*Obligatory 'I don't own Naruto so please don't sue me' header*

Transformation Arc:

Chapter 2 - Search and Rescue

"Alright, Pakkun, what do you know so far?"

The ninja hound looked up at Kakashi, and then at the rest of the group assembled in the lobby of the Hidden Sand's medical facility. "Well, I've detected the scent of Gaara. He's heading east, towards the Land of Fire."

Kakashi spoke again. "And what of the two Akatsuki members that took him?"

Pakkun shook his head. "I can't smell either of them. Either they're really good at hiding their scents, which I find hard to believe, or they aren't human."

"Aren't human?" Sakura looked at the dog with her mouth agape. "Just what the hell are these Akatsuki guys anyway?"

"I don't know, but it certainly isn't good."

"What is it?" This time, it was the anxious voice of Neji. He could tell that there was something that the dog was leaving out.

"Well, as you all are probably aware of by now, I'm a ninja hound." Pakkun looked around the room at all the faces that seemed to be screaming 'We already knew that… and?!', and continued speaking. "I am primarily trained for searching out scents, but there's something else I can search out as well."

Gai, clearly rearing to go and test the strength of his youth, stared at the hound. "Well? What is it? Spit it out already!"

"Chakra. I can sense chakra," Pakkun sighed. "You just couldn't let me build up the dramatic reveal, couldn't you?"

"Unfortunately, Pakkun, we're on a tight timescale currently." Kakashi spoke first, before Gai could get another word in edgewise.

"Right. Well, in addition to Gaara's already monumental chakra, I sense a chakra far more massive and evil than that of the One-Tails."

"Only two? But how could that be? There are three of them out there, including Gaara!" Lee quipped, with a determined look that rivaled his sensei's.

"Well, honestly, because it's the only one I could sense between the two Akatsuki members. This chakra is so enormous that it blots out almost all others in the area. I can only sense Gaara because of the One-Tails, and even its chakra is just a droplet compared to this other guy's." Pakkun looked up at Kakashi. "But that's not the worst part. The worst part is, I recognize that chakra. Only this time it's much, much bigger than I remember."

There were several gasps of shock, before Gai spoke again. "What? You recognize the chakra?! Does that mean that you know the identity of this mysterious second kidnapper?"

Pakkun looked back up at Gai. "No, not for sure. Because the chakra I'm sensing is the Nine-Tails'."

"That's impossible!" Sakura exclaimed. "The Nine-Tails died along with Naruto almost a year and a half ago!"

"Actually, no it's not. Tailed Beasts are not living per se – they are sentient chakra beings that can be reformed in the event of the death of their Jinchuuriki," Kakashi responded. "If I remember correctly, the same thing happened to the previous Mizukage, who happened to be a Jinchuuriki. Rumor has it that the Three-Tails that was sealed within him has reformed somewhere in the Hidden Mist."

The old woman known as Chiyo nodded in the back, listening intently. "Yes, I recall hearing that as well."

"So what does this mean? That the Nine-Tails has returned and is actively assisting the Akatsuki?" Neji looked at both Kakashi and Pakkun with narrowed eyes. "That doesn't sound like something that the Nine-Tails would be willing to do."

"You're right," Kakashi replied. "I personally believe that the Nine-Tails reappeared somewhere and was subsequently sealed within another Jinchuuriki."

"What?" This time, almost everyone in the group jumped. This was startling news, if it happened to be true.

"Yes. Judging by the fact that the Akatsuki started out their assault on Jinchuuriki with Gaara, who houses the One-Tails, I assume that whatever they are planning to do with them requires them to be acquired in order, from least number of tails to most. Now, this is only hypothetical, but I'm guessing that the Akatsuki found the Nine-Tails first – and rather than trying to keep it locked away, full sized, for an extended period of time, they instead chose to seal it away in one of their own members until such time that they can properly deal with it."

There were a few murmurs of agreement, before Pakkun spoke up again. "But Kakashi, the amount of chakra that's being spewed into the air from this… new Jinchuuriki… is massive – much, much more massive than the amount I sensed coming from Naruto when I saw him last."

"That's true. I'll bet that the seal they are using to keep it in check isn't nearly as powerful as the Eight Trigrams Seal that the Fourth Hokage used on Naruto – so it's not quite as good at holding back all of that energy. Lord Fourth was an expert in sealing jutsus, so either the Akatsuki didn't know of the Eight Trigrams seal, or, more likely, they knew it was short term, and chose a weaker seal on purpose."

Finally, Pakkun nodded. "Alright, I think that's a reasonable assumption." Murmurs of agreement came from the rest of the group, before the ninja hound spoke up again. "Regardless of origins, I know where they are. They're about two days out at full speed, and I can take you there."

"Alright then, lead the way," Kakashi nodded, as the Leaf ninja and Chiyo ran out the doors of the hospital and out into the windy desert twilight.

"We're almost there! Come, comrades! Let us push ourselves to the limit in order to achieve our goal!" Lee called out from ahead of the group. Everyone sighed, even Gai.

Kakashi shouted ahead. "Lee! Wait! If you push yourself any harder, you'll be useless in the upcoming fight against the Akatsuki!"

Lee froze immediately, crashing through the tree branch he was about to land on like a drunken rhinoceros. "You are most correct, Kakashi-sensei! In fact, We must not push ourselves to the limit in order to achieve our goal!"

"Finally, he gets it," moaned Sakura, as she jumped down to make sure that Lee was alright.

But the fall didn't seem to faze him at all. "ONWARD!" he shouted, and jumped back up to the trees.

Neji, for once in his life, partially agreed with his green-clad partner. "Actually, Kakashi-sensei, I believe that we can probably pick up the pace a little bit. We've been travelling for a day and a half – if we have any hope of catching them before they arrive at whatever destination they are heading towards, we need to move quickly. More quickly than we have been."

Kakashi nodded. "You're right. We need to hurry. The longer it takes to get there, the more difficult it will be to rescue Gaara."

"There's no need," Pakkun stated from the front of the formation. "They've stopped. We'll be there any moment now."

"Wonderful!" replied Chiyo with a hint of venom in her voice. "I can't wait to see my grandson again. It's been a while."

"Oi. Sasori," called out a child's voice. It was laced with a deep growl, and a deep malice, and gave off the illusion of two voices speaking simultaneously – one young and high, and another dark and low.

After several moments, a gruff and gravelly voice replied. "You sense them too?"

The two Akatsuki members stopped, and leapt down into a clearing that they had spotted below, cloaks billowing behind them.

The short and hunched man unraveled what looked to be a scorpion's tail, and the captured Kazekage hit the ground with a loud "thump".

"Yes," replied the child. "We're being followed."

The short man's face smirked underneath his masked face. "Hmm. So we are."

"They should be just up ahead! We need to be careful now, as to-"

BOOM!

Kakashi's words were cut short as the forest in front of them vaporized almost immediately in a massive explosion that consumed all in its path. A few hundred yards from the Leaf ninja erupted a massive mushroom cloud; one that plumed into the bright blue sky like a virus, infecting the happy and carefree world with pain and overwhelming power.

The seven ninja and ninja dog were blown backwards into the forest from which they came. After the initial shockwave, the blast itself approached quickly – but not quick enough, as Kakashi weaved a few hand signs and slammed his palms into the ground as he and everyone else slid backwards.

"Earth Style! Mud Wall!"

A huge mound of earth adorned with the faces of several ninja hounds erupted between the flailing shinobi and the blastwave – for a moment, it looked like the wall would hold. But a split second later, another wall appeared behind the first, just as the explosion broke free from the old wall and continued on its march of destruction.

After another moment of fire and flame and noise, the blast receded, and all that was left was the far-off sound of thousands of birds taking to the skies and fleeing from the danger.

Sakura gasped and coughed, having had the wind knocked out of her as she was blown backwards into a tree. 'Wh…what was that?'

Hinata struggled to her feet, and immediately came to the aid of her cousin and his sensei. Lee crawled out of a trench that his own body had dug into the ground as he was blown backwards, and stumbled towards his teammates, holding his left arm tenderly and wincing every time he took a step.

Kakashi jumped down to meet them, never taking his eyes off of the mud wall that stood between them and what was undoubtedly a scene of charred forest. His sharingan was exposed, and his guard was up. This was it. The Akatsuki.

"As impressive as always, Kyuubi," came a chuckle from atop the wall. After two or three heartbeats, a short, stout silhouette appeared on the top of the wall, looking down on them. "Although next time, please give me more warning. I barely had time to shield the One-Tails."

Another series of heartbeats. Now the entire shinobi rescue team was focused on the wall. Sakura moved towards Lee, and began healing his wounded arm.

"It's a shame, really," came another voice. This one was strange – Sakura knew the voice was from a child that was several years her junior, she could tell by the way he spoke. And yet it was also a voice that could have come from the depths of hell itself. "I thought I'd take out at least one of them by the time they got in range."

Sakura immediately turned back to the wall, just as another figure joined the first.

A cloud moved in front of the sun, blotting out the blinding light that shielded the identities of the two Akatsuki they found before them. Finally, the team could get a decent look at who they were up against.

On the left was an almost round man – on the front, his head stuck out like a haphazardly placed afterthought on a festival costume. A jet black cloak was wrapped around him, in perfect condition, speckled with blood red blotches that resembled the shape of clouds. On his head was a straw hat that extended a good solid foot in all directions from his head, with tweed strands dangling from the rim. However, the man's face was not obstructed from view. They could see two beady brown eyes looking back at them, and a mouth covered by a piece of fabric. However, they could tell by the glare of the man that he was… smiling.

The boy on the right was a completely different story altogether. His cloak was ripped and ragged and smoldering… 'No doubt due to the jutsu he just cast', thought Sakura. The left shoulder and sleeve of the cloak was completely missing, revealing a sizeable portion of his chest and upper body, and the right shoulder had seen better days. The torn and tattered edges flapped about in the wind, revealing more of his skin. All across his body were deep gashes and cuts – many the length and width of a full sized arm. Underneath the cuts was a dark red, crimson orb of energy – Sakura had almost mistaken it for blood before realizing that it was moving, flowing. On his head was an equally singed straw hat, very similar in size and shape to his companion's. However, his head was pointed down, looking at his feet, which were covered in (what used to be) white stockings that wrapped around and under his black shinobi sandals.

The mud wall began to collapse back into the ground, and the two Akatsuki rode it down as it fell. As they descended from their perch, Sakura noticed that the short one on the left had what looked like a scorpion's tail sticking above his head, pointed menacingly at them. She looked back over at the one on the right, trying to deduce who, or what, he was. All she saw was a lock of orange hair stick out from a hole in the top of the hat that billowed around in the wind as much as the rest of his apparel did.

Chiyo, who had been mysteriously missing since just before the explosion, landed amidst the Leaf shinobi, and glared in the direction of the two cloaked shinobi. "Sasori. It's been a while."

The short one chuckled heartily before responding. "Ah, grandmother. I had a feeling that you would be among the 'rescue group'." He hissed the last words mockingly, never turning his eyes away from Chiyo.

"Indeed. Once I heard that you were one of the assailants, I just had to see my grandson again one last time… before he died!" She stuck her hands in her robes' pockets, and withdrew two small scrolls. "It's been a while since I've needed to use these – it's only fitting." A slight chuckle left her lips as she opened them both and swiped her already bloody thumbs across the summoning seals in one fluid motion.

In a puff of smoke, a pair of puppets that looked uncannily human appeared before her. Her fingers were now outstretched, and small, nearly invisible chakra strands connected the puppets to her. She wiggled them slightly, and the two figures contorted into attack positions.

"The Mother and Father puppets? How archaic," chortled Sasori. "I expected better from you, Granny."

Chiyo smirked and jerked her fingers forward, urging life into her puppets. "Not necessary!" she shouted as the Mother and Father launched forwards, brandishing various weapons.

"ENOUGH!"

A massive red hand whipped around from behind the yet unnamed Akatsuki, which obliterated the two puppets instantaneously. Weapons and chunks of wood flew in all directions, and all that remained of the puppets was two ash marks on the forest floor in front of them.

It slowly retracted back to the child, as he fumed. "We don't have time for children's toys. We need to move on, the sealing begins at sundown."

Hinata gasped, as Chiyo simply frowned menacingly at the boy. But it was Sasori, not Chiyo, that spoke first.

"Children's toys?" He turned to his partner. "My art is forever! No child could ever hope to grasp the concept of everlasting life and power!"

"Shut up, Sasori," growled the disheveled character. Sakura shivered as she heard him talk. It was creepy – two voices from one mouth. "We do this my way."

The puppetmaster grumbled back, before turning to face the ninja yet again.

The pink-haired kunoichi grimaced as Sasori's companion sighed with faux relief. "That's better. Now stay in your place. I can handle this alone."

'That voice…' thought Sakura. 'It sounds pretty familiar.'

She heard Hinata gasp to her right. She turned to look at him, and she was frozen in shock and terror at the boy in front of her.

Sakura returned her gaze to the two as the mysterious one began to speak in double yet again. "The One-Tails is no longer any of your concern. This is a matter between Tailed Beasts, and I don't intend to allow any of you kit to interfere with the inner workings of a force that is more powerful than anything you can ever possibly admit to even just barely understanding."

Hinata began sobbing. 'Is she really this scared? I understand her fear, but I've never heard her cry like that in front of an enemy before.'

"Just who are you, anyway?" came Kakashi's voice in front of her. "You call yourself a tailed beast, but you are clearly a human. Perhaps a Jinchuuriki, but still human."

The 'Tailed Beast' broke out into a loud and crazed bout of laughter. "HA! Maybe before. Maybe in another time. But now?" His hand reached up to grab his straw hat. His fingernails were grown into long, dark claws, and on his ring finger was a large blue ring. Even on his hand, holes poked through his skin and a bright red swirling energy force peeked out at them.

He grasped the hat and began to tug. "I am Kyuubi, the Nine-Tailed Fox!" He tossed the hat aside still looking at the ground and shielding his face from the group. A crop of messy orange hair burst into view. There were chunks of hair and flesh missing from the top, and more of the mysterious chakra was oozing out there as well.

"That's impossible! You're only a child!"

The orange-haired figure only laughed harder. 'Wait… I know that voice for sure.'

Hinata began mumbling, still crying and trying not to break down completely. "It can't be… I-It can't be…"

"I think you'll find that you're the child, Kakashi-sensei!" roared the boy, finally looking up and staring at them with his large, red, slitted eyes.

"Wh-what?" Sakura heard her sensei whisper. "What did you call me?" But she wasn't paying too much attention. She was, instead, focused completely on the now exposed face of the boy in front of her.

There was no denying it.

It was him.

"N…N…Naruto!?"