Naruko Uzumaki Namikaze Musume no Kyuubi Chapter 12, a naruto fanfic

A/N:

I apologize for the long wait, the surprise in the next chapter, as well as this chapter in general. Anyway, please enjoy and feel free to tear me apart in the reviews. Anyway, please also feel free to also check out my latest brain project. I hope you'll enjoy both.

The Retrieval

Naruko walked through the village with her usual cold stare. The civilian council had summoned her once again. Normally she would have ignored it, but this time she had been asked by Tsunade to attend the meeting. That is why she was currently dressed in her Royal Garbs on her way to the council chambers. Escorting her were two females from the Hoshoku-sei Neko Clan. They were wearing custom made Samurai style armor with integrated seals she had inscribed herself. Nothing, absolutely nothing could physically harm the wearer of that armor. On top of that they were carrying the traditional Kodachi and Tanto combination. When she arrived she walked in with her guards still flanking her. The council rose and bowed to her. This was new. She looked around the room and saw a very displeased looking Uchiha Mikoto.

Ever since she had resurrected the Uchiha matriarch, Sasuke's mental status had increased extremely. He had become more open and actually tried making small talk with the other Ninja of their generation. It seemed he also had changed his ambition to kill his brother. Now all he wanted was answers.

Anyway back to the matter at hand.

"You have summoned me?"

"Yes, we would like to apologize for the behavior of this council towards you and your clan. This council is giving you this scroll to make amends and ask for forgiveness from you and your clan."

One of the guards took the scroll and opened it. As nothing happened he closed it and walked back to Naruko. There she opened it once again and handed it to her Clan head. Naruko looked at the scroll and raised an eyebrow.

"While this is certainly surprising and a welcome change, I do not accept bribery. I will accept the money and the land you gave me with this scroll, but as far as the relationship between the Uzumaki and this council goes, it still is the same. I hope to see these changes stay, and if they do, we will be able to work together just fine."

She bowed, which was returned by the council. Naruko left with her guards and walked home. It was time for her rendezvous with one Nara Shikamaru. She had sent him a clone with a time and date, with instructions for a casual dinner and get-together. With that being said and done she went back to her home and got dressed in her standard Shinobi attire. She walked over to one of the smaller lakes on the outskirts of the village where she had told him to meet her. The great thing about that lake was, the area was a lot of fish and other prey to hunt. She licked her lips at the prospect of a nice relaxed hunt.

When she arrived, Shikamaru was already there and he seemed rather nervous for some reason. She walked up to him and acted as she usually did.

"Good day, Shikamaru. How are you doing today?"

"I'm doing good Naruko, how are you?"

"Very good, had a successful mission and got a few things settled. How about you? How's life as a Chunin?"

"Troublesome, but I guess it could be worse. So what's the plan for today anyway, your clone just said it'll be casual?"

"You ever been hunting?" she asked, grinning.

"Err… No I haven't, why?"

"Let's get to it then."

She walked off and soon spotted a deer. She pointed at it and Shikamaru nodded. He went through the hand seals for his Kagemane no Jutsu (Shadow Imitation Technique) to capture it. He gave a nod to Naruko and she unsealed her bow. She pulled an arrow back nodded to Shikamaru, who released the Jutsu. The arrow struck the sweet spot at the back of the neck and instantly killed the deer. It took Naruko a while longer than usual, as she was showing Shikamaru exactly how to clean a kill. After a few hours they were done.

"Good work, you sure you haven't done this before?"

"No, I haven't."

"Well then, you sure do learn fast then."

"Thanks, I guess."

Naruko and Shikamaru walked back to the market district and entered one of the many grill restaurants in the village. The owner looked up and saw them come in. Naruko had chosen this restaurant for the explicit reason that the owner did not make a difference who you were and treated everyone the same. On top of that the Uzumaki Clan were regular customers and therefore well liked.

"Welcome back, Uzumaki-sama, I see you have brought a friend. A table for two, I presume?"

"Yes, please. Somewhere where we won't be disturbed by the more narrow-minded portion of the populace."

The owner nodded and led them to a booth in the back of the restaurant.

"I presume you want the usual?"

"Yes, the deluxe spice kit and a large pot of water with a scoop."

"Of course. It will be here in a few minutes."

"Thank you."

The owner left and left Shikamaru to wonder why exactly he had been dragged all over town. It couldn't be just for some barbeque, could it? As he kept himself busy with his own musings, Naruko was having a different train of thoughts.

'What is this feeling? He is just another male from my species, like Choji, Kiba and even Sasuke, so why do I only feel like this around him? My Kami, why can't this be easy? I think I have to talk with Mara-nee about this. My, this is truly bothersome…'

Shortly after the spice kit and the pot of water were brought by a waiter. He put the things on the table. Naruko got out a scroll labeled meat and opened it.

"What would you like to eat? I have everything from rabbit, over fish, to deer."

Shikamaru looked at the scroll and looked over the options he was presented with. He looked to the far left and saw the word 'Hunt' over one of the seals.

"What kind of meat is in here?" he asked.

"It's best if you do not know. On top of that, the meat in this seal is for my tribe. As for the other meat, eat all you want, there's enough to go around."

Shikamaru nodded and continued to think about it.

"Why don't we have a selection of everything? That'll make things easier."

"I completely agree."

She unsealed a decent amount of meat perfectly filleted. She swiftly cut the pieces into size and quickly spiced the meat. After that she put them on the grill and looked at the cause of her newly acquired interests.

"So why are we really here, Naruko?"

Apparently Shikamaru had similar thoughts of meaning. She sighed and looked at him.

"To be honest, I do not know. Ever since our last meeting I have been feeling a sense of something I cannot categorize. I was intrigued and was thinking that this feeling could be cleared up, or at least put to meaning. I am sorry, if you feel like I am using you."

"Troublesome… To tell you the truth, I felt the same way. And I was looking forward to this meeting also. So is there any other reason for this meeting other than sating your curiosity?"

"Well sating my appetite is also on the agenda tonight. However my curiosity was something that drove me to do this dinner, but now I would like to know if there is more to this feeling than just a mere sense of longing."

"I see… so what are we doing off of this point?"

"Well we could exploit this opportunity and see where it leads or we can call it quits and go our separate ways…"

The predatory smile that crept onto Naruko's face managed to give Shikamaru the chills.

"I think you know as well as I do that we have come too far to just abandon this. I think we should see where this is going, who knows, maybe we can get some fun in along the way."

"Sure…. Why not."

She nodded and put another load of meat on the grill and then dug into the ready batch. After they were done, they talked a little more over some tea.

"So what does this turn of events make us?" Shikamaru asked after a while.

"I do not know. From my observations of the humans, I would say we are would they would call a couple…"

"You… you… mean like going out on dates and stuff… Becoming an item?"

"Well going by my observations yes. Though I know the Hanyou do things differently. When they find their mate, their soul mate, they battle for the dominance of their bound together lives. When the victor arises he claims the one he or she has defeated and they are bound for a life together for all eternity."

"I see, so Uzumaki Namikaze Naruko no Hanyou, would you give me the honor of being my girlfriend?"

Naruko looked at him for a second and then smiled.

"Yes, I would love to share my time with you. I would be honored to be your girlfriend."

They looked at each other and smiled.

"Shall we move out then?"

"Sure."

Naruko packed up all of her belonging and left what she owed the restaurant. After that the two left. Shikamaru accompanied her back to her Clan Compound. She gave him another smile and a wave and then turned to enter the large mansion. As soon as the door closed, she was greeted by Triala and Ameyuri, who were smiling rather mischievously.

"Well how was your day out with that handsome young man, Naruko-chan?"

"I do not know what you are talking about, Ameyuri."

"The scent of a male on you tells a different story though, Mistress. You know you can trust us. We're family after all."

Naruko knew she was trapped between a rock and a stone. Ameyuri had taken the role of a motherly guardian for the entirety of the clan. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on the situation, that was either a good thing or not. Right now for her it was a bad thing. She had near to no data to back up any of her theories and all she could rely on were assumptions made on instinct. She was entering a battle she knew she could not win.

"Come on, honey, let's talk in the kitchen over some nice hot tea."

Triala was nudging her from behind and Ameyuri was practically dragging her into the kitchen. She sat down, no, was placed in a chair at the table with Triala transforming into her humanoid form and setting a few chairs next to her while Ameyuri started the tea and started their talk, though it seemed more like an interrogation from Narukos point of view.

"So who was that boy? You spent more than a few hours with him in town. You went out for food and were in the restaurant for three hours alone. What were you two doing in there?"

"He was an old class mate and a fellow Shinobi. We were mostly talking."

"Well according from the reports I get from the Silent Stalkers, you were not just talking. You hunted with him and were seen walking a little too closely together for mere comradery."

Naruko cursed herself for having forgotten about the Silent Stalkers. They were a small fraction of the Uzumaki Clan whose sole purpose it was to watch over the most important figures in the clan. Naturally, being the Clan Head, she fell under that category to be watched. Ameyuri was the head of that fraction and had told her multiple times that even though there was no Shinobi under Elite Jonin rank that had a chance against her, she would get no exception to the rules, even if she was Clan Head. Sighing, Naruko resigned to her fate and began packing out. After half an hour of talking, Naruko didn't know whether to be embarrassed or furious with the two more mature females in the room.

"Ohh… Naruko-chan… You know what is going on don't you?" Ameyuri asked.

"No I do not. I told you. All the data I gathered from my observations in the village tells me we are what people consider a couple."

"Mistress… You're in love."

"Love? What does an irrational conjuring of unknown factors and sources have to do with anything?"

"But that is exactly what love is… What you are experiencing. A certain pull? Maybe a sense of longing?"

Naruko nodded.

"You my dearest are in love. So who is this mysterious boy, who managed to break that stoic shell of yours?"

"You and I both know that you already know the answer."

"Maybe, but I want you to admit it to yourself. So who did you fall for?"

"Nara Shikamaru, heir to the Nara Clan of Konohagakure no Sato."

"See, don't you feel a lot better now?"

Reluctantly, Naruko had to agree. She had always viewed herself as a rational person, ever since that day. She had conditioned herself to not feel anything, to a level that exceeded even the most extreme cases of Danzo's ROOT training. And now it was all crumbling, because of some natural urge? She had to think about this turn of events… Maybe even talk with Danzo himself. He knew a lot regarding Emotional Conditioning, he basically wrote the book for it.

"I do, thank you very much for this talk. I brought you some meat for storage. And here is a rabbit for you Triala-chan."

"Thank you, Mistress."

They left the kitchen, leaving Naruko to her own devices. Naruko sat there sipping away at her tea, trying to organize her thoughts. She went through all she had just learnt and came to a single conclusion. She was in love with Shikamaru. As improbable as it seemed, it had happened. She shook her head in mild amusement, but quickly found other things more interesting.

She got up after finishing her tea and headed to the study. She had been working on a few new Jutsu and was going over the formula once again to check it for in still open equations. When she found none, she deemed it safe to actively field test them and see what extent of damage they were capable of. As she could not do these in the human realm she spent the rest of the day in the Hunting Realm.

As the week came to an end, Naruko and Shikamaru were seen more and more often together around town. Naruko seemed a lot more relaxed and Shikamaru suddenly had more drive than he ever had. To say it aroused the curiosity of more than a few people in the village. So it did not surprise Naruko when she was invited over to the Nara Compound for dinner during the following week.

At the Nara Compound

Naruko was wearing her standard outfit. Shikamaru said she should dress for something casual so she went with the outfit she felt most comfortable in. The guards saw her coming and ushered in. She was lead to the main house, where she was expected by none other than Nara Shikaku and Nara Yoshino. She bowed respectfully and followed them to the dining room. Once there, she took a seat next to Shikamaru, opposite of the Clan Head and his wife.

"So you're the reason my son is a lot more active than usual. Nice to see he got out of that laziness of his."

"Thank you for your praise, Yoshino-san, but I truly have nothing to do with Shikamaru's increase of motivation."

"Of course you do. Whenever he is outside, outside of team duties, he is with you."

Naruko decided to change the subject away from her, but Yoshino would have none of it.

"So Yoshino-san, what are we having for food tonight? If you'd like I could lend you a hand in the kitchen. I have some meat on me if you would like to have it."

"Oh no you don't. You will not change the subject, Uzumaki Naruko."

"Troublesome…" they heard Shikaku and Shikamaru mutter under their breaths.

"What was that?" Naruko and Yoshino asked looking at the male next to them.

"Nothing…"

"Thought so."

"Now tell me Naruko, how did you meet?"

And so began a long talk about how they met and all of their meetings and talks. After that the food was served and they ate while still talking about this and that. After they were done, Shikamaru accompanied her back to her home and she went to bed for some rest.

The next day she was invited over to the Uchiha Compound. Again, she usually would have ignored an invitation by the Uchiha but this one came written by Uchiha Mikoto, stating that as a sign of gratitude the Uchiha were inviting her over for lunch. So she went over and was greeted by one Uchiha Sasuke, who had one of his now a lot more common smiles on his face.

Over the last few weeks she had grown closer to the Uchiha heir. And with his mother there to straighten him and the council out, he became quite a decent guy to hang around. So over lunch they went over a few missions and what not, but Naruko had the distinct feeling that there was more to this invitation than it seemed.

"By the way, Naruko. There is something we would like to give you access to. The Uchiha have a section of our Jutsu Library filled with Hyoton Jutsu. I want to give you the chance to copy them, seeing as you clan has a Hyoton user in it's' ranks."

Naruko was taken off guard by the offer. Before she could respond however, Sasuke spoke his mind.

"It's down the hall last door on the right. Check in the Kekkai Genkai section."

Naruko nodded and created a dozen Kage Bushin. They nodded and made their way to the library. Naruko stayed behind wanting to make sure her clones would not be disturbed. Naruko was no fool, she was presented with the opportunity to get detailed descriptions on a vast collection of Jutsu, so of course she would grasp it by the horns. So while her clones were copying all of the Jutsu they could while two of them copied all of the Hyoton Jutsu, Naruko continued doing small talk with her hosts.

"So, Mikoto-san, you and my mother were teammates, were you not?"

"Yes, us both along with Hinata's mother Hinakomi. We were the only successful all female squad. We worked in perfect synchrony. But then when we all got pregnant and were put on pregnancy leave. Kushi died when you were born and Hinakomi died when Hanabi was born and what happened with me is pretty well known."

"Yes, even more so that you were killed by a member of your own clan. Hinakomi-san, is by the way, also back in the World of the Living. As for my mother, I still have to do more work for Shinigami-sama to be able to bring her and my father back."

"You know who your father is?" Mikoto asked shocked.

"Yes, I know who he is, and yes the rumors you heard are correct, Sasuke, I am the daughter to Namikaze Minato, Konoha no Kiiroi Senko. I am the Legacy of the Yondaime Hokage. As for why no one was told, both my father and mother were powerful and feared Shinobi and hence had a lot of enemies. Therefore to protect me, that information was withheld and classed as an SS-Rank secret punishable by death, by execution on the spot."

She paused when she felt the majority of the clones disperse and the last one coming into the room and handed her a scroll. After that it to dispersed. They continued to talk and eat for the remainder of the mid-day. And after a good meal, Naruko departed and headed to her compound.

She created a few clones who took the scroll and were ordered to add them to the library. She went to her study and started finishing some of her projects. After a few hours she finished. She looked at the seal to check it over and found no flaws.

"Now all I need to is put this on the seal."

She carefully placed the seal over the seal her stomach and channeled chakra into it. The seal started glow and fade from the scroll. A couple of seconds later the seal appeared on her skin encasing the seal holding her mother. She waited a little while for the seal to be fully integrated into the other and for the connections to be established.

'Let's see if this works… Kaa-san, can you hear me?'

'Naruko… Is that you? I can't see you outside.'

"I finished the seal, Kaa-san, so now we can communicate without me always having to come to the mindscape. As much as I enjoy talking to you in person, this is a lot simpler. By the way, how does the seal project the dialogue?'

'It doesn't project anything. The seal seems to project your thoughts to your mindscape. Other than that there hasn't been much of a change.'

'I see… Maybe if I will the seal to allow you to experience my senses…'

'…'

'There's something forming… Alright I can see your desk. And I can smell the air. I can hear the sounds from outside. I think it worked, Naru-chan. Thank you so much for this.'

'Any time. Now all I need to do is put the seals of my other project.'

Naruko stood up and unsealed her Spartan armor. She laid it out and sorted the seals. They were mostly Durability Seals, allowing for the already near impervious armor to take even more punishment. On top of that she added Muffling Seals, preventing any sound from being made from anything that had direct skin contact to herself, in short her armor and cape. She also added an Active Camouflage Seal allowing her to become completely invisible, while also masking her entire being. Not even the Orion'aigan spot her when it was activated. Once that was done, she added one final seal to her shield. She had decorated the shield with the symbols of her heritage and now added a Shield Seal, which enabled her to block and absorb Jutsu with it. The seal absorbed the chakra used for the Jutsu and then added it to her own reserves. After she was done, she went to the kitchen where she joined the clan for dinner. After the meal she went to bed for some good night's sleep.

She was awoken by a distressed Uchiha Mikoto. One of the Neko Clan woke her up, saying there was an urgent matter to be discussed at the Hokage's office. Naruko immediately rushed out of the room and to the gates of the compound. There she met up with Mikoto.

"Walk and talk, Mikoto-san."

"It's Sasuke… I went in to his room to wake him but it was empty. I already sent word to the Hokage."

"I see."

She created a Kage Bushin and sent it to the Uchiha Compound to get a scent. She and Mikoto were sprinting to the Hokage Tower.

"What's the situation, Hokage-sama?" Naruko asked.

"Uchiha Sasuke has been kidnapped by three unknown Shinobi from Otogakure. Haruno Sakura identified them as they were leaving the village with Uchiha Sasuke. One had a Mohawk Haircut and was big. The second had six arms and the last had two heads."

"The remnants of the Sound Four. What to do you wish of me for this situation?"

"I have already sent Nara Shikamaru to gather all the Genin he could. You are to lead the retrieval of Uchiha Sasuke. You may bring along any you wish, be at the gate in ten minutes. Good luck."

"I'll bring him back."

She disappeared in a burst of speed. She raced to her Clan. She created four Kage Bushin to notify some of the clan while she raced through the portal and went to the tribe.

"Mara-nee-chan! Where are you?"

"Naru-chan, what brings you here this early in the morning?"

Mara appeared from one of the lookout platforms landing silently behind her, next to her in a crouch was Nagai Ha.

"Hime?" he said.

"I have a mission and I need your help."

"We'll come right away. It's been rather boring around here lately."

They raced back and gathered the clan members and left for the gate.

"I see, so the Man of the White Snake has now acquired the Sharingan?" Nagai Ha asked.

"Not yet he hasn't. Triala-chan, drink my blood and seek out the scents my clone found at the Uchiha Compound."

Triala licked the small droplets of blood from her Mistress's hand and started sniffing the air. Naruko looked at the other members of her clan. She had brought Mara and Nagai Ha who were both experienced hunters, Triala, because her nose was stronger than that of any creature excluding summons. On top of that she had invited Karin and Tayuya. Both of them had some personal business with Orochimaru, but they also brought some valuable skills to the team. Karin was an excellent sensor, being able to distinguish and identify a multitude of different chakra signatures. And Tayuya had the most valuable part in the team, having served with them under Orochimaru, she had detailed information on every single one of her ex squad members.

While she was explaining, things to her clan, Shikamaru, Neji, Kiba and Choji were running to the gate.

"So you're the Jonin Lady Tsunade promised. I must say things just got a lot easier, Naruko."

"Good morning to you too, Shikamaru. Are these all the Genin that you could find?"

"Yes. I presume you know them all."

"Yes, please show me all of your equipment."

She looked at it all and nodded.

"Good. This here is Triala. The two over there are Nagai Ha and Mara and to my right are Tayuya and Karin. This here is the formation. We'll go in a single file assault formation of five operatives, with the others acting as support in the center. The most important position is the spearhead. And that's going to be…"

"Kiba with Akamaru," Shikamaru continued.

"With your knowledge of the terrain and the geography in and around the village and Hi no Kuni, you two know exactly where to go. On top of that, your sense of smell will be a great asset to track Sasuke down by scent, while sniffing out any booby traps that the enemy may have left behind."

"Correct. You will also be accompanied by Triala-chan here. She has the special ability to sniff out the scent of a person's chakra. On top of that she can use chakra and could help you out by adding another set of claws to your clans Taijutsu. Second in line will be Shikamaru, my Second in Command. From there he can give orders essential to the squad's survival via silent hand signals."

"On top of that I will be able to react to any given situation that may come up front. And if I am correct in the center will be yours truly, the platoon leader. You being the powerhouse that you are, you can reinforce both the front and the back with your Kage Bushin. You are also capable of doing fast maneuvers to defend both of these fronts."

"That is where I will be, along with Nagai Ha and Mara. The three of us are perfect for this positon due to us being able to move quickly between the two outermost positions. On top of that we are able to snipe enemies with our bows. Adding to that our Dojutsu will help us greatly spotting enemies to the side. Now next in line is Choji."

"With your strength you will be the second wave of our assault. You will come in when me. Kiba, Akamaru, Naruko and our support have struck with a surprise attack. On top of that you will be accompanied by Tayuya and Karin. Tayuya's specialty is Genjutsu based on the Sense of Hearing. On top of that she can summon battle Ogres to help in a fight. Karin is a Sensor, with the ability to mask her presence completely. She will be our target locator."

"Last in line is Neji. With your Clan's Juken Po and the Byakuugan you make the perfect rearguard. You will make sure we are not surrounded by the enemy. On top of that you are going to scan for any weakness in our ranks. Did I miss anything, Naruko?"

"No you got it down but I think we just got ourselves one more man. Rock Lee, please join us for this mission. You will be extremely useful as center runner. Please look at this diagram."

She pulled out a scroll and pencil and started a draw a quick sketch.

"Kiba you are in charge of the front, Shikamaru you will provide a wider view up front. Nagai Ha, Karin and I will check the right, Choji, you, Mara and Tayuya will take the left. While you Karin will also keep an eye out for the back with Neji. With your sensory abilities, you should be able to sense anyone coming from behind, with Neji being able to provide a line of sight with his Byakuugan. And Lee, you will be in the center moving from position to position to see if they need anything. Everybody know there roles? Good, eat these and let's go. They're special soldier pills that will enhance your endurance and stamina."

They rushed off and Soon Naruko felt something dark looming ahead.

"Guys whatever just happened, it did not feel anywhere near good. Watch out for anything, high alert. Sentries eliminate all non-friendlies with absolute prejudice."

They continued on and soon caught up with them. They snuck up on them but somehow got found out. They were caught in an explosion. They were forced into the open. Everyone instantly threw a smoke bomb and tried to get away but it seemed they were caught. Seconds later the entire platoon was caught in an earth dome.

"Doton: Kekkai: Doro Domu (Earth Release: Barrier: Earth Prison of Magnificent Nothingness)" Naruko realized.

"A Jutsu that entraps the enemy and then slowly saps away their chakra away and giving it to the wielder. Leaving him strong and the enemy weak. Obviously, they do not want us to get the Uchiha back, or at least not get to him at full strength. Everybody please conserve your chakra. Let's see how strong our opponents are. Kage Bushin no Jutsu. Alright, platoon stays in the center my clones and I will do a circle following the wall. We punch with full force without our seals."

The clones nodded and seconds later there were bright markings that disappeared instantly. The air became dense thick, too thick to breathe.

"Alright we have ten members and they are three. Numerically we have the advantage and we also don't want to be staying here too long as we will be losing Sasuke on the other side of the border of Hi no Kuni and therefore out of our reach. So this is what we are going to do. Choji do you think could take him?"

"I don't know. But I will definitely try."

"Good, he seems like a melee fighter who relies primarily on brute strength. So let's get out of this barrier."

As one, Naruko and her clones gave a full powered chakra infused punch. One second the dome stood, the next there was rubble flying in every direction. Everyone but the Hanyou and Uzumaki were flabbergast. They couldn't believe their eyes when they saw the destruction Naruko and a small platoon of clones could unleash.

"What?! How did they overpower my barrier? No matter, they should be running low on chakra anyway."

"Alright we all know the plan. Lee and Karin stay with Choji, support only when he says so. This is his fight. The rest follow me."

They started speed off but were blocked.

"What makes you think I am going to let you go without a fight? Urgh…"

Out of nowhere Jirobo got tackled by Choji.

"I find it extremely irritating when people choose to ignore me," he said.

"You guys go on ahead I'll take care of this one. I'll catch up."

"You sure Choji, this guy is more troublesome than he seems."

"Don't worry I have my secret weapon on me. He won't follow, I promise."

Shikamaru nodded and left with the others.

The Battle Choji vs Jirobo

Jirobo capitalizes on Choji's brief moment of distraction and picks him up in a bear hug and started draining his chakra. Choji was struggling but was losing chakra fast. In a move of desperation he rammed the metal part of his Hitai ate against Jirobo's chin. It resulted in him being pummeled by Jirobo and then thrown against a tree.

Slowly Choji got up with a pained look on his face. He took out a case with three pills. He took the one on the bottom. His chakra skyrocketed and he started to pummel away at Jirobo, sending him crashing into a tree. Choji was panting heavily and was in pain. Jirobo had activated his Curse Mark and was again hammering away at Choji.

In the brush concealed from everything, sat Uzumaki Karin and Rock Lee, watching everything. Rock Lee was rearing to go and help his comrade and friend, but Karin was holding him back.

"Lee-san, I know how much this must be frustrating you, but we have to let Choji-san fight this one himself. If he tells us to help then we will help, but this fight is personal. The moment our enemy insulted Shikamaru-san, Choji-san's demeanor changed. He will fight this foe, not for himself, but for his friend. He will not lose. So let's just sit back and watch him fight."

They looked back to the fight and saw the now gigantic form of Choji being lifted and thrown away by Jirobo. Choji seemed generally extremely mad at that point and took the final pill and caught Jirobo's punch and hit him to the ground. He stood over him and delivered a devastating final blow knocking himself out and fatally wounding his opponent and incapacitating him.

Karin and Lee rushed over to them.

"Lee-san you go on ahead. I'll heal Choji-san and bring him back to the village and send a medic team after the others. Don't argue just move."

Lee nodded and raced off. While Karin stabilized both Choji and Jirobo, after which she sealed Jirobo into a scroll and then proceeded to treat Choji until he was fit to move on his own accord. They then headed back to the Hidden Leaf.

With the Retrieval Platoon

"Are you sure Choji'll be alright. He seemed different when we left."

"He'll be fine. He has the Akimichi's secret Triple Threat. Three tricolored food pills that have an immense punch. They are three pills, one green, one yellow and one red," Shikamaru started to explain.

"Yes, but everything that works so well has to have side effects, which is why the friendship between the Nara and the Akimichi is so invaluable for the Akimichi, as the Nara have one of the largest and most thorough knowledge of medicine to help with said side effects."

"H… How do you know about those pills, Naruko?"

"When I was still living with the tribe during the academy, I was ambushed by a group of Shinobi. One of them was an Akimichi, who lost his wife and daughter during the rampage of Kitsune-kaa-san, and wanted to avenge their death by killing the Kyuubi. He had those same pills and used them. When I started my tribes post battle ritual I found what it is, that makes those pills so dangerous and effective. As well as that the Nara have found a way to counteract said effects. Am I right, Shikamaru?"

"Right you are, the problem with the pills is that they release bacteria into the body that consume fat and leave chakra as a waste product giving the consumer of the pill a burst of energy. This is also the reason why the Akimichi are also more on the heavier side of the scale. But that doesn't mean it is a hindrance to their fighting capabilities."

"Exactly. Choji will be fine. And if anything does happen, Karin-chan has the ability to heal others by letting them drink her blood. On top of that, she is one of the best medics I have ever seen. I have also studied the bacteria and have given everyone from my clan an antidote. So he'll be fine."

Shikamaru looked at her in shock.

"Would you be willing to give the antidote to the Nara, Naruko?"

"Willing, yes. However, if you are thinking about replicating it, don't bother. Only those of demon descent can produce the antidote. I gave them cleansed youki pills."

"Arf!"

"You are correct. I can smell them as well. Neji. One o'clock about one hundred and thirty yards. What do you see?"

"They're there. And they're moving slower. Must be waiting for their team mate."

"This is good. Now I really wish I had taken the opportunity to get his blood though. In any case, we'll split into two groups. One attacks from the side and acts as a decoy, the other strikes from below. Neji, strike team, Kiba, Akamaru strike team, Shikamaru decoy, Mara decoy, Nagai Ha strike team, Triala, Tayuya, you both are decoy as well. I'll lead the strike team."

"HAI!"

The split and soon the strike team was under the Oto team. Seconds passed and then the decoy team struck. Kiba, Akamaru and Triala halted their advance with the Gatsuuga and then disappeared into the forest again dodging the web spat after them by the six armed man. Shikamaru captured them with his shadow while Mara covered him. Naruko struck from their blind spot with her team.

Inches before they reached their respective targets, they were kicked away by a new arrival. Shikamaru and Mara had to dodge away from a vicious axe kick and therefore setting their captives free.

"What are you doing here, Kimimaru?"

"Lord Orochimaru is growing impatient and has asked me to speed up your travel. Now, Kidimaru, you take care of these insects whil I and the others will return. Be sure to kill that traitorous garbage Tayuya."

Naruko did not like that comment. She signaled to fall back and regroup letting a group of clones delay the six armed man.

"Alright it seems we have another fighter to our enemy. We will stick with our plan. From what I saw from those webs, is that they are chakra infused. Which means that the only one who can effectively defend against him is Neji. With your Byakuugan and the Juken you can cut through those webs. Tayuya and Mara give him cover. The rest of us will move in an arch. Be ready to go full speed to get to our enemy again. Go!"

Neji charged at his opponent with Mara and Tayuya following the others around the clearing and staying on the other side. Tayuya applied a Genjutsu to hide them and Mara readied an arrow into her bow. Neji was currently agitating his opponent by destroying each and every web coming at him.

Naruko and the others were silently gaining some distance from the clearing. Once they were far enough away they broke off into a full sprint.

The Battle Neji vs Kidomaro

Neji stood in front of his opponent.

"You're pretty good. You are by far the strongest of the lot. This will be fun to play. The game is 'I'll kill you in three minutes or less'"

Neji watched him with his Byakuugan. Seconds later he was bombarded by nets. Soon he was caught though and had to listen to an analysis of his technique, while hanging of a tree. He concentrated and calmed himself. Then he dispelled a burst of chakra and jumped at his stunned opponent. Catching him off-guard not allowing him to free himself of his Jutsu, Neji engaged him and attacked him with the Hakke Rokujuuyon Sho. Pummeling away at him he broke him off of his Jutsu and sent him flying.

He looked at his opponent and was shocked to see his attack was ineffective. His opponent had covered himself in armor. After telling Neji that it was impervious to chakra he vanished, retreating to long range. Neji sensed an attack and dodged. It was a fake and then sensed another attack. Then he dodged with the Hakkesho Kaiten Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation. Out of nowhere Neji threw a kunai at his opponent.

He called him out and saw that he had activated his Curse Mark. And then saw him summon a giant spider. After a few seconds later he was bombarded with small spiders. Unfortunately for Neji, the threads from the army of small spiders slowed his Kaiten to naught. Deflecting another kunai at the last instant he waited. He knew he had to end this fast, but also that rushing things would only lead to his down fall. He thought on a plan and then remembered that he still had backup waiting to lend support. He took out some of his kunai and wrapped paper bombs around the grips. He then took out another batch of Kunai and thought back to a training session he had had with his team and Naruko.

Flashback

Neji was panting, having just finished his practice. Somehow Gai-sensei had managed to convince Uzumaki Naruko to help with today's training. And with help, the sunset haired Jonin had understood, attempted third degree murder for the entirety of Squad Nine. He had volunteered to go first and as soon as the match had begun he had regretted it.

Naruko had instantly started bombarding him with Jutsu, pushing him hard to dodge and deflect. After some time she let him go on the offensive. That didn't last long however as after just a few strikes, he found the tip of her boot buried inside of his gut. He doubled over and felt his head being grabbed and held to her shoulder. Then she dropped to the floor. His face banged into her shoulder and bounced off and onto the ground.

Shakely he got up and looked at her. He got into his stance and instantly was forced to dodge. He tried to use his chakra but was not able to even feel it.

"I put a Chakra Seal on you, you will not be using it during the remainder of this spar. No dodge!"

She brought out her bow and shot arrow after arrow into the sky.

"Hanta no Geijutsu: Ya no Ame!"

At the peak of their curve they split into hundreds of arrows and plummeted towards him. Neji was dodging for his life. What he noticed was though that whenever he was too slow to react, the arrows about to hit him would slow down. He leapt away but was shot down by an arrow straight to his blind spot between they should blades. He crashed to the ground panting heavily.

"How did you know about that blind spot?"

"Well I hit it by accident during our fight in the exams but I also had the chance to taste the blood of your elders, giving me all of their knowledge. It is an ability given to me by my tribe. It's a secret Kekkai Genkai granted only to my tribe. With it we can read the memories and experiences of anyone whose blood we drink. A droplet is enough for us to know your entire life."

"I see…"

Flashback End

Neji knew what to do. He sliced his hand with his kunai and then hurled them all away. He aimed the one with his blood to where Mara was. The others he threw at branches and at his opponent. He knew Mara would know what he wanted. He deflected another barrage of Kunai with his Kaiten. He waited and soon enough an arrow came flying out of some leafs and into some others, quickly followed by a form rushing into a new cover. Neji noticed that he was being overrun by more small spiders. He started taking them down one by one but the waves soon over powered him and he doubled his speed. Soon he was overwhelmed yet again. He ducked and miraculously he was hit in the shoulder. Neji got into his stance again but was hit dead center in his back. He dodged and weaved but he was struck twice. He slowly collapsed from pain and slowly got up. Again an arrow shot to his opponent.

Then the giant spider crashed down on him. He destroyed it with the Juken. But then he was taken down again by Kunai to the back. Slowly he got back up panting heavily. He saw yet another arrow coming from the other side of the clearing. Seconds later he sensed an arrow coming and marginally managed to avoid being hit to his vital spots by it. Slowly he got back up. He started running, keeping his blind spot away from being stationary too long. He lent against a tree and then started running again. He sensed an arrow coming through his blind spot and dived behind a tree. The arrow grazed his cheek. He collapsed and struggled to get back up again. He noticed something that would grant him victory. He walked into the open and waited. He turned when he heard the arrow. He was hit and thrown against a tree. He quickly applied chakra to the steering thread and ran towards his opponent.

But when he got there, his opponent was already being restrained by Mara and Tayuya. Mara saw him and waved him over.

"What are you doing with him?"

"His clan was once an ally to our tribe. Though the clan betrayed us in ancient times, it still is not right to kill him for a century old grudge. Naru-chan will decide his fate. If he is to die then of the traditional Torture Ritual. And for that, he has to be strong and healthy. I sealed his chakra and stabilized him. I'll seal him into this Stasis Cage Seal and once you are ready to leave Tayuya-sama should bring you back to the village. Now please lie down. I'll stop the bleeding and apply First Aid and treat those holes you got yourself. After that you go back. You have done well, young Hyuuga."

Neji nodded and did as he was told. After a few minutes, Lee rushed in.

"YOSH! It is most youthful to see the care you are giving my team mate, Mara-chan."

Mara nodded, but had the distinct feeling her mate was going to kill him for his antics.

"Of course, Lee-san. There you should be good enough to make it back to the village. Tayuya-sama, if you could accompany him back home, bring him to the hospital and tell them exactly what happened to him. No explanation of attacks or weaknesses just what caused the damage?"

Tayuya nodded and left.

"You and I should hurry to the others. I have a feeling things are getting heated.

With the Retrieval Platoon

"Seems like we're on our own from this point on."

"So it would seem. But I know also that they won and that they are, if they are injured, on the way back to the Leaf. So do not worry. Plus, if my hunch is correct, we will have reinforcements here with us soon."

"I smell the enemy in front of us. What should we do?"

"We break them apart. Kiba, Akamaru, Triala, Shikamaru and Nagai Ha! Take the one with the two heads. The rest will take care of the albino."

"Is it just me, or are they getting slower?"

"No, they are, so this puts us in a nice position. As attacking now would be a suicide we'll wait for sunrise. And if they keep decreasing their pace, we won't have to worry too much about Sasuke getting too close to our borders. But even though we must stay vigilant."

They followed them at a small distance. They kept them in their sights waiting for the first glimpse of sun light. After a few hours the moon was starting to set and the sun started to rise. They waited for the right moment. Naruko new there was a canyon coming soon. The perfect way to split the enemy.

"Kiba, I want you to take care of Two Heads. Triala direct support, Shikamaru, Nagai Ha only when Kiba tells you. Wat for the canyon and then."

A minute later it was there.

"Go! Go! Go!"

Kiba and his group went and tackled him into the canyon and disappeared into the darkness.

The Battle Kiba vs Sakon and Ukon

Kiba landed heavily on the ground with his group. Nagai Ha and Shikamaru instantly got out of the way and hid. Kiba, Akamaru and Triala kept an eye on their still downed opponent.

"So how exactly can you help with our Taijutsu and Ninjutsu, Triala-san?"

"Simple. When I licked Naruko-sama's blood, she not only gave me the scents she found at the Uchiha Clan's compound, she also gave me all of her knowledge on the Inuzuka fighting styles, which she gained by killing members of your clan. It was all out of self-defense of course."

"I see, and could you adapt to our personal style, if we gave you some of our blood?"

"Yes."

Kiba bit his hand and offered Triala the blood, which she licked up. Akamaru told her she could give him a bite, which she did also. Shortly after their opponent got up. They ran in zig zags around him waiting looking for an opening. Finally Kiba struck but somehow he was punched away by an unseen force. He skidded to a halt and got back up. Akamaru and Triala ran up to him.

"What the hell?"

"Get ready, we'll hit him from three sides with Gatsuuga."

They started running and hit him in three points. Triala was dodged but Kiba and Akamaru were caught. Kiba tried kicking himself free but was blocked by a leg. Triala was watching, studying every detail. Akamaru was punched against a rock and transformed back.

"So you're the real one."

With a hit that felt like three, Kiba was sent away. He regained his footing only to be nearly hit again. But somehow he was still hit. His opponent activated his curse mark to its first stage. He found himself being held by the throat, by a second arm coming from the elbow.

"My brother and I, get along rather well, usually Ukon sleeps inside of me, but when there is a fight, he wakes up and helps. He can poke his arms, legs or even his head from anywhere in my body to attack and to defend. Just like this."

A fist came flying from Ukon's forehead and hit Kiba square in the face. Akamaru came running, but Kiba was kicked his way. Kiba flew into Akamaru and both were caught by the large wolf form of Triala. She was staring at their opponent with malice.

"My… It would seem you have a bigger puppy to help you out."

"You wish. Triala-chan is as pureblooded wolf as you'll ever meet. Plus she is currently only supporting me and Akamaru, but I am sur, if I let her she would tear you in half before you could even react."

"Big words from a talking punching bag."

Suddenly a hand covered his mouth.

"Enough, Sakon. Stop wasting time. We're going to phase two."

They activated the second stage of their cursed seal and stared mockingly at their opponents.

Kiba and Akamaru were panting heavily.

"If you have any heavy hitters in your arsenal, I suggest you use them. I can clean up afterwards. With the awakening of their Curse Mark to the final stage, their chakra ten folded in power. So you have to act fast. I suggest you decide quickly."

"You want to try that?"

Akamaru decided to bite him to get his point across. Akamaru barked and circled around the two while Kiba took a few mean blows to his abdomen. He held his opponent in place for Akamaru to mark them. Once they were marked he jumped and transformed into a two headed wolf. Triala got ready as well and grew to the same two story height as her partners. Kiba and Akamaru hit them square in the chest splitting them in half.

However, the two of them grew the over sides of their bodies.

"Careful kid. Don't get cocky now. We're not dead y…"

Just then Triala did her own attack. Running at incredible speeds she swiped with her front paws, leaving four very clear claw marks on both of the torsos.

"Argh…"

Triala stopped next to her partners,

"Conserve your chakra," she said in canine.

"I'll draw them out and get them to use some chakra while you take them down with that same technique."

They nodded and Triala ran forwards, jumped and started spinning. She turned and aimed for them. Then out of nowhere an iron gate appeared and Triala crashed right into it.

She dented the gate and stopped. She fell to the ground. Sakon and Ukon jumped into the air.

"Now!" Triala barked.

Kiba and Akamaru attacked and hit them, However the substituted with rocks in the last second. They tore through the rocks and hit Triala dead on. Luckily they had stopped spinning. They hit the ground hard. Sakon and Ukon rushed in and tried to curb stomp their heads in. However in a last attempt they managed to slip away curtesy of a large amount of smoke bombs.

They hid behind a stone.

"Damn that was a close one. Hey Triala-chan, Akamaru you guys alright?"

"Yes, a few bruises is all. Stall them, we have to get away."

Kiba jumped out from behind the rock and charged at them. Akamaru and Triala were flanking him. Triala and Akamaru attacked Sakon who immediately kicked Triala away. Akamaru used the opening to splatter his face with more acidic urine and hit Sakon's eyes. He howled in pain.

Kiba looked at them. He forgot about his opponent for an instant but that was all that was needed. Kiba looked back at Ukon but found that he was no longer there.

"Looking for someone?" he asked with feigned curiosity.

"Sakon go wash your eyes in that river."

Kiba froze. He tried touching Ukon, but it was caught by one of his hands.

"It's useless. Our bodies are now one. My Kekkai Genkai allows me to split up on a cellular level and invade my enemies. Then I take their bodies over one cell by the other. Or more precisely, I reform my body inside them. Right now, my cells are swimming freely around your body, slowly attaching themselves to the cells in your body. In other words we're slowly, but surely, are fusing together. We'll be sharing a body, isn't that nice."

"Sharing, a body?" Kiba whispered in disbelief.

"That's right. It's a rather cruel way of killing that only I can accomplish. I will take over your body from the inside out, completely wiping out your life force…"

"I see."

Kiba pulled out a Kunai and plunged it into his abdomen.

"Suicide! No one's ever been so crazy to try and kill himself!" Ukon screamed.

"It's like you said," Kiba said grinning with blood trickling down the sides of his mouth.

"You and I share a body now, which means, whatever happens to me happens to you as well. Time for us to die."

He pulled back and plunged the knife back again. Grunting in pain he pulled it out and looked at his opponent only to find him outside of him. Though he was bleeding rather badly. Kiba threw two smoke bombs and legged it. Triala had prepared a booby trap. A Kunai bomb in the form of Akamaru.

"Kiba-san we need to go. The others will follow. Let's go down stream. And let them follow."

They entered the river and dived under. After wading through the water for some time Kiba was getting more and more light headed, to the point Triala had to carry him. She grew to the size of a small horse and had Kiba and Akamaru climb onto her back. After that she continued. After a while they reached dry land. Triala moved the to an overgrown den and brought Kiba and Akamaru some leaves, which she chewed to a paste and rubbed it on their injuries. She headed outside and waited.

After a while Sakon had arrived and Ukon was coming from behind. Triala was growling sharply mixing some barks and grunts into it. She was signaling the two Hanyou that were still hiding from the senses of their enemy, as well as her Mistress's mate.

"You can bark all you want, puppy, but it won't change the fact that you are going to die."

Triala barked and out of nowhere Mara and Nagai Ha slashed at Ukon and disappeared in an instant. Ukon stumbled back and retreated into his brother.

"Brother! Rest, whatever that was, it will not work a second time. This little puppy is going to die."

He charged at her, but Triala avoided his strikes and attacked herself. With every swipe of her claws, with every snap of her jaws, she was pushing Sakon back step by step. Then suddenly a swipe connected, leaving him with a nasty set of claw marks from the shoulder to the hip.

"Wha… What! I should have dodged that!" he yelled.

"Shadow possession, complete," came the calm voice of her Mistress's mate.

Seconds later dozens of arrows came from the underbrush and cut through her opponent. Sakon collapsed.

"Triala, take Kiba-san and Akamaru-san to the village. Shikamaru-san, Hogo-sha and I will continue to Naruko-chan."

"Of course, Mara-sama."

She grabbed Kiba and Akamaru and left. Mara healed Sakon and sealed him in a Stasis Seal. Then they turned their attention over to Shikamaru.

Shikamaru noticed this and felt a wave of doom roll over him.

"Now that we are alone and our job is done, we can finally have a word with the person responsible for my little sister's state of mind, hmm?"

"Aww man…" Shikamaru exclaimed just before he was grabbed by Nagai Ha.

With Naruko

Naruko raced after the albino. Somehow he was giving her an uneasy feeling. She smelled his chakra and it smelled of loneliness, darkness, devotion and doom.

'He must have had an awfully lonely life, if even his chakra has taken that void into its being. On top of that, he must have been saved from a personal hell if his devotion to Orochimaru is this great. He also seems to have a Kekkai Genkai. His chakra despite those strong emotions, smells delicious. But why does his chakra portray doom? He can't project that feeling onto his opponents, not with the level of instability it has.'

They burst into a clearing and stopped. They looked at each other calmly. Naruko had her Orion'aigan active and was looking at her opponent's body.

"You sure are still quite active for a dead man."

The slight widening of the albino's eyes told her she had struck a nerve.

"I could heal you, if you join my clan. Orochimaru has forsaken you, if he did not stop you from fighting in the condition your body is in."

"Let's see… How to destroy you," he said completely ignoring her.

"Big words for someone with a foot and a half in the grave," Naruko replied, blasting the area with KI and looking at him with the Orion'aigan, the only difference was that instead of her deep azure eyes, her irises were deep crimson.

"Would you mind telling me what Orochimaru has planned for our dear Uchiha? Last time I checked, I rendered him completely incapable of using any Jutsu for the rest of his miserable existence. By cutting his arms from his soul."

"So you are the reason, Orochimaru-sama is in so much agony."

"Ahh… The sweet sounds of a tormented soul, truly eye watering, is it not?"

"I will kill you for such insolence, garbage."

"My, my. Stop with the compliments already, you're going to make me blush," Naruko said, pretending to be flattered and flustered, even managing to conjure up a faint blush.

"But on a serious note, what is Orochimaru planning to do with the Uchiha?"

"Lord Orochimaru has already acquired the Immortality Technique, however there is a long time required for him to learn every Jutsu of this world. So much in fact that even though he is immortal, he has to change bodies every x number of years. So before his flesh decays, a strong new body must be made into a vessel for his soul."

"I see… And that is the true purpose of the Cursed Seal then. To prepare the body for the day it is to be taken over. However that seal is created of knowledge of my clan. And as a clan head, it is my responsibility to see such a vile bastardization of my clans treasures destroyed. As much as it pains me to say this, but if I have to destroy someone who is on the brink of death, I will do so."

"You are correct. Though garbage talking about destroying me is me is truly insulting."

"Be careful about who you call garbage insect. I am far more powerful than you are. Be honored, you will be the first opponent that I will be showing this to."

She released her Henge and showed him her true form. All of her six tails swinging viciously behind her. Releasing her youki to cover her body.

"Before we begin, I must ask of the name of the person I am about to kill."

"My name is Kaguya Kimimaru. Now shall we begin?"

"It is rude to hasten a battle, on top of that, it should also be common courtesy when giving one's name to one's opponent, to also give one's opponent the chance to give his name. I am Uzumaki Naruko no Hanyou, it is a pleasure to face you in battle."

Naruko created an army of clones and surrounded Kimimaru.

"I remember hearing about the Kaguya. You have the blood of a hunter, thriving in the turmoil of war. Shinigami-sama was rather displeased to see children of his blessing, abuse it such as your clan did. He gave you a powerful gift with your Kekkai Genkai. I will make sure it lives on when you die."

Kimimaru scoffed and got ready, letting two sharp bones extend from his palms. Just then Naruko got a message via the Communication Seal she had given to all of her clan.

'Naruko-nee-sama, this is Gaara,' came her sister's voice.

'Gaara-chan, what are you doing here, you should be in Konoha.'

'Karin-chan came to the village with Choji while I was walking and over a brief conversation I gathered, it'd be best if I lent my assistance. I hope you don't mind, Nee-sama.'

'Not at all. When do you think you'll be at my location and do you have any information on Kiba's and Neji's groups?'

'Lee-san and I will be there in about five minutes. And no I haven't seen or heard anything from the two groups.'

'Okay, over and out.'

She cut the connection and her clones attacked in bulk. Kimimaru was destroying them by the dozens, but could not escape a few cuts here and there. One of the clones had licked the blood from the Kunai it was holding and charged again, throwing itself onto one of the bones and dispelled. Instantly the remaining clones were attacking with more precision. Kimimaru spun around and started the slaughter in earnest. The clones tried to do some damage, but they were cut down before they could react.

After a couple of minutes Lee and Gaara arrived.

"There you two are. He is a bone wielder, the last of the infamous Kaguya. His abilities will be extremely challenging, but the two of you will be more than a fair match."

Just then the coffin started to emit dark chakra. Naruko rushed at him with her Ninja-To drawn. Kimimaru had drawn a bone sword and was deflecting and countering her every strike. It was a very interesting duel for her. Over the course of the next few minutes, the chakra became more and more vile. For Naruko it was very irritating as she was smelling it the entire time. Kimimaru stopped and looked at the coffin.

"The time has come," he said calmly.

"The first step towards achieving Lord Orochimaru's ambitions."

The coffin blew open with an explosion and out of the chakra stepped one Uchiha Sasuke.

"Sasuke, turn around please," Naruko said politely.

Sasuke however just ignored her.

"Sasuke turn around or I swear I will make sure you will be in a world of pain."

Again she was ignored, but this time Sasuke ran off. Naruko dashed after him. Kimimaru was about to deliver a killing blow to the back of her head when Rock Lee intervened.

"Thank you Lee-san."

Naruko said stopping in front of him.

"By the way here is the improved medicine I promised for that little training mishap. Take it in the same time intervals as the one from before. Have fun with this fight, he will be a nice challenge. Now see ya."

Battle Lee and Gaara vs Kimimaru

"My name is Rock Lee of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. And for now, I shall be your opponent."

He charged and delivered a barrage of powerful blows to his opponent's body. After putting some distance between them via a powerful kick to the midsection his opponent got up and relocated the shoulder Lee had managed to injure. Lee charged again only to be evaded with every attempt.

"Your agility is most amazing, and you use a most singular style."

"And your style is too direct, almost obvious."

Lee charged and attempted to punch his opponent. He missed and lost his footing. Kimimaru capitalized on the opening.

"Stop! One moment please," Lee said.

"Excuse me, I am so sorry, but I have to take my medicine at a certain time, and that time happens to be now. This will only take a minute."

Kimimaru stopped mid swing and stepped away from his strange opponent. Lee searched through his equipment pouch and pulled out a white bottle. He opened it and emptied it in one fellow swing. Instantly his stance became wobbly and unfocused.

"Urgh…" he groaned.

"That stuff tastes disgusting."

He started giggling and lost his balance. He started wobbling towards his foe. He moved around in an irregular pattern. He stumbled to the floor, got up and charged. Delivering powerful punches and kicks, faster than before.

"Not too shabby," he slurred.

"Boy all this jumping around is totally messing with my head here," he slurred and fell over backwards.

He started snoring as soon as he hit the floor. Kimimaru looked startled while Gaara just face planted. Kimimaru walked over to Lee and tried to stab him. Like lightning Lee was up and started punching away at his foe.

"Ha-ha. You fell for it!" he laughed.

He kicked his foe away with a blow to the chest.

"It may have looked like I was sleeping, but in reality, I was wide awake."

With tears in his eyes he celebrated his deception and fell to the ground again sleeping. Kimimaru walked up to him. This time he avoided the punches and let Lee celebrate again only for him to hit the deck again. Kimimaru looked to the ground and saw the bottle. He took a sniff and recoiled from the intense burn in his nose. He dropped the bottle and readied his sword.

Lee was snoring as Kimimaru stabbed at his head multiple times at incredible speeds. His final stab was caught between Lee's feet. In a spin Lee was up and Kimimaru was a couple of steps away. Groggily Lee got up and dodged all of the slashes. Then in a flurry of punches he hit his opponent.

Kimimaru waited and Le charged. A foot away from his opponent Lee stumbled and fell to the ground. Moments later he was up again and pushing his opponent back with lightning fast strikes.

Kimimaru saw an opening and started his Camellia Dance, only for Lee to dodge each and every one of his strikes. Again Kimimaru was put on the defenses and eventually was hit by a very powerful punch to the midsection.

Kimimaru got up and activated the first stage of his Cursed Seal.

"My true abilities lie within my bones themselves," he said as four bones protruded from his forearm.

"I am sure that little wrench told you that before she left. I think it's about time we sobered you up."

"Sober who up?" Lee slurred.

"Do I look drunk to you?"

He charged and kicked at Kimimaru, but was blocked and pushed of.

"Whatever you are right now, I'll be sure to snap you out of it."

They charged and had a small exchange of blows. But when Lee had managed to open his opponent's midsection, bones shot out and forced him back. He landed on his back and stared at his opponent.

"Different is it not?" Kimimaru asked in his monotone voice.

"This is the power of a Kaguya, this is the power of the Shikotsumyaku, my Kekkai Genkai."

Lee kept on staring at his opponent. Suddenly his head started pounding. He held it with one hand.

"Ugh…" he groaned.

"I must have truly been drunk. What has happened to you?!" he asked in shock.

"It would seem that your medicine has finally worn off," he said as Lee got up.

"My Kekkai Genkai allows me to freely manipulate and control the osteoblastic and osteoclastic cells within my body. It allows me to alter the concentration of calcium in my body and forms new bones all together. In the human body, there are two hundred and six bones in the human body once it reaches maturity. For me however, that is not a set number as I can remove, regrow and even create bones- It makes that number somewhat more negotiable."

"But a bone is still a bone. If it breaks it breaks."

He charged and struck with full force. His punch was blocked and he jumped away. Lee charged once again but was intercepted by Kimimaru's Larch Dance. Lee took quite a few cuts and landed hard on the floor. Shakily, he slowly got back up.

"G… Gaara-ch… chan… C… Could you t… take o…ver for a… a bit?" he said and collapsed.

Gaara walked forwards and had her sand bring Lee behind her.

"My name is Sabaku Uzumaki no Gaara and I will be your opponent now."

Her sand shot up and block a handful small projectiles. It had also shot up in front of Lee.

"Impulsive aren't you? As I said that I am your opponent. So please do not ignore me. He has reached his limits and is no longer capable of fighting."

"Fine, I will kill you first then."

Gaara stood calm as ever waiting for her opponent. Kimimaru launched barrage by barrage of projectiles which was stopped by Gaara's sand. All the while Gaara was also attacking her opponent, Kimimaru was dodging as soon as he hit the ground again. After a while they stopped.

"Gaara of the Desert. A rather foolish alias considering it implies your weakness. You use sand hence the name, but without the sand you are nothing. That is why you carry that gourd."

"The only fool around here is you. If I am in need of more sand I grind the dirt to sand."

Kimimaru noticed sand falling down on him and tried to move, but found his legs were trapped by two tendrils of sand. Soon he was being encased by sand into a cocoon.

"Sabaku Soso!"

The sand compressed and crushed Kimimaru. She kept putting more pressure into the sand but it was no use, her opponent wouldn't let himself be crushed. Slowly Kimimaru extracted himself from the sand with the first stage of his Cursed Seal. He looked at her with multiple injuries where his skin was nonexistent.

"That was quite a lot of pressure. Had I not covered myself with a membrane of bone beneath my skin I would have surely been crushed beyond recognition."

"That is quite the impressive ability. Someone like you would be a great asset to the Uzumaki."

"The fox wrench said the same thing, spouting nonsense about being able to heal me."

"Kimimaru-san, let me give you a little piece of advice. Don't ever insult Naruko-nee-sama again."

With a few hand seals a huge wall of sand started to form.

"Ryusa Bakuryu!"

The sand grew in size and started to look like a wave. It started moving and swept over Kimimaru and the surrounding area. Just then Lee got back up.

"Amazing, Gaara-chan. So much sand. That should have finished him!"

"Not yet. Sabaku Taiso!"

Gaara slammed her hands down causing enormous shockwaves to go through the entire sand field, compressing it and effectively crushing everything under her sand.

"He is very persistent. I don't understand why he won't give up. Maybe that is why Nee-sama wants to heal him and give him a new chance at living," she mused...

Just then something broke through the sands surface.

"Wait a minute, what is that."

They looked and found it was Kimimaru in his second stage. Gaara moved her sand to envelop her opponent.

"Sabaku Kyu!"

Gaara saw that Kimimaru stopped only for him to break free and start rushing at them. Kimimaru looked rather ferocious in his new form. The bones and the tail gave him a rather animalistic appeal. His normally pale skin was dark brown with black patches around his eyes. Gaara tried catching him by sending tendrils of sand at him, but they were dodged each time. As he got too close, Gaara lifted a wall of sand, which Kimimaru ran straight through and lifted him into the sky with a shoulder tackle.

Gaara was lifted into the air grunting in pain. She landed hard on the ground even though her sand had cushioned the fall. She got up ignoring the insults Kimimaru was throwing at her. She looked back at him with some of her sand armor crumbling off.

Out of nowhere Lee attacked from behind but was blocked and thrown back by Kimimaru's tail. Luckily Gaara had created a wall of sand to decrease the blows velocity. Her armor restored and she stood back on her feet. She watched as her foe pulled out a sword made of his vertebrate. Kimimaru swung the long sword around her effectively constricting her movements as the sword had rapped itself around her. As always her sand came and protected her in a layer of sand. She watched as Kimimaru's other arm grow into a large bone drill.

"This is the densest calcification I am able to form. It will drill right through you and your sand defense."

He spat out some blood. And watched sand form in front of Gaara into a large humanoid sand beast with a rural hat. Kimimaru plunged his bone into the sand slowly pushing it forward until finally the bone gave and broke off from his arm.

"That can't be. It's too strong for my bone."

"It took the densest minerals from the soil I gathered and fused them together with my sand and pressurized it to the level of hardness rivaling that of diamonds. Tell me why you still fight even though your death is moments away. The Uzumaki can cure you, we can offer you a second chance at life with a family and a clan that cares for you. And all you have to do is forsake someone who is willing and has already sacrificed, forsaken and cast you aside for another. Why? Why can't you understand that we only wish to help you?"

"Scum like you could never understand how it was like to live the life I had to, before Lord Orochimaru saved me from the loneliness," with a hint more aggression than he normally did.

"You are not the only one who suffered the life of loneliness. I was there myself as was Nee-sama, but Nee-sama remained strong, unlike you or me. We gave in to our hate and despair. She saved me and I know she will be able to do the same with you. All you have to do is give her a chance. Just like me," she replied with an equal hint of aggression.

"Trash thinking itself my equal. How truly insulting."

"What do I have to do to convince you?" Gaara said, getting frustrated.

"Defeat me in battle and I will consider the offer that girl gave me."

"As you wish."

Suddenly the ground grabbed Kimimaru's legs and started to cave in.

"I will now bury you two hundred meters under the surface, under pressure so great you will not be able to move."

With that her opponent sunk under the surface. When the ground was still Gaara saw something shocking. Bones started to shoot from the ground. With the last of her reserves she lifted herself and Lee from the ground. The bones kept sprouting like trees in a forest. When it was done, the entire field looked like a forest made of bones.

"Thank you Gaara-chan. You have saved me again. Your abilities are truly quite impressive."

"My pleasure Lee-kun. Thank you for revealing so many of his abilities."

Suddenly Lee's eyes went wide Gaara sensed an attack and spun around on her sand cloud rammed her elbow into the side of her opponents face. Lee followed up with a spinning heel kick and broke Kimimaru from the bone he was coming from. He crashed down hard on the ground. Gaara set Lee and herself down beside him. Kimimaru was starting to cough up blood and Gaara walked over and looked at him.

"I can stabilize you and bring you to the Leaf. Then Nee-sama will cure you, but only if you accept her offer, otherwise you will die here."

After another coughing fit Kimimaru looked up weekly.

"I… I accept the…"

He was cut off by his coughs again. Gaara gave hime a blue pill and then sealed him inside of a stasis seal.

"Let us head home, Lee-kun."

"Of course Gaara-chan."

With Naruko

She ran off after Sasuke.

"Sasuke, Mikoto-san has asked me to bring you back home. Please turn around so I won't be forced fight you."

Again Sasuke ignored her, laughing madly. She kept following him until a place she was very familiar with, due to Kurama's memories.

'Kaa-chan, do you remember this place? Do you remember him?' she thought viciously.

'Yes, Musume, I remember. I can even still smell his rotten chakra all over this Valley. And now you are fighting one of his descendants. Just like Senju Hashirama and he fought all those decades ago, now you have to fight. Kami-chan sure has a weird sense of humor. You, a descendant of Hashirama, Sasuke, a descendant of Madara, and me. Some form of poetry there. But let us concentrate on the battle ahead.'

'Yes, Kaa-chan.'

Naruko continued after Sasuke. He finally stopped atop of the two figures standing in front of each other by the waterfall. Standing on the head of Senju Hashirama she looked at the Uchiha ´, who stopped atop the head of Uchiha Madara. Naruko had to suppress the urge to growl and destroy the statue.

"You finally stopped running. May we please go home now, Sasuke?"

Sasuke stared at her. Her eyes widened when he turned around. He was in his first stage of the Cursed Seal.

"I see… So Orochimaru gave you his gift again. Do you realize what damage that thing does to your body? Not to mention all the trouble I went through to bring back your mother. Do you know how distraught she is? If you do not come back on your own free will, I will make you, by Force!"

"Fight me, Naruko. For real."

"If that is your wish I will give you this fight."

Naruko vs Sasuke

Sasuke charged in a dash and struck at her with a wild flurry of punches and kicks. He struck blow after blow with all his might, but no matter what he didn't land a single hit. He kept on going managing to get past her guard with a powerful blow to the stomach and threw her over the edge into the waterfall. Naruko let herself drift a little and then sent a clone to the surface while she was drawing on the Sea Serpent blood, allowing her to breathe freely under the water's surface.

"So, now that you have me drenched me in water, what are you going to do now?" the clone said.

Sasuke let loose a barrage of Shuriken and Kunai forcing her to dodge behind a boulder. She was rather impressed, the awakened Seal that Sasuke now carried seemed to have increased his general abilities tenfold. The projectiles came at her at the speeds of what she normally encountered only at ANBU training. While she was musing she felt a sudden stinging pain in her shoulder. She looked at it and saw a Kunai sticking out of it. With a slight flinch she pulled it out and walked out in front of the boulder.

Moments later another group of Shuriken sped towards her, only to pass by her. Seconds later she realized that there was wire attached to them. The shuriken spun around her and the boulder and within instants, she was hanging by the wire.

Stoically she looked up at him, seeing the markings of the Cursed Seal retreat. Then something caught her attention. The air was suddenly filled with a stinging smell. She took another breath and realized it was Kerosene. She looked back at him and saw he had finished the hand seals for a Katon Jutsu. The flames raced towards her and ignited the flammable fuel the wire was soaked with, intensifying the heat threefold. When the flames died down, all that was left was a burnt husk.

"My… The Uchiha and their Katon, It's the representation of every single Uchiha's soul, is it not? The flame is a direct representation of an Uchiha's will and until they can use Katon, they are not seen as a full member of the Clan. I remember an Uchiha, Uchiha Shisui, telling me this. He actually was one of the few people in the entirety of the village, who could actually think in a straight line. But a little word of advice, you can't win this fight by killing clones."

"Hmpf… As if you would know anything about fighting. I am an Uchiha, an elite. And now that I have awakened my birthright, there is no way I could possibly loose. I will show you the true power of the Uchiha."

He activated his Sharingan and charged. Naruko created a few clones and charged as well. Thanks to the enhanced reflexes given to him by the Sharingan, Sasuke was having little to no trouble keeping up with them and slowly but surely he was pushing them back. He managed to dispel the clones and pushed the original over cliff with a powerful kick. Sasuke jumped after her and delivered a series of kicks to her mid-section, successfully planting her into the ground.

He landed and waited. Slowly Naruko got up and brushed off the dust. Then she charged, Sasuke was hard pressed to match her, but thanks to his Sharingan and the Cursed Seal, he was slowly growing accustomed to her movements and started to overpower her, pushing her onto the river beneath the waterfall and towards the falling wall of water.. Naruko noticed his change of ability and was musing over the possibilities.

On the one hand, she could just release her seals and tap into her full power by going into her true form. This would end the match and finally let her go home to rest. But if she did that, she would never be able to analyze the Cursed Seal in action. She could maybe even recreate it, with less fatal side effects. She could maybe even try out her latest technique. It was her ultimate trump card.

Naruko activated her Orion'aigan and soon she overpowered her opponent. With the increase of speed of her reflexes Sasuke was having a harder time to get punches through her defenses. He started to speed up and soon even the Orion'aigan was not enough to keep her from being hit. In order to get some distance Naruko did a substitution and waited a distance away. Sasuke destroyed the substitute, and leapt away on top of the statue of Uchiha Madara and started to build up chakra in his hand. Soon the unique sound of chirping birds could be heard and the chakra in his hand started to look like lightning.

'He's actually serious about killing me, isn't he? For him to use that Jutsu… This should turn out to be quiet interesting.'

She started to form a spinning ball of chakra in her hand and slowly started to make her way up the river. Sasuke started his descent and crashed into the water at incredible speeds. The impact resulted in a rather large fountain of water, from which he emerged running at top speed. Naruko was now also running restraining herself to only match Sasuke's speed. In the center of their paths they met and let their Jutsu collide.

"Chidori! /Rasengan!"

The two Jutsu crashed and exploded. Both Naruko and Sasuke were thrown back. Seconds after impact Naruko was back on her feet, watching her opponent. Sasuke was also getting onto the water's surface with his Cursed Seal activated. He charged at her. Naruko returned the favor and started running as well with a few clones behind her.

With the power of the Cursed Seal, he swiftly dispatched the clones and started to pummel away at her. Blow after blow was matched with an equally powerful counter. With a surprise chop to her throat he managed to stun her. He held her by her throat and then struck. His Chidori striking her through the chest. Thanks to her swift acting she managed to make him miss her heart and other vital organs by millimeters.

She deactivated all of her seals and her Henge and force him to let go of her. Then with her Youki she healed her wound.

"My… You sure are taking this seriously. So I will show you the power of a true nightmare."

Seconds later she was on top of him throwing a flurry of punches and kicks, pressing him hard to even dodge her. She kept increasing her speed and soon she smacked him away into a rock face. He emerged standing strong and charged again.

Naruko instantly noticed something had changed after that last hit. She sent a few clones to fight him and analyzed his every move. When her clones were beaten, she attacked. In a split second standoff she briefly glanced into his eyes. There it was. Sasuke's Sharingan had matured and now glared at her with three tomoe.

Again she attacked, this time letting herself go until she was equal on Sasuke's level. She started hammering away at him and managed to get a few blows through his defense. Then with a barrage of fast kicks to his chest and head she was slowly pushing him back. With a final kick she sent him flying. He impacted hard against another wall of stone.

'Kaa-san, I need all my power for this battle. Please let me know as soon as the strain becomes too much.'

'Of course, Musume.'

Naruko's chakra cloak grew thicker as she watched Sasuke.

Slowly he got back up and charged again. Naruko met his charge with one of her own. Running on all fours she evaded his attempts to keep her at bay. The few balls of fire that did hit her were absorbed by her cloak. She got close to him and started using her Youki in conjunction with her attacks, leaving Sasuke both hard pressed for any kind of counter attack and extremely confused.

Suddenly Sasuke found himself being caught and pulled back by an immense orange hand. He then found himself flying back into a wall of rock, courtesy of a very painful fist to his face. As he got up, he activated the second stage of his Cursed Seal. The seal changed his appearance turning his hair grey along with his skin. On top of that he now also had a pair of hand shaped wings sprouting from his shoulders.

They charged at each other delivering one punishing blow after the other, only to be blocked by the other. They split apart once more and stared at each other. Both of them started preparing a Jutsu. Sasuke his Chidori and Naruko her Rasengan. However, with the increase of their power the forms of the Jutsu changed. Sasuke's Chidori changed from blue to grey and Naruko's Rasengan turned purple in contrast to its usual blue. They jumped at each other and met, their respective Jutsu colliding and clashing, forming an intense ball of energy that engulfed them both. Then it exploded sending a wave of energy in every direction. When the glow faded, Naruko and Sasuke were both falling. Naruko managed to slow her descent by spreading her arms and legs apart and maneuvered herself over the Uchiha. When the hit the ground, Naruko rammed her elbow into his chest, effectively knocking him out. Slowly and very painfully, she got up and looked to the heavens. It had started raining a few moments before and with a deep sigh she looked at the unconscious form of the Uchiha.

"And so, history repeats itself, ehh Kaa-san?"

Kurama said nothing as she watched her daughter sit down next to the Uchiha.

"You know Sasuke… I think it is about time we had a talk with your brother."

She looked at the sky again and got up. She grabbed the downed Uchiha and slung him above her shoulder. After that she started the trek back to the Hidden Leaf.

"There you are, Naruko. You had me worried there for a second when we felt that energy wave," Shikamaru said relived.

"I told you, she would be fine," Nagai Ha said with a little relief in his voice as well.

"Though you do look like you were on the wrong side of Kami's wrath."

"I feel like it too," Naruko groaned.

"Yes, but even though you are quite a lot happier than you should be after a fight such as the one you just came out of," Mara said critically.

"Well, we once again managed to foil the plans of the Man of the White Snake. On top of that, the little parting gift I gave him the last time he visited us is turning out rather amusing. It seems that losing both of his arms is causing him quite a lot of trouble."

"And what of Sasuke?" Kakashi asked.

"He seems to have matured his Sharingan and might also have awakened Mangekyo Sharingan. Though he must be treated once again for the Cursed Seal. This time however, it will be quite a lot more painful."

"Alright we can deal with that when you are all fully healed. Haku has prepared a room at the hospital for all of your platoon."

"Good, then let us return to the village."

They nodded and started to make their way to Konohagakure.

A/N:

Aight, took a bit longer than expected, but here it is. I hope you enjoyed.

Jutsu/Translations:

Ninjutsu:

Sabaku Soso = Sand Waterfall Funeral

Ryusa Bakuryu = Sand Waterfall Flow

Sabaku Taiso = Sand Waterfall Imperial Funeral

Sabaku Kyu = Sand Binding Coffin

Kagemane no Jutsu = Shadow Imitation Technique

Doton: Kekkai: Doro Domu = Earth Release: Barrier: Earth Prison of Magnificent Nothingness

Hanta no Geijutsu: Ya no Ame = Art of the Hunter: Rain of Arrows!

Taijutsu

Hakke Rokujuuyon Sho = Eight Trigrams sixty four palms

Hakkesho Kaiten = Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation

Gatsuuga = Fang over Fang

Misc.:

Kage Bushin = Shadow Clones

Konoha no Kiiroi Senko = Konoha's Yellow Flash

Shikotsumyaku = Dead Bone Pulse

Kaiten = Rotation

Henge = Transformation

Chidori = One thousand Birds

Rasengan = Spiraling Sphere