Thanks for all the reviews and favs!

I'm sorry this chapter is short. My department at work got laid off rather suddenly and I spent the week looking for a new job. Luckily I found one. So, I kind of had other things on my mind. Next week may be short too since I'll be starting my new job… but after the bad chapter I did last week I think a good short chapter is better than a longer bad one.

Disclaimer: Naruto is owned by Kishimoto.

Chapter 76 – Madara's Warning

The technology wasn't perfect and the pictures kept flickering on and off, but the Kage's of four of the five great nations (Water country was, of course, conspicuously absent) all sat in front of cameras while their images were beamed to each other in an unprecedented show of solidarity. They had all realized Akatsuki was moving swiftly and the ninja villages were not moving at all. It scared them.

The teleconference was a grim affair. There were no smiles, no joking around, and no bickering. Tsunade sat with her hands folded in front of her face and leaned forward on her elbows as she looked at those assembled behind the camera while she listened to the Sand village representative who was standing in for the as-yet-to-be-chosen Kage relate the details of Gaara's capture. Fugaku was there, of course, as were the members of the elder council and the representative of Rain, Rice and Tea. The new Fire country Daimyou (a distant relative of the previous Daimyou) was also present.

"My brother was captured early this morning!" The Raikage interrupted as he pounded on his table viciously. "He was the last one! Do you realize what this means?"

The Stone village Kage, a small man of advanced age closed his eyes and shook his head, "They have them all."

Everyone began speaking at once, calling for "mobilization" and "action", but as Fugaku continued to watch the proceedings he became increasingly pessimistic. It wasn't that he didn't have any faith in their abilities and it was obvious they were willing to work together, but their opponent was too powerful. Madara had gone up against the First and not only survived, but cheated death long enough to live up to the present.

The clan lord began to wonder if involving anyone outside of the Uchiha clan was even a good idea. The amount of blood that had pooled beneath the Uchiha had grown quite deep and was threatening to not only drown the clan but the rest of the world.

Distantly in the background Fugaku heard the Kage's making arrangements to move their Shinobi forces to the location of the Akatsuki hideout. He had an overwhelming urge to tell them stay home, where they would be safe. It was surprising, and his eyes opened wide as he wondered where that thought could have come from. He had never been an advocate of keeping ninja safe. They were tools, after all, to be used for missions.

'But there is such a thing as the right tool for the job, " He thought to himself, 'and clearly they are not the right tool.' But he kept those thoughts to himself and as Pein shifted on his feet next to him he glanced up at the tall red-haired man and wondered if he was thinking the same thing. The stoned-face leader of Rain country very rarely showed any emotion, but his fidgeting was definitely a sign of discomfort.

"I take it you feel the same as I about this?" Pein finally asked.

"That they are making a big mistake? Yeah…" Fugaku said quietly.

"Yet this is something born of an age old disagreement between brothers. The founders of the Uchiha clan and the Senju clan. Does it not make sense that both should work together to fix it?" He sounded more like he was trying to convince himself than Fugaku.

Fugaku sighed, "No. The Senju have never been as powerful as the Uchiha. Even Hashirama was nothing more than a fluke and his power has never appeared in any of the children born since."

"There is Naruto." Tsunade moved closer, joining the conversation now that the teleconference was over. The other leaders stood behind her, attentively listening.

Both men were silent as they considered this information. They had heard about the boy's progress at Toad Mountain, and the prospect of him becoming more powerful than Jiraiya, but all things considered he was still just a boy and in the end all either one of them could do was shake their heads in disagreement.

"He's too young." Pein offered, "If this had happened a few years from now when he was older…" His words trailed off and he closed his eyes, " I just don't think that, even with all his new-found abilities, he will be able to properly use them at his age. And the problem is he will no doubt believe otherwise and try them out anyway. I fear Jiraiya will allow this to happen."

Tsunade frowned, "I guess you do have a point. Let's just play it by ear for now and see what happens. We've got the Konoha Uchiha on our side, Pein and his Rinnegan, and of course the ninja villages of the major and minor countries. I believe the best strategy would be for Fugaku and Pein to go in first with everyone else hanging back to take out the lesser threats." She smirked, "It sounds pathetic when you call S-class ninja 'lesser threats'."

Fugaku smiled, "We need a new classification for Madara, don't we. But I'd be just as happy if we just leave things as they are and don't classify him. Someone might desire to fill his empty slot if we do."

"Lord Fugaku!" The trio were interrupted by a cat who materialized in a puff of white smoke. "I have a letter from Itachi."

"Good, you found him." Fugaku bent over and picked up the small animal, who promptly began to purr as he removed a scroll that was tied around his middle.

"What's it say?" Tsunade was still angry with Itachi for running off without permission, but she was also very anxious about his welfare.

"He's with Kisame and they are in location near the Akatsuki hideout. He was on his way to Mist to get Sasuke because he wanted to come home but the news that he's been moved cancelled that plan. The hideout is heavily guarded with Uchiha's from the Mist branch and there is obviously a number of Jinchuurikis being held there."

"That's that then." Pein offered. "I'll get a hold of Konan and start heading out that way. It'll take all of us a few days to travel since I have some other concerns to address on the way."

Tsunade and Fugaku nodded their understanding. After all, the man Nagato was, in reality, an invalid and even utilizing jutsus, moving him was tricky at the best of times. His corpse incarnations were extensions of his consciousness that utilized a specific elemental type. Working in tandem they were, as yet, unbeatable.

X x x x x x x x x x

He was quite pleased with himself for accomplishing Sage mode in record time, thanks to about a hundred or so clones, but for some reason Naruto could feel something in his chest that burned and pulsated with anxiety. He had felt it before – when Sasuke had run off – and Mikoto had told him it was his body pumping adrenaline into his system. She had mixed up an herbal tea and he had fallen asleep for several hours but the feeling had returned upon awakening. He had never asked for another serving. What good was a good nights' sleep if you knew your friends were suffering?

"There's just too much going on." Naruto mumbled to himself. He had been walking around aimlessly for the better part of four hours, not really paying attention to where he was going or who passed by. He had heard that Sasuke had been brought to the Akatsuki hideout after trying to escape from Madara and the thought that his friend and foster brother might be forced to use his powers against Konoha twisted his insides into knots.

At one point Sasuke had said he was willing to sacrifice the Jinchuurikis to obtain a peaceful world but something over the months had changed that. Whatever it was, Naruto need to know. He needed to find out why his friend had been so eager to suddenly leave Madara. And why was Madara so determined to keep the boy by his side.

Just as the first twinkling stars appeared above the peaceful toad village, Naruto was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of his god father's voice. Serious and subdued, the white-haired Sanin was deep in conversation with several of the elder toads and a medium-sized grey striped tabby cat.

They all turned as the boy approached and the expressions on their faces told him that they were most likely discussing him. "So…" Naruto's voice matched his downcast expression and he stuck his hands in the pockets of his orange pants, "what did I do this time?"

Jiraiya gave him a sad smile and shook his head, "We were trying to figure out what to do with you now that you have sage mode. I want to return you to the hideout, but the others want to keep you here safely hidden."

"What?" Naruto raised his voice in outrage, "I'm going back! That was why I came here! So I could train and then return to defend Konoha. Also Suigetsu is in danger, you said it yourself, it's only a matter of time before he's found out. They could kill him! I won't let that happen to my friend."

"Exactly." Jiraiya nodded his head in agreement and gazed sharply at the toads. "His father gave his life to protect Konoha and his son from Madara. But asking that Naruto be kept in Konoha was with the full knowledge that, eventually, he would be put in mortal danger and possibly even killed. Minato knew and accepted this. And he also knew that one day Madara would return for another chance to collect the nine-tails and that his son would have to be able to defend himself."

A large frog with a white beard and wearing black rimmed reading glasses sighed, "You make it sound like he was planning on using his son."

"Elder, of course he was. In their basic form, ninja are nothing but tools. Minato was not only Naruto's father, but the Kage of the village and therefore Naruto's superior officer. How painful it must have been for him to condemn his son with the sealed demon I will never know. It is a pain beyond my understanding, but it was also done with the hope that Naruto would grow up, grow powerful, and one day protect the village. That, as a sensei, I do understand and that is why I will not allow Naruto to be sidelined."

Naruto's eyes opened wide with wonder and new-found respect over the words of his godfather. The pain that had been stabbing at his heart all day disappeared to be replaced with eager determination.

"That's right!" Naruto's cheerful demeanor returned and he raised his hand in the air and cheered, "Let's get me back to the hideout!"

"This is on your shoulders if it fails, Jiraiya." The frog muttered, resigning himself to losing the argument.

The cat remained silent as she disappeared in a puff of smoke, no doubt returning to Fugaku's side to pass on the news.

X x x x x x x x x

Suigetsu jumped about three feet landing solidly up against the wall and hitting his head. He had been sitting at the table reading through a rather boring manga (having read all the good ones already) when a large orange blob suddenly appeared in his peripheral vision.

"Ow! That hurt!" The boy rubbed his head gingerly as he stepped forward and approached Naruto who was laughing, "Couldn't you have warned me first?"

"Sorry, didn't expect you to react that way."

"That okay." Suigetsu sighed with relief, "So are you coming back? Can I leave now?"

"Yes." The two foot tall frog that had accompanied Naruto spoke in a deep voice. "I will be returning you to Konoha directly so…"

The frog and the two boys were gripped with an overwhelming sense of fear and panic as they turned to look in the direction of the wooden door. The heavy feeling was impossible to overcome and Suigetsu fell to his knees, panting.

"Who… what…" Naruto could barely get the words out as he stared at the tall man who had appeared in the small room via a transportation jutsu. He was dressed completely in black and accessorized with a katana and fingerless gloves.

"Good evening, Naruto Uzumaki. Nice of you to return. It was certainly pleasant having Suigetsu here in your place, but I did miss you." Madara folded his arms across his chest and shook his head, "Sasuke was right, Suigetsu. It was a stupid plan. I knew you were here the moment you arrived. There is nothing going on in this base that I don't know about. Including the rather pathetic attempt by the Jinchuuriki to work together to kill me."

Naruto licked his lips nervously and glanced at the frog who was still sitting three feet away from him and gazing intently at the Uchiha. "I've learned sage jutsu so you need to watch out!" Naruto's words were stronger than he felt and he stepped back a couple paces when Madara laughed at him.

"Yes, I know. But how exactly does that affect me?"

The frog raised his hands, intending to do a transportation that would remove Naruto from the hideout when he was suddenly thrown back against the bookcase by a strong kick. Madara had moved so fast he hadn't even suspected he was that close. As two shelf-loads of mangas fell on top of him he opened his eyes for a couple second before dropping off in unconsciousness – helped in no small way by an additional sleep jutsu.

"I am sorry, Naruto, but you will be receiving no more visits from Sasuke. I will not allow it. Also… Suigetsu will have to be detained… although I really don't feel like keeping prisoners." He pulled out his katana and with lightning speed shoved it through the boy's stomach and pulled it out. "I'll have someone drop him off on the beach somewhere. I suppose, if he's lucky, Itachi or Kisame will find him before he dies. Stomach wounds are notoriously painful and sometimes can even take days to die from."

"How dare you?" Naruto dropped down next to his friend and began stuffing a towel that had been laying on the floor nearby into the blood soaked hole. Suigetsu's Genjutsu had dropped and he was now in his real form, minus the white hair which was still dyed blond.

"I am being merciful, Naruto, as I just said. Itachi and Kisame are offshore in one of Kisame's pirate ships. It is possible they will find him." He bent down and picked the boy up in his arms and disappeared, only to reappear a second later. "There, he's safe and sound and out of our hair."

There was a "pop" and a swirl of white as the frog's chakra was depleted and he was forced to return to the mountain. Naruto was now alone with the one man he had never wanted to see again. Concentrating he began to shift into sage mode. His eyes were rimmed with red and his pupils narrowed to slits. Fisting his hands he growled under his breath.

"Can't have this, can we?" Again, Madara moved faster than Naruto could sense and the boy inexplicably found himself on the ground unable to move.

"Hmm… I wasn't sure that seal would work on you. I'm sure it's only temporary, though." Pulling out a syringe he pushed it roughly into Naruto's arm and squeezed the bright green liquid into his body. "This is a more permanent solution. You should sleep for approximately three days."

Picking the boy up he placed him on the futon and sat down on the floor. Concentrating he pushed his consciousness past Minato's seal and into a large, dimly lit room in front of a massive red fox-shaped chakra. With only a set of steel bars between them both were eager to tear them down but for entirely different reasons.

Even though he had stood next to the fox demon several times before it never ceased to amaze him just how powerful and massive the beasts chakra was. It was said to have been born from the ill-will of the people over many centuries and while Madara had seen a lot of hate, war, and poverty it had never seemed enough to create such a massive evil. He had conjectured at one point that it must have taken tens of thousands of years for the beasts to grow. But in spite of all his guessing he knew there was one irrevocable fact: the beasts had never gone hungry. And he also wondered, when the world ended, how much bigger they would be.

"Madara." The fox's husky voice overwhelmed the chamber, and the entire place vibrated with malice, "Let me out of here so I can kill you."

"Aren't you full of blood-lust today?" Madara teased, "But be patient. I will let you out in a few days. However, you will not get the chance to kill me. You missed that opportunity years ago and you will never get another one."

"That's what you think. As soon as this boy dies…"

"You will be released. I am counting on that, Kyuubi. I have big plans for you, and the other demons. I will be returning you to your original ten tailed form."

"You… why would you do that? Your forefather sealed us away because he couldn't kill us."

"I will use your power to seal you inside of myself. I will then have the power of the ultimate Sharingan form. The final form. I can cast a Genjutsu upon the world that will bathe all in the comforting embrace of peace."

"In my ten-tailed form you will be unable to control me. Only the Rinnegan could do that."

Madara laughed, "I have my ways."

X x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

The summer sun rose early and so did the crew of the medium-sized pirate ship. Even the late night party that surely should have had many of them moaning with painful hangovers seemed like nothing more than an evening past. There were chores to do, and, on the horizon, comrades to greet.

"Thirteen…" Itachi looked up at the tall blue man standing next to him at the rail. Shielding his eyes from the sun which was still low on the horizon he counted a second and then a third time.

"Yes, Itachi. I have fourteen ships in my fleet. As I said before, they are mostly displaced ninja without a village or even a country to return to. The fleet seemed to grow of its own accord once word got out."

"You might as well find an island, settle down, and found your own ninja village." Itachi shook his head in disbelief.

"It's… crossed my mind a few times." Kisame said thoughtfully. "I've still got some other matters to deal with though."

"So this isn't the 'business' you keep hiding from everyone? From me?" Itachi asked boldly.

"No, Itachi. That… will remain a secret for a while longer. Some things are best left that way."

"Well, I hope you know what you're doing. Because it sounds to me like you have a family hidden somewhere."

"Yeah, right." Kisame smirked. "As if. Don't quite know everything, do you kid?"

Itachi turned around and leaned against the metal rail, "Nope. And I don't want to either. My life is complicated enough as it is." He suddenly stood up straight and faced the beach, about an eighth of mile from where the ship had anchored. "Suigetsu…"

"Yeah, I feel him too… he's injured…" In a second the big man had hopped off the ship and was using his chakra to run across the waves to the beach, with Itachi close at his heals. They reached the shore in short order and discovered the boy, still dressed in Naruto's clothes, soaked in dried blood and unconscious.

"He's been stabbed through the stomach." Itachi quickly pulled the boy's jacket and shirt off and began to pump healing chakra into the wound. He wasn't a healer, but as an ANBU he had been taught some basic first-aid techniques. The blood had already started clotting, but he had lost way too much to survive without medical assistance.

"Infection has already set in." The teen pulled his hands away and watched as Kisame picked Suigetsu up in his arms and, without uttering a sound, run back to the ship. Itachi dropped back down onto the warm light brown sand to think. The wide, broad expanse of the beach was littered with shells and driftwood and nearby a small creek made its way out of the evergreen forest and down to the ocean. It was delightfully deserted and he wished the circumstances that had brought him there were different. It would be a great place to rest for a few days. And that was what he wanted to do more than anything. But he had a feeling that wasn't going to happen for a long time yet.

Obviously this was the work of Madara, and leaving Suigetsu here of all places was nothing more than a warning. "Madara knows everything we're doing. He's known we were here all along."

Taking a deep breath, he let it out slowly and called out to his childhood friend, "Shisui, if only you were here to fight beside me."

"If only…" Was the lonely response from the long-dead boy.

X x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

Next week, Suigetsu regains consciousness and the ninja villages move closer to the Akatsuki hideout.

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