NARUTO

Nox Noctis Ingredior

The Search

Back in the Village Hidden in the Sound, deep underground in one of the many hidden sanctums established by the leader of the small shinobi nation, Orochimaru sat fuming in his seat, overseeing an almost Tim Burton design of a laboratory. Amidst the smell of powerful chemical, surrounded by chimera components, and the walls lined with huge fetus tubes, the Snake Sannin felt right at home. However, home was supposed to make you feel comfortable and god about yourself. At that moment, the kidnapping teme felt nothing.

Kneeling in front of him in formation were his most loyal and powerful bodyguards, the Sound Four, their heads lowered and all of them remaining silent. In all honesty, the four cursed seal warriors should be feeling the need to question their master's orders once in a while. The pale freak practically led over half of his countrymen to their deaths and what was left of the half into hiding after the failed invasion of Konohagakure. The least the man could do was give his cronies the day off.

But instead they were kissing his boots once again, while glaring at the floor and sweating nervously in his presence.

Huffing and hissing in agony, the Sannin gripped his stump of an arm that was left and glared through the shadows.

"This is unacceptable… UNACCEPTABLE!" he roared, causing the Sound Four to wince at the volume of his voice. "Those scum from the Hidden Leaf… I swear… they will pay a thousand times over for what they've done to me…"

Biting his lower lip and drawing blood, the pale man stood up and hobbled over to one of the nearby tables, the Sound Four rising to their feet and hurriedly moving out of his way as he grabbed one of the test tube vials sitting in plain sight. Smashing it open, he drank it, and then some, before grabbing a serum of sorts and clutching it in his hand tightly, trembling and sweating with agony and anger.

"Dammit… GET OUT HERE YOROI!" Orochimaru shouted, the doorway soon being filled by the black eyed man as he strolled into view.

Looking passive as did all of the Sannin's other lackeys, the man stopped by the table and watched as his master spat up over the desk, while clinging to his severed limb.

"Are… the bodies… ready yet?" Orochimaru hissed, his hair hanging around his face and blocking all view of his infuriated expression.

"A stable body will be ready for you within the week, as a replacement for the damaged one you have now," the man replied calmly.

"Good…" Orochimaru whispered, looking up a bit, ceasing his panting. "What of the chimera… and the clones?"

"It may take a little longer to have a conscious one ready for your disposal," Yoroi replied, glancing over at the fluid filled tubes on the other side of the wall. "When that time comes, not only will you have the Sharingan, Rinnegan and Byakugan, but ten, much more powerful servants at your side…"

Orochimaru chuckled and glared over at Yoroi, his eyes showing veins, but a delighted grin etched on his face.

"Sounds… tasteful…" He licked his lips in excitement. "Can't wait…" The lackey smiled and bowed.

Just then, two more presences entered the room to join in the tense atmosphere. Walking in from the dark chasms, Kisarabi and Guren showed their faces to whatever light there was to be had. The bounty hunter, hat tipped over and shadowing her eyes, took a route down the isle of tubes, checking out each one, before stopping at the one in the middle. Placing her hands on her hips, she furrowed her brow and leaned in, taking a better look.

When Guren stopped beside Yoroi, Kisarabi huffed and spun around, turning towards Orochimaru who was smiling up at her.

"So… this is what you're planning," the woman smirked. "How disgusting of you…"

"Well, your donations have really… contributed a lot to my personal project, my dear," the Snake Sannin hissed. "I don't just plan to clone a spare body for myself… I want to create the ultimate shinobi, one who will obey my every order and request without question!" He raised his hand and clenched his fist, covering the birthing tube in front of his eyes in a metaphorical iron grip. "Imagine it… a culmination of all the shinobi with the most potential of this generation, designed to destroy their era, its predecessors and the next… now that… is power…"

"Can't stomach it on your own anymore, Orochimaru?" Kisarabi chuckled, flicking the toothpick around between her lips. "Have you dropped your plans to become the ultimate immortal shinobi?"

"There are just some things…an ultimate shinobi such as myself, cannot accomplish on his own," the Snake Sannin whispered, straightening up and smirking at the woman. "I have a new job for you."

"Wing it…" Kisarabi slipped her hands into her pockets, spitting her toothpick out of her mouth.

"Take Guren, and find the Sannin known as Tsunade. Once you find her… summon me," Orochimaru grinned. "I'll need her to help fix my injuries sustained in that farce of an invasion…"

"One of the Legendary Sannin… should be interesting," the hunter exclaimed, tipping her hat. "As it so happens, she's an old poker friend of mine. It should be easy to find her…"

Orochimaru grinned. "Then get to it…"

Nodding, Kisarabi left with Guren in tow, leaving the room to its other occupants. Chuckling as they went out, the Snake Sannin looked up towards the tube in front of him, where the body of his number one test subject floated. It was a young girl, around Naruto's age, suspended in clone feed, the fluid and bubbles whipping at her body and yellow hair. The Snake Sannin smirked as he looked up at it in fascination, noting the three whiskers on each cheek.

"This experiment should prove most rewarding…" he chuckled, the Sound Four behind him fidgeting nervously as they looked upon their master's project. "The ultimate being… that sounds like the perfect body for me…"

The moment he said that, the young female bobbing about in the blue fluid suddenly opened her eyes and glared off to her right, eyes flashing a bright green…

Konoha…

Outside the West Gate…

"This ought to be a fun trip!" Naruto exclaimed, turning around towards the wind, which ruffled his trench coat about as it flowed by. His Jonin vest was worn proudly in sight with his white trench coat over it, much like how his father looked in his Hokage uniformed. However, the combination with his new straw hat on top of his head made him look more like a samurai warrior born then a ninja, but no one at this point was complaining. "Let's make it a good one, eh?"

"Hai!" Kin exclaimed, shrugging her backpack more comfortably onto her shoulders.

She and Tenten had been chosen specifically by Naruto to participate in this four-man mission, not only to be in their company which he enjoyed, but also for a fact he wanted to treat them to a first hand experience with a Legendary Sannin, and later to meet another one.

Of course, he did leave several details out about his older blonde counterpart whom they were going to be searching for, but he was sure they would see it sooner rather then later.

For her first mission as an approved Genin of Konohagakure, Kin wore dark and light green army camouflage slacks, with a forest green tube top, intentionally showing of a lot of cleavage to Naruto's often wandering eyes. She also had a fishnet shirt worn tightly underneath, a recommendation made by Anko to her wardrobe. She also wore a light brown scarf Naruto had given her, an item he himself wore on occasion in the known cooler areas of the Land of Fire, and also abroad.

The former Sound Genin was happy to be tagging along with him, as was the shuriken user with them. Tenten wore her usual outfit, but also had a large scroll hanging at her side, containing an assortment of interesting weapons she and Naruto had managed to scrounge. Not to mention her family's store allowed her free rein on their materials.

As far as anybody else was concerned, the three of them were as ready as they'll ever be.

"Hey Naruto, are you sure you're fine traveling without any extra baggage?" Tenten asked curiously, nudging at the usual camping supplies required for a standard mission hanging on her back. "I mean, it is a week long trip. Chances are we'd be moving out of the country…"

"Nah, carrying stuff in that fashion isn't something I'm too concerned about, not to mention we'll be visiting towns frequently looking for our target, as it has been her pattern to move about. I learned a while back from Pervy Sage to always pack light, by sealing all of my supplies into scrolls and keeping them on me at all times. Plus, its just dead weight when you're in battle," the blonde replied, lifting his trench coat and flashing a lot of pockets and pouches stitched up underneath. "I'm as flexible in battle as I'll ever be. All I got are soldier pills, fruit bars and ramen I can just warm with my chakra. Nothing big…"

"Can't go a day without it, can you?" Tenten giggled.

"Nope! I would die without it!" Naruto laughed, throwing his hands up and placing them behind his head. "I think I should start working in some more vegetables though… just to keep my… visitors happy. Kakashi keeps making window calls to remind me, Anko force feeds me, and Kurenai usually catches me outside on my errands and gently encourages changing my eating habits by buying me a vegetarian lunch. I can't say no!"

"I remember Gai used to do that all the time… he still does!" Tenten shook her head. "He said a good meal in the morning makes for a strong body a day. He always forced his way into my room and Neji's room and dragged us out at two o'clock in the morning. I think he misunderstood the apple phrase that started off this strange trend."

"You have, by far, the strangest sensei in this village," Kin giggled, earning a rather lopsided smile from Tenten in response.

"Everybody says that…"

"Are Gai and Lee… like… related… or something?"

"Kami… I hope not…" Tenten groaned.

Jiraiya eventually chose to show up at that moment, cutting into the trio's conversation and saving Tenten from trying to think about some disturbing questions. The white haired juggernaut of a pervert sung to himself as he strolled past the gates, waving to Kotetsu and Izumo sitting at their usual posts, before stopping in front of his team. He gave them a quick go over, before smirking at his blonde apprentice.

"Dates?"

"Girlfriends!" Kin piped up, earning a blush from Tenten, who didn't really expect the other girl to answer for her.

"Respect…" Jiraiya exclaimed, bumping fists with a grinning Naruto. "Oh, and congratulations for making it to Jonin…"

"Hey, it'll be fun," Naruto replied. "Now I can officially join Ibiki's poker parties, and subscribe to Anko's bikini shows… though… she drags me along to them anyway. That's mostly after my training when I'm beat up and can't fight back. The last session she held was in her apartment, while she was reading my novel series of Stuck in the Middle and wanted us to play out the couch scene…"

"Wait, you published that?" Kin asked curiously and in surprise. Naruto, Jiraiya and Tenten turned to look at her oddly. It took her only a split second to realize her blunder, and the girl shut her mouth, looking away with a red face. "I mean… I never heard of that series…"

"Right… anyway," Jiraiya smirked and pulled out a small scroll from his pouch. He tossed it to his student, who caught it on instinct. "New weapons. Think of them as a promotional present."

"Sweet…" Naruto pocketed it, making a note to try out his new toys when he got some free time. "Shall we get moving then?"

Jiraiya led the way, with the three youngsters in tow.

Meanwhile…

Back in Konohagakure, Zabuza was standing outside of the local dango bar, leaning against the wall and reading one of his old Icha Icha books from his collection. In his other hand he held a small shopping bag with a recently bought copy of Naruto's book Stuck in the Middle and Jiraiya's latest copy of Icha Icha Hotsprings: Uncut. With his 'birthday' shopping done, he felt a reread of his old material was best before he started focusing on the new stuff.

In spite of his characteristic, nonchalant delinquency, the eyebrow less Jonin was in fact on a scouting mission, one eye focused on the pages of his book, whereas the other, invisible eye was locked onto the two gentlemen sitting inside of the dango store drinking green tea over his right shoulder.

Spotting two fellow associates strolling down the road towards him, the masked Jonin shut his book and pocketed it, smiling in their direction.

"Out of the hospital already?" Zabuza asked, grinning under his gauze. "I never expected you to be up and about after having your balls knocked around, Asuma."

"And a good morning to you to, Zabuza," the man in question chuckled, removing the unlit cigarette from between his lips. "Shopping?"

"Window browsing… anyway, Anko asked me to come by here and pick up some dango for her. She said that hospital food was starting to taste a bit bland," the swordsman replied.

"Of course it's supposed to be bland, it's standard health food," Kurenai sighed, shaking her head. "What am I going to do with her…?"

"I don't know, perhaps sit her down back at your place and talk about your differences and how you really feel towards each other, then hug in a gentle embrace at the end, whisper confessions into each others ears, make out a little, hit each other and get turned on and stuff…"

"You just read that off of the back of Naruto's book, didn't you?" Asuma raised an eyebrow, while grinning in amusement. Zabuza nodded.

"Yes sir, I did!" he replied, only to get slapped across the face by a fully recovered Kurenai. Shaking it off, the rattled, masked shinobi chuckled back in pain, and continued on with the conversation. "You know, Anko did get smacked about by my former associate a whole lot worse then you guys…"

"She wanted to get that asshole back from groping her," Kurenai stated, folding her arms. "Frankly, I don't blame her."

"If he wasn't immortal, she probably killed the slugger more then ten times; the most lives I've ever seen beaten out of the guy," Zabuza replied, glancing back into the dango store to see the black cloaked figures sitting in the shadows, trying not to draw attention to themselves. Of course, it wasn't too hard to miss two dudes walking around draped in clothes with a dead give away of a slogan patterned all over them. The designer judges from project runway would be having a fit. "Hikita got what was coming to him."

There was a twitch from the taller of the two individuals inside the store, a reaction that Asuma and Kurenai managed to pick up.

"I agree," Asuma smirked, furrowing his brow as he too, glanced into the store. "A woman that pissed would definitely tear a man limb from limb for that stunt…"

"I would have done the same thing," Kurenai replied, smirking alongside her boyfriend.

While the three of them stared, they were suddenly approached by Sasuke and Shino, the two of them informed by Kiba to go see Zabuza about some training in Kakashi's absence, while the Inuzuka went back to his clan's estate to get some training from his mother. The Uchiha and the Aburame stopped beside the three Jonin, who turned to them in response.

"You rang?" Shino asked.

"Oh yes, of course," Zabuza exclaimed, smirking. "You got my message."

"Loud and clear," Sasuke stated, glancing into the store, seeing two steaming cups of tea and a plate of dango sitting in the middle. He furrowed his brow and glanced up at their substitute teacher. "You were planning on sitting and chatting with us? I'm not exactly a fan of dango…"

"You're not huh? Then I guess I just wasted twenty ryo," Zabuza replied, glancing back over at Asuma and Kurenai. The two fresh out of hospital shinobi nodded back and vanished into leaf shunshins. The actions confused Sasuke and Shino, who looked up at the swordsman in front of them curiously.

Unbeknownst to the small group of Konoha ninja standing outside of the dango store, a third party was sitting not to far from them in the restaurant across. Finishing up a bowl of radish soup, the black cloaked figure paid for the meal and stood up, also disappearing in a black mist shunshin, which had the store clerk jump in surprise.

Some ways down the road from Konoha…

Jiraiya hummed to himself as he strolled along casually, listening to Naruto, Kin and Tenten animatedly talking behind him. The three of them were giggling, chatting, reflecting on the exams and the screw ups. But all of that changed when they instead decided to harass the perverted hermit, who at first dreaded they would start on a more personal subject. However, it turned out to be half…

"Hey, Ero-Sennin," Naruto nudged the old man, coming to walk beside him, with Kin and Tenten trotting beside him. "What was it really like, being a student under the Hokage?"

"Oh?"

"Yeah, what was it like?" Tenten asked curiously.

"Well…" Jiraiya rubbed the back of his head, looking ahead of him in thought. "The old man didn't seem like much back when I was Genin… more like your basic academy teacher. Tsk, boy was I wrong." The white haired man shrugged his shoulders, at the same time he folded his arms while maintaining his walking pace. "He was truly at his prime back in those days; incredibly powerful, entitled the God of Shinobi with his skill and strength. Even today, he might still be the best ninja Konoha has to offer, but thanks to his age… it's quite hard to say. I gave him such a hard time when I was younger, whereas Orochimaru and Tsunade behaved like the good little puppies they were. Aside from team missions and training, I didn't really hang around much after I learned the summoning technique, which prompted me to go on my life changing journey…"

"Yeah, your quest for the 'chosen one'," Naruto chuckled, giving the statement metaphorical quotation marks with a quick gesture. "Isn't that kind of a cliché, where some old man is seen traveling the world looking for that treasured, oh so special, disciple?"

This comment earned a raised eyebrow from the white haired man.

"Don't cheapen the value of the prophecy. It's actually quite a compelling tale. I'll tell you more about it one of these days," the Sannin replied, looking back up to see them coming to a crossroads. Looking left and right, the four man cell continued moving forward, heading North West. "You kids and your stories; sometimes I just can't keep up with your generation."

"What was Tsunade and Orochimaru like?" Tenten asked, lacing her hands together and tilting her head up at the Sage. "I bet your team was awesome back when you were Genin."

"Actually, we were about the same as all those other fried chickens from the rack you guys came from," Jiraiya said, looking down at the three youngsters with an observing stare. He got rather odd looks back from them. "Believe it or not, I was like Naruto right after he graduated, Tsunade was a hot-blooded, banshee of a girl, but still a gorgeous flower, and Orochimaru was a quiet brat that made smart aleck comments with no hint of emotion whatsoever. He was about as dry as a raisin…"

"Kind of like… Naruto… Sakura… and… I think I can glue your other teammate to Sasuke," Tenten thought.

"It makes sense once you piece them together," Kin said, smiling over at her blonde friend and nudging him. "You do sort of act like your sensei…"

"Well… I don't conduct…'research' as passionately as he does," Naruto grinned at Kin, but then looked up at Jiraiya with a harsher expression. "You corrupted my childhood you lecherous old git…"

"You should be grateful I taught you my transparency jutsu," Jiraiya huffed back, sticking his nose in the air. "Honestly, this era of Genin have no respect whatsoever."

"All respect I had for your ways around women died when you told me that story about how you were in that threesome," Naruto replied, causing Tenten and Kin to suddenly glare up at the Sannin. "But all you really did was use a shadow clone for extra leverage!"

"Hey! My playbook moves were off the charts!" Jiraiya said, stopping and poking the blonde in the chest. "I bet you ten thousand ryo you will never be able to pull off a three way!"

"Oh really?"

"Yeah?"

"Social experiment!" Naruto cleared his throat and turned to his two kunoichi teammates, who were busily glaring up at the old pervert. "Hey, you girls want to share a bed with me tonight?"

"Hell yeah," Kin exclaimed, snapping out of her glaring phase and leaping onto the blonde, hugging him happily, nuzzling her face into the groove between his head and chest. Tenten followed suit, both girls falling under Naruto's wings, and kissing him on the cheek they were given.

The blonde Jonin grinned and looked up at the white haired Sannin, who was now glaring down at his apprentice in envy at his sudden display.

"Jealous?"

"Not important," Jiraiya continued walking, with Naruto following behind with his girlfriends hugging his arms. "By the time you reach my age, the playing field would have changed."

"Whatever you say, Ero-Sennin," Naruto chuckled.

After walking for about five minutes in silence, and Tenten and Kin were enjoying the embrace with their favorite boy-candy, a thought crossed the jinchuriki's mind, causing him to look up at his still, slightly disgruntled master.

"By the way, I never got to ask you this," the blonde started, the old man glancing down at him. "What was my father's team like? You never mentioned your other two students before."

"Hmm?" Jiraiya's eyes and thoughts snapped open at the question, and he looked ahead of him, trying to recall his days as a Jonin sensei. In truth, he had taken on many apprentices in his quest to find the prophesized child, which made it a tad bit difficult to recall some of his other, promising students. Of course, the memories of his official team from Konohagakure came back to him, and he smiled as recollection floated into view.

"Well, your father Minato was certainly the shiniest penny in that purse," the hermit chuckled, scratching his head. "But boy, did the other two kids give me something to think about. Out of all the Jonin leaders at the time, I perhaps raised the most interesting Genin team in the village."

"A famous ninja certainly trains a high potential team," Kin commented.

"That's not usually the case," Jiraiya stated, looking down at the girl. "You see, my team was a mixed group, consisting of one promising candidate, an average student, and a low scoring one. However, in spite of our pyramid like team dynamics, they managed to function on a pretty reasonable level. By the time all of them were Jonin, they became three of Konoha's best. Minato of course went on to become Konoha's Fourth Hokage."

"Really?" Tenten blinked in astonishment and looked at Naruto. "You never told me your dad was Hokage!"

"I guess it sort of slipped my mind," Naruto replied back, feeling a bit awkward. "It's really just old news and I don't like bragging about it… since it normally gets you into trouble."

"What about the other two?" Kin asked, giving Jiraiya an interested stare.

"Well, I know one of them is still alive and well, and is currently wandering about the world like I am. Jin Akiramu was his name. His parents were from the Akimichi Clan and the Aburame Clan, quite an interesting combo. As a result he had a rather… fifty-fifty personality. At one point he would be quiet, stoic and extremely patient, but then out of the blue, he would be flamboyant at the strangest of times. He had this incredible obsession to surpass Minato, and often followed him about in order to learn the art of 'being cool as ice', his exact words, not mine" Jiraiya chuckled rubbing the back of his head. "He was most certainly a rope jumper. Jin was not only loyal and sensible, but he would often join me, Minato and Yukari on our many research ventures to the hot springs…"

"Researching? Really?" Naruto shook his head up at the old coot. "You really have a bad way with your students…"

"Don't try to say you've never done it…" Jiraiya snapped back.

"Who's Yukari?" Kin asked, ignoring the fact that the Sannin was a pervert in both lives.

"Oh, she was my other student. Like Minato, Yukari had superb potential, but was really a quiet, average student when I first met her, and was for most of our time together as a team. She actually had a crush on Minato for a while, because he was one of the only people in the village who treated her with real kindness and compassion. Minato, Jin, Kushina and Yukari were actually the best of friends," Jiraiya stated, smiling slightly at the memories. "The adventures my team shared… it was something to remember. Like Minato, she became one of the most formidable ninja Konoha ever produced…"

"Where is she now?" Tenten asked.

"I don't know. After the Uchiha Massacre, she just up and vanished. Her body was never found among the dead clan members, but…"

"Wait! Hang on a second… back up," Naruto rewound a bit, giving his master a rather bewildered look. "Was Yukari an Uchiha?"

"Well… yeah," Jiraiya replied, giving the boy a serious look. "Yukari Uchiha… her clansmen actually dubbed her the Forgotten Uchiha and the villagers called her the Black Kunoichi. She… possessed quite an unusual ability, one that scared even her fellow Uchiha." The man shook his head at the memory flashes. "Though she rarely used her abilities because people were so scared of them, she became the second most powerful ninja in Konoha when Minato became Hokage, with him being the first."

"So… are you saying she is still alive?" Kin asked.

"Probably. I remember her well. She had this strange habit of changing her hairstyle everyday, and she had black Sharingan pupils with red tomoes instead of the regular Sharingan color patterns …"

"Wait… what did you say?" Naruto stopped dead in his tracks, now beginning to look rather terrified. Jiraiya stopped and turned to him, looking quite startled at the shocked expression on his apprentice's face.

"What… about her reverse colored Sharingan…?"

Naruto trembled on the spot, looking down at the ground in disbelief. Kin and Tenten looked at him with concern, and changed their embrace positions to allow him to sit himself down on the ground as he became overwhelmed with shock. Caressing him, the girls made sure he was comfortable before they questioned him.

"W-What's wrong, Naruto?" Tenten asked.

"I… I know those Sharingan," Naruto mumbled, looking up at his master. "I think I've met your former student, Ero-Sennin…"

Back in Konohagakure…

Walking down the road trailing alongside one of the many channels that cut through Konohagakure, the two cloaked figures from the dango store walked on at a rather upbeat pace. Knowing that they had been subtly found out by some of the village's finest, they wanted to try and avoid starting a war with the Hidden Leaf. Even though they were certain they wouldn't be able to win against the entirety of Konoha's shinobi, based on skill and strength alone meant that they could take down a good fifty percent of the total forces. However, it was still a rather unfavorable outcome for the both of them.

Almost sure that they had evaded their pursuers, the two Akatsuki members suddenly stopped in the middle of the road when they found their route blocked. Having managed to get ahead of the rogue ninja, Asuma and Kurenai now stood in their way, glaring the intruders down. The shady looking shinobi said nothing as they glared over their high collars and through the paper strips of their straw hats hiding their faces at their new obstacles.

Furrowing his brow, Asuma gave the pair a good look over for the first time, before speaking. "Going somewhere fellas?"

"A Halloween party perhaps," Kurenai mused seriously.

Asuma chuckled at the joke, while continuing to stare at the would-be ones in front of him. "No one can go traipsing around our village dressed like that without anybody noticing. What are you two after?"

"Asuma… Kurenai… it's been a long time," the shorter of the two Akatsuki spoke up, his voice devoid of emotion.

It was at that statement that the pair of Konoha shinobi caught onto a rather interesting fact about their opponents. "The fact that you know our names means that you're a shinobi formerly of this village."

The man that spoke lifted his straw hat, flashing his Sharingan at the two unsuspecting Jonin, who blinked in shock when they realized there was only one other person other then Sasuke and Kakashi still alive to possess those eyes. Muttering the name in question, they watched as the dark haired man pull off the straw hat and tossed it onto the wind, the pair of shinobi getting a full view of the pale, tired looking face of one, Itachi Uchiha.

Asuma smirked when he distinctly recognized the man, and the rather stoic expression he was giving them. "It's been a while, Itachi Uchiha. I never thought I'd be seeing your pasty face around here again… you've sure got some nerve…"

The taller man standing beside the Uchiha also removed his straw hat, smirking at their new, extra company. "Friends of yours, Itachi? Perhaps it's time I become acquainted with them as well," the blue skinned man exclaimed, his regular tone of voice close to sounding like a sinister snarl through and through. "Hello there, the name is Kisame Hoshigaki!"

"We know who you are, Kisame," Kurenai retorted, giving the tall man the same look of distain Asuma was giving Itachi. "Former leader and member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, wanted in every country on the mainland and responsible for the murder of a feudal Lord; an S-Rank Criminal listed prominently in the bingo book."

"You know, Zabuza and Ryoko spoke very highly of you," Asuma informed. "However, I must say most of their reviews on you as a person were quite harsh, despite their begrudging respect for your abilities…"

"Zabuza and Ryoko huh? My… it's been so long…" the shark of a man exclaimed, his razor teeth bared menacingly in his snide grin. "I heard that the two of them have become lapdogs of your village. How are they coping with the new leashes around their necks?"

"Quite well, actually," Kurenai smirked. "But you don't need to worry about them…"

"We're going to wipe the floor with you two right now!" Asuma shot up as well, flicking his cigarette around in his mouth.

Itachi furrowed his brow at the growing tension between the two groups. "You do not want to interfere with us. Please, I would prefer not to kill you…"

"That's pretty funny coming from a man who killed off his entire clan," Asuma snapped back.

"Boy, they sure do hate you in this village Itachi… almost as much as they do in mine," Kisame laughed, reaching up and grabbing the huge sword on his back. The gauzed weapon slammed into the ground in front of him, splitting the earth on impact. "Why don't we kill these annoying roaches? They're starting to get on my nerves…"

"Well, it appears we won't be going anywhere without a fight," Itachi sighed, glancing round at his partner. "Try not to overdo it. Your moves tend to stand out…"

Kisame chuckled. "They're as good as dead…"

Just as the blue skinned shinobi was about to make his move in their stand off, another shadow suddenly cast themselves on the group, a footstep echoing loud enough for their sharp ears to catch. Asuma and Kurenai saw the person first, before Itachi and Kisame turned around as well to see who it was that had jumped in. When they did, they saw a person draped in a black robe and a hood shadowing the figure's identity standing behind them, glaring at them.

Raising an eyebrow, Itachi turned to the person fully, so did Kisame, who just scoffed at the bystander.

"What is this?" the swordsman asked snidely.

The person stepped forward, showing the Akatsuki members that they had no intention of backing down. This had Kisame swing his sword around and point it towards the figure, a grin crossing his lips.

"You want some of this, do you?"

"It's been a long time, Itachi-kun," the voice of a woman spoke up, the very tone of it making the former ANBU's eyes widen in shock. He turned fully towards the person, with Asuma and Kurenai just hanging back, watching the new encounter unfold right before them.

"Impossible…" the black haired teen spoke, his voice now holding a hint of shock and fear. "I thought you were dead…"

"Have you forgotten who you're talking to?" the figure reached up from under her cloak and lifted her hood up, flashing a pair of black Sharingan at the Uchiha, the red tomoes spinning as her eyes widened in analysis. "Besides, is that any way to greet your former sensei?"

At that moment, she pulled her hood over her head, brown bangs of hair at the sides of her face waving freely in the wind, and her pale skin showing itself to the world. Asuma and Kurenai nearly had a stroke when they recognized the figure that revealed itself from under the shadows, which was almost as big a shock as Itachi was thrown into. The teen Uchiha's expression showed his stunned response, as he was literally dripping a stream of sweat. Kisame also blinked in surprise, recognizing the kunoichi that was featured in the bingo book next to the Forth Hokage's photo, and whom Itachi spoke of numerous times before.

The woman glared at the boy, her face just as rock stoic as Itachi's had been moments before.

"Y-Yukari Uchiha…" Itachi muttered.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Author's Note:

If you wanna check out a picture of Yukari... look up Team Jiraiya where Minato was a kid, you can find Jiraiya and his three students lined up. The girl on the team is Yukari and Jin is the other one. I'll evaluate more as the story goes...