Still on track, for the most part. I actually want to keep this AN short, so let's see if I can manage it.

Haven't heard from ncpfan lately, so I assume he's still busy. Best of luck to him in getting everything sorted out, we look forward to having him join us again.

Updates are available at Eyazahrid-dot-net and you can get more notifications by following me on Twitter at Eyazahrid.

Here's the next chapter, enjoy.

Back, forward, back, forward, back- Kankurō shook his head, trying to find something to focus on other than his siblings' hands swinging in front of him. Considering they had to skirt along the edges of Hi no Kuni to reach their first destination, all there was to see was an endless expanse of trees.

Okay, he was exaggerating a bit. They had seen plenty of clearings- Temari had declared that at the next town they were getting supplies so they could have a picnic in one of them. What that meant he had no idea- and there were a couple mountains- or maybe they were hills. They weren't sand so he wasn't too sure- but regardless of where he looked his vision was filled by that accursed color of insanity; green!

Hadn't his siblings lost enough of their minds? Temari wanted them to go on a picnic, for gods' sake, and Gaara seemed eager to join her. The middle sand sibling took a look over his shoulder to see the reason they were being exposed to so much more of the heinous color.

Yep, his dad was still back there moping. He hadn't taken the news of Hi no Kuni's occupation well and Sai suggested he join his children on their vacation to relax.

The Puppeteer was fairly certain the commander of the Wolves just didn't want to deal with the depressed Kazekage.

Fair enough, Kankurō didn't really want to either.

And because of him they were walking through the greenery of Hi no Kuni once again – three Suna Shinobi and the former Kazekage, definitely not out of place at all when Konoha troops were currently establishing themselves within Sunagakure – instead of just taking a boat directly north to Yu no Kuni.

The boat would have been faster than their current leisurely stroll and would have spared them from the green, but his father apparently did not get along well with open water.

Fantastic.

If that was the guy who became Kazekage, Kankurō really couldn't say he was completely surprised Kaze no Kuni had been taken over.

Then again, while Konoha was known for its eccentricity it certainly didn't have a monopoly on it.

Seeing his father reduced from 'King of the Sand' to a moping cat scared of water, however, had him wishing they did.

Really, it was just sad.

"Mai, I think we need to have a talk." The black haired young woman looked up from her tea to the Inuzuka head seated on the couch across from her, noting the slight frown on the older woman's face.

"Hmm? Is something wrong, Tsume?"

"No, not exactly." Tsume answered. "But I think we need to make sure we're on the same page about some things."

A frown came to Mai's lips as she tried to think of anything that may have prompted this. She came back empty handed.

"Is this about the Wolves or..."

The Inuzuka matriarch gave a deep sigh. "It's about us, Mai, we need to talk about us." The second highest authority in the Wolves never thought she'd hear those words, and she never expected them to make her feel so nervous.

Mai stayed silent for a moment, staring down at her tea, before placing it onto the coffee table with a light sigh. "Okay, let's talk. What's on your mind?" It was time like this that she really appreciated the fact that Naruto usually only shared his concerns about the Wolves and usually kept his personal feeling to himself. Though, that wasn't to say she didn't know what he was feeling anyway.

She could read that troublesome Daimyo like an open book.

"This relationship," Tsume started with a vague gesture of her hand. "What exactly is it? Where is it going?" That had Mai pausing.

What was their relationship? Despite the time they had spent together Mai had never actually considered what their relationship really was. It was a friendship, to be sure, but did friends cuddle up in bed together?

Well, they did if they were Wolves, but what about normal people? And did it matter what normal people did when they were talking about the two of them?

They weren't lovers, things hadn't gone that far, but they were at least very good friends. Briefly, Mai was tempted to answer 'cuddle buddies', but didn't know how appropriate that was. With Tsume in a serious mood, she wasn't sure how well it would be taken, either.

Despite not knowing what their relationship was, Mai did know that she cared a great deal for the Inuzuka head and would hate to hurt her.

"I don't know, Tsume." She finally admitted. "I really don't know." The Inuzuka matriarch nodded in acceptance.

"That's fair, I have no idea either." Tsume visibly attempted to steel her nerves but was less than successful. "The real question is what do you want our relationship to be?" Before Mai could really start considering the question she continued. "I know you're very close to Gennin Naruto, and I'm pretty sure you're close to Tsukiyomi too from what you've told me, but I also know that my daughter is considering attempting a relationship with your brother. So where will that put us?"

Tsume had obviously been putting a lot more thought into this than Mai ever had, which was rather uncharacteristic of an Inuzuka and made Mai feel more than a little guilty.

"You're right, Naruto and I have known eachother for a while and we are very dear friends." Mai admitted. "And my first loyalty will always be to Tsukiyomi, no matter what happens, but you're very important to me Tsume. I just don't know what might come of it." The Inuzuka matriarch didn't look like the answer she had received, but her expression also showed she understood.

"Well," After a few moments of silence Tsume had began speaking again. "If we don't know where this is going I suppose we can hold of on the discussion about our age difference for the time being."

Mai shot her a sly smirk. "What age difference?"

Tsume gave a bark of laughter, happy to escape the seriousness of the conversation.

But the doubts still lingered within them both.

A large barrel was set to the floor with a solid thud, its bearer taking a step back and dropping to one knee. Behind them, three others also dropped to their knee, heads lowered to avoid the gaze of their Kage.

"Ah, so you've returned, have you?"

"We have, Orochimaru-sama." Jirobo dared to look up and meet her eyes. "Your orders have been carried out."

"So they have," Orochimaru lifted herself off her throne- because when you had the option of having one why on earth wouldn't you?- and started walking down to her kneeling Shinobi. "Were there any issues?"

"None with the retrieval." Jirobo shook his head. "But I believe the Kon Twins and Kidomaru both fell to Konoha forces."

Orochimaru gave a thoughtful hum before declaring; "No great loss, then." Turning to one of her most favored servants she gestured to the barrel. "Kimimaro-kun, do take our new guest down into the cells. If he hasn't activated the Ten no Juin yet then he may do so any second. We wouldn't want any complications."

The last Kaguya looked up, devotion clear on his face. "As you command, Orochimaru-sama." The smile she gave him, in his opinion, was worth the disease that wracked his body.

"Guren, Suigetsu," She addressed the other two who had been sent to support the recovery team. "I expect a written report turned in by noon tomorrow, you are dismissed."

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama." Guren gave a bow before leaving. Suigetsu, while smart enough not to complain or make snarky comments, was still not the formal type.

"Sure thing, boss-lady." fortunately for him, she was in a very good mood with the successful retrieval of the last Uchiha and paid his response no mind as she turned back to Jirobo.

"You seem somewhat different, Jirobo." She commented. He didn't respond as so she continued. "Tell me, did you happen to take the lead after Tayuya left?"

"I did, Orochimaru-sama." He was still on one knee but continued to meet her eyes, his head following her as she circled him slowly. She kind of liked it.

"I see. Was this at her suggestion or did you boys decide among yourselves?"

"I took control." She couldn't help the pleased grin that stretched over her lips. That sentence said a lot, and it was exactly what she wanted to hear.

"And it's done wonders for your confidence, I notice. It suits you."

"Thank you, Orochimaru-sama." She gave a negligent wave of her hand.

"No, thank you Jirobo. Good leadership is hard to find in Otogakure, I've been trying to fill vacancies for weeks. "

"Orochimaru-sama?" He questioned, his face almost managing to hide any trace of confusion.

"Congratulations, Jirobo. You've been promoted." As one of Orochimaru's chosen bodyguards he was already incredibly high ranking. Those of comparable authority were overseers of various projects Orochimaru didn't have time to monitor personally such as remote research bases, subject obtainment, and the maintenance of the Deep Cells.

Guren happened to be one of the overseers, often called Orochimaru's left hand, and typically covered the day to day operations of Otogakure itself. She was basically Kage when the Snake Sage was away.

Kabuto had been another- Orochimaru's right hand- but as her second in command it had fallen to him to work directly with the Wolves in Nami no Kuni. Beforehand he had been in charge of the information network and some of her top-tier medical experiments. He had not been very pleased with the change but as an overseer he had been wise enough not to voice it.

Everyone had known regardless, but that wasn't the point.

All Jirobo really wondered at this point was what on earth he might be put in charge of. Well, 'tasked with' may have been more appropriate word choice, but it was the same idea.

Even so, he was quick to respond.

"Thank you, Orochimaru-sama. You honor me." She gave a slight giggle at his response- he had never heard that before and was stuck trying to figure out if it was arousing or terrifying- and patted his shoulder lightly.

"So polite, Overseer Jirobo. If I didn't have another task for you I'd have to use you as an envoy." Her fingers slipped from his shoulder as she gave a small sigh. "I have a problem, you see, my Crimson Prince deserves the best gifts and yet I constantly find myself at a loss when it comes to finding something good enough. You, however, have managed to bring me the best gift and in doing so demonstrated your ability to retrieve things with high value."

He could see where this was going and he wasn't sure how he felt about it.

"So," She continued. "I have a section of Kabuto's network dedicated to locating items with unique properties and I want you to take control of them and a single squad of your choosing to retrieve them."

"I understand, Orochimaru-sama. Is there anything off limits?"

"Konoha, I'm afraid, I don't want the Wolves to experience any backlash from our actions and stealing from them will increase village suspicion of my beloved godson. Otherwise, no, I don't care what you go after. Just don't be stupid."

"Of course, Orochimaru-sama."

"Good." She grinned. "You're dismissed. Written report on my desk by noon and be in my office at 1400 hours to meet your new Intel Team. I'd be best if you already knew who you wanted on your team before you showed up, but it's not required."

Which meant do it, Jirobo understood. It was why he had been made Overseer, after all.

"Understood, Orochimaru-sama."

He stood up, gave a bow, and backed out of the room. He'd need to get started on choosing his team, the report of him running through Hi no Kuni's forests without opposition could be jotted down easily enough later.

Briefly he wondered what his old team would have thought of him being an Overseer but easily dismissed it. Tayuya wouldn't care and the other two were dead.

It did make him wonder who Orochimaru's new bodyguards were going to be though. It wasn't like she had much to choose from.

The wood shattered around him, splinters infused with enough of his vile Chakra to embed themselves into the stone wall. Every nerve in his body screamed in agony as the warm blanket of bloodlust draped itself over his mind.

But he knew this feeling now.

With a defiant roar he mentally ripped off that blanket, shredding it until his vision returned and he could see the purple Chakra rising from his body. With no lights in this room, the glow of condensed Chakra was the only illumination available.

He couldn't stand the sight of it.

Gritting his teeth, Uchiha Sasuke continued to suppress the seal, pushing all the Chakra that had snaked its way into his system back into the Ten no Juin and locking it tightly. He would not allow himself to lose to it again.

Slowly the light dimmed, fading away into the cooling embrace of the darkness. Panting in exhaustion, he rested for a moment against the cold stone ground.

Unlike him, his shirt had apparently not survived. He was rather thankful for that as he didn't have the strength to remove it himself.

Dying, as it turns out, was rather exhausting. It was not an experience he was keen on repeating.

Sasuke didn't imagine he had much choice in the matter.

All too soon- though what was time to the last Uchiha in this miserable state? It may have been days as far as he knew- his cold, dark, blessedly silent world was invaded by the squeaking of rusting hinges and a bright column of light from the outside world.

Blinded as he was, he could only vaguely make out the silhouette in the doorway.

But there was no mistaking those eyes.

"O-orochimaru" he managed to choke out, the effort from speaking alone reducing him to panting on the floor. Honestly, he didn't even need to see them to know who it was that had captured him. After all, his captors hadn't exactly kept it secret. Still, he felt the need to address his captor instead of laying on the floor like lame livestock moments away from being butchered.

"Oh-ho, so you remember me Sasuke-kun?" She received a weak nod in response which had her frowning.

"You know, most who unlock the second stage of the Ten no Juin are a bit more...energetic." There was some legitimate concern in her voice. After all, he was to be her next vessel.

He gave a bitter, choking laugh. It was painful but he couldn't help himself.

"T-they're probably too de-deep in a blood rage or p-power trip to even notice the dam-damage to their bodies." He gave a few more bitter chuckles, feeling small droplets of blood as they collected on his lips and slowly rolled down his chin. "They p-probably don't try to rep-repress the Ten no Juin, e-either."

That actually caught Orochimaru off guard. He had repressed the Ten no Juin so soon after its second awakening? Nevermind why he would do such a thing, she found herself astonished that he had actually succeeded.

"My, that's actually rather impressive Sasuke-kun." From the corner of his eye he could see her smile. Much to his own surprise, it seemed genuine. "I was already considering giving you some sort of last request to make your stay a bit more comfortable until it comes time to take your Sharingan, but something like that deserves a reward."

He could hear her shoes as she stepped down the few stairs into the cell proper, a guard of some sort moving into the doorway to ensure he couldn't try making a break for it, and she stopped right before his broken body. This close and crouched down next to him as she was he couldn't make out much, but he felt her hand as it grabbed his chin and gently moved his head to look her in the eyes.

"So, tell me Sasuke-kun." She asked. "What is it you want most before you die?"

He didn't even have to think about that question.

"B-bring back the U-uchiha."

Her smile remained genuine but stretched completely across her face, showing just how much she approved. That was a last request she would be happy to fulfill.

"Where did you get these?" Clicky asked, looking between the sheets of papers and her current boss. Shizune looked slightly embarrassed but answered anyway.

"The contact they had available for me made them when he heard what we needed. He said to just apply those papers to the proper area."

Clicky gave her an incredulous look before returning to them, scrutinizing them closely.

"They're seals all right," She huffed as she tossed them onto her work-desk. "But not a single one of them involves movement of any kind unless you want to consider the time-space manipulation of what looks to be a half-finished storage seal."

"So..." Shizune had been afraid of that when she was able to recognize some of the elements he had been using in his work but a part of her had hoped she just wasn't knowledgeable enough to understand what he was doing.

It looked like she was right after all, unfortunately.

"So? So? So it's just a pile of useless papers!" Clicky slammed a fist onto the shared table in the middle of the room. From his position at his own workstation Rusted winced. He was going to have to heal that one later, he had heard the crack from here and doubted it was from the large slab of metal they were using to assemble the completed body.

Shizune gave a defeated sigh.

"I was afraid of that. Is there anything in there we can make use of?" The idea was enough to give Clicky pause and a thoughtful frown came to her face.

"Probably not," She decided at last. "But I suppose we'd better check. Don't want the higher-ups gettin' too pissy at us." She would rather not be thrown back into Ibiki's domain, thank you.

"Try to find something." It was meant to be a command, but it came out slightly pleading. Neither Clicky nor Rusted made mention of it because they both understood perfectly well. They did not want to disappoint the house of the Wolves. Perhaps for different reasons than Shizune, but the idea was the same.

As Clicky went to work pouring over the seals that had been provided to them Rusted wheeled himself over on his stool to speak with his boss.

"So," He asked. "What are the chances she'll find anything good?"

Shizune shook her head mournfully. "I recognized most of the seals." That said a lot, actually, neither of them had much knowledge in the field of seals and these were intended to give a wooden body the full movement of a human being.

Rusted's shoulders fell and he asked in a weaker voice. "And the chances of us getting an actual Sealmaster?"

"Unless Mai pops in for a visit before Clicky finishes, less than there being anything worthwhile in those seals."

"Ouch."

"Yeah." She agreed. "Ouch."

Rusted stayed silent for a few minutes, just watching as a steadily more frustrated Clicky went through the papers searching in vain for anything useful.

Eventually he gave a shrug and with a few parting words rocketed himself back to his workstation. "Well, nothing we can do about it then, is there?"

It made her feel slightly better, but not by much.

At least it wasn't her fault.

She gave a happy sigh as she sunk into the chair behind her desk. It was simple pleasures like a good chair that turned her bases from networks of caves into proper secret lairs. Well, for her at least. Most of her subordinates didn't have the same luxuries as she did so it may as well have been a series of caves.

But they weren't important. No, there were very few people of any importance within her base and the most important of people wasn't there at all. One such person, however, was the current focus of her thoughts.

Uchiha Sasuke, Konoha's last Uchiha, had been moved into a private room with a medical team to heal the body that she would soon inhabit. Normally the Ten no Juin helped the body heal, but with his rejection of the power he would have to heal the natural way.

Well, as naturally as being exposed to healing Jutsu 24/7 until his body had recovered could be counted.

It wouldn't be long after that when the Snake Sage would be able to take over his body and finally obtain the key to learning every Jutsu in existence. The non-bloodline ones, at least. Picking up bloodlines was a much slower process but something they had been capable of doing for some time now.

She supposed there were always improvements that could be made, but it really wasn't a main focus at the moment. Maybe when she had really perfected her immortality she'd turn her attention to the pursuit of easier body-snatching.

Despite how close she was to the Sharingan, however, the thought of taking over Sasuke's body brought a frown to her face. Naruto liked this body, after all, and she didn't really like the idea of discarding it when it suited her so well.

Once she was in Sasuke's body, she'd also have to give her technique time to sort through its traits and assimilate those beneficial to her- namely the Sharingan itself. Until it finished, she wouldn't be able to change bodies, which meant she'd be in a body that didn't please her little prince.

The only good thing was that she still had some time, and that this body had a good two years until it was completely worn out. That meant she could save it after taking Sasuke's and return to it for a time while she found her next vessel. Maybe when she was in Sasuke's body she could find some way to extend the life of her chosen vessels.

Or maybe her prince's Sealkeeper could be put to good use towards that.

Either way, she needed to make use of what time she had left in this body.

A wicked grin stretched over her lips. Arrangements would need to be made, but she knew exactly what she needed to do.

"Thank you for your report, Chūnin Nara. Konoha thanks you and your team for answering her call during an emergency." Sarutobi Asuma, usually known as a rather laid-back individual, wore his Kage robes as if they weighed more than the world. His face, normally relaxed, was grave even as he congratulated his former student.

As much as the Sandaime said it was a phase all of them- excepting the Shodaime- had gone through the Nara heir had difficulty seeing his old Sensei within those robes. He really did hope the sudden responsibility for the entirety of Konohagakure didn't irrevocably change the man. The Nidaime had apparently passed the title onto the Sandaime before he had ever grown out of it, remaining deadly serious about his position for years.

Then again, that was just who the Nidaime was, too, so perhaps that example wasn't exactly valid.

"Permission to speak freely, Hokage-sama?" Shikamaru requested.

"Granted."

"Konoha almost lost three clan heirs, the son of a clan head, and two students of Konoha's Taijutsu master to retrieve a clan heir who was contemplating taking up headship and retiring from the Shinobi lifestyle. I don't care what the council said, such an exchange is not worth it even if we had succeeded. We've lived without the Uchiha for years, but the loss of those clan heirs alone would severely cripple us as their clans start to resent and distrust the village."

Asuma was silent for a moment, contemplating it, before giving a nod. "Yes, I can certainly see what you mean." Shikamaru shook his head.

"I'm sure you can see some of it, but have you considered what Suna's invasion may have ended as if one of our own clans was angry enough at us to side with them?"

No, he hadn't considered that. A large frown stretched across his face as he thought about it. He wasn't sure about the results from such a scenario, which meant it would have been total chaos. Collateral damage would have skyrocketed and he couldn't begin to estimate the loss of life for both ides. Even if they won, Konoha would have been suspicious of eachother for many, many years which would make its prized teamwork a thing of the past.

Such vulnerability wouldn't have been ignored, either, and instead of invading Kaze no Kuni one of their past enemies would have jumped on the opportunity to invade Hi no Kuni.

He disliked the idea of private military organizations operating within Hi no Kuni such as ROOT and the House of Wolves- though of the two, one of those should be within Hi no Kuni. He just didn't like them in Konohagakure – but the idea that forces who didn't have Konoha's interests at heart- even if Danzō's attempts to aid Konoha seemed misguided to Asuma, the intention was still there – entering their borders was something he absolutely could not abide.

Which is exactly why he had gone to such lengths against Suna. You could be damn sure the rest of the villages knew his stance on aggression towards his village. The Konoha of the past may have withstood attacks like a great, aged oak resists a gentle breeze but Asuma was going to remind them that Konoha wasn't just defensive.

They were fire, after all, and as much as fire provided light and heat to live by it also consumed and destroyed that which crossed its path. A wise person would not cross fire, and they would not cross him.

And speaking of the House of Wolves;

"Were it not for the assistance of Uzumaki Naruto," Continued his former student. "and the Wolves he managed to send our way, there is a good chance none of us would have returned." He was not going to mention the fact that the Oto Shinobi didn't seem intent to kill them or his suspicions that it was because of the Wolves. He had not been blind to the way the Wolves so casually fought Guren in that crystal field, or the fact that despite their obvious skill she was still very much capable of using any of her techniques.

The fact that she hadn't made it even more suspicious.

"None of you?" Asuma didn't doubt his student, but he had to make sure.

"Well, Naruko may have managed to get away due to her unique...status." Asuma didn't even question Shikamaru's knowledge about that particular secret. It wasn't one of the most well-kept ones, anyway, even if they didn't exactly announce it. "But the rest of us would have been dead."

Asuma didn't like hearing that, but he could grudgingly admit that the dogs had their uses. It wasn't even them he had a problem with, it was their gall to operate in the territory that was his responsibility. How was he to ensure the safety of Hi no Kuni with wildcards doing as they pleased?

If the Wolves were, oh, I don't know, in Nami no Kuni- that country they took over, in case anyone had forgotten- then he wouldn't even care. Because they were in Hi no Kuni- and specifically Konohagakure no Sato itself- he had to make sure they didn't become a threat.

If that meant going against them outside Hi no Kuni, well, he'd do what he needed to do.

The fact that the Wolves had apparently displeased the Daimyo of Hi no Kuni with their handling of the Suna invasion also helped. The Daimyo had been adamant about staying out of Mizu no Kuni previously, but with Wolf operations he had permitted Konoha to pick a side. One that happened to be opposed to the Wolves.

Admittedly, it was also just as likely the Daimyo was ensuring that regardless of the outcome it was a group that answered to him that came out victorious as it was a way to humble the Wolves and remind them that they weren't the biggest fish in the sea.

It could also be both, or even a way to weaken Konoha for their own failings to inform him of the invasion too. Three birds, one stone, and he didn't even have to throw it. That was the kind of person the Daimyo of Hi no Kuni was and Asuma could respect that.

While he reflected upon this he remained silent and after a moment more spoke again. "Then I suppose thanks are in order. It also seems like we have some more openings within our teams." He was still trying to figure out what had happened to Neji during the invasion- though with recent events he thought he had a pretty good idea- and his cousin Hinata had somehow managed to stage a coup during it- they had severely underestimated her, especially if she had known the invasion was coming and planned to make use of it- taking control of the clan completely.

"The teams are going to need to be rearranged" Also a good thing for his old team. Training with the previous Hokage wasn't something to scoff at, but the Sandaime wasn't going to be going out and doing missions at his age. He wanted to spend his retirement relaxing in a comfy chair with his favorite pipe and Asuma couldn't hold that against him.

Shikamaru, despite knowing his teacher was more or less thinking out loud at this point, nodded his head in agreement.

"Yeah, that's probably in order."

As if reminded of his students' presence, Asuma turned back to meet Shikamaru's gaze, holding it for a moment before a small smile came to his lips. "Yes, yes it is. And I happen to know a newly promoted Chūnin who doesn't have any upcoming missions that can work on it."

Shikamaru didn't try to hold back his groan. He should have kept his damn mouth shut.

Huh, managed to keep the AN short. Wonderful.

If you wanted some more detail about current chapter progress, future plans, and random tidbits of my life you can visit Eyazahrid-dot-net. I have an update there every three days or so.

For a bit less detail follow me on Twitter at Eyazahrid for planned update announcements- though I've been rather consistent as of late- and chapter progress. Because, really, is there anything better than knowing I'm half way done with chapter 74 before I post chapter 72?

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Until I next have your attention,

-Eyazahrid