CHAPTER 7: THE KAZEKAGE'S RESCUE (PART 3)


(Disclaimer: Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto. I only own my OCs)

"Talking / Jutsu"

'Thinking'

'Flashback'

"Flashback talk"

"Demonic voice"

Letter / Emphasis


BAAAAAAAAM

As he jumped away for his safety, Shujinko saw with impressive detail how Naruto's technique destroyed Itachi's chest upon impact. The raw power behind the jutsu not only obliterated the Uchiha's body, but it also fractured the earth beneath, leaving a huge round scar on the shattered ground. The Ōdama Rasengan dragged Itachi across the battlefield until the jutsu finally exploded, bursting into a spiral of energy before slowly fading away.

Shujinko, who was still in Sage Mode, was amazed by the amount of chakra Naruto had poured into his jutsu. He could sense remnants of loose chakra spread all over the place. The finishing power of Naruto's improved Rasengan was devastating, surpassing Kakashi's Raikiri and Shujinko's Kazekiri by a wide margin. Everyone was left awestruck by what they had just seen, and even Chiyo, a considerably old kunoichi who had witnessed every sort of jutsu during her days in the battlefield, was impressed. She never would've guessed that loud-mouthed brat was able to perform such a destructive technique.

'And this is the guy who couldn't even make regular clones three years ago,' Shujinko thought as beads of sweat began gathering on his forehead. Had they acted a second too late or a second too soon, their whole strategy could've easily failed and they would all be under Genjutsu, but their timing had been impeccable and the sealing jutsu had worked perfectly. Once again, teamwork had prevailed, and the man who had slaughtered the Uchiha clan was now dead.

After deactivating the Karura Tensei, Shujinko took a deep breath in order to calm his pounding heart. His body was still flowing with adrenaline after confronting Itachi. He stared at Naruto, who had his back turned and was gasping for air after performing the Ōdama Rasengan. "Nice work, Naruto. You really did a fine job… Naruto?"

When his teammate turned his head around to face him, a short gasp escaped from Shujinko's lips. Naruto's eyes were red and his pupils had turned into slits. His whiskers, which usually looked like thin lines on his cheeks, were ticker than usual. He had even grown a pair of fangs, giving Naruto a more feral, almost predatorily appearance. Shujinko gulped nervously, for he had seen that look on his friend's face before, and whenever that happened, it meant that Naruto was about to go on a furious rampage.

"Naruto, are you okay?" Shujinko asked slowly, to which Naruto hid his face. The Ozuma immediately felt his muscles tense, and he felt the need to grab a kunai just in case anything happened. He didn't want to hurt his very own teammate, but if Naruto got out of control, there was no telling what sort of disaster could take place.

Naruto turned around a second time, and to Shujinko's immense relief, his facial features were back to normal. "Don't worry about me, I'm all right," Naruto said as he took several deep breaths. The Ōdama Rasengan required a considerable amount of chakra, and controlling that much energy often caused Naruto to involuntarily tap into the Kyuubi's power. Thankfully, the seal that kept the monster fox at bay was extremely strong, and it took more than that for the Kyuubi's chakra to leak and get Naruto riled up. "Let's just finish this and get back to our mission,"

The rescue team assembled and slowly made its way to Itachi's demolished corpse. As they were walking, Shujinko made sure not to lower his guard under any circumstances. He knew that Itachi was dead as his chakra signature was gone, but they were dealing with the Akatsuki, and one could never be too careful when dealing with the Akatsuki. Shujinko was ready to activate the Karura Tensei once again at the slightest hint of danger. Once they were close enough, Shujinko glanced at the inert body in front of him, and…

"… Wait, what is…"

Shujinko began to blink repeatedly as his face developed an utterly puzzled expression. He was far from being the only one, as both Naruto and Sakura looked awestruck and perplexed. The dead man lying on the ground wasn't Itachi at all. He was a completely different person. His skin color, facial hair, weight, height, and body type belonged to somebody who wasn't the Akatsuki member they had just defeated. Apart from his robes, which had been torn to shreds by Naruto's Rasengan, there was absolutely no resemblance whatsoever between him and the real Itachi.

"Oi, what the hell just happened?" Naruto demanded to know, pointing a shaky finger at the impostor. "Who is this guy?"

"This can't be… That's Yūra-san!" Renjiro exclaimed, gaining everyone's attention.

"You know him?" Sakura asked.

"Of course I do! He's a member of the Sunagakure Council. He went missing shortly after Gaara-sama was abducted. I can't believe he was involved with the Akatsuki, after all his years of loyalty!"

The two shinobi from Sunagakure were staring at the pulverized corpse with narrowed eyes, unwilling to believe that the man in front of them, one of their own, had betrayed their village. Meanwhile, Shujinko was also bewildered, but for a very different reason. "I don't understand what's going on. While we were fighting, I could feel this man's chakra signature. It definitely belonged to Uchiha Itachi. Kakashi-sensei, is there a jutsu that allows you to copy another shinobi's chakra signature?"

"If such a jutsu indeed exists, I've definitely never heard of it," Kakashi replied as he covered his Sharingan with his headband. "Whatever the case may be, it's undeniable that this man right here is an impostor. The real Itachi wouldn't allow himself to get caught off guard so easily, and there was something odd about the way he moved. My Sharingan was able to notice the subtle differences during the encounter, and this body proves my suspicions right,"

Chiyo knelt next to Yūra and took a scroll from her bag. Once she opened it, a series of kanjis began to pop up at the center of the scroll, which she then placed on top of his chest. Chiyo then weaved a hand sign before pressing the palm of her hand against the scroll, and like a dispelled shadow clone, Yūra's body became a cloud of smoke and disappeared out of sight.

"What did you do, baa-chan?" Naruto asked right away.

"This is a special sealing scroll designed exclusively to carry the corpse of a fallen ninja," Chiyo replied as she rolled the scroll back to its original form. "Dead or alive, the body of a shinobi is full of information. I cannot determine whether if Yūra was a traitor or if he was being controlled, but since he came into contact with the Akatsuki at some point, we might be able to learn more about them by studying the body of the one who served as their agent,"

"That will have to wait," Shujinko interjected. "This farce has made us waste too much of our time. The Akatsuki must've sent this fake Itachi to stall us, which means that whatever it is they're doing to Gaara, they're not done yet,"


|Meanwhile, elsewhere|

"So they took you out as well, huh?" Kisame asked his partner, who was sitting next to him with his legs crossed. The two members of Akatsuki were hiding inside a small bear cave where they had carried out Pain's instructions of delaying the enemy's arrival. "I guess I should give you some credit for lasting longer than me,"

Itachi said nothing as he opened his eyes and undid the ram hand sign, taking a long breath through his nose. His encounter with Konoha's rescue team, although brief, had revealed some interesting facts. The Kyūbi Jinchūriki had grown older, but he had also grown stronger, at least in body if not in mind. His teammate, the one with the golden eyes, seemed to have acquired more experience as well. Even Kakashi had changed, and judging by his words, Itachi was sure that his former ANBU captain had obtained the Mangekyō Sharingan.

However, it was hard to make an accurate assessment of their skills. The leader of the Akatsuki had used the Shōten no Jutsu, a special technique known only to him, in order to turn living human sacrifices into copies of Kisame and Itachi himself. Both ninjas were able to control their copies to an incredible extent, but the maximum amount of chakra they could pour into said copies of themselves was a measly thirty percent of all their chakra, which represented a serious handicap in battle.

"Our orders were to stall the enemy as much as we could. Those copies of ours were good enough to distract them, but they were never meant to survive, not if we were only using a fraction of our power,"

"Tch, copy or not, I hate the fact that I lost," Kisame said with a scowl. "That Maito Gai is something else. Can you believe that spandex-wearing buffoon didn't even remember me from our previous encounter? I was about to cut him to ribbons when he unleashed his Taijutsu and pummeled me to death,"

"And that is why ninjas from Konohagakure are not to be underestimated," Itachi replied. He then got to his feet and gestured his partner to do the same. "Let's get going, Kisame. Our job here is done,"

As the rescue team was making its way to the location where Gaara was being held hostage, Shujinko couldn't stop thinking about the Akatsuki and the fake Itachi they had recently bumped into.

It hadn't occurred to him at the time, but now that they were closing in on their target, the Ozuma was beginning to wonder if there was something about the mission that he wasn't fully aware of in regards to the Kazekage and the Bijū inside of him. 'Kakashi-sensei told me that the Akatsuki is searching for all nine Bijū that are spread across the world. That's why they went after Naruto three years ago and why they went after Gaara now, because they both have a Bijū sealed inside of them,' Shujinko thought.

And now they had Gaara… But what was going to happen next? What was the Akatsuki going to do with him once they got what they wanted out of him? Were they going to kill him, keep him locked in a cell forever, or ask Sunagakure for a ransom?

They could probably win an exorbitant amount of money by negotiating the Kazekage's safe return to his village, but as far as Shujinko was aware, the goals of the criminal organization had nothing to do with the acquisition of wealth or material goods. On the other hand, Shujinko couldn't think of a reason as to why the Akatsuki would keep Gaara as a prisoner once they no longer had any use of him. It would be an unnecessary risk that would serve them no purpose.

'That means the Akatsuki will most likely eliminate Gaara as soon as they get their hands on the Ichibi. It's just a matter of time,'

"The place is just up ahead," Kakashi announced out loud. "Everyone, stay alert. Don't forget we're dealing with Akatsuki members,"

"Yes, sensei," Shujinko responded out of habit. He was too busy thinking of the possibility of Gaara already being dead by now, or at least on the verge of dying. It was a disheartening thought for sure, but as a shinobi, Shujinko was obligated to consider a mission's worst-case scenario, especially whenever the Akatsuki was involved.

A few minutes later, the rescue team arrived at a large lagoon where a massive boulder stood in place. To Shujinko's surprise, Team Gai was there as well, waiting for them with Pakkun. Shujinko and the rest of the group landed on the center of the lagoon, where they were greeted by the confident smirk of Konoha's Noble Green Beast. "Well well, if it isn't my eternal rival. It is good to see you Kakashi, even if you are late,"

"Sorry about that, we ran into some trouble on our way here," Kakashi replied casually. "And besides, you already know me. It'd be strange if I arrived anywhere on time,"

Upon seeing Naruto for the first time in three years, Lee immediately greeted him in his typical exuberant fashion. Neji was surprised to see him as well, but true to his style, the Hyūga merely acknowledged Naruto's presence with a single nod of his head. Meanwhile, Tenten and Shujinko were exchanging subtle glances without saying anything to one another, making sure that both of them were okay without the need of exchanging words.

Shujinko and Tenten had a long-standing deal together, one that they agreed upon during the beginning of their relationship. If they were ever in a mission together, they would treat each other strictly as comrades, not as boyfriend and girlfriend. Any non-related issues they had would have to wait until the end of their assignment. It wasn't easy for either of them, but they knew what they were getting into the day they got together and there really was no other way around it.

"Now who are these two?" Gai asked as he pointed his finger at Renjiro and Chiyo. "Reinforcements of Sunagakure?"

Renjiro nodded. "That's correct. I am Inaka Renjiro, and this is Chiyo-sama. Our village sent us to help with the rescue of our leader,"

"Then let's get started," Naruto said as he made a fist and smacked his open palm. "Gaara is supposed to be inside that place, right? All we need to do is smash through that boulder and problem solved,"

"I don't think it's gonna be that easy, Naruto," Shujinko replied. "Look closely at the boulder. The Akatsuki added an extra layer of protection to their hideout," At first, the blond knucklehead didn't know what his teammate was talking about, but then he noticed a little detail that nearly escaped his eyes. There was a small, rectangular tag placed in the center of the boulder with the kanji for Forbidden on it. "There's no mistaking it. That seal must be protecting the entrance,"

Kakashi nodded at his student's words. "Kekkai Ninjutsu, a branch of Ninjutsu specialized in the creation of barriers. Judging by that seal, I'd say this is a Gofū Kekkai, a barrier composed of five seals placed somewhere around the vicinity. If we take this seal off that boulder, we'll trigger the other four that are still active and the entrance will automatically block itself,"

"In other words, we won't be able to get inside until every single seal has been removed," Sakura said. "That doesn't sound so hard. I'm sure we can find them if we split into groups and search for them,"

"Not so fast. Finding the seals is just one part of the trick. In order to cancel a Gofū Kekkai, all five seals must be removed at the same time. If we fail to do this, the aforementioned effect will take place and we won't be able to get past that boulder,"

Gai's eyes twinkled with enthusiasm as a smile appeared on his face, striking a pose while giving them a thumbs up. "Say no more. Team Gai will take care of this. Neji, spot the remaining seals with your Byakugan. Once you find them, tell us where they are and so we can go search for them. The rest of you should stay here and wait for our signal. After all, the seal on the boulder needs to be torn off as well,"

The prodigy of the Hyūga clan did as told and proceeded to activate his Byakugan. Since there wasn't much to do while Neji searched for the seals, Shujinko took the chance to casually approach Tenten and Lee, making sure not to look or sound too worried. "Any problems on your way here?" he asked, and even though he was addressing the two of them, Shujinko was secretly more concerned with whatever his girlfriend had to answer.

"You bet. We ran into a fake Akatsuki member, one who was disguised as a creepy-looking guy with a huge sword," Tenten replied, meeting Shujinko's gaze with her caramel-brown eyes. She knew her boyfriend was checking up on her without making it seem too personal, which was the only way they could interact during these situations. They had to be careful with what they said and how they said it, for not only were they in the middle of an important mission, but they were also surrounded by their comrades who were hearing them. "He was extremely good at Suiton Ninjutsu as well, which I guess it's fitting given how much he resembled a shark,"

"Indeed, our opponent was a strong one, but he was no match for the power of youth," Lee declared as he started punching the air. "Gai-sensei was able to overpower him thanks to his intense fists and hot-blooded passion. It was truly a sight to behold,"

"What about you? Did you and your team come across anyone?" the weapons specialist asked.

"Uchiha Itachi," The moment he said that, Shujinko saw Tenten's eyes widen while Lee's punches came to a halt. "However, it wasn't actually him, just an impostor like the one you encountered. We managed to get through him, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a tough fight,"

Ironically, that was precisely what troubled Shujinko. If a fake Itachi was capable of giving them a hard time, he didn't want to think what would've happened to them had they fought the real Itachi. His reputation of being a merciless killer who wiped out almost his entire clan in cold blood was already bad enough without having to add the Sharingan, a mastery over Genjutsu, and an intellect worthy of a genius to the picture. The Ozuma had asked his sensei about Itachi several times in the past, and while he viewed him as a monster for his utterly heinous crimes, he couldn't help but feel impressed by the man's absurd level of talent.

It didn't take long for Neji to discover the locations of the four remaining seals and the approximate distance between them and their targets. After assigning to his students which seal they would go after, Gai opened his backpack and handed out wireless radio headsets so that his team and Kakashi could stay communicated. Once everyone was on the same frequency, Lee decided to test his radio by speaking a few words into the small microphone, which would've been fine if he had bothered to check the volume level first.

"HELLO, CAN EVERYBODY HEAR ME!?" Lee's voice boomed into the ears of everyone who was unfortunate enough to be wearing a headset. It wasn't as if he was talking loudly, but his radio made it seem like he was shouting directly into people's ears.

"Lee, you have to lower your volume! It's too high!" Tenten complained.

Lee's answer was to bow down and apologize profusely, still unaware of the problem. "I AM SORRY! IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!"

At this point, everyone's eardrums were nearly busted. Gai, who was unable to pronounce words properly due to how dizzy he was, had to point his finger at his radio's volume switch so that his precious student could get the message. Lee finally realized what was going on and quickly lowered the volume level, muttering an apology. This earned Team Gai several weird looks, especially from Chiyo and Renjiro, who weren't used to seeing this kind of tomfoolery happening during a mission of the highest importance.

"If everyone's ready, let's get this thing started," Kakashi said, still caressing his ears. "The sooner we undo this seal, the sooner we'll be able to continue,"

"Right you are, Kakashi. Are we all clear on which seal you must remove?" Gai asked his students, receiving affirmative nods from all three of them. "Then let us get a move on. But first… Team Gai!"

As if things couldn't get more ridiculous, Gai extended his hand and waited for his students to join him in a group cheer. Of course, Lee was only too eager to participate and immediately placed his hand on top of his sensei's, earning himself a nod of approval from Gai. Tenten looked less than thrilled by what was going on and tried to act clueless, but she eventually caved in once Gai turned to her and started clearing his throat.

Only one member of Team Gai had yet to join them, and that was Neji, who didn't want anything to do with his sensei's silly antics. The poor guy was practically exuding awkwardness as Gai kept staring at him, waiting patiently for his student to stick his hand out. It got to the point where Gai began grunting at him while being obnoxiously loud about it. Tenten gave him a look that said 'please, do it so we can get this over with'. Knowing he had no other choice, Neji finally placed his hand on top of the others as his face showed nothing but disgust and embarrassment.

Gai's mouth cracked into a wide and shiny grin. "Attention Team Gai, what do we want!?"

"Victory!" Lee shouted at the top of his lungs. Meanwhile, Neji and Tenten were as silent as a grave, which was exactly where they would rather be in right now.

"I can't hear you!"

"Victory!"

"One more time!"

"Victory!"

"Then let's go after those seals! Team Gai, scatter!"

Once the pathetic exhibition was over, the members of Team Gai left the lagoon in true shinobi fashion, quick and silently. "Man, those guys are really pumped up. It was actually kind of cool," Naruto said in awe, to which Shujinko rolled his eyes. The Ozuma had respect for both his fellow comrades and he even admired them for their skills, but the eccentricities of Gai and Lee were something he simply couldn't get accustomed to, much less describe as cool. "Oi, we should do our own group cheer as Team Kakashi! Are you with me or what?"

"Forget it,"

"Not a chance,"

"That's not happening, Naruto,"

"I'd very much rather not,"

"Foolish boy,"

"… You guys are no fun, no fun at all,"

|Akatsuki hideout|

The members of the Akatsuki watched as the grotesque figure of the Gedō Mazō closed its mouth, absorbing what little remained of the Ichibi's chakra inside of Gaara. The young Kazekage, who had spent the last hours hovering between life and death, fell to the ground once the jutsu came to an end, his body now a cold corpse. Several cracks covered Gaara's pale skin, a miserable reminder of his sand armor that tried to protect him until the very end. Having quenched its hunger for chakra, the Gedō Mazō descended back into the depths of the earth, where it would wait until the next call from the Rinnegan.

"It is done," the holographic image of Pain announced. "The Ichibi's chakra is now ours,"

"And just in time as well. It seems our friends from Konohagakure have found us. They're waiting outside right now as we speak, hmph," Deidara said. "So what should we do next? Do you want me and Sasori to head back to base or do we get to have some fun first?"

"I would advise against taking your enemy so lightly, Deidara," Itachi warned him. "One of the individuals outside is none other than the Jinchūriki of the Kyūbi. We need him alive in order to extract his Bijū. Furthermore, his team is led by Hatake Kakashi, the man who has copied over a thousand techniques. You'll receive no benefit from attacking such a foe in a reckless manner,"

Deidara merely scoffed at that, narrowing his eyes at the holographic figure of the Uchiha. The rogue ninja from Iwagakure had always detested Itachi and his condescending demeanor, but most of all, he detested those eyes of him. Those red eyes belittled him and his abilities, not by discrediting his art, but by dismissing it completely. Deidara's resentment towards the Sharingan had begun the same day he joined the Akatsuki after being tricked and humiliated by Itachi and his visual prowess. He didn't regret entering into the criminal organization, but he simply couldn't forgive or forget the way in which those eyes had made a fool out of him.

"Our mission has been a success. Deidara, Sasori, I want you two back in our base," Pain ordered. "However, if you wish to engage in combat, it is up to you. Just make sure they don't follow you to where we are, and you are strictly forbidden from killing the Jinchūriki of the Kyūbi,"

"And one more thing. Bring the boy with you. The body of a Kazekage should fetch a nice price in the black market," Kakuzu said, looking at Gaara's corpse with greedy eyes.

"Are you for real? Man, I don't think I'll ever understand your obsession with money, Kakuzu," Deidara replied. "Very well, I'll try to bring you the body to you, but you owe me a solid one for this, hmnh,"

Sasori cleared his throat, gaining the attention of everyone around him. "There's one little detail that needs to be addressed. Neither of us knows how the Jinchūriki of the Kyūbi looks like, and there are two teams out there waiting to hunt us down. Itachi, you've dealt with that Jinchūriki in the past. How can we tell him apart from the others who are with him?"

"… Whoever barks first is the one you must keep an eye on,"

|Outside|

The plan was simple. Once the seals were removed, Sakura was to destroy the entrance using her incredible strength and they would all enter the cave, where they would look for Gaara and fight whoever was inside the hideout. Strike hard, strike fast.

The members of the rescue team were positioned in a half-moon formation. Kakashi was clinging onto the boulder with one hand grabbing the seal, waiting for Team Gai to find the rest of them. Sakura was at the back, ready to blow the boulder to pieces with a single punch. The rest of the rescue team was split into two groups, with Naruto and Chiyo covering the left flank while Shujinko and Renjiro covered the right flank. Since they had no way of knowing how many Akatsuki members were inside, fighting in pairs was the only advantage they could give themselves right now.

Shujinko took a deep breath, opening and closing his fists to loosen up his fingers. After years of training with Kakashi and fighting alongside him, the Ozuma had grown accustomed to the jittery sensation that he felt every time he was about to face an enemy, at least for the most part. However, the Akatsuki was no ordinary enemy. It was a dark organization whose members were some of the most dangerous criminals of the shinobi world. Just thinking about it made the golden-eyed Jounin gulp.

"Are you nervous?" Renjiro asked as he stood next to him.

Shujinko raised his hand just above his hips and noticed it was trembling slightly. "A little, I guess," he confessed, not really concerned by how his answer would make him look in front of Renjiro. He knew his instincts would kick his body into combat mode once he entered the hideout, but until then, that faint tremble in his hands wasn't going to stop.

"Good,"

"Good?" Why is that good?"

"It means you have a working brain inside your head,"

The Ozuma let out a small snort of amusement. "Thanks, but you don't have to make me feel better. I've fought opponents stronger than me more than once. I just don't like having to wait for it to happen,"

"I know what you're talking about," Renjiro replied before adopting a casual tone of voice. "So, that girl from the other team, is she your girlfriend or something like that?"

"Huh? How did you know?"

"It wasn't hard to tell. Out of all the people who were here when we arrived, she was the first person you approached. Also, there was something about the way you two looked at each other that gave your feelings away. Honestly, neither of you were being exactly subtle about it," Shujinko could feel his cheeks warming with embarrassment. Had his interaction with Tenten really been that obvious? Sure, he hadn't acted like a statue around her or anything, but he never expected Renjiro to read his motives like an open book. "In any case, I'm just being nosy. Whatever it is that you two have going on is none of my business. It was just something that caught my interest,"

Nosy or not, Shujinko was glad that Renjiro had brought this to his attention, even if it made him feel awkward. At least now he knew he had something to improve upon so that he could present a more professional image of himself the next time he had a mission with his girlfriend. In all fairness, there weren't many occasions in which he and Tenten got to share the battlefield together, and Shujinko would very much prefer to keep it that way. A ninja's mission was already complicated enough to handle without adding relationship drama.

"By the way, you should be proud of yourself. That Tenten girl looks quite lovely, although some members of her team seem a little… peculiar from what I've seen,"

Shujinko scoffed at that, amused by Renjiro's attempt at sounding courteous when trying to describe Gai and Lee. "Trust me, you don't know the half of it,"

"Keep it quiet back there. I'm receiving transmissions from Team Gai," Kakashi ordered all the way from the entrance, to which Shujinko and Renjiro promptly closed their mouths shut. The Ozuma had allowed himself to get distracted during a mission that required all of his attention, which was definitely an uncommon occurrence, but talking to Renjiro had helped him ease his nerves. "It's confirmed, all five seals have been found. You guys know the plan. Team Gai, are you ready? Good, on the count of three. One… Two… Three!"

Kakashi swiftly tore the seal off before signaling Sakura to proceed. The student of the Godaime Hokage began to run at a high speed before taking a leap towards the boulder, driving her fist into it. The force behind her punch was enough to destroy the boulder and turn it into hundreds of rocks that drifted into the lagoon. Shujinko drew a kunai out of his holster and made his way to the entrance with the rest of the rescue team, ready to activate the Karura Tensei at the smallest sign of danger.

Once he entered the hideout, the first thing Shujinko noticed was the presence of two individuals wearing Akatsuki robes. One of them had long blonde hair done in a ponytail. His left arm was missing, an injury that appeared to be recent due to the shredded sleeve of his robe. Meanwhile, the other one was quite short with a stout physical complexion and a hunchback. They both seemed to be of similar height at first, but after taking a second look, Shujinko saw the blonde member of the Akatsuki was actually sitting on someone… and a gasp escaped from his lips.

The person he was sitting on was Gaara, whom Shujinko recognized due to his red hair and the black marks surrounding his eyes. The Kazekage was lying still with his eyes closed, unbothered by the man sitting on his stomach. It took the Ozuma a few seconds to realize what he was witnessing, and once he did, a gelid chill ran down his spine and a profound feeling of defeat got a hold of him.

'It's all over. We're too late,'

"About time you showed up. I was beginning to think you were never going to get past that boulder, hmnh," the man with the blonde hair said with a cocky smirk on his face. "Now, which one of you is the Jinchūriki that Itachi spoke of?"

"You… What the hell do you think you're doing!? Naruto roared in absolute anger. "Get off of him right now, you goddamn bastard! Gaara, wake up! We're here to rescue you!"

But Gaara didn't move. His body was as inert as a ragdoll that had been thrown to the ground. Just to clear all doubts, Shujinko activated the Karura Tensei and tried to sense Gaara's chakra, but it was no use. The dark and ominous chakra that he once felt inside of Gaara during the Chunin Exams three years ago was no longer there, as if it had evaporated along with his soul. It was gone, and so was Gaara.

"Come on, Gaara! Snap out of it already! How can you let this asshole do this to you!? Get up and-"

"Naruto, stop it," Shujinko said in a tone of voice that, while firm, still expressed sorrow. They had failed. Everyone knew that except for Naruto. He took a deep breath before uttering the words that followed after. "Gaara can't hear you. He's dead… I'm so sorry, Naruto,"

Shujinko's words caused a deafening silence to invade the hideout, defied only by the sound of water droplets hitting the ground. Despite having the enemy right in front of him, Shujinko didn't spare them a single glance and focused his gaze on Naruto, whose jaw was moving up and down in an agitated manner. Meanwhile, Chiyo was staring into the eyes of Sasori's puppet Hiruko, fully aware that her grandson was hiding inside of it. Watching what her own flesh and blood had transformed into was more painful to Chiyo than any of the wounds she had ever suffered during her time on the battlefield, a pain that was amplified by the fact that she used to be his teacher.

The stillness of the moment was broken by Naruto and his heavy breathing. Unable to do anything about it, Shujinko watched as his friend trembled with uncontainable fury. His hair bristled up and became spikier than ever while a pair of feral fangs grew out of his gnashing teeth. The whiskers on his face grew darker and thicker, and the nails of his fingers became claws sharper than the blade of a kunai. His cerulean eyes were replaced by dark red ones with slits for pupils. It was the same transformation all over again.

However, what unnerved Shujinko the most was the abrupt change in Naruto's chakra. Due to the sensory powers of Sage Mode, Shujinko was able to detect a sliver of the Kyūbi's chakra leaking into the Uzumaki's chakra network. Feeling that tiny bit of energy from the Bijū corrupting Naruto and his chakra was like watching a drop of venom poisoning a pond, turning fresh clean water into rotten mud. It was a disgusting sensation that almost made Shujinko feel sick, but before he could end Sage Mode to stop it, a snarl from Naruto slapped him back to reality.

"Gaara… You killed Gaara… I'm gonna make you pay for what you've done!" Naruto roared at the top of his lungs.

The two members of the Akatsuki were unfazed by his threats. If anything, the blonde one seemed to be amused by Naruto. "Whoever barks first is the one you must keep an eye on. Now I get what Itachi meant by that," the man with the hunchback said. "It seems this brat over there is the Jinchūriki he warned us about, Deidara,"

"Sasori, my man, I think you're right," Deidara responded, eager to see what the brat was capable of as a Jinchūriki. He wanted to press his buttons and get him to lose control, and he had a pretty good idea of what to do. "Oi gaki, take it easy, will you? Your friend has been dead for a while now, so it's not like he can feel any of this. Look," Deidara then tapped Gaara's cheek with the back of his hand repeatedly, much to the scandal of the rescue team. "See? He's not bothered at all, so why are you so upset?"

"GO TO HELL!" the Uzumaki shouted as he opened a scroll and unsealed a fūma shuriken, throwing the large weapon at Deidara with all of his strength.

CLANG

Without moving from his position, Sasori used his tail to protect his partner, tossing the fūma shuriken aside like it was nothing. "You're gonna have to try harder than that if you're looking to take us on, kid," Sasori said before glancing at his fellow Akatsuki member. "Deidara, take the Kazekage's body and get out of here. You had your turn to have some fun, now it's mine,"

Deidara let out a sigh. "Always the party pooper, Sasori, my man. But I guess you're right. After all, I did get to hunt down this Jinchūriki all by myself. You deserve some entertainment as well,"

"Neither of you is leaving this place, nor will you take the body of Gaara anywhere, do you hear me?" Kakashi said before uncovering his Sharingan. They may have failed their mission, but as the leader of the rescue team, Kakashi wasn't going to allow the Akatsuki to get away with what they had done. "Sakura, Renjiro-san, Chiyo-sama, you three will take care of Sasori. Naruto, Shujinko, and I will deal with Deidara. We'll hold them here until Team Gai returns,"

"You got it, sensei," Shujinko replied as he focused his gaze on the blonde member of the Akatsuki. He didn't know what kind of tricks this guy was capable of, but if he only had one arm, then he wouldn't be able to perform hand signs. Besides, unless he could somehow regenerate a missing limb, Shujinko couldn't come up with a way for Deidara to fend them off and hold on to Gaara's body at the same time. The odds appeared to be in their favor.

But Deidara didn't seem concerned at all as he reached for his back pouch, retrieving a bunch of white clay from it. Shujinko's wariness turned into confusion when he heard munching noises and saw the clay on Deidara's hand getting smaller. 'What is happening? His hand is… eating the clay?'

As absurd as it sounded, that was exactly what was going on. There was a literal mouth in the palm of Deidara's hand, with teeth and a tongue, munching on the clay as if it were a delicious snack. Shujinko didn't know whether to feel amazed or grossed out by what he was seeing, especially when the hand burped out the figure of a little bird made from the same clay it had just eaten.

"Let me ask you a question. Do you know what art truly is?" Deidara said all of a sudden, not taking his eyes off the little bird on his palm. "Art is not something you find on a painting or a sculpture carefully preserved for posterity. Quite the contrary, art can only be found on that which is momentary. A brief instance of magnificence, something that burst into existence and fades into nothingness shortly after. That's where art and its beauty reside in,"

Sasori gave his partner an aggravated look. "How many times do I have to tell you not to spout such nonsense, Deidara? Art cannot be present on something that doesn't last. An artist's work is meaningless if it fails to stand the test of time. On the other hand, if it remains pure and unscathed by the passing of the years, then it is worthy of admiration. True art is everlasting, and you'd do well to remember it,"

'Are these guys debating about art right now? Seriously?'

"Sasori, my man, you know that I respect your point of view. After all, we're both artists driven by our passion. However, what you just said couldn't possibly be further from the truth," Deidara responded without missing a beat. He then lowered his head and stared at the little bird he was holding, deciding it was time to make his escape. "Anyways, I must take my leave now. Sasori, would you do the honors?"

"You're lucky we have other matters to attend, Deidara. Otherwise, I wouldn't hesitate to close that big mouth of yours for being so insolent and ignorant,"

As soon as he said those words, Sasori threw a shuriken at the ceiling of the cave, cutting a hidden wire that caused several bombs to drop down from above. "Everyone, get out of the cave now!" Kakashi yelled. Shujinko immediately turned around and dived towards the exit with the rest of the rescue team, thinking that the whole place was rigged to blow.

POOOOOOFFFF

As he lay on the water outside with his arms shielding his face, Shujinko watched as a black mist billowed out of the entrance of the cave. Instead of exploding, the inside of the hideout was filled with thick dark smoke, making it impossible to see through it. The next thing he saw was Deidara riding on the back of a giant white bird that came out of the smoke before soaring into the sky, holding the body of Gaara in its beak. "Damn it, he's making a run for it!" The Ozuma exclaimed.

"I won't let you get away, do you hear me!?" Naruto yelled as he began to chase after Deidara as fast as he could, ignoring Kakashi's warnings. The Sharingan Warrior let out a curse and turned to his student, eyes narrowed in stone-cold determination.

"Shujinko, you're coming with me. The rest of you, stay here and wait for backup. Don't let Sasori escape, but don't engage with him either, not until Gai and his team show up. Let's go!"


Aaaaaand that was chapter 7. Hope you all enjoyed it.

I know it took me longer than usual to finish this chapter, and it wasn't as dynamic as it could've been. I'm trying to keep up with the pace, but the Kazekage Rescue Arc is proving itself to be quite tricky to handle. There's a lot of bulk that needs to be removed from the anime episodes, and at the same time, I have to be careful not to rush things too much. If I'm being honest, I didn't think these chapters would be this complicated to write, but I'm doing the best I can to give you guys the story that you deserve.

I'll try to be more consistent with my schedule. These chapters usually take me about a month and a half to write, and there are two other stories that I'm also working on. Outside of this, there are also several things in my life that are keeping me busy, such as my studies and my family. Don't think I've been losing interest in my own story, because I can assure you that is not the case, it's just that this year has been crazy for everyone and it hasn't been any different for me.

Glossary:

Ōdama Rasengan – Giant Rasengan

Shōten no Jutsu – Impersonation Jutsu

Kekkai Ninjutsu – Barrier Ninjutsu

Gofū Kekkai – Five Seal Barrier

Gedō Mazō – Gedō Statue

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Ja ne!