Author Note

Hello everyone and welcome to another chapter of Cursed Eyes.

Not much to comment on, except that one reader asked me about Naruto learning Sage Arts. My answer is no…he already has too much going on for him, in terms of skill and power. Giving him Sage Arts as well would make him too OP. Plus, Naruto had never signed the Toad Contract in this story, using the tiger summons and the crows he received from Itachi. So, he wouldn't be able to learn Sage Arts from the toads. I could come up with something regarding the tigers, but once again, he would be too OP if I did.

Now that that's out of the way, here is the chapter.

Cursed Eyes

Chapter 32 – Back to the Desert

Beta: Scheffinator

No sooner had Naruto barged inside the Hokage's Office with an apparent intel shared by the very same Kyuubi no Kitsune inside of him, Tsunade had immediately called for Kakashi and Jiraiya to be present.

"Okay Naruto, now that everyone's here, please say it one more time." The fox Jinchuuriki nodded at Tsunade and then turned to his brother and perverted Sannin sensei.

"Right…the fox had shared with me that Akatsuki is on the move now and is targeting Gaara, the Ichibi Jinchuuriki." Jiraiya and Kakashi both listened intently, while Jiraiya wondered why none of his spies told him about it, while at the same time wondering if they could trust this intel, that happened to be told by an entity who's trapped inside the kid's stomach and thus couldn't understand what happens in Konoha outside Naruto's vision perimeter, much less something that may be occurring in another country.

"Is this intel trustworthy, Naruto? Just how can the Kyuubi know what's going to occur?"

"Considering it's a sensitive issue and time was of the essence, I didn't focus much on grinding the fox for clarification." Jiraiya only snorted at Naruto's sarcastic tone, while he continued. "It may be instinct here, but to this day, the fox has been very clear in his distaste for myself and everyone. As such, he wouldn't waste his time lying or using trickery about something, especially information regarding Akatsuki and the other Bijuu." Tsunade, Kakashi and Jiraiya listened intently, but Kakashi was of Jiraiya's opinion as well.

"Fox demons are tricksters by nature, Naruto-kun."

Naruto just had to stop in his line of argument, once he heard Kyuubi's amused laughter echoing inside his mind regarding Kakashi's comment just now.

Naruto would find it humorous as well, if the situation wasn't dire right now. Just being in the fox's presence would make everyone piss themselves.

"As I said before, the fox wouldn't waste time doing so and I happen to speak from experience, chatting with the beast for longer periods of time." Naruto, then, turned to Tsunade who was quiet throughout the conversation. "We are wasting time here talking, Hokage-sama. I had shared the intel I received from the fox. What are we going to do about it?" Tsunade looked at Shizune and then at Jiraiya and Kakashi, before turning to Naruto, who was clearly anxious about her response.

"Right now, we don't have much to work on, except the word of a Bijuu…surprising as that sounds." Tsunade, then, released a sigh and joined her hands beneath her chin. "However, at the same time, if the intel is correct, by not running reconnaissance, we are allowing Akatsuki to finish capturing the Ichibi. Do we at least know where Gaara is at the moment or is where the capture shall take place?" The question was aimed at him, of course, but once more, Naruto didn't ask the fox where, before going straight to the Hokage's Office. Still, the voice inside his head, coming from the fox, had supplied him with the answer, albeit not a comfortable one to relay to everyone.

"Ah, Kyuubi mentions that Gaara is in a desert."

"…" Tsunade's blank stare at him spoke volumes.

"Yeah, I know, it's not enough to go on, which is why I would request a tracker team to aid me and Kakashi-nii. Perhaps, someone with a very strong Byakugan and an Inuzuka would do the trick. Kyuubi also said that he would sense the Ichibi's presence if close enough." Tsunade was still eyeing Naruto promising bloody murder at the position he was putting her in. However, just doing nothing was out of the question for the moment, so Tsunade turned to Shizune for instructions going forward.

"Shizune, send a message to Suna, then, regarding Naruto's intel. Perhaps, they can send a team to check as well. Also, get me Hyuuga Hinata and Inuzuka Kiba." She then turned to Naruto and Kakashi. "You'll get your tracker team, Naruto, but understand the precarious foundation of intel we are using here…if it turns out to be false, then we shall have a lot of explaining to do, both to Suna for sending them false information and here as well." Naruto and Kakashi bowed, before Naruto finished the conversation.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama." Naruto and Kakashi soon vanished towards the main gates, waiting for Neji and Kiba to appear.

===In Wind Country===

Sabaku no Temari had quickly climbed a hill in the middle of the desert, in order to check her surroundings as well as the so-called enemies that entrapped her and her team.

The Kazekage had called her up three days ago, giving her and two other Genin an easy C-ranked mission to restock Suna's stock of medicine supplies.

A simple mission that would take no less than two days tops, crossing the desert. She had crossed the desert in record time using her knowledge of the winds to help her team easily reach the destination. They had restocked in enough supplies to last about a year of day to day medical supplies in the village hospital. Problem, though, surged on the way back…Temari just didn't account for Akatsuki, of all people, to simply show up and entrap them. Clay bombs suddenly fell from the skies and kept the Suna team on their toes. While Temari managed to hold her own, both Genin were injured, forcing the Suna blonde Jonin to protect them.

Temari believed that her life was forfeit, seeing as she had no means of holding her own against S-ranked shinobi, however the bombing stopped and no one was in sight.

She looked around once more and found nothing, not even on the skies above, she could see much, despite the strong sunlight forcing her eyes shut.

"Temari-taichou, are we safe?"

"Just where did those bombs come from?"

The Jonin released a sigh at the question and looked down to see the two Genin she was responsible for, each one complaining rather loudly for her liking.

Matsuri, a short red haired girl and Yukata, a long black haired one.

"I can't see anyone…how are your legs?" Matsuri pressed her hands on her injured thigh and flinched, while Yukata tried standing up, but fell on her butt and complained once more. "Moving right now is out of the question, then."

"Temari-taichou, perhaps Gaara-sama can come and rescue us?" Temari narrowed her eyes in concern at Matsuri's question.

Up until this point, she was wondering why Akatsuki of all people would bother with them, now the goal had become clear.

"He can't…they will capture him!" Matsuri and Yukata looked at one another, not knowing what their leader was alluding to.

"Ah Temari-taichou, who are you talking about?" Temari snarled and Yukata instantly shut her mouth from fear.

"Akatsuki! They are targeting the Jinchuuriki and they are after Gaara. Are you seriously asking me that question!?"

Matsuri instantly became worried, right now realizing what was going on.

"Can we warn Kazekage-sama, not to send him then to rescue us…it's a trap meant for Gaara-sama."

Temari negated, while once again observing her surroundings.

"Based on their previous attempt, I would venture that they managed to get a distress signal towards Sunagakure, somehow. Meaning that he will come and they will capture him."

===In Konoha===

Kakashi and Naruto stood at the gates waiting for Naruto's former academy peers, Kiba and Hinata. It's been ages since Naruto has seen any of them, probably the first time since the Chuunin Exams. Still, time was off the essence and they were already running late. Kakashi had noticed his surrogate brother's hesitation quite clearly, understanding how he feels about one of his own getting targeted by the red cloud organization. However, Kakashi knew better than to get angsty in waiting.

"Don't need to be on edge, Naruto-kun…Kurenai-san trained them both well. From what I understand, both are quite keen trackers, perhaps far better than their parents." Naruto had eased his chakra, before turning to Kakashi.

"If I took this long to start a mission, then those I needed to rescue would be long dead by now." Kakashi looked at the Sharingan user and hummed.

"Not every mission is like the ones you're used to…plus, I don't believe that Gaara would be that easy to defeat."

Before Naruto thought the words to retort, both had sensed three new presences arriving with Hinata and Kiba on top of a grown-up white furry dog.

"Reporting for a mission, Kakashi-sensei."

Inuzuka Kiba boasted his presence on top of his dog, Akamaru. He was wearing a full out black leather pants and jacket, on top of a fishnet clothing.

"Ah…I apologize for taking too long…ah..Tsunade-sama had taken some time briefing us."

Hinata explained, despite her timid nature being brought forward, wearing dark blue pants and a white and blue sweater.

Both, though, had frozen slightly when they saw Naruto's Sharingan swirling at them. When Kiba and Hinata heard from the Hokage that they would be doing a mission with Naruto, they had mixed feelings. Kiba heard Naruto's tales from his clan. Naruto's team had rescued a couple of Inuzuka in dire straits, but the young Inuzuka didn't remember much about him from the Academy. Hinata, though, remembered the young Naruto who helped fend off the bullies that were teasing her because of her eyes, back then. She used to look up to him in their younger days, up until the incident that made him blind, forcing the village to implant Sasuke's eyes on him, to save his sight.

"You two are late!"

Hinata had shrunk back in slight fear, while Kiba took a step forward, not intimidated by the stare or in Kakashi's opinion, trying not to…Naruto could be quite intimidating when he wanted to be.

"Oi…who are you to bark orders at us….Tsunade-sama stated that Kakashi-sensei is the leader of this mission." Kiba's trembling accusing finger at Naruto was quite amusing to watch, though Kakashi chose now to exert his leadership.

"Now…now, enough squabble. Let's proceed. Our mission is to reach Sabaku no Gaara's position before Akatsuki manages to capture him. Since Hinata's Byakugan is quite refined, probably the longest distance in your clan, you shall be using your Dojutsu to try and pinpoint Gaara's location, while we cross the desert. Kiba and Akamaru's nose shall help as well. Me and Naruto shall protect you on the way. Once we manage to find him, you two are to steer clear from the battlefield and tend to Gaara and anyone else who is with him, understood?"

Kiba, though, as expected from a member of the Inuzuka Clan, voiced his complaint, while Hinata tried, but failed, to see the faint resemblances between that Naruto full of life that made her world back then and the Naruto before her now.

"Wait, so that's it…that's all we are doing?" Kakashi did expect some level of resistance, so he wasn't bothered by it.

"Akatsuki is composed of S-ranked shinobi. As skilled as you both are, you are still Chuunin." The Inuzuka snarled at the comparison, while remembering that Naruto is their age and already a high-level Jonin.

"Ah Kiba-kun…" Kiba turned to Hinata and saw her nod, making his anger rescind for now.

"Hinata…" The girl in question was surprised at Naruto talking to her, with a firm and commanding tone. "Kasumi-nee speaks highly of you, so we're counting on you to help us reach Gaara in time."

"Understood…count on me, Naruto-…" She managed to stop herself before adding the affectionate suffix to his name, earning a confident nod from him.

"Right, now, let's go!" Kakashi then gave the final order as everyone vanished.

===In the Desert===

Deidara was on top of his clay bird, up high in the sky, while observing the endless ocean of sand beneath him.

As his black robe moved because of the heavy winds, it was possible to see the arm that Hatake Kakashi removed, now sewed back together.

Ever since that time, Deidara had craved for more action, considering the complete lack of excitement in capturing the Sanbi. Despite being a Tailed Beast, it didn't offer much resistance after Deidara's clay torpedoes. Its Jinchuuriki happened to be the Yondaime Mizukage, but he got killed by Itachi, so the Beast reformed in Water Country later on. Yet another reason why Deidara loathed Itachi even more, because he would have wished to face the Mizukage in a glorious battle that would show the world the full might of his art. Still, now Deidara had another opportunity to capture his first target.

His eye contraption, which allowed him to see longer distances, then, looked down to see the Suna team that he used as bait for the Jinchuuriki to show up.

"The imbecile must show up soon, hmm. I bet that the thought of his sister being targeted will give him the extra incentive to arrive sooner." Deidara pondered aloud, while the mouths on his palms salivated in anticipation.

His stock of clay had been filled to the brim, so that this glorious fight could last longer. The last time, the Jinchuuriki proved to be quite the adversary. Deidara, of course, used the village against him, but the Jinchuuriki actually cared little about protecting the citizens and attacked him, instead. It was somewhat surprising that nowadays, Sabaku no Gaara had shifted from an emotionless tool into someone used by the village to run rescue and retrieval missions for shinobi and kunoichi in peril.

Deidara stopped his musings, once his eyes caught sight of a sandstorm approaching from the north position…loaded with chakra.

"Hmmm, took you long enough, Jinchuuriki!"

Deidara had commanded his clay bird to maneuver like an airplane to flip and nose dive towards the ground, in high velocity, while Deidara filled his palm mouths with clay.

"Art is a blast!"

His war cry was the last thing the vicinity heard, before a major explosion rocked the desert's foundations, sending the Suna team flying from the blast.

===With Naruto===

It's been a couple of hours since the team left Konoha towards the desert where Kyuubi's last vision occurred.

Both Hinata, Kiba and Akamaru worked diligently in finding traces of either Gaara or the Akatsuki's location.

Kiba focused his chakra on his sense of smell, while Hinata activated her Byakugan to look at longer distances.

Kakashi and Naruto were impressed at the level of skills from both of them. According to Hinata, she now could reach up to ten kilometers with her Byakugan and Kiba's nose managed to reach faint traces of blood in the air. As far as Byakugan goes, Kakashi has had a few conversations with Kasumi about whose eyes are the strongest amongst the clan. The former ANBU had worked in plenty of them, but so far he had attributed Neji's as the strongest in the clan, while Kasumi's focused more on pinpoint accuracy. However, his girlfriend had always alluded to Hinata's as the most surprising of the clan, but never went into much detail about it.

'I do wonder if she was helping Hinata's eye develop like this?'

Kasumi had more often than not confided with him about Hiashi-sama's unfair treatment towards the clan heiress, though she couldn't openly say anything, because of clan politics.

"Hinata, Kiba, report your findings so far." The two trackers stopped their ability and turned to Kakashi and Naruto, while on top of a sand hill.

Despite their amazing skill in tracking, thus far, none of them had any luck.

"The blood trail is still weak, I know we are in the right direction, but we are still too far away." Kiba reported and Hinata nodded, following through.

"Ah…I still can't see either Gaara or the Akatsuki." Kakashi hummed and then turned to Naruto, who nodded and closed his eyes for a while, before reporting.

"Kyuubi said that they are close by, he can feel the Ichibi's presence and chakra."

Hinata and Kiba looked at one another. It was no secret at this point that Naruto housed the Tailed Beast responsible for the almost destruction of the village and the murder of thousands, one of them being Kiba's father and also plenty of Hinata's relatives. While Kiba was more vocal in his disdain after finding out, Hinata began to wonder how much suffering one person could take and still march onward. The incident in the Uchiha clan had changed him, drastically…to the point that she no longer saw that Naruto from the academy who boasted to the heavens about being Hokage. Now, not only that, but Naruto also housed the very being that's caused many suffering in the village.

She looked at him now and saw the focus and determination…it was much more contained now, sure…but it was still there.

"Right...Kiba, let's..." Kakashi's order was put on hold as soon as a blast echoed in the clearing, followed by a bright shiny light engulfing the sky, a few kilometers from Konoha's position. "Let's go! Hinata, pinpoint the blast's location!

"On it!" Her Byakugan flared to life, while they were on the move. "Kakashi-sensei, I see them…six people in total." Kakashi narrowed his eyes, immediately knowing who was attacking the Ichibi Jinchuuriki.

"Naruto, it's Deidara. One of them, at least." The blond Sharingan user turned to Kakashi in surprise. When he and Genma faced Sasori the first time that Gaara was kidnapped, Kakashi and Kasumi went after Deidara.

"Hinata, can you describe the ones using black cloaks? One of them must have blond hair and short stature, but Akatsuki works in pairs." Hinata focused more chakra into her eyes as per Naruto's request.

"Right…the one with blond hair is on top of what appears to be a giant white owl…" Kakashi cursed himself, remembering his failed attempt to capture Deidara with his Mangenkyou Sharingan. "There is another one observing the fight from afar, with short black hair and wearing an orange spiral mask." The description alone didn't ring a bell, but right now, what mattered was getting there in time and perhaps keeping the Akatsuki from capturing Gaara. Though, Naruto couldn't help but wonder if he somehow knew about this mysterious member.

===With Gaara===

Fighting in the desert against the Sand Jinchuuriki could be considered madness to many in the elemental nations, even those bordering on S-ranked status. However, Deidara wasn't known for getting on the side of caution and used and abused his clay to bombard Gaara…just like the first time. Gaara even attempted to harden the sand to protect himself from the blasts, but the damn bastard would create creatures who could dip a hole inside his guard and blast him to smithereens, forcing even more chakra for his personal sand shield to keep up.

This time, however, Gaara had another problem to solve…mainly the fact that now he also had to protect his sister and the others.

As such, he had to keep up a sand defense around them at all times, since the enemy didn't care one too much about playing fair.

"Damn those Akatsuki…Gaara can't focus on the enemy and protect us at the same time."

Temari cursed, before flinching at the endless number of clay spiders that would crawl towards their position, only to explode as soon as it hit Gaara's sand wall.

Meanwhile, looking up in the sky, Gaara would use not only a block of sand to attack the elusive flying bastard, but also use parts of Ichibi's limbs to close him in for good. Despite its humongous size, overall, such a strategy had its flaws. The main one being that with the enemy being so fast, Gaara just couldn't move as fast and he needed to box the bastard inside to then use his sand burial technique. There was one time that Gaara's sand etched onto his skin, but a quick mud Bunshin escaped and once more, Gaara was on the defensive.

Focusing on Gaara himself, he was standing on top of a cloud of sand, while his arms controlled the sand blasts that was chasing the laughing Deidara.

"What's wrong, Jinchuuriki? Am I too fast for you, hmmm. Keep that up…you're only wasting chakra trying to capture me."

Gaara said nothing, only narrowing his eyebrows as he focused on the flight patterns. Still, Deidara had enough experience in airborne fighting, many times more than he did. He needed to up the scales and reduce the space available to the enemy. Thus, forcing more chakra and extending his senses towards the sand on the ground, Gaara had lifted uncountable geysers of sand. Deidara saw them and took evasive actions, however one of the geysers trapped him and sand began to crawl throughout his entire skin, before both the bird he was on, the clay dragon he was about to summon and himself stood inside a gigantic coffin of sand.

"Nice, Gaara!" Temari cheered from the group as she saw the enemy finally get captured and unable to move.

"Hmm, this is the end for you. Sabaku Sousou (Desert Funeral)" As soon as Gaara closed his hand, the entrapment closed in on Deidara, squeezing him until nothing but blood remained.

However, as soon as Gaara removed the technique, he was surprised to see globs of clay instead of actual blood. He once again used his sand to protect himself from a sneak attack from behind, as two fast flying clay birds exploded upon contact with his sand shield, taking away chunks of his own personal protection in the form of sand enveloping his body. Deidara appeared unharmed, flying behind him with a smugness that anyone would want to punch his face and then some.

"It didn't work the first time, Jinchuuriki, why did you think it would work this time?" Gaara didn't have time to retort as Deidara flew once more, before sending an endless army of clay creatures to explode upon contact. He was about to move to attack once more, when Deidara's voice echoed in the clearing. "Oh and since you now care about the safety of your little friends, I feel inclined to inform you that I am sending them a nice going away present…the blast shall be in about five seconds, hmmm". Gaara's eyes lost his focus as he looked down to see a giant clay centipede crawling its way towards the sand shield that he had lifted to protect Temari, Matsuri and Yukata.

He tried in vain to use the sand on the ground to stop the centipede from moving forward, but failed and saw that he wouldn't be able to stop the creature from exploding.

"Time is up, Jinchuuriki! Kats…" Deidara screamed as he focused on the ram sign to ignite his C2 creature.

Raiton Raiju Tsuiga (Lightning Release: Lightning Beast Tracking Fang)

A couple of seconds before Deidara ignited his technique, however, a wolf made of lightning chakra intercepted the giant centipede and sliced the beast in half.

Deidara wondered what the hell happened, when his senses urged him to scramble, just as a fire ball crossed the skies behind him, hitting the bird he was on, making it explode upon contact. Deidara's body then nosed dive towards the sand, but not before his eyes caught the surprising sight of Hatake Kakashi and the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki looking at him, close to where the Suna team were. As Deidara focused his feet on using the sand hills to skid towards the safety of the ground, one thought passed through his mind as he now eyes the opposition.

"Oi Tobi, why didn't you warn me that they were close by, damn it!"

Right after he screamed, the one with the orange spiral mask appeared from a little hole in the sand next to him.

"You rang, Deidara-senpai!? You have told me not to intervene, so I was taking a nap…it gets real noisy up here."

Deidara's vein popped at the remark, while Naruto and Kakashi observed this particular foe.

"Teme, I said for you to alert me if someone came, damn it. Trust me, you shall see my art soon enough!" Tobi got out of the hole in complete fright and joined Deidara's side.

Meanwhile, Hinata and Kiba were tending to the Suna team, while Gaara stood close by in case they were attacked once more.

His eyes traced Naruto's back and remembered the first and last conversation they had…one that changed Gaara's life. The Ichibi Jinchuuriki went from the village pariah into the village hero, considering the number of shinobi rescued by him, when the mission went sideways. Still, as much as he cared to exchange a word or two, now, just wasn't the time as he still had to finish the assignment. As such, Gaara's sand cloud had quickly hovered close to the Suna team, who were aided by Hinata and Kiba.

"I appreciate the assistance from Konoha, however I must take them back right away." Kiba and Hinata looked at each other, wondering what was going on, before Gaara's sand enveloped Temari and the others.

Neither Kiba nor Hinata managed to exchange more than a couple of words with the Suna team, before they were all gone, much to Kiba's complaint and Deidara's for that matter.

"Leave it alone, Kiba…our mission is hereby accomplished." Kakashi announced while never taking his eyes away from the enemy. "Now, head back to the border and wait for us there."

"Oi, but we can be of assistance, sensei!... We are…" Kiba tried arguing, but Kakashi stopped him, before he could finish.

"Considering the damage suffered by the Suna team, it was evident that Deidara was targeting them as well…to bait Gaara…" Deidara kept his usual smirk up, not much bothered by losing his target, considering that another more suitable one appeared. Kakashi, being the leader, had said once more. "Now, go already…that's an order. Hinata can check on us with her Byakugan, if we need any help." The ninja hound user snarled once more, before tsking and turning towards their home hidden village. Kakashi and Naruto felt their chakra leaving the location and allowed themselves to be more focused.

===With Kakashi and Naruto===

Deidara and Tobi stood side by side as they observed their new foes.

Kakashi, he already knew enough both by reputation and by facing him before, but the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki was a complete enigma, thus far.

Not to mention those damn red eyes staring back at him..just like that day…just like him.

"Sharingan…eh!?" Naruto stood perfectly still with his regular fully evolved Sharingan, observing his enemies. "So you do have those damn eyes, without being a full Uchiha, huh Kyuubi?" Naruto's eyebrow lifted at the name calling, before turning to his partner in a fight.

"Kakashi-nii, what can you tell me about him?" The scarecrow Jonin was actually focusing on Deidara's partner, when Naruto asked him.

"He uses clay as explosives and like Kakuzu, his main affinity is earth."

"So, you should be better equipped to face him…" Kakashi, though, negated it. True, his lightning affinity would topple Deidara's clay, however he was far too skilled for this to be a simple matter of element.

"Element superiority here won't be the key, Naruto…he also fights long range and I don't have any lightning techniques to reach him."

Naruto understood, before removing his sword from the holster and preparing himself.

"Oi, are you two done with the chit chat…" Deidara stopped in mid-teasing, when Naruto charged forward with his sword and closed the distance in less than a second, before slashing Tobi's torso in half. Deidara was already airborne, heading towards a nearby hill to keep the advantage. Naruto looked down to see his downed foe, before focusing on Deidara. He was about to move for the offensive once more, when the downed foe suddenly stood up as if nothing happened.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes in suspicion as he saw Naruto's sword make contact.

'Wh..there is no blood dripping from him…Naruto's sword slashed clean…'

"Oi Tobi, what are you doing? Don't you dare let your guard down around him…" Naruto focused on his Sharingan, trying to understand what was going on, but failed.

His sword made a clean cut of his stomach…he heard the peculiar noise of steel cutting flesh.

"Oh Deidara-senpai, his teleportation jutsu is just too quick, I am simply no match for him!" Tobi moved about flamboyantly and with a child-like voice. Deidara had quickly gathered enough clay to produce tiny explosive creatures, before throwing them all at Naruto, who had moved through hand seals faster than Deidara realized. Tobi, meanwhile, began to panic at the amount of bombs landing next to him and he screamed for his partner to stop, but to no avail.

Doton Doryuheki (Earth Release: Earth Style Wall)

Deidara activated the bombs just as Naruto's hands touched the ground and lifted the barrier to stop the explosions from hurting him.

Kakashi had moved as well, since he already knew Naruto's strategy. The silver-haired Jonin moved behind the clay wielder and used a kunai to slice him. However, he caught sight of Deidara expelling a single creature bomb from his mouth, before activating in close range. Deidara skidded towards the ground, close to Tobi, while looking at the result of his attack on Kakashi. However, before he could see Kakashi appear from the smoke, Deidara had to move away from Naruto's surprise assault from behind. Because of the Sharingan and his agility, Deidara had received a few cuts here and there and once more created enough distance, before reaching for more clay.

Naruto stood side by side with Kakashi as Deidara's two palm mouths expelled clay on the ground.

They watched as two grotesque creatures formed and started running towards them.

Naruto and Kakashi made quick work of them with their sword and kunai. However, each time they slashed the creatures, it created new ones, forcing them to evade and slash over and over again, non-stop. Naruto's Sharingan appeared to be rolling freely, seeing the infinite number of little clay creatures. Kakashi was having difficulty, as he so far wasn't using his Sharingan. Focusing his Raikiri on his palm, Kakashi then slashed each and every creature around him, though it wasn't giving him any edge as the creatures only multiplied. Kakashi, at one point, lost his foot and Naruto saw that one of the creatures would grab him. Once again, Naruto molded enough earth chakra to surround them in an earth barrier, before Deidara activated the explosion.

The area around them shook like an earthquake at the heavy explosion.

"Hmmm, they are nothing, right Tobi!" Deidara was boasting his own ego, when they both sensed the usage of chakra…

Katon Shiroi Hidan (Fire Release: White Fire Bullet)

Tobi had instantly vanished from sight and Deidara was hit full force from the fire technique, having to forgo his black coat for a kawarimi.

Naruto's Sharingan caught sight of where he would be, hence why Deidara cursed at seeing the Sharingan glare at him, before Naruto slammed a powerful kick at his chest that sent him flying. The mad bomber felt the immense hit, but realized quickly enough that Kakashi was waiting for him with a lightning attack that would slash him in half. Deidara had released a quick clay bomb at the silver-haired Jonin, before managing to make enough distance with the Sharingan users. At this point, three Sharingan were eyeing at him at the same time and it made him mad as hell.

"Stop staring at me with those eyes…damn it…just like that damn Itachi!" Deidara grabbed enough clay and joined his hands. "This calls for my C2 Dragon!"

The ball of clay in his hands expanded, before a huge clay dragon appeared.

Deidara had quickly climbed on top of its head.

"Oi Tobi!" From below the sand, Tobi's head emerged. "You know what to do!" Tobi saluted in a military fashion, as Deidara focused on the ram signal.

The dragon's tail shortened a bit, before the dragon's mouth opened and thousands and thousands of tiny bomb creatures emerged. Naruto and Kakashi didn't need to think hard enough to know their odds right now as both charged at extreme speeds. Deidara, though, calculated that and focused on the ram sign as the dragon opened its mouth once more and from within, another smaller creature somersaulted straight at them in extreme speeds, forcing them to evade. Deidara, though, kept the creature flying fast up in the air, before diving straight towards Naruto.

When Kakashi next looked for the bombs and the other guy, both were no longer visible.

Before Naruto could do anything, the small dragon exploded, lifting up a pile of sand upward.

Kakashi looked as Naruto appeared within the smoke and sand with his clothes a bit singed from the explosion. As soon as he stepped on the ground, however, his foot was dragged by the sand and Deidara only smirked.

"Katsu!" Kakashi had to use his arms to block the blast, followed by the debris and sand.

"Naruto!" Deidara kept looking, waiting to see the state of the Jinchuuriki, before the smoke lifted and Naruto got up from the ground, before looking up at the foe. Deidara looked astonished at seeing the Jinchuuriki unharmed, before realizing the dust coming off Naruto's skin. Quite knowledgeable about Iwa's techniques, Deidara knew enough about the stone armor, though to be able to fully protect him from the blast was nothing short of incredible, similar to Kakuzu's technique.

Kakashi had quickly approached to see if he was alright. Naruto eased his concerns, though.

"I had to use a bit of the fox's chakra to harden the stone armor further, but it worked." Kakashi nodded and turned to the enemy once more.

"We need to be cautious, he has the high ground and those missiles of his will only get stronger from here on out. Mind your step for the land mines."

Naruto looked upward and then at Kakashi.

"I have an idea to handle the mines as well as place you up there to slash that dragon of his." Kakashi listened to Naruto's plan and nodded. Deidara, though, only kept up the attack, this time with a bigger missile bomb than before. Both Naruto and Kakashi had used the Doryuuheki to protect them from the blast as well as hinder Deidara's view. From behind the earth wall, Naruto went through hand seals for two techniques, while Kakashi just watched the show.

Yoton: Kanseitaiga (Lava Release: Lava River Trap)

Using the so famous lava release, Naruto had sent a stream of lava below ground. The land mines, upon contact with the extreme heat, exploded one by one.

Deidara wondered what was going on, until he saw Tobi frantically scream from within the hole he was in, with his ass on fire from one of the mines going off.

"Ah! My ass is on fire, senpai!" Tobi comically screamed, but his partner paid him no mind.

Deidara snarled while looking at the Jinchuuriki with both hands on the ground. He still didn't know how the damn brat made the mines explode, but he could see the sand turning red from the extreme heat. One thing he forgot to take into account, however, was that Kakashi was missing from the picture, before he saw the damn Jinchuuriki go through a long series of hand seals once more, before finishing with the familiar snake hand sign.

Doton: Taijuu Hashira (Earth Release: Multiple Earth Pillars)

From the ground, multiple pillars emerged, one connecting with another. Deidara could even see pillars appearing from within another pillar of earth, as if the ground of a hidden cave was being formed. The Akatsuki, though, smirked once the technique stopped growing, seeing as it wasn't enough to reach his position. He was about to act all smug about it, when his peripheral vision caught sight of a blur climbing through the earth pillars, as Kakashi used great agility and the Raikiri to climb towards the last earth pillar and manage to reach Deidara's Dragon.

Using the Lightning Blade Technique, he sliced the Dragon's wing clean off and Deidara saw himself diving towards the ground, fast. He was about to quickly use his clay to mold another flying creature, when he saw a fireball reaching his position. All he could do right now was use his clay to shield himself from the blast, though the mad bomber wasn't impervious to the blast. He managed to summon a clay owl to escape, but his arms suffered deeply from the explosion. As Kakashi went back towards the ground with the help of Naruto's pillars, Deidara kept glaring at Naruto's Sharingan eyes with utmost hatred.

At this point, his teeth grinded with one another and his eyes trembled in anger at the memory of those very same eyes a long time ago.

Memories of the time when one Uchiha Itachi completely nullified his art with those damn eyes.

"Those eyes…those damn eyes…even in death you still mock me, huh Itachi!"

Kakashi and Naruto stood observing what the man would do next, when Deidara gathered a chunk of clay and started eating, compulsively.

"What now, is he going to explode himself?!" Kakashi looked at Naruto's rant and then at Deidara once more, who was going through hand seals, this time.

"This is it, Jinchuuriki. I shall kill you…I shall rid the world of those eyes, forever. Those eyes are demonic…they are cheating…they shouldn't exist and I shall rid the world of it right now…both of you are the last ones, so the Sharingan will be gone from this Earth for good! This was the technique I created to beat Itachi, but you beat that bastard, so you shall take his place. Here it goes, my C4 Karura!" Tobi was already scrambling for the surface at the mention of the technique, while Kakashi and Naruto saw the guy vomit an endless stream of clay.

The scene was quite grotesque as they saw the amount of clay forming in mid-air, before the white color turned black and then it started taking form…into a gigantic Deidara form, that is, fully dressed in Akatsuki clothes.

"What the..!" Naruto's Sharingan observed the gigantic creature glaring down at them. "Is that thing going to explode?"

Kakashi had a sweat drop on his forehead in panic, before both turned to get the hell away from this gigantic bomb.

"Oh, are you going to escape now…you can't escape my C4 Karura"

Deidara was drooling from the clay on his mouth, while observing his creation chasing the Sharingan users through the desert. They were both looking backward, while using chakra to escape as fast as they could through the hardened sands. Still, Deidara was focusing on the ram sign and had a satisfied smirk on his face. As soon as he activated the technique, the gigantic bomb Deidara started to inflate as if he was going to explode. Both Kakashi and Naruto, though, wondered what was going on, when the gigantic Deidara merely shredded its skin, in a visible white foam, before disappearing. Before looking at what was going on with their Sharingan and then at each other.

The creatures in the desert – scorpions, snakes, wasps, tarantulas, all began to disintegrate, before Naruto grabbed Kakashi and activated the Mangekyou Sharingan, added by the fox's chakra to ease the tension in his eyes.

They both vanished instantly and Deidara observed it, with sweet glory in his eyes, despite feeling the strain of his chakra.

"Hahahahha, see that Tobi…I did it…I won…the Sharingan is no more from this world. I did it…I truly finished Itachi's work and rid the world of this accursed dojutsu." A small part of Deidara's mind just told him that he ended up ruining Akatsuki since he killed the Jinchuuriki, but right now he was in complete ecstasy to notice that his life was already forfeit at Leader's hands for his actions. The Akatsuki member, though, sensed their presence, before Kakashi appeared on the ground and pulled two wires in his hand that controlled two windmill shuriken. The shuriken slammed straight at both Deidara's arms, rendering his technique useless, while his body fell freely towards the ground. They saw Deidara use both his legs to yank the shuriken from his arms by force, but he wasn't fast enough to stop his body from slamming on the ground.

The mad bomber was livid as he held his deeply hurt and burned arms, while glaring at them once more. He did notice Naruto's Sharingan shift into the EMS format.

"How…did you escape…I saw you get hit! How did you escape my C4 Karura!"

Deidara was breathing erratically as his chakra capacity was almost finished. Naruto, though, humored him.

"To be honest, none of us know what that technique was…though the Sharingan can distinguish the chakra by its color. We both saw a cloud of smoke approach right after the gigantic Deidara exploded, so we only had to steer clear from that smoke. It was also clear that you did the same thing, as you kept enough distance for the cloud of smoke not to hit you." Deidara snarled at once more, those damn cheating eyes hindering his awesome art once more. Still, Deidara's mind recollected the events.

"Hmmm, you two vanished from view, I saw it clearly." Naruto and Kakashi said nothing to that of course…give Akatsuki ammunition about Naruto's EMS techniques…

"I take it you haven't heard of the shunshin, Deidara…I really thought you were S-ranked."

Deidara snarled at the smug arrogant Jinchuuriki. Of course, he heard of it, but it wasn't that, not by a long shot.

"Screw that…screw everything…I had enough!" Deidara ripped off his top shirt and Naruto and Kakashi saw what appeared to be stitches located on the right side of Deidara's chest. The man with one of his palm mouths pulled the stitch open and grabbed the last ball of clay from his pouch. The palm mouths were already grotesque, but when a long tongue and more set of teeth opened up from the man's chest, Naruto and Kakashi truly felt sick to their stomach. Deidara gave the amount of clay to the mouth on his chest and it started chewing. His eyes were already showing signs of pure madness…one that had already forgotten any desire to keep on living.

Naruto and Kakashi could see the amount of chakra focusing on the chest mouth as dark lines started appearing in his limbs and bare stomach.

"This shall be my ultimate art, jinchuuriki! I don't care anymore if Akatsuki loses the Kyuubi, you two shall go to hell alongside me! I shall detonate myself in a blaze of ultimate glory! And with death, I shall become art." His body had become transparent as the contraption in his chest became black and visible. "In the midst of my admiration, you two shall definitely die! An explosion that will cover a ten-kilometer radius…you won't be able to get away this time." Kakashi and Naruto became alarmed instantly and Kakashi wanted to use his own Mangekyou, but he realized that he wouldn't have enough time. Naruto's eyes morphed into the EMS once more as he saw the seconds passing by…he didn't have enough time to think and he could only figure out one possible venue for escape…or at least get away in their life intact.

'Kyuubi, I know you're going to complain about it afterward, but I shall use a big load of chakra here, both mine and yours.'

"Hmmm, blowing yourself up is such a waste…but again mere humans' mentality is in full display before you, my jailer. Go for it, I want to feel it!"

Kakashi felt the immediate surge in Naruto's chakra, before the malicious red chakra from the fox began to take form around him and two tails swinging behind him. Both his eyes were in Eternal Mangenkyou Sharingan, just as Deidara vanished from view and only the chest bomb remained. It began to glow white, just as an aura of red enveloped Naruto's, before a giant skeleton formed around both him and Kakashi. From within the skeleton, threads began to form, shaping up a red warrior that enveloped them. Another layer also appeared and the final Susanoo appeared in its full view, before Deidara's chest bomb exploded. Both Kakashi and Naruto were enveloped by the full brightness and destruction of Deidara's technique, expanding up into the air and a range of 10-kilometers.

That was the view from Hinata's Byakugan…well, she didn't need the long seeing eyes as the explosion blast was quite visible from afar….and she wasn't the only one observing the fight from afar.

Kiba was frantic next to her and she was trying desperately to see what happened to them. The blast had rearranged the shape of the desert sand and caused a huge hole on the ground. Still, the moment the shining stopped and she could see what exactly happened, her shoulder loosened and her face relaxed.

Kakashi was still placing both arms in front of him as anyone would do in a life or death situation. When he opened his eyes to see what happened, he was still seeing the red Susanoo active and Naruto's clothes, or what was left of it, actually.

"The Yata no Kagami (Yata mirror) was the only technique I could think of that would save us, though it's not like it's completely impenetrable." Naruto had blood coming out of his eyes and mouth and the jinchuuriki wasn't in the best of appearances.

Kakashi truly couldn't say anything in retort…it's not like he had anything in his 1000 jutsu repertoire that could protect them from that blast, short of trying to go underground.

As such, he could only look around and see the path of destruction from Deidara's suicide technique.

"Akatsuki is truly made of monsters." Naruto just hummed, as he released the amount of energy he was pumping the Susanoo with, while feeling the strain in his chakra coils. Still, the regular Sharingan was still active, Naruto caught sight of the other member of Akatsuki looking at them from afar. Kakashi had noticed as well and turned to see him. For a moment there, nothing happened and they were too far away to see much, before the man had vanished into thin air, as if he wasn't there in the first place.

"Well, at least we won't face another one." Kakashi's words of relief were short lived as he saw the look of worry from his surrogate brother.

"Kakashi-nii, he has the Sharingan." Kakashi stopped dead in his tracks, before looking at his surrogate brother. "That childish persona of his…I don't know…it shifted for a short second and then he went back."

"That's indeed troubling news, Naruto-kun."

Naruto, for his part, didn't voice his suspicion out loud, but Itachi's explanation about Uchiha Madara started echoing in his mind and what was most troubling was that the fox was still due to open its mouth about it.

===A few miles away from the fight===

A few miles away from the fight, Orochimaru stood there merely observing the show before his eyes, with the presence of his henchman Kabuto and four others whose identities were hidden by dark hoods.

"It seems young Naruto-kun has made another victim in Akatsuki, Orochimaru-sama." The snake Sannin had only smirked viciously, while licking his lips in full ecstasy at the display.

"Yes, indeed, Kabuto…just like I had foreseen. The Sharingan is truly an amazing tool, wouldn't you say." Kabuto adjusted his glasses and smirked at the comment. "I am most eager to see how young Naruto-kun would fare against the Rinnegan."

"A little bird tells me it's going to be sooner rather than later." Orochimaru chuckled some, before turning to his group.

"Yes, and we shall be there to witness it all."

Author Note

Ok, that's it for now.

Wow, mixing the fight as it happened with different individuals was tough as hell, but I believe I managed to make it happen. Deidara, white not overall strong in the anime, was a more strategic fight overall, so I had to adapt considerably. Of course, it stands to reason that Sasuke would easily defeat them with the Mangekyou Sharingan. At the time, he only had the regular evolved Sharingan to use, so he was limited. I still could have used more Genjutsu, but the fight was more long ranged. Something that seemed odd with Sasuke's fight…he managed to snare Deidara in a Genjutsu from a great distance away. Itachi, whose Genjutsu was considered stronger than Sasuke, had used Genjutsu in close proximity and with the help of his finger.

Aside from the fight, then, we got to see Orochimaru briefly and see what he has planned later on. Plus, Naruto's suspicion about Tobi shall be discussed in the next chapter as we enter the Pein invasion arc.

Please tell me your thoughts.

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Next update: Nidaime no Sairin