Author's Note: So, due the fact that "True Potential", a fellow and admittedly better and more popular NH fanfic, is also doing an arc about Hidan and Kakuzu invading Taki in order to capture Fu, I've been asked if I'm copying TP or using it as an inspiration. I can assure you that, despite how similar both arcs are, it's nothing but a coincidence. I had this arc planned for months, and written for for weeks (in fact, the next two arcs are already fully written), even if I know some of you won't believe me.

Though I'm going to admit that True Potential as a whole, among other stories, was an inspiration for this fanfic. And its author's plea about featuring the jinchuriki more made me give them a more prominent role in the story.

Anyway, I'm pleased to say that the previous chapter got a higher number of reviews. Though I hope it wasn't because of me complaining about the lower number of reviews in the AN at the beginning. In hindsight, it was kind of lame for me to do so, and won't be doing that again.

Anyway, enough rambling, enjoy the Takigakure Arc's conclusion.

Chapter 64:

The Immortal Team, Part II

or

Trees are a girl's best friends

Shibuki, Tamaki, and the three headed wolf all landed near Hinata, Fu and Shino, facing Kakuzu's new form. The Akatsuki looked at the Konoha and Taki ninjas, and shot them an unnerving grin. Fortunately, Shino had already healed Fu, since they would need the green haired jinchuriki's power if they hoped to beat Kakuzu in this new form.

"Well...who wants to go first?" Kakuzu asked.

"Eww...just when you think that old man couldn't be anymore gross, he proves you wrong," Tamaki stated, as she made a grimace.

"His external appearance is irrelevant, is the power he possesses now what we should worry about," Shino interceded. "Why? Because if Kakuzu and his creatures were formidable opponents when fighting on their own, their power became even greater by joining forces."

"That's right, kid. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. There are moments in which a numerical advantage is necessary, but given that you have destroyed two of my hearts...this form is the best approach," Kakuzu agreed.

"Not just that. He still is under the effect of the Hero Water, which now also extends to the creatures he merged with," Shibuki pointed out.

"You're correct once again. Now, let's see the extent of my new power," Kakuzu said, as he made a series of hand seals. The two masks at his sides opened their jaws at the same time.

"Oh shit..." Fu said, as she and everybody else tensed up. "Guys, prepare to run..."

As expected, the masks fired from their mouth a massive torrent of water and a barrage of lightning bolts. Everybody jumped aside in different directions, lest them be obliterated by the empowered elemental attack, which not only wasstronger, but had a longer reach and wider radius of effect, doubling as a good means of defense.

"Fu! Let's go into the air! He won't be able to attack both us and the others in the ground!" Hinata suggested.

Fu nodded, deployed her wings, and joined Hinata several meters above the ground.

"You think yourself so smart, don't you?" Kakuzu mockingly asked, as he directed the stream of water and barrage of lightning towards the flying kunoichi.

"He must think we're the biggest threat, and thus wants to take us out first," Hinata realized, as she thrust her palm forward, releasing a telekinetic pulse forward.

Fu, meanwhile, formed seals at great speed. "Wind Release: Breakthrough!"

Fu blew a gust of wind from her mouth that, combined with Hinata's telekinetic blast, was able to stop Kakuzu's water and lightning attack, locking into a stalemate as both attacks pushed back and forth.

"Now that they're keeping him busy, let's strike!" Tamaki shouted, as she, Kiba and Akamaru, and Shibuki charged forward.

"Your naivety is almost adorable," Kakuzu stated.

Suddenly, dozens of black threads emerged from underground, as they tried to wrap the charging ninja, which were forced to jump back.

"Let's try ranged attacks!" Shibuki suggested, as he and Tamaki started making hand seals. "Water Release: Water Bullet Jutsu!"

"Fire Release: Blistering Firecat!"

Shibuki expelled a stream of water from his mouth –much smaller than those used by Kakuzu– while Tamaki breathed a wave of fire that took the shape of a cat which rushed at Kakuzu, leaving a trail of embers behind. The three headed wolf that was Kiba and Akamaru merged took a deep breath, and let out a powerful sonic roar.

This time, Kakuzu couldn't afford to treat the ground ninja as mere inconveniences, and was forced to redirect the stream of water towards their incoming attacks in order to cancel them out. However, that left only the lightning bolts to deal with Fu's wind and Hinata's telekinesis, which was unable to hold them back on its own, and was pushed back. Much to his annoyance, Kakuzu was forced to jump back in order to dodge.

"Well done guys! If we attack all at once from different directions, one of us will end up nailing him!" Fu cheered from above.

Kakuzu, however, frowned at the muscular girl's confidence.

"Let me show you how little that strategy is going to help," Kakuzu snarled.

Displaying frightening speed, Kakuzu dashed towards a startled Shibuki, who generated a water sword to defend himself. Tamaki and the three headed wolf charged from the flank.

"You're wide open!" the cat kunoichi said, as she was about to sink her metal claws into the Akatsuki's flesh.

"Am I?" Kakuzu mockingly asked.

The masks at his sides turned at Tamaki and the three headed wolf, and blasted the former with lighting and the latter with a powerful stream of water, pushing both of them backwards several meters.

"Kiba! Tamaki-chan!" Fu screamed, as she dived at Kakuzu while making hand seals.

"Fu, wait! That's what he wants!" Hinata said, trying to reach Fu, but she wasn't fast enough.

"So predictable," Kakuzu said in the same mocking tone, as several tendrils of threads shoot at Fu.

"Wind Release: Breakthrough!"

Once again, Fu expelled a gust of wind from her mouth, but her target wasn't Kakuzu, but the ground. Using the wind jutsu to alter her trajectory, Fu moved above the Akatsuki in an arc, safely dodging the tendrils, before winding her fist back, which started to swirl with chakra.

"Take this! Hurricane Punch!"

Fu slammed her right fist into Kakuzu's head which such force, not only sinking the Akatsuki into a crater, but producing a shockwave and a gust of wind that expanded outwards. Kakuzu's mass of threads that sprouted from his back started to wiggle.

"Foolish," he said.

The mass of threads shaped into several tentacles that quickly coiled themselves around the jinchuriki. However, before he could catch his prey, Fu was yanked backwards by an unseen force, and the thread tentacles only grasped thin air. The green haired girl found herself at Hinata's side once again.

"Whew, nice catch! That was pretty close," Fu told Hinata, chuckling a little.

"His chakra seems to fluctuate before using those strange threads," Hinata explained. "It may be the key to read his movements."

"If we can do that a few more times, I'll only need a few more hits to put him down for good," Fu confidently stated.

"While that may work, I believe we'll need a more effective strategy. His power is too great for a drawn out battle, we'll need to end this in one hit," Hinata told her.

"One hit, hmmm?" Fu said, as her face adopted a thoughtful expression. "Guess my punches alone won't do it. We'll need everybody here to strike at once."

"Indeed. Let's join up with the others and listen, this is what we're going to do."

…

Not far away from there, at the same time, Naruto and Haku assisted Kakashi with his fight against the crazed Jashin cultist. While the copy ninja engaged him in hand to hand combat and Haku aided the white haired Jonin from afar, Naruto made his favorite hand seal.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Two clones popped alongside Naruto. Without saying a word, both clones dashed in opposite directions, disappearing among the trees.

"Ha! You must be a pretty shitty ninja even if your clones run away from you, haha!" Hidan laughed, as he delivered a flurry of swipes at Kakashi, who dodged them as fast as he could.

Haku, meanwhile, made several hand seals.

"Ice Release: Ice Dragon Crystal Blast!"

Putting his hands together and casting them forwards, Haku generated a serpentine dragon made of ice that flew at Hidan while letting out a distorted roar, leaving a trail of frost above the ground he passed by. Hidan, however, wasn't impressed by Haku's jutsu. Grinning, he reared his scythe backwards, before delivering an horizontal swipe at the dragon.

"Take this, you piece of shit!" Hidan hollered.

The swing generated a crescent shaped chakra blast that not only shattered the ice dragon, it had enough power and momentum to force through it and reach Haku. The Ice ninja dropped to the ground, and the wave of chakra harmlessly passed above him. He saw how it cleanly cut a couple trees behind me.

"Such destructive power..." Haku mumbled in awe.

"Did you like that? Well, that's NOTHING compared to what I can do now!" Hidan laughed. "Get a load of this!"

Hidan dashed at Haku at an insane speed, brandishing his blue glowing scythe above his head. Haku had barely time to generate an ice sword on both hands, and used them to parry the blow, which predictably shattered his makeshift weapons, but stopped his momentum in order to give him time to jump back.

Naruto, meanwhile, took advantage of Hidan focusing on Haku to attack the Akatsuki from behind. He formed a Rasengan in his right hand.

"Now is my chance! Rase-"

But before Naruto could strike, Hidan vanished, and reappeared in front of him, scythe ready to skewer the blond to pieces.

"How can be so fast...?" the blond wondered as the scythe, glowing with chakra came down on him.

But before he could be hit, the chirp of a thousand birds filled the air, and the scythe was parried by an electrified hand. It took Naruto and Hidan a moment to notice that Kakashi had appeared between them.

"No matter how fast you are, I can anticipate your movements as long as my Sharingan can see them!" Kakashi boasted, as his other hand crackled with electricity and thrust it at the Akatsuki, who jumped back in order to avoid it.

"Thanks for the tip, idiot! Then I'll make sure to gouge your eyes out!" Hidan shouted.

"Ice Release: Crystal Blade Field!"

A crinkling sound warned Hidan of Haku's attacks, and jumped backwards once again before a row of large ice spikes could skewer him.

"So, that's your tactic, you pieces of shit? One of them attacks from the front, while the others try to catch me off guard? Or wait until I'm attacking you?" Hidan asked in rapid fire, before smirking. "Well, let's see if you can find an opening to attack now! DEMON CUTTER!"

Hidan dashed towards Kakashi with his scythe extended to the side, as he started to spin, becoming a razor tornado. Kakashi dodged the attack, but Hidan charged at him once again from the opposite direction.

"Ice Release: Ice Barrier!"

Haku slammed his palms into the ground, using it as a conduct to send chakra towards Kakashi's position. A wall of ice formed between Kakashi and the Akatsuki, but the latter managed to shatter it as if it was thin glass.

"My Ice Jutsu barely faze him..." Haku thought in resignation. He then perked up. "Thankfully, my Bloodline Limit is far from the only skill I possess...!"

While Hidan sometimes attacked Naruto and Haku, it was obvious Kakashi was his main target.

"This man seems to be determined to finish what he started with that ritual from before..." Kakashi thought. "Normally an enemy like this wouldn't be much of a problem, but with the Hero Water boosting his strength and speed, I don't know if we'll be able to hold out until the effects wear off..."

Hidan charged at him as expected, but much to the Copy Ninja's confusion, he removed his cloak, and tossed it at Kakashi. The silver haired man reacted by cutting it in half with a low powered Lightning Blade, but after doing it, he realized that Hidan wasn't there anymore.

"So if I understood correctly, all I need is to blind you for a second you can't read my movements, right?" Hidan mocked from behind, as the scythe came down on Kakashi. "This time, you won't escape!"

But Hidan was unable to stab Kakashi, as an orange blur shot out of nowhere, delivering a brutal flying kick to his face, hurling the Akatsuki backwards until he crashed against a tree.

"What the fuck...?" the Jashin cultist groaned, as he pulled himself together. Even if he was immortal, the pain of that attack was very real.

"Sage Mode completed," Naruto stated, as he placed himself in front of Kakashi. "Leave this to me, Kakashi-sensei. My Sage Mode will tip the balance back in our favor."

"Sage Mode...?" Hidan asked, and noticed that Naruto's eyes were yellow with orange pigmentation around them. "Oh, so that's the Sage Mode that made that wimp Deidara to run away like the little bitch he is! Well, you'll find out that I'm nowhere near as cowardly!"

"Don't mistake common sense with cowardice. Soon you're going to realize why your friend decided to flee when he saw me," Naruto boasted.

"Hey, that fucker and I aren't friends, we're just co-workers!" Hidan protested." And didn't you hear that I'm immortal? No matter how much power you get, you won't be able to kill me!"

"We'll see about that!" Naruto said, making a hand seal. A clone popped into existence. Naruto started to form a Rasengan, while the clone infused it with wind chakra. A whirring sound could be heard, faint at first, but growing progressively louder as the jutsu started to take form.

"Even then, I'm not stupid enough as to take the brunt of your attack," Hidan said, as he prepared to move, but much to his shock, his body didn't move. "What the fuck?"

Hidan started to feel very cold. Suddenly, ice started to grow all over his body, and in a few seconds, his entire body minus the head was encased in a block of ice.

"Thanks for lowering your guard," Haku said, as he kept his hands forming a hand seal.

"Ha! You think this little ice can stop me? I only need to break it with the force my my chakra!" Hidan boasted, as he started to release chakra in hopes of breaking the ice. "What the hell!?"

"You remind me of somebody who tried the same tactic against that, and predictably, it didn't work," Haku replied. He then turned at his teammate. "Naruto, go ahead. He won't move."

"The jutsu is ready!" Naruto said, as he reared the arm holding the wind shuriken back.

"What the hell is going on? How can this ice be so hard!" Hidan said as he futilely tried to overpower the ice with his chakra, but it felt like pushing into nothing. "Wait, if this is ninjutsu, how is that I can't feel the chakra in the ice? Oh shit, don't tell me this is a genj-"

"Wind Release: Rasenshuriken!"

Naruto threw his most powerful jutsu just as Hidan realized that the ice wasn't really there, and the Ice ninja was just playing with his mind. He send a controlled burst of chakra through his body, and the ice disappeared, but he had no time to avoid the incoming chakra shuriken.

"Shi-"

The Akatsuki's curse was cut short by a massive explosion that created a dome of powerful, razor sharp winds that would have shredded the body of a normal man to little bits. Even then, the pain was excruciating. And Hidan only enjoyed the pain when it was caused by his demonic ritual.

"So, Naruto completed Minato-sensei's jutsu..." Kakashi said in awe. He had heard from others beforehand of such thing, but this was the first time he saw it in action. It truly made the vanilla Rasengan look like an Academy grade jutsu. "Even if I failed to do it in the past, now that Naruto opened the door, I might be able to get it this time around..."

When the dome of razor winds dispelled, Hidan was lying on the middle of a large crater, but his body was unharmed. Slowly and trembling, he got up.

"S-See? It hurt like a bazillion fucking hells, but I'm not worse for the wear!" Hidan boasted, his voice stuttering a little from the massive onslaught. He spread his arms to show his lack of visible injuries. "Nothing that you can throw at me can harm me!"

"The purpose of that jutsu wasn't to harm you, but to distract you," Naruto pointed out.

"Distract me? From what-" Hidan was interrupted mid question as ice started to crept all over his body, slowly encasing him in an ice block. "Oh, I see. Another fucking genjutsu. How retarded do you think I am to fall for the same trick twice?" Hidan asked in a mocking tone, as he made a hand seal, and send a burst of chakra through his body. But much to his surprise, the genjutsu didn't disappear. He tried again, but the result was the same. "What the fuck?"

In no time, Hidan was completely encased inside a block of ice. A realization dawned upon him.

"This is not a genjutsu, this is a real Ice jutsu! Dammit, I need to break free!" Hidan distressingly thought as he began to release his chakra from his whole body in explosive bursts.

Cracks started to appear in the block of ice, but Haku made a hand seal, and those cracks disappeared. "Naruto-kun, Kakashi-sensei, now's the chance! Go before he breaks free!"

Naruto and Kakashi nodded, rushed at the frozen Akatsuki, and started to slap several sealing tags across the block of ice. Once they judged they had placed enough, they jumped back as they made the same hand seal at the same time.

"Sealing Trap: Activate!"

The seals started to glow, and chains of symbols appeared from the paper tags, spreading around the block of ice, forming a net. The seals, combined with the ice, put Hidan in a state of stasis.

"And done!" Naruto cheered.

"Did we incapacitate him?" Kakashi asked, a bit unsure. "He was still under the effect of the Hero Water, so it's possible that the sealing didn't take."

"He's no longer trying to break the ice," Haku helpfully added. "So I'd said we've won this round."

Naruto walked towards the frozen Akatsuki, and sneered. "What about that? Just because you're immortal doesn't mean that you're invincible!"

"Naruto, he can't hear you, you know," Kakashi pointed out.

"Don't take away my right to boast after a well earned victory, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto grumbled at the silver haired Jonin, as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Suddenly, despite none of them being sensors, the trio felt a massive chakra disturbance. Looking up, they saw the purple colored chakra dome that covered that part of the forest slowly breaking apart and vanishing.

"Hey, look at that, it seems that he was the one keeping that chakra dome active," Naruto pointed out.

"Unexpected. I never imagined this deranged Akatsuki would be skilled in barrier jutsu so complex and powerful," Haku pointed out.

"Skilled or not, that doesn't matter anymore. Naruto, leave a few clones here to watch over the Akatsuki, then let's go help my students," Kakashi asked.

Naruto nodded, and did as he was asked. He and Haku then followed Kakashi to where the other battle was taking place, hoping that they could reach in time to help their friends.

…

Shortly before Hidan's defeat, Fu, Hinata and Kakashi's students were still fighting against his partner. Kakuzu was still on the offensive, since doing otherwise would be a waste of the boost provided by the Hero Water, but his moves were more calculated than before, in order to stop his enemies from getting anymore hits and ending the fight as soon as possible.

"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"

Kakuzu's demon looking mask released a barrage of thunderbolts at the ground of Konoha and Taki ninja. Hinata stepped forward in order to take the brunt of the attack.

"Lightning Release: Thunder Palm!" Hinata's hands started to crackle with electricity, before she started to move quickly them forward in a pushing manner. "Protection of the Eight Trigrams: Sixty Four Palms!"

As Hinata's arms became blurs due the speed she was moving them, she was able to deflect Kakuzu's electric attack, giving the others a chance to counterattack.

"Come on everybody, let's go!" Kiba called, as he and Akamaru dashed forward, ahead of everybody else.

"Suicidal fool," Kakuzu growled.

Suddenly, multiple tentacles and tendrils made of threads burst from underground around Kiba and Akamaru, and moved to trap them.

"Tamaki!" Kiba called.

"Cat Claw Dash!"

A red and brown blur appeared out of nowhere, and slashed the emerging threads before they had the chance to tangle their prey, giving Kiba a chance to continue forward.

"Thank you!" Kiba said, not looking back, with Tamaki following him.

Kakuzu decided to intercept them mid charge, and dashed towards them as well. But when Kiba and Tamaki prepared to attack, Kakuzu nimbly jumped above them, avoiding their onslaught, and dashing towards a mildly stupefied Shino.

"Shit, Shino isn't that good in hand to hand combat!" Kiba angrily thought as he and Tamaki spun over their heels to pursue the Akatsuki.

Noticing what was happening, Shino jumped back several times to stop the gap between himself and the Akatsuki from getting any wider. He bit his thumb as he made several hand seals as quickly as his hands allowed him, before slamming his hands into the ground.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

Kakuzu stopped in his tracks –moving aside to also dodge Kiba and Tamaki coming from behind– as he waited expectantly to see what kind of creature the Aburame had summoned. And when the initial cloud of smoke dispelled after a few seconds, revealing...

...nothing.

Kakuzu snorted. "You Konoha ninjas grow more incompetent with reach generation," he mocked, before making a hand seal. "Now die!"

Kakuzu shot multiple tendrils made of threads in every direction, trying to either catch or skewer the Konoha Chunin around him. They tried to jump away, but they were too close to him when he launched the attack, and the mass of threads penetrated their bodies, before they were pinned to the ground.

"You cost me two of my hearts already," Kakuzu menacingly said as he dug his threads deeper into their bodies. "So it's only fair that I take your hearts to replace them, don't you think so?"

"NO!" Fu screamed.

"Guys...attack now!" Kiba shouted, after coughing a bit, as he tried to stop the threads invading his body from ripping his heart out.

At that moment, Hinata, Fu and Shibuki lunged at Kakuzu from different directions. Kakuzu smirked under his mask.

"So, acting as decoys in order to force me to stay still. You must be so proud of such basic strategy," Kakuzu deadpanned. He then made a couple of hand seals. A neck made of threads formed under the masks, and moved away from Kakuzu. The two masks intertwined their necks several times, almost like forming a ribbon. "Take this! Double Elemental Release: Lightning Maelstrom!" Kakuzu shouted.

The masks then untangled at the same time they released bolts of lightning and a stream of water, forming a spiraling barrier of electrified water that stopped the other three ninjas in their tracks, and hurled them backwards.

"Like I said before, even if you have power and potential, your experience is pitiable compared to mine. Once I'm done with you three, catching the jinchuriki will be considerably easier," Kakuzu said in delight.

"You might have much more experience than us, but that also makes you underestimate your opponents," Shino asked, while he grabbed on the tendrils of threads and tried to pull them out of his body.

Suddenly, the ground started to shake, a little at first, but much stronger later. Then, without any warning, a gigantic rhinoceros beetle emerged from underground, hurling Kakuzu high into the air, while snapping the threads that connected him to the three Konoha Chunin.

"Now I believe it's your time to attack," Shino told the others.

Shibuki made several hand seals.

"Water Release: Water Shuriken!"

The young Takigakure leader created several water stars which flew at the Akatsuki. Hinata, meanwhile, unfolded her collapsible chakra bow, and fired several electric arrows at the flying Akatsuki.

Being unable to maneuver while he was mid air, Kakuzu could only wrap the mass of threads around himself in order to form an improvised protective cocoon to shield himself from the incoming projectiles, before finally falling to the ground with a loud thud. When he undid the makeshift cocoon, he saw that Hinata had somehow crossed the distance that separated them, and slipped into a fighting stance.

"You're within my field of divination. Eight Trigrams: Sixty Four Palms!" Before the Akatsuki could react, Hinata moved to deliver Kakuzu a series of soft put painful finger strikes. "Even with all his body modifications, he still has a chakra network, and thus he still has tenketsu. They might be arranged in a different way than a normal human, but as long as I can see them, it doesn't matter."

Kakuzu, meanwhile, tried to defend himself from the Hyuga's onslaught, but was finding to control both his chakra and the threads that made up most of his body increasingly difficult. He tried to move in order to block the hits, but Hinata's fierce attacks disrupted his motor coordination, and was unable to.

"This is bad! If she seals all my tenketsu, I won't be able to-"

"...sixty four palms!" Hinata shouted, as she finished her combo with a palm strike to the chest, pushing Kakuzu backwards several meters.

Breathing heavily, Kakuzu tried to stand on his feet. The effect of the Hero Water had vanished, unable to resist Hinata's onslaught. He tried to gather some chakra, but was unable to. Panic started to set as he realized he was defenseless against the Konoha and Taki ninjas.

"I need to reopen my tenketsu," Kakuzu realized, as he focused on a few of his sealed chakra points and tried to force them open. "If I can gather some chakra-"

"Quickly, attack now!" Hinata commanded.

Before Kakuzu realized, two human tornadoes flew at him from opposite directions. Instinctively, he aimed his masks at each of them, ready to blast them with water and electricity. But when the masks opened their mouths, nothing came out of them, realizing a second too late that he had no chakra, and a second too late to change course of action and dodge.

"Passing Fang!"

"Drill Claw!"

The two human tornadoes known as Kiba and Tamaki slammed against the masks flanking Kakuzu, shattering them, as well as shredding the external shell of interlocked threads, destroying vital organs, and a heart each. And before the Akatsuki could time to reflect on losing two hearts at once, a shadow loomed over him. Forcing himself to look up, he saw Shino riding the giant beetle he had summoned earlier, diving at him.

The Akatsuki was able to react in time and grabbed the beetle's horn before it could skewer him alive, but the force of the charge pushed him backwards several meters. Shino then commanded his beetle to go back into the sky. Kakuzu thought that he was getting ready for another charge, but what saw next told him otherwise.

The green haired jinchuriki was charging at him, holding a rather large tree –one of those toppled during the fight– with both arms, resting against her shoulder as if it was normal weapon. It was easy to guess what she planned to do with it.

"I'd say something witty now, but I'm way too angry for that, so just die already!" Fu shouted as he swung the tree as if it was a mere club against Kakuzu. The Akatsuki was hit with such force, it was launched high into the air, until it slammed against the forcefield he and his friend had erected either. The gravity did the rest, and Kakuzu's barely alive body fell to the ground.

A moment of silence happened as everybody gathered around Kakuzu –but kept their distance for obvious reasons– and stared at his fallen form.

"Is he dead? Did we win?" Kiba asked.

Hinata shook her head. "I can still see his chakra. But I'm afraid he won't live for much longer," Hinata helpfully said.

"Should we try to keep him alive and take him to Konoha? To have a live Akatsuki prisoner would be invaluable," Shino suggested.

Hinata shook her head. "In any other cases, I'd agree with the idea. But this man has proved himself to be too dangerous."

"Yeah, you saw what he can do. I doubt any of our cells in Konoha would be able to contain him for long," Tamaki agreed with Hinata.

"We kill him them," Kiba concluded. "Anybody willing to deliver the finishing blow?"

Fu grabbed the fallen tree again, and slowly dragged it towards Kakuzu. Despite the lack of words, the message was clear.

"H-how..." Kakuzu began, his voice sounding more like a croak. A pool of blood started to form around his broken body. "How ninjas...so young...could have beat...me..."

"It isn't obvious? You just forgot to take your pills, old man," Fu said with a dark scowl, before it wa suddenly replaced by a sunny, bright smile. "Oh, I did it, a witty one liner! They do come better when you're calm. And here's another one: enjoy this 'natural remedy'!"

Displaying once again her monstrous natural strength, Fu raised the large tree above her head, before slamming it against Kakuzu's body with such force, it created a small shockwave, followed by a land tremor.

"I can't see his chakra anymore. He's dead now," Hinata confirmed..

"No shit, I could have reached that conclusion myself without needing to see his chakra," Kiba deadpanned, as he crossed his arms.

Suddenly, there was a loud noise coming from above. All of them instinctively looked up, and saw that the barrier that kept them trapped was breaking apart and dissolving.

"The barrier is gone! That means that Kakashi-sensei must have defeated the Akatsuki with the scythe!" Tamaki cheered.

"At the same time as we defeated this one. How convenient," Kiba observed.

"Now is not time for sarcasm. We should meet with Kakashi-sensei. I presume that Naruto-san and Haku-san aided him in the fight," Shino guessed, confirmed by a nod from Hinata. "They might be wounded and in need of medical assistance."

"Fu and I will stay here watching over the Akatsuki's body until somebody takes it away. Though I doubt he'll go anywhere," Shibuki told them.

…

A few minutes later, the two groups met with each other at the side of Kakuzu's defeat. They were all happy to see that they were okay and had defeated the other Akatsuki. It was quite a surprise when several Naruto clones appeared carrying a block of ice covered in seals with Hidan frozen inside.

"By the way, do you know how was the battle in Taki going before the Akatsuki lured you here?" Shibuki asked.

"I believe we were winning," Shino replied. "Though it's likely that without the Akatsuki leading and supporting them, the forces they gathered wouldn't be of much help against the combined might of several ninja villages."

"Yeah, not even summoning that giant monster was enough to stop us!" Naruto cheered.

"What giant monster?" Tamaki asked.

"There was a giant monster!?" Fu excitedly asked. "Come on, let's go back! If we hurry, I might be able to see it!"

"The monster no longer exists. Naruto-kun, Haku-kun and I destroyed it," Hinata told her.

Fu's face fell, as she slumped forward. "Damn..." she weakly cursed, as she kicked a pebble away, before Hinata patted her back sympathetically.

Kakashi then walked towards the group, holding a storage scroll.

"Alright, I already stored Kakuzu's corpse –or what was left of it– inside this scroll," Kakashi raised the scroll for everybody to see." And with his partner on ice, I believe we're already done here. Let's return to Takigakure and see how things are going there."

"Yes sir!" everybody chorused in unison.

As they began to walk away, Kiba noticed that Fu went back, and grabbed the uprooted tree she had used to smash Kakuzu, and rested it over her shoulder.

"Fu...what are you doing?" Kiba asked.

"I'm taking it home. It was very useful. I think I found my weapon of choice!" Fu happily said, patting the tree with her free hand.

"Your weapon of choice. You plan to fight with a tree?" Kiba incredulously asked.

Fu scowled at him, as she slammed the tree down for added emphasis. "Yeah. Got a problem with that?"

Kiba wasn't going to argue with a girl who could lift and swing a large oak as it was a mere club.

…

Half an hour later, the group arrived at Takigakure. Much to their relief, the battle had already ended, with Akatsuki's forces defeated. The Konoha, Suna and Taki joint forces had occupied the village, and were now putting out the fires that had been caused by the battle, taking the wounded to the makeshift infirmaries, and rounding up all the thugs, mercenaries and cultists that didn't die and were unable to run away once it was obvious that the battle was lost.

However, even if they had won, Shibuki and Fu couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness upon seeing how their once beautiful village was so ravaged, with damaged or completely destroyed buildings everywhere, craters and burn marks splashing the streets, and dust and debris everywhere.

"Our village...is ruined..." Shibuki moaned, as tear fell down his cheek.

"Yes, but it's nothing that can't be fixed," Naruto interjected. "Look, it seems that most of the Taki population survived. That's the most important thing."

"Even then, what are we going to do now?" Shibuki asked.

"It isn't obvious? Start rebuilding," Kakashi pointed out. "Listen, we in Konoha are no foreigners to the concept of our village getting trashed. During the past decade and a half, we were attacked by the Nine Tails, had to put down an Uchiha upheaval, and fend off an invasion by Otogakure. But we always remained strong, rebuild and moved forward."

"Yeah! If we can do that, then so can you!" Kiba cheered.

"It's not that easy. Konoha is a Great Village, Taki is not. We don't have that many resources. We were never that strong even at our most powerful," Shibuki insisted.

"So? We will help you. That's why we're allies," Naruto stated with a smile.

"Hey, look, Shibuki-sama is back!" a Taki ninja noticed.

"Yes, it's Shibuki-sama!" another added.

"Not just him! Fu is also back!" a civilian man said.

"They finally defeated those horrible Akatsuki!" a civilian woman said.

Soon, a large crowd formed around the newcomers, that cheered Shibuki and Fu's names in unison. The young leader was amazed at how the gloomy post battle mood suddenly shifted in the opposite direction the moment they returned. Especially since, even if he helped taking down Kakuzu, it's not that his assistance was decisive.

"Shibuki," Fu said, managing to be heard among the cheers. She held both his hands, and looked at him into the eyes. "Even if we won and our home is ours once again, our job here isn't done. Like our Konoha friends said, we need to rebuild. And the people of Taki need a leader. We need you, more than ever. And if you think our village is weak, then work to make us stronger. And if you think your leadership isn't up to the challenge, then work to be better leader."

"Wow..." Shibuki said in awe, before chuckling. "When did you become so smart?"

Fu shot him a playful scowl. "What do you mean? I've always been smart!"

"Anyway, now that the battle is over, we should send a message to Hokage-sama so he can decide what to do next," Kakashi said.

…

Amegakure

Sitting alone on the edge of the top of tower, Pain, the Akatsuki leader, looked the industrial-looking ninja village below. It was his favorite pastime. He didn't know why, but looking over the village from such height was something enthralling to him. Maybe because there was a time in which said village made him feel small. And now, said village was under his control.

Much to his annoyance, Pain wasn't alone for long. And it wasn't his faithful companion Konan who disturbed his peace, but a spiralling vortex, from which a certain Uchiha emerged from.

"Pain," Obito stated, being one of the few people that didn't address him with the'-sama' honorific. In private, at least.

"Obito," Pain replied, as he stood back on his feet. "What do I owe this visit?"

"I came here to tell you several news. The first one is that Kakuzu and Hidan have been defeated, and Taki has been liberated," Obito stated. "Kakuzu has been reported dead, while Hidan has been neutralized and captured. He's being taken to Konoha as we speak."

Pain's stoicism didn't falter as Obito gave him the bad news. Two more members lost after Sasori's death was troubling indeed.

"I see. Anything else?" Pain asked.

"Yes. I'm planning to capture a jinchuriki myself," Obito stated. "Given the recent developments, I believe we shouldn't take this so slowly."

"Which one?" Pain asked.

"One from Kumo. I have a plan that will make at least one of them leave their hideout and go into the light, where they can be captured," Obito explained. "And I think it's about time we put our newest asset to use."

"Do you think it's a good idea? Doing so would draw even more attention to Akatsuki," Pain replied.

"More than it already has? Everybody knows we have three Tailed Beasts under our control. We kidnapped and nearly killed the Kazekage's son, and Hidan and Kakuzu took over a minor village. I believe the time for subtlety has long passed. We should try to capture the remaining jinchuriki as soon as possible, before the ninja villages decide to join forces against us," Obito explained.

"I find that unlikely," Pain stoically replied. "The Great Villages are too unwilling to let go of their grudges, and too willing to use them to restart wars. Even the current alliances are tenuous at best."

"Except it already happened. The reason behind Hidan and Kakuzu's defeat and Takigakure's loss was Konoha and Suna joining forces to liberate it," Obito replied. "And from what my informants told me, Kiri would have joined the battle as well if it wasn't for logistical problems."

"To have all villages united against a single enemy...would that be a way to peace better than the one we're walking?" Pain pondered, unclear if he was being rethroic or of it was a geniune question.

Obito shook his head. "The peace will last as long as there's a common enemy. The moment the threat goes away, old hatreds will resurface. That's the way it has always been."

"Thought so. Fortunately, this cycle of hatred has its days numbered," Pain agreed. "Though you'll have to excuse my skepticism in your ability to capture a jinchuuriki. All your efforts to get the Nine Tails ended up in failure."

"I know. My repeated attempts at capturing it made Konoha aware of our intentions, and increased their protective measures. That's why I'm going after a jinchuriki nobody has ever dared to touch," Obito explained. "I will be taking Kisame with me as well, just to be sure."

"Very well then. May you be successful in your endeavor," Pain told him.

"What about you? Don't you plan to capture any jinchuriki yourself? I know you're needed running the organization, but soon we will need the power of the Rinnegan," Obito reminded him.

"What you say is true, but it should be unwise to reveal all our cards yet," Pain replied. "Let the villages think that they can handle us before they realize how outmatched they are."

"Very well then. But try not to stay idle too long. The sooner we finish this, the less risks there will be," Obito replied. "I'll go and make the preparations for my trip."

And with that, Obito disappeared into a spiraling vortex, leaving Pain once again alone with his thoughts.

…

Three Days Later

As Jiraiya promised, Konoha, Suna and Kiri would lend their help in order to rebuild Takigakure. It would take a lot of time to leave the village in a state similar to the one it was before the Akatsuki arrived, but the morale overall was high. In fact, the Hokage himself went to see the village, and organize the rebuilding efforts.

"So, are you sure you want to stay?" Jiraiya asked Naruto. "The reconstruction could last quite some time."

"I've talked with Hinata-hime and Haku, and they both agree with me. We want to help Taki," Naruto confirmed.

"As you wish. I thought you'd prefer to something less long term in case Akatsuki shows up again," Jiraiya told him.

"Hey, with my Shadow Clones, we'll speed up the reconstruction efforts a lot! The village will be good as new before they realize of it!" Naruto cheerfully said.

As father and son were talking, they realized they were approached by Shibuki and Fu. They both had a solemn look in their faces, almost as if they were going to give Jiraiya and Naruto some sort of bad news. Upon getting closer, Shibuki was the first one to speak.

"Hokage-sama, let me tell you how grateful I am for the hlp you and the other villakes are providing to Takigakure," Shibuki said, making a slight bow.

"No need to thank me. We're allies, and allies help each other," Jiraiya said with a hearty chuckle.

"I know...that's why it pains me to do this," Shibuki said, averting his gaze. "To ask for more after all what you gave..."

"Come on, I'm sure it won't be that bad," Jiraiya reassured. "What do you need?"

"It will take time before Taki recovers some of its former strength. But even when before this invasion, we were unable to stop Akatsuki. If it wasn't for Konoha's timely intervention, Fu would be dead right now, and the Seven Tails in the Akatsuki's hands," Shibuki began.

Jiraiya and to a lesser extent, Naruto, started to see where this was going.

"What I want to ask you is...would you mind letting Fu stay in Konoha until this crisis passes? I'm afraid that she won't be safe here anymore," Shibuki asked, almost in a pleading tone. "Yes, I know I'm asking you a lot. You already have a jinchuriki, and another one would be like placing an even bigger target on your village. But honestly, I don't know what to do, and you're the only ones I can trust with this."

"I don't think there would be any problem. Keeping jinchuriki safe is of everyone's interest," Jiraiya admitted. "What about you, Fu? Are you okay with leaving your home?"

Fu nodded, though Jiraiya could see there was some regret in her body language. "It's not an idea I like, but given what Akatsuki did to my home when they looked for me..." Fu stated, as she rubbed one arm. "Though I can't help but feel guilty if something happened to Konoha because of me..."

"Akatsuki already has Konoha in its sights because of me to begin with, so there's nothing you should feel guilty about," Naruto stated, patting her on the shoulder.

Fu forced herself to smile, and nodded. "If you say so," she replied. "Albeit I'm not going to go immediately. I want to stay here and help with the reconstruction effort. I'm really good at lifting heavy stuff!" she happily added, as she flexed her biceps.

Naruto laughed awkwardly. "Yeah, Hinata-hime told me how you defeated Kakuzu..."

"And while I'm in Konoha, I can continue my jinchuriki training with you and Hokage-sama so when the Akatsuki send another pair of goons to get me, I'll be even better prepared," Fu added.

"Good to see that you're eager to continue. Anyway, it seems the situation here doesn't require my presence anymore," Jiraiya concluded. "So I'll be going back to Konoha."

"We'll better get going back. The sooner we get to work, the sooner we'll be able to return to Konoha," Naruto said.

Fu nodded, and the two jinchuriki left and joined their friends, already working hard on the reconstruction efforts, and enjoy their peaceful time together while it lasted.

And it wouldn't last for too long.

Author's Note: So Fu is safe, and she will be joining Konoha for the time being. Yay! Just like True Potential did in its latest chapter which was updated fucking YESTERDAY, yay!

You know, I had originally planned a different end. Shibuki would have died in the battle against the Akatsuki, and Fu would eventually become the new leader of Taki, with Shibuki returning later as an Edo Tensei zombie. However, that would keep her way too busy and I wouldn't be able to use her as much as I can, so instead I decided to have her move to Konoha (which, as explained in the last dialogue, makes more sense). However, that means I needed Shibuki alive in order to continue being Taki's leader and to officialy "hand" Fu to Konoha. Not to mention that my plan to have him return as a zombie would have no kind of payoff, due reasons I won't say since they're spoilers.

Boy, now it looks like I'm even copying True Potential's author's notes as well, given that DryBonesKing had a similar thought regarding Shibuki.

Though in all seriousness, if you haven't read True Potential, you totally should. It's an awesome fanfic worth of all the reviews and fame it has.

And yes, I'll say it again: unlike canon, Pain knows about Obito's true identity. A future arc will reveal the why of this change. Also, said scene should be a pretty big hint on what the next arc is going to be ;) (though there's going to be a breather chapter in between)

Once again, thanks to grimlock987 for betareading this chapter.

So, now that it's over, how did you like my take on the Hidan and Kakuzu arc? Tell me your thoughts in a review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!