"Good news, Anzu." A man walked up to a slender woman stuck in a jail cell. Her Stone Village headband hung from one of the bars. She glared at the man and snarled.

"You're gonna finally kill me so I can be put out of my misery?"

"I wish," The man rolled his eyes. "Anyway, two ladies have bailed you out from your clan. You're free to go." The bars were rolled to the side as Anzu snatched her headband and grumbled.

"That's bullshit, my family hates me." She trudged to the center of the jail to talk with the warden and the two women.

-Earlier-

"Well, even though I support my village, it does feel good to lose the headband. It was so bulky." Kaminari explained as she lightly massaged her waist where her headband originally resided. Ren laughed.

"Yeah, I agree with that. Anyway, the next member I'm going to go after is in the Stone Village branch."

"Damn, so far away?"

"Yeah, it sucks; but I feel she can do so much for us."

"Who is she? Maybe I've heard of her."

"I know I haven't. Anyway, her name is Anzu Chihiro. All I know…or basically: all the Leaf Village branch was willing to tell me, Anzu is an expert at Quintessence: a mix of lightning and chakra. It's a deadly combination."

"Yeah, I know. It's the Chihiro clan's specialty. Either you have the ability or you don't. Do you, Ren?"
"Yeah, I do, but I'm not that experienced. Sure, I know three or four jutsus requiring Quintessence, but not even near enough to call me a master. I know for a fact Anzu has more skill than me."

"How so?"

"Well, there's no turning back now. Her bail payment was a huge bitch to pay. Thank goodness Kakuzu kicked the bucket so I can snatch his money."

"Well, that's good…Wait…Bail money? She's in jail?"

"Yup. I was talking to the warden by messenger birds before I went to you first to see if Anzu was in any condition to assist us; or better yet, what she was in for."

"And…?"

"Assault."

"Well that doesn't seem…"

"For the third time this year."

"Holy shit! What's the girl's problem? She's a loose cannon!"

"Who knows? But…It wouldn't really hurt to at least know why she's that way. Maybe she'll cooperate." Kaminari sighed.

"Fine…But don't blame me if this was a complete waste of time."

"Why would I anyway? You had nothing to say about this. If this was a total bust, we'd both blame me."

"Well, at least you're honest."
"Yeah, I only take the blame when need be."

"You're a good leader, Ren."
"Thanks…?"
"What?"

"We haven't even started the mission yet and you already called me a good leader. What if I suck?" Kaminari rolled her eyes.

"You seem like a good leader. Would it also kill you to be a little more optimistic about yourself? You're an amazing ninja."
"Thanks, but…I have my reasons why I'm pessimistic towards my actions, skills, and weaknesses."

"Uh huh…"

"…" Ren was silent, leaving Kaminari hanging on the conversation." Kaminari cleared her throat.

"Well…"

"Well what?"

"Tell me your reasons."

"It's a long story…Let's just say being ridiculed, taunted, made fun of…"

"Oh,"

"Yeah, that type of shit."

"I'm sorry, Ren."

"Eh…Nothing you can do. It's just kinda hard to move on…Now; can we please change the subject?"

"Of course." Kaminari offered a small smile.

-Back to the Present-

"If this is some kind of bullshit joke…" Anzu growled at the warden, making him roll his eyes.

"I don't joke, here." The warden shoved her towards the two ladies. Anzu blinked as she analyzed them and the Chihiro crest on their necklaces.

"Who the hell are you two?"

"I'm Ren, and this is Kaminari. We're from the Waterfall and Rain Village branches."

"Good for you, now what do you want with me?"

"Well, it's…"

"Ladies, you have to leave. My lunch break is in five minutes." The warden spoke up.

"Got it." Kaminari nodded. "Let's go." The two lead Anzu out the door, oblivious to Anzu exposing the warden her middle finger.

As the three walked to training ground of the village, Anzu spoke up.

"So spit it, you wouldn't bail me out if you didn't want something from me. You don't even know me."

"Let me just ask you this: do you like your village?" Kaminari beat Ren to the question.

"Fuck no; they treat me like shit here. Why should I suffer in this hellhole?" Ren blinked.

"What do they do to you?" Ren asked.

"Let's not get into detail. Now what do you two want with me?"

"I'm forming a team to kill Sasuke Uchiha."

"You mean the dipshit that killed Orochimaru?"

"Yeah,"

"That's it?"

"She also wants to protect the guy he's trying to kill: his brother."

"And?"

"Her boyfriend." Anzu rolled her eyes.

"Psh. Why the hell would you want to get me involved in a stupid little overrated thing called love?"

"He's not the main reason why I'm asking you." Ren murmured in a little agitated tone.

"Then what is?"

"Because I need Sasuke dead, and I can't do it alone. You're a master of the clan's specialty: quintessence. I'm just an amateur at quintessence jutsus; having you on our side would cover up my flaws. Not to mention, you'd be a great killer to anyone that tries to stop us."

"Did you say killing?" Anzu blinked, a little shocked.

"Is that a problem? Killing people who try to slow the team down?"

"Hell no, I'm up for it! I'd love to kill these bastards polluting my space in the village."

"Well we're not staying here. In fact, you can't wear your headband. Not wearing it would not get the villages involved if we were to get in trouble." Anzu slammed her headband on the ground and kicked dirt over it.

"Fuck yeah! I'm tired of the authority here."

"So…you're in?" Kaminari blinked.

"Oh, yeah…Sure. Just meet me back here in 45 minutes; I need to pack my stuff." Ren smiled.

"Of course we will. Thanks for joining us."

"Sure, whatever." Anzu walked away with a purpose. Kaminari blinked as Ren took a big exhale when Anzu was out of sight.

"You okay, Ren?"

"What's her problem?! I've never seen a more chaotic person than her. She's a ticking time bomb."

"Yeah, are you sure about recruiting her?"

"To be honest, no. I didn't think she'd be this brutal and psycho."

"Should we just leave?"

"No. Let's just wait for 45 minutes to see if she even comes back." Kaminari shrugged.

"Whatever you say, Ren."

-2 hours later-

The sun began to set behind the mountains. Ren leaned against a tree as Kaminari sat on the grass, annoyed.

"Has it been 45 minutes yet?"

"I'm pretty sure it's been at least 90." Kaminari growled and slowly stood up, stretching her arms.

"This was a fucking waste of time. Why travel for days only to recruit a psycho bitch? We'd be better off without-" Ren sighed and looked at the darkening sky, jumping a little when Kaminari formed a blood curdling scream. "My chakra!"
"Kaminari!" Ren leaped next to her with an arm on her katana. Kaminari was coated in a bright blue aura-like energy mass that occasionally flashed to white. Ren gasped.

"A Kokoro Bomb?" She observed a jutsu that she was familiar with, even using herself. But who casted it? And who wanted Kaminari unable to use her chakra and to paralyze her?

"Ren, help me! I can't move!" Kaminari grunted. Ren's left hand, right still on her katana, began to flash a similar energy to break the jutsu.

"What the hell happ-" Ren grunted as a lightning bolt struck her to the ground. As she fell with a hard thud, she glanced at a shadow which slowly approached her. She quickly recognized the individual's chakra.

"Anzu…" Ren murmured as she quickly did a flip to avoid another energy blast. "Anzu, what the hell are you doing?" Anzu appeared with a mischievous smirk on her pale face.

"You know, Ren, I don't take orders; I make them. And this little duel is between you and me. If you somehow manage to beat me, I'll consider joining the two of you."

"Consider? You said you were going to-"

"Shut up! This doesn't involve you!" Anzu interrupted Kaminari, who was still unable to move or fight. Ren nodded.

"I have no choice but to accept. Bring it then." Anzu unleashed a loud growl and fired a massive ball of energy towards Ren; attempting to cast the same jutsu used on Kaminari.

"Kokoro Bomb!" Ren did a handful of graceful back flips to hide behind a tree, absorbing the attack for her. Ren snarled as she began to plan her battle with her mind. "She's an expert at quintessence, no doubt about it. Also at long range, so I can't use my katana. Looks like I just have to use my fire and earth jutsus." She paused in her train of thoughts to discover the tree suddenly vanished into thin air as Anzu called her next attack: "Kokoro Bomb: Rebirth!" Kaminari panted as she thought to herself. "From what I know of that jutsu, it's supposed to bring any object to life for as long as you want if you have the chakra to feed it. It's literally unstoppable…right? Ren's done for!" Ren got into a fighting stance as the tree trudged towards her in a slow manner. Anzu smirked.

"Beat that!"

"With pleasure." Ren growled as she made a few hand signs herself. "Devil's Spit Jutsu!" She took in a large amount of air and exhaled an ever larger fire blast; heading towards the tree. The tree quickly ignited as Anzu growled, trying to move the tree away from the blaze unsuccessfully.

"Shit. Well…Have another!" She fired another Rebirth jutsu as a ton of rocks and stones began to toss themselves at Ren. As Ren quickly dodged one after the other, she kept her eye contact with Anzu. The strategy backfired as a medium sized rock hit her above the right breast, bring her to her knees. She grunted.

"Son of a bitch…"

"Ren!" Kaminari murmured, trying to find some way out of the jutsu. Anzu grinned devilishly in victory.

"Now stay! Kokoro Bomb!" The flash of energy headed towards Ren, who couldn't dodge fast enough. She grunted as she slid back a couple feet, now paralyzed.

"Ren!" Kaminari repeated, shouting this time. Anzu smirked, now certain victory was hers.

"Wow, someone pathetic as you is getting some sort of team together to kill some guy? You can't even lay a finger me!" Anzu laughed maniacally. "Kiss your life goodbye; and you're partner's next." As Anzu joined her right index and right middle fingers together to form a lightning bolt, she began to rapidly poke the air; trying to get some sort of spark. "Wait a minute…what the fuck?!" Kaminari blinked.

"What the hell's going on? Why can't she form a single lightning bolt?"

"I don't know." Ren appeared behind Anzu with her katana at her throat, free hand binding her hands. It took a matter of seconds for the jutsu cast on Kaminari to eventually ware off. Kaminari jumped into action. Ren glanced at her.

"The battle's already over, Kami." Ren stated. "I win."

"But how? What the hell just happened?"

"I'll tell you what happened, I-" Anzu began but Ren inched her katana closer to her neck, cutting a small piece of her orange hair to let her know she meant business.

"You remain silent. And as for your fighting style, you're not bad."

"How did you-"

"I told you to shut it! Now, you're too reckless. All you were focused on was killing me. The two Kokoro Bomb: Rebirth jutsus are what sealed you in! People claim the jutsu's unstoppable and an instant win for the user. Those people are what I like to call: dumb fucks! The jutsu's a fucking chakra guzzler; the longer you use it, the more chakra you blow on it! Simple as that; and you already lose a small fraction of your chakra just to cast the damn thing. Look, you don't have an infinite supply of chakra! Nobody has; and nobody will. Next time you even dare to fight an individual, whether it's me, Kaminari, or some other moron; plan your fucking attacks! It's people like you that drove me up the fucking wall in the Leaf Village: reckless, careless, and a bitch to tolerate!" Ren panted for a while, not loosening her grip on Anzu as she tried to calm herself down. Kaminari's eyes were wider than usual while trying to fight back a chuckle. "I don't think I've ever seen anyone have a huge tirade before…And she's usually a calm person." While Kaminari thought to herself, Ren kneed Anzu in the middle of her back; causing her to fall to her knees.

"Well, Kaminari, let's just go. We wasted enough time trying to recruit her."

"Sounds good with me." Kaminari nodded. As the two looked at each other, they began to make their way to the village exit.

"Wait!" A sudden cry halted them in their tracks. The two glanced and gasped to see Anzu still on her knees and bawling. A hand was reaching out towards them. Kaminari snarled a little as Ren walked up to Anzu, who was now hysterical. Tears flowed out of her sockets while her voice was mixed with sobs and screams. "Don't leave me; you have no idea what I go through here!" Kaminari blinked.

"O….K? What just happened?" Ren knelt down towards Anzu.

"Relax, just calm yourself. What do you go through?"

"Hell! Neglect, taunting, animosity!"

"Sh…" Ren cautiously held her in her arms, causing Kaminari to gasp.

"Ren what are you doing? She's dangerous!" Anzu embraced Ren lightly, much to the shock of Kaminari.

"It's okay, Kaminari. Talk to me, Anzu." Ren cooed as Anzu grimaced, hating the fact she was in tears.

"I barely graduated the academy since I had no jutsus. I didn't discover my ability to use quintessence jutsus until after the Chunin Exams. My taijutsus suck and I can't fire a damn shuriken without it missing. Hell, I couldn't do anything! Everyone, including my own teammates, destroyed my life. They heckled me, beat me up, and always tried to baby me!"

"Destroyed your life? Go on." Ren held her tightly. Anzu finally replaced her sobs with a deeper tone of voice.

"I may be still a Genin, but now I have quintessence skills; and I'm going after everyone who made my life miserable! They will know what true pain is when I wipe their existence from the face of the universe!"

"So…Revenge is what you want?" Kaminari asked, hesitantly placing a hand on Anzu's head.

"Of fucking course! Why do you think I get into all these fights? I want people to feel my cold bloody wrath!" Ren suddenly smiled.

"Anzu, why waste your energy on such lowlifes? You'll have the last laugh when they discover that you're now in the big leagues. I'm with the Akatsuki, and we're trying to protect Itachi Uchiha while killing his younger brother Sasuke. You can cut off all ties with your village and be a nomad. We'll help you turn the page and burn the old."

"You will?" Anzu sniffed. Kaminari smiled.

"Sure." Anzu suddenly pulled the three of them into a group hug.

"Finally, my wishes have been granted. A new start of life for me…Thank you; Ren….What was your name again?" She pointed to Kaminari, making her frown.

"Kaminari."

"Whatever. Now…Before we go…Can we stop off at my house? I need to get something."

"Sure, just one thing." Ren announced.

"Spill it."

"We're not against you; we're with you. We're on your side."

"I know that-"

"So you treat us with respect. We're your allies, friends, and family. We are one." Anzu nodded.

"Got it. Now let's go…Please?"

"Of course." Ren smiled as the three headed towards a small cottage. It only took Anzu about 3 minutes to come out wearing a gold necklace decorated with a diamond ruby and red detail.

"Thanks, I needed to get this necklace. It means a lot to me."

"What does it signify?" Kaminari asked, curious.

"Oh, it used to belong to this one girl. She was the first person I beat the shit out of." Ren and Kaminari laughed nervously.

"Uh…Let's go get the last person." Ren blinked. "She's a member of the Grass Village."

"Name?" Kaminari asked.

"Benika, she's an expert in Earth style jutsu."

"Aren't you too?"

"Stop calling me an expert in everything. I'm above average…but not expert. Let's just go." Ren laughed. Anzu smiled.

"Thanks again, guys. I promise I will be the best teammate I can be."