Ok, here's the newest chapter. Sorry, I felt like I had to provide some closure so this is kind of slow and also I didn't just want to go on a team eight drought. Hopefully you enjoy this chapter though. The next chapter should be posted up soon. Thanks for reading and don't forget to review.

I don't own Naruto in any way shape or form, but if I did this is how it would go.

LEAVING THE BATTLE

Jiraiya and team eight had covered decent ground. He decided it was time to stop for dinner and take a break before continuing. He came to a stop at the next clearing and signaled to Shino and Hinata to stop. He dismounted his frog and waited for Hinata and Shino to do the same. Jiraiya noted that Shino was not as worn out after each leg of the trip. He was impressed at how quickly Shino had began to use the gourd effectively and was conserving chakra. He walked over to Shino and commented on this. "I see you are conserving your chakra with with the use of the gourd. Were your insects really consuming that much chakra?" He also asked.

"I never really noticed. They have always been with me so I was used to it, but now that they are beginning to get used to the pattern I'm asking of them the difference is quite surprising." Shino said. He thought about it and realized the truth to his answer. He also thought about how he would have to work out a better schedule for his insects once they had more time. Probably when they stopped for the night Shino would communicate with them to see what the best solution would be for a permanent basis. He himself was still getting used to the gourds weight and the straps feel around his chest he tugged on the gourd's strap for a little bit and then asked Jiraiya. "So is this a normal stop or are we stopping for dinner?"

Jiraiya thought Shino's answer made a lot of sense. Jiraiya never had to deal with that type of situation so he could only imagine Shino's situation. He nodded his head and answered Shino. "Yes, I think it would be a good time to stop and eat. It's best not to eat right before we sleep so we'll eat now and this will be our last long break until we set up camp for the night. Don't worry, we'll find a good spot later on to make camp." He then looked over at Hinata who had dismounted her frog and was sitting down. He decided to go see how she was doing as well.

Hinata was rubbing her thighs and was absorbed in her own thoughts. She didn't notice Jiraiya walk up behind her and jumped a little bit when he spoke to her. "How are you feeling Hinata. Are you having any problems?" Jiraiya asked, he noticed her rubbing her legs and was genuinely curious as to if she was having no problems riding.

She let out a sigh and saw no reason not to tell Jiraiya. "My muscles are feeling a little tight. I was having a little trouble at first because I was gripping Tenma's vest and it moved a lot so I used a lot more energy trying to stay balanced than I should have." Hinata should have seen that problem right from the very beginning, but she felt her mind wander and it took her longer than it should have to find the problem. It wasn't until after lunch that she began to focus on the task at hand. She reasoned with herself that she had been worried about Kiba and Jiraiya's relationship and it put her mind at ease once again after her talk with Kiba. She told Jiraiya what else was on her mind. "My leg muscles feel a little tight and I'm worried that I might be sore tomorrow." She wanted to say she felt like such an idiot, but she didn't want Jiraiya to think bad of her.

Jiraiya listened to her and found himself liking her manner and way of talking. A soft smile formed on his face as he began to speak to her. "Don't worry about that Hinata." He got down on his haunches and began going through his pack. "I have an ointment that will help with the muscles. I'll give it to you now. You just have to apply it before you go to sleep so that it can seep in while your muscles rest and help them heal. It should really help." He pulled out a small bottle and handed it to her. "One more thing Hinata, don't feel bad if you're not riding perfectly. Riding frogs is not something easy, you're doing a great job." Hinata blushed a little bit as she took the bottle.

"H-hai, arigatou...Jiraiya-san." Hinata was not used to getting compliments and it felt a little awkward having Jiraiya-sama giving her one. She couldn't deny that it did feel good though. She focused on the bottle in her hands hoping that Jiraiya didn't see her blush, much less comment on it. However Jiraiya seemed not to pay her much attention as he was already getting up.

"No problem Hinata." He was turning around to leave, but he stopped. "Did you have a talk with Kiba earlier?" He didn't turn around.

Hinata couldn't tell what his tone implied. She started feeling like maybe she did something wrong. She knew it would be best to be honest though. "H-hai." She said hesitantly now gripping the bottle tightly not knowing what to expect.

Jiraiya turned around with a fake pained expression on his face. "Why would you do such a thing? Don't you have any faith in me? Do you know Naruto? I dealt with him for three yrs." He stuck out his hands towards her and put up three fingers. "Naruto, I mean there's no way in hell Kiba could be worse than Naruto. For three yrs. I dealt with him!" Jiraiya let out a sigh of relief. "Thank god that ordeal's over with...what was I talking about again?" He touched his finger to his lips in a thoughtful mood. "Oh yeah, well thanks for talking to Kiba. It will make it easier to deal with him. Speaking of which he's almost here so I will have to have a talk with him as well." With that said he turned around and left her alone. Hinata had no idea what to think. Jiraiya-san was weird she thought to herself. A thought suddenly crossed her mind as she watched Jiraiya leave. 'is this what Naruto thinks of me I'm not weird though. I don't think so anyways. So that means tha Jiraiya-san isn't weird either.'

Hinata explored that thought further and realized that the reason that Naruto may have thought she was weird was because he didn't know her well enough. A smile spread on her face and she whispered to herself. "Arigatou, Jiraiya-san, I think I had an epiphany thanks to you." Jiraiya began to set out the food. Hinata put up the ointment and went to help him, she felt much better now. As she was about to help him, Kiba appeared.

He was running next to Akamaru and as he transformed to his human form he loudly said. "So what's cooking, old man." A vein popped up on Jiraiya's forehead, but he didn't respond. He instead began muttering to himself. Something about three years.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

That bastard. Kisame thought to himself. I'll find him and kick his ass soon. Kisame had been in a foul mood after he had his fun cut short. He and Itachi were sitting miles away from where the Konoha shinobi were. Itachi was still on his little mission while Kisame's anger rose as he replayed the way he lost in his mind. Nobody laid hands or feet on him like that and lived. He remembered catching a glimpse of the girl, but had forgotten about her in the heat of the moment. He didn't mind her killing his host as much as he was pissed at that thick eye browed, skinny, no style, bad hair cut bastard. Oh how he wished he had used more chakra so that he could have toyed with them longer. He was thinking about going after them himself right away, but there was the issue of dealing with Itachi afterwards if he did, and if the rest of Aketsuki found out it would be even more troublesome. He took out his sword and began swinging it furiously in an attempt to relieve his frustration. Not only at that Konoha ninja, but also at Itachi for taking so damn long. He looked at Itachi and yelled at him. "Hurry the hell up so we can do something already!" Kisame was still fuming a few moments later when he heard a sharp intake of air. He looked at Itachi as he clutched his stomach with his arms. However the moment quickly passed and Kisame had to wonder what caused him to clutch his stomach like that. "Welcome back. What's the word?" Kisame asked.

Itachi wondered the same thing. He had cut the connection between him and the host at the last moment, but his chakra had felt the impact of Naruto's punch and felt something beginning to happen to his stomach. He struggled to understand what it was that had happened. He remembered sending his chakra into Naruto's mind, but for some reason it had been cut off. Itachi had never encountered that before and tried to penetrate whatever barrier had sealed Naruto's mind to try and extract the information he wanted. His attempts had been unsuccessful however and that is when Naruto retaliated. As he went over the events in his mind he knew that the Kyubi had had a major hand in what had occurred. "Nothing concrete, we have to monitor Naruto more closely though. It appears there is a lot of information we have to gather on his relationship with the Kyubi." Itachi relaxed and stood up calmly. "My encounter with him raises a lot of questions." He said.

Kisame put his sword up and scrutinized Itachi. He never knew how much information Itachi held back. As he looked at Itachi though he could tell that Itachi wasn't withholding any information. He found this interesting, extremely interesting, but he knew better than to push the subject. "That's interesting, we have much time to figure it out though. Maybe that is why we were told that the nine-tails is the last youma we would pursue. Makes me think our leader knows more than he lets on. Don't you agree?" Kisame didn't like conceding that he followed somebody else and always used the word with a hint of venom. However he could not deny that he was impressed by the scope of the leaders strategic talent. Until this recent turn of events with the one-tail everything had gone off without a hitch. Even this though was being taken care of though. Kisame put this out of his mind though, it was useless to worry about things he could not do anything about.

Itachi listened to Kisame's comment. Even though Kisame wasn't always the smartest in the group he had nailed something he said right on the head. "You may be right. He may know much more than he leads us to believe. Yet all our our goals in one way or another go hand in hand. Once we accomplish our missions...nobody knows what will happen." Itachi looked at Kisame and waited until they made eye contact. "Or would you like to share your plans with me?" Itachi knew no answer was forthcoming, but it was no waste of energy to ask.

Kisame chuckled a little bit and looked at his partner. "Maybe later. I will tell you this though, I should have used more than 35 of my chakra on the host. I wouldn't have lost had I had a little bit more chakra. How much chakra did you use?" Kisame asked.

Itachi answered. "I don't think it matters how much of my chakra I would've used. I would have always been at a disadvantage because I didn't know what I was dealing with and even at full strength I don't think I can compare to the nine-tails."

Clever as always, Itachi, Kisame noted. You evaded the question with ease. Kisame raised his eyebrows however at the information that Itachi revealed. This was information he hadn't heard before. "So you encountered the Kyubi?" Kisame asked almost enthusiastically.

"I'm not sure, but I do believe his presence was there." Itachi answered.

Kisame was eagerly awaiting elaboration and when he saw none was forthcoming he changed the subject. He rubbed his head and said. "So how about Sasori's jutsu. It was very impressive huh? I never thought that I would feel the host's pain through the chakra, but it was amazing having that kind of control over his puppet."

Itachi concurred by nodding his head. His mind went back to the cave where Aketsuki met and their meeting with Sasori right before they left.

FLASHBACK/ Itachi and Kisame approached Sasori in the cave. Itachi spoke first. "I assume you know where we're going. Do you have anything that will assist us?" Itachi asked.

Sasori turned to look at Itachi, debating if he should help them. "The desert is a huge territory and I'm sure you can find them on your own." Sasori observed Itachi to see if he showed any reaction, but Itachi was glacial as ever. "So I am to assume you want something that will make your endeavor easier?" He asked. Itachi nodded. Sasori smiled and continued. "I do have something I've been working on that may be of use if you are interested. Are you?" He asked.

Itachi did not trust the smile on Sasori's face. "What is it?"

Sasori looked crestfallen, "I take it you're not interested in the help I have to offer then." Sasori was beginning to turn away from them when Kisame spoke up.

"We're interested, just tell us how it works and we'll give it a test run." Kisame said. He didn't trust Sasori either, but this an opportunity to see Sasori's talents. Kisame also knew that Sasori's methods were effective though. He did not feel like letting this opportunity pass, regardless of what Itachi thought. Itachi however put up no objections.

Sasori turned around to face them once again a gleam in his eyes. "You'll enjoy this then. I have... puppets scattered around that I've been working on and they may be closer to your prey. I mean targets. I could let you use them." Sasori said.

Itachi quickly asked. "What's in it for you?"

Sasori responded almost innocently. As if he was shocked at the accusations. "I wouldn't think of charging comrades like that. What do you take me for?" Sasori paused to see if they responded to this, when they did not he continued. "Now that you mention it though. "I haven't had the opportunity to use them in a serious mission so this would be a good time as any. If you are successful and my puppets survive... I would only want a report on how they worked. Any kinks, noticeable drawbacks, things of importance that would help me in furthering my techniques." His eyes narrowed as he spoke and looked at the two shinobi. "However, if for some reason the puppets did not survive, the information would still be owed along with a favor to be paid at a later date. Nothing big just a favor that pops into my mind later. I'm not asking too much, or am I?" Sasori finished.

Itachi and Kisame thought about his offer seriously. Sasori was a worthy opponent, but he knew he could not force them to do something for him. Criminals though they may be a debt is a debt and loath it they would, but they would pay what was fair. Also, if the puppets survived their would only be minimal compensation required. After a little while Itachi spoke. "We accept." He said. Kisame nodded his head as well.

Sasori had then given them instructions on how to control the puppets with their chakra. He explained how it was an advanced technique based on the chakra strings. It was much more complex though and the complete effects of such an operation were yet unknown. He then had them put a percentage of chakra into a device that transferred it directly to the puppets. He had told them how they could cut off the flow of chakra and start it back up and said that they should put in as much as they wanted so that they could transfer that amount to the puppets. Once all their dealings were done and they were about to leave Sasori called to them. "Don't forget our arrangements. I would hate to have to remind you later." With that they left./ END FLASHBACK

"Yes, Sasori is quite the genious. It seems that the next time we see him we'll be in debt to him." Itachi thought about it and spoke to Kisame. "I think he used us though. Not only did he have us perform the experiment, but he also earned a favor."

"So now what?" Kisame asked. "Should we go after them and complete our mission." He asked hoping for an affirmative.

"There's no reason for that. We accomplished our mission. We wait until somebody gets in touch with us and let's us know the next step. Until then we are free to do as we please. Except engage our targets directly." Itachi looked at Kisame guessing what he wanted. "So we can't risk going after his friends for now either. That would almost certainly result in engaging with the nine-tails and at this proximity we may risk engaging with the one-tail as well." Itachi finished.

Kisame wanted to poke a hole in Itachi's argument, but knew Itachi had the reason this time. "I guess my little revenge can wait for now. I won't be denied forever though." With that they turned around and walked off into the desert. Leaving our story for now.

PREVIEW

Can our heroes make sense of what happened and move on?

RSO'S

reikage-sama - No problem. Thanx for reviewing.

narashikamaru- Thanx, I had fun coming up with this chapter. There are alot of things that I didn't include. I didn't want to be to hardcore. I'm glad you feel better though.

danny- well after reading this chapter you should know Itachi didn't die. You're slacking Danny I thought you would have caught the changing of the face Kakashi saw right before Itachi kicked it, or should I say his host. You gotta respect the nine-tails man. IT'S THE NINE-TAILS. Sorry... I just think he's awesome, yes it will be a he and he will play a big part in my story. Thanks for the review though, hopefully you'll enjoy the future chapters more. I really value your comments and would hate to...you know stop seeing them. Sorry, not to good with explaining what I mean sometimes, but I try.

dragonman180- Sorry, Itachi's not dead. I dunno, I never said he could control Naruto's body, remember had it not been for Itachi's jutsu the fox could not exercise that much control. I'm glad you liked the last chapter though.

causeiambetta- Thank you. Not for hating me, for the compliment. lol. Well, I didn't have Itachi get his nuts kicked in so your idea is still pretty original. lol. Ummm...I hope you don't cut yourself on my behalf.

acrazygirlofmanynames- yeah, sorry I had to do that to your favorite character. but kyubi needs to play too. Thanx for reviewing.