Chapter 8: Return of the Don

A whole hour passed by before they finally reached land again, touching the shores of the far western continent. The plane slowed and got stuck in the sand close to the shore, so Naruto, with a well placed Suiton jutsu, washed the plane high up onto the beach. After all, they didn't want to be stranded on this new continent.

While this was going on Aeris walked away from the group and strolled leisurely across the sand. The ocean's tide came up close to her boots as she walked and she could feel the spray of the waves against her face and arms, blown up by the breeze.

She stopped next to a gathering of large rocks piled up alongside a small cliff. They seemed fairly stable, so Aeris placed her staff down on the ground and began to climb. She climbed carefully, placing one boot in front of the other and grasping onto the jutting out rocks for balance. When she finally reached the topmost rock she sat down, and looked out into the distance.

It was an absolutely beautiful view. She could see the ocean for miles around, as well as the faint line of the other continent at the top of the horizon. That land seemed to stretch out to the left as far as she could see, and she wondered where it ended. She believed she could even see the tower of Cosmo Canyon – but that could easily have been another mountain.

Breathing in Aeris felt her lungs fill full of fresh sea air. The salty taste woke her senses and pushed away the fatigue and stress of their journey. She could hear nothing but the ocean crashing loudly against the rocks, sending clouds of spray up into the air. One particularly large wave hit the rock in front of her, and spray flew up and fell down over her. It was cool against her skin, and as she opened her eyes and watched the spray fall, she could think of no better moment than this. Moments like these were what she treasured the most, and she wanted to just get lost in the moment. She almost did, until she looked down at the rocks beside her.

"Oh! Yuffie!"

Yuffie was standing on the sand next to Aeris's staff. She seemed startled when Aeris called out to her and looked up in surprise, before a cheerful smile spread on the ninja's face. She gave Aeris a little wave before jumping expertly across the rocks to where Aeris was sitting. Aeris shifted over a little as Yuffie jumped up to her, and the youthful ninja sat herself down on the rock.

"It's a nice alcove, isn't it?" Yuffie said, sounding somewhat serious for the first time.

Aeris nodded. "Yes, it is," she replied. "When I was in Midgar, I remember reading about places like this, but I never thought I'd actually get to see them." She pulled her knees up to her chest and leaned her head back, eyes closed, as though she was listening quietly to something. "I wonder what they call this place…?"

"The Mountains of the Korei no Senshi."

Aeris opened her eyes and looked at Yuffie. "Hmm?" she said.

Yuffie sighed heavily and slowly climbed to her feet, looking out at the clear blue ocean. "The mountains, and the land surrounding them, are known as the Mountains of the Korei no Senshi, or 'Mountains of the Ancient Warriors'," she said. She put her arms behind her back and began to walk slowly across the rock. "All the powerful ninja's of Wutai fought here in the past. They fought here to protect Wutai,"

"Hmmm, that sounds familiar,"

They both turned to see Naruto and Kyuubi. Naruto explained that this land looked a lot like the land surrounding his village, apart from the sea and beach.

"Konoha. It seems like such a long time ago that I left there," said Naruto, his eyes drifting into the distance.

Aeris was about to ask Naruto a little more, but as she was about to speak she heard Cloud's voice calling out to them above the waves. She looked past Kyuubi's shoulder and saw Cloud with all the others. They were standing away from the beach now, at the entrance to a steep and rocky path leading up to the top of the first cliff. Cloud waved at them, signaling for them to hurry up.

"We're coming!" Yuffie called back. She looked back at Naruto and smiled softly, before she turned away and jumped down off the rocks in one long leap. She landed perfectly on the ground and darted off to the others.

Kyuubi was about to follow when she felt someone grab her hand. Looking back she saw that it was Naruto that was holding her hand. His face was bright red as he stammered out that he didn't want her to slip. The fox smiled as the two jumped down and landed with the same grace as Yuffie.

When Aeris had finished carefully climbing down the rocks and caught up to the others, they headed on up the path. It was much steeper than they first thought, so they took their time and headed up steadily so they wouldn't tire. Even so it wasn't long until their muscles were burning from the effort of walking, and had to slow down even more.

They walked almost in single file, with Naruto, Kyuubi and Nanaki leading the way while Yuffie and Cait were lagging behind at the back. Cait was the furthest back – his Mog body finding it difficult to maneuver across the rocks. He had to go really slow and walk around the bigger ridges, and spent a lot of time fiddling with his controls and muttering to himself.

Eventually Naruto and Nanaki reached the top of the path and stepped onto the cliff. Up here the air was cooler and much breezier, and ruffled Nanaki's fur. The hound opened his mouth wide and flared his nostrils. Like that he was able to catch almost every scent that the wind brought with it – mostly the scent of the ocean and the mountains around them. One by one the others caught up to them and stood on the top of the cliff, looking around. They stood there enjoying the rest when all of a sudden…

"There they are, catch 'em!"

Naruto looked up. His eyes widened as he saw two Shinra soldiers running across the bridge towards them, their rifles at the ready. Before anyone had a chance to move or realize what was happening the soldiers had run up and surrounded them. They raised their rifles and aimed at the group.

"You guys can be speedy when you want to," said Naruto.

"It's Shinra!" shouted Nanaki at the same time, snarling loudly.

The two soldiers stood firm, the barrels of their guns held steady as they gazed slowly upon the nine people in front of them. None of the eleven moved. They didn't even dare reach towards their weapons in case the soldiers chose to open fire on them. The soldiers gazed from one person to the other. "Hey, that's not them!" one of them said finally. "These are the other guys from before!"

The two Shinra soldiers continued to stand and stare at the group in front of them, unsure of what they should do. Even though this wasn't the group they had been sent out to get, they did know that Shinra wanted them as well. One of the soldiers turned to his comrade. "What should we do?" he asked.

"Uh…" the second soldier said, unsure. He thought for a second, before he nodded and turned back to the first soldier. "Get them! Grab them and ask questions later!" He then darted forward, gun at the ready, set to capture them.

He knew from the very start that it was futile trying to capture them. They were a group of eleven, and his group consisted of only two soldiers. They were heavily outnumbered. Even so, orders were orders and he didn't dare to disobey Heidegger or President Rufus.

Sure enough, as he approached Naruto and the others the tables turned in their favor, and the group took advantage of the situation. Kyuubi disappeared as she flashed back into the sword. The soldiers fired too late – the group were right up close and their rifles were useless. Weapons were drawn and zipped past at amazing speeds, and the loud clash of metal striking more metal could be heard. Seconds later two rifles were flung into the air and fell to the ground, crashing and clattering on the rock.

Those rifles were quickly followed by the bodies of the two Shinra soldiers, both of them unconscious and their helmets covered in dents. They weren't dead, but they would surely wake up in a few hours with terrible headaches.

"So what's Shinra doing round here?" asked Naruto to no-one in particular. Everyone came up empty in their heads. Cloud doubted that Shinra knew where they were so the idea of being followed was crossed out.

"Let's just keep going. My hometown is just ahead," said Yuffie. Everyone agreed and so they pressed on.

Unlike the other continents they had visited, which were covered in vast plains of grass and wild monsters, this continent was covered seemingly from head to foot with tall, rocky hills and small cliffs. There were wild monsters; they could see the oversized Bizarre Bugs nesting in the darker crevices, ready to lash out when anyone came near. At any rate, the Bizarre Bugs would probably only attack them if they split up, so as long as they stayed together the monsters would most likely leave them alone.

Naruto looked toward the mountains. Just beneath the mountain was a short rocky ledge (short compared to the mountains, anyway). It seemed to come away from the mountain and came forward in a sort of fold, overlapping part of the mountain. Where Naruto was he could see just behind that fold, and after taking a few more paces forward Naruto could see what it was.

It was another bridge, just like the two they had to cross over in order to get to where they were in the first place. Like the other bridges this one was aged and was missing a few planks here and there, and sloped upwards to another rocky ledge that disappeared over its horizon, meaning it swept back down again. Until then the fold of rock had hidden the bridge from view, but now it was visible.

"C'mon! Follow me," said Yuffie as she headed off in the direction where Naruto was looking. They passed the rocky fold and walked carefully across the rickety old bridge, until they eventually stood on the top of the rocky ledge beyond enough. As they had thought the ledge sloped steadily down towards the land that made up the rest of the new continent.

The last part of the continent varied compared to the rest of it. Up until then all they had seen was a dry rocky land and mountains on all sides, but as the ledge swept downwards that rocky ground became more scattered as grass grew. Eventually the rock disappeared altogether, leaving behind another vast, grassy plain for them to cross. Although it was a disappointment to see grassy plains again, it was a relief to be out of the mountains at last.

"There it is!" pointed Yuffie. "The city of Wutai!"

It felt like stepping into a different world passing through the gates of Wutai. It was as though they had left behind a world of grassy plains and wild, threatening monsters, and instead had entered a dimension that was calm and tranquil. It was an absolutely beautiful village, unlike anything they had ever seen before. It also carried with it an air of mystery and seclusion, seeming as though the wheels of time had stopped completely to keep this village in its beautiful, picturesque state.

They could tell right away that it was a ninja town. The houses were large and hut-like, built mainly of wood that was painted shades of red and grey. The double doors were also made of wood and slid open, with thin but strong sheets of paper in place of windows. The roofs were made of black wood and were specially built so that the curled slightly inwards and upwards to a point, in true oriental style.

Looking at the few people that were wandering around, it was also obvious to tell that this was Yuffie's home. The style of clothing was pretty much the same – tight and free of restriction so they could grab their weapons at the first sign of trouble. There were also the telltale signs of a number of shuriken's close to the hands of the people, although of many different designs.

Running all the way through the village was a beautiful stream, filled with crystal clear water that carried a glorious blue shimmer to it, enhanced by the late afternoon sun. The water sparkled in such a way that it seemed as though the stars were shining in the water, their twinkling light reflected within the depths of the water. Floating on the lightly rippling surface was a number of flat green leaves, and a number of water lilies floated luxuriously alongside them.

Naruto and the others came to a stop and looked around at the beautiful village, their eyes wide in awe. It truly felt like another world or a different time, and they were the invaders, intruding on their peaceful land.

There was a lot more to see on the outskirts of the town. A large cluster of trees – tall and green, surrounded the back end of the town. Yet there was something else rising up out of the forest, even taller than the trees. It was a tall pagoda, with five levels packed one on top of the other, like a guard tower overlooking the town.

What stood out the most, however, was the tall, rising cliff that bordered the northern part of the town. They only glanced at it briefly right then, but what they did see was a large statue carved into the side of the cliff. It was the statue of an ancient figure, a man, with many arms pointing in many directions; surrounded by the faces and figures of others.

Naruto whistled. "Nice place Yuffie," he said with a smile. Yuffie smiled back.

"Ok guys. We'll rest here then head out next morning, kay?" asked Naruto. Hearing no complaints besides Barret's loud whining about not being the leader (again), Naruto then walked off towards a fountain that represented the town square.

As he was walking toward his destination Naruto decided to go to the tavern to gather information. He walked up to the tavern door and pushed it open.

The moment he entered his eyes had fallen on the table nearest to the door, and in particular the three people that were sat there. Those blue suits… the blonde-haired woman, the red-headed man, and the bald man… The Turks!

Hearing the doors slam open, Elena put down her drink and turned her head. Her eyes landed straight on Naruto's face, and after staring at him blankly for a few seconds, she suddenly realised who he was and jumped, almost knocking her drink over the table.

"Y y, you? How did you get here…?" she demanded angrily. She then shook her head fiercely and got up out of her chair, kicking it back and raising her fists. "Never mind that. I guess its fate that brought us together. Get ready to die!"

"That must be the hundredth time I've herd that before," said Naruto, not at all worried.

She glared at him, her eyes so fierce and angry that there might as well have been flames burning inside of them. It reminded him of Sakura's anger with Lee's eyes when he was deeply moved by his 'Flames of Youth'.

"…Elena, you talk too much."

Elena gasped and lowered her fists, spinning round to face Reno. "Ww, what?" she asked, surprised.

Reno didn't even look up at Elena. He just sighed and stuck his finger into his half-empty glass and slowly twirled the shrinking cubes of ice around the container. When he was done stirring them around he flicked his hair out of his eyes and said, "What are we doing way out here in the middle of nowhere?"

Elena blinked, confused by Reno's question. "We're taking our vacation and resting up from our work," she replied.

Slowly Reno nodded his head, and then raised his gaze. He glanced very briefly and without concern at Naruto, and then looked back at Elena. "Now our vacation is ruined," he said.

"B, but…"

"…Even the booze tastes bad now," said Rude, who was sitting across from Reno. The older Turk looked down into his own glass with a scowl on his face, as though he had just drank something old and rotting. He put the glass on the table and pushed it away from him, not prepared to drink any more.

Elena looked from Reno to Rude, and then looked back at Reno. Reno had turned away from her and was drinking out of his glass again. She couldn't believe that they were actually going to ignore Naruto, right when they had walked in on them. Even if they were on their vacation…

"…Sorry…" she said finally, giving in and sitting back down in her chair, pulling it back towards the table. She was about to grab her glass again when she stopped, and gave Naruto another fierce glare. "Hmm, you're lucky all right. Now get out of my sight! The next time we meet I won't be so nice."

"Ah huh, whatever," drawled Naruto as he turned round and walked out of the bar. As he exited two blue-uniformed Shinra soldiers came running down from the far west of the town, from where the pagoda stood. They looked around aimlessly for a second before crossing the northern bridge, heading for the Turtle Paradise bar. They peered through the paper sheet for a second, before they ran straight into the bar, running to the three Turks that were still sitting around the table.

"So our reports were right!" one of the soldiers shouted as they stopped beside the Turk's table. Elena stood up as they approached, but Reno and Rude didn't flinch. "He IS here on vacation! We finally found him! Get the Turks here for back-up!"

The two soldiers waited for the Turks to make a move. They expected the three to jump up out of their chairs and help out right away, and were incredibly surprised when none of the three Turks moved. Instead Reno just looked down at his glass, now his fourth in a line of empty glasses, and didn't look at the soldiers. "…What a drag," he grumbled, pushing the glass away.

The two soldiers gasped and looked at each other in surprise, wondering what Reno meant. The first soldier then turned back. "Ww, what was that…?" he asked.

Reno sighed heavily, and reached out for yet another glass lined up on the table. By now of course the ice had melted, and Reno frowned. "Right now we're off duty and can't run off to save your butts."

"We know you're off duty, but…"

"If you knew that, then don't bother us!" Reno snapped, suddenly sounding angry as he slammed down his glass and spun round to face the two soldiers, an irritated glare in his eyes. "Lookin' at you is makin' me sober."

The two soldiers seemed taken aback by Reno's aggressive attitude. They looked at Rude, who was looking at them through his black shades but saying nothing, his lips pursed tightly together. Elena was looking at Reno in equal surprise, completely confused.

"But you all have orders from headquarters to look for him too!" the first soldier protested. Reno replied by picking up his glass and taking a huge mouthful out of it, swirling it around his mouth before swallowing it in one loud gulp. The soldier stared in disbelief one second more, before he frowned and shook his fist at Reno. "All right, that's it!" he shouted. "We'll get him without any help from the Turks, just you see!"

Reno shrugged, not really caring what the soldiers did. The soldier growled angrily and then stormed out of the Turtle Paradise, his comrade firmly in tow. Seconds later the soldier returned again, still glaring at Reno through his visor.

"And don't think that headquarters isn't going to hear about this!" he shouted threateningly, before he turned and walked back out again, sliding the doors shut behind him. Again Reno shrugged, and turned back to his drink.

Elena watched silently as the two soldiers stormed off, hearing them grumble all the way outside the bar. She felt a little awkward, as she had never disobeyed a direct order from headquarters before. She couldn't believe that Reno was acting in this way, disobeying an order! Thinking that started to make her angry, and she spun around to face him.

"Reno, do you think that was really such a good idea?" she demanded, losing her temper to Reno's laidback attitude. "I mean is that the way a professional, a Turk would act?"

"Elena," Reno said to her calmly, speaking in such a way that it made Elena's blood boil even more. "Don't misunderstand. A pro isn't someone who sacrifices himself for his job. That's just a fool."

Elena stared at him, her fists clenched and shaking, unable to believe her ears. She turned to face Rude. "Rude…?" she said, hoping that at least Rude would see sense.

To her utmost dismay Rude said nothing to agree with her. He simply sighed and looked away from her, placing his glass on the table. "…" was all he could muster.

Elena frowned. "Well, I don't buy that!" she snapped. "Goodbye!" And with that she walked out of the bar, leaving Rude and Reno behind. When she was gone Rude looked up at the door, which was still open.

"…" he muttered silently.

"Relax," Reno assured him. "She's not a child. Let her have her way now…" He then downed the rest of his glass, and signaled to the barman for another healthy round.

After half an hour everyone had gathered round the fountain. Well, almost everyone. Yuffie was nowhere to be seen. They were now deciding which groups to split up in to find her. Naruto, Aeris, Tifa, Vincent and Nanaki were in one group. Cloud, Gaara, Barret, Cait and Cid were in the other one. The two groups split up to try and find her. Naruto's group walked through the southern part of Wutai – a wide open area containing a single large house and the tall pagoda that loomed like a watchtower over the village. Opposite the house there was a structure that looked like a shelter. As they walked passed the shelter structure thing Naruto heard with his chakra enhanced ears, scuffling sounds followed by the words, "Let go! Let go of me!"

Naruto paused and motioned the others to stop as well. He listened again and herd, "Please, let me go. What did I do? Please!" The voice was definitely Yuffie's. Naruto got out his phone and called Gaara, saying that he had located Yuffie. Two minutes later Gaara's group had joined up.

"Ok, something's going on in there and it doesn't sound good. Let's go!" said Naruto. He gently pushed on the door, and sighed with relief as it opened easily at his touch. He signaled to the others before pushing the door open fully, and they stepped through into the darkness.

It was dark at first since there were no lights, so they had to feel their way down a small set of stairs towards the bottom. There were see lights at the end of the stairs – coming from a half open door. As they approached they could hear the sounds of a scuffle, and a voice that could only be Yuffie's coming from the other side. He cautiously opened the door, and they all looked inside.

Sure enough Yuffie was in that room, although she was not looking at Naruto or standing on the floor. She was instead up in the air, held up by the strong arms of a man in a black uniform. She was struggling fiercely, waving her arms and kicking her legs fiercely as she tried to break away. The man had a secure grip on her and she was unable to do anything. Down by the man's feet were her shurikens, thrown aside so that they were useless to her.

"Hey!" Yuffie protested loudly. She tried to turn her head to look down at the man who was holding her, but all she could see was the top of his head. "Let go of me you big….. OW!" She gasped as the man tightened his grip on the back of her neck.

Naruto stared for a moment, watching as Yuffie struggled even harder to break free of the man's expert grip. The man obviously wasn't a member of the Turks – they wore blue uniforms, not black. Naruto thought that maybe the man was a friend, until he caught glimpse of an unfortunately familiar figure standing behind him.

"Oh shit…!" Naruto narrowed his eyes and summoned his sword, preparing for battle.

Standing behind the suited man was a figure Naruto had hoped never to see again, and was sickened to recognise him. That bulbous body, covered up by the long red robe like something out of a royal fantasy. That bald head with its shiny crown… That sickening imagination that he was attractive, and irresistible to women…

"…ho…ho…" the man burbled from the back of the room. He looked up and gazed at Naruto, before a smile appeared on his face and he moved his tilted crown back to the top of his head. "Hohi, hohi! Hohihi!"

"Corneo?" Naruto exclaimed in disbelief. Tifa, Cloud and Aeris groaned in unison, the three of them as dismayed as Naruto that they had encountered Don Corneo again. The others looked around, confused.

They had first met the repulsive Don Corneo back in Midgar. He had been the top man in charge of Sector 6, the Wall Market district of the slums. When they had met him he had been living in luxury, managing the red-light district and the Honeybee Inn, looking for a bridge. Thanks to him, Cloud had been forced to dress up as a woman in order to rescue Tifa, who didn't need rescuing, and following that, Sector 7 had been destroyed. All because he had blabbed about the whereabouts of AVALANCHE. He truly was a sick, self-obsessed individual. They had left him in Sector 6, but never thought for even a second that he would turn up in Wutai.

"Hohi!" Corneo said cheerfully, giving them a little bow. He stood upright again. "I've finally got a new chicky! Two for one, in fact! Hohi, hohi!"

Naruto stared. "Two?" he asked. All he could see was Yuffie, still being held up by the man in the black suit. Then he looked towards the stairs at the far end of the room, and saw what Corneo meant by 'two'.

Up on the stairs was another man in a black suit. In his arms was another woman, being held up above his head just like Yuffie was. Everyone gasped as they recognised this woman, too. The blonde hair and that blue suit were just unforgettable. Elena of the Turks.

"H…hey! Let go of me!" Elena shouted fiercely, her arms pinned to her sides by the second man's equally strong arms. "You're gonna regret this!" The second man didn't seem to be listening to her, and just let Elena continue her pointless struggle. Corneo didn't seem to realise that she was a Turk, and anyway, by herself, Elena could not do much to stop him.

It was in fact very clear that Corneo did not know that she was a Turk, for he was grinning happily with absolute excitement. "Hohi, hohi! Hohihi!" he snorted, almost jumping from the sheer thrill of having caught two ladies at one go. He then gave a little wave and darted up the stairs towards another door, his two men following him close behind.

Corneo glanced back as he ran through the door, waving farewell as he burst through the door. He came out on the other side, on the ground floor of Wutai's local inn. As he ran through he turned his head back to the front, and rapidly skidded to a stop as he saw what was standing in front of him.

In the middle of the room were a fairly large number of blue-uniformed Shinra soldiers, each one suited up and ready for battle. They seemed surprised when the back wall of the room opened up and Corneo came dashing through, but once that momentary surprise was over they each quickly drew their guns and other weapons. Then they all aimed for Corneo.

"There he is! It's Corneo! Don't let him get away!" one of the officers barked.

Corneo looked around the room hurriedly, trying to find a way out of the mess he had gotten into. He heard the angry cries coming from behind him, and suddenly smiled, coming up with an idea. All of this took about two seconds, as he turned back to the soldiers.

"Ataaaack!" the soldier barked again, his gun raised to the air.

The two sides collided in an instant, and the soldiers and the opposing group both tumbled forward into a big heap on the floor. When Naruto opened his eyes he found himself staring into the dark mask of a Shinra soldier's helmet. He could see his own reflection clearly, as well as the faint, blacked out eyes of the Shinra soldier who was shielded behind it. He saw those eyes stare blankly for a second, before they narrowed into an expression of fury.

"Oh boy," muttered Naruto before activating his Kikangan.

Quickly Naruto jumped up onto his feet. He pulled his sword round in a single, swift movement, and kept moving so that the wide blade swung around towards the startled soldier. The flat side of the blade struck the soldier's helmet before he could even think about picking up his gun again. The sword connected with a loud crack, and the soldier crumpled into a heap onto the floor.

The rest of the Shinra soldiers were in awe at the person in front of them. He looked like he was bathed in golden fire and all his hair was sticking up. A single golden fox's tail was waving through the air. Naruto looked menacingly at the rest of the soldiers.

"C'mon, he's only one man. Get him!" shouted what looked like the leader. The soldiers quickly rushed to pick up their guns from the ground. Although their orders were to catch the cagey Don Corneo, they also had orders instructing them to capture Naruto and his comrades whenever it was possible. Naruto slammed his sword into the ground and slid into his favorite Taijutsu stance, the Tekken.

They didn't know what hit them. Soldiers went flying through the air, crashing through the thin wooden walls into neighboring rooms and guns clattered and skimmed across the ground as Naruto slammed his fists into each soldier. And all the while the flaring golden chakra never died.

After one minute, all of the soldiers were either unconscious or incapacitated, some of them groaning and crawling pathetically across the ground. It was pointless killing the soldiers. After all, it wasn't the soldiers they were after. It was Don Corneo that they were after now.

"Corneo…. I will not forgive you!" growled Naruto, his golden chakra flaring furiously thanks to his anger. Everyone looked on. Gaara impressed, Vincent surprised, Aeris and Tifa slightly scared, Barret emotionless, Nanaki proud, Cid also surprised and Cait and Cloud in awe.

Naruto returned to his sword and wrenched it out of the floor, dismissing it. He then did the hand seals for summoning and called out, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Fox Contract, Starscream." He slammed his hand onto the floor and a cloud of smoke expanded from his hand. When the smoke disappeared there was a obsidian coloured, four tailed fox. The fox looked at Naruto and said, "Taishou, what would you have me do?"

"I want you to sniff out someone who is our prey. His name is Corneo. Lead us to him," said Naruto in a low and menacing voice. The fox bowed its head and sniffed the air. After a couple of seconds the fox sharply turned its head and said, "I have caught the scent. Follow me,"

Starscream bounded out of the room and down a corridor with Naruto right behind him: the others following. The building that they were in was an inn of sorts – clearly different to the inns they had visited during their journey. There were a number of slide-open doors along the corridor, each leading to fairly identical rooms. But Starscream wasn't interested in these.

The entrance was just ahead now. Starscream darted round that final corner, his sharp claws digging deep into the wood and creating sharp splinters as he turned around and made that final dash towards the exit. He pulled away from the others, realizing that the scent was beginning to fade.

He burst through the open doors like a hound out of a horror novel. He almost flew through the air above the stairs, casting his dark shadow onto the ground. When he landed he dug his claws into the soft dirt, twisting his body round into a forced stop in front of the inn. When he stopped he immediately raised his head to the air, trying to catch Corneo's scent.

As he had feared, the scent was no longer blowing on the wind. The wind had changed once again, taking Corneo's scent away from him. This meant that Corneo had taken Yuffie and Elena to the northern part of the village, but without a strong scent to follow it meant that they would have to start searching for her again.

As Naruto skidded to a halt, Reno and Rude shot past, heading away from the bell-tower and stopping at the top of the stairs leading to the northern part of the village. They had finally managed to pry themselves away from the bar, but only after hearing from the soldiers that Corneo had captured Elena.

"Hmm… that Corneo is good at escaping…" Naruto heard Reno say. He had his arms folded irritably, his jacket and shirt blowing loosely in the wind. He looked a little annoyed, perhaps even a little concerned.

Beside him, Rude's face remained expressionless, although they guessed that behind those dark shades his eyes were also anxious. "…Elena," was all he said. He looked away from Reno and glanced at the ground, his mouth creasing into a frown.

Reno looked up and glanced at his partner. That was just like Rude: showing no form of emotion even when he was so obviously concerned about Elena. Not that he blamed him – Elena was smart, but even Reno was worried about her. "Let's go, Rude," he said, sounding somewhat cheerful to lighten the mood. "We'll give them a taste of what the Turks can do."

Rude looked back down at Reno, staring at him sternly through those dark shades of his. Reno kept his expression firm, until Rude finally nodded and ran off down the stairs, leaving Reno alone. Once the Turk was gone Reno sighed heavily, flicking his red hair out of his eyes. "…Sounded pretty good," he said.

Suddenly he stopped, as he caught a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eyes. He turned his head a little and saw the figure moving behind him, and a somewhat devious little smirk spread on his face. He turned away again, his hand slipping underneath his blazer towards his metal rod, which was hidden there. "If Elena is in his hands, that's going to make things a little difficult," he said. "And uh…"

Behind him Naruto slowly nodded his head, keeping his eyes firmly focused on Reno's hand. Although he didn't think Reno would attack him, considering the circumstances, he wasn't going to take any chances. He had disengaged his bloodline limit so he wouldn't shock anyone. "…Okay," he agreed. "Corneo took Yuffie from us."

Reno didn't reply. His hand was still just underneath his jacket, his fingers twitching and just centimetres away from the handle of his weapon. The urge to bring it out and strike Naruto while he was so close was tempting, but Reno knew that right then there were more important things at hand. And with Naruto watching him so closely, he would not have been able to get it out fast enough.

"Don't misunderstand," he said finally, letting his hand fall casually to his side as he turned to face Naruto. "We have no intention of joining you. But for now, we'll agree not to bother each other. That's all."

Naruto smiled deviously. "Whatever," he said.

The two men stared at each other intently for a second or two, wondering who was going to break the silence first. Reno gave another little smirk as he folded his arms again, waiting for Naruto to ask the question he knew they needed answering. Eventually Naruto did give in, and scratched the back of his head.

"Now, uh, just what direction did Corneo run off to?" he said, smiling in an embarrassed way.

"Hmm, nice attitude," replied Reno, suppressing a chuckle. He turned away from Naruto and took a few steps away down the stairs, where he stopped and looked out at Wutai. "Here's a clue," he said. "It's the place that stands out the most."

With that, Reno then reached under his blazer and pulled out the metal rod, flicking it out to its full length and placing it on his shoulder. He then ran down the stairs, leaving Naruto and Starscream behind. When he was gone Naruto turned back to the others, whom were all waiting patiently behind him. Naruto shrugged his shoulders, and turned back to look at the village.

"It's the place that stands out the most," Reno had said. What was that supposed to mean?

"Ahhhh, I'm no good with riddles!" Naruto cried out.

"It's the place that stands out the most," Cloud repeated. Up until that point, Cloud would have figured that it was the pagoda that stood out the most. It was the tallest building in the whole of Wutai, and was visible no matter where you stood in the village. It was like a beacon or a watchtower, taller than all the trees, looking after the village on its perch. And since Reno had run off to the north, he couldn't have meant the pagoda being the thing that 'stood out the most.' So what else was there that stood out?

He looked around at the village. From the top of the stairs he could see the two shops, the houses, and the Turtle Paradise. He could even see Yuffie's house – the biggest house and Wutai. Even from there it still looked like a normal house – nothing special that made it stand out above the rest.

Then, as Cloud looked around, his eyes slowly moved eastward. They moved towards the very far easy of the village, to where the item shop stood. Behind the shop he could see a very rocky path, winding up slowly past the village. He followed its line upwards, and a look of realization set in as he finally saw 'the place that stood out the most.'

"I think it's that," Cloud said as he pointed to the spot.

Naruto looked to the spot where Cloud was pointing and almost kicked himself for his stupidity. He should have realised it sooner, for it really was the place that stood out more than anything else. What else was more obvious than a large, rocky cliff standing alongside a village? What could be more visible than a huge structure made of stone, carved into that cliff, looking down at the village?

"I'm such an idiot,"

Sure enough, Reno and Rude were still waiting for them by the time Naruto and the rest of his group finally arrived at the rocky entrance of Da Chao, the sacred mountain of Wutai. They were waiting somewhat impatiently, as Reno was pacing across the ground, kicking at the dirt and lightly smacking his metal rod against the rocks. Rude was probably the more patient of the two, but of course no one could see his expression behind his shades.

As Naruto and the others began to run up the path towards the two, Reno stopped his pacing and looked up. "You're finally here," he called down to them as they approached. Even so, he was somewhat surprised that they had figured out his riddle so fast. Maybe they were smarter than they looked.

"If there is one thing I hate as much as spiders, its riddles!" shouted Naruto, not at all puffed.

"Shall I teach him a lesson Taishou?" asked Starscream.

"No, its not worth it," answered Naruto as he waited for the others.

They came to a stop at the top of the path, trying hard not to show their fatigue from having run non-stop right through the village just to reach this spot. When they all caught their breath they looked at Reno, waiting for him to tell them more about Corneo's whereabouts. Reno seemed to realize this, as he shook his head and pointed to the mountain behind them.

"We're gonna split into two," he explained briefly to them. "You do whatever you want. But don't endanger Elena." He seemed to stress that remark quite firmly, before turning and walking away up the mountain path. After a few steps he stopped again, remembering something, and glanced back at Naruto. "Don't worry. We won't do anything to that girl, Yuffie. For now…" he added with a sneer.

'Jerk,' Naruto thought.

Reno then nodded to Rude. Rude nodded silently back, and the two Turks then ran off up the mountain path into the depths of Da Chao, leaving Naruto and the others behind at the entrance.

With the two Turks gone, Naruto and the others were left to search the mountain alone. There was no point asking Reno for any other clues – they probably didn't know where Corneo was hiding either. Not that they would ever admit to that. The Turks cared a lot about their appearance, and having one of their company kidnapped must have been very embarrassing for them.

There were a number of winding paths surrounding the statue of Da Chao. The path they were on now was the main path, rising up to the bottom of the main stone figure at the centre of the congregation. From this point the statue looked very large and domineering, casting its dark shadow onto them as the late afternoon sun began to set in.

They moved on steadily up the stone path. About halfway up the statue the path split into many different directions, acting like a spider's web that wound itself around the statues of Da Chao. They could see Reno and Rude, running in different directions in their search for Elena and Corneo. At one point during their search they passed Rude as he stood thoughtfully outside a small, darkened cave, before making up his mind and running into the darkness.

After about five minutes of searching, the party came to a stop on one of the stone paths. They were high above the ground now, almost alongside the head of the main Da Chao statue. It was hopeless. The statues of Da Chao were just too big and too winding for them to search thoroughly. There were many hidden nooks and crannies – so many different places that Corneo could use to hide himself, Yuffie and Elena. Even with the Turks on their side, there was only so much that they could do.

"If we don't find them soon Corneo might…" Naruto didn't want to finish that sentence. "Let's speed this up," He formed the cross seal and said, "Kage Bushin no jutsu," Instantly 20 Naruto clones popped into existence. "Split up and look for Yuffie," he ordered. The clones nodded and they all bounded off.

It wasn't long before one of the clones found something and reported back to its master.

"This way," said Naruto as he started running down the passage way.

Yuffie struggled with all of her might, desperately trying to break free of the ropes that bound her to the wall. The knots were fixed tight, tied securely to metal hoops attached to a metal plate forced onto the front of the statue. If she pulled too hard she would most likely pull the loop free altogether and fall to her death.

She had been tied up and positioned over one of the eyes of the statue of Da Chao. Elena was beside her, tied up like she was, across the other eye of the statue, although she wasn't struggling. The ground was a long way beneath them, and to fall from this height would mean certain death. So, as undignified as it was, she kept as still as possible and avoided struggling.

'Naruto, please hurry!' Yuffie thought.

Safely on the ground in front of them, Don Corneo strolled leisurely across the open stone palm of the hand of Da Chao. That same manic grin was still on his face as he gazed up adoringly at the two tied up women. He seemed to get some strange pleasure out of seeing the two tied there, and made no effort to hide it.

"Hmm! Delicious… scrumptious!" he exclaimed gleefully, clapping his hands together in sheer excitement. "I think I've just found a new HOBBY! Which shall it be? Hmm… Hmm…" He moved over towards the end of Da Chao's hand, and looked up at Elena. "Should I go… with HER?"

Elena stared blankly at him for a second. When realisation set in her eyes opened wide in horror and she looked physically sick. "He…Hey, I'm one of the 'Turks'!" she protested fiercely. "Don't think you can get away with this?"

Corneo ignored Elena. Either that or he was just so wrapped up in his own delusional fantasy that he never even heard her. He licked his lips in delight, and quickly waddled over to the other end of the hand, this time choosing to gaze up at the tied-up ninja.

"Or… maybe… HER?"

Yuffie reverted back to what she used to be like as she narrowed her eyes angrily at Corneo, feeling just as sick as Elena was. "Oh, GAWD!" she cursed loudly, increasing the momentum of her wriggling as she tried desperately to break free of the bonds that held her to the wall. "If I knew this was gonna happen, I would've taken rope escape lessons more seriously!" She gave her arms a hefty tug, but the metal loops were firmer than they looked, and did not break free. She gave another loud curse and hit her head against the wall.

While the girl was busy struggling with her shackles, Corneo continued to move his eyes from one girl to the other. He seemed to take each girl into careful consideration, letting his eyes wander up and down their tied-up bodies. A dozen thoughts were running through his head. When they finally came together his eyes lit up. He had come to a decision.

"Hmm! I've made my choice!" he announced, speaking loudly so that the two girls, and anyone else in the area, could hear him. "My companion for the night will be…" He let that sentence hang in the air for a moment, an imaginary drum roll beating loudly through his head. When he heard the unreal clash of the symbols in his mind, he raised his arms up and stood before Yuffie. "The cheerful one!"

"GROSS-NESS!" Yuffie said in reply, her entire body convulsing from the sheer thought of what Corneo had in mind. She opened her eyes and glared down at the man angrily, wishing she could rip that idiotic smile of his off of his face.

Again Corneo seemed to disregard what she had said, interpreting her words into a meaning that only he could think of. He began to jump up and down on the ground, acting like a little boy who was being given candy for the very first time, tasting its sweet, sugary flavour. "And she's saucy, too!" he said, ecstatically. "Wheee! Wheee!"

"Oh Corneooooo,"

Corneo stopped jumping up and down, and quickly turned to face the path behind him. For an instant there was a look of fear and panic in his eyes, for a moment wondering if he was in any danger. "Hee-haw. What… what's goin' on?" he demanded. "Who's there?"

He looked further up the path, and jumped back for a second time as he saw Naruto and his party running down the arm of Da Chao towards him. He backed up onto the very edge of the path, beside a small, metallic structure that was embedded in the rock. While he looked scared to see Naruto and the others approaching him, Yuffie was whooping for joy.

"Naruto!" Yuffie called out desperately. Beside her, Elena also sighed with relief, equally relieved to see Cloud and the others come to their rescue. She would have preferred Tseng or the other Turks, but as long as she was rescued from this predicament, she didn't care who saved her.

"Wheee!" Corneo exclaimed gleefully. "…Long time no see." He said it a little cautiously, as though he wasn't entirely sure whether he had seen them before.

"You forgot? I guess your brain really must be smaller than your mini-me," smirked Naruto while most of the girls giggled.

"You just don't get it, do you?" Aeris shouted. Their minds were both fixed on all of the innocent people who had been crushed to death when the Sector 7 plate came crashing down. It was because of Corneo that that had happened. Because he had told the Shinra that AVALANCHE was based in Sector 7.

Don Corneo didn't look very sympathetic. "Be quiet!" he snapped instead, silencing them all. "None of you know how much I've suffered since then…" He turned away from them. "It's a long story, but…"

"We don't want to hear it!" said Tifa. "Just let the two go!"

Don Corneo turned back to face the group. So he did remember them after all. The Shinra had found out about him telling Cloud and the others about their plans to destroy the pillar, and since then Corneo had been on the run, fearing for his life. He had run from Midgar to Kalm, across the ocean to Costa del Sol, and finally ended up in Wutai where he thought he would be safe. Until the Turks got involved, and he ended up on the run again.

"Hmm… You guys are… serious," he said, looking from one person to another. "…Good, good. …This ain't no time for me to be fooling around either…? I'm gonna make you PLAY with my new pet, so you won't be getting in the way of my search for a bride!" He turned to the cliff. "RAPPS-Come here!"

A loud and high-pitched screech suddenly came from the ground beneath them, and the heavy beating of flapping wings could be heard. All at once everyone's hands rushed to their weapons, instantly ready to fight off anything that Corneo was about to throw at them.

The sound of rushing wings got louder, and a dark red blur suddenly zipped up from the ground below, heading up to the sky. As the creature rose it screeched again, flapping its thick, leathery wings as it rose up into the sky.

"Heh, that's it?" scoffed Naruto. Without pausing he jumped high into the air and summoned his sword. The blade glinted in the sun as he brought it behind him. He swung the sword and a red, thin shockwave shot out and sliced the dragon completely in half. The two halves dropped off the edge and plummeted to the ground.

All Don Corneo could do was watch and stare as his beloved Rapps crashed onto the ground, falling into a rugged heap on the floor. His jaw hung open in disbelief, unable to believe that his dragon had been defeated. When he looked up at last he saw the fixed gazes of the party staring at him intently, and he quickly turned white as he realised that he was next.

"Wait…" he said quickly, waving his arms madly in front of him. "Just wait a second!"

Cloud shook his head, his sword sharp and ready in his hands. "Not a chance,"

"Just listen to me – it won't take long," Corneo said earnestly, desperate to buy time for himself. He was backing up onto the ledge again, his hand slowly edging towards the peculiar metal object hidden in the ground. "Why do you think a bad guy like me would swallow his pride and plead for his life? 1 – Because he's ready to die. 2 – Because he's sure to win. 3 – Because he's clueless."

Cloud rolled his eyes. He knew Corneo was just stalling for time – trying to think of some way he could save his own pathetic hide. "Three," he answered finally, deciding to humour him for a little while.

"Hmm…!" Corneo sniggered. "Close, but no cigar!"

Before anyone could react, Corneo quickly spun round and pulled on the metal object behind him. It was actually a remote lever that he had quickly set up when he tied Yuffie and Elena to the statue, and it was connected to the metal plates that they were tied onto.

As he pulled the lever, the mechanism whirred. Seconds later the metal plates began to slowly turn, and Yuffie and Elena turned along with them. By the time the plates stopped turning the two women were hanging upside down on the plates, pointing headfirst into the rocky chasm where Rapps lay dead.

Elena had closed her eyes while the metal plates had turned, but as they had stopped she slowly opened her eyes. She found herself looking straight down into the chasm, which looked much closer now she was upside down. "Eyaaaah…!" she screamed in fright, closing her eyes again.

"Naruto, help!" called Yuffie. She continued to wriggle even though she was upside down, but nevertheless she still could not break free of the ropes.

"If I push this button," Corneo was saying, as Naruto and the others all gasped and stared at the two hanging women. "They'll fall upside down, and we'll have a SQUASHED TOMATOES!"

No one bothered to correct his grammatical error. Naruto turned and glared at Corneo through fierce blue eyes, trying to see any sign that he might have been bluffing. Yet there was no sign in Corneo's eyes that said to him that he was lying, and he really meant to drop the women. If he were to drop Yuffie and Elena from this height, they would surely be killed the moment they hit the rocks.

Naruto was furious. He hadn't been this angry since going up againsed Sasuke in the Valley of the End. He closed his eyes; his fists shaking in fury.

"You will bring Yuffie down now…" Golden chakra started leaking out of him. His fox ears and tail appeared. His hair stood up straight and lengthened by a few inches. His muscles bulged and pumped up. Blue lightning started to crackle around him. And then he opened his eyes. A thick band of gold wrapped round his pupil covering half of his iris.

"…Or I'll kill you," Naruto growled, the chakra flaring stronger than ever. The ground started shaking and pebbles started rising off the ground.

The Don's eyes opened wide into a true expression of fear as he looked at the golden haired being in front of him. Electricity still flashed around him. He couldn't break his gaze with Naruto's eyes as he glared at him. Suddenly in a flash his face was inches away.

"I'm willing to let you live if you do the right thing," said Naruto, his eyes hard and uncaring.

Corneo's hand went to the handle and reversed the lever. Yuffie and Elena turned right way again and moved over to the ledge. Naruto then brought his hand up and sliced through the mechanism, dropping the two woman to the floor.

Naruto then relaxed and closed his eyes. His tail and ears disappeared. His muscles shrunk to their normal size. The chakra dissipated along with the lightning. And as he opened his eyes the iris's had gone back to complete blue. Naruto turned and spotted Reno and Rude looking at him.

"You can have him now," he said to Reno.

Corneo looked at Reno "…The Turks!" he said.

Reno did not respond. He calmly walked past Cloud and the others, ignoring their gazes as they followed him across the path. He came to a stop on the thumb of the statue, and flicked his hair out of his eyes. Then he looked at Corneo. "You knew this was gonna happen ever since you leaked that secret," he said. "We're going to take care of you… personally."

"DAMMIT!" Corneo shouted. His entire body was trembling. Before he could do anything a black blur suddenly zipped through the air. It struck Corneo in his side, and the man staggered forward in surprise, trying to maintain his balance. He staggered all the way to the edge of the cliff, and waved his arms frantically to keep from falling over. He lost the battle for balance and tumbled over, his hands grabbing onto the edge. There he hung, holding on for dear life. Reno smiled and looked up at Rude, who was standing on another path at the back of the statue.

"Nice," he said.

Rude adjusted his shades and slowly nodded his head. "…Let's get to work," he said simply.

Reno nodded in agreement, and walked carefully down from the thumb and towards the spot where Corneo was hanging. He looked down at the hanging man for a second or two, before bringing his foot down on Corneo's hand. Corneo cried out as he felt the firm leather crushing his hand. If Reno were to release him now, he would fall to his death.

"All right, Corneo," Reno said sternly, leaning over to look Corneo in the eye. "This'll be over quick, so listen up. Why do you think we went to all the trouble of teaming up with those guys to get you…? 1 – Because we were ready to die. 2 – Because we were sure of victory. 3 – Because we were clueless."

Corneo tried to think of which was the right answer. It was hard to think because he was hanging from the edge of a cliff, but he eventually understood enough to answer. "Two… Number Two?"

Reno shook his head. "All wrong."

Corneo's eyes widened in fear. "No…! Wait, sto…!" Reno then lifted his foot, and Corneo slipped from the edge. "Aaaaaaaaaa…p!"

No one watched him land. The only clue to his demise was the fading of his last scream, followed by the heavy thud as his body hit the ground. Aeris flinched as she heard that thud, and turned her head away. Corneo may have been a sick man, but this was another reminder that the Turks were not to be messed with.

When the final echoes of Corneo's dying thud had died away, Reno turned away from the cliff edge and closed his eyes. "The correct answer was…" he began.

"…Because it's our job," finished Rude. Reno opened his eyes again and nodded at his partner, satisfied that they had completed their mission.

"Oh, thank you very much…!" Elena called out to them, the gratitude clearly audible in her voice and visible on her face. "I never expected you to come help…"

Reno snapped his head around and looked at Elena, glaring at her through narrowed eyes. "Elena, don't act so weak," he told her sternly. "You're a Turk!"

"Y…Yes, sir!" Elena replied. Reno smiled and shook his head, secretly relieved that Elena was all right.

"Thanks for your help," said Aeris.

"…" Rude muttered silently, turning his head away from them.

Reno was about to say something more, but right then a loud ringing sound suddenly began to buzz from inside his pocket. He turned away from the group and pulled the cell phone out of his pocket, flipping it open and putting it to his ear.

"Yes… this is Reno," he answered, listening to the voice on the other end. "Yes…" He glanced over at Rude and nodded his head slightly. Rude seemed to understand what Reno meant in that nod, and folded his arms. "Yes… I'll get on it right away." He flicked the phone off, and slipped it back into his pocket.

"Was that the company?" asked Elena.

Reno nodded. "Yeah, they want us to find Naruto…" He turned back around to face Naruto and the others, who were all still standing silently behind them. Naruto narrowed his eyes and quickly put his hand to his sword again, ready to fight them if necessary.

To his utmost surprise, Reno made no move to draw his weapon, which was clearly visible underneath his jacket. Nor did Rude make any move to jump over to them, even though he could make the jump easily. In fact, neither of the Turks made any move to attack them. Reno just stared at Naruto intently, saying nothing.

"Are we on…?" asked Rude, breaking the silence.

Reno stared at Naruto a few seconds more, before glancing at Reno. "No, today we're off duty." He looked back at Naruto and nodded reassuringly. Naruto relaxed his hand, leaving his sword behind his back. He smiled at Reno, glad that this ordeal was over.