Chapter 57 The past brings new purpose

Naruto was only starting to show minor signs of finally returning to normal. His semi relaxed eyes were still closed, with his loose mouth agape, lightly breathing in the cool air. The blonde's flesh still had serious burn marks all over, but Sakura's efforts so far were showing. Unfortunately, the repaired skin did not have its usual tanned shade, but instead was as white as a ghost. Sakura was thankful at the least his faces expression didn't lash out at her like earlier. As for Sakura herself, her condition was still like before. She was short of breath, and still feeling quite light headed.

Rubbing the furious sweat off her forehead, she continued her work, 'There is still much to be done, but...' Momentarily pausing, she stroked his cheek lightly, feeling his cold touch.

Even though he was in such a desperate condition, Sakura was able to bring out a small sad smile, 'He at least is not in immediate danger like before.'

While resting her hand on his cheek, she stared at it. Her tremor still hadn't ceased to her dismay, instead it was getting worse. Raising her hand, she studied it, 'I still have the symptoms she mentioned...'

Nibbling on her trembling lower lip, she shook her head, 'What is the matter with me, I can't trust her.'

With a chill running down her spine, she took a shaken deep breath, 'God I hate this.'

She was about to get back to work, but her eyes shot bulging wide in alert to sensing something. Forcing herself to control her laboured breaths, she swallowed the hard lump at the back of her throat.

'...Oh no...'

With no sound able to be heard now, she hesitantly turned her head in the direction she felt the disturbing sensation. Sakura couldn't see anything wrong through the trees and bushes, but she refused to call out to see who...or what it was that was making her skin crawl all over like a plague.

'Something is coming...'

Itachi's warning rang in her ears once again, which only built up her belief that whoever it was wasn't friendly.

Cursing under her light gasp, Sakura pulled herself to her feet, and scooped up Naruto, 'I better hide him.'

Running towards a tree, she jumped up onto its branch, and hid herself behind the very thick tree trunk. Sliding down against it, she cautiously brought her head around to see, 'Please be just my paranoia, and its only sensei.'

Feeling a shuffling in her hands, she looked back at Naruto. He was still breathing heavily and shivering with light chattering of his teeth, 'My chakra was keeping his body temperature warm, but now he is freezing because I have stopped...damn it.'

Pulling her gaze reluctantly off Naruto, she cautiously looked back. She had to use all her willpower not to gasp, even though her eyes held both confusion and fear, 'W-W-What the hell is that?!'

The creature held familiarity to a kind of animal, but this was never something she had ever seen before, except for possibly in a nightmare. The...creature, was easily three times her height in length, and stood on all fours. With the tail on the end, one would mistaken it for a type of lion or tiger, that was, if it were not for its fleshless skin, or lack of a true face. It's hide looked more like numerous layers of black threads than anything else Sakura could relate it to.

The beasts face though was even more of a horrifying mystery. It was not the face of an animal at all, but it was a ceramic mask a normal person would wear. The mask kind of resembled a tiger in appearance. Attached almost like a lead on the back of the great animal, was a thick pulsating black threaded line. The creature was standing where Sakura was earlier, it's ceramic face pointing towards the ground, somehow resembling a lion sniffing for food. Sakura had a horrible feeling it was looking for her and the knocked out blond in her arms.

Remembering him, she looked back at Naruto, feeling the sense of responsibility weigh down on her shoulders, 'I have to get him out of here, get him away from that-that-Thing.'

Glancing once more at the beast, she noticed the lead like connection suddenly pulsated larger than before, and within an instant, the monster sprang to action. She was just able to jump away from the tree in time, before the tiger masked beast effortlessly sliced the twice her frame thick trunk in half. Sakura sprinted away before she felt the 'thud' of the tree's violent collapse.

Hearing that it was gaining on her fast, she panicked, This isn't going to work!'

Instantly stopping, she turned to come face to face with the rampaging monster. Her face was grabbed and crushed by its gigantic claw, before she could even gasp.

'Poof'

Tossing away the tree branch, the creature halted as if waiting for something. Meanwhile, Sakura, who was hiding in some bushes with Naruto still in her grasp, watched the animals movements closely. It caught her by surprise that the creature that was furiously trying to rip her face off before now had suddenly stopped. Focussing on the connected thread, she followed its loose trail on the forest floor.

'Where is that leading to?'

Seeing another irregular sized pulse travelling down the line, upon connecting with the creature, it suddenly sprung to life again.

It disappeared into the forest, although Sakura could still hear the animal tearing up the place to find her. Cautiously setting Naruto down, she crept out to closer inspect the sliding along lead. Raising her hand over it, she felt what was flowing within it, 'This sensation...Chakra.' Seeing another lump sized object coming down the lead rapidly, she rose her hand further to allow it to pass over her to continue inspecting what was happening.

Her eyes widened in curiosity, 'A burst of chakra and...was that feeling electricity?'

Shaking her head clear, and checking to ensure she was not spotted, she unsheathed her kunai, 'I don't know exactly what this does, but it seems that whatever that thing is moves whenever receiving that burst. Kind of like instructions, or something like that. If I cut this, it may disable it.'

With a quick raise of her hand, she tried to stab cord, but yelped in surprise at the knockback effect once the tip of the blade made contact with the thick thread, practically bouncing the kunai out of her grasp.

Shaken, she then grabbed onto the thread with both her hands, and used chakra to try and break it. She was shocked at just how resistant it was.

"W-Wha-?!" She never got to finish her sentence as another burst shot through the lead, and she ran back to her hiding place with Naruto still there.

Picking him up, she froze when she saw the creature had returned. Fortunately it didn't know where she had gone, but it definitely was aware to what she just tried to do. As it was staring at the kunai that had dug into the grass, she quietly crept away, 'I can't cut that line, or even break it with my chakra strength.'

Earlier...

Kakuzu was finding his patience once again was drawing thin by Itachi's actions, 'What is it that you are doing Itachi? Hurry up and finish him off already. The sannin also better leave Mangetsu's head in one piece.'

Looking back down at Deidara, the artist showed little signs to regain consciousness. 'Hmmph. I have a great doubt that is going to make Deidara joining our organisation any easier.'

Looking then to his hand, he held deep interest in a tube like thick black thread that was coming out of his wrist, and then his eyes drifted in the direction the thread lead off to. Kakuzu let out a low chuckle, "You said I had to watch and ensure nobody interrupts you Itachi...but you never said that is all I could do. If you hadn't of asked, I would be searching for the jinkuriki right now...and not just my fire element heart."

'It is a shame she did not rejoin the others with the jinkuriki. It is a loss in simplicity, and in profit for me. However, this is even more ideal. I will be able to locate her, and she is the only obstacle stopping me from taking him...this shouldn't be a problem, even for just one of my hearts operating alone.'

Looking down at the thread, a pulse shot out at a rapid speed, and travelled down it, disappearing into the forest, 'My hearts can operate when they are close telepathically, however for greater distances I cannot do that. Using my threads as a connection to it, I can command the heart beasts from afar. How many hearts I can use depends on the range covered. Using the threads within my body, I can usually control all four up to three hundred meters. However, if I am only using one, I can use the threads of the other hearts bodies to extend it to well over two kilometres.'

Flexing his hand, Kakuzu continued his musing, 'The issue is I cannot call out the others in an emergency while doing this. But since I am not in harm's way, it is not an issue. 'There is also a significant draw back with covering such a great distance.'

Watching another pulsating lump travel down the line paused his thoughts for a moment, '...The beast is effectively an extension of my body. Like all parts of the body, they receive messages to act from the brain. The average speed of those messages is at around one hundred meters per second. That would mean at my hearts current distance, there is a several second delay between my instructions and the beast actually carrying them out. Fortunately, using chakra, I can reduce that time to two seconds at most. That still is a notable weakness, but it shouldn't be a concern...not to that woman at the least.'

Kakuzu's eyes narrowed though when he became aware of a feeling that felt as if someone was poking him, 'What is this?'

When he then experienced a sensation of someone trying to rip apart his 'arm' he rapidly understood what was happening, and gave out the instruction. Soon after doing so, the feeling suddenly stopped, 'Perhaps I have underestimated her.'

'Just what the hell is going on between those two?' The Nara asked himself now more times than he could remember. Itachi and Ronan appeared to be locked into another genjutsu exchange, however, that started minutes ago. The last genjutsu attack lasted a minute tops. It was deeply disturbing to just see the two strong combatants just staring at each other, although only Itachi this time was holding a seal.

Ronan at first was going to resist Itachi's possible trick, but the moment Itachi started talking in his mind, he lost the will to fight back. The world had blurred around him into a mist like white, and all that was in his sights focus was Itachi. Ronan didn't react to Itachi explaining to him about how the clan interpreted the Nindaime's decision. Ronan knew about this issue to begin with, recalling the Uchiha elders as he was growing up still holding a grudge against the late Nindaime because of that. Once he was within the ANBU ranks, he long believed the elders were just muttering nonsense, and never cared about it after that.

"You were aware of this already?"

"Of course I am, what I am more interested in is the other thing you said. What do you know about the Kyuubi attack.. and what is this tension you spoke off?"

Itachi emitted a 'Hmmph', and closed his eyes, "You may seem to look at this without thought...but I wonder if you were aware that the Uchiha since that decision were being carefully surveyed by the ANBU."

Ronan gasped in disbelief, 'ANBU were watching us?! How did I not see this?!'

"That doesn't make any sense! I was t-their-..."

"You were the ANBU's captain, but not even you were aware of the forces moving above you. Remember who it is the ANBU serve, the Hokage and its elders, or more specifically...Danzou."

Ronan was completely at a loss, and had no argument he could think of. He was going to call Itachi out as a liar, but the moment he mentioned Danzou, his disbelief vanished. When it came to that old bastard, anything was possible in the Uchiha's eyes...even this.

"T-Then what about the Kyuubi's attack? I think I understood what you are implying...but I refuse to believe it."

"What do you know about the history of our clan?"

"I know we were one of the greatest, and a very long time back were rivals with the Senju clan. Eventually down a very long and bloody road, the two clans came to a truce, forming Konoha."

"You do not know who was the leader of the Uchiha clan at that time?"

"..."

"Tell me Ronan-oniichan, have you ever heard of the man called Uchiha Madara?"

Ronan's eyes looked elsewhere in reminisce, "I do...I haven't heard a great deal spoken about him however. Many of the clan's elders spoke of him as a crazed man wishing to resume the rivalry and bloodshed, other than that, nothing else."

"That is correct...And are you aware of what happened to him?"

"Of course. He casted himself out of the clan, and had a final grand battle with the Shodai hokage at the place now called The Valley Of The End. The final result was Shodai's victory, with Madara dying in that battle."

Itachi's 'Hmmph' made Ronan perk an eyebrow, "Who is to say he truly died?"

"What?...That can't be, Shodai is not a man that can be deceived by some attempt at faking a death."

"People live their lives bound by what they see as 'right' and 'true'. That's what they call 'reality.' However, 'right' and 'true' are nothing but vague terms. Their reality could turn out to be an illusion."

Ronan blinked in puzzlement at Itachi's riddle, while Itachi closed his eyes, "It is true, Shodai was no mere shinobi who could be fooled into believing somebody was faking a death...unless it what his belief that it was as a reality. Shodai, while being great, did not know all the secrets of the power of the bloodline limit. The Sharingan. Even after combating it for many generations, the Senju clan knew little of our power, and vice versa. You however, should know of its greatest potent powers and secrets, including those that are forbidden."

Ronan eyes began to slowly widen, "A-Are you saying-Madara...used 'that' forbidden jutsu. The one that permanently costs us the eye sight of one of our eyes. Are you saying he used Izanagi to fake his death from the Shodai?!"

"That is an answer that I do not know myself, however it is very possible."

"That can't be possible! Madara can't be still alive! He would have to be in his late nineties in age, at the least!"

"I shall not dwell for you the details of how it may be feasible, however, I will tell you that he was involved in the night of the Kyuubi's attack."

Ronan's jaw hung wide in pure disbelief, "Y-Your saying...!" Ronan's slurred words were cut off in memory of what the Kyuubi said to him inside Naruto's subconsciousness.

' HAHAHAHA! Your eyes are nothing compared to that of Uchiha Madara!'

"N-No. The cause of all of this...WAS ONE OF OUR OWN?! WHY!?"

" 'Many of the clan's elders spoke of him as a crazed man wishing to resume the rivalry and bloodshed.' " Ronan was stunned at Itachi repeating his own words back at him, only this time, they held more definitive meaning.

"He did it just to strike out at the clan in vengeance?"

"Not simply just the clan, but Konoha itself as well."

Ronan did not know how to respond to that, so he pressed on, "A-And this tension you spoke of?"

"...As you wish."

Within a blink of an eye, Ronan found himself once again in the Uchiha district. It was a completely different atmosphere from when he was within the Tsukuyomi. The night sky was calm, and to his relief there was no screaming chaos ripping into him.

"You should know where we are, Ronan-oniichan."

Turning, Ronan met Itachi, whose bottom half of his face was hidden by his Akatsuki cloak, and his sharingan eyes held a neutral expression, "When you were within my Tsukuyomi, did you ever wonder why the Uchiha were given a district which they all lived in?"

"..."

"Before the Kyuubi incident, where you yourself were part of Konoha, the Uchiha clan lived where ever they pleased within Konoha's boundaries. This district did exist, but was never this large in size. Afterwards, the clan were forced to live in this corner, as the districts boundary grew to accommodate all of us. To make it appear nothing amiss, other major clans within Konoha were given the same treatment...like the Hyuuga. The exception being our clan was closely monitored by ANBU."

Without waiting for Ronan to speak, Itachi turned, "Follow me."

Stunned for a moment, Ronan did as he was told. At first he didn't know where Itachi was leading him, but then he began to recognise some of the surroundings. It would appear they were in an original part of the district before it was extended, since this was the area many of the Uchiha's sacred temples were located. Seeing the flight of stone steps leading to a red sign with the Uchiha symbol bound to its centre made him hold no more doubt where Itachi was taking him.

The main temple of the Nakano Shrine.

On their ascent, Ronan noticed other Uchiha members were also moving up the steps, 'What is going on?'

As they entered the temple, Ronan was at a loss when he saw nobody was inside it. Looking down, he now realised that the seventh tatami mat on the far right of the temple had been lifted out, revealing a trapdoor, "The secret meeting place of the Uchiha clan. You were aware of the mangekyou sharingan before...so you are aware of this place." Itachi rhetorically announced.

Remembering, Ronan didn't say anything as Itachi once again was off, heading down the trapdoor. Ronan followed, soon seeing torches lighting his path down the deep stairwell. On his descent, Ronan now was able to hear the sound of many voices coming from where he was heading. Seeing Itachi's cloak, Ronan stopped from his spot on the stairs to behold the sight.

The Uchiha's meeting room was an enormous but very empty place. The walls were made of stone, and the dark red floor boards usually creaked. The main lighting of the room came from only two great torches at the front. On each side of those flames were paintings of the Uchiha's great ancestors. At the very back of the room, was a grand stone tablet. It was encrypted in a way that only an individual with the sharingan could read it, since it contained some of the clans most major secrets. The mangekyou sharingan was no exception.

This instance however, the room was swarmed with members of the Uchiha clan. It appeared they were having a heated argument over something. Sitting between the two torches was the Uchiha clan leader, Fugaku. Ronan tried to talk to the only person he could ask, "What exactly is happening here?"

Itachi turned his head so only one of his sharingan irises could be seen, "Listen..."

"Our elders were right! We really are becoming nothing but dogs to the Senju!"

"How so?! All they have done is given us an exclusive area for the Uchiha, like the Hyu-"

"Open your eyes you fool, that is just their cover!"

"We are being watched! It is so clear that we have been placed in this district for easy quarantine."

"Maybe...Maybe 'he' was right that time when we should have stood up to Senju."

"Enough!" Fugaku ordered, silencing everyone in the room.

When all eyes were on him, Fugaku spoke, "We at first shunned their lack of trust, but what they are doing to us has gone too far. We are being discriminated for something I whole heartedly believe was not done by us."

"-How can you be so certain Fugaku-sama! for all we know, you could have the one that controlled the Kyuubi-"

"I do not possess the mangekyou sharingan, nor should any of us have it, because we have made it forbidden! We do not even tell the younger generation about what the tablet behind me contains. That is the vow we have taken."

"Then why is your son here th-"

"Silence! As I was saying, we have always accepted our clan being pushed aside for the Senju's benefit, including the ruling of our government. I for one believe it is time for a change."

Fugaku's announcement spread chatter all around, "What do you mean Fugaku-sama?"

"The Sandaime has been speaking to me recently, he is assuring me that he will sort out everything. But...I think it has only just made it clear that even the Hokage is powerless against the elders."

"What is it that you are proposing?"

"I believe it is time we stopped allowing the Senju clan to spit in our clans faces!"

Ronan was the only one who gasped in shock, but the next question asked by a clan's member held little shock, "Are you suggested a coup d'état?!"

"Fugaku! That is going too far! You are becoming just like 'him'-"

"Then what is it you suggest we do?" Fugaku asked flatly.

When nobody responded, Fugaku looked to someone in the crowd, "Please come here...Itachi."

Ronan's eyes bulged, 'Itachi?!'

To his shock, he saw a young boy no older than five years old hesitantly walk out of the crowd, and stood by Fugaku. Turning to face the rest of the clan, Ronan could see just how innocent and scared the boy was. It was very much the opposite of the void of emotion older young man standing next to him.

"What is the meaning of your son being here anyway Fugaku-sama?"

"For us to overthrow the elders, we are going to need someone reliable on the inside."

"And you propose your child? With all due respect, there must be someone better...what about Ronan? Is he here?"

'T-They were considering me?!'

"Ronan along with the other Uchiha within the ANBU died on the night of the Kyuubi attack. So for this, I am proposing to raise my son in the ways to become an ANBU. Once within, Itachi can give us information we need to monitor, and eventually overthrow the elders."

"But surely we can find somebody older or already a shinobi, why your son?"

"That is true, if we were to choose someone currently more able, like Shisui, we would not have to wait as long. But Itachi is my son. He is the only one I hold complete faith and trust in, I know he will be up for this." Ronan had to snort at Fugaku's words, knowing very well just how much of a shock he was in for in the years to come.

Did Fugaku even have the chance to realise his son had betrayed him?

'I had kept tabs on information on the clan before the massacre, and heard lots of promising talk about Itachi...but this...'

Looking to the still unchanged expression of Itachi, Ronan spoke without emotion, "Itachi...you-"

Ronan suddenly felt his body tug, as he was pulled back up the stairs, into darkness. Within an instant, he was blinded by the bright sunlight. When his eyes had refocussed, he discovered he was in one of the rooms within the Hokage's tower. The room was mostly bare, with no windows on its sides, and a two doors, one being an ordinary wooden door, and the other a glass open sliding door to a balcony. There were rows of mats set out before a great round council desk, which curled around to permit a seat in the front, and an additional one further back on each side. None of them were occupied however. Above on the ceiling was a great skylight bringing in the sunshine to completely lighten up the room.

Ronan knew this room well, this was where the hokage and its elders would come together to discuss important matters with relevant shinobi. Hearing the wooden floorboards creak, Ronan turned to see Itachi walking towards the slide open door. Upon further inspection, Ronan saw four people on the balcony, one was someone wearing the traditional hokage garment, and their back was turned as if looking out to the village. The way the elderly mans hands were casually behind their back made it clear who it was. The Sandaime Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Another two were by each of the hokage's sides, which were recognised instantly as the elders of Konoha, Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane. Behind them, leaning on his cane, wearing his typical firm expression, was Danzou. Finally, there was an ANBU present. The ANBU was kneeled down in respect behind the group, with only his back visible, revealing his tied back jet black hair. The young man's mask Ronan could just make out from his place appeared to be that of a weasel. There was a noticeable tension in the air present that Ronan could feel radiating against the glass door.

"It is clear now...the Uchiha are serious with their plans to destroy Konoha."

"Do not twist the truth, Danzou. They are plotting to overthrow our government because of our transparent lack of trust. We are the ones also to blame for this whole situation." Hiruzen rebutted, still looking out to the village he cared for.

Danzou was not backing down, "Would you care to listen more intently to the report again? They have asked for a roster of the available jounin's...they are looking for an opportune moment to strike with the least amount of resistance."

Adjusting his glasses, Homura cleared his throat, "This unfortunately cannot be just ignored anymore Hiruzen. You have to think of the people."

"We cannot handle a civil war at this time. Word will spread, and our enemies will exploit this to wipe us out." Koharu added, although not as definitive as Danzou and Homura.

The Sandaime tilted his head to look at his long time teammate, "You actually are supporting this madness, Koharu?"

The old ladies face held one of hesitation, "I know what we are doing is wrong, but it is for the sake of our village."

"Murdering our own people is considered acceptable to you?"

"No, but when it comes to one clan, or the sake of all of Konoha...well you should know the math Hiruzen."

"Lives are not to be used for the sake of numbers!"

"That is what makes you a soft hokage Hiruzen, you do not know when it is time to act."

Grinding his teeth, the Sarutobi turned to glare at his rival, "So because I care for all the people in this great village makes me soft. Lord forbid if you rose to power, Danzou."

"This argument is not getting us anywhere." Homura interrupted with a sigh.

"There still is time, let me continue my negotiations."

There was a long pause after the Sandaime's near order of an instruction, but then Homura lifted his glasses, "We cannot wait much longer Hiruzen."

"This discussion is meaningless, all we are doing is granting them more time to eliminate us." Danzou said with authority, and then all eyes were on the remaining elder.

She turned to head towards the door, "I support Hiruzen...just this one more time."

Danzou clearly was displeased with that answer, but he bit his tongue and said nothing, as now the other two elders followed her to the door. Leaving the Sandaime on the balcony alone with the ANBU, they closed the door.

"It is clear Hiruzen will not give up." Danzou spoke out, now with the glass door closed.

"I am afraid you are right...we best look into a strategy to handle this coming disaster."

Danzou grew a very creepy smile, "No need, our trump card will take care of everything. The arrogant clan most likely still haven't even realised...their spy is in actual fact our spy. At the drop of our hats, he will carry out our instructions...to eliminate the threat."

Gaping, Ronan snapped his gaze back to the crouched ANBU, 'That can't be, is that-!'

"You must be very lost right now." Hiruzen's words made the ANBU raise his head just a fraction to see the Sandaime's back to him.

The third still continued, "This entire mission is something I would never wish on anyone in your position. For that I must apologise to you for putting you in such a terrible situation."

Lowering his head back, the ANBU spoke in a voice that sent a chill of realisation down Ronan's spine, "Your apologies are not required, Hokage-sama."

Turning, Hiruzen smiled, "You may stand." The ANBU's face looked up in what Ronan would guess was surprise, but then he hesitantly complied.

Gesturing for the ANBU to come next to him, the Sarutobi turned back to look at the village, "This is a situation that could have been avoided so long ago. If only I had been able to persuade the others not to force the Uchiha to live in one location. What is your belief on all this?"

The question made the ANBU freeze a couple of steps away from being next to the Sandaime, but then the young man recovered, and joined him. No words were said though.

Looking to the ANBU, Hiruzen pulled out his pipe from within his garment, "It is a question you do not know the answer to, isn't it?"

The ANBU still did not respond, as the Sandaime lit his pipe, "You can see the consequences of both outcomes, and both of them to you are the worst possible scenarios. Most would break it down to numbers to choose a more ideal outcome, or go with their bias based on their position. But even then, our conscience will never wash off the realisation of responsibility for sacrificing those lives. A 'perfect' shinobi would execute this without a fuss...a human being with morals and emotions would not."

"I..."

The Sandaime smoked a puff and exhaled it out, while the ANBU drifted off after the first word, "If you are fearing your response will make me judge you, then you should know your hokage better."

"Forgive me for my ignorance."

Laughing at the genuine apology, Sarutobi took another puff, "What is your answer?"

Despite Sandaime's attempts to make the conversation as brightened as possible, the silence of hesitation withering in the air made everything slow down.

"...I do not wish for there to be another war."

"As do I, however, I do also not want to solve this matter in a way that involves genocide. The Uchiha would be right then to have this lack of trust otherwise. The trouble is explaining and demonstrating to them that whatever happened in the past is now no longer occurring. It deeply frustrates me that Koharu and Homura cannot see what they are doing. They believe they are extinguishing the fire, but in reality they are covering the fire with a plain blanket, which eventually will just spread to a larger and more uncontrollable flame."

Taking another puff of his strong scented tobacco, Hiruzen sighed, "What they are suggesting we do is something that cannot be just brushed under a rug. Such a bad mark will come back to haunt us eventually in the future. In the end, it is the younger generation that suffers from our choices and actions."

Turning, the hokage now addressed the ANBU, "I have asked them to grant me time, however I must ask the same of yourself."

Even though the ANBU didn't physically show change, the hokage knew he was surprised, "I cannot assume you fully agree with what you see happening here, and to be honest, I do not blame you for that. This is after all, your family we are discussing here. I ask before you at least judge me, you grant me time."

"...I will, hokage-sama." The world then started to blur, and Ronan found himself in the empty and blank white world again.

His face held so many roaring emotions in it, as Itachi phased in not far from him, "Now you are up to date with all the relevant incidents that occurred." Itachi concluded, however Ronan did not react.

A shift of chakra was making the white world begin to blink in and out of existence, with only a glimpse of the crater they were in being seen for a second. Ronan had to close his eyes because of his recollections of everything he was told, along with now what we saw as the conclusion of the matter.

"Itachi..." Within an instant, the world returned to the crater, as Ronan's near tearful but raging hot mangekyou sharingan eyes were burning into Itachi's calm retinas.

Ronan's voice was low, but the venom rolling off the tongue amplified it to near screaming levels, "You chose the wrong side!"

"Uh-Uh, no way Tou-chan!" "This is not an option Ka-chan."

"I refuse!"

"Ka-chan, think of Jiraiya-chan's little apprentice."

"What about 'im? He got carried off with tha lassie."

"Ka-chan..."

"...I hate you."

Fukusaku groaned, "Several hundred years of marriage...tha things it does to y'er."

"What are ya yappin' about you old fart, I have had to cook breakfast, lunch AND dinner for ya that entire time. While what have yer been doing? spending time hanging out with that senile great sage instead of me!"

"KA-CHAN!!"

"...What are you both talking about?" Jiraiya innocently butted in, trying to look to his sides in the darkness, although he was starting to wish he was somewhere else.

It would seem Jiraiya was alienated from this discussion-turning-argument, "That won't work on another senjutsu user anyway Tou-chan."

"That's easy to resolve. Jiraiya-chan just has to knock that sword out of his hands, and then our genjutsu will hit him. That is the object givin' him senjutsu chakra, remember?"

Jiraiya pointed his finger up as if it was going to do something, "What are you both talking about?" He asked again.

"Jiraiya-chan, we have a very powerful genjutsu-"

"HMMPH!"

"-that will disable the swordsman completely. It attacks the person from their sense of hearing. Tha only issue we have is that against a senjutsu user, it is going to be very hard for him to remain within it. What you have to do is just knock the sword out of his hands, which will stop the senjutsu chakra from being sent.-"

"We're going to need time to sync up in our duet though, so don't do it for a good few minutes."

"Duet? as in a singing duet?"

"Y'er not the sharpest tool in tha shed Kiddo."

Realising Jiraiya could all of a sudden see Shima's scolding expression, Jiraiya snapped his head forward to see the rock barrier around them was starting to emit a hot red glow, 'He is using Lava to melt though my jutsu!'

"Ok, so delay him for a while, then after around five minutes, knock the sword out of his hands. You guys will handle the rest from there." Seeing smoke now hissing inside, Jiraiya formed a rasengan and jumped right through the still dark roof of his small cave. Upon meeting the afternoon sky in mid air as he blasted through, he looked down to see the small pool of lava his small cave was submerging into.

He reacted perfectly with a parry when a sword clashed against his from the side, "Well now, look what was cooking inside, an ugly toad."

"Oh you're hilarious." Jiraiya retorted, as he pushed against the sword, knocking him back and out of the way from falling into the lava pool. Mangetsu landed on the roof of the now almost sunken cave, and just smirked as he now as standing on top of his lava.

Presenting his sword again, more of the petals were now alit, "Come on now, show me what you got, oh legendary sannin." Jiraiya was nearly caught by surprise at the sudden burst of speed, as they clashed again. While battling for dominance, Mangetsu broke though Jiraiya's guard, and kicked him away.

The sannin grunted out his ache as he slid back, 'I was able to feel that even in this form?! He is getting more stronger and faster now.'

"We're startin' now Jiraiya-chan."

Before Jiraiya could whine about why the hadn't started already, his voice was drowned out by the toads starting to croak. It was very loud, and didn't appear to be ending anytime soon. Mangetsu perked an eyebrow at what the two sages were doing, but then his eyes widened upon the strange sensation vibrating off his ears, 'Another genjutsu.'

Not wasting time, Mangetsu again shot towards Jiraiya, placing the sword on his back as he ran through a seal chain, "Yoton, Yokai no jutsu!" Pausing in his assault, Mangetsu spewed out a stream of lava, which began to float and stretch out in the air. Jiraiya glanced above at the lava hovering all above, blocking out his view of the sky.

Some loose droplets of the sizzling molten rock were falling and burning into the ground that was several meters below, 'I don't like where this is heading.'

Jiraiya ducked his hand deep into his coat, and pulled out a scroll, trying to ignore the sweat running down his face from the intense heat above. The scroll was marked with a blue and white stripe on both ends, 'If you are going to use hybrid elemental jutsu against me, then using normal element jutsu won't work..guess I will have to fight fire with fire so to speak.' Mangetsu's eyes held puzzlement when Jiraiya unrolled the scroll in mid air, revealing the markings within it. In the middle of the message stood out two large kanji characters for Futon and Suiton.

Shaking his head in bafflement, the swordsman changed his hand formation to the dog seal, which made the weightless lava begin to fall. He didn't miss Jiraiya suddenly slamming his hands down on the opened scroll, crashing it into the ground as it started leaking thick smoke.

"Hyoton, Kokuryuu Bofusetsu!"

'Ice release Black Dragon Blizzard?! What in the name of god?!'

Mangetsu shielded his stunned face from the sudden drop in temperature, as thick cold misty air blinded his vision from the head of a black frost dragon cutting through his falling layer of lava. Lowering his hands, his face still held pure shock to what he was seeing. Mangetsu was so stunned, he didn't even realise he had tuned out hearing the two toad sages still croaking. When the mist finally subdued, he gaped at seeing his molten rock had lost its red glow, and had turned to solid ice, which was something he didn't believe was possible. The shape of the frozen jutsu resembled a type of tree, with the sannin holding a grand pose underneath it.

"Ice jutsu...but you have only used earth and fire jutsu before....This can't be."

Jiraiya chuckled, "What is the matter, are you in too much awestruck at witnessing the great and gallant Jiraiya performing a jutsu that is deemed impossib-!" Jiraiya was cut off his taunt by Fukusaku punching his cheek.

The old toad was glaring at him as he continued croaking, 'Really Jiraiya-chan, you may be old in appearance, but y'er a freaking tadpole at heart.'

'Damn it Fukusaku! You ruined my elegant pose!'

The swordsman however was widening his eyes in realisation, "How was that possible? Everybody would use those scrolls if it was truly that trivial to make."

'Fukusaku said I needed to buy time, I guess I will just amuse him then.'

"Do you know much about Konoha's Yondaime?"

Mangetsu's lack of response was taken as a 'yes', so Jiraiya clarified anyway, "He was a rare genius that appeared only once in a generation. People in the third great shinobi war feared him, and were told to flee the moment he was sighted. His involvement and dedication to his village is a major reason why Konoha were not wiped out in the conflict. He was dubbed the name Konoha's Yellow Flash because of his Hiraishin no jutsu...the flying thunder god technique. "

Jiraiya grinned in pride as he continued, "That is a jutsu he created himself, and is still the only person as of this day that has successfully performed it. Without going into great detail for you, the jutsu works by placing a seal on an object, which he could then summon himself to. 'Teleportation' in a sense if you will. To create and use something so incredible would mean you would have to be a natural born genius at Fuuinjutsu, or as it is more known as, sealing techniques."

"Fuuinjutsu?..."

"Indeed, sealing techniques are used by so many ninja, you will not find one that hasn't come across using one in their career. Sealing scrolls, adjustable weights, barriers, explosive notes...you name it, it will all lead back to Fuuinjutsu. Despite its popular usage, only a very rare few know actually how they work, or how to create them...Minato never used to be such a person originally. It was his sensei who taught him it all, and then he superseded even that very sensei, and created not only that fear bringing jutsu, but the very jutsu that sealed the Kyuubi...who do you think was his teacher?"

Jiraiya chuckled at Mangetsu's eyes showing realisation, "That is right, I was Minato's sensei! I am one of the best Fuuinjutsu masters around, who learnt it all from the Sandaime hokage. Only Minato and Sarutobi-sensei were greater than I. You want me to create a chakra suppression tag, I can make one in my sleep. You need an explosive note, I will have it made within a minutes time. Preserving chaotic techniques such as Amaterasu, sure, no worries. Using a scroll to combine two, or even more elements?...You are looking at the only man in all of the fire country, and possibly the shinobi world who can achieve that."

Mangetsu was still in shock, but then the corners of his mouth started to twitch. Soon he began to snicker, and then to Jiraiya's own surprise, burst into maniacal laugher, "How interesting! This is just getting better and better! Since you are channelling senjutsu chakra into the scrolls jutsu, they are even more powerful than normal. That is how you did the impossible, and froze molten rock. This is the type of battle I long for!"

Jiraiya prepared himself as Mangetsu ran through seals once again, with that sadistic smile just not leaving the crazed swordsman's face. Jiraiya already was reaching in his coat for another scroll, 'It is unfortunate these scrolls are onetime use. I will have to use them sparingly, while I start thinking of a way to get that sword away from him.'

Sakura landed on another tree, and slid down against the trunk for what felt like the fourth time already. Using one hand, she began to heal Naruto once again. It had been like this since she first saw that monster from before. She would run until she couldn't go any further, then stop to continue healing the blond. The problem was though Naruto was not getting any better with this on and off styled treatment...and she was barely managing herself to handle this pace.

Her laboured breaths were very heavy, and her already exhausted state was making her stop earlier each time, 'I can't keep doing this. All I am doing is repairing his skin and keeping him warm. I need to set him down to concentrate Then there is myself...'

Shaking her head, she cursed and landed roughly on the ground with Naruto, no longer trying to heal him. She knew that monster had picked up her scent yet again, otherwise it would not continue to still follow her trail.

Even now, she could just sense it's inhuman presence in the distance. It was getting closer, and no matter how far she tried to get them away, it was still closing in. Trying not to think about it, she kept running, despite her bodies protests to go no further. She was so focussed on getting away, she didn't realise the surface had changed levels, and upon the sudden drop in her step, fell over. She inwardly scolded herself for her clumsiness, and quickly checked to see if Naruto who she dropped did not get injured because of it. Thankfully, he was not hurt from the fall.

Feeling the sting at her ankle, she rubbed it with a wince, 'What is the matter with me? Is the poison affecting my coordination as well, or am I just tired?' Her question was put on hold when she realised her feet were soaked, and now looked down. She must have been running downhill into a type of stream or something, since there were nothing but small stones all around the edge of this apparent dip. The water level though was only up to above her feet.

Ignoring the discovery, she picked up Naruto and got them out of the small dip. Setting him down, she checked him with her analysis jutsu. Seeing little improvement, she knew what had to be done, 'I can't keep running...I won't be able to help Naruto at this rate.'

Turning to where she came from, she slowly shook her head, 'But I can't take that thing head on either. Not in my state, nor do I know what that thing is capable of.'

Taking a step back, she almost fell over to the shoot up of pain from her ankle, 'How bad did I fall?!' Kneeling down, she rested her hand on the near pulsating like beeping spot on her ankle.

Grunting, she began to sooth the sting with chakra, 'Ow...'

Soon she paused her healing, and slowly looked up as if she could see the thing that was chasing her. The throbbing pain now was making her begin to wonder, 'Putting aside the chakra...this is near no different to what I was feeling in that threaded cord...'

Rubbing her ankle through her sandal, she started healing it again while recollecting, 'When I wasn't touching the line, it didn't return. However moments after I tried to break it, I felt a burst of that electricity and chakra. The creature came back soon after that.'

Being the medic-nin she was, she could only relate it to one thing, 'It is almost like they are linked together to something...like a nervous system.' She didn't know who exactly it was on the other end, nor did she know how far away the person was, but it was clear they were not close enough to be concerned about.

Dealing with this animal alone was her primary concern, it's owner she would only worry about if they came looking for them. Reaching that brought on the next question, how exactly she was going to do that. She can't break the link for some unforseen reason, be it the durability of the threads, or the solid chakra flowing through it, or even her exhausted state. That meant attacking the creature itself, but she already had doubts from what she had seen so far that she could defeat it.

Looking back at her teammate as if in desperation, she asked the unconscious blond, "What would you do in this situation Naruto?"

Kakuzu groaned, as he was paying minimal attention to Itachi's turning dull fight, since he was holding more interest in what he was doing, 'She is quite determined, but her efforts are going to waste.' Even though Kakuzu was not physically there, he could see and feel everything his Tiger masked heart was doing. To him, it was like he was looking at two pictures at the same time, and he could just 'flicker' his vision to see in the eyes of his creature.

While the animal was dashing towards the scent, Kakuzu continued his rant, 'If she at least was not holding onto the jinkuriki, I could use a katon to finish her off. I cannot risk that though as long as she is carrying him or near him. It turns this whole ordeal into a bloody cat and mouse game so to speak. I would have been better off damning Itachi, and just proceeding on my own...I would have caught her before she even saw me the first time instead of my tiger heart letting her get away.' Looking within the creatures narrowed vision, he could see the kunoichi he had been chasing for a while now.

Her back was towards the creature, and she was sitting on the ground, appearing to be healing her teammate. Kakuzu smirked under his mask, 'You think you got away from me did you?'

It was almost as if she heard his cold question, which made her head shoot up in alarm, and made it turn to reveal her shocked and surprised face.

Recovering from her sudden fear, Sakura lifted up her teammate, and ran for it again, with Kakuzu giving chase, 'This continued distance is making this more trouble than it is worth, but she cannot keep going much further it would seem.'

"I will never forgive you." Ronan's growled, his hard face glaring at the neutral expression of Itachi's.

"Perhaps you should calm yourself, and comprehend what you were shown more deeply, Ronan-oniich-"

"DON'T YOU DARE CALL ME THAT! I refuse to even consider you one who bares the Uchiha name, nor do I wish to have any affiliation to you at all, traitor!"

Itachi remained silent, while Ronan still was hissing with venom out his anger, "Murdering the clan is one unforgiveable act, but what you have done...Is even worse than that! You have committed the greatest of all taboo, you took your own families trust and faith, and spat in their faces! You never, EVER turn on your own family. I thought you originally were acting on your own crazed impulses to do that, but now I see the truth...YOU CHOSE THEM OVER US!"

Itachi closed his eyes to Ronan's shout, "So you approve of the clan's intentions?"

"Of course I do! Even if a conflict would have arisen, our clan would never tolerate being treated like inferior filth! Who are the Konoha elders kidding to think they could get away with this. Instead of defusing the situation diplomatically, they resorted to slaughtering us like animals..AND YOU AGREED TO AIDING THEM IN DOING IT!"

Grabbing a kunai trembling tight, Ronan span around to stab at something behind him, but met another kunai parry the hit as the Itachi in front of him tore apart into crows. Ronan continued glaring into those emotionless sharingan eyes, "I wish on you a fate worse than death you traitorous scum, for even the afterlife will not welcome you!"

"Were you not listening to the Sandaime's wishes?"

"That soft old fool had no backbone what so ever, he was merely just acting as a puppet for the elders and Danzou. If he was so intent to stop this from happening, then that night never would have been the conclusion."

Blinking, Ronan's sharingan morphed into his mangekyou, "However, traitor, I must acknowledge you for this new insightful information. I will be sure to share this with Sasuke once I educate that bastard Orochimaru not to mess with our bloodline. I was beginning to not see a future for me with this day's conclusion, but now I have seen a new purpose for me to press on. Not only will I defeat you here and now, but I will track down the other traitor Madara, and make him feel a suffering worse than what my comrades experienced in our struggle to stop the Kyuubi. Finally...Danzou and those elders will pay for that decision, along with those that agreed with them."

Itachi continued glancing into Ronan's glare, and as a small pain filled emotion could just start to be seen surfacing in Itachi's eyes, they closed, "Is that your final verdict?" When Ronan didn't respond, Itachi then burst apart into crows, as Ronan looked up at the tip of the crater to see the still closed eyed Uchiha standing there.

Finally, Itachi's left eye opened to reveal his shuriken shaped mangekyou, "Then you leave me no choice, Ronan...Amaterasu."

'He is going to use 'that' jutsu again?!' Ronan couldn't even react in time when suddenly he felt a heavy presence all around him. In the blink of an eye, his entire body set alight to roaring black flames, which drowned out his cry of pain. Sooner or later, Ronan collapsed as the flames like a plague spread.

Only Kakashi could still watch, since Shikamaru and Lee turned their heads away at the disturbing sight, 'It's over...'

Suddenly Kakashi's eyes bulged, 'W-What!'

Itachi's emotionless mask even broke partially, with his eyes widening in disbelief. The cause was Ronan had surrounded himself in that familiar shaped vortex, and was sucking up the flames off of him. When the vortex phased away, only minor degree burns were present on the downed Uchiha, although his clothing was leaking out black smoke, putting out a sickening stench of burnt flesh in the air. By this time, all eyes were on Ronan, who was slowly pushing himself up.

It wasn't clear exactly as to whether the Uchiha was groaning in pain, or cackling with crazed laughter. When Ronan was on his knees, it was clear now it was maniacal laughter, as he looked back up at Itachi, who was still surprised by what had happened, "You won't beat me with that jutsu this time Itachi!"

'He defeated flames that are near impossible to extinguish by warping them to another dimension, what a guy.' Kakashi mused in awe, while Itachi squinted his eye closed, while his other eye had returned to its emotionless facade.

'I underestimated the power of Kamui.' Recovering, Ronan further shocked everyone by dashing towards Itachi, despite it was clear his body was hissing out to the Uchiha not to.

Opening his twitchy left eye, Itachi's right hand disappeared up his sleeve, and then came back holding something that rose Ronan's eyebrow. It was a typical ceramic sake jar, which Itachi held out before him. Ronan now halted in caution, while Itachi now was tipping the jar over, spilling out the golden liquid to fall to the ground.

Only it never did, further keeping the agape audience stunned, 'The sake...is floating in the air?'

It was as if there was an invisible entity that the liquid was colliding with, as Itachi continued to pour out the beverage, causing the liquid to morph into a odd shape. Moving his arm sideways as if to cover a further area across, the bizarre result continued, as the gravity defying sake continued to morph into a shape that was starting to look like a stick.

When signs that the flow of alcohol pouring out of the jar were starting to cease, the liquid now was glowing in a shape of a sword. With a burst, the glowing partly dimmed, revealing a five foot in length long sword. The black hilt had golden engravings on it in kanji that read 'Kagu-tsuchi'. The black round guard had eight gold coloured rings within it. Above the guard was the perfectly aligned and clean silver blade. The blade from its pointed tip all the way down also had engravings in a darker shade of silver, which from a quick glance spoke of a great legend. The sword also was emitting a weak white aura around its sharp edge.

Grabbing it at the hilt, Itachi raised the sword before him, "Are you aware of what this is, Ronan?"

Ronan couldn't speak, but Kakashi mumbled something underneath his breath, "T-The legendary Totsuka no Tsurugi!'

Shikamaru finally broke eye contract from the magnificent sword, "Wh-What does that mean Kakashi?"

"...If Ronan even is so much as scratched by that sword...he will be sealed in a 'world of drunken dreams' for all eternity."

Ronan choking on his own saliva finally made him speak, 'Impossible...'

"H-How do you have tha-AGHH!!" Ronan was forced to stop when he abruptly screamed, as he fell on his knee, with his hand slamming into his left eye as if by reflex to a sudden pain.

"W-What the hell just happened?!" Shikamaru blurted out, while Kakashi stared at Ronan.

"He has used the sharingan too much, even an Uchiha cannot fully utilise the mangekyou sharingan without consequence."

Before Shikamaru could query further, Itachi shunshined before Ronan, with his sword held high, "And now it ends, cousin."

'I can't run...any further.'

Sakura collapsed, desperately gasping for air. Her gasp morphed to a choke though when a heavy force slammed into her back, knocking her over. She tried to push herself up, but a claw the size of her head slammed it back down. All Sakura could see between the great fingers of the animal was her teammate fallen harshly on his side.

When Naruto lifelessly slid out of her view, she weakly cried, "Naruto..."

The claw suddenly shifted, and before she knew it, she was grabbed from the back of the neck, and lifted several feet into the air. Scrutinising her desperate struggles, Kakuzu used his animals other arm to dangle the lifeless blond before her as a mocking taunt.

The effects were instant, as her struggles increased, "NARUTO!"

Putting his sadistic tease to an end, he dismissively closed his eyes, 'You were an annoying thorn in my side, but-'

Sakura struggles ended when Kakuzu's creature twisted her neck at an impossible angle, 'Your attempts end now.' Kakuzu wondered though why he feeling from his beast a similar sensation to that of liquid running down his arm.

He snapped her neck, not crushed it.

Reopening his gaze, his eyes held confusion, "What is this?!"

Where the limp Sakura used to be, now was nothing but a falling large volume of water, 'Mizu bunshin?!' With only Naruto in his gaze, his eye widened a fraction again as the blond suddenly opened his eyes, 'poofing' back into another Sakura, and then bursting into another large sum of water.

"When did she-?!"

-

Flashback, ten minutes ago, within the forest

-

Looking at the blond, Sakura asked herself, "What would you do in this situation Naruto?"

'Can I say something...Be creative.' Sakura inwardly sighed at Naruto's words from earlier, but then her eyes held understanding. Turning to the small stream of water, she had an idea.

Nodding to herself, she stood up and formed a seal, "Mizu bunshin no jutsu."

Creating two water clones, one of them then formed another seal, "Henge!"

Sakura watched the smoke clear, revealing the mizu bunshin had changed into Naruto. The bunshin had even taken into consideration Naruto's state. Its skin was partially burnt, and cuts were present from his fight. Scrutinising it, she looked back at the blond to compare. "Yosh." she muttered, as she lifted Naruto again and looked back at her clones meaningfully. With an exchange of nods, Sakura then made for some bushes.

Setting Naruto behind it, she sat him up against a tree and rustled the leaves so it would keep him concealed from sight. Remembering something, she brought Naruto forward to unclip his weapon pouch, 'Naruto usually carries four explosive notes with him.'

Opening the pouch once she set him back, Sakura looked inside, 'Good, he has three left. Hopefully I can put these to use.'

Taking the notes, she came across something else of interest, and took it as well. Once she felt she didn't need anything else, she leaned Naruto forward again and clipped the pouch back. Setting him back against the tree again, she touched his cool cheek, noting he unconsciously moved towards it since it was warm, "Just hold on a little longer Naruto, I will return soon." She whispered.

Even if he couldn't hear what she was saying, speaking it in such a resolute manner brought confidence to herself. Hesitantly standing back, she hid herself up above in the tree's thick leaves.

Her mizu bunshin at this time had resumed the positions they were in earlier. The bunshin of herself even was making it look more convincing by pretending to heal the other now faking to be knocked out Naruto. Knowing that part of the plan was set, she now eagerly looked around for any traces of the beast.

Soon seeing the ceramic mark, she held her breath, 'Take the bait.'

The mizu bunshin of herself suddenly snapped their head up, and turned to see the animal. Cursing aloud, she then picked up the Naruto bunshin, and ran for it. After a couple of seconds, the beast was after them like a sprinting cheetah.

When they were out of sight, Sakura jumped out of her hiding place, and ran once again towards the line. She was a hands length away from placing an explosive note on the thread like flesh, until she realised, 'It is sliding along at such a speed, layering them on the one spot will be difficult. I can't place them as it moves, because the moment I place one it will react. I have to wait until it stops moving.'

She inwardly slapped herself again when another realisation struck, 'The mizu bunshin will move out of their range soon!' Taking off, she tried to keep up with her mizu bunshin and the beast.

Sooner or later, the mizu bunshin couldn't take running anymore, and collapsed. While the animal was taking advantage, so was Sakura. As cautiously as she could, she got as close as possible without being seen from behind, 'I will wait for the mizu bunshin to disperse, then strike.'

Seeing what the animal was doing, Sakura's eyes held deep anger to seeing Naruto's bunshin dangling before her other clone. Even if it wasn't really Naruto, the gesture was enough to make her blood boil, 'You cruel and merciless bastard!' Ignoring it, she reached into her weapon pouch, pulling out the three explosive notes.

The second the bunshin of herself dispersed into water, she sprinted towards the threaded line that was a few meters away from the creature. While the bunshin of Naruto revealed itself as another clone of herself, the real Sakura stuck the notes over one another in the same location, 'This better do something.'

-

Present time

-

Suddenly Kakuzu felt three odd sized papers slammed onto the line not far, and upon turning, widened his eyes to see they were smoking explosive notes. The explosion made the beast spasm, but not fall, despite the sudden shot of pain travelling up Kakuzu's arm. While the animal was startled, Sakura lunged towards the damaged section. She could see the explosive notes had partially cut through the threads causing a gaping wide dent within it. The threads however, with a worm like appearance, were starting to sew back together, intertwining into one another. She wasn't going to give them the curtsey of repairing the damage she had done, and gripped both sides again, and started to pull. There was a sickening dislodging sound as the bonding threads were slowly breaking.

Looking though to see the creature was nearly recovered from its shock, she gritted her teeth in frustration, 'I won't make it in time!'

Kakuzu meanwhile, was still staggered by the ambush, 'What the hell did she do?!'

Hearing quick footsteps approaching, the tiger masked heart turned again to see a glaring Sakura dashing towards it, with a fist reeled back, "HOW ABOUT THIS?!"

Punching the beast straight into the ceramic mask, the force of the heavy blow knocked the beast off its footing, and came crashing into a tree. A portion of its mask cracked, but it already had more slithery worm like threads beginning to snap the mask back into one piece. Moments later, Kakuzu felt another burst of tearing like pain, causing the vision to start to blur.

Finally recovered, the animal turned to the area of pain, seeing the kunoichi trying again to rip apart the link, 'Clever girl...she has worked it out already. Quite unfortunate for her that I take numerous precautions to those that try to exploit that weakness.'

Sakura felt another pop as she tore through more of the resisting threads, 'HOW IS THIS BLOODY THING SO FREAKING STRONG?! ITS JUST A LITTLE THICKER THAN MY ARM!'

She turned her head in time to see the animal had recovered frighteningly fast from what she thought was a critical hit, 'What the hell?! Can't that thing feel any pain?!'

Realising she was once again not going to make it in time, she quickly grabbed a fresh kunai from her holster, and twirled it around. She then stabbed it straight into the point she was trying to pull apart. Because the density had lessened from her efforts, this time it went straight through, but even as she tugged it, it refused to shred through. At least she had marked it so it wouldn't fully repair, or so she hoped.

Not long after she stabbed the cord, she backed away as the animal lunged out at her, taking a swipe which she ducked under. She was starting to think she could manage, until as she cart wheeled out of the way of another thunderous like slash, the tail swung around and knocked the wind out of her, making her roll roughly several meters away to crash on the floor and cough. Pushing herself up, she dived out of the way as the monster slammed into the ground where she once was, sending debris flying as its heavy weight made the ground around its feet sink a good several inches deep.

Back on her feet, she rushed in to hit the beast from the side. As if it was now aware of the danger of her fists, the creature scurried around her punch, and took a swipe at her side, which she backed away from in time. Sakura glared into its eyeless face, her determination practically glowing out of her emerald irises.

Kakuzu from afar just snickered, 'Impressive little trap you sprung, I was careless. These Konoha youths really are going to be worth something sooner or later. But your trap hasn't made you the victor as it appears you had hoped for...what will she do now?'

On the other end, Sakura was hiding her anxiety well, 'I did not want to resort to another fight. I am drained enough from the other one as is, and this thing...I can't fight this beast directly. Even with my weights released it is so much more agile than me. My hits just stagger it, and I don't have the chakra to summon...' Breaking eye contact with the animals head, Sakura looked to the damaged thread line. The Kunai was still embedded all the way through, but she could see the worm like threads were binding themselves around it.

If she wasted too much time, her efforts would have gone towards nothing. She had to end this, and fast. Naruto was in too severe of a condition to leave him long, and she was not going to be able to heal him if she was too injured herself. Before she could give it further thought, the beast lunged at her again. Accustomed now to its inhuman attacks, and now aware that the tail also could be used as a weapon, she was having lesser trouble evading. The speed difference, and her unusual condition affecting her coordination still was making this harder than it should be.

'Her movements are irregular, sometimes she evades quite remarkably, then other times she is sloppy as an amateur. It is almost like she is exhausted or drugged. If it wasn't for this minor delay in my actions, I would have disposed of her already.' Kakuzu mused.

Growing irritated as she was avoiding more hits, Kakuzu formed a seal in his hands from afar, "Let's see you dodge this then. Katon, Zukokku!"

'I best not use this jutsu at full power, in case she has the jinkuriki nearby.'

Sakura tensed when the tiger masked animal's mouth snapped open, blasting out a stream of fire towards her. She jumped to the side to avoid it, but she gasped at the odd burning feeling as it brushed past her, and then her vision went to a white blur from an abrupt explosive blast. She couldn't hear anything neither, but she got the sensation she was airborne, until collided into something hard she guessed was a tree. She also felt a burning sting travelling all down her left arm. When her vision finally started to recover, she became aware she now had fallen on the ground. Sakura let out a pained groan, while looking at her arm. The elbow pad was coloured a crispy black now instead of its usual creamed colour, along with her glove being burnt too. The arm itself had a terrible graze all down it, along with an wound trickling down from above her elbow.

Had she not moved out of the way of that destructive ball of flame, she knew she would have received third degree burns all over, that is, if she had survived it. Pushing herself up to her knees, she only let a whimper escape, 'I am not going to have time to properly heal this. But there is no way I am going to just be able to bandage this up and keep fighting...' When she finally could pull her uninjured hand away from her arm, she tried moving it around, but had to stop from the ache.

Pushing herself up, knowing she didn't have time to sit here, she made a break for it, while ducking her hand into her weapon pouch, 'I am going to need to hang back and fix this, but quickly.'

As soon as Sakura had fled, Kakuzu's creature tore through the smoke and bushes, and hungrily looked around for her, 'My jutsu did hit her, I can smell it.' Looking down, he saw a red stain on the grass, and his enhanced senses knew what it was instantly.

Back with the unconscious Deidara, Kakuzu narrowed his amused gaze, 'Not bad...but you are getting reckless.'

On closer observation, Kakuzu discovered a blood trail, 'This game is coming to an end.'

AN: I originally wanted to withhold this chapter release until I had all the fights concluded for one big release, but since I have my hands full with other things (uni assignments hehe) I decided to post this chapter.

As always, please read and review.