AN: Work, college, Guitar Hero, blah, blah, blah. Trust me, it bothers me that S'TarKan (a man not known for his speed) has updated multiple times since my last one. Even worse, this isn't even the full chapter. The much requested action scene isn't cooperating, so I decided to post what I have as proof that I haven't given up. Consider this to be like Gran Turismo 5: Prologue; a sizeable chunk, but not the full offering. I'll keep working on it, but no promises on when it'll be done.

Disclaimer: My takeover of Shonen Jump fell through. Damn zoning laws.

Tsunade was one of the three legendary sannin, a warrior renowned throughout the shinobi world not only for her beauty, but also for her legendary healing and battle abilities. She was the Godaime Hokage, feared by her enemies, loved by her people, and respected by all.

Of course, none of that appeared to mean squat to the two people standing in her now-trashed office.

After Sakura had told her that Naruto had left his room without permission, Tsunade had done what came naturally to her whenever Naruto pulled this type of stunt: she started throwing furniture around her office. Chairs were destroyed, bookshelves pulled over, and her desk was now no more than a pile of kindling. When Naruto and the Claymore warrior had strode into the office about five minutes ago, the blonde shinobi had simply nodded his head at the carnage and the silver-eyed girl had not reacted at all. Now Naruto was telling Tsunade about a pleasant conversation that he had had with the warrior standing next to him while the woman in question simply stared at Tsunade with an unreadable gaze.

"And that is why Claire believes that defeating this Yoma will require the assistance of Konoha ninja. It has hidden itself far too well to be sensed normally, and my patrols around the village, leaving the Kyuubi's scent as I go, have not helped her either."

Tsunade plopped herself down in the chair behind the ruins of her desk and sighed. "All right, hold on for just a second. I still don't get it. What exactly did you two talk about while you were supposed to be resting in bed like I distinctly remember ordering you to do?"

"I can rest some other time, obaa-chan. Claire informed me that the scent of Yoma energy and the scent given off by the Kyuubi are similar enough that it is difficult for her to tell the difference between the two without concentrating to the point of causing a headache. She says that warriors like her don't get headaches, or at least not frequently enough to mention. Therefore, it will take a group effort to find this Yoma and perhaps to beat it. And since the nearest warrior outside of herself is quite far away at the moment, we ninja will have to do."

Tsunade held up a hand to stop Naruto and stared hard at the woman next to him. "Claire, was it?" The woman didn't respond. "Are you just going to stand there all day or are you going to add anything to this conversation?"

"Naruto has been explaining things effectively up to now. I have felt no reason to say anything to assist him."

"Maybe so, but you are the one who has experience hunting Yoma," Tsunade replied. "Maybe you should at least give some idea of how we can help without losing most of the village's ninja to this plan that you two seemed to have cooked up and have yet to explain any parts of it to me. If I remember correctly, I do still have final say over whether anything is to be done."

"Naruto has told me about the idea of a three man cell that you apply to all of your beginner ninja," Claire began. "The plan requires your top ninja to group together in groups of three while also being posted at strategic points around the village."

"Wait a minute," Tsunade interrupted. "Naruto had a five minute encounter with that thing and nearly got devoured. He is one of this village's top ninja. What makes you so sure that adding two others would immediately mean a dead Yoma?"

"Your ninja would not be there to fight the Yoma, but to lure it out."

"What do you mean, lure it out?"

"Your ninja will be bait."

Sakura stood on top of the Hokage's Tower, scanning the evening sky. The events of the day had truly unsettled her mind and it would be some time before she would truly calm down. Word had spread of a new Hyuuga with an immense blade, and a rumor was going around that that Hyuuga had something to do with all of the attacks that had been occurring recently.

"Someone really needs to remove that idiot Aoba's vocal chords," Sakura thought bitterly. From what Claire had said to her, the Yoma might now know that the Claymore was in town, so tonight may be the last chance to actually get a shot at defeating the monster. Sakura had already made a private vow that if the Yoma put the rumors together and left the village, Aoba would be a hospital patient for the next ten years. She had already lost one of her teammates to an evil monster, she would be damned if the thing that nearly took Naruto's life escaped as well.

Speaking of whom, Naruto and the Claymore warrior had each disappeared about an hour ago, after discussing the plan with the group. All of the remaining Rookie Nine members and Gai's old team had been grouped together, with Tsunade saying that they were to be the only people to have full knowledge of what was truly going on. Claire had gone around to each one of them, studying them closely, even holding their heads still and staring deep into their eyes before declaring that none of the ninja grouped together in the Hokage's office were the Yoma in disguise. Light entertainment had been provided by Kiba's drooling over the beautiful Claymore warrior and Tenten losing all control and actually getting down on her knees to beg Claire if she could actually touch the blade strapped to the silver-eyed warrior's back and maybe give it a few test swings. Claire had let Tenten expend herself before giving the poor girl a flat "No" and continuing on with the meeting.

The way Claire explained it, the plan she and Naruto had cooked up was inspired by an altercation she had had with a Yoma some time ago, in a place called Rabona Cathedral. In that battle, she had teamed with two of the Cathedral's guardsmen to defeat a Yoma that had grown very large and powerful.

"I actually fought the Yoma twice," Claire had said. "The first time I had been too concerned with protecting the guardsmen of the Cathedral and the Yoma critically injured me. The second time, I had more faith in their abilities and we were successful in slaying it."

"So how does that apply to us?" Chouji had asked.

"The village's top ninja will be dispersed in three man teams at strategic points around the village, acting as if they are merely on patrol. The Yoma has developed a ravenous appetite and is most likely very hungry right now, so it will be on the prowl for food. If it spots someone that it decides looks tasty, the Yoma will attack. The three man groups will hopefully allow the members enough time to survive until I arrive to kill it."

"What makes you believe that the Yoma would walk into this trap?" Shino had asked. "What reasons do you have to believe that this Yoma would attack one of us or another strong ninja and not try to feed on someone else?"

"Think about it, Shino," Naruto spoke up. "Think how this thing had been operating. The first group of attacks was all on regular people. Workers, shop owners, all of them were civilians. But the next two were on kids. A special kind of kid. Anyone remember?"

A pause while everyone had thought. Then: "Academy students," Neji said.

"Bingo. Two who had just started learning how to manipulate their chakra. Then he went after a chuunin. A full-fledged and experienced ninja who had a decent supply of chakra. Then he tried to take me down and would have succeeded had not a few friends rescued me." Naruto had smirked when he noticed the pink tinge of Hinata's cheeks. "Anyone notice the pattern?"

"He went after progressively stronger prey," Shikamaru said. "Each target had more chakra than the previous victim. But what about the most recent attack? The one just after Naruto's? That one was another chuunin."

"That one," Claire spoke up, "was a healing measure. After Hinata successfully wounded it and denied the Yoma the chance to feed, it needed someone else to feed on to replenish its strength. It chose a victim of a rank that the Yoma knew it could eat quickly. But if it is hungry enough to go after someone of Naruto's energy level, it will not be satisfied with anything much weaker. It knows that it can defeat a strong ninja, and will probably be willing to try and defeat three of them if they are not expecting it."

"So he'll be after our chakra, not us specifically?" Ino asked.

"No, he is still after food. A Yoma feeds on the internal organs of humans. This one is being attracted by energy strength, but he wants food more than anything. If and when he attacks, your job will not be to defeat him, only to keep the Yoma from escaping. In order to attack, the Yoma will have to reveal itself and stop suppressing its Yoma power, allowing me to locate it. However, it would assist me greatly if you were to also create an energy spike large enough to be sensed from this building's roof, where I will be waiting."

"Why the roof of the Hokage's Tower?"

"It is a central location. No matter where the Yoma attacks, I will not be dangerously far away and injuries will be kept to a minimum."

"With all due respect to you and your experience as a Yoma hunter," Shikamaru said, "this entire plan seems unnecessarily dangerous. Suppose you aren't quick enough to get there in time and one of us is fatally injured or the Yoma escapes? What then?"

"I admit, this is not a safe plan at all," Claire replied. She lowered her eyes, for the first time not appearing fully confident. "I… have never been a good strategist. There are many among my kind much stronger than I and a good number of them are much better planners. If I had known how difficult this Yoma would be to sense, I would have requested that a former commander of mine be sent instead. However, Naruto has given his full support to each of your individual abilities. He believes that each of you will come out of this alive and able to continue with your ninja careers."

All eyes turned to the blonde man. Every ninja in the room knew how much Naruto valued his friends. He wouldn't put such faith in the plan or their abilities if he didn't honestly think they would be able to come out of it in one piece. Would he?

"Naruto," Sakura asked, "is this true?"

The ninja in question didn't say anything for a few moments. He simply leaned against the office wall with his arms folded and his eyes closed. When his eyes did finally open, he didn't focus them on any one spot. "There are many things I am not sure of in this world. For example, why does ramen taste so damn good, why does Kakashi-sensei insist on being late, and why is Jiraiya such a pervert?" Claire turned a questioning eye to Tsunade at that one but the Hokage just shrugged. "But here are a few things that I am sure of: There is a monster running around out there that has already killed Konoha citizens and could right know be eating another. That monster tore a hole in me and nearly had my intestines with a side of kidney for dinner. I listen to this plan, the plan I helped cook up, mind you, and I think a good bit of it sounds like complete and utter bullshit. Its total lunacy, asking a bunch of ninja, trained to fight ninja, to try and survive against something that would make mincemeat out of them if given a sliver of a chance. But here's the kicker. I would never say anything about my friends or their talents as ninja if I didn't believe with every fiber of my soul." Naruto stared straight into Sakura's eyes. "So, Sakura, in answer to your question, yes, it is true."

Naruto walked over to the door before stopping and lifting his head just slightly. "You guys do what you want. I, however, will carry this plan out, even if I have to burn off every last shred of chakra I have. That Yoma is going down." He walked out the door.

The Hokage's office was silent. Perhaps everyone was letting what Naruto had said sink in. Or maybe they were just cursing him for the melodrama he had just struck them with. Either way, it was Lee who broke the tension. He walked straight up to Claire, stood as straight as he could and gave the shorter warrior a salute.

"Claire-san, it will be an honor to assist in your hunt of the Yoma." Lee turned on his heel and left the office; Neji and Tenten followed close behind.

Ino and Chouji shared a look before staring at Shikamaru. He shrugged. "I don't know how a Yoma thinks, so I have no way of creating a plan to oppose one. Any plan, no matter how dangerous it may seem on the surface, is better than sitting around and playing to the enemies tune." The former Team 10 exited, with Ino giving Sakura a parting shot to the arm.

Kiba and Shino left as well. "That freak won't know what hit him," Kiba said, with Akamaru barking an agreement.

"The Yoma or Naruto?" Shino asked.

"Ask me again tomorrow morning."

There were just four people left in the office now, Tsunade, Sakura, Hinata, and Claire. The Claymore warrior sighed slightly before turning to Tsunade. "If you will excuse me, Hokage-sama. I would like to find Naruto. I have an idea that might allow him to be more effective against the Yoma." With a small bow, the slayer strode out the door.

Silence once more reigned in the office. Hinata turned to Tsunade. "Everyone's…"

"Very nervous. I don't blame them. They will be fighting a new type of enemy, one that they have little information on and even less on how to fight it. But I agree with Naruto. If anyone can go into a battle like this blind and still come out of it alive, it's this group."

"But if I had been a little slower, Naruto would…"

"But you weren't," Sakura interrupted. "Never sell yourself short, Hinata. Every single one of your friends knows how strong a ninja you are. It's your father's fault that he can't see that. And I know for a fact that you and I are the one's that Naruto would always pick to fight along side him."

Hinata's face had lifted up at that. Naruto would want her fighting alongside him in a fight like this? Well, if that were the case, she wouldn't let him down. "Thank you, Sakura." Hinata smiled at her friend before hurrying out to try and find her teammates.

Sakura turned to look at her sensei. Tsunade had buried her face in her palms. Sakura knew that pose. The Hokage was about to start in on a bottle of sake or three. It was her way of trying to calm herself down when things got a bit too stressful. Sakura and Shizune had teamed up to try and break the older woman of that habit, but had thus far failed. Giving a mental shrug, Sakura walked over to the little cupboard that Tsunade kept her bottles in and pulled one out. Perhaps one day of indulgence wouldn't hurt too much.

"Sakura?"

She jumped at the voice. Tsunade still had her face covered. "Yes?"

"What is your impression of Claire?"

Sakura thought for a minute. "Well, she seems to know her own limits and is confident in them. She has a good amount of experience with Yoma and is worried about the plan. She doesn't seem entirely confident in her plan's chances for success."

Tsunade looked up at the sake bottle but didn't open it. "I get that feeling, too. Naruto doesn't seem to be behind it wholeheartedly, either."

"He did make that speech, though."

"That was in support of everyone's abilities, not in support of the plan. He has faith that everyone will come out of this because you are each strong, not because this idea is foolproof." Tsunade met her student's gaze. They had gotten to know each other extremely well over the past five years, and Sakura frequently knew what her teacher was thinking, but Tsunade's eyes were unreadable. "Stick close to Naruto, Sakura. Out of everyone in this village, it's you two who I don't think I could stand to lose. Keep each other safe."

Sakura bowed. "I will do as my teacher wishes."

All of that seemed like it had happened long ago, not just an hour. Sakura and the others had coordinated with all of the available jounin and ANBU, saying that patrols were being stepped up. Those who asked were told that it was Hokage's orders, nothing more. Many of them were suspicious, but they still went off to do their new jobs.

Sakura bit her lip. The Yoma could be anybody. That being said, it was possible that the Yoma would figure everything out and avoid the trap entirely, and leaving the village would just bring misfortune onto the next town that it attacked. Sakura had seen the amount of money that the Claymore's service was costing Konoha. A small village would not be able to afford something so expensive.

A thud behind her brought Sakura out of her mental troubles. She turned around to find that Naruto and Claire had come back, the blond ninja apparently having given the foreign warrior a ride. The Claymore looked normal, but Naruto's clothes were dirty and torn in some places and his face and hands showed numerous cuts, scratches, and bruises. There were even spots of blood. "Where the hell have you two been and why the hell does Naruto look like he's already fought the Yoma?"

"We've been training," Naruto replied as he came up next to Sakura, "and the training got a little rough."

"A little?" Sakura grabbed Naruto's hand and looked it over. "These scratches suggest that the Kyuubi's been doing some healing recently. If I were to roll up your sleeve, would I find similar wounds?"

"You would," Claire said as she joined the two of them. "Naruto's problem when he fought the Yoma was that his movements were too readable."

"Readable?"

"The Yoma was sensing how and where the chakra flowed throughout Naruto. He knew exactly where Naruto was going to go and what he was going to do the moment that Naruto decided to do it."

"Claire was helping to suppress the Kyuubi's chakra," Naruto said. "We sparred and every time she read my chakra she blocked and even got a few sword strikes in. Kind of learning through trial and error."

"Is that so? And if you had lost a limb?" Sakura asked.

"He was in no danger," Claire said. "I may not be a good planner but I know not to cripple any allies that I might have."

Sakura snorted but let the matter drop. After this was all over Tsunade would probably have a few words with the blonde and the Claymore over their method of preparation, but for the moment there was nothing that could be done about it. As it was, Tsunade was inside the tower below their feet trying to get as much information about the Claymore out of Raki as was humanly possible. It had been decided between teacher and apprentice that they needed to find out as much as possible about their guests as they could and since Raki needed to be put somewhere out of danger, the boy was placed under the Hokage's semi-watchful gaze, leaving Claire to Sakura.

"Claire-san?"

"What is it?"

"If I may ask, how many of your kind are there?"

Claire turned to look at Sakura. "Why do you wish to know?"

Sakura shrugged. "Simple curiosity. You're a stranger here, and an ally. I would like to say that I at least know something about you."

"There is one slayer assigned to each region of our homeland. Some get added, and others are killed but there are usually 47 in all."

"That few?" Sakura asked.

"That is all that is needed. The weaker ones are given smaller regions and the stronger ones larger areas, so it balances itself out."

"Why did you become a Claymore?"

"I am not a Claymore. Regular humans picked that name for us. The Organization does not have a name."

Slightly taken aback, Sakura forged on. "All right, why did you become a… well, whatever you are?"

Claire faced away from the two shinobi and started scanning the horizon line, saying nothing.

Now Sakura was becoming annoyed. The whatever she called herself was bringing on a major headache. Claire had answered few questions and ignored countless others. If she wanted the trust of Konoha's ninja, she had better shape up. Sakura was about to start in on the slayer when a hand on her shoulder caught her attention. Naruto turned Sakura around and quietly shook his head. "Let her be. Each of us has things they would rather not talk about. If Claire wants to keep her life story to herself, we should grant her that much."

"You can't be serious, Naruto. She must have told you something. What did she say?"

"She said nothing and I didn't ask. As I said, we each have things that we keep hidden; let Claire have hers."

Sakura was seething. Naruto was trying to lecture her? Sasuke had never revealed anything and look what happened to him. "But still, others have kept things all bottled up and been at the mercy of emotions that no one else could understand because they were never told anything. Don't you at least think that-" Sakura stopped midsentence. She had suddenly become distracted.

"That chakra spike must have been felt all over the village," Sakura thought. Claire had already shot off in the direction of the source and Naruto was following close behind. Sakura could only think of one thing as she prepared to leap after them.

"That chakra came from the direction of Hinata's patrol…"

In the six years that Hinata had been partnered with Kiba and Shino, she had come to learn many things about the world that she lived in. Bugs were okay so long as you left the hive alone, dogs always smelled, and flea repellent was a good investment for long-term missions. But two facts in particular stood out. One, it was a good idea to get as far away from Kiba and Akamaru when they were doing marking training.

The second was that Shino's kikai bugs were the best damn motion detectors ever invented.

The former team eight had just landed between trees and was preparing to jump up to continue their patrol. Nothing unusual had occurred and Kiba was starting to mutter that the entire plan was completely ridiculous. But then Shino had said that a few of his bugs were giving him some weird readings.

That was when all hell broke loose.

The ring of trees to Hinata's right simply exploded. She didn't have time to do anything but turn to watch as a dark mass hurtled into her side, sending her clear through a few other trees. Shino, Kiba, and Akamaru didn't fare any better, as they were each sent in varying directions. She landed hard on the group before finally skidding to a stop. Her eyes just would not focus. It was hard enough to see anything due to the sun having nearly completely set and her landing was not helping. The only sense that was working properly was her hearing and that was telling her more than she wanted to know. Something was stomping towards her; it was growling and snarling...

AN: Ooh, a cliffy...one that will eventually be erased and replaced with the action that everyone wants.

Before anyone makes note of it, yes, I do specialize in melodramatic speeches. I'll try to keep them to a minimum.

Don't worry when a long period goes between updates. I keep getting ideas for the future, so I refuse to just give up. On that note, if anyone was wondering about the Claymore divergence point, the Claymore side is happening post-Slashers, pre-Endless Gravestones.

Reviews, comments, and suggestions for improvement are welcome. Also, any hints for how to make fully formed mental images flow out through the fingers are appreciated.