in the war, I'm not sure who else we could send."

"Sarada-chan is set to cross over any day now…" Karin suggested.

"While it doesn't leave the best impression, that might be for the best. At the very least she'll be able to prove her identity with clan knowledge."

"True, Sarada was a bit obsessed with old Clan rituals."

Shoving the scrolls into the ever growing pile on his desk, Kakashi patted Karin's hand. "Great work as always Karin, now you might want to go. I think Anko's gotten tired of being ignored."

Taking the Rokudaime's advice, Karin slipped out of the council chambers. Avoiding the loud scolding Anko proceeded to give to poor old-man Kakashi.

'Damn,' Karin thought, 'I forgot to point out the other scroll.'

Mixed into that heap of work by the Kages, was scroll filed as "Rumor (unconfirmed): White-haired man, penchant for storytelling, charity and flirting. Reported to be wandering near the front lines helping refugees move through contested territory. No confirmed sign of Shinobi-tendencies. A-Rank Investigation recommended."

/