The Wanderers

Chapter 74 – The Suspicious Retreat

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, the origins of shinobi wouldn't be such a simply copy of previous mythology.

***Previously-On***

While complaining of headaches since arriving in the Land of Fire, getting Gaara to bring a Sunagakure contingent and returning, Naruto found himself pulled back into his mindscape for what could be considered his final battle with his occupant. The Kyuubi was unwilling to explain itself initially, but it became clear that it was terrified of fighting the Quiraji and had every intention of taking over Naruto's body and fleeing. The two of them engaged in several battles across different forms, including one fought as gigantic versions of themselves in a pre-destroyed Konoha. Each time Naruto emerged triumphant and slowly he defeated the Kyuubi both physically and mentally, finally breaking the Kyuubi's will to resist completely. With Hinata keeping him alive the whole time with her medical techniques, Naruto was able to reconcile his differences with the Tailed Beast at least temporarily and forge an uneasy alliance for the coming conflict.

***End Summary***

It had only been an hour since he'd sent his cousin and her 'husband' to convince the Kazekage to help them, but Neji was already getting impatient to hear a result. The attacks that had been sent against their position had been few and far between besides the one that had brought the small group to them, yet Neji knew the Quiraji were planning something. His scouts had reported a large gathering of soldiers just out of sight of the Fire Temple, a force that wasn't a real threat to their dug-in position, but it would slowly whittle down their numbers until they couldn't protect their civilians and they'd be overrun by the Quiraji army.

In his arm he rocked his sleeping son in his arms, the one year old having worn himself out by the tremendous act of walking for the first time. Unlike the twins who were the quietest children he'd ever seen, little Haruto was a moving terror and a handful to even the most experienced child-workers.

Glancing over to the other part of the couch, he watched as Yuko slept silently on his leg, having collapsed in a similar manner to their youngest. She'd been working herself tirelessly with the civilian population, keeping them secure and happy while also acting as a voice for the shinobi to reassure their families and deliver the bad news when one of them is killed.

He was so immensely proud of his wife, even as he reached over and pulled a thin blanket over her to cover her bare legs. The weather in the Land of Fire had taken an unexpected turn and it had been extremely hot. Being a woman who wasn't ashamed of her figure, Yuko had taken to wearing thin clothes that didn't overheat her, despite Neji's protests about her dignity.

It wasn't so much that he was old fashioned; he just liked the idea of having a monopoly on her legs. He wasn't much of a sharer after all.

A knock on his office door drew him from his staring at his beautiful wife and he activated his Byakugan so he didn't have to get up. Through his black and white vision he could see his assistants standing outside the door. The brother and sister combination were very effective at their jobs, but he wished that he could have more than five minutes with his family. He was tempted to send them away, but Kazuha held a report in his hands that Neji knew he had to read.

"Come in," he called out, thankful that both his son and his wife were deep sleepers. As the siblings entered the room he motioned for them to be quiet and present what they had come for.

Kazuha nodded his understanding and showed Neji the scroll that he was holding. The Otokage gave him a look to show that indicated that his single arm was throughly occupied and he couldn't unravel the scroll. The young man had enough dignity to silently apologise for his error, while his sister rolled her eyes.

"It says that the scouts report the Quiraji have retreated."

"I know that already, we beat them back when we defeated Shouri's beasts," said Neji with a tired expression on his face. He went to dismiss them for bringing him information he already knew, but something about Kazuha's face made him pause.

"Sir…" started his male assistant. "They've retreated from the field entirely."

The Otokage took a moment to process the information before his eyes widened at the realisation. He wanted to shoot to his feet, but the weight of his son in his arm kept him on the couch. He took a long breath and deactivated his Byakugan. "They must be up to something. Get me Sakon or Ukon, depending on who is on duty, and then Jin ten minutes afterwards."

The two siblings nodded and left the room without saying a word, recognising how serious their leader now was. They'd taken it as good news that their enemy had retreated, yet Neji's reaction to the news was something neither of them quite understood.

But as their promised, a few minutes later the door swung open and both Sakon and Ukon stepped through with hands on their hips. They spent most of their time separated these days, as opposed to years ago when they were convinced they were stronger together.

By the time they had entered his office he had carefully placed Haruto beside his sleeping wife and resumed his position behind his desk. Normally he would have woken her up and escorted her back to their sleeping quarters, but seeing how tired Yuko was he wasn't willing to move her.

"You didn't both have to come," he said as they approached his desk. "The two of you need your rest as much as anyone."

The twins looked at each for a moment before shrugging and turning back to him. "We aren't much for staying still…" said Sakon. "…or waiting around," finished Ukon. "What do you need?"

Ignoring the eerie way they finished each other's sentences, Neji placed his hand over the report from earlier, "The Quiraji have retreated from the area. I need to know why. I need one of you to go through your system and find out if the Quiraji have refocused their efforts on one of the other villages. If not, we will have to assume they are going to come back with larger numbers."

Sakon sighed and turned to his side, "We'll be back in an hour then."

"No, do it here."

The twins both gave him a suspicious look, but Neji's expression showed that he didn't have an hour to wait. They shrugged at each other and sat down in the middle of his office, crossing their legs and placing their hands in a handseal he'd never seen before. The way they gathered information through their unique technique had always been a mystery to him, but it had also been obnoxiously useful and he had been given no cause to question it.

That didn't mean he was going to wait for them to do it on their own volition.

With their eyes closed he could see the chakra swirling around inside their bodies with his reactivated Byakugan, moving in ways Neji hadn't even thought possible within a shinobi body.

After a few minutes he began to understand some of the aspects of their ability, but he was more interested in the information they were able to provide.

"Hmm…all the signals in Iwagakure have disappeared," said Sakon with a hint of fascination in his voice. "Strange that we didn't feel it."

Ukon didn't move, but Neji could see his agreement through his chakra. "Your Nara friend is not in danger. His village has yet to receive your other friends either."

"I knew that already," said Neji impatiently. "Sunagakure has its own problems to deal with at the moment. I'm concerned about the immediate problems."

A few minutes of silence later and the twins both opened their eyes at the same time. They looked up at their leader with looks that told him they both had news.

"What is it?" he asked quickly.

Ukon started first. "The Kumogakure shinobi that we infected have had a mixed reaction to the defeat of the army that had been plaguing them. There is a group that was tracking them that has been found by an old companion of yours."

It only took Neji a moment to put the information together, but he would need another time to formulate a plan around that information. For the moment he turned to the other brother and asked for his information.

"The one you had us infect and destroy his Byakugan is currently in the Land of Fire with a massive group of Kiri shinobi."

Neji frowned; he hadn't been expecting that. However he could sense the Jounin was holding back on him and ordered him to continue.

Sakon smirked at his teasing of their leader, "He's with the Mizukage. And they're in serious trouble."

"The Mizukage came here?" Neji's mind reeled at the implication, while Sakon picked up a pen and began writing down specifics. Ukon figured he should do that as well and began writing down his own information. "She must have tried the same thing we are doing…but on a smaller scale. That would explain why the Quiraji refocused their efforts onto her force. They would be easier to take down; since it's clear we aren't going anywhere anytime soon."

"What would you have us do then? Let them go?" asked Ukon in his deep voice. "It would make a fine distraction while we consolidate our efforts."

Neji dismissed the idea immediately, "The Mizukage and her people are too valuable a prospect to use as bait or as a distraction. If what Naruto and Hinata told me is true, the two of us haven't truly had a dialogue yet. It's clear she understands the Quiraji threat…" he let his sentence run off as a plan formed in his mind.

They were still waiting on their scouts to return with the information he truly needed for the coming battles, but he was wary of the knowledge that they simply didn't have the power to break through the Quiraji lines and defeat their commanders on their own. As much faith as he had in Naruto and Hinata, he couldn't rely on any reinforcements coming from Sunagakure until he got confirmation that was going to happen.

He needed more pieces on the board before making his play.

Neji waited until the twins had given him all the information he required before he worked out the final details and left his wife and child in his office to find the two people who could deliver him a new ally to fight his war with.

oOoOoOo

Neither of them had been that tired from the battle a few hours ago, yet both Sasuke and Fiore felt an urge to just lie down and relax for a few minutes. However before they could, Fiore had insisted on seeing the civilians and making sure they were being treated properly by their shinobi protectors. It wasn't that she didn't trust the Otogakure shinobi; it was just that she didn't trust shinobi in general.

To her surprise, the civilians that were hiding underground had few complaints besides the fact that they missed the sunlight. The Fire Temple was originally a military stronghold before it became a temple and had extensive tunnels that easily accommodated their extensive numbers. It was clear that some kind of Doton user had extended out certain areas to allow for easier living, and they had more supplies than either of them had expected.

Despite the circumstances above ground, they seemed mostly glad that they weren't under worse circumstances. Regardless of her previous concerns, Fiore had to admit they were under good care.

When the couple emerged back to the Fire Temple where Otogakure shinobi were resting from the earlier battle, they stopped as they saw the Otokage approaching them.

Sasuke wasn't sure how he felt about seeing the Hyuuga in a Kage outfit, though that had more to do with the arrogant look in his eyes that accompanied the black and white outfit. The moment after the battle had ended; Itachi had spoken to the Otokage then disappeared like he always did. It was infuriating, but Sasuke was used to it by now.

"What do you want?" he asked sharply, only to get a look from his partner that could have melted steel.

Fiore bowed her head slightly as an apology for Sasuke's rudeness, something she was getting sick of doing. "We've come to assist your efforts, wherever you need us."

Neji smiled at the young woman, grateful that he didn't just have to deal with the Uchiha shinobi alone. "Thank you, that's nice to hear. I know the two of you just got here, but we have a unique window of opportunity that I need your assistance on."

"We aren't your messengers," said Sasuke spitefully. "We came because Naruto asked us to. We're here to fight and then return to our people."

"And I'm giving you an opportunity to do just that." Neji kept his choler in check as he focused his attention on Sasuke's companion. "The two of you have the ability to move around this land in a stealthier manner than my shinobi can. If we approach things in the right manner, we can swing the war heavily into our favour."

"Sounds like fun," said Fiore with a grin. She didn't want to admit it, but she'd been antsy since her partner had done much of the fighting in the earlier battle. The interactions she'd had with the Quiraji had left a sour taste in her mouth and she was itching to cause some destruction. Glancing at her side, it was clear that Sasuke felt the same way, though he'd never admit that in front of Neji.

Neji reached into his cloak and produced a scroll that had written instructions for their mission. He handed it to Fiore initially and resisted the urge to smirk as Sasuke snatched it out of her hands and read it for himself.

"You want us to destroy this factory?" he asked with a raised eyebrow being the extent of his emotional response. "This is on the north-eastern part of the Land of Fire. At least a day away."

"I'm well aware," said Neji. "There is a Quiraji production facility there that is producing hundreds of anti-shinobi weaponry every day. They are protected by a large auxiliary force that was fuelling the war in the Land of Lightning before that ended prematurely."

"What aren't you telling us?" asked Fiore suspiciously.

Neji smirked at her question; he liked this woman more and more each second. "There is a group from Kumo that will likely cross that area in the next few days. I'd prefer them not to run into any major Quiraji resistance, if you catch my drift."

Sasuke read on past the first part of their mission to the real reason they were being sent out into the Land of Fire. It was a bold plan to be sure, but a question rose to his mind as he thought about it. "Why the two of us for this? I know you spoke about our ability to travel; we can probably fly most of the way there to save time. But neither of us are particularly diplomatic people. In fact we're notorious for not being like that at all."

"Hey, speak for yourself. I'm a great diplomat," said Fiore stubbornly.

"You have the eloquence of a fish, Fiore."

"More than you," she shot back.

"I'm not disputing that."

Neji put up a hand to try and keep them on topic, but it was clear that they didn't recognise that as an ability of his. After a few minutes they finally turned back to Neji and Sasuke repeated his question.

The Otokage had a variety of reasons for sending the two of them personally, many of which he had no intention of revealing to them personally. "Let's just say you are uniquely suited to convincing this group. If you can bring them to our position here, we have a good chance of breaking the cycle of Quiraji dominance and taking the fight to them." He smirked as he thought about it for a moment, turning to Sasuke slowly, "And let's just say…you're her type."

Fiore leaned back on her wooden deck chair and sighed deeply at the setting sun in front of her. The Land of Fire had its beautiful moments if one took the time to find them; it was a crying shame that such a place had become so consumed with war. Secretly she wondered how much of it would remain once the war was all said and done, though the more pragmatic side of her questioned whether she should be a part of the shinobi's war in the first place.

If it wasn't for her partner, she would still be with her mother and Cascading Flow.

Reminding herself of the man she'd spent a fair amount of time with over the past few years, Fiore leaned her head over the back of her wooden chair, "How much longer are we going to stay here?"

A tree in her view exploded into tiny splinters to review her Uchiha partner pulling back a fist and staring at it intently. He unclenched his hand and flexed his fingers as his eyes returned from their Sharingan state to their regular black. His breathing was slightly off from her perspective, but other than that it barely looked like he'd trained at all.

"Are we going to move on yet?" asked Fiore again, figuring he hadn't heard her the first time.

Sasuke put down his hand and began walking towards her, "We'll wait a few hours till its completely dark and then fly during the night. That way we can avoid detection from the Quiraji on the ground."

"We've already been here for two hours!" complained Fiore, but having known him for a reasonable amount of time she knew that Sasuke wasn't the type to admit that he needed some rest. She hadn't felt the need to train like he had so she had been bored out of her mind. "I don't know why you bothered training; you've had the technique down since Naruto taught it to you."

"He didn't…oh never mind." Sasuke walked around to her side and waited for her to extend her wood across so he could take a seat next to her. "Knowing a technique and making it combat-viable are two very different things. Only moulding chakra in my eyes while using the other things with the rest of my body requires a lot of mental control."

"Sounds like a terrible problem to have," said Fiore with no attempt to hide her sarcasm.

Sasuke shot her a dark look as she swung her feet to sit across his legs. "I'm not like you, who's only restriction is her imagination. I have to work to achieve my power."

Fiore chose not to point out the obscene amount of training she went through her entire childhood to achieve the level of control over her wood that she currently had; she doubted he would care anyway. If there was anything she'd learnt about him over the years it was that Sasuke's pride was the biggest motivator for him, even when he performed actions that were inherently unselfish. He was constantly working to improve himself for one reason or another and if he wasn't doing so then he would go out of his mind.

It wasn't so surprising when he'd offered to teach Naruto some specialised ninjutsu in exchange for his new techniques to battle the Quiraji. It had been Hinata that had shown him the aspects he was better suited for, while Naruto had more or less beaten the rest into him. Fiore hadn't thought Sasuke capable of asking someone for help like that in the past, but seeing the interactions between the old friends was like something out of folk tale.

She was lucky she wasn't the jealous type. Besides, she'd found Sasuke's friend's wife a thoroughly fascinating woman. Having watched her train she could see the power and skill the young woman possessed, yet she was entirely humble and nice to a fault.

Not that Fiore hated having time just with her partner. It was just sometimes company was nice to have around. Sasuke had a tendency to be quiet and brooding and that drove her spare.

"Who'll take first watch?" she asked after several minutes of silence between the two of them.

Her partner motioned to her with a casual gesture of his hand, "You know what they say: age before beauty."

Her response was a sharp kick to his side that caused him to fall of the wooden seat and double over in pain. Knowing that he needed rest far more than she did, Fiore flicked a hand and constructed a small covered area with her wood over him. He might drive her up the wall occasionally, but she did care about his well-being and he'd never admit to needing help.

His jab about her not needing to train had gotten to her as well, though she in turn would never admit that to him. She had a complete understanding of her ability and the limitations she had thought it had possessed.

She had no ability to mould or produce chakra, but that worked to her benefit. She didn't have to overcome years of indoctrination to utilise some of the abilities she had observed in their opponents and their new allies. She might deny it until the end of time, but Fiore had Senju blood running through her veins and given enough motivation could tap into the raw power that separated her and her mother from regular civilians.

She wanted to keep a secret from Sasuke until the necessary time though. It had been a while since she'd wowed him with something, and keeping things fresh helped keep a relationship alive.

Not that she could fully describe why she stayed with him. She just did.

Once they knew they were sufficiently concealed under the cover of darkness, Sasuke and Fiore took to the sky on one of his faster hawks and flew silently for several hours towards their target. Having lived in the Land of Fire for much of his life, Sasuke was able to use the stars in the night sky to navigate reasonably well, while Fiore took note of the number of Quiraji soldier camps they passed below. It looked like there had been a massive army camped in the area not long ago, but they'd moved out in a hurry.

"How much longer until we get there?" asked Fiore with a strained tone. She hated flying on his hawks, but admitted that she needed her strength for the coming battle and draining herself with her wood manipulation was just foolish.

Sasuke glanced down at the ground flying past them before reaching up and pulling back his hood to get a better view. It was nice and windy in the area, but he could see enough detail to understand where they were. They were closer to the border of the Land of Lightning than he was expecting, but by his account they were very close to the weapons facility that Neji had requested they take out.

He hated being the Otokage's soldier, but if it helped the war effort he was willing to do whatever was necessary. And some carnage would feel good right about now.

"Not long," he replied finally. "I was thinking we could do this like Ioki mountain."

Fiore stared at him like he was an idiot, "We would need at least fifty people to pull that manoeuvre off. Why not Fish of Fury?"

"There is nowhere close enough with that much water," said Sasuke with a scoff. Beneath the two of them his hawk gave out a shriek that caused him to nearly fall off the large bird of prey. Grabbing at its brown feathers and pulling the hawk upwards he swore loudly as clusters of arrows flew around them.

Fiore shook her head and grabbed her wooden staff to beat back any arrows that might come to close to hitting the two of them. Glancing down at their attackers, she was surprised to see there were over thirty archers re-notching their bows and preparing to fire again. They appeared to be standing on some kind of camouflaged platforms that she recognised as flat buildings that appeared to be set in a complex fashion.

"Sasuke…"

"I see them," said her Uchiha partner quickly, trying his best to manoeuvre their ride away from the ranged attackers. The hawk was very fast in the sky, but it only took a single arrow strike to its chest for it to burst into a cloud of smoke, sending its occupants falling to the ground. They'd learnt early on in the war against the Quiraji that summoned creatures were particularly vulnerable to anti-chakra weaponry and Sasuke knew his hawk had no choice but to return to its realm before it suffered fatal damage.

While falling to the ground, Sasuke turned to his partner with his hands stretched out in front of him, "I guess we're going with the Falling Meteor."

Manipulating her wood so that it became a platform for her to surf towards the ground on, Fiore smirked at his plan. "That'll work. Looks like the facility is mostly underground, want me to take care of the inside?"

Sasuke nodded and began summoning his spiritual energy like Hinata had shown him, while Fiore moved out of the way to avoid a group of arrows shot at her direction. While she had full control of her wood she shot down towards the edge of a nearby forest, allowing Sasuke to go about his business.

Falling to the ground, Sasuke could see a whole mesh of arrows coming towards him that threatened to turn him into a falling pincushion. He could feel the power growing within him in a similar manner to how he felt during training, but now that he was in battle he could feel his adrenaline fuelling his abilities to a far greater extent than he could have ever achieved during training.

"Seishou no Jutsu: Mokuyoku Honou!" (Spirit Technique: Bathing Flames)

From his hands two streams of bright blue flames shot down towards the enemy force below. They constantly streamed through the arrows that had been shot at him and disintegrated them instantly before bathing the Quiraji archers in super-hot flames that ignited them within their armour. The buildings that the Quiraji stood on were also ignited and burnt away to reveal long tunnels that looked to lead to an underground complex.

Once he had burnt away all the archers below him, Sasuke flipped around in the air and landed flawlessly on the ground. Small blue flames flickered on his hands before dissipating, giving his hands an ominous glow in the dark.

Naruto's had this power for that long? No wonder he'd gotten so much stronger. If I didn't have the Sharingan, he would have beaten me at every turn when we sparred.

He turned to see Fiore fly into one of the tunnels screaming bloody murder, causing a smile to come over his face. He was proud that he was with someone so strong that he could trust her to take care of whatever she would encounter inside. They'd only been given the necessary information on the place they needed to destroy and though he hadn't expected the Quiraji to hide the facility underground he knew they must be in the right location.

The small army of Quiraji soldiers that appeared out of the nearby forest and moved towards him with hateful looks in their eyes was enough to justify their trip. He recognised a small group of Red Warriors plus a Black Robe that appeared to be commanding the force. Under normal circumstances he would retreat and assess the situation, but with Fiore taking care of things underground he wasn't going to go anywhere.

Sasuke chuckled internally at the idea of taking a last stand. This wasn't the place for the heir to the Uchiha clan to fall. With that in mind, he clapped his hands together and pulled them apart crackling with lightning. It wasn't as if there were thousands of them facing against him.

Only a good hundred or so. Good odds for any Uchiha.

oOoOoOo

If the Quiraji soldiers inside the facility weren't aware of Fiore's infiltration of their base, they certainly were when she bashed through the double steel door at the entrance with a massive log of wood that crushed two guards underneath.

"Alright! All Quiraji pieces of trash step forward to receive your complimentary ass-whooping!"

She wasn't sure what to expect, but the reaction from the Quiraji weaponsmiths inside was about as normal as could be expected.

Inside the Quiraji facility were dozens of forges burning hot and causing the air to taste stifled and ashen, while her dramatic entrance had gotten the attention of both the well-armed guards and the weaponsmiths themselves. The forgers quickly grabbed some of the recently completed weapons and stood ready with the guards to attack her at will.

The facility looked quite expansive and there looked to be over a hundred Quiraji soldiers inside, including the weaponsmiths.

A confident smirk came over her face as her wooden staff grew into a razor-thin spinning blade similar to those used to cut down trees. She'd wanted to work on her over-reliance on her wood for a while now and in this confined space she had the perfect opportunity to experience a different style of fighting. With a short kick she grasped a pair of swords from the guards she had squashed earlier and began twirling them expertly.

The Quiraji soldiers took a moment to assess her before a large group of them charged at her with challenging roars.

Fiore turned her wooden buzzsaw on overdrive and sent it towards the forges themselves while she readied herself for some close-quarter combat. If they threatened to overwhelm her she could always switch back to her regular style, but after parrying one of the guard's blows and stabbing through a gap in his armour with her stolen blade, Fiore wasn't too worried at this stage.

Though the pair of Red Warriors making their way towards her did give her slight pause.

oOoOoOo

When Fiore emerged from the tunnels, she was expecting to find an impatient Sasuke waiting for her. She was right, as she saw the Uchiha shinobi leaning on his sword buried in the ground. However she hadn't expected the mountain of Quiraji bodies around him that looked like a bomb had struck the ground, while Sasuke looked like he'd been through hell and back keeping them from entering the tunnels she'd just come out of.

He hadn't taken any fatal wounds and he'd never admit it, but Fiore was sure he'd fall over with a soft push if she was so inclined. It was tempting just to see his reaction, but she held herself back and walked over to his side.

"You took your time," said Sasuke with his usual condescending tone. "Did you get everything done down there?"

The Cascading Flow warrior shrugged, then immediately regretted it as she felt the horrible stiffness in her shoulders. She knew that a few hours rest and she'd be back to normal, but it still hurt like hell.

The two warriors looked up at the small amount of sunlight that was appearing on the horizon. After the battle they were both exhausted, but they still had a long way to go for the next phase of their mission. Sasuke had wondered why Neji had sent them here first as opposed to saving the Mizukage and her force first, but after the battle it was obvious that clearing out this section of the Land of Fire was more important to the Hyuuga than getting a new set of allies.

He always thought Neji was a bastard, but the way he went about conducting his war was something to be respected. It was something he might have done in the past, though Sasuke had little interest in leading. He still had his own path to find.

"Should we go now?" asked Fiore while rubbing her neck sorely. "It'll probably take a day's travel to get where we need to go."

Sasuke thought about it for a moment before wiping at some of the blood from one of his wounds and running through the handseals.

"Flying? Again?" Fiore didn't bother hiding her disinterest in the idea, but stood back to let his summon appear.

She watched as a small hawk appeared flying in the air in front of them, cawing loudly at them. It wasn't large enough for them to ride on, but it was clear that flying wasn't on Sasuke's mind.

"What are we doing?" she repeated, though her partner just ignored her and stepped forward to the small hawk he'd summoned.

"You are to fly to the south-eastern forest cluster near the Veiled Lake. We'll instruct you from there."

The small hawk flapped its wings like it was clapping and shot off in that direction, far faster than its larger brethren were able to fly. If it would take them a day to fly to the Kirigakure position, Fiore reckoned that it would only take the small hawk a matter of hours to make the same trip.

Sasuke clapped his hands together before offering her one of his hands to take. "Want to visit the domain of the hawks? If we stay there for a few hours we'll be fully rested for the next fight."

"Since when have you been able to get into their domain?" asked Fiore suspiciously. "I thought the hawks were very protective of their home and didn't let shinobi in."

"Let's just say, I have a standing invitation. It's probably not a good idea to rest here, and we need to make up the distance to our next target."

"So how is going to the hawk's domain going to help us with that? How the hell are we going to get there in the first place?"

Her Uchiha partner grinned uncharacteristically and reached forward to grab her hand. "It's a trick."

Fiore grumbled incoherently at his suspicious dodging of the question, but had no time to process it as the two of them disappeared in large cloud of smoke.

From the person he'd gotten the hawk summoning scroll from, Sasuke had been told that the first time you get reverse summoned you throw up because of the transition.

He was determined not to do that when the hawks summoned him and his partner to their domain.

Despite all his preparation, he failed miserably.

A Quiraji soldier slammed a long sword into the chest of the Kirigakure shinobi before being unceremoniously decapitated by a large blade strike from its side. Suigetsu took a moment to mourn his fellow shinobi before turning to the next soldier that was attacking them.

"These pests just keep coming…" he said with a sigh. There was no real test of skill in this battle or those they had faced since invading the Land of Fire. The only reason they'd lost shinobi was because they'd gotten careless and underestimated the sheer number of soldiers that came after them.

Two bolts of lightning shot past him to take out a pair of Quiraji soldiers that were charging him as his red haired companion landed at his side and chuckled maniacally. "Ah, but slaughter has its own charms, does it not?"

"Maybe to you," said Suigetsu with a snarky smile. "Where are the Red Guard that the others were talking so feverishly about? How are we meant to be the Seven Swordsmen if we don't have opponents to match our skills in battle?"

"Considering we're currently the Four Swordsmen, I think we shouldn't complain about our opponents," said Ameyuri as she flicked her Kiba swords in her hands. "I believe this secures our flank, does it not?"

Suigetsu clenched his massive sword and pulled it up to lean on his shoulder, "Once we take out that contingent over there." He pointed with his free hand to a large cluster of over fifty Quiraji soldiers that were regrouping and preparing to attack the Kirigakure encampment once again.

"Bet I kill more of them than you do," said Ameyuri with a wicked toothy grin. She began to run towards the Quiraji soldiers with lightning crackling between her Kiba blades as Suigetsu sighed and followed after her with his Kubikiribouchou on his shoulder. Since recovering from his battle against the blonde shinobi that had thoroughly kicked the crap out of him, Suigetsu had focused on bulking himself up so that his oversized blade wasn't such a burden on his stamina, but it was still rather tiring to carry it around all over the place.

oOoOoOo

Chojuro grimaced as he struggled under the weight of the Quiraji strike that had been made against him. His blade had grown large with his confidence that he could defeat his foes, but the Quiraji soldier seemed to absorb the chakra output of it through its staff weapon and threatened to overwhelm him.

"Damnit…" he muttered before his muscles bulged and he was able to use enough leverage to bash his opponent back. He swiped away the Quiraji soldier's sword before leaping forward and sinking a kunai to the hilt into the soldier's neck. As he pulled back and allowed Hiramekarei to return to its regular double-hilted state, he turned to see the Mizukage easily dispatch two Quiraji soldiers that had been foolish enough to come after the Kirigakure leader.

She wiped off the lava from her lips and smiled at Chojuro for a moment before turning to one of her bodyguards, "Which area is under the most threat next?"

Ao put a hand up in a handseal for a moment before turning and pointing towards a cluster of trees at the edge of their temporary encampment, "The northern scouts have all been killed and our flank is under threat of being overwhelmed." Even without his stolen Byakugan he had exceptional sensory abilities that had guided them through much of their travels in the foreign land. "We should consider retreating back to the Land of Water, madam. We are losing too many people for this venture."

"You've made your feelings quite clear on the subject," said Mei with a stern expression on her face. She had taken a big risk in taking such a large force straight into Quiraji lands, but she was convinced that the only way to secure her village was to attack the enemy at their strongholds and defeat them. Most of her shinobi hadn't been interested in fighting the Quiraji at first, but after seeing the destroyed battleships and corpses of the soldiers that had been sent to attack their home was enough to motivate them to attack the Quiraji with just as much fury as other shinobi would have.

For over a week they destroyed one stronghold in the Land of Fire after the other, taking down small forces and trying to fight one of their main places of strength.

Then they ran afoul of a single man in a red suit that had turned shinobi against one another with a single touch, while being impervious to their chakra attacks in return. In a single battle they'd lost over fifty shinobi from friendly-fire, even when they'd captured one of the shinobi under his control the only cure was death. As quickly as he'd arrived he disappeared into thin air, furthering cementing her position that they were doing the right thing.

And now they'd come under attack by an overwhelmingly large Quiraji army that had been stationed at a nearby barracks with enough anti-shinobi expertise to legitimately threaten her forces.

Mei hated to admit it, but with the exception of her best fighters they were losing the battle. Even if they won, she wondered whether the deaths would be worth it.

She turned to Ao to order her shinobi all to fall back to her position, but when she looked at him she could see an odd look in his eye.

Before she could ask, Ao indicated to their northern flank with his hand, "There are two people attacking the Quiraji force from behind. They are laying waste to them with strange techniques that I can't sense."

"How can you sense them then? Are they similar to the Quiraji?" Mei was aware of the green-clad shinobi that had broken out of their prison a long time ago with his pink-haired partner using some kind of brute strength that hadn't required chakra. If this was someone similar to him, then that meant good things for their defence.

Ao wasn't able to respond to her question properly as a Quiraji assassin appeared in front of him and attempted to drive a short blade into his gut. The Jounin was able to twist his body enough so that the blow only glanced across his flank, while counter-attacking with a clenched fist at the same time.

The athletic assassin rolled out of the way of his counter and shot forward to attack him before he could recover his footing.

However he was intercepted by a small ball of lava that took him in the chest and burnt through his white clothing through to the other side in an instant. His flaming body fell to the ground and melted into the stone, while Ao turned and thanked the Mizukage for her assistance. He knew that she knew he could handle himself, but one didn't question their leader when they give you help.

His good eye watched as a second assassin appeared out of thin air behind Mei and pulled back a blade to slit her throat. She was too far away for him to assist with his techniques, but he was relieved to see that she didn't need his help.

Just as the blade went to drag across her throat, a hard set of scales appeared in its path, forming a collar around her neck that protected her from the killing blow. The red-haired kunoichi reached up and grabbed at the white hand that had tried to kill her and easily threw it over her shoulder onto the ground below. Forming a fist in a manner that felt far too inelegant for one such as her, she turned her hand into a scaled claw that she drove into the Quiraji assassin's chest.

Satisfied that her foe was sufficiently obliterated, she pulled back her hand and stared at the claw as it dissipated back to her normal hand. Ever since receiving the Three-Tails chakra from Yagura she had worked with the Tailed Beast constantly to try and achieve some level of skill with its abilities, and although she found its form of combat distasteful, she had to admit it was effective.

Even though the Quiraji were immune to chakra, they weren't immune to blunt objectives being shoved into their bodies. The Three-Tails chakra was unique for fighting them in that the shells and scales it formed hardened to the point of temporarily not being made of chakra, thus being immune to the Quiraji weapons.

It afforded her a good set of weapons to defend her people and her village, so Mei had few complaints so far.

"Tell me more about the northern flank," she commanded to Ao, who was running towards her with an apology for his inability to help her on his lips. "Are these mysterious people friend or foe?"

"Does it matter at this point? We need their help and they are giving it." Ao disliked the fact that they were in such a position, but he still had to think tactically if they were going to survive.

Mei let out a long breath, he was right, of course. "Which area is under the most pressure at the moment?"

Ao consulted his sensory technique for a moment before turning towards the south, "I can only feel one chakra signal from the south."

The Mizukage gritted her teeth angrily and began to move as fast as possible to where he had indicated. She had left that flank under very capable hands, yet it had devolved into a mess so quickly. She quickly yelled out orders to surrounding shinobi to reinforce their brethren and help beat back the regular soldiers, while the more experienced Kirigakure shinobi were to go after the Quiraji leaders. It had been a significant force that had hit them, meaning they must have some kind of command structure they could take down. It was likely the largest force in the area that was attacking them, which she calculated meant that if they were to win the day they would be granted a temporary reprisal from further attacks to either push forward or pull back.

Though at this stage, she was already leaning towards one course of action.

oOoOoOo

Weak. They were all so weak.

Since his defeat at the hands of the Nine-Tails container, Mangetsu had gone through several philosophical periods where he questioned his motivations, his methods and his goals. The deaths of three of his group didn't bother him as much as they would other shinobi; death was a constant part of being a shinobi. He'd sought out stronger and greater opponents to test himself and his motivations, finding little solace in battle besides the regular elation that came when he sank a blade into an opponent's flesh.

Yet when the Mizukage had proposed this invasion, Mangetsu had expected much of their opponents, the so-called shinobi-hunters. He'd expected fighters of legend, each one able to test his mettle and truly make him question why he fought.

So far, he'd been very disappointed.

Around him stood a large crowd of Quiraji soldiers, just out of his range, hovering cautiously. His fellow Kirigakure shinobi were strewn around the battlefield, their bodies ripped apart or slain under hordes of blades, with complementary Quiraji numbers to give themselves a good account of the battle.

However none of the Quiraji seemed to wish to engage him any further.

In one hand, Mangetsu held the Nuibari, the long sword twirling in the air crying out for more carnage. As the leader of the Swordsmen he could wield each of their weapons with greater efficiency than any of his subordinates could, and his single-handed throwing and manipulation of sword had reaped a terrible toll on his Quiraji foes. Dozens had fallen victim to sword blows from unimaginable angles or had their throats cut from the razor-sharp wire attached to it.

However it was his other weapon that had caused so much fear in his enemies that they didn't want anything to do with him and had focused on killing his comrades instead.

It was only a sword in name, just as many of the weapons of the Seven Swordsmen. It was as long as he was tall, with blades curving out from the hilt like a crescent moon. They were hooked at the edges and had enough edges that simply dragging it along a piece of armour was enough to rend it apart like it was bread. Not only that, but as the Quiraji had discovered when trying to outmanoeuvre him, he had the ability to move the blades around the hilt with chakra so they would clamp down on his targets at a moment's notice.

It was a double-bladed glaive that he'd had made after his defeat in Kirigakure, the first in a line of new weapons for the new version of the Swordsmen he envisioned.

His two blades were caked with fresh blood as his eyes searched for his next target, but none of the Quiraji seemed interested. He sighed and began grinding his teeth in frustration. There hadn't been any of the specialist soldiers he'd heard about to fight in his flank, but he was also disappointed in his fellow shinobi for falling to such pathetic foes.

Just being outnumbered three-to-one wasn't an excuse.

He wasn't a sensory type of shinobi by any sense of the word, but Mangetsu could practically smell the Mizukage coming towards his position with the idea of rescuing him from his peril. It offended him to his very core that she thought he needed rescuing.

Twirling his glaive and wire-controlled sword expertly, Mangetsu made a quick count of the Quiraji around him. It would take at least a minute for his 'reinforcements' to arrive and he had no intention of leaving them any enemies to fight.

It would be child's play to kill these seventy soldiers in less than a minute.

oOoOoOo

Sasuke glanced down at the Red Warrior at his feet with heavy breath. When he'd been attacking at range it had been far easier to defeat the Quiraji soldiers to the extent that the Kirigakure shinobi could take them down, but this red-armoured bastard had been faster than he'd expected and forced him into a close-range sword battle that he'd only just won. He hated to admit it, but his focus on long-range combat had left his other abilities wanting.

Despite that interruption, the intervention of him and Fiore into the battle had clearly turned it in the Kirigakure shinobi's favour. They had enough techniques between the two of them to make up the difference in numbers, with Fiore already running to another area to assist in the other flanks.

Catching his breath quickly, he glanced at the Kirigakure shinobi who were looking at him with awe. He wasn't sure why they were so surprised at his presence, but he also figured that their dramatic entrance into the fight probably helped create the image.

Before one of them could ask who he was, Sasuke centred himself and began moving to the largest chakra mass he could sense. He figured that would have to be the Mizukage; it was his job to make sure she didn't fall in battle.

oOoOoOo

Fiore slammed her staff into the chest of a Quiraji soldier to send him flying backwards and took a moment to catch her breath. They'd found the Kirigakure shinobi almost an hour ago and had been fighting ever since, but the Quiraji seemed to refuse to retreat. They'd been so close to dealing a serious blow on the Kirigakure force, but their spirit hadn't helped them from the attackers that were better at killing them than they were at killing shinobi.

The Kirigakure ANBU that fought around her made no comment at her appearance, but it was clear that they fought with greater efficiency with her at their side. By combining their water techniques and overwhelming speed, the battle began to turn in their favour as the Quiraji numbers withered.

She turned to attack the next Quiraji soldier in the mechanical manner that she'd been fighting, but instead of enemies she saw a large group of Kirigakure shinobi moving towards them to reinforce their position.

She slackened her grip on her staff and breathed out a sigh of relief as she saw Sasuke charging towards her like a knight in shining armour. It was laughable since the battle was clearly over, but she appreciated the thought.

Another ten minutes later and the battle was truly over.

The Kirigakure shinobi went about collecting their dead and recovering from the exhausting battle, while Sasuke and Fiore were spirited away with the Mizukage to explain their presence. She had voiced an interest in thanking them for their intervention, as it was clear their presence had turned the battle, but that didn't mean she was about to trust them. There was such a thing as too good a thing and this wasn't the place to become complacent.

She took them to a small encampment at the centre of the Kirigakure army and gathered her top commanders around her. She introduced her assistant, Ao, who Sasuke recognised as the one Neji had pointed out to him before they left.

"So who are the two of you?" asked Ao with a suspicious look in his eye.

"Why don't we thank them first?" asked Chojuro with an exhausted tone. "If not for them, we'd have been screwed."

At his side, a blood-covered Mangetsu stared at his subordinate with contempt, "Have some pride, Chojuro. We are Kirigakure shinobi." Unlike the other Swordsmen he only gave the young shinobi grief because he knew it would fuel him to further acts of confidence. It was a fine line to tread, however Mangetsu had spent years cultivating Chojuro and valued his presence even if he wished he had a bit more backbone.

The Mizukage put up her hands to silence her subordinates and regarded the newcomers with a cautious look in her green eyes. "For your assistance in this battle, I give my thanks. You saved many of my people's lives today."

Despite wanting to make a sarcastic remark, Sasuke kept it to himself and nodded to the middle-aged woman. "It wasn't a charitable effort. We came here to get your assistance."

Ao went to make a comment, but Mei intercepted him with a hand and stepped towards Sasuke intently. Before any of them could react, she reached forward and gently stroked the side of his face with her fingers. It was the same motion a lover might perform to their partner, yet it only caused a terrified shiver to run down Sasuke's spine. It wasn't because the action was unwarranted or anything like that.

It was the predatory look in her eyes that scared him to his core. She looked like she would eat him whole and have room for more.

However before she could do anything else, Fiore shot forward and slammed her fist into the Mizukage's face. She put enough force into it to cause the Kirigakure leader to spiral down to the ground. As she turned to give Sasuke a piece of her mind, several blades were held at her throat as Mei picked herself up from the ground.

Sasuke wasn't sure how to process what was going on, but he relaxed slightly as the Mizukage laughed deeply and pulled a hand from her face to show that she hadn't taken any damage from the Cascading Flow warrior's strike.

"I like you, girl. You have admirable spirit."

Despite the blades at her neck, Fiore still felt compelled to grab at her partner's shirt and point at him dramatically, "Stay away from him, woman. He's taken!"

Sasuke's eyes widened at her protectiveness that was so uncharacteristic of her, but he could see in her eyes it was something they would speak about in a more private environment. Mei signalled for her shinobi to put down their blades and stepped forward towards her striker.

"You said you came here for our assistance?" she asked as if nothing had happened. "While we are grateful for your help, we are currently waging our own conflict in this country."

"We have similar goals," said Sasuke quickly. "We also have an interest in removing the Quiraji from the Land of Fire."

Mei leaned forward and stared at his face for a moment before a sly smile came across her face and she understood the underlying tone of his voice. "You are an Uchiha it seems. That explains a lot."

"This is a waste of time," said Mangetsu at the side of the group. "Just take their offer and push forward, Mei." Unlike some of the other shinobi, he could recognise a fellow warrior like himself in both of the newcomers. He hadn't seen them in battle, but the way they held themselves was enough for him for the time being.

"You should treat the Mizukage with respect!" said Ao next to him, but the look on the young shinobi's face was enough to make the Jounin wonder where the Swordsman's loyalties lay.

"We have an offer of an alliance from the Otokage," said Fiore to try and change the flow of the conversation. "He is prepared a full-on attack on the Quiraji leadership and needs all the allies he can get."

Mei took in the information as she relayed it with the intelligence she had gathered on the Otogakure leader. He had once been a Konoha shinobi and had more reasons than any to strike at the Quiraji and from what she'd been told he'd orchestrated a masterful trap at the Kage Summit. Their numbers had been seriously hurt by the battle, but with their strength they had enough force to turn the tide of a battle if they worked together.

A shinobi alliance wasn't an entirely disinteresting idea at the moment. Fighting alone only went so far when you are as hard pressed as they were. The old ways weren't the only ways to win wars.

"How many of you are there?" asked Sasuke after a few minutes of silence as the Mizukage considered their proposal.

"Four hundred," said Mangetsu with a bite of his lips that wasn't quite strong enough to draw blood from his sharp teeth. "We started with over a thousand."

Sasuke kept his observation about the folly of their attack to himself and turned back to the Mizukage with his most diplomatic look, "If you are willing to join us, you'd be a welcome addition when we make our push. Your abilities are not ones that we possess, plus with the Sunagakure army we have a good chance of winning. Gaara wouldn't miss a chance like this; he'll be on the battlefield same as Neji and the rest."

The Kirigakure shinobi began talking at once, but Mei put up a single hand that silenced them all before she regarded the attractive young man. "We would have a chance, nothing more. The Otokage is young and inexperienced when it comes to matters of war; he is willing to throw away lives to achieve his goals."

"And that's different from you lot…how?" asked Fiore as she twirled her wooden staff over her shoulders and leaned back on it.

Mei smiled at the young woman and shrugged slightly, "It isn't, merely an observation of his tactics. Three Kages on the battlefield would be an unprecedented event, assuming the Kazekage decides to assist you."

"We are confident that he will," said Sasuke. "He has little choice in the matter, similar to you."

"Don't you dare speak to the Mizukage with such disrespect!" warned Ao as he clasped a hand on the young Uchiha's shoulder. The moment he made contact Sasuke spun around and grabbed his wrist before driving him into the ground and placing a hand on the back of the fallen Kirigakure Jounin's neck.

His eyes flared in their Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan form, "Don't touch me, old man. I'll speak however I please."

Across from him, Fiore groaned loudly and drove her staff into the ground in front of her, "Honestly, Sasuke, why not just stab him as well? That would certainly help our diplomatic efforts." She decided to ignore the fact that she'd done something very similar only minutes ago.

Her partner glared at her with an expression that told her she would hear about it later on in private before he turned back to the Mizukage. "What is your answer?"

Mei looked around at her shinobi for a moment before gesturing to one of her bodyguards and taking her Kage hat from his hands. She placed it on top of her red hair and straightened it so that it fit comfortably. "You have our support, Uchiha. Kirigakure will ally itself with Otogakure to see the end of this war. Don't think we will obey the Otokage though, we have our own path to take."

Sasuke shrugged as Fiore nodded their understanding of the new alliance. "That's about the same thing that the two of us are doing. If we're to survive we have to stick together."

The Mizukage took his comment in her stride as she turned to her main advisors in their invasion. "Ao, gather up our supplies and ensure everyone is prepared to move within the hour. If we are to make it to our new allies, I want us to be prepared for ambushes and enemy forces."

The older shinobi snapped a quick salute and began yelling orders at surrounding Kirigakure shinobi while Mei glanced over at the head of the Swordsmen. "Mangetsu…"

Before she could speak further, the Houzuki shinobi bared his teeth before turning away. "I will take the Swordsmen with me." Neither Sasuke nor Fiore had any idea what he was referring to, but the Mizukage seemed satisfied with his response and left him to his devices.

"Do you have a path for us to follow? An army is harder to move than two people."

Fiore reached into her pocket and produced a map to show the Mizukage the best path they had found from their current position to the Fire Temple. It would take longer to move the Kirigakure army with them than when it was just the two of them flying, but from what Mei told her it appeared as though they were a fast enough group to make the trip in a couple of days, less if they press themselves.

While his partner gave the Mizukage the necessary details for their return trip, Sasuke made his way to the Kirigakure shinobi he'd been instructed to find earlier and began giving him detailed information about their trip so far.

Ao stared at the Uchiha shinobi like a crazy person as he rattled off details about their destruction of the Quiraji facility and their arrival here. It didn't seem as though he was speaking to him personally, but rather through him. Once he was done he turned around and walked away like nothing had happened, leaving the Kirigakure shinobi both confused and annoyed.

The Kirigakure shinobi snapped to their duties as the Mizukage instructed, while several were dispatched back to the village to give their shinobi further instructions. She seriously doubted that the Quiraji would mount a large attack on Kirigakure with their attention being so focused on their own strongholds, but she wasn't about to sacrifice her own people on a gamble.

Mei recognised the value in allying herself with the Otokage and ridding them of the Quiraji once and for all. It felt like she'd only just come to realise how precarious their position truly was, but she also knew that shinobi were best when under pressure.

They would either defeat their enemy and return home as victors, or fail and be lost to history.

Author's Note:

I'm being a bit evil now with my plot devices. There are little hints that are going to start appearing in chapters that might give away little things that'll happen later on in the story. We are moving into the endgame part of the story. There is probably about…15 or so chapters left. Don't quote me on that though; this is the kind of story that evolves as it's written.

And yes, I'm well aware of how reverse-summoning works. They were summoned back by the hawk he sent out. I plan on doing a full description of the hawk domain in a future chapter, along with the tiger domain as well. Why should frogs be the only ones to get the credit?

Please review and tell me what you think. I try to take each review into account, and believe me I read them all. Tell me what can be improved, what you liked, what you didn't, everything. I'm a writer so I'm always open to criticism.