She wanted to cry, but her ego wouldn't allow her to do that. She could physically feel the pain in her chest, as if she just recovered from some kind of heart attack. Her blood boiled, and she couldn't stop moving. She paced around her apartment senselessly, trying to figure out what to do.

After all the heart bonding moments they had. Anko should have realized when she caught him going out of his way to perform that jutsu to impress that blonde-haired bitch. She felt stupid. Naive. She could have predicted this moment, but chose to stay blind. In hopes that she would be wrong. This is why she didn't want to feel this level of attachment again. Love blinds people, and she might as well have blindfolded herself while Naruto tried to hit an apple off her head from 100 feet with a kunai. And it just so turned out that he intentionally missed, and let the kunai drive into her chest.

All men are pigs. She thought Naruto was the most pure shinobi she'd ever met, and even he would stoop so low as to cheat on her. In the open air.

Unbelievable.

The mixture of pain and hatred was becoming too much for her. She stormed over to a bottle of sake she had saved for when they got back to her apartment and tossed it at the closest wall at stunning speeds. Glass and sake combined in a messy explosion and hit the floor. She couldn't take it anymore. This anger, this rage... it had to be released.

Any kind of frustrations or stress erupted from her emotional core as she quickly began to thrash her apartment. Anything within an arm's reach of her was slung across the the room, crashing into the adjacent wall. From household items to personal belongings, they decorated the floor slowly, making the floorboards become less and less visible. She felt as though this small rampage wasn't helping her condition, only worsening it. But she couldn't stop. She still had enough sense not to completely destroy her home, though she began arriving to that point where she wouldn't give a damn if she did.

As her frustrations increased, her grasp of rational thinking decreased. She couldn't hear her growls and screams of anger anymore. She couldn't even hear herself think. She was just in a blind, chaotic fury.

All attempts to further wreck her apartment was brought to a halt when a severe pain was casted upon the back of Anko's right collarbone. It seemed like the area pulsed then began to burn her, as if somebody branded her. The pain immediately brought her to her knees, and she clutched the area in a feeble attempt to stop the pain. Her teeth grit hard, and every muscle in her body became stiff. The pain only got worse, and Anko soon realized what was happening.

"Aaagghhh...! N-No... It can't be...!" she growled. She tried to sooth and relax herself, but it was already too late. The three tomoe mark attached to her skin glowed an eerie red, moving as if it had a life of its own. The mark then stretched out and spread, covering over her whole backside, around her neck, and soon covering over half of her face. And where ever the tomoe-like marks spread, the pain immediately followed.

She quickly crawled back in a panic until her bed prevented her from doing so. The last time she had this happen to her, she was able to control it, to control how fast it was spreading and transforming her. But she couldn't do it now. She had no control over it. It was just getting worse and worse as time progressed.

She raised her hands in front of her face and saw the marks disappearing, though her skin began darkening. The soft peach skin she had slowly began turning to a rich dark shade of brown, hardening as well. Her nails shifted into the darkest shade of black, growing and becoming razor sharp like ten little blades at the end of her fingertips. Her drastic transformation elongated her canines, extending out over her bottom lip, and her pink lips turned black, as if she wore the darkest shade of matte black lipstick. Her eyeballs turned from white to black, as well, and her brown chocolate eyes shifted into a bright gold-ish color. The purple hair she grew up with changed to blood red, and grew drastically, to the point where the band holding her upside-down ponytail couldn't hold it anymore. Her locks stretched out to the middle of her back, as did her bangs, which now completely covered her forehead.

As Anko felt herself transforming out of control, she mustered up the strength to stand up and hurry to her bathroom. She turned on her light switch and gasped at what she was looking at in the mirror.

Was this a kekkei genkai she didn't know about? Or was it because of the Curse Seal? When she transformed because of the seal in the past, she only saw the black markings covering half of her body... But this was on a whole other scale. Besides, the Third suppressed her seal years ago! She could barely even recognize herself as she looked at her new eyes... and hair... and skin. It was as though she was looking at someone... something else. She was so in shock, she took a few steps back away from her reflection and almost stepped on her own tail.

...Tail?

Her eyes widened in utter disbelief at what was lying on the ground behind her, connected up to her lower backside. At first, she thought it was some kind of snake. But it was her tail. Her own 4 foot tail that matched her skin tone and was as flexible as rubber.

'What in the hell...?' was mouthed from her black lips as she found out she had the ability to control her extra appendage. She could move it any which-away, and even went as far to spin it in circles. She had to be dreaming. This had to be some weird genjutsu. It just had to be. This couldn't be real.

"What in the name of Kami is happening to me...?!"

"Kakuzu and Hidan are their names, huh?" Kakashi asked.

Shikamaru nodded, "Yeah. Hidan is the one that killed Asuma-sensei, so I have something special planned for him."

Kakashi looked over at him, "And you're sure your plan is going to work? I have utmost confidence in your strategic abilities, but you've told me that one of them is immortal, and the other one you don't have much intel on. Besides, with me coming into your group now, I'm sure there will have to be changes."

"I know, but I'm pretty sure I have a grasp on what needs to be done. My plans have been adjusted to accommodate you in them too, sensei."

Unbeknownst to the four-man group, a Jounin-ranked kunoichi hovered over them from branch to branch, making as little noise as possible.

"Hmph, Konoha isn't so tough. I've managed to trick their most elite shinobi with hardly any trouble at all." She looked down at the squad she was currently following, "I've heard about the one in the middle, with the silver hair. Kakashi Hatake of the Sharingan, son of the White Fang. Even the Raikage knows of him. Must be pretty strong if he's that well known. And there's that kid from when I woke up in the hospital."

Yugito then frowned when she thought about events that happened approximately twenty minutes ago, "Poor Naruto. I actually feel bad for what I did, he was only trying to look out for me. But I warned him and he wouldn't stop butting in. So I did what I had to do. He was going to get me caught. I just need to kill those guys... after what they did."

In a clearing inside the Land of Fire, a man with white hair could be heard cracking his neck.

"I told you to stop doing that." Said the man that just stood up across from him, "You'll loosen the binds keeping your head together."

"Ahh, just shut up, Kakuzu." The scythed man groaned, "You get stiff from sitting in the same spot for days. Remind me to ask the leader why sealing the beasts takes so goddamn long."

"Considering how long you take to perform your stupid rituals, I'm shocked that you still haven't grasped the concept of patience yet."

A vein popped out of Hidan's forehead, "Oi, oi, oi, fuck you, Kakuzu! I thought I've told you to stop mocking my religion!"

The other Akatsuki member simply ignored his out outburst, "I'm just upset I couldn't collect the bounty for that man you killed earlier. He had a decent price on his head."

"Who, that asshole with the beard?"

"Yeah."

"Bahh!" Hidan sneered, "I'm still pissed he cut my fucking head off. Bastard..."

"Maybe if you hadn't spent so much time toying with him, we would have killed them all and gotten the Two-Tails."

Hidan jumped up from the rock he was sitting on and got in Kakuzu's face, "Or maybe if you had gotten off your ass and helped me, everything would have went more smoothly!"

Kakuzu only stared at the man 5 inches away from his face, "You told me to stay out of it."

"And since when do you listen to me?!"

Kakuzu remained undeterred and blinked, "Get out of my face... or I'll kill you."

Hidan cackled, "Good luck with that, you ugly shithead. Even with that mask on, I can still smell your shitty breath."

"Why do I have to have the most annoying partner?" Kakuzu grunted internally, "It beats being paired up with Tobi, I guess."

As the transformation completed, Anko could only stare at herself in horror at what happened to her. She wondered how this could have happened, why this happened... No matter what she did, she couldn't return back to her previous appearance. She wanted to go to the Hokage for help, but she can't go out looking like this! She'll probably be attacked on sight!

Just as that thought hit her, she heard a knock on her door.

"Shit!" She whispered. She wondered if she simply shouldn't answer. She can't be seen like this. If she just ignored whoever was at the door, they would probably just go away.

"Anko? Open the door, it's Yugao!" she heard following after another series of knocks. Anko stood there and thought for a second. Yugao was her good friend, someone she could truly trust. If anyone could see Anko like this, it would be her. Besides, she may be able to help.

Hesitantly, Anko walked over to her door and took a deep breath as her webbed hands grasped her doorknob. Before turning it, Anko stopped herself, "...Yugao?"

"Yes, Anko, it's me. Open the door, I have to talk to you about something!"

Anko became a bit shaky, nervous as to how her friend would react to seeing her in such a... bizarre state, "Yugao, before I let you in, I have to tell you that I uh... I don't look like myself right now."

There was a slight pause before Yugao responded, "Come on, Anko! I've seen you at your worst, so please let me in. It's really important!"

The transformed Jounin took another deep breath and turned the knob, "...Okay. Don't say I didn't warn you."

Anko slowly opened the door, and Yugao walked in side, "Alright Anko, I know this is gonna be hard for you to believe but I... just... wanted... to..."

Her words cut off when she took a look at her friend. Once she saw her dark brown skin, red hair, and golden eyes, it was hard for her to take her eyes off of her.

The cat-mask that was on her face prevented Anko from seeing how big her eyes got. But she could tell from her lack of speech and movement that she was absolutely stunned, "Yugao, I told you that I don't like myself at the moment... So please, don't jump to any rash conclusions."

Yugao took off her cat-mask and looked at this... new version of her friend, "...Anko?"

Anko took a careful step toward her, and Yugao took a half-step back. She watched as Anko's tail slowly paced back and forth, and saw how her shiny golden eyes with black sclera surrounding them carefully analyzed her.

"Yes, Yugao it's me." Anko took another step toward her, and Yugao put a hand on her kunai holster. Anko saw this and stopped further movement, " I know I look pretty crazy right now. But it's me, alright?"

Yugao never took her eyes off her. Her shocked and bewildered gaze turned into a hardened leer, "When did I become enrolled into the ANBU force?"

Anko saw the question as a bit random, but realized this was a question of confirmation, "Eight years ago, November fourth. The day after your seventeenth birthday."

Yugao's hard gaze had fallen, and she hurried over to her sister-like comrade to envelope her in a hug, "Anko, it is you!" She pulled her head back and gave her a look of concern, "What... what happened to you?", she then looked around, "And what happened to your apartment?"

Anko shook her head, "I don't know. I remember being really mad, furious even, over something that's happened... then I started changing into this."

Yugao looked her dead in her eyes, "Anko, speaking of why you'd be mad... I have to tell you something that you need to know."

"Good call on picking a different route." Hidan mumbled, "They'll probably be expecting us to head to Kumo from our last location."

"Idiot."

"What the hell do you mean 'idiot'?!"

Kakuzu turned his head and landed his green eyes on his partner, "We're not going to Kumogakure. Those Konoha-nin stepped in and intercepted the Jinchuuriki from us, remember? Chances are, they're keeping her in Konoha to let her heal and prevent us from intercepting her back."

"But what if you're wrong?" Hidan asked, "What if she's right there in Kumo as we speak? We should go there now, and even if it turns out that you're correct and the Two-Tails isn't there, we could still grab the Eight-Tails."

"No, Hidan." Kakazu grunted, "We need to grab the Two-Tails while she believes she's still protected. And if we're lucky, we can grab the Nine-Tails, as well."

"Fine." Huffed Hidan, "But I still think I'm right."

"Most idiots like you do."

"KAKUZU! I'M GETTING TIRED OF YOU INSULTING MY INTELLIGENCE!"

The red and green-eyed Akatsuki member couldn't help but have a small grin under his mask, "Considering how little of it there is, I'm not insulting a lot."

Kakuzu used his hardening powers on his arm to block the scythe swung straight at his head. With his comrade less than two feet away from his face, he looked straight into his eyes, "...Hmph."

"Stupid asshole!" Hidan barked, still pressing his weapon against his arm.

"...Hidan."

"What?!"

"Jump back."

"To hell with that! You keep pissing me off and-!"

"Hidan!" Kakuzu's eyes shifted to his left, "Now!"

Kakuzu leaped back and in response, Hidan did the same. The two were now aware of the long thin shadow headed toward them.

The next second, two kunai were headed straight for them. Hidan instinctively drew his scythe to deflect it, and Kakuzu hardened his arm to do the same. But as soon as the blades made contact, it was then that they both realized what was attached to them.

"Paper bombs...!"

Two explosions erupted from the two Akatsuki members locations, and they both emerged from the black smoke, seemingly avoided getting caught in the bombs explosion at the last possible second. The metal chain attaching Hidan to his scythe had been destroyed, as it landed a few yards away from them.

While still avoiding the shadow coming for them, the two criminals looked up, only to spot the boy they had battled earlier tossing two more kunai with paper bombs attached at the end. They swiftly ducked their heads in time and avoided a head shot.

"It's that boy from before." Kakuzu said, "He must... What...?!"

The tall spooky-looking Akatuski member noted how he couldn't move. His eyes peered at his partner and found him in the same condition.

Shikamaru looked down upon them from the branch he stood on, seeing that the blades given to him by his deceased sensei had properly penetrated the ground where there shadows were located.

"Just as planned." Shikamaru grinned. He then stepped down from the branch he was on and faced his two opponents, "You two remember me, right?"

"Yeah, you're that brat from before." Hidan spat, still futilely struggling to break from from the Shadow Shuriken Technique, "Hey! Why can't we move?! Your shadow never touched us!"

"That's credited to the man you killed three days ago." Shikamaru responded, his grin turning into a leer, "Those blades you dodged were no kunai. Those are special battle blades my sensei passed down to me, the same ones he used to cut your head off. And their special metal allowed me to attach my chakra to them, pinning your shadows down with chakra."

"Nani?!" Hidan responded, "You brat! I'll kill you!"

Yugito, who was discretely looking on from a distance gave a face that showed she was impressed, "Pretty smart, this kid. I guess that's how he was able to save me before." The Kumo-nin then stretched out her fingers and used her chakra to extend her fingernails into long razor sharp claws, "But now's my chance!"

Just as Shikamaru created a certain hand seal, Yugito jumped from her position to pounce on the man with a foul mouth. Hidan saw this coming and became wide eyed, not expecting to see her so suddenly. "Kakuzu, do something!" he yelled in a panic. Shikamaru's eyes went wide in shock, as did Kakashi's, Ino's, and Chouji's, who were looking on from a distance.

"I'll rip all of his limbs from his body!" Yugito thought, closing in on her prey.

But before any of her claws made contact with Hidan's body, she was tackled at surreal speeds mid-air. Everyone in the area gave noises of astonishment at these turn of events. Yugao landed a many yards away from the man she was about to rip apart, as did the person who tackled her.

Kakashi's lone eye grew wide with shock, "...Naruto?!"

Naruto Uzumaki's three tails made of pure repulsive chakra waved back and forth viciously as he watched Yugito roll to a halt. Yugito managed to get back on her feet, and looked up at a pair of some very angry eyes, "Naruto...?"

As if that were the wrong response, Naruto growled and lunged for the cat demon's host to blazing speeds, Yugito just managed to sidestep away from his gasp this time, and skidded a few feet away from him.

Kakuzu, now seeing that everyone was caught up in what the two jinchuuriki were doing, had used this time to use his hand that had buried itself in the ground while he was hit with the explosive tag to come out of the ground and remove the blade holding his shadow. Now free, he used the blade to knock away the one holding Hidan's shadow.

With the two members now free from Shikamaru's technique, they both charge at him.

"Shit!" Shikamaru cursed as he jumped back. Expecting them to come for him, he put his arms up in defense, only to see the backs of Chouji and Kakashi, who came to his aide and blocked them off. Kakuzu and Hidan jumped back a few feet away from their opponents.

The white haired man found his scythe and looked at the scenario at hand, "...Heh, I guess you were right, Kakuzu. You said if we were lucky, we'd be able to get the Two-Tails and Nine-Tails."

Kakuzu reattached his arm with the thousands of tendrils that allowed it to separate, "I told you. I just never thought we'd be so lucky as to have both of them come right to us." He then looked at the man in the middle, after seeing a blonde-haired girl who jumped down along with them, "Kakashi Hatake of the Leaf. This is going to be interesting."

Hidan then looked back at the two jinchuuriki engaged with themselves, "Oi, shouldn't we do something about them?"

"Nah." Kakuzu stated, getting into ready position, "From what it seems, the nine-tailed jinchuuriki is keeping the Two-Tails busy. We only have to ensure that they don't get too far or kill each other, since we do need them alive."

He then saw their four opponents charging at them, and got ready for combat, as did his reckless partner, "Besides, we have other matters to attend to."