Welllllll I laid some stuff out last chapter, so we're gonna be spending a lot of time doing that. I didn't think a lot of these chapters would be as long as they are, then again covering the kind of ground I'm trying to do does that...

Oh yeah, my laptop was also off the grid for about... a while... the motherboard decided living was overrated and died on me, so I had to fork over about $300 to get it fixed. Anyway, no more problems now! Very very very sorry I haven't updated, but this time, when I say it, I mean it: updates will come quicker!

ONE THING I WANNA SAY! If at any point in the chapter you may think "Wtf? That doesn't make any sense there's no way this could happen." (Trust me you'll see what I mean in a second.) I will explain at the end of the chapter. :)

Chapter 9

Knock knock

"Enter."

The door creaked open, and Tokaku stepped inside.

"Sir." he saluted.

"At ease, I'm your brother first, remember?" said back the man standing in front of the window, facing outward.

He lowered his hand to his side and gave a small chuckle. "Right."

"How is he?"

"Just as much of a spark as he was back then."

"I see, he's still with the Akatsuki then?"

"Yes. I'm sorry, Tensei."

Tensei turned around from the window. He was an older man, like his brother Tokaku. His hair was short, combed and parted to the side, most likely to accommodate his attire. His Iwa headband and his flak jacket assumed his rank was at least Chunin, if not higher due to his age and longevity of service. His hair was graying, a dark blonde, almost brownish color, blending in with the grays of his hair. His eyes were a hard brown color, most likely build up from the years of fighting. His age was clear, but there was still a very rugged edge about this man; he could still fight with the best of them if one simply looked at him. The side of his vest had a patch that said Iwagakure Tokusentai.

"He's always been that way. Just like his mother."

"I'll get another search out-"

"No. It's fine."

"But Tensei-"

"I have other arrangements planned. I think the Mizukage would appreciate it since less of her men are leaving the village and not coming back. Especially her hunters."

"What will you do then?"

"I'll find him myself." he sighed. "I haven't had a day off in 36 years. I've got the days built up, I'll find him and bring him back."

"But your health-"

"I know. I'm not fooling anyone, Tokaku, it will only keep going down. I'm just going to talk to him, maybe he'll listen to me." He sat down in his chair, examining the crisp and clean desk in front of him. On the left was an old picture. A gorgeous woman with dark brown hair and blue eyes sat under a tree on a bunch. In her lap was a young boy with wavy blonde hair at a medium length. Her face was lit up in happiness, as was the boy with his hands raised up high in the air.

"Go back to Kiri. I'll handle it."

Tokaku was hesitant, but he knew it was the best thing to do. Heeding his brother's wish, he bowed before exited the room and making his long journey back to his village.

(Flashback)

"Daddy, look!"

Years ago, a younger and much more stressed Tensei sat at his personal desk in his home writing a report on a mission he had completed to turn into the Tsuchikage.

"Not now, Deidara, I'm busy."

"But I drew a picture! I gave one to Mommy, and I have one for you, too."

Tensei said nothing as his mind was quickly engrossed in his work. The hours got longer, the missions were even tougher, and the Tsuchikage never accepted lateness or excuses. The pay was excellent, only if you were the best, and serving in the Iwa special forces put more time in the field, and even more off of it. The family was divided since before the child was born.

Deidara finally got right next to him, his picture held in front of his face as he held it next to his father. "Loooook!"

Finally out of frustration, Tensei turned and smacked the picture out of his son's hands, tearing the picture vertically in half. "I told you I'm busy!"

But he quickly saw the error in his decision as he turned to see his son kneeling down next to the picture. What it was, a picture of him in the middle of his mother and father, holding hands. Deidara was drawn slightly closer to his mother. What it is now, is simply one half of a picture where Deidara stood with his mother, and his father stood alone.

"Son. I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

He could never finish his sentence, as his son broke out crying at the hurt he received from the man he once looked up to. Not even a second later, he ran the way he came, leaving the picture behind in its two respective halves.

"Deidara!" he called. But he was gone.

(End Flashback)

"I wasn't a good father back then, and even now... still not." he said to himself, reacting as he heavily coughed into his hand that caught it just in time. He pulled a small cloth from the top of his desk, wiping his hands off, a slight layer of crimson laid on top of the cloth as it slowly was absorbed into the material.

Will I even have enough time to say I'm sorry?

X X X

This place... it's so much different from the other places I've been to. Trunks thought as he trailed behind Hidan, Kakuzu in the front as they just made their way past the border into the Land of Lightning. It was beautiful, although the greenery in the Land of Fire had it beat, its own unique geography and highland climate gave it is own appeal that was signature to every nation around it.

"Life was so different back then, I mean, now." he said out loud.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Hidan asked, turning his head to the side.

"Oh, nothing, sorry, just thinking out loud."

"Right..." he turned his head back to the front, groaning in the typical annoyance Kakuzu expected when he was going to ask for how close they were.

"Hey Kakuzu-"

"We'll be there by morning at this pace." he interrupted, already knowing what the Jashinist was going to say.

"WHAT? The morning? Fuck!" he whined. "Hey Trunks, can't you like, fly, or some wacko shit like that?"

"Huh?" Trunks glanced at him, taking his eyes from the distance he was gazing upon. "Well, yeah, but I have no idea where we're going. Besides, I'm pretty sure if we did they'd just see us."

"Which is exactly why I didn't ask you from the start." Kakuzu added in, keeping his head facing forward. "Hidan, you could learn something from him."

"Screw you, man! I was just trying to make the job easy!" he snapped back.

"We'll stop here tonight."

"What? The sun is still the fuck out!"

"Your unfamiliarity with the terrain is obvious, and equally dangerous." Kakuzu pointed out. "The forest we're approaching is known as the Forest of Vacuums."

"Why's that?" Trunks asked as the group stopped, everyone now facing each other.

"Not too long after I escaped my village and joined the Akatsuki, the Third Raikage found a clear shortcut to his village that would drop right into the heart of the city. Fearing invasion, he and the elders of the village set up a permanent jutsu that acts as a deathtrap to anyone who tries to enter."

"Well, what's it do?" Hidan asked, annoyed.

"It's quicksand. Every inch of the forest sucks in anything and anyone who touches the ground."

"Ah, that's bullshit!" he scoffed. "Sucks in anything? Why the fuck are there trees then?"

"The jutsu doesn't kill anything native to the forest. You'll see deers and birds walking through the forest, as if it were authentic. The moment you enter, however, is when the trap is sprung. It was a trap like that that made fighting Kumo so treacherous, one of the things the nations never mention because no man has made it back from it."

The three looked at the large wide gathering of trees. It seemed like any other forest, birds chirping, the patting of deer feet skipped over the grass. Nothing was wrong with this forest, if you didn't know anything about it, that is.

"We'll set up further up the hill." the masked man directed. "If we walk through the night, we'll have no time to rest once we reach Kumo itself. The jinchuriki is quite powerful."

"Yeah, yeah." Hidan mocked his partner as he laid his scythe against a tree, sitting down next to it himself. "Man, I'm beat."

Trunks sat down on the other side of the scythe, laying his head on the back of it. Hard to believe I'm still so far back... Then again, back home isn't nearly as beautiful as it is here.

X X X

The next day came quickly for the three Akatsuki. Picking up an early start, food was grabbed along the way from the berries off certain bushes. After hours of walking, groaning, and complaining by Hidan, Kumogakure was finally within site.

"You have not fought a jinchuriki, have you, Trunks?" Kakuzu asked, still in the lead with his face headed forward.

"No, not that I can think of."

"Oh man, you're in for a real damn treat." Hidan added. "This guy, the Raikage's brother, he's the Eight-Tails. Real badass, he tore up four of our guys pretty badly from what I heard."

"Huh..." How strong is he, though? It's so hard to sense powers this far back... but the Illusive Man was pretty serious when he said he could give me a hard time. But I don't want to kill him either... His gaze met with the back of Hidan's head, Kakuzu closely ahead of them as they crossed over a small wooden bridge. They seem pretty intent on taking this guy back to be sealed... How can I do that without blowing my cover? These guys don't know what's going on... Great, I hate playing spy.

X X X

"Lord Killer B. They're here."

B sat cross legged in the direct middle of the village, his sunglasses giving him the look he may have been asleep, but this was not near the case. Since the last attack was made by Sasuke, the Raikage had greatly increased ANBU security on the borders. Lucky for him, they had seen the Akatsuki coming since the other day, giving the entire village plenty of time to evacuate to the appropriate areas.

Bowing, the Kumo Jonin quickly left, making his way back to an evacuation area to lend any aid he could to his fellow villagers.

And B... B waited.

X X X

The scratching sound of three sharp nails tugged through the ground as the sound grew every second, finally coming to a deaf halt. Kakuzu stood to the left of Hidan, who was in the middle, Trunks a more spaced out right.

"Look at that." Hidan started. "They went and left the poor sap right for us. Isn't that nice, guys? I guess they realized how bad we fucked up that other bimbo and didn't want us to get messy. Good call."

B sat still, letting zero emotion show. Trunks tried to feel his energy, finally hitting a stump on his level. He was strong, but not strong enough for Trunks to transform. Which was a sign of hope for him, he wasn't sure if he would even be able to do it.

The entire village is empty. Kakuzu thought to himself. Kumo prided jinchuriki in their possession. It was a sign of power to them... letting one sit here like this... It's a trap.

"So what do you think, Kakuzu? Should we-"

The moment he spoke, B was gone. Too quick for him to react, the jinchuriki was already just inches away from Hidan, two swords drawn in each hand as they were held up ready to deliver a lethal blow, even for the immortal himself.

"Get down!" Trunks yelled, yanking on Hidan's sleeve as he pulled him out of the way and behind him.

The blades cut in a straight X formation, B nimbly catching himself and turning left as he swung at Kakuzu. The Akatsuki bent backwards, catching his wrist and flipping the jinchuriki over, only for the flip to work against him as B grabbed Kakuzu, tossing him away.

Before he could chase after the thread-user, a double-edged sword came mere inches from his face as B barely backflipped in time away from the sword. When he finally saw in front of him, a young man with long lavender hair stood before him, his sword glimmering in the light of the sun as his harsh blue eyes cut into him.

I can't believe I'm saying this... Gotta play the part. "Eight-Tails... you're mine!"

Trunks took off straight towards B, gliding across the ground as he cocked his arm back, swinging the sword with a killing swipe- but it was blocked! The jinchuriki stopped the blade with ease with one sword, taking no time as he swung into Trunks with his free arm, the Saiyan barely dodging it as he jumped back.

But B was quick to retaliate, jumping straight to Trunks as the two engaged in a lethal and agile combination of swings and hits, each one demonstrating direct precision, but not enough to break through either person's guard.

B swung his left sword to Trunks' head, which he easily blocked and parried away with his own sword, both jumping back.

This guy's good... he definitely knows how to use his weapon, but I can't fool around with him.

"Alright!" Trunks shouted as he flew towards B, his sword ready to cut cleanly horizontally. "What do you say we get serious!-"

That was more than likely the worst time to say it. Just as Trunks was about to bring his sword into motion, he stopped.

What... is he doing?

Not taking the battle seriously from the looks of it, Trunks watched as B wrote down in a small pocket book, concentrating only on that.

Finally, the jinchuriki glanced up at Trunks and smirked. "I just came up with the best line I've made yet."

"The best... what?"

"YEAH! CHECK THIS OUT!" B shouted as he jumped away from Trunks, assuming an awkward pose. "Big scary lavender boy, I'm gonna play with you just like a big ol' toy. Coming into my town again with me and my shinobi brothers? You Akatsuki motha fuckas! I showed y'all once, I show y'all once plus more, cause Killer B ain't lettin' you settle NO SCORE! YEAHHHH!"

"..." Trunks was speechless as a large ball of sweat came over his head.

"Man!" Hidan yelled away from the two combatants. "No wonder this guy's so strong! He fucking sucks ass at rapping and has to devote his life to training! Boo!"

B grunted in irritation. "Listen here, dumb silver-hair boy, you think you coy, but you just a scared little boy. You think yous got sex appeal, but you just mad cause ya Jashin ain't real! OH YEAH!"

"THAT'S IT! THIS GUY IS FUCKED, MOVE, TRUNKS!"

Hidan bursted straight towards the jinchuriki, pulling his scythe back as he swung it right towards B. When the scythe came down, he was gone.

"What the hell?"

"Hidan, behind you!"

Hearing Trunks at the last second, Hidan turned around to see B's swords coming down his face in an X swipe. Just in time, he leaned back, barely dodging the swords. He countered by swinging a kick up to his face, contacting and knocking the jinchuriki back a few feet. Hidan went straight for him, swinging horizontally, only for his arm to keep going from the lack of a target to hit. B got behind Hidan again, landing a kick to the side of his head as it knocked him to the ground, knocking him out cold.

"Get up, Hidan!" Trunks called. The way he just laid there, the pain, the memories. It all flashed back to him.

Gohan... No, Gohan. Wake up, Gohan! Gohan!

Playing the part was over for him now. Seeing anyone down like that brought too much pain back, and if he could stop it, he would. Whatever the cost.

"Hey, big guy!" Trunks called, catching B's attention. "Why don't we pick up where we left off?"

He scoffed. "If that's what you want." at that moment, he unsheathed several other swords, five extras from his other two, giving him seven swords at his disposal in... interesting positions. He held his seven blades in between his left armpit and both of his elbows, right leg, stomach, the right side of his neck, and in his mouth.

Trunks couldn't take him seriously. It just looked awkward as B stood there with the swords held. "I'll give you a taste of my hook."

The moment was gone, and so was B. What the?- Trunks panicked as he sensed his energy at the last minute, right to his left. He ducked from the first swipe, only to roll back from a lower blade swinging at him. Using his one sword as primarily defense, Trunks had little time to plan for any countering attack as B left no opening. This guy. I don't get how he's using all of those swords as well as he is. Okay, I gotta step it up. Just can't- he was cut off as one of B's swords cut across his Akatsuki robe, the tip dragging through his shirt and over the top of his stomach as it left a jagged line of traumatized skin. Blood drizzled from the wound on the spot, and the sting was more than the Saiyan was expecting as he jumped back away from the jinchuriki.

Damn. That actually... hurt. he grabbed the collar of his robe and took it off, letting it hit the ground so he could better examine the wound. It had definitely cut through the skin, though it wasn't a deep slash, it had hit a key area that let a lot of blood out. And he's got seven of them. Okay, this might be my only chance, but I gotta try and transform. I know I can take him out then.

"I think it's time I stopped playing around." Trunks said, tossing his sword to the ground and gripping his fists at his side. "You ready?" his eyes cut into the jinchuriki as he still held the swords, giving no sign of backing down.

Trunks gripped his fists to their maximum as he shouted out, his energy drastically shooting up, further and further, even further than when he fought Cell, and then, he transformed, with no problems like the last time.

It was a shock to B, no doubt. His hair was standing up and going in every direction, a golden color now, and his eyes had turned green. He looked like an entirely different person, almost divine from the golden aura that cloaked around his body.

But before a new course of action could be taken, Trunks was gone when B's eyes had finished blinking. A hot knee in his back told him where his attacker had come from, though it was far too late to do anything about it. The attack knocked every sword away from the jinchuriki as he shouted in pain, knocked several feet away from where Trunks had hit him.

Trunks gave chase immediately after he saw B fly off. Taking flight, he shot right above him, balling his fists as he slammed them into B.

But that was where the trap was sprung. As the balled fists connected, B's body puffed up in a cloud of smoke, turning into a small log of wood, completely baffling the Saiyan.

A log? Wait, then where is he?

He turned quickly when he felt a huge power flare up. Up above him diagonally on the side of a rocky outcrop stood B, but something was different about him. He had produced a red aura around him, and what seemed like several tails hanging around him. Something was definitely different about him, aside from the tremendous energy emitting from him. He seemed more... feral.

That's insane! His energy shot through the roof! Have there always been people this strong, even back thousands of years ago?

There was no more time to think to himself as B charged at Trunks with an incredible amount of speed. Trunks cursed himself for not being 100% on guard after noticing the transformation. B kept his right arm held out straight as Trunks was unable to get his guard up in time, and slammed it right into his face.

"Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee! Cause I'm the Eight-Tailed beast with that attack attack, that Lariat!"

The force of the attack was astounding. Trunks was shot like a bullet right out of a gun, crashing through a tall formation of rock and exiting right out of the other side as other crashes could be heard, but he could not be seen until it finally subsided.

Good. Looks like another one hitter from my never-misser. Yeah!

B. the ox interrupted. He's coming back, keep your guard up!

What?

A second later, the formation of rock Trunks was shot through exploded, as the sky rained chunks of pebbles as the Saiyan shot out and straight towards B with a slightly bloody forehead, his left strap on his tank top had been ripped apart, hanging down his chest.

Here he comes! I know!

Trunks shot a right hook forward, caught by B and used against him as the jinchuriki spun him and tossed him away. Trunks backflipped and flew directly to him, the speed to great to dodge as one of his fists collided right into B's gut, lightly splotching the Saiyan's forearm with blood coughed up from the Raikage's brother. He caught his breath quickly as he balled his fists up, slamming it down into the back of Trunks' head, though it connected, it didn't move him. He slammed again, nothing, thrice, nothing, but finally the fourth time, his fists came down, but the Saiyan had disappeared.

What? Where'd he go? He's faster than A, need to get some focus on this hocus pocus.

The cutting of air tipped him off as he turned with his left arm, connecting it with one of Trunks' fists. Without a moment to recollect what had happened, the two joined into a flurry of lightning-fast kicks and punches. The mix of gold and red was beautiful to be seen from a distance, but the danger from the power of each made these colors rather fearful when you knew the ones who wielded such might.

X X X

"Achoo!"

"I think someone's talking about you, senpai." said Tobi.

Deidara scoffed, disregarding the sneeze as nothing more than allergies, or dust in the air perhaps. "I don't get this. We're just supposed to find a couple of abandoned outposts near Ame. When did we turn into a search party?"

"Gee, senpai, I thought you might like this. We don't have to search for jinchuriki so much anymore. I think Hidan's group is going to get the Eight-Tails, and then all that leaves is Naruto, and we're done!" then, Tobi gasped. "Wait! That means we may not work together anymore! What if the Akatsuki is disbanded after we seal up all the jinchuriki?-"

"Who cares, good riddance to the Akatsuki, yeah. Sooner we finish this the sooner..."

"Senpai?"

...Where would I even go? Deidara thought. The idea of not being tied with the Akatsuki anymore, without being held to a group he was forced to join thrilled him. It was just not having an end to his means. When he left, where would he go?

Do I really not have a home anymore besides this place? Shit, who am I kidding, I'll probably end up doing the same stuff I did before.

"Yoooooohooooo!"

"Huh?" he blinked. "Oh. Sorry, Tobi. It's nothing, don't worry about it, yeah." he held his arm out, stopping Tobi and evening himself. "Check it out."

It didn't seem like they had been walking for a very long time. But when they finally stood still long enough to examine their surroundings, they could tell they were nowhere near home anymore. The ground was soaked, clearly still in runoff, and sets of clothes laid wet and scattered around the ground going from the center of the ground to some areas of the trees to the sides.

"What... is this?" he asked, honestly horrified at what he saw. With each set of clothes was a very large hole piercing through it. Some in the shirts, in the center, or in the arm. Some in the legs of the pants. A cane was laid next to one pair of clothes, as well.

"Is this what Zetsu told us to check out? Why?" he asked out loud.

"If someone does this to people, senpai, then what if they do it to the last two jinchurikis?" Tobi replied.

"I guess that makes sense, yeah."

X X X

"Lady Tsunade. The reports are here."

Shizune stepped to the Hokage's desk and places a rather filled folder on her desk and she watched the Hokage open it and pull out different assortments of papers, photos, and small articles of clothing. In silence she waited for a few minutes as Tsunade skimmed through the reports, glancing at the pictures and pieces of clothing for a second and returning to the papers.

"So this, "thing," calls himself Cell." she stated out loud, holding up a piece of a shirt. "And it feeds on people by piercing them with his tail."

"Gaara also mentioned his ability to regenerate body parts and reconstruct himself from any serious injuries."

"Yes, I see that, there was mention of Gaara trapping him and constricting him..."

The room was filled with an awkward silence. Tsunade stared at the reports, memorized them completely by now. Shizune sensed tension behind the Hokage's eyes but decided against asking; the answer was obvious.

"I don't know what to do."

"What?"

Tsunade stood up, carefully lining the papers up and back into the folder. "The biggest threat on the planet is running loose in the streets of the Five Nations, and I don't have a damn clue on where to start."

"Don't say that, we can think of-"

"No, we can't." she spat. "I'm sorry. I need to be alone."

Shizune nodded. "Yes ma'am."

The door shut behind the assistant and Tsunade sat back down, rubbing her temples in deep thought. Nothing like this had shaken her up so much, knowing that little by little...

"Everyone is dying."

X X X

"I'm not doing this because I think you are right," the Hokage started. Far underneath the level of the village, in a darker, clamier section where the sub-section of the ANBU resided. "I'm here because I have nothing else at my disposal to deal with this. None without taking away from the village's defense in case Cell does come here."

The man kneeling in front of her kept his back to her. As he rose, he picked up his cane. A simple stick of wood with a plain handle to keep his balance. He turned back to face her, only one eye facing her, that one eye bursting with the lust for power. Hearing the Hokage beg for his help was the greatest feeling outside of becoming the Hokage himself. He was going to savor this moment.

"I see." was his simple reply. "And you believe that I have the capability to put a stop to this threat?"

"I don't know what I believe right now." she quickly shot back. "The only thing I know is less than 5% of the population of Suna is staying here in the village while who knows how many people are dying by the second. If something isn't done, ALL of us will pay for it."

The wrinkles on his face furrowed with his eyebrows. It was a logical statement, he even admitted.

"Danzo." she quietly said. "Please. I don't know what else we can do."

"Indeed. This is frustration I can understand, as it affects us all, Konoha is as big a target as Suna was."

"You want something." she spewed.

"What is important will be stopping this threat. The reward in itself will be knowing who stopped it, and how soon." the light clank of his cane tapped the stone floor as he stepped by the Hokage. "It shall be taken care of. You needn't fear."

A cold chill ran down her spine. What she had done, she had never thought she would do.

Making a deal with the devil...

X X X

Though Kumo was indeed quiet looking from the lack of people interacting, the crashing of punches and shaking of ground amplified every few seconds, discrediting the peaceful scenary.

Hidan rose up from the ground, rubbing the side of his head with a loud groan of annoyance. "Fuck! What happened?"

His next thought failed to register as a large body crashed right next to him, erupting the ground next to him as he covered his face with his sleeve to avoid debris hitting it.

A small tinted red aura could be seen in the ground. Before Hidan could look down at it, Trunks came throwing down a kick into the earth, and that small color of red vanished. The Saiyan turned his head to search for him, completely unaware of Hidan waking up.

In a blind flash, Trunks ducked his head as B's foot came inches from knocking his head off. In the same movement he spun himself around, tripping the jinchuriki over and delivering a hard kick into his back in an upward motion. The cracking sound from his back bones could be heard, but then, a quick puff of smoke enveloped the body as a small log dropped to the ground.

"That again?" he growled. "There!"

B's fist came within earshot of hitting Trunks as he afterimaged away, his momentum carried him a few steps forward, still completely unaware that a silver-haired Jashinist was watching them in complete shock.

Reappearing behind B, Trunks swung a hard kick into the side of the jinchuriki, only to be met by another substitution jutsu.

"Damn it! Quit it!" he yelled.

Trunks had a difficult time feeling his energy. It was very large, no doubt, but it was a different type of energy. Finally, at the last second, he felt something to his left. He turned and swung his fist forward, knocking B flat on his back, only for it to turn into another log again.

"What is it with this guy and logs?" he growled.

Before he could react, Trunks could only turn to see a full extended leg inches from his face. He attempted to duck, but he was too late. The leg connected right into Trunks' temple, knocking him straight to the ground and out of consciousness. His golden and spiky hair receded, falling back to its loose lavender length.

"Oh shit!" Hidan yelled. "That ain't good. New guy's out." But then his eyes twitched. Of course, something was missing from this picture. "Where the hell is Kakuzu?"

B turned and faced Hidan, their eyes in a deadlock as he held his scythe in a defensive position, ready to fight if the jinchuriki came for him, even though he felt it would do little good after seeing what he was doing just a moment.

"You want some, big guy?" Hidan taunted. "Come on, you ain't shit. I already bagged one of you guys by myself, and she was completely transformed. You better take me seriously if you want to stand a chance against me."

He was clearly bluffing, and he was almost sure B saw through it. Immortality was a nice perk, but that wouldn't help him at all if he couldn't hit him. He needed to get a close attack and get some of his blood.

Okay, time to actually think. Trunks is out, and Kakuzu's probably taking a shit. This guy's fast, strong, and nimble as hell... So how do I get this guy... Got it!

"All right, let's go! I'm 1-0 for jinchuriki's on my personal record."

B smirked. He took a small squatting position and charged straight for him, his speed near frightening as within less than a second he was almost right in front of Hidan with a fist cocked back, ready to slam into him.

And that's when the trap was sprung. Not Hidan's trap, however. Out of the ground, dozens of thick black threads shot up and grabbed B at every major limb, completely bringing him to a stand still. Right after, a familiar Akatsuki member launched out of the earth himself, his forearms and hands non existent as they funneled through the ground below him to hold the jinchuriki in place. He gave a quick kick upwards on B's chin, immediately following a roundhouse to the back side of his head, harshly snapping his head to the side and knocking him out.

B fell to the ground as the threads holding him receded and re-joined to Kakuzu, his arms connecting back as well.

"That distraction was just what I needed, Hidan."

"WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU?"

"Planning. I could not effectively attack him while he and Trunks fought. They were too fast, and their constant movement made a precise grip difficult. When you stalled him, I had time to launch my attack."

"I guess. Look, just don't scare me like that, okay? Seriously, man, that was cool and all, but you've got a bad habit of just taking off."

"Yes, I can see you are a man who has no bad habits himself."

"Fuck you."

Kakuzu looked down at the unconscious bodies in front of them. He was sure B wasn't dead, but he could not assure the same for Trunks. He stepped over to the Saiyan and held his fingers to his neck to feel for a pulse.

"He alright?" Hidan asked.

"He's alive."

"Phew. Alright, let's get the hell out of here before someone sees us."

"Indeed." he replied, walking back towards B. "Carry Trunks."

"What? Why me?"

"Trunks is light."

"Hey, screw you, man, I'm not weak."

"Carry the jinchuriki, then." Kakuzu replied, crossing his arms.

Hidan grunted as he dragged his feet past his partner to where the Saiyan laid unconscious, slumping him over onto his shoulder. "You know, I enjoy a good workout, but this isn't what I really would call dignified."

"Indeed? You had no quarrel carrying the last jinchuriki."

"Well, fuck! She was half Trunks' weight and a hell of a lot hotter!"

The small bickering and showers of explicates coming from solely Hidan continued as the two partners picked up the respective people and quickly left the evacuated village.

X X X

"All day long, nothing but paperwork." Sakura groaned to herself as she filed through a heavy stack of temporary residential forms. It was complete chaos at the hospital. Registration was slow and tedious, since most records were left behind in Suna and it was declared forbidden anyone, even the Kazekage to go back, complete re-entries were needed into Konoha's system. Something only Sakura was on duty for, as the other doctors were attending basic medical screenings.

Knock Knock

"Dr. Inuzuka?" said a voice on the outside of the door.

"What is it?" she called back, flipping through more files and keeping her attention to it.

The door then opened, as Kiyosato pushed his way past the nurse into his mother's office.

"Kiyosato? What are you doing here?"

"Sorry, Mom. The spare key's gone. Can I get yours?"

"Are you actually going to be home to unlock it when I get off?"

"Yeah, I should." he replied, taking the key from his mother and whirling it around before placing it in his pocket. "Hey, have you seen Salayna lately? I haven't seen her in a few days."

"She had another mission almost right after she got back. I saw her for a little bit. I'll be home later tonight to cook dinner."

"Oh!... Yeah, that's okay, Mom!"

"What's okay? You don't like my cooking?" she asked, annoyed.

"No!... No it's not that, I just, uh, I gotta go. Bye, Mom!"

"Arf!"

Sakura rolled her eyes as her son shot out the door past her assistant and out of the hospital, returning to her work.

X X X

This was the first mission Salayna had gone without a sensei. It didn't bother her, since her brother's friends were all on her team. Shinta and Natsuko made for an entertaining group when the fighting had always stopped. They each heavily resembled their fathers in terms of personality, making her wonder how they were when they were younger themselves.

She walked behind them with her hands in her father's old jacket pockets as the two boys argued with each other over the upcoming mission.

"You know, Shinta, you're a real stick in the mud!" whined Natsuko. "If we follow your plan that way, it'll take us forever to catch up with those bandits. We might not even catch them before they reach the borders out of the Land of Fire!"

"Time is not entirely against us. Keeping at this steady pace will make sure we're in better condition to face the enemy when we come across them."

"If we come across them! Why does granny even put you in charge? You're so slow and by the book!"

"Natsuko." Shinta stopped, getting directly in his face. "I'm the leader. You will do as I say, because I'm responsible for you and Salayna." he stoically said.

His sunglasses pierced into his own eyes. He could tell Shinta was being serious, so he just gulped and nodded his head. "Yeah, yeah no problem."

"Good." he turned around, pulling out a piece of paper and writing something down on it before handing it back to him. "We'll stop here tonight. Here's a list of things you need to get."

"What? We're stopping? It's still daylight-"

"I'm the leader, Natsuko. Did you forget that already?"

He grunted as he side-stepped away and walked into the forest next to them. As he entered the woods, he read the "list" carefully.

We're being followed. The bandits sent a scouting party to check for shinobi who may be after them. I said everything on purpose so we can draw the enemy out quicker and catch up. Oh, and bring some firewood back.

"Pfft, firewood." he said, his stomach growling right after. "Then again, that's probably the best idea. I'm starving."

X X X

"Gunpowder." Salayna said quietly to herself.

"Yes." Shinta replied. They nodded to each other as they jumped up and away diagonally in opposite directions as a paper bomb went off.

"We're being followed?" she asked as she landed down.

Shinta landed right after. "Yes. Have been all day. I guess they finally decided we were getting too close. This isn't a bad sign, it means if nothing else, we're catching up."

"Is that so?" said a voice that dropped down in the middle of them. A tall, built, rogue shinobi with messy brown hair stood facing the Aburame Hyuga mix. "You seem to have it all figured out, don't you?"

"Why else would you be coming for us as quickly as you are?" Salayna asked from behind.

"Tch. You kids are a little bit more than naive, you know that?" he linked his hands together, popping his fingers as he rolled his neck as well. "The boss didn't send me after you guys because you got too close. He sent me because we're already out of the Land of Fire. Exterminating you? Well, that's just my bonus for a job well done, you see."

Shinta said nothing, even his stance was a cool and collected one, not a care in the world. "You seem very confident."

"There's no reason not to be, kid, trust me. You have a loud-mouth pipsqueak and an Inuzuka with no nin-dog. You're probably the strongest one, so once I finish you, it'll be easy pickings for the next two."

"I see." Shinta replied. "Then I assume you already know what my next move is, since you've taken the time to analyze my teammates?"

"Ha. What's not to analyze? You're an Aburame, unpredictably predictable. No, see, I've already taken care of any problems I may have with the kikaichu. I have a certain spray, a spray one of the more well-known Aburame's developed years ago. It's a repellent that drives insects, especially kikaichu beetles away from it."

"That spray." Shinta said. "It's very rare to come across, since it is a family secret. Only members of the Aburame are found to be carrying it, if at all."

"That's true. I helped myself to a few bottles before we broke away from Konoha. The boss and others sprayed themselves down plenty, so your bugs you sent after us, which I know you did, are scattered across the ground. Dead."

"Indeed." he replied. "It's impressive you thought this through and planned it out. My father would have loved to have fought you. He always wants to fight someone strong."

"Heh, don't flatter me, kid. Maybe I will someday after I'm finished with you."

"You misunderstand me." he held his fingers up to his sunglasses. "You won't be fighting my father, or anyone else. Because I'm going to kill you."

"What? Are you nuts, buster? How's an Aburame gonna fight me when he can't use his little beetles?"

"Who said I was going to use my beetles?"

"What?"

The sides of Shinta's eyes tightened as several veins popped out from under the skin. A thin wave of air cut across the bandit's face.

"What the... No way. You mean you're-"

"Half Hyuga." Shinta said. "You failed to notice the robes. And my hair is not exactly following Aburame style, either."

"That won't make a difference! I'm still gonna carve you open, bug boy, and take those Byakugans for myself! Agghhh!" he yelled as he charged straight for Shinta, unsheathing a katana as he prepared to slash it across him. The blade connected, cutting deep down from the side of the neck into the upper area of the stomach.

"Shinta!" Salayna gasped.

"Heh. Easy. Just another silent-talking wannabe tough guy." said the bandit. "Hey, what the?-" he yelled as the body began to give a loud buzzing sound, dissolving into a giant pile of beetles.

"But, that spray!-"

"Does not work with kikaichu beetles that are from the same hive as the creator. My father, for example."

"No! No wait!" he panicked as he backed away from Shinta, who was right behind him.

Not a second later, a painfully accurate punch was delivered to the stomach of the bandit, followed by another in the same area, knocking him back.

"Two palms." said Shinta.

He spun around, delivering four separate hits this time. "Four palms."

Now working on his face, Shinta sprayed eight more fists from the top of his forehead to the top of his chest. "Eight palms."

Salayna had never seen this kind of brutality from Shinta before. He was normally very quick when he took his enemies down, but this time... something was different. He was angry, wild.

"Sixty-four palms!" he shouted, spraying his fists across the body of the bandit in non-discriminated areas.

"Shinta!" she called to him.

"One hundred twenty-eight palms!" again, pulverizing the bandit's body as sprays of blood began to come off of him and stain parts of his robes.

"Shinta! Stop it!"

"Two-hundred fifty-six palms!" came an unexpected shout from the Aburame mix as he volleyed his last attack, the final sets of punches literally destroying entire organs from the inside of the bandit's body as the final punch knocked him down to his back, completely devoid of anymore life.

Shinta huffed, exhausted from his attack. It was the first time he had attempted that high of tier in attacks. The front of his hair stuck to his forehead as he wiped it away, placing it behind his ears.

"Shinta!" Salayna called to him, running up to him and getting in front. "What's the matter with you? Why did you keep attacking? He was already dead after sixty-four!"

"I couldn't take the risk." he replied.

"Risk of what? He was dead!" she yelled.

"Do you have any idea what they've stolen, Salayna?" he shot back. "Or for that matter, who hired them?"

"What did they steal that was so important you had to go into mass-overkill?"

"Documents. Scrolls on forbidden jutsus, along with detailed journals of the user's feelings and after-effects once he or she has used the jutsu. Taking important information like this would make anyone able to counter the strongest shinobi, even develop stronger ones of their own." he leaned his face in, his pure white eyes could be barely seen behind his dark glasses. "That, Salayna, is why I went into mass-overkill. I'm not letting one bandit risk us loosing information that could jeopardize the safety of the village."

She said nothing, but backed away slowly with her head slanted down. He was right, he was always right, even if he was at times harsh about it.

A rustling of shrubs and breaking of twigs interrupted their discussion as Natsuko stepped through with a high pile of firewood.

"Hey, guys! What'd I miss?" he asked, looking around to see a dead bandit laying on his back. "Hey, you were right, Shinta. They were following us, after all."

"Indeed." he replied. "I'm not sure what he said was true, but drop the firewood. We should continue forward. Once they step out of the borders, there's no telling if we'll ever see those files again."

"Now you're talking!" Natsuko cheered, dropping the wood and heading over to them as they continued down the pathway they had originally started from.

X X X

Not even an hour later, a small stream of smoke could be seen off in the distance. Shinta stopped the group.

"Hold on. I don't have a good feeling about this. Byakugan!"

His eyes took him ahead to where the smoke was. A small passenger wagon laid tilted over on its side, one of the wheels had fallen off. On the ground laid five rogue shinobi, the bandits they had been searching for. Only, something was very off about this scene.

"Let's go." he said, turning his kekkei genkai off. "But be careful. Something isn't right."

X X X

When they arrived, the three teenagers were in complete shock at what they saw. The bodies of the shinobis, the bandits, they were gone. Out of their clothes. No bodies, only articles of clothing and a wagon that was still on fire.

"What... what happened?" Natsuko asked.

Shinta stepped forward and examined the bodies of the bandits, or rather, lack of bodies. Everything laid perfectly together. The vests were zipped up, the shirts were tucked in, even undergarments and other small items were fasted and tucked away. It was almost as if... they were sucked right out of their clothes.

This smell... Salayna thought to herself. There was a fight. But whoever won had overwhelmed them, the scent is everywhere.

"Let's find the files first." he said, standing up. "Salayna."

"They should be..." she held her breath, concentrating for a moment. "Under that guy." she pointed to one of the piles of clothes furthest from the group.

Natsuko, being the closest, lifted the shirt up from the ground and found a manilla folder right underneath it. He took it, and let the shirt fall back down, not before noticing a decent sized hole in the back of it.

"Hey, Shinta." he said. "I found the files... but take a look at this."

"I know." he replied, walking up to him and taking the folder. "They all have it."

"What do you think did it?"

"I'm not sure. But something happened here. Let's put this fire out and get back to the Hokage... I have a bad feeling being here right now."

"Yeah. Let's go."

After taking some dirt from the fireplace of the camp, the shinobi put the fire out, leaving the area and the piles of clothes behind just as quickly as they came.

X X X

"We weren't able to retrieve the actual copy for risk of any sort of suspicion." said Zetsu. "However, we were able to duplicate it down to the same ink."

"I see." said the Illusive Man. "Then it was still a success. Good work. Please, take this down to Sasori. He'll have more use for it than I will."

"Understood." he replied.

As the plant-man stepped off, he carefully made his way through the Akatsuki headquarters, making sure to not wake any of the members up. As he came through the door into the back yard, he ended on a small patch of grass in the corner, and slowly, descended into it.

When he came through, he stepped into a heavily fortified scientific laboratory. The walls, tables, the door for entry was completely white. It was clear the Illusive Man provided well for those who worked for him, as an active Sasori worked from table to table, taking notes and carefully mixing different liquids together.

Zetsu stepped through the door into a small room with another door at the end. When the first door closed, a quick beep was heard, followed by a spray of air, lightly tickling his nose.

"Decontamination complete. Welcome." said the computer as the door opened.

Sasori turned his attention to Zetsu as he just entered. "What is it?"

"The other piece to the formula."

Sasori took the folder and opened it up, flipping through the assorted pages.

"Thank you. This still isn't enough, but it will help."

"I see. Hey, Sasori. What else do you need?"

"Right now there's nothing I need. Soon, though, I'm going to need dead tissue and DNA from said dead person to test the serum. That will take some time, though, before I come to that stage."

"Understood. We will leave you then. Bye, Sasori!"

X X X

"I FUCKING HATE TREES, YOU HEAR ME?"

Trunks groaned as he rubbed his head, cold sweat sticking his tank top to his back as he sat up. "What's going on?" he asked himself.

The sliding door to the backyard was open. There he saw Hidan, kicking a big log across the yard in frustration as he shouted incoherently in what seemed to be another language, though he just assumed it was more explicates. No one he had ever met had cursed that much.

"Hey, you're awake!"

Trunks looked to his side to see Zetsu standing on the other side of the living room. "How are you feeling? You were unconscious for several hours, including the entire night, but you should be fine now."

"Okay, I guess... my head's killing me, though." he rubbed it still. "Hey, what happened?"

"Oh, well, there's bad news, and then there's worse news! The Eight-Tails knocked you out during your fight. Kakuzu was able to incapacitate him, however, it was all a very drawn out substitution jutsu. He just now released it."

Trunks sighed. But was happy, still. He didn't want anything bad to honestly happen, and his father's side gave him that stimulation of fighting a very strong opponent. If nothing else, it was a victory to him.

END!

Okay. For those of you who might be thinking "Wtf? How does B beat Mirai Trunks? Let me explain. Two things:

First, the Illusive Man still has a cap on Trunks' full power. He was able to transform this time without much trouble, but that was about it.

Two, even though B is very strong already in his version 1 form, this takes place fifteen years after Shippuden. That's a lotttt of time to train, and I honestly believe the fighting was very even, and B was able to control that last attack to knock Trunks out due to his discipline in training and years upon years of experience. No dis on Trunks, at all, just saying, anyone who had doubt, that's my reasoning. But don't worry, we haven't seen the cap on either of these two, especially with Trunks. ;)

Anyway, like I said, I'm pretty much the worst author ever to leave you guys hanging. Super duper sorry about that, but, laptop is back, I am back, and the story will get its updates much more often. This is hopefully the last time something like this happens, if anything else comes up, I'll be sure to leave some type of notice. Check my profile if I haven't updated in some time (Like, 2 weeks or so. That's a super long time to me.) and I should have something there. Anyway, hope you liked. Please review, and I'll see you next time!