Disclaimer: Going to have a disclaimer for every new chapter and fic starting now just because I feel it's the right thing to do lol so Masashi Kishimoto owns Naruto not me.

Chapter 20 - A Mission to Save the Sand


March 2nd, 67 AFL

The sun was barely in the sky when the members of Team Kakashi found themselves standing in front of the Hokage's desk. They were quickly informed of the situation in the Sand Village and Lady Tsunade quickly tasked them with the important mission of providing support to their allies. Considering the fact that the Akatsuki had been the ones responsible for the attack and kidnapping of the Kazekage so it wasn't very surprising that before they left they were greeted by some of their most precious people.

The old toad sage, Lady Tsunade and even Iruka had come to give their farewells while wishing them luck. However it wasn't long before Jiraiya pulled the Uzumaki-Namikaze heir to the side and reminded him, "Naruto… I know you haven't told me everything about what happened that day, but for now I'll trust you to reveal the truth to me when you're ready." The blonde nodded in agreement although he wasn't wearing his usual foxy grin while the sage continued explaining,

"Remember that the Akatsuki are after the fox that's sealed inside of you. They don't give a damn about Naruto Uzumaki and for all we know they could have a way to detect and track tailed beast chakra." Naruto looked up to his master who was wearing the expression that the blonde knew meant the old man was serious. "Never use the fox's chakra unless it's a life or death scenario and no matter what, never tap into that other power inside of you, you know what I mean." The blonde's face held one of understanding that quickly shifted into his regular smile,

"Got it Pervy Sage, I'll just rely on my own power, after all I'm going to be the strongest Hokage someday and I want to do it with my strength." He gave his master a thumbs up and turned to Iruka, "Iruka-sensei thanks for seeing us off, you were the first one who I felt truly believed in my dream and soon I promise I'll make you proud, believe it!" He snickered a little before adding, "Oh and have fun with Ayame-oneechan." Naruto turned to the last person and snickered again, "See you later too Ba-chan and have fun with the old man."

A tick mark appeared on the Hokage's forehead but before she could violently reply the blonde grabbed Sakura and Hinata's hands and took off down the trail. "Bye Shisho, I promise I'll make you proud too," Sakura managed to blurt out before they could get too far. "Bye, we'll get Gaara back, you know we haven't been training for nothing," Hinata managed to say before the trio finally disappeared from view. The two members of the sannin as well as Iruka turned to Kakashi and simply asked him to look after the trio before he took his leave. Tsunade couldn't help but ask,

"Are you two worried about them?" Iruka simply shook his head, "They're not kids anymore and I honestly wouldn't be surprised if they had all surpassed me by now." This caused the elderly woman to smile but when she looked at her partner she realized he was still anxious about something, "What's wrong Jiraiya?" The sage shook his head, "Nothing hime, it's not important, now let's go. I think Shizune is probably ready for a break." Tsunade knew there was still something on his mind but she let it go for now, if worse came to worse she could just get it out of him with some sake.

At around the exact same time, the elder brother of the Kazekage was finally found by the Sand's elite shinobi and was taken back to the village for immediate medical care. The young man was unconscious, his wounds were minor but he had been severely poisoned with little chance of a cure in sight. Ironically while Kankuro fought for his life, across the desert, his brother was at the mercy of his kidnappers.

"Sasori, my man, I thought you hated to keep people waiting," Diedera asked with amusement, ever evident in his tone. Sasori growled before replying, "I do and we've wasted enough time already so let's go so we can start hunting down my target." Deidera frowned, "But Sasori we don't know where it is?" Sasori chuckled at little as the two finally began moving toward the hidden base where they would contact their allies and extract the bijuu sealed inside of the Kazekage, "Then we'll just capture whichever one we find first, I'm sure the others won't mind as long as we collect them all in the end."


Later that day Team Kakashi was traveling at a breakneck pace but the blonde jinchuuriki of the group couldn't help but continue to increase his speed. Finally Sakura reached her limit in both patience and stamina. Shouting, sounding more winded than angry she asked, "Naruto-kun please slow down a little, we don't have as much stamina as you do remember." She managed to spurt out which caused the blonde to huff but begrudgingly compiled, slowing his pace just a hare.

This only lasted a few moments however before his speed increased yet again and Hinata was forced to remind him, "Naruto-kun if we wear ourselves out before we even get their we won't have any energy left to save Gaara, let alone take down an Akatsuki member," she explained but that actually caused the blonde to snarl, "Naruto, didn't Jiraiya-sama teach you better what do you think you're…"

"Temari!" Hinata suddenly shouted and true enough there was the blonde sand kunoichi walking down the road and completely unaware of the state her brothers were in although she had experienced a bad omen earlier that day. They quickly explained the situation to Temari with Kakashi finishing with, "We have to hurry, we're still two and halfs days from Sunagakure and I fear the more time we waste the worse things are going to get." After overcoming her initial shock the blonde sand princess wholeheartedly agreed and joined Team Kakashi in their race to her home village.

It was only a few hours later when night fell upon the group and Naruto couldn't help but reflect on his first encounter with the Akatsuki. As he did his anger began to swell again and his pace erratically rose as he skyrocketed ahead of the group yet again. "Naruto-kun what did I say earlier," Sakura started in annoyance but that just caused the blonde to finally explode and release his pent up aggression, "I'm sorry Sakura-chan, I know, but I hate his crap with every fiber of my being. I can't take it anymore, all these bastards want are the demons that are sealed inside of us. They don't see us as people, we're things, objects, tools, weapons, that's the only thing those bastards care about!" Naruto sighed but eventually his rant continued,

"Ever since I found out the truth about myself I resented the fact that the Spirit of the Fox was sealed inside of me but even the bijuu appear to be living creatures. Even the nine-tails has a proper name and it's obvious to anyone that we're separate entities but no matter what the truth was I was still only ever seen as the demon brat and had to work my ass off to be acknowledged as anything but a monster even in my own damn village." The blonde chuckled a little and turned back to face the rest of the team while wearing an odd smile,

"I wasn't lying the day that I defeated Gaara, without you Sakura-chan, Hinata-chan, Iruka-sensei, Kakashi-sensei, and even Sasuke-teme I have little doubt that I would have ended up just like he did. He and I share such a similar past but he had to suffer in the darkness far longer than I ever did and now…" The blonde turned to face forward again hiding a single tear, "And now just when he finds that light, that happiness, just after becoming Kazekage those bastards try to steal it all away from him! I'm not going to let them get away with this anymore. I'll show them the truth, that even though we were born jinchuuriki it doesn't mean we deserve to live in misery. That's why we have to hurry, so I can save him and make those bastards pay for what they've done!"

The shinobi behind the blonde followed him in silence for a few minutes before Kakashi decided to finally speak, "I understand Naruto but we do need to rest," he explained, dropping into a small clearing the kunoichi following close behind. Naruto huffed but followed their lead and sat down next to Sakura and Hinata at the base of a tree. Temari found her own spot to rest and Kakashi took first watch. After a few moments Hinata actually managed to drift off into a state of slumber but Naruto and Sakura were still wide awake, though neither could find what words to say. Out of nowhere the blonde finally spoke,

"So how bad was it?" "How bad was what?" Sakura replied, confused by Naruto's random question. The jinchuuriki sighed before asking again, "How badly were you treated by the villagers while Hinata and I were away?" Sakura could tell there was gult written over his face though he wasn't wrong. Demon whore and fox skank were common names and just like Naruto had been treated before most of the village's stores refused to serve her anything and if they did the price would be totally ridiculous. Sakura debated lying to the blonde to spare his feelings but knew that wasn't a wise choice.

She sighed before forcing the blonde into a hug, his head nestled tightly to her chest which luckily for Sakura actually put the smallest of grins on the baka's red face. "It wasn't fun if that's what you're asking but being the Hokage's apprentice means it's nowhere near as bad as it used to be. I'd be lying though if it didn't hurt just a little bit," she managed to chuckle a little and then looked down into his eyes. "I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry," he managed to say as he shed a tear and looked away from her. "It's ok we're going to prove them wrong, isn't that right Naruto-kun," she replied with a small smile and tear of her own.

"I don't know Sakura-chan, you know if we're going to be restarting the Uzumaki clan then one day we'll probably be forced to…" Sakura's light laughter stopped the blonde mid sentence and he looked at her oddly. "I know Naru-kun, one day… one day when you're old and grey, the village we'll want to seal the fox in one of our descendants. I've known that since our genin days baka," she said. Naruto had shock written on his face that shifted to guilt just as quickly and could only repeat again," I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Sakura just chuckled again and held him tightly while rubbing his cheek, "Baka, it's okay. I admit it's not the best thing in the world but together with Hinata we can make sure that whoever we have to choose has all the love and affection in the world."

The jinchuuriki finally smiled at the pinkette and kissed her lightly causing her to giggle but then she spotted something in the distance and her expression shifted into a mischievous grin. "Naruto-kun, look over there," she said while pointing upwards toward the tree tops. Naruto looked on and snickered a bit before looking back to the cherry blossom, "Are we really that evil Sakura-chan?" He asked in a foxy grin. Sakura's devish smile only deepened as she replied with, "Yes."

Meanwhile Kakashi was busy reading one of his holy forbidden texts, doing his best to sneakily hide from his comrades. He suddenly felt a surge of wind from his right and was forced to close his good eye for only a moment. He looked back to his novel and screeched in horror, "No, I must have dropped it." The perverted jonin flew to the ground and uncovered his sharingan trying his best to locate his lost treasure. What he failed to notice were the two members of Team 7 chuckling behind a tree, Kakashi's smut securely in hand. Naruto and Sakura finished their fun by carefully placing the book in the Sand kunoichi's sleeping hands and returning to their original position underneath the tree Hinata was under. They finally entered a state of rest thankful that they were able to relieve at least a little stress before they would have to move out again.


March 3rd, 67 AFL

Back in the Sand, in the early hours of the morning, "He's regaining consciousness," a sand medic said that was quickly followed by, "Out of my way, let me see him, Kankuro, Kankuro-kun are you alright? Who did this to you?" Kankuro looked at Kin and coughed a little before managing to barely sputter out, "Sasori, Sasori of the Red Sand." The sand shinobi succumbed to the toxin yet again and it wasn't long after before he slipped into another state of pain and delirium.

Later that day Team Kakashi along with Temari were still on their way to the Sand Village. Suddenly Sakura asked, "So what do we know about these bastards?" It was Hinata who replied with a solemn look, "So far, the only members that we know about are Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigake, the two we met three years ago. That and their after all the tailed beast, the nine-tails included and they'll stop at nothing to collect them all. At least that's what Jiraiya-sensei told us." Sakura nodded while Naruto snarled,

"Itachi, he's the one Sasuke was always on about killing, remember Sakura-chan." "Yes I do and remember Naruto-kun we only have until September before Orochimau is ready to take Sasuke's body. We have to make sure that we find them before that so we can help kill that snake and try to convince them to come home," the cherry blossom replied with conviction. Naruto and Hinata nodded in agreement and quickened their pace, hopeful that they would make it in time with only one thought dominating their minds, 'Sasuke, Ino we promise this time we'll be there to help you.'


March 4th, 67 AFL

"It's no good, I've tried everything but nothing's working," an elderly woman said sadly which caused the black haired kunoichi to respond in anger, "What the hell do you mean you can't cure it. I thought you were the best healer in the Sand Village!" Chiyo scowled at the young kunoichi, "My expertise is in creating deadly poisons not curing them. I'm sure that old slug queen Tsunade could do it but it's not likely she'll be coming along so I'm sorry to say this but you should be prepared for the worst."

The old woman left the pair alone in the room, the kunoichi doing anything she could think of to ease Kankuro's pain. Unbeknownst to them Team Kakashi had finally reached the desert and with Temari taking point it wouldn't be more than another day before they reached Suna. In another location several miles away Deidera and Sasori had finally reached their hidden base and had made contact with their purple eyed leader. He quickly called the Akatsukis other members and together they started to extract the bijuu from the Kazekage. Slowly but surely Shukaku's chakra was extracted and sealed into a giant statue that their leader had summoned. The process would take several hours while Gaara could do nothing but sit in agony and pain.

It was during these first few hours of toruture that the Hokage managed to meet up with Team Gai and she quickly dispatched them to provide reinforcements for Team Kakashi. Unfortunately for Team Kakashi a violent sandstorm had hindered their progress, forced to take refuge in a cave the shinobi all hoped the natural disaster would pass sooner rather than later. Sakura was currently studying some sort of medical scroll while Kakashi dug frantically through his supplies hoping against hope he had simply misplaced his precious.

He was completely unaware that Temari had woken up with the novel in her very hands and noticing it was one of the few she had yet to collect, she had stealthily hidden it in her bag without saying a word. Naruto Uzumaki was currently standing by the cave's entrance, every few moments he would let out a low growl as if attempting to scare the storm away. Eventually the Hyuga of their group couldn't ignore her love's obvious anger at their current situation and decided she needed to try and comfort him. She walked over slowly and started by stroking his whiskered cheek before saying,

"I know Naruto-kun, believe me I feel the same way you do but traveling in this mess would be near impossible," she explained sweetly. The blonde turned to face her and Hinata saw red in his eyes before they reverted back to ocean blue. Naruto sighed before surprising the Hyuga heiress with a giant hug, "I'm sorry Hinata-chan, I know but I'm just so angry and being stuck like this is pissing me off even more." Hinata cupped both of his cheeks after he released her, she looked at him sweetly, chuckled a little and said,

"Don't worry Naruto-kun, we'll reach the Suna by tomorrow and then we'll save Gaara together. Then we'll beat those Akatsuki bastards and show them not to mess with us." The jinchuuriki returned her sincere smile with one of his own before grabbing her hands and held them tightly while facing her. "Thanks Hinata-chan, I'll try to calm down a bit, I just wish I had something to distract me a little, you know," Naruto replied but it was still clear to Hinata he was still on edge. She thought for a moment in sympathy, wishing she had some way to help his pain when an idea came to mind. She took a book out of her bag causing Naruto to ask her curiously,

"What is that hime? One of Pervy Sage's novels." The blonde snickered a little before adding, "I never thought you were into that kind of stuff," he continued while chuckling. Hinata looked at him fondly and then went back to the book, "This is one of Master Jiraiya's rarest novels. He gave it to me for my last birthday and I thought that maybe I could try reading it to you to keep your mind off all this crap," she explained. The blonde responded by chuckling again and sat down on the ground, mirroring an eager child ready for story time, "Sure as long as it's not loaded with Ero-sensei's usual crap." Hinata managed a giggle and simply started reading, "Alright Naruto-kun this is Tales of a Gutsy Ninja…"


March 5th, 67 AFL

It was early the next morning when the group finally made it to their destination. After being informed of the situation they quickly headed to Kankuro's side. Kin was frantic and Temari wondered where Matsuri was. Kin informed her that Lady Kaze had been in her room alone since Gaara's kidnapping and didn't really want to see anyone, she had definitely been the person most affected by Gaara's kidnapping. When Sakura finally started her medical examination the group was interrupted by an elderly woman shouting,

"White Fang prepare to die!" Naruto and Hinata moved in quickly and defended their sensei from the surprise attack, "What the hell are you doing old lady?" Naruto asked and Hinata added, "Yeah seriously we came to help you guys, remember." Sakura was oblivious to the attack on Kakashi being effectively in medical mode and giving her full attention to the patient. Thankfully the old woman stopped her assault when her brother grabbed her shoulder and reminded her the White Fang had been dead for years and she laughed a little before providing an apology.

Kakashi was explaining his connection to the White Fang when they all heard Sakura's findings, "It's a metal based poison that's destroying his cells at an incredible rate. At this point there's no way I'll be able to make an antidote in time." "You can't just give up, please, there's got to be something you can do," Kin replied frantically. Sakura looked at the girl who had attacked her and her team nearly three years ago in the forest of death with slight anger at first from the memory but seeing the girl's genuine care and concern she let any resentment that was remaining fade away. The pinkette turned her attention back to her patient and said,

"Bring me some water and I'll see what I can do." Kin nodded and followed her order without hesitation. She returned shortly after and Sakura began her treatment, forcing the poison to the surface and extracting it with her chakra while Naruto and Hinata looked on amazed. It took awhile but eventually the cherry blossom succeeded in getting Kankuro out of critical condition, wiping the sweat off her forehead she quickly determined the ingredients she would need for an antidote and was escorted to the Sand's medical supply. Hinata decided to follow Sakura and help any way she could while Naruto lingered around with Kakashi. Old Lady Chiyo couldn't believe the young teenager's skill and wondered if her old rival had taught the girl, deciding to have a word with her later.

It was at this moment that a message arrived and it was revealed that Team Gai was on their way in order to provide them with back up. Kakashi was grateful for the extra help but knew that it would be near impossible to track the enemy down in time. His concerns were answered when Kankuro awoke from his slumber, "Kankuro-kun, are you alright? Can you hear me?" The sand shinobi nodded to his soulmate and then Chiyo asked, "Kankuro, was my grandson really the one that did this to you?" Kankuro nodded again and the elderly woman left the room without another word. Meanwhile the gray haired jonin walked up to the injured sand shinobi and asked,

"Kankuro do you know anyway that we can track them down?" The sand shinobi snickered a little, "I managed to get a piece of his clothing with one of my puppets, as long as they were recovered you should have everything you need." Without another Kakashi summoned his ninja hounds and sent them off in pursuit hoping against hope that they would find their enemies for them.

Meanwhile Hinata was content watching Sakura do her work and having a light conversation. Hinata mentioned the beautiful ring that Naruto had gotten her and explained its significance. Sakura was a little disappointed she wasn't asked first but figuring the blonde idiot would probably ask her when they got a chance to have a real date, she shrugged it off. Sakura was just adding the final ingredients when she heard the elderly woman she had met just a few hours ago say, "You remind me of that slug queen Tsunade, being able to cure a poison as deadly as this one."

Sakura smiled, pride in herself ever evident, "I'm one of Lady Tsunade's best pupils according to her and I've been training my ass for three years straight but we were really lucky. Another day and Kankuro would be dead." Sakura turned to Hinata, "We should get going, with the ingredients they had I was able to make three doses of antidote and Kankuro needs one now." Hinata nodded in agreement and started to follow her counterpart out of the room but stopped when she heard Chiyo ask, "Why do you care so much what happens to Suna and the Kazekage, you're not shinobi from this village. Why do we have to put all our faith in you?"

This caused Sakura and Hinata to chuckle a little which caused the elderly woman to become even more confused. "Truth be told Lord Kazekage tried to kill me twice and Hinata at least once. Honestly we really shouldn't care at all but Naruto-kun was able to save Gaara from his darkness as well as us when he defeated him three years ago and…" "And?" Chiyo inquired, curious what the girl would say. Sakura looked to the ground but she had a small smile on her face as she replied hesitantly, "I don't like seeing people in pain." She looked up and her determined eyes met the sand kunoichi's,

"That's the reason I became a medical shinobi because I hate having to see people suffer and die. I hate killing too even though it's a necessary evil that we as shinobi all have to accept but still I hate it and hope I'm never forced to take a life. After Naruto-kun killed Haku in the Land of Waves, he hid it well but I could see how much it devastated him inside. Even though they had only just met Naruto-kun considered him a friend and knowing that he had done the unthinkable to someone he cared for made him swear to himself that he would only take life as a last resort." Sakura eyes met the old woman's again who had a look of confusion mixed with shock,

"That's what makes us the shinobi that we are, that's our way of the shinobi and even if others think it makes weak we fight with the hope that one day we can live in a world where nobody has to die an unnecessary death. That's why Naruto-kun needs to become Hokage and why we have to save Gaara the current Kazekage." Sakura finished and exited the room leaving the woman to her thoughts. Hinata took one last look at Chiyo but before following the pinkette she said, "Lord Kazekage is one of Naruto-kun's closest friends, that's the reason we're here and and I promise that we will do everything in our power to save your village and your Kage." Hinata smiled and finished with,

"Besides like Sakura said Lord Gaara and Naruto-kun are friends and Naruto-kun would never abandon a friend who needs his help." Chiyo was left to her thoughts and reflected on what the two kunoichi had told her about themselves and Naruto. It wasn't long after that Sakura and Hinata made their way back to Kankuro's bedside and the pinkette quickly administered the medicine she had made. It would be a while before he was back to full health but the sand shinobi had been saved and after entrusting his brother to the blonde he quickly made his way back to sleep. Just as he did, Pakun returned and revealed that he had found the Akatsuki's location.

Kakashi ordered the group to rest for the night and the kunoichi made their way to the rooms the Sand had provided with the jinchuuriki following behind silently voicing his protest but maintaining some level of self control. The trio entered one of the bedrooms and talked like they usually did until the jonin rudely interrupted them, "Come on you two, go to your own room," he said and then looked around the room, "Very funny what did you do to my stuff?" Kakashi asked in annoyance and Hinata replied flatly, "In the other room."

"Why?" He asked again and this time Sakura was the one to answer with a kick to one of the beds that knocked it perfectly parallel to the other, "Because the three of us are sharing this room, You can have your own room all to yourself, that is unless you want to sleep right next to Naruto-kun, should have known all those books were just a cover. Oh and what is poor Shizune going to think of you sleeping right next to a teenage boy, you really are a total pervert sensei." Sakura said half teasingly, half threateningly.

Kakashi gave up, figuring it didn't really matter but then he got a devilish idea that caused him to giggle. Before he could even picture it in his mind he felt a chakra and killer intent so high he nearly collapsed. He turned around slightly and heard, "Don't even think for a second," he heard a cold voice say that sent shivers down his spine. "That anything will be happening before wedding day and even if it did," another voice just as dark and merciless uttered. "If we ever and I mean ever caught you doing what just came across that sick mind of yours," the first voice added.

"It will be the last thing that eye ever sees, OK!" Both voices suddenly roared causing the blonde in between them who was already hiding under the covers to yelp in fright and Kakashi to stand there stunned for a moment before nodding frantically like a dog and moving almost as fast as a Hirashin user from the door and slamming it shut. Sakura and Hinata looked at each other with satisfied smiles knowing they had won the argument about the room and had also prevented Kakashi from ever trying to peek on them but then looked to the covers finally noticing small whimpers coming from the spot between them.

The girls could only sigh knowing they had taken things a bit overboard to have the poor blonde in such a state. Realizing they had no choice but to lay next to him they did their best to assure the blonde that the "Scary Monsters," were all gone and not hiding anywhere in the room. They didn't fall asleep that night until Naruto checked under the bed twice just to make sure.


March 6th, 67 AFL

The next morning the jonin cautiously woke the trio and informed them that it was time to head out. Just a short while later they met up with Temari and a few other Sand shinobi. She wanted to aid them but was told that they were to patrol the border and let the Leaf nin handle it alone. She voiced her protestions loudly and openly but was silenced by the appearance of Lady Chiyo. She assured Temari that she would be tagging along with the group and that they would retrieve Gaara, besides she couldn't wait to see her grandson after such a long time.

Now the group was several miles out of Suna, quickly in pursuit of the missing Kage and in the middle of an intense discussion. "So how long do you think the Akatsuki have been after the bijuu?" Hinata asked and Kakashi replied, "At least three years, remember they came after Naruto while you three were busy looking for Tsunade." Sakura looked down in thought for a moment, 'What if?' she thought and then voiced her concerns,

"What if it's been even longer than that, remember what the Third Hokage told us, that an unknown party attacked the village and tried to release the nine-tails almost six-teen years ago," the pinkette explained making all heads turn to her, "If that's true Sakura then they've been planning this for decades but just what are they after. One bijuu is almost impossible to control let alone all nine," Kakashi replied.

"The Nine-Tailed Beast, terrifying creatures with near unlimited chakra that even when destroyed are reborn again into the world. They are practically immortal and the Five Great Nations have used them as weapons since the first Kage Summit. They are thought to have existed since the days of the Sage of Six Paths," Chiyo added. The same thoughts crossed the Uzumaki-Namikaze trio's, 'Immortal, destroyed, reborn, and Sage of Six Paths.'

Naruto was annoyed, annoyed they hadn't seen Gaara yet and annoyed that all these weird things went back to the Sage of Six Paths, 'Damit!' He thought in anger, 'What does it all mean, the tailed beast, Asura, Indra, and that damn Sage.' Just as he was about to leave the topic for a later date he heard a deep voice from within his head answer him, "Kit all I know is that the Old Man Six Paths created us and sent us off into the world. As for what Asura said, he and Indra were indeed the Sage's sons and considering the rivalry between the Senju and Uchiha I wouldn't be surprised if the whole reincarnation thing was true as well." Naruto was shocked he could hear the fox's voice so clearly in his head and replied without really thinking, if he could,

'Kurama, how the hell can you talk to me without me meditating into the seal?' Kurama actually emitted a sound that was somewhere between a chuckle and a snarl, "Naruto shut up and listen, I don't know how long the link will last or if it will go away at all but the man that forced me to attack the Leaf Village wore the same robes that Uchiha brat's brother had on as well as that shark freak. Our vixen is probably right, they definitely could of been a member of that stupid group that's trying to collect us like pets. Honestly with his chakra and visual prowess I thought he was Madara Uchiha at first but knowing what I know now that's impossible," Kurama explained and Naruto couldn't help but blurt out in rage,

'What the hell do you mean our vixen and why couldn't it have been Madara and are you absolutely sure you damn sneaky fox!' "Stupid brat, we share a body remember, your vixen is my vixen and I'll call her what I damn well please. As for why it couldn't have been Madara, if the reincarnation crap about you and that Uchiha brat is true then it would mean that Madara and Hashirama would of had to have been dead in order for Asura and Indra's souls to bond with yours,' the nine-tails explained. Naruto thought it over for a moment, 'Asura and Indra's souls had to separate from their current host in order to be reincarnated so when Hashirama and Madara died their direct link to Asura and Indra was severed and their spirits bonded with Sasuke and I at birth, is that right Kurama.'

The blonde waited patiently for a reply but when he got none he actually shouted out loud in anger, "Not now you stupid fox, you were actually telling me some good intel but now you go back to sleep in your cage when I actually was enjoying talking to you for once, fine screw you fox prick, believe it!" Enraged enough to use his old vocal tic, he failed to notice every member of their group staring at him with concern. He gave them a grin and assured them he was ok before their conversation started back up,

"Ok, so they're after all of the Bijuu. That means that Fu and Naruto-kun are the ones in the most danger right now. Do we know any other jinchuuriki besides Gaara, maybe if we can gather everyone up we can come up with some sort of plan. Every jinchuuriki that they grab is another potential comrade lost and as far as the enemies concerned a weapon for them," Hinata said. The group only shook their heads, signifying that the identities of the other jinchuuriki were a mystery to all of them. Sakura decided to try a different approach and asked, "Um Lady Chiyo, do you know anything else about the Bijuu or the Sage of Six Paths that could be of any help." The sand kunoichi shook her head once again, disappointing the pinkette but together with her comrades they pressed onward.


Meanwhile Team Gai was closing in and after receiving the location of the hideout from Pakun they marched on forward with haste. Unfortunately this was put to halt with a shinobi none of them recognized blocked their path, "Who are you?" Gai shouted with determination to find out the identity of this powerful opponent. "Wow, you really are just a stupid beast," Kisame replied with a sick grin. Their battle began in earnest and it wasn't long before the Akatsuki member gained the advantage, flooding the battlefield and using Water Clones to confuse the Leaf ninja.

When Team Gai thought they had finally found the real Kisame, their hopes were quickly dashed away when their target revealed itself to be only another clone. Kisame chuckled sickly again as he made fun of Team Gai's ineffective attacks, "This is pathetic, based on the last time we fought I thought you might actually give me a decent challenge." Gai responded by getting in close, trying to use the enemies own weapon against him but when he did the sword's hilt sent sharp spikes straight into his hands forcing the bushy browed jonin to drop it.

"Should have known using an infamilar weapon was a bad idea," Gai said and then turned back to the rogue shinobi, "I'm certain our flames of youth have never crossed before!" Kisame snickered again while Negi, Lee, and Tenten tried a combination attack but this resulted in them getting caught in separate Water Prisons. Gai pulled out his favorite weapon, his Nunchaku but against Kisame's sword skills he was in for the match of his life. Eventually the nuke nin got tired of this and shouted, "Water Style - Water Shark Bomb Jutsu!" Suddenly a large shark made solely of water tackled the Leaf jonin forcing him deep into the waters below. Kisame's assault was far from over however, he put his hand to the surface of the water and shouted again,

"Water Style - Five Hungry Sharks!" Not a second later five more sharks made of water emerged from the end of the Akatsuki member's fingers and dove down deep underwater hitting Gai with several brutal blows. The bushy browed sensei knew he had no choice and after a few moments Kisame felt an incredible chakra. He looked down toward where he sent Gai and managed to hear his opponent scream, "Sixth Gate, Gate of Joy, Open!" With six of the eight inner gates open Gai had achieved an incredible power and quickly attacked the rogue shinobi holding nothing back.

First he took down the Water Clones that were maintaining the Water Prisons his teammates were trapped in and then toward his real opponent. Kisame tried to put up a defense but against Gai's overwhelming chakra he stood little chance and was quickly defeated. Team Gai congratulated themselves but when they turned their heads back to their opponent Gai's jaw fell to the ground and he said, "I have definitely never met this man before."


Unbeknownst to them Team Kakashi had run into their own deadly enemy, "Look it's the discount teme!" Naruto said while the rest of his team gathered their own thoughts about facing such a terrifying and powerful opponent. "Naruto Uzumaki, you've grown up. So are you ready to come with me nine-tails?" Naruto scoffed at the Uchiha while Chiyo voiced her own thoughts, "Itachi Uchiha huh, it's been a long time since I faced the Sharingan. As long as we avoid his eyes and watch each other's backs we should be able to avoid his genjutsu." Kakashi shook his head,

"Itachi possesses Mangekyou Sharingan, it's far more powerful than the regular sharingan. I should know last time I went up against it I was trapped for three days. The only advantage that we have is that his jutsu takes up alot of chakra and it damages his eyes every time he uses it." Itachi looked to the gray haired jonin with curiosity as he thought, 'Kakashi do you?' His train of thought was interrupted when he heard his primary target borderline roar,

"This is the end for you Itachi, you won't get the chance to hurt Sasuke or anymore jinchuuriki. For all the evil shit you've ever done I'm going to slaughter you and every other member of that crappy club of yours!" The blonde was fired up and ready to go but his sensei held him back, "Calm down Naruto you're letting your emotions cloud your judgement. I'll head in first and you'll be my backup ok, if he gets a hold of you we lose, do you understand?" Naruto turned his head slightly to let his sensei know he understood but in the corner of his eyes he saw Itachi simply move his finger slightly.

Without much warning Kakashi charged Itachi full force, his sharingan flaring and his Lightning Blade at full power. He closed in and lunged but Itachi managed to move out of the way and sunk his kunai deep into his opponents chest. Kakashi fell to the ground in a thud and the shock sent the blonde into a frenzy. He created a mass of Shadow Clones and had them charge in while he started chucking kunai at Uchiha. Itachi took the clones down one by one but when he looked at the original he saw him smirking with a powerful Rasengan charged up and ready to go. The blonde suddenly vanished and it took the Uchiha off guard but then from behind him he heard,

"Giant Rasengan!" Naruto's attack hit it's mark but the rogue nin's body just molded into a flock of crows, "Naruto you've mastered quite a lot of the Fourth Hokage's jutsus," Itachi said as his body reformed. Naruto huffed but then took in his surroundings and realized that he was surrounded by Itachi's, "Damit, I fell for his genjutsu but I didn't even look him in the eye." The blonde shook his head to clear his thoughts and attempted his best to break the jutsu but no matter how hard he pushed it refused to break. The poor blonde experienced his worst fears and horrors for what felt like an eternity but just when he thought he was going to go mad he found himself sandwiched between the two girls he knew all too well.

"Naruto-kun, Itachi managed to get you, are you alright?" Sakura asked in concern from behind him while Hinata nodded her head in agreement wanting to know the same. The blonde looked back to the battlefield to see Kakashi and Itachi locked in combat and said, "I'm fine now Sakura-chan, Hinata-chan, you can let me go now, I need to go help Kakashi. I'm going to try and end this with one attack." Naruto gathered his chakra and shouted,

"Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Roughly sixty clones appeared, they went off in groups of three and they put their hands together. Meanwhile the original Naruto threw a kunai while Itachi managed to dodge another of Kakashi attacks he saw it coming and redirected his own weapon to deflect the oncoming projectile. Naruto's kunai hit the ground and in a flash Naruto was in front of the nuke nin. Kaskashi and Naruto's taijutsu skills managed to back the Uchiha into a corner. Itachi tried to put at least one of them under his genjutsu again in order to improve his odds but it wasn't having any effect and that's when he realized that his opponents had switched themselves out with Shadow Clones. Itachi took the clones down without much effort but then he realized what was heading his way. Before he could do a thing he was hit by multiple Giant Rasengans with the blondes all shouting as loud as they could,

"Take this you ugly bastard, Giant Rasengan Barrage!" The force of the attacks struck up a vast amount of dust while leaving a small carter where Naruto's jutsus had made contact. Team Kakashi cautiously approached their opponent but when they did it was revealed that it wasn't Itachi they had defeated but a missing sand nin. "What the hell is this," Naruto said, his anger apparent. "I don't know Naruto but whatever they did to this man it had to have been a forbidden jutsu." Naruto slammed his fist to the ground in anger, "Damn cowards, sending their minions after me instead of facing me themselves." He looked to the man he had defeated and wondered if he was still alive when they had fought or if whatever jutsu the Akatsuki used on him had killed him.

It made the blonde even angrier knowing that this man, like him, was just another tool to Akatsuki and had been used as a sacrificial piece. Remembering what their mission was and that there were still two members of said group holding his friend captive he found his resolve and simply gritted his teeth, "Let's go, we don't have any time to waste." Kakashi agreed although he was worried about his old students mental state and what he was thinking. It wasn't long before their group resumed their mission, jumping through trees at remarkable pace, making their last push to the Akatsuki's hidden base.


AN: First things first sorry about the delay had a few technical issues as well as some outside forces preventing me from writing, don't worry everything is fine.

Like I said up top will be putting disclaimer on top of every new chapter and story I write because it's something I should of really been doing all along

This chapter is very close to canon, like the Zabuza arc in the beginning of the original Naruto, there isn't much I could really change here for plot reasons but at least I brought along Hinata lol

Iruka and Ayame because why not I figured

Yeah Naruto is still an emotional character and still a bit of baka honestly because if he was super smart he would just win and that's no fun lol and he provides a good chunk of the humor

Like I said earlier since this arc is so close to canon all I can do for now is give us as many cute moments as possible which why I had Naruto and Sakura's moment as well as the Naruhina moment

Yeah Sakura has a pretty kind heart and honestly her beliefs come from the terrible childhoods Naruto and Sasuke went through, she doesn't want that to happen to anyone ever again, honestly she would make a good Hokage herself lol

I tortured Kakashi quite a bit this chapter sorry Kaka-sensei lol, and poor Naruto girls are scary

I honestly could have omitted the whole Team Gai fight but I may have plans for Gai and since we skipped their first encounter why not at least cover the second even if it was exactly the same

I still see Naruto falling for the genjutsu, Itachi is super op lol but he had least tried breaking a bit sooner but again Itachi is op I don't see him breaking it himself

Next chapter we will be finishing up this saga and tenichi bridge will be very different I promise that and Kami I never thought I say it but man even I miss the teme but still I think he's at least one chapter away

Response to reviews: Gunner as always thank you

Born to Be God like I know I get it but I like cannon Naruto at least a little and again if I make him to smart or too serious, I end up losing his humor as well as making him overpowered

As always I hope everyone is doing ok, I thank you all for reading and until next time, I will try to get chapters out as soon possible but until then see you and goodbye