The Rise of a Warrior: Naruto: Shippuden

by The Legendary Dragon Reaper

Three years have come and gone, and while Tatsu and the ninja of the Hidden Leaf have grown stronger, they'll have a whole new group of enemies to face. The era of Team Dragon has arrived, but can they rise to the challenge? Sequel to the Rise of a Warrior: Naruto, second story in my Naruto trilogy. Please read each chapter until the end and check for notes.

4. Akatsuki Encounters, Battle Begins

The process of extracting Shukaku from within Gaara and sealing it within the Gedo Statue was continuing, while Pakkun found their hideout after travelling all night before going back to report back to Kakashi.

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Morning came.

Pakkun pressed his paw down on a certain part of a map "Here."

Kakashi studied that part of the map intently "You're sure that's where their hideout is?"

"It seems more than likely since Gaara's scent was coming from there as well."

"I see. I've got one more favor to ask of you."

"And what'd that be?"

Naruto rolled out of bed and onto the floor "Ow…"

"Oh Naruto, you're up."

"Oh hey Pakkun."

"How goes it?"

"Alright Pakkun, get moving." Kakashi instructed.

"I'll see you around Naruto." and Pakkun raced off.

"There he goes."

"Kakashi-sensei, does this mean we found where the Akatsuki are hiding out?" asked Naruto.

"Yep, get ready cause we're moving out."

"Right."

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Temari overheard the situation from another Sand ninja and ordered for a pursuit squad to be put together.

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Kakashi explained the situation to Naruto and Ino "Seems we'll be working in conjunction with a squad from the Sand Village, as soon as they're here we'll head out."

Then Temari showed up with a squad "Sorry to keep you waiting."

"Well if that's everybody…"

"Alright." Naruto started stretching "There's no time to waste, let's get this show on the road."

"Wait." then Baki showed up "Temari, you and your group are to stay here and patrol the perimeter."

Understandably, Temari was pissed "Are you kidding me or what?"

"Orders from above, if word gets out that the Kazekage is missing then our enemies may use it as an opportunity to launch an attack on the village."

"Don't you get it? That's all the more reason we have to get him back as quickly as we can! Look at these Leaf ninja, they left their village and came all the way here just to help us rescue Gaara! And Gaara's not even their leader, he's our Kazekage! The Sand shinobi should be the ones to save him!"

"I'm sorry."

"Well I'm going!" a new voice thundered from above "If a Sand shinobi is needed then I'm the one to go!"

Baki and the rest looked up to see Chiyo standing above them "Lady Chiyo? But you're so…"

"I'm retired yes, which means of course that I'm free to do whatever I want."

"Yes but the journey will be difficult."

"Don't treat me like a fossil!" Chiyo leapt down to the ground "After all, it's been awhile since I doted on my adorable grandchild."

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The extraction process continued, with Gaara letting out a long groan of pain.

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Kakashi stood at the gate with the rest "Alright, we'll head out on our own then."

"Thank you, I'll try to convince the council to change their mind." Baki told him.

"Don't worry, we'll catch up with you." Temari assured them.

Naruto smirked "By the time you catch up with us, we'll have already rescued Gaara." and they took off.

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Tatsu continued leading his group through the forest "Come on guys, we've gotta hurry and back up Naruto and the rest."

"Tatsu, up ahead!" Neji called.

"Hold it!" Tatsu stopped and held out an arm.

Then Pakkun showed up "Hey Tatsu, hold up."

"Hey Pakkun, how's it going?"

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Ino and the others were heading through the forest "Hey Naruto, can I ask you a question?"

"What is it?" asked Naruto.

"Well… how long do you think the Akatsuki have been after you?"

Naruto's eyes widened, and he thought back to Itachi and Kisame "I don't know…"

"Two members of the Akatsuki came to the Leaf looking for Naruto once." Kakashi told her, his tone grim "It's been three years since then, and no sign of them. Now they're back."

"But why did they wait so long to make another move?" asked Ino.

"It could be that they wanted to act before this but for some reason they couldn't. Maybe because Dragon and Master Jiraiya around and they didn't want to face them."

"That's not it." Chiyo cut in "From what I heard, there was an entirely different reason they had to wait this long."

"What reason?" asked Naruto.

"If you're going to try and draw out the Tailed Beasts that dwells within then a great deal of preparation is involved, they just needed some more time."

"What are you talking about?" asked Ino "What Tailed Beast?"

"My my, you're a student of that old Slug Queen Tsunade and you don't even know that when the Leaf itself is host to the Kyuubi?"

"The Kyuubi isn't something we talk about." Kakashi's voice was deadly serious "It's considered top secret."

"Really? Well not surprising I guess. Tailed Beasts are demon spirits with one or more tails. The Sand have had a single Tailed Beast since long ago, that's the Shukaku sealed within Gaara."

"So then, there's more of these demon spirits?" asked Ino hesitantly.

"Oh yes, there are a total of 9 of them in the world, each with distinct characteristics and each with a different number of tails. The demon beast of the sand with a single tail, a two-tailed spirit, three-tailed and so on, all the way up to the Kyuubi, or nine-tails. The beasts are huge concentrations of chakra, and during the great war every nation competed for control of them for military purposes. They fought relentlessly over them, but the Tailed Beasts' powers were beyond human imagining. No one could control them. I don't know the intentions of the Akatsuki, but that kind of power is far too dangerous for anyone to get ahold of. Eventually with a coming of peace, the Tailed Beasts were forgotten, but nevertheless they still exist all 9 of them scattered over the world."

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Pakkun explained the situation to Tatsu's team "Kakashi sent eight of us ninja hounds out to scatter the countryside and try to pick up the Akatsuki's scent."

"And what'd you find?" asked Tatsu.

"Well we soon discovered that they were heading for the Land of Rivers bordering the Leaf and Sand."

"Land of Rivers?"

"That's right, and since your squad is on its way from the Leaf to the Sand I guess this is your lucky day since you're the closest if you can call it lucky that is."

"Alright then."

"I'll show you the way, follow me and I'll explain the rest as we go."

"You heard him guys, let's move!" and they took off.

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Unknown to them, a member of the Akatsuki by the name of Zetsu had been watching them and informed the leader and the rest.

While Itachi perked up unnoticeably when Sasuke was mentioned, Kisame was eager to offer to delay them when he heard Lee was with them, wanting to pay him back for the drop kick he suffered that day, even if he was just a kid back then.

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As he guided the team through a desert area, Pakkun took a whiff "Oh boy."

"What is it?" asked Sasuke.

"Someone's coming."

"Yeah, I sense a chakra closing in." Tatsu looked back 'Familiar and extremely powerful chakra, bad JAWS impression. Lee, this is your guy."

"Is it him?" asked Lee 'I really hope it's him.'

"Oh yeah it's him."

"Perfect." Lee stopped running first, skidding to a halt "Guys stay back, I'm taking this one on myself."

The ground burst from under in front of them, revealing Kisame with his Samehada (Another name for Shark Skin) "It's been awhile, I still owe you for that kick you gave me."

"Wait a minute…"

"Oh good, so you remember me."

'Now to mess with him. Who are you?"

Kisame felt the vein in his forehead throbbing.

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Zetsu also spotted Naruto and Kakashi's group heading their way, and anyone wanna guess who went this time?

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"Everybody stop!" Kakashi stopped them in a clearing when he saw the one front of them 'So soon?'

Naruto let out a low snarl "I know you…"

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Neji observed Kisame with his Byakugan and his eyes shot wide "Unreal, his chakra level is off the charts! I've never seen anyone but Naruto with that much chakra."

Sasuke shot Neji an incredulous look "That much?"

Kisame shot Lee a smirk "Your memory is as bad as your haircut."

'Now to keep screwing with him.' Lee's eyes shot wide "Can it be that you're…?"

"You've finally remembered have you?"

"We've met somewhere before?"

"...It's no wonder you're called a beast, your intelligence is certainly subhuman. Well don't worry, I'll refresh your memory soon enough."

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Naruto glared at the one in front of them "Itachi… Uchiha…"

Itachi remained stoic "Kakashi, Naruto, it's been awhile."

"I wasn't enough for you huh? Now you had to go after Gaara as well? I'll destroy every last one of you!"

Itachi raised a hand "Is that so?"

Kakashi held out a hand in front of them "Everyone, whatever you do don't look him in the eyes!"

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Neji studied Kisame "So he's an Akatsuki."

Kisame threw Samehada into the air and formed hand seals "Water Style: Exploding Water Shockwave!" a massive blast of water escaped from his mouth, turning the area into an ocean-like terrain, then caught Samehada "Ready or not, here I come!"

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"Itachi's genjutsu is a visual jutsu." explained Kakashi "Avoid eye contact with him and his jutsu can't take effect."

"I know that." Naruto muttered "And besides, Kurama can break me out of any genjutsu. But how are the rest supposed to fight him?"

"That's the tricky part."

"Bushy Brown told me that the way he was planning to fight Itachi by anticipating his moves by watching his feet."

"Guy told me the same thing."

Ino was having a hard time watching Itachi and his feet at the same time "But that's like fighting with one arm tied behind your back."

"The Uchiha clan eh?" Chiyo muttered "It's been a long time since I've gone up against the Sharingan."

Naruto's head snapped towards her "What?"

"Don't look so surprised, I've been around and I know there's more than one way to fight a visual jutsu like that."

"Like what?"

"If one against one then abandon the field, if two against one then take the rear and he'll yield."

"What's that mean?"

"Well the first part of it is pretty self-explanatory isn't it? The Sharingan can never be beaten in single combat, but if you outnumber the Sharingan user, if the battle is two against one then even if one of you is caught in his genjutsu the other is free to strike from the rear breaking the genjutsu spell. Even if your attack from the rear should fail somehow, you're still free to strike your comrade yourself and break the genjutsu that way. So while one of us fights face to face as a distraction, the rest of us will mount a series of attacks from the rear where his Sharingan can't reach."

"I guess you learn a lot of stuff like that if you live long enough. Anyway, I'll take the rear."

"Hold it." Kakashi stopped him.

"What?"

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"Here I come!" Kisame charged forward with his massive wave.

"Move!" Lee and the rest leapt up to dodge it.

Kisame appeared and launched another wave from behind.

Lee and Sasuke leapt up, but saw that Tatsu and Neji didn't "Guys move!"

"How about it? You like it so far?" Kisame brought the wave down again, repeatedly crashing it back and forth.

Lee stared hard at Kisame "Wait…"

"So, you remember me now?"

"Where the hell is all this water coming from?" Sasuke muttered.

"A technique like this requires a huge amount of chakra." Neji told him "An incredible amount."

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"Okay sensei, what are we waiting for exactly?" asked Naruto.

Chiyo eyed him "Do you have a problem with my way of fighting the Sharingan? Are you suggesting my methods won't work?"

"No, they work fine against ordinary genjutsu." Kakashi told her "But what we're dealing with here is something much more complicated."

"Meaning what?"

"He uses the Mangekyo Sharingan, it's far more powerful than any other visual jutsu. It only takes a second, but if he hits you with that jutsu then it'll be the longest second you've ever lived. Time itself gets warped, what seems like a second in the real world can be hours or days to someone trapped in his jutsu. I know, I wandered around in it for three days and lost consciousness for more than a week. It's not a genjutsu that can be broken just like that."

"That does sound tricky, what a troublesome fellow this is."

"Very good Kakashi, I see your sojen in my Tsukuyomi wasn't wasted." Itachi noted.

"Oh believe me I learned something else as well." Kakashi told him "There's a price to pay for using that Sharingan,, it exhausted you didn't it? You had to quit before the battle was over, so in addition to using up a lot of chakra, you risk permanent damage to your eye every time you use that jutsu don't you Itachi?"

"You seem to have learned a great deal from out one brief encounter."

"I wonder just how much damage has already been done to your eyesight." Kakashi lifted up his headband, revealing his Sharingan eye."

Itachi's eyes widened briefly "Kakashi, could it be that you…?"

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Sasuke looked around the watery battlefield "Where do you think he is?"

"Don't know." Tatsu admitted "He's suppressing his chakra, I can't sense him." then he saw a large wave appear in front of them "Move!"

"Here I come!" Kisame charged towards Lee.

"I don't think so!" Lee kicked Kisame in the face, causing him to dissolve into water "So it was only a Water Clone."

The real Kisame appeared from the water "Then I guess you'll never get the chance to remember me." he drew Samehada from his back and brought it down.

Lee dodged a few swings "Sasuke!"

"On it! Rising Hawk Kick!" Sasuke blitzed to Kisame's side and kicked him in the arm, knocking Samehada out of Kisame's hand.

"Eight Trigrams Air Palm!" Neji sent Kisame flying with a blast of air.

'Dammit!' Kisame stopped himself with Samehada, then used it block a kunai, only to see something on it 'A paper bomb!' he got hit in the explosion, but escaped underwater.

"Damn." Tatsu swore "He got away."

"I told you that you using a paper bomb was way too anticlimactic." Sasuke pointed out.

"Oh shut up." Tatsu paused "He's in front of us and closing in fast."

Then a pissed off Kisame emerged "I'll grant you brats this much, you're more trouble than I thought you'd be. Though I suppose I should expect as much from Itachi's younger brother."

Lee decided to mess with Kisame a little more "Wait, the water jutsu and the massive bandaged sword. Are you…?"

"Don't tell me your memory is finally stirring in that tiny brain of yours."

"I feel certain we've met before."

'Is this idiot for real?!'

This got worse when Tatsu decided to jump in "I think this guy would be pretty memorable Lee."

"Listen to that, even your own followers are beginning to wonder if you can remember anything. Well let's what we can do, enough pain and maybe then you'll remember."

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Kakashi engaged in a brief staredown with Itachi "I underestimated you back then, I admit it. But I'm NOT the fool I used to be. Things aren't gonna go the same way this time, I promise you that."

Naruto smirked "Yeah and don't go thinking I'm the same kid either, a lot of things have changed since then."

"Naruto, leave him to me."

'This is just like the last time, back with Zabuza in the Land of Waves. Not again, not that kind of teamwork where we sit back and do nothing!"

"No, this time you cover me. I wish I could tell you guys to go on ahead and that I could handle this alone, but I never make the same mistake twice."

"Works for me, I've been wanting to try something out anyway."

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Kisame smirked "Let's see now."

"Alright, time for a counterattack." Lee decided "Tatsu, let me take the lead on this. I'll go in against him first, as soon as his guard is down you move in."

"Are you fool enough to think you can get me to lower my guard that easily? I won't try to talk you out of it, I'll let you learn the hard way!" Kisame charged in.

Lee leapt over Samehada.

"Is that it?"

"Gentle Fist!" Neji thrusted a palm forward.

Kisame blocked it with Samehada, then stopped an attack from Sasuke.

'He's got a point.' Sasuke realized 'He swings that huge sword so easily that it's almost impossible to get through his guard.'

"Close range might not work, but what about this?" Tatsu formed some hand seals "Fire Style: Crimson Dragon!" he breathed out a fire dragon.

Kisame blocked it with Samehada "I missed it, did you do something?"

"...And I thought my sword could piss people off."

Lee came to a realization "Of course, the sword!"

Kisame smirked "Now, do we remember at last?"

"That weapon, it's yours right?"

"Whose else could it be?" Neji pointed out.

"There's a big difference between knowing and being absolutely certain."

Kisame was losing interest "I said you had the intelligence of a subhuman beast, but a beast could run circles around your brain."

"Let's go! Dynamic Action!" Lee charged in.

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Itachi finally made a move, raising his hand "It's time you came with me, Naruto." he pointed a finger.

"Me first!" Kakashi charged in.

Itachi blocked it, and a second one charged.

"A Shadow Clone!"

"I've got it!" Naruto formed hand seals "Water Style: Raging Wave!" he shot a blast of water from his mouth, sending Itachi tumbling back, only to disappear in a puff of smoke "Another Shadow Clone." he looked and saw the others all down "Ino, granny, Kakashi-sensei!"

They all stood and transformed into clones of Itachi himself, to Naruto's shock and confusion.

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Things were getting serious on the other front.

Kisame blocked several attacks from Lee "Is that all?"

"No, but this is!" Lee kicked Kisame's hand and broke his grip on Samehada "Now!"

"Right!" Tatsu, Neji and Sasuke all leapt in for an attack.

"Water Clone Jutsu!" Kisame summoned three Water Clones.

"Guys!" Lee charged in.

"Water Prison Jutsu!" each of the clones trapped one of them in a water prison.

"Leave them alone you swine!" Lee charged and prepared to bring down Samehada, only for the handle to produce spikes that forced him to let go, leaving his hands bleeding, and looked at his trapped comrades "Tatsu! Neji! Sasuke!"

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Naruto stared at the Itachi clones in front of him "Genjutsu. Kurama!'

"Right." Kurama prepared to use his chakra to release Naruto from Itachi's genjutsu.

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Kisame looked back at Tatsu and the others, then at Lee and grinned "I've gotta admit, I'm a little surprised. You kids are better than I thought. At any rate, now we can fight without any interference."

Lee got into a taijutsu stance 'I've gotta hurry, who knows how long they'll last.'

Kisame quickly retrieved Samehada from the waters "This is the mighty blade Samehada, and it only allows me to wield it."

"Perhaps messing with a weapon I was unfamiliar with was a bad idea. Well if that's the case then maybe I should stick to what I'm familiar with." he pulled out a pair of nunchaku.

"Well well well, this is going to be interesting. Now then, what do you say we finally get down to business!" Kisame charged in.

Lee promptly slammed down his nunchaku.

Kisame blocked it with his Samehada, then dodged several other swings.

When his nunchaku failed, Lee prepared to bring down his leg, only for spikes to stick out from the bandages of Samehada, forcing him to stop. He then broke away and started running along the water.

Kisame followed his lead, then summoned a Water Clone.

Lee promptly destroyed it with one whack of his nunchaku, only to be pushed back by a slash from Kisame and Samehada. He looked over to the rest 'I don't know how much longer the others will be able to hold out.'

Kisame threw Samehada into the air, formed hand seals, and slammed his hand down onto the watery surface "Water Style: Water Shark Bomb Jutsu!" he shot out a giant water shark.

Lee was able to cut through it with his nunchaku, then barely blocked a blow from Samehada, but just barely 'His power is unbelievable! Hold on, I know you!"

"So you finally remembered? Too little too late!" he punched Lee in the gut, sending him underwater.

Lee clutched the minor wound in his chest 'Okay, fun as it may be, pretending not to remember this guy to piss him off might not be the best idea.'

"I'm not done settling the score just yet, not by a long shot." Kisame formed a hand seal and slammed his hand down on the water "Water Style: Five Hungry Sharks!" he shot five water sharks down to the bottom of the water from his fingertips "Here's the first meal."

Lee was forced to swim out of the way to avoid the first shark.

"Second meal."

He got grazed by the second shark.

"Third meal."

Lee was caught in the mouth of the third shark, but promptly punched it in the mouth in order to escape, only for it to come back for more 'No effect?'

"The fourth meal."

Lee got his from behind by the fourth shark, drawing blood and sending him sinking to the watery floor below him.

"Fifth meal."

Lee hit the ground, and the five sharks converged on him. He tried to fight his way out, but they kept regenerating.

"My little friends are hungry, they'll devour every last piece of you right down to the bone."

'I'm running out of time, who knows how long.' Lee got into a stance.

"What's he up to down there?"

'Eight Inner Gates. First Gate: Gate of Opening: Open.' he opened the first gate 'Second Gate: Gate of Rest: Open.' veins bulged 'Third Gate: Gate of Life: Open.' skin turned red 'Fourth Gate: Gate of Pain: Open.'

"What the hell is this? How is he able to recuperate so quickly?"

'Fifth Gate: Gate of Closing: Open.' green vapor began emerging from his body, causing the sharks to evaporate and the water to fly upwards in massive pillars.

"What?!"

"Eight Inner Gates: Sixth Gate of Joy: OPEN!" Lee entered the sixth gate, completely destroying whatever remained of the water sharks and pushing away the water around him, allowing him to breathe.

"What in the hell?" Kisame leapt back onto the water pillars.

Lee appeared right in front of him "What's wrong?"

Kisame leapt up the water pillars.

Lee followed him, causing the water pillars to disperse, and took a stance in mid-air.

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Naruto found himself back on the battlefield, Chino and Ino on either side of him 'Good, it worked.'

Kakashi broke away from Itachi after a brief scuffle "Naruto, are you alright?"

"Yeah sorry, just got caught in his genjutsu."

"I'm afraid he's using more than just a visual jutsu." Chiyo muttered.

"I think it's about time for the main event, better get it together Naruto." Kakashi warned.

Naruto nodded "Right."

"Come on, I'll show you how it's done." Kakashi charged.

Itachi formed several hand seals "Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu." he fired several small balls of fire."

Kakashi dodged all of them and leapt into the air, then turned to the others "He's not done yet!"

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" Itachi breathed out a fireball.

"Water Style: Raging Waves!" Naruto breathed a blast of water from his mouth that met the fire head on, resulting in a massive cloud of steam.

'So he's learned water style. He's grown these past three years.'

When the steam subsided, Kakashi stood in place of Naruto and the others, electricity crackling in his hands "Lightning Blade!" he charged and drove the attack forward.

Itachi dodged it, then looked up.

"Rasengan!" Naruto appeared above him and slammed him with a Rasengan to the gut, driving him into the ground.

When the dust settled, Itachi stood unharmed, and Naruto was nowhere in sight "Well now, he's learned interesting jutsu hasn't he? However…" he looked over to a tree on his right where the real Naruto was hiding 'I suppose now he'll try to force his way through my Sharingan with a new powerful jutsu to try and take me out in one shot.'

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Ino looked out from behind a tree 'Where's Naruto? Did he make it? Wait, is Itachi using another genjutsu?'

"Don't worry my dear." Chiyo assured her "This jutsu is Kakashi's."

"Are you saying-"

"The mist is getting thicker, we both need to focus now. You must keep your attention firmly fixed on Kakashi's presence."

"Right."

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Itachi looked through the mist "The Hidden Mist Jutsu, quite an effective technique to prevent one from casting a genjutsu. Unless of course, one possesses the Sharingan. Kakashi, can we please stop this childish game of hide and seek?"

Kakashi stepped into Itachi's line of vision "Sure, why not?" he flung several kunai.

Itachi dodged them and formed hand seals "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" he breathed out a fireball, apparently engulfing Kakashi in an explosion.

When it subsided, Kakashi emerged from underground and attempted to slug Itachi in the jaw.

Itachi dodged it, grabbed Kakashi's arm and thrusted a fist forward.

'That fireball was different, something's not right.'

Itachi grabbed Kakashi by the back of his jonin vest, glaring into his eyes.

Kakashi found himself experiencing something too weird to explain, from being thin as paper to being lit on fire.

"Nicely done, you certainly have mastery over your jutsu. Your earth style jutsu hid you from view for a moment so I didn't notice the change."

Kakashi grabbed Itachi by the arm.

"It all makes sense, of course my genjutsu has no effect on you because you're a Shadow Clone."

The real Kakashi crawled out of a hole in the path dug by the fireball.

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'Got him!' Kisame swung Samehada.

"Wanna bet?" Lee's leg burst forward and kicked Kisame even higher into the air.

'He's fast!'

Lee kicked the air to push himself higher "This is the end! Fire Style: Asakujaku!" he hit Kisame with a rapid barrage of fire-enhanced flaming punches, ending it with one final punch that sent Kisame crashing down into the waters below, which then promptly dissipated 'So that water was made with his chakra, and once the user is defeated it only makes sense for the jutsu to disappear. Oh crap, the others!' he looked to see them all lying on the ground, only for them to disappear into puffs of smoke "What?"

"Nice one Lee!" that was when Tatsu, Neji and Sasuke dropped down from above "Took you long enough though."

"Huh? I'm confused, what's going on?"

"Remember when Kisame first fired that huge wave at us? Well we used that as a cover. Sasuke summoned his hawk Garuda and I substituted all of us with my Shadow Clones and transformations while the real ones were held prisoner by his water clones."

"Why didn't you tell me about this?"

"You're a bad actor, you know this."

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Kakashi watched Itachi struggling with his clone "Attack him and my Shadow Clone, now Naruto!"

"Right!" Naruto charged in, a crimson ball of chakra swirling in his hand, even bigger than the original one "Giant Tornado Rasengan!" he slammed the larger, Kurama-powered Rasengan into Itachi's gut, but noticed something off.

Itachi had a small smile as he was struck by the attack.

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Tatsu studied the enemy's corpse "This is definitely f*cked up, whoever this guy is he's definitely not Kisame."

"But how?" asked Sasuke "He looked, spoke and acted exactly like Kisame in every way, shape and form."

"Something weird is going on here." Neji studied the corpse with his Byakugan.

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Chiyo was shocked when she saw Itachi's corpse "What on earth?"

"When we were fighting, I could feel something was off." Kakashi admitted.

"Oh my…"

"Lady Chiyo, do you know who this person is?"

"I do. His name is Yura, and he's a jounin from our own village."

"What? What does this mean?"

"I wish I knew. Poor fool, he went missing after Gaara was abducted while the village was still in disarray."

"Is it possible that he was a spy for the Akatsuki?" asked Ino.

"No, he served on the council for 4 years."

"The Fireball Jutsu is a specialty for the Uchiha clan." Kakashi pointed out "That attack was the real thing."

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At the same time, the real Itachi and Kisame reported to the leader and the rest of the Akatsuki that the Leaf groups had been warded off so they had enough time to focus on extracting and sealing Shukaku.

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Tatsu checked around the area "I can't sense anyone else around, the real Kisame isn't even nearby. This guy's purpose was probably to gather information and stall us here for awhile."

"Then we don't have any time to lose." Sasuke pointed out "We should hurry."

"Agreed."

"It's over this way." Pakkun led them onwards.

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Chiyo wrote something in a mini-scroll "Just as I thought, they were clearly trying to stall for time."

"That's an impressive jutsu they've got." Kakashi noted.

"Indeed."

Ino stared at Naruto for a moment 'Naruto, I never realized you were fighting against people as strong as this.'

"For them to use a jutsu like this to stall us can mean only one thing, it's worse than I thought. The extraction of the Tailed Beast has already begun."

"We're out of time." Kakashi muttered "We need to get to Gaara right away."

"Hold on, what do you mean extraction?" asked Ino.

"They're after the Shukaku." Chiyo told her grimly "If they can draw out the One-Tail then they can create a new jinchuuriki."

"A new jinchuuriki?"

"I told you didn't I? How the Tailed Beasts possess power beyond all reckoning, and how every man has tried to use them as military weapons. The name jinchuuriki is the name given to those who control that power."

"But earlier you said…"

"I know, and not for lack of trying. There were of course those who tried to harness that great power for their own purposes, attempting to control the beasts by sealing them away inside of people. By doing so, they hope to suppress the Tailed Beasts' great power and then bend that might to their will. The ones with Tailed Beasts sealed inside them, such as our own village's Gaara, are known as jinchuuriki. Jinchuuriki wield unimaginable power thanks to the resonance of the beasts they carry, and if you count Gaara then in total there have been three jinchuuriki in the history of the Sand Village thus far." she opened a scroll and summoned a wind-up bird, which she wound up and put the scroll in its mouth "It's up to you." she then sent the bird on its way.

"There were several wars fought using the jinchuuriki weren't there?"

"That's correct."

"But the people who become jinchuuriki-" then she looked at Naruto "Alright then, how are the Tailed Beasts extracted?" she got a surprised look from Naruto.

"A couple of things are needed. A sealing jutsu strong enough to counterbalance the Tailed Beast's power, and a lot of time. But for things to reach that point for the jinchuuriki…"

"You don't mean…"

"That's right dear, once the Tailed Beast is extracted… they die." the wind blew ominously as she continued "The others I mentioned, the jinchuuriki before Gaara, we extracted the Shukaku from them as well and both died as a result."

Ino gripped her fists, tears of rage in her eyes refusing to spill "That's horrible…"

"You've never been a crier Ino, not in all the time I've known you." Naruto's voice was soft yet reassuring, and gentle "Don't worry, I promise I'm gonna save Gaara."

"Naruto…"

"We'd better hurry." and he continued on.

Ino and the others just stared.

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Having received Chiyo's message, the Sand council argued about Yura and his loyalty, as well as the Kazekage position and also about the change in the Kazekage position, to which Kankuro became enraged and nearly attacked one of the elders.

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Tatsu was leading his group onwards, but noticed Lee lagging behind 'Looks like opening up 6 gates still takes its toll on him, but at least he's still conscious. Lee, you alright?"

"Are you kidding? I'm bursting with energy-" Lee promptly hit a tree with his face and fell to the ground, leg twitching.

"You're bursting with something but it's not energy." Sasuke leapt down to check on him "He's not looking so hot."

"What did you expect? He did just use the Asakujaku." Neji pointed out.

"He used that when he was 12."

"And it almost killed him." Tatsu pointed out "Either way, we'll rest here for a few hours to let Lee recover. Be sure to prepare guys, keep in mind that tomorrow we might be facing two of the Akatsuki, one of whom got hit by the Hidden Lotus and made it out in one piece."

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Kakashi was quick to stop his group "Stop here!"

Naruto and the others stopped "What is it Kakashi-sensei, what's wrong?"

"We're taking a short break."

"What?"

"That's a very wise decision." Chiyo noted.

"What do you mean? Come on, you were the one who was saying we couldn't waste any more time! If we just lay around doing nothing Gaara's gonna be-"

"Naruto, our pace has slowed since we faced off against that bogus Itachi. If we take the time to rest up now then we'll ultimately reach our destination faster, keep in mind that tomorrow we may end up facing the guys who kidnapped Gaara. We'll need our full strength."

"Fine, I get it."

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During the night, Zetsu had been ordered by the leader of the Akatsuki to dispose of the corpses used to create the fakes of Itachi and Kisame.

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After a few hours asleep, Lee bolted up "Alright, break time's over!"

Sasuke was rather skeptical "Lee, are you sure you're-"

"Less whining, more running!" he pulled a can of tantrum out of nowhere and downed the whole can in one gulp, then karate-chopped a tree in half "TANTRUM!"

'Sanity… fading… fast…'

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"It's time." Kakashi leapt down from a tree "That's enough rest, we should get moving."

Chiyo nodded "Agreed."

"Okay you two, wake up. We're heading out."

"Okay, in a minute." Naruto just turned away.

"I thought you were gonna save Gaara."

That got him to bolt upright "You bet your ass I'm gonna save him!"

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As the sun began rising over the Land of Rivers, the Akatsuki were entering the final stage of the extraction process.

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As they made their way, Neji felt something off "Something's not right."

"What is it Neji?" asked Lee "The enemy?"

"Just the opposite in fact, I can't detect any trace of the enemy. That's what's so disturbing. They were so intent on delaying us, using such a powerful jutsu."

"So what, does that mean that they…"

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"They're confident that they delayed us long enough." Kakashi noted.

Chiyo nodded "Yes indeed, I'm starting to think the same thing."

"So that means…" Ino trailed off.

"Dammit…" Naruto's eyes turned red with slits, his whisker marks becoming much more prominent than before, and he sped ahead "Hang on Gaara, we're coming!"

Chiyo looked over to Kakashi "Why is that boy pushing himself so hard to save Gaara? He's not even from the same village. What is he? What's that boy's story?"

Kakashi let out a sigh "Naruto is a jinchuuriki as well."

Chiyo's eyes widened.

"He has the Kyuubi sealed within him. It's not that he has any special feelings for the Hidden Sand or its people. He and Gaara are both jinchuuriki, Naruto knows how Gaara feels better than anyone in the Sand ever could. After all, those who are jinchuuriki have been treated the same way in every village. That's why he feels this desperate need to save Gaara. It doesn't matter whether Gaara's from the Sand or the Leaf or anywhere else. He's a friend, the only friend who's known the same pain Naruto's felt. Naruto's dream is to become Hokage, so the news that Gaara had been made Kazekage hit him pretty hard. He was frustrated, but at the same time, deep in his heart, he was profoundly happy for Gaara. You see, Naruto has another remarkable gift. He doesn't need much time or many words to make friends with almost everyone he meets."

"As for me, I've lived a long life. I've seen many things over the years, I thought I'd come to know the ways of the world. I knew that alliances with foreign lands were just for show and not to be trusted. I knew that the only way the Sand Village was to be protected was if I did it myself. It was my jutsu that sealed the Shukaku in young Gaara after consulting with his father, the Fourth Kazekage of course. I truly thought I was helping my village, but in fact I was jeopardizing its very existence, and now I find that my people's survival depends on one of those alliances with a foreign land I never trusted. I see to have been wrong about many things, perhaps everything. I am old and weary, I want nothing more than to just give up. Oh Kakashi, when I look at them and see their youth, their potential, I envy them so much."

"No no, your life has only just begun. You're still young."

Chiyo burst out laughing, then smiled "Perhaps you're right, maybe there is some purpose for keeping and old bag of bones like me around. There must be something I can do."

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The extraction finished.

Feeling his life fading, Gaara contemplated his existence as Shukaku was fully extracted from him, killing him.

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Tatsu and his group arrived outside the barrier "So this is the place?"

"Gaara's on the other side of that boulder." Pakkun leapt down from Sasuke's shoulder.

"Getting past a barrier like this isn't gonna be easy."

"So what then?" asked Sasuke "Do we smash our way in or should I just use a Chidori?"

"No." then he looked back "For f*ck's sake Kakashi, couldn't you show up on time for once?"

Kakashi shrugged "Well we ran into a little trouble along the way."

"Wait a minute, by a little trouble you don't mean me do you Kakashi?" asked Chiyo.

Ino smiled "Looks like we were just a step behind you guys."

"Looks like it, who's the old lady?" asked Sasuke.

"This is Lady Chiyo, an advisor from the Sand Village."

Chiyo held up a peace sign "Very pleased to meet you."

Sasuke gave a wary nod "Sasuke Uchiha."

"The Thunderclap of the Leaf, your profile is in the Bingo Book."

"It is?"

"A-rank, same with Tatsu Kamikaze the Leaf's Golden Dragon, and Rock Lee the Green Beast of the Leaf. All of you are A-rank."

"...Good to know." Tatsu commented 'Note to self, get the newest copy of the Bingo Book when this is over.'

Naruto said nothing, he just looked at the barrier 'Hang on Gaara, just hang on!'

"Neji, use your Byakugan to check inside."

"Right." Neji activated his Byakugan to check beyond the boulder "Inside, it looks like there's a large cavern but…"

"What?"

"I just can't quite make out what's going on in there. I see several people…"

"Neji, what about Gaara?" Naruto started shaking him frantically "Is Gaara one of the people you see?!"

"Back off a second, I'm trying to locate him now…" he paused and looked around inside.

"Neji!"

"Will you cut it out!" Tatsu caught Naruto in a full-nelson "Alright Neji, keep going."

"Thank you." Neji looked inside and saw the eyes of the Gedo Statue close "I don't… what is that thing?"

"Dammit Naruto stop shaking! Neji, please tell us what's going on in there and shut him up."

"Well… it's hard to describe with words."

"So that means we'll have to go and see for ourselves. Lee."

"On it." Lee leapt back, then charged and punched the boulder as hard as he could, only for the barrier to absorb the impact "Dammit, it didn't work. And OW!"

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The leader of the Akatsuki sensed the chaos and discovered that both groups had arrived, and had Sasori and Deidara see to them.

Before he disappeared, Itachi gave one description for telling which one was Naruto: the one who would burst in and start barking first.

Not wrong, but Sasori and Deidara weren't satisfied.

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Lee held his throbbing arm "Dammit that hurt! So what's the plan?"

Tatsu studied the barrier "Well obviously we've gotta get rid of this barrier before anything else comes. First things first, we've gotta figure out what type of barrier it is. Kakashi, what do you think."

"Looks to me like a five-seal barrier." Kakashi told him "A strong layer of protection in which 5 tages with the word forbidden written on them are fastened around the area that's being guarded."

"One tag is in front of us, there must be 4 more in other locations. Can't we just pull it off though?"

"It's not that easy, the tags are in 5 different places but they have to be taken down at the exact same moment."

"Simultaneously?"

"Right, the barrier won't budge unless we pull off all 5 tags simultaneously. It's a tall order. That one up there is only one tag."

"Which means there's 4 more out there. Neji."

"I understand." Neji activated his Byakugan "I found them! One is on a meter about 500 northeast of us. The second one is on a tree trunk aside a riverbank, 350 meters south-southeast. The third you'll find 650 meters northwest on a cliff, and the last one is in the woods less than 800 meters to the southwest."

"Looks like each one of them is pretty far apart." Ino pointed out "How are we gonna signal each other?"

"I've got that covered." Tatsu pulled something out of his bag "We should just be in range for these wireless radios."

Kakashi nodded "Good thinking."

"I got a couple of these from guy for just this sort of thing. Anyway, we'll stay in constant communication and follow Neji's directions to the tags."

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The astral projections of the other Akatsuki members disappeared, along with the Gedo Statue itself, leaving Sasori and Deidara alone in the hideout, waiting.

With Gaara's corpse right behind them.

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"Alright, let's find these tags and get rid of them." Tatsu adjusted his headband and attached his wireless radio to it, with the rest following his lead "Here's the plan: Ino, Lee, Neji and I are the fastest so we'll handle them."

Naruto gave a thumbs up "We're all counting on ya."

"Right. Lee, you head northwest into the woods. Neji, the northeast boulder is all yours. Ino, you get the south-southeast. I'll take care of the one on the northwest cliff, that's the hardest location and should be the hardest to eliminate."

"What's the frequency?" asked Kakashi.

"174."

"Copy that." Kakashi checked it.

"Everybody ready?"

They all nodded.

"Good. Now to make sure this turns out well, one last thing to do." he held out a hand "Alright guys, put your hands in the center."

"Right." Lee put his hand in.

"Ino, you too."

"Fine." Ino put her hand in.

"Neji, put yours in."

Neji stared intently "...This isn't going to be like Guy-sensei's constipated grunting is it?"

"No, this is way better."

"Fine." Neji put his in, albeit reluctantly.

"As we approach the decisive battlegrounds, believe that the blades of our hearts will never shatter! Believe that our resolves will never waver! Though our paths may diverge, our iron hearts will remain as one! Swear that even if the land itself may break asunder, we will return alive and well! Scatter!" and they scattered.

"Well, guess it's about time for me to shove off." Pakkun decided "No real reason I should stick around, I'd just be getting in the way."

Kakashi held up a hand "Thanks Pakkun, good work."

"Alright then, see you guys later." and he left.

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The group had separated and gone after different tags.

"Now let's recap the mission." Tatsu contacted everyone "The 4 of us are to find their tags and stand by. After all 4 have reached their positions, we'll remove the tags on my signal. Kakashi's group will take down there's at the same moment, and that's how we'll break the five-seal barrier."

Kakashi continued on for him "At the moment the barrier's down, Sasuke will destroy the boulder at the entrance. That will be our signal to charge inside and rescue Gaara.

"Right." Sasuke got ready, getting into the stance for a Purple Thunder blast.

Chiyo stared at the boulder, thinking of the one beyond it 'Sasori… it's absurd, I never imagined a day like this could come.'

"Kakashi, we're all in position."

Kakashi nodded "Good, we're all set here. Ready when you are. We'll make our assault using a button hook entry."

"Right." Sasuke began charging a Purple Thunder blast.

"Tatsu, you guys ready?"

"Just be ready to remove your tag on the count of three. On my mark. 1… 2… 3!' they all removed their tags.

Kakashi removed his at the same time "Now Sasuke!"

"Lightning Style: Purple Thunder!" Sasuke fired the Purple Thunder, slamming it straight into the boulder and shattering it.

"Alright, let's move." Kakashi gave the signal.

"Right!" they all charged in and froze at the sight before them.

"We're too late."

Chiyo glared at the one in front of her 'Sasori…'

Naruto stared at Gaara's corpse in horror 'Gaara…' Kurama's chakra began leaking out of him, his eyes turning red prominent.

"Finally. Well then, which one of you would be the jinchuuriki?" asked Deidara nonchalantly.

"YOU BASTARDS! I'LL KILL THE BOTH OF YOU!"

"And that answers that."

"The one who bursts in and starts barking, that would be him." Sasori noted dryly.

"Sasori my man I think you're correct."

"WHERE THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE SITTING?!" Naruto roared.

"Seriously, Itachi was right on the money."

"Gaara! What the hell are you doing?! Come on, why are you just lying there?! Get up! GAARA! Answer me, what are you deaf? Come on, knock it off already!"

"Naruto, enough!" Sasuke barked, then his tone softened "You know full well that…"

'Dammit…'

"Your friend's right and you know it too, he's been dead for awhile now." Deidara lightly smacked Gaara's face for emphasis, infuriating Naruto even more.

"Well?" asked Sasori.

"Oh yeah, that's him alright."

"Give him back." Naruto snarled "GIVE GAARA BACK YOU SONS OF-" he charged forward in a rage.

Kakashi appeared in front of him "Cool it, charge in without thinking and we're done for."

Deidara noticed Sasori shoot him a glance "What, something on your mind Sasori my man?"

"I'll hold onto him." Sasori was referring to Gaara "Since it appears that jinchuuriki will stop at nothing to get him back."

"Yeah, that's putting it lightly."

Kakashi studied both of them intently, Deidara first "Okay, it looks like the guy on the left is the one who infiltrated the Sand and took lord Kazekage." then he looked at Sasori "Which means this one is the puppet master who wounded Kankuro so badly." he looked at Chiyo 'Her grandson Sasori, huh?'

"Well my man, I doubt you wanna hear this but I'll just go ahead and say it anyway. I think I'll take care of the jinchuuriki."

Sasori's glare hardened "Look, our quota is one apiece. Don't push your luck Deidara."

"An artist must always seek ever greater stimulation lest his senses go dull on him my man. Rumor has it the Kyuubi jinchuuriki is pretty powerful, a canvas truly worthy of my artistry."

"What? Those pyrotechnics of yours, art? Art is a work of beauty, captured and left for prosperity. Art is eternal beauty."

"Eternal beauty, are you kidding me? Look don't get me wrong, as a fellow artist I respect your point of view but true art is fleeting, a flash of beauty burning brightly and then vanishing in a heartbeat."

"What did you say? Apparently Deidara, one of us doesn't understand what true art is."

"That would be you my friend." he ignored Naruto growling.

"Nonsense, eternal beauty is what constitutes real art."

"Don't be absurd, true art only lasts a moment."

"ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!" Naruto charged forward in a rage and fired off a giant shuriken.

Sasori easily blocked it with his iron tail "Are you trying to make me angry?"

"Easy." Deidara tried to wave him off "I told you you didn't wanna hear it didn't I? Give me a break will ya?"

"I don't have to remind you what happens when I get angry do I?" poison began dripping from his tail "Why don't you explain it to me again Deidara?"

"Art is one thing and one thing only." Deidara used some of the chewed clay in his hand and formed a giant clay bird "The explosion itself." he had the bird pick up Gaara and stow it away in its mouth "It's not even in the same league compared to your grotesque puppet show."

Sasori thrusted his tail forward.

Deidara dodged it as he leapt up onto the bird "See you around my man. Come on Kyuubi jinchuuriki, let's see if you can keep up.'

"Deidara you fool, I don't believe this!"

"JUST WHERE THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?!" Naruto charged after Deidara in his unyielding.

"Naruto!" Kakashi called, to no avail.

"Kakashi." Sasuke got his attention "Go help Naruto deal with the one outside, lady Chiyo and I will deal with this creep."

"Just don't do anything rash until Tatsu and the others get back." and Kakashi rushed out to help Naruto.

Sasuke checked his wireless radio "Tatsu, you read me? We're gonna need you back here now."

"No can do Sasuke, we've been caught in an enemy trap. It'll take us awhile to get through it, you're gonna have to hold out until then. Signing off." then the connection shut off.

"Dammit."

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Naruto was shaking with rage "Give him back! GIVE GAARA BACK!"

Deidara only smirked.

"Alright, no time to waste here." Kakashi lifted his headband, revealing his Sharingan eye.

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Sasori chose an awkward moment to make small talk "The way I heard it, you retired a long time ago."

"I suddenly longed to see my grandson's face again." Chiyo said dryly.

Sasuke looked Sasori in the eye and tensed 'I haven't felt anything like this since Zabuza, I can feel his bloodlust, his battle experience, and how many people he's killed. This guy's no joke.'

"Sasuke, do not fear." Chiyo stepped forward "I am here with you, you just step back now dear."

"The hell I will!" Sasuke charged towards Sasori and formed several hand seals "Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!" he breathed out a massive fire dragon.

Sasori attempted to block the flames with his tail, but was still engulfed, and when the flames subsided, his cloak had been incinerated "If you insist on interfering with me then I guess I have no choice. How would you and that little brat there like to be part of my collection Granny Chiyo?"

"What the hell is that thing? It took my Dragon Flame Jutsu like it was nothing.'

"What you see there is not Sasori's real body." Chiyo told him.

"I figured that much, so is it some kind of armor?"

"That's merely a puppet."

"I heard he's a puppet master, so he's using that thing both as his weapon and his armor and the real him is inside that thing? I mean I've heard that puppet masters are weak in close combat."

"It was to combat that exact weakness that Sasori created this puppet, it's his specialty Hiruko."

"You seem to know a lot about it."

"I know everything about that puppet."

"But do you know how I prepare a new specimen for my collection?" Sasori rasped "First I drain its blood, then I remove all the organs and wash it inside and out, make it nice and clean. And then, after I preserve the body against decay, the final step is to fill it with hidden weapons. As the hag said, this one is called Hiruko. It's only one of the specimens in my collection. Once I've added you and the boy I'll have collected exactly 300, this is my art."

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Deidara smirked down at his opponents "Are you really sure you wanna waste your time on me, Kakashi-sensei with the Sharingan? You know, my man Sasori is probably a more dangerous opponent than I am, as much as I hate to say that. His idea of art is very different from mine."

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Chiyo glared "You call it art do you?"

"What are you talking about?" asked Sasuke.

"Long long ago, when he lived in the Hidden Sand, he was esteemed as a master craftsman, admired for his many extraordinary puppets. But his true passion was for making puppets out of the living and then adding them as specimens to his collection, he calls this monstrous conduct art."

"And what about the one in front of us, Hiruko?"

"He was a shinobi who lived in a nearby village, Sasori turned him into what you see now, a puppet that retains the shell of its previous physical form. It's called a Human Puppet."

"A Human Puppet?"

"And the same fate awaits you." Sasori growled "You will soon become another of my works of art."

'This guy's cruelty makes Itachi look merciful. What should I expect?"

"This puppet's highly skilled in attack and defence, deadly at both." Chiyo told him "The first thing to do is find a way to force Sasori out of there."

"If I can get close enough I can use Chidori to destroy it."

"Easier said than done, that puppet is full of hidden mechanisms. Without knowing what they are, it's difficult to anticipate exactly how to counteract them."

"On the other hand you know a lot about how that puppet functions, so we've got the advantage for this one."

"So I thought, that's why I was sure I'd be able to deal with him at first, but now I realize that I was wrong."

"Let me guess, he's made some improvements since the last time you saw him."

"Now that I look at it, this one is different in many ways from the Hiruko puppet I knew. The Hiruko I used to know didn't have that shell on its back, he must've heightened its defences, and that left arm is new to me. Not to mention the hidden mechanisms, we have to assume they've been refined and improved as well."

"So your plan is?"

"If we are to defeat Sasori then we'll have to first destroy Hiruko."

"If you lack the destructive power to finish the job then my Chidori and other lightning style attacks should more than make up for it. Besides, I've been trained by none other Shisui Uchiha himself."

"As in Shisui the Teleporter?"

"The very same. I've been trained by Shisui the Teleporter, my sensei is Kakashi the Copy Ninja, I think I manage."

"I hope so, because to do that you will first have to avoid every attack that his hidden weapons launch at you. You must dodge every one perfectly, you can't risk even the slightest scratch."

"His traps are poisoned, even a tiny scratch will kill me."

"Before you can ever get to him he will strike at you with all his hidden weapons, to survive you must understand and anticipate the puppet master's moves."

"I think I can handle that." Sasuke's Sharingan flared into life "So then what are you going to do?"

"Take a good look at me, what do you see? Simply a worthless old bag of bones? Well look again." she let her hair down "Leave this part to me. Just count on me, even his experience doesn't compare to mine. Sasori knows this, which is why he hesitates and doesn't dare to attack us recklessly. For someone who hates to be kept waiting, he must be very frustrated. What he doesn't know is I've already made the first move. Sasuke, come a little closer."

Sasuke did.

"I'm going to tell you a secret. Together, we shall finish him." she whispered something in his ear.

Sasori was losing his patience, or what was left of it 'What're they up to? I can't make out a word the old hag is saying.'

Sasuke's head shot up and he nodded "Right, ready when you are."

"Are you sure?" Sasori gripped the cloth on his face "Well it's about time, I really hate to be kept waiting don't you?"

"No need to worry Sasori, we'll end it quickly." Chiyo charged in, with Sasuke right behind her.

Sasori removed the cloth on his mouth and fired a barrage of poison senbon.

Chiyo dodged every one, and whichever ones Sasuke couldn't dodge he deflected using his Raijin katana.

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Deidara noticed the commotion inside "Seems they've started."

Naruto looked back 'Sasuke…'

"How confident are you in that boy and the old lady? You really think they're good enough to handle my man Sasori?"

Kakashi knew what Deidara was aiming at 'He wants to get me out of the way so he can fight Naruto one on one. But this guy defeated the Kazekage, one of the 5 great Kage. I don't think Naruto on his own could handle him.'

"Go on sensei." Naruto growled "Go to Sasuke, I'll handle this."

Deidara smirked as he began molding a clay bomb 'There we go, take the bait.'

"Don't worry, I'll take care of it. I'LL SAVE GAARA!" Naruto charged in a rage, forming several hand seals "Fire Style: Hell Foxfire!" he launched a large fox made of flames.

Deidara quickly dodged it and fired off a clay bomb, only for Kakashi to stop it with a shuriken, causing it to detonate "Good, it would've been very disappoint if you'd been beaten that easily."

Naruto furiously emerged from the hole in the cliffside made by his attack "Let go of him, I'll never let you have him!"

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With Chiyo by his side, Sasuke kept dodging and deflecting Sasori's poison senbon as they kept coming at him 'Thanks to my Sharingan I can see the movements of the senbon more clearly and dodge them effectively.'

Sasori finally ran out of the senbon from his mouth 'They were ready for that one huh? In that case…' he unleashed his torpedo arm "Now die!" he unleashed several cylinders, revealing more senbon inside each of them.

They dodged all of them, or deflected half of them in Sasuke's case.

'They dodged every one, impossible! The old hag I can understand, but this… this boy? Wait… the Sharingan. So this is Itachi's little brother. Still though, how?'

'Now!' Sasuke charged, his Sharingan evolving into the Sanda Sharingan.

'And Granny Chiyo's just standing there. Is this boy mocking me? There's no way he's an Uchiha, the Sharingan isn't blue! Is this Uchiha-wanna really attacking me head on all by himself?' Sasori thrusted his tail forward, only for it to stop mere inches away 'What?! Something stopped it. Of course… Chiyo!'

"Now Sasuke, now!" Chiyo screamed.

"On it!" Sasuke charged a Raijin-powered Chidori.

"Strike it down!"

"Right! Raijin Chidori!" Sasuke slammed the Chidori down on the shell.

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Naruto glared at Deidara, his eyes filled with rage "I'll get Gaara, nothing can stop me!"

"You're quite an usual jinchuuriki aren't you." Deidara noted "I thought you were all sullen loners who didn't care about anyone else. To date we've destroyed two jinchuuriki, not including him of course. But nobody ever tried to save them from us before, not a single friend or neighbor, not a soul came to their aide. In fact it seemed like most people were happy to finally be rid of them. You can't forsake one of your own kind can you? You feel connected to this pathetic creature, such a shame. Gaara died when the One-Tail was extracted from him, very soon now the same thing will happen to you."

Naruto's features turned more feral "If Gaara's dead, YOU'RE GONNA PAY!"

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Sasuke's Chidori shattered Hiruko into pieces, leaving only his head and tail intact, only for him to see a cloaked shape "So that's it…"

"Sasori's true body." Chiyo confirmed "So you've finally come out eh?" no response "Come now, let me get a good look at you. I've come all this way to see you." still no response "I've waited 20 years, I want to see my grandson's face."

Sasuke's Sanda Sharingan deactivated, and he saw Hiruko's head pop up 'It can still move?' he got hit by a barrage of senbon, only to disappear in a blast of lightning, before the real Sasuke appeared and cut Hiruko's head in two "So you had chakra threads still attached to the head."

"Well played, I should've expected no less from my own granny or Itachi's younger brother. No wonder you could dodge my attacks so easily. You can both foresee my attacks, one of you possessing the Sharingan. By the way, how clever to attach chakra threads to Hiruko's tail. Silly me, I only noticed when the tail's motion was brought to an abrupt halt. You did it under the cover of the boy's fire jutsu didn't you? You threw some kunai under the cover of the flames, and the thread tied to the knives stuck to the tail once they were deflected." Sasori's voice was no longer deep or raspy.

Chiyo smirked "Good, even though I used the tiniest bit of chakra to keep the strings undetectable you still figured it out."

"But of course, remember who taught me how to play with puppets, who drilled that talent into me. It was you."

"Indeed, but unfortunately playtime is over."

"You don't know how right you are." Sasori removed his hood, revealing his face, drawing a gasp from Chiyo "So do you still think this will be easy Granny Chiyo?"

"I don't understand… Your face is exactly the same, you haven't aged…"

Sasuke's eyes widened 'I thought Sasori left the Hidden Sand 20 years ago, how come this guy looks the same age as me?'

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Naruto was more pissed than ever about the lack of progress with Deidara "Dammit all to hell!"

Kakashi looked back 'There's noise coming from inside the cavern, no doubt a battle's already underway. I need to know what's going on in there, but…'

"I'VE HAD IT, HAND OVER GAARA RIGHT NOW!"

Deidara smirked 'It's only a matter of time before my man Sasori takes care of their friends inside. But if he rushes out here then the whole point of using this guy to draw out that Kyuubi jinchuuriki will be for nothing.' he took off down the river.

"You bastard, you're not getting away!" Naruto charged after him in a rage.

"Naruto no, stop!" Kakashi shouted.

"Just stay and help Sasuke, I can take this guy Kakashi-sensei!"

"Dammit…" Kakashi looked back, then went after Naruto and quickly contacted Tatsu on his wireless radio "Tatsu come in, how are things on your end?"

"No go Kakashi, we've triggered some kind of enemy trap and now we're all fighting clones of ourselves. I hate to say it, but I think this is gonna take a while." then he signed off.

Kakashi charged after Naruto at full speed 'Sasuke, Lady Chiyo, we'll have to hold you for a bit longer.'

"THERE'S NO CHANCE I'M LETTING YOU GET AWAY!" Naruto roared.

Deidara looked back 'Still chasing me huh? You'd better catch up with me soon! And when you do reach me I'll take care of you.'

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Temari, Kankuro, Ebizo and a squad from the Sand were making their way towards the Land of Rivers, when they took a break to rest and Ebizo told them about the Third Kazekage and how there was no body discovered nor any sign he'd been kidnapped.

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The battle in the cavern had come to a standstill at Sasori's sudden revelation.

Sasori smirked at how shocked Chiyo looked "What's the matter granny Chiyo? Are you so filled with emotion that you can't speak? I'm not surprised, it's our reunion in 20 years."

Chiyo felt a bead of sweat dripping down the side of her face "Sasori, you…"

"While I have you let me show you something special." Sasori pulled out a scroll from one of his sleeves, revealing a 3 on it "I guarantee it will move you, this piece was particularly difficult to acquire."

Sasuke's eyes hardened as he got into a battle stance "Three? The hell are you…?"

"But on the other hand that's what makes me so fond of him." Sasori channeled some chakra into the scroll and pulled out a certain puppet.

"What's…?"

Chiyo gasped "No, it can't be… impossible… It's him… it's the Third Kazekage…"

Sasuke froze 'The Third Kazekage? The one that went missing years ago and they never found his body or even found out what happened to him? Well I guess now we know.'

Sasori smirked "What do you think, doesn't it just take you back Granny Chiyo?"

"Wait, I heard the Third Kazekage went missing years ago and they never discovered what happened to him. What does this mean?"

Chiyo's eyes narrowed "So this must mean what happened to him."

"Wait, are you saying…"

"It's been over 10 years since the Third Kazekage suddenly disappeared from the village without a trace, we scoured the countryside but could never find him. The strongest of our Kazekage simply vanished. Sasori, it was you?"

"Yeah, and what if it was?" Sasori retorted uncaringly "I'm not afraid of a retired old woman, you've got one foot in the grave and you want revenge. You can't even touch me."

"Retired? One foot in the grave? Maybe, but if I hadn't hauled this old body here to face you then I would've died with far too many regrets. My own grandson, it's bad enough you got yourself mixed up with evil people but to think you could betray your own village and meddle with a Kazekage for the third time? Orochimaru may have been the one who killed Gaara's father the Fourth Kazekage, but you complicit from the beginning, and now you've taken Gaara and the Third Kazekage too."

"Wait a minute, I wasn't involved in the death of the Fourth Kazekage. That was all the doing of one of my agents."

"If that's the case then it's the same as if you did it with your own hands! Do you claim you aren't involved at all?"

"It's true that Orochimaru and the Akatsuki have some history, we've done some work together."

"So you were." Sasuke growled "If you've worked with Orochimaru then you know all about him and the things that he's done, which means you have the answers I want."

"I'd love to stay and chat but unfortunately I really must eliminate the two of you and then go capture that jinchuuriki. I do hate to keep people waiting, sadly there's no time to answer your little quiz. Well then, shall we begin?" he manipulated the Third Kazekage and had it charge.

'Here it comes. I've gotta be careful, if his weapons even scratch me then I'm dead.'

"Sasuke!" Chiyo pulled him back with chakra threads attached to his back.

"Die!" Sasori thrusted the Third Kazekage forward, intent on stabbing Sasuke with its poisonous blades.

"He's fast!" Chiyo blocked the blades using Hiruko's tail.

Sasori quickly shredded "Slick move old lady, but how are you going to block this one?" he manipulated the threads, revealing various arms attached to the Third's main left arm "Puppet: Thousand Hands Earth!" all of the arms were brought down on Sasuke at once.

When the dust settled, Sasuke was revealing to have blocked the strike with Thunder Clones, which then promptly dissipated 'That was close, good thinking Chiyo.'

Sasori frowned 'With the old lady controlling the action I'm not getting anywhere. Well in that case…' he unleashed a cloud of poison.

"Quick Sasuke, hold your breath!" Chiyo shouted, just before Sasuke was drawn into the ground of poison.

'Control her all you want, it won't save her from the gas.'

"Sasuke!"

To be continued…

A/N:

Lee actually does remember Kisame, unlike Guy, and was just screwing with him during the fight.

Just for the sake of being clear, Sasuke will fight Sasori with Chiyo. I figured that with the Tenchi Bridge meeting coming up, it's only fair if I give him some spotlight before then.

For the sake of being clear, I'm not writing out the clone fights because I honestly think that's just plain stupid.