Quick Author's Note

To El20030408, who asked whether Shirou would seal or move a tailed beast within his soul if it meant saving lives? Yes, he would. But since they are sapient beings, Shirou would try and find a way to help them before releasing them. Just like Naruto.

To Marcas Dammin, I'm pretty sure I only buffed Tatsumi by making his full Incursio dragon form a natural part of him (check out the manga). Esdeath in the anime was a kingdom-level threat from the power she showed in the last battle. So in my eyes, Esdeath should be on par with Pein (Nagato Uzumaki in this story), since Pein single-handedly destroyed Konoha.

Akatsuki in this story:
Pein (SS+)

Konan (S)

Yahiko (S)

Esdeath (SS)
Tatsumi (S and SS depending on manga form)

Zetsu (S)

Shirou (A)

Lunea (A)


The view was amazing. Coupled with the atmosphere, almost everyone would've been in a good mood.

Except for Shirou.

"You could see the entire hidden village from here!" Lunea gasped as she leaned over the edge of the railing, looking at the scene before her.

The four of them stood on the tourist spot above the Hokage Monument, overlooking Konohagakure in all it's glory.

Many other tourists were with them, brought about by the event being held in Konoha at that time.

The Chuunin Exams.

"Be careful, Lunea. Make sure not to fall off." Shirou pulled the girl back from the precarious edge. Not for the lack of safety, but rather should the railing suddenly fall along with her, Lunea would be hard pressed to defend herself once the Konoha Shinobi came.

They needed to play it safe until the assault after all.

"This is your first time seeing Konohagakure, right? So, what do you think?" Prinz Eugen asked from the side.

The sisters had visited Konoha before. While not locals, they were happy to lead the two teens around on the tourist spots they knew about.

Shirou and Lunea had spent two months scouting the place with the other Akatsuki members. But today was their first time exploring the tourist locations, mostly because the tourist spots were all far from the locations they needed.

Multplie ROOT entrances were scattered around Konoha's major infrastructure, none of which were close to the Hokage Monument.

"For a so-called hidden village, this place is not so hidden, nor is it small enough to stay a village." Shirou pointed out the first thing that came to mind.

"It's more of a traditional thing for the ninjas." Heinrich explained.

Shirou could understand that. Japan in his world also stuck heavily to tradition. This world wasn't so different in some aspects.

"Let's get some early lunch before the rush comes. I want to get some good stadium seats later." Eugen suggested.

The final stage of the Chuunin Exams would begin right after lunch. Then the members would all convene at the stadium before the assault.

"Shirou, Lunea, any preferences?" Heinrich asked the two teens.

"Nope. I'm fine with anything." Lunea shook her head.

"Why not something famous locally?" Shirou asked.

"I think I've got just the right place." Eugen grinned while shooting her sister a glance.

"No. Absolutely not. It's dangerous."

"It's local. It's famous. I doubt they would have the time to be there."

"I don't agree with this."

"Shirou, Lunea, come along now. Let older sister Eugen show you the place."

Heinrich's face twitched at her sister's antics. Seriously. This could easily derail the entire operation.

It was a small-sized ramen shop.

"Welcome to Ramen Ichiraku!" Eugen presented to the two.

From a glance, nothing was special about it. But from the way Lunea was salivating, and from how Shirou was scrutinizing the shop, Eugen knew that she had hit the jackpot.

Lunea gobbled up food the most between the four of them. A result of being pampered by Shirou since her birth. Meanwhile Shirou and his culinary mastery practically made him their chef.

Might as well hit two birds with one stone right?

"Eugen, we're supposed to avoid the hotspots. We should go to another place."

"We're fineee! Look, there's nobody else here!" Eugen pointed out at the empty ramen stand.

Somehow, despite the ongoing Chuunin Exams bringing an influx of tourists, the shop remained clear of customers.

Heinrich grumbled but was unable to stop her sister from herding the two younger members of their team onto the counter seats.

They picked up the menus offered on the side of the counter before a cook in his late 40s appeared.

"A young group I see, so what can I do for you?" The kind looking man chuckled.

They were a young group for sure. Heinrich and Eugen looked to be in their mid 20s despite how long they had lived. Meanwhile Shirou and Lunea looked like young genin graduates from the academy.

But they weren't locals, so playing the part would be impossible.

"We'd like to order…"

The four of them ordered their selected dishes and the ramen shop owner disappeared behind the counter to prepare them.

Suddenly, Shirou's senses prickled. Without making any obvious moves, he tapped a specific rhythm on the table, alerting the other three of his findings.

The sisters replied back with an equally complex set of taps, informing numbers and directions.

Meanwhile Lunea…

"They smell like metal and nice leaves."

She said it in beast tongue, so that the hostiles wouldn't read the words. Shirou quickly relayed the information to the sisters, who had also reached a similar conclusion.

There was no doubt about it.

Konoha's ANBU had surrounded the ramen store.

Which was unusual. The group had been touring Konoha the entire day. If their presence had been discovered, then the four should've been swamped by ANBU keeping an eye on them since the beginning.

But this was different. The ANBU had only arrived recently, around the ramen store no less, which meant…

Heinrich's brows were twitching as she stared at her sister, who was sporting an awkward smile.

"Ehe…woops?"

"Shirou, don't cook a serving for Eugen tonight."

"W-wait y-you can't be serious!"

Really, how did his food become a sort of reward or punishment system for the sisters?

At the corner of his eye, Shirou sighted a crimson haired girl rapidly approaching the ramen store.

The young kid, probably 10 years old, arrived at the front of the counter and ordered excitedly.

"Ojii-sannn! I want five bowls of ramen!"

If there was any goodness left in the world, Shirou must've offered the right sacrifice in some other life.

The girl was on the blunted end of the family. Less of a threat, but they were all practically on the same level when it came to risk. Had it been The Yondaime or his wife, their cover would've been blown away.

Narumi Namikaze, the second child of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki has entered the store.

It made sense now, the Hokage's family needed a powerful force dedicated to the protection of each member.

Which only made it all the worse for the group of four. As it was, they could easily be caught if their cover was discovered by the ANBU corps.

Shirou could only imagine how the Yondaime would react to learning that his daughter was within arm's reach of four Akatsuki members.

Not good.

"Hi! Are you here to watch the Chuunin Exams?"

Shirou turned to the walking timebomb. "Yes, it's our first time watching. We're impressed with how much Konoha has put into preparing the event."

It was true. The hidden village seemed more like a festival village with all the changes.

Behind him, Heinrich was smiling at the interaction. A facade to hide the scene behind her, which was Eugen attempting to pry off her sister's hand from breaking her wrist. Whereas Lunea ignored the little girl, knowing of her identity, but not interested from her perspective.

After all, the girl was still a student at the shinobi academy. Strong for her age, not to mention with the training she's had from her parents, but ultimately not enough to even challenge her and Shirou.

They were A-ranks and had already earned their positions in the organization, despite being extremely young.

Meanwhile, Narumi was at most a C-rank, based on the intensive research they conducted.

With Shirou being the closest to the girl, he was stuck with covering for the group. As such, conversation was left to him.

And what better way than to distract the daughter of the Yondaime? All he had to do was honestly praise how Konoha prepared for the Chuunin exams.

Notwithstanding the current status of their defences, which Akatsuki planned to breach.

"Hehe, you better watch well! My Onii-san's going to win this tournament!" She proudly boasted.

Ah yes. One of the favourites for this tournament, Naruto Namikaze.

"What about the other favourites? There's a lot of strong competition this year."

Gaara of the Sand, Sasuke Uchiha, Neji Hyuuga, and some more. There were too many for Shirou to study, since he had to focus on far stronger threats to prepare against.

Threats like Jiraiya and Orochimaru, who they were more likely to meet once they snuck past the Konoha defences into ROOT territory. Although Danzo's private army could also help them in that regard, acting as a buffer against two of Konoha's best.

Playing the two political factions underneath Konoha against one another was one of the factors Akatsuki included in the plans.

As long as they infiltrated the ROOT headquarters, it was likely that no other Konoha shinobi could get to them.

"Hmph! They're no match for Onii-san! He'll just blow past all of them for the win!" The little girl jubilantly answered.

It was adorable how much faith she had in her older brother, something Shirou could admire. Now if only Lunea had someone to look up to aside from Eugen and Heinrich. Don't misunderstand, they were good in some aspects, but absolutely terrible in others.

If Shirou had to pick an older sister Lunea to take after, Heinrich easily takes the cake.

The ramen store owner, now identified as Teuchi, came around with nine bowls of ramen, four for the group, and five for Narumi.

Discussion died down as Narumi turned her attention to the ramen, then proceeded to gobble them up rapidly, which Shirou was thankful for.

Shirou's eyes twitched.

Ok, this was getting out of hand. How fast was Narumi eating through five bowls of ramen?! She's on par with Lunea and Saber when it comes to food!

"No, we're not following your idea this time." Shirou repeated.

Eugen pouted. After lunch, the girl had asked if she could check some clothes out at the nearby boutique. Said nearby boutique being owned by a prominent ninja family who specializes in the shinobi style of clothing.

Shirou and Heinrich, who were still miffed, an understatement of their mood really, quickly shot down the girl.

"We had just escaped the ANBU group tailing Narumi Namikaze. Let's just stay out here where it's harder for any of Konoha's shinobi to notice us."

At least Lunea was easier to manage than Eugen this time. Shirou only bought her some cotton candy and the little wolf was happy. Just like everyone else around them.

Shirou hated himself. In a few hours, all this festive mood would be brought down once the assault began. People would panic, ensue chaos, all for a chance to reach ROOT.

There were other options, but none that could give them as much damage to the black ops organization as the one they had now.

And Pein wanted it. He wanted a message strong enough to scare Danzo away from Amegakure.

The group of four settled on unwinding at the nearby park until the agreed time for the teams to regroup.

Lunea was lying on Shirou's lap, happily getting headpats. Heinrich and Eugen were off on the side, enjoying the calm, peaceful environment.

"Shirou…a word if you don't mind."

He looked at Eugen, who was the source.

"If you think it's too dangerous for you both…please don't hesitate and back out."

The concern on her face was evident, worried about the future. Despite basically kidnapping Shirou and Lunea, all of them had come to grow close with one another. To Heinrich and Eugen, they were like little siblings.

Overpowered, but siblings nonetheless.

And vice-versa. Lunea saw the two homunculi as sisters, while Shirou had come to accept them as close friends.

Because despite what everything seemed from the outside, merciless killing, crimes, and their views on life and death, underneath it all was the same wounded soldier. Heinrich and Eugen were created for war, so broadening their horizons was a new experience.

For so long, the pair of them only had each other since the war. But Shirou and Lunea's abrupt inclusion into their lives had made it a little more colourful.

Now, they were assaulting Konoha, and the two were going to split off from them.

Shirou and Lunea were one of two infiltrating forces, they would be going in without Heinrich and Eugen, who would be busy as part of the assault to distract the rest of Konoha.

The other party would be Tobi, who will infiltrate ROOT from another direction.

Nobody else in Konoha had infiltration capabilities on par with the trio, aside from Zetsu. But he was handed the anti-army role, spawning numerous Zetsu clones to combat the Konoha shinobi for the upcoming assault.

Heinrich and Eugen tried to argue against it, but it was only a testament to Shirou and Lunea's ability that the rest of the organization unanimously agreed on it.

Shirou's tracing ability pretty much negated any cover, allowing him to map out locations in a blink of an eye.

Lunea's inhumane senses combined with her mastery over ambient mana, blessed by her phantasmal beast heritage, made her the perfect predator.

Tobi? Good luck stopping him from teleporting.

All three combined could easily overwhelm any fortress, given some time. And that was why they were given the responsibility of assaulting the ROOT base.

Heinrich and Eugen couldn't assist, as they were needed elsewhere. They were to be part of the distraction force going up against the entirety of Konoha.

And the magnitude of the conflict would be immense. Easily far out matching the threat of ROOT.

Shirou already feared how the battle would go down. Akatsuki mustered most of their firepower and were still outgunned by the more powerful group of shinobi on Konoha's side. As a precaution, Pein was sending his Deva Path as the rear guard. The Deva Path was the last option should the assault party have difficulty retreating.

It was a scary thought that one of Pein's Paths was necessary, considering the sheer firepower brought to the table.

Everyone was here. Yet, Konoha still had the upper hand. But that was also because the shinobi from Suna were in attendance, who were likely to participate in the defense of their allies.

"Promise us at least." Heinrich added her input, also showing her care for the two teens.

"Don't worry! Shirou gets stronger when things get worse!" Lunea joked.

"I'll make sure to retreat if the situation gets bad." Shirou responded to the sisters.

Heinrich reached over and rubbed Shirou's head lightly. "Come back safely ok? It would be sad for us to lose you and Lunea just for a mission."

Shirou closed his eyes. He and Lunea would return safely, he would make sure of it.

Eugen clicked her tongue in annoyance.

She and Eugen had regrouped with the main assault force in the stadium. But what concerned her was the additional opponent they had to face.

Sasori of the Red Sands.

"Wasn't he supposed to be staying in Suna?" She asked the other members of the group.

Tatsumi rubbed his head. "Yeah. Intel said he was remaining behind. But something must've changed his mind at the last moment."

"Makes things more interesting later on." Esdeath said with a smile.

Heinrich shot her a glance. If anything, the situation just got worse for them. The amount of S-ranks in attendance was enough to scare even the other villages.

And that wasn't including Akatsuki.

Down at the field in the middle of the stadium, The Yondaime Hokage was giving a speech to all the genins who qualified to the final stage. Up in the VIP section stood the Sandaime Hokage, along with two of his students, Tsunade and Orochimaru. Of course, near them was the current Hokage's family, Kushina Uzumaki along with her two other children. Their eldest was with the rest of the genin qualifiers in the field.

The two sisters looked around, searching for the God of Shinobi's missing student. Jiraiya had to be somewhere here, Konoha's greatest intelligence officer had to be nearby, considering he was one of the two most dangerous shinobi Akatsuki had to plan for, and possibly the only one who could discover the attack.

The other being Itachi Uchiha, who also wasn't present.

With each moment the two shinobi weren't seen, then the higher their threat was.

Then they also had to factor the Suna representatives. The Yondaime Kazekage and the puppeteer, Sasori of the Red Sands.

The combined Konoha-Suna forces had stacked the cards in their favour.

But Akatsuki had intel, surprise, and an SS-rank on their side. Which gave them enough advantage to even out the numbers.

Suddenly, a random passerby appeared in front of the group's seats. A brief flash on his hand showed a red cloud, confirming his identity as one of the many Zetsu clones spread throughout the city to keep an eye on the shinobi.

He passed a small piece of paper to the group before disappearing back into the crowds.

Heinrich and Eugen looked at the slip, awaiting news. Konan's voice came through, informing the group of the status quo.

"Zetsu clones state that the city shinobi don't look vigilant. They're not expecting anything to disrupt the event. The intel I have from shinobi communications also reflects the same thing."

While Zetsu's clones handled the shinobi outside, they were also tasked with spreading Konan's slips of paper inside shinobi held areas. Any conversation within earshot of the pieces would be heard by Konan, which could be relayed back to the assault team.

Konan was also in charge of communication on the other side of the operation. Coordinating Tobi, Shirou, and Lunea as they infiltrate the ROOT fortress.

Yahiko and the Deva Path were with her, just in case any Konoha forces discover the external assistance. But that scenario was unlikely since they would be focused towards the turmoil erupting within Konoha by that point.

"With the current status quo, we are going to continue with the attack."

Heinrich and Eugen looked at each other after those words.

There was no backing out now.


Jiraiya stood with Itachi, hidden in the halls connected to the stadium's field.

The Yondaime's speech had ended a minute ago, and the two were expecting for him to come through their area.

A series of steps reached their ears and their target arrived a few moments later.

"Minato, something big is about to happen."

The urgent tone from his teacher stopped the Namikaze from greeting him.

"What's going on? It must be bad if Itachi is here and not with the ANBU." Minato shot back quickly, his mind switching to a serious mode.

Itachi nodded towards Jiraiya, happy to let him continue his explanation.

"A large number of high profile Akatsuki members have been sighted in the village by Itachi. It seems like a large portion of the organization is already inside Konoha." Jiraiya rushed his words.

The information caught the Yondaime off guard. "What? But how? The Uchiha at the gates should've spotted them long ago."

"Some kind of strong genjutsu. Only Itachi had seen them so far. We still have no idea how they managed it because when Itachi had a Hyuuga check the one person they found, she said that they weren't casting any jutsu, nor were there any fuuinjutsu present."


Far away, Shirou sneezed.

In concern, Lunea sniffed the air to check again.

Odd. Did Shirou catch something she didn't? There was nothing unusual about the surroundings, nor was the ambient mana showing any signs of spellcasting or shinobi jutsus active.

"Is something wrong Shirou?" She asked.

"Nothing, nothing. I don't know why I sneezed."


Tatsumi was busy looking at the knife Shirou handed each member of the assault party.

"Are you also trying to figure out the magic behind it?" His partner asked.

Esdeath had noted the object long ago. For some reason, they had managed to penetrate deep into Konoha without raising alarms. She had expected Tobi to cast a genjutsu over each member, but Tobi said he needed to conserve chakra. What he mentioned was that Shirou's knives will keep them safe from being discovered.

Little did they know that even Tobi needed some effort with his Sharingan to break past the illusion. Using Mangekyou on it would've been far too much.

Behind them, Heinrich and Eugen were using the time to study Shirou's knife. They had asked him about it, but the boy only told them that the knife kept a small illusion over them.

'Small illusion my ass.' Eugen grumbled silently.

The bloody knife had yet to fail them. She especially tried it by walking in front of some shinobi at the gate, yet none had looked at her despite the tantalizing figure she had.

For once in her life, Eugen wasn't being noticed by men.

And it annoyed her.

She was confident in her makeup to make her look far more beautiful than she normally does, something she only tried a few times. After all, Eugen liked her natural face.

And yet she was still far more sexy than those women in the magazines with makeup.

She even tried it on one Uchiha after they separated from Shirou and Lunea.

Nothing. Not even the Uchiha noticed her.

Once she met Shirou later, she would be asking a lot of questions.


"This is bad. What have you done while waiting for me?" Minato asked the pair.

"I've informed the ANBU and shinobi forces to go on high alert. Expect the worst case scenario. But that was only a few minutes ago, it would take a long time for the order to spread out." Itachi informed.

"How long?"

"Probably half an hour to reach all shinobi. Not enough time to prepare a plan aside from the normal procedures for evacuating and defence." Jiraiya uttered with a grim face.

"Do whatever you can behind the scenes. I'll inform the VIP section of the problem." Minato grimaced. He could flash the civillians and officials away, but he would have to ask the Yondaime Kazekage and his forces for assistance.

Jiraiy and Itachi disappeared off, dashing with haste to help with the preparation.

Minato quickly made his way back to the VIP section. Informing the Daimyo, Kazekage, and his family would be his priority.


Outside Konoha, the communications group intercepted some vital information.

"Is something wrong Konan?" Yahiko asked while eating his dango. The worried face she showed concerned him.

"We have to rush the operation ahead of plan. Something has happened and the Konoha forces are switching into high gear."

Off to the side, Pain's Deva Path looked towards the hidden village in the distance. "We have no leaks, nor made any mistakes. This must be the work of Jiraiya or Itachi Uchiha to be able to sniff us out."

Exactly the reason why Akatsuki put a large amount of effort into planning against the two shinobi. Itachi's Mangekyou Sharingan was famous for being on a whole other level, being proudly boasted by his clan to the world.

"He has unlocked the Mangekyou, which makes him one of the few legendary Uchiha after Madara."

Even Pein himself wondered how his Rinnegan would fair against the legendary Mangekyou Sharingan that rivaled the Shodai Hokage.

"Inform the rest to begin immediately. We can't waste any more time."

Konan quickly contacted the assault and infiltration parties to launch the operation.


"So that's why the Yondaime looked so agitated." Tatsumi pointed out as the information reached them.

The current Hokage returned to the VIP section, and was discussing with the Daimyo, Sandaime, and the Kazekage in a tight hurdle. The Akatsuki members had quickly noticed the tense appearance he held.

"Guess we won't even finish the third match." Eugen commented. "So, how do we start this exactly? We still have no idea where the Toad Sage and Mangekyou guy are."

"Aren't we supposed to be a distraction? So let's make a good entrance." Esdeath grinned.

The other three members of the assault squad all looked at her.

"Where can we appear without having to jump in the middle of the stadium? Why, the roof of course." The SS-rank clarified.

Heinrich nodded in approval. It made sense to start the assault from above. Jumping into the stadium center only trapped you in the middle of the Konoha forces immediately.

"Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's get moving." Eugen stood and started walking towards one of the exits.

Esdeath grinned excitedly behind her.

After months of waiting, it was finally time.

Time for her to have the battle of her life.


Shirou cursed.

They've been discovered.

He and Lunea watched as multiple groups of shinobi were seen dashing on roofs after the orders reached them. Konoha nin were suddenly appearing around every street, vigilant and ready to react and guide the civillians.

Avoiding them was trouble, and the both of them were still a ways off from the ROOT building.

"Let's hope the civillian chaos can hide us once they begin. Or else the Konoha shinobi will notice us running in the opposite direction." Shirou told his partner.

Lunea answered by nodding. It was too dangerous to drag the attention of the shinobi while also raiding the ROOT base once they began.

The countdown begins.


Kushina looked up as she spotted some figures appearing on the roof of the stadium.

Her eyes widened as the recognizable black and red cloaks of four Akatsuki members as they fluttered in the wind. Minato had just informed her a few minutes ago about the sightings of the S-ranked criminals in the village.

She hadn't expected them to appear so soon. Beside her, Minato squeezed her hand in worry.

Near them, Hiruzen silently summoned his armor in preparation. There was only one reason why Akatsuki would show up in public after being in the shadows for so long.

They planned to stop hiding.

Orochimaru and Tsunade readied up along with him, eyes focused on the threat.

The Kazekage and Sasori traded looks.

"Konoha can at least give us one body for payment, right?"

"I'll ask them about it afterwards, Sasori."

"I hope we can get Esdeath. An SS-rank puppet, can you imagine that."


Jiraiya cursed.

They weren't ready.

It had only been a few minutes since leaving his student that he felt a surge of power coming from the direction of the stadium.

Akatsuki was going for the leaders.


Itachi was troubled.

Only four of the seven members he spotted were at the roof of the stadium.

Where were the other three?

A few ideas ran across his mind, before he filtered them down to two possible options.

One, they were aiming to assassinate under the chaos of their comrades.

Two, there was another objective, important enough to divert nearly half of the members.

His eyes narrowed.

He turned around to face a civilian that somehow appeared behind him.

"So this is the so-called Mangekyou. I've seen someone use it better long ago."

The man's face suddenly warped into a big smile, the color melting off into black and white on two halves.

"Shut up. You're not supposed to talk." The black half warned.

Itachi looked at the new threat. "You're with them aren't you?"

The two-colored man only looked back.


The sky changed slowly, darkening each moment the Akatsuki force stood on top of the stadium.

It was not winter, yet snow began to fall on the village below. People looked up with wonder and confusion as the white crystals landed on the ground.

Meanwhile, all shinobi were looking in the direction of the stadium in shock. They were able to feel the sheer power being emitted by someone from such a large distance. Not one of their S-ranks could enact such a presence.

Back in the stadium, even the civilians had all noticed the coldness emanating from one girl standing on the roof.

They were shivering, wrapping their clothes tighter around them.

Esdeath paid them no mind. Only the strong could shake off the cold. Of which were all standing in one VIP box in front of her.

"Akatsuki, is there something you need?" The blonde haired man's words reached her ears.

Esdeath shook her head.

"What we need is not with you. But you definitely are in the way."

Sirens blared and panic started amongst the crowd, shinobi quickly trying to funnel them into the exits.

Konoha versus Akatsuki had finally started.


Author's Note

It's been awhile again. No excuses this time. But I do hope everyone enjoys this little filler before the action.

If anyone is interested, here's the full lineup:

Esdeath, Tatsumi, Heinrich, Eugen, and Zetsu as the assault party. 1 SS + 4 S ranks.

Konan, Yahiko, and Pein's Deva Path as communications aa reserve team. 3 S ranks

Tobi, Shirou and Lunea as the ROOT infiltration party. 1 S + 2 A ranks.

Minato, Kushina, Hiruzen, Tsunade, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Itachi as the Konoha faction. 7 S ranks.

Rasa (Kazekage) and Sasori from Suna. 2 S ranks.

A whole total of roughly 8 vs 9 for the grand battle above Konoha. The infiltration part is not included.

Feels like a 7v7 Holy Grail War right? Yeahhh…don't worry, that's volume 3. Hope this little sneak peek of the future volume makes up for my chaotic release schedule.