Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Bleach for that matter.
"Hmm…."- Black Zetsu

Chapter 5:
The Nine Pillars

"How intriguing…."

"Intriguing? You knew that this would happen from the beginning. I don't see how any of this could possibly intrigue you at all, brother."

A chuckle. "You really do give me far too much credit. Yes, I know of every single possible outcome that can occur, but they all have their own free will. They can do whatever it is that they desire. Of course, I have a feeling that that will come back to bite me in the ass at some point."

"You're saying that it hasn't already?"

"Hmm…..good point. At any rate, because of this concept, I have no complete control of what will happen. True, things are going just as I envisioned them. But that doesn't mean that things can't just stir to a random direction of which I have no plan for. Especially with this one. He's that unpredictable. After all, I would have never foreseen that he would take the path that he has up to this point. Of course, that should have had been apparent to me ever since our brother decided to intervene with that little Uchiha and his plans. But all of this just makes things more exciting! Wouldn't you agree?"

A sigh. "We've already had this discussion multiple of times before. You already know that I don't agree with how things are proceeding. If you ask me, you should have killed that fool the moment that he decided to rise up against us. Just like we did with the Juubi."

"And look how that ended up! We mustn't repeat the same mistake again. If we do, we're only doomed to failure, nothing more."

A scoff. "You're starting to sound a lot like one of those humans….."

Another chuckle. "Maybe I am. They can even teach us some things if we pay enough attention, you know."

"Please. You give them far too much credit."

A shrug. "Maybe I do. But you and I both know that there is some truth in my words."

Silence was the response.

"But to the topic at hand, let's just continue to see how things go, ne? Everything is at its crucial point right now. Especially with the little surprise that this girl just unveiled."

"And you didn't know of this before why…..?"

"I just didn't want to spoil the surprise!"

"I swear, that attitude of yours is going to be the downfall of all of us someday. I guarantee it."

"Maybe. Maybe not. But for now, let us just enjoy the show. Aren't I right?"

"…"

"I'll take that as a yes!"

"…..I'm going to regret this, I just know it…"

Now, there weren't many things in which a person could do to piss off Naruto. Like, seriously piss him off to the level in which he would just want to destroy every single fiber of your being until it was no more. He just didn't see much reason in getting pissed off at some random person, no matter what they did. After all, he could crush them in a matter of a second, probably less than that if he was really trying. The last person or being that had accomplished that had been his counterpart for a better of thousands of years ago. Since then, no one else had.

But the two individuals in front of him had definitely reached that level. Of that, there was no doubt. They had just done an act which Naruto would not turn a blind eye to, even if he didn't quite understand as to how it was even possible in the first place.

Every single jinchuriki, including Gaara, were back to the land of the living. Or it seemed that way at least. And things aren't always what they appear to be. That was a lesson that Naruto had learn the hard way very early on in his long life. He had trained himself to look into a situation more closely before jumping in. After all, a corporation such as Uzumaki Inc. hadn't been built on its own. It had taken hard work for a long number of years. But thankfully he had had Kushina on his side to help him. Despite her brash attitude, the beautiful redhead could be quite the thinker when bothered to. Which was rarely. Of course, it had been that way in the past. But not anymore.

Despite all of this, however, Naruto was in no mood to read into the current situation. Which, if he had been thinking clearly, was clearly a big mistake to do, or not to do. But his anger was overriding his reason, something which happened all too often to almost every single being.

Not only that, but if he had been thinking clearly, he would have realized that he was currently leaking a large amount of his powerful chakra. Anyone, despite he or she not knowing as to what the hell chakra could be in the first place, would be able to sense it and its dark raw feeling that it brought along with it.

Ichigo was a testament to that. The orange haired teen had no idea what was currently taking place, or as to why. His life of the supernatural had supposed to have had been over with after he lost his shinigami powers. And yet, all of this was currently taking place in front of him. Hell, he was even apparently a part of it if what the man in the brown jacket had said.

Not to mention the powerful and dark energy that he currently felt in the air. It was no doubt coming from the masked silver haired individual. But he had no idea as to what the energy could be. Ichigo knew that it wasn't Reiryoku. The dark energy just felt…..different. He couldn't really describe it.

The shaking forms of both of his sisters on both of his sides brought Ichigo back to reality. Looking at them both with a frown, Ichigo realized that he had to get out of here. Whoever these people were, they were powerful. Extremely so. And neither he nor his sisters would stand a chance against them. Despite his wanting to stay to see how things would end, Ichigo took a single step back, grabbing both of his sisters by their hands and ready to run away from this area as far as possible.

He wasn't able to take another step, however, as he felt a set of eyes upon him. Looking towards the direction where the eight individuals had just been brought from, Ichigo met the eyes of the Watcher who was watching him intently, no doubt having sensed what his intentions were. This was clearly a warning to not proceed any more.

Karin glanced at her brother, wondering why they weren't running away just yet. This was no time to be hesitant!

Yuzu merely stood there, frozen in shock as she grabbed hold of her older brother's arm as if her life depended on it.

Naruto didn't pay any attention of any of this. It didn't matter to him in the slightest, not that it had that much from the very beginning either.

Violet had a smirk on her face as she saw all of the power that Naruto was currently radiating. A power that had been suppressed far too much and long in her opinion. With this new hand having been played, it would no doubt be easier for her to use her power to finish this in a matter of seconds. But that wasn't her intention. She still wanted to see with her own eyes what Naruto was capable of.

'They will be the best test subjects for my amusement…..'

An unspoken signal was given as all of the jinchuriki prepared themselves for battle.

The Watcher merely stood back, watching all of this unfold. He would have a lot of complaints for Violet for this later on. But that was for later; this was for now.

Naruto narrowed his eyes as he saw sand gathering around Gaara, no doubt that he had been creating it ever since Violet summoned him. Of course, there was also the gourd still present on his back.

Naruto immediately brought both of his arms forward as Roshi and Han rushed at him.

"Bansho Tenin!"

The formal jinchuriki from Iwa were pulled forward in an instant. In response, they both transformed into their bijuu form, level two.

Seeing this, Naruto immediately jumped back. He knew how poisonous and potent that chakra was, even for him. He would no doubt heal, but it would still sting like a bitch, something which he would rather not deal with right now.

His danger senses went off which were proven to be correct a second later as Yugito appeared behind him, her nails elongated due to her chakra. Naruto disappeared in a dark flash in an instant, reappearing right behind her. But before he could attack, a barrage of bubbles rained down on him from above.

Naruto's Susanoo sprung to life at the last second, shielding him from the now exploding bubbles. Looking up, Naruto saw Utakata floating from within a large bubble.

Narrowing his eyes, Naruto gritted his teeth in frustration. 'So they still have their original powers as well as that of their bijuu…..' he concluded as he gazed at the transformed Roshi and Han.

Standing next to the motionless Gaara, Violet let out small giggles. Oh, this was so much fun! If she had known that she would enjoy this as much as she was doing so at the moment, then she would have done this in Riyadh from the beginning!

Naruto readied himself as both Fu and Yagura jumped in front of Roshi and Han, the latter with his staff in hand. Twirling it in his hands, Yagura shot a swirling wave of condensed and sharp water at him.

Naruto's Susanoo brought one of its hands forward, intent on intercepting the attack. The other hand created an energy sword which it used to intercept the approaching forms of both Han and Roshi.

Ichigo could only watch all of this with wide eyes, his sisters currently mirroring his current reaction.

The Susanoo sword sent Han flying back from where he had come from, both Fu and Yagura jumping out of the way as a result. Roshi, on the other hand, managed to dodge the energy blade, heading straight to where Naruto stood from within the Susanoo.

Seeing this, Naruto brought one hand forward, a large wooden wall appearing in front of him which served as a temporary shield from Roshi. Key word being temporary. Roshi tore through it as if it hadn't been there in the first place.

"Son of a-"

Roshi smacked right into the Susanoo, trying to crack it with all his might. But the Susanoo simply held. Too intent on breaking through that Roshi wasn't able to avoid the large dark hand coming behind him which quickly grabbed a hold of his form, throwing him in the same direction that Han had been flown to moments earlier.

Naruto once again gritted his teeth in frustration as both Fu and Yugito stepped up with Yagura coming close behind him. Utakata was still in the air within his giant bubble.

This was getting annoying, plain and simple. They looked like the originals, fought like the originals, and even had the same damn mannerisms! The only thing different were their expressions. Unlike the originals, they possessed dead and empty looks, almost as if they were just walking corpses. But that thought was just stupid. Both body and soul of every jinchuriki save for himself had been consumed by the Seikatsugakari that day. So how in the world…..

'This just doesn't make any damn sense…..'

It was infuriating to say the least.

Violet pouted slightly from her spot next to Gaara. "Come on, Naruto! Don't tell me that this is all that you can do! Or is it just that you're holding back…..?"

Naruto gritted his teeth once more. This girl was really starting to piss him off. Well, that wasn't entirely true. She had been pissing him off ever since he confronted her in the hotel in Riyadh. Now it was just simply worse.

Violet smirked, already having found the answer to her question. Of course, she shouldn't have been surprised. In whatever shape or form, the silver haired rinnegan wielder did care about the jinchuriki to some degree.

'Especially this one…..' she thought, glancing at Fu's form. Of course, that had really ticked her off in the beginning, but now the mint haired girl was simply her own puppet. Nothing more than that. So she would call it even.

Looking back at Naruto, Violet let out a grin as she motioned towards Bee who had been standing calmly on her other side during the entire encounter so far.

"Maybe this will get you to become serious….."

Naruto narrowed his eyes immediately as he sensed the emergence of bijuu chakra from within Bee. He could already guess what was going to happen.

And true to what he had been thinking of, Bee transformed into his complete bijuu mode the next moment, towering above all surrounding buildings in the area. If no one had known what had been happening before, they sure did now.

Ichigo immediately stood in front of his sisters, shielding them from the humongous sight in front of them. Just what the hell! Forget warnings, now was really the time to get the hell out of here!

Quickly grabbing a hold of both Karin and Yuzu once more, Ichigo took off running the opposite direction of where the fighting was taking place. His curiosity was killing him, but his sisters came first no matter what.

The Watcher saw this and fought back a sigh. Really, why did this girl just love to turn everything into a huge spectacle? Because of the Hachibi appearing in his true form, the orange haired brat had took off despite the warning that he had sent.

'No matter. I'll just have to catch him.'

Sending a signal to Fu, the Watcher soon disappeared from the area without a trace. As for Fu, the mint haired girl was soon covered in her armor provided by her bijuu. Using her wings, Fu took off flying to the sky, no doubt in order to go after Ichigo.

Seeing this, Naruto made to follow. Not because he cared about Ichigo, something which he didn't really feel at all especially around these circumstances. But because of Fu.

But Violet didn't give him that chance.

Naruto soon found his Susanoo surrounded by the tentacles of the Hachibi, preventing him from moving at all.

Naruto immediately scowled at this. 'I've had enough of this…..'

Even though he hadn't used his true powers in quite some time, he still remembered everything that he could do. It was just a matter of control. But given the circumstances, if blowing up this whole portion of the city meant killing the purple haired girl and the old bastard, then he would gladly do so.

Naruto was quick to disappear in a dark flash only to reappear in another one with him running up on the Hachibi's body. Seeing this, the Hachibi made to grab him only for Naruto to extend both of his hands outward.

"Shinra Tensei!"

The Hachibi was thrown back by the attack, crashing down on what had once been Ichigo's house.

Violet let out a whistle.

In mid-air, Naruto saw Utakata preparing to attack as well. Not only him, but both Roshi and Han were up and running once more with Roshi now surrounded in his lava armor.

'Persistent bastards…..'

A black sphere soon surrounded Naruto's form which blocked both Utakata's explosive bubbles and Roshi and Han's rushing attack.

Naruto let out a smirk. "Take this!"

Both Roshi and Han were hit with a barrage of mini bijuu bombs.

"Nezumi Kedama!"

Naruto soon found himself bombarded by flaming projectiles sent by Yugito from the ground next to Yagura. The black sphere surrounding him, however, deflected the barrage perfectly.

Seeing this, Violet narrowed her eyes slightly. 'That's going to be a problem all right…..'

Naruto sent both Yugito and Yagura their own set of a barrage of the bijuu bombs. Yagura was quick to intercept, however, as he stepped in front of Yugito, spinning his staff again.

"Suiton: Mizukagami no jutsu!"

Before his eyes, Naruto saw Yagura create the exact number of bijuu bombs that he had had, each countering the other.

Naruto smirked slightly at this. 'Nice technique…..never thought that you had this up your sleeve, Yagura…..' The smirk disappeared, however, as he remembered Fu. It was no time to get all reminiscing right now. He could do that some other time.

Looking at Violet, Naruto could tell that she was enjoying this greatly. But that just pissed him off even more. There was no doubt in his mind that if he tried teleporting out of here, she would simply freeze time. Although, she had had ample opportunities so far to do this, but she hadn't taken any of them. It stroke Naruto as odd, but he didn't dwell on it. If the only way that he was getting through was going through her, then so be it. He wouldn't be able to enjoy it as much as he normally would have given the circumstances, but it couldn't be helped he guessed. Sacrifices had to be made.

Disappearing in a dark flash, Naruto reappear behind what appeared to be an unsuspecting Violet, piercing her heart with an arm enhanced by his Juubi powers.

Kushina looked at the city below with a frown. Just what exactly was taking place at the moment? The dark energy that she had felt minutes earlier was no doubt from Naruto. But what exactly had caused him to release it?

Fuka, who was standing on the other side of the large wooden desk with a frown, sighed. "We need to go. Something tells me that Naruto is in trouble right now, and Zetsu is not going to be of much help once he gets there."

'But we haven't fought in years…' thought Kushina grimly. Well, in a real fight. Or what a shinobi would call a real fight anyways. They still practiced basic physical arts with private trainers and gyms, but that was nothing. Nothing to what they could do in their prime.

Sensing all of this, Fuka released another sigh. "You're right in thinking that. But it can't be helped. We have been too lenient, and it seems that it's all finally coming to bite us in the ass."

And Anko had been a victim of their leniency. But that was a mistake that they could no longer fix unfortunately. That was life.

Fuka tilted her head towards the door that led out of the office. "Now come on. I've put a tracking device on Zetsu. We need to help Naruto in whatever mess he's gotten into now."

Kushina smirked slightly. "I take it Zetsu didn't enjoy it?"

Fuka also smirked, glad to see that Kushina was feeling better. Well, good enough to joke around anyways. "No, but it can't be helped. Now come on."

Kushina followed behind her fellow redhead, wondering just what exactly was currently happening. If only she knew what they were about to start.

If only…..

Ichigo could only scowl to himself as he continued trying to outrun the flying girl currently after him and his sisters. Well, it was mostly him, but there was no way in hell that he was about to leave them alone. The man had said that he didn't want to harm them, but Ichigo was well aware that he would go that far if it meant that it could help him get to Ichigo. Of that, the orange haired teen had no doubt of.

Looking behind him, Ichigo saw the girl speeding up which could mean that she had been holding back this whole time. Not a good thing. He could run faster than he currently was, but his sisters were a different matter. Already, both Karin and Yuzu were panting heavily as they tried to keep up with him, no doubt having had had reached their limits quite a while ago.

They had determination at least.

The wings on Fu's upper back flapped stronger than before, sending her flying at a faster speed than before towards Ichigo.

Having have had sensed this, Ichigo ducked towards the concrete ground, bringing both of his sisters down along with him. This caused for Fu to fly over them, missing them if only slightly. But it was something at least.

Ichigo made to get up again but was held back. Looking behind him, he saw both Karin and Yuzu still panting heavily on the ground, no doubt not being able to continue any longer. It was a miracle that they had made it this far.

Looking upwards to look at the now still Fu in the air, Ichigo gritted his teeth in frustration. There was no way that he could beat this girl. Her powers were too strong…..whatever the hell they were. But that didn't mean that he was going down without a fight.

"It seems that you still retained your physical prowess even after having have had your powers taken away from you. Impressive."

Ichigo immediately turned to where the voice had been coming from which was from a nearby telephone pole. Coming face to face with the man from before, Ichigo narrowed his eyes in anger. Whatever was currently happening, it was because of this guy. That much was clear to him.

The Watcher looked at Ichigo in a calm manner, not at least bothered by the look of anger that was currently emerging on the orange haired teen. After all, the teen in front of him was of no threat to him…..for now at least. That was why they were even here in the first place.

Sending a command to Fu, the Watcher merely stood back in order to at least see one of his objectives be accomplished here today. He was really starting to doubt whether having Violet clash with Naruto was a good idea. But that was of much more importance to him than Violet could ever know.

Ichigo reacted in an instant as a flying Fu came straight towards him. Fuck it. He might not have any powers or special abilities, but they were seriously underestimating him. Like the man had so accurately noticed and stated, Ichigo still had his physical abilities that he could count on. And that was better than having nothing at all.

So instead of cowering like the Watcher had been expecting for him to do so, instead he saw Ichigo running straight towards the incoming Fu, ready to intercept her.

Dodging to the side, Ichigo managed to not get impaled by the now sharp scales that had been produced all along Fu's right arm. Quickly counterattacking, Ichigo grabbed a hold of Fu by her stomach ready to throw her into something, no matter what it was.

Before doing so, however, Ichigo flinched in pain as he felt both of his hands be impaled by the sharp scales that were now present all over Fu's armor. But he wasn't giving up because of some pain.

"It's going to take more than that to bring me down, bitch!"

Ichigo didn't waste another moment. Spinning around, he brought Fu with him, throwing her straight into one of the concrete walls running down the deserted street. Well, for the moment at least.

The Watcher simply watched all of this with a calculating look. The brat was no slouch. He had underestimated him all right. But even so, this wouldn't be enough. Not even close.

Ichigo fell to the ground on his knees, his whole body in pain.

'W-what's happening?' he thought in confusion. His strength was leaving his body.

"Onii-chan!"

Ichigo managed to turn around to see both Karin and Yuzu running towards him, a worried and fearful look on their faces.

"You're through, boy."

Ichigo faced towards the Watcher, both Karin and Yuzu kneeling next to him. Ichigo gritted his teeth as he saw Fu calmly disentangle herself from the debris from the wall that she had been thrown into moments earlier.

Seeing this, Ichigo made to get up only to find that he couldn't. He couldn't move his legs at all. Hell, he couldn't move any part of his body, period!

But of course, the Watcher already knew of this, something which just made all of this that much easier now.

"The moment that you were scratched by her scales, it was over. Huh, especially since you were impaled."

Ichigo's eyes widened. Of course! It had to be the scales! Karin and Yuzu could only kneel there, not knowing what to do at the moment.

The Watcher took a step forward, causing for both Karin and Yuzu to tense, ready to step in between him and their brother. They knew that they couldn't do anything to stop him, but that didn't mean that they were just going to stand by and watch their brother be killed in front of their eyes.

Seeing this, the Watcher chuckled slightly. "Don't worry, children. I don't have to do anything else now. Your brother will be killed in a few minutes, if he's lucky that is."

Both Kurosaki sisters' eyes widened at hearing this. As for Ichigo…..well, he was too weak at the moment to have any reaction to this.

Just as the Watcher was beginning to celebrate his victory, he immediately jumped upwards into the air, the reason being none other than one Uzumaki Kushina appearing right where he had been a second earlier, her sword in hand and extended.

The Watcher t'ched at seeing this before he sensed another presence above him. Looking up, he saw Fuka with her hands together.

"Suiton: Ja no Kuchi!"

The Watcher vanished from his spot in mid-air in an instant, lest he be hit with the attack.

Fuka landed on the grounded, panting slightly. 'It seems that my body is not used to performing jutsu…..' Well, it shouldn't really be much of a surprise. While she did have the chakra for it thanks to Naruto, her body was another matter.

Kushina for her part looked at Fu, shock evident all over her face. She was supposed to be dead! Just how was this possible?

Fu looked at her straight back with the same dead and emotionless look that had been present all throughout this encounter. A moment later, she was on the move towards Ichigo's position on the ground who was barely conscious at this point.

Kushina reacted a second later, mustering the fastest speed that she could at the moment. Sensing this, Fu brought her arm in front of her, blocking Kushina's sword strike with her armor.

The redhead gritted her teeth in slight frustration as she saw that her sword couldn't penetrate the armor, even after she added chakra to reinforce it.

'No choice,' she thought. 'I'm going to have to add my affinity to it…..'

But Fu didn't give her the time to do this, however. Kushina felt the air leaving her lungs as Fu sent a powerful kick to her stomach which sent her flying back to the ground.

Fuka was now on the move as well as she saw Kushina being well blocked by the mint haired girl.

Fu, however, had no intentions of sticking around. Or rather, the Watcher didn't. Turning to Ichigo's form who was being blocked by the forms of both a shaking Karin and Yuzu, Fu immediately set her sights on the two girls.

"N-no…." muttered Ichigo weakly as he saw Fu grab both of his sisters who were trying to escape from the mint haired girl's grasp.

"Onii-chan!" screamed Yuzu with fear present in her eyes, something that Karin also shared.

Fu took the skies a moment later, dodging an incoming Fuka who scowled as she stopped in front of Ichigo's form, looking up at the disappearing Fu.

Kushina held the side of her stomach as she too could only look at Fu's fast disappearing form.

They had lost this one, all right, but maybe not entirely so.

Kushina glanced at the down Ichigo who was trying to get himself up, no doubt wanting to go after Fu. He would need to treatment all right. Or else he would be dead. And Kushina already knew what to do.

The sounds of approaching sirens could be heard. It was time to leave.

Naruto had a twisted grin as he saw his fist impaled straight into Violet's body where her heart should have been. At least he had managed to kill one of the two today. And maybe with luck he could catch up with the old bastard and finish him off too.

The sound of giggling as well as a hand grabbing his mask away from his face broke him away from his 'happy' thoughts.

Violet turned her head to look at Naruto, immediately using his shocked reaction in order to kiss him once again. So surprised he was that Naruto wasn't able to stop Violet from slipping her tongue into his mouth as well, causing for the girl to moan in delight.

Naruto was quick to jump back and away from the now grinning Violet, wondering as to how she was still alive. Forget the damn kiss! He wasn't able to dwell on this, though, as he was soon force to dodge a swipe from Yugito's elongated claws.

Grabbing a hold of one of her wrists, Naruto brought her face in front of his, his rinnegan eyes boring into her dead ones.

Naruto could only frown. This wasn't the Yugito that he had known. This one was dead, while the one that he had come to know had been proud. He had felt that something was off ever since they had first been summoned or whatever it was that Violet had done. Now he knew what.

"Rendan: Suna Shigure!"

The black sphere from before erupted into life around Naruto's and Yugito's forms, successfully shielding them from the barrage of sand bullets.

Naruto scowled. It seemed that they didn't care very much if their attacks hit one another as long as they hit him. Red chakra soon engulfed Yugito's form as she transformed into her second bijuu state form.

Naruto disappeared in another dark flash before the now transformed Yugito had the chance of taking his head off.

Appearing in front of the Hachibi's still downed form, Naruto knelt as he assessed his situation, now beginning to think calmly and rationally. It was the only way that he would be able to figure out as to what the hell was currently happening.

Violet tilted her head to the side as she walked to stand next to both Gaara and Yagura. Utakata was still floating in the air with both Yugito and Han currently transformed into their second bijuu state in front of Violet and the other two. Roshi was standing off to the side, his form still covered in his lava armor.

"You've seem to calm down now, haven't you?" commented Violet.

Naruto didn't respond. He was still trying to figure out as to how this girl had survived his attack before it clicked to him. He could only t'ch at this revelation. If she had abilities that were similar to that of Obito's, this would be a great pain in the ass. The only way to defeat her would be to be faster than her or any of the other jinchuriki that were obviously guarding her. And it was speed that he didn't think that he had. If he was like he had been during his time when he was trying to destroy Konoha, then he would have taken care of this much more easily than he currently was.

Violet sighed as she shook her head. "Just stop this already. You can't beat us. More importantly, you can't beat him."

Naruto didn't need to be told as to whom he was.

Violet grinned as she extended her hand towards him. "In fact, you can even join us. I'll make sure that he doesn't try to kill you as he currently is. But you have to realize that it's only because of what you have been doing that he's even doing any of this in the first place. Or should I say what you haven't been doing."

Naruto snorted at that. "Do you actually believe that I'll try to waste my efforts in trying to change this race? You and I both know that that is not possible. Although it has been more apparent to me than to you. You only think of yourself as better because of your abilities."

Violet raised an eyebrow at the accusation. "Is that so? What about you then? Don't you share the similar mindset as well?"

Naruto shook his head as he stood up. "No, I don't. I have never thought of myself as better. I knew from the moment that I decided to take vengeance in that village all that time ago that I would be no better than them. But I just simply don't care. I don't care what anyone thinks of me because in the end, it doesn't really matter. That is why I have also given up on this race. Because I have walked down the path that many have, to feel as they feel, that I can say that it will be continuing to happen. The temptation is just that great. And there are no exceptions to this, no matter how powerful you may be. In fact, I can even say that it is those with power that lead this mindset the most because they can actually act upon those feelings rather than someone who's weak and has no power who can only keep it bury deep inside. That is why that those who have power rule over those that don't."

Violet could only shrug. "I agree with you. And you may be right in saying that I think of myself as better because of my power. But so what? Who can tell me otherwise? Like you've just said, those with power rule. And I have the power while they don't. Which means that I can rule over them. It's that simple."

She then sighed. "Unfortunately, he doesn't share my mindset. He actually wants to fix this race which is the whole reason that he even gave you the rinnegan in the first place. Hell, it's for the same reason that your father from your former life was able to use chakra in order to free the Juubi millions of years ago!"

Naruto narrowed his eyes at hearing this. Now that was interesting all right. But he would file that for later.

Violet spread her arms around, indicating to both herself and the gathered jinchuriki. "We are the ones that will make it happen. We are the support for his plan becoming a success. We are The Nine Pillars!"

Naruto merely stared at her, an unreadable look on his face. Finally he spoke, "I don't really much care what the hell you think you are, or as to why you're even following him when you obviously don't believe in what he does. All I care about is kicking both his and your assess. What you have done….it will not go unanswered."

Violet chuckled. "So do you care for these eight even when you're basically the reason why they died in the first place! Especially for Gaara…weren't you the one that killed him that day?"

"I did," Naruto responded without hesitation. "That's because we had different ideals. Much like I did with him, he tried to change me. Only that he wasn't able to. I've already chosen to go down this path, no matter where it leads me to just as I know that when I finally die, it won't be a happy ending. Not after everything I have done. But I'm not the kind of guy who dwells on that kind of crap. Nothing is going to stop me from killing you, I assure you of that."

Violet narrowed her eyes like a predator would be on a prey. "That's fine with me. I don't mind a challenge. In fact, I would prefer it. I would be extremely boring if you'd make this too easy for me. But just so you know, I will be the one coming up on top. That is the plain truth. That is reality."

Naruto chuckled. "You know something? You remind me a lot of how Neji used to be, thinking that everything is predestined. Well, I don't believe in destiny. One forges through whatever path he or she wants to create for himself or herself. And my path is killing the two of you."

Violet laughed lightly. "It'll be interesting to see you try, darling."

Their conversation was cut off as the sounds of sirens could be heard in the distance.

Violet could only t'ch at hearing this. Their playtime was over it seemed. Looking back at Naruto who looked right back at her, Violet sent him a wink.

"It does seem that we weren't able to finish this like we wanted. Maybe another time."

Naruto growled as he took a step forward. "What do you care? Aren't you going to destroy this current world? A few cops shouldn't scare you off."

Violet ran one of her hands through the strands of her dark purple hair. "Ah, that we are. Unfortunately, there are a great deal of things that need to be taken care of before we can accomplish that. Like that Kurosaki buddy of yours. Until those things have been accomplished, we would rather be in the shadows until we reveal ourselves, something which you must be very familiar with. Am I right?"

Naruto didn't respond.

All the jinchuriki were pulled back into a vortex just like the way in which they had been summoned in including for the giant form of the Hachibi.

Violet sent Naruto one final kiss before she too disappeared, leaving behind one very frustrated being who now had more questions than answers.

Now that just plainly sucked.

"You really do love disobeying my instructions, don't you?"

Violet rolled her eyes as she sat in one of the leather chairs present inside the room which was basically the Watcher's office. Said office stood on the highest level of the gigantic building which was, ironically, facing straight towards the tower of Uzumaki Inc. Of course, unlike the building in which the Uzumakis resided in, theirs wasn't label for secretive purposes.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Violet replied in a calm manner.

The Watcher turned his gaze away from the window to look at his 'pupil.' "I know for a fact that all of this could have been avoided if you had just used your ability before he could have sensed you. After all, your masking of your chakra is perfect. It's the whole reason that they hadn't known that you're able to use it before this."

Violet clicked her tongue in annoyance, having have had hoped that the Watcher wouldn't catch that. She should have known better.

It was true, what he was saying. She could have had only used her time ability to stop time in the are before Naruto could have had caught sight of her instead of having done the method that she had performed.

But it had been so fun! Of course, she couldn't tell that to this being. Although Violet suspected that he knew this which brought up the question as to why he was even asking any of this in the first place.

The girl chose to remain quiet.

The Watcher continued to gaze at her for a few moments longer before turning away from her once again, now having had had enough of discussing this topic with her. The girl was simply too stubborn.

Seeing this, Violet relaxed. Something good must have had happened if he was letting her go just like that.

"So," she began, "how did things go in your end?"

"Well enough, I suppose," he replied. "All though they could have had gone better if those Uzumakis hadn't interfere."

Violet raised an eyebrow. "You mean Kushina and that Fuka woman?"

The Watcher nodded. "Yes. But I did manage to obtain something good that will help us retain our lead in this. Or should I say someone."

Realization hit Violet. "The sisters…"

The Watcher simply nodded again. "Indeed. The boy will no doubt come after us after he recovers in order to look for them. And that's where we'll trap them."

Violet sighed. "It would have been better if you had simply killed him right then and there."

"I could say the same to you," retorted the Watcher causing for Violet to flinch slightly at the jab. "I would have, but the Uzumakis interfered. It would be better for me to not reveal my abilities. Well, for the moment at least," he added.

Violet didn't respond.

The Watcher continued to gaze down the city. Now, it was their move.

Naruto watched silently as both Kushina and Fuka worked on completely removing the bijuu chakra from Ichigo's body by applying chakra absorption seals all over his body. Kushina had done a quick treatment before they had gone on the move to buy them more time as they made for Naruto's beach house. They didn't know why this Ichigo was so important, but they weren't going to risk letting him die until they found out.

"Things didn't go well it seems."

"That's an understatement," muttered Naruto.

White Zetsu chuckled. "You guys made the news too. They have no idea as to what caused for the destruction of that residential area. Although there seems to be some witnesses claiming that they saw a giant ox like animal appear out of nowhere. No one believes them, of course."

"I would be surprised if they did," replied the rinnegan wielder.

Black Zetsu looked at him. "Just what exactly happened? We got there too late to see what actually occurred to lead up to that point."

Naruto sighed as he looked to the side. "It's…..complicated."

"It always is."

Both Naruto and Zetsu turned towards the approaching redheads who seemed to be extremely tired with Kushina having have had been the one that had just spoken.

The three remaining Uzumaki plus Zetsu situated themselves in the spacious living room of the house.

Fuka looked at Naruto. "Well? Even if it is complicated, we want to know what happened."

Naruto raised up one of his hands. "First things first: is the kid still alive?"

Kushina nodded. "Yeah, he is. We managed to extract the bijuu chakra before it was too late. But of course, that just brings up a lot of many other questions."

"Like how are the other jinchuriki even alive?" continued Fuka. "Or maybe as to how they can even still use their bijuu powers? I thought you said that their souls had been consumed by your sword as well as all of the chakra from every bijuu?"

Naruto sighed. "I know. I thought so as well. But it seems that I was wrong….."

"Maybe you aren't," Kushina replied. "Maybe what you think happened really happened."

Fuka turned towards her with a raised eyebrow. "Then how do you explain what just happened?"

Kushina chuckled sheepishly. "I'm still working on that….."

"Why don't you just ask that sword of yours?" said Black Zetsu.

Naruto looked at him. "I was already thinking of doing that after Kushina and Fuka had finished patching Ichigo up."

"We may have a problem though," began Kushina.

Naruto turned towards her. "And what might that be?"

"The boy's sisters were captured," answered Fuka immediately.

Naruto could already see what the problem was. Running a hand through his silver locks, Naruto could sigh in slight frustration. "This just keeps getting better and better….."

"It's not that bad," Kushina commented. "After all, this is only the beginning. We still have a chance of turning this around in the end. We mustn't give up. Not now."

Naruto chuckled. "And here I thought that I was the one that gave the pep-talks around here."

Kushina winked at him. "Don't worry. I'm sure that you'll have ample opportunities of doing just that in the future."

Fuka looked between the two, glad to see that they were starting to behave like before. That was one load off her shoulders at least.

A sad smile came to her face. 'If only you were here, Mito…..and even you, Anko.'

A sad thought indeed.

"All right then," Naruto began as he sat up from the couch that he had been sitting on that was present in the living room, a smirk on his face.

"Let's get this shit started."

There was a roar of approval.

Well, I'm back! Yeah, I know. It's been like a month already, but school is really kicking my ass right now. I'll try at least to update once a month if possible. But if it doesn't happen at some point, do understand that my academic and, hell, my social life comes before this. That's not to say that I won't complete this which I will. The only question is of how long it'll take me to do this.

At the same time, though, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Not really much else to say. A review will be appreciated. And any questions, feel free to ask.

Till next time.