Chapter 32:

Team 10 of Konoha, plus the remaining two members of Team 7; Sasuke and Kakashi, stood in front of one of the entrances to Konoha, along with a Squad of six ROOT ninja.

They have gathered there in order to go to their mission assigned by Danzo. They are to track down Hidan and Kakuzu, subdue them, and then take them back to the Leaf by any means necessary.

"Listen to me carefully," Danzo said. He was there as well, flanked by two of his most trusted agents. He came personally to see this group off, as this mission is very important to him. Even more important than the mission to capture Mōryō and Gaara. To him, the results of this mission might give him the means to acquire the perfect immortality, and there is nothing more important to him in this world than that. "If you fail this mission but somehow are able to escape with your lives… don't even bother to come back, because I will personally execute all of you. Is that clear?"

None of the ninja from any of the teams were surprised by the threat, especially the ROOT, who knew how Danzo is and that he has no problem disposing of them if they are unnecessary. Sasuke and Kakashi also knew that they have failed one too many mission already, and that the only reason they weren't killed after the mission to capture Gaara failed, is because of what they pulled in order for Sasuke to awaken his Mangekyo Sharingan. As for the three members of Team 10, while they knew Danzo the least, they knew enough to know that Danzo sees no one as completely necessary, and that he WILL kill them unless they have some use.

"YES SIR!" They all shouted at the same time.

Danzo nodded, and then turned around and walked back to the village, leaving the others behind.

"All right, let's get this over with," Kakashi said. "I want to know as soon as possible, what my future will be… that is, if I have a future for that matter."

The others nodded, and soon, they were all gone from where they were standing.

XXX

Saeko walked out from the Garganta, and into the thick forest, somewhere.

She let Yugito's body lie on the ground, before she lifted Yugito's shinobi blouse all the way up to her neck, exposing her entire torso and chest to her eyes. Saeko then looked at the seal she placed on Yugito's chest after she defeated her three days ago.

It was a very complicated seal, which was made to look like a simple tattoo of swirl, and nothing more. If one was to look at it, and figure out that it was a seal of some kind and not just a normal tattoo, they wouldn't even be able to figure-out where to start in order to decipher it. It was that complicated seal, and it was currently one of the best seals Naruto can make at his current level of Mastery.

The seal was currently glowing with an angry red color, and the glow was slowly spreading all over Yugito's body.

Soon enough, the red chakra has completely enveloped Yugito's body, to the point that she isn't even seen under it. Yugito looks like she has become chakra itself, and has taken on a human form.

Saeko stood slightly away from Yugito, and watched as the seal did its job. Even though she can't see Yugito because of the chakra, she felt that Yugito has come back to life just a few moments ago, and that the moment the red chakra recedes inside of her core, Yugito will wake up, as good as new.

For a few minutes, Yugito was covered in the remnants of the two-tails chakra which were inside of the seal placed by Saeko, before the glowing finally disappeared, revealing Yugito's unconscious form, lying on the ground.

Saeko looked at Yugito with raised eyebrows, because she was surprised by some small changes which occurred on Yugito. Naruto never told her that there will be any changes, so she was surprised.

Yugito originally had very long, blonde hair, but now it is blue, with black strakes and considerably shorter, since it seems to be only going down to below her shoulders, instead to the lower back. Then there is a blue shade around her gold, cat-like eyes, very much like the ones Naruto has, though in Yugito's case, she only has them around the eyes, and nowhere else. Yugito's cloths have been completely burned and turned to nothing, leaving her completely naked to Saeko's eyes, allowing her to see that the former Kumo Kunoichi has a perfect body as far as Saeko was concerned. The final difference is that, the seal which Saeko placed on Yugito, was no longer there, but instead, there is a face of a two-tailed beast. The seal which held the two-tails inside of Yugito was broken by the jutsu used by the Akatsuki, so that seal wasn't on Yugito either.

Yugito's eyes fluttered open, and she tried to look around through the fog clouding her sight. She didn't know where she was, and barely remembers what happened. Flashes of a very beautiful young woman with long purple hair came to her mind, and then she remembered that the woman was with the Akatsuki, and that she was sent to capture her. Yugito slowly remembered the battle, and how soundly and easily she was defeated to a point that even the full power of her Biju was useless against the Akatsuki's member. Yugito never thought that she would be defeated that easily, considering that even the Raikage and the Eight-tailed jinchūriki, two of the strongest shinobi she ever met, would have a problem to defeat her.

'I can't believe that I was defeated that easily,' Yugito though in her head, as her eyesight was clearing out, and she was starting to see more clearly. 'But what happened after that? Where am I, and why am I not dead?'

"I see you are alive," a female voice said, bringing Yugito's eyes right toward where it came from. She was stunned when she saw and recognized the same woman who defeated her so easily. "It's good to see that the seal actually works."

Yugito managed to pull herself in a seating position, but was unable to stand back up, as she was still too weak. She finally noticed that she is naked as well, and tried to cover her modesty… not that there is any use for it now, since Saeko has gotten an eyeful.

"Where am I," Yugito asked? "What did you do to me?"

"We are in the forest somewhere in the Land of Fire," Saeko said. "As for what I did to you… well, after I defeated you, I took you to a place where the Akatsuki extracted your Biju from you. I'm sure by now, you noticed that the beast is gone."

If Yugito wasn't already seating on her ass, she would have fallen right on it, from the shock brought by the information. She then tried to feel for her cat companion, but much to her shock, she realized she can't feel it nor hear it, which should be impossible as she was able to communicate with her Biju since before she was even able to gain control of its power.

"I see that you are confused," Saeko spoke again, seeing that Yugito is in shock. "So I will explain what happened from the moment I defeated you, all the way up to now."

Yugito only nodded, as she didn't know what to say.

Saeko then went and explained how after she defeated Yugito, she placed a seal on her, which siphoned some of her Biju's chakra into it, and stored it separately from the seal which was holding the Biju. She then took Yugito to the other Akatsuki, and they extracted the Biju, which killed Yugito in the process, but thanks to the seal Saeko placed earlier, she was brought back to life when her system was flooded by the Biju chakra which was stored inside of the seal.

Once Saeko was finished with the explanation, she went quiet, and waited to hear what Yugito would do.

Yugito was also quiet, but while Saeko was calm, Yugito can barely keep herself from looking calm, when in fact, she was in turmoil. She had so many thought's going through her head and has so many questions, that she doesn't know what to do, say or ask.

After a few minutes of silence, Yugito managed to calm herself slightly, took a deep breath, and asked. "Why did you do this for me?"

Saeko sighed. She was expecting this question, but before she could answer it, Yugito needs to be explained something. "First of all," Saeko spoke. "Before I explain the reason I did this, you need to know that if I tell you this, you will not be able to go back to Kumo," Yugito's eyes widened. "Actually, I don't think you will be able to go there even if I don't tell you the reason I saved your life."

"B-But why?" Yugito asked.

"How do you think I was able to find you that easily," Saeko question? "Why do you think you were sent on that mission all alone in that remote place, and with no one in sight to help you?

"It was all a setup, Yugito," Saeko said, while watching Yugito's eyes grow wider and wider with every question as she was starting to understand what happened. "The Akatsuki and your village made a deal. Your village sold you out to us, on the promise that we won't go after the Eight-Tails jinchūriki. You, Yugito, were betrayed by your own village, which is one of the reasons you can't go back there. Who knows what they'll do to you when they see you alive after you had you Biju extracted."

"N-No," Yugito tried to deny it. "I-I'm a loyal Kumo kunoichi. I had complete control over my Biju's power. I was one of the strongest shinobi in the village. They wouldn't have just thrown me to the wolves like that!"

"Loyalty doesn't mean anything in the shinobi world," Saeko said. "It's just a load of crap. As for you being one of the strongest shinobi in Kumo… well, while that might be the truth, you are still weaker than the eight-tails jinchūriki, and on top of that, he is the Raikage's brother. The Akatsuki used that, and made them an offer. They hand over you, and the Akatsuki will back off from the other jinchūriki. It didn't take long for Kumo to reach their decision and send you to a fake mission on which you will be captured, your Biju extracted, and you would be dead. If I didn't do what I did, you would have died, thinking that your village was still on your side. You would have died thinking that there are people there who cared about you and would have felt sorry for what happened to you. But the truth is, while it is possible that there are few people who care about you in Kumo, those who are most important in that village, and they are the leaders and higher-ups, well, they don't care about you, and only used you for their own gain."

Yugito was still in denial, even after everything she heard. Yes, she knew that she wasn't liked in the village, and many hated her, but she didn't think that they will just decide to dispose of her just like that, since Kumo, most of all, respect power, which is something she had. She also knew that the eight-tailed jinchūriki, Killer B, is the Raikage's younger brother, and unlike her, he was liked in the village, but even with that, it's hard for her to comprehend that she would be betrayed just so that the Akatsuki wouldn't even go after Bee.

"W-Why," Yugito asked, while tears were rolling down her face? "Why would they do this to me?"

Saeko sighed. "This is a cruel world we are living in, Yugito," she said. "The Hidden Villages, and the countries, they do what they believe is the best for them. But many different factions believe in different things, and when they all do what they believe is a right thing, then the innocent are the ones who are sacrificed and suffer the most. You are not the first who was sacrificed for the sake of the village, and I doubt you will be the last. It has been like that for decades, and as long as the current system stands, then this deaths of innocents will continue."

Yugito looked at Saeko, and studied her for a moment. "Why did you save me," Yugito asked again? "Is it because you want me to join the Akatsuki? Or is it because of something else?"

"It's something else," Saeko said, getting raised eyebrows from Yugito. "The Akatsuki is only interested in the Biju. Once they have it, they dispose of the jinchūriki corpse. That's how it's been with the ones before you, and that was how it would have been for you, if I wasn't the one who was sent to capture you in the first place, and placed a seal on you which saved your life after the two-tails was extracted."

"But what do you want from me?" Yugito asked.

Saeko was quiet for a few moments. She thought if she should tell Yugito everything, or if she should wait until Yugito joins her side, and then tell her everything.

Saeko soon realized that, Yugito is temperamental, and probably wouldn't agree to join her unless she was given a reason, and while Saeko did save her life, Yugito will not agree to join unless she was given a reason for her life being saved by Saeko.

Saeko sighed, and spoke. "What you need to understand is that I don't actually work for the Akatsuki," Saeko said, and Yugito's eyes widened in shock. "I work with someone else, and that someone is the one who made the seal I used to save your life. He is the one who tasked me to infiltrate the Akatsuki, so that I would be able to learn what their goal is, and if possible, save the lives of the captured jinchūriki, who would lose their lives once their Biju were extracted. I only joined not long ago, and you were the first jinchūriki I was sent to capture. It was my initiation, but I was ok with that, as it gave me the chance to save you. It will be hard for the others though, as I won't be the one who will be sent after all of them.

"Now. The person who I work with, is called Alessandro Starrk, and he wishes for you to join him and his cause, now that you are officially dead, and no longer have ties to your previous village."

"I think I've heard of Starrk somewhere," Yugito said, while thinking of where she has head of that name.

"Probably in the Bingo Book," Saeko said. "He was placed in their by Oto and Iwa about three years ago."

"Right," Yugito said. "That must be it. But still, why would he want me to join him? He doesn't know me, nor do I know him."

"True," Saeko nodded. "But you and he have something in common, which you will have to wait for him to tell you about, as I'm not in liberty to tell you. He also believes that you deserve a chance to have a good life, since you spent majority of your life alone and not cared for by anyone, just as most of the other jinchūriki, who never had a chance to have a normal life, and were always seen as weapons for their villages to use, and nothing else."

"Is he a jinchūriki as well," Yugito asked?

"Why would you think that?" Saeko questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, you said that we have something in common, and that he wants me to have a better life then I used to," Yugito explained. "You also said that he knows how the jinchūriki were treated everywhere, and there are not many people who have any form of respect for the jinchūriki. I guess the jinchūriki would be the only one who could really understand another jinchūriki, so it made me wonder if he might be a jinchūriki, and if he is, which one."

Saeko smiled. "Nice try," she said. "But no. Alessandro is not a jinchūriki. He did have a connection to one, though, and it's because of that, that he is willing to help the other jinchūriki. He already saved one, with you being the second. The current Kazekage was also captured by the Akatsuki and had his Biju extracted, but he was saved by the person from his own village. That means that three of the five captured jinchūriki are still alive, while the other two are dead. It leaves two more jinchūriki to be captured and their beasts extracted, as well as two Biju who are not sealed as their previous jinchūriki have died, and the beasts have not returned back to their bodies."

"I see," Yugito frowned. She was really sure that Alessandro might be a jinchūriki, but he is not. She wondered which jinchūriki he had a connection to, and what happened to that person. Are they one of the two dead jinchūriki who were captured by the Akatsuki and weren't saved, or maybe he had something with the one of the jinchūriki of the Biju who are not yet back to their bodies after the jinchūriki died. "Where is he now? How do I meet with him?"

"So you agree to join him?" Saeko questioned.

Yugito shock her head. "I agree to speak to him," she said. "If I join him or not, I will decide after that conversation."

"Fair enough," Saeko said. "I guess I will take you to him, and leave you there to talk. I will have to return to the Akatsuki as I have a feeling that they are about to be two more members short."

"Why's that?" Yugito asked.

"Oh, well two of them had a run-in with Alessandro few days ago, and it didn't end well for them," Saeko said with a smirk, making Yugito's eyes widen. "Now they decided to go after him, and have their revenge. I know how powerful Alessandro is, and because of that, I can tell you that those two stand no chance against him."

Yugito shuddered. She couldn't take out even one member of the Akatsuki, with the use of her Biju's power, and this Alessandro can take out two of them with no problem. It made her feel scared, and very weary of him.

"Fine, let's go," Yugito said, and Saeko nodded. "But first. Give me some cloths." Yugito blushed as she looked downward at herself, and saw her completely naked body. "Why am I even naked?"

"Oh, that," Saeko looked at Yugito and silently appreciated the other females body. "They completely burned up during the revival. The infusion of the two-tails chakra into your system and then merger with your own chakra, also slightly changed your appearance, but you will have to inspect yourself later," Saeko took of her Akatsuki cloak, and handed it to Yugito, as she didn't have anything else. It left her in her own usual cloths of red pants and bandages around her chest. It also showed the sword, which was previously been unseen because of the Akatsuki cloak. "Now we have to go."

"Fine." Yugito said, and then watched with dropped jaw as Saeko opened a Garganta in front of herself. 'What the hell have I gotten myself into?' She though as she looked at Saeko's smirking face.

Naruto was back in Whirlpool, and has just finished a meeting with Sakura.

He came back as he wanted an information about Guren and Tsunade. Basically, he wanted to know of their condition, and to know if he should just go and turn Tsunade into a hybrid if Sakura can't do anything to help with her condition.

First, he learned that Guren has made a complete recovery and will be fine. Sakura and some other girls informed Guren of what happened, and where she was, before they offered her a place in the Whirlpool… of course with Szayelaporro's permission.

Guren was very reluctant at first, mostly because she was very loyal to Orochimaru, but also because she didn't know the people in Whirlpool, and didn't know how they will treat her. With Orochimaru, there was always a possibility to end up strapped on a table as his and Kabuto's experiment, but at least she knew what to expect. In Whirlpool, she didn't know what to expect, and that was unnerving her.

It took some time, but Guren agreed to try it out, and stay in Whirlpool to simply live there. Would she decide to become a ninja, or stay as a civilian, she will decide at the later time.

Naruto was not exactly happy that Guren is questioning if she wants to be a kunoichi or not, because she has a very nice Kekkei Genkai, and would be of great use to him, and his country, but he is not the kind of guy who makes other do what they don't want to do, so he decided to let her be for now, and just wait and see what she would decide.

After he found out about Guren's condition, Naruto learned that Tsunade is not getting better, and that Sakura simply doesn't have skill to reverse the damage done to Tsunade's brain and psyche.

So, Naruto decided to take things into his own hands.

XXX

Naruto stood in the room where Tsunade was being kept. He was standing next to Tsunade's bed, looking at her as she was simply seating there, not doing or saying anything. She wasn't even looking at Naruto, and it looked like that she didn't even comprehend that he was there to begin with.

He sighed. "Damn it, Tsunade," Naruto said. "You are the world's best medic and you allowed yourself to fall this far. Well, now I will have to do what needs to be done, and if you end up angry for what I'm about to do, then so be it. But this is still partially your fault."

Naruto pushed Tsunade's head back, exposing her face to him. He looked at her face, which looked like she was 70 years old, and not in her mid-fifties. While her face was old, her eyes were empty and she didn't look like she was there at all. Naruto sighed again, and grabbed Tsunade with his left hand, holding her just below the jaw. To an outsider, it might look like he was trying to strangle her, but that was not the case.

Naruto bit his right thumb, drawing blood, which he then let drop in Tsunade's mouth and down her throat. He then let go of her, and let her fall on the bad, where she lied as she was covered in golden light.

Naruto watched as the light-covered Tsunade, convulsed and surprisingly, screamed in pain. He was surprised, because he wasn't expecting her to scream at all, but he was satisfied as well, because it would seem that the transformation is working. Tsunade is changing right in front of Naruto's eyes, as she was apparently de-aging. How far will she go, remains to be seen, though.

Naruto was also happy, because he could feel that Tsunade's power is increasing exponentially, and he is certain that once the transformation was done, she will be up there on the same level of power as Tayuya and Taya, currently two of his strongest friends.

The transformation went for several minutes. Longer than any before that, except Tayuya's, though Tayuya was a special case, since she was badly injured, while Tsunade wasn't. Tsunade on the other hand, was physically fine, but mentally, she wasn't there, so Naruto can't say he was surprised it took a while for the hollow powers to fix her mind.

Once the glowing ended, and Tsunade's transformation to a human/hollow hybrid was finished, Naruto couldn't help but stand in silence and admire Tsunade's form.

The Tsunade he knew was usually keeping herself looking like she was in her mid-twenties, with giant breasts, and straight blonde hair which is parted above her forehead. She had shoulder length bangs, and the rest of her hair, is tied at the back in two tails, reaching her lower back. She also had that seal of her on her forehead.

The new Tsunade though… she looks pretty much the same, only younger. She looks like she is around 20 years old. Her breasts seem to be smaller than they used to be. If Naruto has to guess, then he would say that her breasts are around 15 or 16 cm smaller then before the transformation. The only other change is on her forehead where the seal used to be. Now, the seal is completely gone, and Naruto is wondering what that could mean.

Tsunade opened her eyes and looked around in wonder.

Naruto saw the look in her eyes, and realized that she is back, as he can see intelligence and consciousness behind the look.

The moment their eyes landed on each other, Naruto would swear that he saw Tsunade blush… not that she will admit that for the rest of eternity.

"I see you are back," Naruto spoke. "Good. Because you've been out of it for a while."

"W-who are you," Tsunade asked, her voice low and raspy from not being used for almost three years? "Where am I?"

"Hm," Naruto hmed, before he approached closer to Tsunade, until he was standing right at the side of her bad, while she moved backwards a little, hitting the wall with her back. She looked at him as if she was afraid of him. That was definitely not like Tsunade he knew. She would be probably spiting fire by now, and throwing punches all over the place.

Then again. Tsunade has had a mind break three years ago, and has been in that state for a while, so it shouldn't be surprising that there would be some changes to her personality.

Naruto gave her a glass of water, and Tsunade took it, before she took a few small sips.

"You are in the Land of Whirlpools," Naruto said, making Tsunade's eyes widen. "This room is one of many which were hidden below the former Uzukage Tower, and is close to the Vault. You've been here for some weeks now. Before that, you were in the hospital here in the Whirlpool, and before that, you were in the asylum in the Land of Fire. I broke you out of there few months ago, and brought you here so that I can see if we can heal you."

"H-Heal me from what," Tsunade asked? She wanted to ask more about the Whirlpool, but that can wait. She wants to know what happened to her, because she can't remember anything. The last thing she does remember, is that she sent a team to return Sasuke Uchiha after he defected the village, but after that, there were few blurry moments, and then… nothing.

"Someone placed you under a genjutsu," Naruto said, getting raised eyebrows from Tsunade. "While normally someone like you shouldn't fall for a genjutsu, this one seems to have been very powerful and you weren't able to break out. From what I've found out, you've been trying to break out for months, but were unable to, and in the end, your mind snapped, and you were sent to the asylum. You were there for almost two and a half years until I found you and broke you out few months ago."

Ok. That could explain why she couldn't remember anything. A powerful genjutsu would be able to mess with her mind and made her forget stuff, but the question stands. Who the hell could have placed her under a genjutsu that powerful? She doubted that anyone who doesn't have at least Mangekyo Sharingan, or maybe some other Dōjutsu, which they can cast genjutsu with, would be able to put her under a genjutsu.

Tsunade rubbed her head, trying hard to remember who could have placed her under a genjutsu, but it was all blurry. She does remember meeting someone not long after the team went after Sasuke… few someone's actually, but she can't see who they were, nor which one of them used a genjutsu on her.

Naruto was surprised. He thought that the moment she is better, that Tsunade would be able to remember who used a genjutsu on her, but he was wrong, and she can't remember. Even her being revived as a human/hollow hybrid, didn't seem to fix her memory of that moment. At least not yet. Maybe it will in a few hours or days, but he is not sure. What he is sure though, it that the genjutsu used on Tsunade, must have been really strong if even his blood couldn't remove all traces of it.

"What happened after I was placed under a genjutsu," Tsunade suddenly asked? "What have I done while under it?"

Naruto sighed, and Tsunade's throat fell into her stomach. She knew right then and there that she will not like the answer.

"The Konoha Elders and the council decided to execute someone in front of the entire village," Naruto said. Tsunade's eyes widened, and her jaw went loose in shock. She had a very bad feeling about this, and someone suddenly came to mind. "You didn't do anything to stop it. You just stood there, with an empty gaze, while that person was executed by Sasuke Uchiha."

"W-who did they execute," Tsunade asked, though she had a feeling she knew? She really hoped she was wrong though. "Why did Sasuke do it? HOW did he do it, as I remember that he run away from the village? Does that mean he was brought back?"

"Sasuke was defeated in battle by Naruto Uzumaki, who then brought him back to the village," Naruto said, and Tsunade smiled slightly. She was glad that Naruto was able to defeat Sasuke and stop him from running away. But that still didn't help in fixing a bad feeling she had about Naruto being the one who was executed. It only increased the feeling. "The person who was executed, was considered to be Sasuke's best friend. As such, Sasuke was allowed to kill him because everyone knew that an Uchiha needs to kill their best friend in order to awaken Mangekyo Sharingan. The council thought that by giving the Uchiha what he wants, they would stop him from leaving the village. Unfortunately, an innocent person had to pay the price. I'm sure you've already figured out who that person is."

Yes. Tsunade did realize who it was. She was right. Naruto was executed and she didn't do anything to stop it. Another important person of hers has died. Another person who she saw as her own son, and another person who wanted to be a Hokage like several other important people in her life. They are all dead, and not even once, was she able to prevent any of them from dying.

Tsunade started crying, as she couldn't stop herself any longer.

Naruto stood to the side, and watched as Tsunade cried over his own apparent dead. He was happy that she cared about him so much. Yes, he already figured out that she did, but he wasn't expecting her to cry. That was a surprise.

"You can stop crying now," Naruto said with no emotions in his voice, making him sound like he didn't care about Naruto's death and Tsunade's pain. Tsunade looked up at him, and glared with anger in her eyes.

"And why should I," she asked back? "I cared for Naruto as if he was my own son, and I failed him. I allowed myself to be screwed over and he paid that with his life. If I never let myself fall under that genjutsu, he wouldn't have died!"

"Maybe," Naruto said. "Maybe not. I have a feeling that even if you weren't caught under the genjutsu, Naruto would have been killed. There were far too many people in Konoha who hated him, and wanted him gone. On top of that, the Fire Daimyo himself agreed with the execution, so even if you weren't under a genjutsu, you wouldn't have been able to save him if Daimyo ordered the execution."

"Why would the daimyo agree with Naruto's death," Tsunade asked, while wiping some tears, though they were continuously flowing down her cheeks? "He didn't even know Naruto."

"No, he didn't," Naruto said. "But he is a moron, and is gullible, so he is an easy target for the Konoha council who convinced him that it is for the best for Naruto to die, as he is a threat and too many people hate him. On top of that, he was also hoping that he would be able to get his hands on the Land of Whirlpools, which was technically still an Uzumaki Land, and as long as there were Uzumaki around, he wouldn't be able to annex it to the Land of Fire. I was able to find some information that the Konoha elders, the council and the Daimyo himself plan to use the current war to exterminate every last Uzumaki out there. If they succeed, then there would be no one to oppose the annexing of the Land of Whirlpools by the Fire Country."

"I see…" Tsunade growled. "So he is just a greedy pig, who doesn't care about killing innocent in order to increase his country's land and get more money."

"Pretty much," Naruto confirmed. "So, as I was saying. There is no reason to blame yourself for Naruto's death. It was not your fault. Besides…" Naruto stopped speaking and looked at Tsunade with a smile on her face. She looked at him with raised eyebrows. "You knew Naruto. You knew how he was. He was a loudmouth, but he never backed from his promises.

"Do you know what he said on his execution day," Tsunade shock her head. "He said that even if they kill him, he will come back one way or another. Who would have thought that day, that he was telling the truth?"

Tsunade's eyes widened to epic proportions once she heard what Naruto said. "Y-You can't be serious," Tsunade said! "There is no way he is alive if he was executed in front of the entire village."

"You should know better than that… Granny Tsunade," Naruto said with a sly smirk on his face, making Tsunade's eyes bulge out of their sockets in shock. Only one person has ever called her like that, and now, there is this guy, who is telling her that Naruto is alive, and then calls her the same way Naruto did ever since they've met. "I was a loudmouth. I was stupid and a fool, but I never backed away from my word, and I never failed to do what I've wanted done. Not… even… once."

Tsunade was shaking her head in disbelief. She just can believe that this guy in front of her is Naruto. It just doesn't make sense. Naruto was a 12-year-old kid the last time she saw him, and that was three years ago according to what this guy said, so it stands to reason that Naruto, if he was alive, should be 15. This guy in front of her, looks like he is in his mid-twenties, and looks to be far more mature then Naruto should ever be. On top of that, this guy is HOT. Tsunade saw Naruto as her own son. She would have never thought of him as hot, not matter how he turned out to be when he grows older. But here she is, feeling attracted to the tall hot guy in front of her, who says he is Naruto. It just isn't right, and shouldn't be possible.

"You are lying," She said. "If Naruto was executed then there should be no way for him to bring back unless Edo Tensei was used on him, and YOU, look completely normal, and NOT like someone revived by Edo Tensei!"

"Edo Tensei is an abomination created by your granduncle," Naruto said with narrowed eyes. "It is something which should have never been made, but it was. Now, while Edo Tensei can revive people, they are just puppets under the whim of the summoner.

"The way I was brought back… is completely different and wasn't done by any mortal means." Naruto then went, and explained everything that happened to him ever since the time she sent him on the mission to retrieve Sasuke, all the way until the day he was revived and sent back to this world. He decided to leave what he was doing in the last three years, for later.

Once he was finished, Naruto just stood there in front of Tsunade, waiting to hear what she will say and see what she will do.

For a few minutes, Tsunade was completely quiet, trying to process everything she has just learned. Once she managed to comprehend everything, Tsunade stood up from the bed, and stood right in front of Naruto, looking up so that she can see his eyes.

For a few seconds, none said anything, and just looked at each other, before Tsunade did something which shocked Naruto to his core. She grabbed Naruto by the back of his head, pulled it down toward her, and then kissed him right on the lips.

Naruto was stunned. He has never imagined that Tsunade of all woman would kiss him like this, especially since he always looked at her as his granny, and she saw him as her son. Of course, that was a long time ago, and he is no longer the way he was back then, and Tsunade is no longer an old woman masquerading as a young gal.

Right now, Naruto is an entity of over a thousand years of life, who looks like he is in his mid-twenties, while Tsunade is a fifty-something year old woman, whose age was reverted to around 20 year of age. As such, the two of them shouldn't feel any restriction about doing something like this… not that it makes it any less weird.

As Tsunade was kissing him, Naruto found himself returning the kiss, and was suddenly glad that he has gotten the memories of all of his blood clones who have had the experience with woman, because if he didn't, he wouldn't be able to live down the shame he would feel from not knowing how to kiss a girl, as unfortunately for him, that was not one of the skills he has learned in his thousand years of living in Hueco Mundo.

The kiss went for over a minute, before Tsunade pulled away, and started breathing hard. She seemed to have lost her breath from the kiss, and her eyes seemed glazed over.

Naruto was fine, but he was just standing there, looking at Tsunade. He was debating with himself on what to do, and if he should say or do something.

Seeing that Tsunade won't say anything, Naruto decided to just go with it, and do something himself. He has decided that it was time for him to experience what his blood clones have already experienced.

Naruto grabbed Tsunade, and lifted her in the air, making her yelp in the process. He spread her legs, and held her by her ass-cheeks, while her legs got wrapped around his waist. He pushed Tsunade to the wall, pressing her back to the wall, while his chest, pressed on her chest, and then without saying anything, he kissed her again.

XXX

The group of Leaf Ninja led by Kakashi, were able to locate Hidan and Kakuzu, and are now waiting for them in ambush.

"So, how are we going to do this?" Ino asked. She was not exactly happy to be here with Kakashi and Sasuke, but she has to do her mission, and wants to have revenge against people who killed Asuma. As such, she will put up with the two Leaf ninja for as long as needed.

"Both of those Akatsuki members are more powerful than any of us… individually," Shikamaru said, and Sasuke scoffed. Sasuke didn't' agree with that, as in his eyes, there isn't anyone more powerful then him. Anyway, he kept quiet for once, and listened to what Shikamaru has to say.

"That being said," Shikamaru spoke again. "The guy who killed Asuma, the loudmouthed one, seems to be weaker of the two, so I think that we should capture him first, with few of us taking on him, while all the others take on the other Akatsuki. We must be very careful with that other Akatsuki, because on top of us not knowing much about him, he would be able to stich that other guy back up if we cut of his head or any other body part.

"So, I want to see if we can catch them both with my Shadow possession jutsu, and then cut of Hidan's head, before we stuff him in a prisoner scroll. After that, all of us would be able to take on the other Akatsuki, and not worry about Hidan. All of us together, should be able to take on one Akatsuki member, regardless if he is more powerful than any of us individually."

"It's a sound plan," Kakashi said. "Let's try it out."

"Hmph," Sasuke huffed. "You should let me take on them by myself," he said. "With my Mangekyo Sharingan, I would be able to take them out."

"Maybe you would," Kakashi said. "But remember Sasuke, you are still new with the Mangekyo, and you don't have full control over its powers. On top of that, remember that I told you that you will lose your eyesight if you overuse the eyes."

Sasuke huffed again. "Itachi has had Mangekyo for years, and he still hasn't lost his eyesight."

"Probably because he didn't overuse it," Kakashi said. "He knows the consequences of the overuse of the Mangekyo, so he would not overuse it unless necessary. Even then, Itachi has had Mangekyo for years, so by now, his eyesight should be very bad, even with being careful.

"You on the other hand, don't have the same restraints as Itachi. We all know that, and you can deny it all you want, but you know that it's the truth," Sasuke got angry at that, but didn't say anything. "If you start to use Mangekyo in every battle you go in, you will lose your eyesight in just a few months, maybe even less."

Sasuke said nothing, though he was angry. Yes, he knew that Kakashi is right, not that he would ever say that out loud, but still, he now has the power to do whatever he wants, and not using it, is a crime in Sasuke eyes.

Sasuke also knows that there is a way to make sure that he never loses his eyesight no matter how much he uses his eyes. That way, is to transplant Itachi's eyes into himself. That way, he would awaken Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, and then he would be able to use it as much as he wants.

Of course, he first has to find Itachi, and kill him. Only then, would he have a chance to transplant his eyes, and get himself EMS.

He decided that once these two Akatsuki are captured they would be interrogated about Itachi's location. Once he has that location, he will go after Itachi, and take him out once and for all.

Sasuke Uchiha, will finally have his revenge.