Chapter 25

"I will take that into consideration, Sasuke." Tsunade said, gathering her stack of papers and placing it in a folder. "I actually wanted to ask you something important, so tarry a while. After taking down Danzou, the Root was left without a leader. At that time, we locked up them all up but Danzou's root was a major part of the Leaf's military strength. Most of the people in Konoha did not know about it which made it almost impossible for the other villages to know about it. Whenever we were attacked suddenly, his force was there to help us but now, forty percent of Konoha's military strength has fallen with his death and we need to recover that loss before the other villages get a whiff of it. I can just imagine Onoki smiling like a maniac while planning to invade the home of the late Yellow Flash. With the Sharingan, you are an ideal candidate for the position."

"Why can't Kakashi do it?" Sasuke muttered.

"Because he does not have enough control on the Sharingan and he has requested not to be considered for this position due to personal reasons." Tsunade replied calmly.

"Hn. I'll think about it but please don't get your hopes high." Sasuke said, getting up from his seat. He then bowed in front of Tsunade and after being dismissed shunshined away to the market. He had to get the groceries this time.

-Akimichi private training ground

The Akimichi clan had a huge training ground which unlike other grounds was not surrounded by trees or forests. The reason for this was that most of the clan jutsus were made for flattening opponents or breaking buildings. So, instead of trees, the ground had multiple rocks and boulders which were huge in size. Currently, only one Akimichi was training, Choji. He had focused on getting muscular and reducing his body fat and just within a week, he had lost half his weight. Instead of rolling around, he was practicing his punches and kicks. Loosing most of that fat made him more agile. After practicing his jabs one last time, he started doing pushups. This was his daily routine; he did a hundred pushups every day, taking a page out of Rock Lee's book. Along with this, he also ran seven laps around the village every morning and did a hundred sit ups before dinner. But despite all of this, he was still not happy with himself as he hadn't started his training in Ninjutsu.

A day ago, he had found out that his chakra nature was Fire. He had tried some simple jutsus but despite his hardest attempts, he failed to succeed in learning them. After his physical training, he quickly changed and decided to visit the Konoha Library, to find a book to guide him. After going through some books, he finally found what he was looking for. "Mastering Fire". Choji was buzzing when found out that it was written by one of the leaf's founders, Madara Uchiha. The book also contained his personal thoughts and experiences along with his most used Fire Release techniques. He had written this book for the young Uchihas but now it was available to the whole village. While borrowing the book, Choji observed that the last person to borrow it was Fugaku Uchiha. He planned to read it before going to sleep that night. He needed all the help he could get to get his revenge.

-The Uchiha-Uzumaki House

"Alright, now draw the seal in this way and without lifting the brush, start writing inside it." Aiko demonstrated as Ino observed attentively. Ino had asked for her help a few hours ago as Naruto was called with Sasuke to the Hokage office for a mission and she figured that this would also be a good bonding experience with Aiko as she did not know her that well. "And once you have finished writing, just add the capacity of the scroll on the bottom before finally lifting the brush. If the seal glimmers once it's done, the storage seal is ready." Aiko said, handing Ino a scroll and a brush dipped in the famous ink from the octopuses around Uzushio.

Ino started copying the seal but because she was not allowed to lift the brush up, her seal was getting messier and messier. Keeping the brush on the paper the whole time was not necessary but it was a tradition and one of the many reasons why the Uzumaki could always get a seal faster than any other seal master during battle. Aiko and Naruto had learnt fuinjutsu according to the old texts by their late ancestors and slowly started realizing the benefits of it while battling Jiraiya as they could get always get seals done before him even though he was more experienced.

After she was done, she waited for a few seconds but the seal did not glimmer. "Try again." Aiko said calmly, throwing a fresh scroll at Ino. "It takes a few tries to get it right." Taking a deep breath in, she started again. This time focusing on every stroke and how it would affect the seal. This time, she didn't think about the speed, she was more focused on accuracy. Once she was done, the seal shimmered once, letting the two know that it worked. The seal wasn't perfect but it was a huge improvement as compared to her previous one.

"No way! You did it in your second try!? Even Sasuke needed five tries to get it right without using his Sharingan." Aiko said, surprised as she hadn't seen a person who was not an Uzumaki learn fuinjutsu so fast. "Here, try it again and nail it this time!" She said, passing Ino another scroll. Within a minute, the scroll was done and it was better than the last. Aiko passed her scrolls continuously until she got a few perfect ones in a row.

"Alright, now try this one!" Aiko said as she drew a containment seal. "This may be a bit difficult than the last one but I am sure that you can get this one down too!" Ino did not get it right immediately but she fell into the rhythm of doing it till she got it right. After a while, she broke the silence as she also wanted to socialize with Aiko.

"So what's the deal with you and Sasuke?" She asked not knowing what else to ask.

"We had a fight a few days ago but it's alright. He apologized and we are on good terms again." Aiko replied in her usual calm voice.

"I know about that, I was asking about your relationship." Ino said with a deadpan.

"What relationship? Sasuke and I are just friends."

"Oh come on, anyone with eyes can see that you aren't just friends. You are completely smitten with each other."

"No, you were probably imagining it. I am pretty sure that Sasuke doesn't see me in a romantic way like that."

"Are you kidding? I have never seen him so happy. But I guess I could be wrong."

"Anyway, speaking of Sasuke, could you maybe tell me how he was during his childhood?"

"Okay, I'll start when we were at the academy. It was our first day and Naruto and I were already late because we decided to pull a last minute prank on the third Hokage and had to avoid the anbu. As we entered the classroom, there was this bench around which all the girls were gathered. So, I decided to check out what was going on while Naruto saved a seat for me. As I approached the bench, there was this boy who had his eyes closed and head held up high. He was quite attractive but I already had a thing for Naruto so I didn't get why so many girls were fawning over him. Amongst them, one of my friends at that time, Sakura was literally worshipping him-"

"Wait the bubblegum girl? She has had a crush on him since childhood? That explains why she hates me."

"Eh, don't be bothered by her. She's all bark, no bite. Anyway as I was saying, that boy, Sasuke, seemed to like all the attention. So, after seeing what the fuss was all about, I returned to my seat beside Naruto. A few minutes later, to mock Sasuke, Naruto started mimicking him and I started laughing loudly. Slowly Naruto had the whole class' attention. All of the boys were laughing while all of the girls were angry. Suddenly, the boy opened his eyes and was enraged as Naruto's mockery had hurt his pride. Within a second, he was on top of our table holding Naruto's collar. Despite the shocked and scared faces across the room, Naruto kept his cool. Without hesitating, he looked into Sasuke's eyes as Sasuke searched for fear but he found none. Naruto's face broke out into a grin as he asked Sasuke what he planned to do or was he just capable of holding his collar. This made Sasuke angry and he had already pulled his hand back for a punch but Naruto caught it. Not many people knew that my dad had started training a few years ago for Naruto's safety due to his uhm rough past and he was already at genin level. The whole class was in shock and from that moment I knew that those two were either going to be rivals or best friends. Thankfully our sensei came in before the fight escalated and Sasuke returned to his seat. For a few years, the two were bitter rivals, Naruto would usually aim to get low grades but whenever Sasuke provoked him, he would get the highest and brush it off as a fluke. At that time, I did not like Sasuke because of his attitude and personality but ever since he was put in the same team with Naruto, his personality started changing. He went from a douche to a decent guy and over the past three years, he has improved a lot." Ino finished

"Do you have and photos of him before he tried to leave Konoha?" Aiko asked as her cheeks turned a bit pink.

"You could probably ask Forehead girl that. She has a shrine dedicated to him. But there are some photos of young Naruto and Sasuke framed in the apartment. Naruto shares a special bond with him." She said, fondly. She always found the brotherly love and connection between them adorable. "Sasuke and you should come by sometime."

"I would love that." Aiko said with a soft smile.

-Shikamaru's Room

Shikamaru had a Shogi board in front of him as he worked on his plan. After failing again, he rearranged the pieces and started again. He was trying to plan something while incorporating the three together against the two but always found a lot of mistakes that could be made easily.

'When unity doesn't work, divide and conquer.' Asuma's voice rung in his head, he quickly repositioned the pieces such that Hidan and Kakazu were separate. Now the difficult question was about dividing his team in two parts.

'Ino is probably the strongest and Choji is probably the weakest. I would class myself somewhere in between but more on the weaker side. If Ino and Choji are in a team, the chances of my survival are less and if Ino and I are on the same team, Choji's chances of survival are close to zero. The logical option is to let Ino deal with the stronger one while Choji and I deal with the weaker one. So from what I have seen is that Hidan can't be killed, he is immortal but I am certain that Ino would have a plan for that whereas Kakuzu has five hearts that we have to destroy to finish him. I think that if we train hard enough, Choji and I can manage with that. But what do we actually do?'

He said positioning the pieces according to the plan he was devising and patiently waited till a near perfect one was formed. A smile appeared on his face as he finally formed one. The only thing left was to get it checked by Aiko or Sasuke since they can weed out any mistakes or possibilities that he had overlooked which was highly unlikely. Slowly getting up, Shikamaru treated himself to a well deserved plate of fish curry and rice, while thinking of new jutsus that he could learn in a short period of time. After all, he needed a few tricks up his sleeve.

-The Sand Village

"The Tsuchikage does seem like he'd be a problem. The Raikage doesn't trust us either." Naruto said as he slowly ate his ramen, savouring it's every bite. "But we still need to bring all the villages together so I will head to The Cloud first and then if the treaty is signed, I'll head to The Stone."

"That seems logical, A is does not trust anyone easily but once you have his trust and support, he'll have your back no matter what." Gaara said, eating his dumpling. The two were having dinner at Gaara's house. Naruto had been sent on this mission a few days ago and as Gaara had personally requested him, he knew it was something related to the Shukaku. "Shukaku and I have been talking, trying to become friends or at least co-operate and a few days ago, he mentioned something that I have not been able to get out of my head. This was also the reason why I specifically asked for you as I really think you and Kurama should know this. During the unsealing of Shukaku by the Akatsuki when I was knocked out, Shukaku almost got out and amongst those members he saw the eye of someone that had controlled him long ago. He is sure that he saw the eye of Madara Uchiha." Gaara finished off.

"Kurama says the same thing about the day when he got loose. He was controlled by the familiar eye of Madara but there were a few mutations." Naruto said in a serious tone.

"There is a possibility that he could be alive. After all, his body was never found. But even if he was, how did he survive, nonetheless stay young, for centuries?"

"There may be some forbidden Jutsus like the ones Orochimaru tried or maybe he was connected to another life-force or maybe by some old Fuinjutsu. The possibilities are endless but if he is still alive and young enough, it is safe to say that no one would be able to stop him now."

"I feared that which is why I have been thinking of sending a few spies to gather information on the Akatsuki."

"Don't they will be of no use. Pervy-sage already has very experienced spies who have an eye on them. But the spies never get too close as if they do, they're dead. Sending in your spies would lead to their death and will make the Akatsuki alert which will put Pervy Sage's spies in danger. The only option we have is to wait and be ready for when Madara attacks if he is still alive." Naruto said, ending the discussion as Gaara nodded. The two ate in silence as they were tired and didn't feel like initiating a conversation after this one. After dinner, Naruto thanked Gaara for the meal and promised to train with him tomorrow morning before going to one of Gaara's guest bedrooms to sleep.

-The Akimichi Training ground(One week later)

'248, 249 and 250.' Choji counted mentally as he finished 250 pushups. He had changed in the past two weeks. Both physically as well as mentally. Instead of being fat, he was muscular. He was quicker, his Tai jutsu was stronger and he hardly relied on the Akimichi clan jutsus. He had come a long way and though he might not be able to beat a low Jonin now, at least he was better than his past self.

His mindset started changing as he read 'Mastering Fire'. He had learnt a few jutsus from there and some tricks that could help him. One such example was to use the 'Fire Style: Blazing Palm' in quick succession, but getting the power just right to make the opponent flinch for a few seconds when they feel their skin burn. He had learnt the basic Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu and was working on the 'Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu'. He had also taken on a new weapon which suited him a lot. The 'Tonfa' (Side-handle baton), which was an advice from the book by Madara as it could block efficiently against a sharp blade and it could break a bone or two if he applied enough force.

After finishing the pushups, he started practicing his Tai jutsu on a straw mannequin and didn't stop till he got his combinations right. After that, he went for another run to increase his stamina. He knew that Shikamaru's plan was done and the three had to execute it a day later, so he pushed himself that day as he was going to rest the following one. Another important lesson from the book was, 'Rest is the most important thing. Madara would often skip training if he wasn't well rested.' This time, he wasn't going to be useless and pathetic like last time.

-NaruIno apartment

Naruto still hadn't returned and Ino was missing him dearly. She would still write him a letter everyday and he would send one back through his messenger toads. In his last letter, he had said that he was going to arrive in a few more days. She had just finished sending today's letter with Gamatatsu and was now practicing her seal.

The seal that was the only way of taking down Hidan permanently so she had to perfect it before they faced off. Seeing Choji's progress motivated her even more and even though she felt as if her hand would fall off, she kept on trying. She was pretty confident about her Ninjutsu, genjutsu and taijutsu and once she got this seal down, Hidan would be no match for her. She had full faith in Shikamaru's plan and hoped that she was the one fighting Hidan. She was going to make him pay for what he had done.

After she got the seal down in less than four seconds, she decided to visit Ichiraku for some Ramen. To her surprise, Sasuke was there having a tomato ramen. She ordered her ramen and sat down next to him.

"I thought that you didn't like ramen." She said initiating the conversation with the Uchiha.

"Maybe the dobe is rubbing off on me." He said with a small smile. "How are you doing without him?"

"Fine. Miss him every now and then but its part of being a ninja. Anyway, did you notice that rat under your seat? Pretty sure that he was nibbling on your sandals." Ino said mischievously as Sasuke got up in an instant as a sort of scream escaped his mouth. After he cheeked the whole area carefully, he sat down groaning while Ino laughed. "Sorry but it was just too irresistible."

"Kami, Ino keep it down. I don't want the whole village to know that I hate rats. Do you know what it would do to my reputation? Telling you that was a mistake. You still haven't changed, have you?"

"Nope." She said. "Scaring and pulling pranks on you was the highlight of the academy. Anyway, where is Aiko?" Ino asked as she noticed that this was the first time she had seen Sasuke eat alone at a restaurant since his return.

"I don't know, she left a note saying that she is helping a friend and practicing her new jutsu. She probably won't be back till she has either mastered it or run out of chakra." Sasuke said, as he ate some more ramen. "Uzumaki are too stubborn, it's in their blood or something."

"I know, Naruto can be a real baby sometimes. I don't even know how you managed to put up with those two." Ino said, slurping her ramen.

"Those two definitely made me lose some brain cells at times." He said as Ino laughed. She was genuinely shocked as she didn't know that Sasuke even had a sense of humour. He really had changed. "Four Miso ramen for takeaway." Sasuke said as the old man nodded. Now Ino was sure that Sasuke cared a lot about Aiko but decided not to push it or anything. The two then talked throughout dinner about things that had happened in and out of the village during those long three years before wishing each other well and leaving.

-Shikamaru's House (A few hours earlier)

"The plan is good but not perfect. There are a few things that you might have over looked which could lead to your defeat. The percentage of success is only 76% but can be increased to at least an 89%." Aiko said as she started imagining every possible outcome.

"So what do you suggest then, Aiko-san?" Shikamaru asked, surprised that he had made a few errors. He started the game of Shogi.

"You do not know for sure where you will encounter the enemy so having just one location and terrain in mind and being forced to battle in another could be a disadvantage. To counter that, you should make a triangle, joining the three locations where the probability if encounter is more. Then prepare for the terrain within the triangle as even if you encounter then outside the triangle, you can lure them back into it easily." She said, shifting one of her Fu.

"Seems fair, it would be easier to drag them back into a larger area than a specific location. I'll change that." Shikamaru nodded, playing his keima in the direction of her Fu.

"Your idea of divide and conquer is great but the distance between Hidan and Kakuzu should be changed from a few hundred meters to a few thousand meters as Kakuzu's senses are sharp and he can find out when Hidan is in trouble and pin point his exact location. Another benefit would be that the two would not be able to communicate." Aiko said, taking her Ginsho out for attack.

"Right." Shikamaru thought for a while before moving his Kinsho for defence

"You are depending on Ino-nee for communication but it would be chakra consuming for her to do that whilst fighting an A-rank opponent. You should trust her to finish Hidan while Choji and you finish your own. Another thing, you want her to fight Hidan in a clearing and I think I know why." She said, targeting his Osho.

"Because she is comfortable with using big jutsus" Shikamaru answered, moving another Shogi piece for defence as Aiko lost her Kinsho to him. She smirked as she made her next move.

"Yep and even though I have fought alongside her only once and seen her fight a few times, I think she is silent and accurate, besides, if Hidan manages to get even a drop of her blood, he has already won. Instead, she should fight in a forest. The shade of the tress will make it hard for Hidan to see, Ino-nee can dodge his scythe easily and the trees can provide her cover so that she doesn't waste her chakra on mud walls for defence. The trees will also make her attack unpredictable which will lead to Hidan getting pissed off. A person always makes a mistake when he is angry and that will be another advantage. Just by implementing these changes, your percentage of succeeding will rise to 89%." She said, capturing Shikamaru's king through his escape route as Shikamaru watched in awe. He had never seen it coming, Aiko's attack was on the other side and he had lost the game as soon as he captured her Kinsho. He couldn't remember the last time he had been beaten this easily.

"You won, fair and square. Thank you, Aiko-san for your help." He said getting up. "It's pretty late, mind joining me for dinner?"

"Oh, I can't, I am pretty sure Sasuke would be waiting for me."

"Ah well, let me walk you home. It's the least I can do." He said and Aiko agreed with a nod. She didn't want to be rude after just rejecting his offer for dinner. "Mom! I'll be back in a few minutes!" He shouted before putting on his sandals. After an 'okay' from his mom, the two left.

"So, mind telling me how you got so good at Shogi?" Shikamaru said, trying to start a conversation. "It's not every day that I get defeated that easily."

"From a young age, I was into puzzles, mysteries and analytics. I often read books about them and tried to apply what I had read. That is how I found myself solving a lot of puzzles but as I grew older, they became boring. But, since I was a runaway, I had to hide from various ninja and people who generally were not that good and that's where I applied all of the three simultaneously and overtime, as I began learning jutsus and battling people, this helped me out a lot and so I kept improving this skill of mine. When Sasuke and Anija took me in, their missions and jutsus were way hardcore and since sometimes, we had to attack a whole group or infiltrate, I began playing Shogi against Sasuke because it had similar principles. The game actually helped me think faster and made me more accurate which led to me leading important missions. I haven't stopped playing the game ever since."

"Interesting. I started playing it as soon as I entered the academy. Playing Shogi every night against my dad after he returned home was the highlight of my day. Then once I was a genin, I started playing it more with Asuma. They were the only two people who I had lost against." He said as his eyes became watery at the thought of his sensei. But then he shook it off with a laugh "Until today. I underestimated you Aiko-san"

"Ah, never underestimate your opponent, one of the most basic rules. Maybe after today's defeat you will remember that." Aiko felt comfortable with Shikamaru, she didn't easily feel comfortable with new people this easily. "Next time, try not to go easy on me." She said as they reached the Uchiha-Uzumaki house.

"Deal." Shikamaru said as he extended his arm.

"Deal." She said, shaking it firmly. "See you later!" She said as she headed in as Shikamaru left with a small smile on his face.

Sasuke happened to see this by chance and felt a pang of jealousy as he saw the two. He trusted Aiko to tell him if anything was going on so he decided not to jump to conclusions.

"What did pineapple head want?" Sasuke asked, getting up from the couch as Aiko entered the living room.

"He just wanted me to analyze his plan." She answered, heading towards the dining room.

"Figures. Anyway, I brought you some ramen." He said, unsealing the four bowls as Aiko sat down in front of him. "Here Kara." Sasuke called out to his cat, pouring her a bowl of milk.

"Any news from Anija?" Aiko asked, finishing a bowl of her ramen.

"Yep. I got a letter saying that he had left for The Hidden Cloud. He wants to try to get them into the peace treaty too." Sasuke said, cleaning up the kitchen.

"I bet ten thousand ryo, if the Raikage signs it, he won't sign it for more than nine months."

"I'll raise the bet to twenty thousand ryo, Naruto will get it signed for at least a year." Sasuke smirked. He knew that Aiko had probably reviewed most of the outcomes but he had faith in Naruto.

"I accept."

-The Hidden Cloud

"And how would the treaty benefit us?" The Raikage said, stroking his white beard.

"Think about it this way, majority of your supplies pass through the Land of Fire and often get stolen or you end up with a few dead shinobi. Of course, if this happened seldom, it would have been alright but it has started happening on a monthly basis and even your military strength is also falling, but if you accept we will ensure that nothing happens to any of your men by providing a safer route."

"Interesting, but I could just send stronger shinobi."

"We both know that you won't do that because that'll put your village and your strongest shinobi at risk." Naruto said confidently. "Along with that, you will have The Leaf, The Sand and The Mist will have your back. Three of the strongest prodigies, including myself, will be there to help you as soon as a threat arises."

"Being so arrogant is not a good thing."

"It's not arrogance if I can back it up."

"I like this kid." The Raikage told Darui with a chuckle. "You are a lot like your father. Give me the treaty and I'll sign it for fourteen months and if it benefits the both of us, I'll extend the contract."

"You knew my dad?" Naruto asked, handing him the scroll.

"How could I forget him, he was the only ninja who was faster than me." The Raikage said, remembering the day he met Minato Namikaze. "Anyway, here's the treaty. Enjoy your time in The Hidden Cloud and let me know if you need a guide." He said with a smile.

"Sorry Raikage-sama but I have to leave as soon as possible."

"Nonsense, everything can else wait. And if there is something very urgent, then at least stay the night and then leave early in the morning before the sun rises. I refuse to let a guest go before providing him with my finest hospitality."

Not wanting to disrespect the Raikage, Naruto agreed. If it was up to him, he would have left the second the contract had been signed. He couldn't wait to see Ino again and those letters only made him want her more. He bowed in respect and left the room with Darui who showed him his suite.

-The Hidden Leaf (A day later)

It was early morning. Ino, Shikamaru and Choji had gathered at gates to discuss the finalized plan and leave the leaf without getting noticed. Just as they had stepped out of the gates, they heard Tsunade's fierce voice.

"Where the hell do you think you are going?" She asked in a commanding tone as two anbu appeared to her side. "Have you three lost your minds? And Ino, you supported this? This is just foolishness. I made the mistake of sending your team once and I won't make it again."

"Apologies Shishou, but we have been preparing for this and we have a near perfect plan and-"

"Just a plan doesn't cut it. These are two S rank shinobi and one of them has even faced my grandfather, the First Hokage, and survived. The last time you faced Kakuzu, you returned with seven major injuries and you two couldn't defeat Hidan even with an elite jonin. This is a rash decision, not to mention that your team has only three members and there is no backup."

"Shishou please, we have trained very hard for that and I do not think that any of us could live with ourselves."

"Ino, even if I agree to that, you do not have a complete team and backup and I simply cannot allow that. There are rules which need to be followed."

"Can I go as the fourth member?" Aiko asked as she appeared beside Tsunade. "If you allow it Tsunade-sama, Ino can be the team captain and I could go as the fourth member." She said, bowing to the Hokage. She knew that she would get scolded by Jiraiya for going along with two B ranks on a S-rank mission like this but she wanted to do all she could to help Ino.

Tsunade thought about it for a while but seeing their determined faces, she knew she wouldn't be able stop them. Might as well send another S-rank ninja on this mission.

"Fine. But you still do not have back-up." Tsunade said with a sigh.

"Shishou, if you are unable to contact us for more than twenty four hours, send in Sasuke as our backup and thank-you." Ino said, bowing before leaving with her team.

"Thanks for saving our asses, Aiko. We owe you one." Shikamaru said with a nod from Choji.

"Okay, this is how it is going to go. Ino, take Hidan as far away as possible and deal with him there. As for Kakuzu, Aiko, Choji and I will deal with him ourselves. Aiko, if you see an opportunity, use this vial." He said, throwing a tiny glass encased in metal cylinder which Aiko caught and put in her back pocket. "Another important thing, don't let Hidan get your blood." The three nodded as Ino and Shikamaru switched places with Ino in the front and Aiko at the back in the diamond formation.

After they reached a clearing, Ino signaled Aiko to catch her body as her conscious left it and entered the eagle which was up in the sky. This was how she was going to find Hidan and Kakuzu. A minute later, her conscious returned. They are nearby. Judging by the path that they are taking, they will be at 7 o'clock in twenty minutes.


"I want that man's body. He had a huge bounty on his head and for that; we must go to the Hidden Leaf, where it is buried." Kakuzu said as he walked away from the cave after finishing the sealing of the two-tails they had previously captured.

"For fucks sake, Kakuzu let it be. Besides, the fucking Leaf would have set up an ambush by now which is probably waiting for us. Do you really want to walk right into their trap? You are so fucking dumb." Hidan said, kicking a stone.

"You really need to watch that mouth of yours. And I have already thought of that which is why we will take a different route this time."

"Oh so you think that you are the leader of this group now? Let me fucking tell you, we have equal power and if you step out of line, I won't hesitate to sacrifice you to Jashin-sama."

"Okay, princess, I am going. You can come with me if you want to or meet me at our next location."

"Just because I am coming with you doesn't mean I agree. I still think this is a dumb idea. We should focus on capturing that asshole, four tails, right now"

_PAGE BREAK_

Aiko and Ino had hidden according to the plan and suppressed their chakra so much that it was almost not detectable. Meanwhile, Choji was up on a tree, also hidden with Shikamaru on the one next to it. The zombie duo was now visible and Shikamaru's plan began.

Ino watched as Shikamaru's shadow crept behind them and just according to plan, the duo sensed it. Just as they jumped away, Aiko's shadow clone launched two explosive kunai with near perfect precision as she observed them from her spot. The last thing she saw before the explosion was the change in the skin colour of Kakuzu. His skin had become darker, hardening like a rock.

As the smoke cleared, Ino noticed that the two were unharmed. Hidan had used the metal wire attached to his scythe to defend himself and Kakuzu had hardened himself with an old earth style jutsu.

Shikamaru's shadows crept up from behind again but the two dodged it easily as they were ready for it.

"You can't fool us twice boy." Kakuzu said as Hidan spat on the ground. "Hidan, above you!" Kakuzu shouted as Shikamaru leaped up in the air, throwing Asuma's trench knives with seal tags attached to them at the two.

'Damn, those seal tags are good. They almost look like the original one.' Aiko thought admitting that this was an intelligent move.

The knives whizzed past their heads and buried themselves in the ground in their shadow. Shikamaru smirked as he saw the two struggling to move.

"Damn it, your fucking weak shadows didn't even touch us. How did you manage to trap us?" Hidan said, gritting his teeth.

"I wouldn't bother explaining everything as I am far too lazy for that but here's a hint. They are special knives, mementoes from the man you killed." Shikamaru said, connecting his shadow with Hidan's. He then made Hidan pick up his scythe, swinging it madly to decapitate Kakuzu but just in time, Kakuzu ducked shocking every one. A bundle of beating threads had taken out the knife just in time. He was now looking at Shikamaru in a new light. Earlier, he only thought that the only major threat in this team was Ino but he was now convinced that Shikamaru was one too.

"You can't plan out everything, boy and even if you had swung the scythe, it wouldn't have worked on me. No physical attack can harm me. I am indestructible." Kakuzu said, smiling like a maniac under that mask. "You made a mistake coming bac-AHHHHHHHH"

"Famous last words, buddy!" Aiko said with a smirk as she drove a Rasengan through his heart. She might not have been able to add her own chakra nature to it but Naruto had still taught her this a while ago. She had been tempted to learn the Chidori too but alas, it required the Sharingan.

"How ... is this possible? I didn't even sense you and you got me from behind!?" He said, turning his head towards Aiko as her arm was through his heart. He felt the life slipping out of him.

"I thought you were indestructible, moron." Hidan said, clearly annoyed.

"You shouldn't have dropped your doton jutsu. I saw an opening and I took the chance."

"Red fiery hair. Those calculated eyes. You are the Suzume, Aiko Uzumaki." Kakuzu said before he fell to the ground.

"Ino, I am nearing my limit!" Shikamaru shouted. At that moment, Ino emerged from underneath the ground tearing Hidan's hand off using her tanto with maximum force. And then flipping away to stand away from him.

"You little blonde bitch, give me my hand back!" Hidan shouted, his eyes were filled with rage. He felt disrespected that a young girl did this to him when even some of the strongest shinobi fell to his feet.

"Come and get it, Jashin's rat!" She said before taking off towards the Nara woods, assigned to her by Shikamaru. Just as they were a considerable distance away, Kakuzu rose up like nothing had happened. Before anyone could register that, he kicked Choji in the gut and sent him flying. Then looking at Aiko, he removed his cloak. "Let's get this over with." There were four masks on his back, out of which, one was broken. Slowly, his body began to shake and stitches on his back were being undone as the four masks emerged as individual monsters made out of dense threads. The monster with the broken mask fell to the ground.

'I must have taken one of his five lives. Now I just have to take down these three monsters and Kakuzu. I think I killed the one with the Earth style which means that I have to face the other four elements now.' Aiko thought mentally as Kakuzu weaved past some hand signs and the mouth of one creature opened, sending a huge hurricane towards them.

"Water Release: Hollow Water Pillar", Aiko made a tiger seal and a hollow pillar of water surrounded her and Shikamaru, protecting them from Kakuzu's attack. "I'll try to stall him, you get Choji." Shikamaru nodded in agreement as the water fell down. Aiko rushed at Kakuzu, kunai in hand and the two engaged in Taijutsu. All of a sudden, she felt a fireball coming and jumped away on the trunk of a tree, just in time. "Sneaky bastard." She murmured as two of the creatures started firing air and fire bullets at her. "Shit!" She exclaimed as she dodged those attacks. Kakuzu had to be the most dangerous opponent she had faced. Having that much power seemed almost illegal to her.

She saw one of the creatures fly towards Shikamaru and she knew that she had to switch things up. A fireball suddenly hit her in the chest and she fell down. The other creature fired a wind bullet at her only to find out that it was a shadow clone. Another clone had observed the whole fight till now and had formulated the best plan possible. "Boil Release: Skilled Mist Technique!" Aiko said, making a horse seal and surrounding the creature with acidic mist just as it fired a blast of lightning. "Water Release: Wild Water Wave!" Aiko spewed water all over the beast and the lightning he had fired was zapping him instead while the corrosive acidic mist was eating away at his body. 'He may have the upper hand due to having four chakra natures but each creature can only use one at a time.' "Fire Release: Flaming Hail!"Aiko conjured a large number of arrows made of fire which attacked the creature, finishing him off. She had killed one of them but she had used up more chakra than expected.

"You two alright?" Aiko asked, giving a hand to Choji to help him get up.

"Yeah but if he keeps on doing this, the plan might fail." Shikamaru said, dusting his jacket.

"We would but I have a trick up my sleeve. Shikamaru, Choji distract him for as long as you can, I am going to need some time for this. My clone will be with you." Aiko said, forming a Shadow clone and disappearing in a shunshin.

"Don't worry, we won't fail you." Choji said, not sure if he was saying it to Aiko or to his late sensei. "Let's go, Shikamaru. We got this." He said, activating his blazing palms.

-The Nara Woods

"I don't even know why the Akatsuki asked you to join them. You are so slow compared to the other Akatsuki members I have fought." Ino said, dodging another attack, she just had to provoke him a bit more.

"You want to go fast? Let's go fast" The Jashinist said, grinning like a madman. All he required was a drop of her blood. He started swinging his scythe madly with his single arm.

"Yes, this is what I was talking about, skeleton boy." She said, dodging and deflecting his attacks with her Tanto. Suddenly, the blade of the slipped from underneath her tanto and Ino fell to the ground. When she faced Hidan, her eyes were filled with fear and she had a small cut on her cheek. Hidan licked the blood off his scythe and began his ritual, drawing a triangle inside a circle with his blood. "Not talking that much now, are we? Well, it is time for your end and another sacrifice to Jashin-sama. Enjoy the pain while you can." He said, stabbing his limbs and even cutting off a finger multiple times as Ino screamed in agony. "Goodbye, Blondie!" He said stabbing himself in the heart and Ino chocked, clutching her heart. A few seconds later, she started laughing.

"Don't tell me you are also blessed by Jashin-sama." Hidan said, angry and confused.

"Yep, everyone was right, you really don't have a brain." She said, getting up. Before Hidan could even move, she was behind him, writing a seal on his back. Then, attaching a few paper bombs to him which exploded him into hundreds of small pieces as soon as the seal started to suck him in like a black hole. "Did you like the show, Whiskers?" She asked, looking at one tree in particular.

"Liked it? I loved it. God it was so hot watching you being a complete badass." He said, appearing in front of her in a flash.

"How was your mission?" She asked, caressing his cheek.

"Eh, boring as usual. Got a deal with the Raikage though" He replied with a grin. As if on instinct, he crashed his lips to hers, as her hands slipped into his hair, pulling him closer. A moan escaped her lips as Naruto bit her lower lip, asking for entrance and she complied. A long kiss turned into a short make-out session before they remembered that there was one more Akatsuki member left.

"Let's complete this when we make sure that Kakuzu is dead, okay?" Naruto said, separating himself from his lover.

"Deal."

-With Kakuzu

One of his creatures which was firing wind suddenly fell to the ground and died, a direct effect of Ino's trick. Choji had engaged the other creature in a Tai Jutsu battle while Shikamaru chased Kakuzu using his shadows. Both of their chakra levels were low and they were just about surviving. They were hoping that Aiko would appear any second and use her trick. Just then Ino appeared with a Rasendoriru in her hand, obliterating the last monster with ease.

"Heads up!" Behind Shikamaru, Aiko fired her Suchīmuhōru from a distance which caught Kakuzu in the chest. He was focusing on using all his chakra to harden his body as he knew that the power of this jutsu was off the charts. Aiko expected it and appeared behind Kakuzu, pushing him more towards the Suchīmuhōru, knowing that it would explode any second.

When the Suchīmuhōru did explode, it sent shock waves throughout the area, completely obliterating Kakuzu and killing him instantly. The intensity of the explosion was so large that even Aiko went flying but Naruto caught her before she even toughed the ground. Her right arm was badly burnt.

Hearing the explosion, Sasuke, who was on his way, hurried up and Jiraiya also came out of hiding. He had met Naruto on the way back had travelled with him back to Konoha. Aiko recovered pretty quickly and was standing within minutes. Her hand was paining but the adrenaline and happiness outweighed that pain.

"How did I do, Jiraiya-sensei?" She asked looking at her master.

"You were awesome, kid. I am proud of you." Jiraiya said and Aiko felt happier than ever. Seeing her master be proud of her was one of the best feelings on earth. "I would love to listen to how you made that new jutsu." He said, rubbing her head like a proud father.

"What did I miss?" Sasuke as he finally reached, his expression changed as soon as he saw Aiko's hand and he was at her side ready to heal her.

"Relax Sasuke, it isn't a serious wound, you can treat it once we reach home alright?" She said, catching his hand before he started as he nodded.

"Now that this is finally over. It's time to return back to the Leaf." Choji said angrily as he didn't get any of the lime light.

"You must be tired Aiko, let me carry you back." He said, kneeling in front of her to help her get onto his back.

"The same goes for you, flower girl." Naruto said, picking her up bridal style as she chuckled encircling her arms around his neck.

"Way to make a guy feel single." Jiraiya said, getting out his notepad and writing some new ideas he had gotten from his students before following them eventually. He was sure that his next book was going to be a hit. Shikamaru lit Asuma's lighter as a tribute to his late sensei as he felt Asuma's shadow lighting a cigarette. After the flame ran out, he followed Jiraiya.

Choji looked at the sky with the sad smile, "I am sorry, Sensei. I failed you." He whispered, following Shikamaru, aiming to become better.


A/N:

I don't have much to say tbh. So just enjoy and let me know if you liked the chapter!
Constructive criticism and any reviews/ messages about how I could improve would be appreciated but reviews/pms just slandering me/ my story will simply be ignored.

Cheers!