Harbinger

by tigerowl

Naruto's friendship with his teammates Gaara and Haku is put to the test as they prepare to deal with the threat of the Akatsuki. The secrets Jiraiya has kept come to a head, and Naruto must shoulder the responsibility of protecting much more than the Leaf Village. Continuation of Forlorn. AU NaruHina, GaaSaku, NejiTen, ObiRin, OCs *Taoism, Self-Indulgent World Building, longfic

48. Anagnorisis

Note: Batten down the hatches on your sailboat of emotions, reader. Seas are rough.

Chapter 48- Anagnorisis

Chapter Soundtrack: "Vicarious" by Tool

The same morning that Naruto made lively acquaintances on Team Seven in Hidden Sand, the streets of the Tide Village were bustling far to the south.

A colorful, heterogeneous crowd passed each other in two directions on the main avenue of the shopping district. Gulls and terns swooped above, crying out at the sight of unguarded treats and trash that fell short of litter cans. Clouds parted to wink sunshine down on the city, as the final days of warm temperatures meant tourists were fewer, business hours shorter.

Shiogakure's health clinic was comprised of three state-of-the art buildings, and on the central eastern corner of the gridded streets sat the smallest office. Families came and went frequently from the building. Sometimes, congratulatory balloons were stuck by the strings in the automatic doors. Most were set free into the sky and forgotten by distracted parents.

Utakata could admit he felt out of place in such a busy, populated space. For years he'd only known wilderness, stretches of uninhabited coast, fireside warmth, and sparse contact with a commonwealth of any kind. He had to think for a moment as he signed his name beneath Hotaru's on the intake sheet.

They did not linger for long in the waiting area before they were admitted to an examination room, and the annoyances began from there. Utakata sat passively and watched as Hotaru was shepherded around, sent to the restroom for a urine sample, blood pressure and weight were recorded, and a sizeable vile of her blood was taken by a phlebotomist. After that, the on-hand ultrasound technician made cheerful small talk with them, "Is this your first?"

Hotaru shifted nervously on the reclined table, eyes flicking from the monitor, to the ceiling, then to Utakata's face. He was rather tranquil, if not charmed by the brouhaha. He could tell she needed some encouragement, so he scooched his seat closer and took slow, deep breaths for her to mimic. Hotaru answered finally, "It is."

"It's alright, darling, everything is weird when it's number one." The technician nodded understandingly, "All the lingo and instruments and vitamins and rules…good grief. And this stuff," The woman held up a tube of gel, "Is warmed up but still a little unpleasant. I'll try to keep it quick, I promise."

"Thank you." Hotaru rolled up her shirt, frowning, watching as the goop was applied to her abdomen and swirled around.

"Oh! I'm Yayoi by the way. Nice to meet you both!" The technician paused before pressing the transducer to Hotaru's skin, She nodded to Hotaru and Utakata, who appreciated the courtesy. Yayoi amended as she scanned around, "Let's see, well, really I meant the three of you."

The scrambled, amorphous images on the monitor's screen sharpened into solid features, including the bumpy roundness of a tiny head. Though the exact body part was uncertain, Utakata's face lit up at the sight, "Is that it?"

"Yeah…" Yayoi scrunched her face while she searched for better angles, "I'll confirm, but you seem to be at about 12 weeks…the baby still has a bit of a kappa look to it…"

Utakata's fingertips slid up and down Hotaru's arm excitedly, "How does it have arms and legs already?"

"It's super small…like a toy…" Her face was flushed, but she was more intrigued than embarrassed.

Utakata had various questions, "Can you look at the organs and see if those are normal? Can we see the heart?"

"Hold on— I need to fiddle a little." Yayoi was chuckling, "See there? Nothing unusual, two chambers here…and…arteries cross like they're supposed to…"

"I want to see the feet again!" Hotaru was more enthusiastic.

"Sure, I'm just going to check organ development a bit more, then we'll go over the model and timeline of what to expect." The technician resisted a grin at the tittering parents.

Utakata asked not to be told the gender, because he preferred to be surprised, but Yayoi shook her head, "We won't be able to tell for another ten weeks, so enjoy the anticipation."

Further into the appointment, both Hotaru and Utakata had most of their questions answered and concerns allayed. A physician dropped by to go over the imaging, follow-up visits, and how they ought to prepare for the next 28 weeks. Yes, it was still safe for Hotaru to use Ninjutsu so long as she did not overdo it, the doctor assured. Strain on the chakra circulatory system would have to be considerable before it affected a developing baby. With that, Hotaru extracted the answer she had been looking for— she could keep working for the next three months if she wished. Unless bloodwork results dictated otherwise, things were progressing normally.

With the conclusion of the visit, they were both clownishly beatific as they left the office. Up until that point, Utakata knew that the both of their lives had been something like an obstacle course. A glimmer of joy was a welcome change.

"Since the doctor said it was okay…" Hotaru crossed her arms behind her back, grinning, "I'm going to report to work."

He took a deep breath, "I had a feeling you would."

"Come on, class will be fun today! One of my co-teachers said we're going north for a field trip at the wildlife preserve. It's a good place for the students to practice jutsu."

"Are you going to tell anyone?" Utakata wondered.

"Maybe not until after the next appointment." She supposed, "The administrator might get weird about it if he hears too soon."

Utakata saw her point, and that she wanted to avoid the circulation of gossip at the Academy for as long as possible. He walked her a few blocks to the school's gate and kissed her goodbye there, watching as Hotaru ambled on to greet students lining up in the yard. He even lingered to witness the gathered classes and their chaperones set out for the trip. After that, Utakata slipped an earpiece out of the pocket of his fatigues and fitted it to the side of his face. He had to click around for the correct radio channel.

Channel Two has twelve shinobi reporting in, stationed at the "four corners." Sabaku no Kankuro is in command. By the way, has that bubble-boy reported in yet—?

"This is Utakata speaking." He gruffed into the radio as he walked, "Don't be impatient with me, Suna. I told you I had something to do this morning."

Right, well, you need to hurry up so our squadrons can coordinate. These Tide ninja are antsy, and the Leaf Sealing Corps people are not happy about staying an extra day…but we agreed it's best if we all keep watch. Hustle! Kankuro was being pushy.

"I'm on my way to the four corners." He confirmed.

-What was your name again? Everyone keeps calling you bubble-boy, but I don't get it. A new voice chimed in on Channel Two.

Utakata raised an eyebrow, "Who is this—?"

-Obito. I delivered the intel on the Akatsuki to your Jounin Council.

"Oh." Utakata said, "Thank you."

-You're welcome!

Obito, he just said his name is Utakata, if you weren't listening. Not the most social ninja in these parts, but he's alright. Kankuro joked over the communication channel.

-Got it. Utakata. Obito memorized the name, Stay safe today. I have no idea when Pein will show up.

"Tell me more about this criminal who wants to capture me." Utakata took on a defensive tone, "How many members of the Akatsuki can we expect?"

-One. He is considered the 'leader' of the organization. Pein is a threat. Everyone in the Akatsuki has immense respect for him as the founder, though…I don't know much about what techniques he can use.

Bummer. Kankuro snarked, What kind of a name is 'Pein,' anyway? Trying to intimidate targets, eh?

"Has he ever tried to capture a jinchuriki before?" Utakata asked.

-Hm. Not that I know of…usually he leaves that work to subordinates of the organization. And they are no picnic either.

Utakata surmised, "So we have very little information to go off of…and how many active duty ninja are on watch in Tide?"

Fifty. Kankuro reported, Fifty-seven if you count the Leaf and Sand forces here, plus this Obito fellow.

-I can still hear you, ya know.

"And what kind of jutsu can you use, spy of the Toad Sage?" Utakata teased.

-Hundreds.

"Pff." He took it for a joke.

-No really. Water, Lightning, Earth, and Wind Style…though Fire Style is my specialty. Obito thought on it, My Taijutsu is a bit shabbier these days, but still not half bad. And good luck getting out of my Genjutsu!

Sorry, you didn't say you were a prodigy. Kankuro was dumbfounded by the tall claims Obito made, There aren't many ninja who have skills rounded off to that extent. Where did Jiraiya-sama find you, exactly?

-That's a company secret, I'm afraid.

I'm not kidding. Kankuro made it clear.

-Neither am I. I don't want to be careless with my identity, based on the line of work I'm in. Please try to trust me. For what it's worth, I got beat to crap in the last war…and my right arm and right leg are artificial now. There's a price to pay for experience.

Utakata agreed, "He's right about that…" He stopped periodically to swirl a small paint brush in his bubble-fluid container, painting marks on brick walls all down the street. He'd been adding small seals all over the city for two days now, since getting the news of an imminent attack.

"Is Saizō on this channel yet?" Utakata asked as he stopped into a tea shop for a beverage.

I am, Utakata. This stakeout blows. I wanted to take Aosako on a honeymoon, but not if this Akatsuki fuckface is going to waltz in here and mess with us.

"I really am sorry about the inconvenience." He apologized to his friend.

-Yo! You got married? Obito was happy for the stranger, Congrats! That's awesome. I married the girl of my dreams and I've got to say it's pretty great.

Saizō was appreciative, Hey thanks. Me too. Utakata's next; he's got to wife up that girlfriend of his.

"There are a few pressing matters I need to see to first." Utakata contended at a counter while ordering a latte. The barista gave Utakata a confused look as he spoke to radio contacts.

Saizō added, Are we gonna have old man Tazuna on this com?

Once he gets out of a committee meeting at noon, he knows which channel we're on. Kankuro confirmed, But he fell asleep during yesterday's watch so, you know, we can do without if we have to.

Smiling in amusement, Utakata crossed over to a sidebar station to add sugar to his drink, and looked out the window beyond the countertop. He froze like a rabbit at the sight of a dark cloak strolling by in the foot traffic of the street. Though he'd only been given a description of what the Akatsuki uniform was— red clouds on a black coat— such alarming fashion was too obvious to miss. His hands hovered without purpose over stirring sticks and sugar packets. Breathing became difficult.

Can someone bring me an oolong chiller if they're not already at the four corners? Saizō requested over the radio, I'll pay you back.

Most of us are here. I bet Utakata's already at a café though— hey, make that two? Kankuro jumped on the order.

He couldn't answer with his chest so tight. Utakata took a sip of his drink; hearing Saiken whisper to him, Don't run. Don't panic. Everyone's close by.

Did you get that? Kankuro repeated, —Utakata?

He cleared his throat and spoke, "That order will have to wait. I just spotted him."

-Aw, fuck. Obito replied back quickly, Did he see you? Where?

"He hasn't seen me. Westbound on Main. He'll be passing the corners soon, so keep watch. I'm behind him now." Utakata left his drink where it sat and stood poised at the door, "Orders?"

For now, Plan A. I've got to tell the other channels…we're getting into position. Kankuro's sunny mood transformed into solemn leadership.

"Alright." Utakata inched out of the door, then craned his neck to look down the stretch of street where the Akatsuki affiliate was a distant pedestrian. Utakata took a deep breath before dashing across the boulevard to alleyway cover, and raised his blowing pipe to his lips.

---

Within twenty seconds, Kankuro was able to give the order to contacts on channels Three and Four to haul ass to the center of town at the four corners. Plan A.

His thoughts contorted in many directions: Breathe in—breathe out through his nostrils, eyes trained on the street below the rooftop vantage point. Utakata— how the barest trace of fear was audible in the man's voice over the radio, when he'd inquired what to do next. He was only human. Mortal. By association, Kankuro thought of Temari, then, and how she had nearly been killed on her birthday by Momochi Zabuza— August 23rd. Coincidentally, of course. Kankuro couldn't contemplate how one of the bookends of her life would have fallen on the day his father used to smile the most.

Tazuna's voice crackled back over Channel One, finally, So this is it, eh? Do I need to come back from the wildlife preserve and…beg for mercy or somethin'?

"You're with the Academy classes over there?" Kankuro asked to confirm, skulking along a wall and down brick steps toward an alleyway. He wanted to patrol from the ground while Saizō and his subordinates watched from on high.

Yeah, when the committee meeting wrapped up I thought I'd show my face at the school. That was before you told me this dangerous ninja showed up.

"Just stay where you are, Tazuna." Kankuro advised, "Keep the classes and instructors away from the center of the city. We're going to confront him here."

And if my villagers get hurt?

"I already gave an order for a low-key retreat." Kankuro peeked around the corner of a dentist's office onto the main avenue, sighting a few calm Chunin shepherding people away from the thoroughfare and store fronts, "Looks like that's working fine. They're evacuating Main."

Tazuna made a few other demands, some tens of kilometers away on the northern crest of the island, pacing beside a magnolia grove. If destruction of buildings and homes couldn't be stopped, get the people out. Heck— here we go again… He was grumbling. Worried. He wanted Kankuro to make sure that Inari's orders placed him as far away from bloodshed as possible. Things of that nature.

Kankuro promised to do so and then switched the channel, back to Two. He had a tendril of a chakra string forming on his fingertip, "Maki? Are you there?"

-I'm here, Kankuro.

"Up there with Saizō?"

-Yes.

"Come down here, beside the dental office. You're with me today."

-Right away.

It would be more poetic, he thought, to die beside another Sand ninja that day if any piece of the plan went awry. Peering out of the end of the passageway, Kankuro watched a seagull swoop down on the emptying street, striking its beak into a carton of grilled squid forgotten on a bench.

Kankuro held his breath for a moment, preparing his puppet, unwinding chakra strings as he crept backwards through the alley, through a hedge line, picnic area, into the back door of a business, then stopped at the one-way viewing window of an ice cream shop. It was a wonderful tactical position, whether the shop owners knew it or not. One-way windows were great for ambushes. He'd never have known it was there if he hadn't indulged with some mango soft serve two days ago.

Maki peeked her face in through the open back door, "I followed your strings. This isn't the dentist."

"Nope, it's not. But I might need to get my teeth checked if I keep eating the sundaes here." He motioned with his head for her to come closer, "Look through this. You can't see in from the outside."

"There's a cute logo on the other side." Maki had a rough idea of their position.

They watched from the window, inhaling and exhaling, soft and soundless like mice. In the next instant, Utakata was visible outside in the center of the street. Both Sand ninja tamped down their reactionary instincts as their muscles tensed. It seemed like an innocuous meeting as Utakata and the tall figure in the black, cloud-gilded cloak happened across one another, slowing to a stop. This stranger, this threat— the man with persimmon orange hair, piercings in his face— spikes in his ears…had been crossing from one covered archway to the next between shops, trying to keep a low profile. At least, that's how it looked to Kankuro at a glance.

'I thought Utakata said this Akatsuki fellow was coming up Main Street westbound…' Kankuro tried to recall the report of positioning.

In any case, it was the Akatsuki member that seemed most surprised when Utakata so brazenly showed himself on the promenade. The cloaked ninja may have issued a warning in a low bass voice, not that Kankuro caught much of it. He slipped soundlessly beneath the umbrellas and awning of the ice cream parlor's front, unblinking as the criminal that Obito had called 'Pein' rushed forward to stab a sharp, black rod into his target.

Kankuro twitched his index and middle fingers back, strings live. Maki flashed lightning-quick ahead of him with her trusted sealing scroll unfurled.

Like a fish to bait, Pein had attacked and, to the surprise of all spying eyes watching, been swallowed by the snatching barrel ribs of Kankuro's Kuroari puppet, its Utakata disguise shed at the last possible moment. After that, the puppet took a violent tumble, pulling the chakra strings taught as Kankuro skidded out into the open. The strength of the captured ninja had whipped him sideways across tables, knocking chairs, displays and plants over as Kankuro was lashed. Maki's follow-up came in time by a hair's breadth, the captive crashing out of Kuroari's chest cavity just as scroll paper wound around him with the written seals Halt-Freeze-Interrupt gleaming. Swathed in the Sealing Jutsu, the target fell with a soft thud onto the sidewalk.

'Plan A went off without a hitch!' Kankuro was thrilled as he assisted Maki into the cover of an unlocked mechanic's garage, waiting for the rooftop group to descend, 'I wanted to see if it was possible to bag this guy and interrogate him.'

He crouched down beside the mummified body, "Okay Maki, this isn't a perma-sealing is it? Peel back the face so I can talk to him."

The parchment lifted under her touch, and Maki grimaced as she discovered a completely inert body beneath her Sealing work, "Kankuro…"

"What?"

"We can't ask him anything." Suspicious, the kunoichi prodded the carotid artery in the captive's neck, "He's dead."

"How? We didn't even fight him!" It was preposterous.

"I don't know. I…" Maki sat on her heels, wracking her brain for an explanation, "This type of jutsu is used by the Sealing Corps to hold and pacify living things…but there's no chakra flow here. Everything is just…switched off."

"…I don't get it." He stood and brushed his hands, sighing at the sorry sight of his damaged puppet beside a work bench. The patter of feet meeting pavement sounded by the garage door as Saizō and three Tide ninja filed in. They crowded around to get a look at the unexpectedly harmless body.

"Talk about anticlimactic." Saizō spat his toothpick into a waste bin, "What's with this shit? He's supposed to be spilling his guts to us now."

"Well, it looks like we gave him a heart attack." Kankuro gruffed in annoyance, "The old bait-and-switch is a classic. I should've known it wouldn't work out the way we wanted it to."

Obito's voice came over the radio, Where'd you guys hole up?

"The garage." Kankuro replied.

In moments, the crazily-dressed man appeared and shoved past the congress of stupefied ninja. Alarmed, Obito stooped down to scrutinize the captive's lifeless face.

"This isn't Pein." He announced with dread.

A hush fell over those gathered, wherein Kankuro began to shake his head in denial, "He fits your description. He fell for the bait. This has—"

"This isn't the Pein I know." Obito insisted, "The face is different. The shape and height…these piercings aren't the same." He rose to stand again and ruffled his hair, frustrated, "Is this some kind of decoy?"

"If it is, it's working, and we're not out there on Main keeping tabs." Kankuro inclined his head to signal Saizō's Tide group to return to their posts, which they did hastily. He then turned back to Maki, "Let's wrap whatever this is up. If it's Sealed…or dead…so long as it can't fight, I don't care."

Maki closed off the parchment bindings again and rolled it beneath the work bench with her foot, "What if-? If it is Pein like Obito says…but also something else?"

"That makes no sense." Kankuro abandoned Kuroari where it sat and returned outdoors, leading Obito and Maki down alleyways while radioing to the village's jinchuriki, "Utakata— head's up. We had an encounter and Sealed the intruder…but Obito says it isn't the right person."

Red hair and ominous cloak with clouds? Utakata confirmed.

"Well, yeah…but a different face?"

That's what I saw. I can't recall the finer details— The transmission cut off.

Kankuro fiddled around, trying to overcome static.

"It's a puppet." Maki supposed.

Kankuro stopped and rounded on her, immediately having a eureka moment after the suggestion, "Being controlled by the real Pein?"

"That's my guess. It was a proxy of some kind." The kunoichi turned to Obito, "Is it possible that the Akatsuki can do something like that?"

"I wouldn't rule it out just because I never saw it." Obito reasoned, "If that's the type of jutsu being used, then there could be—"

Another! Shouting sounded over their radio earpieces all at once. Several parties on Channel Two were clamoring, Utakata's voice included. I'm being pursued—!

The ground shook.

Kankuro and his companions hesitated to approach the smoke cloud ahead, and sunlight was blocked by the towering figure that rose up after a Summoning. A large crustacean, not quite lobster or crab, lumbered down the road— stuck full of black rods. The group diverted through a dinette to avoid being seen, out the back, and found rooftop cover to watch from as several young Tide ninja engaged the beast to lead it away from civilization.

"-the hell—! He can summon something like that?" Kankuro tried to get in touch with Utakata again, but there was only radio silence, "It sounded like Utakata was spotted."

"There!" Obito pointed out another cloaked figure, loitering on a balcony wreathed in flower boxes, "That's the summoner."

The accused wore an Akatsuki cloak, the array of piercings unique on its face, long, ginger hair pulled into a ponytail. All could see the resemblance to the first proxy they had examined in the garage. There was no current explanation, however, for how these proxies related or operated.

"So we don't know how many of these there will be…or if other Akatsuki members are here." Obito ran down the docket, "Pein ordered most subordinates to handle other projects…then maybe…he can replicate himself or manipulate multiple proxies. We need to find out how."

Kankuro released a pressure-valve on his sarcasm, "Let's ask him."

"No. I'll try to get a look." Obito turned worriedly to his Sand colleagues, "Wait here."

"O-kay…?" Kankuro watched the spy creep across ductwork toward the newly spotted enemy. Maki crouched beside him, relaying updates to Tazuna in a soft voice over the radio.

There was a sliver of uncertainty about this stranger, Obito, and how he'd come out of nowhere to intervene. Kankuro harbored a half-justified doubt in the man's ability to deal with the threat of the Akatsuki, particularly when he looked at that getup of every-shade-of-blue clothing, goggles, and Live-Well bracelets. In Kankuro's book, such a visage fell under non-threatening and/or incompetent.

'Wouldn't be the first ninja the Toad Sage relied on that looked or acted whacky…and ended up being a freakin' powerhouse.' Kankuro reflected on Gaara's old teammates as contrary evidence.

Obito ventured closer, peeking from behind a vent stack on the next roof, his Sharingan observing faint wisps of chakra radiating from points on the proxy's body, 'Where it's stuck with those rods…they're like receivers for chakra. It's coming from someplace else…' He looked around, but could see no solid link of chakra between controller and controlled.

He snuck back to Kankuro and Maki's position, whispering, "Is Utakata—?"

"I can't reach him. I'm going to look for him," Before setting out, Kankuro asked, "Is this something you can handle? We can trust you?"

"Handle it? I'm Jiraiya-sama's number one stooge." Obito pulled his goggles down to cover his eyes, "Through and through."

"Yeah, you fucking are." Kankuro sighed at the overt goofballishness.

"Listen, those rods that the proxies are pierced with, and that animal too…they're receiving a chakra signal." He reported, "That must be why your Sealing Jutsu stopped it— it repels the signal."

The method by which Obito had collected such information was lost on Kankuro, "And you know this—?"

The spy insisted, "Work with me. I am insanely perceptive. It's why I have a job."

"If that's so…then that body was most certainly dead before anything was done to it." Maki was following the logic, "Hurting or trying to kill them won't be of use. A proxy has to be incapacitated, or have its signal disrupted."

Kankuro passed along those garbled discoveries into his earpiece, hoping against hope anyone was still listening. A rattle and crash sounded, followed by a volley of small explosions along the south-facing row of buildings. They took off, attempting to catch the Summoning proxy from behind, but it anticipated their approach somehow. It wheeled gracefully down from the balcony while clapping its hands to conjure up a second gigantic animal. Above, another Pein-lookalike was watching from the stone ledge of the post office.

"How many of this fucker are there!?" Kankuro roared, flinging his Sanshōuo puppet forward to block the charging, slobbering dog that had at least five heads. While Maki summoned a jet of flame sealed within her scroll parchment (searing the muzzles of the beast) Obito flitted up the side of the brick residences to their left, his shuriken expertly aimed for the retreating Summoner proxy.

Trick wires attached to the projectiles wrapped 'round the Summoner's right arm and a flagpole, winching it up to halt its jutsu. In a dive, Obito met the Summoner proxy in a flurry of Taijutsu, amazed that the decoy was still fighting fiercely while restrained. Somehow, it was also anticipating his punches, 'How-? It doesn't have the Sharingan…' He noticed something odd, 'But those eyes aren't normal.'

While Kankuro and Maki were preoccupied with the many-headed, gigantic hound, Obito seconded their call for backup on whatever channel his radio was set to. He plummeted down after the Summoner when it wriggled free of its bindings, and Obito chased as it retreated toward its watching proxy comrade at the street's end.

Puffing in short breaths, Obito repeated, "Utakata? Can you hear us? Anyone! Someone get over to east Main street and take care of this freaky giant dog!"

Saizō replied, Giant dog? Was that summoned too?

"Yeah, I'm trying to stop the Summoner from calling anything else. It's just keeping us distracted from helping Utakata."

-Roger that. My Tide kids are having trouble with this crab, but it's slow. Follows us relentlessly and its shell might be impenetrable. Watch out for it. I'm moving east for that dog. Who's handling it?

"Kankuro and Maki." Obito dodged low and then vaulted over a recycling station as the two proxies hurled sharp, black rods at him, "Everyone! Be careful. I think these things can sense and avoid what we're trying to do as we do it."

Saizō and Kankuro's remarks in his earpiece were jumbled as he closed in on Pein's incarnations. In an attempt to drive a wedge between them, Obito unleashed a hellish column of a Fire Style jutsu. He immediately filed off as the Summoner dodged left, unconcerned with the other, less active proxy.

Something was not right. Obito's speedy swings, locks, and kicks were avoided as if he were a novice; his Ninjutsu was handily dodged. Obito sputtered curses, trying to make sense of the sudden, enhanced evasion of his target. 'How is it doing this?' He stumbled sideways when he was stuck in the back with a rod. The proxy that seemed to lack techniques had pitched it at him.

Watching from over his shoulder, Obito took cover and removed the projectile, treating the shallow wound, 'That could've been worse. So that other proxy…is staying. It's not searching for Utakata because I've distracted it by chasing the Summoner.' By that line of thinking, Obito supposed the Summoning proxy was rather significant, 'Though Pein wants us distracted, I can keep him distracted too. There's a priority to these things; certain copies are more important…'

Unfortunately, the Summoner had called another animal while Obito was recovering. A large, pierced chameleon appeared and climbed the side of one of the health offices. Its camouflage made it quickly blend into its surroundings, but the Sharingan was still able to spot it. What was worse: the spare incarnation had lunged at Obito when he tried to pursue the Summoner again. The two proxies rounded on him in full-force, and Obito strained to evade their strikes. Their tussle spanned across the street and over benches, approaching the central fountain of the town.

Buildings swayed and the ground trembled as detonations and the footfalls of giant beasts shook the Tide Village. Obito hastily summoned a huge fuuma shuriken from his tool scroll as he made a run for the fountain, half-grateful the proxies had focused on him, 'Every second they waste on me is helping someone else!' And yet, his plight became rather dire when the sneaky chameleon whipped its curled tail out of an alleyway, thwacking Obito into the broad side of a retaining wall. The animal disappeared again and retreated while the pair of proxies seized an opening with weapons raised, prepared to skewer the man.

That was, until the unremarkable proxy was snatched from behind by a whip of water. Startled, the incarnation had nary a moment to struggle before it was reeled back into the fountain. The Water jutsu's user had sprung ahead in a heel-drop kick that warded off the Summoner momentarily, allowing Obito to pick himself back up.

Obito regarded his savior and saw he was merely a Tide Village teenager— a lanky blonde who had raised a woodwind instrument to his lips. He also had a radio earpiece, Obito noticed.

"Thanks! You are?" Obito molded the introduction into his counterattack, preying on the Summoner proxy while he had the numbers advantage.

The Tide Village ninja was playing a tune, and suddenly Obito was invigorated, blood pumping, flash-quick over pavement. His Sharingan tracked the proxy's hand signs in slow motion while he landed a successful low-kick trip on the incarnation. As it went down, its folded hands lined up with the swing of Obito's mele-shuriken, snipping off those hands as if he were slicing lunch meat from a roast. In all of a moment, the Summoner wore a bemused look as it lost its only mode of conducting jutsu. The flute-playing Tide ninja added a timely follow up by cartwheel-kicking the neutered proxy into the same retaining wall with a shattering smash.

"I'm Menma." The boy's answer was a bit late, "How do you feel?"

"I feel— wow! I could punch a building down right now. What'd you do?" Obito was impressed, "The name's Obito, by the way."

"It's my Rush Melody, and I know. I heard you over the radio— the things you and Kankuro said about proxies." Menma concluded, "We have to work in groups to deal with them. They counter too fast when we are separate."

"Yeah, I learned that the hard way." They doubled back toward the fountain as the long-haired proxy fled. It ran west along the boulevard, where smoke was rising from rooftops and broken windows.

"There are more of them." Menma warned, "I tried sharing what we saw over the radio! Utakata was dealing with a proxy that fires weapons and explosives, but we asked him to retreat and hide. I think he has for now. We've been distracting the proxies with fakes and transformations."

"Good." Obito tapped his earpiece, "Kankuro! Are you alive?"

For now! Saizō's here and used his Kekkei Genkai on this dog, but it grows more heads every time you cut one off! It's too big for us to seal.

"Shit." Obito was alarmed to hear that.

Yeah, so no head-slicing. We have to find another way to stop it. Problem is— it's heading westbound. We're in pursuit.

Menma and Obito could feel the rumble of the ground under their feet. Obito added, "Just so you know, that Summoner proxy has no hands, so I think it can't do much at this point. It did summon a chameleon though, so be on the lookout for an ambush."

Oh, dandy.

"Kankuro-taicho, we're pursuing one of the proxies now!" Menma reported, "Westbound, nearing the coastal barracks. There's been trouble with a weapon-launcher type. Utakata is hiding for now. His radio may be damaged."

We need to find him or at least have a way to communicate with him. Keep us up-to-date on anything else you spot. Kankuro's commands faded as he and his group engaged the dog again.

When Obito switched over to Channel Three, there was only screaming. He raised his voice to try to get an explanation, "Can you hear me? This is Obito. What is your position and what's happening?"

- the- beach—! The static of the response was hard to understand, Run! - - He's killed all of them. - - - Sucked our chakra dry…we can't—get away-

The channel went abruptly silent. Obito exchanged an anxious look with his young companion, and then shielded his head when the stone and shingling of a tall building was crushed apart in a plume. The baying of the freakish dog drowned out warnings on the radio. They avoided the stamping, wrecking beast and the debris it flung about. Ahead, the simple, jutsu-less incarnation of Pein disappeared into the manicured hedges of a small garden labyrinth beside the department store.

"Menma, call for backup and find that proxy before he gets away and joins others." Obito directed him, "I've got to do something about this mutt!"

With a nod, Menma raced ahead and pleaded for assistance over Channels Two and Four. Several Tide ninja rapidly joined him beside the store, and the group took a shortcut to the end of the hedged picnic area. Skidding in a turn, Obito formed hand signs for an Earth jutsu that caved in the road and swallowed the hound's legs up to the shoulder and flanks. With Kankuro's group racing toward the stunned beast, he had a prayer that maybe this was a threat they could deal with.

The wheeled iris of his Sharingan spun with each jutsu he reproduced and attacked with. Then, there was a twinge of discomfort— disorientation.

His stomach roiled and a feeling of vertigo struck Obito, 'Oh no…'

It was back again. Double-vision blurred into another hallucination. 'I can't! Not here— I'm not putting up with this again!' It was as if he could see the fuchsia boughs of a plum blossom grove overhead; a green lawn and tree stumps only a few steps away when in fact…none of it was there.

He had to push through it. His participation was crucial. Obito pulled the goggles on his face down, slung around his neck, and slapped his cheeks. The imaginary orchard faded a little.

---

He knew that he wasn't oxygenating well— not breathing correctly. Though Utakata had thought himself prepared, perhaps indignantly defiant about this entire Akatsuki threat, he hadn't been prepared to watch the heads and limbs of young Tide ninja get blown off by an explosive missile. Neither had he been prepared to watch the city, his home, Hotaru's home— crumble and burn. When the order came for him to hide, he'd done so willingly, trying to take that time to collect himself and breathe.

At the edge of the passageway between the ice cream shop and dentist's office, there lay a body of a Tide Chunin. Pressed against the stucco wall, and concealed behind advertisement banners, Utakata stared at the fallen young shinobi.

He crept forward slowly, working up the nerve to collect the Chunin's radio as a replacement. Utakata crouched down beside the Tide ninja and reverently slid his eyes shut, taking the undamaged radio for himself. Utakata then retreated into the darkened ice cream shop and fitted himself with the radio, clicking over to Channel Two, "Kankuro—"

Fuck— you're alive! Where are you—? The Sand captain sounded preoccupied, as if fighting something.

"The soft serve shop on Tenth and Main. I'm sorry, I had to find another radio—" Utakata choked up as he thought again of the Tide ninja who had given their lives to protect him, "Most of C Squad is dead."

A voice spoke back over the channel, I'm alright, Utakata! It was Menma's voice, to his slight relief, I found B Squad and we're driving away one of the proxies.

Utakata folded his hands and pressed them to his forehead, grieving, "Menma. I'm sorry."

We all knew what we had to do. Please don't take any risks!

"I didn't want to bring…this destruction on you. Not on any of you…" It felt like Hidden Mist all over again. Watching bodies litter the streets, the senseless violence. Still, it was so, so hard to breathe.

Stay where you are. Kankuro's command was clear, Don't engage. If you're discovered, that's fine. Fight. For now it's best if Pein can't find you.

"But you'll—"

We're doing pretty good, all considered. Obito's jutsu are helping. We're close by on Main. Kankuro added, This goddamn dog just won't stop!

A long quiet followed. He loitered in the ice cream shop as vapor and dust floated by, watching the window. Utakata tried once again to steel his nerves as the bedraggled, hand-less Summoner incarnation of Pein hobbled by on the sidewalk outside, heedless of whom could see it from the one-way window.

When a sound caught his attention, Utakata whipped around to see the alleyway side exit of the shop was ajar, and the conical eye of a giant chameleon was peering in at him. Outdoors, the Summoner proxy seemed to instantly know the hiding place of its target. It re-routed and dashed across the street, to Utakata's shock.

Utakata blew a swarm of bubbles as a buffer while in retreat, fumbling through the store room of the shop, and out of an east-facing window into a loading bay. He weaved through crevices between buildings, under awnings, hearing the footfalls of a pursuer somewhere behind. 'When that animal saw me…the proxy could see me too.' Utakata was alarmed by the link, 'Even though I was hidden, it didn't matter. That's why we need to face these things one at a time…I think they share their vision with one another.'

He was racing southeast toward the harbor, where the abundance of water would make counterattacking with Ninjutsu a cinch. Utakata also hoped that since the majority of the fighting was taking place on the west side of the city, there was a smaller chance of being discovered around the deserted pier. He shared his insight over Channel Two, "Kankuro, Obito, Maki, whoever can hear me— these things share a field of vision! Even with their summoned animals. Don't take on more than one if you can help it-!"

Nearby, a dock house exploded as a hail of missiles struck it and its neighboring buildings. Utakata strafed left behind the latticed fence of a restaurant, unleashing a flurry of alkaline bubbles to assail the persistent missile-launching proxy. It rushed forward without a care, shrugging off half of its cloak to reveal a saw-blade attached to its torso like a sash. It had also been concealing six arms. The proxy hacked the fence apart to continue the chase, unhurt by the alkaline bubbles that fizzed on its clothing and flesh.

At the opposite end of the brick passageway, Utakata saw the Summoner incarnation waiting at the end passively, blocking his exit. The jinchuriki pivoted on quick feet, making a hard right down the perpendicular alleyway as the Summoner and Weapon proxies chased from both ends of the brick passage. The Summoner arrived first at the adjoining path that Utakata had disappeared down, and it inadvertently disturbed a singular black bubble charged with Tailed-Beast chakra.

Jostled, the bubble's black coating receded, and the resulting caesium explosion leveled the buildings surrounding the alley with a deafening boom. Though the Weapon incarnation was able to clamber out of the rubble with minimal damage, the Summoner proxy was charred and disfigured; motionless under a pile of bricks.

'One of them is still behind me...' Utakata made a mental note of how the Weapon proxy just would not quit, and it flushed him out into the yard of a concrete warehouse at the pier. Though he pulled ahead, near enough to lagoon water to begin retaliating with specialty jutsu…a force struck him. Utakata was flung without warning against the side of a warehouse— though nothing had physically made contact with him.

Bewildered, he scrambled to his feet again, his eyes darting between the Weapon incarnation to his left, and the newcomer on the right. Utakata felt an acute feeling of dread, seeing that expressionless face: pierced, solemn, a hard strike etched through the symbol of Hidden Rain on its headband. The new proxy stopped in the exact same moment the Weapon proxy did, then it addressed him, "Six-Tails jinchuriki…"

Without missing a beat, Utakata spat a corrosive stream of alkaline liquid at the speaker. The attack seemed to bend away from the proxy in a sphere— repelled by an unseen force. The hissing, steaming liquid splashed uselessly onto concrete as the incarnation went on, "You are eager to know pain."

"I've never been eager to know anything beyond fine wine." Breaths came sporadically, his hands pressed against the wall behind him, "You're the one called Pein. Seem to have yourself a cult following…"

"All are one whole, derived of the Six Paths; one each to rip an equal piece of you away." Pein raised a hand aimed at his target, "Come, and avert your eyes as this village bleeds."

Incensed, Utakata gritted his teeth and charged at the heartless shinobi, "—you did this-!"

He lost his footing as he began to slide with speed, pulled by the inexplicable force again. Utakata was dragged in and seized by the collar of his vest, and Pein stuck a black rod into his arm as he struggled. In those fleeting seconds, Utakata spat another jet of alkaline liquid— though a trite response— and Pein released him to leap away from the attack. 'Why?' Utakata tried to work out the meaning of the push and pull ability the proxy wielded, 'It didn't try to avoid my jutsu before…' He scrambled toward water, ducking under the swing of the Weapon proxy's saw-blade.

Covering his tracks with a spray of corrosive bubbles, Utakata sped dockside toward the lagoon shaded by tall silos. He plucked the sharp rod from his arm and tossed it aside, overhearing the explosions of bubbles and missiles that trailed behind him.

There. At the necessary proximity, his hand signs driven by haste, Utakata was able to create a small mob of Water Clones that unleashed a fury of jutsu and bubble-blowing on his pursuers. The force-exerting proxy lingered on the periphery, not actively trying to fight or risk itself. When Water Clones and corrosive bubbles neared, the proxy would deflect attacks with its repelling shield. From where he observed the proxies behind a fiberglass construction panel, Utakata passed on an update, "Kankuro, can you hear me?"

What are you whispering for? Where are you?

"There are two proxies here at the east pier…they've cut me off." Utakata spoke softly as he treaded around the back end of a warehouse, listening to the commotion of his clones battling Pein's incarnations, "I would try to escape to the north of the island…but I don't want to lead Pein toward the Academy classes there."

Then don't. Stay where you are and hold on. I'm sending reinforcements to you now. We're kind of in a spot…there's something on the beach that's already killed two of Tide's squads. Kankuro filled him in, Just keep talking to us. We need to keep tabs on you—

On the opposite side of the shipyard building, the Weapon proxy had opened the mechanized plates of its bald head to charge an energy cannon, and the resulting beam shredded all of the clones in the yard. As dust and silence settled, and Utakata tried to hear any instructions from comrades over the radio…his sprint to escape the yard fell short.

Pein's force had pinned him to the steel siding of the building. Utakata swooned and tried to see straight as the world spun. The Force proxy seized the jinchuriki by his throat, stabbing black rods into his side and stomach. Over the radio channel, Kankuro could hear the breathless wails of his unresponsive friend. His clamoring in Utakata's earpiece was of no help.

"With the harvest of the Rokubi's chakra," Pein explained, "The Akatsuki will be one step closer to leveling and unifying the many nations that shinobi have quarreled over for centuries."

He dug his nails into the wrist of the proxy, desperate for a gulp of air. Utakata's eyes watered as he was made to listen to the manifesto.

Pein went on, "You can rejoice in that you have played your part, jinchuriki. The same function you serve is better managed by the Akatsuki, and your existence has not been in vain. Your submission is to the benefit of this fledgling village. Only those that experience pain can know the value of peace—"

Pressurized, geyser-jets of water shot the proxy off of Utakata with sharpshooter precision. The Force incarnation was blasted to the far end of the pier, through a padlocked gate, and into the lagoon. A squadron of Tide shinobi had descended to fend off the attackers, and as the Weapon proxy rounded the corner of the warehouse to counter them, Utakata inhaled and mustered the strength to expel another corrosive alkali breath at it. The incarnation was struck in the face and chest— blinded. It hobbled momentarily as the gaggle of valiant Tide Chunin unleashed Water techniques on it…which aggravated the alkaline liquids it was coated with; steaming and sizzling.

Out of breath, Utakata was hauled away by one shinobi, stumbling north along the wooden planks of harbor docks. They wound around the perimeter of the waterfront, unsteady on their feet, zigzagging to freedom beneath winches and tether lines. Neither could answer Kankuro's demands over the radio while still trying to oxygenate. Hotaru slipped Utakata's arm from her shoulder and let him sink down, sitting tiredly and tipping his head back. She lifted the earpiece from his face to speak into the radio, recovering more quickly, "Kankuro? We found him."

Thanks— sorry to bother you guys, I know you're supposed to be looking after your students.

"It's alright, Tazuna sent us here anyway to help." Her worried gaze settled on Utakata, "I wasn't going to leave him no matter what, not after I heard what was happening."

Utakata made a soft sound of protest, "…you need to go back…"

"He's injured, so I'm going to treat him over here while we have some cover." Hotaru decided, "Please keep in touch with everyone on Channel Five. They only have a few radios with them…and they're fighting two on the east side."

Copy that. I'm trying to direct medic-nin to those injured on the south side, but we're short staffed. Let me know if you need help.

Utakata was both overjoyed and troubled to see her, as he'd been relying on the reassurance that Hotaru was far beyond the calamity in the Tide Village for the day.

Dizzy, Utakata watched her tip an assortment of medical supplies from her hip pouch onto the dock, and then press her hands beneath the sites of his wounds, "Take a breath— we're pulling this out."

He couldn't, but she removed the first rod swiftly, ignoring his shriek as she immediately went after the other. Hotaru tossed both of the sharp, bloodied receivers into the olive hued water of the lagoon. His hands obeyed when she arranged them to stem the bleeding. While disinfecting and patting gauze over his injuries, Hotaru did a lucidity check, "Can you talk? What's your name?"

"Awa Utakata."

"Good. Can you tell me where we are, and who I am?"

"Shiogakure's east harbor…and you are Hotaru." He smiled a little, at ease, "My wife."

"Not yet, I'm not." She scoffed, rather annoyed.

"Well, in all but name you are."

"It's a nice sentiment." Hotaru concluded and kissed his cheek, "Are you going to be okay? That was scary."

He shut his eyes and nodded, thanking his lucky stars, "Very."

"Think you can stand?"

"I can." He rose sluggishly to his feet, "None of Pein's attacks were intended to be fatal…perhaps because the Akatsuki needs me alive for an extraction."

The hair on the back of her neck was on end, disturbed by the prospect, "We're not going to let them do that." Hotaru led him by the hand further up the network of docks, under loading bays and suspended rowboats.

"Were those Academy teachers that came with you?" Utakata wondered.

"Yes, and some members of security patrols that returned after Kankuro's alert." She confirmed.

He supposed, "They won't be able to do much against Pein."

"We have to try."

"None of you have to." Utakata protested, "The village bears no responsibility in my safekeeping. It's the other way around."

"It does when we, along with other nations, don't want the Akatsuki to come into power by collecting the chakra of Tailed-Beasts." Hotaru protested rigidly, "So no matter how you look at it, you staying far away from the Akatsuki is what matters."

"Not anymore." He was shaking his head.

Hotaru gave him another tug down a short flight of stairs, arriving at a recreational boat yard where motorboats and fishing vessels were moored. She tugged again, but he didn't budge as they stood on the deserted landing. There was a desperate look on her face.

He had to speak about his obligations, "I'm going to—"

"No."

"Hotaru, I can't sneak away while—"

"No." She stomped her foot, her temper tinged by grief and fear.

"Do you know how many people I saw die today?" Utakata could not sugarcoat what was happening, "Because of me?"

She bowed her head so he couldn't see the tears welling in her eyes.

He pulled her close and rested a hand on her cheek, "You saved my life."

Hotaru was nodding, trying not to surrender to his suggestion.

"Please let me save their lives." He requested firmly.

"Not if it means I can't have you…if it means I lose you." She protested with a wild shake of her head, "We can leave again. We have before— when things got tough. If we can put distance between us and those who are tracking you, we can settle somewhere else. They'll leave the Tide Village alone."

"No, they won't." Utakata was certain of it, "Pein wants to punish this village. The Akatsuki will never stop looking for me no matter where I go."

"My clan stopped looking for me when-!"

"This isn't the same."

"I swear I'd agree with you— I'd let you— if we weren't going to start a family." Her admission was tearful, "You're the best chance they have…at surviving this. I know that. But you're also our best chance. I'm not as strong and independent as you are. I can't raise Bindama by myself." Hotaru wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand, "I'll turn him into a nervous wreck just like me. Please." She peeped, "Stay with us."

Just then, it was impossible to argue with her. The words sliced straight through to his heart, and Utakata suddenly felt the way he had in the old days— as if he could run endlessly, always a step ahead of those who chased him. The flight instinct was overpowering now that his family was at stake.

So when Hotaru led him on to the nearest berth and stepped down onto the swaying deck of a well-appointed motorboat, he stepped down too. Utakata stood listlessly as Hotaru fuddled around, setting the radio earpiece down on the dashboard. She searched for a key to start the ignition. She was also going over how she'd mapped out a location 62 kilometers east to a mangrove island, where they would ditch the boat and continue south toward the Water Country's archipelago. She could call in some favors with locals there.

Wrapped up in his thoughts, Utakata wondered why Hotaru assumed the baby was a boy. Although, he really liked the name she picked and told her so, "Bindama is a good name."

"You think so? That's great." Her smiled was weary, "Go to the bow and check that emergency ration bag, please. All we need is fresh water. Hold on. I've got to hotwire this thing." It wouldn't be the first time she had stolen a boat, and it probably would not be the last.

Utakata confirmed there was indeed a store of fresh water jugs and life preservers packed, and he watched Hotaru scrounge up a spare battery and some wire from her leg holster. She crouched beneath the steering column to set to work. He lifted up the radio to check Channel Five, knowing that Hotaru's peers would still have to deal with Pein, "Tide ninja, do you need assistance?"

We are en route to the city center! This guy can push and pull stuff…and that weapon proxy is just rampaging blindly!

"You're being followed?"

Yeah! Wanted to give you the chance to- The transmission cut out.

Horrified, Utakata switched to Channel Two, "Kankuro? Obito?"

There was no answer.

"Anyone?"

He tried Channel Four, got some static, and then tried to reach Channel Two again.

"Menma, are you there? Saizō?" The lack of replies made Utakata reconsider a harebrained escape.

He glanced down and saw Hotaru toying with a spark, cursing when the starter would not cooperate. Utakata fitted the radio to his ear and then reached down to get her attention, drawing a questioning look from Hotaru. "A boat would probably be of little use to us, in this situation." He rationalized.

"Then we'll go by foot. We've done plenty of long-distance water walking."

"You're pregnant."

"And fit as a fiddle."

"It's 62 kilometers you're talking about covering; or 16 to the mainland of the Fire Country if you feel that's any safer." The second option he also doubted, "Hotaru, go back to the wildlife preserve and stay there."

"So you can run to the village and fight?" She was scowling, and bent down again to continue her work, "Psh! Sounds about as stupid as every other idea we've had." The engine hummed to life.

Utakata sighed in frustration. Hotaru sealed up the panel and stood, not fighting the tight hug he pulled her into.

"If I leave, then I am a traitor who forsakes all of the friends we've made…and spits in the face of the good fortune we've had."

"We are leaving." She insisted.

"This is the home we chose. The place that held opportunities for us— that we knew would have opportunities for Bindama as well. The old life is gone. This place is everything."

Hotaru shook her head at him because it felt like he was using the name she had chosen against her, wielding it as some form of persuasion.

"Don't you love me more now that I'm someone who has a place in society? That I can take responsibility after rejecting everyone and everything for years?" He asked her.

"No." She lied, "I've never liked heroes. You trying to pull this crap gives me heartburn. Stop it, already."

"Sorry." Utakata wiped a few tears from her face.

"We're wasting gas." Hotaru pointed out.

"Just a moment." A good kiss was in order, and it was long and forgetful and mutually calming. Afterward, Hotaru nestled her head beneath his chin and relaxed. She was a bit suspicious when she felt his hand move and rise up above her shoulder— then she realized it a fraction too late— the blowing pipe pressed to his mouth.

"Don't-!" Her cry was distorted when he sealed her in a large soap bubble. Hotaru's reaction was not as quick as his hand signs, when she drew a kunai from her hip pouch and tried to puncture it. Utakata had fortified the sphere with a secondary jutsu, rendering the bubble un-popable.

"I'll send you back toward the classes and release you there. Please, stay with Tazuna and the students." He begged, knowing she wouldn't listen, "Wait for me."

Hotaru raged as she floated along the northwesterly winds of the island, kicking and punching the bubble she was trapped in. Her eyes flashed in defiance in the last few seconds he stayed to watch her, and then Utakata took off over the docks, back toward the city.

'Saiken.' He thought, 'I'm scared.'

Me too.

'She might hate me for this.'

Eh, I say it was the right call. She and lil Bindadoo are gonna be safe.

'Bindama.' He corrected.

That's what I said.

'Please help me. I can't leave it to everyone else— I have to fight Pein too!'

The Tailed-Beast slug was hyping himself up, coasting on the adrenalin of his host, Fucking prick! He squashed all our favorite shops! And your friends!

Help me. He felt the surge. There was no barrier whatsoever. No hesitation. No misunderstanding. The chakra cloak that enveloped Utakata dripped with every last ounce of Saiken's chakra.

---

Inari's voice sounded over Channel Two, Hey boss— that proxy that's got no jutsu…well it does. It's killing people just by touching them! Rips their souls out or something. They're just gone.

"Then you stay the hell away, or your gramps is going to lose it." Kankuro advised, "Where did you last see it, Inari?"

Second and Providence. Also, the scary chakra-sucking one is coming your way. Closer to Fifth, still on Providence heading north toward Main. The Leaf Sealing Corps are still trying to stop it, but it's a nightmare! It's like there's nothing we can do over here. I hate it.

"Like I said, stay out of it." Kankuro said as he staggered backwards while Kiriyama Saizō's Coral Release Kekkei Genkai expanded with an earth-shaking rattle, covering up the multi-headed dog in an effort to stop its rampage. The peach colored mountain of coral seemed to freeze the beast in place.

On a nearby rooftop Obito hooted, "Finally!"

Saizō fell to his backside on the street, wheezing, "I am…definitely…not getting paid enough."

"None of us will be, after this fiasco." Kankuro expected meager paychecks in the weeks to come. He shielded his eyes and peered down the street as a lone figure appeared in the distance, "Maki? You see that right?"

"A proxy." She correctly guessed from beside her captain. Immediately after that, the half-melted Weapon proxy raised its six arms and fired a blind volley of missiles— several colliding with the dentistry and real estate buildings…and also cracked the coral vault imprisoning the summoned hound.

The dog struggled and began to break free of Saizō's Coral Palace.

Unable to see or react to Tide ninja's counterattacks, the Weapon proxy was firing wildly, turning and slashing with the functioning portion of its saw-blade. Kankuro ordered his main street companions to redirect their efforts on the loose cannon and worry about the dog later.

Except that, a portion of Tide's Sensory Corps, headed by Hidden Leaf's Yamanaka Inoshishi, were being chased by the giant crustacean, mid-way between Kankuro's counterattack and the blinded Weapon proxy. And the Weapon incarnation had not come alone.

The Force proxy reached out with an attractive force and pulled the nearest, hapless victim it could reach. Inoshishi had no time to react when he was delivered to the Force proxy, where it pummeled him to the ground and then stabbed him through the heart with a black rod. The startled man gaped like a fish while staring at the sky for the few seconds he was still alive. Inoshishi's accompanying Sensory Corps friends were outraged, and foolishly elected to attack the offending proxy. Kankuro could not get a word in edgewise as the mayhem continued south again towards Providence Street. The crab and dog, now free, sandwiched Kankuro's group on Main with the flailing Weapon proxy. They were in no position to assist the Sensory Corps combating Pein.

Kankuro. He heard Utakata's voice on the radio again, after a long while.

"You okay, bubble-boy?" Kankuro asked, puppeteering Sanshōuo to block debris and errant projectile strikes, "I lost touch with those Academy teachers on Channel Five."

They're dead. Hotaru is safe. Utakata reported, I'm coming back to the four corners. Are you still there?

He didn't like that idea, "Yeah, but NO, don't come out now and blow it! We've got one melted proxy shooting at everything and two summoned beasts we can't kill."

Kankuro knew full well that his rag-tag team was not handling their predicament well, and so a helping hand from anyone ought to be appreciated. But he was hushed in shock when Utakata rocketed onto the scene, an envelope of crimson-violet energy visibly radiating off of him. A tidal wave of bubbles barreled over both of the troublesome summon animals, sparing all Tide sympathizers, and gave Utakata a clear shot at the maimed Weapon proxy on the street.

Though the energy cannon within its head was damaged, the incarnation was going to give it a try anyway. Utakata struck the ground in a meteoric skid, gouging up pavers with momentum, and exhaled a large, black bubble that swallowed the Weapon proxy. The bubble carried it up and up into the sky above, where the incarnation's own reckless attack resulted in a violent explosion. It scattered in small pieces over the city, destroyed.

Obito and Saizō were very considerate in trying to stop the charging crustacean from crushing the jinchuriki on the street…but Saizō was plum out of chakra, and Obito's Lightning Release hardly slowed the creature. Their efforts were unnecessary. Utakata's partial transformation converted his arm into a serrated, corrosive appendage, and it speared the crab through its mouth, through the brain, and out the back of its shell. With a sputter, the animal disappeared in a cloud of smoke. A residual splatter of Saiken's liquid struck the ground and buildings.

Saizō warded Obito back, "Whoa! Yo, stay away from that liquid. That shit will melt your feet the fuck off…"

"Thanks. I definitely won't touch it." Obito said, a bit amazed by the former Mist ninja's vernacular.

And then, the gigantic dog pounced, slamming the glowing jinchuriki beneath its paws. Its many muzzles snapped and fought each other, each fighting to get the first bite in on its captive. The dog slipped off and tumbled, thrown aside by the rapidly ballooning body of Saiken as his true form was released.

From the alleyway, Obito and Saizō stared in wonder as the Tailed-Beast slug wrapped a few of its tails around the legs and heads of the dog. The viscous, corrosive liquid that Saiken secreted began tearing the dog apart with hissing steam. In moments, a few of its limbs fell away, and the limp body of the hound crashed to the ground. When that summon was also dispelled, Obito could hear Kankuro trying to get through to Utakata on Channel Two.

-Can you still hear me? Try to be inconspicuous! Not giant! Utakata?

Saiken's pillowy, slow form dissipated, revealing Utakata's human shape again— his chakra cloak faded. I hear you, Kankuro.

-Good job man, holy shit! Kankuro was incredibly thankful, Lay low for a bit and take a breather. We've got three other known proxies to deal with.

Utakata nodded and hurried into the patchwork of passageways and haggard buildings.

Exhausted, Saizō retreated with a pair of Tide ninja headed west on the street in search of medical attention. Kankuro directed Obito and Maki south, to where he had seen Shiogakure's Sensory Corps members chase the Force incarnation of Pein. Obito fell behind and started rubbing at his eyes.

Kankuro halted, frowning in concern, "You alright?"

"Yeah, just…" Obito blinked hard, "I'm having double-vision. It'll pass."

"You should go to the Medical Corps as well." Maki recommended.

"Not yet."

"That's an order." Kankuro commanded, "I'm not going to let your impairment weigh on my conscience if I see you get toasted today. Get treated."

"-you're banged up too-!"

"I know." Kankuro then spoke into his radio, "Menma? What's your position?"

-The florist's rooftop. B Squad sighted the giant chameleon on Fourth and Grove. I had a visual on Utakata's position as well, inside the hardware store. He may need to relocate. I think the animal is searching for him and we're trying to distract it.

"Alright, stay there and keep on that lizard. I'm sending Obito your way, and you let your B Squad medic-nin take a look at him. He's rattled." The Sand captain added, "I may ask you guys to keep the other proxies away while we work on the nearest one. Since they can all see the same shit, apparently. The Weapon proxy is finished, as are the crab and dog, FYI."

-Yes, Captain! Menma acknowledged, I'll remain here for the time being. Utakata, did you hear all of that?

Utakata chimed in, I did. I also damaged the Summoner proxy at the pier. Has anyone heard if reinforcements from other villages are on the way?

"I told Jiraiya-sama about the situation a few days ago, so hopefully he and some Sand ninja will be here soon." Obito added, "I am not sure how quickly he was able to contact the Hokage."

Kankuro nodded to Obito, "Get going, then."

They separated, and the pair of Sand shinobi slinked cautiously onto the somewhat pristine Providence Street, where the Force proxy of Pein had collapsed a concrete building's terrace onto two unfortunate Sensory Corps members. In the same heartbeat, Kankuro noted how the Sensor ninja named Reijiro counterattacked immediately, snaring a metal-snap net around the fleet footed proxy. Reijiro gave the order to his comrades to attack the caught incarnation, and while the rain of weaponry and projectiles was considerable…it did not do enough.

"Dammnit, what channel is the Sensory Corps on?" Kankuro hissed, and Maki indicated it was Channel Seven, more than likely. He clicked over to that channel, "Reijiro? You need to incapacitate that thing! Cut the head off— superficial wounds and pain don't slow these things down—!"

The next repelling wave thrust the metal net off of Pein's incarnation, and it rose to its feet while nonchalantly plucking kunai and shuriken out of its torso.

-Captain Kankuro! Sorry, we'll try that next. I've been counting five seconds between each push or pull.

Upon hearing that, Maki was on all other communicating channels, repeating the same crucial findings.

"Five seconds? Good to know." He pulled a new tool scroll from his belt, "Since this proxy seems to be one of the baddest in the bunch, I'm going to give it a hell of a time." Kankuro kneeled down and summoned a lanky, towering puppet from the scroll. He offered Maki a lopsided grin while he attached chakra strings to the segmented body and limbs of the puppet.

"We haven't tested that yet." She reminded him.

"Seems like now is as good a time as any to try it out."

Maki disagreed, "A better time would be back in Suna, in a controlled environment. Certainly that would be better than a trial run against S-Ranked criminals."

"Do this. I'll buy you dinner."

"You'll buy if we live." She sighed and unclipped a spare sealing scroll from her back, attaching it to the spine of the puppet. Maki also fixed a few chakra strings of her own to the scroll's parchment, knowing this hazardous stunt would require extreme coordination for a combo-attack.

Waiting for the ideal moment as the last three Sensor-ninja of Tide scrambled around Pein, Kankuro and Maki rushed from their hiding place when the proxy used a repelling blast. One of the Sensors was impaled by a soaring flurry of black rods, and then retrieved by Reijiro to be brought to the Medical Corps. Pein locked his arm around the swinging punch of the last Tide Chunin before kicking the poor amateur through an adjacent building. From the corner of his eye, the incarnation spotted Sand ninja rushing for him while its force abilities were unavailable.

Maki parted from Kankuro at a forty-five degree angle, flashing by at top speed with her parchment flying free of the puppet, Funanori, its tall sail unfurled and absorbing lines of her Sealing formulas. It was a creation inspired by the Tide Village and Kankuro's commitment to it— plunging ahead while firing two harpoon lines at Pein's proxy.

The dual-attack was a ploy and the incarnation knew it. It held still and took a singular hit; shot through the shoulder by a harpoon. Had it dodged left, Maki's unwinding scroll (now half the span of the road) would have ensnared it. Pein leveled a plainly unappreciative look at Kankuro as he cut himself free, harpoon bolt still lodged in flesh, ducking under the gangly, acrobatic swipes of the puppet.

Seconds ticked by and the time gap closed, allowing the proxy to go on the offensive. Pein raised a hand at the offending puppet to strike it with repelling force…but an incredible leap took Funanori airborne like a kite, avoiding the blow that crushed a patio, restaurant, and the trees beside it. While Funanori soared, Kankuro snapped his hand, launching another volley of harpoons while a second spindle of sail fabric unwound— a copy of Maki's original sealing work. It coiled down to the earth to snatch the enemy, directed by chakra strings.

Maki's own Sealing parchment spread wide like a trawl net, closing in from behind as the proxy hopped backwards to evade Kankuro's attacks. Cornered with seconds to spare, Pein was trapped against the façade of a confectionery. Maki's lateral scroll length contracted and caught an unintended target— a burnt, fouled incarnation of Pein that lacked hands had jumped down from the rooftop. Maki's Sealing technique illuminated with a blue shine and mummified the sacrificed target, allowing the Force proxy to escape. The kunoichi ejected her chakra strings and charged, jumping over the neutralized incarnation on the ground.

'He must have been saving a damaged proxy to use as a decoy!' She watched as Pein wielded a pulling force to pluck Funanori from the sky, slamming it to the concrete and shattering the fragile puppet.

Kankuro was mid-way through trying to shimmy the copied Sealing sail on Funanori from under debris, tugging on chakra strings, when he realized that Pein was upon him like a whirlwind. He was nicked once in the side of the head by the slash of a piercing rod, and frantically countered with kunai as the jabs came in rapid succession. 'Not good! If he keeps us in close quarters, he'll have an advantage when the time gap closes…' Kankuro could see that his Taijutsu was child's play compared to the Akatsuki leader's— Pein thrashed him from side to side, unspoiled and never tiring, driving him through a decorative stele with battering punches.

He was saving it, Kankuro noticed. The incarnation was not wasteful with its force abilities. As Kankuro heaved himself to his feet, wondering if his Karasu puppet could do any good, Pein observed him with a calculating stare. Maki dove at Pein from behind, her hand lit with high-level Seals on each of her fingertips— and he quickly reacted. He blasted her off with a repelling defense, in the same moment Kankuro took to summon his last puppet and struggle out of rubble. For Pein had only blocked a Fire Clone; an old trick from Maki's days as a student of Pakura, the Hero of Sunagakure.

The real Maki appeared with burst of speed from the right, timely in her ambush, bellowing a war cry as she reached to plant her Sealing formula on the incarnation's face. Pein thrust a sharpened rod through her palm to stop the jutsu, following through with a round kick that knocked her away. Kankuro was able to maneuver within inches of Pein's neck, Karasu's scythes extended, when the repelling blast came again. It hurled the puppet away as Kankuro and Maki were thrown back against the exterior of the largest health office in the city. Bricks tumbled down and dust swirled.

Kankuro tried to get his bearings, his sight blurry and ears ringing, "Maki—?" Agony seared through his shoulder, then his thigh. His eyes snapped wide. The proxy was stabbing him.

The Sand ninja weakly struggled, trying to pry Pein off as it casually stuck him over and over with its piercing rods. Pein was speaking to him authoritatively, "Tell him to come."

Kankuro lacked enough air in his lungs to utter how he didn't understand, but Pein went on to explain it to him, tapping Kankuro's radio earpiece gently with a finger, "Use this. Send the jinchuriki to me, and you will be freed."

"—like fuck I'll—!" He sputtered and hissed as he was stuck in the shoulder, the rod grinding against bone. Kankuro supposed his screaming was what woke Maki up right about then, as she had been unconscious.

"You caused me great inconvenience by sealing Naraka Path." Pein told him, "Call the jinchuriki. Tell him to save you."

He dared not call out on his radio, writhing and yelping until Pein left him stuck against the wall by three rods. Tweaking with pain, Kankuro's gaze followed the proxy's path when it went to Maki, producing another piercing rod from its sleeve. The sloshed words of no and me instead did not deter Pein at all when he dragged the woman to a standing position and pinned her to the cracked bricks. Maki put up more of a struggle while screaming and kicking, her shoulder and stomach stabbed, and Pein demanded the same of her. That she call Utakata on her radio. The kunoichi's blood rapidly soaked her fatigues.

About then, Kankuro wanted to give up. He raised a trembling hand to call over Channel Two, "We're on…Sixth and Providence…" His voice croaked, "If anyone can hear me."

-I do, Kankuro.

"Don't come here." He ordered, "Stay away from the Force proxy if you can. Try to get the Sealing Corps…you'll need numbers…"

-Are you injured?

Kankuro didn't answer. He tilted his head and called Maki's name, hoping that it would least keep her conscious. Pein took a few backwards steps to regard them, mildly impressed with the stalwart attitudes of Sand shinobi. Yet he had grown impatient. He raised a hand with the intention of crushing them with a push.

Pein reneged on the decision at the last moment— a torrent of flames rolled like dragon tongues over the pavement, filling the avenue, spilling into alleyways, and superheated the glass of the confectionery until it broke with a high-pitched clink. Kankuro felt sweat slick off of his face as the heat devoured the road ahead of him. Slowly, he raised his arm again to try to free himself of the rod in his left shoulder.

Though it had been a tremendous jutsu, Pein defended himself with his repelling shield. As the immense fire parted and died down, Obito charged at Pein, letting a volley of shuriken fly. Obito flitted around the Akatsuki leader, yammering into Channel Two, demanding that Kankuro help himself—Still with it-? Get out of here! Maki too! I'm not good enough to beat this guy! To Kankuro, it sure looked like he was trying. The man's craftiness with trick wire and projectiles was remarkable, yet Pein sidled and stepped away from snares with grace. Hacking, Kankuro freed himself, his hands slippery with his own blood as he hurried to aid Maki.

'This is him alright.' Obito narrowed his eyes at the face he recognized, 'This is the form that Pein displays to other Akatsuki members…' He flipped away from a blasting force, landing neatly beside the saw horses of a construction site. He ducked once, twice, as black rods were pitched at him, rolling over the top of a barricade, and kicked up the steel spade that sat abandoned beside an excavation trench for pipework. It would do. Obito took the shovel and cracked other incoming rods apart like a batter as he rushed at Pein.

His sightline of the road wobbled a bit, but steadied as Obito blinked hard, 'Phew. I'm fine. So Maki and Reijiro reported this thing's attacks are five seconds apart? I'll have to bait him!' From the corner of his eye, he could see Kankuro limping off with Maki around the bend of the health office. While sliding over rubble and chipped concrete, Obito moved into close-quarters with Pein, improvising most of his Taijutsu. The metal shovel was a marked advantage, way-laying many of Pein's counters and strikes. Yet with each exchange and flurry, Pein's blows intensified. He was precise. Tireless. Reactive.

Obito drew on the do-or-die experiences from when he'd lost his memories as a teen, bending and twisting, lunging— when his body had been younger, faster, cleverer with motion. Obito's offense did get the better of Pein, and when he'd lined up the merciless swing of his shovel to bash his opponent in the temple, the Akatsuki leader pulled the tool from his grasp and shot it into the broadside of a billboard. In that moment, Pein noticed something was amiss. Visual cues were off— and he'd attacked the blue-costumed, goggled ninja as if their exchange was on a delay. He was rooted in the Genjutsu and realizing his plight in the same moment Obito's Earth jutsu closed two raised slabs of the street upon him, as if shutting a book. Bam. The concrete slabs stuck up unnaturally after the technique.

Panting, Obito staggered toward the billboard and wrenched the trusty spade out, 'Huh. I guess Genjutsu still works on this fella…but I'll have to beat his head in to make sure this is over with.'

The Sharingan could detect faint tendrils of a chakra condensing, diverting more energy into the proxy that was sandwiched between street-slabs. Heart-pounding, he understood, 'If he gives that thing more chakra…' Obito rushed forward, dropping into a running-slide to avoid the concrete hunks that were blown apart with a noticeably more powerful repulsion.

Pein was in retreat, traveling west along Providence as one of his remaining incarnations had spotted their target. Obito descended on him with ferocity, crossing the spade's edge with the proxy's rod, cracked through it, and Pein slid his hand up while moving into the strike— able to wrestle with Obito and knock him away from the incidental weapon. The proxy discarded the shovel into a street drain, then raised his arms to block Obito's swift sky-kick and lilting hook-punches.

"What do you care?" Pein wondered curiously, "You are no Tide ninja."

Obito was cuffed in the face twice, but weathered the hits to gain leverage as he swept Pein's legs out from under him. Obito plunged the proxy face-first to the ground in a tackle, a fistful of ginger hair in one hand, and a kubikiri knife drawn in the other— about to saw off the head of the incarnation. He could see chakra condense again before Pein's amplified push, and Obito was unable to scramble away before the force tossed him over the street and into the outdoor racks of apparel displays.

The wound on his back had opened again, Obito could feel it. He heaved himself to his feet and asked over the radio, "Are you okay, Kankuro?"

-Can't say that I am. I think I'm losing Maki.

"B Squad should still be…somewhere on West Providence…"

-I called them but I don't think anyone's coming. You're not still fighting Pein, are you?

Obito wiped his lip, "Nope."

He was staring down the incarnation that had raised itself to stand with regality, its Akatsuki cloak ripped and tattered.

That was not a response that Kankuro could believe, You can't handle him one-on-one. Wait for Leaf's Sealing Corps— or someone-!

He changed the channel and threw down a handful of smoke bombs that choked the road with murky vapor. Obito had to concede that this confrontation was personal in many respects. He remembered the day Pein had boasted of making short work of Kakashi's team in the Land of Rain…the suffering and loss his friend had endured. 'This no-good fuck who made light of a child dying— hurt Kakashi-! Our friends-!' He was simmering as he coordinated his next move, 'Pein would do that to anyone and feel justified! He doesn't feel pain at all— he feels nothing!'

The low-visibility had made the unloading of a weapon tool scroll more effective. Pein was not one to waste his abilities, but the stygian haze made it impossible to avoid all of the projectiles darting in. What mattered was the follow-up, and Pein waited for it— waited for the stranger shinobi who seemed to have no detectable allegiance…but hurled himself with a roar at Pein as they encountered each other in the smoke cloud. The proxy evaded the sweeping blow of a summoned short sword, keening backwards, felt the piercing rod in its hand get kicked away— and then had no means to defend against the returning arc of the blade. With a heightened projection of force, Pein propelled his attacker off, as well as the lingering particles of smoke. And the man he had knocked away was merely a Shadow Clone, puffing back into nothingness as it tumbled.

From behind the proxy, Obito had exited an Earth Style hiding pit with only seconds at his disposal. His view of Pein warped, unfocused, the pretty lawn consuming half of his sight again as he charged.

---

The plum grove was not at all imaginary; it just happened to be about 200 kilometers away.

Kakashi stood there rubbing his forehead after a productive morning, having coached Sato through a series of drills to prepare him for an upcoming Jounin Evaluation. He had to cut training short because, well, he was probably coming down with something. Or in need of glasses.

"Let me see." Sato bent to take a look at his uncle's exposed Sharingan eye, as the man sat in a daze on a tree stump. "You know…I don't see anything stuck in there…" He backed up and crossed his arms, "Did you overdo it today, Kakashi?"

"Not to my knowledge."

"Maybe I pushed you too hard?" Sato was amused, "All of this prep tired you out."

"Either way, a break is in order." Kakashi supposed, trying to clear his head as he made small-talk, "Have you and Tama made a decision yet?"

"We're going to wait and see what the results of my evaluation are, then save up a bit more before we look at houses again." He was marching in place, excited by the thought of it.

"And a ceremony?"

"Just something small. Probably after the New Year, if the shrine will take us." Sato forecasted.

"That's sooner than I expected." Kakashi regulated his breathing while pointing out, "You were never in a hurry before."

Sato was still marching as he imparted the maxim he and Tama now swore by, "Life's too short."

"So use your time wisely." His uncle agreed.

"Feeling any better?"

"I can't say—" When he next blinked his eyes shut, he saw it more clearly— the carnage and rubble. Streets he didn't know. A place with wide sky, few trees…and the sight of a face that scared Kakashi straight to his feet.

Sato raised his brows as his uncle spooked, as if poised to act, "What's the matter-?"

Even with his eyes open, Kakashi's visual sense lingered elsewhere as if hijacked, 'How am I—? That's-!' It was the same shinobi from the Land of Rain that had attacked his team. He could never forget that face, or how they'd been at the stranger's mercy in terms of jutsu. A flood of memories unnerved Kakashi as he teetered around. His waking mind was reliving the ordeal— or hallucinating.

"Kakashi?" Sato stepped up to him and rested a hand on his shoulder.

Oh right. His nephew wasn't dead. The Rain ninja had all but killed him, sure, but here Sato stood thanks to the effort and care of friends. But that moment of violence lived on in Kakashi's mind, made vivid when he shut his eye and saw the blur of the Rain nin as if he stood before him. It was so real that he took a swing at it. Sato and the host of reality seemed relegated to the background in those insane, pulse-pounding moments. He was fighting again. Back in that fight, somehow, against an enemy he had no hope of defeating.

Distant, Sato's voice rang with reassurance in Kakashi's ears while his eyes lied. He bolted like a frightened colt in the grove, trying to get a better angle, trying to get away, or maybe make the vision stop. He whipped kunai at it, reeling in fright when the Rain ninja, with shocking clarity, exerted that force he remembered, in response to which he ducked to vainly defend himself. For a second, Kakashi knew he wasn't insane. It was happening, even if it wasn't. There was no use in explaining it.

With the end of the enemy's push, he felt compelled to dash again, remembering how he'd been counting the seconds between each exertion of the force technique. Though he may have attacked thin air within the lush grove of the training yard, his body, mind, and something else bid with every extant fiber to counterattack. Kakashi formed hand signs, watched himself do it in confusion— not stopping himself as he tracked the movement with his Sharingan.

---

Obito acted before he could think, before he could recognize how he was copying hand signs from some unknown source— the bright charge of the Chidori came to life noisily in his hand. He darted forward and ran it through Pein's chest, to their mutual surprise. The proxy remained standing in the gouged portion of the street, and it closed its hand around Obito's right arm— plunged through the unfeeling flesh of the incarnation, "…that was not your jutsu."

He knew. Somehow, Pein could tell it was imitation. Without his battle wits at the moment, Obito was processing what had happened. He may have used the assassination technique successfully, but it hadn't hindered Pein at all. His vision was still noticeably compromised, but now Obito had an inkling as to why, 'That was Kakashi's jutsu…I think I can…see what he does.' While he wavered, Pein was crushing his artificial arm, gripping it and pulling it out. The proxy's chest was marked by past wounds and mendings— now freshly punctured again with no blood to spill from its reanimated body.

He had to stop thinking about why he could see through the Sharingan in Kakashi's head, because Pein had noticed him. Obito realized it a touch too late. Pein had pulled his attacking hand free, the automail fashioning of his arm slightly damaged, and held him while scouring his face for a clue. The enemy wanted to know if he was dealing with the Copy Ninja again, though that was doubtful. This was a disfigured, dark-haired person, with no headband to proclaim village allegiance, but his right eye gave away a connection. Pein recognized the Sharingan. He wanted to understand for a moment. Then he lost interest, and elected to kill Obito instead.

With a powerful push, Pein thrust Obito clear of the street, through the glass picture window of a realty office, through plaster walls within, and he landed roughly on neat desks and shelving, knocking all askew.

Groaning, Obito heaved himself up again, trying to get his bearings. He wanted to contact someone on Channel Two, but balked at the sight of a different incarnation of Pein daintily picking its way through the office's debris. It was coming for him. The long-haired proxy that could reportedly scan minds and rip away the spirit of its victim; this fit the description others had spoken of. Obito clambered backwards over furniture and into an adjoining linoleum hallway, racing up the narrow stairwell to find an escape. He gasped for breath, calling over the radio, "Is anyone still on Providence?"

The resounding silence petrified him.

He bumped walls when he took the corners with too much speed, bounding up the steps two at a time. When Obito stumbled out of the roof access door, he was stunned to find the Force proxy waiting on the roof. He'd imagined that Pein would continue his search for Utakata, or perhaps let other incarnations wear him down…but he'd made a nuisance of himself.

It was almost a casual gesture, how Pein pulled him in with an attractive force, getting a firm grip on Obito's throat. He held him up to scrutinize him again like some pawnshop curiosity.

"You shouldn't exist." Pein said.

There was really no right way to interpret such a nebulous statement. He was clawing at the proxy's hands to free his airway, turning blue in the face. His chakra was run down and his body worse for the wear— but Obito thought that if he could just get away to hide for a measly three minutes, he'd be back in the fight again. No comrades were chattering on radio waves. No help was coming. The sound of the other proxy's steps came from behind, leaving the rooftop exit door. Those few seconds were serene and eventless.

Pein might have said something else, but Obito couldn't hear it over the shattering smash and cacophony of the implosion as the building cracked beneath him. It had been a powerful push, that was for certain— and the materials of the building seemed flimsy on the way down. Ceilings and walls caved while Obito rocketed by, straight down to the ground floor where, miraculously, he was caught in some electrical wiring that stopped his descent. The building swayed and crumbled from Pein's blow, yet Obito landed on two feet and attempted to scamper away as it caved in. He did not take so much as a step when four levels came down on top of him. With the building flattened, both of Pein's proxies had left the site to carry on their hunt on the west side of the village.

Obito's first thought was loud in his head. '—! I'm alive.' He must've been, after all, he was thinking.

It was pitch dark, with the quiet punctuated by soft skittering of debris chips falling and settling. His thoughts then turned toward his injuries, which were moderate. Loose plumbing pipe had cut through the back of his left arm in a cookie-cutter like manner. The wound on his back still smarted, most of his joints felt, at least, sprained, and his automail limbs took the brunt of it. When he attempted to move he found it impossible. The mountain of collapsed rubble weighed down, pinning him.

Lying face down on the dusty floor of the space, Obito darted his eyes around, 'Something…' He wanted to find a little bit of purchase that he could tug or prod, though only one hand was free enough to do so. 'I've got to get out of here…' His radio was not only silent, it was gone. It'd been shucked off his head at some point, probably.

Though it was no consolation, he was not hallucinating anymore. The other side had gone dark. As in, it wasn't looking at anything, or had been covered up. With that, Obito arrived at the conclusion that what he had seen was very real, 'I can still see some things with the Sharingan that I gave to Kakashi!' He wanted to laugh wildly. He may have remembered such a phenomenon when he was a teen, repaired and outfitted by Orochimaru and Sasori to handle Akatsuki grunt work. Back when he'd been anonymous and borderline "useless." On a few occasions, he may indeed have seen things he couldn't explain. Then there had been a lapse for many years, and so Obito supposed those episodes were a thing of the past— perhaps due to trauma.

Ever since Pein's run-in with the Leaf team in the Land of Rain, and the disrespectful talk that followed, Obito had felt more connected. He had cried and wallowed while reflecting on Kakashi's loss and empathized with him, thereafter noticing that something felt different. In an odd way, pain had linked them after all. And so, Obito surmised, he had strengthened his connection with his friend and found a way to reach him…not that it mattered.

He couldn't move even a finger length. Oh well. You're connected to Kakashi, but what good does that do you? A voice trilled jokingly in his head. You're gonna die. Here he was again, years later, pinned once more beneath wreckage with no escape. It's as if you were destined to die stripped of your dignity, alone, and squashed like a bug!

Obito's breathing quickened, panic setting in. That was it, wasn't it? The exact same flavor of helplessness from his Chunin days, though this time he was pressed belly-down. Ouch. It wasn't any more comfortable in this direction, he could admit.

Never mind the fact that his absence exposed Tide villagers and Utakata to Pein's full wrath. No, no. He had his own problems. He had a tendency to do way too much for Jiraiya, and only realize it after the fact. He played the game as every character but himself, parading around for Jiraiya, Orochimaru, the Akatsuki, and even neighbors back home in Shincha, who'd never learned his real name. Here in Shiogakure he had given it out willingly. Pft.

Maybe a toad would save him. Jiraiya would arrive in time, right? His help from Hidden Sand? Perhaps reinforcements from Leaf would sweep over the rattled city and drive off the Akatsuki— the whole of the Uchiha clan's forces would do it. They'd save him. He could reunite with them and his childhood friends in Konoha. It'd be peachy and idyllic. He could see Kakashi again. He nearly smiled at the possibility. The weight on his back derailed that train of thought. Everything hurt. Breathing was hard. He had a mouthful of dirt.

You shouldn't exist.

Though it lacked specificity, Obito could see why Pein would tell him such a thing. It was probably true. His time had come long ago. If Death kept receipts, it would have looked up his entrapment near Kannabi Bridge, and subsequent, last-second rescue…so it could reschedule his demise in the same style. How consistent.

With each second it was more real. He would die and no one would know about it. There would be no parting words, no fanfare, and no closure. He'd never been someone special. Still wasn't. Rin might be broken up about his (presumed) death, once he failed to come home. She might even mourn him for a year or two, knowing how dedicated of a soul she was. But time would pass and she'd find someone else, and she and Yuma would be fine. They might even forget him, or at least, he'd forever lurk in the background of their minds as they forged on with life.

Obito dug his fingers into dust, anguished. He may have counted himself lucky when he reunited with Rin, but perhaps not if he had known he'd go out this way sometime in the future. There was too much to lose. This wasn't the line of work he ought to be in. Jiraiya knew it too, most likely, but he was in so deep that to lose Obito's assistance in spy work would be a catastrophe.

He felt the tears start, brimming at his bottom lids, clinging and then dripping from his face. Always was a crybaby, and always would be. He'd come to terms with it. There was no use in trying to change who he was. Yuma cried just as much as he did. Cut from the same cloth, he'd joke. It hurt so much that he screamed— not for the sting of physical injuries, but for the singular thought of not seeing that boy. Obito screamed in what he perceived to be air-raid warning loudness, projecting like a mythical banshee. Nothing had ever hurt so bad.

Yuma. A face so scrupulously crafted that he bore the features of both his mother and father in truly equal parts. Like art, he was one perfect whole arranged and painted with those traits. An Uchiha, but wild and soft. He'd never hate anyone or anything. He'd been born that way.

But to be pulled away from his son was a cruelty he could not accept, even if he could handle losing this mission, losing Kakashi, Rin, and everything else he had. Fuck, he'd made so many promises. Fool that he was. Promised Yuma the Leaf Village, and the Uchiha clan, and friends, all of the trappings and adventures of a life they'd hidden him from. Obito said those things with the intention of being there to walk him through each step and introduction. To let that boy's hope wilt— to let him languish…there was nothing lower than that.

His piercing screams and wails grew more comprehensible, calling for help loudly, repeatedly. Any friendly ear approaching would have definitely heard him. The chance of such a passerby being able to excavate him was a toss-up. Still, Obito shouted until he was hoarse.

He could only estimate how long he'd been trapped, some eight or ten minutes. In that time, he'd recuperated a bit of strength, and focused chakra carefully into his hands and limbs. Though the bonus of chakra control helped, there was still no budging the slabs on top of him as he tried to rise in the world's most difficult push-up. Some of the rubble shifted and the metal pipe impaling his arm sunk in deeper, making Obito shriek. He stopped and stilled, hoping everything would settle again. Crazy-eyed and breathing erratic, he wracked his brain for options. There was nothing more he could do apart from screaming.

Bowing his head for rest, he felt himself slipping, almost dangling off the edge of consciousness. He was insane with grief. Rin's name rolled off his tongue like a song. Oh! —how had one person kept him going for almost all of his life? How sweet it had been to get to know her better; to play and learn and risk, to feel pleasure that he didn't deserve. To make life. How love had taken form and become a new person, a child. So strange and wonderful.

Trash.

Who's this idiot?

He heard voices echoing from the past that made his blood boil, scraping his hands again at the dirt floor.

He deserves to see you in person…and you can apologize that way.

Late again?

You were so angry…I was worried you were going to beat that boy up.

You love Rin, don't you?

I don't want to be lonely anymore. No one around here really likes me.

Another, agonized howl escaped Obito and then cut short. He might've gone crazy. It felt as if he could move freely. His voice wavered as he experienced an utterly alien sensation— the permanency of objects around him was absent. He rose up to stand cautiously, hobbling out of the cave-in's litter to look back in astonishment. It was as if he had become a ghost and walked away…but his body was not trapped under the wreck. He was in it. He had gotten free.

Startled, he tried to relax and rested his hand on the remains of a fallen light fixture. Tactile sensation was back. Good. He had a physical presence. 'I don't think I'm dead.' Obito reasoned, 'But I do think I'm weird.' He sealed up the bleeding gash on his arm with the Palm Healing jutsu he had been taught. His automail limbs were coming close to fragmentizing from wear and tear. 'Fantastic. Before I know it I'll be out there leaning on a crutch to stay in this fight…' Too bad he'd lost the shovel.

Taking a breath, Obito chose to test a theory that could explain his Sharingan's odd behavior. A twinge of concentration and a sapping on his chakra reserves confirmed that, indeed, his Doujutsu was responsible. Obito walked around and phased through solid objects like an apparition. 'Oh, how I wish I understood how this worked…' He didn't have much time to dissect the details. He ran out of the building and gave the technique a rest, because wow it drained him something fierce. 'The Sharingan probably has higher levels of evolution…not that I know squat about those legends.' He wanted to rationalize the development, 'Don't know how I did it. Don't know how it works. But I do know what I have to do!'

Eerie silence had overtaken the Tide Village as he ran west.

---

—Fall back and call for reinforcements. A voice rasped over Channel One, - - Tazuna, we can't hold the city. I am ordering a full retreat, for your people and your jinchuriki. Cross the bridge to the Main Land— The voice cut off.

Menma tapped his radio, harried, "Mochinaga-san?" He repeated the Leaf Sealing commissioner's name several times, getting no response, "Are there any Leaf ninja still fighting? Please—!"

Behind Menma on the roof of the village's communication tower, Inari was pacing, throwing his hands into the air. He was wearing a radio of his own, insisting to Menma, "They're not gonna answer, I told you! That freakin' chakra-sucking thing got 'em!"

"I need quiet, Inari!" He strained to hear a soft spoken instruction on the channel.

—H- - Hosoka-

"Hosoka-san?" Menma acknowledged her.

- -Sarutobi-Hosoka- - I'm headed — north- - with this proxy in pursuit— She commanded, All forces retreat over the Great Naruto Bridge. - - That's an order.

"Where are you? We can send help!"

She did not answer.

Tazuna was speaking over Channel One, Copy that. Inari?

"Yeah, Gramps?" The boy stopped pacing.

Get to the temporary infirmary and help them evacuate. I'm taking all of the Academy classes, chaperones, and citizens waiting in shelters to the bridge. His grandfather was remarkably calm, Can you be quick about it?

"Sure…do you know if Mom's okay?"

She already crossed to the main land with other evacuees. Took the dog with her, she said.

Inari breathed a side of relief.

He entrusted the responsibility with his grandson, Get on it, kiddo. I'll meet you over there. Tazuna added, Menma?

"Yes, sir?"

Stop that son of a bitch. The man demanded.

Inari exchanged a bamboozled look with his older friend, watching Menma's countenance turn down with seriousness. As the comments over the radio ended, Inari wanted to amend his grandfather's instructions, "Help me out at the infirmary, okay?"

Menma shook his head.

He pointed a finger in his friend's face, "You can't do anything to stop Pein. We've been hearing it over the radio— pretty much everyone is dead!"

"Utakata?" Menma asked over Channel Two, "Give me your position. I'll provide you some cover so you can evacuate."

-I am not sure if I'll be able to do that. Utakata politely declined, Though I do appreciate your consideration. Just leave without me.

"That's a terrible idea." Menma disagreed.

Inari was protesting behind him, babbling.

-I have to draw Pein away from the village. I don't know how else to give everyone a chance to escape.

"Regardless, why be careless and hand yourself over to the enemy? We should make it as difficult as possible for the Akatsuki." Menma insisted, "You saved me once. I'm going to help you too."

Utakata laughed softly before he revealed, I'm on Third and Temporal, in the cellar of the brewery.

"On my way." Menma confirmed with a nod. He turned to Inari, "Please hurry to the infirmary."

"Forget it!" The boy growled.

"You have orders. You know what they say about shinobi who can't follow orders." His friend reminded him, "I have to do my part, Inari. This village has been attacked and razed many times before…and it only stops when we step forward to expel those who would harm us."

"They said reinforcements—!"

"We can't stand idly by waiting for reinforcements. We must act." Menma held Inari's shoulder firmly, "You told me your friends taught you that. I believe all those things you said."

"…stupid." Inari rubbed his eyes and trudged after Menma as they toed the roof's edge, standing side by side before a leap, "You'll…get killed."

"I know."

"Just come with us."

"You're a fantastic friend. Think— in a few years all of the new students will be looking up to you." Menma smiled at him, "Will you please tell Matsuri that I love her?"

Dropping down from the slated tile ledge, Menma was a blur below in the alleyways as he moved towards Temporal Road. The prickling, heavy anticipation and despair Inari had once felt in the moments before watching his father's execution returned full-force.

Each of Inari's cautious steps away from the communication tower toward the infirmary were callous. It felt wrong to go. Most shinobi friends he had made moved on with their journeys and left the Land of Waves behind. Menma had not. He was the friend he could depend on, shoot the breeze with, talk smack, goof off, eat junk food, and generally let his guard down around. The difference in rank and age was immaterial, Inari had come to find. Now it was time to shelve his personal feelings because, with this emergency, friendship could not come before duty.

It was going to be awful to lose him. Inari hated himself for thinking it.

---

The last Leaf ninja standing, by some happy coincidence, nearly ran head-first into Menma within the many stalls and stands of the market. Hosoka caught herself in a skid and changed directions, electing to stay near a comrade.

"I lost two of the three proxies chasing me— but I guess that means they went looking for the jinchuriki." She reported, "You're Menma, right? Help me deal with the Soul-Stealing proxy! It'll be coming up Torrent Lane because one of my monkeys faked it out…"

"I can try. I was on my way to help Utakata." He stopped outside the immaculate wooden building of Tide's brewery, "Would you be able seal it, Hosoka-san?"

"If you can hold it still, I can seal it."

Menma was not wild about deliberately drawing an incarnation of Pein towards Utakata's hiding place, but he and the kunoichi dove through the brewery's front door and slid it shut behind them. While rummaging around the wide space supported by oak beams, between casks, hoses, taps, and processing vats, Menma spoke to Utakata over Channel Four, "Sorry for the disturbance. We're upstairs."

-I was wondering what that racket was. Keep it down.

"Hosoka-san was being chased by one of the proxies, so we're preparing a trap for it."

…this is not my idea of "cover" for an escape.

"She says she can seal it—" Menma pushed and overturned a huge, airtight wooden barrel with Hosoka's help, "—just bear with us."

-If you get yourselves killed—

Hosoka hissed over her radio earpiece, "Quit doubting us, or you can come up here to be live bait!"

A wide, rolling door on at the side of the room slid with a clatter when Menma opened it, and Hosoka hustled to roll barrels outside. Their frantic preparations lasted for a few more minutes before Hosoka made herself scarce at the market's edge. Once the Soul-Ripping proxy treaded past the last row of vendor booths, Menma taunted the incarnation with a volley of kunai and shuriken. When he had its attention, he made a run for it in the opposite direction, into the dead-end sequestered between the brew house and industrial yard's walls.

The proxy rounded the corner with speed and charged at the cornered Tide ninja, reaching out a hand to seize its victim by the head. And in a puff of smoke, Menma's visage was gone, and the transformation revealed a tawny monkey that screeched and wound around the Soul incarnation's arm. It easily shook the animal off, and had only a beat to look over its shoulder. At the entrance of the dead-end yard, Menma completed hand signs for the aptly named Fountain Spout jutsu, a Water Style technique that launched four simultaneous blasts of unrefined barley and hop water from barrels.

Effectively, the Soul incarnation was canon-blasted with beer; blinded and smashed into the concrete siding of the industrial park headquarters. On that cue, Hosoka leapt from the rooftop and wound a prayer-bead rope around the ankle of the proxy. With a tug, she had tripped the incarnation and splayed it out on the sodden ground. Hosoka landed and concluded her technique's hand seals, the Sealing formula winding up the cord toward the incarnation…as it hurled a black rod at her. The weapon pierced the kunoichi's neck and she fell backwards without so much as a peep. Likewise, the proxy keened over and fell still.

In shock, Menma stared at the scene of the double-takedown, intending to run to the fallen comrade and move her body. When he heard hollering from within the brewery, Menma acted on instinct and turned around, racing back to the wooden building.

The summoned chameleon had crawled into the open doorway and was dragging Utakata up the cellar steps by its tongue. Though his physical strength was limited, Menma was able to kick the animal sideways into the brewery's interior. The creature reeled in its catch by its tongue, though Utakata had a timely retort prepared for it: he spat corrosive liquid on the chameleon's face. It departed in a puff of smoke.

Motioning with a hand signal, Menma ushered his friend along, "Let's move. Since it spotted you, the others—"

His train of thought was interrupted by crumbling buildings down the block.

"We're not going to make it to the bridge." Utakata surmised. He had to say what Menma was already thinking, which meant that they were thinking the exact same thing.

So they turned around in unison as another portion of wall beside the road collapsed under a push, facing down the Force proxy and its yet unseen companion— a stocky shinobi with spike piercings in its cheeks, lip and ears. According to reports, that was the proxy that could rob victims of their chakra and block Ninjutsu. For a moment, the two Tide ninja could only hear the sound of each other's breathing in the vast quiet of the west ward. Menma had the good sense to raise his ocarina and play a tune before either of Pein's incarnations charged, hoping to bolster Utakata with his Rush Melody. To top that, Saiken was flooding his host with chakra.

Menma had never seen a chakra cloak before, half-shocked by the sight of visible, violet Tailed-Beast chakra that fit slimly around Utakata from head to foot in an abstract, animalistic shape. He wondered if his friend was still listening and aware of him, "Utakata?"

"We need to separate them, Menma." Utakata was fully aware of the environment, and who his comrade was, "Can you distract the short one?"

"That may be all I can do."

The Absorption proxy was faster than it looked as it charged up the street, angling for the glowing jinchuriki. Menma was quick with hand seals, using a Shepherd's Whistle to snare the proxy in sound-based Genjutsu. It changed directions and pursued Menma as he retreated into the rows of off-beach cabins at the edge of the road. With each whistle he maintained the taunt, yet it was a problematic arrangement. The proxy demolished obstacles with crushing punches, and was for all practical purposes immune to Ninjutsu.

Its fists demolished the front porch of a chalet, wood beams splintering and tumbling, while Menma flitted like a dragonfly over rooftops and between palms. 'If that thing catches me…' He knew there would be nothing he could do. Like those who had battled it on the beach, and considered Taijutsu a viable option— they had lost their lives. He dropped behind a large cabana and slipped under the deck skirting of the home to stay out of sight, creating diversionary Water Clones as the proxy broke everything it could get its hands on in the yard.

The clones were a temporary distraction as Menma switched directions, retrieving tuning-rod darts from his hip pouch. Pein's incarnation merely had to lay a hand on a Water Clone in order to sap chakra and dissolve it on the spot— one after another splashed apart in the sandy yard. From behind the proxy, Menma pitched a dart into each of the incarnation's limbs, whistling again to change the frequency of the Genjutsu. Only then did the proxy still and stand dumbly as if in a trance. Pein's connecting signal with that path was scrambled, and visual communication was also lost. It loitered near a stone fire pit and lounge chairs, indolent.

Menma sucked in shaky breaths, blotting the sweat on his head and neck with the sleeve of his fatigues. He took weary steps around the huge luxury cabin, back towards the paved streets where the clashing of Utakata and the Force proxy rumbled and shook the ground. Fixed to the back of his belt was a long, folded rope sash, much like the weapon that had been used by the leader of the Shin clan. Menma counted six remaining tuning-rod darts in a holster, three compact wind instruments he could use for techniques, and said a prayer as he picked up speed toward the fray.

The sight of Utakata's energy-lit form was astounding: how he could extend to great lengths with impossible flexibility, snapping corrosive limbs at the Force proxy as it darted around him. Before Menma could wet his lips to whistle and distract the incarnation, it raised a hand and immediately pulled him off the street. Pein flung the boy through the rice paper door of the tutoring center, and while Menma tumbled inside, smacking his head on hard desk surfaces and tossing all into disarray— Pein followed. He blocked the first stab of Pein's rod with an arm, but could not defend against the blows that pummeled his face and torso. Crashing through an interior wall into another classroom, he was seeing stars and helpless in using jutsu.

Pein was no fool. Menma's ability, though almost exclusively a sound-based talent, could hamper the connections between paths. Had Utakata not come charging like a bull through the ruins of the office, Pein's force push would have silenced Menma for good. Instead, Pein turned 'round as he heard the jinchuriki's rumbling roar and blasted him back. One of Utakata's bendy, elongated arms held fast to the sturdy doorframe as he was propelled back, using the momentum while outdoors again to swing around the perimeter of the building. He burst through an adjacent wall from the outside on a rebound, rubbery arms flinging him as if from a slingshot. Utakata lunged at Pein and stuck a caustic, sizzling limb through the proxy's side. It retreated as the jinchuriki threatened to melt the rest of the incarnation, snarling and rampaging.

Menma laid on the floor and pondered if there was any point in getting up. One of his eyes felt as though the orbital bone was broken, swollen shut from brutal punches. A rib or two was most certainly fractured, and injuries to his arm and hip were bleeding freely. Pein would know better than to let him cast another Genjutsu if he dared show his face again. Slowly, Menma sat up. Utakata couldn't go it alone, and from a practical standpoint, it was a good thing if Pein focused on a bothersome target in Utakata's stead. It would give his friend a fighting chance.

He peered out of the office wall that Utakata had knocked down, then gasped at the sight of the Absorption proxy on the move. It was accompanied by the Soul-Stealing proxy he thought Hosoka had sealed, 'It may have been feigning defeat when I left it to help Utakata!' He could hardly believe such a costly blunder, 'It freed the other proxy…and now there are three again…'

He had no choice. He heaved himself to his feet, struggling to direct one foot in front of the other. Menma called over the radio, "Utakata— two other proxies are in pursuit. I thought I stopped them…"

-I know. It's alright.

"It isn't! I could have kept at least one of them frozen. Genjutsu works against the Absorption proxy." Menma trudged out of the door while tying a portion of cloth-whip around his bleeding arm, "Where are you?"

-I'm leading Pein out over the inlet. There is enough space here for a Tailed-Beast ball. Utakata estimated, Menma, if you can follow me and slow any of them…that attack might end it. Nestled within that plan was the implication that such a blow could kill Menma as well, but their options had dwindled.

"I'm on my way!" He pushed on, gritting his teeth as his injuries stung, his vision was hampered. Menma got his bearings and broke into a run on the beach, then out onto the rough waves beyond.

He hoped that Inari had not overheard that radio transmission and gotten the bright idea to follow. No. He was smart enough to keep away and escort villagers to safety. It seemed that the only loss of life had been among shinobi in the village, while rapid response had spared civilians. That was a success, he supposed. Shiogakure would learn from this. Other villages would probably learn from this too, at least he hoped so. Ahead, he could see that Utakata had trapped the Soul-Stealing proxy in a bubble and plunged it underwater. Menma picked up the pace, drawing closer.

The sound of steps along the water's surface caught his attention, and Menma spotted Obito gaining on him. Ah, so the odds were not quite as bad as he'd thought, but still rather poor in the scheme of things. While running, he just had to scold the spy for showing up late, "Where were you? We broadcasted on all channels for back-up!"

"—lost my radio! Almost died!" Obito panted while falling into step with the youngster, "Came straight here after I saw you taking off from the beach. How many are left?"

"Three. I froze the Chakra-Absorbing proxy with Genjutsu, but another proxy freed it. Utakata trapped the Soul-Stealer below water for now, but I don't know for how long." Menma reported, "No other jutsu can stop the Absorption proxy, so we need to be mindful of it."

"Any way you slice this, it'll be tough. The three of them means they can see everything going on out here. Genjutsu doesn't work as well unless they're alone." Obito rightly concluded, "But just so you know— I can move through solid objects now. Let's see if we can use that to our advantage—"

Menma was incredulous, "You what-?"

They dodged one of the Force proxy's pushes, parting in opposite directions and charging in a pincer formation around the two incarnations. Utakata was doing his damndest to spit corrosive liquid on the Absorption proxy, but it was pointedly keeping its distance to avoid maiming.

For a time, it was a high-stakes game of tag, as Utakata concentrated on following the Absorption proxy and damaging it with corrosive spit— while Menma desperately maneuvered himself to try and stick either incarnation with a tuning-fork dart. He dashed and evaded as best he could, but the Force proxy was making a serious effort to kill him. Obito's onslaught of Lightning Style jutsu was repelled by Pein, and the Force proxy let fly a barrage of sharpened chakra receivers to stick the young, troublesome Tide ninja with.

And yet, nothing struck. The weapons sailed through Menma as if he were a hologram. Obito had snatched the boy's arm almost instinctively, flushing chakra into his Doujutsu's new ability. This curious turn of events afforded a few seconds of confusion within which Obito charged, rushing at the Force proxy with swift Taijutsu. Menma had backtracked, hurling a set of darts at the Absorption proxy. His attack also missed— the incarnation dropped down into the water to avoid the blow. Its shared field of vision had tipped it off to Menma's ambush. Near as quickly as it had escaped, the burly Absorption proxy burst up from the water again, accompanied by the Soul-Stealing proxy that had been imprisoned underwater.

Another Rush Melody filled the air, giving Obito and Utakata additional speed and strength. Obito had driven back the Force incarnation a healthy distance, pestering it with his invulnerability to physical objects. He knew he could not keep it up, 'This takes…way too much chakra…' Even with Menma's boost, Obito was in no condition to continuously use his Sharingan. Behind him, Utakata had laid down a layer of Mist, where he and Menma took refuge as the proxies circled the billowing haze.

It had not taken long for Pein to learn. After lunging at Obito with a piercing rod, he faked the strike and ran through him once he'd gone transparent, barreling towards the pair of proxies waiting for the Tide ninja to reveal themselves. Obito squawked and about-faced to assist, but not fast enough to stop Pein's push to eject the mist. Menma and Utakata had jumped back into action with a combined Water Style technique, surprising the Force proxy as a water-vacuum opened up beneath its feet, swallowing it. Unfortunately, the Absorption proxy responded in kind and seized Utakata in a bear-hug.

Obito's cursing grew louder as he ran to try to help the jinchuriki. Or, that's how it looked at first. The Soul-Stealing proxy gave chase to Menma and was taken aback by the release of a Transformation Jutsu. The Absorption proxy had, in fact, Menma nestled in its arms and the boy was fading fast. Utakata, meanwhile, flushed with violet chakra and severed the head of the Soul-Stealing proxy with a swing of his arm when it drew too close. Obito bum-rushed the Absorption proxy from behind, making himself momentarily intangible to pry Menma away from his captor, moving through the proxy like a phantom. He hauled Menma away as Utakata stood several yards to the east, charging a Tailed-Beast ball.

Bay water erupted when the Force proxy resurfaced, knocking Obito and Menma apart. It bore down on Obito with furious close-quarters combat, and all but knocked his artificial forearm off. Obito felt ice cold panic slide down his back. He could potentially phase through one more hit, but he was unable to keep fighting. His body would fall apart. Menma made a valiant dash to try to stun the Absorption proxy with Genjutsu again, intending to hold it still for Utakata's attack. In the split-second before the volatile chakra ball soared, Pein had attracted both the Absorption proxy and Menma toward him, pulling them out of the path of the Tailed-Beast ball. It did not end well.

The dense sphere of energy was loosed, zooming a considerable distance out over the open water of the sea…and then collided with far-off waves in a bright explosion, sweeping a rush of recoil wind and sound over the inlet. Water churned and crested after the tremendous jutsu.

Afterward, Utakata came to his senses and re-routed towards the repositioned proxies. The Absorption proxy had clubbed Obito in the head as his strength waned, skipping him like a rock over the water. Menma hardly had willpower to stand, and none at all to dodge the Force proxy as it stabbed him in the stomach with a rod. Pein had lost patience. He kicked the boy aside and watched to make sure he sank into the bay.

Utakata felt hysterical with rage one moment, and then…the feeling was gone. His chakra cloak wavered. He only had the sense to bend backwards and writhe as the Absorption proxy grappled with him, spitting what alkaline base he could in an attempt to try to melt its limbs off. Before long, Utakata fell to his knees and struggled tiredly.

Pein stopped to stand in front of him, unamused, "This has gone on for far too long."

Though the Absorption proxy's arm and side were corroding, it was able to hold fast to Utakata in a neck-lock. The jinchuriki shifted his gaze left and right, calling out in the hope his companions were alright.

"Your resistance is what killed them." Pein's voice lacked any trace amount of remorse or identifiable emotion.

Utakata stared blankly at the Force proxy for a long moment, bewildered that the struggle was over. Saiken's chakra was siphoned rapidly by the incarnation restraining him, making it supremely difficult to think or fight back. Obito and Menma were gone. The majority of Tide's forces and allies had perished. His desperation to belong somewhere had doomed them.

"Such obstinacy is the hallmark of this pathetic village." The Force incarnation turned to look back at the city that glimmered over to the tops of waves, four or so kilometers from their position. "One path is enough to show you the error of your ways." The incarnation raised a hand, channeling a much larger reservoir of chakra from its controller. With no other paths to manipulate, the Force proxy was glutted with energy.

His objections were garbled, yet Utakata made a bid to reason with the Akatsuki leader, "I won't resist— I surrender. Don't burden Shiogakure with—!"

Pein's push registered on a far greater scale, crashing into the water of the bay calamitously, and only spared the spot where they stood. As the spray dissipated, the rolling force displaced the volume of the inlet's sea water. Water peeled back from beaches and land, exposing the shelf the island sat on. Further out, all condensed into a mighty wave that towered above the buildings and streets of the Tide Village. The few people still evacuating looked up with mortal shock at the spectacle, as the wave's shadow fell over the city.

Tucked in among the brick walls and alleys of the village, a network of small seals illuminated in response to the tide's dramatic shift. The same seals Utakata had applied while waiting for the inevitable. Over a hundred such seals released a multitude of bubbles that rose up and melded into a singular, massive bubble. The dome stretched over the edges of the city where homes lined beachfront and lagoons, to the reaches of the forest and the bridge's span. The wave came and crashed, surging up and over the failsafe dome in what could only be an inexplicable miracle to the handful of souls watching below.

Such a denial, though only by the skin of Utakata's teeth and pre-planning, was the final insult Pein would endure. His face was impassive as he watched the defense rise and protect the village from the tidal wave. Then he turned and struck Utakata in the head with an abrupt blow, watching the trapped man fold backwards, unconscious. The Absorption proxy lifted up the jinchuriki and carried him on its undamaged shoulder.

The two paths retreated toward land with their target, and their controller wondered how he had come so close to failure.

---

Obito snuffed salt water up his nose and startled awake, dizzy. He was sliding face-down against something he could not place— some wet, frictionless surface. When his vision cleared, he could see that he was high up, staring down on Shiogakure below. The wave that Pein had generated swept him land-bound, up to the top of the dome, but near as soon as Obito had awoken and hacked up a lung, the bubble burst. Residual water and detritus careened down on the village below, and Obito did not have enough time to cry out in terror as he tumbled.

He landed in the top fronds of a palm tree that bent precariously under his weight. Then he fell again, hitting the flat slant of a bungalow roof, rolled off of it, and landed painfully in a drenched residential garden. Obito wheezed and crouped, shaken by the journey. The world around him seemed to swirl, a mess, and he glanced down at his automail limbs. They were coming apart in pieces and unfit to hold him up. 'Be that as it may, I still have to do something!' He knew that Pein could not go unchallenged. He had no idea what had become of Menma, though the jinchuriki's status was not hard to guess. 'I've got to find a radio or tell a Tide squad to track Pein. It's obvious he's going to head north toward land…'

As he wobbled upright and took a step in the flattened spurge and irises, a pang raced through him. His body absolutely refused to do anything. He was worn worse than a dishrag. The last few sensible thoughts Obito had bounced around in his head as he fell face-first into flowers.

Time ticked by in darkness. The only sound was a high-pitched ring of exhaustion, maybe tinnitus, or maybe looming death. Using so much chakra had been utter foolishness. His sleep was devoid of dreams or awareness, and ebbed after who knew how long…

When next Obito batted open his eyes, he was laying on his back on a stiff cot. Above were wooden beams of a pavilion in the Tide Village's shinobi barracks. He was momentarily amazed that he was not dead. Perhaps his luck was not as bad as he thought.

"You made it." A voice said beside him.

He turned his head slightly, because that was all he had strength for. Obito recognized the heavily bandaged Sand shinobi named Kankuro sitting on a stool. The paint on his face was long since wiped off. On his opposite side, the Sand kunoichi named Maki was asleep on a cot.

"Is she okay?" Obito wondered of the kunoichi.

"Better. We were able to get treatment before the evacuation order." Kankuro explained, "Two squads are pursuing Pein right now. He took Utakata."

Obito tried to sit up and sputtered, weaker than a newborn kitten.

"Yeah, we're not exactly in any shape to assist." The young man sighed, "Saizō nearly died from chakra exhaustion and so did you. I don't have much hope for those tracking teams…but I want to believe reinforcements can find them while they're on the main land."

"Did you send out messages-?"

"To everyone." Kankuro confirmed, "Not just Sand and Leaf. We communicated with Star, Rock, Cloud, Dream, Waterfall…not Mist, though. That'd just be kicking the hornet's nest."

"Hmph." Obito wasn't sure what kind of a response other villages would have, "You don't think Rock or Cloud would take advantage of this village while things are like this?"

"If they don't want shitty publicity or ally retaliation, they won't. Also, any information about the Akatsuki benefits them as well." Kankuro shrugged, "Or who knows? This place might be wiped off the map on a petty order. It was done to Hidden Eddy way back."

"…ugh." He didn't want to think about future squabbles.

Attendants scurried around the infirmary and occasionally shouted for supplies. The bustle was somewhat comforting, but there was also a looming frustration among those gathered in the pavilion. How many times had they lost their homes? Their livelihoods and loved ones? Why, whether or not they had ninja at their disposal, could nothing be kept safe? Obito could hear a woman crying about her missing son, a Chunin. People were bemoaning the state of Main Street and the surrounding central areas that were destroyed. Many parties were out locating and identifying the dead, with lists of names being updated.

"Kankuro…were you able to find Menma?" Obito rasped, "He was out there with me, fighting Pein."

Kankuro shook his head, "No. I did hear over a radio channel that Inari's looking for him."

He swallowed anxiously, "He was badly hurt."

The Sand ninja folded his arms and watched Maki absently, thinking about Menma— the brave young blood who had only just gotten into Gaara's good graces and settled in his new home. How Inari and Tazuna would feel about such a loss, or how Matsuri would feel, Kankuro tried not to imagine it. His gaze traveled over to Obito, taking stock of the man's artificial arm, or what was left of it. He carefully plucked up the limb to examine it, "Epoxy resin, carbon fiber, it looks like…this was sturdy for a while but overloaded with chakra…." He frowned at Obito, "This material is used for puppets."

"It was."

"Who gave you this?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Obito chuckled softly.

"We use stronger materials these days, well, when we can afford to. Softer resins are cheaper." Kankuro rubbed his chin, "Lucky for you all of my puppets got destroyed today. How about I retrofit some of those pieces to you later? Just so you can move around."

"Well sure…but I spent most of my money at a gift shop." Obito admitted.

"I'll eat the cost. You've more than earned it." Kankuro assured him, "Replacing my arsenal will be expensive, but I'm going to have to do it as soon as I get back to Suna.

"Another day, another paycheck to kiss goodbye."

That elicited a chuckle. He canted his head and tried to figure out why he thought he recognized Obito's face, 'Not the scarred part…seems like he was on a poster or…I don't know.'

"You know, my wife knows your brother." Obito shut his eyes and tried to relax, "He came to our house once."

"Gaara?" He was astonished.

"Yeah, a while ago. Before he was Kazekage."

"Just who are you exactly?" Kankuro hissed, "This doesn't make any sense. Where the hell does the Toad Sage dig up types like you?"

"He wasn't the one who dug me up, technically speaking." Obito corrected, "But do me a favor and try not to blab to anyone in Leaf that you know me, okay? It'd come as a shock. Most of them think I'm dead."

"Oh." That clarified a portion of it, "Yeah, I was wondering about the secretiveness."

"Believe me, I don't like being in disguise and pretending. I'd rather be myself." He sighed, "But I've got a lot of different groups fooled right now, and spoiling the illusion could put everyone in jeopardy."

"Yeesh. Got any aliases?"

"Just two."

Kankuro snickered.

"But Obito is my real name." He confirmed, "Uchiha Obito."

Kankuro stood up and turned in a small circle. He pulled at his hair but made it look like he had an itch, because overreacting was a surefire way to draw attention in the infirmary. He sat down again, "So that's why you can put up a fight."

"That, and sheer stubbornness. I've been dealing with these criminal assholes for years. So has Jiraiya…" Obito slipped his left arm beneath his head in place of a pillow, which was surprisingly hard to do. "And it's been too much for just the two of us. All of the major villages need to pull their weight and cooperate, otherwise the Akatsuki will keep slipping through our fingers."

"Gaara has been aware of that for a while. Problem is…" Kankuro glanced around the pavilion, "When villages see this and need to think about taking on the Akatsuki, they may not be so enthusiastic."

"The alternative is much worse." Obito warned.

"And what will that be, exactly?"

"All Tailed-Beast chakra would be in the hands of the enemy, who can then demand direct rule over every village. No Kage and no councils. No alliances. If one group steps a toe out of line…" He forecasted morbidly, "The Akatsuki could reduce it to rubble in one blast. Negotiations wouldn't exist. The training of new shinobi would be prohibited or strictly monitored. Life might go on, but no one could think, or question, or be enthusiastic about anything anymore." Obito supposed.

"You're making it sound like they just want to control everything."

"That's the impression I've gotten…but it could be…someone wants that chakra. No one ever said anything about dividing it up equally amongst organization members." He was getting theoretical, "So maybe they want a jinchuriki who can house all of that chakra."

Kankuro was flustered, "And what's the point in that? What could a jinchuriki like that do?"

"Kill all of us. Destroy everything. Start over. Who knows…?" Obito speculated, "I think the point is, if you're that strong…you don't need any of the constructs or villages as they exist now. Someone like that wouldn't need anything. They could do anything."

"Can something like that even exist?"

"How could it not?" Obito asserted, "All that chakra came from somewhere."

"I just can't wrap my head around it."

"We don't want to wrap our heads around it."

"Enough already. This end of the world junk isn't making me feel better." Kankuro grunted, standing up to leave, "Rest for now. I'm going to write this crap down for my brother, and then look for those replacement parts."

Obito watched the young man trudge out of the infirmary and past the gate. Then he laid back and found it rather easy to fall asleep again.

---

"Wake up."

Obito woke up.

Smoke tufted up from Jiraiya's pipe, his cheeks puffing. He had taken a seat on the stool beside the cot, and Obito noticed that Maki and many other patients were no longer in their beds.

"All of our Sand ninja friends are at a conference at the moment, debriefing with the back-up that came with me." Jiraiya exhaled vapor lines from his nostrils, "Thanks for your advanced warning. I'm just sorry we weren't quicker."

"It wasn't really advanced warning."

"Ten Sand ninja went out to assist Tide's tracking squads. We can hope for the best. If Tsunade got my message a day ago, maybe she can send some teams to join them." He sounded hopeful, "But based on what Kankuro told me…this was not a normal enemy."

"Not at all. You'll want to stay seated for this." Obito struggled to sit up, and then looked down in surprise at his arm. A hodge-podge of materials had been assembled to reinforce his automail limb.

"Seems you were out long enough for him to work on you." Jiraiya noted.

"Yeah…I've got to thank him." He pressed on with the details, "Pein is more than one person—rather, I think he's one person, but he can control up to six proxies at once."

Jiraiya recalled, "Kankuro said he called them 'The Six Paths of Pein.' Does that mean anything to you?"

"They each had different abilities and appearances—"

"No, no. Did you notice if it had a Doujutsu?"

Obito was surprised, "How do you know that?"

"Lucky guess." He turned his head and exhaled away from his companion.

"Each of those bodies had the same eyes…violet-colored, with strange rings in them. They could share a field of vision. Their bodies were pierced with rods that pulled in a chakra signal to control them." Obito described it, "Jiraiya, how do you know?"

"That ability doesn't exist in modern times. It was rumored to have first belonged to the Sage of the Sixth Paths, do you understand where I'm going with this?" Jiraiya recounted, "There's a bit of shinobi history for you. It's called the Rinnegan, and I've only ever seen one person who had eyes like you described…" He extinguished his pipe, "A boy I met during the Second Great Shinobi War."

"So no one else has it?"

"No."

"What happened to that boy?"

"He died." Jiraiya amended, "I thought he died."

"Jiraiya…"

"I wasn't there for those kids…when things went from bad to worse. I knew they'd get caught up in the fighting after they were trained…but I never saw or heard from them again, even when I went looking for 'em." He confessed, "If Nagato is alive…then maybe he's the one called Pein."

Wide-eyed, Obito stared at the man and tried to process what could be the start of a solid lead.

"Guess I'm going to have to sniff around Hidden Rain and see what I missed. If he and the others are still out there, that's probably where they'd hide. The regime changed and it closed its borders. It'd be a convenient place to shelter the Akatsuki, come to think of it." He took a deep breath, "I…didn't think…they could turn out like this. If it is him…I swear they were good kids. I knew them and loved them."

"That doesn't change what just happened. This village suffered because of him— just one member of the Akatsuki." Obito snapped, "What are we supposed to do about the rest of them? Jiraiya, they have abilities that will make even Special Ops teams second guess themselves. It can't be just us. There needs to be dozens of platoons out at all times canvasing the main land, communicating between all villages! Suggest a Kage Summit—"

"Tsunade has already been petitioning for strategies like that, but those things don't happen overnight."

"They have to! We don't have any time left. The Akatsuki are out hunting non-stop."

"Well, from what I've heard, the Raikage had a rather inconsiderate reply to Tsunade's last peaceable communication with Cloud, the Tsuchikage is distracted by a war criminal running amok, and the bureaucratic red tape in Hidden Leaf has snarled emergency approvals." Jiraiya filled him in, "But once Tsunade hears this, what she'll do is start arranging missions and squads that aren't sanctioned. She'll act. She'll catch shit for it and be criticized by the daimyo, probably, but she's got to find a way."

Obito folded his hands and pressed them against his forehead, beseeching a higher power to step in. None of the Kage would be able to react fast enough if they followed traditional avenues. The Akatsuki would gain too much ground before any village properly countered their efforts.

"You're in no shape to track them or keep tabs on the Akatsuki, so take it easy and then go home." Jiraiya recommended, "I appreciate what you did, Obito, more than anything. You didn't have to, but you stuck your neck out for people you didn't even know."

"I do that a lot." Obito agreed in a mumble.

"They won't forget it. I've got some meetings to sit in on and intel to pass along…then we'll wait for feedback on Tide's tracking squads. If they can cut off Pein from a full retreat, there might be a chance. I'd go myself, but…." Jiraiya rolled his shoulders, "I have business to attend to down here."

"Down here?"

"One of the islands in the Land of Water, I should say. So I'll be heading East before long." He expounded, "Haku got caught up with one of the Swordsmen of Mist, Momochi Zabuza. Thought I might try finagling my way into getting a foothold in Kirigakure."

"It'd take a miracle." Obito estimated.

"Maybe I can work one." Jiraiya smiled sadly, "All of these kids…are running headlong into a mess we couldn't clean up."

---

By morning, a message from Jiraiya was sent from Shiogakure with the fastest available trained bird to Sunagakure. The bright red scroll attracted a monitor's attention in Suna's communication tower as soon as the hawk landed. Gaara was not available to take the message right away.

He was in an auditorium, seated at the front panel desk at the head of a long U-shape of seats elevated in tiers. Most of those seats were occupied by Chunin, Jounin, councilmen, Suna's clan members, and other dignitaries who had stake in shinobi matters. Many had taken their seats and checked to see if microphones were working. The assembly was slightly concerned that the doors of the auditorium had been locked from the outside without explanation. They were told it was a secure and brief meeting.

"You better not try to kill any of us." Baki warned half-sarcastically.

"I won't." Gaara scanned the room, full of nervous faces who were unsure of the purpose of the meeting, "I have not been paying enough attention to internal matters, as of late. I wanted input."

"Is this like a focus group?" A Chunin-level kunoichi inquired nearby.

"More or less."

To the right, Chiyo sat and regarded Gaara interestedly. She had an inkling of what his motivation was. Temari was a few seats down, even more aware of what was concerning Gaara.

There was a mole in their midst. An informant, possibly one that was delivering intelligence to the Akatsuki. Gaara had pondered with his sister and Naruto how to start putting feelers out to detect a potential turncoat without falsely accusing anyone, or tipping off said mole to the fact that there was an active search for dissenters. They roundly agreed it was better to conduct a survey under pretense— to make the search look like something else. "And lay some bait." Naruto had suggested.

Gaara announced that the Accelerated Chunin Exam had been a success, with 22 teams passing and 8 individuals achieving a promotion. There was some quiet back-patting and congratulations that echoed his commentary before Gaara went on, "What could have been done better?"

Desk lights glowed green immediately, indicating committee members who wished to speak.

A member of the Shirogane clan suggested sharply into a microphone, "How about not having hosted the Exam at all? It cost a small fortune."

Chiyo was feeling sassy and responded quickly with her own desk light glowing, her microphone volume a bit high, "You there— you yahoo— that comment does not contribute towards this discussion."

The young clan member slapped his hands on the desk top, agitated, "Chiyo-baasama, this is an open forum where we can air our grievances-!"

"The Exam has ended already so why are you still complaining about hosting? It was ratified before a committee just like this." She barked.

The young man cupped his forehead and sat back. Chiyo exhausted him.

"Wenō, it's alright." Gaara reassured the cranky puppet-designer, "I don't think Suna will be hosting any other exams in the coming years. We will participate in promotional exams that other villages invite us to. It is very costly, in spite of the economic support the Tide Village has provided."

"Thank you, Kazekage-sama." That satisfied him.

"Pardon me, but is there any word on the squads dispatched to Shiogakure a few days ago?" A councilman asked, "Why on earth would the Akatsuki bother with that village?"

"More to come on that topic later, at a meeting this afternoon." Gaara promised, "We are still waiting for details."

Most nodded their heads, relatively unbothered by the update. They had no idea what level of threat had descended on the small village to the south. Other lights glowed, and then were acknowledged to share.

"Maybe the panel of Academy students could have rotated duties between different representative groups? The kids claimed they were tired after ten or so evaluations." A Chunin suggested, "Other than that, I thought every stage was seamless. We encountered almost no issues."

Gaara was pleased to hear it.

"Why was such a high-level squad sent to escort the Waterfall team back?" Another wondered.

"Following the report on Akatsuki activity in Shiogakure, that team was arranged as added defense for Waterfall's jinchuriki while she was escorted home, after her promotion." Gaara was completely truthful.

Some balked at the revelation, surprised that a jinchuriki had participated and been promoted.

"I would like to propose the inclusion of newly promoted Chunin in our expanded programs. We discussed cross-training and interdisciplinary courses last month. I think there are many new candidates who can join the Medical Corps." A Jounin recalled, "The greenhouse project is also taking off, if anyone's interested in volunteering."

Rumblings of interest asked if they could discuss sign-ups after the meeting.

"At what point are we going to talk about Hidden Leaf's scatterbrained activity, as of late?" A senior councilman gruffed, "Leaf's teams are all over the place, tracking Bihokokuni's rogue cell. Searches have also passed through looking for Orochimaru and the Akatsuki. Following the attack at the border, Konoha and Iwa stopped communicating."

Gaara nodded, "I am aware."

"What does that make us—? The monkey in the middle? They need to put their resentments to bed. They have a common enemy that makes their cooperation crucial." The councilman explained, "Kumo has also been unusually cold to Konoha's outreach efforts, even as Iwa and Suna continue a steady dialogue with the Raikage. Is there any rhyme or reason for this isolation geared toward Hidden Leaf?"

The observation was an opportune time to take a gander at the reactions and expressions of the committee. Gaara inquired of the group, "Anyone? Do you have a take on this matter?"

There. He could see it was obvious that many of those gathered were troubled by other villages' exclusion of such a close ally. Some chatter amongst themselves also started and prompted requests to speak. But Gaara noticed a small group of silent, impassive attendees at the far end of the U-shape that did not seem in the least concerned about external affairs.

The chatter went back and forth:

"There was bad blood in the past, right? Between Leaf and Cloud?"

"Perhaps Suna is a more valuable ally to keep, now that we are better positioned than ever. That's why other villages have reacted favorably to us."

"The Hokage can be rude."

"Simple! Kumo doesn't want to make Dintei Bi its problem. They have enough to deal with. Kumo has two jinchuriki it can't lose to the Akatsuki. That is their sole focus."

"Leaf's councils are more prone to arguing than ever, in recent years."

"We know what an ass the Raikage can be…"

For that last comment, the speaker was shushed. The clamor died down when doors opened at the edge of the room, after Gaara allowed guards to do so. He spoke to the committee, "Seats 1 through 24 in rows A, B, and C are excused. Also, seats 34 through 50 in rows A, B, and C are excused."

No one really questioned the unusual dismissal, and the identified committee members slowly shuffled out before the auditorium was sealed again. There were only 15 people total in the tiered seats between 25 and 33. They were as listless as before, unmoved by the change in the room. They also didn't seem to care that Temari and Chiyo had remained, close to where Gaara was seated.

"Don't you have an opinion?" Gaara wondered of the remainders.

"Not any that are unique from those already expressed." A Torture and Intel Corps member admitted.

"Have any of you been covering the communication channels with Rock or Cloud?" The Kazekage asked.

Ten raised their hands. All were members of the Kazekage's advisory council. The other two-thirds of the advisory council, which had seemed to care more, had already left the auditorium.

"Please stay." Gaara invited them, "The rest of you can leave."

"What is this about?" Shirogane Ibushi, an elder on the council, did not appreciate the strange narrowing-down of the committee.

Those who were dismissed exited the room obediently while Temari and Chiyo sat, watching the council members at the edge of the dais.

"Kazekage-sama," Another senior council member named Tōjūrō addressed the elephant in the room, "Temari-sama and Chiyo-baasama have not left this discussion, per your order."

"I've asked them to stay." Gaara clarified.

"Is something troubling you, my lord?" An astute councilman, Manao, suspected that Gaara was looking for a particular type of audience. For what purpose he could not be sure.

"I want those most familiar with current intelligence and operations here to advise me on our peer villages." Gaara laid the bait, "For a double-cross."

Manao gulped visibly, shocked.

"Who is being double-crossed?" Yūra wanted clarification. He was the most senior and respected member of the council, and was not so rattled by the idea.

"Iwagakure and Kumogakure continually reject our closest ally, while promoting discourse and trade with Suna." Gaara stood to approach the dais, "There would hardly be a better time to leverage a high-profile prisoner, or frame either village for thwarting the other. Such interference will reverse or reduce enmity towards Konohagakure. We can achieve a much more level field prior to the next Summit, and utilize our influence to mediate."

"You want to cut new deals this way?" Tōjūrō scoffed, "That's rather roundabout."

"Konoha would be excluded from those negotiations, otherwise."

"Are you certain? I would prefer sending additional emissaries to persuade the Tsuchikage and Raikage's councils to favor Leaf. It's safer than turning their animosity on each other." Ibushi recommended.

"Envoys are more likely to be rejected if they overtly state our support of Konoha's welfare. Do we have adequate forces and resources to conduct such a mission?" Gaara cut to the chase, watching fear and confusion reflect in the eyes of the men sitting before him. They were reminded of his father, Rasa, and his forceful, underhanded tactics to get ahead. To think the son would rely on his father's methods— they might've thought twice about endorsing Gaara as Godaime.

Yūra assured him, "Both are adequate. Give the order, Kazekage-sama. I will send and direct those teams myself."

"Not so fast. This will require additional approval by the rest of the council." Tōjūrō reminded them, "But if you want to move quickly on this Gaara-sama, we will see it done."

His breath nearly hitched when the two agreed to such a duplicitous task. The others still appeared uncomfortable.

"We will meet again with the full advisory council in the morning." Gaara decided, "I appreciate your time."

He had offered the false mission specs to this group, and would then unwind the string to see where the rat would carry the information off to. Upon leaving the auditorium with his sister and Chiyo in tow, Gaara expected this misinformation to circulate to the Akatsuki at some point, and would perhaps encourage the Akatsuki to attack while expecting multiple teams to be away from Hidden Sand. But they wouldn't be. He would fabricate the whole thing. The village would be fortified and waiting, 'It's just that these council members will have no idea that each team they send will have a secondary order that I issue, placing them as sentries throughout the village.'

Any of the council members who were caught after such a bait-and-switch incident would be thrown in prison so fast their heads would spin. Due process would hopefully yield a treason conviction, then the mole would no longer be an issue. The Akatsuki would be, unfortunately. The timing of a reactionary attack and bid to capture him was ambiguous, Gaara knew. Would the organization be wholly occupied with capturing other jinchuriki? Would the Akatsuki turn their attention elsewhere— to Leaf, Cloud, or Waterfall? If his plan worked, Sand would be next in their queue.

"I don't trust them." Temari declared as they walked back toward the Administrative Building, "But I'm also not sure if you missed a possible traitor with the first dismissal."

"I couldn't get a complete look at everyone, though those who expressed concern are less likely to be culprits." Gaara reasoned.

"He's not wrong." Chiyo agreed, "If you think someone is passing on sensitive information, it most certainly is one of those conceited shitheads on the advisory council. I'll keep my eye on them for you, Kazekage-sama." She parted from the youngsters to find her own brother.

Once at the Administrative Building, Temari and Gaara scaled the stairs side-by-side.

"Do you think Gama-sennin made it in time?" She wondered.

"No."

"What about Utakata?"

"I think he might've fought," Gaara predicted, "And won."

"You sure sound confident…"

"He's strong. I think he can do it."

"Maybe against one shinobi, he could, but not if the whole organization goes after him." Temari wagered.

He nodded at that, turning on the mid-level landing to look out a window for a moment. The sky was clear. He felt anxious, "Would you mind if I sent you with Matsuri and Shigenori to check on things in Tide? Assess damage and assist with what you can? I can always send more teams if you need them."

"Sure, but yuck, why Shigenori?" She joked, knowing he had been a rival for the Fifth Kazekage position.

"Because I just realized that I can trust him, and I might be installing him to the advisory council once we oust whoever has been betraying our village." He concluded.

"Oh. Well, I won't spoil the news for him…"

"Don't."

"He still doesn't like you much."

"That doesn't matter. What matters is that he serves Suna."

She patted her brother's back, proud of him.

When they arrived at Gaara's office and pushed the door open, it looked as though Gaara was already seated at his desk, examining trade permits. The doppelganger looked up from a cup of noodles, slurping slowly.

"Have you been here all morning?" Gaara wondered.

"Yeah, actually. Do I look convincing?" Naruto tried to imitate Gaara's default facial expression.

Temari gave him a small compliment, "That's pretty good. You weren't forging Gaara's signature, right? That's illegal."

"Nah, just reading. I gave out a couple of low-level missions based on these Memos."

"I didn't say you could do that." Gaara circled around the desk and shooed Naruto out of his seat, who released his Transformation, "Did you do anything else?" He chucked the empty cup noodle into a waste bin.

"I took this, but I didn't open it, because I'm not you—" Naruto handed over a bright red scroll, delivered by one of Shiogakure's hawks, "I learned a little from one of the greenhouse guys that stopped in, talked to some Genin students, filed some of this junk you have laying around." He took a seat on the upholstered arm chair opposite the desk, "Fujita made it back to Leaf the other day and sent me a message, and he was wondering why I didn't go back with him. I kind of bluffed in a reply…"

"You could've told him that I ordered you to stay here until you're cleared. I don't know what the Akatsuki's movements will be, and he would understand if you told him why you're at risk." Gaara supposed as he settled in, pleasantly surprised by how everything had been organized. Dusted too, by the look of it. Who knew Naruto could keep a space?

"Not just yet." Naruto crossed his arms, "I'd feel stupid telling the kid first and not telling Hinata!"

"Hm. So that's what her name is." Temari chuckled from her place beside a water cooler, filling a glass up.

He craned his neck around the chair to look back at her, "Yeah. You didn't know that…?"

"I knew some cute girl is dating you based on what Gaara's said, but he never really told me who she was." The woman crossed over to a bureau and leaned against it, taking sips of her drink.

While the two chattered about incidental details that had been glossed over, Gaara was well into reading the correspondence that had arrived from the Tide Village. Within the scroll were two separate notes: one from Jiraiya and one from Kankuro. Gaara read his brother's message first.

Gaara, this was a close one. I kind of can't believe everything that just happened, but overall I think the Tide Village will be alright. We're still waiting to hear from our tracking teams, and we're feeling more optimistic that the Akatsuki leader can't get far with Utakata. His last two proxies are damaged, and we sent about 30 or so skilled shinobi after him.

Listen, this weird spy that works with the Toad Sage— Obito— he saved my life. He saved a lot of people. I've never had a brush with death quite this close, so it occurred to me I haven't told you lately that I'm proud of you, and really glad I've had time to be your big brother. You know, not just some cowardly kid back when Dad was fucking things up, but actually get to know you and support you. I treasure you and Temari.

Anyway, Maki and I will be alright. Casualties were very heavy for the Tide teams and Leaf Corps members that stayed here to fight. Damage to the city is as serious if not more so than the Shin clan's attack, and I don't mean to be a jerk about this but, Hidden Sand is not on the hook for the repair bill this time. It will be hard for the people here to rebuild, but they're spunky and making great money. I know it can be done. Tazuna didn't seem to worry about it much. He's glad that not a single civilian casualty occurred. We're all relieved that proactive communication kept people safe.

Jiraiya said he'll give you the details on this Akatsuki member, based on what we've all compiled. When I get home I can tell you more, since I fought and learned some stuff about Pein. Keep your eyes open for follow-up reports, and if by any chance Rock, Cloud, Waterfall, Dream, or Star ask for more information about the Akatsuki: give it to them right away. We've asked Hidden Leaf to do the same. Share all of this.

Look after yourself, Gaara. I'll see you soon.

The heartfelt missive made Gaara glance up after reading and clear his throat, hit by a wave of gratitude that his brother's life had been spared. Further down the parchment were Jiraiya's comments:

Hi Gaara, your slow-as-hell Sensei has made it to the Hidden Tide Village and boy have I got some shit to tell you.

First of all, expect to hear some grievances from Leaf's councils soon. Said grievances won't be geared toward you or Hidden Sand, but they'll be directed at Tide regarding the loss of Leaf's Sealing Corps Director Shimura Mochinaga, as well as other Leaf Corpsmen that died during the attack. These were some highly esteemed shinobi whose deaths will be felt in the village, and their talent will be very difficult to replace. So there's that. Not quite a major issue, but an issue all the same.

Your brother looks to be fine, however he's expressed some concern about someone named "Menma" being missing after the fight with Pein. Likewise, Obito is also okay but took a considerable beating, and will need a few days of rest to recover from chakra exhaustion. I'm sending him home to his family when he is well enough to go.

To get to the meat of it, Pein is alleged to be the leader of the Akatsuki, and per the accounts of those who fought him in Tide, he can control up to six "proxies," which are animated bodies that possess a variety of jutsu. These dead bodies (examinations suggest they are preserved corpses of former ninja) receive signals remotely through "black receivers," chakra-demodulator rods they are pierced with. Interrupting the signal or rendering the body immobile are the only known ways to stop proxies controlled by this method. Each body seems to have an exclusive ability, and they do not wield multiple jutsu the way living shinobi tend to. Analysts are still examining the null proxies that were left behind. Four of six proxies were destroyed in the Tide Village, with the exceptions being the Absorption and Force proxies. Reports indicate the following abilities were encountered:

-Unknown Type that was immediately sealed by Kankuro's team, and as such there is no record of what it can do.

-Summoning Type that summoned many types of large, contracted animals that are also controlled by black receivers. Reports noted a crustacean, chameleon, and multi-headed dog.

-Weapon Type that sported six arms that could fire missiles, and had a variety of weapons imbedded within its body.

-Soul-Stealing Type that could make contact with a single target and read the mind of the victim, was also thought to extract the consciousness of a victim to kill them.

-Chakra-Absorption Type that passively absorbs chakra and can negate Ninjutsu. Those that resorted to using Taijutsu in order to deal with this proxy were outmatched, however some success was reported by isolating this proxy and utilizing Genjutsu.

-Force-Manipulation Type is the form that Obito recognized based on its routine interactions with other Akatsuki members. It can manipulate attractive forces to push or pull anything nearby it. There is a gap of time between each use of this ability, approximated to be 5 seconds. It uses this ability offensively and defensively. If more of the controller's chakra is devoted to this proxy, or perhaps any of the other forms, its attacks are amplified. Furthermore, the time gap reportedly shrinks.

You might be asking yourself how someone can manipulate various bodies all at once. We are not exactly sure, but I have a hunch. Obito confirmed that each of the bodies had abnormal eyes that fit the description of a primitive Doujutsu called the Rinnegan. This type of power was wielded by the Sage of the Six Paths in ancient times, and is absent in modern day shinobi. That's what we thought up until now. It stands to reason that this kind of Doujutsu could very well be behind Pein's ability. For now, we are assuming that Pein can create more of these proxies to replace those that are lost, if given enough time.

I need to confess that I have met someone with eyes like these once before, back when I was a much younger man. I looked after three orphans in the Land of Rain during the Second Great Ninja War, and was surprised to find a boy named Nagato who had the Rinnegan. After an ambush on the hideout where he and his friends lived, I left that land assuming they were dead. Naruto is familiar with this tale. Please let him know that I think those children may be connected to the Akatsuki in some way. I will also be warning Tsunade of the possibility.

Once I wrap up damage control here, I'll be making my way to Nanakusa. I can keep you in the loop on Haku's status (I have some favors to ask of him), and if Momochi is stupid enough to cross me. If you have questions, don't hesitate to send a message to Shiogakure. There were many witnesses to the attack, and some people might have details we missed.

Oh, and keep Naruto tucked under your wing for a while. Things are haywire with the Akatsuki brazenly attacking villages. I don't want him going anywhere without me, at the moment. Why not help him out and teach him what it means to be a Kage? He's going to need a professional leg to stand on when he gets back to Leaf. Polish him up!

-Jiraiya

When he finished, Gaara held out the scroll to Temari, "You should read what Kankuro wrote."

"Oh?" She raised a brow and crossed over to the desk.

"What'd he write?" Naruto was eternally curious.

"That he loves us."

Naruto pooched his lips and slumped down in the armchair, moved by the bond of siblings.

Temari was speed-reading and commenting simultaneously, "I think I'm going to have to cut this out and frame it."

Gaara nodded in agreement and then added, "I'll see who among the Medical Corps is free to go south with you and the team I am putting together. I am not sure…if Matsuri will be alright."

"Why not?" Temari was spilling over into Jiraiya's message.

"Because Menma is missing."

Her eyes darted up, alarmed.

Gaara sighed and rubbed his head, feeling the weight of Naruto's stare on him.

"She shouldn't go with me to Tide, then." Temari supposed.

"If she doesn't and finds out anyway, that won't put her at ease either."

"So you want me to watch your student find out first hand that her boyfriend is missing or probably dead?" She was not charmed by the task.

Naruto's eyes went even wider as he looked at his friend, where Gaara had leaned over his desk and plopped his head into his palm, "No matter what she'll be unhappy. So what do I do? She's already preparing to travel."

An immediate suggestion came from Naruto, "Well, you send her!"

Temari and Gaara goggled at him.

"Even if she's freaking out, it makes more sense to send her. Then she'll feel like she has slightly more control over the situation, if she can look and ask around. If she's stuck here she'll just go insane. I know I would." He reasoned.

Gaara wasn't so sure, "Naruto, Matsuri still has to be able to follow orders in a time of crisis."

"And you don't think she can? She's a Chunin. She can hold it together."

Vexed, Gaara formed hand signs and summoned a pint-sized scorpion. He muttered orders at it while confirming to his human companions, "Matsuri will go too. I'm assigning her."

"This is going to be ugly." Temari predicted.

Her brother had to point out, "So was your last mission."

"Seems to have become my specialty— taking tragedy head-on." Temari watched the scorpion scuttle away from Gaara's desk and out an open window, "Which meeting point?"

"The village gate in thirty minutes."

Temari nodded to her brother and then requested of Naruto, "Help him, Naruto. Neither of you do anything reckless."

He gave her an affirmative sound before the kunoichi hustled out of the office. The door clicked shut behind her as Naruto rose from his seat to approach the desk, and thunked his hands down on top of it, "Tell me how I can help you, Gaara."

"You already have."

"Hey, don't be figurative. I mean seriously. You need to give me something to do if you're going to stick me on Suna's no-exit list." Naruto punctuated the last words with finger-taps, "Keep-me-busy."

"We'll be waiting on correspondence from other villages, and I expect Tsunade-sama's updates will be arriving soon." Gaara thought on it, "So if you want something to do…"

"Let me shadow your duties."

"Later. I have a better idea." The Kazekage fished around a desk drawer for official letterhead, "Now that you're a Chunin, you ought to know how to climb the ladder of shinobi hierarchy."

While standing, Naruto flexed in a feline, tongue-curling stretch, still antsy, "I do know. I work hard and earn respect!"

"Along with that, strategy and timing get you there. You can still be respected and go nowhere. If you want to be Hokage, you have to understand how to make the village want you to be the Hokage." He was testing a pen that was running low on ink, "Arguably the best place to start is to elect a specialization."

"Elect a wha-?"

Gaara gestured with the pen, "You have various talents. Develop one that allows you to amass greater acclaim and trust, like how Sakura has risen in Leaf's Medical Corps. The reason why it works is because those in your sphere of influence will begin to vouch for you when it comes time for a retiring Kage and the land's daimyo to select a succeeding candidate. Fundamentally, that's how it goes…but there are always other factors that come into play." He summarized, "At this point you are blessedly well-rounded and sporting several key advantages, but if you choose a talent that aids the village and serves its best interests—"

"People will be more willing to consider me?"

"Exactly."

"How do I make an election then?"

Gaara dove into the topic, "You show up to a division or Corps office with a recommendation. Usually there will be a preliminary assessment before you are accepted on a full-time basis. For example, if you wanted to serve on Konoha's advisory council and join it as a junior member, you submit a recommendation and pass a practical interview. Rather simple. Other divisions in the village will require different materials and commitments from you. They might also try to turn you away at-will with no reason cited." He indicated that the unjustifiable prejudice Naruto routinely endured as a jinchuriki could complicate the feat, "But you won't be turned down."

"I won't?" Naruto squinted his eyes, "Why not?"

"Because the Kazekage's recommendation is not so easily ignored." Gaara was a bit smug, "Neither is the Hokage's."

"Wouldn't that look just a little bougie? It's not exactly a secret that you guys like me."

"That's the point."

He shrugged, "Ah, if it works, it's still probably not the worst thing someone's done to get into one of these."

"True. Now, what division do you think you could serve?"

"…I'm not re-eeally sure…shouldn't I give it some thought and choose carefully?"

"Just pick one." Gaara sniffed, pressing the pen to paper.

"Jeez, fine. Ero-sensei had me eating and breathing sealing scrolls he brought along on our trip, before we ended up on Mount Myoboku. That's how I worked out the Hiraishin."

"Alright, so the Sealing Corps."

"Isn't that, like, the top rung of shinobi divisions-? I kinda fell off the band wagon and haven't read much lately."

"That doesn't matter. Once you join, you'll be devoted to studying and assisting analysts. Then after that, coordinators and commissioners. The point is to learn. You don't have to be the best there."

"—didn't you say-?"

"Quiet. I'm writing." Gaara was concentrating on the start of a bewitching endorsement.

He stood there for a moment, doing his best to remain silent while Gaara wrote. Naruto felt the urge to tap his foot, wild with energy and questions, glancing around the office. When not speaking became unbearable, he whispered a question, "…would I…report to that place every day?"

"Ask those questions after you are accepted."

"Again with the assumptions."

Gaara cocked his head in annoyance, "Save your questions for when you are a member. I won't know every detail of how that division operates in Leaf." He fished for an official signature seal in a stationary box, "You'll further distinguish yourself by performing well on missions, obeying the Hokage, and maintaining a rapport with all of the standard forces."

"Sounds like a cakewalk." Naruto thought out loud, not counting possible discrimination.

"It'll be much harder than it sounds…" Gaara assured him as he pressed the sealing stamp at the bottom of the page, "However, you can use a good challenge. Your training over the last few years has gone exceedingly well, so let's see how you perform in the civic arena."

Naruto accepted the official letter his friend handed to him, feeling a tickle in his chest. Gaara had faith in him. He felt encouraged, even if he was lost at the fork in this path.

After putting away odds and ends on his desk, Gaara stood to fetch a drink of water from the cooler at the corner of the room, "We should go over the things Sensei mentioned in his message. Those details will help us deal with the Akatsuki in the future."

Naruto plopped back down into his seat, "Alright."

"Then, lunch. Then more committee meetings. You can shadow me for those, they'll be brief." The Kazekage downed the cup of water, adding, "After all that, I'll show you around all of the Corps divisions we have here, so you get an idea of what they're like."

"Huh. I'd appreciate it."

Gaara crossed over to him and patted the empty cup on top his friend's head, "Once all of that is out of the way, and I have more free time tomorrow…" He smiled, "We can train together."

This was a schedule Naruto could get behind, "About time you suggested that, you know."

"I was getting to it. My job doesn't allow for days off."

"I might kick your butt, Gaara."

"If you do, it won't damage my ego nearly as much as it would have in the past." Gaara circled around his desk again and handed off the scroll with Jiraiya's message to Naruto, "Neither will I boast about it should I defeat you."

"You are SO," Naruto emphasized, "Full of shit."

"I am."

"You're buying lunch."

---

Note: Hope you liked it, peeps. I need to drink from a jug of motivation juice in order to get working on the next few installments, which ought to be shorter in length and easier to churn out. Fanfic posting gets a bit hairy when it coincides with novel writing, whittling down that stack of books I said I'd read, work, whiskey, life, and 3DS games. To anyone who might find the time to do actual editing work/proofreading on a book manuscript next year: drop me a line. I need a serious brain and set of eyes to look at [working title] Quartz Story. Inquire by PM.

Chapter 49- Line of Sight

Per fiveflyingsquirrels' request for a small Q&A, sure, why not? To satisfy the curious minds.

---

Q: How old are you?

A: Old enough to get serious about my wrinkle-fighting regimen. But still cute AF.

Q: Where are you from?

A: Nueva Jersey. El estado jardín.

Q: Why did you start writing Naruto fanfiction?

A: Separation anxiety from the series, even before it ended. We read and write fanfiction to revisit the things that kindle our imaginations. I wanted to enshrine a love for characters that were relegated to the sidelines in a transformative work, and simultaneously get better at writing.

Q: Would you write fanfiction for other fandoms? If so, which ones?

A: Yep, I have thought about this. There are currently no definite plans to produce these, but I would write for: Otoyomegatari, Full Metal Alchemist, Lovely Complex, Noragami, RWBY, Steven Universe, Mahoutsukai no Yome, Samurai Champloo, Miraculous Ladybug, Yuri! On Ice, Akatsuki no Yona, Kiki's Delivery Service, Stranger Things, The Dark Tower series, all kinds of stuff.

Q: -! Can I pick or suggest one to you?

A: Absolutely.

Q: Would you write it?

A: I will make an offering to the gods by burning some chicken bones in a fire to see if I am permitted to spend my time doing so. I'd like to write those for you, truly, but at any given moment burnout is lurking.

Q: Do you accept compensation to write stories?

A: I personally do not want to profit from fan works. Original work, yes. I will take your request, but not the compensation.

Q: Coffee or tea?

A: All of the above in moderation. Anything that is not soda or fruit juice.

Q: Field of university study?

A: Modern languages.

Q: Will you finish Harbinger?

A: Oh totally. I'll be old-ish when I do, but the fun is letting it be an epic-length writing exercise.

Q: How about The Ocean in a Teacup?

A: Yes, but it'll get pretty fucked up before its conclusion. It's a Drama/Adventure/Tragedy. Draventurgedy.

Q: Can I do another one of these Q&A's with you?

A: For a brand new can of cashews, of course.