Chapter 38: The Long Night


"Tell me more…"

Naruto eyed Sasuke or whoever this is wearily. Inside himself, Asura was looking intently as did Kurama. Naruto looked back at the two before he stared back at Sasuke. Something was not right here. There was a certain uneasiness that was coming from his best friend. He didn't like the Uchiha's posture for one bit.

Asura then turned to his transcendent and instructed him, "Whatever you do, don't reveal me right now. We wait. All of your peers are in no condition to fight."

"Who on earth is Indra?" Naruto asked.

"A stain on the old man's memory."

Kurama replied, Naruto noted that Kurama had a visible dislike of the man. Naruto had never seen Kurama this hostile, he wasn't even that hostile to him before but just by looking at this man, he could feel Kurama's urge to kill better than it had been before.

"Then what on earth is the Gedo Mazo?" Naruto asked once more. This time, Kurama looked down on him and said,

"It is absolutely imperative that you conceal Asura and my name. I will guide you through what you are about to say, repeat after me outside."

"The Gedo Mazo is a husk, it's an empty vessel that was stripped all of its chakra by the Sage of six paths and his brother. This husk was then concealed to an undisclosed location, never meant to be seen again from the eyes of the people."

"A husk? Of what creature, exactly?" Gaara asked and Naruto answered, "Of what was supposed to be the entirety of the tailed beasts, the Juubi."

Gai raised an eyebrow at this, "The Juubi? There's a tenth tailed beast? That's ridiculous, Naruto-kun. There has been no recording of the Ten Tails even during the time of the Sage of Six Paths or what these sources claim to be. There has only been one record of it, but it was labeled as a fairy tale meant to glorify Ninshu."

"That is to be expected. The ten-tailed beast is a monster that does not need to be remembered. Its chakra was divided to what we are now, Tailed beasts."

Sasuke looked at Gai with a calculating gaze and asked, "And what of these texts that were proven false? Who wrote them?"

Indra may have been forsaken by his father, but he took many of his lessons to heart still.

Gai was scratching his head at this, it was common sense that a fantastically monstrous being such as the ten-tailed beast did not have proof of its existence. If it did, the world would have been a different landscape than it was now. Far, far from what they had come to know.

Kakashi was raising his visible eyebrow at this, Sasuke was not the type to be interested in legends and fables or monsters or what have you. The boy preferred something more realistic than reading anything labelled fiction. And Naruto even more so, for him to have this kind of information was baffling. What on earth was happening with his two students?

Inside the sacred grounds, Kurama spoke to Naruto.

'Ask your mate. Those spirits of hers worked alongside her mother's clan as record keepers. They were the most detailed historians since the creation of ninshu. Keep talking.'

"… The truth about the Gedo Mazo is that it shouldn't have come out in the first place. What Akatsuki is doing is essentially reviving the Ten Tails at this state."

"Reviving the Ten Tails seems counterproductive for them, don't you think, Naruto?" Kakashi asked, this time the attention was on him. The Jounin began to think as he was piecing this information. Kakashi then continues, "According to myth, the Ten Tails is disaster incarnate, a catastrophe that can swallow the whole world. If their intent is to revive the creature, then it is quite frankly, idiotic. If the gathering of the tailed beasts triggers this revival, then they should know about it. But why discard that myth if it was true?"

Sasuke remained silent as he too began to think.

'That is true. The Ten Tails is a being that is impossible to control. Father's teachings did say that. So then, what changed?'

Indra then turned back to his host, who was looking at him menacingly, slowly realizing with a smile as the Uchiha growled at him.

'I swear to you, Indra, I'll regain control yet.'

'Don't bother. I will relinquish control to you shortly, the extent of this possession does not allow me much freedom compared to what you can do. But I have some advice for you.'

Sasuke remained quiet but did not bother to reply to the man.

'Go seek out that stone tablet again, boy.'

"Then there is something else that they are planning to do with it. The question is what?" Gaara then asked, as he stared at the Uchiha who remained quiet and unmoving in his current posture.

"To amass power, they seek the tailed beasts. If anything, to control them, it needs the blood of the descendants of the Rikudo Sennin." Sasuke muttered, adding another layer to the mystery. The possessed shinobi turned his attention back to the blonde, studying the boy. There was just something that made him strange in the first son's eyes. The way he answered questions, the way he kept giving information that was factually true for him yet nonsense to others.

"The Uchiha and the Senju…" Kakashi answered adding another piece.

"Rinnegan." Naruto uttered to them. Another piece to the puzzle.

"I saw someone who had purple eyes with a ripple pattern. The Kyuubi mentioned it as the Rinnegan."

The others looked on in surprise. The Rinnegan, fabled doujutsu of the Sage of Six Paths. The only person in recorded and mythological history to hold the doujutsu. No one else had done so in the entire history of all Shinobi. It was here that Sasuke's looked in mirth, "Rinnegan, huh? So now we have our leader."

Sasuke added, now it was making more sense. Naruto kept giving answers to him that made more sense. Even if Kurama were sealed inside the boy, he would doubt the bijuu would be this cooperative in giving them answers. Still, he would place this in the back of his mind for now.

For others, though, this was a surprise. For someone to have manifested the most hallowed of all dojutsu said to have dominion over all facets of the world, even beyond the realms of the material, and to be the one behind all of the mess that they were in currently, that brought a chill down their spines.

"Either Senju or Uchiha. That is our leader, which makes them confident with whatever they are planning, they are doing it with surety."

"The question now is…"

Sasuke turned to the blonde calculatingly, a sense of studying the boy out. Naruto's eyes narrowed at the Uchiha that was staring at him Mangekyo Sharingan spinning lazily. All that mattered right now was to try and keep things quiet. This person wasn't Sasuke, this person that was staring him down was more calculating and colder. Perhaps already poised to make a strike, wordlessly egging him on. With that, the person possessing his friend let his hands separate from one another and showed his smirk at the blonde.

Naruto slowly clenched his fists. He was being probed.

"Can they actually do it?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes at this new person, somehow this person knew more than the others. It felt like whoever this was that was sharing Sasuke's look was directly angering him or fishing him out for more answers than necessary.

"Don't give a clear answer."

Naruto turned to the fox. Kurama looked on edge still, as if one wrong move and words could cut deeply all around them. Naruto noticed that he wasn't in his usual mindscape, rather on the sacred ground where the bijuu gather.

"Indra is trying something. He's expecting an answer that would trigger him to take action."

"That's my friend you're talking about, Kurama." Naruto reminded him but Kurama took no heed.

"Your friend is possessed by the one who started this mess. Whatever he plans, you are not ready to face off yet. If you indeed are the transcendent of Asura, then Sasuke is now the transcendent of Asura's violent older brother, Indra."

This brought a chill to Naruto's spine. He looked at Asura who looked away from him.

"We are cursed eternally in the cycle of reincarnation to face off any time as our chakras and will were so strong that our souls lived on time and time again. And every time we are reborn, a violent end comes for both of our transcendent. It is my hope that we finally break this cycle. I… Am tired of this curse. Father would not wish us to fight like this."

Naruto turned to Kurama who merely remained silent.

Another difficult decision had to be made. Naruto closed his eyes in contemplation and then turned back to outside.

"Guide me, Kurama."

The nine-tailed fox would have been astonished that the boy would trust his judgement on the issue, seeing the boy in a new light. Kurama gave a silent nod.

"Then answer with this…"

"We don't know for sure. Even the Kyuubi couldn't answer me." Naruto replied to Sasuke.

Sasuke's red eyes intently stared at Naruto before he leaned back and placed his hands down.

"We will need better answers. There is a stone tablet that was placed beneath the shrine in Naka River. We must proceed there once we finish things up here."

Then, the cold and unnerving chakra from around Sasuke vanished as it came. Sasuke slumped on his shoulders and was panting, breathing heavily as sweat appeared on his brow.

"Sasuke, is that you?"

Sasuke turned his vision back to Naruto and answered as he regained his breath, "Shut it, moron."

It was not an experience he wanted to have again. Naruto, meanwhile, let go a sigh of relief.

What was supposed to be a much more relaxing time turned out to be tense and continued from there.

He was finally able to relax and not be on edge for a minute. The blonde looked back at Sasuke, a sense of apprehension escapes him. Looking at his friend and rival again and the new information he has gleaned on from this conversation along, Naruto had to be careful in the future with his words lest he spill his secrets and possibly throw everything into chaos.

Sasuke on the other hand, was relieved more than anything else. He had regained control of his actions after Indra had gotten a good grip on his psyche, he could feel the man's presence lingering at the back of his head. But it was only thanks to his Mangekyo Sharingan that he could regain control.

He could still hear the man's mirth at the back of his mind. The man was finding it all too amusing.

'I see, your power extends even here. I would have assumed to have several more minutes of control, but your special dojutsu power is something else. It actively suppresses dojutsu techniques all around it.'

Sasuke was surprised at this. He had never once explored the powers of his dojutsu before. Kakashi had once stated that the Mangekyo Sharingan did not just give three powerful jutsu, but also special abilities that would otherwise be considered as beyond simple ninjutsu abilities.

He had seen firsthand of what it can do.

But to know that he also had that special ability and an ability that was meant to combat Mangekyo based techniques? He was becoming a natural counter to Itachi and all dojutsu based abilities.

That was something he needed to investigate. If Indra spoke the truth, then Itachi was sure as dead.

Sasuke allowed himself a little moment of reprieve.

For within this darkness, he saw one more ray of light to follow.


Sunagakure:

The house of the Shakuton bloodline was one of the most prestigious in all of Suna, due to the efforts of their most distinguished shinobi. Shakuton no Pakura was said to have been a shinobi in a caliber all on her own. Her abilities had brought glory to her house and her village. In the last vestiges of the Third Shinobi war, it was with Pakura's heroics that had deterred Iwa back into their borders. Her sacrifice was what gave way to the rise of the clan. But during a relative era of peace, they were slowly losing power.

But since her passing, nothing they had produced was quite like Pakura ever again. Many of the clan's members grew arrogant. They saw an opportunity to have one of their own to rise to prominence as Kazekage after Pakura's death. Throughout their rise to prominence, they had gained favors from all around the nation, their influence grew large and their hold on to Suna's politics grew even more. But try as they might, they never could reach the zenith of the village's political power. They kept producing shinobi of well distinction, but none of them seemed to have gained any further ground even with one member of the village's council. The house of Sabaku edged them still whilst they carry still in their line the greatest Kazekage to have ever lived. That is, until an opportunity presented itself.

The Fourth Kazekage was in many ways ruthless and scrupulous. But he was also someone who wanted the growth of his own village for its own benefit. Many of those that came before the man had struggled to come up with answers for their situation since the foundation of the village but all of them, even the one dubbed the greatest, could not implement their policies in time.

Due to their untimely assassinations, to what seemed like the village was on the verge of a breakthrough, always managed to fall short.

Then, as predicted, the Fourth Kazekage was also assassinated. The Fourth Kazekage, the Shakuton clan's greatest obstacle, was no more.

In a council to vote for the next coming Kazekage, a member had voted to the Shakuton clan's desired candidate.

Shakuton no Kagura.

A relatively middling jounin within the clan that they had been pushing since the last few years of the reign of the Fourth Kazekage.

It seemed like it was the right time as well, the Sabaku clan did not have a candidate viable enough nor popular enough to be selected to become the Fifth.

But that would not be. As it was Sabaku no Gaara that was picked above all candidates. The Shakuton household felt being spurned for the Jinchuuriki, in their eyes, was a disaster waiting to happen.

With betrayal being their reason, they sought out a drastic change to scrub out the failed legacy of the Fourth Kazekage.

The mastermind? Its very own council member, Shakuton no Taisen, a proud and seemingly self-righteous man who saw Gaara as a danger more as an asset.

Though aging, the man looked burly and intimidating still. With his balding head and a gruff white beard, the man had vowed to depose the Kazekage one way or another for the slight that he perceived.

With that in mind, Taisen had to maneuver his way within the council to see just who were inclined to his ideals.

He found the perfect member.

A member who had a loathing hatred of the current Kazekage, a member whose family had lost one of their own after an attempted assassination on their Kazekage elect and just a few years before, his daughter at the birth of her third child.

The man was so driven to anger that a mention of the name of his lost children that he would contort in rage and blame his loss to the former Kazekage with his shadow extending to the one that murdered his son.

It was only a matter of a few suggestions that he was open with the idea. Being the more vocal between them, he would be the one who would take the blame if there was a fallout.

Finally, the last member that had been open to the idea was a simpleton. The man would believe any and every word Taisen spoke of. A young upstart in the council looking for clout for his family. Taisen unofficially took him under his wing and as luck would have it, was one of the former Kazekage's trusted men. He was the one who had stumbled upon contact with Akatsuki, a mercenary group that did missions at a reasonable price.

With that in mind, Taisen had his pieces and he executed them all perfectly.

What he did not foresee, however, was the citizens' reaction to Gaara's supposed assassination.

He did not foresee them celebrating in the streets, instead, they mourned.

The last Kazekage's actions of taking the blow meant for the village moved them and now all they wish was for Gaara to return safely.

As if fate would not give him his due, the council opted not to place their candidate as the interim Kazekage.

They chose Temari instead.

Now Taisen watched from above his home, seeing the citizens asking for accountability for the supposed plot to undermine the Fifth Kazekage that the Sabaku clan had discovered and disclosed publicly.

"Grandfather, what is the meaning of this!?"

The old councilman turned around and saw his granddaughter looking outraged at him. Kagura was looking at him with anger in her eyes. His granddaughter, the candidate to become Kazekage, dignified in looks with her sandy blonde hair bleached in black, a look that reminded that outside of the clan of Pakura's features.

"There are allegations of our house conspiring with the Tenshin clan and Fuzuki clan for the attempt on Kazekage-sama's life! Is that true!?"

Taisen held the bridge of his nose with his right hand and sighed. He held his left hand up and spoke to his granddaughter.

"Kagura, do you honestly believe that I would put our clan interests first before the village? The idea is preposterous."

The younger of the two growled lightly and narrowed her eyes to the man, "This isn't the first time you would place the clan first before the village if that were true. I was selected as a candidate for the title and I've denied it twice, after you have voted me in twice! Can you not see that I'm not suitable for the position?"

"Kagura, the world of leadership is not the same as the world of shinobi. Strength is not all that matters in selecting Kazekage, Gaara-sama was a person not in good standing, surely you would know of this."

This ended up riling Kagura more, "Only because you've blinded yourself from the fact that Gaara-sama conducted himself also as a better leader! He is not the calamity you thought he would be!"

Taisen shook his head, "I would beg to disagree. Gaara-sama is ruthless and unforgiving. A tiger cannot change his stripes."

His granddaughter turned her back to him.

"There is no reasoning with you, grandfather. Perhaps you would learn more about Shinobi conduct one of these days, but I forget that you have left that behind once you became a councilor. You are clearly set in your ways."

"Kagura, everything I do, I do not do for myself."

"If that makes you feel better."

With that, his hopes of a Kazekage in their line had left him. Taisen looked on at his window to the crowd below him in contempt.

These people did not know savagery. They would rather be sent to the wolves than be guided by their pastor.

Now, alone and mulling over his next move, he was greeted by an old woman sitting in front of him in one of his chairs.

"Chiyo-sama. To what do I owe you this visit?"

Chiyo nodded and spoke, "Nothing much Taisen, just checking out our fellow council members after that claim made outside the Kazekage's office."

Taisen had raised an eyebrow at this, "Certainly, you find those rumors unsubstantiated, Chiyo-sama? I've made it clear that Suna comes first before any petty clan squabbles."

Chiyo nodded once more, "Correct, I find them unfounded and lacking in forethought. I know that you've always had Suna's prestige in mind with the best intentions."

To this, Taisen smiled, he had never dared to approach Chiyo with his idea. The old bat was a hardcore believer in Suna's own strength. Thus, she would have disapproved of such a move. The Ichibi was a failed project, a project that had costed them more than gained from. That was what they could only gain from it.

And Failed Projects needed to be shut down.

Except they failed at that too.

Now said failed project was calling the shots. Their mistake came back to haunt them.

Taisen did not stand by to let it happen.

At least, that's what Chiyo was deciphering from his thought process.

Taisen could feel Chiyo's decrepit eyes studying him up close. It seemed her words escape her gestures.

"I am honored with your vote of confidence, Chiyo-sama." Taisen replied, forcing his anxiety and nervousness down. No matter what, he had to maintain his poise.

"Think nothing of it, Taisen. I know for a fact that Amida would be the first to be suspected due to his distaste of the Sabaku family."

Taisen nodded, "Understandable. Rasa-sama had a direct relation to the death of his children. Yashamaru and Karura died way too soon before their time."

Chiyo nodded, she noted that Taisen was going for the empathy route.

"So, you are not ruling out that he's responsible for this whole mess?"

Taisen relaxed a little as he sat down, the tea would surely calm his nerves.

"He certainly has the motivation to do the crime, Chiyo-sama. Though I would suggest looking into this further. We cannot have a council that would murder each other in front of the masses, that would make us look weak and disunited to outside forces, especially with Konoha snooping inside our walls."

Chiyo leaned back a little as she too took her tea.

"Perhaps."

Now he was giving credence to her ideals. Taisen knew when to suck up. But Chiyo continued to let him talk.

"Have you considered asking Amida if any of these allegations were true, then?"

Chiyo remained silent drinking her tea slowly before setting it on the table.

"A dead man tells no tales." Was Chiyo's only choice of words. This seemed to put Taisen in relief. With the figurehead taken out, then he would be safe from the old puppeteer's wrath.

Chiyo noticed Taisen shift slightly.

"What's the matter, Taisen? You always talked with the man, I figured you and him developed a friendship. Surely his death should have affected you?"

Taisen was immediate to notice Chiyo's provocation, "Don't misunderstand me, Chiyo-sama. I am affected by it. I'm trying to hold it together. But even if we were friends, there were things that Amida said that disturbed me a bit. Forgive me if your presumptions have led to suspect me as one who would encourage Amida's thoughts of usurpation."

A single flick of two of Chiyo's fingers caused a gentle breeze within the room.

'Strange.' Taisen thought, he had observed that all the windows were closed this night to drown out the sounds of people asking for his head outside of his home.

"You sound like you're pinning the blame of this whole debacle on that fool. But I am perplexed at this. For two infiltrators to have made this much damage within the village, it requires meticulous planning and cooperation. Surely, you don't take me for a fool about Amida orchestrating this event on his own, do you?"

Taisen stood up immediately his hands were already up to perform a seal and conjure hot flames around him when his hands were suddenly wrapped in red ninja wire as two menacing looking puppets stood on each of Taisen's sides with them holding the tough steel cables with their hands.

And without fanfare, proceeded to shred and tear his hands to pieces.

Blood gushed out from his hands as Taisen screamed in agony as he saw his hands were now unrecognizable slabs of flesh on the ground.

"Gah, you old crone! AFTER EVERYTHING I'VE DONE FOR THIS VILLAGE, THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY ME!?"

Chiyo merely ignored the man's rant and instead, called out someone from behind her.

"Sakura."

Chiyo called out to the Konoha nin who had slipped from the shadows as she looked at the bloody and violent display of a high-level puppeteer.

"I may have gotten off the wrong foot with you, but I want you to watch how we Suna shinobi handle cleaning up our messes."

Sakura asked with a raised eyebrow, "Is this why you asked me to be part of this group of yours? I would have guessed that you would not want me to be part of your village's affairs."

Chiyo nodded her head, "True, but I wish to pay Suna's debt immediately with this. Your shinobi has brought us back our Kage, it is only right that we clean up the mess that we made."

To this, Taisen was surprised, Gaara was alive? And he was saved by these Konoha nin?

"Kiryu… That dumb upstart! He said this was guaranteed! I did not spend a fortune just to fail miserably on his regard."

Chiyo looked amused by this, the old woman noted of the Fuzuki clan's involvement in this crisis.

"So, Fuzuki Kiryu of the council was also involved with this too, huh? He was the one who had seedy connections outside the village, the one who poisoned Rasa's mind with that cockamamie scheme of his three years ago. He had the link with Akatsuki. Had inadvertently caused the death of Rasa. "

Taisen's eyes widened at this, Chiyo knew about Kiryu!?

Sakura looked on with a scowl as her eyes narrowed at the man who made a deal with one of their greatest enemies that had cost the lives of multiple shinobi in Konoha, including the Sandaime Hokage. So, this corrupt official was the one who plotted all of this. The one who was involved with the invasion three years ago with Oto.

"So you're the one…" Sakura stalked her prey, drawing the twin blades on her back and glowing an iridescent blue, chakra flowing through her blades, she aimed her swords towards the man's shoulders. Intending to deliver much more pain before death.

"… It's people like you that make everyone suffer. You were one of the reasons why the Sandaime was killed. Your hands are washed with the blood of my comrades, you did this. You and your colleagues. You sought after a war."

"A WAR TO BENEFIT MY VILLAGE, GIRL! NO STEPPINGSTONE IS TOO GREAT FOR THE PROSPERITY OF MY VILLAGE!"

Sakura tilted her head to the side slightly, "Is that how it is?"

A low him escaped her right blade as she flicked it to her side, creating a gash to Taisen's left knee forcing him down as the man winced in pain.

"Other people are just something you step on to your path to power, huh? You would willingly trample on people just to get what you want. The village? Only an idiot would believe that. You wanted the Fourth Kazekage dead."

Sakura gritted her teeth in seething rage as anger roared within herself. She couldn't stand this man any longer.

"You willingly tried to destroy another country just for your security. You would treat people like objects, like pieces on a board. You surrounded yourself with the necessary tools for them to do your dirty work, yet here you are. Like a cornered rat."

Taisen, heaving between bouts of pain looked up and gave the girl a haughty grin that showed he had no remorse for his actions.

"Rats tend to bite back when cornered, girl."

Chiyo gave a humorous chuckle at this, "Too bad for you, rat. I tore away your teeth."

To this, Taisen turned to Chiyo, she did not have an idea of just how deep his connections were. But that smug of the old bat seemed to unnerve him.

"What are you talking about?"

It was here that Sakura gave the man a rhetorical question, "Who do you think let us in?"

Eyes turning into pinpricks, the man soon realized what or who gave him away.

Before he could come up with another sentence, red steel wire suddenly laced around his neck and started choking him.

Chiyo merely moved her fingers slightly as the two puppets raised the councilman upwards, hanging him just above his feet as the councilman began gasping for air. Too bad he couldn't loosen his bindings; his arms were all over the place.

"Shakuton no Taisen, even before you entered the council, I had already known that you had the hallmarks of ambition in your veins. You pretended to suck up to Rasa, you pushed for the war with Konoha which left our forces in shambles. Your decisions along with Tenshin no Amida and Fuzuki no Kiryu were amongst the most idiotic blunders this village has ever seen. I warned you that the monkey was too wily and cunning for his age, yet you refused to see reason. Loathe as I hate to admit it, Suna can't project the power that you so willingly want to. But like all fools who couldn't see grains of sand slipping through their fingers, you subjected this village to a war that it was not ready for. Your actions cost the life of the Kazekage and the numerous men and women of this village believing in its ideals. Two Kazekage have come and gone as we almost lost our current one because of your scheming. You cannot be left alive."

With that, more red ninja wires began to wrap itself around Taisen's head and squeezing further and further as it began draw more and more blood.

The whole matter was slow and painful, until finally, Taisen's skull gave way and was sliced into pieces as his carcass fell to the ground.

No scream was ever heard from the room for a second time as Taisen's windpipe was crushed and torn to several pieces before his face ever could.

Both Chiyo and Sakura remained silent as they stared down at the body that dropped lifelessly before them.

"I suppose that is debt repaid for our transgressions against your village."

Sakura stared wordlessly at the corpse before she turned her back against the old woman.

"This doesn't change anything. This man's death can never change the fact that the inner circle of this village is rife with corruption and with some of them making deals with unsavory criminals. Until Gaara comes back here safe, Suna won't be a place where it will prosper. Scheming for the position of Kage shouldn't be this dirty."

Chiyo raised her eyebrow at this.

"Why do you care so much about this village's people? You're from Konoha, you have your own problems to deal with."

Sakura only looked outside towards the night sky within the village. She was reminded how Naruto explained his reasoning for his desperation to save Gaara. The monster made by their village's own making.

"Because Gaara, your Kazekage, is my teammate's friend. He shares his pain. He sees himself in Gaara's struggles. And between the losses that they both had, their emptiness and their sadness, no hatred can exist between them. If your Kazekage died, Naruto would have been devastated. And though he has his faults, Naruto is someone worth following. He will be our Hokage, make no mistake. We just don't want him to suffer again."

"Naruto, you say?" Chiyo asked, she had heard Gaara a couple of times asking himself about what this Naruto person would do in decisions that would require his input. And though inexperienced and young, Chiyo found Gaara's decision sensible if sometimes disagreeable and somehow worked in the Kage's favor.

Maybe she would need to meet this person. A person who has followers inside and outside the village. Someone who can be vouched on even by outsiders. Chiyo had seen many come and go within the harsh world, but she has never met a person that would build and sustain bridges across everyone he met.

Sakura looked on questioningly when she heard her teammate's name but chose to ignore that as she walked away, without saying another word to the old woman.


In another part of the village, inside another house, there silently sat Tenshin no Amida, an old man with a growing white beard with a burly appearance remained hidden with his head wrapped in a cloth to protect himself from the heat outside for the day and serve as a warmer when the desert winds punished the village by night, he remained silent within his home as he sat, he had contemplated many things about his life as he sat there, thinking if his decision to side with Taisen being the right thing.

He had thought so, his mind was clouded with nothing but grief after the death of his son, Yashamaru, just a few years after losing his daughter. Their deaths were too much to bear. His wife had long since passed on, leaving him with nothing around him anymore. He had no one to talk about his grief.

When Gaara had become Kazekage, chosen by the council and agreed upon with the citizens of the village, Amida did not know what to feel. This person was his grandson, twisted by Rasa's machinations, deemed a failure as a killing machine meant for the village, now stands as the replacement to the Fourth Kazekage's reign. It was twisted in his eyes. This boy killed his son after Rasa sent Yashamaru to his death. He looked on, not knowing what to do as Gaara was inaugurated as the one to succeed as their Kage. It brought for a rage within him never he could imagine. He had greatly protested. Gaara was driven mad by his father with untold amounts of grief that he would lash out against something randomly. But no matter what he said, the others had chosen Gaara to lead.

Mad with his own grief, Amida was approached later down the line by Taisen. The scheming Shakuton bloodline user told Amida that Taisen agreed with his viewpoints and that a loose canon like Gaara did not fit the image that a Kazekage should uphold.

For the first time in many years, Amida found himself someone who would listen to his thoughts. Not since the death of his wife nor the deaths of his children, had Amida found something worth discussing ideas to.

But Amida knew the truth deep within his mind, that Taisen had plans for something else. His ambition to be the most influential clan in Suna and Wind country itself was obvious as they began talking regularly. It wasn't until Fuzuki no Kiryu, the former shadow of the Yondaime Kazekage that a plan began to brew up and Taisen had subtly set him up as the scapegoat.

With his disagreements with the Kazekage made known throughout all their discussions, it was Taisen that egged him on, let him continue to speak and now recognized as the face that opposed Gaara.

When the attack happened and when they were saved by the Kazekage with an attack that was meant for the village, it was here that Amida finally understood.

Though he had despised Rasa and his methods, Amida had realized that he was no better.

He had let his pain rule him and had let Taisen propagate his pain of loss, not relieved it. He had done nothing but do the same horrible actions that Rasa had done in the past and it horrified him as he finally accepted the fact, that Gaara, his grandson, was just a victim of Rasa's machinations as he was when Karura and Yashamaru died.

He had planned to commit suicide for atonement. But he knew that nothing would change even if he did. Now he sat there in his home, surrounded with nothing but the pictures of his family as he had come to accept his fate.

"Temari, I know you're there. You can come out, I am prepared."

Temari came out of the shadows followed by a Konoha shinobi. He didn't recognize the face, but the beady eyes and the hairstyle would be reminiscent of a Nara clan shinobi. Amida was surprised at this, Konoha involved itself with this culling.

"Grandfather… You… Allowed yourself to be involved with Taisen's schemes…"

Silence escaped between them and Amida nodded.

"I was. The grief that I had when your mother died, when your uncle died, it clouded my mind and lingered throughout the years. I hated your father, he took away your mother, and when she died, asked for your uncle to give his life for the village in assassinating Gaara. It drove me to despair. It made me the same as your father."

"But you had us! Even Gaara, you could have talked to us! Told us what you really felt, we could have worked with these issues, but you pushed us away!"

Amida nodded as he looked down, he grabbed a photograph placed neatly inside a frame and looked at it, his gaze lingered on with his children as he closed his eyes.

"That I did. And it had cost me the remaining family I had left. I should have never allowed myself to be consumed with my loss."

Amida then looked at his grand daughter in the eye and smiled, "Looking at you, and then your brothers, you three resemble my children, especially you, Temari, you took after Karura."

"Don't make this any more painful than it has to be, grandfather." Temari said as she grabbed the scroll that Chiyo had given her and unfurled it.

Amida smiled and leaned back in his chair as he looked up.

"I am sorry, Temari."

A plume of smoke then escapes Temari's visage and when it cleared, two scythes had appeared within her hands, each about as long as a pole staff and with the blades curved in the shape of the crescent moon.

The Shodaime Kazekage's weapons, one that had given him the name Sumetai Kaze no Shinigami (Reaper of the Cold winds) said to swing without resistance in the air, humming a silent melody as it beheaded or killed its victims, was entrusted to her by Chiyo. This was his weapon now bequeathed to her, Yakumo Tatsu (Eight Clouds Rising).

Shikamaru looked on and reached out to his partner, "Temari, you don't have to do this. Your grandfather can go to prison and answer for his crimes, it doesn't have to be this way."

Temari shook her head forcing her hesitation down within herself, steeling herself for what was to come, "No, it has to be done. He may be my grandfather, but my brother was hurt. He chose to drown himself in his sorrow. There is no other way."

"Everyone grieves, Temari, not just you, not just him. Don't do something that you'll eventually regret…"

Shikamaru was suddenly cut off when the old man spoke, "Your name is Shikamaru, huh?"

The two then turned to the man that was about to be cut down, but he looked assured or somewhat relieved at that.

The man then turned to the Konoha nin and said, "Thank you for looking after my granddaughter, but be at ease, she is a strong girl."

Shouldering the job to kill your family member for transgressions done against you was heavy. Something Shikamaru didn't wish on anybody. He had tried talking Temari out of this decision multiple times. But Temari had already thought of it now as a forgone conclusion. She was not going to change her mind.

"Grandfathe- No, Tenshin no Amida, for your crime of conspiracy against the village, you are hereby guilty along with your co-conspirators, Shakuton no Taisen and Fuzuki no Kiryu for an assassination attempt against the Kazekage, you are hereby sentenced to death."

With that Temari swung one of her scythes towards her enemy and cleaved of a part of the old man's chair and along with it, his head rolled on to the floor.

Temari closed her eyes and paid her respects as Shikamaru watched silently and placed a hand on her shoulder.

He could only lend her this much. He had no words to say as Temari slew her kin.


Within the streets of Suna, one man stumbled over a trash can as he evaded the growing anxious populace. This man looked like at the twilight of his youth, possessing stress lines on his face with his graying set of hair slicked back, sporting a goatee and wearing his robes signifying his status within Suna's inner circles. This was Fuzuki no Kiryu.

Fuzuki no Kiryu had been found out. Someone snooped enough to get him implicated in the assassination attempt of the Godaime Kazekage. He had, for all intents and purposes, been partial to the idea at first. Unlike that rat Taisen, Kiryu was loyal to Rasa and his vision for the village. Kiryu had to ally himself with Taisen for the sole fact that he viewed Gaara as a stain on Rasa's memory. Gaara was dangerous, a failure of Rasa's decisions one that, he viewed, needed to be scrubbed out. The failure of attacking Konoha was as much of a fault as his own, it was his failure that led to Rasa's death, and he intended to pay that failure in full. But he needed to clean up his act before he could do so.

Though relatively young, Kiryu knew a rat sniveling at the sides of the council if he ever saw one. Taisen was a power-hungry fool. He saw the man as an ambitious schemer that had plans of his own within the council. Rasa had warned him of the plans between mice and men as one of the late Kage's last acts was to give him a seat on the council. It was him that kept thwarting Taisen's plans undercover to put the man in his place and keep him there even after Rasa's death. Yet, he had acquiesced to Taisen's plans just so he could sweep all of Rasa's mistakes before he eventually committed the deed himself.

Kiryu saw no benefit under Gaara's reign. He was going to be deposed as the head of the black ops division eventually since he was found out to be the one who had created a line between the village, Orochimaru and consequently, the Akatsuki. He was the one who had to set things up outside the village performing what he knew best, cloak and dagger operations. He was the one who proposed to the former Kazekage to invade Konoha and he not only paid the price in full. He also sent many of his comrades to their deaths. That was his greatest shame and he quietly slinked back to the shadows after Suna had reestablished ties with Konoha.

All seemed the end for him until he remembered Rasa's orders to clean up the council. It seemed the former Kazekage knew that even with his ruthlessness, people still schemed behind his back.

When he appeared back into the light, the first thing he did was to plant his background towards Taisen. He knew that the man wouldn't resist the temptation of calling out to him. And just like any upstart, the former shinobi turned politician fell for it and the rest was history. It couldn't have been any easier and he could kill two birds in one stone with gaining Taisen's trust. Kiryu almost felt bad for the man.

Almost.

A shadow creeps and crosses behind him. Kiryu turned around, nerves on edge as he held a kunai in his hands.

Kankuro watched from above, unmoving as his chakra strings extended well around him and into the night. The days of Chiyo's nightmarish training had held him firm. He didn't know why he was given these set of puppets so prematurely. Chiyo must have been testing him. Nobody would even dare touch the legendary puppets of Monzaemon Chikamatsu, yet Chiyo gave the scroll willingly to him.

Just trying to control them had put a strain on his injured body. Kankuro was sweating profusely. Ten puppets on his ten fingers. Each having to move on their own. It was ridiculous that his master managed to control all these puppets so effectively. It was like climbing a high mountain with his hands tied behind his back and his feet tied together in rope. The insane amount of difficulty of performing Jiki Chikamatsu no Shu (Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets) made itself all too real for the puppet user.

Three of his puppets were zoning out his prey, monitoring Kiryu's every move in every direction while the rest were in pursuit with one remaining close by if Kiryu manages to do anything.

One would eventually seal the man's movements, this being the final puppet with a sealing jutsu.

Kiryu turned around as he reached into a corner and immediately made a dash towards the open street where a crowd was sprawling around when they heard the news of Gaara returning. Kiryu would be clear by then, his attackers will not strike him in an open crowd.

But as he reached towards the end of the empty street, an eerie figure dropped from above Kiryu stopped just in time as he saw the figure reveal itself to be a puppet with a lion shaped head.

Kiryu knew this as one of Chiyo's white puppets, the tenth to be exact, the Shishikubi Kannon (Lion-Headed Kannon). Its sole purpose of Chikamatsu's puppets was to capture and restrain its targets.

Wide eyed and alarm bells ringing in his head, Kiryu opted to jump up to evade capture but was then attacked from above. This time, by another white robed puppet in the form of a woman with two buns stylized as its hairpiece. Kiryu managed to dodge in time as two massive swords almost cleaved him into pieces. The former black ops director had a cold bead of sweat as he was now enclosed in one empty street with his two avenues of escape blocked by two puppets on either side.

This time, it was the ninth puppet, one of the Chikamatsu puppets' main form of offense. It had incredible dexterity for a puppet having two large meat cleavers as its main weapons. This was the first time he was seeing these puppets in action. The legends that were painted with these tools solidified Suna's power across the continent, it was said that these puppets were so strong that they contributed to the fall of an entire stronghold on their own.

Running out of options, Kiryu was about to perform a jutsu of his own until the tenth puppet punched the air and launched a projectile at him.

The ninth puppet jumped, getting out of the firing range of the tenth puppet's way as it fired a projectile from its arms. Kiryu turned but was not fast enough when the projectile had hit him as it enlarged and turned into a lion shaped head that opened its maw and revealed multiple rows of teeth from all of its sides as it trapped Kiryu and pinned him on the wall with a sealing formula activating and spreading into the wall.

Kiryu cried out in pain as some of the teeth had pierced his flesh and pierced the wall behind him.

"GAH!"

Kankuro then jumped down in front of the man and breathed out a sigh of relief as he dispelled the ten puppets back into the scroll.

"I… Never thought that you would be the one to control Chikamatsu's Ten Puppets, Kankuro…"

Kiryu said in between bouts of excruciating pain.

"You tried to murder my brother." Kankuro replied.

"It was… Either him or me…"

"For what? For the sole chance that you could have cleaned up our father's messes? Clean up your own?"

A smile escaped from Kiryu's lips somewhat amused that one of Rasa's children found him out.

"Baki and Chiyo-sama taught you well."

"We needed to stamp you out, Kiryu. You disgraced Suna with your actions."

An empty laugh escapes Kiryu, void of any uplifting humor as he was about to face the consequences.

"Maybe, Kankuro, maybe… But if you were in my shoes, you'd see it my way too."

Perhaps Kankuro would have, but he shook his head, "I suppose. But we live in a world where we don't have those would haves, could haves, and should haves. You tried to kill my brother and you will end up paying for it."

Kiryu nodded, it was nothing personal. It was just that he was doing what he thought was right.

"I guess that's the end of the line for me… Rasa-sama, in the end, I am nothing but a failure."

With that, the lion's head that trapped Kiryu swallowed him whole as the spikes pierced every part of his flesh and crushed him with its jaws.

Blood spilled on the streets of Suna that night.


Kawa no Kuni, northern border:

A head bursts from the ground as his blonde hair shook off the dirt from his head and sprout out of the ground dusting himself off.

"You're late, Deidara."

Deidara looked to his left to see the red head resting on a large rock as he began cleaning up his surroundings with his destroyed puppets.

"Sasori-dana, that you?"

Sasori nodded.

"Hiruko was destroyed. Those Konoha Shinobi are surprising. Their mettle is not one to be trifled with."

Somehow, Deidara couldn't help but agree.

"By Hiruko, you meant that humpbacked puppet that you were supposed to be?"

Deidara never once was curious about the appearance of the other members of the organization but seeing Akasuna no Sasori out of his puppet surprised him. The reputation of the puppeteer spread far and wide even through foreign soil. Deidara was a mere genin when he heard of the man's infamy. But to see him looking so young was most baffling for him.

By his age, Sasori would have looked like an old man, enough to be considered geriatric to say the least.

But noticing some part of the red tuft that was his hair, Deidara noticed that it seemed much to synthethic.

Did Sasori have any sort of body modifications?

He couldn't really tell. The puppeteer was already wearing the Akatsuki cloak before he could truly peer into the now eternally young Sasori.

"Yes, that Hiruko. It is of no grave problem. I just have to create a better one. I have the blueprints with me and will be able to spring out a new model within two months."

"The leader isn't going to like that we failed." Deidara uttered and Sasori chuckled darkly.

"No, but he most certainly wouldn't dispose of us easily. He can't have his international agents be disposed of. He's had enough recruiting high value criminals into his league due to Kakuzu killing off his partners. Hidan is Kakuzu's perfect partner. Pein does not like putting more shinobi into his ranks. He'd risk compromising our work for the world to see."

Deidara contemplated at this, "That is true, but I certainly don't mind killing Itachi if he gives the order, yeah?"

Sasori raised an eyebrow at this, "You always held a grudge against that man ever since you joined. What gives?"

Deidara scowled as the lingering feeling of Itachi's presence showed itself, "He just pisses me off."

"Am I supposed to believe that you operate on simpler terms? Deidara, I know we are of different mindsets when concerning the nature of art. But you would not be in this organization if you were a simpleton."

Deidara smirked at this, "Ever tried asking Kakuzu about his opinions on his partner?"

Sasori paused at Deidara's at this and couldn't help but agree, "Point. Let's just go to the next hideout and we'll discuss our next course of action from there."

"Taki it is then."

"I'm surprised you two got away like that!"

The two artists turned around and saw a man with a spiral mask with his hands behind his head, a carefree look as he wore the same cloak with red clouds littering around it.

"Though I guess that's to be expected. A shame you didn't get whacked, Deidara-senpai."

A tick forms behind Deidara's head as he went over to the masked man and started choking him.

"I DARE YOU TO SAY THAT AGAIN, TOBI! I SWEAR I'LL CHOKE YOU AND SHOVE A BOMB WHERE THE SUN DOESN'T SHINE! I'LL MURDER YA!"

"Ack! I'm sorry Deidara-senpai, I promise I'm not going to scheme and say my thoughts out loud ever again!"

"As if you could kill me, you little ankle biter!"

Sasori only watched in silence as Deidara had put the apprentice in a chokehold. Tobi was hopefully the last member of Akatsuki. He didn't know why the leader kept expanding his circle like this. Perhaps the fool was just acting like it and Pein wanted to closely monitor every member outside the comfort of his own country.

But who knows? When things had calmed down, Deidara kept staring dangerously at Tobi while masked man hummed to his own tune as they reached the border between Kawa no Kuni and Taki no Kuni.

With that, the three Akatsuki members vanished with the wind.


Daybreak had come to Suna and with it, came the Kazekage. Gaara had arrived and welcomed by its citizens as they cheered for the Kazekage's return. Gaara gave a curt nod and waved to his people as his entourage followed closely behind, a group of Konoha shinobi with Naruto standing directly behind the Kazekage himself.

"GAARA-SAMA!"

One of the citizens cheered as children came up front to greet him. With one more child thanking him for protecting Suna from a bomb that was meant for them.

Gaara gave a small smile and ruffled the child's hair as he knelt. He was soon met with Shinobi from the village as they all jumped down near Gaara and knelt down to him with Temari, Kankuro, Sakura, Neji, Tenten, Lee and Shikamaru standing just as he stood up.

"Welcome back, Gaara." Temari said this as she hugged her brother while Kankuro walked over to them and hugged both his siblings.

"We were worried, so worried." Temari mumbled and Gaara couldn't help but compel himself to hug back his siblings.

"It is only thanks to my friends that I could be saved. They made it possible for us to meet again."

There it was, when the people of Suna heard of Gaara call those of Konoha his friends, they felt a sense of connection between their Kage and the Shinobi that brought him back.

It was here that Gaara ushered Naruto to come to his side as much as he did so for Lee.

Standing beside their Kazekage, the people of Suna saw these two shinobi and thought of them in reverence as their Kage spoke.

"Allies is not an appropriate word for me describe the service that they did for Suna, for what they did for me. They fought Akatsuki and risked their lives in getting me back. I stand before you, as testament to the friends that have inspired me to become Kazekage. They are the ones who thought better of me. And with this connection, our ties and our strength shall be stronger than ever. Suna will always be Konoha's friend. They are my saviors and I thank them for their kindness and the extension of their friendship enough that I can stand here to be as your Kazekage."

Many of the shinobi, seeing as their kage spoke highly of the Shinobi from Konoha, bowed themselves and kneeled in gratitude with their citizens following suit.

Naruto watched, the reverence the people of Suna had for their Kage was something else. This was the first time he saw a whole crowd of people kneeling around them. Naruto couldn't help but feel happy for Gaara. The others looked on the same as Naruto, they were given thanks for their time in helping Gaara, those of Gaara's age would have done so no questions asked, but to see foreign shinobi being respected the way they were looked quite a site for Chiyo. In the past, they were looked on in distrust. But seeing the Kazekage alive and spoke truthfully of his ordeal, breaking the curse of the Kazekage of those in the past, overwhelmed her.

Her sentiments that had been forged ironclad in time were discarded with this new era. And the Kazekage had paved the way for it.

It was here that Temari spoke, "As interim Kazekage, I turn my position back to the Godaime Kazekage. I hereby step down and resume my duties as the ambassador for Konohagakure."

Kankuro approached Sakura and muttered, "She's only saying that to get closer to Shikamaru."

Sakura merely chuckled, maybe the puppeteer was right.

"So, what are you going to do about it?"

Kankurou grinned as he replied, "As any good and annoying sibling should do, I intend to embarrass the hell out of her for it."

"That sounds like a plan!" Tenten said as she laughed while holding her brace. Sakura had fixed them up well enough that the pain had subsided.

Meanwhile, Gaara looked serious once again and turned to Naruto as he said, "We will need to discuss more about what we learned in these past few days. For the moment, I ask that you take a break here in the village before heading back. I am sure you and your friends are all tired after what just happened."

The Konoha shinobi then nodded and had taken Gaara's invitation to relax once more. They would need to discuss things rather privately as a way forward now.

Two days later, The Konoha shinobi stood before the entrance of Suna, all of them were ready to embark on their way back to Konoha. There, standing just beside the entrance, stood the three siblings with Gaara in the center ready to see them off.

"Are we in accord of what we must do next?" Gaara asked and the Konoha shinobi had nodded their heads.

"Seek out the truth about the Juubi, find out who posseses the rinnegan and seek out the other jinchuuriki or if possible, keep the other bijuu away from them." Naruto recalled their objectives and current plans. Tsunade had already received word of the outcome of the mission and their objectives. For now, they would have to go back to Konoha to properly iron out their plans.

Gaara nodded and then turned to Temari.

"Are you sure about staying here for now, Temari? I would wager that you would choose to go to Konoha to continue your work. I'm sure you can continue training there, for all intents and purposes. I thought you would be happy there."

Temari raised an eyebrow at this, "What are you talking about?"

It was here that Kankuro grinned, Temari didn't like that expression her younger brother had, "Would you like me to spell it out for you? It's about what we talked about yesterday."

Temari recalled that Gaara talked to her about strengthening the friendship between Konoha and Suna with a political marriage that favored her. She blushed and told him off even when she said no denial on her part. Kankuro was laughing so hard, it could be heard three houses over.

"W-Would you cut that out?"

Gaara looked puzzled at this, "I never heard you say 'no' about it either. So, I don't know if you want this or not."

It was here that Kankuro was laughing and said in between bouts of giggling, "Oh trust me, bro, our older sister wants it. She wants it bad."

"Then why would she want to stay here, then?"

"I swear Kankuro, I'm going to gut you like a fish!"

The Konoha shinobi tilted their heads at the interaction between the siblings, it was like the trio were talking about an inside joke that they should be aware of.

'Wait a minute…' Naruto turned to Shikamaru who was looking quite bored as he stared towards the desert and yawned then back to Temari who was yelling at her siblings sputtering about the indignity of it all.

To this, a devious smile escapes his lips as he turned to Sakura and told him to come over and whisper to her.

"You think Shikamaru and Temari are dating?"

"Is the Hokage a drunk?" She replied and the two teammates were chuckling mischievously with Sasuke looking at them with a deadpan expression.

"What are you two on about?"

Sakura then pointed subtly at Shikamaru who Sasuke looked at and then Sakura then turned to Temari who Sasuke also looked at.

"Oh." Sasuke could only mention as Kakashi thought about it.

"It makes sense, though, what better way to strengthen this alliance than a…"

"DON'T YOU DARE SAY IT!" Temari shouted as Shikamaru kept staring at the clouds, ignoring the whispers and chatter all around him.

Not that it mattered, Naruto, Sakura and now Tenten were looking at Temari with those same playful and teasing eyes as they wiggled their eyebrows.

"You think we should buy a white kimono for the wedding?" Sakura asked and Tenten giggled.

"Only if the theme is appropriate."

"Would a theme about weightlifting be appropriate?" Lee asked out of nowhere and the three of them looked at Lee weirdly.

A beat.

"Lee, that is a great idea! What is a more youthful wedding than a wedding about body building!?"

Shikamaru seemed to choke at that one while Neji palmed his face and shook his head. Tenten however, looked horrified.

'If something happens between him and Yakumo, then I feel absolutely sorry for her.'

Temari though, Temari felt like the world was collapsing around her.

"Ah…"

Shikamaru regained his composure and pretended not to hear anything.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

A few seconds later, several Suna shinobi were standing by the village walls when they heard that loud scream only to find the Sand siblings with Kankuro on a chokehold by Temari while the rest of the Konoha Shinobi were trying to stop her from killing Gaara's brother.

Throughout all of this, Gaara was smiling a little.


Konoha Research and Development department:

Konohamaru sighed as he put away another knickknack that was strewn on the ground. Boring genin missions again was their reward after Ebisu slipped on a bar of soap and almost broke his back. The poor guy had to straighten his posture in the hospital in excruciating pain. But the fact that Ebisu was unashamedly ogling at the nurses brought out any sympathy he and his team had to begin with. Now they were stuck with D-rank missions again. Hanabi's team were also in the same boat, and they were working together again throughout this whole ordeal. At least their sensei didn't embarrass them like Ebisu did.

He turned around to place the item/trash or whatever it was on a basket as Shiho came in and told them that Ryuugamine-san had offered them snacks in exchange for their help again. Well, at least there's free food aside from the pay.

He looked at his team and then at Hanabi's team who all shrugged. They seemed to find it amenable too.

He looked at their current team leader, it was one of his uncle's students, Yamanaka Ino to be exact.

Now, normally Konohamaru wouldn't think about the fairer sex so much like his sensei, but Ino was stunningly beautiful. She had a good personality to boot. He couldn't help to at least have a crush on the blonde kunoichi the first time he saw their team with Asuma. At least he hid his emotions better than their sensei.

"Finished already?"

Sage almighty, even her voice was alluring. Konohamaru looked towards his team, and he could see Udon's spine tingling a little while Moegi was holding a pout at the bespectacled genin.

"Udon, you hang around Ebisu-sensei too much." Konohamaru said while Udon looked horrified, and Moegi's pout grew even more. Honestly, Ino found it cute.

"I most certainly do NOT!" He said in protest. It was here that Hanabi had come out to them with a deadpan look on her face.

"Stop teasing your teammate, Konohamaru and stop downplaying your sensei, you should respect him a little more."

Konohamaru returned that deadpan look with his own, "You're only saying that because you haven't been around sensei long enough to see his quirks. Trust me, he's a little creepy when he's around women."

Hanabi raised an eyebrow, "And you know this, how?"

"Three words…" Konohamaru started while Udon and Moegi answered together.

"Harem no Jutsu."

Hanabi tilted her head at that. What could that jutsu be that could tarnish the reputation of a certain jounin?

Konohamaru could tell that Hanabi wasn't getting it. Maybe next time he should perform a prank on Ebisu just so Hanabi could see what they were talking about.

"Alright, kiddies, let's all finish this up and get those snacks!" Another voice interrupted them and they saw Kiba grinning at them with Akamaru barking by his side. He was the one assigned to Hanabi's team as a temporary leader. Ino and Kiba weren't jounin for now but most of the jounin were outside the village and many of the more notable ones were on that rescue mission. Kiba was a little jealous at this, but he let it slide. Tamaki was visiting again, and a little exclusion to what could have been an exciting mission wasn't going to let him down!

"Well, you're feeling chipper. I don't think a D-rank would boost your morale this much. Must be something you're planning if you want the genin to finish this early."

Kiba grinned, "Of course! Tamaki's going to visit! I'd wager that's worth the misery of doing a D rank any day."

Ino perked up at this, "Who's Tamaki?"

Kiba replied offhandedly, "Sasuke's distant cousin. She's a cat ninjutsu user that stays with her grandmother to one of the hideouts Sasuke's clan had. I met her about a year ago and every time she's here, we usually hang out."

A pang of jealousy escapes Ino and she sighed, "Great, the loser team is having relationships while I'm still single. You don't have to shove it into my face, you know."

Kiba looked a little hurt at that, "You know, if you weren't my friend, I'd call you a bitch. But you've been chasing around Sasuke all this time and he has the sexual libido of a pole. You could at least try to broaden your horizons, Ino."

Ino scoffed.

"This coming from the guy who tried to hit on everybody but his teammate."

Kiba had once thought about it, but then he realized it would be a big mistake when he saw Hiashi as a kid, "Hey, I'll have you know that Hinata is like a sister to me. Plus, it would feel wrong if I hit on her. Only someone like Naruto can do that with his type of brass balls when going up against her father."

Ino laughed at Kiba's remark about Hiashi being a scary old man with a tinge of madness when concerning his daughters "Which is why he's going up the stocks for prime husband material than you are, dog boy."

"Fuck that. You ever see Hiashi stare at you? It always looks like he's setting your soul on fire. No fucking way am I going to do that. Even then, I stop myself because I always thought it was wrong, you know? It's like trying to hit on your little sister. And having a sibling all my life, I can tell you that's pretty gross, Ino."

Ino, meanwhile, couldn't help but agree. "I suppose you're right about that. But still, I just wish that I could have Sasuke-kun's attention the way he has on Sakura."

Kiba raised an eyebrow at Ino's wishful thinking, "You're still on about that? Just move on, Ino, Sakura won between you two. And I'm not sure that you were in it just for Sasuke."

Ino looked annoyed at this, or more precisely, she felt insulted "If you are implying that I have a thing for Sakura…"

"Hey, I don't judge, Ino."

Ino was seething, "Oh, you are so going to get it, dog boy."

A cough interrupted their talk, only to see a girl with shoulder length brown hair and a cat resting on her shoulder calling out to them.

"Tamaki! You made it!"

Kiba grinned from ear to ear as he approached the brunette at top speed and high fiving her cat who returned the gesture.

"Well, the guys said you were cleaning up this place, so I had to go here. So, who's your friend?"

She looked a little too expectantly at Ino who merely waved at her. Kiba felt like a cold wind just entered the room and could tell that Tamaki was a little intimidated with Ino's looks.

"Hi Tamaki, Kiba's told me all about you recently. You're Sasuke-kun's cousin?"

Tamaki nodded her head, somewhat unsure why she was feeling intimidated by her, "Distant cousin. I usually come here to visit him just to make sure he isn't lonely, and I get to hang with Kiba all day so it's not much of a hassle."

Ino smiled at the girl and clapped her hands together, "That's wonderful! At least you're thoughtful person. You said you were going to hang out today? Well, you could go now, I'm sure I can handle the mission report, it's only a D-rank, anyway."

"If that's okay with you, then I'll oblige to that…" Kiba suddenly stopped, his nose picking up a scent that was approaching them in a quickly.

His sudden change of gesture suddenly put the two kunoichi on alert as they noticed Kiba looking to his side, far away from Tamaki.

Akamaru growled while Tama's hair stood on end. With burst of smoke, the cat had brought forth Tamaki's tekko-kagi as the kunoichi gripped it firm within her grasp. Ino scowled and activated the seal from her coat as she brought out a katana.

Now that Ino's attention was on high alert, she gripped the base of the Katana's tsuba and pushed the blade out with her left thumb, her right-hand hovering over the grip of her blade.

"W-WAIT! PLEASE DON'T! I'M ONLY HERE BECAUSE RYUUGAMINE-SENSEI SAID TO CALL YOU!"

Kiba maintained his guard as a bespectacled teen wearing the white uniform typical of an R and D grunt had approached them, carrying with him a scroll.

"My name is Katasuke, I recently joined the R and D department, I came here to call you and give you a scroll that Inoichi-san had ordered."

"Papa?" Ino asked as she calmed down as she holstered her blade. Kiba and Tamaki didn't though, and they maintained their guard up as the teen, Katasuke, handed over his scroll.

"Yes, Inoichi-san had seen something that fascinated him. He had it ordered to be sent to him today. I'm sorry if I came off as a threat, I usually feel a little anxious in meeting new people."

Ino grabbed the scroll from Katasuke's hands and looked at the ornate design curiously. Her father ordered it? What for?

But before she could check the contents of the scroll, she heard a loud whistle from Kiba and Akamaru had immediately dashed forward and tackled Ino to the ground and Kiba immediately grabbed Tamaki and Tama and pushed them to the ground as well.

Tamaki didn't notice it at first, until she saw a black large stinger coiling and stretching itself as it almost hit Kiba with it missing Ino by mere centimeters were it not for Akamaru and Kiba's intuition kicking in.

"W-What?" Tamaki asked as she looked at the stinger recoiled back and vanished to the shadows.

"He's not there." Kiba whispered to Tamaki's ears as he motioned for Tamaki to look upward.

There, up on the ceiling was a boy their age, standing upside down with the large black stinger retracting back to him as he made it bounce on the wall and purposely angled it so that it would hit Ino in her blind spot.

Ino's sensing kicking in, she rolled on the ground and looked up as she saw her masked assailant, with no defining features. The assassin was wearing a black tank top, tucked in by a pair of black pants that made it look like he was wearing a body suit, with the top padded at the chest and shoulders with thick but light armor with a pair of white arm guards over a pair of black gloves and an eagle tattooed on his left shoulder.

Katasuke had stumbled back. He was almost hit by that stinger. He was shivering in fear as he moved back. He was almost impaled by an attack that was meant for Ino.

The man above then let the flow of chakra stop from his feet and flipped in midair before landing on the floor, his eyes from behind his mask glowed an ominous red as the light escaped from the mask.

He then brought out a small item in his hand, ashen grey in color with a jewel at the base of one end with the Kanji of water on it while the opposite end was triangular. A black substance soon gathered at the triangular tip and the black substance solidified.

The eagle tattoo on his left shoulder soon came to life, black in color as the tattoo and spread its wings on the teen's shoulders as it gave out a powerful squawk into the building.


With that, that's a wrap.

Here, as you see, with Sai having his jutsu seen, must conceal himself and do missions for Danzo under a different identity with a different moveset. If you're also wondering when I created this form of alterego for Sai, I was thinking about Barbatos Lupus Rex from the series Gundam Iron Blooded Orphans. The hint was the Fuinjutsu name I had in the last chapter, Arayashiki

A little background for the sealing technique:

The term Arayashiki or Alaya-Vijnanna, is a thought method by practitioners of Mahayana Buddhism, it's a term that means that no external reality exists as reality is related to perception of one's own consciousness, therefore, knowledge is considered consciousness itself as it is assumed as knowable and that a higher state of consciousness is attainable and exists. In Sanskrit, the term is literally translated as "storage consciousness", That latent consciousness projects an interrupted sequence of thoughts, while it itself is in restless flux until the karma is destroyed. That storage consciousness contains all the impressions of previous experiences, which form the seeds (bija) of future karmic action, an illusive force that creates categories that are in fact only fictions. The only way to free yourself from this karmic sequence is to gain enlightenment.