::21::

Suigetsu barely had enough time to let out a growl as he flipped his hands into a rapid series of hand seals. "Kirigakure no Jutsu."

The mist exploded suddenly into the forest, billowing through the trees as it rolled toward Konoha. He managed to create the mist just in time; a second later and the explosive sound of kunai clanging on kunai responded through the forest and the sounds of battle erupted. Suigetsu flipped Kubikiribocho off his back and jumped down into the fray. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen – they were supposed to have the element of surprise, for Kami's sake! How was it possible that the Konoha shinobi had found out about their plan? The stupid pink haired bitch that Orochimaru supposedly went to great lengths to capture? Suigetsu had heard through idle talk that Orochimaru had her locked up good, wherever he was holding her.

Suigetsu didn't have much time to dwell on the issue. He could feel their chakra before he could hear them, or even see them. He deftly swerved to the side, just narrowly missing being trampled by a hulking Konoha shinobi who charged past him and disappeared into the mist again. There were some shouts of surprise before Suigetsu could hear the sounds of battle all around him now.

The Konoha ninja had surrounded them. Orochimaru was not going to be pleased when he heard about this.

"What the bloody hell is that?" Ron screeched as he watched the mist begin to roll in eerily through the northern gate and into Konoha. Beside him, Hermione put a hand over her mouth as she shook her head.

A lithe blond girl, her right arm in a sling and her left arm armed with a kunai took a step forward. "Kirigakure no Jutsu." Ino muttered. "It's a defensive technique and it will make visibility very difficult."

"So how will we fight?" Hermione asked anxiously.

Ino didn't get a chance to answer as a spell came jetting their way, illuminating the mist briefly with green. Ino tackled Ron to the ground just in time while the green spandex wearing ninja partnered with Hermione instinctively pushed the witch behind him.

Ino let out a wince of pain on account of her injured arm as she bounced to her feet. "Go!" Ino shouted toward Hermione as she pulled Ron to his feet. "Run to the western gate and make sure none have managed to escape the ambush and are trying get inside! We'll meet you there!"

Rock Lee gave Ino a solemn nod, his eyes serious before he took Hermione's hand and disappeared into the fog.

"Avada Kedavra!" Another spell came shooting their way and Ino threw her kunai in the spells direction before motioning for Ron to follow her. They took off into the mist, Ron jumping at every sound he heard.

"Was that the green spell the one the man named Kingsley warned us about yesterday?" Ino asked. "The one that will kill you instantly?"

"Uh huh." Ron said, his eyes darting this way and that.

"And there's no blocking it?"

"Nuh uh." Ron answered, wand trembling in his hand.

Ino groaned. She really wished she had her other arm for this.

Kakashi and Harry were standing on the roof of a building where visibility was slightly clearer when they heard the massive explosion and the tremor that followed. Harry jumped at the sound, recalling that he never heard something quite so loud before. The explosion was followed seconds later by blast's shockwave – a shocking gust of wind that felt like a tornado. Harry put his arm up and bent his legs so that he wouldn't get blown completely off the roof.

"Shit." He heard Kakashi curse.

"What was that?" Harry asked, mystified. The air suddenly smelled like burning wood.

"That would be the front gate." Kakashi said, hands clenching into fists as he stared off into this distance.

Sure enough, the mist had begun to dissipate enough from the shockwave for Harry to make out the smoldering and blackened ruins of the massive front gate only a few hundred feet from where they were standing. It wouldn't be long now before the Death Eaters and Oto ninja began flooding the village. "That was not part of the plan!" Harry said, alarmed. "What happens if they enter the village?"

Kakashi shook his head and placed a finger on the black communicator around his neck. "Lee?"

There was static as he released the button before a scratchy voice came through. "Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi pressed the button again. "The main gate has just been destroyed and it's only a matter of time before the village is over run. Take Hermione Granger to the other gates and ask her to fortify them!"

There was a pause before Lee responded "Yosh!" And the communicator went silent.

"What are we doing to do?" Harry asked.

Kakashi turned to Harry. "We're going to try and hold them off."

"I don't know if this is quite as fun as I expected it to be." Said George.

"You expected this to be fun?" Shikamaru Nara muttered underneath his breath.

Hermione and Rock Lee were quietly pressed against the side of a building, crouched as they quickly made their way toward the western gate. As they approached the corner, Lee suddenly held his arm out over Hermione before he peered around the corner.

The mist around them had gotten so thick that Hermione couldn't see anything beyond her own hand in front of her face. Luckily, she and Lee hadn't run into anyone else as they edged toward the gate – ally or otherwise although the distant sounds of ninjas battling the Death Eaters and Oto ninja that had entered the village could sometimes be heard . Hermione eyed her companion warily as Lee turned to her, his round eyes determined as he nodded that the coast was clear and motioned for them to continue. His odd sort of dress – a green skintight jumpsuit paired with a green vest and outrageous orange legwarmers – at least made Hermione feel less anxious about her companion. That and he had insisted on calling her 'Miss' Hermione ever since she met him.

As they ran toward the cover of the next building, Hermione wondered how Ron and Harry were faring or how Fred, George, Mr. Weasley, Lupin and Kingsley were doing in the battle outside the village.

"We're almost there, Miss Hermione." Lee whispered as he peered around the edge of the next building. "Are you prepared?"

Hermione ran through a list of possible fortification spells in her head: Colloportus, the Fianto Duri spell, Protego Totalum, Salvio Hexia…perhaps even an Anti-Apparation Jinx or a Warning Charm. Hermione gave her head a firm which seemed to fire Lee up.

"Yosh!" He said, pumping his fists.

Lee slipped around the corner, motioning for her to follow him. They began to run then, Lee presumably knowing where he was going despite the mist surrounding them.

"We're almost there, Miss Hermione!" Lee shouted back when suddenly a large gust of wind hit him, throwing him off his path and into the mist.

Hermione gave a surprised yelp and stopped running as she spun around, looking for Lee and feeling terribly exposed. She heard a grunt somewhere to her left and then the clang of metal on metal.

"Keep running, Miss Hermione!" Lee suddenly shouted and she heard another grunt. "Go to the gate!"

Hermione paused, uncertain. She didn't want to leave Lee; he had done his best to protect her, after all. But he was right – she wouldn't be able to help him and the gates needed to be fortified. She began running, hoping she was going in the right direction. After a minute or so, she stopped. The mist was curling up against something, as if something were blocking it. Hermione reached her hand out and sure enough, she could feel the rough texture of wood underneath her palm.

Hermione took a step backward and swooshed her wand, muttering under her breath before the mist began to clear from the area, finally exposing the gate. Hermione looked behind her, but still saw nothing. Turning hesitantly, she set to work.

"In here." Said Ino, quickly disappearing through the mist.

Ron followed after her, surprised to find himself inside someone's home. The mist had obscured a large crater had blasted through the wall and rubble lay in chunks all inside. Luckily, the occupants of the home were either hiding out in one of the bunkers or outside somewhere fighting. Various children's toys were scattered around which only made Ron feel worse. All this time, he had considered ninja to be these otherworldly beings – indestructible warriors who courted death for fun. Now, however, Ron could see that they were just normal human beings.

Ino leaned her head against the wall, before sliding down to the floor. Awkwardly, Ron stood in front of her, turning everyone once in a while to make sure no one followed them in.

"Are you sure this is safe?" Ron asked nervously.

"No." Said Ino as she flexed the fingers on her left hand before hesitantly feeling at her bandaged arm. "But if we continue on I'm not sure how much longer I'll make it. Watch the door." She ordered.

Ron turned, assuming she meant the huge unnatural opening in the wall. He felt guilty. He wasn't the best fighter Ino probably would be in better shape if she didn't have to keep covering for him. He wished he knew some sort of spell like Hermione likely would have that could at least have made Ino's arm more usable. Well, he could at least make it so no one overheard their voices and decided to come investigate. With a flick of his wand, Ron cast the spell before turning back to Ino.

"I cast a spell so that – "

Ron stopped short. Ino's left hand was covered in an eerie green light as she moved it slowly over her injured arm which was bandaged to the shoulder and held aloft by a sling. It seemed to be taking a lot out of her because she seemed fatigued and her forehead was beaded in sweat.

Ino's visible eye flicked upward toward Ron. "I'm not much of a healer." She said, sensing Ron's discomfort. "Not like…not like Sakura is." Through the bandages, Ron could see Ino was bleeding underneath. He didn't dare ask what had happened.

"Er…" Said Ron awkwardly. "Maybe you should have…"

"Sat this fight out?" Ino asked. "Fat chance," She snorted, "That I would let everyone go out and defend the village without me."

The green light finally faded from Ino's hand and she leaned her head back against the wall and shut her eyes. "The bleeding has stopped…for now." She said with a sigh. "We'll just stay here for a few minutes…"

Ino kept her eyes shut and after a moment's hesitation, Ron finally lowered himself to the ground next to her, wand still at the ready.

"Who are you?" Said Ino suddenly, breaking the silence. "In your world?"

Ron was taken back. "I'm…" He paused, trying to find the right words. He was silent for a minute, before finally looking away from Ino, his expression ashamed. "I'm no one, really."

Ino shifted her head so that for the first time, both of her eyes were staring at him. Her eyes reminded him of Naruto. "I don't think that's true." She said. "I'd be dead today if it weren't for you."

Ron highly doubted that. "Hermione's the brilliant one and Harry…well Harry's the Chosen One even if he doesn't want to be. And me…I'm…I'm not proud of the things I've done."

Abandoning Harry and Hermione at Christmas was at the top of that list, but as Ron said the words, he realized that there were other things he wasn't proud of; being so critical and antagonistic to Naruto, for allowing himself to get pulled under the lockets influence so easily and for all the times he doubted Harry during their time at Hogwarts, when he had let his jealously get in the way of their friendship.

"You volunteered to come here." Said Ino, breaking through Ron's thoughts. "You volunteered to fight."

"That's because of Hermione and Harry…Naruto and Sai." Ron explained, shaking his head. "If they didn't…"

"I don't like modesty." Said Ino with a roll of her eyes. "It's a waste of time. Own up to your accomplishments – you were brave enough to come here when lesser men would have peed their pants. Or at least spent the fight cowering in some corner. This doesn't count." Said Ino with a dry laugh.

Ron let a smile slip out but it was short lived. A rock slipping from the rubble from the wall alerted Ron to another presence in the room. He shot to his feet as a Snatcher came into view, wand raised. Ron almost let a curse slip from his lips when the Snatcher suddenly jerked on his feet and the wand went flying from his hand. Bewildered, Ron turned to Ino to see if she had any idea what happened. He turned just in time to see her arms drop from a weird hand formation before her body slumped to the side as if she were asleep.

"Ino!" Ron cried. Nervously, he kept his wand trained on the Snatcher as he backed toward Ino and crouched before her.

"I'm fine." Said the Snatcher. He was looking down at his robes curiously which were tattered and frayed in places. He was picking at them gingerly as if they were foreign objects when he noticed Ron gaping. "It's me," He elaborated, "Ino."

Then a cold feeling set down upon them. Harry instantly saw many Konoha shinobi let up a little from their battling to look for the source.

"No! KEEP FIGHTING!" Harry bellowed.

Then he conjured the happiest thoughts he had in him. "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

Kakashi was struggling to keep his Sharingan activated as he felt like his body was turning colder by the second. Then suddenly, a blur of silver streaked past his vision and he felt like himself again. He grinned inwardly. The boy was doing good. Then he felt a sneering pain as a kunai was slashed across his arm. Kakashi moved quickly, surprising the Oto ninja who thought he was still under the Dementor's spell. He quickly stabbed the kunai through this heart.

"Konoha Senpuu!"

He turned to see Gai give a Death Eater his signature kick.

"Accio wand!" Said Ron quickly. The Snatcher's wand flew toward him and Ron quickly caught it before shoving it in his pocket. He pointed his wand back at the Snatcher. "What the bloody hell did you do to her?"

The Snatcher sighed and held his hands up in surrender. "I swear it's me, Ino." He said as he slowly approached Ron. "I've been with you all day. I just told you that I hated modesty."

Ron had been shaking an unresponsive Ino, but his eyes turned wide at the Snatcher's words. Had he been listening in the entire time?

The Snatcher knelt carefully before Ron. "While my mind is in here," Said the Snatcher, indicating to his body. "My body will be unresponsive."

"It's a trick." Said Ron uncertainly.

"It's called the Shintenshin no Justu." The Snatcher explained. "It allows me to transfer my mind into someone else's body."

"That's…That's not…" Ron had been about to say possible but he realized there were a great many impossible feats that ninja could accomplish. Why couldn't Ino taking over a Snatcher's body be one of them?

"Do I have to prove it to you, or can we stop wasting time and get a move on?" The Snatcher asked in an annoyed tone that certainly seemed to sound like Ino.

Ron took a gulp and finally stood up. "Let's go."

"Nice to finally meet you Harry Potter, I've heard a lot about you."

Harry glanced over that the man who was running next to him. It was a fairly odd time to start introducing yourself..."Er...thanks...you are...?"

"Yamato...Watch out!"

Yamato tackled Harry to the side as a spell and a kunai pierced the spot they were just standing in. A group of five or more Death Eaters and Oto ninja were charging for them.

Yamato clasped his hands together. "Mokuton: Kiru Eda no Ki."

A branch of wood shot from the ground and impaled itself through the stomach of the cursed Death Eater. He let out a roar of pain as the branch twisted and cut its way through to the others. Harry winced at the gruesome sight. There were a few more however, who were still advancing.

"Choju Giga Bakuha."

A large inked beast leapt on to the branch and ran until it jumped off in front of the oncoming enemies.

"Brace yourselves." Said Sai. Then he activated a hand seal and the beast blew up, taking the enemies down with it.

Harry opened his eyes and lowered his arms as the smoke cleared. He ignored the sight in front of him as he turned to Sai and Yamato. "Let's continue to the West Gate."

Ron rolled out of the way of attack and pointed his wand at an Oto ninja. "Deprimo!" The Oto nin fell into a hole.

Then Ron heard a scream. "Hermione!" He looked up to see a wand pointing down at him.

The Death Eater above him grinned beneath his hood. "Ava..."

"Hakke Kusho!"

The Death Eater was blown backwards by an imaginary crushing force. Ron scrambled up to see a man with long dark brown hair and strange white eyes. These ninja were good to train blind people. Then he saw the man enter a weird stance. That's when he remembered Hermione. He turned to see her being held captive by a Death Eater. Ron was about to move when the white eyed man flipped over the Death Eater and moved his hands rapidly, hitting the man with rapid succession in the back. When he was done, the Death Eater fell dead on the floor. Ron raced over to Hermione.

"Are you ok?" Hermione nodded her head before turning to the man. "Thank you."

Ron outstretched his hand for the ninja to shake, but then pulled it back. "Er...sorry...I mean...I know you can't..."

Hermione shook her head. "Ron, he's not..."

The Ron waved his hand in front of the man's eyes. He was surprised when the man grabbed his fingers.

"I'm not blind." He said in an icy voice. Then he ran off to continue fighting.

Hermione slapped her forehead. "Idiot."

Suigetsu grinned as he looked up at the stunned face of a Konoha shinobi who just tried to shove a kunai through his stomach. Like water, he drifted away and reformed a few inches away. He launched a foot out and kicked the shinobi in the stomach before bringing his katana down through his back. Suigetsu pulled his katana out and batted away a kunai that was coming for him. A drew a bottle of water from his belt and chugged it down before melting away into water and regrouping somewhere else.

"Teme!"

Suigetsu turned to see Naruto charging at him. He quickly drew his katana and countered Naruto's attack.

"Blond hair, three whisker marks and a fiery temper. You must by the Kyuubi kid." Suigetsu snickered.

He kicked Naruto away, but to his surprise, when Naruto hit the ground, he burst into smoke.

"Katon: Gokakyuu no Jutsu!"

Shigestu turned to see the real Naruto above him, a huge fireball erupting from his mouth. Suigetsu had no time to counter it, so he braced himself and let the fireball hit him. He felt fire as his body disintigrated the fireball. Naruto scoweled. "Another one of Orochimaru's freaks..."

Naruto landed on the ground and stood in a face of with Suigetsu. Suigetsu acted first and outstretched his arms.

"Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu!"

The twin dragons erupted from Suigetsu's arms and headed for Naruto. Naruto jumped back and formed a few Kage Bunshins.

"Shihohappo Shuriken!"

The multitude of shuriken ripped through the dragons and headed for Suigetsu. He flipped back, only to land in Naruto's trap. Naruto kicked him up.

"U" "Zu" "Ma" "Ki" Suigetsu looked above him and saw Naruto waiting for him.

"Naruto Rendan!"

Naruto punched him down with amazing force into the ground. A crater formed around him. Suigetsu sludged out of the crater as a puddle and reformed himself. He scowled. The kid was a lot tougher and trickier than he thought he would be

Naruto landed, scowling because Suigetsu didn't even have a scratch on him. He had to think of a way to end this quickly. Suigetsu was watching Naruto closely, thinking of a way to get rid of him when Naruto blurred out of sight. His eyes widened when he felt a ripping sensation in his torso. Naruto backflipped over Suigetsu, pulling his kunai through him. Shigestu was split in half when Naruto landed. He formed some rapid hand signs.

"Hyoton: Hi no Tantou no Jutsu!"

Suigetsu was struck with a dozen icy blades. He could feel the ice seeping through him, threating to freeze him. He quickly burst, and tried to reform again. It was taking longer than it used to. Naruto growled. What would it take to get rid of this guy?

"Petrificus Totalus!"

Suigetsu froze in the midst of reforming. What was happening to him? He couldn't move! Naruto turned to see Hermione grinning.

"Looks like he was giving you some trouble."

"Ready?" Asked Yamato.

"Ready." Said Sai, making sure each of his inked beast were in position.

"Ready." Said Harry, getting ready to cast his spell.

Sai clasped his hands in a seal and several distinct explosions went off, killing Death Eaters and Oto ninjas alike and leaving Konoha engulfed in flames.

"Protego Horribilius!"

The last spell was the final blow as the Death Eaters and Oto ninja retreated, pulling back from the Konoha gates and retreating into the forest from which they came. Once they were gone, there was an eruption of cheers from the Konoha shinobi.

"We did it!" Yelled a red eyed woman named Kurenai who hugged Harry tightly before going off to celebrate with her teammates.

Sai slapped Harry on the back as Yamato grinned. "Nicely done."

"Kanpai!" Shouted Naruto, waving around the sword of Gryffindor, which he started to use after he ran out of kunai.

Hermione squealed and hugged both Ron and Naruto, who were ecstatic. "We gotta find Harry!" She yelled.

After much celebrating and jumping around with the other shinobi, they finally all grasped hands and entered the darkness.

Glossary:
Chikushou- Dammit
Kanpai-Cheers

Bingo Book

Undesirable #12

Itachi Uchiha

Status: Missing Nin (Konohagakure), Known member of Akatsuki

Family: Fugaku Uchiha – father (deceased), Mikoto Uchiha – mother (deceased), Sasuke Uchiha – brother (accepted)
Akatsuki partner: Kisame Hoshigaki (see Undesirable #13)

Security Status: UNTRACEABLE, working on checking all locations outside of Konohagakure; not present at two Akatsuki bases.