I'm really sorry about the long wait between updates, life has kept me busy and when I've had down time I just haven't really been writing. It's not the longest chapter I've written but it's still a fairly good size. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it, and as always, please forgive any spelling and grammar errors, I try to catch them all but I know I'm not always successful.

s

xXx-Chapter 37-xXx

s

Chouza watched as Eiji charged at his best friend and so he dashed forward with a speed that belied his great size, hoping to intercept. He was Chouza of the Akimichi clan, and fabled member of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, he would not let his comrade and best friend fall here, not to the likes of scum like Eiji. Yet just as quickly as he had moved to intercept, the Kumo-nin Gi matched him and blocked his path.

Chouza is forced to leap back as Gi's lightning fists slam into the ground where he had just been, sending debris flying everywhere. "Your fight is with me!" Gi snarls, leaping forward to continue his attack.

Chouza jumps back once more before sending a surge of chakra through his right arm, causing it to grow in size to an enormous level. He then brings it crashing down on top of the Kumo-nin, intending to squash him like a bug, but the lighting shinobi is too fast and rolls out of the way, and all his strike does is create a crater in the earth.

Chouza chances a glance over at his friend and sees him fall to the ground and for a moment Chouza's heart sinks, but then he notices that something is off, Eiji is just standing there, his blade drawn, but there is no blood. Could it be…?

But no, Eiji was too fast, Chouza hated to admit it. There's no way that Inoichi could have hit him with his technique unless…

Chouza's eyes sweep the field of battle and he spots them, the special kunai that Inoichi had developed. A smile crosses Chouza's face, that sly devil, of course he would take that risk, but it seemed to have payed off.

"Well, things have just gotten interesting." Chouza says to the Kumo-nin in front of him.

Gi gives a disdainful harrumph, having noticed the same thing that Chouza had, "It seems your companion managed to pull off his technique. Makes no difference to me, I'll just kill you quickly then kill Eiji while he's in that state. That'll take care of your friend and him both and with the Raikage stuck in my technique, I needn't share the glory of crushing you with that weasel."

Chouza shakes his head, "Shameful, that you would abandon a comrade so easily, but then you turned on your own Kage just as easily as well, didn't you? I don't know why I expected loyalty from a traitor but there it is, I guess I've grown soft in these years of peace. But like you said, it makes no difference, you won't be killing Eiji, or Inoichi, or anyone else, because you won't get past me."

Chouza crosses his arms in front of him into an 'X' shape and lets his deep wells of chakra surge through him, "Akimichi Secret Technique: Rage of the Juggernaut!"It was one of his personal techniques, developed from Multi-Size Jutsu that allowed his clan to grow to colossal size. He took all that chakra and instead of increasing in size it made his body denser, he became incredibly strong, strong enough to crush steel in his bare hands. He gave up mobility for speed, becoming an unstoppable bullet. And while his chakra was concentrated his skin became nigh impenetrable.

It was a technique he had developed to help avoid taking the three colored pills of his clan. Calorie control jutsu was incredibly hard on the body, anyone other than an Akimichi who tried it was asking for certain death. Even an untrained Akimichi who tried it was likely to succumb to the harsh pressure the techniques put on them and using Calorie control was draining.

This was an altered form, it was still hard on the body, but not to the degree that those techniques were. It would allow him to go near all out on this Gi character and still retain an ace up his sleeve should it fail. And if it didn't, as long as he had some time to rest a bit, he should be good to keep fighting if necessary.

He had no doubt that Inoichi was going to tear Eiji apart from the inside out, he'd heard the man threaten Rin and Inoichi was not going to forget that. If the technique hit, and it looked like it did, then Inoichi had won. And as for Shikaku, if his friend hadn't already figured a way out of that jutsu then he'd give up deep fried beef. Of course, Shikaku getting out wasn't an issue, it was the mood that the Raikage would be in once they did. If the man still thought of he and his team as enemies then Chouza couldn't risk using all of his energies on Gi.

"I'll end this quickly." Chouza says, taking a step forward and the ground cracking under his feet as he does so. The increase in his density was immense, he easily weighed at least a ton by this point.

"Don't get cocky!" Gi snarls, the lighting around his fist raging to match its master's mood. The two juggernauts crashing towards each other, the earth shaking beneath their fury.

s

xXx-Scene Break-xXx

s

When the earth begins to tremble under his feet Shikaku can't help but chuckle, it seemed like Chouza was getting serious. Well there was nothing to do for it, it was time he got serious as well. The Raikage had agreed to follow his lead and now all that was left was to do it. This would drain him, of chakra, of stamina, it was going to hurt like hell, but it would get both he and the Raikage out of here.

He would be pretty much useless in a fight after this, and so he would have to trust in Chouza and Inoichi to pick up the slack in case the Raikage decided to turn on them. It was hard to tell with Kumo shinobi, 'A' was more honorable than his predecessor and he wouldn't appreciate the treason done here today, but Kumo and Konoha were still enemies.

Still, there was nothing for it, he could worry about the Raikage's mood after they were free. "Alright Lord Raikage, remember what I said don't fight me on this. It's going to hurt and your first instinct is going to be to summon your chakra, don't. This technique is tuned specifically to your chakra signature, it's why I can still move and you can't. If you call on your chakra while still inside, you are only going to increase the strength of the cage. Don't fight."

"I hear you." The Raikage growls from his position on the ground. The force of the technique forcing him onto his stomach.

"Alright… here goes nothing." Shikaku mutters under his breath, struggling to his feet, the lighting chakra surging through him as he does so. It felt like every nerve in his body was being stabbed by little tiny needles, but he grits his teeth and forces himself to ignore the pain. He then puts his hands into the sign of the rat, "Nara Secret Technique: Shadow Bind Jutsu!"

Normally he didn't need to say the technique and given a moment to focus he didn't even need the hand signs to manipulate his shadow, but the pain that was flowing through his body was keeping him from utilizing the technique with the finesse that he was used to. Still, once activated it was easy enough to manipulate his shadow until it connected with the Raikage.

"Remember Lord Raikage, don't fight it." Shikaku says as he uses his technique to force the Raikage to his feet.

As the Raikage moves it cause the towers to spark lighting bolts all about them, scorching the earth. It was reacting violently to the Raikage moving but because it was Shikaku who was forcing the movement, the technique could not steal more strength from him. It was a technique designed specifically to hold and drain the Raikage, it was not meant to capture more than one person, a flaw in the design.

Had 'A' been trapped in here alone, then it was unlikely the man could have escaped, but with Shikaku here, it provided the Raikage a means of movement and access to chakra that the technique could not account for. Of course, being inside the technique at all was dangerous for anyone. Lighting chakra surged through the area between the four towers and being in here was causing him excruciating pain. It was a devastating trap, but not perfect.

And so, step by step, gritting his teeth through the pain, forcing himself to stay standing despite the pressure on him, Shikaku walked himself and the Raikege slowly out of the trap.

s

xXx-Scene Break-xXx

s

Eiji's body wouldn't move and he didn't understand it, the Yamanaka's technique had missed him, he was sure of it. And yet here he stood over the man's body unable to move even a finger. Inoichi Yamanaka was down, the fight was over, how come he couldn't move?

"The answer is simple." A voice calls out in his mind.

"What…" He manages to growl out.

"My initial strike wasn't aimed at you, it was aimed at the kunai over there…" the voice chuckles, "Sorry, let me show you."

Eiji is horrified when his neck turns without his say so.

"Do you see that kunai over there, the one I had dropped earlier, and now over there, the one behind you? They are special kunai that I developed, they contain seals that allow me to transfer my essence to them and to each other. This allows me to use my clan's jutsu from a couple of different angles using my body as bait."

"Impossible!" Eiji grounds out, his body is shaking as he tries to regain control and cast the intruder out of his mind.

"Not at all. Actually, I have the Fourth Hokage to thank for this technique, it was his Thunder God technique that inspired it. I can't teleport my body obviously, but my mind, that's another story entirely. So I transferred my mind from one kunai to the other, striking you from behind. You were so focused on what was in front of you that hitting you was easy. You may as well have been standing still."

"Damn you… when I get… out of here… when I get… free-"

Inoichi actually starts to laugh, the sound echoing in the back of his mind, cruel and taunting, "You've brought war to my village, you tried to kill me and my friends, you have somehow managed to get a spy into our ranks, and, most importantly of all, you threatened my daughter, do you honestly think you're getting out of this. Normally, when routing through a person's mind I try to be gentle, the damage I can cause in here is unimaginable, even when I'm careful I run the risk of leaving my target nothing but a slobbering vegetable."

Eiji feels a shiver of fear run up and down his spine.

"But you, you threatened my daughter, I can see in your mind clearly what you had planned for her." Inoichi snarls.

"No… I didn't mean… I was… bluffing…" Eiji pleads, his heart racing.

"No, you weren't. If you had left her out of this I would have been kind, I would have ended this quickly, but you threatened my Rin, I'm going to make you suffer. I'm going to tear out every little secret that your mind is trying to hide, I'm going to rip it from you, but I won't kill you, no, death is too kind for you. I'm going to trap you inside your own mind. I'm going to rip your mind apart so badly that it will never be able to reconnect with the rest of your body, you will spend the rest of your life watching the world pass you by. A prisoner in your own body, unable to move, or talk, or do anything for the rest of your pitiful existence."

"W-wait… please…" Eiji tries to call out, as a sharp pain lances through his mind and unbidden memories flash before his eyes as Inoichi Yamanaka begins to tear his mind apart, reading his memories, taking in the information that he is looking for. All the while Eiji is helpless to fight it.

Eiji's body begins to shake and blood drips from his nose.

s

xXx-Scene Break-xXx

s

He was free.

He was free from that wretched technique and it was like he could breathe again. 'A' felt like he was supercharged with energy, though he knew the sensation was only in his mind, a side effect of being freed from the draining sensation of the sealing jutsu that had trapped him.

He was free and he was angry. His eyes sweep the battlefield, Samui, his most loyal kunoichi lay bleeding on the ground, left to die like some kind of dog by that bastard Eiji and that traitor Gi. Shikaku Nara was on his knees breathing heavily, catching his breath after the ordeal of forcing their way out of the jutsu. He had done essentially nothing, exactly as the Nara had asked, and even still it had been a painful experience. It rankled his pride but he would not have been able to escape without the other man.

Eiji was standing over the body of the Yamanaka and Gi was locked in battle with the Akimichi. The Akimichi was faster and stronger, but Gi had the better agility at the moment and was dodging each of the earth-shattering strikes of the other man. Of course, it was all that his cousin could do, one strike from the Akimichi meant certain death for Gi.

But that suited 'A' just fine. Eiji's betrayal was a surprise but not unexpected. But Gi was family, his betrayal cut deep. It was just as well that the Akimichi couldn't land a blow, it just meant that he would get to be the one to take him down.

'A' gather's his chakra, "Lighting Release: Lighting Straight." His voice is calm and steady, but tinged with rage and hatred.

Nobody has time to even blink before 'A' has crossed the battlefield and with all of his considerable strength slams his fist into the side of Gi's head, sending him flying. But not far enough, in another blink he has already positioned himself in front of the tumbling, oncoming form of Gi, sending him flying with another punch.

'A' can feel it, each of his strikes causing the bones of the other man to crack under his unyielding force, as he savagely beats the man around the battlefield. In a matter of seconds 'A' has beaten down his cousin down to a bloody pulp. If Samui weren't hurt, if he couldn't feel the battle taking place back at East Castle, if he weren't in such a hurry and he had the time to do this right, he would make the other man suffer for his betrayal.

Gi looks up at him from on the ground. He was laid out flat with a blackened right eye, his left eye hanging from its socket. He had been hit by surprise and with such speed and ferocity that he'd had no time to mount any kind of defense. He looked like a mountain had been dropped on him, "C-cousin… damn… damn- ACK!"

He wasn't able to finish his sentence, because with a sickening crunch, 'A' had brought his foot down, crushing the other man's skull underneath.

He then turns his attention to Eiji, "Eiji!" He roars, but the other man pays him no attention.

This fills the Raikage with an indignant fury, how dare this treacherous whelp ignore him. He takes a menacing step forward but finds his path blocked by the Nara and Akimichi.

"Get out of my way." He growls.

"We can't let you harm him, at least not yet Lord Raikage." The Akimichi says.

"I'm grateful for the assistance you Konoha shinobi have rendered me today, but if you are stupid enough to get in my way then I will destroy you."

"Inoichi is still inside Eiji's mind, he's going to get to the truth of the matter, if you injure Eiji's body now, then you'll harm Inoichi and we cannot allow that. Besides, your subordinate is still alive, you should go to her while there is still time to save her. Shikaku Nara says.

'A' growls menacingly and for a moment even he's not sure if he's going to force his way through. There are so many reasons to do so right now, neither of the Konoha shinobi are strong enough to face him, Eiji is completely helpless, and traitor or no, he didn't want that Yamanaka digging through Eiji's mind. But in the end, it wasn't worth Samui's life.

"Tch." 'A' scoffs as he moves to Samui's side. She's incredibly pale and she groans weakly when he kneels down by her side, tearing his shirt off and using it as a makeshift press for her wound.

"L-lord… Raikage…" She says softly, her voice weak, barely above a whisper.

"Quiet, save your strength, that's an order." He says, but not unkindly.

"F-forgive me…" She gasps out, "I… I should… should have seen… this coming…"

"Enough of that kind of talk, Eiji's betrayal should have been obvious, but Gi's came from nowhere."

"I'm… supposed to… to… protect you…" Samui lets out a pitiful whimper as she loses consciousness once more.

"Lord Raikage." The Akimichi says, stepping towards him and 'A' finds himself tensing for a fight. Was this where these leaf-nin showed their true colors? They would be sorry, Samui was precious to him, if they thought what he did to Gi was something, that would pale in comparison to what he would do to them if they attacked him and put Samui in further danger.

"What do you want?" 'A' asks, waiting for the other kunai to drop and for battle to begin.

"I'm not a medic-nin, but I do have some training. If you would allow me to, I can look over your companion, patch her up well enough, at least until we can get her some real medical attention.

'A' eyes him suspiciously, but can sense no guile from the other man. It could be a trick, but he could feel Samui's blood soaking through the fabric of his shirt. He could see the pallor of her skin, already pale, but now with a ashen shade to it. The smell of death lingering on the air. He had no choice but to continue to trust these leaf shinobi, at least if he wanted Samui to live.

'A' nods his head.

The Akimichi kneels down next to her and carefully moves the blood-soaked shirt out of the way, moving her own crimson dyed shirt aside to get a better look at the wound. He pulls out a small flask and looks at 'A,' "Hold her down, this is going to hurt but it'll help clean the wound and prevent infection.

When the Akimichi opens the flask, the scent of mint and honey hits his nose, and the man pours a golden-brown liquid onto the wound. Samui's eyes flash open and she inhales sharply.

"Stay still." He commands her, holding her shoulders down. Her eyes are wide and full of fright, darting nervously from the Konoha-nin and back to him. "Focus on me." He tells her, "keep focused only on me, I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

"Y-yes, Lord Rai… Raikage-ahh!" She shrieks in pain, the Akimichi had now taken out a green paste and was rubbing it over the wound in her belly.

"This will staunch the bleeding and help to stimulate cell growth." The Akimichi explains. "Now the back."

It doesn't take them long to clean and apply the paste, after which they applied bandages to cover the wound. 'A' found himself grateful that these Konoha shinobi seemed prepared because to his shame he had been woefully unprepared.

"Thank you." 'A' says.

The Akimichi nods his head, but before they can say anything more a gasp of breath catches their attention. And as 'A' looks over to the source he watches as Eiji falls to the ground while Shikaku Nara helps Inoichi Yamanaka to his feet.

s

xXx-Scene Break-xXx

s

Inoichi opens his eyes and takes in a sharp breath, taking a second to compose himself. He looks up from his place on the ground and sees Shikaku standing over him, grinning. "Enjoy your nap?"

Inoichi chuckles, "Immensely, and I've learned things, important things."

Shikaku offers Inoichi his hand and helps pull him to his feet. "I figured as much, how long is

Eiji down for?"

A dark look crosses Inoichi's face, "Forever. I tore his mind apart."

Shikaku keeps his expression neutral, "I see…"

Inoichi scowls at his friend, "He threatened Rin, I only wish I could have done more."

Both men look down at the prone form of Eiji, his mouth is open, slack jawed, and his eyes have a glassy glaze to them. "Did you get the information you needed from him?" Shikaku asks.

"I did." Inoichi replies.

"Then how you handled your battle is none of my business."

Inoichi glares at Shikaku, "He threatened my daughter and because of him she's in even greater danger, I'll make my report to you, tell you what I know and then I need to go find her."

Shikaku sighs, "This whole thing has been one giant mess from the beginning, alright fine, what did you learn?"

"Yes, what did you learn?" The Raikage asks, approaching them. His patched-up subordinate in his arms, while Chouza came up beside him.

Inoichi gives a subtle glance to Shikaku, who gives a slight nod of the head, giving him permission to speak freely. "Eiji has been planning this for a while. His ultimate goal was to start a war with Konoha by assassinating you and blaming it on us. From there, with the help of Gi and a few other high-ranking shinobi he would seize control of the Hidden Cloud Village and become the new Raikage. He had help from our side as well, there was a spy in our midst, passing him along information. They're the reason we had to come here in the first place." Inoichi says, letting Shikaku know, without actually saying the words that the spy is the one had informed Kumo of Nami Yamata's existence in the first place.

"I see, and who is this traitor of ours?" Shikaku asks.

"Yuko Nakano." Inoichi says.

"This will devastate Takeko." Chouza says, looking troubled.

Inoichi nods his head, "I wish it weren't so, but it is. We need to hurry back to the castle, already our forces are engaged in battle."

"I gave strict orders for my shinobi not to engage." 'A' says.

"As did I, but still, even from this distance you can feel it happening, a large battle between shinobi forces." Shikaku says. If enough chakra was being used then even non-sensor types could feel it.

"And Yuko's part in this was to start a fight between our forces while we and the Raikage were away. Tensions were already high, it wouldn't take much to spark a fight." Inoichi says.

"Troublesome…" Shikaku mutters darkly, "Lord Raikage-"

"Don't bother, I agree, this whole thing has been troublesome to say the least. I'm willing to let the existing treaty stand as is, and I'll call off the hunt for your spy, enough blood has been spent and the damage is done." The Raikage concedes.

"Konoha will pay reparations." Shikaku says, knowing he had to give the Raikage something. "And both sides will reduce our forces along the borders. It's time for de-escalation, now more than ever."

"Agreed. Peace benefits us all."

"We need to hurry, back to East Castle if we hope to put a stop to all of this before it's too late." Chouza says.

s

xXx-Scene Break-xXx

s

Yuko Nakano looked down from the tower at the battle below and felt nothing. Men and women were fighting for their lives, dying because of events she had helped to set into motion and she felt nothing. Takeko was dead and with her any empathy that she may have once felt. She had betrayed Konoha, but their pain was secondary to having her sister's blood on her hands, and she could not care less about what happened to the Kumo shinobi.

Perhaps she wouldn't even stick around to see Eiji's plan come to fruition. He had to have taken out the Raikage by now. Perhaps instead of switching sides she would just leave, go as far away from this place as she could. Maybe she would even cross the great seas to the lands far from here. What did she care about any of it.

She couldn't feel regret, it was too late for that, but that didn't mean she had to stay. What did she owe anybody, anymore? Her fealty had belonged to her sister, not Konoha, and certainly not Kumo. But even leaving lacked any appeal to her. What was the point? All she had done, she had done to spare her own life, she had done to finally be free to live her own life, and now she was finding that she felt that life was pointless.

Explosions and screams filled the air as the two forces fought. Kumo outnumbered and, with the presence of the jinchūriki, out powered them, but Konoha had the better ground. Even for ninja, taking a castle that was properly defended was difficult. Shinobi and soldiers, men and women alike all fighting and killing for the belief that what they were doing was their only choice.

So much chaos, so much death… and she didn't care.

Suddenly, there is a roar of thunder more terrible than anything Yuko had ever heard before, accompanied by a brilliant flash of lightning, that shown brighter than the sun, whiting out the world for just a moment.

The Raikage has arrived and he is followed by all three members of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio. A defeated laugh escapes from Yuko's lips. "it was all pointless."

Yuko looks over at her sister's still form. As beautiful in death as she had been in life, a life she had snuffed out like it was nothing. The look of shock and betrayal on her sister's face as she realized what was happening, as she lay dying in Yuko's arms, comes flashing through her mind.

"Nothing really matters in the end, does it sister?" Yuko asks her sister's body, slowly walking towards it.

s

xXx-Scene Break-xXx

s

Inoichi could only look on in awe at the raw power of the Raikage's technique. When they got back the situation was worse than they feared, both sides were clashing with a fury that Inoichi hadn't seen since the last war. This was no battle, it was slaughter. Inoichi didn't even know where to begin to stop it.

The Raikage however had turned to Chouza and without a word handed his injured companion over to Chouza, a solemn look of understanding passing between the two men. Protect her, protect her at all costs. The Raikage then stepped forward and unleashed one of the most devastating techniques that Inoichi had ever seen.

"Raikage's Secret Technique: Wrath of the Thunder God!"

The technique was aptly named, Inoichi felt as though only a god, or perhaps a Kage, could call forth such a technique. A powerful bolt of lightning struck the earth, so bright that Inoichi was forced to cover his eyes, and the crack of thunder that accompanied it was deafening. The Raikage had done exactly what he had set out to do, call the attention of everyone on the battle field.

The fighting stopped as everyone, Konoha and Kumo alike, turned to look at the source of the powerful technique. A man with flowing octopus tentacles and more swords than any one person could ever need makes his way towards them. Inoichi can sense the power coming from him and remembers the description from his bingo-book, the man could only be one person, the jinchūriki of the eight-tails, Killer-B. He is followed closely by a boy covered in blood, sucking on a lollipop, and a girl with pink hair, equally covered.

"Yo bro- No Samui! That's it, this beast is gonna unleash, ya fools!" The man says, glaring at Chouza and the state of the kunoichi in his arms. His chakra flaring as he gets ready to attack.

The boy and girl who had come up with him crying out their pain at seeing their fallen comrade, rage and hatred in their eyes as they get ready to fight.

Meanwhile, three leaf ninja approach them as well, weapons at the ready, leading them was Kimura, one of Takeko's officers. "Lord Nara!" He calls out, stopping, he and the other two jōnin ready to jump in as needed.

"What happened here, I ordered everyone to stand down." Shikaku says, his tone sounds only slightly annoyed, but Inoichi new his friend well enough to know when he was pissed. A quick glance over at Chouza shows him that he can see it too.

"As did I." The Raikage snarls, "You were not to engage them."

"Yo bro!" Killer B says, sounding offended, "These fools attacked us, ya hear! We had to go toe to toe and show them the woe!"

The Raikage turns and gives a suspicious glare to Shikaku, but before he can respond Kimura snarls out, "These scum assassinated lady Takeko! All of their talk of peace and they murdered her while pretending to negotiate for peace!"

"Yo, That's a lie!" B snaps, getting ready to attack.

"Takeko's dead?" Shikaku asks, like he can't believe it.

Inoichi was shocked too, it just didn't seem possible. She had always been so strong, there was a reason that the Hokage had entrusted her with the defense of their border with Kumo, and yet, when he had learned who the spy was…

"The spy." Inoichi says aloud.

Shikaku's eyes narrow, "So it would seem. Eiji wanted a war… the only question is," He says, turning to look at the Raikage, "did he get one."

The Raikage and Shikaku lock eyes and the seconds seem like hours before the Raikage speaks, "No. There will be no more. B, Omoi, Karui, send word to our forces, have them pull back to camp."

"Lord Raikage, have your men bring the wounded into the castle, we'll help treat them." Shikaku says.

The Raikage nods his head, seeing the gesture for the olive branch it was.

"Yo, you can't be trustin' these leaf traitors' bro! Look at Samui!"

"Quiet B, it wasn't the leaf-nin who did this to Samui, it was Eiji." The Raikage says, his voice steady but Inoichi could feel the tension in it, hidden away.

"Eiji?" B mutters aloud, his voice tinged with disbelief.

"I'll give you a full list of who was with Eiji, there aren't many of them, but enough that you'll want to take care of it." Inoichi offers, this whole situation was a giant mess, and instability in Kumo was no good for Konoha right now either. It seemed that many in the Hidden Cloud Village were eager for war and it was the current Raikage who was holding the war hawks back. It seemed that every village was cursed with those who only sought violence. The Raikage was a powerful enemy shinobi for sure, but he wanted peace just as much as they did.

"Lord Nara, Lord Yamanaka!" Kimura cries, "You can't be serious, they murdered Lady Takeko!"

"No, they didn't, we have a traitor in our midst." Inoichi says darkly. Takeko was dead, killed by the spy, her own sister, to make it look like a Kumo assassination. It was a dark day all around.

"A traitor?" Kimura asks, "No," He shakes his head, "I don't believe it."

Chouza gives him a sad smile, "It's true. In this case, it is not Kumo who is the enemy, the enemy is one of our own. We were all fooled and too many people were hurt and have died because of it. Peace, that is what we must strive towards, peace. If we cannot attain that, then the people who died here today, will have truly died for nothing."

"Who is the traitor?" Kimura asks.

The Ino-Shika-Cho trio exchange dark looks before Shikaku answers, "Yuko, Yuko Nakano."

"No…" But even as he denies it, it's as if the other shoe drops and the pain he felt at the loss of his commander, someone he respected more than anyone in this world, gives way to cool logic. The suspicious nature of Lady Takeko's death, the way there had been no sign of a struggle, how he had not seen Yuko since the start of the battle. He didn't want it to be true, but hearing it… he couldn't deny that she had been a bit different lately. "We need to find her." He finishes, his voice dull.

"Agreed, capture her, alive, if at all possible." Shikaku orders. "I have a lot of questions for her."

"As do I." The Raikage says.

And Inoichi almost laughs at the slight wince that Shikaku makes, there was no way to turn that down. "Very well." Shikaku agrees.

It takes them a bit to reorganize and get everyone under control, tempers were running high, but before long, Konoha and Kumo shinobi alike were helping to move the wounded into the castle. Thanks to Lady Tsunade, before she had left, Konoha boasted the best medical ninja's in the world.

"Once everything is locked down here, I need to go find Rin." Inoichi says.

Chouza hands Samui over to a medic-nin, before turning to him, "I'll go with you."

"Who's Rin?" Omoi asks, curiously. He and the pink-haired girl had quickly made their way back to the Raikage's side and more importantly, their team leader's, after informing a couple of the Kumo commanders of the Raikage's orders.

Inoichi sighs, contemplating if he should answer or not, before finally saying, "My daughter."

"Is she hot?" Omoi asks curiously.

"Idiot!" Karui snaps, smacking him on the back of the head.

It was so ridiculous and the boy briefly reminded him so much of Naruto at that moment that Inoichi can't help but laugh, "I think she is very beautiful, but as her father, I admit I'm quite biased."

Omoi looks intrigued. "Hmm… you know if I found her, it could lead to world peace." The boy says thoughtfully.

The assembled shinobi look at him dumbly and it's his teammate the pink-haired girl Karui who vocalizes what they're all thinking, "Huh?"

"Well, just think about it, I find Lord Yamanaka's daughter, she's in danger, surrounded by our forces. She's wounded and they're about to defeat her when I step in and save her. She's grateful and the two of us fall in love, the Raikage and the Hokage, determined to make a lasting peace, decide to seal the peace talks with a political marriage and who better than the two of us who are ready and willing. We're happy together and have many beautiful, healthy and strong children. Our children become the leaders of the Kumo and Konoha, with our combined might the other villages no longer cause problems. Our children lead the world to a bright and hopeful future and the two of us live out our golden years in peace and harmony."

"And this was the exact moment that Konoha lost all respect for us." Karui says dryly, to B who nods his head in solemn agreement.

Inoichi, Chouza, and Shikaku all chuckle, and though he didn't say it, Inoichi disagreed. He could easily see his Rin and Ino being friends with the two quirky Lightning-nin.

"I'll send B, Omoi, and Karui with you to look for her." The Raikage says, the levity provided by young Omoi, while maybe not entirely appropriate to the situation, was all he needed to know in his heart that he was doing the right thing in pursuing peace with Konoha. It was likely that the girl was sent to find the spy, but that was past. In the future it may be an issue but for now, forging some kind of positive relationship with Konoha was what was best for his people. Besides, after Eiji and Gi's betrayal it was clear that he had some in house cleaning to do. "They'll be able to have any of my scouts you may run into stand down. Enough blood has been shed today."

"Thank you, Lord Raikage."

"While you're doing that, Lord Raikage, as soon as my forces find Yuko Nakano, we'll go speak with her." Shikaku says, not thrilled to have him there, but willing.

"Lord Nara!" Kimura says, running towards them, he looks distressed, "Lord Nara, come quick it's-"

But whatever he was about to say is drowned out by a massive explosion in the distance followed closely by a wave of intense chakra washing over them. All heads turn to the direction of the source as beyond the horizon glows red and orange. A powerful technique had just been unleashed. The chakra that hit them, even from this distance felt warm and furious. And Inoichi's stomach dropped as he knew the chakra signature very well.

"Rin."

s

xXx-Author's Note-xXx

s

Well, here we are, the next chapter. I truly apologize for how long it has been since I last updated. Things are coming to a head, next chapter is obviously going to cover Rin, Yugao, and Hizashi versus Yugito, and what's happening there. I'm hoping to bring this story arc to a close and move on in a few more chapters. I'm excited to get back to Konoha, Ino, Naruto, and Sakura.

I want Quinn/Rin to spend some time with her friends and family, and I've got an idea for another mission that I've been toying with for forever. And once that is completed I will move on to the chūnin exams. I've known for a while now how the chūnin exams are going to go, and I'm really excited to write it. So often nothing changes there, but I think you'll like the twist I'm going to put on it. If nothing else, like I said, I'm really excited to write it, it's just a matter of finally getting there. And to do that, I need to update more lol. Anyway, I'm working on the next chapter and hopefully it will be finished and up soon. Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you continue to enjoy this story.