Welcome back to my tale. As always I begin with the whole not owning Naruto thing.

Thanks to those who reviewed my last chapter: Kushina's Truth of Hell, Dark Waffle and Queen Brat.

Responces

Kushina's: Arigato my dear. Don't worry all will be revealed in time.

Dark Waffle: Thanks. But don't worry after this chapter we'll be checking back in on Naruto and Sakura. But I felt this was important to tell this part of the story.

Queen Brat: Thanks.

Ok, so here is Chpater Twelve. Please review my work.

Naruto: Chronicles of the Seventh

Book Two: New Dawn

Chapter Twelve: The Newest Jinchuriki

Otogakure

Lee, Kiba, Neji and Akamaru stood in the open field surrounded by several dozen ninja. Each ninja was armed with an explosive kunai and standing just within the makeshift circle stood a ninja claiming to be the newest Akatsuki, the former Kumo shinobi Muramasa Shinsuo.

"Ok," Kiba said as he looked to Neji, "This is not good at all. Please tell me you've got a plan to get us out of here."

Neji remained silent as his mind raced through several scenarios as he desperately searched for the one that could get them all out alive. Damn it, he thought. What the hell do we do now? Think Neji, think!! If Shikamaru was here I'm sure he could figure something out. Hell, Shikamaru wouldn't have made the mistake of getting caught like this. I should have recon-ed the area better before we went in. I should have come up with a better escape strategy! No, wait I can't think about this now. I need to focus and look for an opening, some weakness we can use.

Neji then suddenly had an idea. "Lee, Kiba," Neji said with a smile on his face, "Don't get too worried. This guy won't be much of a challenge."

Lee and Kiba looked at Neji in shock; as though he had just gone crazy. Being confident is one thing but to dismiss an opponent, an Akatsuki no less, was madness.

After hearing Neji's comment, the smile disappeared from Muramasa's face. "You bastard," he said, "Are all of you Konoha shinobi so damned arrogant?"

Again Neji smiled. Then he said, "Hey it's not my fault you are weaker than me. I mean guys think about it. Since when have you ever seen a member of Akatsuki have to use an army to do his dirty work? Obviously this clown isn't as strong as the Akatsuki we've seen before. If we defeat all these other guys I doubt he'll be much of a challenge."

Lee and Kiba looked at each other and practically at the same time, realized what Neji was up to. "Yeah," Lee responded with a smile, "Maybe you're right Neji. I guess we have nothing to worry about."

By now Muramasa was almost shaking with rage. "You bastards," he said, "You dare look down on us! You're just like him! But we'll show you our power! More power than you could ever dream!" Muramasa began to laugh maniacally. "Yes," he said, "You're right! Devour them, we'll devour them all!"

Neji, using his Byakugan saw a sudden change in Muramasa's chakra and then there was an explosion of energy. Neji and the others leapt back as the other ninja was caught in the force of the blast.

As the smoke cleared Neji, Lee and Kiba got to their feet and what they saw amazed them. Several yards away stood Muramasa in a small crater. He was now holding a scythe in each hand and was still laughing uncontrollably. All of the other shinobi were caught in the blast and using the Byakugan Neji could see that they were all either badly wounded, unconscious or dead.

Ok, Neji thought, I wanted to goad him into fighting us alone but this was more than I'd hoped for. However, that chakra he just showed wasn't normal. But I've seen that type of display before. I hope to God I'm wrong on this one.

"Ok guys," Neji said. "It looks like this guy just did most of the work for us by getting rid of the other ninja. But right now we have no idea what his abilities are. So here's the plan. I'll head in first while the two of your trail behind. I'll attack while you look for an opening. Stay alert, there's no telling what weird abilities he may have."

Lee and Kiba each stepped to the opposite side of Neji and they prepared to attack. Muramasa remained standing with a devious smile on his face as he waited for them to attack. "Now," Neji yelled as he ran towards Muramasa. Seconds after he ran off both Kiba and Lee followed.

Neji engaged Muramasa first as he ran up and began with a flurry of punches and kicks. To his amazement Muramasa began to dodge and sidestep with the utmost ease. Meanwhile Lee made a wide arcing run to Muramasa's left and Kiba ran to his right as they both came up behind him.

Muramasa was preoccupied with Neji and both Lee and Kiba was confident their attacks would land, until Muramasa, at the last second, dodged all of their simultaneous attacks. "Is that it," Muramasa screamed as he swung one of the scythe's out, forcing all three to leap back out of range.

"Ok," Lee said, "he's a lot faster than he looks. Damn I can't believe he dodged all of our attacks. And the worst part was he didn't even look like he was trying very hard."

"Alright then," Neji said, "same plan. Except this time, Kiba I want you to follow up with Dual Piercing Fang."

Kiba smiled and responded, "Got it. Akamaru, time to go to work." Akamaru ran up next to Kiba and then Kiba created several hand signs. "Ninja art," he said, "Dual Beast Clone!" Suddenly Akamaru was covered in a puff of smoke and when it cleared he looked just like Kiba. Kiba then released a large amount of chakra and fell to all fours alongside Akamaru.

"Alright Lee, let's do it," Neji yelled as he and Lee ran in at Muramasa from the left and the right as quickly as they could.

Muramasa stood, holding both scythe's and smiled. "Yes," he whispered, "Finally a true challenge. Come at us with everything." Again he moved his head enough for Neji's punch to go sailing by and he sidestepped Lee's kick. He then sidestepped another of Lee's punches and dismissed one of his scythe's and used his free hand to grab Neji's follow-up kick and toss him to the side.

Suddenly from behind him, Kiba and Akamaru appeared and they were spinning their bodies like miniature whirlwinds. "Dual Piercing Fang," Kiba screamed as he attacked. Muramasa quickly leapt away in time for them to miss yet again they followed him as Muramasa kept leaping out of the way. Finally, Muramasa pointed his scythe in their direction and yelled, "Wind Release: Piercing Gale!" The scythe suddenly released a burst of powerful wind that forced Both Kiba and Akamaru back breaking their jutsu.

Muramasa landed on his back and quickly back flipped onto his feet as Kiba and Akamaru landed softly on their feet.

"Damn it all," Kiba yelled as Lee and Neji arrived next to him. "This bastard is just to fast for us at this point."

"Maybe so but at least we've figured out the source of his Jutsu," Neji said. "He uses Wind Style. That would also explain his speed. He uses small gusts of wind to increase the speed of his movements. Even though his speed is increased there still is a moment, between the second he sees an attack and the moment he can summon the wind to help him avoid it. Aim for that and we have him."

"Impossible," Lee responded. "That second is nearly impossible to pin down. How are we ever going to hit him enough within that moment?"

"We keep attacking from all sides," Kiba said. "If we all use our fastest jutsu we're eventually going to make contact."

"Right," Neji said, "So let's do this." Neji then leaned back on his hind leg and placed his other leg forward and he spread his arms out front to back. Lee bent down and removed the heavy weights from his legs and Kiba took out two pills from his pocket and gave one to Akamaru before eating one himself.

To Muramasa's surprise Akamaru's fur then turned red as a large amount of chakra flared up within Kiba. "Finally," Muramasa said as he smiled, "The warm-up is over! Now let's begin the real fight!!"

Lee ran at Muramasa first and was able to cover the distance between them in a second. Muramasa was shocked to see how fast Lee had become and before he could block the attack Lee punched him square in the face launching him back. Muramasa quickly regained his senses and leapt back onto his feet. As he landed again he saw Kiba and Akamaru spinning towards him. Muramasa then reformed his scythe and swung it wide, releasing a gust of wind that blew them back.

Suddenly behind him Neji appeared and kicked Muramasa hard in the back launching him forward and into Lee who was waiting and kicked him so hard that it caused Muramasa to slam into a nearby tree.

As the three ninja quickly moved in for the killing attack they were surprised to see that Muramasa was already on his feet and smiling. They quickly came to a stop and stared in awe. "Yes," Muramasa said as he laughed hysterically, "This is it! This is the challenge we've been searching for! Now, it's our turn!"

Muramasa quickly created his scythe and ran at Neji and his team. Neji was amazed to find that even with his Byakugan he could barely keep up with Muramasa's speed. Before Neji could react, Muramasa leapt in front of him and brought his scythe down, intent on slicing him in half.

Luckily, Lee leapt up and intercepted the attack by punching Muramasa in the face. Muramasa quickly shook it off and ran at Lee and swung his scythe wildly at him. As Lee kept leaping back to avoid Muramasa's attack Kiba and Akamaru appeared behind Muramasa and they punched him simultaneously which forced him back.

"Eight Trigrams," Neji said as Muramasa turned to see Neji behind him. "One hundred Twenty-eight Palms!" In a blur of movement Neji began to strike all of Muramasa's chakra points while forcing him back. "Two, four, eight, sixteen, thirty-two…..," he said as he continued to assault a stunned Muramasa. "One Twenty-eight," Neji yelled as he made the final connection in Muramasa's chest which knocked him back onto the ground.

Muramasa's body fell limply to the floor as Neji ended his assault. Straining to look up, Muramasa spat at Neji. "Damn you," he said, "Damn you all to hell!" Looking into Neji's eyes Muramasa seemed to become more enraged. "Those eyes," he said, "You look at us with the same pity as the him! I hate those eyes!!"

"Enough of this," Kiba said as he withdrew a kunai, "This guy has information we need. So let's get it from him."

Suddenly as Kiba approached, Muramasa leapt up, reformed his scythe and swung it, slicing Kiba across the face, forcing him back.

"Kiba" Lee yelled as leapt to intercept Muramasa before he was able to hit Kiba again. Kiba yelled and quickly leapt out of range as Lee and Muramasa fought.

"Are you alright Kiba," Neji asked as he ran up to him. As he arrived, to his horror, Neji saw Kiba was grasping his blood soaked left eye. Akamaru was next to him and whimpered slightly.

"I'm fine," Kiba said while breathing heavily. Kiba quickly tore a piece of clothe from his shirt and wrapped it around his eye. Using his Byakugan, Neji looked at Kiba's eye and instantly knew Kiba left eye was irreparably damaged.

As Kiba finished wrapping his wound Lee came crashing down at their feet. Getting up slowly he said, "This guy seems to keep getting faster and faster. He's just as fast as I am even without my weights."

"Yeah," Neji responded, "There's no way we can beat him like this. We're going to have to use our strongest techniques. You realize what I'm asking you to do right Lee?"

Lee breathed heavily and looked steely eyed at his opponent. "Yeah Neji, I know and trust me it won't a problem." Lee suddenly created several hand signs and began to concentrate. Suddenly Lee's skin seemed to turn slightly red and he exploded with chakra. "Five Gates are now open," he screamed as he readied himself to attack.

Meanwhile Kiba removed two more pills from his pack and gave one to Akamaru as he ate the other. Akamaru's fur turned red as Kiba exploded with chakra. Creating several hind signs he yelled, "Man Beast Combination Transformation: Double Headed Wolf!"

Muramasa stood in amused awe as he saw both Kiba and Akamaru disappear in a cloud of smoke only to be replaced by fifteen foot tall double headed wolf.

Before Muramasa could speak Lee took of at a speed he couldn't even see and ran up to him and punched him in the jaw, launching him back into the false village and into a building.

The wolf then leapt high into the sky and began to spin and crashed down into the building obliterating it. Once done the wolf backed away as it looked to ensure its target was down.

Out of the rubble, Muramasa laughing, leapt with two scythes in his hands and slashed both heads simultaneously, forcing the wolf to fall back and the jutsu to break.

As Muramasa landed and prepared to close in again Lee intercepted him with a punch that, to Lee's surprise, didn't even knock Muramasa down this time. Muramasa countered with his scythe as he swung it towards Lee's neck.

Lee ducked and kicked Muramasa in the stomach, forcing him off his feet. Lee followed it up with another kick and another and another as Muramasa was launched higher and higher in the air. Suddenly Lee used the wrappings on his hands to tie Muramasa and flipped him upside down and began to spin and pile-drove him into the ground below.

Neji quickly ran up to ensure Muramasa was down but to his surprise he saw Muramasa, standing, surrounded from head to toe in glowing red chakra that seemed to act as a full bodied shield. Impossible, he thought.

Muramasa was holding Lee by the throat and simply threw his body at Neji's feet. Neji quickly helped Lee get to his feet. Neji then said, "Lee you and Kiba stand aside. I'm going to use it."

Lee quickly moved away as Neji closed his eyes and created several hind-signs. Muramasa then ran at Neji, his scythe raised, prepared to behead him when suddenly Neji's eyes opened and they were completely black as coal. Then Neji said, "Byakugan Secret Technique: Ame-no-Uzume."

Konoha – Home of the Hyuga Clan – One Year Ago

"Ame-no-Uzume," Neji asked as he stood in front of Hiashi in the darkened chamber far below the Hyuga compound.

"Yes," Hiashi responded solemnly. "It is the most sacred and powerful techniques of the Hyuga. Only those of the main branch are ever allowed to learn it and even then so far only one per generation ever attain the skill and chakra level that is necessary to learn it. It is a technique that even I myself am unable to master."

Hiashi turned his back to Neji and walked towards a pedestal behind him. On it, lay a single scroll. Neji picked it up lightly as if he feared it and brought it Neji who stood in the middle of the room.

"Within this scroll are the instructions on how you can attain Ame-no-Uzume," Hiashi said as he reached out the scroll to Neji.

"But Lord Hiashi," Neji said, "I am honored that you would choose me for this but I am not of the main branch."

"Neji," Hiashi said, "I am not a perfect man and I admit this is not a perfect family. I have…..made many mistakes in my years. But I am not such a fool as to not know that someone with your talent only comes once in a lifetime. No one else is worthy of it and the truth is…" Hiashi breathed deeply as he looked Neji in the eyes and said, "The truth is I owe you this."

Neji nodded slightly and reached out and took the scroll in his hands. "Thank you Lord Hiashi."

Otogakure – Now

Muramasa stood frozen in his tracks. One minute he was running at his enemy, ready to take his head, the next there was a blinding light and now there was nothing, everything around him was white. He could see no trees, no land, no sky, nothing. And suddenly there is pain. Pain so excruciating that Muramasa felt as if he was going mad. He felt his eyes and skin burn and then there is nothing.

Kiba limped over to Lee as he looked at Muramasa who was standing rigid. Kiba noticed as Muramasa's skin began to turn red and smoke seemed to rise from it. His eyes were rolled back in his head and blood was running from them. Blood was leaking from his ears and nose as well and foam was coming from his mouth. "What's happening to him," Kiba said.

"It's called Ame-no-Uzume," Lee said. "I've never seen it before either. But because we're on the same squad Neji one day told TenTen and I about it. It's the ultimate technique of the Byakugan. Anyone who looks into it is caught in an illusion. It attacks all your senses at the same time and overloads them all. It's an excruciating way to die. But there is a heavy cost. Using the technique causes the user temporary blindness and shuts down their Byakugan. And every time it's used the longer they lose their sight until one day it is gone forever."

Neji stood concentrating until he felt a sharp pain in his head and he knew he could keep this up any more and released the technique and instantly fell to the floor. With the technique released Muramasa's limp and bloody body crumpled to the ground.

Lee and Kiba ran up to Neji and helped him to his feet. It was then as Neji leaned on him the Kiba could see what Lee meant. Blood was leaking from both Neji's eyes. "I need you guys to help me out for a while," Neji said.

As the three ninja began to walk away they heard groaning from behind them. Lee and Kiba looked back and to their amazement again Muramasa was getting to his feet. Breathing heavily, Muramasa fought to get to his feet as every muscle ached . "Where do you bastards think your going," he said.

Suddenly Muramasa screamed and his body exploded with chakra as he reformed his scythe. Realizing both Kiba and Neji were not fit to keep fighting Lee turned and tensed up again and then exploded with chakra. He then yelled, "Sixth Gate: Gate of View Open!!"

He then ran at Muramasa who swung his scythe at his chest. Lee however leapt over it and landed inside of Muramasa's defenses and kicked him high into the sky. As Muramasa flew into the sky Lee appeared in front of him and began to punch him over and over with incredible speed.

Lee was hitting him faster and faster until his very hands began to create flames because of the force. He then yelled, "Morning Peakock!" Lee kept punching and punching and Muramasa found himself unable to defend himself and felt bones breaking with ever punch that landed.

Once finished Lee raised his leg and kicked Muramasa at the top of his head and launched him back down to the ground with such force the earth formed a crater and dust plumed into the air. Lee then dropped into the smoke.

"Kiba," Neji said as he looked to stand on his own. "It's ok. My vision is coming back." Neji then tried to activate his Byakugan when he felt a sharp pain in his eyes. Damn it, he thought. It'll be a while before I can use it.

"Do you think Lee did it," Kiba asked when they suddenly heard a low, inhuman growl. Suddenly Lee's limp body was thrown from the dust and landed next to them and is followed by a large blue flamed bestial paw.

The paw the went back into the dust as Neji and Kiba went to Lee who was barely conscious and had three deep claw wounds on his chest that were bleeding heavily.

"What the hell was that thing," Kiba yelled as he lifted Lee onto his shoulders. "Just what is that guy?!"

"It's just as I feared," Neji said, "This Akatsuki is like Naruto. He's a Jinchuricki. We have no choice now. We have to run!"

As Kiba and Neji turned to run they heard a loud earth shaking roar from within the smoke. And as it cleared they saw the beast Muramasa had become. He was now a large blue flamed monster cat.

Kiba and Neji ran faster now as they desperately tried to make it to the trees and hopefully out of sight.

For a while the Cat simply looked around as if getting a bearing of it's surroundings. Then it looked down and saw the fleeing ninja. Growling it began to lick it's own arm and swallowed some of the flame that was there.

We're going to make it, Neji thought as they got closer to the trees. Once there maybe we can lose the damned thing.

Suddenly the Cat stopped licking and looked again at the fleeing ninja. It then seemed to regurgitate and spit a tight ball of flame at them as they ran.

As Kiba with Lee, Akamaru and Neji ran they could see a growing light and feel heat from behind them. They turned in time to see a large ball of blue flame bear down on them and then……nothing.

The cat looked on as a large column of energy was formed as the ball exploded upon contact causing the nearby trees to be blown away. It was an explosion so massive it could be seen and heard for miles around.

Meanwhile - Many miles away

Naruto and Shikamaru leapt through trees as Naruto same to an abrupt stop and looked off to the North. Realizing Naruto had stopped, Shikamaru came back and asked, "Hey Naruto is everything alright?"

"Yeah," Naruto said as he looked off. 'I think I might have heard something. But I guess I was wrong."

"Hmmm," Shikamaru said, "Well, let's keep moving. We just passed Konoha's borders into pretty dangerous territory. We shouldn't stop right now." Shikamaru then leapt away.

"Right," Naruto said as he followed. As he remained behind Shikamaru, Naruto thought, "Did you feel that Kyubi-sama?"

"Of course I felt it you stupid boy," the Kyubi snapped. "Now that we are one I know and feel as you feel And you feel as I feel. It would seem one of my brothers has been released into this world."

Damn, Naruto thought, that's not good. Not good at all.

Meanwhile - Konoha - Home of the Yamanaka Clan

Ino woke with a start, covered in sweat and breathing heavily. This was one worst night's sleep she's had in ages. And now that she was awake she could feel a sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Sitting up in her bed Ino looked across the room through the window at the stars. Then her attention was brought to the table underneath the window where she could see a framed picture of her and Neji and smiled. Neji, she thought, please come back soon.

End off Chapter Twelve

Next Time: Sakura's Mission