In the ruins of the city of Loran in the desert of the Land of Wind, a battle was raging.

With the Dragon Blade in hand, Tatsu was being pushed back by a large puppet, only to finish it with a Rasengan 'Dammit, these things keep coming.'

"Tatsu!" a voice called "They're rigged with paper bombs that will explode when you defeat them!"

"Now you tell me!" Tatsu promptly got blown back by the explosion, sending him tumbling back to where Sasuke, Kin and Zaku were rendezvousing.

"You've gotta pay attention." Sasuke pointed out "You can't let yourself get distracted by the puppets, just focus on the chakra threads being used to control the puppet."

"Yeah well excuse me for not being a puppet fighting genius smartass, and this is only because you fought Sasori."

"Well why didn't you just use your Chakra Blade?"

"Because I already have a sword, the Dragon Blade remember? Now where the hell did that puppet master jackass Mukade drag his skinny ass off to?"

"I'm guessing there." Sasuke pointed to a massive crater in the ground "Mukade is trying to get to the ley line underneath the ruins or Loran." he carried the group down on his summoning hawk Garuda.

'The ley line, a gigantic mass of energy flowing underground with an almost infinite amount of chakra hidden in the earth.' Tatsu let out a sigh as he recalled the events that led them to come to the ruins of Loran 'Tsunade and Danzo sent the four of us, me and Sasuke in particular, to the ruins of Loran in the desert of the Land of Wind.' they quickly made their way towards the main source of the ley line 'As part of our pact with the Hidden Sand, we're supposed to capture or kill a rogue ninja, a puppet master by the name of Mukade. So that's the main source. Mukade is trying to get to the ley line that lies beneath Loran, the ley line is an immense source of chakra sealed away by a jutsu formula team of new ANBU, consisting of Kazuma, Itachi, Shisui and Ayame. We're supposed to guard that seal with our lives, and if we can't capture Mukade then we've been given permission to execute him. So that's it, the seal placed there by my brother."

Sasuke let out a sigh "Tatsu, about your brother, I've gotta tell you something."

"It'll have to wait, the mission comes first." Tatsu looked ahead to see Mukade walking up to the seal "There's Mukade."

"Well it looks like you're too late to try to stop my plans." Mukade noted "I'll possess the power of the ley line and use it to fuel my Puppet Jutsu, and then I shall rule over not just the Five Great Nations but the entire universe."

"I highly doubt that, there's no way the seal placed by my brother, the Silver Claw of the Hidden Leaf."

"Oh yes, I am well aware of that." he knelt down in front of the seal and formed a hand seal.

"What are you planning to do?"

"I'll just absorb the sealing formula! Hon Mayura Girante Sowaka!" he began absorbing the formula.

"Dammit!" Tatsu drew the Dragon Blade and rushed out to stop him, with Sasuke and the rest following.

Mukade's body was covered in marks from the seal as he attempted to remove the sword placed in the seal.

"Stop, don't do it!"

Mukade ripped the kunai out, enveloping him and the seal in a purple light.

"Dammit!" Tatsu tried to escape, but found himself enveloped.

"Tatsu!" Sasuke summoned his Susanoo ribcage in an attempt to pull him out, but ended up being dragged in.

"Water Style: Liquid Manipulation: Hawk!" Zaku formed a hawk using his water style chakra so he and Kin wouldn't be pulled in "Tatsu! Sasuke!"

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"A light rises above the tower, bursting with emotion. The path of the dragon which must be protected looks to the sky, reflecting itself onto the blade…"

Tatsu came to and found himself in an unfamiliar building 'What the hell? Where am I?' he looked to see an unfamiliar young woman singing nearby.

"Even if the sands and winds turn violent, the bright sun blooms proudly, and its flowers dance as they fall."

Cautiously, Tatsu approached her "Excuse me."

The woman looked startled.

"Where exactly am I?"

Instead of answering, the woman ran towards the exit.

"Hold on!" Tatsu ran after her, only to run head first into a barrier put over the exit by two puppets on the other side "Dammit, this always happens to me every single time."

The puppets charged, but once they passed through the barrier they broke apart.

"What the hell was that?" then he saw the passageway close and trap him in "Okay, that's a bad sign." so he went out by going up and breaking through a window, finding himself in an unfamiliar city 'Well wherever I am, this place is magnificent. The designs on the buildings here are incredible.'

Then several large puppets appeared before him.

"Of course." Tatsu drew the Dragon Blade as he began dodging attacks 'They're trying to prevent me from forming any hand signs. Dammit Mukade, where the hell are you? What the hell is going on?' he ran along a passageway connecting to towers, only for another puppet to appear in front of him "You've gotta be kidding me, how many of these things are there?" he was forced on the evasive and leapt across the towers 'This is getting annoying. Wait, what was it Sasuke said? Oh yeah, just cut the strings. Chakra Blades are for chumps!' he quickly formed a hand seal "Dragon Style: Crescent Moon Dance!" he cut through the strings of one puppet after another, only to be beaten down to the ground 'This is going nowhere, there's too many for me to keep up with.'

One of the puppets fired a chakra cannon at him, sending him through the floor.

"Okay, that one hurt." Tatsu found himself in some sort of underground chamber with a deep cut on his leg.

The puppets came back for more.

'Dammit!'

"Look out!" a masked figure appeared and quickly pulled Tatsu out of the way.

'Who's this guy?'

"Stay back!" another figure appeared and took out the remaining puppets with a colossal figure made of pure chakra.

'Is that a green Susanoo? I've never seen puppets like those."

"Seems like they're powered by chakra from the ley line." the first masked figure noted.

"Hey thanks for the save, but who exactly are you?"

"Judging by that headband you're a Hidden Leaf shinobi right?"

"Yeah."

The figure removed his mask slightly "We're from the Hidden Leaf too, call me Dragon. That one down there is Hawk, and the other two behind him are Iris and Weasel. We really should tend to that wound of yours right away."

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A fat figure noticed that Tatsu and the other masked Hidden Leaf group had evaded his puppet unit, and found it quite impressive.

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Dragon tended to Tatsu's leg "There, that should do it."

"Thanks but you never answered my question, who are you guys?" asked Tatsu.

"Sorry, that's something I can't tell you."

"Then can you at least tell me where we are?

"This is Loran?"

"Hold on, that's impossible."

"We don't have time to go into all the details, but the short version is that we're here because we have a mission to complete. I'm going to have to ask you to leave the city until it's done, I can tell you more then." Dragon pointed "You'll find the main gate if you turn left there, do I have your promise?"

"But-"

Then they disappeared before he could answer.

"What the hell was that about? I can't leave either smartass, I have a mission to fulfill myself. Then there's the fact that I've gotta somehow meet up with Sasuke and the others, where are they anyway?" so Tatsu went into the open air and looked around "This place really is amazing, but is this really Loran?" then he saw the desert in the distance 'Well it must be, Loran was surrounded by desert after all. There was that light when Mukade absorbed the seal and I got pulled into that light, and then Sasuke got pulled in too. Did Zaku and Kin get sucked into it? I can't stand around daydreaming, I've gotta go find the others." he was about to leave, but stopped when he saw fireworks and heard cheering.

"Your majesty!"

'Your majesty? Who the hell are they talking about?' he made his way closer to the central tower to learn more.

Then the queen, the woman from before by the name of Sara appeared and started cordially waving to the people.

'Hang on, isn't that the girl that I saw before? She's the queen? Maybe I should ask her, she might know something.'

Then Sara felt something push her and she suddenly fell through the balcony.

'Crap!' without having any time to think, Tatsu leapt out and caught Sara before she hit the ground, then carried her to a safe and hidden area in the shadows "That was close."

Sara opened her eyes and looked at Tatsu 'What?'

"It's alright, you're safe now."

"No no no!" Sara promptly began repeatedly slapping him across the face "Unhand me!"

"What are you-" then he got elbowed.

"You insolent-"

"What is the matter with you? In case you forgot, I just saved your life less than 5 minutes ago."

"What? Oh yes of course, how silly of me. Thank you."

Tatsu promptly rubbed his sore cheeks 'What the hell is with this chick?'

'He's so uncouth.'

"So you're the queen from what I gather."

"I am Sara the high queen or Loran if that's what you mean."

"Tatsu Kamikaze, jonin of the Hidden Leaf. So is there supposed to be more than one place called Loran? I was in a place called Loran about an hour ago, but it looked like it had been in ruins for years."

"How dare you say that to me!"

"I say it like it is."

"Loran is the city I inherited from my mother, it's more precious to me than life itself."

"Believe me, I get that but we've got other things to worry about right now. For starters, what happened to you up there."

"Oh, that. Well, it felt as if someone had pushed me from behind."

"Wait, you're saying that someone tried to kill you?"

"What? No, don't be absurd. Who would ever want to do something like that to me, the queen? You saw, my people were showering me with adoration."

"And yet you literally just said that someone pushed you."

"Yes well, I probably just imagined all of that."

"Maybe but-"

"You're still here." then Dragon appeared with his team "So you didn't keep your promise."

"What promise? You took off before I could answer. Besides what was I supposed to do, let the queen here go splat?"

"He's right." a new voice cut in "Letting innocents die is not the way of the Leaf shinobi."

Tatsu and the rest looked to see Sasuke drop down "Sasuke."

"I came too and started searching until I found you. Any luck on Zaku or Kin?"

"Nope, I think it's just us."

"Excuse me!" Sara got in between Tatsu and Sasuke, and the masked Leaf ninja "Just who are you people?"

"Like I told you, we're Hidden Leaf shinobi." then he turned to Dragon "Hold on, don't tell me you're here to assassinate her!"

Dragon held up a hand "Just relax and don't get the wrong idea, we're here to protect the queen too. Let's go talk somewhere more private."

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Once they were safely inside another tower, Tatsu stared out at the retreating crowd "This whole thing is just insane. Puppet attacks out of nowhere, the ruins or Loran turning into this amazing city. I don't think I've ever been this confused before, if you guys know something then could you tell me what's going on before my brain melts through my nose?"

Dragon shared a look with Iris, Hawk and Weasel, recalling how they had all been sent by the Third Hokage to Loran on a mission "I guess it can't be helped, I hate to do this but I can't tell you everything, though I'll tell you both what you need to know." they all removed their masks and revealed their faces.

Tatsu froze, along with Sasuke 'No way… Kazuma, Itachi, Shisui and Ayame?'

"The Hidden Leaf Village sent us here on a top secret mission. You're right about one thing, this isn't the Loran that you know but if my guess about this is correct then you both came from Loran in the future."

"...The future?"

"That's right, I didn't want to tell you everything because if someone from the future alters something in this era then the events of history could be drastically changed. My best guess is that this is roughly 10 years before the era you two came from, and another shinobi from the future came here about 6 years ago. Like you both, he suddenly found himself here, his name his Mukade."

"That's the guy our team was sent after."

"We'll start from there, we may be able to learn something."

"Alright, let's see here." Sasuke finally spoke up "The four of us, we all followed Mukade to the sealed ley line. Before we could stop him he absorbed the jutsu formula into his body, and then…"

"The two of you along with Mukade must have been sent back in time through some variant of the Transportation Technique."

"But does that mean we can never go back to our time?" asked Tatsu.

"You said he absorbed a jutsu formula into his body right? Maybe if you defeat Mukade then time will correct itself and you'll return to the future."

"You think so?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but either way we have to bring Mukade down or all of time will be disrupted. The power of the ley line is deep underground, Mukade is using that power to develop an army of dangerous puppet soldiers."

"Yeah, he said something like that before he tried to absorb its power, along with ruling the Five Great Nations and the entire universe-"

"Enough!" Sara finally had it "I demand you stop speaking such lies! It wasn't some evil shinobi named Mukade who appeared in the city 6 years ago, it was a good man named Anrokuzan! Today Anrokuzan serves as my minister and has faithfully carried out the wishes of my mother, he loves peace and would never develop any military weapons and I won't stand you speaking ill of him!"

"I beg your pardon your majesty, I have no intention of upsetting you." Kazuma told her "But I'm afraid this man has been deceiving you."

"I refuse to believe such tales!" she pointed at Tatsu "If anyone is suspicious here then it should be you!" and she started walking away.

"Where are you going?" asked Tatsu.

"I'm going to go ask him about this myself!" and she ran off.

"You almost got killed less than an hour ago, what if Anrokuzan- Mukade was behind it?"

"I think we should split up." Kazuma suggested "Tatsu and Sasuke was it? I want you two to keep an eye on Queen Sara and keep her safe."

"Look I don't have anything against guarding her but our real mission is to take down Mukade. This entire mess started because we let him get away in the first place."

"It will be faster if my team looks for him, unlike you we're familiar with this city. Besides, we can't include you in a mission that's already in progress. You're both Hidden Leaf shinobi, you should know that. Plus protecting Sara is just as important."

"Yeah I get your point, Sara's life is on the line and we can't forget about her."

"Exactly, spoken like a true Leaf ninja." Kazuma held out a kunai "Here?"

"What the hell is this?"

"One of the Flying Raijin kunai used by the Fourth Hokage, he taught me that jutsu because he thought I could master it. Then there's these three jonin who could use it, but they need three people for it. Anyway, you hang on to it for now and if you're ever in need then I'll be by your side in an instant."

'This is the kunai used in the sealing formula… No question about it, it really is him. Hey listen, you wouldn't happen to be-"

"Save pleasantries for later, you two better hurry up and get going. Don't forget, we're literally working against time."

"Oh yeah, right."

"And make sure you both take good care of Sara."

"Yeah, will do. Sasuke, let's go." and he took off.

Sasuke followed him "Hey Tatsu."

"Yeah, no doubt about it… that was my older brother and your older brother…"

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Still in denial, Sara made her way up through an elevator 'They know nothing about Anrokuzan, nothing at all! How could Tatsu and those others make such accusations?' she reached a level and stepped out of the elevator 'I will prove that Anrokuzan is innocent of these charges.'

"There!" an arm suddenly grabbed Sara and pulled her into another room.

Sara found herself faced to face with several masked figures 'These people… so it's true… there are people who wish to see me dead…'

One of them stepped forward "Is it you? Are you really Queen Sara?"

"Yes and I won't be treated this way, if you wish to kill me then have the courage to stop hiding in the shadows and do it!" the response she got was the figures holding up their weapons.

"Return them."

"What? Return what?"

"If you don't then who knows what will happen to you." the figure was backed up by the others chanting for Sara to return them "We mean it."

"Well I know exactly what will happen to you!" the door was suddenly cut down, revealing Tatsu and Sasuke on the other side, swords drawn "Get the hell away from her."

One of the masked figures immediately started freaking out "Please don't kill me, I don't want to die!" she and the rest removed their hoods and masks.

"Okay this is getting ridiculous, Sasuke flip a switch."

"Flipping the switch." then Sasuke flipped the switch and turned on the lights.

"Alright, who the hell are you people?"

One of them stepped forward "My name is Sarai, and I'm not a bad guy I swear."

The leader, a young woman, stepped forward "And my name is Masako, I'm sorry, please forgive us."

"We just wanted Queen Sara to hear our plea and we couldn't get to talk to her otherwise?"

Sara awkwardly stepped forward "Alright, but just what is it that you want me to return?"

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Masako and the group then led Sara, Tatsu and Sasuke through an underground passage into the city, behind where the festivities were taking place "Here."

Sara actually enjoyed the sight "How beautiful, it's so wonderful to see the parade from down here isn't it?"

Tatsu shared a look with Sasuke and let out a sigh "I think you're missing the point."

"A while ago Anrokuzan started this parade in my honor, I was still grieving over the sudden loss of my mother so he and my people tried to cheer me up."

"You know that's kind of funny." Sadai commented, sounding somewhat bitter.

"And what is so funny about it?"

"That all of your people actually just make fun of you and call you the Puppet Princess."

"What? Why would they call me that?"

"Quiet, not another word." Masako hissed "Please try to forgive Sadai your majesty, but still I don't blame her for speaking what's on her mind. All of us have had close family members suddenly taken away from us and all because of the orders you gave."

"What?"

"Is that true?" asked Sasuke.

"No, it's a lie! I have never given such an order!"

"Masako isn't lying to you." Sadai told her "I know it's happening because my own dad and brother were taken away."

"What?"

"It's rumored that somewhere in our land, captured people are being used to manufacture weapons." Masako told her "So we had no choice but to make a direct appeal to you."

"Kazuma said the same thing." Tatsu pointed out.

"So? It's still a lie!" Sara protested "If what they were saying was true then why would all of my people be so happy and continue to cheer me on the way they do?"

"But Queen Sara, no one in this city is really happy." Sadai told her.

"What are you talking about? Just look, there are happy citizens all around you!"

Sasuke activated his Sharingan "Looks to me like you're not seeing what's really there." he threw his Chakra Blade and caught it as it boomeranged back to him, and rushed over to check it out, then brought one of the citizens over to Sara "It's just a puppet, see for yourself."

"What?"

"All of those people, every single one of them is a puppet. Just watch here for a minute and I'll show you." he channeled some chakra into the puppet, rekindling the chakra thread and reconnecting it to a large pipe overhead, as well as revealing several others "You see the chakra threads coming out of that big pipe up there?"

"Energy from the ley line flows through that pipe to provide power to the whole city."

'And that pipe must also be delivering chakra.' Tatsu realized 'It's powering all of the puppets we've seen so far.' then he heard the trumpets sounding, and he and the rest looked to see a puppet Sara on the balcony above.

"What is that? What is going on here?"

"Just what it looks like, Mukade has turned you into a puppet too."

"No way, I won't believe that! Anrokuzan would never do such a thing!" and she ran off into the crowd.

'Son of a bitch! Sasuke, let's go! Sara wait, where are you going?" Tatsu ran after her, with Sasuke following him, only to lose her in the crowd "Sara!"

"Come on!" Sasuke used his Susanoo to clear out a large number of puppets and used the skeletal arm to grab Tatsu and bring him to a more open area alongside the parade "Okay mission leader, what's the plan from here?"

"Well for starters you shouldn't spam your Mangekyo Sharingan and Susanoo like that? I mean you're not as good as Itachi was when it comes to conserving-" he paused and shoved his hand over Sasuke's mouth when he heard something.

It was a soft feminine voice singing "Bursting with emotion…"

Tatsu held out a hand, motioning for Sasuke to stay put, and made his way alone down to where he heard it.

"The path of the dragon, which must be protected-"

"You were singing that song the first time I saw you too." Tatsu came down and found Sara singing by herself.

"...I remember how my mother used to sit there and sing it to me all the time, it was Anrokuzan who convinced my mother to use the power of the ley line for the good of all of our people. Through my mother's ability to control the ley line and Anrokuzan's engineering skills, Loran was transformed into a city of a thousand towers in practically no time at all. But then my mother died before all of our hopes and dreams for our city could be realized, when my mother died I had no one left in my life aside from Anrokuzan. I truly had nobody at all…"

"...I never met my parents either, they died during an attack on my village when I was too little to remember them. For as long as I could remember it was just me and my older brother, but then he was killed and I was left with my master, Hayate Gekko, the closest thing to a real father figure I've ever had. He's gone now too, but he still left me something very precious. He left me his iron will of never giving up, protecting something precious with every ounce of your strength, and the lesson to live life to the fullest so when you die you don't have any regrets. But above all, he taught me to never give up on something when you decide to do it. I know for a fact that your mother left you something precious too."

"Yes, she did."

"Well then you have to think as hard as you can about what your mother left you and figure what you have to do now, I'm sure you'll find the answer. Look inside yourself, do what you have to do, and above all, never give up even if it kills you."

Sara paused, then stood, a determined glint in her eyes "Here it is, I have to find out the truth about what's going on in Loran. As queen I'm able to sense the power of the ley line, if I follow the flow of the ley line in that pipe then maybe we'll learn something."

"Alright then, let's do it. Hey Sasuke, it's clear now."

Then Sasuke came down, Mangekyo Sandagan (Sanda Sharingan combined with the Mangekyo Sharingan) flaring "Do we have a plan?"

"Yep, let's go find Mukade and kick his ass."

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Sara led Tatsu, Sasuke, Masako and Sadai to an exhaust vent "This exhaust vent leads all the way down to the central core that contains the ley line itself."

"Right." Tatsu turned to Sasuke and the others "Sasuke, stay with these two in case Mukade tries anything on your end. And don't worry about your families, if we find them then we'll be sure to rescue them but for now just stay here with Sasuke and the others."

"You'll help us?" asked Sadai, sounding hopeful.

"I give you my word as queen that we'll rescue all of them."

"Don't forget." and they left with Sasuke.

"I won't just leave it to us." Tatsu opened up a shaft "Now let's go, but be sure to let me go ahead at all times." and he went down first.

"Right." Sara quickly followed him.

The infiltration and rescue mission had begun.

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Once inside, Tatsu carved open a ceiling tile that led them into the core, and quickly caught Sara as she fell "Alright let's go, but remember to keep your voice down." he looked to see the men of the city being forced to work as slaves.

Sara was horrified by what she saw "What is this?"

"Looks like they're being forced to create more of those puppet soldiers that attacked me and the others earlier."

"I just can't believe it, Anrokuzan is really using my people to create weapons?"

"So what are you going to do now?"

"What I have to do, I'm going to stop him." Sara looked around and noticed something "I need you to get me down there and quickly, please Tatsu. I can cut off the power from the ley line there."

"Alright." Tatsu took Sara into his arms "Let's go, but be sure to hang on tight." he took her to the ground and hid with her, cautiously making their way to that certain point.

"I'll need you to stay here alright?"

"I'll make sure none of the puppets get through, just do what has to be done."

"Right." Sara made her way down to where the sealing formula would be placed and formed a hand seal "I the queen of Loran command you, ley line let thy flow now cease and quell the power that's within thee." a purple barrier appeared around the center of it "Kyu Kyu Nyo Ritsu Ryo." she lowered the purple barrier, and the sealing formula around it disappeared, causing the machines to shut down.

Tatsu rushed over "You alright?"

"Yes, it's all shut down now. The energy from the ley line flowing into the factory has ceased completely."

"Way to go. Alright, now's our chance." then he saw purple chakra threads flowing throughout the area putting multiple puppets together.

"Your majesty this is quite a surprise, what are you doing here?"

Sara looked to see a fat bearded figure standing above them "It's Anrokuzan!"

Tatsu nearly gagged "That's Anrokuzan? Damn, he really let himself go.'

"Indeed." Anrokuzan bowed.

"I stopped the flow of the ley line, I will not allow its power to be used for warfare." Sara told him firmly "As your queen, I order to stop production of these puppet soldiers and to release all of these unfortunate citizens that you've captured and forced into labor."

"I see, so you know that much about what I've been doing. Well if that's the case Sara then I cannot allow you to live, a puppet will be a suitable enough replacement for you. Besides, my puppet army is already complete and I no longer have a need for the power of the ley line that you have cut off." he sen three puppet soldiers forward.

Tatsu stepped forward "Sara listen to me, I want you to take everyone and get them out of here right now."

"What about you?" asked Sara.

"The mission is either to kill or capture him, I'm really hoping it's the former, now hurry up and go!"

"Okay, just be careful." and Sara took off.

Tatsu looked up to Anrokuzan "Tell me something, is that really you underneath all that fat and beard Mukade? You sure let yourself go."

Anrokuzan smirked bitterly "Leave it to a Hidden Leaf shinobi to full the queen's head with noble nonsense, it's been 6 years since I've seen you hasn't it?"

"Well for me it's been less than a day, I don't know how the hell you look my ugly uncle steve but as long as you admit that you're Mukade I'm not letting you get out of this alive."

"Mukade you say? I put the name of that hoodlum behind me long ago, I am now Lord Minister Anrokuzan of Loran and I control this city!" he sent the puppets to attack.

"Minister my ass!" Tatsu promptly stomped down on both puppets with one swift kick to the head for each of them.

"Oh my, fine then!" Anrokuzan sent five more to attack Sara "I told you my puppet army was complete and now I'll test it on you!"

Tatsu appeared between Sara and the puppets "I'm gonna fight these guys off and open up a path, when I do I want you to make a run for it." he formed a Rasengan in the palm of his left hand and shredded the puppets "Now go, hurry!"

"Right!" Sara ran through the carnage.

"Come on fatass, is that all you've got?"

"Very well then." Anrokuzan sent several more puppets forward.

Using the Dragon Blade, Tatsu kept cutting the strings of the puppets, only to found himself bound when they combined into one gigantic puppet prison.

"You can't escape from that, can't muster up any strength can you? That's because the puppet that now surrounds you is siphoning off your chakra."

"Please stop this Anrokuzan!" Sara demanded.

"You know I have to say I really should thank you Queen Sara, you took your late mother's place and in your role as queen you were able to help me bring this grand scheme of mine to fruition. But I'm afraid that now you are no longer useful to me, so the time has come for me to die just as your mother did."

Sara froze at that "Don't tell me… you're the one who killed my mother!"

"Did you just now realize the truth Sara? Well your mother was a much shrewder queen than you, she saw through me right from the start and completely refused to cooperate with my plan. I couldn't have asked for a more ideal puppet than you Sara, a puppet virtually asking to be controlled by me. However, it's time for me to make the final switch and rule this city myself."

Sara could only look on in horror, tears brimming in your eyes."

"MUKADE!" Tatsu roared "I'm your enemy hear, forget about her! Sara, snap out of it already!"

Sara promptly fell to her knees in tears.

"Listen to me Sara, you are not a puppet and you never have been! Are you listening to me Sara?"

"Enough of this farce." Anrokuzan manipulated a blade from one of his puppets and aimed it at Sara, intent on finishing her.

"Don't you dare!" white chakra burst from Tatsu's body and appeared in front of Sara, acting as a shield.

"What?" Anrokuzan looked at the unfamiliar chakra being release "What's going on? That chakra is immense, I've never seen anything like it."

"You're the queen Sara, don't you dare cry! Pick yourself up, you have to what you have to do! I'll take care of this sack of scum so don't worry about that!"

Anrokuzan promptly covered Tatsu's face on the puppet "That's enough out of you. What could you do to me now anyway? You can't even move your arms or legs." then he backed away when he saw blue energy building up.

"WANNA BET YOU SON OF A BITCH?!" with a furious roar, Tatsu burst out of the puppet's chest, blue markings around his eyes 'I love Sage Mode. THAT'S ENOUGH OUT OF YOU YOU BASTARD!" he burst forward and slammed his fist against Anrokuzan's face.

However, Anrokuzan's face cracked instead of bleeding, only to quickly regenerate "While I'm in Loran, my power is infinite!" he stood and manipulated several more puppets, then revealed his true form: a massive ugly spider puppet "Behold my ultimate body, brimming with infinite endless power!"

'What the hell is with that thing? Actually now that I think about it, Sasuke said that Akatsuki guy Sasori did the same thing to his own body but-'

"You and Sara will both die here!" Anrokuzan summoned two blades and began slashing at Tatsu endlessly.

Thanks to Sage Mode enhancing his reflexes, Tatsu dodged the attacks with ease and quickly pulled Sara out of the way of a drill attack.

"It's useless, there's nowhere for you to run!" Anrokuzan advanced forward, along with several other puppets.

'Son of a bitch!'

"Uchiha Style: Halo Dance!" several waves of flames appeared and incinerated the smaller puppets, courtesy of Shisui as he dropped down.

'Woah, awesome. I'd heard Shisui was good, but to take them out with one shot each is just insane.'

Then Kazuma dropped down in front of Shisui, with Itachi and Ayame right behind him, then looked back to Tatsu and grinned "Hey there, are you alright?"

Anrokuzan noticed some explosions "What?!"

"Looks like that part of the plan worked out. Nice work Itachi."

"Just following orders. But yeah, that was awesome." for once Itachi lost his composure and gave a huge shit eating grin.

"Leave it to you." then he turned to Tatsu "First of all, Sage Mode, nice. Second, hurry up and get Queen Sara out of here now while you can."

"Right." Tatsu motioned to Sara "Alright Sara, no time to stand there gawking. Hurry up and free the captives, then get them out of here."

"Yes, right!" Sara quickly rushed off.

"Don't worry, I'll create a path!" Tatsu quickly formed a Rasengan in his palm, gathering nature energy and transferring it into the attack through his Sage Mode.

"Damn you Sara, you won't escape!" Anrokuzan lunged at her.

"Wanna bet?! Sage Art: Rasengan!" Tatsu slammed the nature-infused Rasengan down on Anrokuzan, hitting him directly in the face and sending him slamming into a wall.

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Sara was quick to free the prisoners and persuade them to follow her to escape.

Despite some hesitance, they all followed her.

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Tatsu readily got into a stance in front of Anrokuzan 'It's not over, there's no way in hell it could be that easy. You know what I'm thinking don't you?"

Kazuma nodded "Be sure not to let your guard down just yet, we can't be sure exactly what this guy is capable of."

"Right, it's never that easy."

Then Anrokuzan promptly collapsed to the ground "Don't think I'm done with you yet." he manipulated the parts of the other puppets and merged them with his own body, instantly repairing it "Didn't I tell you that my power here is infinite?"

"Okay, this is getting annoying. Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Tatsu summoned dozens of clones and charged in, stabbing at Anrokuzan with the Dragon Blade.

Anrokuzan promptly shook all of them off.

'Dammit!'

"Shisui, go!" Kazuma ordered.

"On it!" his Mangekyo flaring, Shisui activated his Susanoo ribcage, the skeletal chakra arm slamming Anrokuzan into the wall, then activated the full Susanoo and began ripping him to pieces, before sending him through the floor.

Tatsu looked down the hole "Damn, I heart Shisui was really good but that was just completely unreal."

Then chakra threads began absorbing more parts from various puppets, and within the hole Anrokuzan promptly reconstructed himself, much larger and much more powerful that he had been before "Witness my ultimate power, boundless, merciless, and thirsty for your blood! My puppet army! This is now my new flesh and bone!" with massive billows of steam, Anrokuzan rose once more.

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Sara brought everyone above ground and reunited them with their families, only to notice a horrible shaking and rumbling "Everyone we have to get out of here immediately, it's far too dangerous!"

"Get them out of here as fast as you can, I'll hold him off!" Sasuke charged in, Mangekyo Sandagan flaring into life.

"But-"

Tatsu was suddenly pulled up to the surface, hanging onto Anrokuzan for dear life "Nice try sucker, you're not shaking me off this easily!"

"Tatsu!"

"Sara just hurry and get everybody out of here, Sasuke and I will take care of this creep one way or another!"

"But-"

"You've gotta make sure your people are safe, you're the queen aren't you?!"

"...Understood." then she looked up at the central tower and an idea hit her 'That's it! Everyone please follow me, we're gonna run to the central square!" she got several untrusting murmurs in response "Please trust me, I have an idea."

Masako was the first one to speak up "After what she did, we should all have faith in her majesty." she got some hesitant voices of agreement.

"This way!" Sara led them onwards.

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Tatsu motioned for Sasuke to stay behind him "Forget it Anrokuzan, we're the ones you have to worry about right now!"

"Don't get in my way Leaf brats!" Anrokuzan smashed down on the towers.

Tatsu leapt out of the way, only for his Sage Mode to face 'Dammit, looks like 5 minutes is still my limit. Sasuke, my Sage Mode just ran out!"

"I'll stall for time!" Sasuke activated his Susanoo, a humanoid lightning form visible within the armor thanks to the influence of his Raijin power.

"One leaf brat or another, you will die here!" Anrokuzan promptly punched the Susanoo, sending it stumbling back.

"I don't get it." Tatsu formed a Shadow Clone to gather Sage Mode "Why is he so determined to get Sara when Sasuke and I are right in front of him?"

Then Kazuma appeared in front of him "You're right, there must be a specific reason why he's so focused on her. Tatsu, I'll need you and Sasuke to protect Sara for a little while longer. There's something my team and I have to do."

"...You got it."

"Alright then, I'm counting on you."

"I won't let you down."

"I'm on it."

"Be careful." Kazuma then blitzed away.

'I keep automatically doing everything he asks. No doubt about it, that's definitely my big brother. No time to stand here day dreaming. Hey Sasuke, you alright?"

"Fine." Sasuke appeared before him, clutching his eye "I think I'm reaching the limit on my Mangekyo though." his eyes returned to normal Sharingan.

"Take a breather, I've got it from here." Tatsu dispersed his Shadow Clone, and blue markings appeared around his eyes "Just stand back and enjoy the show."

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Sara had finally led everyone into the central square "We've come far enough, the towers will serve as a barrier and that monster won't be able to get near us." she was proven wrong by shaking and rumbling "Oh no, it can't be!

Then Anrokuzan appeared "Sara… Sara…" he shot out several chakra threads.

"Everyone get back!" Sara sent everyone back, only to be bound herself like a puppet.

Anrokuzan flexed his finger, forcing Sara to choke herself.

'No!'

"Queen Sara!" Sadai rushed over in an attempt to free Sara "It won't budge! You guys go!"

Sara was forced to punch Sadai away.

"Sara…" Anrokuzan growled "You are nothing but a foolish weak puppet princess, you have long outlived your usefulness now just stay still and die!"

'No…'

"Dragon Style: Crescent Moon Dance!" Tatsu appeared, Dragon Blade drawn, and cut the chakra threads, then caught Sara as she collapsed "It's alright, I've got you."

Sara let out a cough and looked up at him "Tatsu…"

"Let me make this perfectly clear Sara, you are not just a puppet princess, you never have been and you never will be." he drew his Hidden Leaf Chakra Blade and held it out to her "Take this, now you go do what you think you have to do." and he took off.

Sara stared intently at her Chakra Blade 'I know what I have to do.'

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"Die!" Anrokuzan fired several blasts of chakra.

"Not today!" Tatsu charged up the wall of a tower, a Sage Art: Rasengan, and charged forward with it.

Anrokuzan slammed him to the ground.

'Dammit!' now forced on the evasive, Tatsu began bouncing off of one wall after another while avoiding Anrokuzan's attacks.

"Susanoo: Tsukumo!" a barrage of green troubles collapsed a platform, causing it to fall on top of Anrokuzan.

'There's the green Susanoo again.'

Then Kazuma dropped down with Itachi and Shisui "Sorry we're late."

"Don't worry about it. Hold on, where's Ayame- the girl in your group?"

"She's supporting your friend, he used his Mangekyo Sharingan too much and now his eyes are just pouring blood."

"Oh. Well anyway, now that you guys are here things can get interesting."

"Tatsu!" Sara suddenly caught his attention from the central square, then suddenly stabbed herself in the chest.

"What the f*ck woman?!" Tatsu rushed over to the central square with the others.

Sara then cut her robes off and tied her hair in a ponytail "I know I can protect all of my people if I stop the ley line at its source."

"Of course, that's the reason why Anrokuzan is so desperate and wants to stop you so badly."

"You know that garden where I first saw you? The power of the ley line can't reach there so Anrokuzan won't be able to get too close."

"That'll work, nice one."

"Alright." Sara turned to her people "Please listen, I know of a safe place away from the power of the ley line. Let's hurry and head there right now, if we can reach it then I know that monster won't be able to get us."

Sadai was the first one to speak "Let's go!" she got voices of agreement and cheers.

"Thank you."

"Sara!" Anrokuzan thundered "I cannot allow you to live any longer!"

Tatsu got into a stance, his Sage Mode burning brightly "Hurry and go Sara, find the courage to do what has to be done."

"I will! Come on everyone, hurry!" Sara led everyone away.

"Forget it Anrokuzan, there's no way in hell you'll get past me!"

"No." Shisui stepped forward, activating his own Mangekyo Sandagan as he drew his own Raijin sword "This is a job for our team to do. You guard Sara, if we split up and divide our duties then it will save time."

"Come on, you've gotta be kidding me!"

"Sorry Tatsu, but they're right." Kazuma told him "This guy is incredibly powerful, he have to put up as many lines of defence as possible."

"Yeah I know, but…"

"You need to learn to have faith in others." Itachi advised "Now go, we'll hold him off."

"...Good luck you three, I'm counting on you!" Tatsu ran off.

"Sara!" Anrokuzan got up once more "I will not allow you to get to that ley line!" he lunged forward.

"You don't get to say that unless you're able to defeat me." Shisui activated his Raijin-enhanced Susanoo "Itachi, stay back." he quickly hit Anrokuzan with a barrage of Susanoo: Tsukumo needles "It's over for you now freak, these needles are able to block off the flow of chakra as long as they're embedded in your body." he promptly grabbed Anrokuzan with his Susanoo and threw him through a wall "There we go."

Then Anrokuzan was suddenly struck by purple lightning.

"He's absorbing more chakra, even my Tsukumo can't stop all of it!"

Anrokuzan, now powered up, easily removed the Tsukumo needles from his body "This is nothing, I have more chakra than you could ever imagine!"

"It doesn't matter how much chakra you've amassed, you're still nothing more than a mere puppet. Your power has a limit, and I'm going to find it."

Itachi looked up at the central tower supplying Anrokuzan with power "You're wrong Shisui, his power is infinite. Looks like those towers are transmitting chakra that's been transformed into plasma."

"Oh. Well that's bad."

"Very."

"Is this going to hurt?"

"Probably."

"Puppet Rotation!" Anrokuzan sent out several blasts of wind.

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As they guided Sara and the others to safety, one of Shisui's Tsukumo needles stuck the ground in front of Tatsu and Kazuma, having a small scroll attached to it.

Kazuma checked it out and frowned "I thought as much."

"What's wrong?" asked Tatsu.

"It's Mukade, he's absorbing the power of the ley line and unless the two of us are able to seal it off he'll have an infinite amount of chakra at his disposal."

"Okay, that's bad."

"But even if he does have that much chakra there's always a weakness somewhere." then they looked up at the falling rubble to see Anrokuzan climbing down.

"Crap." Tatsu looked down to Sara and the rest "Sara hurry and get everyone else out of here as fast as you can!"

"Right, come on everyone!" Sara continued.

"We've gotta hold this guy off until Sara gets everyone to safety." the blue markings reappeared around Tatsu's eyes, a spiralling ball of chakra forming in his palm.

Kazuma's eyes nearly bulged out of his head 'That's…'

"Rasengan!" Tatsu charged in and thrusted the Rasengan forward.

"Pathetic!" Anrokuzan swatted him aside.

'Ow…'

Kazuma pulled Tatsu out of the way before he could be stabbed to death "I'll take over from here, you have to keep Sara safe."

"Forget it-"

"You know fully well that you can't fight him head on, and I have a possible way to uncover what his weakness might be, so please don't argue and just go."

"...Alright, just be careful." Tatsu then bolted off, his Sage Mode enhancing his speed.

'Now to fire things up.' Kazuma charged towards Anrokuzan, Tenseigan flaring into life as he drew a Flying Raijin kunai "Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!" the kunai multiplied several times over and hit Anrokuzan with a rapid barrage, revealing the original body 'There, that must be his weak spot.'

Anrokuzan was struck by the chakra lightning, regenerating all damage done to him in a matter of seconds "Pitiful."

'The speed of his regeneration is incredible!'

"Die!" Anrokuzan lunged.

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Sara led the people to the bottom of the central tower "There's an inner garden through those doors behind me, the power of the ley line can't get inside there!"

Tatsu looked up "He's almost here Sara, if you're gonna do this then it's gotta be now!"

"Right!" Sara charged up to the door and tried to open, but it wouldn't budge "No, it's-!"

"What is it?" asked Masako.

"The impact of the towers falling must have jammed the lock, it won't open!"

"What?"

Sara kept trying and struggling.

"Keep going Sara, I'll buy you the time you need!" Tatsu leapt up along the wall of the tower and charged at Anrokuzan, a Rasengan forming in his palm.

"Pitiful!" Anrokuzan fired several chakra missiles.

Tatsu rubbed his head as he leapt out of the way, then wiped the blood from his lip and formed a hand seal "Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he summoned several clones that all charged.

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Sara saw the people struggling after the rubble fell, but inspired by Tatsu's courage to keep on fighting, her determination was renewed and she kept pounding on the door until a purple energy began flowing into the Chakra Blade and she placed it in the slot and began pushing. Once everyone else began backing her up, the door finally opened.

Everyone happily rushed in, but Sara stayed outside, claiming that there was still something that she had left to do.

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Anrokuzan thrashed Tatsu around and eventually slammed him into the ground "Pathetic!"

"You think so huh?" Tatsu stood once more, now lacking the blue markings around his eyes.

"Tatsu!" Sara rushed to his side.

"Not gonna lie Sara, this is a tough one. What about the others?"

"Don't worry, everyone made it into the inner garden safely."

"Good."

"I've found you Sara!" Anrokuzan thundered.

"Oh right, this guy."

"Just as I thought." Sara muttered "While the source of the ley line remains open Anrokuzan will have unlimited power, no matter what I'm going to have to go shut it down."

"Yeah, it's up to you now. I'll hold him off, so go do what has to be done."

"Right." Sara ran off.

Tatsu's eyes regained the blue markings "And I'll make sure this bastard doesn't try and follow you! Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he summoned a barrage of clones, one for each leg.

"YOU SNEAKY LITTLE BRAT!" Anrokuzan generated lightning, dissipating every clone, and attempted to flatten him with his tail.

Tatsu summoned another barrage of clones, some of them dissipating instantly "No way… I'm not done yet…"

"Ley Line: Great Dragon Fire!" Anrokuzan breathed out a massive blast of purple flames, dissipating every clone.

Tatsu sat up, panting heavily, his markings fading 'Dammit… he's just so powerful that I can't keep up even in Sage Mode… But even so, there's absolutely no way in hell I'm going to let him get past me!' this time he summoned two clones, one for a certain jutsu and the other to gather nature energy.

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Sara shut the doors behind her and looked at the source of the ley line 'I'll stop the source of the ley line's power!'

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Tatsu dissipated his Shadow Clones, a spiralling shuriken in his hand and blue markings around his eyes 'Every last bit of my chakra is packed into this thing.'

"DIE!" Anrokuzan lunged.

"Sage Art: Wind Style: Rasenshuriken!" Tatsu fired off a sage-powered Rasenshuriken.

Anrokuzan absorbed the attack, then unleashed a mouth blast at point-blank range, sending him crashing through the doors.

'Ow…'

Sara looked back from where she was running "Tatsu!"

"I'll be fine, just keep going!"

"What's the matter Leaf brat?!" Anrokuzan burst through the destroyed door.

'Dammit… that last Rasenshuriken used up the last of my chakra. I've only got Sage Mode left, but that won't last much longer either.'

"Are you finished already? DIE!" Anrokuzan lunged forward.

'Crap.'

Kazuma suddenly blitzed in and got Tatsu out of the way of the attack using his Flying Raijin kunai "Are you alright?"

"Not really."

"Okay, I'll strike at his plan and when I do I want you to hurl that Sage Art: Rasengan straight at that point."

"No can do, I've used up just about all the chakra I've got and my Sage Mode just ran out a second ago. We don't have enough time for me to build it up again."

"Fine, then I'll give you some of my strength."

"That's not gonna work, the Rasengan is a jutsu that only the Fourth Hokage and Jiraiya know how to use."

"You forgot to add me into that little fact of yours, I know the Rasengan too. Don't forget, I know that you're from the future." blue markings appeared around his eyes "Come on, just hold out your left hand."

"Alright." Tatsu held his hand.

Kazuma placed his hands over it, forming a Rasengan with his own Sage Mode chakra.

'Woah…'

"So you still have some chakra left do you?" Anrokuzan thundered.

'Nope, this is all him.'

"Here." Kazuma formed a Rasengan in his own left hand.

"That's a Rasengan… So it's really him…'

"Here's a little fun fact, when similar chakra signatures merge together they synergize and strengthen each other, and when that happens the end result is an even more powerful Rasengan. Lord Fourth would probably call it an Ultimate Supreme Rasengan, but I've got a better name for it. Sage Art:-"

"Hyper Typhoon Rasengan?"

"You have good taste in names." he forced his Rasengan into Tatsu's, creating a tornado surrounding them.

"What the hell?"

"This is it. You take it, it's only right that you're the one to finish this."

"Whatever that jutsu is, I'll still send you to hell and Sara is next!" Anrokuzan absorbed more power "Now I shall reveal to you my most powerful jutsu! Ley Line: Ultimate Dragon Fire Jutsu!" he fired a massive blast of purple fire, but when the smoke cleared they were nowhere in sight "What?!"

"I'll get his attention!" Kazuma charged in "Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he fired off a barrage of Flying Raijin kunai, penetrating Anrokuzan's body and revealing his weak spot.

Sara finished sealing off the power of the ley line "It's done!"

"Right!"

"Regeneration Jutsu!" Anrokuzan tired to regenerate, but failed.

"Tatsu, his weak spot is right up there!"

"What have you done Sara?!"

"I'm trusting you right now, finish this madness and bring Loran to peace!"

"Right, you've got it!" Tatsu charged in.

"No, I won't let you!" Anrokuzan fired off one final Great Dragon Fire blast.

"Sage Art: Hyper Typhoon Rasengan!" Tatsu charged in and fired the technique, despite Anrokuzan attempting to absorb it, and completely shredded his body, leaving a large hole in the chest as he landed on the ground "Alright!"

"My plan… the Five Great Nations… This can't be happening, I was going to rewrite history! I won't let it end like this!" he started squirming "If I fall then so will you, all of you will perish along with the ley line!" and with that, he fell into the pool beneath the path and exploded, causing it to become unstable.

"Is that bad?"

"That is extremely bad, the ley line is going out of control." Kazuma told him.

"Okay, yeah that's bad. Sara quick, run now!"

"Right!" Sara started running, only for the path to collapse beneath her.

"Sara!" Tatsu reached out and grabbed her before she fell in "Don't worry, I've got you. I won't let go, I promise." the ground beneath him began to give way "Falling on the other hand…"

"Watch out!" Kazuma rushed over and grabbed them, only to fall in as well.

"Look out!" a green hand made of chakra grabbed all three of them.

Kazuma looked to see Shisui grab them using a larger Susanoo with wings, Sasuke, Itachi and Ayame in his other hand "Shisui!"

"This is what I'm capable of when my Susanoo is at full power. This is the Complete Body Susanoo."

Sara looked to see Sadai, Masako and the rest standing on the other side of the pool "Everyone."

"That was a close one, are all of you alright?" Shisui turned to see the ley line going even further out of control "Oh yeah, that."

"Tatsu." said Kazuma "I need you to give me the Flying Raijin kunai that I gave you earlier, I need it in order to completely seal the ley line."

"What? Oh yeah, right." Tatsu handed him the kunai.

"Stay back, I'll take care of it from here." Kazuma placed the kunai in the center point of the ley line "Seal!" he forced it into the ground, sealing the power of the ley line completely and ending the carnage "It's done."

"Nice." Tatsu gave a thumbs up from where he was supporting Sasuke, only to find that the two of them were glowing "What the hell? What's going on?"

"Now that Anrokuzan is dead and the sealing formula is in place once again, the pendulum of time is beginning to swing back so the two of you are about to be sent back to your own period of time."

"But hold on a minute, aren't you-?"

"Sorry guys, but I'm afraid it's time to go."

"Oh. I see." Tatsu didn't notice Kazuma slip a scroll into his pouch.

"Wait, so you're really leaving?" asked Sara.

"Yeah, I guess so. But don't you realize Sara? You did exactly what had to be done, you're an incredible queen so even if we're not here I know you're gonna do just fine on your own."

"Tatsu, I'll never forget you."

"And I won't forget this either, for a number of reasons."

"Alright, it's about time for you to leave." Kazuma told him.

"Wait hold on, you promised that you'd talk to me after the mission was over and done with."

"Yeah I did, but I didn't mean right now. Don't worry, I'm sure that we'll meet again one day."

"No listen, I need to talk to you about something really important and unless I tell you right now I may never be able to."

"I know the day will come when we meet again."

"Please wait, by any chance are you-?"

"You know I have a little brother back in the Hidden Leaf Village and you and he have the same name, when he grows up I can think of no better wish for him to become a shinobi exactly like you are."

Tears spilled down Tatsu's cheeks 'Kazuma… brother…'

"Tatsu thank you, you were right." Sara told him "Loran may still end up in ruins but I'll still have the most important part, the people of this city. I'll continue to do whatever I have to do for the sake of my people, because that's what you taught me to do Tatsu."

"...Yeah Sara, as long as your determination burns brightly and your resolve never fades, you can achieve just about anything. Don't ever forget that." and with that, he and Sasuke disappeared.

Kazuma watched as they vanished.

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"Tatsu! Sasuke!" Zaku pulled Kin onto his water hawk, only for the light from the ley line to disappear immediately afterwards, with Tatsu and Sasuke lying unconscious by the source of the ley line "What the hell?" he took them down and they rushed over "Tatsu, Sasuke, are you guys alright?"

Tatsu got up first and let out a groan "Oh god, it still hurts. Hey Sasuke, you hanging in there?"

"My eyes are pouring blood." Sasuke said dryly "What the hell do you think?"

"Sorry I asked." Tatsu looked over to the sealing formula, tears falling down his face without him noticing 'Brother…'

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Afterwards, they made their way out into the ruins.

Zaku shot them an incredulous look "You really expect us to believe that?"

"I couldn't make this up if I wanted to-" Tatsu suddenly bumped into Zaku "Hey perv, what the hell did you stop like that for?"

"Check it out." Zaku pointed.

"...Damn."

A young girl resembling Sara was approaching them.

10 minutes of discussion later…

"I was just passing by when I sensed a disturbance in the ley line." explained the girl "So I thought I should come and check it out."

Tatsu blinked "You sensed it?"

"A long time ago my mother was the queen of Loran and ruled over it, I inherited a little of her ability to sense the ley line though I need this to do it." she pulled out a worn looking Hidden Leaf Chakra Blade.

'Oh yeah I forgot, I gave Sara my Hidden Leaf Chakra Blade. Strange, that looks a lot like the Chakra Blades used by the Hidden Leaf."

"This is my mother's most precious keepsake, she once told me that a great hero appeared out of nowhere and gave it to her, then disappeared as suddenly as he had came."

"You mean your mother as in the queen of Loran?"

"That's right, Loran was ravaged by war and the whole city was destroyed but thanks in large part to the efforts of my mother our people managed to survive. I intend to carry on her will and live among the people like she did." then she bowed "Anyway, I'm sorry I took up so much of your time."

"Oh don't worry about it."

"If you'll excuse me." she bowed again and left.

"See? I told you I wasn't making it up."

"I know you weren't as well."

Tatsu looked to see a masked figure in a green kimono approach him, along with a masked figure in a purple kimono "Dragon and Izumi, what are you two doing here?"

"We heard you were on a mission in Loran and rushed over to assist you. Sasuke's eyes are losing their light because he's overused his Susanoo and now he's almost completely blind."

"What can we do?"

"There's only one thing to do, we'll have to transplant Itachi's eyes into Sasuke's body."

"You mean give him the Eternal Mangekyo?"

"Exactly. Come on, our hideout isn't very far from here."

"...Alright." Tatsu grabbed onto Dragon, the same with Izumi, Zaku and Kin, and they all disappeared in a green flash.

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Later at the hideout, Kin and Izumi were working on transplanting Itachi's eyes into Sasuke's body in a lab, having sedated him so he wouldn't feel any pain.

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Tatsu found himself outside in a desert area with Dragon standing in front of him "So what did you want to talk about?"

Dragon let out a long sigh "For the record, I know you're probably going to hate me for what I'm about to tell you, but to be honest I was looking forward to seeing face to face just what kind of man my little brother had become so I guess it evens out."

"Wait hold on, what the hell are you talking about?"

"That's right, like I said before you are my older brother." Dragon removed his mask, revealing himself as Kazuma "Hi."

Tatsu stood there frozen, his expression and face unreadable, but tears were freely streaming down his face.

"You're taking this better than I expected, I guess the Third Hokage didn't tell you anything about this. Well I shouldn't be surprised, there is the whole thing with ANBU secrecy and all that."

"Kazuma…" Tatsu slowly stepped forward "Brother…"

"Yes?"

Tatsu promptly slugged his brother in the gut as hard as he could, tears freely streaming down his face "WHY?! Why would you make me think you were dead?! Do you have any idea what I went through because you did that?! I was all alone for so long and I had almost no one! I almost committed suicide the day after your funeral! I never said anything, but all this time I was burning with hatred for Itachi for taking you away from me so I kept training as hard as I could hoping for the day when I could slaughter him! Then I started training with Hayate-sensei, Kakashi and Asuma and the rest, and I made friends with Lee, Sasuke, Naruto, Shika and the rest, and I was happy because they all helped make me stronger, because they all gave me something worth fighting for! But just when things were looking up, those Akatsuki bastards came and killed Hayate-sensei, they took him away from me! I killed them and avenged him but the damage was done, Hayate is dead and I'm all alone again! And now I- I don't even know what I'm saying anymore! Dammit, am I supposed to be overjoyed that my brother is alive or furious that he lied to me for so long?! I don't even know!"

Kazuma let out a long sigh "Tatsu, how old are you now?"

"I-I'm 17…"

"I see, you're 17 already are you? Time really flies. It must've been really hard for you Tatsu, I'm sorry, I truly am. I guess it's little consolation if I apologize now, after having put you through all of that pain."

"...No, it's fine." Tatsu wiped away his tears "After all, I'm your little brother aren't I? I can deal."

"Come here." Kazuma wrapped his arms around Tatsu "I can't remember the last time I hugged you like this, though I guess I can't blame anyone but myself for that."

"Why though?"

"Sit down, this story is going to take awhile."

A/N:

This chapter was mainly to give Tatsu and Sasuke closures with their brothers after seeing them both die. And then having Tatsu learn that his brother is still alive.

In case I didn't explain this before, dragon Sage Mode heightens the user's physical abilities several times over, like the Eight Gates without any physical side effects.

Also, I'm thinking of having Itachi gain the Eternal Mangekyo by implanting Shisui's eyes into him. What do you think?

To reader R: I honestly didn't think about Danzo realizing how he caused the whole thing with Pain, thanks for that idea. Also, as for you-know-who, I wasn't originally planning on having her appear again, but my pride overpowered that decision. I hate how some shows just cast some characters aside without giving them any sort of character development, even if they are minor characters. But she'll definitely die before the war starts, let me point that out. As for who will help Naruto, I'll give you a hint: it's someone that hasn't had any major screen time in awhile, and no it won't be Hinata.

Also, I've got an idea for the future involving Shisui after he falls into the Naka River. Hint: it involves one of the movies from Part I.