This story has gotten a lot more followers than I had imagined...just want to thank you all for following and favoriting, it may not seem like a lot but it's a lot for me. Happy Thanksgiving!

Bee's POV

The fight had been dragged out too long. A had taught Bee that fights that took too long often ended badly. Well if Bee ever saw him again, he would tell him he was right. Bee had watched as he struggled to his feet, the boy named Kiba and his dog being handicapped. Their howls were louder than anything Bee had ever heard. But what Bee was really shocked about was Kisame. His sword had literally eaten him up. It was the only thing that remained of Kisame. Bee couldn't tell if the guy was hiding in it or if he was performing some kind of jutsu.

Bee, this isn't looking good. We don't have a lot of chakra left! Gyuki reminded Bee.

I got this, bro. Bee said back. He knew he didn't have a chance in the world of beating anyone the way he was now.

Stop holding your chin up so high. You're not invulnerable, Bee. Gyuki said, calling his bluff.

What do you want me to do? Give up? I'm not a wuss. Bee argued.

Listen, I'm just putting the well being of us before anyone else. I hate to be a jerk but Bee, there's nothing you can do. Gyuki retorted.

Bee was silent. Gyuki had made his point. Bee was going to die if he stuck around. But he had a duty as a ninja. He didn't have his swords left so whenever Kisame came out, close distance was a risky option. He would use his ink producing abilities to hide and then strike.

Bee watched as the blonde-haired boy ran to his friends, screaming.

"Kiba! Kiba!" He shouted.

The girl that had joined them was frozen staring at the howling Kiba. Bee began to run towards them.

Bee! Stop! Gyuki ordered.

Bee ignored him and pressed onwards. He slid to a stop nearby the Konoha ninja and kneeled next to Kiba.

"Oh my god! My hand! Akamaru! Fuck!" Kiba shouted. He was thrashing around and holding his hand. Blood was spraying everywhere.

"Kiba...please...calm down." The other boy said. He had his hands in the air but was still deciding what to do.

"Naruto!" Another voice called. Bee turned and saw the pink-haired girl limping towards them. There were several scratches on her body and her clothes were torn. She stopped when she saw Kiba.

"Oh my god...what...what happened?" She asked.

"Please! Help him, Sakura!" Naruto cried. The girl stumbled over to them and kneeled next to Kiba.

"Hold him down." Sakura ordered.

Bee and Naruto held Kiba down by his shoulders, his legs were still moving and he was still shouting curses at Kisame and the world.

"Not me! Not me! Akamaru...my dog...help him." Kiba pleaded.

"We'll get to him. Just wait okay? Just calm down. Can you do that?" Sakura asked.

Kiba nodded and stopped moving. His body still shivered and he was biting his lower lip. Sakura moved her hands to Kiba's bleeding arm and a white glow began to come from her hands. She's a medical ninja. Bee realized. Kiba's growls turned into whimpers.

"What are you gonna do about the dog?" Bee questioned. Sakura looked him in the eye angrily.

"I don't know okay? It's all your damn fault that his arms got cut off. You should've led Kisame away from the village." Sakura said.

Bee frowned, "Chill, girl. I didn't mean to."

Sakura gritted her teeth and turned her attention back to Kiba, "Go check on the dog." She said to Bee.

"I'm going to go and help Hinata." Naruto said. He went over to the pale eyed girl that was now sobbing quietly.

Bee nodded and got up. As quickly as he got to his feet, he noticed that Samehada was gone. It should've been behind Sakura but there was nothing there. Bee paused. The dog was gone too.

"What's wrong? I told you to check on the dog." Sakura complained.

"It's not there. Neither is the sword." Bee explained.

Sakura turned. Bee watched her as she turned back to Kiba. Her eyes were wide. Bee looked around. The clearing they were in was surrounded by forest. Although it was a large area, the only thing there was mostly grass and dirt. There was no way the sword could've gotten away in a matter of minutes. The moon had risen into the air casting it's bright glow. It was hard to see but Bee finally spotted what he was really looking for.

A hole.

Utakata's POV

Utakata no longer had a need for the bubble blower. Fortunately he could make bubbles right from his hands. Unfortunately the hunters couldn't.

Utakata began to fire bubbles into the forest with no letup. They exploded into acidic clouds and liquids. He heard the hunters screams but he didn't stop. He continued until he could barely see into the forest. Koene was speechless. His mouth was open and his eyes were wide. He stared into the forest.

"Do you see what I can do? Do you see the power I hold? I'm tired of you and your stupid hunters. I could stop now. I could. But I won't." Utakata said. "I'm not sparing you. You deserve death."

Utakata slowly walked over to Koene. His chakra cloak still bubbling and filling him with confidence. Koene took a step backwards. His hands came up to shield himself from what was coming.

"Listen...I'm sorry. Just don't kill me. I have a family...I'm only doing this for money!" Koene cried.

Somewhere deep inside Utakata, he felt immense guilt and regret. I need to stop. He thought.

His legs kept walking.

Utakata could no longer lie to himself. He knew that this was what he truly wanted. To get rid of Koene and his hunter gang. Then he'd go back to Kirigakure and kill the rest of the hunters. That was his mission to complete.

"Stop! Please!" Koene begged.

Utakata punched him in the jaw. Hard enough to cause a few teeth to come out. Utakata placed his foot on Koene's chest and put weight onto Koene's chest. He cried out and moaned.

Utakata moved his foot off of Koene's chest. He saw a glimmer of hope in the man's eyes.

It quickly faded as Utakata closed his hand around Koene's face. He lifted the man up. Without hesitation he began to create acid on his hand. It touched Koene's face and he began to flail out. His hands clawed at Utakata's arm. They were burnt by the chakra cloak he had.

His eyes were fixed on Utakata. Despair and pain were easily visible in his eyes. But Utakata wasn't about to stop.

His hand moved to Koene's chest. He reared his arm back and delivered a final blow to Koene.

His acid covered hand went directly through Koene chest and blood flew from Koene's mouth. Utakata watched as Koene fell to the ground in a pool of blood. The light in his eyes went out and he stopped twitching.

Utakata let out the breath he had been unintentionally holding in. His chakra cloak began to fade until nothing was left. Utakata fell to his knees suddenly exhausted. He looked over to the boat that Hotaru was floating in. The girl was frozen and staring at Utakata. Utakata looked over at what he'd done and almost threw up. I didn't want to...it was a mistake. Utakata tried to convince himself but it was to no avail. Koene's body was proof. The smoky forest was proof. He had done what the people from his home had always been afraid of. He'd murdered several people. He was a monster.

I have a family, He remembered Koene saying. He remembered the men screaming as Utakata fired acidic bubbles at them.

This is what you wanted. He heard a voice say in his mind. You wanted to be alone, you wanted Koene's men dead. You wanted him dead. You are to blame for what's happened here. I just helped you.

Utakata began to think that he was going crazy. That all this bloodshed had hit him like a powerful wind. Impossible to defend against. His conscious couldn't take it.

Utakata, I am anything but what you see me as. I'm the one that's kept you alive when your master attempted to kill you. I'm the one who gave you the powers that allowed you to save Hotaru. My name is Saiken, I'm the bijuu sealed within you.

Roshi's POV

The first thing that went through Roshi's head as the clone exploded was that he was going to die. The explosion would blast him into nothing and end his life right there.

But he survived.

Roshi opened his eyes and coughed. He rubbed his eyes as the moon shined down on him. There was little light but enough to see. He looked around, he was lying in a crater created by the clone. The Akatsuki member was nowhere to be seen. Maybe he was caught up in the blast. Roshi suggested to himself. He didn't believe it one bit. He quickly got to his feet and raised his guard ready for an attack from all directions. He looked around and saw something unusual.

Black flames were on the trees that surrounded the path. It looked the same as normal fire and gave off a strong heat. Roshi had never seen anything like it before except for years ago during the Third Great Ninja War. Iwa had sent their only jinchuuriki to fight against forces of the Uchiha. One of the ninja with their weird ocular powers had created black flames and almost killed Roshi. He had a permanent burn on his shoulder from that time. But Roshi had never seen them ever again except for now.

He heard a shout from somewhere inside the forest. It screamed, "Sasuke!"

Out of the dense forest came a young man with a katana in his hand. He was looking behind him and slid into the crater. Roshi didn't move. He was almost immediately stunned. The boy that lay on the ground couldn't have been older than 17. Roshi ducked just in time as the fireball flew overhead.

"What in the world?" Roshi asked the boy. He looked back at Roshi with the same eyes the Akatsuki guy had. They were a pure red with black marks on a ring around the pupil. Roshi quickly averted his eyes. He knew enough about this ocular art that it was caused some sort of genjutsu.

As soon as the fire overheard ceased, the boy that was probably named Sasuke ran away, yelling. Roshi crawled out of the crater cautiously dumbstruck by what had happened. It was no doubt that the Akatsuki and the boy were members of the prestigious Uchiha clan. They must've been fighting for a reason Roshi didn't know of. All he knew was that getting out of here was his main priority, or else he might meet an unfortunate end.

Yugito's POV

Yugito sat down on the leather chair and let out a deep sigh. It was unforgettably cold in the Land of Frost but that didn't stop business at all in Shimogakure. People at other tables chatted about the missions they'd completed or the kids they had. It was a peaceful setting. Despite being surrounded by complete strangers it was better than being strangled or cut up by two immortal maniacs.

"Excuse me, miss?" She heard the waitress ask, "Would you like to order?"

"Just give me tea please." Yugito replied. The waitress smiled and went away to get her tea. Yugito rubbed her temples and opened the map she'd bought at one of the general stores. She had been mostly accurate. She was in the Land of Frost just about in the middle near the coast. There were several small towns and villages that would lead to her destination, Konohagakure. She couldn't go back to Kumogakure, that would be too predictable. She had to cross the Land of Hot Water to pass through in order to reach Konoha. They had the ANBU which would be more effective in hunting down the Akatsuki.

She had never ventured this far off when given missions by Kumo. The Raikage had always wanted to keep her as close to the village as possible. Now that she was here, she felt a sense of freedom, like bindings being broken. There was no Raikage to boss her around. No squad to look after. All she had was herself and Matatabi.

To her, that was more than enough.

Yugito traced her hand along the borders of Shimogakure. One of the Daimyo lived here although Yugito didn't know exactly where. They might be able to help her but they might make the situation worse. She would be better off by herself anyway.

Yugito, Matatabi said. I feel like something is wrong. I'm restless and I can't maintain my chakra frequency.

Yugito didn't feel anything other than cold, What is it?

The other bijuu. My brothers and sisters. Something is wrong.

Yugito immediately thought of Bee. Bee, he's a jinchuuriki. Is he in trouble?

Konoha...I think he's in Konohagakure.

Matatabi?

Allow me to rest, Yugito. Just please, don't waste much time. Hurry and get to Konohagakure.

Yugito almost said something back but decided to keep quiet. Her mind couldn't stop itself from thinking about Bee. They'd been close friends ever since he had become a jinchuuriki. The both of them had shared the pain of being neglected by their village. Losing their parents. Yugito's decision to leave him and undergo a rigorous training program to learn more about being a jinchuuriki did several things to their relationship. The next time Yugito ever saw him was when she was promoted to jonin. They hadn't even talked, she guessed that Bee had become one of the Raikage's bodyguards like Darui. Either way she'd felt guilty about leaving him behind just to improve herself. Maybe it was better that way, but if she'd never become jonin, she wouldn't have gone down into the sewers to inspect the area as a mission. She wouldn't have been stabbed and locked up with two immortal guys and she wouldn't have been here.

Yugito was brought from her thoughts as a cup of tea was placed on the map. Yugito flinched and looked up. It wasn't the waitress she saw.

"Are you Yugito Nii?" The man asked. His body was cloaked and his eyes were pupiless and green. Something was wrong with him, Yugito knew that much.

"Who's asking?" Yugito asked.

The man smiled and placed his hand on his forehead. Yugito watched in shock as he peeled away his pale skin and revealed a tanner one with the same green eyes.

"Kakuzu," He said. "Kakuzu of the Akatsuki."