Code: Disclaimer: Busou Renkin, all references to Busou Renkin, all characters of Busou Renkin, and Naruto do not belong to me.

Ben: . . .

Code: Oh my god! What's wrong?!

Ben: I'm tired of insulting you every time you say a disclaimer. (I'm not getting any reviews so I'm not motivated enough to slander you.)

Code: Oh my god! Call 9-1-1! (Help! Ben needs reviews)

Ben: Shut up! I'll strangle you!! (I can live without it!)

Code: -choke- -gurgle- -choke- (No you can't, you're choking me!)

Eheh, I just thought it was funny. CB. On a side note, the parenthesis were added after the chapter was three-fourths written, as an on the spot thing.

Busou Nin

Chapter 3: Coincidence

xxxx

"Coincidence is God's way of staying anonymous." Albert Einstein

xxxx

"Mita and Saruwatari?"a voice questioned.

"Yes," a voice of deeper stature confirmed. "The research lab has been destroyed, and we've lost our connection with the hidden Homunculi."

"Replaceable, however, the material for those Homunculi were gifts . . . from that man with yellow eyes."

"He stunk of death."

"Yes, but he was generous enough to assist me in my ultimate goal, do not forget . . . Speaking of the lab, what do you think? Renkin no Senshi, huh?"

"I can't think of any other explanation, but it's still hard to believe that one or two of them killed off every Homunculi."

"Kukuku. Is that so?" the first voice asked, laughing evilly. "Then we cannot neglect to greet them. As an added bonus, we could bring them over to . . . our side. Kukuku . . ."

xxxx

"Coincidence is the word we use when we can't see levers or pulleys." Emma Bull

xxxx

"Tsu-Tsumura Tokiko?" Okakura said, looking into Kazuki's cell phone. "Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" he screamed, his eyes seemingly shooting out a light of contempt. "Kazuki has a girl's name in his cell phone!"

"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Kazuki screamed just like Okakura, the same light appearing out of his eyes. "Okakura, you pervert!"

At this exclamation, several of the girls began whispering about this revelation.

"He's a pervert . . . Okakura-kun is a pervert . . ."

"Okakura-kun the pervert."

"Okakura-kun's a pervert."

"It's not true!" the target of gossip yelled, baring his sharp teeth, frightening the group of girls and making them back away with a fearful outburst.

"This kind of thing happens because you look at others' cell phones without permission," Daihama sighed. "When will you learn?"

Kazuki's cell phone began ringing, as did Naruto's. Kazuki answered his while Naruto continued to laze around in his seat. If both of them were to answer at the same time, then his cover would be ruined.

'Damn it, Tokiko-chan!' Naruto cursed. 'Is this for what happened today in the morning?! Ah well, you'll have to do better than that.'

"Oh, Tokiko-san?" Kazuki said, answering the phone. "Mm. I'm still kind of tired, but . . . Mm." he said as he walked down the aisle. Daihama had turned his head sideways, while Okakura's mouth was gaping, his eyes flashing red. "I'm fine, Tokiko-san."

"Huh, it looks like he really does have a girlfriend after all," Daihama commented, while Okakura proceeded to grind his teeth and glare at the brunette.

"Damn it! It looks like he's saying something about strawberries," the 'pervert' growled. "What are they talking about?"

"After school," Rokumasu told them, "they're going to meet at the haunted factory."

"You can hear?" Daihama asked.

"No," the spectacled high schooler replied, turning around from his book. "It's just lip-reading."

"Just lip-reading?!" Okakura exclaimed. "Just what the hell are you?!"

Just as Kazuki left the class to take a trip to the bathroom, Naruto's phone rang again. This time, he flipped it open and placed it against his ear, listening to her beginning rant about not picking up.

"Oh, Tokiko-chan?"

"Tokiko-chan?!" Okakura and Daihama exclaimed.

"Yeah, uh-huh . . . What?! Don't tell me that you're still angry at me!" He held the phone at a distance now, but he could still hear her shouts. "Come on how was that my fault? I already had to endure one of your grueling sessions."

"Grueling . . . sessions?" Okakura repeated, mouth ajar. "Gyaaaaaaaaaaah!"

"Okakura, you pervert," Rokumasu sighed.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll meet you there. Yeah. No, don't hurt me. Yeah, I won't ditch out on you. Yeah. Bye."

xxxx

"When you live your life with an appreciation of coincidences and their meanings, you connect with the underlying field of infinite possibilities." Deepak Chopra

xxxx

'This just proves my point.'

Naruto stood on the roof of the factory, looking down upon Kazuki. The brunette had dug graves for the remains of the Homunculi, and was praying for them. It reminded him of the time he'd dug the graves for Haku and Zabuza back during the mission in Nami no Kuni. Hell, it brought back nostalgic memories, everything from tree-climbing with Sasuke to stuffing his face out. He even had the bridge named after him, oh the joy.

It was true. Enemy or not, they were just people who had been turned into monsters and given a new line of thought. As people who had been sacrificed, they deserved to at least be prayed for.

"What are you doing?" Tokiko called out from the roof of the first floor of the factory, catching Kazuki's attention.

"Tokiko-san."

"Let's go."

"Oh, sure."

She jumped off as he neared, and the both of them entered the factory. At night time, it was scary as hell, but it seemed a lot more peaceful during the day, especially with the destruction of the Homunculi who had inhabited the building.

"I wonder . . . is it really okay to just bury the remains of those we sacrificed ourselves?" Kazuki asked. It seemed that he'd been thinking on this question for a while.

"I don't consider it bad to pay your respects to the departed," Tokiko replied, expressing her own opinion. "Besides, they were sacrificed long ago, when they first became infected. All we could do was to help them pass on."

"Indeed."

They turned to see Henge Naruto walk up to them.

"Y-You!" Tokiko shouted, pointing at him. "Why are you-"

"Tokiko-san, who is this?"

"T-This was the ally that I was told you about yesterday." She abandoned her question for Naruto. Why was he here in person? Well, only she knew about his true identity, but did he really trust her so much to not let out his secret? "Anyways, he's not that important. Let's move on."

"What about him?" Kazuki protested.

"It's fine," Naruto replied, waving them on. "I'm surveying the area, making sure there are no threats."

"Well, alright . . . Um, what's your name?"

"Hm?" Naruto said, his eyes widening a bit. "My name, eh? My name . . . is Uzuno Sarura."

"Uzu . . . Saru . . . what??"

"Never mind my name, it's not important. You have better things to be doing than talking to me. Scram."

"So, that guy aside, shouldn't we tell the police?" Kazuki asked as they continued walking.

Naruto looked on as they walked farther away, a reminiscent look on his face. The name he'd invented brought back memories. Some happy, many painful, but he dwelled the longest over the happy moments that he'd had with the short time he'd been in Kakashi's Team 7. Three years ago, that happy life had been shattered, leaving his innocence in the same state. From that point on, whenever he fought, it was usually for the kill, whether it was against Akatsuki, Orochimaru, or plain shinobi. Kazuki's innocence would eventually suffer the same fate, the fate of those who fought.

"That's not a part of my mission," Tokiko replied. "My mission is to fight. The police wouldn't be of any help anyway." The two began walking up the stairs towards the second floor. "The job that comes first for us . . ."

"Yeah!" he suddenly exclaimed. "If it's about that, well, I've been thinking about it also."

"Really?" she asked in a suspicious tone, turning around slowly.

"Yeah!" He held up a paper with a list of names. "First of all, I have to think up a cool name for my lance! Number one: Super Ultra Special Strong Muscle Deluxe! Number two: Dragonfly 2006!" By this time, Tokiko had gone from being surprised to sighing out of exasperation. "Number three: Simply, "Lance!". Number four: The Sword of Surprise! Now, which one?"

"Something like that comes last!" she growled as her presence became larger and more intimidating. "First off, we need to investigate about the enemy!"

"I even thought all these up overnight . . ."

"So that's why you're so tired," Tokiko accused, pointing a finger at his face. "Get your act together!" she barked, moving forward suddenly and making him step back, startled.

"Y-Yes ma'am . . ."

They continued on up to the second floor, where a large metal door stood in front of them. It was already half open, courtesy of Tokiko, and the two walked into the dark room. There were no windows in here compared to the first floor, with the only light coming through the door, so it was darker. There was nothing inside, save for a small metal contraption sitting at the end of the room.

"While you were at school, I went over this place," she explained, leading him to the microwave-sized device.

"Uh, this is?"

"This is the device to produce the matter of Homunculi. I discovered it while looking through the basement."

"There's a basement?"

"Oh, yes, I forgot. You and your friends don't come here, do you?"

"Not really. On another note, what matter?"

"The matter is made using living cells as its base," said Tokiko as she walked up to the device and picked up the bottle that was placed on the middle of it. "The size of the matter is about three centimeters. It's a weak organism that can't survive much more than a day, unless it's in a narrow space, like this sealed flask. However, if that 'weak' organism, or matter, attaches itself to a human brain, it'll take over the body and changes its nature into a powerful man-eater than can retain a human form."

"You mean, like a parasite?" Kazuki asked, still not fully understanding.

"It's a mix of parasites and symbiotes. While parasites need to attach itself to a host to survive, like the matter, the matter lives within the host, changing it and molding it into something stronger that can support itself in the harsh world."

"Then . . ."

"Mita and Saruwatari were both products of that change," she confirmed. "They were once both human, but was infected and turned into Homunculi by the person who created the matter. Fortunately, each individual matter affects only a single individual, but that individual will sacrifice more to feed itself."

"That means that there'll be a lot of sacrifices," Kazuki concluded.

"That's right," she again confirmed, turning around to face him. "Even knowing that many innocents would be sacrificed to be eaten, someone did the research and work to create these monsters. He or she may even have had help, considering how many there were yesterday night. As you saw, the only thing that can stop them are our Busou Renkin."

xxxx

"Coincidence, if traced back far enough, becomes inevitable." Hineu

xxxx

"You're late," Naruto growled as Tokiko and Kazuki emerged onto the roof, the third floor of the factory. In comparison to the large floor plans of the previous floors, the third floor was in actuality a small, raised platform. Instead of using the Henge no Jutsu, he had clad himself in a black cloak from who knows where.

"Are you sure you should be-"

"Yes, I'm fine," he interrupted, not letting her finish. "Everything seems to check out clear . . . for the moment."

"Are you okay?" asked Kazuki, a concerned look on his face. "You sound different."

"He does sound different," Tokiko answered for Naruto. "That big bulky guy you saw back there wasn't his real form."

"Form?! Then is he . . ."

"No!" she exclaimed, surprising the brunette. "It's a special ability that he has. He's no Homunculus."

"Well, brushing that aside," Kazuki mended, an apologetic look replacing the previous expression, "just who is it that's been making those monsters? Who would even think of sacrificing so many people, and what the hell do they gain out of it?"

Up in the sky, someone watched them from afar while Naruto hummed to himself quietly. Said someone stood on top of a large, eagle-like creature who flew slowly, slow to the point of almost hovering, over the factory. This was yet another Homunculus, but unlike the others, it looked a lot more robotic in comparison to the other animal-type Homunculi.

"A high school boy and a high school girl. The third is unrecognizable, but would probably be in high school as well," the Homunculus stated to the human on top of him. "The girl is wearing an unfamiliar uniform, while the boy is wearing a uniform from the same school as Creator. The third has on a black cloak, and his clothes are can't be seen."

"Good, good, the third one is just like he described. Mysterious, seemingly powerful, and an unknown entity. Kukuku, I shall achieve my dream soon enough, however . . . I want him."

"Shall I attack the others? I'm confident that I can wipe them out."

"No. We'll try to approach them first on friendly terms," the figure said, holding up a flask. In it was orange liquid, containing a Homunculus matter.

"What of the back up, Creator?"

"Oh, I have it. I will launch it later, when they're least expecting it. Kukuku."

"Someone who knows Renkinjutsu lives in this area," Tokiko said, meanwhile. "We can speculate about their goal, but at this point, we can't make any conclusions just yet. The creator of the matter could just be mad, or doing this for a more sinister cause."

"What we can deduce, therefore," Naruto concluded for her, "is that this creator does not consider the lives of humans as something precious. Instead, lives are something to be used and taken advantage of, for the creator's own benefit."

'Gyahahah! Hilarious. You say that, ahou, but you plan the same thing! Pathetic . . .'

Suddenly, Naruto felt a changing sensation in the wind, an air of danger. Quickly, he closed his eyes and tensed his body, feeling for changes in the air composition. This ability he had gained once he'd mastered the use of the wind element, was now put to use for the first time. In a fifty foot radius, he could feel nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Suddenly, something pierced the bubble, it was moving at high speed and aiming for . . . Tokiko!

'There!' he realized. He plunged into his cloak and to his shinobi holster, taking out a kunai and spinning it quickly on his finger until it settled into a throwing position.

Something small dropped near her neck, and Kazuki, seeing it, rushed forward, hand outstretched.

"Tokiko-san!"

"Tokiko, get out of the way!" Naruto roared, throwing the kunai.

She turned, her eyes once again changing into their dangerous disposition, caused by adrenaline. Tokiko's eyes widened slightly when she caught sight of the Homunculus matter heading straight for her. She immediately released her Busou Renkin, instinctively following Naruto's words and leaning her head forward. Just as her neck had gotten clear, the kunai flashed past, taking the matter out of the sky with it.

"The matter was destroyed," the Homunculus in the sky relayed.

"Too bad, I only have one more. If we could get along, we'd be able to study the Kakugane as well. Well, it's of no consequence. Washio . . . attack."

The Homunculus named Washio shot out of his beak several dozen needle-like projectiles, which plummeted down to the ground at an alarming rate.

"Everybody out of the way!" Naruto pulled out a scroll, an emergency jutsu scroll. It was something Jiraiya had invented, a scroll that could unleash a jutsu once unsealed. He'd been given extensive training on the subject, along with several potent jutsu already sealed inside of scrolls. He reminded himself to thank the damned pervert if he ever got back in one piece. Unrolling the scroll, he left it in the air for a split second before placing a punch on the back. Immediately, the seal glowed brightly. The punch was more than just physical – it had the scroll's certain chakra pattern attached to the punch, to activate it. The higher the velocity of the force that hit the scroll, the faster the jutsu itself would be.

'Raiton: Rairyuudan!'

A dragon-shaped lightning bolt shot out of the scroll, intercepting the majority of the needles, while at the same time flying at indiscernible speeds towards the airborne Homunculus. Kazuki and Tokiko meanwhile dodged the spines, the brunette by jumping away and the scarred one (heh) performing several back flips.

"It's coming from above!" Tokiko said aloud. "Damn! They caught us unawares."

Washio dodged the lightning bolt by a hairsbreadth, the blast singing his left wing. He flew past the trio at high speed, turning around at a distance to charge at them again. While Naruto braced himself, Kazuki placed his right hand over his heart, releasing his Busou Renkin.

"He's coming!" she warned. "Throw your lance up into the sky. With the energy of Busou Renkin, it'll reach him faster than it normally would."

"But, if I miss . . ."

"Busou Renkin are born from your fighting instincts. You won't miss. Trust me."

"All right. Pierce, my Busou Renkin!"" he yelled, reeling back and throwing the lance straight up into the air. The sash glowed golden, feeding energy into the throw and sending it roaring to Washio.

At this time, Tokiko took a few running start and jumped up as well, taking hold of the end of the sash. The lance continued its way up at high speed, regardless of the extra weight now attached.

"Dodge it!" the figure commanded to Washio, who did so by turning his flight path to the right. That was when Tokiko finally reached them, her Valkyrie Skirt already moving forward to slash.

"Do you really think that I'll let you go?!" she yelled.

"Surprising," the figure said happily. "What wonderful . .. specimens." His smile turned into a malevolent grin.

Her Valkyrie Skirt thrust their blades, but Washio turned at the last second, veering away quickly. Tokiko was left hovering for a few seconds before gravity began pulling her and the lance down, while the Homunculus turned away from the factory, intent on leaving the area, what with the danger posed to the young man on his back.

"Are you hurt, Creator?"

"Just as I thought, they're not to be underestimated. Kukuku. And that third one, he was really right. Strange, he is, sending a lightning bolt into the sky and damaging you, of all things. You are the fastest of all my Homunculi, and yet . . .

"He is a worthy adversary."

'At least we have a clue now,' Tokiko realized as she continued her downward fall. She'd been close enough to the person on the Homunculus' back to be able to describe him roughly. 'That uniform he was wearing . . . He goes to the same school as Kazuki and Naruto.'

"Tokiko-san! I'll catch you!" Kazuki yelled up to her, running forward with his arms outstretched. Unfortunately, what came down was his lance, only mere centimeters from his face. It slammed down into the ground with a loud noise, leaving Kazuki's skin white from fright. Tokiko on the other hand had used the blades of her Valkyrie Skirt to halt her fall and land safely, dismissing the Busou Renkin immediately after. Sure, he was glad that she was safe, but he was certainly not. A few anime tears appeared in his eyes as he stiffly turned around, whimpering.

"Are you all right?" she asked apologetically. She received a wordless nod as her reply.

"I almost had him," Naruto muttered. He hunched over in defeat, sighing all the while. "If only I'd been faster . . ."

He turned to look at the two who had driven away the Homunculus. Kazuki was doing well, amateur or not, though he should learn not to worry excessively over others. That was when a second Homunculus matter appeared directly in front of his face. All of their eyes widened in surprise. The matter was too close, there was no time to kill it . . .! Yet again, Tokiko activated her Busou Renkin, the blades shooting forward and blocking the path of the matter, but also cutting into Naruto's skin. The matter was sent flying into the woods below as Tokiko and Kazuki ran up to Naruto.

"Sarura, are you all right?" the brunette questioned. "That was a close call!"

"Kazuki!" Tokiko said, turning around. "I want you to go down and see if you can find the matter. Destroy it if you do."

"Roger!" With that, he ran off down to the first floor.

"Are you all right?" she asked, pulling a few bandages out of her skirt pocket. She peeled apart the covers, pulled off his hood, and placed the bandages on his face. "Jeez, you and your crazy stunts. The lightning, I mean." Tokiko went over the bandages one more time with her fingers, making sure that they would stick and not come off while he did who knows what. "Next time be more aware of your surroundings if you want to call yourself shinobi."

"I could say the same to you, Tokiko-chan, Renkin no Senshi," he replied with a knowing smirk. "I saved your ass and you saved mine. We're even."

"I think not. I still have your identity."

"Y-You wouldn't!" said Naruto, though not really believing it himself.

"Hm, I have the upper hand," Tokiko clarified, placing a finger on her chin thoughtfully. "Unless by some fluke or blessing you save me again, I won't reveal it. And if you can't get even with me, then I have something for you to do."

"What's that something?" he asked suspiciously, thinking he might already know the answer.

"We'll see," she evaded. "In a week's time, if you can't get even, I'll tell you what you're going to do."

"Tokiko-san!" Kazuki yelled, as he ran up the stairs. Naruto put on his hood again quickly. "I couldn't find it in the immediate area!"

"We have to find it as soon as possible," Naruto decided aloud, placing his hands into the all too familiar cross seal. "I'll make it my duty to find and destroy it."

'Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!'

In their individual clouds of smoke, fifteen Kage Bunshin appeared, surprising Kazuki. Oh yes, he'd never seen Ninjutsu before, and what Saruwatari had said previously was right. In this world, Ninjutsu was something akin to the abilities of Homunculi, closer to it than the counterpart, Busou Renkin. Whereas Busou Renkin utilized the wielder's personality to form its shape, whereas Ninjutsu simply utilized the energy of the wielder, being molded and transformed into the final shape.

"Split up," the real Naruto ordered. "Find and destroy the target by any means necessary, but that doesn't mean you can burn the forest down either." The Kage Bunshin replied in a chorus of agreement, before all sixteen of them jumped off of the side of the factory.

"Uwah!" Kazuki yelled, running up to the side and looking down. By that time, they had all landed safely and were running into the forest in different directions. "H-How did he do that? Not get hurt, I mean."

"If you want to know, ask him later," Tokiko replied. "We have more important things to be worrying about."

"More important?"

"I could only count about thirty production devices inside of the basement," she told him. "This is a problem."

"Thirty? Why is that a problem?" Kazuki asked, oblivious.

"We fought at the very least one-hundred-and-fifty Homunculi inside the factory before you came. Thirty is not big enough. Either the person who's making the Homunculi have several bases or he or she is getting outside help."

"Hm . . . that is a problem," he realized. "So since we don't know the exact number of Homunculi made, we don't know how many are still alive."

"Therefore," she continued, "This'll become a lot harder, especially if that matter from earlier gets away."

"We have to win, either way."

"That's right," Tokiko agreed. "Busou Renkin were created to be the opposite of Homunculi, to destroy them should they escape human control. If we were to lose, many would be sacrificed because of our inability to fight. We must not lose, we must defeat them."

"Right. We have to defeat them and stop future sacrifices of the innocent. That is our real victory. Ah, I'm going to go pray at the graves again."

'He makes the hardest task sound so easy,' Tokiko thought, half exasperatedly, half admiringly. "Wait," she called out, catching his attention just as he'd reached the door. "I'll come with you, but be on alert."

xxxx

"Coincidences are a true paradox . . . On the one hand they seem to be the source of our greatest irrationalities, on the other hand, some of our greatest feats of scientific discovery depend on coincidences." Josh Tenenbaum

xxxx

'Clay . . .' He crushed the remains in his fist angrily, his eyes flashing red. 'Clay . . . it's him . . . or rather, them'

"Show yourself!" Naruto demanded, falling into a basic Taijutsu stance. "I know that you're watching me."

"Aw, I guess senpai was right, my stealth does suck," a voice said from the trees. He dropped down, wearing a cloak that Naruto had come to hate. "Yo! Tobi's my name, and Aka-"

He was interrupted by a furious barrage of shuriken, but Tobi dodged them easily by jumping to his right. His posture alone seemed to convey sadness at not being able to finish, but that was Tobi's style. He acted so innocent, doing whatever the higher-ups told him to do, but when he fought, he was a monster.

"Hey that wasn't nice!" the Akatsuki member whined. "Tobi's a good boy, so why do you have to be so mean?"

"How did you get here?" the blond demanded at his black-haired opponent.

"Oh, you mean this weird world?" Tobi asked for clarification. "Last thing I remember was good old Kakashi using his Mangekyou Sharingan on me. You know, the one that sends you to another dimension? Yeah, yeah, and I ended up here and I didn't know what to do, and-"

He was interrupted again, this time by a kunai with an explosive tag. It exploded, sending Tobi rolling over the floor.

"You talk too much," Naruto growled, pulling out two kunai and placing one in either hand. "Prepare to die!"

"W-Wait!" Tobi stuttered, stumbling backwards. "I know about those monsters you were talking about up on that roof! I know who's helping the guy make them!"

"How?" Naruto asked. "When exactly did you get here?"

"Yesterday," Tobi said, cocking his head. "All I know is that Leader told us that someone we knew was helping someone else make monsters, and that it was in a different world. Leader was all tense and stuff, I think it was because the guy had actually gone to another world, you know?"

"So, who is helping to make these monsters?"

"Mm, you have to catch me first!" Tobi yelled happily before bounding off quickly through the trees.

"Shit!" the blond cursed as he followed suit, following the cloaked man through the trees at a fast pace. Tobi had higher stamina, physical-wise, and could tire out Naruto before attacking. Fortunately, the Akatsuki member wasn't very bright, and was probably literally playing tag. If he was caught, he'd spill, such was the way of Tobi. At times, he even wondered why he called Kakashi-sensei a good friend. "Stop!"

"Make me!" Tobi sung out as he continued the chase.

'Che!' Naruto pulled out several kunai and explosive tags, carefully placing the tags around the handles. 'If he wants to play hard to get, I'll play hard to let live.'

'Haha, yes! I am finally rubbing off on you, my pathetic container!' Kyuubi roared pridefully. 'One day, you will decide the fate of entire worlds, that I can assure you.'

'In your dreams, furball!'

He threw the kunai one by one, timing the direction, speed, and angle of the throw carefully so as to avoid hitting trees and making the kunai explode in the air. Tobi dodged the first by increasing speed and jumping off of a tree branch just in time. He dodged the second by blowing on the kunai and slowing its speed by just a fraction. The third was avoided by jumping vertically into the air at a tree branch to perform an aerial splits. Tobi dodged each explosive kunai with such mockery and absurd, unthinkable strategies that it began angering the blond pursuer.

'Buki Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!'

xxxx

"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is enemy action." Auric Goldfinger

xxxx

"That thing before in the sky was amazing, wasn't it?" Mahiro commented, her and Kazuki's group of friends traveling to the factory. "I wonder what it was."

"Hm, PET bottle rocket?" Daihama suggested.

"You think?" she asked.

"I don't know, I'm just throwing out ideas."

"Che! More importantly, let's hurry up and go," Okakura complained. "I want to see some action! Kazuki, that bastard! How dare he leave me out? Introduce her! Che."

"You have to remember that Naruto was supposed to meet her at the factory as well, at different times no less," Rokumasu stated, trying to reason with his friend, but just making him more fervent instead.

"Gyaaah! That Naruto, if he steals Kazuki's girl . . ." He then proceeded to imitate himself strangling someone.

"Mm, but would oniichan really be in such a place with a girl?" Mahiro asked as the group of four began walking again.

"I'll capture the strawberry scenario for you!" Okakura declared.

Meanwhile, outside of said factory, both Tokiko and Kazuki stood in front of the makeshift grave, praying for the deceased, sacrificed by them or not.

"Kazuki," she said with her eyes closed.

"What is it, Tokiko-san?" he replied, also with his eyes closed.

"You've attained power."

"Mm."

"However, even with that, it's still too early to say that you can prevent any further sacrifices." Opening her eyes, she turned to look at the brunette. "If you want to say such words, you must be able to use your Busou Renkin freely."

'Freely?' Kazuki thought, though he showed no confusion on his face. 'Does that mean I need to wield it faster?'

"Come on, you can go faster than that!"

"Shut up, I won't let you out of my sights, bastard!"

They both turned around to see a strange person exit the trees next to the grave. He had on an orange mask with black lines spiraling down to a hole where the right eye should be. He had black, spiky hair, similar to Naruto's own hairstyle. The cloak he was wearing was black as well, embroidered with red clouds outlined with white. His pants were gray, and he had white leggings that went down and under the bottom of his sandals. All in all, he was a strange one. He flashed by, dozens of shuriken and kunai embedding the floor where he'd used to be.

Naruto flashed by afterwards, a dozen more of the sharp weapons in his hands.

"I won't let you get away!" he roared as he threw them all.

"Haha, you have to do better than that!" Tobi exclaimed as he twisted in midair, dodging them all.

'Bingo.'

BOOM.

An explosion occurred in front of Tobi, pushing him back and sending him sprawling onto the floor.

"Ugh, that wasn't nice," he complained. "Hiding an exploding kunai in the weapons."

Naruto stood over him, his right leg on Tobi's chest and his arms crossed. Though one couldn't see his crimson-red eyes inside of the hood, Tokiko could literally feel the energy and intent that rolled off of the blond.

"I win, and you tell me what you know."

"A-Alright! Just don't hurt me," the Akatsuki member whimpered. "You're scary when you're mad, Na-"

Naruto stomped on Tobi's chest, hard, making the man grunt in pain. The message was sent clearly: Don't mention the name, or suffer more pain. Tobi began gasping for air as he nodded frantically. It seemed that Naruto had stepped on the man's chest too hard, and was now blocking off the circulation of air around the lungs. Oops.

"Oh, there they are!" Mahiro yelled out. Startled, Naruto quickly threw Tobi into the brushes and followed suit, hiding from the recently arrived people.

"Hey oniichan" she sang out, waving. Oh man, who told them that they were going to meet here?

"Did you tell them to come here?" Tokiko asked, turning to face Kazuki.

"No, I didn't say a word . . ." he replied, obviously confused about how their whereabouts had been discovered.

"Well, it's fine. I'll entertain them a bit and leave."

"What are you doing in a place like this?" Rokumasu questioned. He truly seemed curious about why they were near the haunted factory, not that the spectacled teen even believed in ghosts and hauntings in the first place.

"Aaah! It's true! Oniichan does have a girlfriend!" Mahiro exclaimed happily.

"Huh? W-W-W-What?" By this time, Kazuki had a shocked expression, an oversized sweat drop falling down the back of his head.

"Kaaaazuki!!!" Okakura screamed, his eyes glowing again.

"Congratulations," congratulated Daihama.

"Treat us to something." That came from Rokumasu. The guy had a love for free food, and was always trying to find ways to get his friends to buy food for him.

"Hey, since when? Since when?" his sister questioned.

"Uh-eeh? Girlfriend?" he asked, pointing at Tokiko. He kept looking back at his friends, then back at Tokiko.

"I see. So I'm your girlfriend?" girl in question asked, her eyes shadowed and her voice emanating danger. At that moment, a wind blew past, multiplying the 'doomsday' effect that Tokiko was radiating. Kazuki turned blue with fright, as did the others, save for Rokumasu. No, he just looked surprised. The other four began whimpering, until they decided to do the smart thing.

"We're really sorry!" they all yelled, bowing down to the floor in apology.

"Yeah, you should be sorry!" a voice came from behind them. "If Tokiko-chan is anyone's girlfriend, she'd be mine."

Kazuki turned, and felt his eyes widen in shock.

"N-N-Naruto!"

"Yo!" he greeted. "I followed you guys up here and found you all groveling for mercy. Anyways, what do you say Toki-GUH!"

Naruto collapsed onto the ground, a large rock having pegged him on the head. The source of origin came from an angry and shaking Tokiko, whose face had turned red, either from embarrassment or anger, none of them knew. She stalked up to the knocked out blond and began kicking him in the side viciously, frightening the audience further. Finished with the beating, Tokiko then proceeded to drag Naruto over to the group, throw him on his face, place his right arm behind his back, place a firm foot on it, and take his left arm with both of her hands.

"Ungh . . ." he groaned, coming to. "Did I . . . Did I get attacked?"

"You are now," she growled, pulling.

"GYAAAAAAH!"

Naruto's legs flailed around, trying unsuccessfully to reach her arms and attempt to remove them from his arm.

"No, no, please stop!" he begged. "I promise not to do it again, I PROMISE!"

"Swear on it!" she demanded.

"T-Tokiko-chan, you know I don't do that kind of swear- GAAH! Alright, alright! I swear that I won't try that agai- GAAAH! I swear that I won't do that again!"

She let go of him, making him sigh in relief, but the other six, Tobi included, though he was still hidden in the brush, retreated backwards in the face of such violence.

"W-W-Well, if y-you aren't Kazuki's girlfriend or N-Naruto's girlfriend, then what are your r-r-r-relationships?" Daihama stuttered. He'd always thought of girls as mostly friendly, but Tokiko just seemed plain dangerous.

"G-ehehehehe," Naruto chuckled, freaking everyone out but prompting Tokiko to kick him in the side again. "Thanks, Tokiko-chan, that kick helped jump-start my voice box. Anyways, Tokiko-chan and I go way back! We're childhood friends!"

'A pathetic excuse for a pathetic mortal. If I were you, I would have declared her my slave, or perhaps a beaten rival.'

'Does she look beaten to you?!'

'Point made, mortal, however, you forget, I stated that if I, not you, were you, then I would have declared her my slave or beaten rival, simply because it would have been true,' Kyuubi countered.

'Ehhhhh, you confuse me, Kyuubi.'

'I suspected that your fleshy little mortal brain could not match up against a demon's brain in intelligence.'

'If you were so smart, you wouldn't have gotten yourself sealed in me in the first place, baka-kitsune'

"Oh, so you know each other well?" Mahiro asked.

"Of course!" Naruto declared. "I know Tokiko-chan has a fetish for tea-GUCK! -choke- Being . . . -gurgle- strangled . . . -choke- need help . . ."

Tokiko, while choking him with both hands, shook him back and forth, yelling all the while.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, BAKA?! JUST BECAUSE YOU ALWAYS HAVE TEA AT MY PLACE DOESN'T MEAN THAT I HAVE A GOD DAMN FETISH! I WOULDN'T GIVE YOU ANY COFFEE BECAUSE THAT'D MAKE YOU MORE HYPER THAN YOU ALREADY USUALLY ARE!" She finished the rant with panting from the overexertion of yelling, and a bit of screaming at the 'fetish' part.

"And what of Kazuki?" Rokumasu interjected. "It looks like your avoiding the topic by beating poor Naruto."

"Kazuki," Tokiko began, "is an acquaintance. We met yesterday."

"Aha! Possible relationship!" Okakura exclaimed. "Strawberries!"

"W-What the heck are you babbling about, Okakura?" Kazuki replied shakily. "I'm just helping Tokiko-san with something before she moves."

"Moving? Where?" his sister asked this time.

"To a hotel!"

Okakura looked at Naruto, who had spoken, then Tokiko, who was glaring at Naruto, then at Kazuki, who was clueless. The high schooler attempted to put two and two together, but when combining, he slipped, and the two pieces of information got stuck together in an absurd position.

"Gyaaaaah! Hotel?! Do you mean to say . . . that you're going to move in with her?!"

"WHAT?!" Kazuki shouted in surprise. "Look at yourself talk! That's absurd!"

"Kazuki's right!" the blond confirmed in his sitting up position. "She gets mad as it is when I come over unexpectedly, she'd be even angrier if someone tried to move in with her . . . I would know, I've tried."

"You've tried?!"

"Oh man," Daihama sighed, a palm on his face to block out the embarrassing scene from view. "Kazuki-kun, just ignore Okakura-kun."

"Say," interrupted Rokumasu, "instead of standing around here and talking, why don't we go somewhere for drinks?"

"Ah, that sounds good!" Mahiro agreed.

"We do have a lot to talk about, after all . . . Naruto . . . Kazuki."

"No, I-"

Naruto halted Tokiko's sentence with a quick hand to her mouth and his own sheepish grin.

"Forgive her, she's kind of antisocial," he explained.

"What the hell do you think you were doing?" she whispered fiercely, glaring at him. Without a response, he pointed to Mahiro, who had turned around. "What-" Tokiko's eyes widened when she saw it, but returned to normal, so as not to attract attention from Rokumasu, who seemed to be keeping an eye on them. Wrapped around a lock of her hair was the Homunculus matter, waiting to pounce at any moment to take over someone. Kazuki looked at her confusedly at the abrupt action, but found himself seeing what she was seeing as well.

"Yay!" Kazuki's sister exclaimed in happiness. "Everyone, let's move out!"

Rokumasu, Daihama, and Okakura all muttered their agreements as they turned around for everyone else to follow. Ah, if only they knew how much danger they were in.

"Tokiko-san," Kazuki whispered, sidling up next to her. "That thing . . . my sister."

"Yeah. This is getting troublesome. I shouldn't have deflected it, but destroyed it . . . but if I hadn't, then N-Sarura would've been killed, either by the matter or by my own blade."

"Hey, if you two don't hurry up I'm going to drink your drinks for you!" Naruto called out, playing the fool in front of Kazuki. Inside, he was breaking down. The phrase that Tokiko had juts said, 'This is getting troublesome', it had been a phrase that Shikamaru had used often whenever they'd gotten into a tough spot. In every situation, the genius had been able to get them out narrowly, using his smarts, and Tokiko, smart as she was, and having used that phrase, had reminded him of the home that he missed so much. Okay, he didn't miss Konoha all that much, but it was the precious people within the village that he truly missed.

'Iruka-sensei . . . he must be worried. And Tsunade-baachan too.'

He looked to the sky, stopping his movement for a while.

". . ."

"Naruto, hurry up!" Mahiro called back to him. "Tell oniichan and Tokiko-san to hurry up as well!"

". . . The sky looks the same as it did in Konoha," he murmured. "No matter where I am, as long as I can see the same sky that you're seeing, I'll never disappear."

xxxx

"People break down into two groups when they experience something lucky. One sees it as evidence of a higher power, while the other see it as pure luck." M. Night Shyamalan

xxxx

"I'll get rid of it," Tokiko volunteered as the seven of them walked down the road that diverged from the path that led to the factory.

"I'll help as well," Kazuki said, determined to save his sister.

"No," she disagreed. "stay out of this. We have to get rid of it without anyone noticing. Should we fail, everyone will be in danger. Once it reaches the brain, it's the end. At that point, there's nothing more we can do other than to give them a merciful death. The victim will have their mind crushed and their body taken, and will no longer be themselves, becoming a man-eating monster."

"I understand, but this is my sister we're talking about," he protested.

"I know where you're coming from, but you still can't activate your Busou Renkin discreetly without anyone else knowing. Your attacks use large scale techniques that rely on brute strength. Also, you can't use Busou Renkin freely yet."

Kazuki turned his head away, closing his eyes for a second, then reopening them, reassuring himself that Tokiko could do this.

"My Valkyrie Skirt is quick and accurate. Its four blades and arms can deal with four possible targets."

"There are five of them, though," he pointed out.

"Naruto can take care of himself. Remember, he's known me. He knows what I do. Anyways, Naruto aside, no matter who the matter goes for, my Busou Renkin can cope with it. So, which one of them will it go for?"

At that moment, the Homunculus matter moved and Naruto, sensing danger, hopped back quietly.

'It moved!' both Kazuki and Tokiko saw.

Busou Renkin activated, Valkyrie Skirt's four blades shot towards the matter, which it dodged by shooting straight for Tokiko. At least, it seemed to, until it dodged an incoming shuriken and changed direction . . . straight for Naruto.

'Shit! It can dodge in midair?!' All three thought to themselves. Her Busou Renkin's blades retracted and thrust themselves at the matter again, but it evaded this time by latching onto the edge of the weapon, swinging itself with the tail and throwing itself yet again at Tokiko.

'What kind of matter is this?!'

'Che!' Naruto growled mentally as he grabbed a surprised Kazuki's arm and knocked into Tokiko, sending all three falling over the edge.

"Huh?" Okakura muttered as the other four turned around to see no one behind them.

"Where's oniichan?" Mahiro asked.

"And Naruto?" Daihama added.

"They ran away . . ." Rokumasu concluded, straightening his glasses.

"Kaaaaazuki!!!" Okakura screamed, eyes glowing.

Meanwhile, Naruto slid down the steep hill with both Tokiko and Kazuki in tow, but it was harder than it looked, trying to balance down something like this with two people at once. If he'd been quick enough to stick with chakra from the beginning, then he wouldn't have had to do this, but he hadn't. If he did so now, he might cause slight internal damage from the abrupt stop.

Luck shone upon him when Tobi appeared in the treetop, motioning for Naruto to throw one of them over. Nodding his thanks at the childish Akatsuki member, he tossed over Kazuki, and with one less load on his arms, he began ninja-jumping down along with Tobi. Well, that is, until Tobi accidentally smacked himself in the head by running into a hidden tree branch, sending Kazuki flying onto the floor and rolling down the hill. Tobi was left hanging by his head, wondering why he had stopped moving.

xxxx

"Coincidence is logical." Johan Cruijff

xxxx

"Ugh," Kazuki groaned, opening his eyes slowly.

"You're finally awake?" Tokiko asked, holding her side while she sat on a log. "The sun's already set."

"What happened?" he gasped out as he sat up quickly. "Where's Naruto?"

He turned to where she'd pointed. Naruto was laying to his left, seemingly unconscious.

"I found him like that moments after we got down safely . . . well, me and Naruto, that is. The guy that carried you got stuck on a tree branch and you fell down the rest of the way."

"WHAT?!" Kazuki exclaimed. "When I see that guy, I'll . . . whatever. Anyways, how did he pass out?"

"I suspect it was from running down the hill, carrying both of us about a quarter of the way, and then carrying me for the rest," Tokiko speculated. "It's not easy getting down from a hill that steep, even for Naruto."

"I saw him throw that . . . weapon," the brunette recalled. "The same one that Sarura was using. Could you tell me the truth?"

"The truth? Your body is covered in wounds after falling for so long."

And at that moment, a painful . . . a very painful sensation traveled up his body, paining every single muscle, bone, and organ he had in his body. Of course, this resulted in a very appropriate outburst.

"IIIIITAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!" (Ouch!!!)

He was left twitching from the pain. Sure the yell had released a lot of the tension that the pain had caused, but a good part of it was still there. Oh gods, when he got a hold of the fool that dropped him, he'd make him- what was he thinking? Violence wasn't the answer to everything. Sure, he'd been dropped, making him hurt all over, but maybe the guy was just clumsy . . . or . . .

"Who was the guy carrying me? And tell me the answer to the previous question, Tokiko-san!"

"Alright," she sighed. "Naruto is Sarura, are you satisfied for the first? Because I hope you are. The guy that carried you was that masked man. Naruto called him Tobi, which seems to be his name."

"What happened to him?" he asked, truly curious. "I don't see him around."

"I suspect his head's still caught in that tree branch, dangling there like a doll."

"I . . . see. Ah! What about the Homunculus matter?" he asked. "Did you get hit?"

Naruto groaned as he sat up, rubbing his forehead all the while, surprising Kazuki. Didn't Tokiko just say that he'd carried her all the way down that steep hill? He could understand his own being unconscious because of being knocked around, but that kind of exertion should've left the blond unconscious for at the least a day or two, not just half. Counting the fact that Sarura was Naruto, and seemed to know a lot about weaponry and strange techniques, Naruto was now an enigma of the highest order.

"It's all right," the said, assuring both of them now that they were both conscious. "Thanks to Naruto, the matter didn't penetrate my brain." With that, she lifted her shirt up a bit, revealing the matter. It was sunken into her skin, located to the right of her navel. The damage seemed near permanent.

"I'm sorry that I wasn't able to do anything," Kazuki apologized. "If only I'd been stronger . . ."

"Stop it," Naruto ordered. "Tokiko-chan told you not to interfere, and when her life became jeopardized, as shinobi, I stepped in. My job forces me to specialize in stealth and silent killing, but I lean more towards the destructive nature of shinobi. You didn't do anything wrong, there's no need for you to apologize to her."

"But still, I'm sorry!" the brunette said forcefully. "I know that I didn't do anything wrong, but that's exactly it. I didn't do anything!"

"So you feel helpless," concluded Naruto. "Don't be. Whenever you feel helpless, the only solution is to become stronger. Kazuki, do not feel . . . act. If you don't want to feel that helplessness again, become stronger, strong enough to protect those who you consider precious."

Precious . . . the word was also nostalgic. Haku had first introduced the concept of fighting to protect precious people. In the past, it'd been done instinctively, but to actively know and act upon it, deriving strength from the determination to protect that person, that was the first. Ever since then, he'd fought and fought for them. Iruka-sensei, who had been his first. Kakashi-sensei . . . Naruto had found out from Anko that Kakashi had always looked out for him as a young boy. Not all the time, as Kakashi was an Elite Jounin and well desired by employers, but whenever the cyclopean Jounin had a chance. Gaara, someone who had understood his pain. There were so many others that he couldn't keep count.

"Do . . . do you really think so, Naruto-san?" Kazuki asked, shaking slightly.

"Call me Naruto . . . and yes, I think so. I've lived my life based around the two principles of protecting my precious people . . . and always keeping a promise. That's my nindo, my way of the ninja."

"So," Tokiko muttered, her eyes narrowed, "since you promised not to pull such stunts earlier, you won't break that promise, right?"

"Right, I'll follow through with the promise. It was actually meant as a joke, but anyways, I won't do it again."

"Anyways, concerning the problem at hand," she said, changing the subject, "before this annoying thing makes it up and into my head, we have to finish this."

"Y-You can be saved?!" Kazuki exclaimed, a smile on his face.

"If there wasn't any hope, I would have finished myself off long before you even opened your eyes." Turning away, she looked up at the full moon. "At the distance the matter attached itself to, it should take about a week for it to reach my brain. Within that short time period, we have to get rid of any and all Homunculi and get the cure from the creator with the Papillon mask. If we can't make it within the time limit, then . . . I'll become a Homunculus." She turned to face Naruto and Kazuki. "If it ever comes to that, you must kill me."

"There is someone else," Naruto said abruptly as he too looked up at the moon.

It'd been a full moon the night Sasuke had left Konoha, leaving Sakura unconscious on a bench. In the end, Sasuke had limped off towards Otogakure, while a heavily injured Naruto was recovered by Sasuke. Neji and Chouji had been in critical condition at the time, while Kiba, while having taken less damage than the other two, was confined to a hospital bed for a week. Shikamaru had only broken a finger, so he didn't have to stay long, either. From that point on, his nindo had changed. No longer would he never break promises . . . he would forever more keep his promises.

"Right!" Tobi cried out as he appeared from the underbrush. "I finally got myself out of that tree branch, and what timing, eh?"

"Someone else?" Kazuki repeated.

"Yeah, there's someone else" the masked man sung out. "Naruto-san caught me, so I might as well finally tell you. He's-"

As if spiting them, evil laughter filled the clearing. Homunculi appeared at every tree, surrounding the four. Unlike the slow ape-like Homunculi, these were snake-like, vicious, quick, and worst of all, sneaky little bastards. There were about one-hundred, similar in number to the previous encounter. Perhaps with Tobi's presence though, the battle could progress smoother.

"Eeek! Snakes!" Tobi screamed.

Perhaps not.

The Homunculi charged swiftly. Tokiko, fully intent on fighting, pulled out her Kakugane.

"Busou-" Searing hot pain overtook her, and she instinctively grabbed for her side. The matter! It was interfering with her ability to use the Busou Renkin! She knew that Homunculi couldn't use them, but to such a point that she could barely use it when she was just infected . . .

Five Homunculi neared in on her position. It was either the creator hadn't ordered this attack and the Homunculi were taking matters into their own hands . . . or someone was commanding them, or that the creator didn't want a Renkin no Senshi Homunculus. Seeing as how devoted the creator seemed to be, it must've been the first choice. They reared up to strike, but were cut down by Kazuki's Lance Busou Renkin.

'What?! No sound activation or movement?'

"Tobi, stop acting like a scared schoolgirl and fight!" Naruto roared, wind spiraling around his right arm.

'Kaze no Yaiba.'

The blade of wind fully formed, he took to slashing at the Homunculi left and right, going for the heads first, then the markings. It took longer, but it was definitely safer and easier. While he formed a second blade in his left, he kept a careful eye on the currently disabled Tokiko and her protector, Kazuki. The two were surrounded by two dozen Homunculi in a large circle . . . large enough for him to do something without hurting his comrades. Concentrating every last bit of willpower, he commanded the wind to act up and slash at the Homunculi.

It did so without hesitation, killing half of them in an instant. It seemed that with the completion of elemental manipulation training, he was able to manipulate raw wind itself as a weapon, though it wasn't nearly as potent as the blades he were using, which were sharpened wind. He cut through another four, attempting to conserve his own chakra, but there were too many, and he'd have to force himself over his limit.

Naruto discarded the blades and plunged a fully powered Rasengan into one, tearing it apart and two others behind it. It seems that in sheer numbers, it was just better to deal with Homunculi quickly, in the form of shuriken and kunai. He did so, performing a few rounds of Buki Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, thinning the ranks of Homunculi by about twenty.

"Tobi, what do you know that we can use?" he asked suddenly when he neared the masked man.

"Deidara-senpai always told me this: 'Tobi, you're all brute strength and no brains'."

"Brute strength as in?"

"Big Ninjutsu!" Tobi shouted, performing some hand seals.

"W-Wait!"

"Too late, Naruto-san!" he yelled, slamming both of his hands onto the floor. "Doton: Retsudo Tenshou!"

The ground underneath began trembling as large cracks began spreading out from Tobi's standing point. The Homunculi contented themselves with looking at the cracks, wondering what it would do, that is, until they opened up and swallowed up the majority of the Homunculi.

Naruto deadpanned, his coloring white at the display of destruction Tobi had just shown.

'Impressive . . . Brute strength beat pretty much all of the Homunculi, and he even created the least amount of attention in the area possible.'

"Pierce, my Busou Renkin!" Kazuki shouted as he fell from the air, piercing, as the name of the move suggested, five of the Homunculi in the head. Four more jumped at him using their tails, but Kazuki merely ducked under them, slicing each of them in half quickly, and that was impressive when using such a bulky weapon.

"I will protect Tokiko-san!" he declared, his sash glowing golden. "Pierce!" he roared, cutting through another four.

Picking out a few choice shuriken, Naruto dealt with the sparse amount of Homunculi left in the vicinity with pinpoint accuracy. For once, he'd been glad that an Akatsuki member was on his side. For once, he was relieved that Tobi had redeemed himself by performing admirably in battle, childish and immature or not. Finally, the cracks in the ground could be attributed to an earthquake, and it would never be found out that it was their work. Mission accomplished.

"Thank you Tobi, you did great," Naruto congratulated the masked man. "You made it so much easier, by swallowing up pretty much all of those Homunculi."

"T-T-Thanks, Naruto-s-san," he mumbled, before collapsing on the spot.

"Chakra exhaustion," the blond sighed knowingly. "Wait a second, now he can't tell us who's helping the creator!!"

Thud.

"What was that?" Tokiko asked, turning her head to the origin of the noise. The remains of a frog-like Homunculus had fallen over from a tree.

"Same type as Mita and Saruwatari," Naruto analyzed after a moment's look. "It seems that the creator is getting stabbed in the back by whoever was helping in the first place."

"This doesn't look good," muttered Kazuki.

"No, it doesn't," Tokiko agreed. "It's not often you see Homunculi against Homunculi, and that's only seen when they're desperate."

"Our only hope is to wait for Tobi to recover and spill the secrets that the backstabber doesn't want us to know about," Naruto concluded. "Our new mission is to protect Tobi, in addition to finding a cure for Tokiko-chan!"

"Right! Within that week, I'll master the use of this lance!" Kazuki vowed, holding up his Busou Renkin. "I promise to protect . . . my precious people with my Busou Renkin!"

xxxx

"The worst possible turn can not be programmed. It is caused by coincidence." Friedrich Durrenmatt

xxxx

On the side, the fight scene in this chapter was shorter, mainly because of Tobi's introduction into the world of Busou Renkin. This chapter was spent building up on the AU that will occur within the next few chapters, branching off greatly from the anime/manga, but the same timeline going on with changes. I've been keeping a lot of things in the dark, and I hope to god that you guys don't guess right.

Vocabulary

Baka - Idiot

Buki – Weapon

Itai – Ouch!

Kukuku – Low and evil laugh

Jutsu List

General

Buki Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Weapon Shadow Clone Technique) –B-Rank – This is basically a combination of the Kunai Kage Bunshin no Jutsu and the Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. It is basically a culmination of the Kage Bunshin series, the user creating clones of any weapon that they possess, to create a multitude of varied weapons. This is useful in that it uses less chakra than performing several individual jutsu, as well as the varied weaponry making it harder for the opponent to effectively dodge every single one.

Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique) – B-Rank – Unlike the normal Bunshin no Jutsu, the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu creates real flesh-and-blood copies of the user. They can fight, experience emotions, and perform jutsu just like the user. When using jutsu though, they have to use the store of chakra that was placed in them during creation. The amount of chakra in Kage Bunshin can be altered. Any information and mental experience that the Kage Bunshin experiences is also passed on to the user when they are killed or dispelled, which makes it particularly useful for missions involving reconnaissance and stealth.

Earth

Doton: Retsudo Tenshou (Earth Release: Splitting Earth Force) – A-Rank – This jutsu creates large cracks and rifts in the ground, accompanied by violent shaking. This is done by slamming one's open palms onto the ground filled with chakra, destabilizing the ground and sometimes causing it to collapse and create large changes to the landscape. This jutsu is best utilized with several other shinobi, to multiply the destructive damage.

Wind

Kaze no Yaiba (Blade of Wind) –B-Rank – Comparably more complicated than the Daitoppa in that the user concentrates chakra into the form of wind into their hand, and then manipulating its shape into that of a sword. As a Fuuton jutsu, it is very dangerous because of its natural sharpness and origin. The user can spawn off more of the blades, so that even when one happens to be canceled, another can quickly take its place.

Lightning

Raiton: Rairyuudan no Jutsu (Lightning Release: Lightning Dragon Blast Technique) – A-Rank – The user creates a magnetic field, from which they shape a dragon. When it hits the opponent, it explodes, releasing paralyzing or deadly lightning into their body, either incapacitating or killing them. The severity of the jutsu can be controlled by the amount of chakra placed into the dragon.