Drifting

by AlphaDelta1001

Naruto is many things; troublesome, wild, unpredictable, adventurous, untamable, unique. But there's a benefit to being wild and unpredictable; no one has the faintest idea what you're going to do next. NarutoHarem

37. Land of Water Arc - Cold Shores

NARUTO

Drifting

Cold Shores

Three days later…

Land of Water…

On one of the many islands making up the north easterly regions of the ocean established nation surrounding Kirigakure, far out of the way of any prying or curious eyes, there sat an enormous, jungle covered island. Shrouded in mist and surrounded by various other, smaller spots of land also veiled by the cloak of fog, this one mass of rock served as the center point for the entire collection of limestone isles jutting out of the sea, as well as a marker for any ships passing by the area. Very few ventured out here and very few would even dare to tread upon the island.

Whether this was because the area was uninhabited, sacred or too dangerous to approach due to the shallows and rocks surrounding the rise, it was uncertain. However, what stuck out the most above all these was the fact this island was deserted and watched on from afar by a small base of troops allied to the Land of Water.

Though it was their job to oversee this region and to ensure the continued safety of their homeland, the soldier's eagle-like eyes were unable to pierce the wall of mist hanging in their way, which meant they were unable to spot the very small vessel that managed to dock itself on the main island within the cluster, and the three individuals aboard it disembark.

Treading upon the sand and listening to the sounds of waves gently rocking against the shores of the deserted piece of real estate, the trespassers spread themselves out over the beach. One of them, the tallest, was a woman with light blue hair tied into a spiky ponytail and strands framing her face, dark eyes, fair skin, and was wearing an outfit consisting of a green dress with a long sleeve and a short sleeve, a red turtle neck with a white, fluffy collar and brown gloves. She was also wearing brown sandal boots as opposed to the traditional shinobi footwear. The second was a man with pale skin, vivid green eyes, two scarlet dots on his forehead, shoulder-length white hair, and was wearing a long-sleeved, loose-fitted white shirt, black pants cut off mid-calf, bandages wrapped around his shins, black sandals, and a purple rope belt. Accompanying him was a large, portly and imposing young man, with orange eyes, orange tufts of hair, and was wearing a sleeveless tunic, black arm warmers, pants, a necklace, and a purple rope tied around his beltline.

Upon leaving the boat behind, out of sight behind some rocks, the trio faced the island before them and spent the next few minutes examining the jungle.

"So what plans does Orochimaru-sama have with this dump?" the portly, orange-haired member of the group asked out loud. Looking around, he couldn't find anything even remotely of value on first glance, leaving him doubtful and irritable at being sent out here in the first place.

Hell, there wasn't even anything good to eat around here, which contributed to his crabbiness.

Frowning across at the weakest member of the Sound Four, the blue haired woman gave a deep scowl towards the elite subordinate before speaking up, "What does it matter to you, fat man? Are you questioning our master's orders?"

Flinching at the tone of his superior's voice, the muscle with the Mohawk looked away nervously and swallowed, "N-No. Not at all. It's just that… I wasn't given any details whatsoever of our assignment before leaving the base. I felt like I was being kidnapped."

Grunting, the kunoichi looked away again while folding her arms. "Well, just so you're not completely out of the loop, master wishes for us to rendezvous with the platoon of cronies he had posted out here several weeks ago and to check out some of the points of significance the men were able to dig up while they were searching the place. As to exactly what kind of points they were referring to in their report we are uncertain, but there was something in their information that perked Orochimaru-sama's interest."

"Master intends to put this region to good use once he's made certain of its value," the white haired member of their troop added while his eyes scanned the forest before them. "It is our job today to make an accurate scan of this island before moving on to the next one. This is why we are out here."

The burly warrior grunted, at the same time folding his own arms, "Should have called in some of the others for this. Let them share the load."

Smirking, the intimidating kunoichi then glanced over at her other partner, "You know… I still don't see why I was brought in to replace the twin idiots after they copped it big and ended up a bloody smear on a cliff in the first place. If I'm being completely honest with you, I think I'm way too overqualified for a job like this. Why don't you go bother somebody else with your problems, Kimimaro-kun?" She then looked over at their other team member and leered in his direction. "For being the so-called 'elite' of the organization, you guys aren't as tough as a lot of the other big shots I keep hearing about across the continent. It's kind of hilarious."

The boy easily identified as Kimimaro frowned and glared her way in response. "Do you wish to back up that claim of yours, Guren-san?" Sending the woman a wave of killing intent and receiving a sly smile in return, the boy then stretched his fingers out a little and narrowed his gaze, "Because I'd be more than happy to volunteer for a little demonstration of your 'superior abilities'."

Seeing bones protrude from the young man's fingers and more start to grow out of his chest and neck, the blue haired woman then gave a more excited smirk and extended her own hand. The moment she did so, a sapphire, crystal like substance began to bleed out of her skin and clothing to cover her arm in a protective layer of armor, with a razor sharp blade also sprouting from the plate to flash underneath the sun. "Be careful runt. Unlike the other drones hanging around master's little collection of bee hives, I don't play nice."

Just as the pair were about to square off with their shoulders facing one another and Jirobo looking between the two most powerful members of Orochimaru's forces nervously, worried that they were about to have it out right there on the beach of the island they had just arrived at, he then saw them retract their signature weapons and stand down. After giving each other the thousand yard stare, both Kimimaro and Guren then turned their backs to each other, with the later speaking up in a clear yet firm voice.

"We'll settle this little pissing contest later," the kunoichi spoke before nodding inland, "Jirobo and I will take the high road and meet up with the forward reconnaissance team. You circle the island and make sure nobody drops in on us while we're taking care of the paper weights." Basically she was setting Orochimaru's best taijutsu fighter and supposedly his most powerful subordinate on guard duty. It seemed a little harsh, yes, but when it came to dispersing intruders and taking on a heavily armed enemy force en masse, the damn near unkillable bone user was the perfect man for the job.

The teenager with the white hair nodded affirmatively before turning heel and beginning to march away at his own pace. "Don't keep me waiting."

"Will do," Guren responded cheerfully. Once she saw the boy march out of earshot, the older woman then turned her attention to her other associate and gestured him to follow. "Let's get moving… and please try to keep up with me this time, lardo. I swear, if we have to stop to take another snack break again, I'm going to nail you to the floor and leave you for the sport of the crows and animals living on this island." She started walking when she said that, earning an annoyed tick from the young man that came stomping after her shadow. "I think I might get some enjoyment watching your ass get eaten alive."

"I really hate my bosses sometimes," the rotund assassin grumbled inwardly to himself. "Lead the way, Guren-san."

"Very well," the woman chirped, reverting back to her usual self as she and Jirobo entered the dense jungle standing in their way, following the path forged by nature up into the high lands.

She was set on getting through this assignment quickly. It wasn't very often she was personally sent out on a mission by Orochimaru. Every opportunity she got to do service for him was another opportunity to prove her worth to the Sannin. Even though the man seemed to favor others more than her, she was still determined to prove herself, if not for her master but for her own sense of worth and ego. For this mission especially, she was expecting a smooth transition from start to finish, through and through.

There was a strong certainty that they wouldn't be running into any trouble all the way out here. Since they had Kimimaro on their front porch, what could possibly go wrong?

OOO

A few miles away…

'Achoo!' Naruto sneezed loudly, before running his hand under his nose at the unexpected expulsion of dust. His sudden break in monotony caused the others sharing the deck of the boat with him to look in his direction in surprise, where they saw the young man sniffle before going back to staring irritably out over the ocean. "Damn it… I think somebody's talking about me."

Tsubaki, standing by the mast with her arms folded, chuckled at his statement, "It's that kind of a sneeze, huh?"

"Yeah. I can tell from the chill. You know… sort of like when a ghost walks through you and spits on the floor before vacating the premises. It's pretty much self-explanatory."

"You're pretty superstitious, aren't you?" the Kiri kunoichi asked with a furtive smile.

"Hey, if you ever find yourself wandering through a volcano that just happens to erupt when you get into a fight around an enormous Buddha statue carved into the rock, then you can tell me whether or not you start feeling a little bit more suspicious about the mysteries of the universe," the blonde pointed back, earning snickers from said orange haired girl and his red haired girlfriend positioned alongside him. Upon hearing the latter giggle, the blonde threw her a mock glare. "Oh, and I suppose you're not superstitious at all."

Tayuya grinned at the blonde when he looked her way with a cheeky visage, "This is your therapy session, shithead. Not mine."

Glancing around when he heard another snicker, Naruto's eyes landed on Choji, who was sitting on the floor munching on a bag of chips. "You're one of the toughest guys I've ever met, Naruto. How can you believe in silly stuff like ghosts?"

"What's not to believe? After everything I've been through in my life so far, I'll bet you the worst we're likely to come across on this mission today is probably… silverback gorillas carrying flamethrowers." This comment had Tsubaki and Tayuya, as well as the other two sitting nearby, laugh a little more, both inside and outside.

The last giggle out of that chorus came from Hinata, the timid, blue-haired girl standing by the relaxing Akimichi. With her fingers laced together and hands brought up to her chin, the young girl beamed across at the jinchuriki as he lent back against the railings alongside his red haired roommate, the latter of which was currently gazing out across the mid-day sea. "You always do like to think ahead, Naruto-kun."

"Several steps, Hinata," the jinchuriki replied with a nod and a tap of his cranium, "Several steps."

"Sometimes it's hit and miss on your off days though," Tayuya added while elbowing him in the side. "Seriously. You're like the wild card of fortune tellers, slash, intrepid explorers."

"But look on the bright side. At least I always wind up pulling through in the end, no matter what, right?" the jinchuriki asked, rolling his head about and gluing his attention onto the lightning user across from him for the tenth time that trip. "All of the people I've beaten so far can attest to that. Jako, his band of hoodlums, Gato, those two dumbass swordsmen he had guarding him and the guy that tried to knife me on the road on my last mission…"

"Am I to assume the poor bastard is paying for his stupidity right now?"

"Oh yeah. With interest," the blonde chirped, as if it didn't bother him one bit. "Nobody stabs me in the back and gets away with it. Nobody."

"It kind of makes you wonder," Tsubaki then murmured quietly to herself.

"Hmm… about what?" Naruto asked, glancing at the orange haired girl just as the others did. Since they'd managed to catch their host's whisper across the deck, she was quick to spike their interests, including Hinata's, who they remembered had suffered a very crushing defeat at her hands during the second stage of the exams.

Looking amused, the hidden mist Jonin turned back to her allies with a small smile, "After hearing about all these little side-quests and adventures you've been on, it wouldn't surprise me one bit to hear that you've probably driven a great number of bad guys who've managed to survive an encounter with you, to alcoholism."

The very thought of that actually drew a series of laughs from Tayuya and an amused snort from Choji, leaving Naruto scratching his head and grinning sheepishly.

"True. I am a bit of a hell raiser," the blonde chuckled while shrugging. "But hey, it's one of the many things I excel at. You've probably caused a few splitting headaches yourself, Tsubaki."

The hidden mist kunoichi chuckled and raised a hand, "Guilty. A lot of the pirates and mercenaries I'd fought around here ended up regretting crossing paths with me."

"No surprises there. After the stuff we saw you pull, even some of our teachers would have second thoughts about going head to head with you," Choji spoke up from his spot, a big smile on his face as he scrunched up the bag of chips he'd finished consuming. "I'm just glad you're on our side." He said this while beaming across at the cool, tall girl posted by the mast.

Appreciating the remark, Tsubaki nodded back with an equally pleasant expression in play. "Same here." The mature giggle at the end brought a small shade of red to Choji's face, with the boy also looking away while scratching his cheek in a very shy manner.

As the group sat there on deck bantering between one another over recent events, history and what not, Naruto used that opportunity to once again gaze out over the vast expanse of ocean they were currently crossing. After a full day of sailing from the mainland and hopping from island to island, the group soon found themselves exiting their most current stretch of sea into a region filled to the brim with isles. The forest covered patches of land dotted the ocean around them for miles and miles, and across the entire horizon from vanishing point to vanishing point. This meant that the squad of shinobi onboard the vessel had more than enough time to admire the breathtaking sights passing them by, before making the final leg for their destination.

It was worth noting that the region surrounding them bore a striking resemblance to Hạ Long Bay, from the appearance of the islands, the flora, the stillness of the waters, and the proximity between each isle. The time traveling through this awe-inspiring locale also left the party enough of a gap to talk and get to know one another a little better, particularly Hinata, who had spent the majority of their trip thus far chatting with Naruto and adjusting to the presence of Tsubaki.

For someone who was renowned village-wide for being shy, timid, and at oftentimes lacking in any self-esteem, the girl was really holding her own standing next to the once feared antagonist of the Rookie Nine. But now that Tsubaki was functioning as an ally and an escort on this trip, the newly promoted Jonin was proving to be an incredibly fun person to be around, probably because of her change in persona from the cold, uptight and serious character they identified her as, to this more open, laidback and chipper girl with a much more noticeable sense of humor. She was sort of like Sasuke in a way, but without the brooding and wanting to be alone characteristic.

Even Choji had become used to the once terrifying kunoichi, to the point that he would approach her more often than most. Naruto couldn't help but notice his friend seemed quite taken with the orange haired teen, which brought a momentary bit of discussion between him and Tayuya over the Genin's possible interest in her before choosing to disperse the topic. The Kirigakure girl was quite fetching after all, if you could get past her killer kekkei genkai and insane combat prowess, so it didn't surprise them one bit if Choji had become fond of her.

"Sh-She's really nice," a soft voice spoke up that drew Naruto's gaze over to Hinata, who was now standing alongside him and looking across at the Kirigakure girl now conferencing with the Akimichi.

Seeing Choji had gone on over to chat with her some more and noticing that the Hyuuga had also came in close to trade pleasantries, brought a smile to the jinchuriki's face as he remained in station with his arms folded. "You can't always judge a book by its cover. Though it may not be your preferred type of story or something you'd want to read all the way through, it's always good to give it a try."

"Even though she's so strong… sh-she can still speak so kindly with people like me," Hinata continued with a bit of a low voice, one that did not go amiss by the people beside her.

"Hang on… surely you can't be suggesting that you're a weakling, Hinata," the jinchuriki exclaimed with a bit of recoil in both his voice and actions. He then gave her a hard look when he saw the girl wince a little at the tone of his words, "Because believe me when I say this, you're not a weak person. I've seen you train before and I've seen what you can do. You're just as strong as every other member on this team, and perhaps one of the strongest kunoichi I know."

"Y-You think so?" the blue haired girl asked, fixing her attention on the blonde in momentary surprise.

"Yes," the jinchuriki responded with a nod, at the same time jabbing himself in the chest. "When I say something like that, I mean it. No fibs. Even if other people may not be able to see how strong you are, I sure as hell can. I'd trust you to watch my back on any mission we're given, Genin or not."

Eyes shimmering at the young Jonin's sincerity, the Hyuuga looked down in thought. Upon visually examining the red haired musician standing nearby, while also sparing a glance towards the beguiling kunoichi from the hidden mist, she then focused her full attention on the jinchuriki before her, seeing that his eyes had not strained from her for even a second. "Do you like her, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked in a gentle and honest voice, at the same time giving the boy an unflinching gaze.

This question quickly drew a brief look from Tayuya, who merely shrugged before going on to staring across the waves again. Naruto on the other hand took a second to ponder over the inquiry while glancing over at the other two members of their troop. Rolling the idea around a couple of times in his head and testing the weight of it, he eventually gave way to the sincere query with a smile. "She's a good person. Though she appears tough and brittle on the outside and has a very strong sense of what's right and wrong, she's very kind and gentle on the inside… just like her friend Kiyoko." He then chuckled slightly when he remembered that particular blonde and how she normally acted around public. "That one though is bright and bubbly all over, so let's just use her as a general example."

"But she's friendly and isn't afraid to approach people," Hinata continued while continuing to switch her attention from their host to the team leader. "I-I'm just wondering if that's the kind of person you admire most, Naruto-kun; somebody who is beautiful, brave and strong, both inside and out, and isn't afraid to look another person in the eye."

The blonde chuckled, "Well, I won't deny that Tsubaki is really cute. But… if I'm being completely honest with you, she's not really my type… at least… in a couple of ways she's not." Sensing the surprise from Hinata as opposed to seeing it, the jinchuriki turned to her with absolute self-certainty on his face. "It's a heart's feeling… something that my inner voice is telling me. Everyone has a right to like and choose who they want to be with, and whether or not you want to accept their feelings is entirely up to you. Those are my thoughts on it anyway."

"S-So… you don't have any particular interests?" Hinata asked, as if seeking clarification on an issue.

"Not really," the jinchuriki replied, turning back to look ahead of him again with a grin. "Don't get me wrong, I like Tsubaki-chan as a friend. Liking somebody beyond that is just something that happens. It's not an easy thing that I can explain. It just… jumps out at you when you least expect it." The moment he said that, he felt a shoulder press against his and glanced down to see Tayuya grinning at him. "Right?"

"I've said it many times before and I'll say it again; you're such a gooey, soft-hearted romantic, you blonde-haired lug," the musician murmured to him, at the same time leaning over to playfully bite him in the shoulder.

Naruto feigned silently screaming in pain before gently head butting the girl and looking across at their other team member, where he saw Hinata looking between them curiously. "It's the time you spend closest with the people around you that counts. Everything else is just a bonus."

"I see," Hinata whispered, clasped hands moving up to cover her mouth to hide the small smile that brimmed, as she then beamed up at the jinchuriki still giving her his full and complete attention. "You're very knowledgeable, N-Naruto-kun."

The boy in question grinned. "Thanks."

"Got anything else interesting to add to that?" Tayuya asked, leaning her head against the boy's shoulder at the same time.

"Hmm… not really," the blonde replied, throwing the girl a questioning look. "How about flaws in a person's character? That sounds like a fun game."

"Well… I was going to say you're too trusting of people… but that's more of a fucking coin-flip flaw than anything else. You never know if you're going to end up with heads or tails with the person you're associating with," the redhead pointed out while wagging a finger at him. "The world is a big, damn, asshole of a place. You know that better than a lot of people, shithead."

"Yeah. No kidding," he then scratched his head and, smirking, pointed across at the girl cheekily. "Alright then, how about this; you swear a lot."

"That fact's a given, shithead," Tayuya rolled her eyes before grinning at him, "That just shows I'm not the perfect little flower a lot of people make me out to be… and neither are you Mr. Broth-for-brains." She then snapped her fingers triumphantly and jabbed in his direction. "You eat way too much ramen, even for an addict."

"I second that motion," Choji spoke up from where he was standing by Tsubaki, the two of them also deciding to glue themselves to the new conversation that had just started up over by the railings. From the intrigued gazes the pair wore, you could tell the topic the couple had selected to kill the time had definitely caught their attentions.

Naruto smirked at his delinquent friend from the academy, "Oh, you want to dance too, pal?" The jinchuriki then pointed across at him. "You eat too many snack foods. Why don't you think about adding more fruits and vegetables to your diet? There's no way eating that many chips can be healthy."

The Akimichi frowned and turned away, hiding his backpack from view as he knew that he had a couple of bars sticking out of the side pocket. "No way. I'm not giving up this habit even for the world." He then nodded back to the blonde determinedly. "You end a lot of your sentences with a weird word that nobody understands."

"Well, of course, dattebayo. It's in my blood… and not something I'm going to give up so easily." This had Tsubaki shake her head and Tayuya and Hinata giggle respectively, since the two of them were well aware of that little kink in the blonde's vocabulary. Not wanting to get shot down too early, the blonde then trained his guns on the former of the kunoichi from Konohagakure and pointed at her accusingly. "Your turn. You can't cook bacon for shit."

"What? Of course I can!" the redhead shot back.

Staring at her blankly, Naruto then spoke with an unflinching gaze in play, "You ruined a perfectly good stove and twenty six frying pans. I figured you'd have learned by the fifteenth one that there was a problem."

Blushing brilliantly under his shit-eating grin, the musician decided to return fire with gusto. "Okay then. You want to play rough? Whenever you squint, your face takes on the appearance of a fox." She snickered when she saw him balk at her statement and, blushing a little bit, the redhead looked away while rubbing her cheek in a bashful manner. "I… actually think it's kind of cute."

Naruto narrowed his eyes and stared at her for a moment. After which he then turned when he realized Tsubaki, Choji and Hinata had stepped a little bit closer to stare at him. Several moments of analyzing the boy's squint-eyed expression, all three of them then gave a collective nod of agreement and a drawn out 'ooh' of realization when they saw what Tayuya was pointing out and leaned back.

"Oh yeah," Choji chuckled.

Tsubaki smiled in amusement, "I can definitely see it."

"I-It really is cute," Hinata murmured timidly with a shade of red on her own cheeks, beaming at the boy when he looked around at each of them strangely.

"You see, dattebayo," Tayuya replied victoriously, only to slap her hand over her mouth when she realized what she'd just uttered in her excitement. It was a word that had everyone in the vicinity look in her direction and stare at her silently, before the musician turned a blazing scarlet and glanced away, cursing under her breath. "Oh, damn it."

And so the laughter and banter continued, once the first chorus of chuckles from Tsubaki and Choji settled down following the redhead's unexpected babble.

The vessel they were sailing on, a medium sized ferry with a standard issue motor and sail, continued to cut through the ocean at a comfortable speed. Bouncing over waves effortlessly and watching more islands drift past them, the group eventually passed into another collection of isles, where they then happened upon a rocky outcrop with what looked to a lighthouse built on top of it. The captain steered the vessel in its direction, making sure to avoid the shallows and jagged spikes sticking out of the waves before eventually arriving at the pier. There were a couple of other boats tied down along the cement dock, with plenty of room for a couple more to be parked should the need arise for it

It didn't take too long for the ship to drop anchor and steer itself into place, before the gangplank was lowered and everyone was granted passage off. Tsubaki lead first, thanking the crew for the quick lift before heading up the footpath towards the lighthouse, followed closely by Naruto, Tayuya, Hinata and Choji. By the time they reached the end of the climb, three of them were still continuing with the interesting new game they'd started back on the boat…

…and the competition was heating up.

"You put too much water in your oatmeal," Tayuya shot across at Naruto with a competitive tone in her voice.

"Yes! I drown the sunovabitch." The jinchuriki then looked across at Choji. "You! You can't wink."

"What? Sure I can. Watch." the Akimichi sputtered and then tried to do just that. The pair walking alongside him then had the pleasure of watching the boy's eyes twitch and flutter, one after the other and at the same time, when he attempted to pull off what they knew was the impossible.

After about a minute of seeing Choji's face jerk and contort in an effort to go through with the gesture, the red haired kunoichi reached over at patted him on the shoulder, "Don't… strain yourself too much… okay buddy."

Frowning distastefully, the Akimichi then directed his attention towards Tayuya, "Okay then. Here's one for you. I notice you keep missing a button hole on your coat whenever you try to do it up."

The girl threw her arms out as if it didn't matter, "It's like I'm blind." She then turned her gaze on her boyfriend and threw him a sneaky smirk, which had the blonde lean away at its intensity. "You sprawl in your sleep."

Naruto smirked, "So do you."

"You lie!"

"Oh no, you sprawl alright. Not to mention you hog and spoon the covers whenever you get your hands on them. If we didn't have so many lying about, I'd be sleeping out in the open in the unforgiving coldness of my bedroom," the jinchuriki chuckled, seeing the girl blush and look away with a cute expression appearing on her mug. Smile tugging at his lips, the boy then leaned forward to try and get a better look at his girlfriend's red face. "Aww. You look so adorable when you're flustered, Tayuya-chan."

"Sh-Shut up, you idiot," the musician stammered, trying to slap him at the same time. She ended up missing when he dodged and laughed, giving her something to playfully scowl at when he eventually settled down. Smiling when he wrapped an arm around her jokingly, Tayuya then looked up at the snake charmer when they proceeded into the building, "We need to do this for the others when we get back home… mix it up a little and let them feel a bit of the sting."

"Maybe on the return trip. Perhaps we'll have all of Sasuke covered by the time we get back home," Naruto suggested, getting a nod of agreement from his roommate before turning to Choji. "For now, let's concentrate on the job, alright?"

"Yeah," the Akimichi replied boisterously, stretching his arms out as well. "Time to get my head in the game." He then slapped himself a couple of times in the cheeks to wake his body up for the day ahead, knowing that the ride they were about to take was going to be a good one.

While Naruto had his arm wrapped protectively around Tayuya and was beaming cheerfully at her, he failed to notice Hinata standing on his left gazing across at him admiringly and watching his interactions with the others. When the group eventually made it to their first stopping point on that island, the Hyuuga kunoichi then gave a smile when she saw the boy look back at her, before turning away with a blush, her fingers laced together and hands held to her chin.

No matter how many times she watched him, she just couldn't help but marvel at the way his personality shone. It was simply captivating.

The building the troop arrived at the doorstep of was a basic station. Vaguely similar to the checkpoint of the second stage of the exams back in Yugakure, this structure had all the makings of a military outpost. It had a barracks and weapons shed separate from the mess hall, which was attached to the main office and the lighthouse. The lighthouse of course, was actually a watch tower that functioned as a standard ocean marker as well, with a soldier posted on the top balcony, visible, and looking out across the water. It was quite large and looked like a bit of a climb, but to the group it didn't appear to them as anything more than an established base.

"S-So this is the place we're supposed to be meeting the other team?" Hinata murmured curiously, at the same time looking at Tsubaki.

The orange haired girl quickly answered her inquiry, "Yes. This is one of the hundreds of watch towers built by the daimyo during the last great shinobi war many years ago, and is still in active service today. However, instead of functioning as a construct of war, it is now serving its nation as a checkpoint to reestablish communications around our country's islands." She then gestured their attention towards the tower. "This outpost not only acts as an advanced warning system, but also as the rallying point for all the squads dispatched from Kirigakure to explore the surrounding territories, and the place where the reports are sent to from the scouting teams via messenger hawk."

Noting the acknowledging stares from the Konoha group, the lightning user then returned her attention to the facility, where they saw two soldiers carrying bows and arrows open up the front door to the main tower, and exited shortly afterwards by who appeared to be the head officer.

The soldier, wearing the blue uniform and vest of a regular forces unit of Mizu no Kuni, complete with katana and single-handed crossbow on his utility belt, approached the team of shinobi waiting on the dirt courtyard at the exit to the stairs they had climbed. He looked around at them briefly to see the squad straighten up, before then saluting the Jonin from his nation's hidden village leading the party. "Welcome to North Wind Tower, ma'am."

The orange haired girl bowed back respectfully, "Thank you for having us. I'm Tsubaki; Jonin from Kirigakure and leader of the two-village team sent here for the investigation."

"I'm Captain Hanada; Commanding Officer on this island," the man stated before receiving the scroll from the team leader. Opening it up and giving the specs a one second look over, as well as taking count of the Konohagakure shinobi standing behind Tsubaki, the head of the base lowered the document and smiled pleasantly at his guests. "We were expecting you for a little while now. Come. The other group is waiting for you."

Upon holstering the scroll at his side, the officer then led the entire team into the watch tower. As it so happens, the very first area they arrived at was the mess hall, a dining room for the encampment combined with a lounge and recreational quarter. It was a large room with a line of tables and a cafeteria on one side, and another floor space with couches, a television, a card table and a bar. It was all specially outfitted for the soldiers staying out here, so it was all pretty standard operation equipment. Nothing expensive at all. Just surplus.

Passing by the other soldiers posted at the facility, Hanada took his guests up the tower, directly to the main office. Following the stairs for the next few minutes, they then arrived at the top of the spire overlooking all of the islands in the surrounding region. There, the new arrivals found a small squad of other enlisted men going about their duties and another team of shinobi scattered across the floor, a couple of them posted inside while the others were out on the metal balcony that wrapped around the entire tower.

The identity of the team stationed there did come as a bit of a surprise to the squad from Konoha, especially Naruto, who recognized them immediately on sight.

"Samui-chan?"

Hearing her name, the kunoichi in question perked up and glanced over her shoulder, where she immediately spotted both the team from Konohagakure and the boy that had spoken. A smile quickly appeared on her beautiful face when she recognized the spiky haired mop that had just entered their midst and quickly responded in kind. "Naruto-kun." She then turned and hurried over to him, with the boy moving to meet her half way and ending in the two of them jogging to a quick stop in front of one another, "Long time."

"Yeah. Wow," Naruto grinned, looking the girl over from head to toe, "It's been a month or two. Did you get my letters?"

"Yes," the kunoichi answered with a clearly cheerful nod, "Both of them."

"When did the last one end up arriving?"

"Hmm… about… two weeks ago."

"Seriously? Man," Naruto scratched his head, "And I sent it out three weeks before that. Stupid censorships. I don't even know your damn address. All I did was, send the letters with your full name and Kumogakure attached to it, and told them to deliver it as soon as possible."

The teenage girl chuckled at that and rubbed the back of her neck as the others gathered around them. "Well, let's just be grateful they were short ones that didn't have anything sensitive in them that required the security systems to completely black out."

"That stuff can really spoil a perfectly good 'get well' or 'best wishes' card," the jinchuriki added with an amused chuckle.

"Indeed. But you have to admire the spirit of the courier ninja."

"Sure, they can get the job done for you at a reasonable price, but we regular shinobi can trump them any day of the week."

"I can see Konohagakure's spirit hasn't wavered an inch in the past couple of months."

"And I can see Kumogakure's poise, beauty and character hasn't dwindled any either."

When the pair shared a smile, Samui then did something that her teammates and the rest of the crew did not expect and greeted the boy with an embrace and a kiss, with the young Jonin from the hidden leaf doing the exact same thing and returning the show of affection.

While Choji, Tsubaki and Tayuya watched the pair with interest and surprise, the three of them then became aware of a growing chilling sensation forming between them, and looked to see Hinata scowling with a noticeable dark aura surrounding her. Though this initially didn't concern either of them, it was the sound of her teeth grinding and knuckles popping that had the trio start sweating bullets. For their own safety, the team took a step away… and an even larger step when they saw her Byakugan activate out of reflex.

"H-Hello… S-S-Samui-san…" Hinata forced out under her breath in a voice filled with venom, her words going unheard by the pair in the center but being loud enough for the others alongside her to hear. The killing intent she was emitting at that proximity was so potent in fact, it had Tsubaki and Choji lean away some more out of fear.

The jealousy of the young Hyuuga was damn near palpable.

Naruto and Samui remained embraced for several moments longer after that, the kunoichi holding the boy tightly when he lifted her before they separated and ended in the pair beaming at one another fondly. It was a sight that gave everyone pause, after which the two Jonin stepped away and turned to the crowds surrounding them, where they noted the inquisitive stares from Tsubaki, Chojuro and Choji, the smiles from Tayuya and Omoi, and the annoyed glare from Hinata and Karui, both for entirely different reasons.

"So… this is it, huh? Everyone that's going to be taking part on this assignment is here?" Naruto asked, looking around at his girlfriend's team and then towards the lightning user on his group, who nodded to him her answer. "Sweet. Looks like we've got all the firepower we need… and then some." The jinchuriki then looked across and blinked in surprise when he saw Kiyoko poke her head out from behind Omoi and, upon spotting him, waved cheerfully. "Oh! Kiyoko-chan!"

"Naruto-kun!" the girl sang out and skipped over. She giggled when she skidded to a stop in front of him and leaned forward with her hands behind her back, "How are you?"

"I'm doing great. You?"

"Super!" the teen answered while flexing her arm and grabbing her bicep. "I've been training like mad since the tournament so that Icould overcome my weaknesses. Are you ready to kick some major butt on this trip?"

"Hell yeah, I am."

"That's only if we have to," Tsubaki spoke up while stepping forward and cutting the pair's growing excitement off, beckoning the rest of the team to gather around. With Chojuro also approaching from his end and Choji coming to stand quietly next to the orange haired girl, the group gathered around the map table, where the captain placed the mission scroll and allowed the team of shinobi to take a gander at the information they'd accumulated. Once all Jonin, Chunin and Genin had been assembled, the meeting proceeded. "So… I assume we all know what the assignment is?" Seeing the other teenagers nod drew another from the Kiri kunoichi. "Good. That means we can skip the formalities and get right to the heart of the matter." She turned her attention to the officer of the base. "Has there been any news from the island?"

Hanada shook his head, "Not a word from the team and no sign of them either. Nothing."

"Have there been any significant changes in the area? Sights? Sounds? Atmosphere? Personnel? Animal activity?"

Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, the man stepped forward and pointed down at the island in question, circling the mass of land and its length of shore on the map. "Ever since we sent the message out to Kirigakure of the scouting team's disappearance, we haven't been able to detect any unusual anomalies occurring on the island or in the region's weather patterns. Any notable changes that have taken place in the time we sent the dispatch would be the fog this part of the ocean receives, which crawls in from the east to cover the whole of the island every morning before lifting two hours later. It's the only thing that's really affected our visibility of the landmass in the hours we were keeping watch over it."

"Do you get that out here very often?" Naruto asked, as he was familiar with this kind of climate from when he was back in the Land of Waves.

"Almost regularly," Hanada answered while looking around at the squads of shinobi present. "Ships rarely venture in close proximity to the isles. In fact we rarely get vessels that close to the area, since they want to give the jagged rocks and shallows as wide a berth as possible. Since normal sailors and merchants tend to avoid these areas, this makes this the perfect hiding place for pirates to hang out, as the mist provides any ships ample enough time and cover to venture in and out of the region virtually undetected… if they have the balls of course. At least that's what we think."

Acknowledging the man's thoughts on the matter, Samui scanned the map and the enormous center island for a moment longer before turning her gaze to the window. When she approached it and collected the pair of binoculars positioned on the sill, she then held them up and looked out towards the area that was the reason for her group's presence here.

"S-So the island is uninhabited?" Hinata murmured uneasily.

Choji scrunched his face up as he stood alongside Tsubaki and looked towards his friends, "It seems kind of spooky."

"Maybe it really could be just a band of pirates or mercenaries causing the row up here," Karui suggested from her spot, arms folded and face hardened seriously as she scowled at the details. "Why else would an entire squad of shinobi just up and disappear? It's not like there's anything supernatural taking place… just some ups and downs in the area's temperature, and a secluded island that supposedly doesn't have anything going on, on it."

"Hell, there might not even be people on that island. Just a bunch of dangerous animals," Tayuya also added with a shrug, glancing over at Chojuro to see the Chunin looking at her agreeably. "Your team may have had an unfortunate run-in with a bear or something."

"That's plausible," the blue-haired boy with the glasses said while nudging his spectacles up his nose, "However, if that is not the case, and it is in fact something far more sinister at work, it is best that we go out there in force to investigate the problem." This had the redhead and her group gesture in understanding before the Chunin looked back down at the map before them. "Should the truth pose any kind of a threat to our village, we are to dispose of it with extreme prejudice. I assume that neither of you have a problem with this." He then noticed the stares he received from Naruto and the newcomers from Konohagakure, getting the boy to recoil momentarily until a smile graced his lips once more. "Oh. My apologies. I haven't introduced myself. I'm Chojuro, newly prompted Chunin from Kirigakure and leader of the Kumo-Kiri half of the detachment.

Hinata, beaming, bowed kindly to the young man, "I-It's nice to meet you."

Samui, nose crinkling as she adjusted the binoculars, then lowered it as the chatter behind her continued. "How often do your men keep tabs on the island's beaches?"

Her sudden question had everyone in the room look in her direction, including her teammates and the base captain.

"We keep an eye on every single one of the isles surrounding us at all times. We have guards posted up here facing north, south, east and west. Our position gives us a clear view of all of the beaches and inlets in sight," Hanada replied before then narrowing his eyes. "Why?"

The blonde kunoichi then pointed towards the island they were all talking about, "Because I think somebody just slipped through your security system."

Jumpstarted out of his reverie, Naruto fast-marched over to the window alongside Tsubaki, both of them coming to stand on either side of her while the Kumo kunoichi handed the boy the binoculars. As he raised them up to his eyes, the rest of the people present approached their side of the tower too, with a handful of them proceeding to survey the area. Samui was sure to relay her instructions to them so that her company didn't overshoot it and so that they could see exactly what she was talking about.

"The enormous landmass over there with the forest surrounding the peak that looks like a volcano, five degrees off the marker," the kunoichi informed, directing the jinchuriki across the wide expanse of sea. "On the far side by the rocks, at the top of that cliff."

Through the light mist and across the waves, Naruto easily spotted the island in question. It was an enormous landmass surrounded by smaller isles, with the center one being large enough to accommodate a handful of towns. If it weren't for the isolated location, the changing weather patterns and the inconvenience presented by the smaller islands, it seemed like the ideal vacation spot. However, the dense jungle surrounding the base of the elevated land didn't make it seem like a very safe and quaint place to be, at least from a normal person's point of view. In the case of Naruto, with his upbringing and what not, it looked like paradise.

However, the incredibly dense jungle of doom and the look of the island was not his current concern. What quickly grabbed and held his attention from the second he landed on the point Samui had directed him towards, was what looked to be a pale young male with white hair, wearing a loose-fitted, long-sleeved top with a purple belt wrapped around his waist, standing on the cliff against the light breeze of the ocean. The waves crashing against the rocks beneath the individual kicked up a spray, helping to frame the figure, while Naruto and the others who had managed to acquire binoculars of their own zoomed in on him.

The details of the young man became all that more clear, especially to those with good enough eyesight to give an accurate description of him.

"Gender: male. Height: approximately a hundred and sixty centimeters. Skin and hair color: white," Samui read as she then looked over at Naruto and then towards Tsubaki. "Given his state of dress and the fact he's taken up watch on a cliff that would give him a perfect view of the island's beaches on either side of him, I do not believe he is one of yours."

Continuing to stare through the long-reaching field glasses, Tsubaki surveyed the young man on the far island a kilometer or so away for several more seconds, before her eyes eventually narrowed and her body suddenly recoiled in surprise. Blinking in disbelief, the Jonin then turned to Kiyoko sitting up on top of the window sill and tossed her the binoculars, which she reflexively caught with one hand. "That mark on his forehead, Kiyoko. Do you recognize it?"

Puzzled, the girl also decided to take a look for herself what her friend was pointing out. When she spotted the figure and made out the marking emblazoned upon his crown, the blonde's jaw dropped momentarily and she lowered the specs. "Those two red dots… I know that symbol." Kiyoko then looked towards Chojuro, who'd also spotted the marks himself through his own set of binoculars. "He's from the Kaguya clan."

"But… that's not possible. I thought they were all wiped out during the last uprising in our village all those years ago," the blue haired boy murmured.

"Obviously not," Tsubaki murmured, frowning deeply as she glared across at the island distastefully. "But what's a Kaguya clan member doing all the way out here… and why is he on that island?" Surely he hadn't been hiding on that secluded piece of rock the entire time, even though it made perfect sense that someone of his descent would. However, there was just something off about the way he looked that filled the orange haired girl with a momentary sense of dread.

It was this issue that was eventually pointed out by Naruto when he spoke up from his end of the line, "He's wearing a purple rope around his waist." The jinchuriki lowered his binoculars and handed them over to Tayuya to take a look, before then turning his attention to the other squads beside him. "There's also a symbol on his robe that I've seen before. I think this guy is connected to Orochimaru." This name had everyone in the tower go dead silent, with Chojuro, Karui, Omoi, Choji and Hanada gawking at the blonde in disbelief.

"Th-The Sannin Orochimaru?" Choji stammered and gulped, "The legendary ninja formerly of our village?"

"Yeah," Naruto answered before looking back out the window. "There's no way I can forget a getup like that… because I was attacked outside of Takigakure by two shinobi wearing the exact same markings."

Immediately concerned by the boy's telling of his encounter, Hinata gently nudged her way to the front. When everyone fixed their attention onto her, they saw the girl's gaze harden before veins pumped up around her eyes, which sharpened considerably. Byakugan activating, this time on her command, the girl zoomed in on the island beyond, piercing the light mist and the waves to fix on the individual in question. Confirming that the description on the boy was spot on, she then did a quick scan of the island from her distance, where she then spotted several more figures weaving their way up the mountain, following a path into the rocky outcrop.

The sight of the uniformed group all bearing a musical note symbol on their forehead protectors had Hinata frown deeply and, upon deactivating her kekkei genkai, glanced back at the others. "He's not alone. Th-There's a whole platoon of shinobi making their way further into the island… all of them aligned to the village hidden in the sound."

Kiyoko blinked in surprise, "There are more of them?"

"Okay," Karui breathed out, holding out her hands. "This has officially become creepy."

"Are you saying that one of the most dangerous missing ninja in the world has sent an entire force of shinobi to that island, and that one of them just so happens to be the last surviving member of the war loving Kaguya clan?" Omoi read, looking around at the others to see if he was right on the mark with his summary. "What does someone like Orochimaru want with a place like that… and why? Do they have a base set up there or something?"

"Maybe," Tsubaki murmured, looking towards Naruto, Samui and Chojuro while everyone else finished up peering through the binoculars. When she saw their steel hard eyes turn back to her, the Jonin from the hidden mist nodded with a smirk growing on her face, "I suppose it's our job to go check it out."

The jinchuriki amongst their ranks smiled and nodded, "Yeah."

Grin sprouting on her own lips, Tayuya set down her field glasses and stepped away for space, placing her hands on her hips comfortably while confronting her group of friends. "Well gang, it looks like we've got another mystery on our hands." Turning her enthusiasm towards her foreign associates, she gave all of them an upward nod before then gesturing in the direction they'd all been looking. "Taking stock of what we know, we have a group of dangerous shinobi from another village encroaching upon an allied nation's soil and possibly searching for something of value hidden on that rock. Considering the people we're dealing with, they're also not the kind we want to take lightly either. They won't hesitate to kill you."

"Those guys may also be responsible for the disappearance of the scouting party sent up here from Kiri several days ago," Samui added, turning to Hanada for a second opinion on the matter. "Bearing in mind the team only numbered four, it is highly likely that they may have been set upon and overwhelmed by the enemy force. Don't you agree?"

The captain of the base, with his soldiers flanking him on either side, hardened his glare and nodded affirmatively. "That would be the most logical explanation."

Seeing the round of fire light up in the eyes of those present, Tayuya then chose to continue with the assessment of the situation. "Seeing as that the trespassers have left only one guy to stand guard over the beach, I think it's safe to say that the white haired albino positioned on the cliff means serious business. So…" She then looked around at the commanders of their company and the leaders of their respective groups Tsubaki, Naruto, Samui and Chojuro. "Who gets to take care of tall, dark and creepy?"

Glancing at each other in silence for about five seconds, those interested then looked back at the redhead quickly and spoke up with the only answer they could come up with in that instant.

"Shotgun!" Kiyoko shouted.

"Shotgun!" Tsubaki, Samui, Tayuya and Naruto followed, with the four of them then snapping their fingers irritably at the miss.

"Damn," the Kumo kunoichi said while kicking the ground.

"Fuck," Tayuya cursed under her breath.

"Just missed," the jinchuriki also spoke, grumbling as he then glanced across at the Chesire grin worn by the mane haired girl sitting at the window. "Fine. You can take on the white-haired guy."

"YAY!" Kiyoko cheered excitedly as she then began bounding across the room excitedly, dancing around the squad of bewildered soldiers and Genin in the area. "Woohoo! I get first dibs! Yes! This is going to be awesome!"

"Okay, so what now?" Choji asked while looking around at the others, his eyes quickly gluing onto Tsubaki and Naruto standing side by side. "How are we going to get onto that island to take a closer look without being spotted?"

Hinata, pressing her fingers together nervously, also added her own two-cents on the matter, "Th-There are about thirty plus enemy shinobi patrolling the jungles. I could see them from here."

Chojuro, feeling confident, then drew a circle in the air above him while looking across at the highest ranking member from his village. "This will be a simple clean up assignment. We'll split up our squads and approach the island from different sides. While one group distracts the guard on the beach, the rest of us will enter the jungle and wash through the enemy troops patrolling the woods and take them out one at a time. We hit them hard and fast and work our way up."

Agreeing with her friend's plan, Tsubaki took the floor next and pointed around at each of the shinobi present, those from her home town, and those she counted as her friends and comrades. "We'll do this in groups. Tayuya-san, you're with me." She gestured towards the musician, whom she saw nod in acknowledgement before then turning towards Kiyoko. "You, Chojuro and Samui's squad get the guard's attention. I'm sure there's no way he'll be able to ignore all five of you coming at him from the front."

The blonde haired, happy-go-lucky kunoichi saluted proudly, "Aye-aye, captain!"

Game face on, Naruto turned to Hinata and pointed to both her and Choji, "You two are with me on this one, alright? We'll watch each others' backs."

Stammering when she saw her crush's kind eyes fall upon her, the Hyuuga tucked some hair behind her ear and nodded quickly. "H-Hai, Naruto-kun."

"You can count on us," the Akimichi said while pumping his chest out.

Approving of the assembly, Tsubaki then concluded their battle plan with a few more words of instruction. "Samui's team will enter from the south and march on the mountain as soon as they are able to clear out the jungle and caves. Naruto's group will enter from the east and our group from the north-west. We'll box them in and converge on the mountain passes." She then turned her attention to the captain and his guard and gave them a once over. "A lot of us are going to need a ride."

Hanada nodded and gave them a determined look, "Don't worry. We have just the rafts you need for this trip."

OOO

An hour later…

On the island…

Upon passing into the high folds of the island's hills and entering the caves to the very heart of the landmass itself, Guren, Jirobo and the squad of shinobi escorting them made their way towards the very spot that was the sole reason for their presence here. Entering the cave system and following the path provided, the team slowly wormed their way further and further into the rock, until they found themselves inside of an enormous chamber. A huge cave with stalactites and stalagmites sticking out all around the place, and lit up by the minerals embedded within the earth itself, it was a truly spectacular place, which was only given further illumination by the torches the shinobi then lit up within the construct.

Treading forward, the kunoichi and leader of the detachment inspected the mammoth cave from top to bottom. Shortly thereafter, Guren then stood at the edge of the cliff, where she slowly peaked over the side and into the abyss below, which turned out to be a small beach of sand and pebbles surrounding a large pool of water.

Raising an eyebrow, the kunoichi took her investigation a step further by then absently kicking a small stone over the cliff and watching it hit the center of the lake. The sound of a splash reverberated off of the cave walls, creating an echo as the ripples from the pebble spread over the calm surface to wash against the sand and shallows surrounding the pond. The sight coaxed a chuckle from the young woman as she was then joined by her team, Jirobo and a couple other shinobi approaching the same cliff to also look over the side.

"So this is the place… the summer home of the Sanbi," Guren murmured loudly while looking around at the spikes sticking out of the ceiling. The eerie picture presented to her through use of the natural lighting had the woman nod her head in approval. "The beast has good tastes."

"If this is the dwellings of the three-tails, then where the hell is the bastard?" Jirobo asked, glancing across at the woman as she gazed into the blackness of the water.

Frowning, the blue haired woman then glanced across at the Sound Four member with a firm look in play. "Well, obviously it's not here right now, is it?" Seeing the rotund man flinch at her tone, she then turned back to the underground lake before them. "No. This is just one of the many caves across the Land of Water the creature uses as its domain. Ever since it escaped its captors, the beast has apparently spent its free days roaming the oceans, with reports coming in here and there of it popping up in the most unexpected places to chase off any curious bystanders. Normally it spends its days in the sea… but every once in a while retreats to a cave system like this to rest from its thousand mile journeys." A smirk tugged on her lips again. "I have to say, for something so damn big, it's pretty fucking elusive. Since it has the entire ocean to hide itself in, it's been pretty difficult for us to track it down. Looks like we've picked up its trail."

Murmuring uneasily, Jirobo turned back to the cave and narrowed his eyes, "Alright then… so it's out at sea right now or resting someplace else. That's good and all, but how does something the size of a mountain actually enter this place? I don't see any doors or entrances."

Happy to answer the boy's question, Guren produced a bar-shaped crystal from her palm. With the mineral shining a brilliant pink, the shinobi surrounding her then watched the woman drop the rock over the side of the cliff. They then saw the glowing stick of crystal hit the water and begin to sink, before suddenly getting sucked into a current and into what looked like an enormous tunnel. The sight had Jirobo and the shinobi around the kunoichi blink in surprise.

"That answer your question?" the woman ask, earning a nod from the large elite beside her. "Good."

"So… what do we do now?" Jirobo asked curiously.

"Simple. We set up point here, mark this spot on the map and move on to the next location. Obviously the beast isn't home, so all we have to do now is post a guard here to watch over this cave and have him send a message through to the boss if the leviathan decides to show up," Guren stated, glancing around at the Sound Four member with a smirk. "Orochimaru-sama wishes to capture this creature to add to his already immense power. With a biju in his grasp, he will be one step closer to accomplishing his goal of inheriting all the ninjutsu in the world and becoming the most powerful shinobi in existence. It is an ideal he wishes to achieve… and one that I hope to be a part of."

Jirobo smiled at this, "Master is most ambitious. Very well then." He then turned back to the lake just as the kunoichi did. "So all we have to do is chase up the remainder of the Three-Tails' little hidey holes and ambush it the next time it stops at one of them to rest. What if it catches wise of our intent?"

"We're going to take this slowly," Guren stated, turning away and leaving the edge of the cliff to return to the exit. As the Otogakure forces around her spread themselves out over the flat surface, the woman adjusted her fur collar as she swaggered along at her own pace. "We keep our distance, get a more accurate bead on the beast's habits and moving patterns, and capture it when it stops at an island… one where we're going to be waiting for it."

What's more, she was sure that her master also had a plan of cornering and sealing the beast as well. A creature like the Three-Tailed Giant Turtle was not one to be trifled with. Just like all of the other biju in the world, the demon was capable of leveling entire battlefields with a single swing of its tails and blast entire mountains into oblivion. With power of that magnitude, it came as no surprise to the woman as to why her master desired a creature like that. A beast capable of literally turning the tides of war was a valuable commodity to any village, and she was sure Orochimaru would put its strength to good use.

However, before she could meditate on this matter any further, the sound of rushing footsteps reached Guren's ears, causing both her and Jirobo to look ahead to see a shinobi from their force enter the chamber through their tunnel and skid to a stop in front of the woman.

"Guren-taichou, we have a problem."

"What is it?" the kunoichi asked, scrunching her brow irritably at the foot soldier.

"One of the squads we sent to patrol the western parts of the island has been found dead," the masked Oto shinobi replied, shaking his head. "We don't know what happened to them, but it looks like they got into a fight."

"With who?"

"We don't know. Some of the bodies looked like they were cut down by a sword, others by a spiked weapon… and…" the man then paused and shivered when he remembered the appearance of a couple of the other corpses they'd found. "Well… it's strange. Three of the other men that were patrolling the jungle looked like they'd been mauled to death by an animal… and one of them appeared to have had bits of his midsection… eaten."

Raising an eyebrow at the report, Guren pondered on the information for a moment. When she glanced around at the other shinobi surrounding her, particularly Jirobo, whom now had a serious expression of his own, a smile formed on her face and her eyes narrowed. "Somebody's crashed our party." She then pointed at the messenger that had reported to her of this development. "You, stay here with this squad and guard the cave! Jirobo, you're with me!" Waving the boy over, she then pushed passed the soldier in front of her and entered the tunnel leading to the outside world.

She was quickly followed by Jirobo, who started massaging his knuckles for what he anticipated to be a good time.

On her climb back to the surface, the blue haired kunoichi couldn't help the excited grin that crept across her lips, which she licked in a show of enthusiasm towards a potentially dangerous threat.

"Looks like I'm going to have some fun on this little errand after all."

OOO

Meanwhile…

Down on the beach…

Disembarking from the motorboat they'd used to transport themselves here from the tower outpost, Samui, Omoi, Karui, Kiyoko and Chojuro quickly leapt onto the sands of the island's shore and began marching towards the jungle. With the Chunin from Kirigakure leading them, the group spread themselves out as they approached the line of trees and its creepy shadow stretching out to greet them. Those with swords were quick to draw them for a fight, whereas the Jonin from Kumo took out her tanto and set her sights squarely on the mountain ahead.

However, before any of them could make any progress into the dense undergrowth of overhanging vines and bushes, the team was suddenly intercepted by a primarily white form dropping down from the sky above and landing on the fore dune before them. Kicking up dust with a flutter of his robe, the nimble figure then rose up and revealed himself to the squad to be the very same man that had been standing watch on the cliffs. Green eyes narrowing upon the startled party, the elite from Otogakure lowered his head and cast a threatening shadow over his gaze.

"You are trespassing on private property," Kimimaro said with a completely take-no-bullshit tone of voice. "If you value your lives, you will turn around and leave this shore immediately. If you do not, then I will have no choice but to use deadly force to remove you from the premises… permanently."

Wow. That was a ridiculously fast response time, even for a Jonin.

"Oh yeah?" Karui spoke up while stepping forward with a harsh glare, "And how are you going to do that?" Her question was left hanging in the air for several seconds, until the group then heard the disgusting yet distinct sound of bones snapping when, all of a sudden, they saw a white, boney protrusion jut out of Kimimaro's neck. The squad then looked on with morbid intrigue as the young male then yanked it out and held it towards them threateningly, the length sharpened into a fine, white knife that flashed under the sun. It was a sight that had Omoi, Chojuro and Karui's jaws drop. "Okay… that's disgusting."

Chojuro, slightly stunned, then had a bead of sweat run down his face as he pushed his gasses back up his nose. "This is bad."

"That's the Shikotsumyaku (Dead Bone Pulse)," Samui spoke up when she quickly worked out what she just saw from the teenager in front of them, "The kekkei genkai of the Kaguya Clan… and one of the rarest bloodline abilities in the world. It's a kekkei genkai that allows the user to manipulate their own skeletal structure at will by using their chakra to control the calcium levels in their system." Bringing her tanto up and producing from it a sheath of lightning, the kunoichi narrowed her eyes on their enemy and the potential danger he presented to them. "Now I can see why Orochimaru has someone like this working under them."

Karui then frowned deeply as she stepped forward with her sword. "So he can control his bones. Big deal. What's the worst this guy can do?" Before she could begin approaching the white haired shinobi, Kiyoko's hand suddenly shot up and blocked her path, keeping the dark-skinned girl from moving forward. "What?"

"Don't you remember? I called dibs on this guy," the Chunin from Kiri exclaimed with a smile forming on her determined face. She then nodded to her left, silently gesturing for the group to follow her directions. "You four go on ahead. I've got you covered."

Chojuro looked across at his teammate and friend with concern, "Are you sure you can handle him on your own?"

"Positive. Now go."

Not needing to be told twice, the group cautiously eased to the side for several feet before sprinting off, intent on heading towards the mountain as quick as they could. However, just as the group swung out and began advancing on the woods, they suddenly saw the sand at Kimimaro's feet explode and the boy come sprinting straight at them from their flank, with the boy's bone blade held back and his emotionless stare fixed on then like a hawk.

The speed he approached them at had the two Kumo sword users and Chojuro balk when he came swinging at them with the intent to cut them off, covering the distance of twenty meters between their two teams in the blink of an eye.

"I don't think so."

Just as Samui was about to respond with her own blade, aiming to defend her group from his attack, a loud gunshot ringing out had Kimimaro skid to a sudden stop and throw his body back, where he barely avoided a projectile no bigger than a fingernail shoot straight past him. Immediately after the sudden stoppage, the youngster from the hidden sound turned around to see Kiyoko with her finger outstretched and a smirk worn on her face.

"Turning your back on an opponent? Now that's just rude." She then tilted her head and gave the enemy a happy smile. "I'm surprised you were able to dodge that."

Blinking, Kimimaro then sprouted a small smile of his own and turned towards the girl. "Interesting." Caught up, he spared one last glance to the squad he'd attempted to blindside, but saw that they'd already escaped into the jungle. Clicking his tongue in annoyance, he then refocused his attention on the kunoichi still on the beach below and lowered his blade to his side. "It seems that our respective attempts to kill our intended targets have been thwarted. No matter. Once I take care of you, I will hunt down each of your little friends and destroy them for sullying this island with their feet."

Giggling, the ever cheerful Kiyoko then lowered her finger and held her hands a little bit out to the sides. Fingers twitching, she then willed chakra into her fingertips, resulting in her nails and digits suddenly turning a metallic black. "Like I'm going to let you do that. I may look like a pretty, little cherry blossom in your eyes, but I'm not as delicate as you might think, pal." The sight of Kiyoko readying for a fight put Kimimaro on guard, who responded in kind by lifting his free hand ever so slightly and extending his own fingers. "Come on… let's have some fun."

Kimimaro's frown deepened, "As you wish." Springing off the ground without another word, the boy sprinted to the side and swung his hand out in front of him at the same time, the sound of cracking air ringing out when he suddenly launched a barrage of white projectiles from his finger tips towards his opponent. "Teshi Sendan!" (Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets)

Expression switching from cheerful to dead serious, Kiyoko expertly head slipped the projectiles as they shot passed her, the bone bullets striking the ocean water behind her and kicking up five separate sprays before the girl blasted forward as well. In response to the opening assault, the girl also threw both hands forward and, with the sound of simultaneous gun shots, launched her own projectiles from her metallic black finger tips. "Koton: Sendan!" (Steel Release: Drilling Bullets)

Showcasing momentary surprise, Kimimaro swiftly dodged the barrage and responded with another, only to see the girl duck right under it and let fly a second salvo. This quick counterattack for his counterattack knocked the bone knife out of the young man's grip from a straight shot, which freed up both of the Kaguya's hands to fire away at the girl. All at once, bone bullets and steel bullets began cutting across the sands as the two adversaries circled each other, the sounds of gun fire ringing out from the incredible exchange with the pair engaging in high-level combat. This was accompanied by the distinct chime of ricochets when the two fighters managed to shoot the other's bullets out of the air in midflight with murderous precision, which their firefight inevitably boiled down to with both foes knocking the other's rounds off of their respective flight paths.

Eventually, the pair closed in on each other at the center of the field and leapt, where they both then collided in midair and spun to the ground, still firing shots from their fingers until they hit the soft sands of the beach. The seconds they did, the two fighters spun like tops and slammed a kick into the other's chest, sending their opponent rolling across the floor and away, where they then righted themselves and slid to a stop.

With excitement burning in Kiyoko's eyes and Kimimaro looking impassive as usual, the two then went at each other. The bone user started off strong, sprinting straight towards his opponent while picking up his fallen bone dagger at the same time. Blade held back, he slashed out at the girl, who slipped and ducked around his opening strikes, before countering with a swift left-right combo and a kick. Parrying the blows, the Kaguya exchanged lethal knife blows and strikes with the girl. When an opening presented itself, the boy then hiked up the blonde's leg when she swung in with a hook and attempted to stab down at her, only for the girl to swiftly grab the boy's wrist and toss him over her shoulder, straight into the ground.

Kimimaro struck the sand dune with a dull thud, an audible 'oof' escaping his lips as he then glared up at his opponent to see her raise her foot and bring it down in an effort to stomp him out. The boy responded by rolling right out of the way and leaping back into his own stance, which he took while holding his bone dagger back defensively.

"This girl…" the stoic boy thought with surprise clearly reflected in his tone, before seeing the kunoichi turn on him once again.

Kiyoko threw her opponent an enthusiastic grin, showing the amount of fun she was having. "Wow… you're quick." Giggling, the kunoichi then slid forward and took on an entirely new stance, one which had the bone user frown and hold his blade back further. With her left fist extended to about half-way and her right fist held at her chin, the girl began bobbing on her feet while her knuckles took aim at the young man standing several feet away. "Let's take this up a notch."

Expression reflecting his seriousness, the Kaguya waited for a few moments while trying to work out what this new stance his opponent had taken was. After several moments of contemplation, Kimimaro then went for it, dashing straight at the girl with his primary weapon. Attempting to lash out at her, his gaze hardened when he was then forced to duck the jab she threw at him with her extended left. The boy effortlessly slipped around it and dove in for the opening.

"Such a basic attack won't be enough to stop me," the young taijutsu genius thought as he came up with his blade, aiming to impale the girl the moment he was in range. However, just as he was closing the distance and following her fist as it retracted, his eyes then widened considerably when he saw it pull back to about half-way, and load itself. "What?!" The boy then had to cut off his approach when he saw the girl's fist suddenly become big, and crossed his arms over his face in time to block the sledgehammer that would have crashed into his nose.

A loud gunshot rang out when the punch landed, sending Kimimaro sliding back across the sand at a shocking speed. Coming to a stop, the boy cringed painfully as he lowered his hand, revealing blood dribbling out of his nose.

Even with a guard up, the damage still got through to him. What the hell?

"That was no ordinary jab," Kimimaro thought in alarm, seeing the girl had reset her stance and had her fist ready and waiting once again. Wiping the blood away, the boy hardened his gaze on his target once more before diving in again, intent on continuing the battle and seeing what this new taijutsu style was. When he got within range again, he dodged another swift left, but just as he was spinning in to nail the girl with a kick, the boy was then forced to duck and weave repeatedly when more jabs came flying out at him. The salvo of lightning fast shots had the Kaguya backing down as the girl advanced on him, throwing left after left after his head, with the sound of potentially concussive blows flying past his ears. "Tsk. So she's not just using that fist to block my field of vision."

She also had it extended so that she didn't need to bring her fist all the way back to her cheek, meaning that she was able to eliminate the time and space allowing an opponent to launch a counter. Normally a taijutsu user would be able to close the distance when a shinobi retracted their fist, but this girl didn't need to do that. She only brought it back half way, which then allowed her to fire it off again the second it was loaded.

The power it also had was also equivalent to a fully loaded punch. This was normally achieved with a right straight when a person would twist in with their shoulder, body and hips, with the full weight of their person behind it. But this girl managed to apply all of that power to just her shoulder and wrist. By rotating both, she was able to fire off a jab with the strength of a fully loaded punch.

That took an insane amount of upper body strength.

Gritting his teeth, Kimimaro continued avoiding the left shots before deciding to parry one of them, having had enough of being on the receiving end of this girl's attacks. Immediately upon doing so he rushed in with a stabbing motion, going right for the jugular when Kiyoko's jab failed to retract. However, the instant he attempted to dive for the opening with the aim to impale his opponent, he missed the smirk the girl threw him before, a split second later, a flash of white light hit him and the sound of a thunder clap rang out all around.

The next thing the Kaguya felt was his brain ringing like a bell as he was sent blasting off of his feet, ending with him once again skidding backwards across the beach and coming to a jittering stop some meters away. Body slumping forward, Kimimaro looked ahead of him in astonishment as the girl smiled pleasantly his way.

"W-What was that?"

He didn't know whether he was tripping or not from the damage of the counter, but he swore he was hit by a bolt of lightning.

Kiyoko, still holding her stance defensively, watched the boy's knees shake and come close to buckling as he slowly righted himself, and began moving her fist from left to right, following the pendulum of his head. "You can't beat me with such a flamboyant fighting style, not when I'm able to read all of your movements. With my Dangan (Bullet) left jab and my Senkou (Flash) right straight, you won't be able to land any attacks with that knife." Her right straight was especially tricky to circumvent.

The power and speed she threw that counter using this fighting style to nail the boy was as fast as a bolt of lightning, or at least comparatively from her opponent's perspective. It was her most explosive counterattack.

It sure shook the Kaguya up something fierce.

Reconnecting his brain to his legs and hopping on his feet to get life back into them, Kimimaro then clicked his tongue irritably and reset his focus on the person in front of him. Once he was certain he'd reestablished equilibrium with the rest of his body, he tightened the grip over his bone dagger and held it out to his side.

"You're a lot stronger than I first thought," Kimimaro remarked.

The comment immediately earned a blush from the girl and, breaking the monotony formed by their confrontation, she rubbed the back of her head bashfully, "Thanks."

A small smile tugging on his lips, the Kaguya then took on his stoic visage once more and widened his stance. "However, if you believe that you've bested me with a well-played fighting style then you are sadly mistaken. I figured you to be an unruly one and dismissed you as a possible threat entirely. But after seeing your little demonstration, it looks as though I'm going to have to take you a lot more seriously from now on. I have five dances in my arsenal, and I plan on using each and every one of them to kill you." With his weapon primed, and ignoring the blood dripping down his head and the corner of his mouth, the Kaguya took off once more, this time taking a non-linear approach as he closed in on his foe and saw her brace herself for another assault. "This girl has superb reaction time, and her reflexes and talent for taijutsu are on par with that of my own. But her true strength lies in her ability to counterattack, which means it will be incredibly difficult for me to get through her defenses." Following a zigzag form of advance, the boy then spun in, his blade flashing through the air as he took aim, and went for the girl with his fastest attack. "I'm not holding anything back. Here's my first! Tsubaki no Mai!" (Dance of the Camellia)

As soon as he closed in Kimimaro began lashing out at the girl with his bone dagger at blinding speed, his erratic stabbing motions creating multiple afterimages with the lag in an effort to confuse his opponent. However, despite the machine gun rate he opened up on his adversary with, Kiyoko was still able to predict the motion of his attacks perfectly and, with a game face of her own in play and her eyes zipping about at an insane speed, stepped in and fired off a barrage of consecutive, lightning fast jabs.

Each of her bullet-fast, corkscrew punches nailed Kimimaro in the face each and every time he lunged in with a stab of his blade, slamming him in the face repeatedly with rapid-fire succession when he attempted to make his mark. The blows caused loud thuds to ring out like a machinegun, and sweat and blood to fly off of the boy's face whenever his mug was smashed in. Gritting his teeth in frustration at her continuous, devilishly fast counters, the Kaguya then spiraled towards the girl, at the same time sprouting thick lengths of bone from his knees, elbows and shoulders, in an attempt to carve into the girl all at once.

"Yanagi no Mai!" (Dance of the Willow) the boy shouted, lashing at the girl with a kick.

Responding in kind, Kiyoko also threw a swift roundhouse kick into the teen's chest, a loud crack ringing out when both their attacks collided in midair at the exact same time. A blast of sand shooting up from the force of the impact, the Kaguya then sprang off of the ground and attempted to stab down at the kunoichi with his dagger again; hoping the extended bone from his arm would give her pause.

However, just as he was slashing in with his weapon, he suddenly saw the girl's hands become encased in the same black metal that she'd produced on her fingers, which allowed her to deflect his dagger effortlessly, while her other hand blocked the bone spike from his knee, which he also threw upwards in an effort to catch her in a scissor.

Surprised at her reflexes, Kimimaro frowned and kicked off of the girl's arm, sparks flying from his leg colliding with her guard as he leapt away at speed. Flipping through the air, the taijutsu genius then landed in a crouched position and exploded forward, his form blurring out when the spikes protruding from his body retracted, before several more curved bones popped out of his arms, chest, back and shoulders. Taking on the appearance of a hedgehog, he lunged at the girl, startling her at his sudden change in appearance.

"Karamatsu no Mai!" (Dance of the Larch) the boy shouted as he dove at Kiyoko, who attempted to kick at him, only for the boy to deflect it with the hardened bones protruding from his arm.

As soon as he blocked the kick, Kimimaro spun at the kunoichi like a top, colliding with her metal encased hands when they jumped up to block. However, the numerous spikes and blades he'd produced meant it was impossible for the girl to stop them all at once when he drove the attack home, piercing her arm in multiple places before he ground into her body, spurts of blood flying in all directions when he ground into her. The attack forced the girl to use a cross-arm block, with Kiyoko withstanding the assault for several long seconds before countering in the midst of the boy's rapid spin attacks with her signature move.

"Shigan!" (Finger Gun) A loud 'bang' rang out when the kunoichi's finger struck the boy's chest, causing Kimimaro's eyes to widen when he was hit square in the ribs before being sent staggering away.

His attack however, despite her desperate counter, caused the girl to fly off before bouncing across the sand uncontrollably. Crying out in pain, Kiyoko hit the dunes hard, eventually rolling to a stop when her momentum ceased and quickly tried to pick herself up.

When Kimimaro stopped stumbling, the boy choked up a bit of blood before glaring towards his foe again to see her stagger to her feet. Though he'd been hit by multiple blows to the head and stabbed by her finger, the kunoichi was now far worse off than he was.

Despite holding her own at the beginning, the girl now found herself covered in multiple blade and stab wounds. Having had her arms and body gauged at the same time, the kunoichi could be seen bleeding from various scars and holes in her torso, which was a bit ironic considering the number of people she'd done this too. However, this was no competition or examination where her abilities were being tested and played out. This was an actual battle, and the sudden surprise from her opponent had dealt her a high level of physical damage.

Panting heavily, Kiyoko's eyes narrowed dangerously before she then glared up at her foe. Kimimaro, now recovering from the hit to his side, actually balked a little at the intensity in her eyes and the sudden spike in killing intent the once cheerful girl sent his way. Wiping the blood from the cuts in her cheeks, the kunoichi then looked down at her hand, where she found her palm had been cut into as well.

She looked like she'd been tossed into a meat slicer.

Clenching her fist, the girl straightened up. "Okay… you've got my attention," Kiyoko growled, her voice carrying nothing but spit and rage. Upon taking a proper standing position, the now pissed off girl then concentrated her chakra and performed her next technique, one that a great many from her village now knew was her most lethal.

Kimimaro then watched on in silent surprise as the girl's entire body suddenly became encased in black metal. The substance bled out of her skin to hug and wrap around her entire person like a suit, giving her the form of a metal statue as she made sure to protect every inch of flesh, including her eyes. It was a sight very few have seen in combat, and a privilege that Kimimaro was now having.

"Koton: Kongo Yoroi!" (Steel Release: Adamantine Armor) Once the protective plating had come to envelop her form, the girl then raised a hand and tightened it into a fist. The metallic grinding sound and the echo of her knuckles popping immediately put the bone user on high alert. "My armor is a lot stronger than it was when I faced Lee in the tournament. If you're planning on going head to head with me, then you'd better have more than just bones protecting you."

So this was the other side of her. The scary, pissed-off side.

Warning taken, Kimimaro quickly rethought his options as well as the foe he was currently confronting. Upon taking the girl's new form into account as well as the anger she spoke with, the boy then decided to change tactics and push things further to his advantage. The ribs and spikes protruding from his body sinking back into him, the young man then activated the seal on his chest. At that exact moment, a series of enflamed markings began to spread across his body like water, the fiery red pattern glowing angrily until it covered his entire form. At the same time he activated his Cursed Seal, his body also began to warp and change, with a tail sprouting from his pelvis that had the spinal column visible, and six enormous spines of bone growing out from his back. His appearance changed so much and so drastically that his body shape became almost lizard-like, were it not for the fact he was still standing upright.

To go with his fearsome new look, black marks also formed around his eyes, which inverted to match the extent of his transformation. His chakra also spiked to an incredible level, a fact that did not surprise Kiyoko one bit.

Since she was fighting somebody who could use bones in such a weird way, changing the structure of his body to increase his physical prowess seemed like a viable option.

"It seems that you and I are both monsters… in a manner of speaking," Kiyoko spoke with a metallic tang in her voice, her glare hardening even more so as she saw the boy's tail whip around behind him. A grin then formed from her enraged scowl as she got a good bead on his presence, "A good, old-fashioned smack down between beasts. I think I'm going to enjoy this." Her tongue running across her upper lip was a clear indication of her excitement.

In response, Kimimaro crouched forward and prepared to set off. "In order to defeat an opponent like you, I cannot hold anything back. I learned that the first time I faced somebody with the ability to harden their skin to that of steel." Memories of his fight with Kakuzu all those months ago in the Land if Waves had him increase his glare. With the young man's brow scrunching tightly and a wave of killing intent blasting off of him, the bone user flexed his fingers and slammed his tail into the sand. "I'll be sure to make your downfall one to remember."

Kiyoko chuckled, "We'll see who's standing over whose corpse when I plough your ugly face into the ground and crush your skull beneath my heel."

For the next few seconds the two warriors glared each other down, chakra hardened steel against chakra hardened bone. After several moments of feeling the breeze lick at their skin, the pair then clenched their fists and, with an explosion of dust blasting into the air behind them, they sprinted towards one another at an alarming speed.

Enraged expressions coming across their faces, both Kimimaro and Kiyoko let out a roar of anger before lunging at each other with a swinging overhand, a loud shockwave ringing out on impact and blasting a cloud of sand into the sky.

Round two had begun.

OOO

(With Tayuya and Tsubaki)

Having dumped their boat where they parked it, Tayuya and Tsubaki quickly began making their way toward the island's center at their own pace. After handily dispatching a group of unfortunate Otogakure shinobi on their way through the woods, who'd not only had to contend with the master snake-charmer but her intangible lightning user friend as well, the pair shortly found themselves traversing the misty jungles that made up a great portion of the land's terrain.

Pushing past bushes, stepping over logs, clambering up steep rises and avoiding low hanging branches, the two Jonin level kunoichi attempted to make their way as stealthily as they could to their next point of interest. Unfortunately for them, due to their chosen path being laid out with such a dense coating of flora, it made the task of finding their way to their marker all the more troublesome. Soon enough, the pair ended up walking into a part of the forest so choked up with fog that they could barely see ten feet in front of them, and had to contend with having their eyes robbed of accurate sight.

"Geez. It's like we've stumbled into a fucking horror film," Tayuya commented distastefully as she pushed through some reeds, at the same time avoiding a puddle of mud lying in her way.

"No kidding," the impassive Tsubaki replied as she also pushed through the same shrubbery. Not wanting to waste chakra phasing through it like she normally did everything else, the orange haired girl was forced to endure the same harsh settings as her hidden leaf companion, which didn't bother her one bit. However, the conditions did present them with a bit of a problem. "We won't be able to find anything in this. The moisture in the air is throwing off my senses."

"Since you're a lightning user, I'm not surprised," Tayuya remarked, ducking under a branch and into a clearer area. "Well. At least there's some good in this."

"What makes you say that?"

"If we can't see ten feet in front of our asses, then the scumbags walking around these jungles won't be able to see us sneaking up on the-whoa," the redhead stopped, both in speech and in stride when her gaze unexpectedly landed on the next big surprise for the day. When Tsubaki coasted to a halt behind her and also spotted the problem for herself, the two girls then stood there staring at the bodies of several Otogakure shinobi lying all about the area in surprise, all of them looking like they'd been beaten to hell. "I guess that's six enemy shinobi we won't have to worry about."

"No kidding," the kunoichi from Kirigakure murmured while marching forward. Taking a closer look at one of the fallen foes while her teammate just walked about the area checking the corpses in general, the orange haired Jonin then made a bit of a startling discovery and looked up, her hand lifting from the person's chest. "These wounds weren't made by any blade I've seen before."

Attention grabbed, Tayuya worked her way back over to where Tsubaki was kneeling and took a closer look at the ninja lying on the ground. Giving the poor guy a quick go over, the redhead also balked and rose to her feet, "It… almost looks like he was mauled to death." The fact someone had taken a huge chunk out of his neck and the guy had bite marks all over him was proof of that. She then turned to her fellow Jonin with a puzzled expression in play. "What could have done this to him?"

"Don't know… but something did," Tsubaki murmured, only for her attention to suddenly snap upwards. Quickly getting to her feet again, the girl then held out her hand in a 'shushing' gesture. "Hey… do you hear that?"

Eyes narrowing, the musician beside the orange haired Jonin trained her gaze onto the jungle as well. Ignoring the bodies, the stench and the carnage, Tayuya began searching the trees, the bushes and the shrubs, trying her hardest to pierce through the grey veil hanging in the air around them. However, thanks to the thickness presented by the fog and the lack of light in the area, this task was made next to impossible for her to accomplish, which prompted her to instead hear out the problem just as Tsubaki suggested. It didn't take the redhead long to figure out what had caught the girl's attention.

"Yeah," Tayuya responded, at the same time pulling out a kunai and spinning it on her finger. "Nothing… absolutely nothing." She then caught it and held it in a backwards facing grip.

There wasn't a single bird, cricket, cicada or anything making any noise whatsoever. When they first entered the island from the coast, there had been plenty of life around them, save for the squad of enemy ninja they themselves had ended up killing. There'd been plenty of birds and seagulls cawing, crickets chirping and wind blowing. But upon getting this deep into the forest and entering this part of the woods, they soon found themselves in an almost surreal setting. The white noise was almost deafening, and the creepy feeling on the back of their necks almost had their hair standing on end.

After everything the two of them had been through in their careers as kunoichi, it was easy for them to deduce the cause for their restlessness.

"We're being watched," Tsubaki said.

This had both girls' eyes narrow as they searched the area, trying to find whoever or whatever was keeping its gaze fixed on them.

However, after a minute or so of searching the shadows of the wood, Tayuya lowered her blade and nudged her friend in the side. "You know what it's… probably nothing."

Clicking her tongue and having one last glance around, the lightning user nodded, "Yeah. You may be right."

Tapping her on the shoulder, the musician then gestured for Tsubaki to follow her, which she did, and soon the two of them began making their way out of the area.

"Let's just… get out of here before we run into whatever's been… chewing on these guys," Tayuya said, a suggestion that her companion wholeheartedly agreed with and together exited the clearing back into the dense jungle.

Unbeknownst to the two kunoichi however, as their forms sunk back into the mist of the surrounding trees, they failed to notice a pair of glowing red eyes open up in the dark behind them, and the snarl of a wolf-like creature filter out over the bodies of the dead Oto shinobi. This piercing red gaze then shifted in the shadows, before beginning to follow the two girls through the jungle, keeping its distance.

OOO

(With Naruto)

Getting off of the boat for the group of three Konoha ninja landing on the other side of the island was no problem. Actually needing to get where they needed to go after that was another matter entirely, especially when you had a bunch of Oto ninja standing in your way.

Managing to dispatch the initial wave of about eight enemy ninja, the group then began a quick dash through the jungle and up towards the mountain. Their way of travel was far less guarded and had far fewer obstacles to circumvent than the route the others had taken. However, the climb was still long and arduous, meaning the trio had to take the route less traveled via the treetops. Springing from branch to branch and flying through the canopy, Naruto, Hinata and Choji climbed higher and higher towards the mountain. When they reached a rocky tor, they had to go around it, and when they eventually approached a cliff, they had to climb it.

Jumping from point to point, Naruto looked down to address his teammates to see if they were still right on his tail. "So we all know what the plan is? We clear out the island and meet up with the rest of the team at the center of it. We'll do a quick sweep of the mountain before heading back down… alright?"

"Right," Choji shouted back.

"Y-Yes, Naruto-kun," Hinata responded as well.

Continuing to jump up the side of the cliff, the jinchuriki and his crew eventually reached the top of it. When they arrived, they took a moment to catch their breaths and admire the scenery before then making their way towards the jungle waiting in their path to get back under cover. However, just before they could pass through into the tree line, three shadows dropping down in front of them had the squad stop in their tracks when the figures crashed into the earth, kicking up dust on impact. Skidding to a halt, the three hidden village shinobi fixed their eyes on the warriors that had appeared out of nowhere to see what they were up against.

To their surprise, they weren't the Otogakure cannon fodder they'd encountered when they first got off the beach.

These guys were enormous, hulking figures adorned in some kind of metal armor the three of them had never seen before. It was almost foreign in design, like, not from their continent kind of armor. They were each adorned in matching metal plated body wear with thickly woven tops and pants, with shin and arm guards, shoulder pads, and helmets. What's more, each of them had a massive frame, were slightly hunched over, and each one of them was armed with an enormous club or mace, which appeared to be their weapons of choice.

They were most befitting their sizes.

"Whoa!" Naruto shouted, caught by surprise when the one in the middle of the formation suddenly rushed at him. "Watch out guys!" He then sprinted at it, jumping through the air and kicking off of the figure's head when it swung at him with its mace, the ball head crashing into the ground with explosive force, sending debris and rubble flying in all directions.

Seeing the other two enemies charging at them prompted Hinata and Choji into action, the two Genin springing away when the large, armored warriors lashed out with their respective weapons.

Managing to roll out of the way while Hinata sprinted for some distance, the Akimichi began excessively dodging his foe when he came lashing at him again and again, its weapon carving into the ground repeatedly while also taking out a tree when Choji retreated towards the woods. After a minute or so of an endless pursuit from his relentless foe, the rotund Genin then had enough of being chased and, springing off of the side of another tree, lunged at one of the armored figures with a swinging punch, which he drove straight into his attacker's face with a resounding clang.

"Got yah!"

Toppling the hulking individual with his counterattack, Choji was then caught by surprise when his voiceless foe suddenly grabbed him by the ankle and threw him straight into the ground, easily recovering from the bell-ringing punch. The result was the Genin having his back buried into the earth with an ear-splitting crack, sticking him a foot into the hard surface before the armored warrior then raised his boot to bring down on top of him.

Reacting in alarm, Choji rolled right out of the way, avoiding the enormous leg that smashed into the spot he'd been lying in and fractured the earth. Jumping back to his feet, the boy then reached behind him and pulled out a cluster of shuriken, which he then pitched at the enormous figure in an effort to get through the guy's solid form.

However, even with his shoulder turned, when the ninja stars eventually made their mark, most of them bounced off of the figure without even leaving a scratch on the guy's armor. The metal projectiles struck the man with a series of clangs, before all of them scattered across the ground and embedded uselessly in the dirt. While a couple of the stars managed to stick the figure in the neck and arm where there was no armor, it didn't seem to affect him at all.

Surprised at the unfeeling nature of his enemy, Choji balked when the guy came charging at him again, club descending to bury him into the earth. Frowning, the Akimichi jumped out of the way again while the man's weapon crashed into the ground, sending debris and dust into the air like a landmine had gone off. Upon acquiring some distance, Choji gritted his teeth and formed a hand seal.

"Alright you! Take this! Baika no Jutsu!" (Multi-Size Technique) The moment he shouted the incantation, Choji's form expanded in the blink of an eye, giving him a much more rounded appearance. The moment his body's size increased, the kid tucked his arms, legs and head inside, before beginning to spin like an accelerating wheel. With the sound of a tire screeching, the wily Genin charged towards the armored warrior now removing his weapon from the ground. "Nikudan Sensha!" (Human Bullet Tank)

He advanced on the drone with ridiculous speed, the armored figure taking up its duel-handed weapon and taking a swing at the approaching human boulder. However, before his weapon could even touch the Genin, the enormous human ball collided with the armored figure, grinding into him for a good moment before blasting the hulking man into a tree. The figure impacted the trunk with a loud bang, until Choji continued his charge and slammed into him once more, flattening the enemy with concussive force.

A cloud of dust kicked up around the impact point and when it eventually cleared, it revealed Choji standing victorious over his fallen adversary.

Looking down at the warrior's mangled form and crushed remains, Choji raised an eyebrow when he saw that there was no blood or anything telling him that the person he'd been fighting was human. Apparently, the large suit of armor he'd been fighting this entire time looked like it was made out of a malleable material of some sorts and had been moving about on its own, like it was some kind of puppet.

"That's so weird. What the heck is this thing?" the boy thought, the sight of the now dead soldier causing the Akimichi to frown distastefully before turning his attention toward the others to see how they were doing.

He looked just in time to see another armored warrior fly across the clearing, backwards, at high speed, before impacting with another tree on the jungle's edge, the landing causing the entire structure to collapse right on top of it and bury the warrior underneath its weight. With its entire front armor cracked like glass, the soldier ended up flattened by the enormous trunk with ease, with Hinata standing several yards away with both her palms held forward and her Byakugan activated.

Breathing out from the swift combination she nailed her adversary with and had then handily defeated, the kunoichi then deactivated her eyes and looked across the field to where Naruto was. Seeing him descending from the sky towards his enemy jumping up to meet him, the boy spun through the air before unleashing a wicked spin kick into the figure's head.

"Chaser!" His signature leg blow collided with the armored enemy's head with an ear-splitting 'bang', the force of the impact sending the warrior plummeting to the ground below. With another earthshaking crash, the figure buried itself into the ground with an impact that sent rubble and debris all over.

When the dust inevitably settled and Naruto eventually landed, it revealed his opponent stuck six feet underneath ground level, with the only thing remaining of it being its hand sticking up out of the rock filled crater.

Frowning at his decisive victory, the blonde then turned towards his teammates to see them approaching him, both of them just as equally troubled by this attack as he was.

"Who the hell were these guys?"

"I don't know," Choji shrugged, giving the battlefield a quick look over. Scratching his head when he looked from one fallen figure to the next, he then looked back at the blonde haired Jonin with an uneasy scowl, "But one thing's for certain, they're not Otogakure shinobi."

"Yeah. Their getup isn't even the same. Hell, I don't even think they're human," Naruto murmured, glancing at his dead foe and then turning his gaze towards their kunoichi companion. When he gave the Hyuuga his attention, he saw the girl looking around the jungle with a puzzled gaze and her hands held firmly at her sides. "You could see underneath their armor, Hinata-chan. What were they?"

The white-eyed teen furrowed her brow and fixed onto her crush once more, "Th-There were no bodies inside of them. Just… chakra." She shook her head at the peculiarity of what she saw moments ago and then looked down at the soldier Naruto had defeated, "I-I don't know exactly how to explain it. It's like they're puppets of some kind… living dolls made out of a strange energy I've never even seen before."

Marionette soldiers that could be controlled from a distance. But even with her Byakugan, the Hyuuga could not see or determine who exactly was controlling them or where they'd originated from. There weren't any chakra wires or resonance indicating the figures manipulating their actions from the shadows, which led to the conclusion that a person's chakra had been implanted in them and they were simply following a default command.

It was almost like they were automated.

However, what's done was done, and with the three ghost warriors downed, Naruto, Hinata and Choji could once again focus on more important matters, and that was getting to where they needed to go. Eyes fixing on the horizon again, the blonde pointed towards the trees.

"Come on. We've got a ways to go before the summit, so let's get this done," the jinchuriki said, earning nods of agreement from the two accompanying him before they all took off into the woods again.

Hopefully the others were having an easier time with this than they were.

OOO

(With Samui)

"Well, damn," Karui cursed to herself, at the same time drawing her katana from its sheath and pressing her back into that of her teammate. Assuming a fighting stance, the red haired girl bared her teeth and focused her attention on the strange, armored group of warriors that had suddenly marched out of the jungle surrounding them and into the clearing her squad was holed up in. Needless to say, after the start they'd just had, things weren't going as swimmingly as they'd initially hoped, "First ninja and now these guys. This day just keeps getting better and better."

Clicking his tongue, Omoi also took a stance and fixed his glare on the group of enemies in front of them, seeing their red eyes shine brightly and the maces they were holding get brought up into offensive stances, "They came out of nowhere. Who the hell are these dudes… or what the hell are they?" Whatever they were, he wasn't getting any human vibes from them as he did from other foes.

"It doesn't matter. As long as we can kill em', then that's good enough for me," Karui shot back, not tearing her eyes away from them for even a second.

Having entered a clearing on their way up the mountain through the jungle, Samui and her team had suddenly found themselves set upon by an army's worth of enemy forces. However, instead of the hidden sound ninja they were expected to come across, they had run into a whole platoon's worth of armored warriors that weren't in any way aligned to Otogakure. This presented them with a new problem, because not only was there a high number of them in the area, but they looked dangerous, were raring to fight and they were on them like a pack of dogs. Furthermore, they had the entire place locked down and surrounded, leaving Samui, Chojuro, Omoi and Karui standing back to back with one another.

Upon seeing the army of warriors' eyes flash dangerously and their weapons crank back for a charge, Samui drew her tanto from her belt whereas Chojuro summoned an enlarged kunai with a curved blade, with a size comparable to that of a short blade. As all four of them were standing back to back, it meant the entire squad was watching all four sides, north, south, east and west. They had every flank covered, meaning they had little to nothing to worry about.

Hearing the clanking of armor as the large soldiers began lumbering toward them, the blue haired Chunin frowned and adjusted his glasses, "It seems that we may have bitten off more than we can chew here."

Karui glanced over her shoulder with a smirk, "I thought Kirigakure ninja didn't mind odds like these… especially ones stacked against them."

Lenses flashing deviously, Chojuro allowed a more confident smile to form as he took count of their enemy, "Well… I'm not like most Kirigakure ninja. However, if it means protecting my comrades and fighting for Mizukage-sama, then I will do my absolute best to make her happy and to keep my village safe."

Omoi, rolling his lollipop around in his mouth, smiled, "It sounds to me like you've got a little bit of a crush on your village leader."

The young swordsman-in-training chuckled, "Guilty."

"A shinobi and kunoichi's true potential will always reveal itself when they're fighting for a cause they strongly believe in," Samui added while setting her blade back and widening her stance. The corner of her mouth twitching, the blonde reared forward. "I can understand that sensation completely. However, let's just focus on defeating this enemy and moving on to completing this mission. I'm sure that the courage to do your village leader's will and the need to protect your friends will come to on its own."

That little piece of wisdom given and shared, Samui and the other three ninja in her company then crouched down and charged forward, each going at the armored warriors grouped before them, and all of which responded in kind to their dash with a respective charge of their own. Within seconds, the sounds of battle filled the air as the bulky, incredibly durable enemy forces clashed blades with the nimble and fierce squad from Kumo and Kiri.

OOO

Standing in front of an entrance to a cave, the same one Guren and her team had used to access the heart of the island and the enormous chamber on the other end of the path, a young warrior clad in silver armor stood looking at the naturally formed archway before him and the darkness that lay ahead. With his weapon at his side and assumed in a firm stance, the young warrior stood looking around at the enormous wall and the shadows of the tunnel with his unblinking red eyes. The feel of the breeze escaping through from the underground passage was cold and almost bone chilling, but the blonde haired young man wasn't fazed by the sensations in the least, and held his ground against the next obstacle presented to him.

This was where he was supposed to go. This was where his master had asked him to be; the very entrance to the island he was instructed to seek out. Along with his team of armored warriors, he and his partner had ventured for hundreds of miles across the oceans to locate this place and mark it as one of their own, as well as to eliminate any and all opposition they were likely to encounter. The team of shinobi beforehand was of little to no consequence, and Fugai had had a blast in the madness of it all. She may have even taken it a little bit too far, especially with her taking the time to bite chunks out of her opponents to feed on.

However, not one to question the odd quirks of his companions that came with the abilities granted to them by the Gelel stones, the boy had moved forward with his mission and now found him standing at the last turn. With his forces stretched out over the island to quell any and all resistance, and Fugai keeping a lookout for any other unsavory characters, he was free to go about the remainder of his assignment quietly.

However, just when he was considering going into the cave to finish off business here and to move on to his next location, he then picked up on the presence of another entering his midst and looked to his right. Glancing over his shoulder and up towards the nearby ridge, the young man then saw two figures come to stand on the edge of the cliff overlooking the area. With one wearing a coat over her shoulders and orange hair waving on the wind, and another wearing a khaki jacket with a purple fur collar and red hair, he found himself confronted by the two-man team consisting of Tayuya and Tsubaki.

Blinking in surprise at the sight of the white knight, the musician raised an eyebrow before glancing across at her companion, "Who the fuck is this guy?"

"Don't know," the Jonin from Kirigakure murmured. Looking the youngster over with her arms crossed for several seconds, she then glanced back at the redhead with an inquisitive expression. "He looks tough though. Is he an Otogakure shinobi?"

"Not one that I've ever seen before," Tayuya replied, taking another gander at the armored warrior down below. Upon giving the teen another inspection from a safe distance, the musician then raised an eyebrow and reached for her leg holster, unclipping it to draw a blade. "However… he does look very familiar. I remember shithead telling me about how his teammate, Sasuke, was attacked on the road by a couple of people dressed in some weird-ass armor that didn't originate from this continent. Maybe this guy is attached to that group or something."

He definitely didn't look like he was from around here. Hell, his outfit was more than a big enough giveaway.

Also considering that bit of information, Tsubaki, fixing her glare on the boy positioned at the entrance to the cave, furrowed her brow in discomfort and spoke up, "If that's true… then you guys are having a very interesting month."

"No shit. And I thought I was having it bad before," Tayuya replied while drawing a knife, at the same time seeing the blonde haired warrior below turn towards them more completely, as if instinctively reacting to the sight of the weapon, "So… which one of us gets to take this bastard down?"

"Allow me to make that decision for you."

Eyes widening, Tayuya spun around, only to get a face full of a wolf's jaws when a massive dog-like creature leapt out of the bushes directly behind her and slammed into her at full speed. A loud, animalistic growl echoing out, the redhead was knocked off her feet and sent plummeting to the clearing below, a knife held up to catch the fangs of the wolf's mouth snapping down at her.

Gritting her teeth in freefall, with the human-sized wolf on top of her trying to take a bite out of her neck, the Jonin from Konohagakure then maneuvered them in midair and, planting her feet against the animal's chest, kick them off of her. With an almighty heave, the redhead sent the beast flying off of her, allowing her to right herself and land on the ground safely. Pulling her blade up, Tayuya growled when she saw the creature that had tackled her, who had also managed to land safely, round on her landing spot before charging at blinding speed.

Baffled that she was being attacked by what she could only describe as a werewolf dressed in blue knight armor outfitted for a woman, who was also trailing a cape behind her, Tayuya responded instinctively to the approaching creature by throwing a hail of shuriken in its direction, only to see the beast duck around them in a blur before lunging at her once again. With the bark of an enraged canine, the wolf wasted no time in lashing out at the musician.

"You're mine!"

Quickly snapping out of her reverie when she realized they'd been blind-sided, Tsubaki, conjuring electricity into her hands with a few tai chi movements, fired a bolt down at the shockingly quick enemy gunning for Tayuya. "Raiton: Raigeki no Yari!" (Lightning Release: Spear of Lightning)In spite of the speed of the attack she hurled at the wolf-like creature though, she could only watch in bewilderment as the damn thing avoided her jutsu by suddenly changing directions and sprinting away, before changing course once again and going for her intended target from her other flank.

Despite her speedy maneuvering to dodge the blast of electricity from above, she was still right on top of the flute user in the blink of an eye.

"Damn it!" Startled, Tayuya back flipped to avoid her enemy's leading blow, making a hasty retreat across the clearing before leaping back into the jungle behind her, where she was then pursued by the wolf. "You want to go, bitch? Then come on!" The two vanished into the thick of the undergrowth in a shower of leaves and twigs, one chasing after the other and disappearing completely from the area.

Slightly shocked at the agility of the armored wolf, Tsubaki opted to go assist the girl, but then had her attention suddenly pulled back to the white knight down below… only… he wasn't standing at the cave entrance thirty meters away anymore.

He was two feet in front of the Jonin, advancing on the orange haired kunoichi with ridiculous speed and swinging up at her with the sword he'd drawn from his sheath, tower shield also held firmly in hand and at his defense.

Red eyes fixed on the bewildered Tsubaki, the determined Temujin struck out with his blade arcing through the air in a flash, his movements set in slow motion from the girl's point of view as he made his move to take her down in one stroke.

"Die."

Expression transforming into a scowl, the lightning user responded in kind to her opponent's sudden charge, and a flash of blue light engulfed both of them, followed immediately by a thunderclap.

OOO

(With Naruto)

Dashing through the jungle towards the center of the island, Naruto, Hinata and Choji were well on their way to marching on the mountain itself and taking it. However, while they were springing through the trees and continuing to climb higher, a flash of light in the distance and above the trees, followed by a bolt of lightning shooting up from the far side of the hills, had all three of them stop in their tracks.

Landing on their chosen branches, the trio of shinobi looked up into the sky to watch the string of electricity vanish into the clouds before inevitably fading, the sounds of rolling thunder soon following afterwards. The combination of sight and sound baffled the youngsters at the peculiarity of the anomaly, wondering for several seconds what the hell could have caused a bolt of lightning to shoot up into the sky. After thinking about it for a moment, Naruto eventually caught on to what must be happening over on the other side of the mountain and clenched his fists tightly.

"Tsubaki-chan… Tayuya-chan…"

"Are they in trouble?" Hinata asked, stepping towards the blonde with her hands clenched together worryingly.

"Don't know… but I think they may have just run into some," the jinchuriki replied, narrowing his eyes at the same time. "Tsubaki wouldn't give away her position like that… ever. She and Tayuya-chan must have bumped into somebody strong for her to let off a blast like that." If that was true, then that meant her adversary must have caused her to miss or ended up deflecting one of her shots when she tried to counter them. Though it was more likely the former than the latter, either scenario spelled trouble for the orange haired girl.

But it wasn't the adversary they were up against that gave Naruto a moment of pause; it was also the question of whether his friends were okay.

Preparing to set off again to go investigate the problem, a tremor on the wind set off the alarm that was Naruto's sixth sense and drew his gaze upwards. Reacting in shock, the blonde then leapt back and pushed Hinata and Choji out of the way at the same time. "MOVE!" He was glad that he did, because the next thing the three hidden leaf ninja became aware of was a shower of pink crystals the size of kunai raining down on them from above. His response time meant that he and his companions managed to dodge the arrows, before being sent on a hasty retreat when the shower of diamond death pursued them through the thick of the jungle.

The sheer accuracy of the rain separated Naruto from the other two, with the two Genin being chased away deeper into the woods while he was sent on a random dash through the branches.

"What the hell?"

Barely avoiding a massive crystal block that took out a tree when it crashed into the area, Naruto then barreled through the canopy and out into a rocky clearing. Flipping through the air, the jinchuriki landed on all fours and skidded backwards to a stop, letting out an irritated huff and looking up. Aware that he'd been separated from his teammates as well had him curse, since he had no idea what it was that was attacking them, but knew full well that they had been ambushed.

"Who's there?!" Naruto shouted.

His question was soon answered by a shadow leaping out of the same canopy he'd been chased through, which he watched soar over him before landing on a rocky tor directly over his shoulder. Turning to face the unknown assailant, Naruto's eyes then landed on a beautiful, blue haired woman with lipstick and sharp eyes, and wearing green battle attire with a fur collar and boots, staring down at him with a smug smile in play. The sight of the person immediately had the jinchuriki round on her and drop into a fighting stance.

When he focused all of his attention onto her in preparation for a battle, Naruto balked in shock at the feedback he instantly received from the stranger and widened his stance.

"Shit… I don't like this." The amount of killing intent and power he could feel coming off of this woman was ridiculously high. She had an even more potent presence than Kakashi did, causing a bead of sweat to trickle down the boy's face.

Shaking his head to rid himself of his stupor, Naruto slapped his game face back on and gritted his teeth. "Hey! What gives?! Who the hell are you?"

Guren, leering down at her prey, raised her hand and pointed at the young Jonin with the most intimidating grin he'd ever seen, "The person who's going to take your life… boy." The moment she said that pink crystals began forming over her hand, with sharp tips of the same substance appearing on the ends of her fingertips and transforming her limb into a claw. "I hope you don't disappoint me."

Recoiling slightly at the sight of the substance she'd managed to produce out of thin air, having never seen anyone use crystal release before, Naruto's expression transformed into a scowl before the blonde slid into a more offensive stance. "You want to fight? Fine." Bringing both hands up, the jinchuriki dug his feet into the earth and fixed his glare firmly on the woman above. If this kunoichi was planning on standing in his way, then he had to beat her quickly so that he could go see if Hinata and Choji were alright. "Let's go."

For several seconds the pair faced off. Then, after a great length of silence had come and gone, Naruto bit his teeth together and sprung off of the ground. The moment he jumped, he vanished in the blink of an eye as his form zipped away at super speed.

Grinning in amusement, Guren looked up into the sky where she then saw Naruto materialize out of the air above her and dive straight down to meet her on the cliff. Seeing his fist cocked back, the woman loaded up her own crystal covered hand and lashed out, the pair meeting with a yell and a swing…

Just like that, the battle for the north-east island in the Land of Water was on.

TO BE CONTINUED…

---

Author's Note: And so it begins, the setup for the last major battle of this arc. Who will win?

Anyone?

Hope you're all looking forward to the next chapter.