WOOOOOOOOO. UPDATE.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! MASASHI KISHIMOTO DOES! I also do not own any of the OCs introduced within this fan fiction, save for:

The Tsukuyomi Clan

Akumu

Inori

Shiôrisha Usagi

Roku

Nero

A/N: THIRD POV

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Chapter Thirty-Six: Akumu the Sage of Poison! Pinned Down Criminals!

"NARUTO IS HERE!" The obnoxious blondie hollered, leaping over the small hill before landing at the bottom to stand up tall and proud. Behind him, a pink haired kunoichi waltzed up and smacked him over the head with her gloved fist.

"Put a sock in it, Naruto! We're here on a mission, not a visit." She snapped in annoyance, folding her arms over her chest. Naruto yelped, clasping the back of his head as Kai walked up beside him, sighing.

"You really don't know stealth, do you?" He asked, shaking his head. Eiji, walking at Kai's side, averted his eyes, sighing a little as well.

"At least he's eager." Sora said, coming up at Sakura's side with a sweat drop. Sakura sighed and led the rest of the way to the gates where the three shinobi on guard were waiting.

"Names, please." Inori said with a smile, holding a clipboard. Sakura smiled back, but a bit weakly.

"Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto, Souh Kai, Akiyama Eiji, and Matsuki Sora." She informed, watching Inori write the names down. She glanced nervously out the corner of her eye at Akumu, who was leaning on the side of the gates, his arms folded. Usagi stood in the opening of the gates, the large jagged edged sword strapped to his back pretty intimidating.

"Origin?" Inori asked, giving her head a little tilt.

"Ah, Konohagakure." Sakura said, her eyes sliding back over to the males. She was curious as to why a nine-year-old was guarding the gates. That was definitely not a job for a Genin!

"All right, one second… Master Akumu." Inori handed the clipboard to Akumu, who scanned it over. Naruto crinkled his nose, studying the young shinobi. His navy blue hair was cut short on one side, longer on the other, but either way his hair was untamed. He dressed more like an adult than a child too.

"Just how old are you kid?" Naruto asked nosily. Kai smacked his forehead, Eiji sweat dropping and Sakura glaring. Sora sighed, exasperated. Akumu twitched slightly, his eyes flicking out the corner his eye in annoyance.

"I'm fifty-eight, brat, now shut up so I can review this." He commanded. A vein throbbed in Naruto's forehead, his fists clenching.

"Who're you calling a brat? Fifty-eight my ass! You look five!" Naruto yelled. Usagi glared at him, thrusting his hand out at him.

"Shut up, kid! Master Akumu doesn't lie!" He snapped. Naruto went to open his mouth, but Sakura grabbed him in a headlock, her eye twitching in irritation.

"You asswipe! Show some respect! Wait…" Sakura didn't stop strangling a gasping and flailing Naruto, looking at Akumu, who pursed his lips and cocked a brow in amusement.

"Akumu? You mean, Akumu the Sage of Poison?" She asked, letting go of Naruto so he hit the ground, knocking up dust. Akumu looked at her a bit curiously.

"I have a title now?" He asked. Sakura beamed, clasping her hands.

"Akumu the Sage of Poison! Your poisons are legendary for having hardly an antidote for them! Your specialty ranges from chloroform to gaseous types! You're legendary in the medical ninjutsu world!" She explained quickly and eagerly. Akumu couldn't stop a smile from crossing his face.

"Is that so? I had no idea. I should really get out more…" He murmured.

"Hmph." Inori jerked her head the other way, puckering her lips in distaste. She's just so obviously trying to suck up to Master Akumu! She thought in annoyance. Naruto huffed, folding his arms over his chest and puffing out his cheeks childishly.

"And you were yelling at Akumu for looking childish." Kai mused. Eiji cracked a smile and Naruto threw his hands up.

"Oh, for the love of gods!" He retorted. Sakura mindlessly smacked him upside the head.

"Eh, guys," Sora pointed out, giving a crooked smile, "The mission?""Oh right," Sakura blinked, dropping her fist in her palm, then beaming at the Kirigakure shinobi, "We would like to find a hotel here… We're sort of on a very important, top secret mission."

"Usagi would be grateful to escort you to the greatest of our hotels." Akumu said, looking at Usagi, who twitched.

"What? Me?"

"Usagi." Akumu stated firmly. Usagi's mouth went half downwards in a disapproving frown, but he bowed his head and glanced at the Konohagakure shinobi as if they were dirt.

"Well, let's go. I don't have all day." He snorted. The Konoha shinobi shared looks, but eventually followed the older male through the village. There were few people in the streets, mostly mothers shopping with small children if any.

"So," Sakura began casually, walking along Usagi, who frowned at her, "Your name is Usagi?"

"Yea. And your name is Sakura. Glad we could chat." Usagi muttered. Sakura glared at him, but said nothing more. Sora sighed, giving her a little pat.

"Ignore guys like that… They're all about their training." She whispered. Sakura smirked, giving a confident nod in return. Usagi rolled his eyes.

"So, that guy back there is serious fifty-eight years old?" Naruto exclaimed. Usagi snorted.

"Duh! Master Akumu is a genius! He could beat you all with a hand tied behind his back." He replied cockily. Naruto glared.

"I beg to differ." He argued.

"Oh, come on," Kai sighed, running a hand through his spiky dark hair, "Let's not argue now, it's a complete waste of breath, Naruto."

"Says you!" Naruto stuck his tongue out. Kai was tempted to grab it and hang on, watching the blondie flail, but there was no way he was touching a slimy tongue like Naruto's. The group walked on in silence before stopping outside a large white bricked building with rainbow windows.

"Wow!" Sakura gasped, placing a hand on her chest as she stared at the beauty before them. Sora blinked, her eyes wide.

"The windows…! They're like rainbows!" She murmured in awe.

"How girly." Kai drawled as a response, although, his eyes were focusing on the nice photograph of one of the rooms on the greeting sign. The bed looked wonderfully comfortable. Eiji scanned the building, surprised at how elaborate the design was as the roof was pointed and almost glass-like. Usagi shrugged it off, obviously not impressed by the monument as he started to lead them inside until a voice called out.

"Eyyy, Usagi-chan!" A voice called out. Usagi twitched, going pink. Naruto burst out laughing.

"AHAHAHAHA! CHAN? DID HE JUST CALL YOU CHAN?" He roared.

"Naruto!" Sakura and Sora sighed in exasperation. Usagi scowled at him and the group looked up as a taller, obviously more handsome version of Usagi approached them. His turquoise hair was styled differently than Usagi's. Rather than straight and flippy styled, almost girly like, it was styled somewhat spiky toward the front and a bit longer in the back, flipping up a tad. His dark cerulean eyes were outlined with thick black ink that made almost tear-like trails down his cheeks. He wore a tight black vest with an open collar and matching pants. Strapped to his sides were scalpels about the size of kunai and their silver forms glistening.

"Ohh, what's his name?" Sakura murmured, waving a hand in her face. Sora sweat dropped a little, smiling weakly at Sakura's reaction. Naruto huffed. Usagi scowled.

"He's not important-"

"Name's Idomu," The man greeted cheerfully, laughing, "I'm Usagi-chan's big brother and heir to the most powerful clan in Kirigakure by the name of Shiôrisha."

"Shut up! Don't say that when it's not true!" Usagi snapped angrily. Idomu laughed at him and easily put an arm around Usagi's neck, practically putting him in a chokehold.

"Ignore my baby brother! He's such a hotheaded fool." He chuckled. Sakura blushed, waving her hand at him.

"Oh, can do, can do." She giggled. Sora frowned a little before sighing and tilting her head.

"Quit getting all lovey-dovey." Naruto whined to Sakura, but she smacked her hand into his face, making him stumble into Kai, who yelped when his foot was stepped on.

"Get off me," Usagi squirmed away from his brother, smacking him with his elbow, "I was doing something important for Master Akumu!" Idomu blinked, then chuckled, looking at the group of Konoha shinobi.

"Let me finish this lovely tour for you since Usagi is busy." He replied with a smile. Usagi glared at him.

"I am not busy! Idomu-"

"Ta-TA, baby brother." Idomu jagged Usagi in the ribs none to playfully, a wicked smirk on his face. Sakura beamed.

"Oh, that would be lovely!" She squealed, allowing Idomu to hook his arm with hers, leading her to the hotel. Kai rolled his eyes as Eiji sighed, averting his own eyes while Sora followed Idomu and Sakura into the hotel. Naruto stayed behind with a frown, then glanced at Usagi, who was watching and fuming.

"You're older brother is a bigger jerk than you." He mused. Usagi was seething with rage.

"Shut the hell up! That asshole! I hate him! Who does he think he is declaring that he's the heir to our clan already? Our competition isn't over yet!" He exploded, his face burning red with anger. Naruto blinked.

"Competition?"

"Idomu and I are the eldest sons of our clan, but we both want to be the leader… Our father pitted us against each other… We're supposed to see who can collect the most funding money and he's bound to run to the Mizukage, sucking up to her about how he helped the visitors! Ugh, sometimes I just want to kill him!" Usagi snarled. Naruto's eyes flashed and he frowned, turning to him.

"Don't say that. He's your brother." He stated. Usagi frowned at him.

"Oh, what the hell do you know about it?" He demanded.

"Because. I have a friend, who's like a brother to me… He's out there, making bad choices… Because he wants to kill his brother… You should respect Idomu as your brother, but beat him in the competition fair and square. A real shinobi doesn't kill their family…" Naruto's voice drifted. Usagi stared at him, then averted his eyes, his expression grim and depressed.

"I know… Ugh, it's still not fair," He muttered, "Idomu's always getting the attention from our clan. If I do something, he takes the credit or takes the chance to stomp on me as hard as he can. I'm like a stepping stool to him."

"Hmph," Naruto thrust his fist out, making Usagi jump a little, "All right, I'll make you a deal! I bet you I can help you get recognized by your family by the time I leave here in the next week!" Usagi stared at him, then squinted a little before smirking and thrusting his fist out to hit Naruto's, closing his eyes.

"Tch. No wonder they call you Naruto the Number One Knuckleheaded Ninja."

"Damn- HEY, SAY WHAT?"

Later…

"Why do I have the sneaking suspicion that you're leading us in a complete circle?" Sasuke demanded in annoyance as they trudged over the swampy marshes toward Kirigakure. Ruriko averted her eyes, trying to keep her fake smile on, but it had fallen off a while back.

"Uh, it's not me… I'm following Akatsuki's trail. They're the one going around and around the cobbler's bench." She muttered. Karin snorted, but said nothing. Suigetsu rolled his eyes.

"It's funny how Akatsuki is hopping around like this… I coulda sworn they would've stopped by now to do that thing they're doing with the powerful chakra demons." He mused. Ruriko twitched and flashed him a sharp glare before looking up ahead, moving a bit faster to stick by Sasuke's side.

I miss Roku… So badly… I need him around to keep my spirits high… Ever since I left him with Nero and Akira and the others, my heart's been sinking lower and lower… So low in fact that I'm actually considering letting Sasuke kill me. Ugh… No, I can't do that… I promised Roku a puppy, my brothers that I would return, and Osamu that I would kick his ass… She thought confidently, glancing up as the Kirigakure gates came into view.

"You know," Ruriko began, "They're not going to let a gang of criminals by…"

"Not without a fight," Sasuke agreed, but shrugged, "But why does it matter? I'll easily take them down." Ruriko smirked and forced her cocky remarks to herself, making Sasuke glare at her for even thinking them. They approached the gates where Akumu and Inori were positioned, looking pretty ready for them. Sasuke came to a slow halt before them, frowning as he gripped his sword.

"Move." He ordered.

"You have some nerve," Akumu muttered, "I know how to show brats to behave for their elders." Inori's eyes flashed as well as Karin's.

"Sasuke!" She cried. As soon as she spoke, Akumu's hand moved, flinging out a line of senbon that left thin wet streams behind them. Sasuke's eyes widened for a fraction before he swung his sword out, knocking the senbon back. Akumu tilted his head slightly.

"Amusing. You blocked them all." He commented. Sasuke glared, Sharingan glowing in his eyes.

"Tch." Was his response. Akumu's eyes darkened at the sight of his Sharingan.

"Uchiha… Ohhh, you're part of that accursed clan… Inori, if the others attack, defend. I'll take this brat down." He ordered.

"Yes, Master Akumu." Inori nodded and held her hands in a hand sign, watching Ruriko, Karin, Suigetsu, and Juugo, who all glared at her. Sasuke glanced at them.

"Don't make a move to defend me. Any of you. This won't take long." He told them, then quickly whipped around to avoid another shower of senbon, having to side step a few of them. Akumu seemed to barely had moved, his arms folded as he eyed Sasuke closely.

"Your Sharingan is useless in this battle, Uchiha. I have no use for ninjutsu as my knowledge of poisons far exceed that of any medical ninja or kage." He explained. Sasuke's eyes glowed hatefully as he went to charge up chidori, but was halted as Akumu bolted forward. Sasuke's eyes flashed angrily as he quickly lost sight of the small man, only to have Akumu skid across the dirt in front of him. Sasuke quickly jumped up, doing a back flip. Akumu smirked and swung his hand up, a kunai shooting from a hidden spot in his shirt sleeve. He brought the kunai over and the blade cut into Sasuke's face.

Sasuke fell back, skidding across the dirt as he touched his face. He gasped quietly to himself, pulling his hand back. He could feel a numb sensation growing in his head, making his vision blur. Akumu stood up straight, his arms at his sides and his expression calm.

"That poison is one of my fastest working ones. Causes temporary blindness as well as a numbing sensation that will leave you pretty much paralyzed within the next half hour." He explained. Sasuke glared at him, although, by now his vision was becoming blurrier.

"Ruriko." He stated. Ruriko perked up to attention, cocking a brow and smirking.

"What can I do for ya, Oh Great Uchiha Who Doesn't Need Anyone's Help?" She asked with so much sarcastic sugar in her voice that it could kill. Sasuke scowled. Ruriko got the message and swung her hand out, her fingertips burst with blue electricity and shooting forward. Akumu frowned and easily kicked up his kunai, blocking the electricity with it only to have his hand slightly burned.

"Master Akumu!" Inori cried.

"Inori, attack." Akumu ordered. Inori had taken a step forward to assist him, but hung back on his orders before whipping out hand signs and causing stalagmites to come shooting out of the ground toward them. Ruriko winced.

"Juugo, grab Sasuke!" She yelled, whipping around to jump to the side away from a mountain of rock. Juugo was on it as soon as she said it. He skidded across the dirt and caught Sasuke up, making the Uchiha curse loudly before Juugo rolled to avoid a column of earth. Suigetsu was hit, but his body exploded into water before piling back up into his normal self a few feet away. Karin scrambled and ran around like a cornered mouse.

"Look out, he's got more of that shit!" Suigetsu barked, easily escaping the fatal wound of a senbon to the temple. Ruriko winced and ducked, leaping away, but not before a senbon sliced through a thin layer of her skin. She gasped, clasping her hand immediately over the wound. She dug her nails into her skin and tore. She gritted her teeth as blood gushed from the wound, the clearly visible blue poison being taken away with the skin that Ruriko threw.

"He's not finished yet, keep dodging! Juugo, how's Sasuke?" Ruriko yelled, dodging a stalagmite and several senbon. Juugo had just barely escaped getting blown to pieces, Sasuke limp in his arms. He grimaced. The wound around the gash across Sasuke's face had begun to grow a dangerous purple, the tips of his fingers turning a slight purplish black. His body was freezing cold, like holding an ice cube… Or a corpse, Juugo thought with a wince. He looked up at Ruriko as she managed to scramble over to them.

"Shit," Ruriko cursed, "Whatever that poison is, he's practically giving him frostbite or something! We need to get past these clowns and find somewhere safe. He needs healing, big time!"

"Duck!" Juugo ordered and grabbed Ruriko's shoulder, jerking her to the ground as he ducked as well, kunai flying over their heads. Ruriko gritted her teeth.

"This is seriously pissing me off! Be right back!" She told him and whipped around, shooting up over columns of earth, pushing off them and doing flips to avoid poisoned weapons. Akumu jerked his head up in time to see Ruriko coming at him. His eyes flickered, squinting a little before he swung out a kunai that was dripping wet with some kind of thick liquid poison on its blade. Ruriko smirked and slammed right into the kunai, but vanished into smoke as a sign of a shadow clone.

Akumu whipped around just in time for Ruriko to race past him. Inori jerked her head up, cursing out loud and bringing her leg around to kick Ruriko in the face, but Ruriko dodged and swung her fist into the woman's jaw, knocking her into the air. Ruriko was confident for a second before gasping out loud, blood flying from her mouth as something shot right into her back, making her stumble and land on her knees.

"Holy shit…" She managed, reaching around carefully. The kunai, dripping wet, was stuck into her back, having missed her spinal cord. She jerked the weapon out before turning around to face Akumu, who glared at her.

"Leave my student alone. Face me before you face her." He ordered. Ruriko laughed a little, getting to her feet slowly.

"Che… Great… I hate brats." She muttered. Akumu snorted.

"Don't mock me for my appearance. For your information, I'm old enough to be your grandfather."

"Uh, thanks for the update, but I'm still going to kill you for poisoning me." Ruriko retorted, but her legs were feeling sluggish and heavy. She gasped, clasping a hand to her head. Akumu looked at her calmly.

"It won't kill you, not like your little Uchiha friend…. Your's will simply keep you paralyzed for the rest of your miserable life… As for the Uchiha," He explained calmly, gesturing to Juugo, who was still holding a limp Sasuke, "He'll slowly become frozen from the inside out as his nerves crash. That is the final blow of my homemade poison, made especially for Uchiha… I'd of rather used it on that bastard, Madara, but this one seems just as cocky and rude."

"Youuuu asshole…" Ruriko drawled, then brought her arm up to her mouth and bit down, hard. Akumu frowned immediately, dropping his arms from their relaxed state. Ruriko pulled away, gasping in pain and wincing as she managed to run forward, leaping over Akumu, who whipped around to follow her with his eyes. Ruriko raced off through the forest of stalagmites breathing hard.

"Retreat!" She yelled.

"What? Who died and made you-"

"Sasuke would say the same thing, Karin!" Ruriko snarled at her, grabbing her by the sleeve and tearing her after. Suigetsu and Juugo shared looks before following in a hurry. Akumu's eyes narrowed dangerously before he turned to tend to Inori.

Dangerous criminals, that's for sure… And the Uchiha. Those damned eyes are all the same. So critical, so cruel and calculating… He's almost a perfect replica of Madara… I must inform the Mizukage of this…

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A/N: Kya, crap, it's short… xD But it's super late and my arms are really, super numb. Mostly my right one. In fact, I told my sister to slap my right arm as hard as she could and I couldn't feel a thing… It's weird. O.o; Oh well. Anyway, sorry if there's any OOC… It's late, remember. So, thanks so very much for reading and your reviews would be just fabulous! They seriously make me super happy! I got one that made me totally freeze up in surprise. A nomination for a fan fiction award? I want to thank Rei Sagara for that one! I was ecstatic to read that! Thanks again!