Thank you for the reviews I've gotten so far. They're not many...but they've kept me inspired enough to continue with this story. I hope that I can live up to your expectations and continue to make a good tale.

Disclaimer: I only WISH I owned Naruto.

Chapter 4: Meetings

Forest, somewhere in the Fire Nation:

Sasuke was speeding through the forest at top speed, nimbly jumping from tree to tree. He was glad that he'd kept up with his training, otherwise it would've made tracking down whoever did that to the village he loosely called home for the past few years a lot harder.

He wasn't sure he was heading in the right direction but…he had a hunch. There wasn't anything back in the village to give him any concrete evidence as much as there was just this feeling that this was the right way to go. He needed to find some answers. He just had to find out what happened to Zashi and the other villagers. He had to get vengen-. No…this was about revenge. It was about- "Justice…"

'I remember passing through a village on my way to Karashin a few years ago. Maybe I'll find answers there.'

The village of Suikozu…

"Something bad happened here. Real bad. And whatever it is…it's got Akamaru all freaked out." Kiba was crouched down next to his trembling canine partner, trying to calm him down. He rarely ever saw Akamaru this frightened. "Yes, I agree…my insects are rather agitated as well. Very strange, indeed. Neji, can you see any survivors?"

Neji was already looking over everything within his range of sight with his Byakugan, and coming up empty. "Nothing at all. It's strange. No…wait. What's that?" Kiba looked up from Akamaru, "You got somethin there, Neji?" "I do. It's faint, but there is a small amount of chakra in the air about 500 meters northwest. Let's go" Kiba and Shino nodded and took off along with Neji.

Hakani…

"What the hell is this? I've never seen anything like it!"

A circular seal was drawn into the floor, however the markings weren't of any origin that either Naruto or Kyuubi were familiar with. The one thing that was for certain is that it was used for some strange ritual. That much was evident from the amount of blood that was splattered everywhere. It coated every surface in the room. "I dunno, Kit. But whatever it is, this is the source of that evil I was talkin about. Bleh…and so's that stink! Doesn't mix very well with blood, either." The fox was wishing that his nose wasn't so sensitive right now. "Well that's helpful! Gee…and here I was just starting to think that you were the all-knowing fox demon that had all the answers. But nooooo. For all his infinite wisdom…he can't actually contribute anything useful." Kyuubi growled deeply at his partner's insult. "If you'd shut your trap for 5 seconds you might learn something, brat!" Sticking his nose to the floor he began sniffing the blood that coated the room. "Hmm…2 weeks." Naruto scratched his head, puzzled, "Huh?" Still looking around the room, "Whatever happened in here, happened 2 weeks ago. I can tell by the smell of the blood. It's at least that old." "Whoa…you can't tell that just by smelling it? How's that work? No-nevermind, don't answer that. I really don't wanna know." "Heh heh. ….?!" (sniff sniff) "Shit! Get out, Kit! NOW!!

Suikozu…

"Ninja Art of Beast Mimicry: Fang Over Fang!" Kiba and a transformed Akamaru propelled themselves in high-speed spins at the mysterious figure. Twin whirlwinds circled the strange hooded man, clawing him over and over again. Spurts of blood sprayed from each new cut the duo made on his body leaving the man with numerous wounds all over his body as they skidded to a stop on either side. "Good job, Akamaru. Now let's finish this!" The large dog barked in response. Both Kiba and the canine charged at full speed. Kiba jumped to the air, cocking his hand back to send a claw against the man's throat while Akamaru kept low to the ground, aiming for the back of his knee. At the moment of contact, the man disappeared long enough for them to pass by harmlessly then reappeared to grab the two by the ankles and slam them into each other. Afterward he spun them in a double giant swing before releasing them in opposite directions. "Too easy…" Kiba grinned just as the shadow ninja felt a sudden pressure on his midsection that turned into a searing pain. The assassin's wire that Kiba and Akamaru had looped around his body as they crossed paths cut cleanly through the man's abdomen and cut him neatly in two. "RRaaahhh!!!" The man evaporated in a blaze of black flames as he screamed his last scream.

Neji was hard at work attempting to pin his opponent down. This was proving difficult as he was a specialist in close quarters combat, yet the one he was fighting was adept at launching distance attacks, keeping him out of range. Worst of all…he was fast. Damned fast. If it weren't for his Byakugan being active he would have been in serious trouble. Fortunately for him, he had Shino for backup. He would appear just long enough to release a dark fire jutsu then disappear out of sight again, only to have his attack counted by Neji's Eight Trigrams Palm Rotation. Neji knew that he could probably catch the speedster off guard if he used the Large Palm Rotation but he saw something that the man was obviously oblivious to.

"Eh?! What? C-Can't...MOVE!"

'It sure took you long enough, Shino' Neji thought as he saw the confusion in the ninjas eyes.

He couldn't understand it. One minute, he's running circles around this pale-eyed freak and the next he couldn't move a muscle.

"Wha-what did you do to me, you bastard!?" he screamed at the Hyuuga genius. His only response from the young man was a smug smile that did nothing but infuriate him.

"He didn't do anything. I did." Shino came walking out into plain view. "All he did was keep you occupied while my insects covered your body unnoticed. It took a while because of your speed, but I finally managed to get enough on you. I then commanded them to use their stingers like acupuncture needles to hit the right nerve clusters to cause complete paralysis."

"Now, its time you started answering a few questions" Neji was calmly walking towards the man, the smile never left his face.

"And we'd better like the answers, freak" Kiba had come up behind the man, cracking his knuckles as he walked.

"Indeed." Shino said as he adjusted his glasses.

Hakani…

Kyuubi ducked right as a bolt of black energy whizzed past and melted a hole into the side of the house behind him. The hooded figure casually lowered his hand as the smoke from his attack made a trail. "So…you are the legendary Kyuubi, the Nine-Tailed Fox, eh? I am not impressed." He turned and released another black orb towards the fox. "Hehe…you ain't seen nothing yet, freak. DIE!" Kyuubi disappeared from sight and instantly appeared in the air above the black cloak. "Kitsune Flame!" A wave of fire was sent hurtling down with a swipe of the fox's claw and engulfed his target. "Gotcha! …What?" The flames split as the figure flew skywards at the demon with his right hand shrouded in darkness. "Nice trick, but not good enough, creature!" he said as he aimed his shadow attack at the chest of the kitsune. Kyuubi managed to twist himself in midair enough to catch the man's wrist in his jaw and bit down hard, tearing into his flesh and crushing bone. He then drew up his hind legs and kicked the man with both feet in his torso, ripping his arm clean off at the bite and sending him crashing to the ground while Kyuubi flipped backwards and landed on his feet. "ICK! PLEH!" Kyuubi spit the half an arm out of his mouth as soon as he touched land. It's gonna be a long time comin, till I get your nasty taste outta my mouth." When the dust settled, the man was in the center of an eight foot crater with a missing right hand and deep cuts on his chest. He wasn't getting up anytime soon.

"OW!" Naruto grabbed the back of his head from hitting the wall. At the same time, Kyuubi winced as he felt the shock of pain shoot through his own head. Naruto shook the cobwebs out of his head just in time to see another one of those strange black energy spheres launched at him. "SHIT!" He barely managed to scramble out of the way as it blew a hole in the wall where his head was just at. 'Whew! Too close!'

"Hahaha. As much as I enjoy seeing you squirm, Uzumaki, I tire of this game. I'm going to put at end to that little privilege you call breathing!" He began charging his hand for another attack. 'How'd he know my name?'

"I don't THINK SO!" Came a voice from behind him.

"Hmm?" The shrouded figure turned just in time to get a foot planted in his face. His own attack fading from loss of concentration.

Naruto couldn't believe his eyes. It couldn't be him. It just couldn't be.

"S-Sasuke? But…how? I thought I'd-"

"Now's not the time, Kit. That kick didn't put'im down for the count so we still got work to do."

"He's right, Naruto. We can get into the rest lat-"

"Heh…so another decides to rush to his doom. No matter, I will just have to kill the-WHAT!" He was interrupted by a strange rumble coming from under his feet.

A pair of hands emerged from the ground, grasped the man's ankles, and pulled him down until only his head and neck were visible.

"Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu."

Sasuke recognized that jutsu, and the voice that came with it.

Kakashi appeared next to the mostly buried man, followed shortly by Hinata landing next to Naruto.

"Sorry we're late. We ran into a little bit of trouble ourselves getting here after you sent up your signal flare." Kakashi apologized in his normal cool tone.

"Are you alright, Naruto?" Hinata was busy looking him over, checking for any wounds or internal damage.

"Not…really. I think I hit my head too hard, 'cuz I'm seein' things." Naruto raised his hand and pointed to the walking dead man, Sasuke Uchiha…and then passed out.

"Naruto!" Hinata caught him and cradled him in her arms as he fell. 'What was he talking about?' She thought as she turned to look at where he had pointed to. '..!! Is that…?'

"Time to leave, Asaki…we're outnumbered and we can't afford to die here. Not yet."

The one-handed figure appeared beside the buried man, placed his remaining hand on top of his head, and caused the both of them to vanish in a black pool of shadow.

"Tch! Damn! Back to square one already." Sasuke cursed as he resheathed his sword. It was then he felt the uncomfortable stares directed at him. He looked around to see who all was here. 'I know one of them is Kakashi. Naruto is unconscious…how did I ever lose to him? Hmm…dark hair, pupiless eyes…must be that Hyuuga girl. But who's growling at me?'He turned to lock eyes with a rather large, red dog. 'Haven't I seen that thing somewhere before. Red eyes with fur to match, nine tails…wait! NINE TAILS?!' "WHAT-WHY THE HELL IS THAT THING FREE?" Sasuke joined Naruto in the world of the unconscious.

"Well…this is certainly an interesting development, isn't it?" Kakashi was scratching the back of his head. Hinata could only nod dumbly.

A while later…

"Oh man, talk about your crazy dreams. Ow! My head hurts…must've fallen off the bed again." Naruto held the back of his head as he sat up. The first thing he saw when he woke up was a worried Hinata. "Are you ok, Naruto?" He nodded, still trying to clear his head and straighten his vision. "Yeah…I'm fine. But man, Hinata…I had the strangest dream. We were in this empty village fighting some really weird looking ninja…and I saw-" He took stock of his surroundings. He was lying on the ground in a strange village. He could see signs of a battle: damaged walls, pot-marks on the ground, Kyuubi and Kakashi were standing off to the side. They were inspecting something. No, wait…it wasn't something, it was someone.

"Is…is that…?"

"Yeah, Kit…it is. Don't ask me how…but it is." The fox moved aside giving Naruto a clear view. It was the man he thought he'd killed 4 years ago. His hair was a bit longer than he remembered, and his clothing looked like something out of a bargain bin but, it was definitely him.

"Sasuke… But how? He should be-"

"Dunno...I can't make heads or tails of it either. By all rights, with our combined power, he should've been worm food…but here he is. And it gets even stranger than that."

"Whattya mean?"

Kakashi was checking out Sasuke's shoulder. "The curse mark he got from Orochimaru isn't there anymore…at least not completely. All that's left is a scar where it used to be."

"And I don't smell that dark chakra from him anymore, though his own chakra reserves seem much higher than normal. Leftovers, I'm guessing."

"Uuunnnhh…where am I?" Sasuke groaned as his eyes slowly opened. After a few good, hard blinks, he finally focused on a silver haired, one-eyed ninja, only to take a sharp inhale of breath as he felt the tip of a kunai at this throat. It took only a moment to regain his composure and stare straight into the eyes of his former sensei.

"I've already died and come back once, Kakashi. It probably would've been better if I'd stayed dead. I don't deserve to keep living after the things I've done. So if you're gonna do it…do it."

(POW!!!) "BAKA! THE SASUKE I KNOW WOULD NEVER TALK LIKE THAT!! SO GET YOUR HEAD OUTTA YOUR ASS AND STOP FEELIN SORRY FOR YOURSELF ALREADY, YOU STUPID JERK!!!!!!!"

"Ooooowwww! What the hell, Naruto? What's the big idea hittin me like that?? You coulda KILLED me…AGAIN! And after I came along and SAVED your ass at THAT, LOSER!!"

"SAVED ME?! Oh yeah…right! I had the guy right where I wanted him! If you hadn't shown up when you did, I woulda creamed him big time, NO SWEAT! MORON!"

Kakashi, who somehow ended up some 5 feet away flat on his butt, stared in awe at what he'd just seen, or didn't. Naruto had come out of nowhere and gave Sasuke a punch to the head that would have made Sakura proud. Hell, it would have made Tsunade proud. But…he didn't use the Fourth's Hirashin technique…it was pure speed. The wind he kicked up knocked him way over here and the kunai he had in his hand went...Kami only knows where that thing went. Following the dust trail backwards, he saw a dumbfounded Hinata still holding her hands where they rested on her husband just a moment before. 'Whoa…that was fast. When did he get that kind of speed?'

Kyuubi couldn't help but chuckle to himself. Some things just never change. A few years ago, these two were literally at each other's throats trying to kill each other, and now here they were, arguing back and forth like a couple of kids. True, this time was slightly different as it was the Uchiha boy that had a lump the size of the Hokage monument on top of his head, but still. The speed, however, didn't surprise him…much. He knew that there would be some side effects from the merger, but he hadn't really expected them to start showing up so soon. Funnier still…the brat hadn't even noticed what he did yet.'Dense to the end, Kit. Haha'

'Where…Where did Naruto go? He was just here and then he disappeared!'

"And how in the hell are you still alive?!"

'He was just lying right here. I just know he was. I felt him under my hands'

"Nevermind that…why is that thing running around free like it OWNS the place?! I thought it was sealed!"

"N-Naruto?"

"I asked you first!"

"Naruto!"

"So what?"

"NARUTO!"

"Huh?" Naruto turned to look at who yelled his name. It was Hinata, still sitting in the same place she was before he decked Sasuke with a strange look on her face.

"H-how did you g-get over there? I didn't even see or feel you move. At least I don't think I did."

"I…I…I don't…know."

A/N: Sorry this chappy took so much longer to get posted compared to the others. Having fight scenes in your head and actually typing them out to sounds even remotely exciting are 2 different things, as I've discovered. Probably gonna have to work on that. That...and I'm still trying to work out a few things in my head...namely the antagonists. They're gonna be Shadow-based ninjas, for sure...but that's about as far as I've gotten. I can't think of a group name just yet. Hopefully...I'll have that worked out by the next chapter or 2. I'm also open to suggestions for their name too...so if you got an idea...HELP!

Also...I'm not really sure that I'm 100 sure I like how this chapter turned out. So i beg you...REVIEWS! Suggestions...Ideas...ANYTHING!