25

*Just after Sasuke's escape*

"I left you in charge of him, snake." There was a deadly tone in the words that even a deaf man could hear. The onlookers, mostly unimportant members of Akatsuki and Orochimaru's and Madara's gathered militia, shivered in wary anticipation. For once, they would not be the target of their leader's ire. "What reason did you think was important enough that you could disobey my direct order for even a moment?"

"Madara-sama, I-" came the stuttered reply.

"What reason can you give me not to burn you to cinders?" There was a pause this time, long enough that the so-called snake assumed it was his turn to grovel and scrape at the ground.

"Ma-Madara-sama! I received information of a traitor in our midst-"

"Something that is woefully obvious, seeing as our usual blond-haired oddity isn't around anymore." Madara said scathingly. There was another pause, as if the other seemed to debate whether it was worth it to attempt speaking again. But speak he did.

"I went to investigate. I was only gone for a short while, but then I received word that the two guards I had posted at the Uchiha's door had been killed when they didn't report in as per usual. I pursued them, but I couldn't track them before their trail disappeared."

"And what condition did you leave Sasuke in that he, injured, along with Deidara, could outrun one of the Sannin?" Madara spat out.

The eldest living Uchiha turned from his spot in the middle of the amphitheater-like room to face Orochimaru, who was shamefully cowering in a scraping bow, trying to beg for his life. It seemed the man had forgotten how few people they had in their military force. Madara could not afford to lose any of his men, no matter how disgustingly gutless they were. But, then again, it was always a good thing for his lackeys to see powerful men bow at his feet.

"I had just….I had just had him healed an hour or two prior in preparation for another…session." Orochimaru said slowly.

Madara pinched the bridge of his nose, not necessarily showing his frustration as much as his irritation with the man in front of him. He let the Sannin wallow in the silence for a good minute and a half before speaking again.

"You will go and choose your five best men. Zetsu will tell you where we are meeting and when. We are continuing our plans to interrupt the Chuunin exams this year. Hopefully we will fare better than Suna and yourself did." He added the last bit as a hind thought and a warning while he swept out of the room and into the long, intersecting, confusing halls of Orochimaru's hideout.

"And hopefully Sasuke and Uzumaki will join us." He muttered to himself as he left.

xXx

The four people that were brought to the south end of the Forest of Death (by various methods of subterfuge to avoid any mention of Nigasugakure's members' names in the open), had been confused and wary, but the moment they came into contact with one another, they realized the culprit behind this meeting.

"So, which one of you is Naruto?" Kakashi finally asked the group of nine that had brought each of them there. One of them grinned before the air around each of them shimmered and whatever illusion had been in place dropped. Before them stood the same eight people who had left the village not long before with two additions. Kakashi's eye smiled when it hovered on Sasuke, but when it reached Deidara, it widened. His gaze darted to Naruto.

"As good as it is to see you, Naruto, and you, Sasuke, I am a bit confused at seeing another- although I'm sure former- member of Akatsuki in your group."

"Deidara rescued Sasuke from Orochimaru and Madara." Naruto grinned. Kakashi blinked and nodded, accepting the fact easily.

"So, what do you need us to do?" Iruka asked, not stupid enough to think the ninja around them had invited them for a social gathering.

"We need to find my father's house, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto started. "We have some things to do here, and it would be better if we didn't stay in the village. Plus, I really want to see it." Naruto grinned as he explained, looking to Kakashi expectantly, with a quick glance at Jiraiya as well. The two of them nodded, and seeing expectant glances from the rest of Naruto's group, took off to show them.

It was after only a few minutes of fast-paced running north of the village through the trees, that Naruto found himself looking at his ancestral home, a huge thing that barely hid among the giant trees of Konohagakure. It was not surprising, though, that no one had found the place in all of Konoha's recent history, as the few biography books on the Fourth Hokage had mentioned numerously. The place could only be seen by those allowed to see it, as demonstrated when Naruto, Jiraiya, and Kakashi stopped dead in place when the house appeared while the others kept on going.

After a few seconds of confusion, all was explained, and Naruto's group was quickly entering what could easily be considered a mansion. It seemed that, with the rightful owner's permission, anyone could see the building. The place was built in the classical Japanese style, with shoji screen doors and bamboo mats, among other things. The place was larger even than the ancestral Uchiha home in Konoha, with many rooms and many gardens. It was a grand setting, enough to make one wonder what standing Minato Namikaze had held, even before he had become the hokage.

It was indeed a grand setting, however, Naruto merely took a glance at everything and set off to find a suitable room to sit and plan. Everyone else followed him, giving him curious looks. His face was clear of emotion, but that was enough to tell the others that something had upset the blond. No one said anything, though, knowing that he would speak if he needed to. Sasuke just glared at his surroundings. And, strangely enough, so did Itachi.

It was a good thing that none of Naruto's former sensei or the Kazekage had no objections to helping them, even considering the fact that they were aiding and abetting known rogue ninja. Hours later, plans had been formed among Nigasu and their four allies. Iruka was to find a way to enter them into the Chuunin exams, whilst Jiraiya and Kakashi were to help them search for anything in Minato's manor that could be of aid to their new cause. Naruto had personally pled with Gaara to help them contact Killer Bee, and although the red-head looked displeased with the idea, it was clear he had no intention of refusing Naruto's request.

"Who'll infiltrate the exam? Judging from their expressions, I'd say Naruto and Sasuke want to go," Iruka said, noticing the smirks that had made their way onto their faces. "But who shall be the third, and the sensei? Not to mention the village you are coming from."

"That, I can handle. If you manage not to break your cover, I can vouch for you. You'll be ninja from one of my outlying villages, which could explain the lack of Suna jutsu." Iruka nodded in appreciation for the cover story.

"I will be their mentor." Konan said. "Too many people in Konoha know Itachi's mannerisms, and, as good as he is, he could let something slip unintentionally."

Itachi nodded in agreement. "I will be the third member of the team, instead. But, I must ask this." He directed at their allies. "Could we infiltrate a second team? It would be useful to have backup on the inside of this, in case Madara and his people are also in the exams. And they can also drop out at any time if need be."

Gaara thought for a long moment, then he nodded. "Yes, if we are careful. However I do not wish for there to be another incident such as the last one. Relations with Konoha are still tenuous, as I have already told you. You must be careful to not reveal yourselves."

Iruka watched as Nigasu mulled over the possibilities of the second team. "Who will be the sensei of this team? Have you thought on it?"

"Yes." Naruto said. "Sai, would you be up to it?"

Sai nodded immediately.

"How about we have two sensei for this team?" Kakashi asked. "The second sensei of a team often has more freedom to come and go during the exam. Since you have nine people, it would be good to have one person who can come and go as they please, and if an opportunity outside the exam arises, they could possibly take care of it."

"That's an interesting idea." Deidara said, nodding. "If I could be the second sensei, then we could allow Juugo, Karin, and Suigetsu to work together as they normally do.

Sasuke nodded. "Yes, they work better together, and Deidara is so irritating that no one would really miss him if he disappeared."

"Ah! You're such a mean Brother-in-Law!" Deidara cried, pouting. Iruka and Kakashi's eyebrows rose, while Gaara just stared. Jiraiya's eyes just brightened in amusement, and Naruto noted with a groan the familiar light of an idea for one of his books taking root in his mind. The rest of Nigasu just sighed, used to the antics of Deidara already.

"Then we're set." Naruto said to the room at large. "Nigasu will make its opening move a week from now, when the Chuunin exams begin."