Hey ya'll! I adopted this fic from a good pal, RamenLoverNaruto. They told me they killed the fic, and I stepped in. Vola~ My new fic. Happy belated birthday to Sasuke-kun~

Pairing:
NaruHina
SasuSaku
ShikaIno
? (Surprise Pairing later! x2)

Chapter Nine: The Hunt

Eight days had passed and the Akatsuki finally finished sealing the Two-Tails, taking a day between the sealings to rest up a little before moving on. Pain looked over his members and stopped at Deidara and Sasori. "Now. Itachi, which village do you believe that chakra came from?"

"The Hidden Leaf Village... May I suggest I join them?" Itachi asked, both wanting to stretch his legs as well as reunite with his little brother to see how strong he had gotten.

"Hmm. The Nine-Tails' village... Gaining the Nine-Tails would bring our goal even closer with how much chakra it has. Alright. Deidara, Itachi and Kisame will go to the Hidden Leaf Village while Sasori, Tobi and Konan go to the Hidden Cloud Village and go after the Eight-Tails." Pain ordered, ending the meeting.

Deidara, Itachi and Kisame remained. "So, the Hidden Leaf Village, hm? Shall we meet up there or somewhere else?" Deidara asked.

Itachi nodded. "We'll meet up in Tanzaku Quarters, which is a short distance from the Leaf." He said, seeing Deidara nod before the three left Sasori, Tobi and Konan to discuss their own plans." Standing, he looked in the direction of his old home, wondering how it was after Pain had destroyed it. Most of all, he wondered how Sasuke was fairing after their last meeting when Sasuke was 12. He prayed his brother hadn't taken his warning too seriously. In fact, he wanted to be defeated by Sasuke alone. He closed his eyes as he remembered why he was in the Akatsuki.

"Ready to move out to Tanzaku?" Kisame asked.

"Yes. We know that Deidara might've gained Sasori's little quirk about being kept waiting." Itachi said as the two took off.

After healing Kabuto, Karin had to take the rest of the day off since she could only heal once a day with her Heal Bite. But, she used the least amount using the Mystical Palm Technique to help Kabuto heal up Orochimaru. Sighing, she stood outside the door in the hall with Suigetsu and Juugo. "Listen, Juugo.. About last time... I'm.. erm.. Well, you know.. Sorry." Karin fumbled before seeing Suigetsu expecting something. "Whaddya looking at, Suigetsu!?" She demanded.

Suigetsu put a hand over his heart as if hurt. "Why, Karin, I just wanted to be thanked for finding you that day. Or at least apologized to for getting yelled at." He suggested.

Karin, however, chose to ignore the comment about apologizing. "Well, thanks. Happy?" She said.

"Not quite. Where's my apology?"

"Shut it."

"Do you two mind?! I'm trying to focus in here!" Kabuto's annoyed voice came from the other side of the door. "Sorry about that, Lord Orochimaru."

"It keepsssss me entertained.. Sassssuke will regret deccccceiving me.." Orochimaru stated while Kabuto focused on healing the wounds. After he was cleared by both Kabuto and Karin, he immediately sensed the change in chakra with those in the Hidden Leaf Village. "I sssssee. the village hassss grown ssstronger."

"I noticed it after regaining my senses." Karin stated, fixing her glasses while glaring at Suigetsu, who grinned like she was his least favorite person. "Perhaps we should investigate?"

"There are otherssss heading to the village, Karin... Plussss, they think I'm dead.. However, you are right... We sssshould vissssit." Orochimaru concluded as the group left.

Both Sasuke and Naruto stopped mid-stride when they both caught the odd chakra that was closing in on the Leaf. It was Sasuke who realized, with both shock and anger at who the chakra belonged to. He placed his Sword of Kusanagi back where it belonged as Sakura and Hinata joined them, looking worried at the look on Sasuke's face.

Naruto gave a tiny smirk before opening his eyes. "Teme, mind letting them know? Or which news do you wanna hear, Granny?" He asked aloud as the Hokage appeared.

"The lesser of the two bad ones." Tsunade replied.

Sasuke deactivated his Mangekyō Sharingan before speaking. "It appears that Orochimaru, Karin, Kabuto, Suigetsu and Juugo are heading this way from the south-west... I never expected Karin to be so stubborn about dying." He muttered to himself more at the last part.

Tsunade actually smiled. "That's like Orochimaru... He is annoying... I gave up on him the instant he left the village. So, anything else?"

Naruto sighed. "Teme took the easier one. The other thing is that Uchiha Itachi, Deidara and Hoshigaki Kisame are coming here from the north-east. And Kurama's getting anxious to avenge the other Tailed Beasts. Knowing teme, he'll want to face Itachi."

Sakura gulped at the determination on Sasuke's face at the mention of the elder Uchiha. "Surely there's something we can do?" She motioned to their friends, who were curious.

"Leave Orochimaru to me. I have a little message from Jiraya for him." Tsunade said, punching a fist into her palm. "After all, he's a Sannin like me, so it's only more fun for me to face him. As for Karin, I believe that Sakura, Ino and Hinata could team up against her, with Tenten providing backup. Suigetsu will be Kakashi's responsibility, Juugo will be taken on by Lee, Shikamaru and Kiba with Shino helping them. Sasuke, you get Itachi. Naruto, you and Neji will take on Kisame while Choji, Guy and Asuma take on Deidara.. We must not let this village face another mishap! Understand?"

"Yes, ma'am." Came the replies from everyone, minus Kurenai, who stood beside Tsunade, a slight bump showing that she was, indeed pregnant.

Sakura and her 'team' gave a reassuring nod to Sasuke, Naruto and Neji before they turned to leave, getting stopped by Sasuke. "What's up?" Sakura asked.

"Be on guard with Karin. She may look like she's weak, but she can hold her own. Just beware. She will try to trick you by any means possible." Sasuke warned before heading off with Naruto, Neji, Guy, Choji and Asuma.

Karin frowned when she saw only half of the Leaf 12 in front of her, Sasuke not there. "Why, where's my Sasuke-kun?" She whined, adjusting her glasses.

Orochimaru smirked. "Tsssssunade... Been a long time..." He taunted.

"Shut it, Orochimaru! Hope you enjoy pain, cause I have a message just for you from Jiraya!" Tsunade replied as the two took off to fight somewhere else.

"Where is Sasuke-kun?!" Karin demanded, clearly pissed.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but Sasuke-kun had other engagements and can't be bothered by you." Sakura explained as she knelt with Ino and Hinata. "Let's end it quickly!" She said as Tenten helped by distracting Karin before they charged towards Karin, Ino kicking her a few times before kicking her up to Hinata, who spun with her palms connecting before slamming her down.

Karin caught on and countered Sakura's punches, even landing her own before bumping into Hinata, who used her Protective 64 Palms when Sakura jumped back. "I WILL see my Sasuke-kun again!" Karin announced, charging at Sakura.

Hinata quickstepped over to send Karin flying with the Vacuum Palm. Before she could get to Sakura, a flower landed by Karin and exploded. "What?!" Hinata questioned as Sakura rushed to grab her, both getting caught in the blast. Activating her Byakugan, Hinata saw that Tenten and Ino had escaped the blast as well.

The blast was noticed by everyone within hearing, including Naruto and Sasuke, who were teamed up against Itachi and Kisame. Deidara and Kakashi had joined them earlier. Sending Kisame flying, Naruto took the time to see where the explosion came from, his eyes widening when he realized that Hinata, Sakura, Tenten and Ino were where the cloud was billowing. "Fuck!" He snarled as he sent two Rasen Shuriken towards Kisame.

Sasuke saw exactly what Naruto reacted to before using his new Chidori Senbon at his brother as Temari and Kankuro joined the fray. "We don't need help..." Sasuke announced.

"Too bad. Gaara wanted us to help out. After all, this is the Akatski!" Temari shot back, opening her fan up to pick up dust. "Plus, this way we'll cover you two." She nodded in the direction Naruto had just glanced at.

Naruto gave a quick smirk before he and Sasuke went to check on the girls, catching the light that flashed in Itachi's eyes when Temari guarded their retreat. As they went to the site, they met up with Shikamaru and Neji. "Temari and Kankuro are giving us some cover. Though, I may have been blind to my own feelings for Hina-chan, I swear I saw a small light pass in Itachi's eyes." He mentioned, gauging Sasuke's reaction.

"Hn. I saw that too." He said as they arrived at the site. He and Neji scanned the area before he motioned to the left then the right. "Tenten and Ino are over there." He said, getting Neji to nod and deactivate his Byakugan while Naruto and Sasuke went to find Sakura and Hinata. He found Sakura trying to get to her feet from apparently landing on a bush. "What happened?" He asked, giving her some support.

"I was behind Hinata, but I caught a glimpse of a flower before it exploded. I was quick enough to get Hinata out of the way." Sakura explained, as they walked to the clearing and she saw what looked like the remains of Karin's glasses. Looking around, she saw that Hinata, Ino and Tenten were all being supported like she was. Finding her balance, she looked around as her eyes caught what looked like a piece of clay. "This looks like something Deidara would use..." She said.

Naruto blinked. "But Deidara was fighting Kakashi-sensei." He pointed out as a girl walked out of the forest. "Who're you?"

The girl looked sheepish. "Sorry about that. I was trying to only help cause I figured that red-head had something planned that would've caught you off guard. But, I guess I put a little too much chakra in my piece." She bowed a little. "My name is Misaki." She wore purple sandals, a purple skirt with a black outline, skirt similar to Sakura's, black shorts, and a lavender long sleeved top that cut off at her belly. On her right sleeve was a design of what seemed to be three circles with three lines in the middle. She had green-blue eyes and dark blue hair tied in a ponytail.

Naruto grinned and adjusted his headband. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto and I'll become Hokage! These are my friends." He introduced them in order, ending with Hinata.

"Nice to meetcha. Seems like something's goin-" Misaki glanced as Deidara's clay bird flew overhead, before he leapt down, getting them to separate. "Excuse me! We were talking, jerk!" She yelled.

"Too bad, hm. I wanted more fun than the Copycat." Deidara replied, grinning as Kakashi joined them. "Time to show that my art is better!" He said, creating his bird explosives, to which Misaki smirked and appeared beside him, scaring the shit out of him. "Where'd you come from, hm?"

"You are a great artist, but terrible as a ninja. You interrupted my sentence." She smiled gently before round housing Deidara to the ground. Misaki giggled at the looks of shock on Naruto's face right before dodging Deidara's bird.

Naruto blinked right before Deidara sent her flying with a well-aimed kick. Figuring it was their time to fight, he took Hinata's arm lightly and tugged her forward. "Now, let's do this." He said as he and Hinata both charged forward, him comboing Deidara into the air where Hinata took a few hits to him before sending him back to Naruto, who had charged up the RasenShuriken and as it was about to hit Deidara, it ran out and fizzle. "Damnit." Naruto knew his limit with the RasenShuriken was only two successful, but he never realized how hard it was to hit a target like Deidara.

Ino and Sakura both sent the other a nod and rushed forward, kunai drawn as Sakura used her chakra to envelope the blade, showing off what Asuma taught them all: the Chakra Blade. She sent Deidara skidding back as Ino appeared behind him, kneed him into the air and sent a chakra enfused kick to the side of his face, making him fly into Misaki's punch.

"Damnit. I can't get a break!" Deidara said, handspringing to a nearby tree before seeing Kisame heading back. "I guess it's time for us to go. I can't play anymore, hm." He was about to follow Kisame when Itachi joined him. "I don't need help, hm." That earned him a glare from the elder Uchiha.

Misaki took the distraction to get nearest Deidara and make the Snake, Ox and then clasped her hands in front of her. "Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu!" The jutsu trapped both Deidara and Itachi, who were shocked at her speed as she jumped down with the two so they were looking at the Konoha 12.

Naruto was gaping before Temari and Kankuro joined them. "Where're you from, Misaki?"

Misaki gulped and flushed slightly. "I... I have no village..." She kept her focus on her jutsu right as Yamato used his binding jutsu. "..." She turned and was shocked to see Yamato.

"Oh, Misaki.. Been awhile." Yamato said.

Cliffy~ I just love cliffhangers! And I introduce: Misaki, my OC. Here's a little bio stuff:

Misaki-
Age: 16
Gender: Female.
Jutsu Type: Earth and Water.
Village: None.
Rank: ?
Team: ?
Gen, Tai, Buk, Ken?: Ken and Tai
Kagomee-H.