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.

25. Turtle Island, Kisame Hoshigaki

A misty day at sea.

Tatsu looked out, but couldn't see anything at all in front of them 'It's been about 2 months since we set sail towards the Land of Lightning, and we should be docking at this secret training location any day now. The Raikage wouldn't even disclose the location to me or to Lady Tsunade, but he did say that it was the ideal place to put Naruto if we want him to lay low. Knowing what Naruto is like, there's no way he'll do what he's supposed to and stay hidden when the war starts. Hell, chances are that once he learns that the war has started he's gonna charge right onto the battlefield like an angry rhino. Lady Tsunade even told Naruto that we're on a highly classified S-rank mission, we're all supposed to follow along with the story and make sure.' he looked to his right.

Naruto was searching for the octopus mentioned in the prophecy "Octopus, octopus, octopus, where are you?"

'Exhibit A. What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm looking for that octopus, it's supposed to give me guidance. Don't you remember? Giant Gramps Sage foretold it, I'm supposed to meet this octopus and train him and this weird slug guy at some resort. I mean he's right about this place being some kind of island paradise, so he must be right about meeting some guys that are gonna help me."

"Well my best guess right now is that the slug is supposed to be Utakata, the jinchuriki of the Six Tails. As for the octopus, I have absolutely no idea. On the bright side, it looks like Naruto still hasn't caught on yet.'

Then the captain came out "Alright, please get ready to disembark now."

"Will do, thanks for the heads up."

"Hey Tatsu look!" Naruto pointed ahead "The island is coming into view, paradise here we come!"

"...Naruto, I really think you should take another look."

"Why?" Naruto looked and realized it was a hideous war zone "Oh. So you're telling me that this is a supposed to be a paradise?"

"It's like the Hidden Cloud's version of the Forest of Death from the Hidden Leaf." the captain told him "Though perhaps it comes across as a whole lot flashier."

"...No resort?"

"Don't worry, it's safe here. Just remember, all you have to do is make sure you don't provoke them and the creatures here will leave you alone no problem. Well, except for that certain creature."

"And which one would that be exactly?" asked Tatsu "And please tell me it has the ability to make Naruto stop whining about this not being the tropical paradise he's been fantasizing about this entire trip?"

"It lives along the shore."

"You mean like the thing rising up behind the ship?" Tatsu pointed to where tentacles were rising up behind the ship.

Naruto's mood did an instant 180 "Yeah, octopus tentacles! Alright octopus, I made it here so come on and guide me!"

"That's not an octopus you idiot, that's a giant squid!"

"Let's see here…" Naruto started counting "1, 2, 3, 4-"

"Don't waste your time counting the tentacles you moron, you can tell just by looking at its head!"

"...I don't know about that Tatsu, I think we should make sure. A squid has 10 legs and an octopus has 8, if this is the octopus that will guide me than I've gotta know." then he suddenly got swept away by the tentacles.

"Naruto!" Tatsu quickly entered Sage Mode and leapt up to punch the squid.

That is, before an octopus "Squid go deviate, the rest I abbreviate!"

"Hey big guy, if you want an abbreviation then here it is! Boot to the head!" Tatsu slammed his foot into the octopus' head, powered by Sage Mode.

"5, 6, 7, 8. Yep, it's an octopus!" Naruto leapt back down onto the ship "Tatsu this is the octopus- Will you stop kicking him?! Enough boots to the head!"

"Fine." Tatsu leapt back down "My foot was starting to crap up anyway, what the hell is that thing made of?"

The captain breathed a sigh of relief "He's Lord Killer B."

"Wait, this is supposed to be Killer B?"

The octopus disappeared, revealing Killer B, with Samehada strapped to his back "All y'all are late, ya hear? Fools, ya fools."

"Hey Octopops, thanks ya know!" Naruto called.

"Ya know, huh?" Killer B checked in his notebook "I don't wanna be brash, but when we crash it's gonna be a full on smash. If I dare say, it'll be a full on no go. Whee! I'm a brad hatin' eyeball!"

"...Who the hell is this shades wearing meathead with all of the weird rhymes? This geezer is supposed to me my octopus mentor?'

"They're not weird rhymes." the captain told him "That's his own unique combination of enka and rap, it's Enka Rap."

"That doesn't make any sense in the slightest."'

"Tell me about it." Tatsu muttered "How the hell do you think I feel?"

"I understand it."

Tatsu looked back to see Kazuma come up, with Shisui and Yahiko right behind him "You really understand this stuff?"

"Clear as day."

"Kazuma, my main man, the man with the plan!" Killer B held out a fist "You looking tight fool, ya fool!"

"Good to see you too B." Kazuma met him with a fist bump "I'm guessing you never bought the story that I was dead."

"Not for a minute fool."

"I should've expected as much from you."

"Hold on a minute." Tatsu cut in "Kazuma, you know this guy?"

"I told you didn't I? I mastered my Tenseigan here, and Killer B was the one who helped me to do that?"

"Is that so?"

"Glad you could all make it, we've been waiting for you!" a Hidden Cloud shinobi called from atop one of the spikes "I am supervisor Motoi, welcome! Follow me, I'll show all of you to your rooms!"

That was when Ino came up, supporting a seasick Lee "Alright, just a little bit further."

Lee let out a groan "Have we finally arrived?"

"Yeah we just landed a few minutes ago, so try to hold out until you get to shore."

"How's he doing?" asked Tatsu "Has he gotten any better?"

"Don't get your hopes up, he never did get his sea legs."

"Well to be fair we were at sea for a good long while, I myself was beginning to feel kind of queasy."

"It was so long…" Lee muttered "And it was so painful…"

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Soon enough, they were on their way through the dark forest of the island.

Naruto was less than impressed "This is not exactly what I call paradise."

"This isn't a vacation Naruto, it's a mission." Tatsu pointed out "An S-rank mission at that. Besides, when you think about it this is the perfect place for training." then he looked up and saw an angry giant gorilla appearing before them "Exhibit A is standing right in front of us."

"Chill out people's, I've got this." Killer B held out a hand to the gorilla "Stand down there King, these guys are with me."

King blinked, then bowed.

"There we go."

"...How the hell did he do that?" asked Tatsu.

"Master B stands atop the hierarchy of beasts on the island." Motoi told them "He's successfully tamed every single one of them, so long as he remains here this place will not offer any of you any danger. Also, prominent Hidden Cloud shinobi maintain a barrier around the exterior of the island. We'll know immediately if anything suspicious approaches."

'So that's why this place was selected to hold Naruto and the others. So what's the deal with the big guy up there?"

"He is the hero among heroes of the Hidden Cloud, he is someone who not only tamed these beasts but he also has the power of the Eight Tails perfectly under his control. He's the jinchuuriki of the Eight Tails."

"I figured that, I could sense the power of the Eight Tails inside him. Hey that reminds me, aren't there forces from the Hidden Mist coming here too? I mean they still have Utakata with them don't they?"

"Utakata is here, as well as his disciple per his insistence, but there aren't any other forces from the Hidden Mist here. Lady Mizukage had insisted that her forces be mainly focused on preparing for the upcoming war."

"I see. So going back to Killer B."

"This island also happens to be where Lord Killer B trained to control the power of the Eight Tails, as well as where your own brother tamed his Tenseigan and gained complete control over all of its power.

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Soon enough, Motoi had led them to a house in the middle of the forest, looking exactly like the Eight Tails "You Hidden Leaf ninja can use this entire floor, although it appears that two of you will have to share. The dining hall is downstairs, you can eat whenever you desire. If you'll excuse me I have some urgent business I must attend to, just feel free to come find me if you need me." and he went on his way.

"Alright, everyone pick any rooms you like I guess." Shisui told them "Let's adjourn until the meeting tomorrow at 7."

"Fine by me, I've got stuff I've gotta do anyway." then Tatsu promptly walked off.

"So where do you think he's going?" asked Naruto.

Kazuma sighed "I can imagine he's going to ask Killer B how he can learn to control his Tenseigan."

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Tatsu made his way down another hall 'Kazuma trained here to master his Tenseigan, and he was already a genius. He said that this Killer B guy trained with him and helped him perfect his control over it and Kazuma himself is still being vague, if I'm gonna learn how to use my Tenseigan then Killer B has to be the guy to go to.' he knocked on the door.

Then Killer B opened it "It's that brat with the Dragon Blade that looks like a mini version of Kazuma, so what's up? Did you want my autograph or something?"

"Nothing of the sort, I need your help with something."

"Like what?"

"From what I heard you helped Kazuma to learn to control the power of his Tenseigan, right?"

"What's it to you?"

"Kazuma is my older brother, I'm just like him but the problem is that I don't know how to control the power of my eyes. Please, just tell me how he did it so I can master its power as well."

'He's got the same fire in his eyes as his brother, that's for sure. I came because my brother the Raikage ordered me to take a vacation, I'm not here to play a bunch of games of 20 questions. You hear me, fool ya fool? Why would I wanna give up my free time for some brat I've never met?"

"Because I'm desperate!" Tatsu bowed his head "Please, I need to master his power." his body began shaking, his tone becoming increasingly desperate "I'm not strong enough as I am now, if I don't master this power then all of the people I know and love are going to die out there! My friends, my family, everyone! Please, I'm begging you!"

"...You're not big on formalities and the like are you?"

"Is it that obvious?"

"Look, like I said I'm not giving up my free time. But I like your brother and I admire your guts kid, you get it just like the rest of us. So if you really wanna train, go find the number Six and he'll show you where to go." and he shut the door.

"...Number Six? What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"My best guess is he was talking about me."

Tatsu looked back and saw a figure in a blue kimono standing behind him "No way… is that you Utakata?"

Sure enough, Utakata stood behind him, brown markings around his cheeks and eyes "It's been a long time Tatsu."

"So if this guy sent me to you then that means…"

"Yep, I've earned the full cooperation of the Six Tails. Turns out his name is Saiken."

"Huh."

"Yeah I know right? Anyway come on and follow me, I'll take you to Killer B's old training grounds where both him and I unlocked the full power of our Tailed Beasts." he started walking away.

"Alright." Tatsu followed him.

"So by the way, how's that master of yours doing that you told me so much about? Did he come with you?"

Tatsu suddenly stopped, clenching his fists until they nearly bled.

Utakata noticed this "What's the matter?"

"My master… Hayate-sensei… he was killed."

Utakata's eyes widened slightly "I see."

"It was Hidan and Kakuzu of the Akatsuki."

Utakata froze 'Those two…'

"That's why I'm so desperate to get stronger before the war. I've already lost my master, I can't afford to lose anyone else."

"...I see. Come on, let's go. It's not that far from here." and Utakata led him onwards without another word.

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Soon enough, Utakata led him to a waterfall in the middle of the forest "Alright then, here we are."

Tatsu blinked "Wait a minute, so this is it?"

"Yep, this place is called the Waterfall of Truth."

"So this is where you and Killer B learned to control the power of your Tailed Beasts and where my brother learned to control his Tenseigan?"

"For you yes, but for jinchuuriki this is just the first step."

"Oh. Hey by the way, where's Hotaru?"

"Right here!"

Tatsu looked back and saw Hotaru rushing towards him "Oh hey."

"Tatsu, it's been too long!" Hotaru bowed "It's great to see you again."

"You too. Sorry, but I don't have time for any kind of small talk right now. I came here so I could train, end of story."

"Right." Utakata stepped out onto the lake sitting in front of the waterfall and pointed to a small island in the center "Sit down on this thing and close your eyes Tatsu, once you do you'll see your true self."

"What do you mean I'll see my true self?"

"It's not something I can explain, you won't understand until you do it."

"...Alright, I guess." Tatsu sat down on the island and began meditating.

"Now we wait."

"Do you think he'll be able to do it?" asked Hotaru.

"I don't think he'll be able to do it, I know he'll be able to do it."

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"Hey."

Tatsu opened his eyes and found himself facing another version of himself, this one having white pupils and black sclera "What the hell? This guy looks exactly like me. Is he some kind of Shadow Clone? No, I'd know if I'd made one.'

"Come on, that should be obvious to you if you're as sharp as you claim to be. I'm the real you, the realistic side of you that truly understands how cold and cruel the shinobi world is that exists deep inside of your heart. You see, I am you. The feelings at your core and the shape of your truth, the fact is that I'm the true you."

"Stop making stuff up, I've never seen you or heard of you once in my entire life so quit making stuff up."

"...So this is the place they call the Waterfall of Truth? I never thought I'd be able to completely emerge like this, and damn I like it. Anyway, I'm the truth that you're supposed to face. I'm the real you, your true self inside."

"The real me? But…"

"Yeah that's right, I'm all of the hatred and insecurities that I hold inside of you. Take it like Yin and Yang for example, you're the Yang while I'm the Yin."

'So this is the inner darkness that prevents me from mastering the Tenseigan, just like Kazuma told me before.'

"Yeah you've got that right. Just face the reality, I'm the real one here and I'm not gonna let some fake try and boot me out of my own head."

"So that's how it is then is it?"

Dark, as the fake will now be called, charged forward and aimed a fist.

Tatsu stopped the fist with his own, then fired off his own fist.

Dark stopped that fist with his own.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but you're the fake one here and I'm here to prove it."

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Ino was looking after a seasick Lee 'He really is out of it isn't he?' then she looked out the window 'Tatsu went straight after Killer B, so he really must be desperate to master his eyes before the war starts. I've never seen him like this though…'

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Tatsu wasn't getting anywhere with conquering Dark "Dammit! Our strength levels are exactly the same! At this rate I'll never get through it.'

Dark smirked "Just accept it, there's no way you'll ever be able to defeat me."

"Fine, then I'll use quantity over quality! Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Tatsu summoned 10 Shadow Clones.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu." Dark summoned 10 Shadow Clones.

'Son of a bitch this is completely ridiculous, we even know the same jutsu?'

"So you finally figured it out? Took you long enough, and I thought you were supposed to be the sharp one."

"...Take him down!" Tatsu sent his clones forward.

"Take him down!" Dark sent his clones forward, cancelling out Tatsu's clones.

"Rasengan!" Tatsu charged forward with a Rasengan in his hand.

"Rasengan!" Dark sent Tatsu forward with a Rasengan in his hand, the clash sending a shockwave throughout the area.

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Tatsu suddenly opened his eyes and began gasping 'Dammit, that guy forced me out of my own mind.'

"How did it go?" asked Utakata.

"This guy that looks exactly like me showed up, I think he might have been the dark half buried deep inside of me? He's exactly like me in every way. We've got the same level of strength, the same jutsu, the same fighting style, the same tricks, everything is completely identical between the two of us. We'll end up fighting forever if I go back in there again."

"Well you have to defeat him, if you don't then you'll never be able to handle the power of your eyes."

"So how the hell am I supposed to beat this guy?"

"That's something I can't tell you even if I wanted to, but I do know that if you want to conquer your darkness then you need to come to terms with your greatest doubts and accept them."

"Then what the hell are my greatest doubts supposed to be?"

"...Let's get back to that a little later. Tell me something Tatsu, why are you so desperate to master the power your eyes hold within?"

"Why do you think? I need to get stronger, if I don't then I'll never be able to protect the people that I-" paused "Oh."

"Your inner darkness knows your greatest weakness, he knows that you come off as nonchalant and confident in your abilities and those of your friends and allies, but deep down you constantly fear that you're not powerful enough to protect them."

"...I think that may have become an issue when my brother was first killed, I know that he isn't really dead but the memories of the pain I felt still remain. I kept telling myself that if I had been stronger than maybe I could've saved him, so I started training with Hayate-sensei and the others as hard as I could for 4 whole years, so I could protect the people I cared about and so I would never have to fail any of them ever again. But then…" he gripped his fists "But then the threat of the Akatsuki began to rise, and Hidan and Kakuzu started searching for jinchuuriki all around the Land of Fire, and because of that I lost Hayate-sensei…"

"I can't say I know any of the pain or suffering other jinchuuriki have, I never really did get ostracized like other jinchuuriki were. The people hated and feared Yagura a lot more than they did me, whether or not it was because of him being a jinchuuriki or because of his horrible bloody reign, in my eyes it didn't really matter."

"I see."

"Well isn't that convenient for him?"

Tatsu looked back and saw a faint silhouette of Dark behind him, but it faded away 'He's still there, still haunting me.' he started walking away.

"Where are you going?"

"Sorry Utakata, I just need to be alone and think to myself for a little while."

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An isolated area near the shore of the island.

That's where Tatsu found himself after wandering for what seemed like hours, and he finally sat down so he could think 'Maybe Utakata is right, maybe it's my deep seated insecurities about protecting my loved ones that are preventing me. Is that what the real me was trying to tell me during that fight? That I'm not strong enough to protect them? I never really gave it very much thought, but I guess that somewhere deep inside me heart it's true. Even after all of the training I've gone through, I still have doubts about being able to protect them.' then he heard a loud crash and looked up to see the giant squid attempting to flatten him with a tentacle 'Son of a bitch, not this thing again!' he dodged a swipe of one tentacle 'I guess I'm gonna have to use Sage Mode to calm this thing down.' he formed a hand seal "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he then summoned 20 clones "Cover me."

"Right!" the clones charged in, only for all of them to be flattened by the squid within a matter of moments.

'Well the clones didn't last long. No matter, lucky for me I only need at least 30 seconds to enter Sage Mode.' the usual blue markings appeared around his eyes 'Alright then, time to cross fighting a giant squid off of my bucket list!' he then then punched the squid directly between the eyes with his right fist, then slammed a Rasengan down onto its head with his left, causing the squid to retreat back into the sea. Then Tatsu landed back on the spikes 'You know, maybe the level I'm at isn't so bad after all.'

"So this is where you were."

Tatsu looked back and saw Ino standing behind him "Ino."

"Utakata told me that you ran off so I came looking for you, and now I find you punching out a giant squid. So yeah, it looks to me like you're doing alright."

"...I'm scared Ino, I'm really truly scared."

Ino sat down beside him.

"I know I usually seem calm cool and collected, but this time around I'm really and truly terrified. I don't know if I can do this."

"I've never seen you like this. What happened to the Tatsu Kamikaze that would charge in like an angry rhino to protect his friends?"

"That's different Ino, this is war we're talking about. One wrong move and you and everyone else will die."

"...Tell me something, what was the first thing you did when you saw this dark half of yours?"

"Well he kept saying that he was the hatred inside of me, that he was the true me."

"And how did you respond to that?"

"By trying to beat him to a pulp."

"Why?"

"Because I… I… I don't know."

"...In times of peace, you can never forget the possibility of war. In times of war, you can never forget compassion."

"What?"

"That was a quote by the First Hokage, and this too. The hatred in you, it's a part of who you are. Everyone has some in their hearts. You know that don't you? Don't forget, what really draws people to you and makes them believe in you, is your conviction. Remember, violence isn't always the answer, even for a shinobi."

"...So you're saying that I'm not supposed to defeat this dark half, but rather I'm supposed to pacify him?"

"Well that's up to you."

"...You know what,, I think I'm gonna give it a shot. But first…" he instantly caught Ino in a tight hug, then gently yet passionately kissed her on the lips "Thank you Ino, you really are my greatest inspiration. Well I should really head back before the others get to worried, do you wanna come?"

"Sure." she started following him back, and smiled 'This is the man I fell in love with, the one who'd go to the ends of the earth for his loved ones.'

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"Sorry about that."

Utakata looked up and saw Tatsu emerging from the forest, with Ino at his side "So are you good now?"

"Yeah I think so, and now I know what I've gotta do." then he promptly sat down on the island and began meditating.

"So what exactly did you do?"

Ino shot him a bright smile "I just kissed him."

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Tatsu opened his eyes 'Here we go, time for round 2.'

Then Dark emerged from the waterfall "So you're back for more are you? I guess you didn't learn your lesson. Try all you want, the end result won't change."

Tatsu stood and smirked "Yeah you're right, I realize now that I won't get anywhere by trying to defeat you with force. The two of us are exactly the same in that regard."

"And you can't chase me out either, I know you better than anyone else could ever possible know you."

"Then I guess I don't even need to ask whether or not you already know."

"I already know what?"

"The decision I made earlier."

"What the hell are you going on about now?"

"Don't play dumb or act like you don't know. Alright fine, I'll tell you. This place is called the Waterfall of Truth because it's supposed to reveal the truth in your heart right? Just give me a minute to concentrate, and I'll show it to you right now." he clasped his hands together, and writing appeared above him "Number One protector of the Hidden Leaf, Tatsu Kamikaze. This is my autograph, a symbol of who I am, what I am, and what my desire is."

"You bastard…"

"Yeah apparently after I beat Hidan and Kakuzu I became some kind of role model for the students in the academy. They kept asking me for an autograph, but I didn't have one to give them, but now I do."

"So what if you have some lousy autograph?! It's nothing but some big joke! You think you can protect them?! It doesn't matter how strong you become because they'll just keep dying anyway, just like Hayate-sensei did! Don't you remember that? Don't you?!" Dark gripped his chest, tears brimming in his eyes "It was so hard, so painful! I'm the only one who will ever truly understand just how much pain you felt that day, and how much pain you still feel! If you couldn't protect your own master then what makes you think you can protect the others?! How do you know you won't fail them too?!"

"...Maybe I can't. The important thing right now is to have faith in them, but it's also important that I have more faith in right now. Right now, the most important thing that I can do is have more faith in myself. I need to trust and believe in the me that's going to protect all of my friends."

Dark finally fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face "Why… Why… After all the pain you've gone through trying to protect them…"

"You can thank Ino for that, she helped me realize that whether or not I actually do know if I can or not I was born to protect people. She believes in me, it's only right that I have faith in myself."

"Tell me… Do you think I'm just something in your way?! What exactly was I to you?!"

"The fact that you existed was the reason I've become as strong as I have, you're the only reason I've gotten as far as I have."

"And what now?! How do you know you won't fail?! That they won't die?"

"I don't know, for all I know they might end up being the first ones to die or they'll be the last ones. But I know one thing for sure."

"What?!"

"I know that I won't be able to live with myself if I don't at least try."

Dark froze "That's…"

"Yeah, that's what I said about avenging Hayate-sensei."

"So what about me them?!" Dark charged forward "What the hell am I supposed to do from now on?!"

"That's an easy question to answer." Tatsu caught dark in a hug "You just need to become a part of me. After all, you are me aren't you? I can't even begin to thank you enough for everything that you've done for me, but it's alright now. You don't have to wallow in your pain alone anymore."

Dark's arms fell limp to his side, and he slowly evaporated, leaving nothing behind.

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Tatsu slowly stood and opened his eyes 'You don't have to suffer anymore, not when you've got people beside you who can share your pain. I may not be able to protect all of them, but I'll be damned if I don't try.'

"So how did it go?" asked Ino "Did it work."

"Let's find out." Tatsu closed his eyes for a moment and stood completely still, then his eyes shot open, now blue with white irides, and he leapt into the air. Then he was enveloped in a cyan cloak of chakra and sent out blasts of wind, lightning, fire, water and earth simultaneously, before he returned to the ground and powered down "Does that answer your question?" he slowly walked over and wrapped her in a tight hug "Thank you Ino, none of this would've been possible without you and I really mean that."

"I guess that's proof that this thing is effective."

Tatsu looked and saw Naruto approaching with Yamato, Motoi and Killer B "Wait, so are you seriously just getting here now?"

"No, I tried first and then found him." he jerked a thumb at Killer B "So I'm guessing things went well on your end?"

Tatsu activated his Tenseigan "You tell me?"

"Nice. Well, wish me luck." then Naruto went to sit and meditate.

"It's too early to celebrate, you hear me fools ya fools." Killer B stepped forward "At least that's what I should say, but first things first, good job." he held out a fist.

"I really can't thank you enough." Tatsu returned the fist bump.

"I didn't do anything, Utakata's the one to thank."

"Oh yeah." then he turned to Utakata "Seriously man, I can't thank you enough."

"So have you erased your doubts?" asked Utakata.

"...No I didn't, I just faced them."

"And that right there Tatsu, that is why you're going to be a great shinobi, and why you won't fail."

"I know."

"And done." Naruto stood and grinned.

"So that's done?"

"Yep."

"That was fast."

"I talk fast."

"And again, it's still too early to celebrate, you hear me fools ya fools." then Killer B once again stepped forward "So what do you guys say, shall we try controlling the powers you hold deep inside you? From this moment I'm gonna be your instructor so prepare yourselves to suffer death or torture!"

"Yeah, bring it on!"

"Follow me fools ya fools, ya know." and he went back behind the waterfall.

"Hey cool, looks like there's something behind the waterfall ya know." Naruto followed him through.

"If I hear ya know one more time, I'm gonna kill both of those two idiots, Tailed Beasts be damned." Tatsu followed him back.

"I'd better go too." Utakata followed them.

"...So should we go too?" asked Ino.

"This is their training, we'd probably just be in the way." Kazuma pointed out 'Not that things will get any easier from here.'

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Naruto stared in awe at what he found behind the waterfall "Woah…"

"This is where you'll be fighting the Nine Tails in here." Killer B told him.

"...Did you just say that I'm fighting the Nine Tails?"

"Yeah that's right, you feel me fools ya fools?"

"Yeah."

"Good."

"So what about me?" asked Tatsu "I've already mastered my Tenseigan, what is there for me to do in here?"

"Simple, you've still got to master that power on your back."

"What power?" he looked back "Hold on, you mean the Dragon Blade? Wait a minute, are you saying that-"

"Yeah, you're about to fight the Light Dragon."

"...Killer B, out of everything that's happened since I got to this island, this is by far the most insane! I fought the Light Dragon a year ago, and all I got was that thing breaking every bone in my body!"

"And that's why you have to master the power fool, ya fool!"

"...Fair enough." Tatsu looked around the temple as they continued on "This place looks ancient, the archeology to this place must be important too. These statues should be restored though."

"There's nothing to restore, all of these statues were carved without heads to begin with. There's a reason for it." Utakata told him.

"Fair enough I guess. But seriously though, how the hell are Naruto and I supposed to fight the Nine Tails and the Light Dragon? How do we even go about facing them in the first place? This doesn't involve you doing anything stupid does it?"

"You think you can control powers like that by doing something stupid?" asked Killer B incredulously.

"Look at Naruto!"

"...My point is that this is a sacred place where those selected as jinchuuriki have long come to undergo purification ceremonies." Killer B led them to a spot on the wall at the end "It's up here so you can talk to your Tailed Beast in a special way inside this structure, you hear what I say?"

"Inside there?"

"Only those who have been chosen may enter this place, put your head into this space. If you're a good man who's respected with no darkness in your heart detected, then the door will open and you won't be rejected."

"No darkness in your heart." Naruto realized "That makes sense, so that's why we had to face and defeat our darkness in the Waterfall of Truth."

"However, if there's any darkness in your heart then the doors will not part you'll consent, and the statue will bite off your head and tear you apart, you content? Those headless statues you saw on the way here are of the past jinchuuriki whose hearts weren't sincere."

"...Alright, I'll do it." Naruto stepped forward 'All I can do at a time like this is believe in myself.' and he put his head inside, then suddenly started freaking out.

"Naruto!" Tatsu promptly yanked him out, only to find that Naruto was now decapitated, and yet he remained strangely unfazed "...You just can't help yourself can you?"

"Well leave it to you to ruin a perfect opportunity for a prank." Naruto pulled his head out of his jacket and pouted "Sorry, I just couldn't help myself."

"I know you couldn't."

"I did the same thing." Utakata pointed out "Let's be real for a minute, we all did that. B said that those statues are just there to scare us."

"...Killer B."

"What's up?" asked Killer B.

"Sacred my snow white ass!" then Tatsu looked and saw the door open, revealing the entrance to a hidden room "So what's this?"

"This is where it goes down. You guys both need to go in there, sit down, close your eyes and focus."

"So just like at the Waterfall of Truth."

"Yeah, and once you do all that you'll meet up with your beasts."

"Hey before we do this can I ask you something?"

"What's up?"

"Why are you helping me tame the Genryu spirits? I thought this whole thing was meant strictly for jinchuuriki."

"...Let's just say I feel a kindred spirit." then he led them inside "Listen closely and I'll give you an explanation. Naruto answer my question, what kind of sealing jutsu was used on your Nine Tails?"

Naruto blinked "What kind of-?"

"It's an Eight Signed Tetragram Seal." Tatsu answered for him.

"Yeah, what he said.

Killer B nodded "A tetragram seal huh? I've gotta say that's pretty impressive, it's even more solid than my own Steel Shell Seal. You got the key?"

"Key?" then his eyes lit up in realization "Yeah, I do."

"Good."

"Are you sure about this?" asked Tatsu "I'm all for him getting stronger, but undoing the seal seems pretty risky. But what if something goes wrong and the Nine Tails decides to be a dick and break loose?"

"Then we'll just have to seal him away in here, that's what this place is for. I thought you would have faith in him."

"Oh I do, I just like to be prepared. I never act without making a plan."

"You do like 70% of the time." Naruto pointed out.

"Just because I don't say it out loud doesn't mean I don't think of it."

"You've got that brain fart look on your face at least 55% of the time."

"...Shut up." then he sat down and began meditating.

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Tatsu then found himself in a black void 'So I'm doing this in Limbo then, actually that makes a lot of sense. Endless space, dilated time, nobody else around.'

Then the spirit of the Light Dragon appeared "Tatsu Kamikaze."

"It's been a long time, your presence is as commanding as ever Hikari."

"Your presence feels different, it feels pure and cleansed. I see that you have faced your doubts."

"Yeah but I haven't overcome them."

"Very few people actually do. It seems that the jinchuuriki of the Eight Tails has decided to train you to master my power."

"That's the plan."

"You have proven yourself worthy time and time again Tatsu. However, now you must prove you are truly deserving and powerful enough to wield the full might of the Genryu spirits. Now come!" the Light Dragon charged.

Tatsu leapt as high into the air as he could 'So it's one test after another. Dammit, and I had enough of that back in the academy. Which I never actually went to.'

"You are aware that I can hear your thoughts, and I've also gained access to your memories since you've acquired the Dragon Blade. Now you must prove yourself truly deserving of my power."

"Fine by me." blue markings appeared around Tatsu's eyes 'Like I thought, since my actual body isn't moving I can use Sage Mode no problem.' a Rasengan formed in his palm, growing to a massive size "Sage Art: Massive Rasengan!" he launched the massive Rasengan downwards.

Hikari blocked the Rasengan with his wing, then let out a shockwave that sent Tatsu flying backwards.

Tatsu recovered and gained some air by jumping off of the wings, only to find one of Hikari's claws above him 'He's so fast!' he leapt out of the way of the claw and blitzed behind Hikari, then grabbed him by the tail and flung him around through the air before finally slamming him into the ground "I'm just beginning!" he leapt up.

Hikari thrusted a claw towards him.

Tatsu formed a Shadow Clone and had it launch him higher into the air, then formed a Rasengan in his hand as he summoned another Shadow Clone, the Rasengan expanding into a certain four pointed shape "Take this! Sage Art: Wind Style: Rasenshuriken!" he hurled the Rasenshuriken downwards, detonating on Hikari in the center and weakening him. Then he leapt back to the ground "So what now?"

"Now you must enter your Tenseigan Chakra Mode and attempt to extract my chakra from my body."

"Alright." Tatsu entered his Tenseigan Chakra Mode and began sucking out the chakra from Hikari, only for it to suddenly turn black "Wh-What?" his Tenseigan Chakra Mode faded, as did his Sage Mode "What's going on?"

"Hate you…"

'A voice?'

"It hurts… kill you…'

'These voices… I don't understand, what is this?' his right eye suddenly turned white with a black sclera 'I can't do this… it's too strong… I've gotta get out of here…'

"It's alright, you don't have to leave." a soft feminine voice spoke.

Tatsu looked around and saw that the black void of Limbo had turned completely white, then looked ahead of him.

A female figure with black hair and black eyes stood before him and smiled softly "You've really grown up, Tatsu."

"Wh-What is this? Who are you? Where did you come from? How did you know my name anyway?"

"Oh that's right, nobody told you did they? Well then, how about you go ahead and try and guess who I am?"

"...Whenever I try to guess at anything it somehow always ends with me being hit in the balls by some f*cking beast."

"Language!" the woman promptly hit him over the head "Fine, how about this. Who was the founder of Death to the Tick week?"

"...Oh."

"Yeah, in our clan it's pretty common to have great respect for the Uzumaki clan but also to have a deep seated hatred for their verbal tick. Nevermind that right now though, let's talk about you for a change. I really hope you didn't end up with any sort of weird quirks."

"Then that means you're…"

"Your big brother really didn't tell you anything did he? Well I guess I shouldn't be surprised, we never have been ones to deal with painful memories."

Tatsu almost instantly wrapped his arms around her, tears falling from his eyes "I've… I've wanted to meet you for so long… mom…"

The woman, Kumiko Kamikaze, returned the hug "I've felt the same, son…"

Then Tatsu finally released her "Where to start, I've got so much to tell you."

"I'll listen to anything you have to say, and you can ask me anything you need to. But first things first, you need to master the power of the Light Dragon." she placed a hand on his chest, her eyes turning blue with white irades "How about I lend you some of my power to finish this fight once and for all."

"Yeah… Yeah, that sounds good."

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Tatsu found himself back in Limbo "Back here again?"

"You were in the middle of a big battle." Kumiko appeared right beside him.

"So you really are here after all Kaa-san."

"Yeah, your father set this up in coordination with your Dragonseed when you were born so I would automatically appear to you here when you truly needed me, whether I would be dead or alive, so I could give you a hand."

"Wait, are you saying that my father knew that I would acquire the power of the Dragon Blade?"

"Yep. Just like your father, right?"

"...You know, Kiba and Shika always said that their moms are scary. I don't see what the big deal is."

"Well to be fair Tsume and Yoshino always were pretty overbearing most of the time, I even found it kind of suffocating being around them sometimes. Kushina was kind of the same, but the only thing I found annoying was her verbal tic."

"I've dreamt at night of throttling Naruto just to get him to stop."

"I know right? Anyway, I usually hung out with Kushina and Mikoto, the mothers of your two other friends Naruto and Sasuke."

"...Wait a minute, so that psychotic redhead I met in Limbo that one time was the woman that spawned Naruto of all people? Yeah, I can see it." then he turned serious "Now then, we've got a fight to finish."

"Right." Kumiko formed a hand seal, and cyan coloured chakra chains suddenly shot out and bound Hikari to the ground.

"So you've called upon another of your clan."

'I feel so calm now, so happy with her by my side. With her here… I know I can do this!' with a furious roar, Tatsu flashed back into his Tenseigan Chakra Mode, his blue chakra purifying the black.

"My chakra can't suppress him for very long." Kumiko warned "You better end this while you have the chance."

"Will do, but I'll need you to play your part in this too mom." Tatsu then formed a familiar hand seal "Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he summoned 50 clones, each one forming a Rasengan in their hand, and they charged "Rasengan Super Barrage!"

"You have yet to win this battle!" Hikari dissipated 30 clones with a single sweep on one of his claws.

"I can keep going you know." Kumiko tightened her hold on the chains, causing Hikari to fall to the ground.

"Now!" each Rasengan grew to massive size "Sage Art: Massive Rasengan Barrage!" they all fired off the Rasengan barrage, sending Hikari tumbling back.

Eventually, Hikari stopped himself "Such power…"

"And one more for the road!" Tatsu charged through the smoke, having dropped his Tenseigan Chakra Mode and gone back to Sage Mode, a golden colored Rasenshuriken in his hand "My newest and most powerful attack! Tenseigan Art: Golden Wheel Rebirth Rasenshuriken!" he fired the Tenseigan powered.

"Such incredible raw power, the resolve alone is nearly staggering…"

"YOU'RE FINISHED!" Tatsu gave one final push, sending Hikari back using the sheer force of the Rasenshuriken, and managed to pull out a silhouette made of pure chakra, which he then pulled into himself, engulfing him in a white shroud of chakra, before it suddenly dissipated "It's over."

Hikari suddenly appeared before him, completely unharmed "You have surpassed my expectations Tatsu Kamikaze, none before you have mastered my power to such a degree as this. You will have my power, have all of our power, but only when the time is right. You must survive and prosper until then." and with that, he disappeared.

"Thank you, Hikari."

Kumiko immediately took Tatsu's hands in hers "You did it Tatsu, you really pulled it off."

"Hey come on mom, was there really any doubt?" then his mood saddened "So mom, what are you going to do now?"

"Well now I can go and join your father."

"I see. But first, there's something I need to ask you, something that I need to know that can't wait any longer." he looked up and looked her dead in the eye "Where were you and my father on the day Naruto was born 16 years ago, where were both of you the night Kurama attacked the Hidden Leaf?"

"...That's something very complicated. To tell you about that, first I have to tell you about the jinchuuriki of the Nine Tails before Naruto. That was his mother, Kushina."

"...Wait a minute, Naruto's mom was the jinchuuriki before him?"

"Yes, she was. Before I can tell you about what happened that night, I need to tell you more about her. Back then she was chosen as the second jinchuuriki host of the Nine Tails- I mean Kurama, and that very purpose was the main reason as to why she came to the Hidden Leaf Village in the first place, all the way from the now extinct Land of Eddies."

"Was it because the Land of Eddies had such a close relationship with the Land of Fire?"

"Yes, that's right. A shinobi from the Senju Clan of the Hidden Leaf and one from the Uzumaki clan of the Hidden Leaf were distantly blood relatives, full of shinobi brimming with vitality the Hidden Eddy was also known as the Village of Longevity. The Uzumaki clan excelled at sealing jutsu, it was their specialty, and the only problem was that they were a bit savage with it. Their village was the original creator of the tetragram seal that Naruto has on his stomach. His mother taught it to his father, along with several other jutsu. Do you see that spiral symbol on the back of your jonin vest?"

"Yeah, you mean the crest of the Hidden Eddy Village."

"That's right, even today in the Hidden Leaf Village it's a symbol of commerottery."

"The academy never mentioned the Hidden Eddy Village, everything I know about it is what I've heard from Kazuma."

"That's because it doesn't actually exist as a village anymore, and it hasn't for a long time. Their abilities with sealing jutsu were greatly feared, so they were targeted and destroyed during the Second Great Ninja War. The survivors fled and hid themselves throughout the various other lands. Kushina had been born with chakra that was naturally very strong even by their standards, and its power was enough to suppress the vast might of Kurama."

"So she was dragged here from her village to be used like some kind of weapon? That's wrong, that's so wrong."

"Yes I know, but it was a different time back then. Tell me, do you know about the legendary battle between the First Hokage Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha?"

"Don't even mention Madara, the bastard is the last person I want to hear about."

"Please, just listen. Anyway, the jinchuuriki before Kushina was actually the woman who would become the wife of the First Hokage, and her name was Lady Mito Uzumaki. During that epic battle, to lend strength to Lord First, who had obtained and subdued Kurama using his Wood Style, Lady Mito sealed Kurama inside herself and ended up turning herself into its first jinchuuriki. The Hidden Leaf has been in possession of Kurama ever since that day, more than 100 years ago. When Lady Mito was nearing her end, Kushina was brought to the Hidden Leaf to be made into the next vessel. Only a few of the elders and Lord Third Hokage were aware of the reasons and circumstances for me coming. Kushina told Mikoto and myself when we became jonin."

"...Mom, as interesting as this has been, I was asking about you and dad. I met with Lord Fourth in Limbo about 4 years ago, and he told me that the entire thing was planned out by some masked bastard from the Akatsuki claiming to be Madara Uchiha."

"Minato must have left a few things out then, well I guess I can't blame him. Anyway he was right, when Kurama attacked the Hidden Leaf 16 years ago that masked Madara Uchiha was the one behind all of it. But right up until the moment the attack happened, Kurama was still sealed inside Kushina."

"So then what happened?"

"That masked Madara was what happened, I don't have any sort of idea how he discovered it but he knew the secret."

"What secret?"

"Somehow he found out about the one single weak point when the Tailed Beast seal on a jinchuuriki is weakened. He was able to time it perfectly and stole Kurama and ripped him right out of her."

"Hold on a minute, what do you mean the one point where the seal is weakened? When in the hell is that supposed to happen?

"It happens during childbirth. During the 9 months in which a female jinchuuriki gets pregnant and gives birth, the seal holding back the Tailed Beast weakens considerably since the energy that's normally used to maintain it is instead diverted to the growing child."

"So then you're saying…"

"It was October 10th, 16 years ago. You were almost a full year old then. By orders of the Lord Third Hokage, Kushina had to give birth inside a barrier at a fair distance away from the Hidden Leaf Village. This measure had to be taken in case the seal came undone when Kushina went into labor and Kurama ended up escaping. Minato was going to be there for the birth, and your father Kuroga was going to be stationed outside on guard with other ANBU Black Ops directly assigned to Lord Third, while I helped Lady Biwako deliver Naruto. Everything related to the birth had to be top secret. Everything with the birth itself went with little to no problems, and Naruto was born."

"I see. Naruto, you really do touch the lives of everyone around you don't you? Even my parents…'

"But then it happened. The masked Madara appeared and killed the ANBU guards, and after a brief struggle he cut your father down as well, then somehow entered the barrier with his intangibility jutsu. Then he killed both myself and the other ANBU and medical ninja stationed there, and he held Naruto hostage. Though Minato was able to save Naruto very quickly, Madara was able to control Kurama using his Sharingan after extracting him from Kushina. Then he tried to kill her, but Minato was able to save her, then tucked her and Naruto away in one of his safe houses while he dealt with Madara himself, but by that point Madara had sicked Kurama on the Hidden Leaf. After a difficult battle Minato was able to defeat Madara, but he escaped. There wasn't much they would be able to do against Kurama, so he decided to use his last option: The Reaper Death Seal, to seal Kurama inside Naruto at the cost of his own life, transferring his and Kushina's chakra into the Eight Signed Seal in the process." she wiped away a few tears from her eyes "I'm sorry for leaving you and your brother all alone like that, for leaving you boys to bare such a heavy burden all on your own, for not being there to stay by your side as you grew up, for not being there to give you the love you deserve."

"Please mom, it's alright. You don't have to apologize. Yeah sure I went through a lot of pain and loneliness as a kid, I felt the pain and grief of losing people I love time and time again, firstly when Kazuma faked his death, then when the Third Hokage was killed by Orochimaru, then when I lost Hayate-sensei to the Akatsuki, but I could never blame you or dad for any of that. So yeah I never really had any parents seeing how you guys were both already gone, but I had a bunch of damn good role models that I think more than made up for it. Besides, deep in my gut I always had a feeling and now I really know it for sure because I know that you and dad both sacrificed yourselves to save Naruto, and that's one of the reasons why I have as strong a bond with him as I do. There's more than just the Tenseigan or the Dragonseed inside of me, there's all of your love too and that really does make me happy. All things considered, I really am glad I got to be your kid."

"...Kuroga, did you hear that?" Kumiko wrapped her arms around him "Our hopes really did get through to reach our son after all. Tatsu, thank you so much for letting me become a mother again, and thank you for letting Kuroga become a father again, and thank you for letting Kazuma become a big brother. Thank you for being born to us. Thank you." and with that, she disappeared.

Tatsu wiped away his tears 'Thank you mom. I promise that I'll eat more than just ramen, meat and the very occasional fruit from now on and include veggies, I already bathe pretty regularly so that isn't an issue. I go to the hot springs at least once a week too, and I'm already getting plenty of sleep. I've already got tons of friends that I just with my life, and four in particular that are so much more to me. Naruto, Sasuke, Lee… Ino. I just wish you and dad would be here to meet them. As for my studies, I never was very big on written stuff but I've spent the last 7 years training like crazy under Kazuma, Asuma, Kakashi, Hayate-sensei and everybody else. A lot has happened with my teachers and upperclassmen when I was in the academy, but no matter what I have nothing but respect for them. Hayate-sensei taught me about all of the three shinobi prohibitions, though all of them have broken at least one of them at some point. But despite everything, Hayate-sensei taught me how a shinobi should live. He was a great shinobi, a great man, and a great father figure. I am Tatsu Kamikaze, jonin of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. My dream is to see Naruto become Hokage, and I will become the strongest shinobi the world has ever seen.' he put his fist against his heart "Count on it!"

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Tatsu opened his eyes and smirked "Done and done guys."

Then Naruto opened his own eyes "Yeah!"

"So how did things go on your end? What exactly happened with you?"

"A lot of this and a lot of that." Naruto held out his fist.

"Oh so that's how it is." Tatsu met the fist in the middle "You're so cool and collected even to me, I guess that means things went well. Oh, and I can see you used that in that situation."

"Yeah, and you putting your thing into play there was pretty damn awesome too."

"I know right? Wait, don't tell me- Oh no way a in hell, you don't mean that-?"

"Yeah you know it, you're damn right you know!"

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Lee immediately bolted out of bed when he heard the news from Yahiko "What?! I had no idea that Naruto and Tatsu were undergoing training as intense as that! Why the hell didn't anyone tell me?!"

"That's because you've been so seasick since we got here." Yahiko pointed out.

"I don't give a damn about that, I can't and won't stand by while my friends are going through such struggles! Take me to Tatsu and Naruto right away!" and he bolted out the door at full speed.

"...Sorry about that, he can be kind of over to top, but he's nowhere near as bad as his sensei is in that regard."

"No problem." Motoi waved it off, still dumbstruck "Master Killer B is a lot like that too."

"Let's just hope Guy and Killer B never meet, the fabric of time and space won't be able to handle two of them in the same location at once."

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"So now I can use my Tenseigan Chakra Mode freely." Tatsu quickly flashed into his Tenseigan Chakra Mode "See?"

"Yeah I know what you mean, now I have most of Kurama's chakra stored inside of me in an area separated from my own chakra so I'm not using it all the time." Naruto flashed into his Kurama Chakra Mode "This is how it is when I tap into Kurama's chakra that I have stored away in there, pretty cool isn't it?"

"I've gotta admit man, that really is-" then Tatsu paused, his eyes hardening "Naruto."

"Do you feel it too?"

"Yeah."

"What is it?" asked Utakata.

"We've got an intruder amongst us." then Tatsu looked in the direction of Samehada on Killer B's back "Just give it up, you don't have a hope in hell of hiding from the two of us anymore."

"You're saying that there's another chakra in here?"

Killer B started doing his thing "Yeah he senses another presence. That I didn't was careless of me, I must do penance!"

"Will you shut up!" Tatsu barked "The point is that the intruder is hiding inside your sword."

From where he was hiding inside Samehada, Kisame cringed 'That's impossible! My chakra signature is the same as Samehada, nobody should be able to sense it!'

"It's not chakra that Naruto and I are sensing, it feels hazy but it's definitely something else. It's something a lot more sinister and malicious, and it's coming from inside the sword!"

Then Samehada wriggled its way off of Killer B's back, and Kisame poked his head out "It appears the two of you are able to sense hate and other various emotions. That ability doesn't fit any known sensory type, it must be the power of a jinchuuriki who's achieved control over the Nine Tails or a Kamikaze who's achieved control over the Tenseigan."

"Hold on, you're that shark guy from the Akatsuki!" Killer B recognized him "But how? I thought we chopped his head off a good while back, back in the Land of Iron. So how in the world did you evade me and my brother's tag team attack?"

"It was really quite, I merely switched places with a clone while we were battling inside the bubble of water. You only cut off the head of my clone."

"But clones only simply disappear when you hit them hard enough, and the corpse still remained post mortem, no question. If someone else had transformed into you then my buddy C would have sensed it for sure! A perplexing constempation."

"It was a very special kind of clone, a parasitic clone that can be operated remotely by the caster. Well we should leave it at that for now, but in in this situation, to be facing three jinchuuriki and a Tenseigan user, that's far too much even for me." he crawled along the wall and hit a certain hidden button, opening the door.

"No way, how did you ever figure out the way to open the door to this room?"

"Now that's a rather foolish question, after all I did come all the way out here to act as a spy you know." and he started crawling along the wall towards the door.

"He's getting away!"

"No he's not!" Naruto blitzed forward and punched Kisame directly in the back.

Tatsu smirked 'He's so fast now, he might even be faster than the Fourth Hokage or the Raikage.'

'Damn, this feels awesome!'

Kisame coughed up blood 'He's so fast it's unbelievable!' then he broke free and got out of the chamber.

"Dammit!" Naruto suddenly found that his foot was caught in the wall "Dammit my leg, I hit the wall too hard and now I'm stuck in here!"

"Oh for the love of-" Tatsu let out a groan "Killer B help Naruto, Utakata and I will go after Kisame!"

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"So let me see if I've got this." Lee said slowly "You're supposed to meditate in front of this waterfall and your true self appears to you? Is this for real, like you're not making all of this stuff up?"

Motoi nodded "Yes it is, and Naruto and Tatsu also defeated their true selves here."

"...I see."

"So what do you think Lee?" asked Shisui "You wanna give it a shot?"

"Hell yeah I wanna give it a shot!" Lee leapt onto the island "Let's go!"

"...Somehow I doubt your true self is even human."

Lee just drowned him out 'Here goes nothing.'

"Pathetic." a voice spat out from behind the waterfall "Do you really think you can become a great ninja without any ninjutsu or genjutsu? A brat who's barely a man will just end up getting himself killed if he overdoes it. I know you have to keep up this appearance for the sake of Guy-sensei and Fu but face it, you can't become a great ninja just by wishing it so you fool."

"Is that really what you believe? Then come out and face me, I'll show exactly how strong my resolve truly is!"

"Very well then, know thy true self!"

'Here he comes!'

"Now!" then Kisame suddenly burst out of the waterfall, forcing Lee to snap out of it.

"What the f*ck?! That thing is supposed to be my true self?! Some kind of weird insect guy or something?!"

'Isn't that that odd beast brat?'

"Looks to me like I've forgotten what my resolve is, I can remind myself of it by bringing you down!"

Shisui face palmed "Lee you idiot that isn't your true self, stop it from getting away!"

"Right! Leaf Rock Crush!" Lee elbowed Kisame in the face, then followed up with a whirlwind kick, sending Kisame crashing into the rock "Yeah that- wait a minute…"

"Guys!" then Tatsu burst out with Utakata "Kisame hid himself inside Samehada and infiltrated the island with Killer B!"

"...What do you guys mean that wasn't my true self?"

"Oh you're doing Waterfall of Truth training? Cool. Anyway here's a hint, you're supposed to pacify and purify your true self instead of doing our usual thing and beating the living crap out of him. Oh and by the way, if you open your eyes then you're automatically sent back here to reality."

"Oh, well that's neat." then he looked at Kisame "Now that I think about it, isn't that-? Yeah it is, it's a pufferfish!"

'Yeah like I thought, he's an idiot.'

"No wait, maybe it was called a porcupine fish."

Then Yahiko suddenly grinned "Well there are a bunch of other strange creatures living here so I guess that there's a chance it could be… Hey Motoi, is that really a puffer fish? I hear they're supposed to be super tasty!" he started drooling.

"Are all of you deliberately pretending to be complete and utter idiots?!" Motoi finally lost his temper.

"Oh trust me, they're not pretending." Ino said dryly, with Shisui and Kazuma nodding sagely in agreement.

Kisame smirked "I see you still haven't changed one bit, you're still dumber than the most wild of beasts."

"Oh yeah right, what's going on?"

"Kisame has been hiding inside of Killer B's sword." explained Tatsu "He's been gathering tons of intel on us and the Allied Shinobi Force all this time, we can't let him get away with that intel."

"Right! Lightning Style: Purple Tiger!" Ino fired off a purple tiger made of lightning.

"Dammit!" Kisame was forced to retreat from Samehada to dodge it, turning back to his normal form in the process, only for Samehada to run off "Damn you Samehada!"

'That's Kisame Hoshigaki, the shark guy in the Akatsuki that was teamed up with Itachi. How did he even get here?' then she noticed Samehada rubbing against her legs, so she gently knelt down and rubbed its head 'It's weird, but I feel like I can understand it. I see, so he forced you to hide him inside of you. That must have been hard for you but don't worry, we'll take it from here girl."

"That thing's a girl?" asked Yahiko "How can you tell?"

"It's weird, but I feel like I can understand it somehow."

'If that's how it is, then fine.' Kisame swam underwater towards Samehada and grabbed her by the tail.

Ino suddenly found Samehada biting onto her "Easy girl, you don't have to be so rough."

Then Tatsu noticed that Kisame was gone "Dammit, he escaped. And he's a water style user, so- Dammit! Ino get away from the sword, Kisame is using it to steal your chakra!"

"What?" then Ino staggered slightly, feeling rather weakened.

That was when Kisame finally finished replenishing himself on Ino's chakra 'Excellent. It seems the girl has rather impressive reserves of chakra, but that just means more chakra for me to absorb.'

"Leaf Hurricane!" Lee charged in and attacked.

Kisame blocked the attack and threw him away 'Perfect, now my chakra reserves have been completely restored.' he formed a hand seal "Water Style: Water Shark Bomb Jutsu!" he then summoned a water shark and hid himself inside, then pushed Lee out of the way as he made his escape.

"Dammit!" Tatsu swore "Hurry, he's getting away! He's fast, if gets past the barrier surrounding the island then it's completely over! We've gotta stop him before he gets off the island or even I won't be able to track him down!"

Lee bolted back to his feet "Don't worry guys, I'll stop him! Eight Inner Gates: Sixth Gate of Joy: Open!" Lee opened the Sixth Gate, the force surprising all of the animals surrounding the island.

"Alright Lee, get ready!" Shisui activated his Mangekyo Sharingan, then formed one of the arms of his Susanoo "I'll throw you after him, and remember that the direction is 2 o'clock!"

"Right!" Lee leapt into the hand "Throw me!"

"GO!" Shisui threw Lee into the air after Kisame as hard as he could.

"Nice throw." Tatsu commented.

"Yeah…" then Ino suddenly collapsed.

"I've got you." Tatsu caught her and gently set her down on the dry ground "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, just a little drained is all… I'll be fine in a minute…"

"I have my doubts about that, the sword drained way too much of your chakra. At this point, I'd be surprised if you could even stand. It's a clear fact that Kisame can absorb chakra so I'm pretty much useless against him, the same going for everyone else here, and Naruto and Killer B are still behind that waterfall. The only problem there is that Naruto has a busted ankle and Killer B is the one who's treating him. Right now Lee is our last and best chance of stopping Kisame from leaving the island, if he gets away with all of the intel he's gathered then we're all screwed." then he noticed Samehada crawling towards them "Oh great, look if you're gonna try and steal more of her chakra then just know that I'll blast you into oblivion before I let you do that."

"No Tatsu, it's alright…" Ino held out a hand and gave Samehada a gentle smile "Come here girl, it's alright."

Samehada slowly crawled forward and placed its hilt on her arm, transferring chakra the chakra it stole back to her.

Ino sat up and got back to her feet "I'm alright, really."

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Lee was soaring through the air, but found that he was slowing down 'I guess I'm gonna need a boost, I'm counting on you Ningame.' he bit his thumb and formed a hand seal "Summoning Jutsu!" he slammed his hand down.

Then Ningame appeared "I don't see you or your sensei in forever and when I do you summon me in mid air?"

"Sorry Ningame, but I need to borrow your back!" Lee then ricocheted off of Ningame's back, then sent himself flying, leaving Ningame to fall to the ground.

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The shore of the island was quiet and isolated.

Kisame looked around and smirked 'Good, looks like I managed to give that idiotic brat the slip.' then he bit his thumb and formed a hand seal "Summoning Jutsu!" he summoned a shark, then pulled a scroll out of his mouth and placed it in the mouth of the shark.

"HEY!" then Lee suddenly burst down onto the surface of the water.

"My aren't you the persistent one?"

"So that scroll you gave to the shark contains all of the intel you gathered on us does it? Well forget it, I'm not letting it get away."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that boy, I have the topographical advantage here." he slammed his hand down on the watery surface "Water Style: Thousand Hungry Sharks!" he sent forward one thousand sharks made of water.

'Dammit, I can't even tell which shark it is anymore! Then again, if that's the case then I don't need to hold back! Come at me bros! Fire Style: Asakujaku!" Lee promptly unleashed a barrage of fire-enhanced punches, incinerating a large number of sharks, only to realize that a good number still remained when his barrage ended 'So where's the scroll with the intel? Dammit, there's still too many of them. I guess it can't be helped, I'll have to expand the blast radius. Sorry Guy-sensei, but during times of war we'll have to make an exception.' he dove down underwater and met Kisame face to face.

"So you won't let the sharks in the water get by either will you? Very well then, I'll just have to let them all tear you apart."

"Eight Inner Gates: Seventh Gate of Shock: Open!" Lee promptly opened the seventh of the Eight Gates, releasing the blue vapor.

"Yes I see, so that's how it is. Your fists move so fast that the friction causes flames to erupt, a taijutsu move that destroys with fire and the shockwave of punched air. You really are an odd beast, a shinobi as skilled in taijutsu as this truly is rare. Then again, I have known two other ones."

"Get ready shark man, this next taijutsu attack is far beyond even my last move! It's a single blow attack, hardly anyone has ever seen it!"

"It's impressive that your blue chakra is pushing the water away." Kisame formed a single hand seal "Water Style: Super Water Shark Bomb Jutsu!" he unleashed a water shark that was much larger than the ones before.

"Hirudora!" Lee fired off a punch that took the silhouette of a white tiger that clashed with the water shark.

'This Super Water Shark Bomb is no ordinary jutsu, it starts out already strong and gets even stronger by absorbing chakra. In other words, the stronger my opponent is the stronger my jutsu becomes.' then Kisame noticed something off "Wait, what's going on? I know the jutsu has absorbed his chakra, but it's not getting stronger! I'm certain that I absorbed his chakra! Was that not a chakra energy bomb?!"

"Now roar with the passion of my soul!" Lee pushed the Hirudora even further, overpowering the Super Water Shark Bomb and engulfing Kisame, as well as destroying all of the remaining water sharks.

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Everyone could feel the shockwave on the other side of the island.

"What in the world is that?" asked Motoi.

"That's Hirudora." explained Tatsu "That's the level of power Lee is able to unleash when he opens the Seventh Gate."

Naruto blinked "Hirudora? What a lame name for a jutsu, I thought Lee wanted to sound cool and not like some lame dork."

"This coming from Mr Sexy Jutsu- Oh crap, brace for the shockwave!"

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When the attack subsided, Lee stood over Kisame, still in the Seventh Gate and now clutching the scroll "It's over, don't you dare move or I won't hold back."

"That jutsu of yours." Kisame muttered "It wasn't a chakra energy bomb was it? And what's that blue aura you're emitting?"

"Hirudora isn't a ninjutsu attack that uses chakra, it's actually a taijutsu move. It's nothing more than an ordinary punch but it's a super fast one, a focused blast of pressurized air aimed right at your opponent. After initial compression, it spreads quickly outwards. As for your other question this aura surrounding me isn't chakra, anyone who opens the Seventh Gate of Shock will perspire blue sweat like this. What you're seeing is evaporation from my passion and exertion."

"Ah no wonder, what I had first thought was an energy bomb seemed to shrink but wasn't nullified. This is the third time we have clashed you know, I can't believe you still have a move like this up your sleeve. And yet you still don't take me seriously." Kisame's finger twitched.

Lee promptly punched him in the gut, causing him to cough up blood and pass out "I thought I told you not to move."

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Things grew quiet after the battle.

Once Lee had brought him back to shore, Yamato promptly bound Kisame using stocks made with his Wood Style chakra "There."

Naruto grinned "Nice one Bushy Brows, you really took him down."

Killer B grinned and started rapping "I guess you really are capable despite your looks Bushy Brows, but that blue sweat of yours sure packs some pows."

Tatsu felt his eye twitching "Killer B?"

"Yeah?"

Tatsu promptly sent him flying into a tree with one punch "You don't have the right to rap when you're the one who brought him here!"

Ino stepped up and knelt down in front of Kisame "We know he's an idiot but this is a great chance, if this goes well then I can get the plans of the Akatsuki and the true identity of their leader. I'm not as good at this as daddy is, but I'm going in for the intel." she placed one hand on Kisame's head "Alright, here I go." and she started the jutsu, cutting off any contact from the outside world.

"She's right, it is a good opportunity." then Tatsu punched Killer B again "I don't give a rat's ass how good of an opportunity it is, you still brought him here!"

"Hey fool, that wasn't my fault!" Killer B whined "I didn't know he was inside the sword, I cut his head off on the right chord!"

"Stop rapping before I rip out your vocal chords! And that's another thing, why the hell would you take the sword with you?!"

"It was a souvenir!"

"And look at how that turned out!" then he looked at Samehada "No offense to you, I'm just making a point."

Samehada let out to squeal.

"Yes exactly, the point being that he's a complete idiot."

Samehada started gesturing towards Ino.

"You like her?"

A nod.

"What is it you like about her though?"

A squeal.

"A sweet initial taste, yet it's mixed with a little bit of spice after swallowing. Yeah, that sounds about right with her."

Then Ino suddenly cried out and stumbled back "What the-?"

"Ino, are you alright? What happened?"

"It's unbelievable, he bit off his own tongue in order to wake him up so he could stop me from extracting intel on the Akatsuki."

Kisame began laughing triumphantly 'Madara, you once trusted me enough to tell me of your goal. Project Tsuki no Me, it was going to create a true world free of the lies that made me who I am today. I would have liked to have gotten there, but in the end I guess it was just never meant to be.' with a roar, he broke free of his restraints.

Tatsu got into a combat stance 'Yamato was suppressing his chakra using his Wood Style, but to think he still had that much strength left, well I guess he's in the Akatsuki for a good reason. I guess this guy just doesn't know when to give up."

"Tatsu, be sure to recapture him alive." Ino told him "This could be our last chance for us to get his intel…"

"You." Kisame pointed at Ino, his voice warped and mangled from biting off his own tongue, but not so much it wasn't understandable, then pointed at Samehada "I entrust Samehada to you." he formed a hand seal "Water Prison Jutsu!" he surrounded himself in a water prison.

"I don't think so!" Tatsu thrusted the Dragon Blade forward, but couldn't reach Kisame 'Damn, I can't reach into this wall of water. He used the Water Prison Jutsu on himself, does that mean he's going to-?"

"Summoning Jutsu!" Kisame summoned three sharks inside the water prison.

Tatsu withdrew his sword "Keep your cool guys, no need to panic. Just look at the situation he's in, he can't do anything." his eyes flashed into the Tenseigan.

Despite the circumstances of his situation, Kisame smiled 'Itachi, it's just like you said. Back when we were partnered up together, back when we first met, you told me that no matter who you are, you do not truly know what kind of man you've become until the moment when you reach the very end. One realizes one's true nature at the moment of death, isn't that what you said? Tell me Itachi, did you find it at the moment of your death? Did you discover the kind of person you truly were? Well Itachi, it seems that in the end I was not such a worthless human being after all.' and with that, Kisame allowed himself to be devoured by his sharks, leaving everyone shocked by his actions. When it was over, the water prison dispelled, and the blood covered sharks all disappeared, never to be summoned again.

"Unbelievable." Ino muttered "He actually fed himself to his own sharks. Well he was injured and weakened, I guess he figured that he wouldn't be able to escape from us."

Yamato promptly fell to his knees in disbelief "A member of Akatsuki who was strong enough to be paired with Itachi and was long feared as the Monster of the Hidden Mist, I never imagined he would die this kind of death."

"Is he dead though?" asked Yahiko "I mean, is he really dead?"

Ino gently embraced Samehada as she heard its cries "She's so sad that she's actually started crying, and I can't sense his chakra either. No question about it, he really did take his own life."

"Yeah, but still." Naruto muttered "He willingly gave his own life instead of giving up any information on his comrades. Even in the Akatsuki, there remain some who put their comrades before themselves." his mind flashed to Konan and Nagato.

Lee put a hand on his shoulder "It's true that he was an enemy, but all things considered I have a deep respect for him. Guy-sensei once told me that the measure of a shinobi's life is determined by the manner of his death." he looked at the spot where Kisame once stood and made a solemn vow "Kisame Hoshigaki, I will remember you for the rest of my life."

"Well said." Yahiko knelt down and picked up the scroll "In any case we made sure our intel wasn't leaked to the Akatsuki."

"But he recorded all of his intel in that scroll." Utakata pointed out "His plan was to smuggle it out of here, if that's the case then we should confirm the contents of the scroll and find out what he knew and what he was interested in so we can counter them."

"Yeah, good idea." Yahiko opened the scroll, only for water to explode out of the scroll and trap them all in water prison "This water is heavy, it's the Water Prison Jutsu! He left a booby trap in that scroll!"

"No shit, what gave you that idea genius?!" Tatsu exploded, then noticed multiple sharks emerging from the scroll "Guys watch out!" he quickly annihilated his shark with a miniature Rasengan 'Lee's still drained from using the Eight Gates, and I don't know how the others will hold out. Just hold on guys, I'll have you all out of there in a second!"

"No, don't worry about us!" Kazuma shouted "Just go get the shark that has the intel, you can't let it get away!"

"But-"

"Just go, don't forget that in war the objective is more important than the man!"

"...Right." Tatsu quickly raced off after the shark.

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Madara had gone to the Hidden Rain Village to obtain Nagato's Rinnegan, implanting it into his right eye, and when he returned Black Zetsu presented him with the intel Kisame had sent via his shark.

A/N:

I'm not writing out any more of Killer B's rapping than I have to, mainly because I'm terrible at it.

I didn't bother writing out Naruto's training at the Waterfall of Truth because you all know how that went.

Now Tatsu has the power of the Tenseigan at his disposal, I had to give him the Negative Emotion Sensing.

I also thought it would give Tatsu a little more bonus character development if he met his mother. After all, Naruto met his so why not?

I also thought it would be cool if Ino got Samehada, it was just an idea that popped into my head so I figured why not.

In case I didn't make it clear, the original White Zetsu is dead. His neck got snapped by the Raikage and he was incinerated by Kazuma.