Conflict of Interest

Kakashi wiped mist from his forehead as he gazed down the steep cliff, which was almost obscured from the rising spray. Had he taken just a few more steps, he would've fallen over the edge into the churning water of the accompanied waterfall. It'd been Akamaru who'd barked to warn him of the impending danger and for it, he turned to give a grateful pat to the dog.

"Well, this kinda looks like one of the memories," Kiba grunted, holding up one of the pictures and examining it closely. "But the waterfall shown here looks like any other waterfall. Are you sure Akamaru this is it?" he asked the canine skeptically. "I mean, I don't want to second-guess your sense of direction, buddy, but I'm not too certain this is the right one."

At his master's words, Akamaru jumped up with both paws on his shoulders and gave a loud, resounding bark in his face. Roughly, he pushed off of him and began to walk around the side of the waterfall, pausing to give an impatient stare back at the other two.

"You, second-guessing Akamaru? What madness is this?" Kakashi chortled as he followed the dog, with Kiba falling in behind him. "I thought you two were practically of the same mind."

"Mainly that's during his transformation," Kiba grinned, following his ninken. "If I had Akamaru's brain all the time, there'd be nothing human of me left; I'd be a flea-brained mutt, just like him," he added with a toothy grin, looking directly at the dog.

For it, Akamaru sharply turned towards his master and gave a playful growl, but then his voice hitched, falling silent. Turning back in the direction of the waterfall, he crouched low and growled again, this time his hackles rising as he assessed the presence that lay ahead.

"Looks like we have company," Kakashi whispered, both he and Kiba pulling out blades.

"Akamaru and I will distract him while you do your thing," Kiba whispered back and Akamaru gave a snort of agreement to show that he too understood.

The danger did not present itself immediately as they cautiously proceeded, but it was Kakashi who finally caught sight of what had set Akamaru off. Down on the water, someone stood on its surface, gazing up at the flowing column as though they were innocently sight-seeing. He jerked to a halt when he realized that they were dressed in white and due to this, he almost missed them with the white spray obscuring their figure.

It was clear though that the other person had already noticed them with their head turned in their direction, tracking their progress. When the group came to a halt, the person leapt off the river to land a distance of roughly twenty feet away. The person was young, maybe only a few years older than Kiba, and had a head full of light blue hair that was partially held back in a tie, observing them with eyes a similar shade as his hair.

The young man gave them a bright smile and waved, seeming to ignore how tense the other three were. "Hey, there! Wow, I thought I'd be waiting longer. You Leaf ninja really don't mess around, do you? I like that, caring so much for your fellow man. Lord Takami wants everyone to feel that way, that's our main purpose. Um, that probably didn't need to be said…I've always been told I talk too much, haha." He scratched at a cheek, flustered.

"I think he's a complete nut," Kiba muttered, shifting his stance just slightly to get ready to spring.

"Don't take him lightly," Kakashi warned, not falling for the sweet talk from the young man. "Takami probably sent him because he felt he could handle his own. If that's the case, then he'll have some powerful techniques up his sleeve."

"Yeah, I kinda figured as much. I've been itching for a good fight—"

Kiba instantly cut himself off as he called "Man-beast Imitation!" and where there was once a boy and his dog were now two Kibas. Already both were in motion and a second later, each had spun themselves into cyclones, the iconic blur of Fang Over Fang.

With the surprise battle initiation, Kakashi didn't hesitate, following through on his end. As Kiba went for a frontal attack, he backed him up with a Chidori. The spinning attack from the clones drove the young man back, who easily leapt away and to his right, which was to be expected.

Detaching the Chidori as an electric sphere, Kakashi tossed it behind the man to keep him from retreating while breaking left to close the distance. Kiba and Akamaru's swirling forms also encircled them, pinning the man exactly where Kakashi needed him. Using the swiftness he'd inherited from his father and had honed by way of Minato, he put himself within mere inches of the man's face, lifting up the forehead protector that covered his eye.

For all his speed, Kakashi still missed the paper bomb tied to the end of the kunai as the young man swung an arm. He was going too fast to pull back, had intentionally used all of his momentum to crowd in to avoid escape, hoping to finish this battle as quickly as possible. He had only a flicker of an instant to change direction and pivot to the side before the bomb went off.

It wasn't fast enough. Or, more specifically, his dodge had been anticipated. The young man's opposite hand came up and clenched the front of Kakashi's jacket, another explosive tacked to the palm. Kakashi sliced his own chest in his hurry to cut himself free and not a moment too soon. Two deafening explosions went off, shooting him back with the speed of a falling star. His body slammed down once, twice, and then went into free-fall as he disappeared over the side of the cliff.

The spinning cyclones stopped and Kiba stood paralyzed in indecision to go after Kakashi to ensure he was alright or to continue fighting. Reasonably, he knew the answer; defeat the target and complete the mission at all costs, even if that cost was that of a comrade. It was common knowledge that Kakashi's father had disobeyed that directive, leading to his condemnation from the village and his subsequent suicide and as Kiba warred with himself, the other young man had begun to regenerate the arm that'd been lost in the explosion.

"That actually hurt," he grimaced, flexing the new fingers that he'd just regrown. "It's been quite a long time since I've had to detonate on myself. That was a really good attack, kudos to you!" He clapped his hands together before letting them fall solemnly at his sides. "Listen, this fight isn't going to go as you expect. It's impossible for anyone to land a killing blow; I regenerate way too fast."

"Oh good, that makes two of us!" Suigetsu called out, strolling casually onto the scene with his blade over his shoulder. "Why don't we see which one of us does it best?"

Orochimaru followed his charge with unhurried steps, though stood back a ways to let him have the floor for this fight. However, Pakkun rushed past the others, his small form leaping out into the white mist of the waterfall as he jumped down, clearly going after Kakashi. Kiba looked over the new-comers but noticed that Orochimaru's group was much lighter than it was when everyone had initially divided off.

"What happened to the rest of your team? Where's Sasuke?" He asked, looking between Orochimaru and Suigetsu. "And that girl? Or that big guy…?"

"Karin's healing Sasuke at the moment," Orochimaru informed him, seemingly unconcerned with Blue Hair hearing him. "I sent Jugo to go aid the Sand shinobi, though after Killer Bee's team found a possible lead, Kakashi's dog seemed rather adamant about getting back here to share the news. Now, if you want to be of assistance," he added, reaching into a sleeve to pull out a medical pouch, "Go administer this to Kakashi. Suigetsu can handle this."

Both Kiba and Akamaru growled at the comment. "I can handle this guy, I don't need you swooping in to save me! Why don't you give him the medicine and I stay here and fight?"

Without resistance, Orochimaru shrugged. "Have it your way then." As he sauntered off, he cast a look back at the duo as though saying you don't know what you're getting yourself into.

As he walked by, Akamaru growled, following him with his eyes until the man vanished into the thick mist at the edge of the drop. Once assured he was gone, he turned pleading eyes to his best friend and whined, nudging Kiba's hand and giving a small wag of his tail.

"Yeah, I know, boy. We're not gonna let one of Orochimaru's circus freaks show us up! I say it's time we kick it into overdrive and show 'em what we're really made of!" He crouched to all fours, readying himself once again for battle. "Let's go for round two!"

Akamaru gave an excited howl that couldn't be contained, knowing he could take on anything with Kiba at his side.

~.~.~

It was two hours later that Sasuke finally got an answer, a crackled reply in his headset from Sakura: "The village turned out to be all clear so Hinata and I are heading on. Have you heard anything from Kakashi or Gaara yet?"

Sasuke stood up and flexed his muscles, feeling much better now after his chakra feast. Unfortunately, Karin didn't look too good though and he couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt. "No, I've not heard from either. I'm sure they're alright though…" he said, but his voice didn't mask his unease.

Karin rose slowly to her feet, supporting herself against the tree with her now being the weak one. "Think we should regroup with them? Lord Orochimaru hasn't sent any updates either," she said worriedly, though Sasuke was sure it was more of her concern for Suigetsu.

"I'm going with Killer Bee to talk with the Tailed Beasts," Sasuke told her, though kept his finger pressed to his headset so that Sakura's team would also hear. "Karin, you should at least meet up with Sakura so she can heal you—"

"Whaaa?!" Both girls shouted in his ears.

He waited in disgruntled silence for them to stop sputtering objections before continuing. "I intentionally took a lot of chakra, Karin, not only because I knew you could handle it but because I knew Sakura could make up for any side-effects. Not just that, but I figured we were beyond the jealous squabbling," he added, eyeing Karin with the same inflection of annoyance as he used in his voice, ensuring both girls felt it.

"It…does make sense," Karin finally admitted, turning away to not have to look at his fierce expression. "Fine, send me your coordinates, Sakura, and I'll head there. Also…where's Killer Bee at now?"

"He's heading to the Land of Waterfalls since he said that's the closest location where one of the Tailed Beasts are at," Hinata supplied. "He told us he's going to a location called The Midnight Forest. Sounds perfect for you with your fire chakra," she said lightly, but her next words betrayed her tension. "If you find anything at all that'd help find Naruto…let us know immediately, okay?"

"You know it," Sasuke assured and disconnected the link.

"Be careful out there," Karin said and its sincerity without the old love-sick simpering, actually resonated with him.

"Same to you too. And don't let Sakura get under your skin; she's just…protective," he said cautiously.

She dismissed his concerns with a toss of her hair. "I can handle her, you don't need to worry about that!" She gave a casual wave, as though she'd only ever seen him as just a friend for all these years, and disappeared into the trees with an agility that concealed her real condition.

For himself, he still intended to use as little energy as possible, but his hawk was completely out of commission. Instead, he weaved his hands together for a different summon, then bit his thumb and pressed his palm to the ground. For a brief moment, the clearing was still until a strong rush of wind and dust clouded his vision along with the sense of a new presence being there.

When he was finally able to open his eyes again, Sasuke looked up with a satisfied smirk at his second summon, the great snake Aoda. In truth, the summon had cost him a fair amount of chakra but he reasoned it balanced itself out by the fact that he'd now get to the Midnight Forest much faster than if he were running, which that would've still taken a sizeable portion of chakra anyways.

"Lord Sasuke," the snake bowed its head respectfully and Sasuke patted its cool, smooth nose. "How can I be of assistance?"

"Have you heard of the Midnight Forest?" Sasuke asked, already climbing aboard. He sat down cross-legged on its head with ten feet of space to spare on either side of him, highlighting just how minuscule he was in comparison.

"I have though I've heard a formidable creature lives there," Aoda warned, though was already adjusting his direction. "Is there something there that you seek?"

"The jinchuriki for the Seven Tails used to live in the Land of Waterfalls," Sasuke informed him as they set off. The fast slithering made his stomach tighten and even though Aoda was always nothing but helpful and loyal, he regretted not having Garuda for a smooth flight. "I'm meeting up with someone who's going to take me to the Seven Tails."

"Naruto?" The snake asked.

"…No," he clenched his teeth. "Naruto's been captured."

"I see." Then: "But I know where he's at."

Sasuke felt the air leave his lungs, as though he'd been kicked in the stomach. "What did you say?"

"It's faint, but I can smell him," The snake replied, flicking his tongue out. He slowed his pace, doing his best to glance up at Sasuke. "Did you want to proceed to Killer Bee or would you rather go to Naruto?"

Sasuke was too shocked by his first revelation to even notice that he knew who it was he had intended to meet in the forest. If he knew where Naruto was, it'd stand to reason that he was able to pinpoint the Eight Tails' jinchuriki. To his question though, he instantly said, "Go to Naruto! Move as fast as you can!"

"That's fine," The snake replied easily, changing directions. "However, you should know that I'm also picking up a very strong yet unfamiliar presence from the Midnight Forest that's neither of the Tailed Beasts."

There went another pulse of guilt. It was probably Takami or one of his kind, someone who was there and watching over the Seven Tails. The right thing to do would be to go back and help. And yet…maybe if he could cause enough of a fuss in rescuing Naruto, Takami would call back everyone else. Now that he'd finally gotten the chakra he needed, he felt powerful enough to take on whatever Takami threw at him…even his entire army.

Quieting his conscience, he instructed, "Keep going. If I take down the leader of all of this directly, it'll end everything."

"Quite wise, killing the immortal head of the hydra to prevent any others from cropping up. But if that's the case, then we should hurry," the snake hissed, moving faster, side-winding through valleys and mountains alike. "I smell that girl that's able to use Lady Tsunade's summon also being targeted by another strong chakra."

Despite their speed, Sasuke broke out in a cold sweat. He could understand Killer Bee's situation, but had Takami known they would be splitting up? The man had already proven to have an uncanny ability of finding him; just how far was his reach? "What about Kakashi? And Gaara's team? And…Orochimaru?"

"All the same, though Orochimaru," the snake clearly spat with distaste, making it obvious who he preferred as a master, "Is with Kakashi and some others. At this point, Lord Sasuke, I must inquire as to what you've done to incite the wrath of these individuals," he asked with a hint of humor.

"More like what they have done to incite my wrath," Sasuke corrected him, tightening a hand around the hilt of his sword. "They started this. I'm only finishing it."

This time, the laughter was unmistakable. "Naturally, I'd expect nothing less from you."

Sasuke began to concentrate on multiple strategies for how he would attack. By the end of the day, Takami would be dead and Naruto would be back by his side; that was an unshakable promise.

Excuse the massive delay as this chapter was written while I was in the midst of moving and as such, my creativity took a hit for a while.