Disclaimer:

I do not own Naruto or Star Wars.


Chapter 8: The Cold Shadow

It was cold. Darkness filled the forest as the girl ran through its thick brush. There wasn't a single sound to be heard. No animals or even the sound of leaves rustling in the wind. It was absolute dead silence.

Still the girl pushed on. She was too close to let such trivial fear stop her now. She had to reach them. Suddenly light could be seen peering through the branches and thick cluster of trees in front of her. She pulled her gloved fist back as she came closer to them before striking.

"SHANNARO!"

The second her fist made contact; the trees instantly shattered and broke into many chunks of wood! The girl leapt through the falling debris and kept running through the clearing! Where up ahead was the giant statue of Madara Uchiha standing above what was a sea of flames!

She could see them now! Both of them were fighting on top of the stone statue! Fighting savagely without any shred of hesitation! She knew that if she didn't get them to stop now it would be too late!

The girl ran while calling out to them!

"NARUTO! SASUKE! STOP THIS!"

The boys didn't listen for they only continued to trade blows with each other viciously! The girl realized she had no choice as she used her chakra to increase her speed and body flickered to both of them! Where she then reached down and grabbed them both by the collar! Hoisting them up to finally put a stop to their conflict!

"PLEASE STOP, BOTH OF YOU! YOU'RE COMRADES! FRIENDS!"

The younger blonde boy looked up at her with flaming slit eyes.

"You tried to leave me!"

The older girl stiffened at that remark with a look of self-sickening shock on her face. She tossed the Uchiha a few yards away and knelt down in front of the blonde boy. Placing her hands on his shoulders.

"NARUTO, I AM SO SORRY FOR WHAT I'VE DONE! COME BACK TO THE VILLAGE, PLEASE! STOP THIS, I'M BEGGING YOU!"

She tried to embrace the small Uzumaki boy, but a fist came flying out of nowhere and smashed the boy in the face! The force of the impact freed him from her grasp and sent him stumbling backwards right up to edge of the statue! The adolescent girl looked and saw Sasuke standing there with his arm and fist angled low from his strike! Before she could stop him, he flashed through some hand signs and took a deep breath!

"FIRE STYLE, FIREBALL JUTSU!"

To the girl's horror, Sasuke unleashed his signature fireball jutsu upon Naruto! The jutsu struck and engulfed his body! Naruto screamed as the flames consumed his flesh! He started to lose balance again before completely falling off of the ledge!

"NARUTO!"

The kunoichi made a mad dash and leapt for the edge of the statue! Reaching down over the edge and snatching onto Naruto's hand as he still thrashed from his inflamed body! She tried to use her strength to pull him back up, but it felt as if he weighed over a hundred tons! Like something was dragging him downwards into the sea of fire below!

She was starting to lose her grip and reached down with her left hand!

"NARUTO, GIVE ME YOUR OTHER HAND!"

The boy looked up at her, as the flames licked at his face, with hatred still in his eyes.

"PLEASE, NARUTO! I'M TRYING TO SAVE YOU!"

The boy spoke with a monotone voice.

"Save me? I'm already dead!"

Naruto then dug his clawed hand through the girl's glove into her flesh beneath! Forcing the kunoichi to release her grip upon the boy! She tried to grab onto him again, but it was too late! He already descended right into the flames down below!

"NARUTOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

The Uzumaki boy's body was swallowed instantly by the flames below them. The kunoichi trembled from dealing with the knowledge that once again she failed to save him. She grit her teeth and turned around glaring at the small Uchiha boy.

"Why? WHY, SASUKE?! ANSWER ME!"

Sasuke looked at the girl with his usual blank face.

"He was in my way. Plain and simple."

The girl roared with fury before dashing to the Uchiha and punched him in the face! The force of her chakra enhanced strike sent the raven haired boy flying several meters before rolling to a stop! She did not let up though as she body flickered to his location and grabbed him by the collar again before hoisting him up to her face.

"IN YOUR WAY?! THAT'S A LOAD OF CRAP! HOW DARE YOU DO THAT TO HIM! HOW DARE YOU DO THAT TO NARUTO, YOU BASTARD!"

Sasuke looked up at her.

"Me? I'm not the one who broke his heart and let him fall off of the ledge."

The girl froze and was too shocked for words or any sort of rebuttal. Realizing that he was right. It was her fault. It's always been her fault for the Uzumaki boy's suffering and now demise.

"It doesn't matter now. With that Dobe out of the way, I can finally get my revenge!"

HOOOOOOOPUUUUUUUURRRRRRRR.

"Revenge? You don't know the meaning of the word, Uchiha!"

The kunoichi stood frozen stiff and her pupils shrunk as she heard that familiar horrible mechanical breathing sound and voice echo around them. Her body feeling frozen cold from being in this dark creature's presence. She was too terrified to even attempt to face where the monster was.

However, she wouldn't have a choice as suddenly Sasuke was pulled from her grip and went flying through the air right towards the ledge, where Naruto fell! Suddenly a ball of fire burst upwards, from the sea of flames, and landed upon it! Just as Sasuke was about to fly right into it, a large black gloved hand burst from it and caught Sasuke by the throat!

Sasuke struggled and choked within its grasp as it lifted him upwards. The girl watched in horror as the ball of fire began to dissipate and thus reveal the one who was inside that hellish ball of flames. A dark being that gave meaning to the words fear and terror.

He stood to be at least 7 feet tall. Wearing black armor and leather over every inch of his person. A strange square shaped metal object on his mid abdomen with switches and blinking lights on it as well as on his belt. A long black cape adorning his back. A silver and black striped chest plate. And last but not least that incredibly unnerving mask resembling a sort of skull with a triangular mouth and two tusks at the corners.

It was a being she has come to known as the Man in Black.

The fire ball finally went out and left smoke sizzling from his body as he held the Uchiha up in his choking grasp. The Man in Black then reached into his belt and pulled out a silver and black colored metal rod. The girl knew what was coming next but was too gripped with fear to do anything to stop him.

"Now, I will show you what true vengeance really is!"

SCHZZZURRRRRRRRRRRR!

A blade of blood colored light ignited from the hilt! The Man in Black then proceeded to pull his blade back as he prepared to deal the killing blow! The girl shut her eyes and looked away!

PACH!

"ARRGH!"

The girl peeked through her eyelids. Where as she did her eyes slowly opened wide with horror from witnessing the red energy blade protruding out of Sasuke's back! The Uchiha's arms twitched a few seconds before falling limp to his sides and letting out one final exhale of life before death finally claimed him.

The Man in Black then pulled his blade out of the Uchiha's fresh corpse. Tilting his helmet towards the girl before casting Sasuke's body into the flames below. The dark being slowly approached her as she tried to work up the courage and strength to move.

Fortunately, her survival instincts kicked in and the girl dashed away back towards the forest! Hoping to escape the dark creature! However, when she was in reach of the forest's edge, a ball of powerfully concentrated energy slammed into it and caused an explosion and shockwave that knocked her off her feet!

The girl shielded herself as the dust and debris from the blast showered down! The shockwave of the blast still blowing over her body! When it finally settled, she opened her eyes and was shocked to see a huge crater with flames surrounding its edges in the middle of where the forest once stood just seconds ago!

The girl looked back and was shocked to see that standing behind the Man in Black, through the smoke of the sea of fire, was the outline of a gigantic creature. It had blood slit eyes and enormous white fangs with steam sizzling out between them. It also looked as if it had tentacle or rather tail like appendages swishing back and forth behind it's back. Other than that, she couldn't tell what it was but from the way it was glaring down at her.

She could tell that it was angry with her.

HOOOOOOOPUUUUUUUURRRRRRRR.

The girl's attention drew back to the Man in Black as he drew closer to her.

"There is no escape."

The kunoichi knew that he was right. There was no way she could get away. That and she was too gripped with fear to even fight back. She didn't know what to do. She felt absolutely helpless.

The black creature finally reached her while the wind caused his cape to flap and wave on the side. He looked down upon her with his black soulless glass eyes reflecting the flames ahead where the forest once stood.

"And now, you will share their fate!"

The Man in Black reached down with his black glove and filled her vision with complete darkness.

The girl gasped and bolted upright in her bed with terror! Her heart pounding against her chest and her skin covered with sweat while she tried to catch her breathe. She brought her hand to her chest in an effort to help settle her beating heart back down to its normal rhythm.

It was another nightmare. Another in the long string of night terrors she's been having for the last three years now. All of them involving the same people.

Naruto, Sasuke and the Man in Black.

To this day she still has no idea who or what he is. Only that every time she encountered him in her dreams she's always been too afraid or weak to fight him. Something about him felt seriously wrong. Like he was the embodiment of fear and what seemed like hate.

Pure, unrelenting, hatred for her and her missing comrades.

The reason for this, she still doesn't know, nor does she understand what he has to do with her, Sasuke and Naruto. Unfortunately, she doesn't have the time to try to solve this phantom fear of hers since she had a meeting with the Hokage she needed to get to. As such, she pushed all of her thoughts as to the mystery and identity of this man or rather dark creature to the back of her mind while she got out of bed and got dressed.

Later at the Hokage's office

The 5th Hokage, Tsunade Senju, was at the moment reading another patrol report when she heard a knock at the door.

"Enter."

The door opened and in walked a teenage girl with short pink hair and emerald eyes as green as a sea of grass. Her attire consisted of a red top, pink elbow bands, black gloves, black biker shorts with a short medical skirt covering them, and black shinobi knee high combat boots. On her head was a black clothed head band with long strands running down her back over her family symbol. The most captivating of her attire however was the necklace with the green gem at its center that used to belong to the Hokage herself.

The girl was Tsunade's apprentice; Sakura Haruno.

"You wanted to see me, Tsunade-sama?"

Tsunade closed the folder with the report and rested her chin upon her interlocked hands.

"Yes, Sakura. First, I wanted to congratulate you on being promoted to chuunin. All of that hard work and training really paid off. You've made me very proud."

Tsunade was telling the truth. Sakura has come a long way from being the weak and timid, sidelined girl she was just a few years ago. Tsunade didn't think at first that she would make it under her tutelage.

After all, she was very strict with her on studying all of the medical books and scrolls within the building written both by her and other medical ninjas. Testing her numerous times on their knowledge as well as assigning her countless hours at the Leaf Hospital for treating patients consisting of mild to slightly severe cases. Leaving the extreme ones only for herself or Shizune.

Tsunade was also very brutal with her during their sparring sessions. She gave Sakura very little slack as she trained her to harness her chakra to enhance her physical strength and endurance. Many times, Shizune had to heal Sakura at the end of those sessions while Tsunade only did it a few times. Tsunade was sure that Sakura would give up and quit rather than having to deal with all of that.

To her surprise she didn't quit but rather endured and improved.

Sakura absorbed every piece of information from the countless medical texts, scrolls, and journals like a sponge. Acing every test and demonstration Tsunade asked of her. She has also been exemplary at the hospital and has impressed many of the staff there.

Her superb chakra control allowed her to not only master medical ninjutsu but also the ability to use her chakra to enhance her strength and physical prowess. Tsunade didn't think it would be possible, but Sakura had advanced farther and more quickly than any student she's ever had. Even more so than Shizune who never even figured out how to use chakra enhanced strength.

She was even handling the more difficult cases at the hospital now whenever Shizune or Tsunade herself were tied up.

It eventually came to the point where Tsunade even taught Sakura how to gather and store her chakra so that she could use it for Tsunade's own personal jutsu; the Hundred Healings technique. A jutsu no student of hers has ever been able to learn or even attempt, but with Sakura's incredible chakra control Tsunade knew that if anyone could do it, she could.

Sakura smiled meekly at her master in response to her praise.

"Thank you, Lady Tsunade but that's not the real reason why you've asked to see me is it?"

Tsunade closed her eyes and sighed before opening them again.

"No, it isn't, Sakura. I've been reading the reports on your latest missions and there have been sections in them written by your friends and other shinobi that have stated that you've been experiencing nightmares while sleeping during these missions. Normally, something like that wouldn't call for my attention except that its apparently happened more than 10 times in the last month alone. Each of these reports have stated that you've woken up screaming and covered with sweat. You've even started volunteering to take the first watch on these missions without even having someone take over for you when your shift was done. Sakura, you can't function on missions like this and especially now of all times."

Sakura knew what Tsunade was referring to.

"I need to know what's going on with you, Sakura. What is it you're dreaming about? Tell me."

Sakura looked down at the corner of her eyes. Tsunade sighed again before resting her hands on her desk. Looking at Sakura worryingly.

"Are these dreams of yours...about Naruto?"

Sakura scrunched her face and held back tears.

"Yes."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes.

"Just Naruto?"

Sakura shook her head.

"No, they're also about Sasuke and..."

Sakura didn't finish which only heightened Tsunade's curiosity.

"And who else?"

Sakura bit her lip before answering.

"A...A monster. Some kind of demonic creature with red slit eyes, enormous fangs and nine tails. I think it might be...the Kyuubi."

Tsunade's eyes briefly widened for a split second upon hearing that.

"And...was there anyone else in your-"

"No."

Sakura of course would not mention the Man in Black to her. She didn't want her mentor to think she was more crazy than she already sounded. That and the beast she saw in her recent dream did resemble the great demonic kitsune. Why it has appeared with the Man in Black now, she didn't know.

Tsunade then grabbed a prescription pad and began writing on it.

"I'm prescribing you some sleep medication to help with these nightmares."

"Thank you, Lady Tsunade but-"

"No buts, young lady. I need every shinobi in top mental and physical health right now; especially you."

"Lady Tsunade I understand but I'm already-"

"With that strange object that has appeared in the sky over a year ago as well as the various break-ins of many of our different clans' secret jutsu vaults along with the village's own forbidden jutsu vault and the blood bank, the village has been on high alert. If we're to be attacked, I need you focused and ready for possible casualties. So, stop trying to get out of having to take a few-"

"I'm already taking medication!"

Lady Tsunade ceased her scribbling and lecturing and sat the pad down.

"You are?"

Sakura nodded.

"I had Shizune prescribe me some over a week ago. They haven't been helping at all."

Tsunade cocked a brow.

"How many have you been taking?"

Sakura answered.

"No more than the prescribed amount. And I was surprised when I found that it hasn't been working for me. I've prescribed this same medication to patients myself and it's always worked for them."

Tsunade looked at Sakura intently.

"I see."

Tsunade picked up a new sheet and began scribbling on it.

"I'm going to discuss with Shizune on increasing your prescribed dosage and I'm also going to schedule a session between you and someone of the Yamanaka clan. Maybe they can help if the medication won't."

Sakura nodded and bowed before she started heading for the door when Tsunade spoke again.

"Sakura, is there anything else about these dreams I should know about that you haven't told me yet?"

HOOOOOOOPUUUUUUUURRRRRRRR.

Sakura slightly shuddered as she could still hear the breathing of the Man in Black echoing in her mind. She didn't want to mention him out loud to anyone. Not even to her mentor. It was a good thing her back was to her, so she couldn't see the sweat and look of fear covering her face.

"No, there's nothing else, my Lady."

Tsunade hummed as she could tell Sakura was hiding something from her, but she knew the girl would tell her in time and so went back to scribbling on the sheet.

"Tsunade-sama?"

Tsunade looked up at her pupil.

"Yes?"

Sakura slightly turned her head.

"The Kyuubi was killed by the Fourth Hokage 15 years ago, wasn't it?"

Tsunade was hesitant about answering that and sat silent for a few moments before she decided to answer.

"Yes, he destroyed it at the cost of his own life."

Sakura turned her head back.

"That's what I thought."

She proceeded toward the door.

"Sakura."

The Cherry Blossom kunoichi turned around with her hand on the doorknob.

"Never mind, it's nothing."

Sakura looked at Tsunade curiously before opening the door and closing it gently behind her. She then headed to the hospital for her daily shift. Working there helped her a little with relaxing and taking her mind off her nightmares.

While she exited the tower, Tsunade sighed in frustration with herself.

"You still haven't told her, have you?"

Tsunade looked over to her window where sitting there was the Copycat ninja; Kakashi Hatake.

"No, and neither will you, Kakashi."

Kakashi sighed as he stared down with his lone eye at his remaining former pupil as she walked out of the building.

"It's a mistake not to tell her that Naruto is the vessel of the Nine Tails."

Tsunade stared down at the surface of her desk.

"It may be even more of a mistake to tell her now before Naruto is found."

Kakashi looked at the pig tailed blonde Hokage.

"You're worried that she might come to fear and hate him enough to lose her motivation to find him?"

Tsunade closed her eyes and shook her head.

"No, I've worked with Sakura long enough to know that she's not the type of person to let prejudice or ignorance get the best of her. At least not anymore. She's determined to find Naruto, no matter what. Even if it means moving mountains!"

The Sannin opened her eyes.

"You and the others have seen it for yourselves, Kakashi. Whenever she's completed her mission, Sakura has always taken the time, during any return trip back to the village, to ask about Naruto from anyone who may have possibly seen him. And when they haven't she would even ask about any information on Orochimaru, or even Sasuke. She knows the Uchiha is the last person to have seen him, so finding him or at least finding Orochimaru would be a big step in finding out what happened to Naruto. However,..."

Tsunade interlocked her hands and fingers while holding them up.

"What I am concerned about is how the truth of what Naruto is may affect the burden she's already carrying. I'm worried about her, Kakashi. Not just with these dreams of hers but with how she absolutely refuses to acknowledge even the slightest possibility that..."

Kakashi's lone eye starred wearingly at the Hokage.

"That Naruto might be dead?"

Tsunade slowly nodded.

"Yes, she's been pushing herself hard these last few years. If we were to tell her, that Naruto was the bearer of the Kyuubi, through all the years that she's known him, now and she were to find out he had been killed, it would destroy her. She may never forgive herself for how she treated him and may completely give in to her grief and guilt. She's already endured my grueling training regime and is already punishing herself enough now as it is."

Kakashi turned his head back while still looking at the Sannin.

"You've gone soft on her."

Tsunade scoffed.

"I'm not made of stone. It was made pretty clear to me during the first few months of her training that she felt remorse and that she did want Naruto back as much as I did. Maybe even more so than me."

Kakashi looked out at the sun over the treetop hills.

"And what if we don't tell her and she finds out Naruto had been killed? Are we just going to keep it a secret from her forever?"

Tsunade shook her head.

"No, she would be bound to find out at some point. If Naruto...really is gone then we'll wait before telling her. Wait, till she's ready."

Kakashi sighed in discontent.

"That didn't exactly work out so well for us the last time."

Tsunade closed her eyes as she remembered what happened when Naruto found out about Iruka.

Things have been extremely painful for her since losing Naruto and finding three of his severed limbs at the Valley of the End. Not to mention it certainly didn't help when the village elders gave her an earful on how she was so careless as to lose the village's secret weapon and for permanently cancelling the Kyuubi festival. They claimed that even as the Hokage she had no right even though it was well within her power to do so.

That event along with the unfortunate tragedy of Iruka's death, Sakura's lapse in judgement and many other unfortunate circumstances are what caused them to lose the poor boy. It was still one of the worst experiences in Tsunade's life. Kakashi was right to point out the consequences of going down this road again.

"I know, but it's all we can try to do for her now."

Kakashi took out his last copy of Icha Icha Paradise.

"Speaking of information, has there been any word from Master Jiraiya?"

Tsunade sighed heavily.

"No, not for the last year or so. Jiraiya reached out to all of his contacts and scoured through the Five Great Nations but hasn't found a single trace of Naruto anywhere. He's had better luck finding information on Orochimaru and the Akatsuki but those wound up to be dead ends. He blames himself for what happened to Naruto, Kakashi. Even though we all had a hand in it, Jiraiya still felt he was the most responsible. He believes that he failed, Naruto."

Tsunade looked down with sadness.

"The last time I saw him he looked awful. He was beyond exhausted and he also looked half starved. I practically begged him to stay in the village for a while and to take a break, but he wouldn't listen and headed out again just an hour after he arrived."

The Copycat ninja sighed while looking back at the cover of his novel.

"Not to mention that he hasn't released a new book in years, now. I'm starting to get tired of rereading this one."

Tsunade groaned.

"Why do I have to be surrounded by perverts?"

Kakashi responded.

"You know, Shizune and I have caught you, yourself, reading some of his novels a few times."

Tsunade blushed and grew a tick mark before she immediately turned around while pointing at Kakashi with white saucer eyes.

"I WAS JUST MAKING SURE THAT PERVERTED OLD TOAD DIDN'T USE MY LIKENESS FOR ANY OF HIS FEMALE CHARACTERS, ALRIGHT!"

Kakashi leaned back against his arms.

"Sure, that's the only reason why you've read them."

Tsunade growled before scoffing and turning back around. Opening the folder containing the report she was reading earlier. The contents of which caught Kakashi's attention.

"Hey, is that another sighting report?"

Tsunade nodded.

"Yes, another metallic creature was sighted just outside of our village. This is the eighth sighting so far."

Kakashi stopped leaning against the sill and leaned on his knee that was propped up.

"Were we able to capture it this time?"

Tsunade shook her head.

"No, according to the report, when our shinobi closed in, it fired strange projectiles at them. I don't know what they were, but they did serious damage to the squad in pursuit of it. Luckily the team managed to survive and are recuperating in the hospital. However, their wounds were unlike anything I've ever seen in all my years as a medical ninja. They were almost cauterized. Like these projectiles burned or rather melted right through their flesh. They were lucky that none them were struck in any vital areas."

Kakashi's eye narrowed.

"This time."

Tsunade nodded.

"There have also been reportings of similar creatures like this one not only in the Land of Fire but throughout some of the other lands and nations as well. Possibly, all of them."

Tsunade closed the envelope.

"What's also strange is that these sightings and the break-ins we've had all started happening right around when-"

"When that mysterious object appeared in the sky."

Tsunade looked at Kakashi and nodded.

"You think they're all connected?"

Tsunade stood up and walked toward the window looking at the topic of their discussion staying in the same orbital position since it arrived.

"I don't know but regardless of whether they are or not, I can't help but feel on edge."

Kakashi also looked up in the sky.

"Same for me too."

Meanwhile down in the village streets

Sakura walked through the village streets, rubbing her freezing arms despite the warm sunny day. The adolescent chuunin pondered on where she would have dinner tonight. It didn't take too long for her to decide on once again eating out at Ichiraku.

Ever since Naruto left, she had been going there frequently for lunch, dinner, and sometimes even breakfast. And every time she would order a bowl of ramen. Years ago, she never understood why Naruto would constantly eat there. That is until she found Teuchi and his daughter to be great cooks and were also very friendly. Making it no mystery at all as to why Naruto loved going there.

Teuchi and Ayame both missed Naruto dearly and Teuchi would sometimes leave a bowl of ramen out before closing. Hoping it would attract Naruto back to the village. Sakura hoped many times that it would work even though it was naïve wishful thinking. In fact, every time she would open the flaps to the little noodle shop she would yearn to see Naruto sitting on one of the stools and slurping up ramen into that goofy fox grin mouth of his.

She wasn't the only one that hoped to find him there. Many of her friends have also frequented at the noodle shop for meals. Being there sort of made it feel like Naruto was still with them. However, it wasn't really the case for Sakura, Hinata, and the others who were on the retrieval mission.

When they got back to the village and were told Naruto was MIA, Shikamaru instantly blamed himself for everything. For failing the mission, his comrades getting nearly killed while fighting the Sound Four, and especially for Naruto's disappearance. He never would've imagined that his first mission leading others as a chuunin could've ended so badly. In fact, he made a request to Tsunade to revoke his rank for his failure. Stating he wasn't ready and didn't deserve it.

Tsunade refused and said that Shikamaru was just going to have to learn from his mistakes and how to live with them. That and Temari called him a wuss for trying to get out of dealing with it like a real man would. Since then Shikamaru has worked hard to sharpen both his intellect and combat skills. Vowing never to have a repeat of what happened three years ago. He wasn't the only one as Choji, Kiba, Lee, and even Neji all made the same vows and have progressed far in their skills.

Who would've thought losing Naruto would've given them all an incentive to train harder into becoming stronger and better shinobi.

Not just them but even Gaara became driven enough by Naruto's disappearence to become the Kazekage. It's still shocking even to this day how much the boy has changed since the invasion. He's even offered assistance for finding Naruto or even to help rescue him if need be.

Sakura doesn't know why but for some reason whenever she sees Gaara it feels like seeing a little bit of Naruto inside him.

As Sakura continued heading towards the hospital, while still rubbing her arms from the cold, she couldn't help but overhear a few villagers nearby gossiping.

"Look it's her! The Hokage's apprentice!"

One of them scoffed.

"Apprentice? Give me a break! She's just a skinny little teenage girl with a big forehead!"

A third one cut into the conversation.

"Don't let her looks fool you! I heard she put several guys in the hospital using nothing but her finger!"

The second man scoffed again.

"What? You're shitting me! There's no way she could take down anyone with just a finger! Shinobi or not!"

The first man chimed in again.

"No, it's true I was there and so was Gakugo! We saw the whole thing! She flicked them all away like they were insects! It was incredible!"

Sakura remembered that incident. She was given a scolding by Tsunade for injuring villagers like that even if she did hold back. However, when Sakura explained her reasoning for it, Tsunade immediately understood but still made Sakura heal their wounds at the hospital as punishment.

"Why did she even attack them? Isn't it illegal for Leaf shinobi to attack villagers?"

The first man answered the second one.

"From what I remember those guys were boasting about how the village was better off without that Uzumaki brat running around then she came out of nowhere and told them to shut their mouths! When they told her to make them she suddenly flicked each one of them in the forehead and sent them flying into a wall!"

The second man groaned.

"Great just what this village needs! Another sympathizer for that little demon child!"

Sakura immediately stopped in her tracks. Gritting her teeth upon hearing that horrible word again. She absolutely hated whenever anyone referred to Naruto as a demon. Even after all these years these small minded villagers still continue to speak lowly of him. It disgusted her!

Small web cracks began to form around her feet and her bangs waved slightly as the man continued running his mouth off.

"This village is better off without that little monster! It's too bad she didn't disappear along with him! Would've been an added bonus for the village! If there's one thing I hate it's people who would be stupid enough to feel sorry for that little puppet of the-"

Sakura suddenly stomped her foot into the ground! Shattering it's surface and causing a small earthquake and a large crack to spread towards the three villagers! The three men lost their balance and fell on top of each other!

When the shaking stopped, they looked towards the young Cherry Blossom girl as she turned to them while proceeding to crack her knuckles and glare at them with killer intent in her eyes.

The three men instantly turned blue in their faces and one of them looked as though he pissed himself. Seeing that her message was clear, Sakura proceeded on her way. Leaving shocked and startled expressions on the faces of everyone there.

Sakura didn't know why but doing that made her feel colder than she was already. She began to shiver as she rubbed her arms harder to try to keep warm. She didn't understand why she was feeling like this.

The chuunin girl looked up into the sky at the triangular object that was floating up there in orbit. It all started even since it came here. She's been feeling this freezing chill constantly even on days where it's been broiling hot. She's considered many times to just wear a coat, but she learned that even bundling up didn't do anything to keep it away.

She knew one thing. Whatever this cold feeling she had was, she's felt something very similar to it before. It was like how she felt back when Naruto started changing and when he left the village. Except this cold was even worse. If hell were to have any freezing pits in it she would think that this is how they would feel times a thousand.

She's felt it both during the day and in her sleep whenever she encountered that monster in her dreams. The Hokage's apprentice couldn't help but think that one day very soon something terrible was going to happen. She didn't know what but whatever it was.

It was going to cast the village in fear and shadow.

Elsewhere Hours Later

Meanwhile, high above orbiting the planet was an enormous heavily armed starship. Inside it were hundreds of officers, soldiers, and droids performing their duties, tirelessly. Though for some that was not the case as can be seen with two officers standing outside of their leader's quarters.

Both were arguing on the current course of action that one of them was taking.

"Admiral Watock, I wouldn't advise this! Lord Vader has given implicit instructions not to be disturbed unless it was of extreme importance! We should return to the bridge so that we may-"

"May we what, Captain Orchens?! Continue to waste our time examining the data of our probe scouts while in our universe the Empire is currently losing to the Alliance?! I don't understand why Lord Vader dragged us out here when we should be taking back control of our galaxy from those terrorists!"

The captain tried to reason further with his commanding officer.

"Sir, Lord Vader made it implicitly clear that the Empire as we know it was finished the moment the second Death Star blew up! He offered us a way to escape from the Rebels! Not to mention word was spreading around of imperial ships attacking imperial worlds! Rumor has it that it was some kind of protocol set by the Emperor! Many here, including myself, joined the Empire to protect and maintain peace in the galaxy not to attack worlds loyal to it!"

The admiral grabbed the captain by the collar of his uniform and pulled him close to his face.

"Listen here, Captain! Our duty is to follow the will of the Emperor, nothing more! If he orders us to attack planets and worlds we do as he commands no matter what their loyalties are! That is our singular purpose! Lord Vader should've taken command of the Empire and executed the Emperor's wishes! Instead he replaced all of our troopers with feeble minded clones; had us flee to another universe; deployed hundreds of probe droids down into the planet; made us steal worthless scrolls, books, and blood samples; had us scan and monitor for meaningless targets and has not come out of his quarters for over a year! These are the actions of a traitorous fool and a coward!"

The captain looked at his superior with caution and seriousness.

"Careful Admiral...you saw what happened to the last person who referred to Lord Vader as such things."

The Admiral suddenly turned blue in the face and began sweating before clearing his throat to try to compose himself.

"I still can't believe he had that officer replaced by a mere clone! Regardless, I am not the only one who shares that opinion!"

The admiral released the captain, who adjusted his own collar.

"Are you referring to Director Genkol and some of the other officers?"

The admiral growled at the captain for already deducing the other parties involved in this shared opinion.

"You should listen to yourself, Admiral! You talk as if the Emperor is still alive and cracking the whip at our backs! He isn't! He's dead and gone! We need-"

"You better mind your tongue, Captain Orchens!"

"Or rather perhaps you should mind yours, Admiral!"

HOOOOOOOPUUUUUUUURRRRRRRR.

Both officers froze where they stood and slowly turned upon hearing THAT mechanical voice and sound.

Standing tall at the doorway being cladded in black leather. Buttons and switches covering a panel below his shiny chest piece armor. A long black cape flowing down from behind his neck to behind his armored boots and finally a shiny black mask with two white tusks in the corner of his triangular box like mouth.

Standing before them was the dark lord and commander in chief of the ship himself, Darth Vader.

"L-Lord Vader! G-Good, now that you're here I have some concerns that I wish to-ack!"

The admiral was cut off as he felt all the air being cut off in his windpipe! He grabbed at his throat and fell to his knees as he struggled to breathe! All while Vader had his wrist tilted up with his index finger flexing towards his thumb.

"I have no interest in your concerns or opinions, Admiral! I have finally completed my training and now want to know what the statuses of the locations of my targets are!"

The admiral tried to get a word out to answer but due to the pressure around his windpipe he was unable to, so the captain answered for him.

"Our probe droids have not found any sign of the targets, Lord Vader. Though it's been rather difficult considering it's a large planet and that many of the locals have been causing problems for our droids."

Vader tightened his hold around the admiral's crushing throat.

"So, you have alerted the inhabitants of our presence. Not only by being careless with our scouts but by also positioning the ship too close to the system!"

The captain nervously spoke up again.

"Sir, we should also consider that there may be a possibility that the targets are already dead."

The captain once again answered since the admiral was incapable. The dark lord turned toward the young officer. His index flexing even closer to his thumb.

"No, Captain! They're alive! I want every probe droid to sweep through the Five Great Nations until they have found them or at the very least anyone who may know where they are hiding and for you to ensure that our probe scouts are not discovered by the inhabitants this time!"

Vader then raised his hand up and the admiral was lifted off of the ground into the air. Clawing at his throat as he still choked within the dark lord's grasp. Looking down in fear into the dreaded black soulless eyes of Vader's mask.

"Do I make myself clear?"

The admiral nodded.

"Tr-Transparently-ack-clear, my-ugh-my lord!"

HOOOOOOOPUUUUUUUURRRRRRRR.

"Good!"

Vader relaxed his hand and released the admiral which caused him to collapse and began coughing while rubbing his throat.

"Don't fail me, again..."

Vader pointed at the groveling imperial officer.

"Admiral!"

The dark lord then marched past the admiral into the metal hallways. His black cape flowing behind him as he did. The captain meanwhile turned around and went back to his duties. Leaving the humiliated and terror inflicted admiral on the floor.

The admiral glared at the backside of the captain before he lifted himself up off the floor. He figured he may as well return to his own duties and headed for the bridge to see how things were going up there. Not that there was a need for concern since nothing of any importance has really happened since they arrived at this planet.

He didn't understand why, out of all the planets in this universe, Lord Vader would chose this one. The inhabitants were clearly primitive as their technology wasn't advanced or even modern. What they had were nothing but very limited means of radio communication and surveillance.

The only noteworthy quality of them was their use of what appeared to be Jedi sorcery in battle and medical procedures.

Perhaps the planet itself was the reason why their lord brought them there. Maybe it possessed resources and materials that could be of great use to them. The ship couldn't stay out here forever. Even though they had enough fuel to last them up to a year or two, it was only a matter time before they would run out. Perhaps the planet had the raw materials and minerals necessary that they just needed to mine and extract them after wiping out the inhabitants.

However, Lord Vader as it appears has other plans. Instead of wiping out the population, he's targeted a small number of these useless humanoid beings. He hasn't even given the slightest indication that he will even give an order that will result in the annihilation of these natives. For what purpose this serves him, the officer had no idea.

All he could do was head to the bridge to see if there was anything new to be reported as was his usual mundane routine.

The Bridge

The admiral entered through the doors to the bridge. Every officer was hard at work analyzing the data from their probe scouts as well as maintaining the ship just above the planet's atmosphere. He looked around and all he could see were wastes of talents considering a war was going on in their universe.

After checking with some of the lower ranking officers, it seemed as if once again there wasn't anything noteworthy in the data they've received. He then gave orders to instruct the probe scouts to take better care at being undetected while spying on their objectives. When that was finished and seeing that there wasn't any further business here, he decided to head to engineering to check up on the ship's fuel status and power.

He preferred taking the long way so that he wouldn't have to go through the clone barracks.

He hated having to interact with them. To him they were creatures bred and experimented in a laboratory not real soldiers. Not like the loyal Stormtroopers that have served the Empire for years. He doesn't care if they're smarter or more accurate with blasting their targets. Beings such as them have no place in the Empire other than maybe as academy or drill instructors.

"Admiral."

The admiral turned around to see the Director of Advanced Weaponry and Technology; Hargens Genkol.

"What is it, Director Genkol?"

The Director walked up to him in his white uniform and cape. A color that was the expected hue of imperials in positions such as his. Though truth be told he only knew of a few such imperials that ever did wear white uniforms while most went with the standardized grey green color.

The director pulled a data pad out of his cape.

"I thought that you should see this."

The admiral looked at the data pad and saw what appeared to be the red haired boy that was in charge of the village that they have come to known as the Sunagakure or Suna or Sand Village for short. Facing off against another young man with blonde hair tied in a ponytail; wearing a black cloak with red clouds and had some kind of mechanical eye. Also, upon further inspection appeared to have mouth like orifices on the palms of his hands and was riding some kind of giant white owl that lacked any feathers or other physical textures.

The admiral reared his head back in disgust of such a repulsive looking individual.

"Director what is the point in having me-"

"Just watch, Admiral."

The admiral sighed before he humored the director and continued watching the battle unfold between the two shinobi, as they're called, and as he did his expression turned from one of callousness to shock.

"Are those..."

"Explosives? Indeed, they are. It would seem that one has the ability to take any amount of simple clay and turn it into a high yield of explosives. The shapes and forms he creates with them are a bit...unimaginative, but even just a small piece of it, exactly the size of an insect, is enough to cause heavy damage. And look at the village's leader or...Kazekage as they call him."

The admiral looked back down at the data pad where his eyes grew wide with interest and shock again.

"Incredible!"

He looked at the director.

"We already knew he could control and bend sand, but we had no idea he could do it on such a grand scale as this."

The admiral contemplated what he just witnessed. For over a year they've gathered information about these inhabitants while searching for Lord Vader's targets. Up till now they've only witnessed just a few parlor tricks and some manipulation of the elements but there was nothing in the data that showed them capable of anything like what these two just displayed.

Perhaps there was more to these "shinobi" than meets the eye.

"Looks like this fight finally reached its conclusion."

The admiral looked back down at the pad and watched as the blonde man in the black cloak with red clouds detonated some small explosives within the Kazekage's sand barrier and knocked him out cold. The village's leader plummeted to the ground before the other one caught him within the tail feathers of his giant clay owl. Carrying him out of the village.

"Fascinating..."

The director pulled the data pad back

"That was my initial reaction as well. Both of those individuals are practically capable of annihilating entire populations of people with ease. Imagine what individuals like them could do in service of the Empire!"

The admiral raised a brow at the director.

"It seems you've been giving this a bit of thought, Director."

The director smiled.

"For a while I have, yes. When I started noticing that these tricks of theirs weren't just mere tricks. Some kind of advanced form of combat that we've never seen before. In fact, Lord Vader has had our clone troopers' training regime modified so that they would go through simulated combat scenarios against these...shinobi."

The admiral's eyes grew wide in surprise.

"I wasn't aware of this! When did he give this order?!"

The director answered.

"About right after he went into his quarters for...training purposes. He sent out the order on a secure channel to Commander Ashla."

The admiral grit his teeth.

"Ashla,...I should've known!"

The admiral hated that commander. She, Captain Orchens, and few other officers were too loyal to Lord Vader and not enough to the Empire! That and Ashla actually preferred working with the clones over their usual troopers! It agitated him to no end!

"Yes, it would seem Lord Vader has known for a while now just how dangerous these shinobi truly are. Also, perhaps their potentiality as effective weapons for the Empire."

The admiral was suddenly struck with an epiphany. That had to be the reason why Vader chose this planet. It was the powers that these shinobi wielded. It would also make sense as to why he didn't just invade the planet in the very beginning or even now. He must be gauging their strength to see how powerful they truly are.

However, it still made no sense as to why only a few targets were selected. Why not as many as they can take back with them? As the admiral gave it more thought it started to become clear.

"Lord Vader didn't bring us here for the intention of weaponizing these shinobi."

The Director raised a brow at the admiral.

"If that is not the reason for bringing us to this system then what is?"

The admiral shook his head.

"I don't know, but it's clearly not within the interest of the Empire! Only his own! However,..."

The admiral looked that the Director.

"It doesn't mean we can't use Lord Vader's purpose here to serve the Empire."

The director looked at the admiral with curiosity mixed with a deal of caution.

"Are you suggesting that we go behind Lord Vader's back to try to capture these shinobi so that we could weaponize them ourselves?"

The admiral looked at the director and smiled with maddening confidence.

"For now, yes. If we tell him now with only a couple of these high caliber shinobi in our possession he won't take our plan seriously and will just cast it aside before it would have a chance to truly progress! But, once we've collected enough of these shinobi and properly...motivated them to serve the Empire we'll present them to Lord Vader. Once he sees just how useful many of these powerful new soldiers can be we can convince him to take them back with us to our universe and have them fight against the Rebellion! Not only will we get back into the war, but we could also sway Lord Vader to decommission these new clone troopers of ours since they'll be practically useless when compared to the new soldiers we've gained!"

The director looked at the admiral with caution still on face.

"Lord Vader isn't exactly well known for enjoying surprises, admiral."

The admiral nodded.

"True, but he has far less tolerance for failure and this is one thing I don't intend to fail on! The future of the Empire is at stake!"

The director still looked unconvinced.

"What if we do collect enough of these soldiers and Lord Vader still refuses to allow us to use them? What then?"

The admiral smiled.

"Then their first official order would be to eliminate all of the traitors on this ship that stand against the Empire. Every. Single. One."

The director looked at him silently for a few moments. The plan was risky. Dangerously risky. Lord Vader would likely execute them brutally for planning something like this on their own and for secretly bringing locals onto his ship. The admiral was right though. The Empire would sorely need soldiers like this to vanquish the Rebellion. After giving it some more thought, he made his decision.

"Then I guess it's a good thing that I haven't shown this recording to Lord Vader, yet."

The admiral smiled.

"Indeed, now was the victor alone?"

The director shook his head.

"No, there was another working with him. An unsightly gangly creature with some sort of mechanical stinger protruding out of his back. It wore the same cloak as him."

The admiral nodded.

"And when was this fight recorded by the probe scout?"

The director checked the data pad for the time stamp of when it was recorded and transmitted.

"About three hours ago, why do you ask?"

The admiral held his chin with his index and thumb.

"If the victor and his partner have fled to their hideout perhaps there's a chance we can have another probe follow them and find the rest of their comrades more quickly. It will save us the trouble of having to search for them later."

"Ah, I understand now. A good plan, Admiral."

The admiral smirked with confidence.

"Thank you, I'll go and have a new probe directed to follow their trail while it's still warm."

The admiral then took his leave back to the bridge.

"Good luck, Admiral."

The admiral looked back and smirked once again with pompousness before he continued on his way as the director looked down and pondered their current course of action.

"And pray in the name of the Emperor that Lord Vader doesn't kill us for doing this."

The admiral made his way back to the bridge where everyone was still attending their stations and duties as he left them. He marched to one of the control stations. Leaning over the officer stationed there.

"Send out a probe to coordinates 02-Mark-07-49 immediately and have it follow a pair of shinobi wearing black cloaks with red clouds."

The officer looked at the admiral with confusion.

"Sir? We've already sent out the maximum number of droids that Lord Vader instructed for that sector on the planet. Shouldn't we-"

"Are you disobeying an order from me, Lieutenant? Remember, disobeying me would mean disobeying Lord Vader. Is that what you're doing?"

The officer's face grew pale.

"N-No, sir! Right away, sir!"

The lieutenant immediately began setting in the coordinates for the droid to be sent.

"Good and be sure to instruct the droid to keep out of their sight and report to me and me alone if it finds anything."

The admiral was about to leave until the officer made an inquiry to him.

"What exactly is it you're expecting it to find sir?"

The admiral looked at him and smiled.

"The future of the new Empire."

Training Room

Simulated blaster bolts and metal could be seen whizzing through the air of the metal training room. On one side were a squadron of clones using the environment as cover while on the other were droids makeshift as shinobi. The clones were using blasters while the droids were using kunai knives, shuriken, and holographic jutsus against them.

All while high up in the observation room an imperial officer was observing and documenting the team's progress.

HOOOOOOOPUUUUUUUURRRRRRRR.

The commander momentarily ceased in her documentation and turned around to see Darth Vader entering the room.

"Lord Vader! This is a surprise, I thought you were still-"

Vader held up his hand to interrupt.

"How is the training of our troopers proceeding, Commander Ashla?"

The commander tried to straighten herself up to look more presentable as she prepared to answer Vader's question.

"About ninety to ninety-five percent of our forces have completed the basic, intermediate, and advanced courses and simulations, my lord. However, per your orders I've had all the squads that have passed retake the tests upon learning any new weapon, jutsu, strategy and other methods of combat that our probe droids learn from these shinobi. It's quite fortunate that Jango Fett's DNA vial was kept intact after the Clone Wars. Most of the clones have adapted quite well to these obstacles and challenges. Far better than our normal troopers would have, and they even managed to overcome them. But..."

The commander looked down a bit nervously while thinking of how best to explain the recurring problem they've encountered.

"They all have had trouble with completing sessions against high class shinobi or jutsus. Particularly against shinobi of Kage, Sannin, or even of high elite class jōnin and Anbu. They can't seem to defeat them and-"

"That is not important, Commander. I can handle the Sannin and the Kages myself as well as shinobi of those elite classes if necessary. I only wish to know if they are ready to face shinobi of lower ranking and power as they currently are at this moment."

The commander exhaled as this was a simple answer and one she was sure would please Lord Vader.

"Yes, they should be able to take on shinobi of that caliber."

HOOOOOOOPUUUUUUUURRRRRRRR.

"Good."

Vader approached the glass observation window overlooking the training session below.

"Which squadron is this?"

The commander walked to Vader's side and resumed watching the simulated battle below as she answered him.

"This is Squad Obsidian. They have the highest success rates out of all of our teams. Even though they haven't been able to beat the simulations against the types of shinobi I mentioned previously they actually did pretty well to survive against them. This squad is actually quite...unique."

Vader looked at the commander.

"How so?"

The commander looked at the cybernetic lord and answered.

"They all have certain mutations that have actually been beneficial to them in combat. Their leader CT-7567 has heightened senses and reflexes and is a crack shot with any medium to long range blaster. The other one CT-1409 has an extremely high IQ which has allowed him to analyze jutsus and Kekkei Genkai before deducing how they are used as well as their weaknesses. He also has a skill with making and working with droids. CT-5555 is adept in recon, placing traps, and is an excellent sniper. And the last one CT-782 has enhanced strength, endurance and is quite handy with heavy weaponry. They are all keen battle strategists and any one of them are capable of successfully leading a squad on their own. However, our studies have shown that they perform at their absolute best when working together. In fact, they have even taken up a title in your honor, my lord."

Vader tilted his helmet slowly which unsettled the commander.

"And what title would that be, Commander?"

She answered.

"Vader's Fists."

Vader turned his helmet back towards the glass.

"Is that so?"

Meanwhile in the battle below the clones were currently in a stalemate with the simulated droid shinobi. Avoiding their projectile metal weaponry as well as their jutsus. All while making sure to keep the shinobi at a distance since experience has taught them that these shinobi are keen at using their speed and stealth to overtake opponents. That and most of them are even more dangerous and harder to take down in close quarters combat than at a distance, but that's not to say they were beatable even then.

Their leader looked towards his squad mate and did a signal with his hand to scan their opponents.

CT-1409 nodded and set his visor down over his helmet and scanned the "shinobi" ahead of them.

"It looks like eight shinobi. Two of them are chuunin rank and the rest are jōnin. Two of the jōnin are using fire style jutsus, three of them earth, one water, but the two chuunin are using nothing but ordinary knives and throwing sta-"

"We can all see what they're using! Just tell us which ones to take out first and if they have any traps or Kekkei Genkai we should know of!"

The clone sighed as CT-782 cut him off once again, which is what he usually does when CT-1409 points out the obvious to his squad mates, before analyzing the targets again. He took a closer look at the two chuunin that weren't using any elemental jutsus as well the surrounding area around them. It didn't take him long to realize what clans they were simulated as and what their strategy was!

"Captain! The two chuunin are of the Hyuga and Nara clans! The Hyuga's Byakugan will be able to pinpoint where most of us are and they're starting to wrap explosives around their knives! That's not all..."

The clone pointed to their position's left where it was another area of metal blocks serving as more cover for them.

"That place is littered with paper bombs and the shadows on those blocks are darker and wider than the ones here!"

The captain and CT-5555 looked at each other coming upon the same conclusion.

"They're going to try to drive us out of here with those explosive kunai, so that we can find more cover over there but then the Nara will ensnare us with his Shadow Possession jutsu. With no way to move we won't be able to evade those bombs when they detonate!"

CT-5555 came up with a solution.

"Then we take out the Hyuga and Nara first before the others!"

The captain nodded as he turned back towards the two new targets. They've almost finished wrapping paper bombs around their weapons. They needed to act fast.

"Well, we can't just go up and blast them! They're too fast and agile! That and the Hyuga may have the Palm Rotation technique or some other method of protection with his Byakugan! We need to find some way of catching them off guard!"

"I've got an idea, Captain!"

CT-7567 looked over at CT-5555 and saw him de-materialize into thin air!

"Oh, I get it!"

He looked over at the other two troopers.

"BOTH OF YOU, CONCENTRATE FIRE ON THE HYUGA AND THE NARA! EVEN IF THE OTHERS COVER FOR THEM, DON'T LET UP! WE CAN'T LET THEM FINISH THEIR EXPLOSIVES!"

CT-1409 nodded while CT-782 unhooked a large rotary blaster cannon from his back.

"NOW YOU'RE TALKING, CAP! I'VE BEEN DYING TO USE THIS!"

The clone then unleashed a fast and heavy volley of red blaster bolts at the two targets. Forcing them off balance and unable to finish completing their explosives. CT-1409 joined in while their CO kept the other shinobi at bay with duel pistol shots.

While in the observation room, Vader watched with interest as the clones' strategy unfolded.

"I see that clone sergeant is making use of our stealth technology."

The commander nodded.

"Yes, we adapted it from the same technology our Shadow Troopers used during the war. This new version however remains active for longer periods of time than the old one and doesn't shimmer upon movement. With his unique stealth abilities, we found CT-5555 to be the perfect candidate for testing it. Though there were some complications."

Vader looked at the commander.

"What complications?"

The commander explained.

"Well...we weren't entirely sure whether this cloaking would work against the Byakugan since it allows the user to see the target's...chakra signature and nodes. Studies of our probes' documentation have shown that most stealth techniques are basically useless against the Byakugan even ones that allow for complete invisibility. However, we think we may have found a way around that."

She tapped the data pad and handed it to the dark lord.

"Studies of the various Hyuga scrolls have revealed that the Byakugan has trouble seeing through certain types of metal. As such, we were able to gather and harness these materials. Enough to infuse them into the armor of CT-5555 and other stealth operatives. Having that and the stealth technology would allow them to ambush the enemy unseen on more than one front."

HOOOOOOOPUUUUUUUURRRRRRRR.

"Interesting."

Vader examined the contents of the pad and found what the commander stated to be accurate. In fact, he had that same metal infused into his own suit and armor. Despite the fact that he was a powerful warrior and cyborg he wasn't going to allow anyone with the Byakugan to have an advantage with their Gentle Fist Style fighting over him.

"I'm surprised you were able to simulate the Byakugan so accurately. Impressive work, Commander."

He Handed the data pad back to her, as he continued watching the battle.

"It wasn't easy but thanks to all the scrolls we've recovered, the process of copying and integrating that kind of vision into some of our training droids became much easier."

The dark lord nodded while watching with curiosity as to whether the clone was either going to try to get close to the Hyuga or perhaps take advantage of the other weakness that the Byakugan holds.

The clone rushed quickly but quietly around the battlefield. Taking care not to accidentally get hit by the exchanging aerial projectiles of the two teams. He looked and saw the Hyuga and Nara were struggling avoid his brothers' blaster bolts while the other simulation droids were struggling to cover them while avoiding the captain's attacks. The clone carefully maneuvered himself through the enemy lines until he was directly behind the two targets.

"In position."

CT-1409 responded back, on their comm link channel, to give him instructions.

"Be sure to hit the precise spot on its neck."

He took out his sniper rifle and looked through its scope. Tracking the Hyuga's movements as it dodged the other clones' barrage. All he needed was that one spot. That one spot to show up on his scope and he could take the Hyuga out, but it's sporadic movements made it difficult.

Meanwhile his squad mates were having trouble keeping the shinobi off balance.

"CT-5555 what's taking so long? If you have a shot take it! We can't keep this up!"

"SPEAK FOR YOURSELF!"

CT-782 howled with excitement as he continued his barrage making it difficult for the clone to be heard as he responded on the comm link.

"Well, maybe if you guys stopped making him hop around everywhere like a Kowakian monkey-lizard I'd have shot him by now!"

Their captain turned to CT-782.

"Sergeant! Shorten your leads!"

The clone groaned and nodded to his brother and superior. Decreasing the rate of fire on his heavy blaster cannon. In response the Hyuga droid's movements slowed down allowing it the chance to continue wrapping the paper bombs around its kunai.

It's slower pace however was the chance the clone sniper needed.

" Now, I gotcha."

ZAP!

The clone pulled the trigger and a red blaster bolt shot out of the barrel of his sniper rifle into the back of the Hyuga droid's neck! The droid's neck exploded in a small shower of sparks before collapsing to the ground! The Nara droid looked over to its fallen comrade, wondering what happened, before another sniper bolt blasted through its metal head!

The other six shinobi droids took notice of their fallen comrades and three of them began whizzing through hand signs! CT-1409 analyzed the hand signs they were doing and immediately grew worried! He turned to his CO!

"Sir, we need to take them out now; before they finish their jutsus! The water style user is going to flood this area and the two fire users know lightning style attacks!"

The clone captain nodded and all three concentrated on the six shinobi droids! However, the three earth shinobi put up a holographic earth wall, which was just a large metal slab underneath, blocking their laser bolts! The captain got on the comm with their sniper.

"CT-5555 see what you can do about them from your end! Don't let them finish their hand signs!"

The sniper nodded.

"You got it, Captain!"

The clone looked through his scope as he zoomed in on the shinobi droids finishing their hand signs behind the barrier.

"I don't think so."

ZAP! ZAP!

He shot one through head which exploded in sparks! He tried to get the other one on its left but missed a kill shot. Luckily he was able to blast its arm off so at least it wouldn't be able to finish its jutsu! The third one started changing its hand signs before running up on the surface of the barrier!

The clone sighed.

"I hate when they do that."

The invisible sniper followed its movements. Waiting till it reached the top of the wall. It didn't take long for it to reach it and the second it did and prepared to unleash its jutsu.

ZAP!

Another shot from his sniper rifle put one load through the droids torso!

The fake shinobi staggered before falling off the barrier! The three undamaged droids then went through another series of hand signs before putting up another simulated earth wall in the direction of where the sniper bolts where coming from!

The clone groaned.

"I hate when they do that too!"

The sniper contacted his CO.

"Sir, they put up a barrier on my end too. What are your orders?"

The clone captain began to think and came up with a quick solution.

"Keep them pinned down and distracted for now. CT-782 and 1409 will head over to near your location. Once they're there, I'll flush them out for you boys."

The three clones understood what the captain was planning and followed his orders. CT-5555 kept blasting at the openings of the barriers making sure the shinobi stayed inside. At the same time the other two made their way to his position.

When they got close enough their captain's jetpack suddenly ignited, and he took off into the air! He flew over to the top opening of the barriers. Once he reached it, he hovered over it before stretching his left arm out and spewed flames out of his gauntlet!

Vader looked at the commander.

"CT-7567 has an...admiration for Mandalorians and their weaponry, my lord."

Vader watched as the clone managed to flush out two of the droids, while the third held up a smaller earth barrier against the flames, but the second they rushed out they were under fire by the other clones! One of them fell from the blasts but the other one managed to avoid getting hit and started weaving through hand signs! CT-1409 instantly recognized them and alerted his squad mates!

"EARTH COFFIN! TAKE COVER!"

Him and CT-782 ducked and rolled out of the way as several slabs rose up and closed in on their previous location! Once they were clear CT-782 unleashed more heavy blaster bolts upon the earth style droid shinobi! The shinobi responded by putting up another simulated earth wall!

"I GOT HIM PINNED! GET YOUR PET OUT ALREADY!"

The other clone responded in agitation.

"HE'S NOT A PET!"

The clone pressed some buttons on his gauntlet and his black battle pack sudden sprung off of him and levitated in the air! Several legs unfolded downwards while an antenna protruded out of the top of its head! A large green central eye opened up as it looked towards its creator!

"You know what to do! Go for it!"

The droid released a series of beeping sounds indicating it understood! It flew towards the shinobi behind the barrier! Sneaking up right behind him before shooting an electric shock into the shinobi droid's back! The shock was so intense that the simulated shinobi fell to the ground unable to move!

The two clones walked towards the stunned shinobi. CT-782 pointed his heavy rotating blaster cannon at the droid before plugging it up with heavy laser bolts! The simulated droid laid there smoking and sizzling while the small floating droid flew down to its master before connecting into the back of his armor again.

"One down..."

They looked at the last earth shinobi.

"One to go."

CT-5555 materialized in between the two clones and they all headed towards the last shinobi droid inside the giant simulated stone barriers. They hid behind the corners of the opening watching as their captain still kept the droid pinned with pistol shots! However, the droid was weaving through more hand signs which their chief expert recognized like the others!

He spoke on his comm.

"CAPTAIN, GET OUT OF THERE! HE'S GOING FOR AN EARTH DRAGON!"

The captain nodded before backing away on his jetpack just as the droid finished the jutsu! Suddenly a large holographic dragon emerged made out of dirt and stone! It roared before reaching upwards with its jaws towards the captain!

The clone ducked and spiraled out of the way of the monstrous earth formation! He hated dealing with jutsus like this one because it felt like you were fighting an actual giant beast along with the shinobi! But they all learned very early on that it was still just one enemy.

As they proved when the other clones released a barrage of laser bolts into the unsuspecting simulated earth shinobi's back! Right as the droid fell, the hologram of the dragon dissipated! Revealing it to be just a giant metal tentacle wire with emitters all over it.

The wire slunk back into the ground as the clones regrouped.

"Nice work, boys!"

The clone captain landed on the ground and walked towards his men.

"I think we may have beaten our prev-FIVES DUCK!"

The clone did as his CO instructed and dodged as a fast incoming kunai flew through the space where his head was just moments ago! They all snapped their heads to the direction it came from and saw that it was one of the simulated fire style shinobi droids that escaped the kill shot from earlier! The droid twirled another kunai and prepared to attack again!

"NO, YOU DON'T!"

CT-782 immediately caught the droid's arm and twisted it completely off! He then took a vibroblade out of a sheath on his leg and cut the droids head off! Creating a shower of sparks as the now headless and armless droid fell to the ground.

CT-5555 placed a hand on his brother's shoulder.

"Thanks."

The clone nodded to his brother. The whole squad stood and took in the battlefield around them. They knew that they improved their performance since their last simulation. Which made their victory over their latest training all the more sweeter.

"Well done, all of you."

HOOOOOOOPUUUUUUUURRRRRRRR.

The clones all turned to see him. Standing before them in all of his glory and might. He was their leader. The one they were engineered to have absolute loyalty to. They knelt before him in honor of his presence.

"Lord Vader."

The dark lord tilted his helmet down at the them.

"Your performance just now was indeed impressive. However, you must all remember that these are just mere training droids. The real shinobi you'll be facing will be faster, stronger, smarter and far more difficult to defeat. They are also capable of sensing you and your intent to kill, so you must control that urge when you face them in battle. Do not let your pride or arrogance get the best of you. Even if you're dealing with just mere genin, do not underestimate these fighters. The moment you do, none of you will walk away alive."

"We understand, Lord Vader."

The clone captain spoke for his men to reassure their leader that they will follow his advice without doubt or carelessness. Vader nodded, and turned around to take his leave. However, before he did he made an inquiry to the clone CO.

"Captain, earlier you referred to Clone Trooper 5555 as 'Fives', what was the meaning of that?"

The clone captain stiffened and wasn't sure how best to answer that question.

"Well,...my lord...you see...are birth numbers are a bit of a mouthful to use when issuing orders or just talking to each other on the battlefield. By the time I'd have finished saying his number that droid would've gotten him with that kunai. And while I'm being honest I'm not the only clone who shares this opinion, sir. The other squad leaders and their teams also agree that we need a better naming system in place. Which is why we were wondering if...maybe...with your permission, my lord, we could come up with our own names?"

Vader instantly turned around. His black cape whipping behind him. He approached the clone officer who braced himself for whatever punishment his lord was about to dealt him with for making such a request when it was not his place to do so.

"MY LORD!"

The blonde Commander Ashla came running towards the Dark Lord and stood at attention.

"It's my fault, sir! CT-7567's misplaced request should fall upon me! I told him that I would pass it along to you through proper channels, but I never got the chance! Please sir I-!"

Vader held his hand up to silence the commander which she did while swallowing some dried up spit. Seconds passed as no one made a sound save for the dark lord's breathing apparatus. No one would dare to.

Finally, Darth Vader spoke.

"Rise then and claim your new name, Captain Rex."

The clone captain looked up stunned at his leader. Rising from his kneeling position as commanded. Vader then turned to the other members of his squad.

"CT-782, you shall be known as Hevy. CT-1409, your name will be Echo. As for you, CT-5555, your new name has already been given as Fives."

Vader turned around and then walked away while giving a new order.

"Commander, you may inform the other squadrons that they may choose their own names if they so wish."

"Yes, my lord."

She then turned around and faced the squad.

"You are dismissed!"

Rex nodded and he along with his squad prepared to head to the barracks while the commander prepared to go log the clone's simulation results into the archives. Yet, neither the new christened captain nor the commander left though as they paused for brief moment to look at each other. His eyes staring into her brown irises and her eyes into his black helmet's visor.

After the moment passed they both turned around and went their separate ways.

When he caught up with his squad they engaged in conversation regarding their new names. They all seem to agree they were well suited for them. Echo however brought up a question that was completely off topic.

"Is it me or does Lord Vader seem a bit...shorter than when we last saw him?"

The other clones stopped walking and stared at him causing Echo to sigh.

"I know, I know, I'll shut up, now."

Vader's Quarters

The cold metal doors slowly opened. Allowing in a source of light, from the hallway, into the nearly dark void room. That is until Vader stepped inside and the lights came on automatically. They weren't brilliantly shining or dazzling spectacles. These lights were dim and bleak.

Darth Vader surveyed his quarters. The place where he's meditated and trained for over a year. Studying the various scrolls and jutsus that his probes stole from the Leaf. He was already powerful enough that he could've just begun the hunt immediately after arriving at the planet.

But knowing your enemies along with their methods, weaponry, and weaknesses is a sharp tool for their destruction also he needed these documents for far more important reasons.

The dark lord walked over to the viewport where he could see the planet down below providing the only light for his quarters when he wasn't here. How he was filled with rage by just staring at the system. It was full of too many memories. Memories of a life that was so long ago yet still felt so fresh in his mind that it was as if he had just formed them recently.

The glass of his viewport window began to crack as the memories continued to penetrate his mind.

He felt the Darkside growing within himself. It still consumed him despite everything he had learned. Everything that turned out to be lies and half-truths fed to him by someone he thought he could trust. Someone he believed in. However, that someone betrayed both him and his other half. Turning them both into slaves and puppets.

Well, that person paid for his treachery with his life, but it was not without great cost.

For the first time in a long time, Darth Vader felt alone. He could no longer feel the presence of his other half within him. That half gave up his binding to him to save Skywalker and to save him. Part of him wished that his soul went with his. Whether it would've been to hell or some other realm that the souls of the dead travel too.

It wouldn't have mattered for at least they would've been there side by side. Like they had always been. Now, he was here alone with nothing left but the power of the Darkside, the Kyuubi, and an army at his beck and call ready to help him achieve the only thing he had left.

Revenge.

Burning vengeance against those directly responsible for turning him into this vile monstrosity. His list of targets were once many but now there were only a few because of the revelations he had. However, the ones he chose to ignore would not be forgiven and if they would stand in his way then he would destroy them too.

However, even though they were weak he knew that any interference from them could allow his targets to escape. That is why he ordered for probes to perform reconnaissance of the planet. That is why he didn't send troopers down to annihilate the population.

There was no need to go to such extremes. Not yet at least. Not unless they hinder or try to stop his hunt for them. If they were foolish enough to do so then he would give them the same fear and destruction that he spent decades giving to the beings of his other half's galaxy.

The glass cracked further with spider web like patterns as he remembered all those unfortunate souls.

Whatever will happen won't matter because one way or another they would all perish. Maybe not by his hands but they would likely face their own demise, nonetheless. He knew that it was coming for them, but he didn't care. Why should he, considering he hasn't done so for decades.

In the end they were nothing to him.

Elsewhere in the Leaf Village

Sakura stood on the balcony outside of her room. Looking up at the darkening twilight sky. Directly at the massive triangular object floating high up in orbit. Even now she continued to shiver from the cold.

She couldn't escape it. No matter what she tried it was always there. Deep within her soul. It felt almost like a warning.

An omen of something dreadful coming.

Yet, despite this restless sensation, she couldn't help but be curious. There was something about this feeling. This presence of darkness that felt so familiar and yet wasn't. She couldn't wrap her head around it. She only just pondered and pondered more about what it could be. Feeling out this shadow and all of its cold darkness within her mind.

The more she concentrated, the more she began to feel that she was being pulled towards it.

Meanwhile, Darth Vader still stood in front of the cracked glass viewport overlooking the planet. Having enough reminiscing about a past, that was best left forgotten, he turned around to go meditate. He stopped just as he was turning with his helmet tilting up and his body stiffening.

He sensed a disturbance in the Force. This was different from the conflicts and the small tremors he felt earlier. No, this was something more. Something significant.

It was a presence.

A presence that was faint but was there, nonetheless. He turned back toward the viewport. Sensing that it was coming from the planet. He didn't understand why he was feeling anything remotely like this at all. There shouldn't be anything or anyone this strong with the Force that he would feel them from up here in his Star Destroyer.

Yet, he did.

As he focused his mind on it more. Trying to understand and feel out what this disturbance was. He saw it within his mind. A light. A small emanating light about the size of a pebble. It was small but very bright and something about it was unsettling. It felt familiar and yet it was not.

Vader didn't know why but he felt anger towards the light for being in his presence and also, for reasons he didn't understand, he felt pain too.

The cracks on his viewport continued to spread more. Making the once clear view of the system appear distorted and broken. Like someone just broke a mural picture of the planet.

The dark lord seethed from this light that was calling to him. He tried to shut it out. He tried to push it away out of his mind.

Instead, he felt himself being pulled to it.

Sakura's eyes widened as she felt herself being pulled more and more to this shadow. It was as dark and wide as the sky would be on a starless and moonless night. No, it was far darker than even that.

She was afraid. She should be trying to get away. Trying to resist its fierce icy touch but there was something about it that was strangely alluring to her. Like there was something in its cold void she wanted but was just beyond her grasp.

Sakura didn't know how to reach it or why she would even want to. She just knew she had to. She had to see what this dark presence truly was. It was a desire she didn't fully understand.

Slowly, bit by bit. She drew closer and closer to it without even knowing how she was doing so. Making out the details of its source more clearly in her mind. She was at the point where she wouldn't be able to stop now even if she wanted to.

However, the shadow was starting to push her away.

Vader could sense this strange presence reaching out to him more. Trying to connect to him through mind and spirit. It only continued to enrage him. He tried pushing it away. Tried to break the connection it was attempting to make with him.

It was persistent though and aggravating. It felt as if the harder he pushed, the harder it pulled and pushed towards him. It was getting closer. Allowing him to make out some details as to what or who was attempting to reach him. If he were curious enough he would've allowed the connection to be made.

He wasn't though and as far as he was concerned, it was an annoying nuisance.

"Enough!"

The glass of the dark lord's viewport finally shattered from the pressure of his power and anger! Causing all the artificial air inside to be sucked out along with a few scrolls, that he no longer needed, as well as a few metal objects from within his chambers! Darth Vader stood firm though and didn't even move an inch! His cape being pulled out by his sides violently as the vacuum of space tried to pull him out!

Sakura gasped while her sliding glass door suddenly burst into pieces! She felt seized with terror and felt like icy shards were piercing into her from the cold shadow! She stumbled a bit from this horrendous sensation!

Trembling horribly as she was finally brought out of the trance she was in.

Detecting the damage and danger in his quarters, the Star Destroyer's computers initiated its countermeasure! With a large metal slab suddenly slamming down over the shattered viewport! Cutting off the depressurization of Vader's chambers!

The electronic lights in Vader's chambers flickered in desperate attempts to produce light. It proved futile in the end as one by one they all went out. Save for a console that emitted light as an officer's voice came through it.

"Lord Vader, is everything alright?! We just detected a hull breach located in the vicinity of your quarters! Do you require assistance?!"

"Everything is fine, Captain. I need no assistance. Now, leave me be."

The officer over the comm paused before replying.

"As you wish, my lord."

HOOOOOOOPUUUUUUUURRRRRRRR.

The light on the console then went out. Leaving the dark lord alone. Alone in darkness.

Total empty darkness.

The Next Morning

Sakura bolted upright as she once again had another nightmare. It was like all the other ones with the mysterious Man in Black and the new demonic beast. She clutched her chest as her heart continued to race and pound hard. She looked and saw her sheets were covered in sweat and so was she.

'Those damn pills didn't work again!'

She sighed and rubbed her temples from this nonending torment. Even now she could still feel that cold shadow's presence over the Leaf. This was all incredibly unnerving for her. Between the man in her nightmares, the strange object, and the shadow it was becoming too much for her to bear since she couldn't comprehend any of it. The young chuunin was starting to think that it was time to speak to Tsunade about all of this.

She got out bed and put on her robe deciding to take a shower first when the girl's head perked up as she felt that she wasn't alone.

She pulled back her drapes and saw that it was still very early in the morning. The sun was just peeking out over the hills. She looked out towards a nearby rooftop and saw her former sensei and the leader of Team 7, Kakashi Hatake!

"Kakashi sensei! What are you doing here?"

Judging by the look in Kakashi's lone eye and the tension she was feeling in her body, she could tell this wasn't a social call.

"Lady Hokage has summoned us. Apparently, it's an emergency."

Sakura immediately understood and got dressed before running downstairs to put on her shinobi combat boots. She bolted out of the door before her parents could ask where she was going! Leaping onto the rooftops heading to the Hokage Tower with her former sensei in tow!

"Hey, Sakura what happened to your sliding door? I noticed the glass was missing from it."

Sakura felt stumped for a brief second on how to answer that before she came up with a believable explanation.

"I sort of...lost my temper last night and smashed the glass. I've had a bit of a rough evening."

The Copycat ninja looked at her suspiciously for a few seconds. The girl looked exhausted and covered in sweat. However, he returned his focus to getting to the tower. It didn't take them long to reach it. They landed on the stairway on the side of the building before going in and heading to Tsunade's office.

Once they arrived Kakashi knocked on the door.

"Enter."

They went in to see Tsunade and Shizune, who was holding Tonton in her arms, with serious distressful looks on their faces. Sakura has only ever seen her master like this during very bad or complicated situations. Kakashi and her stood at attention as they readied themselves to receive orders.

"The reason why I have called you both here so early is that last night the Sunagakure was attacked."

Kakashi and Sakura's eyes widened.

"What?!"

Tsunade nodded.

"That's not the worst of it. Their Fifth Kazekage, Gaara of the Sand, was abducted by the attackers."

Sakura couldn't believe it.

"Someone actually managed to take down Gaara?!"

"Yes."

It was indeed very hard to believe. Gaara was an incredibly powerful and skilled shinobi. It was one of the main reasons why his village chose him as their Fifth Kazekage despite his young age. Not to mention that he had the power of the Shukaku demon inside of him. Whoever pulled this attack off must've known what they were doing.

"Do we know who was responsible for the attack?"

Tsunade nodded while Shizune answered.

"Yes, it was two members of the Akatsuki."

Kakashi's lone eye widened while Sakura looked down at the floor. Recalling that it was the same organization that Sasuke's brother, Itachi Uchiha, was a member of. She didn't understand though as to why the organization would suddenly make a drastic move as attacking the Hidden Sand Village and kidnaping Gaara. Surely, they didn't think that Gaara's village was going to stand by and do nothing about it. What was their angle?

She also began to think that this could be an opportunity she's been waiting for.

'If Itachi's involved he may know where Orochimaru and Sasuke are.'

"In response to the attack and the abduction of their leader, the Village Hidden in the Sands has asked for our assistance. You both are to head for the Sand Village and find out what's going on there and keep us informed. You are to remain there and follow their orders as well as provide them whatever assistance they need to retrieve Gaara back from the clutches of the Akatsuki."

"Right."

They both answered simultaneously.

"I'm sure I don't need to remind you both that the Akatsuki has powerful members with very strange and dangerous jutsu. Be extremely careful both of you."

"We will, my lady."

Tsunade looked at Sakura with concern.

"Sakura, did you sleep well last night? You look tired."

Kakashi was also thinking the same thing as was Shizune. Sakura shifted on her feet as all eyes fell on her. She knew though there was no avoiding the subject at this point.

"No, I didn't."

The other three in the room and even Tonton thought the poor girl looked exhausted. Tsunade had to be sure that Sakura was ready for this mission. It's easily classified as S-rank and no mistakes could be afforded especially since their relationship with the Sand rests solely on its success.

"Sakura, if you feel that you're not up for this mission just say the word now and I'll-"

"It's fine, Lady Tsunade. I can handle this. I just need to remember your training and keep my guard up. I'll get some sleep along the way. I promise, I won't be a burden!"

Tsunade smiled at the gumption her apprentice was displaying before her expression went back to being serious again.

"Remember Sakura, we have no idea what condition Gaara might be in. Try to avoid any drawn out conflict if you can and save up your chakra. There's a chance he or orthers might need medical attention. Just be careful, understood?"

Sakura bowed.

"Yes, my lady."

Tsunade smiled.

"Very good, now get going!"

Sakura nodded and ran out the door. Just as she left her teacher's smile vanished. She turned towards Kakashi.

"Something you need to say?"

Kakashi's lone lazy eye looked at the corner of the ceiling.

"I wanted to run this by you, first."

Tsunade looked at Shizune curiously before back at Kakashi.

"What is it?"

Kakashi turned to the Hokage with a serious look in his eye.

"I'm planning on using this mission as an opportunity to try to capture a member of the Akatsuki."

Tsunade and Shizune's eyes grew wide with shock at the Copycat ninja's proposal.

"Hear me out, Lady Tsunade. My reason for this is important."

Tsunade leaned against her hands and listened intently.

"I believe that the Akatsuki might have information we need. Sakura believes it too. In fact, I think she will try to seek out this information from them if she can. However, she only thinks that they may possess intel on where Orochimaru and Sasuke are, but I think they might have more information than that."

Tsunade nodded as she already figured out what Kakashi's reason was.

"You think they may have information on where Naruto or Palpatine might be."

Kakashi nodded.

"Yes, we may not have another opportunity like this to find out what really happened to him. Whether if they or Orochimaru captured him or Palpatine took him away or...well...I don't even want to go there. That's why I plan to capture one of them and bring them in for questioning. It's the only lead we have on any one of them. Don't try to talk me out of it."

Shizune tried to speak out against this plan for it being too risky, but Tsunade held her hand up.

"I wouldn't dream of it. Do what you can, Kakashi, just do it carefully."

"Roger."

Kakashi once again started heading out the door.

"Kakashi..."

The jōnin turned around.

"If Itachi is one of the members, who was responsible for the attack, be sure to apprehend him first. He still needs to answer for his crimes in the village and Orochimaru has his little brother, so there's a good chance he'll know where they might be."

Kakashi's lone eye grew determined.

"I've been waiting to have a rematch with him. It won't be easy but at least this time I've got a new trick up my sleeve."

Tsunade nodded.

"That's good to hear and be sure to keep an eye on Sakura. I'm worried about her."

Kakashi looked at the floor.

"We're all worried about her. I still think we should tell her about Naruto's secret. If she's going to go up against the Akatsuki she'll need to know why they're after him assuming if they don't have him already."

Tsunade sighed.

"You may be right, but I disagree. It could negatively impact her combat skills and the last thing she needs is any distractions while fighting them. When you both get back I'll think about it. Just watch over her for me."

Kakashi's closed his eye and looked at the Hokage with confidence.

"I wouldn't be too worried. After all, she is your apprentice."

Kakashi then body flickered away.

Shizune looked at her master.

"Is this wise, Lady Tsunade? Itachi alone put Kakashi in the hospital and we don't know what the other members are capable of. That and Sakura is sleep deprived. It could negatively affect her during combat regardless of her knowing Naruto's secret. And since the Sand Village is a mess with Gaara gone, shouldn't we send a backup squad just in case?"

Tsunade looked down at her desk.

"Sakura and Kakashi are both willing to do whatever it takes to find Naruto. That determination will take them far. However, you're right. They will need backup considering what they're up against. Team Gai is already on its way back to the village from their previous mission. Once they arrive I'll send them for support."

Tsunade looked out the window as the sun continued to rise with the mysterious object still remaining in orbit.

"I just hope this won't end up a dead end and we'll finally find the little gaki."

Nearly One Week Later

Darth Vader was sitting within a specialized chamber in his quarters meditating. He no longer felt the presence that called out to him days ago. It has been silent. However, he still felt a disturbance within the Force. It felt out of balance.

He could only surmise that there was a great conflict occurring in the system below.

Normally, he wouldn't care but for some reason it gnawed at him. Not only him but the Kyuubi has also been restless. Something was indeed not right if the great Bijuu itself felt unease. Vader was beginning to think that perhaps it was time he finally went down to the system to "personally" investigate this matter.

But first Vader would have to tend to the matter of whatever the officer waiting outside his meditation chamber wanted.

The mechanical chamber opened to Captain Orchens who was holding a data pad and looked extremely nervous.

"What is it, Captain?"

The captain regained his composure.

"Sir, I was going over the transmissions of our probes to see if there was anything significant someone might've missed when I came across a rather odd anomaly."

HOOOOOOOPUUUUUUUURRRRRRRR.

"What anomaly?"

The captain fidgeted a little before answering.

"Well sir, I found that one of our droids was apparently destroyed before it could activate its self-destruct sequence. However, when I accessed the system to determine which in our mandated list of deployed probes it was, I found that none of them were destroyed or even damaged. I thought it was a glitch in our system at first but upon further investigation I found that there was indeed another probe droid on the planet. One that was sent out without your authorization."

Vader tilted his helmet.

"What coordinates was the droid sent to?"

The captain answered.

"Coordinates 02-Mark-07-49, my Lord."

HOOOOPUUUUR!

"The Village Hidden in the Sands..."

The captain nodded.

"Yes, indeed, sir."

Vader rose up from his meditation chamber and approached the captain.

"What did the droid transmit before it was attacked?"

The captain handed the data pad to the dark lord.

"This my lord."

Vader looked at the small screen. Seconds passed as the dark lord took in every single visual detail on the screen and slowly he started to squeeze the pad causing it to crack in his grip. Various objects in the dark lord's chambers suddenly began to shift and shake. The captain felt intimidated and tried to remain firm, but it proved difficult when his lord was showing this kind of displeasure.

The pad broke apart in Vader's hand and he suddenly turned around and marched towards a console and pressed a button.

"Get me Admiral Watock, now!"

Vader waited a few seconds before the admiral's voice finally answered.

"Admiral Watock here, my Lord. Is there something you ne-ack-ugh!"

The dark lord looked down at the console as the admiral continued to choke through its speakers.

"You have failed me for the last time, Admiral!"

Vader turned around to face the captain.

"Captain Orchens, send more probes to the last coordinates that one transmitted! Have them keep out of sight and to not stop until those shinobi are found! When they are located have my ship prepared!"

HOOOOOOOPUUUUUUUURRRRRRRR.

Just as his lord finished giving the orders, the captain heard the admiral on the console taking one final gasp for air before hearing a sickening crack that sounded like bone snapping. There was nothing but silence after that. Then Darth Vader pointed at the captain.

"You are in command now, Admiral Orchens! Do not disappoint me!"

The newly promoted admiral stood at attention.

"Thank you, my Lord! I won't fail you!"

He then rushed out of the dark lord's chambers to carry out his wishes. Vader turned and walked towards the viewport, that was recently repaired. Looking at the system again.

"So, the time has finally come for my return."


Another chapter complete! Not nearly as long as the last couple or as exciting I know but hey this is necessary build up for the next one. I could've made it longer, but this felt like a good place to stop. I'm sure many are disappointed I didn't have Vader invade and destroy the Leaf right off the bat but hey Vader always has a reason for doing what he does. And his endgame well to put simply is...grim.

A couple things I want to point out to comments made in my last chapter.

Number one I know people have complained about the whole Sasuke plot armor in the last chapter but as I stated in my first chapter I'm following as close to the anime and manga as I can which means that of course SASUKE HAD TO SURVIVE! Not to mention the fact the fight between him and Naruto would've been boring anticlimactic if I had Naruto force choke him to death in the beginning of it! I have an ending for the both of them planned out already it's just a matter of getting there!

Second, I also got complaints about Naruto "Being made a burnt cripple and vulnerable to lightning". First off I wanted him to be a cripple like Vader because anyone who's seen the movies or read the comics and books would know that Darth Vader is a fucking BEAST! He fights and survives through anything and even when his suit malfunctions he can still come out on top and kill his enemies! Four of the main reasons why is because he's insanely powerful, calculating, has a high tolerance for pain, and is constantly underestimated! That's what I want for Naruto in this story while he's crippled with the suit. Plus, he still has his left hand let's not forget that.

Third, is that I've been having trouble recalling dialogue and how some of the fights progressed in the anime and manga. So, I've decided to watch the anime again. Don't worry I've already finished part one and I'm going to skip a lot of the filler episodes in Shippuden. A lot not all. And I gotta tell you there were actually quite a few moments in part one where Sakura was actually useful and nice to Naruto. Now, she's still a cranky rotten bitch to him but not as bad as I remember. In Shippuden though I'm expecting her to get a lot worse when Sasuke comes back into the picture. God, I'm gonna fucking hate that shit but it's for the story.

Now, the reason I replaced Stormtroopers with Clone Troopers is because those plastic boys suck and clones rule! Seriously, I have no idea what the hell Palpatine was thinking getting rid of the clones for idiots who can't shoot for shit! The clone characters I made are obviously based off of Rex and Domino Squad from CW and their abilities well I'm sure many here will know where I got them from. As for any other questions they all will be answered in time.

Okay, the next chapter will have Vader finally making his presence known! It's going to take some time to plan this chapter out especially with the fight I have in mind. Until then stay safe and WASH YOUR HANDS!