Hey. So this is the 37th chapter.

BlackCrystal06, somewhat the calm before the storm, I mean, I was going to have Kirito, Asuna, Sinon or Hikari go as backup, but then, I thought, how about just putting all focus on Suguha for that one chapter. And Shinichi, who is actually Recon in cannon, havin a crush on Suguha, why not? XDXD

So yeah, let's start with the next chapter.

XXX

A few days later, Tsunade was in her office, looking at a scroll from the Raikage. Just as they agreed a few days ago, the two villages were going to have a joint mission between a team, as a way to improve village relations.

The mission was simple, the two teams would meet up and wipe out a camp of bandits somewhere at the borders of Hi no Kuni. And if Tsunade was right, which she probably was, Ay would most likely either send the Niibi Jinchurikii or the Hachibi Jinchurikii. That was also something Tsunade was planning to do, send Hikari with a team.

The woman nodded to herself and spoke, "Anbu, bring me Hikari, Kirito, Asuna, Sinon and Suguha. Tell them they have a mission."

The Anbu in hiding immediately vanished to bring the five people mentioned. In less than ten minutes, the five arrived at Tsunade's office, all prepared and ready to roll.

Tsunade said, "Okay, a few days ago, the Raikage and I decided to have a joint mission between villages, to improve relations between our villages. We've decided on the mission, so I'm sending the five of you on this."

Hikari nodded, "So when do we leave?"

Tsunade nodded, "I leave that to you, but you are scheduled to meet tomorrow at noon here."

She slipped a piece of paper containing the adress and coordinates of the rendezvous point before she said, "I'll leave it to you to decide who'll be the leader. Good luck."

The five nodded before they were dismissed and left the room.

At the same time, in Kumogakure, in the Raikage's office, Ay was looking at four of his shinobi, one was a blonde woman long, straight, hair bound with taut bandages and dark eyes. This was Nii Yugito, the Jinchurikii of the Niibi, more importantly, a loyal ninja of Kumogakure.

The other three were all men, all wearing the standard Kumogakure uniform, one had dark grey spiky hair, the second one had long dark blue hair that was tied into a small ponytail and the last man had black hair in a military cut.

The one with dark grey spiky hair was Kouga. The one with the blue ponytail was Jinga and the one with the military cut was Daigo.

Ay spoke, "A few days ago, the Hokage and I decided we'd have a joint mission. So, here's the mission, you four, are to meet up with the Konoha team and wipe out the bandit camp somewhere on Hi no Kuni."

Yugito nodded and took the scroll, which had the necessary info they needed. The woman nodded to her leader, "Is there anything else, Raikage-sama?"

The man shook his head, "No, just to inform you by the way, you are to meet them tomorrow at noon."

Yugito nodded and turned, "Let's go. Pack up for a few days, we'll be on an extermination mission."

The three men nodded and followed the blonde out of the room, none of the aware of the figure with the tell tale robe of the Akatsuki vanishing into the ground, chuckling darkly and gleefully at the same time.

A while later, in Amegakure, Zetsu had just finished reporting his findings to Pein. The Rinnegan user nodded, "Hmm, I see. Relay what you've just told me to Hidan and Kakuzu."

Zetsu nodded, "Yes sir."

Right before he could leave however, Pein added, "Keep an eye on Hidan and Kakuzu, knowing how good the Jinchurikii of the Niibi is, they might kill her before we can extract the beast, especially Hidan."

Zetsu grinned/smirked, the black part said, "If they do kill her, we will seal the Niibi away in one of our clones."

Pein nodded, "Good. Dismissed."

The plant man immediately vanished and Pein was left to his own thoughts. Konan was somewhere in the village, probably wandering or helping with the poor citizens in the village. The woman's kindness was one of his few anchors, to keep him aware that regardless of his power, he was still human.

The fact that his real body was in his room resting was further proof of that.

The man's thoughts then went to the Niibi. They had postponed their project since the Sanbi had died during the civil war in Kirigakure a while ago, and Zetsu had reported that the Sanbi had reformed, but had went into hiding.

Pein decided he would deal with it when the time came, now he needed to make sure they got the Niibi, he really didn't want to wait for another year, possibly even more, because Hidan or Kakuzu couldn't hold in their temper.

The man's thoughts then wandered to his cousin... Or is it a niece? Anyways, Hikari had successfully killed off Deidara and Sasori, or at least, her team did. That spoke a lot of her skills, since the teams in Konohagakure tended to be formed according to their strengths, and teams were always balanced. So if the teams could kill two members of the Akatsuki, Hikari's strength probably wasn't that far off, maybe even stronger.

The Rinnegan user knew, if a bijuu was extracted from an Uzumaki, they would survive for quite an amount of time before they died, which would only happen if they had their bijuu extracted when they had low levels of chakra or didn't receive basic amount of medical care.

And Nagato didn't wish for the last of his relatives to die off. He would ensure Hikari lived when they got the Kyuubi, all that's left, was to see if the girl would join them, or if he had to take the bijuu forcefully.

The next day, Yugito and her team were at the rendezvous point. The team from Konoha wasn't here yet, since Yugito and her team were ahead of schedule by half an hour.

Daigo sighed, "I guess we're early."

Jinga nodded and he looked around, "But damn, it seems really quiet."

Kouga nodded, "True, but then, that's how it is here. I mean, if I remember correctly, this was one of the more less populated areas, right, Yugito-san?"

The blonde didn't reply, instead, she was focused on two figures in front of her that suddenly appeared some distance in front of them. Kouga asked, "Yugito-san, is that?"

Yugito narrowed her eyes, "Akatsuki." 'It's just as you said, Matatabi, they captured the Ichibi, now they're out for us.'

The Niibi in the seal nodded, "Yeah. What do you want to do, Yugito?"

Yugito smirked mentally, 'If we run, they'll just continue following us anyways, how about we kill them here and now?'

The Niibi grinned, "I like your way of thinking."

Yugito just nodded before she said aloud, "Kouga, Daigo, Jinga, we're ending them here."

The three men nodded. They knew the Akatsuki would be out for any Jinchurikii, and Yugito was their friend, their comrade. If she wanted to deal with them here and now, they would follow her to the end.

Hidan chuckled as he heard that, "Oi, Kakuzu, you hear that? They're gonna end us."

The man nodded, "Yeah, let's see if they have what it takes."

Hidan smirked, "Then, don't get in my way until I get a sacrifice."

Kakuzu just nodded, and immediately, Hidan charged forward, his scythe in hand. Daigo quickly whipped out a kunai and clashed blades with the nuke nin.

Hidan then smirked as he pulled hard. The Kumo ninja managed to leap away, dodging any fatal injuries aside from a nick on his cheek.

Hidan chuckled darkly as he saw the cut on the man's cheek, as well as the small amount of blood in his scythe. The man laughed gleefully, "Finally! Time for a sacrifice for JASHIN-SAMA!"

He licked the blood off the blade as he started to draw a ritual circle with a triangle in the middle on the ground with red paint, or was it blood. As soon as he finished, Hidan's skin turned black, and skull marks appeared over his body.

Kakuzu stared on passively, but he was ready to move at any moments' notice.

Hidan giggled gleefully, "Now, let the ritual begin!"

Yugito narrowed her eyes, wary of the weird transformation. But her teammates didn't share the sentiment. Kouga yelled, "Let's go!"

The three men immediately charged forward, Kouga holding a chokuto, Jinga holding a katana while Daigo held his kunai.

The three swung their blades at the man, but Hidan easily blocked it with his scythe, holding them in place. The man then slowly drew a small cylinder from his robes before he flipped it open, extending into a spear.

Hidan smirked maniacally, specifically at Daigo... Before stabbed himself in the thigh.

Immediately, a scream of pain sounded through the area, but it wasn't from Hidan. No... It was from Daigo as blood seeped through his thigh.

The man immediately dropped his kunai in pain and fell to the ground, clutching his injured leg.

Kouga yelled in concern, "Daigo!"

However before anyone could do anything, Hidan swung his retractable spear, forcing the two away, leaving Daigo at the mercy of the mad man. But Hidan didn't bother to move, instead, he just laughed, "How is it? Painful, isn't it?! Let me hear your screams!"

The man then stabbed the spear into his shoulder, earning another scream of pain from the fallen man. This worried and confused Daigo's teammates, as Hidan didn't touch him at all, instead, the man just hurt himself, and Daigo apparently suffered from the same injuries.

Yugito cursed, 'What is this?! How is he doing that?!'

Then she realized it, Hidan never did move from his position. She needed to find a way to move Hidan from the circle, but without further injuring Daigo.

Yugito thought, 'Damn it, now I really wish I had Hikari's chakra chains...'

Regardless of her thoughts, Yugito sped forward, aiming a punch for Hidan's face. But the mad man wasn't just about to let her punch him. As the fist came, Hidan blocked it with the shaft of his scythe before he swung his spear at the girl, forcing him to jump away.

Then in an instant, Yugito appeared in front of Hidan, or rather, below him, as she kicked him hard in the chin, sending hin flying up into the air.

Yugito didn't let the chance slip, as she jumped and yelled, "Kouga, Jinga!"

The two men immediately acted, flashing through handseals as they yelled in unison, "Raiton: Rairyudan no Jutsu!"

Two huge dragons made of lightning formed and charged at the airborne immortal. The two dragons slammed into the man, seemingly electrocuting him as he fell to the ground.

Yugito landed and thought, 'Did we get him?'

Then all of a sudden, Hidan's eyes opened as his scythe shot off the ground for Yugito. The girl quickly bent backwards, thanks to the flexibility from the Niibi, and barely dodged the blade as it passed by her face.

The girl turned and got on all fours before she pushed herself off the ground, dodging another slash from the scythe.

As she landed, Kouga and Jinga went to stand beside her as they stared down at Hidan. The girl noticed that the scythe seemed to be moving according to Hidan's orders as a wire was connected to his sleeves.

The woman also noticed that Hidan's skin had returned to normal the moment she got him off the circle, which meant she was right.

Then, the scythe shot out again. The three Kumo shinobi wordlessly scattered away, dodging the blade as the two men charged Hidan. Yugito quickly went through handseals as her teammates charged the man, "Katon: Nezumi Kedama!"

She spat out a blue flaming ball in the shape of a mouse that sped towards the man. As Kouga and Jinga clashed blades with Hidan, the two quickly jumped away and allowed the flaming mouse to split into a dozen smaller fireballs, burning the man.

However, that wasn't enough as Hidan was still standing, a mad smile on his face. The Jashinist laughed, "Is that it?! SHOW ME MORE! GIVE A SACRIFICE WORTHY OF JASHIN-SAMA!"

The man swung his scythe, throwing it at Yugito, but the girl quickly extended her claws and parried the blade away making it fall to the ground before she charged the man.

Hidan smirked and charged forward, holding his spear as he did so. The two clashed attacks several times before Yugito noticed the glint of metal from behind, Kouga and Jinga also yelled in concern, alerting her of its presence.

The woman smirked in triumph and quickly fell on all fours, dodging the blade as she heard the sound of the scythe piercing through flesh. Then she saw the red circle with the triangle on the floor, with Hidan's legs standing above it.

The woman turned and looked at Daigo. The injured man had blood flowing out of his abdomen as he clutched his stomach in pain, vomiting blood at the same time.

Yugito gasped, "H-how?!"

The two other men were also shocked, as they had made sure to keep Hidan away from the circle.

The man laughed maniacally, "I COULD HAVE ALWAYS DRAWN A NEW CIRCLE, YOU FUCKING IDIOTS!"

Hidan's leg lashed out as he kicked Yugito hard in the face, sending her flying away, crashing into the ground face first.

Kouga and Jinga immediately charged forward as Hidan raised his spear. The mad man sighed, "I guess I've had enough fun, TIME TO OFFER THE SACRIFICE TO JASHIN-SAMA!"

The two men roared as they rushed to stop him, "No!"

But they were too late, as the spear pierced through Hidan's heart, killing Daigo on the spot. Yugito got up from the ground and stared in shock as Daigo fell to the ground, dead.

Kouga roared in anger as he charged Hidan, his chokuto ready to cut him to pieces. But before he could even get with a meter from Hidan, a hand grabbed his face, slamming him onto the ground.

Kakuzu spoke as he held the Kumo ninja onto the ground, "Hey, Hidan. You're done, right?"

Hidan let out a breath in satisfaction and nodded, "Yeah. You can join in."

The masked man nodded and cracked his neck, blocking Kouga's chokuto with his arm, "Good, I wanna stretch my legs."

Then before anyone could react, Kakuzu flung Kouga into the air, slamming into Jinga as the two were sent to the ground.

As the man slowly approached the men, Yugito cursed, 'Matatabi!'

The bijuu didn't need another word as Yugito grew a blue flaming tail, her claws sharpening even more. The girl then vanished in a burst of speed, aiming to slice Kakuzu's head off.

But before she could, Hidan appeared in front of her, and her claws clashed with Hidan's scythe. The man smirked, "Oi oi! Its Kakuzu's turn, you know?! Like me, no one can interfere!"

Yugito just growled as she kicked the scythe away and charge past the man. But before she could, wire wrapped around her waist and pulled her back, swinging her into the ground.

Yugito growled as she struggled before she was flung away into one of the buildings.

With Kakuzu, the two men had recovered and charged him again. The masked man blocked every punch, kick or slash from the two men. Then he held out his two hands and grabbed the two men in the face and slammed them onto the ground.

Not giving them time to recover, he flung both of them up into the air as he went through a set of handseals. He breathed in before he unleashed the jutsu, "Katon: Zukkoku!"

The man released a huge wave of flames that went to engulf the two. But before it could, the two men vanished in a blurr of blue.

Kakuzu narrowed his eyes as he spotted Yugito landing onto the ground with Kouga and Jinga. Kakuzu turned his head slightly at Hidan and spoke calmly, "Hidan..."

The man just huffed and didn't reply before he went to stand beside his partner. Kakuzu shook his head and sighed, "Whatever... Playtime's over. Let's just get this over with."

Yugito cursed as she kept her eyes on the two nuke nin. She then said, "Kouga, Jinga... I need you to go find the Konoha team. They're probably the closest thing we have to back up now."

Jinga wanted to protest, but Kouga held him back and nodded, "Got it."

Yugito nodded and Kouga quickly grabbed Jinga and leaped away. As they ran, Jinga growled, "Kouga! Why did you leave her there?!"

The man kept running, holding Jinga tight so that he wouldn't go back, "If we stayed there, we would just be getting in her way. We're up against two S-ranked nuke ninja, and Yugito going all out is our best bet."

As if on cue, the two heard the loud roar of the Niibi, as blue flames shot up from where Yugito was. Kouga said again, "Let's just hope Konoha's Jinchurikii is with the team."

Meanwhile, with the team from Konoha, in Hikari's seal, the Kyuubi's eyes widened as he sensed the chakra from the Niibi. The bijuu said urgently, "Hikari, the Niibi is in trouble."

Hikari nodded, she felt the burst of bijuu chakra after all, "Guys, we need to hurry."

The other four nodded as they had also felt the burst of chakra. It'd take an idiot to not be able to sense it. As they increased their pace, Kirito spotted two Kumo ninja moving towards them.

They stopped in front of each other and Kouga asked, "Hey, are you the team we're supposed to meet up with?"

Kirito nodded and was about to say something when Jinga asked loudly, "Is the Kyuubi Jinchurikii here?!"

Hikari nodded, "I am the Kyuubi's Jinchurikii."

Kouga nodded, "We need to hurry, Yugito-san is fighting two Akatsuki members, I don't think she can hold them off any longer."

The Konoha team nodded before they heard a loud explosion. No more words were needed as they sped back towards the rendezvous point.

Meanwhile, back with Yugito, the kunoichi was shocked. She had managed to set up explosion tags all over the area as she held Hidan and Kakuzu back. Then she released a wave of flames second only to that of the Amateratsu flames, which would have burned both of them alive.

Hell, the flames would have destroyed their bodies before they knew they were dead! But there they were, standing there, with burns on their bodies, but their stances told her that the injuries were nothing to them.

Yugito cursed in her mind. She was already tired from their previous bout, and transforming into bijuu form was quite tiring for her, plus with the damage she received from Hidan and Kakuzu, it would only be a matter of time before her link with Matatabi gave out.

And as if fate wanted to screw with her, Yugito felt the familiar chakra of the Niibi leave her system, reverting her to her normal form.

(Note. Yugito has a decent mastery of the bijuu form. But having fought against Hidan and Kakuzu for around half an hour, she would feel tired, thus she won't be able to keep the bijuu form on for long.)

The woman shrunk back to her normal size as she heard her friend apologies, "Sorry, Yugito. That's as far as we can go."

The woman shook her head, but didn't answer. She didn't blame the bijuu. But that didn't matter now, due to having forced out of Bijuu mode, Yugito was even more fatigued that before, but apparently Hidan and Kakuzu had a whole lot more stamina.

Hidan smirked, "Ran outta gas, bitch?"

Yugito just glared at him. Then all of a sudden, Hidan appeared in front of her and grabbed her by the neck, holding her up.

Kakuzu spoke, "Hidan, we cannot kill her yet."

The man turned to his partner, "I know I know."

Then just as he was about to turn his head back, the woman quickly extended her claws and sliced his wrist off and attempted to slice his head off.

But Yugito was a tad bit too slow, as Hidan's eyes widened in anger as his hand fell to the ground, then before he knew it, the man had slammed his scythe into Yugito's abdomen, sending her flying away into the trees.

Kakuzu growled, "Hidan..."

The man blinked, "Sorry..."

As if on cue, Zetsu appeared from the ground, Black Zetsu sighing, "I knew this would happen, whatever, good thing I'm here. We can just seal the Niibi in one of my clones first, then we go back and seal it away."

Meanwhile, as the Konoha team and the two Kumo ninja raced through the trees, they spotted a person flying straight at them. The figure skidded across the floor before coming to a stop, and the Kumo ninja and Hikari recognised her.

Kouga said in worry, "Yugito!"

Everyone quickly jumped to the ground to Yugito's side, and they were shocked to see the three huge holes in Yugito's abdomen, blood flowing out rapidly.

Asuna, having had a bit of medical training, immediately tried to keep the blood from flowing out, trying to patch the wound. But the wound was too deep, and the blood didn't stop flowing out.

Yugito shook her head, "Its fine. I won't last too long."

Everyone kept silent, they knew she was right. They didn't have a medical ninja with them, with how bad Yugito's injuries were, they wouldn't even be able to carry her to a nearby village without further injuring the woman.

Yugito looked at Hikari, "Hikari, you told me, a friend of yours, has a deep connection with cats, right?"

Hikari nodded and turned to Sinon.

Matatabi's eyes widened as she realized what her friend was trying to do, "Yugito! No, I will not leave you!"

The woman smiled and thought, 'Matatabi, you are my friend. Yes, if we die, you will eventually reform. But, no one knows if the Akatsuki will be ahead of them and capture you. Its safer to be with them, besides, we don't have any other choice. The Akatsuki are coming.'

The Niibi stayed silent for a while. Yugito wasn't wrong, but the woman had approached her as a friend, that meant a lot to the bijuu. The cat thought a while before she nodded, "Fine, I will do as you wish, my friend."

Yugito nodded and looked at Sinon, "You're Hikari's family, so I know you will treat her well. That's why, I want you to seal the Niibi, Matatabi into your body. That will keep her safe from the Akatsuki for now."

Kouga and Jinga looked surprised, and while their first reaction would be to protest, mostly due to the fact that Kumo would lose a bijuu, they forced themselves to stay quiet, mostly out of respect for the dying woman.

Sinon was also surprised, and after a look at Hikari, she nodded, "Okay, I'll do it."

Yugito nodded weakly, feeling herself slipping away, "Hikari..."

The Uzumaki nodded and quickly set to work, drawing seals on Yugito's original seal.

As the three women worked to transfer the Niibi, Kirito narrowed his eyes as he saw three figures moving to them, "They're here."

Kouga and Jinga turned and paled, they hadn't fought Zetsu, if he was half as strong as the zombie duo, they were screwed, or so they thought.

Kirito drew his swords, his mark pulsing as his eyes laid on Zetsu. Something about the plant man put him on edge, and it wasn't the fact that he was half plant, half man, nor was it the fact that he was half white and half black, not in a racist way, but literally. No, what set him off was something he felt like he should know, something ancient.

Kirito spoke, "Asuna, Suguha, you two handle the masked guy. You two, Kumo ninja, can you two fight?"

Kouga nodded, "I suppose so."

Jinga also nodded. Kirito nodded, "Good, I'll leave the man with the scythe to you, just hold them off until the girls are done. I'll handle the plant."

They didn't object, since they knew it was do or die, plus, they had reinforcements now, once the girls were done, maybe they'd retreat.

Asuna and Suguha stared at Kakuzu as they stood between him and the three girls with the Niibi. The treasurer of the Akatsuki said, "Move."

Asuna glared at him, "If you want to get to them, you'll have to get through us."

Suguha nodded as the two drew their swords. Kakuzu just narrowed his eyes before he charged, swinging his fist at the girls.

Asuna and Suguha instinctively jumped away, dodging the attack. Kakuzu then went through a set of seals, "Katon: Zukkoku!"

The man blew a huge wave of flames at them, but unlike Kouga or Jinga, Asuna was prepared, as she too went through a set of handseals, "Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!"

Instantly, water gathered from the atmosphere and formed a large vortex of water that completely doused the flames before it charged

Kakuzu.

The man was slightly surprised that his jutsu was countered, but he didn't let it deter him. The man quickly leaped away and dodged the attack.

As Kakuzu leaped away, Asuna said, "Suguha-chan, we need sage mode."

Suguha nodded, it didn't hurt to be extra careful, since they had no idea on how strong Kakuzu really was. As Kakuzu landed, the two girls focused, letting the nature chakra flow into them as they entered their respective sage modes.

The nuke nin raised an eyebrow at the change. It felt a lot like Hashirama's sage mode when he fought him, and while they were certainly stronger than before, the girls were considerably weaker than the First Hokage.

However, that was enough for them to beat him. In a blink of an eye, Asuna and Suguha appeared beside Kakuzu, flanking him, swords poised to strike.

Kakuzu cursed and raised his left forearm to block a slash from Suguha and raised his palm to block a stab from Asuna. But unfortunately for the man, the girls had infused their swords with water and wind chakra respectively, and the rapier pierced through his arm while the katana cleanly sliced off Kakuzu's left arm.

The nuke nin growled as his tendrils shot out of his 'wounds', shooting at the girls. But Asuna and Suguha were ready, as they leaped away while slashing at the tendrils, ripping them to shreds.

The girls landed before they charged again.

Meanwhile, Kirito was fighting against Zetsu. Regardless of the bulky venus trap on him, the plant man was proving to be quite agile.

Kirito jumped away dodged a swipe from the trap (Get it? Trap? XD). The swordsman stared at the plant, "What are you? You aren't human."

Zetsu smirked/grinned, the white half said, "Oh, so you can feel what we are?"

Black Zetsu chuckled darkly, "If you can sense what we are, then I suppose we will have to dispose of you."

The inhumane aura Zetsu was letting out increased, but apart from Kirito, none of the others could feel. The swordsman's eyes narrowed, and he channeled into his mark, causing his eyes to glow yellow as a faint yellow aura covered his body.

Black Zetsu raised his eyebrow in interest, he had seen him use it when he spied on Hikari's family, and while he knew it gave Kirito quite the power up, there may still be something that he has yet to have seen.

In a blink of an eye, Kirito glowed red/orange and reappeared in front of Zetsu, blades raised to strike. Zetsu managed to lean back just in time to dodge the slash and he quickly spun, swinging his spiked venus trap in an attempt to push him away.

It worked, as Kirito jumped away. But as soon as he landed, Kirito raised his right hand, "Ignest!"

A magic circle appeared in front of his hand and shot several fireballs at the plant man. Zetsu responded by sinking into the ground, dodging the attack before Kirito had to jump up to dodge an attack from the ground by Zetsu.

As they were about to continue, they were interrupted by a burst of bijuu chakra, and everyone turned to see two girls shrouded in the red boiling chakra of the Bijuu.

XXX

Done. So that's the latest chapter. I wonder how many people expected Sinon becoming the Niibi's Jinchurikii? Tell me if it was expected or not.

Anyways, the next chapter will be the second part of the fights. So yeah, until then. Review please, and don't forget to vote for the next story I'll be doing after this, its on my profile page. Ciao.