Here's a new chapter for those who've been following the story. Sorry for the disappearing act. The past school year was quite the doozy and unfortunately I couldn't access the website from my school device. Now that I have a laptop of my own, I don't have an excuse. I hope this chapter is satisfactory, I'm revising the older chapters to get myself back into the story again so revised chapters will be posted. Anyways, I'm sorry for the wait and I hope that I'll be able to stick with my writing more now that I have my own device to work off of.

I don't own any of the copyrighted stuff in this. I also don't make any money from this so I don't think it mattered if I did own anything.

(when naruto woke up after the circus massacre)

Naruto opened his eyes to see dirt. A darker circle of dirt beneath his eyes. Naruto slowly pushed himself up, looking around once again at the battlefield around him.

"This happened because of me…" Naruto said hopelessly. He then remembered some of the other kids who had been traveling with the circus. He ran off to find them, the last of his family possibly being alive. When he came to the first spot, he found it empty. In desperation he scrambled off to the other spots, each time he found it empty. If he hadn't used all his tears the night before his cheeks would've soaked with them now.

He continued to run back and forth between the spots, "No...No!...NO!...NO! NO! NO! NO!". After a few minutes, Naruto found himself at the foot of his parent's bed. "I don't want to be alone again".

'It's not your fault you know…'

"Who are you?!" Naruto yelled in fear, looking around for the source of the voice.

'I am your friend. I want what you want Naruto'

"How do I know I can trust you?" Naruto asked. His voice croaked.

'I have been with you through everything Naruto. One could say, I am you… and I know how you can get back at those who did this'.

"But they're too strong... "

'With my power they'll be no stronger than an ant. And I know I where to find them… all you have to do is let me take control… don't you want to hurt them back?...'

Naruto's eyes started growing red, his features becoming more feral. "I want to kill them!".

Kurama chuckled as the small boy easily fell to his influence. Naruto was quickly approaching a full transformation, muscles starting to form around the fox skeleton that had taken shape around him.

Before the transformation could complete Naruto found himself standing in a large cavern of some sort. As he turned around he found himself face to face with a terrifying giant fox behind a locked cage. Naruto backed up in terror, stopping when he found himself bumping into someone. "Woah there kiddo. It's okay. There's no need to fear that furball over there while your good old dad is here".

Naruto's eyes went wide as he turned to face the man he knew as the Fourth Hokage. "What? No hug for Daddy?".

*)_}}[[]]{{_(*

(Present Day)

Neji's team had taken a moment to rest and set up camp for the night. Kurama was taking several minutes to catch his breath, promising to take care of setting up camp once he finished. Hinata was standing next to her love, placing a comforting hand on his back, not even phased by the run.

"What's wrong Sakusa? I thought you were fast," Neji taunted.

"Yes, I'm fast but I've never had to run for so long before. I walk everywhere or get a ride!"

"A ride? From who?" Sakura asked, curious about the young ringleader.

"From travelers, from animals. Sometimes I can get one of the elephants to let me ride them, but that changes from day to day".

"Wait! You ride the elephants?!" Hinata and Sakura asked, a glint of hope in their eyes.

Kurama nervously chuckled, "Y-yeah. Did you want to get a ride?"

The two rapidly nodded their heads. Kurama promised them a ride and made his way over to the clearing they had claimed. After snapping his fingers his tiny scroll capsule appeared in his hand. Opening it up, along with the scroll inside, Kurama summoned a sac, roughly the size of his torso. After returning his scroll, Kurama opened the pack and pulled out the tent inside.

After expertly pulling the corners out, the rest of the tent neatly piled in the middle, he snapped his fingers once more and the tent popped up with life. It was the size of a small house, comfortably fitting over 12 people inside.

When the team went inside they found a wooden beam lifting the middle and smaller wooden framing keeping up the sides.

As Kurama walked in he clapped his hands, lanterns appearing from seals and furniture appearing near the back wall. He pulled out 5 futons for them to sleep in. When he turned around he was faced with many dumbfounded faces. "What?".

"Do you sleep like this every night?" Sakura asked.

"Oh this hasn't been used in years," Kurama explained. "Usually I just set up a hammock, however, since I have guests I decided I should be a bit more accommodating".

"What?! You can sleep in this and you choose a hammock?!"

"Well when you've been alone on the road for so long, the will to set something up so fancy quickly fades".

"What do you mean alone? You've got an entire circus," Kakashi pointed out, his eye narrowed. The others turned to face Kurama too, suspicious looks on their faces.

Kurama struggled for a quick response, "Well… um… As a ringleader I have to go on some… solo travels in order to book gigs and take care of business stuff. When I'm with the other performers however, I don't use the hammock. I use a bigger tent for us to sleep in".

His answer seemed to satisfy the crew for now, everyone but Sakura was starting to think that Kurama was hiding something.

Kurama set up the futons to be in a row, assigning each person to a futon. Intentionally putting Hinata's next to his own. Kurama would've succeeded too if Neji hadn't gotten in the way and objected to the setup. Now with Kurama and Hinata in futon on opposite ends of the line. With himself in the middle and Sakura next to Hinata.

Kakashi volunteered for the first watch, wanting some time with his thoughts, and to catch up on some reading. Jiraiya had just released a new book and Kakashi was rereading the entire series in preparation.

The teenagers gladly went to sleep, Kurama falling asleep almost instantly after all the running they had done. Hinata reluctantly took her futon, disappointed that Neji had to move her spot, but the thought of requesting to be next to Kurama made her too embarrassed to say anything.

She didn't have to though, after a few minutes, she sensed someone sliding next to her. Opening her eyes, Hinata found herself looking at the mischievous smile of one Kurama Sakusa. Hinata opened her mouth to ask how he got over there without Neji noticing, but Kurama put a finger over his lips to remind her to keep quiet.

Kurama then showed her how he was able to use chakra threads to lift his futon off the ground and over to her. He then reached his hand over to her, Hinata took it enjoying the warmth that filled her when she did. The two stayed that way, hand in hand until morning. Neji had wanted to break it up once his shift was over but begrudgingly let Kurama enjoy his victory. It was almost morning anyways so Neji took on the last shift.

The next morning the squad took another run, much to Kurama's disappointment. Neji took his suffering as payment for sneaking past him. On top of witnessing Kurama have to admit to needing breaks every hour, Neji was also very pleased with the time it took them to reach the village. When they arrived, Neji took Hinata and Kakashi to scout out the location of Orochimaru's base while Kurama and Sakura were left to find housing for the night.

Hinata felt a twinge of jealousy as the two groups parted ways. She knew Sakura wouldn't do anything and she didn't think Kurama would do anything but she still didn't like it.

Kurama made it up to her though when they went on a date later that night. They went to a local ramen restaurant. It was nowhere close to Ichiraku's, but it wasn't bad. After they walked around the village, hand and hand. There weren't any amazing views for them to find, but they got to enjoy one another's company. Neji wanted to spy on them to make sure Kurama didn't try anything, but Sakura thwarted his attempts to follow them.

Kakashi however took to night to make a small shrine of sorts in the room with a picture of his sensei and Kushina in the middle. He finally had the privacy to apologize to them. It wasn't uncommon for the jounin to spend his night crying himself to sleep, but this one was different. Instead crying to try and forget the painful memories of his life, this time he was crying because as a display of genuine regret to his former sensei and his wife.

"For 16 years I either neglected and gave up on your child. I've failed you. I've failed him. I know I've already been given far too many second chances but… please let me try and be a part of his life. It's selfish, and I certainly haven't treated him like family, but he is the closest thing I have to a family. I forgot what you had to give up for the village. I should've been his guardian. I should've raised him like you would've wanted. I should've done something… but I didn't. I ask you for pity. I don't deserve forgiveness, but please allow me to try to be a part of his life". Kakashi then bowed his head to the floor.

He stayed that way until he felt a hand on his shoulder. When he looked up he saw no one, but he could feel their presence. A warm, comforting presence that made him feel… loved. Just as soon as the presence arrived, it left. Kakashi looked at the shrine, a grateful smile on his face. "Thank you".

(_(_[_[_]_]_)_)

The following day, the squad made their assault on the base. After disabling an excessive amount of traps, the squad finally was able to enter the hideout. The inside was dimly lit with torches. Intricately carved stone adorning the ceiling and walls.

'Well whoever this guy is… he's got good taste in architecture' Kurama noted.

'Please keep to your priorities' Kurama chided.

The group passed by many doors, Hinata and Neji using their Byakugan to see what was inside from the hallway. Most of the rooms were empty, or looked recently vacated.

After several minutes Hinata spotted someone. She described them as seeming to have two heads. One in the front, and on seeming to grow from their back. Upon closer inspection Hinata and Neji were able to confirm that the target was male, and he wasn't alone.

Neji and Hinata reported two other shinobi of notable power. Nothing there couldn't handle, but they also spoke of some sort of dark chakra at the necks of them. They also reported seeing multiple weaker signatures, those who were kidnapped.

The group continued forward, Neji setting up a plan of attack. "Kurama, use one of your illusions or a henge to hide yourself beside the door. I'll cause a distraction and me and Kakashi will take care of whoever follows. Hinata will throw a smoke bomb into the room and then you use your speed to incapacitate the remaining shinobi. Are there any questions?".

Only Kurama raised his hand, "what happens if they threaten the hostages?".

"Whoever is left in the room won't know our numbers. Once me and Kakashi deal with those we distract, we'll check up on you two and deal with the situation while they have your attention on you".

Kurama nodded his head, turning himself into a small pebble. Hinata joined him, placing herself as another pebble across the hall. Neji and Kakashi started the plan, sending a small chakra flare further down the hallway. Just as planned, one of the targets went out to investigate. Kurama and Hinata were amazed at the size of the man. The only word that could accurately describe him was a mountain. With every step Kurama and Hinata could feel a small rumble beneath them.

They waited for the large man to disappear down the hall before engaging. Hinata started first, charging in and quickly bringing down the man with two heads.

Kurama stealthy followed, keeping his form as a pebble as he surveyed the room. His caution paid off when a smaller woman with red hair leapt at Hinata with two kunai in hand. She had been hiding among the hostages, hiding her chakra. Before she even got halfway to slicing Hinata, Kurama was now holding her by the throat. The kunai that she had held now in his free hand, "Nice try, but you chose the wrong kunoichi this time". Kurama then threw her into the wall, cracking the wall and knocking her out.

"You're going to regret that", the double headed shinobi warned, a pattern of black markings spreading across his face and body. The chakra was suffocating and toxic to Hinata, never had she been so close to something so repulsive. With his new power, the shinobi easily threw Hinata off, Kurama catching her before she hit the wall. The two headed ninja continued to change, becoming more demonic and a horn growing on each head. The head growing from his back also detached into a full person, it was as if the body for the head just walked out of the original. "Nice to see you again, brother".

Kurama brought his hands together to make two clones. Hinata took a fighting stance, slightly angered at being thrown so easily. "Kurama, get the children out of here. I'll keep them busy". After a split second of hesitancy Kurama agreed, joining his clones in getting the children out of the room. The two enemies tried to stop Kurama but Hinata quickly diverted their attention, striking their arms and sides. None of her strikes had been able to stop the flow of chakra though.

'So you want to play tough? Let's play tough' Hinata masterfully dodged and redirected the attacks from the two. When she saw her opportunity, Hinata struck with both hands at the arm of one of the brothers. This time she was able to block the point, reverting his entire arm back to normal. The brother screamed in horror. His counterpart swiftly covering and attacking Hinata in a fever of slashes. Hinata was not prepared for this new fury and found herself dodging as many as she could, completely on the defensive.

Unfortunately, the dark chakra was really pumping through his veins now and Hinata was finding it harder and harder to dodge. She had been able to block a few points, but the chakra would plow throw within milliseconds. She had been focussing so hard on him that she lost track of the other.

"You'll pay for that!" the second brother shouted as he dived at Hinata from behind. Hinata's eyes widened as she took notice of the other brother. In a final act, Hinata fell to a crouch, summoning her lion fists to each hand and launching herself upwards. The brothers blocked, their armor being shattered and arms shinged, but they could still fight.

Hinata was drained. She had already used a lot of chakra trying to close up their chakra points, the lion fists took the little that was left. 'Shit shit shit. Time to get out of here'. Hinata made a dash for the door, but she wasn't fast enough.

"Where do you think you're going, girl?". One of the brothers had placed himself in the doorframe.

"The party's just started," finished the other brother. The two crouched down, their nails growing longer and sharper as they did so.

"Kurama! Neji!" Hinata called out reluctantly. She hated asking for help in a battle, but she also knew when she needed it.

"Let's see how many pieces we can dice you up into before they arrive shall we?" the two brothers said harmoniously. They launched themselves at Hinata with blinding speed, their nails ready to cut through her like paper.

Just before their nails reached Hinata she was enveloped in a cloud of smoke. The two swiped at the cloud, not wanting to let their prey get away. They were surprised however to find their nails stop, as if caught on something within the smoke.

"Now I know we may be enemies. But that doesn't mean I'll forgive you for hurting my Hinata". The smoke cleared to reveal Kurama, standing in between the two with their nails digging into his skin, blood starting to pool around each cut.

"What?! How did you stop our nails?!" one brother confusedly cried.

Kurama raised a finger to his lips, "trade secret". He then seemingly teleported a few feet to the side of where he previously stood. The brothers now with kunai in their throats and falling to the ground, dead.

Leaving the room, Kurama immediately went to tend to Hinata. He had left her in the hallway, not being able to perform the substitution jutsu at a farther distance. "Are you okay Hinata-chan?".

Hinata gave a weak smile, "I'm okay Kurama-kun, although I don't think I would've been able to last much longer against those two… you were able to finish them off so quickly. I guess I just should've let you handle it," she said in a soft joking voice, masking the feeling of uselessness welling up inside her.

Anyone else would've brushed off Hinata's comment, but due to some special abilities, Kurama was privy to the real emotions underneath her facade. He took a seat next to her, cautiously and gentilly taking hand. "I will not lie. It would've been much quicker, however, due to certain circumstances of mine, I would've won no matter how much training I had had previously. On top of that, those two were using some sort of vile chakra booster that more than tripled their power. Something that you didn't have".

"Neither did you," Hinata said, finding Kurama's actions to comfort her sweet, but not fulfilling.

"That's not exactly true…" Kurama said hesitantly.

Hinata frowned her eyebrows in confusion, about to ask what he meant by that but was interrupted by Neji and Kakashi's return. "Yo," Kakashi greeted.

"How did your battle go?" Hinata asked politely.

"It was relatively easy, though that guy could hit like a train and take attacks for days. When he started transforming, I used a genjutsu to subdue him. After that we had to find our way back here," Kakashi replied.

"You got lost?" Kurama asked.

"Let's just say Kakashi sensei and I were given an unwanted tour of the complex, without the use of doors or hallways," Neji replied. Kakashi pulled down his shirt to reveal a purpling bruise. Taking a closer look, Hinata could see bits of purple at the top of Neji's robe.

"Huh… Well we got the children out and to safety. I left some clones to guard them so they're safe and waiting at the exit. Are we good to go?" Kurama asked, the confining hallways and creepy ascetics of the compound starting to make the blonde showman uneasy.

"No. We're missing Daichi. There must be more children in here," Neji said, a hint of desperation being revealed to Hinata in his voice.

"Daichi? Who's that?" Kurama asked.

"Tenten's brother. He was kidnapped days before this mission. Our intel suggested that he'd be here. Hinata can you see anything?" Kakashi asked.

Hinata attempted to use her Byakugan but couldn't summon enough chakra to do so. She shook her head dejectedly, 'Another failure of Hinata Hyuga'. Kurama closed his eyes and concentrated. Hinata felt a soft and growing warmth in her hand. Soon enough, she was feeling filled with overwhelming chakra. She had never felt so filled or powerful in her life. She half exactly electricity to be firing out from her fingertips with each flex.

"Try again," Kurama suggested. His smile had a little less energy than usual.

"Kurama you can't give me so much of your chakra! You've made yourself weak," Hinata cried as she tried to give some of the chakra back.

Kurama grabbed her wrists before she could touch him, "Trust me, I'm good with chakra. Use what I gave you to see if Tenten's brother is here". Hinata reluctantly trusted Kurama's word, slowly pulling back her hands and activating her Byakugan. Hinata's vision expanded far beyond what she could usually reach, even when she pushed herself to the limits. She nearly fainted from the sensory overload. After sorting out what she was seeing, Hinata was able to take a full sweep of the compound, her face paling.

"They're here…Sasuke and Orochimaru. They're here!" Hinata said, panic creeping its way into her voice. Neji and Kakashi had the same panic creep into their faces, Kurama watched confused.

"Who are these two?". Before he received an answer, Kurama was struck with the information of one of his clones. For the most part it was what he expected, but the hand of lightning came into his vision at the last second of the clone's life. "The children are in danger," Kurama disappeared, zooming down the halls in seconds. The others followed once they were able to process his words.

]}-{[

When Kurama arrived at the scene, a boy about his age had just screwed his last clone with his hand of lightning. "So you're the original? You better not disappoint me".

Kurama looked at the children huddled between them, trying to determine what to do. "For every kid you save, I will kill another," Sasuke warned. The two held each other's gaze, neither willing to back down.

Kurama smirked, "Lucky for me, I can multitask". In an instant Kurama had appeared before Sasuke, sending him flying into the forest with a powerful kick that Sasuke was just able to block. Quickly making himself some clones, Kurama re-engaged his opponent, trying to distract him.

"Is that all you've got?!". Sasuke launched himself at Kurama, his sword in hand and primed with lightning. Kurama narrowly dodged the strike, having to continue to dodge as Sasuke pursued with slashes and strikes. "I like you, but you're going to have to do better than that," Sasuke activated his sharingan, his eyes threatening to unearth Kurama's secrets.

'Shit! This kid is an Uchiha. Kit, no more playing around. If he locks eyes with you he could come into your subconscious with me and take control of me!'. Kurama headed his companion's warning and made a shadow clone to collect natural energy.

"If you don't start taking this fight seriously, I will kill you," Sasuke warned, his chidori effortlessly slicing through part of a tree instead of Kurama and fizzling out. Kurama glumped seeing the damage Sasuke was able to inflict so cleanly.

'If he's like the others, this is going to become a lot more difficult'. Kurama kicked into his speed once more, side stepping the Uchiha's next strike and landing a strong round kick to his gut, knocking the air out of the Uchiha. Kurama followed his strike with multiple punches to the Uchiha's face and arms, hoping that'd be enough to scare the Uchiha from fighting anymore.

Sasuke was sent crashing into a nearby river, a smirk on his face as black markings similar to the ones seen before started crawling across his skin. "It seems I need a bit more speed in order to match you. Let's see if you can keep up". Sasuke appeared before Kurama, his sword positioned to skewer the young ringleader, a glint of madness in his eyes.

'Shit'. Kurama burst his clone, the natural energy it had gathered rushing to him, it felt like a breath of fresh air, purple line now detailing the contours of his face and hands. Evading the blade, Kurama then used his knee to snap it in half. Sasuke ended his thrust a few feet behind Kurama, no holding only half of his sword.

A corrupt laugh came from the Uchiha. His skin became that of a corpse, his hair wild, and two wings made of hands instead of feathers grew from his back. When he turned around, Kurama saw the dark cross across Sasuke's nose and the animal ferocity in his eyes. "It's been a while since I've needed to take this form… and it's the last face you're going to see".

[}{]

The two clashed once more, becoming blurs to the observing Hyugas who had just made it out of the hideout. "They're so fast. Even with my Byakugan their blurs," Neji admitted, also taking note of the new chakra that seemed to be pumping through Kurama.

"Are both of them there?" Kakashi asked.

"No, it's just Kurama-kun and Sasuske-san," Hinata replied. Focusing her vision to the town, she saw that Kurama's clones had been able to safely bring the children to the town. "The children are safe, but I can't find Orochimaru".

A long snake-like tongue tickled Hinata's neck, "Maybe you're not looking in the right places". The three quickly turned around, falling into their fighting stances despite knowing how futile it was. "Oh come on now, none of you pose even close to a threat to me, not even you Kakashi," the copy ninja grimaced at the reminder of the difference in power, "I propose a trade. I'll let you take the children… if you give me the jinchuriki". Kakashi's eyes went wide, Hinata and Neji however were confused, they had never heard that word before.

"Never!" Kakashi cried. Hinata and Neji retook their stances, following their senior's attitude.

Orochimaru chuckled, "You act as if you have a choice… No matter, I can always get more lab rats to experiment on. Let's see how much more Sasuke can push him".

\/\/\/\_|_/\/\/\/

"AAAHHHHHHHH," Sasuke screamed with delight. Only with Orochimaru had he ever been pushed so far in his 2nd stage. But Sasuke knew Orochimaru's fighting style, this was completely new and held a result Sasuke didn't already know the answer two. Finally he could test his strength against the real world.

Kurama however did not find joy in the fighting. 'Dammit! I've hit this guy so many times! Why won't he stay down!'.

'You don't have any heavy hitting jutsu. Your attacks right now are no more than a bee sting, he's too durable'. Kurama sent Sasuke flying once more into the river, the avenger's body bouncing once or twice before he once again took a fighting stance.

"You're starting to bore me, original!" Sasuke said, a single drop of blood escaping his mouth. "All that time, all those attacks, and you only caused me to bite my cheek. Not once have you used a jutsu! I'm starting to think you can't".

"You want to see a jutsu?!" a frustrated Kurama asked, "I'll show you a jutsu!". Bringing his fingers together, he made hand signs that Sasuke had never seen before, nevertheless, Sasuke copied, thrilled that he had been able to bait his opponent into showing him new jutsu.

Taking a deep breath, Kurama cupped his hands in front of his face and blew. A giant tiger of fire emerged, charging the Uchiha. When Sasuke did the same all he was left with was a stream of fire, a jutsu even weaker than his fireball. "What kind of jutsu is this?!". Sasuke created a fireball to counter the tiger, but he was not expecting the beast to jump over it and continue its charge towards him.

"What?!" Sasuke engaged his wings, lifting him into the air and out of danger. Instead of fizzling out, the cat stared up at him and sat down, watching the Uchiha as if he was a tasty snack. The cat crouched down, and leapt at Sasuke, jaws open. Right before it would snap down on its prey, the cat disappeared, the heat of the flames teasing Sasuke.

Sasuke searched the ground for Kurama but could not find him, "Where did you go, Coward?!".

Sasuke was answered by an ominous whisper, "I'm right behind you".

'What? I never saw him move!'. Sasuke panicked, there was no way he'd be able to move out of the way in time to avoid the kunai aimed for his throat. Before the blade touched the Uchiha's throat however, Kurama's arm was stopped.

"You've met your match Sasuke. It seems you're still not strong enough". Sasuke turned his head away in shame, a scowl on his face. "Deal with the other nuisances in the meantime," Sasuke listened to his master, using his wings to launch himself at the spectating Konoha shinobi.

"Now," Orochimaru continued, "I believe you have been hiding something from everyone. Show me that power that resides in you!". Orochimaru punctuated his demand with a slash to Kurama's head.

Narrowly avoiding the chop, Kurama attempted to distract the villain with a platoon of clones in order to gather more of his dwindling nature energy. "You can't hide from me!" Orochimaru grabbed Kurama's throat, pushing them into a dive bomb towards the earth.

They landed in a small crater, Orochimaru standing up to give Kurama another chance to reveal his full power willingly. A brief flash of orange ghosted over Kurama's body. 'Are you just going to let him toss you around?! He can match your speed and out weighs you in power! Just use my power to end him!'. "No! No, I don't need to use your power yet. I still have a few tricks up my sleeve for him," Kurama took a second to stand himself up, using the time to formulate a plan.

Orochimaru's smile grew when he saw the flash of orange, 'that power. Imagine the possibilities!'. He found himself becoming excited, imagining all the possible jutsus and the scales he could put jutsus to.

Kurama reached out a hand, taunting Orochimaru to engage once more. His taunt was not ignored, the two met in another trading of fists once more. It was after a minute that Kurama revealed his first trick. Somersaulting away, Kurama threw a series of knives at the sannin. While Orochimaru was able to initially avoid them, he was not expecting their sudden redirection to his back. 'A tracking jutsu of sorts? Most interesting…' Orochimaru deflected the knives this time, finding while he temporarily pushed them away, the knives still came after him.

An eyebrow raised, Orochimaru sliced the air around the kunai, watching them fall with satisfaction. "Chakra threads? A cheap trick, but then again you did come from the circus".

"Don't disgrace my circus with your tongue!" Kurama warned before bringing his hands up to his mouth and releasing a fox made of fire. The plants that were on the edge of the fox withering from the heat.

Orochimaru flashed a series of hand signs, summoning a serpent of earth to combat the fox easily. Kurama charged at full speed, a seal ready to be placed on Orochimaru. Unfortunately, Orochimaru made this quite difficult despite having only been given a fraction of a second to react after Kurama emerged from the dust.

"You have reached your limits like this boy while I still have much farther to go. Show me that power!". Orochimaru then emphasized this by completely controlling the battle going forward. Dodging every strike and landing multiple bone crushing blows to Kurama's sides and back.

'You can not handle this monster on your own! Just use my power and annihilate him!'

"No… I…" Kurama wasn't able to finish his sentence, finding himself being kicked into the ground once again. Opening his eyes, Kurama was greeted with a sword aiming straight for his heart. Kurama was just about to give in to his inhabitant's wishes when a blue ball of spiralling energy slammed into Orochimaru, sending the Sannin flying. A new figure now filled Kurama's vision with a mane of white spiky hair.

"10 god-damn years of looking for you and I find you about to die to the snake bastard. Man, you get around, kid".

Kurama looked up in awe and confusion, "who the hell are you?!".

*Jiraiya's Pervy Theme begins*

"I… am Jiraiya of the Sannin!"

. . .

"Who?"

Jiraiay face faulted, "You.. don't know who I am?"

"No?"

*Sigh* "Oh well, anyways, we have a lot to talk about, but first I have a snake to take care of". Turning away, Jiraiaya disappeared in a burst of speed, continuing to face Orochimaru, and eventually forcing him into a retreat.

"Come, Sasuke! You'll have plenty more opportunities to test your strength!". Sasuke looked up from his battle with Kakashi, their kunais locked against each other. Rolling his eyes, Sasuke listened to his master, joining in the retreat. Kakashi let out a sigh of relief.

Returning to the Leaf Shinobi, Kuruma rushed over to Hinata to help provide first aid to Neji. Jiraiya spoke to Kakashi to learn of their mission.

"Do you recognize any of the kids you saved?", Jiraiya asked curiously.

"No, it seems that Orochimaru has children from the Leaf Village somewhere else. According to Kurama, his clones tell him that they're from nearby villages".

"The children from the lead must be held elsewhere then. With Naruto back, I think I'm going to stay in the leaf for a little while. There's a few things I want to teach him. Maybe I'll be able to bring the village a little break from all these kidnappings"

"That would be very much appreciated," Kakashi thanked.

^)(^)(^)(^)(^

And there it is! After basically a year of silence I've returned with only a single completed chapter. I've started the next and plan to finish it according to the current story, but with my revisions the story may change to fit what I think is best for the story. Any how, I hope you enjoyed and please leave a comment. I'll respond to questions or suggestions from you if possible, but I will not tolerate any unnecessarily hurtful comments. This is not the product of a world class writer. It's the writing of an amateur who's just trying to have fun, improve his writing skills, and provide people with an enjoyable story.