Shikotsumyaku no Naruto Chapter 6: The Eight Trigrams Fail!, a naruto fanfic

The beginning of the End...

Naruto: So, this is it, eh, Kimmimaro?

Kimmimaro: Indeed. Lord Orochimaru will attack during the finals.

Naruto: I wander...
???: Don't hurt yourself, Uzumaki Naruto.
Kimmimaro and Naruto: ?!

Chapter 6,

A Final to Remember! The Eight Trigrams Fail!

"Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuuga Neji, are you ready?" Genma asked, his eyes moving from one Genin to the other. Naruto didn't move his eyes away from Neji, even as he slipped his arms out of his kimono, letting it hang from his waist.

"I am ready, proctor." Naruto stated clearly. Neji gave a curt nod.

"I too, am ready." Genma nodded, raising his right arm.

"Hajime!" He called, bringing it down. Both ninja leapt backwards several feet, Neji landing in what had become a familiar hand sign to the audience.

"Byakugan!" He cried. Naruto skidded along the ground an extra foot, kicking up dust as he spun in a full circle, his fingertips pointing dangerously at Neji.

"Teshi Sendan!" He called out to the world, his fingertips shooting at Neji haphazardly, each with deadly accuracy. Neji's eyes widened, as he suddenly spun in a circle, executing a perfect Kaiten to block the bone bullets. Both teenage boys soon came to a standstill, Neji in the traditional Jyuuken stance, Naruto in a half crouch, his deadly fingertips still pointed at Neji's body. Neither moved an inch, despite the fire that seemed to burn between them.

All the audience could do was hold their breath in amazement at the two Genin, although the term hardly seemed to fit anymore. Older shinobi were surprised, as even the Kages found themselves waiting in anticipation. Only twelve seconds had passed.

'Dear god.' Kakashi thought to himself, having arrived just in time to catch the finals starting again, slightly out of breath. 'Did Naruto just...'

"Freaky, isn't it." Sakura whispered from her newly reclaimed seat, ignoring the stares of the Genin around her. "Naruto's weapon of choice has become his own body, his own bones."

"Am I the only person who finds that a little sick?" Ino asked, taking in deep breaths. Sakura shrugged.

"No, I just had to get used to it. If I can't watch my own team-mate fight in combat, then how can I fight myself?" She asked back.

"Look at it this way." Asuma stated. "At least he's never defenceless." The group fell silent after that.

"Fate has decreed my victory here today, Uzumaki." Neji called. "Surrender, and save yourself the embarrassment." Naruto didn't reply, his fingers still pointing at Neji, the two locked in a staring competition, finally, Naruto's mouth opened.

"I can continue to fight for half an hour of continuous combat." He stated. "We've fought for twelve seconds. Trust me, Neji, you haven't seen nothing yet." With that, Naruto shot off another barrage of bone bullets, watching calmly as Neji simply performed another Kaiten.

"The definition of stupid, Uzumaki, is performing the same action and expecting different results." Neji taunted coldly, his eyes ablaze and unamused. Naruto cocked his head to the side, unexpressed laughter quickly becoming alight in his eyes as he realised his opponent's misinterpretation, silently thanking whatever deity was out there that Hinata was such a damn good teacher of reading people.

"Who said I was looking for a different result, Neji?" He asked. "After seeing you perform the Kaiten twice, and looking at your breathing, I can effectively tell how fit for combat you are." Neji's breathing hitched, his eyes widening by an almost imperceptible amount. "Your breathing is heavier then it was before, and your stance is a little more lazy after that second Kaiten. You can't keep using it, can you?" Neji threw caution into the winds, suddenly charging at Naruto. The boy waited a second longer, before springing forth himself, breathing in deeply.

"Yanagi no Mai!" Naruto cried, a pair of bone blades shooting from his palms as he spun around a finger strike aimed at his heart. Continuing his spin, Naruto slashed at Neji, cutting open his jacket just over his chest. Naruto continued his attack, stabbing at Neji again and again, the Hyuuga struggling to continue parrying the stabs. Seven stabs later, Neji slipped up, and was impaled, only to be replaced with a log. Twenty one seconds had passed.

"Hinata, how soon do you predict Neji's defeat?" Hiashi asked suddenly, amusement in his eyes as he watched Neji struggle with the bone ninja. In the seat beside him, Hinata hesitated.

"If Naruto-kun stopped playing, maybe three minutes at the most, Tousan." Hinata replied. "It would depend when Neji used the thirty-two palms." Hiashi's eyebrow went up by a fraction of a millimetre, the only sign that he was surprised.

"Explain." He commanded, Hanabi tearing her gaze away from the combat to hear the explanation.

"Naruto-kun's quickest way of winning is to let Neji-niisan skewer himself." Hinata explained quickly, her eyes still watching Naruto toy with Neji, lazily dancing around the Hyuuga prodigy and nicking him with the bone spikes of the Yanagi no Mai. "When Neji-niisan uses the thirty-two palms, Naruto-kun will counter with the Karamatsu no Mai, and since the thirty-two palms must be completed once the Hakke symbol is formed, Neji-niisan will skewer himself on Naruto-kun's bones." Hanabi winced at her sisters description of the rather brutal method of victory.

"Isn't that a little overkill?" She whispered, more to herself then anyone else. Unfortunately for the young girl, her father heard her.

"Perhaps it is overkill, but the ability to turn your opponent's most powerful weapon against him is a much sought out tool in the ninja world. Uzumaki-san will almost certainly be placed in the bingo book after these exams, by Iwa if by nowhere else." Hiashi commented, his eyebrows furrowed. "I am interested to see if Neji can defend himself from Uzumaki-san."

One slash, two slashes, three slashes, a stab, a knee. Neji caught the last of these, blocking off several tenketsu in Naruto's thigh as he did so.

"That wasn't very smart of you, was it, Uzumaki?" Neji jeered. Naruto rolled his eyes, making no attempt to free his knee.

"Yanagi no Mai!" He cried, a spike shooting from his kneecap, slicing straight through the side of Neji's ribs. The Genin let out a moan of pain as he hurriedly threw Naruto aside, wiping the blood from his chin as he returned to his Jyuuken stance. Naruto smirked as he stood up tall, dusting off his hands as the spike crumbled to dust, letting the blood fall to the ground with it.

"You know, there are two kinds of people in this world." Naruto spoke up. "Those that protect, and those that kill. Which category do you fall into, I wonder." With that, he shunpo'd away, reappearing back to back with Neji, his right hand ripping a bone sword from his shoulder. "Tsubaki no Mai!"

"Kaiten!" Neji cried, forcing Naruto to fall back or be ripped apart. Spinning around as he skidded along the ground, Naruto let loose an annoyed spray of bone bullets from his left hand, before ripping a second bone sword from his right shoulder.

"Fate is immutable." Neji stated calmly, although Naruto could see the rage in his eyes. "It's decrees have forced hatred and pain upon the branch family, but I broke free of it! Fate has granted me the power to become the strongest of the Hyuuga..."

"Shut up." Naruto snapped. "Don't think I'm unaware of the Hyuuga Juinjutsu. Hinata told me about it, about how you whine about being forced to serve, when your only 'master' is Hinata. Has she ever made you do anything? The Juinjutsu is wrong, and she knows it, so how about you get the stick out of your arse and help her get rid of it." Naruto began to advance on Neji, pumping calcium and chakra into his weapons, turning them from swords into what looked like giant, menacing Zweihanders. With his Byakugan, Neji could see the red chakra begin to flow from Naruto's navel.

'What kind of monster is he?' Neji thought in horror, taking a step backwards. Naruto's eyes darkened, his hair growing just that slight bit shaggier, his whisker marks darkening just that tiny bit.

"You want to know what really pisses me off, though, Neji?" Naruto snarled. "You've never had to fight for your life. You have a sensei, team mates and family that will fight to protect you. My sensei and my team are the very first people to give me such a bond. After all, Teuchi, Iruka-sensei, the Hokage, they can only help something like me so much." Naruto's voice was bitter, angry, as his eyes started to take on a red tinge. Suddenly, the boy stopped, glancing at the ground.

"You can stop now." He commanded his navel, to Neji's surprise. "I'm not moving from this spot until its all gone."

In his cage, the Kyuubi was very amused. He had wondered if his host had picked up on the chakra he'd been pumping into the boys system. Now he knew.

"Very well, kit." He lamented. "Your will be done, for now." With that, he drew his chakra back into the cage. However, as it did so, he made sure to make a jet of his chakra smack the diseased cells in the boys left lung, making sure to do so just as the boy breathed out. It was annoying. He just couldn't work out what the hell that disease was. It almost had a mind of its own.

"Just hurry up and win."

"What the hell?" Kiba exclaimed, on his feet and roaring at the still battlefield. "Get back to the fight!"

"Naruto's conserving himself." Kakashi noted. "The battle has effectively gone for five minutes. He's buying time to restart the counter." To his right, Asuma took in a deep puff of smoke from his cigarette.

"Why would he do that?" He asked. Kakashi raised a hand, before going still. Asuma frowned, but went still himself.

"You feel that?" Kakashi asked. "The hatred lying in wait? Someone means to attack Konoha."

"Dear lord." Asuma whispered. "We need to..."

"We do nothing." Kakashi stated. "Naruto's baiting Neji, but buying time to reset the counter. That means only one thing." Suddenly, everyone's eyes were on him, expecting an answer.

"That means what?" Ino asked, impatient. Sakura shot her a glare, but said nothing, allowing Kakashi to finish.

"Naruto wants Neji to use the thirty-two palms." Kakashi finished, to the shock of all.

Watching Naruto stand still silently, looking pointedly at his stomach, was too much for Neji's ego. His opponent thought his stomach was more important then his opponent? He had the audacity to treat him as trash? The dead last!

"That's enough." Neji snarled. "I was going to save this for someone much more worthy, but I think it will prove my point. It is my destiny to claim victory here!" Naruto didn't look up, but was smirking inwardly. So Hinata's suspicions were true. Neji did have a new trick. Neji slid into a new stance, his hands out wide, as a victorious smirk came to his face, the Hakke forming around both him and Naruto.

"Hekkeshou, Rokujyuuyon Shou!" He screamed. Naruto's head snapped up, a smile on his face. So he was going for broke with the family secret move. All the better. Neji spun before lunging forward, his fingers coming in, completely committed to the attack. If a single hit connected, it would be over.

"Two palms!" He cried, the first to strikes smashing into Naruto's shoulders. Neji spun for momentum, preparing for the next set of strikes. That was were it would end.

"Karamatsu no Mai!" Naruto screamed, bone spikes shooting from his body, turning him into a living porcupine. Neji was too close to move, and was skewered as the bones sprouted, like the branches of a tree. Naruto could hear the screams of terror from the crowd, the surprise, and Neji's own groan of pain, right before he passed out. He was impaled through his left forearm, his right shoulder, just beside his kidney, his right thigh, his left shin and through both feet, whilst one spike had just narrowly missed his neck, blood slowly seeping down the branches of bone.

"That is how you defeat the ultimate attack of the Hyuuga." Naruto whispered, knowing Neji couldn't hear him, but not really caring. "You use the ultimate defence of the Shikotsumyaku."

"It's over! Winner, Uzumaki Naruto!" Genma cried, almost surprising Naruto by how close he was. With a quick click of Naruto's fingers, the bones disintegrated, Neji falling to the ground hard, landing in a crumpled heap. Medics rushed past, cradling the boy as they lifted him onto a stretcher and rushed him to the medical ward, but Naruto, for some reason, couldn't bring himself to care. Something was very out of place. He could feel it in his bones.

The same deadly bones he used to fight.

"Sasuke will see visitors now." The nurse stated, showing Sakura and Kakashi in. There was a half an hour interlude before the awarding of the Chunin vest ceremony, giving the pair a chance to check on Sasuke. Naruto, unfortunately, was forced to remain behind, having been one of the finalists and the winner of the tournament, for a meeting with the Kage's. Walking into the room, Sakura's heart suddenly soared, as she caught sight of Sasuke, sitting irritably on his bed.

"Hey, Sasuke-kun." She called, a warm smile on her face. Kakashi waved his hand, but secretly taking delight has Sasuke's expression went from irritation to his usual passiveness.

"Finally, someone who would know how the finals finished." Sasuke called. "Who won?"

"Naruto did." Kakashi replied. "Skewered Neji rather viciously." Sasuke whistled, shaking his head.

"Wish I had been there to see it." He replied. "So, what now?"

"All finalists that are well enough to move are to attend the awarding ceremony in about, oh, twenty minutes." Kakashi explained, rattling off time in his head. "Since you don't have a IV, I think your well enough."

"Right. Any word on who made Chunin?" Sasuke seemed almost hungry for news, but Kakashi was happy. The Ten no Fuin was still sealed as strongly as ever.

"Not yet. I think its reasonable to think Naruto made the grade, perhaps Shikamaru did, too. As for anyone else, its a tossup. Even I don't know all the criteria the judges look for." Kakashi reasoned. "So, how do you feel?"

"Better then before." Sasuke muttered, flexing his hand. "I wonder if this is how Naruto feels?" Kakashi's eye shot up.

"Maa?" It was a question, but not much of one. Sakura just stared at Sasuke, confused.

"The second chakra. It's hovering just out of my reach, but I feel it. It's strange, dark but comforting..." Sasuke whispered, entranced. Kakashi felt his stomach twitch.

'That might not be good.' He thought. Sasuke suddenly glanced at him.

"Let's go. I want out of this bed." He stated, a small smirk on his face. "It's far too small."

"People of Konoha, visiting dignitaries and foreigners..." Hiruzen cried out to the stadium, the remaining 'fit' finalists standing before him in a line. Of the eight, only Naruto, Gaara, Temari and Sasuke were actually well enough to attend. To Hiruzen's left was the Tsuchikage, whilst on his right was the Kazekage.

"... I stand before you, today, at the conclusion of what has been the most bloody Chunin exams since its beginning, twenty seven years ago. Today, you have seen eight valiant ninjas place their lives on the line to defend the pride of their villages. Of these eight, four are still in hospital, three in critical condition. To me, and the Kage's, we see this not as a Chunin exam, as it should be, but what appears to have been a mocking example of what we would expect to see in a Jounin exam." The crowd held its breath, but Naruto remained calm, his eyes closed. He could feel the disease just under his skin, slowly returning to that feeling of full rest. It was almost there. He could almost fight for half an hour. However, that did little to ease his mind.

"Today, you have shown yourselves as valiant and skilled ninja." The Tsuchikage spoke up gruffly, a small smile on his face. "Some of you, the kind of ninja I wish I could see more often in my own village. Some of you, not so much. The fact remains, however, that of your ranks, some will be elevated to the prestigious rank of Chunin. However, some will not."

"Do not think that your failure to gain rank reflects badly upon yourself." The Kazekage spoke up. "It may be that you haven't shown us the skills we were looking for, or it may be that you withheld too much of your skill. However, reaching the finals brings immediate prestige upon the ninja who do so. You are automatically a cut above your peers now." That speech sent off warning bells in both Naruto and Sasuke's heads. The language was all wrong from what they'd been taught about the Kazekage. Anything less then a tyrannical statement of the inferiority of everyone who lost was. Staring into the Hokage's eyes, they both found the message they were looking for, as Hiruzen glanced at the man, then squinted slightly with his right eye. It was the Konoha body language for impostor.

"Our first Chunin will be Nara Shikamaru. Shikamaru demonstrated great tactical skills and even showed that he was willing to sacrifice it all for the sake of a comrade, even going above and beyond the call of duty in an attempt to take his opponent down with him. For his bravery and strength, we award him the Chunin rank. Would his Jounin sensei would please approach to take his award in his place, as Shikamaru is too injured to appear at this ceremony." Hiruzen called, watching Asuma suddenly flicker into existence before his father, kneeling. He accepted the vest almost reverently, before flickering away again to give it to its new owner.

"Our next Chunin fought against almost impossible odds, against an opponent that, by all rights, should not have been in these exams. He fought what can only be called a brutal onslaught, an, if not for a miscalculation, would have not only won, but killed his opponent. From only one battle, we have seen enough to deem that Uchiha Sasuke possesses the skills and strategic ability to not only succeed as a Chunin, but thrive." The Kazekage stated, further cementing in both Naruto and Sasuke's minds that he was an impostor. The way he purred every time he said Sasuke's name was barely noticeable, but both caught it. Stepping forward and accepting his Chunin vest on one knee, Sasuke quickly bowed before the Kage's, well aware he had only narrowly been promoted.

"Our final..." Hiruzen started, but was cut off as the Tsuchikage stepped forward.

"If I may, Hiruzen, I would like to handle this." He stated. Hiruzen's eyes suddenly sparkled with mischief as he nodded, giving the Chunin vest to the Tsuchikage before stepping back. The Tsuchikage cleared his throat with a harsh cough, stepping forward.

"Our final Chunin is quite the anomaly. I have reigned as a Kage for almost seventy three years, and am, as I am told, the oldest ninja, let alone Kage, alive. Thus, imagine my surprise when I see a young man with no name in the shinobi world to speak of suddenly appear out of no where in the Chunin exam finals and not only survive, but thrive. Imagine my surprise when he completely outclasses the prodigy of Konohagakure's most prestigious clan. I am almost ashamed to admit that I wish he had been born in Iwa. A nation should not covet another nations ninja, a Kage less so, but in this Genin's case, I can't help but do so." The Tsuchikage called, his voice loud and steady. "In my eighty six years as a ninja, I have never, ever, seen anyone so ingeniously defeat a member of the Hyuuga clan, a clan whose ultimate attack predates even me. I have never seen anyone turn the Hyuuga's greatest weapon into their ultimate weakness. Uzumaki Naruto, please step forward." Naruto didn't hesitate, stepping forward and kneeling before the aged Tsuchikage, surprised that, only when kneeling, with his back bent, was he the same size as the diminutive man.

"Yes, lord Tsuchikage?" Naruto asked politely, keeping his gaze low. He stiffened as a cane puffed into existence, the man using it as a staff.

"On behalf of both Konohagakure within Hi no Kuni, and Iwagakure of Tsuchi no Kuni, I hereby name you Chunin. Your vest, Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto's heart skipped multiple beats, as he glanced up, accepting the vest reverently.

"In addition..." Now everyone was surprised, as the Tsuchikage continued, tapping his staff once on each of Naruto's shoulders. "I hereby grant you the name Shikotsumyaku no Naruto, a member of Konoha's finest warriors. On behalf of Iwagakure, I thank you, Naruto. You have set the standard of which my shinobi should aspire to." With that, the aged Kage stepped back, allowing Naruto to fall back beside Sasuke. Hiruzen stepped forward again, but suddenly came to a halt, as feathers started to fall from the sky. He caught one, annoyance in his eyes. His gaze then went to Naruto and Sasuke, staring at him intently. He winked three times in quick succession.

Genjutsu.

Hiashi suddenly cursed vehemently, leaping to his feet as his hands formed the ram, placing his wrists upon his youngest daughters head even as Hinata recognised the feathers for what they were; a Genjutsu that induced sleep.

"Genjutsu Kai!" The two shinobi cried as one, forcing the Genjutsu away from them. Watching the arena intently, Hiashi grabbed Hinata's shoulder, letting her look at him.

"Take Hanabi and run. Find the hospital and ensure that it remains unharmed. In invasions, we must protect our infrastructure. Nothing else matters. Go!" Hinata nodded, spinning around and running, Hanabi's hand clasped tightly in her own. Turning back to the arena, Hiashi leapt out of the stands, landing inside the torrent of sand that was rising. Then his heart stopped.

He hoped to whatever gods existed that what he saw was not real. Unfortunately, it was.

"Sasuke, let's rock!" Naruto cried, as Temari suddenly swung her fan. Both narrowly dodged the buffet of air, Naruto dancing around it easily as he ripped a bone sword from his left shoulder. "Tsubaki no Mai!" Sasuke, on the other hand, simply flipped over it, charging forward as he tapped down. He was quickly cut off by a blast of sand.

"Your mine!" Gaara screamed, sending Sand Shuriken at Sasuke from all directions. Biting off a curse, Sasuke fell back, letting Naruto fly past. Temari swore, sweeping the fan again, but her weapon never moved past her shoulder. A white haired man stood there, holding her weapon in place by the handle, his grey kimono dangling from his waist, held there by purple rope tied in a bow behind his back, over his black hakama. Upon his forehead were two ruby red dots.

"I'll handle this." He stated calmly. "Gaara-san, deal with the Uchiha trash." Gaara was only too happy to oblige, laughing sadistically as the ground around them turned into a typhoon of sand.

"Sasuke, I'll lure this guy away." Naruto called. "Think you can take red-head?"

"Maybe. That depends." Sasuke replied.

"On what?" Now Naruto was curious.

"Is the sky blue?" Sasuke replied, the two sharing a small grin.

"Time to fly!" Naruto cried, lunging forward and hacking at the newcomer with his bone sword. His heart almost stopped beating in his chest a moment later.

Pure white, one hundred percent fusion of calcium and marrow bone sprouted from the mans shoulder, stopping the bone sword in its tracks.

"No." Naruto whispered, almost unable to believe. Standing in front of him, was a man that could prove to be his salvation.

"My name is Kaguya Kimmimaro." The white haired bone-nin stated. "You, Shikotsumyaku no Uzumaki Naruto, have my one hundred percent, undivided attention."

"You know, Hiruzen, I've met a lot of idiotic Kage's in my life." The Tsuchikage stated, tossing his hat aside as the pair landed behind the Kazekage upon the rooftops of Konoha, a black pyramid around them. "But poor little yondie Kazekage here, he takes the cake." His gaze then hardened. "Or..."

"Should we call you Orochimaru, my wayward student." Hiruzen finished for his colleague. The Kazekage chuckled, suddenly hurling away the robe and hat, the skin he'd used as a mask flying off with them.

"I was wondering if you had figured it out." Orochimaru sneered, his hands folded over his chest. Neither Kage gave an immediate answer to that, both tossing their hats aside and removing their robes to reveal full ANBU combat armour, glinting a glossy black in the eery purple light.

"It's time for me to correct my mistake." Hiruzen stated. "Orochimaru, this is the end."

"Hinata-chan, wait up!" Hanabi cried, as her sister slipped into an alley. She almost cried out as suddenly a pair of Oto-nin went flying back out of the alley, one unconscious from what was most likely Jyuuken strikes. The other had a kunai in his neck. Hinata exited the alley as quickly as she'd entered, her breathing only slightly uneven.

"This is becoming dangerous, Hanabi-chan. Let's go." Hinata whispered, turning to run down the road again. She didn't run, though, instead eyeing the man in a black cloak before her, red clouds adorning it. His head was covered by a straw hat.

"I am looking for Uzumaki Naruto. Where is he?" The man rasped. Hinata fell into the stance of the gentle fist, her eyes suddenly ablaze with the Byakugan.

"Hanabi-chan, run and don't look back!" She cried, lunging forward. The robed ninja simply raised his right hand, palm outstretched.

"Shinra Tensei!" He roared. Hanabi screamed as Hinata was suddenly hurled backwards, flying straight past her and crashing into the ground hard. Before either of the girls could blink, the mans foot was on Hinata's chest, pinning her to the ground.

"I will not ask again." The man whispered, allowing only Hinata to hear him. "Where is Uzumaki Naruto? Where is the Kyuubi Jinchuriki?" Staring into Hinata's eyes, he was unsurprised that she had no idea what he was talking about. Sighing, he removed his foot. "You know nothing. I abhor pointless violence, so be on your way." With that, he simply walked down the street, completely ignoring the war raging around him. That is, until a Suna-nin lunged at Hanabi. Hinata was still to far away to save her.

"Bansho Ten'in" The man called. Suddenly, the Suna-nin flew at the mystery man, who grabbed him by the throat and slammed him into the ground, breaking most of his ribs. Without another word, he simply kept on walking. Hinata let out a sigh of relief, hugging Hanabi tightly.

"Let's go." She whispered. She froze as a hand grabbed her shoulder.

"One more question." The man whispered. "Where is the Hokage?"

"I don't know. He leapt onto the rooftops." Hinata whispered. The man nodded.

"Thank you. May your journey end with peace." With that, he simply walked away again. Hinata spun around to look at him.

"Who are you?" She asked. The man stopped, and Hinata could almost feel the smile on his face.

"I am the Rikudo Sennin, Hyuuga Hinata." He replied. "You may call me... Yahiko. Tell Naruto that I'm proud of who he is becoming." With that, Yahiko vanished into thin air.

"Did you find him?" A soft voice asked, his hands in the pockets of his black robe lined with red clouds. Three men stood side by side, all wearing the same cloak and the same straw hats. The only difference was the three rings they wore. The middle man wore a ring with 'Zero' inscribed in it, whilst the man to his left wore one with 'Vermillion', the one to his right, 'South'.

"No. I suspect Uzumaki Naruto is caught in the sandstorm within the arena." Yahiko replied, his eyes closed. The man to his right snorted, his voice gruff, almost watery.

"This is getting ugly. We lost Deidara yesterday, Taicho." He growled. "Hidan found him."

"This division may just tear the world apart yet." The first speaker muttered. "Konohagakure may not survive the invasion."

"Konoha's survival is not necessary for our own." Yahiko rebuked gently. "Only that of Uzumaki Naruto's."

"I should kill Danzo." The first speaker muttered to himself. The third chuckled.

"Really? Can I help?" He asked, almost childishly. Yahiko shook his head.

"Danzo is an obstacle, but we cannot remove him just yet. We must decimate his support first. The Ne ANBU must be destroyed first." Yahiko explained. "Itachi-kun, find your brother, aid him in defeating Sabaku no Gaara. Kisame-san, find and destroy any and all Suna and Oto-nin you can find."

"And you?" Itachi whispered. Yahiko closed his eyes.

"Uzumaki Naruto remains my primary objective, but I must ensure Orochimaru does not succeed in killing the Hokage. We must not give Danzo any ground that he can use against Uzumaki Naruto." He finished. "Move out." With that, he flickered out of existence. Itachi and Kisame glanced at each other, Sharingan eyes staring into that of a shark.

"Let's begin the main event, then." Itachi noted, vanishing in a puff. Kisame sighed irritably.

"How the hell do they do that?" He wondered. "No chakra, no hand signs, no nothing. It's like teleporting." Finishing his little rant, his body collapsed as it turned into a puddle of water.

Jutsu Glossary

Shinra Tensei

No-rank, 0-10 metres

Using this Jutsu, Yahiko can emit a massive blast of force that repels any and all objects from his body. This Jutsu has a five second cooldown, but no chakra cost.

Bansho Ten'in

No-rank, 0-10 metres

Using this Jutsu, Yahiko can attract objects and people towards him with tremendous force. This Jutsu has a five second cooldown, but no chakra cost.

Hakkeshou, Rokujyuuyon Shou (Eight Trigrams, Sixty-Four Palms)

Un-ranked Taijutsu, 0-5 metres

Amongst a family of secret techniques within the Hyuuga family, the Rokujyuuyon Shou is possibly the most well known and feared application of Jyuuken. Once the Hakke has formed, the Hakkeshou, Rokujyuuyon Shou consists of 64 well placed, painful blows to the target that seal off sixty three tenketsu in the body before blasting them all open again. Alternatively, the final blow can be swapped for a sixty fourth sealed tenketsu.

Term Glossary

Rikudo Sennin (The Sage of Six Paths)

The title of a legendary warrior that marked both the creation of Ninjutsu and the beginning of the modern ninja world. Said to be the original creator of Ninjutsu, the Rikudo Sennin existed long before the beginning of Naruto, and presumably is long dead. To call oneself the Rikudo Sennin is to call oneself the God of Shinobi, and declare that you are invincible. Of course, any self respecting ninja will happily dispute such a claim.

Shikotsumyaku no Naruto ( Naruto of the Dead Bone Pulse)

A title granted to Naruto by the Tsuchikage himself, granting an instant and immediate capture on sight order within the borders of Tsuchi no Kuni. However, as the Tsuchikage granted Naruto this title, he also has the benefit on the doubt, a don't kill order within Iwa without extreme provocation and he is granted limited access to resources within Iwagakure, so long as his actions are within Iwa's best interests. As per every titled ninja, Naruto is henceforth referred to in the ninja world as Shikotsumyaku no Naruto, rather then Uzumaki Naruto, and is an instant placement in the bingo books as a minimum C-rank threat (although Iwa ranks him as a mid B).

There you go. Naruto's battle with Neji is over and the Invasion has begun. Now, please take a moment to respect the death of possibly one of the most powerful ninja of all time, Nagato. May you rest in peace.

Yes, Yahiko is EXACTLY who you think he is. He plays a major part in what is to come.

I am aware many are going to be annoyed with me promoting Sasuke. However, promoting him was necessary for the events that are about to occur. Both Naruto and Sasuke are about to need the extra prestige being a Chunin grants.

I am very peeved with Kishimoto at the moment. Stop making Sasuke out to be an ass and save his freaking character before its too late. I mean, at one point you almost had me thinking he'd return to Konoha, but no, he has to be an absolute freaking idiot. Sasuke is smarter then your making him out to be!