Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Bleach
"Hmm…."- Black Zetsu, Bijuu, Shinigami
"Hmm…"- Seikatsugakari

AN: So after much thought, I decided that I would split this chapter up into two, simply because of the fact that there's a lot that needs to be covered. And I didn't want to put too much into a single chapter. Hopefully, you'll enjoy it regardless. So yea, here it is.

Chapter 15:
New Found Powers

Kushina didn't know how to explain it. When they had first arrived here to finally have their final confrontation with the one being that had put them through so much grief, including taking Anko away from them all, she had felt a wave of doubt wash over her. She didn't exactly know why. She had known from the beginning that she would stick with Naruto no matter what. And that had been ever since she had reunited with him all those many years ago in his seal when he had been in the middle of confronting his father.

Maybe it had to do with what had happened with Fuka. As well as the revelation that had come along with it. A part of her felt that the chakra in her that she had received from Naruto would do something similar to her like Fuka's had done with her. And she didn't want that. She didn't want for Naruto to think that she had doubts about being with him. Hell, that was the last thing the redhead ever wanted to happen.

But unexpectedly, that very same doubt disappeared into nothingness as she continued to battle the two jinchuriki before her, Gaara and Yagura. Or the bodies who had once belonged to the two former Kage anyway. But the Uzumaki did come to a small revelation herself. It wasn't just the fact that what had happened with Fuka scared her. Part of her doubt dealt with her skills. Would she be up to the task? Would she be able to assist the man who she loved with every single fiber of her being? She hadn't known for sure.

Her Uzumaki blood answered her questions for her, though. She didn't know how, but she seemed to be adapting to the battle even better than she had ever hoped to in the last few days that she had been able to practice. She just wasn't sure where it was coming from. But she wasn't complaining about it. Not in the slightest.

"Suna Shigure!"

Kushina came out of her thoughts as her feet were soon bound to the ground by Gaara's sand as a cloud of sand formed above her. She knew that she needed to focus here. The two had been Kages in their respective villages in their lifetime, after all.

Before Gaara could finish with his attack, Kushina pushed her chakra to her sword, coating it with her elemental wind chakra which she used to effectively cut right through the sand. The sand above rained down on her position a second after she jumped back to evade. Her old shinobi instincts kicked in right away as she landed, which effectively made her twist around at the last second and block Yagura's incoming staff with her own sword.

"You two are quite a bother to fight as a pair," the redhead admitted. Not that either jinchuriki commented. Which she hadn't been expecting of course. The two were now mindless drones as far as she was concerned.

Without saying a word, Gaara summoned even more sand from his gourd that was strapped to his back just like the old days.

"Suna no Kaiwan!"

Kushina t'ched as she saw the familiars arms of the Shukaku forming out of Gaara's sand and heading towards her and Yagura who didn't look phase in the slightest.

Facing the former Mizukage, Kushina retracted her sword at an amazing speed before kneeing the jinchuriki in the gut which sent him stumbling back. After that, it was almost like a game of cat and mouse, the mouse being her as she tried to evade the Shukaku's arms that were trying to rip her to shreds.

'This is getting too complicated,' she thought as she continued to evade. 'Not to mention that they haven't even jumped into their bijuu forms yet. I'll have to take care of them both before it comes down to that.'

Her familiar gold glowing chains shot out of her body as they made to intercept the sand arms. The clash was swift. Her chains tore right through the arms, leaving behind only small puddles of unmoving sand. The redhead wielded her chains, aiming them straight towards the Ichibi jinchuriki. As retaliation, a wall of sand shot out around the former Suna shinobi. But just like with the arms before, the chains cut through the sand wall like it was nothing.

Kushina grinned in satisfaction as her chains wrapped themselves around Gaara's body, locking him in place. 'Now, to just use the Juubi's chakra to free the bijuu, and-'

"Suiton: Suiryudan no jutsu!"

Kushina's grin left her face as the water based dragon hit her dead on from her side. She had been too focused on dealing with Gaara that she had momentarily forgotten about Yagura. And she knew that she paid the price as she collided roughly with the far wall of the now deserted conference room.

Thanks to the distraction, Gaara was also able to free himself from her chains as they weakened their hold on the jinchuriki due to her lost of focus.

Standing up and leaning against her sword, Kushina eyed the two jinchuriki as they stood next to each other now. She tasted her own blood on her lips as well. That last attack had certainly left an impact alright.

'I can't just deal with one of them at a time,' she thought as she continued to observe the two in front of her. 'They'll just counterattack too quickly for me to do something. My only choice is trapping them both at the same time. Oh yea, definitely a walk on the park alright,' she finished her thought with a slight roll of her eyes. It was then that her mind clicked in an idea to her.

Bringing her other hand down to her stomach, the Uzumaki frowned as she considered the option of using her own Juubi chakra in battle rather than just using it to free the two bijuu before her. But she didn't know just how that would end for her. Would she lose her mind to the chakra, turning herself into a mindless monster just like how it had happened with Fuka? Or could she harness its power like Naruto was able to do this entire time? It was definitely a high stake gamble here.

But turning her attention back to her two opponents in front of her as they prepared to attack her again, Kushina realized that she didn't have the luxury of thinking things through too much. She needed to finish this fight as quick as possible so that she could link up with the others and help them in anyway possible if they needed it. Not to mention Naruto…..who knew what the Watcher had up his sleeve. It was then that Kushina made up her mind.

"Suiton: Suiryuben!"

"Rendan: Suna Shigure!"

The combined attack made its way towards Kushina who didn't try to evade it. No, she had a better alternative as she felt the Juubi's chakra that Naruto had given her after the fall of Konoha run through her chakra coils. She didn't know how to describe the sensation. The only thing that she knew for sure was that she felt like she could defeat any opponent standing in her or Naruto's way. This was proven to be true in some way as she merely brought her sword in front of her, pushing her newly used chakra into it. The end result was the immediate deflection of the attacks thrown at her from the two jinchuriki.

'This feels incredible!' she thought with slight glee. 'I should have learned to tap into this power years ago!' she added as an afterthought as a dark shroud surrounding her entire body. Looking at her sword, however, some of that excitement died down as she realized that it had a few cracks all along its blade, no doubt caused by the very chakra that she had just pumped into it. Despite the sword having been forged by some of the best blacksmiths that Uzu had had to offer, which had been said to rival even Kiri's own ones, Kushina guessed that the makers hadn't considered the sword being on the receiving end of the powerful chakra of the Juubi.

'It won't last for much longer if I continue to use the Juubi's chakra with it,' she realized with a small frown before looking back towards the two jinchuriki. 'All the more reason to end this faster!'

She quickly dashed ahead towards them, Yagura following her lead as Gaara used his sand to back up the former Kiri shinobi.

Kushina summoned her chains again, except that this time they were glowing in an ominous black instead of their usual gold glow. But the redhead didn't pay this any mind as her chains clashed with Gaara's sand again. And just like before, her chains tore right through the sand like it was nothing. Except to her it seemed that it had taken a helluva less effort than last time. If that was even possible.

Seeing this, Yagura made the mistake of bringing his staff forward, intent on blocking the incoming chains with it. But just like the sand, Yagura had the pleasure or displeasure of seeing his staff broken in two as the chains tore right through it. But the chains didn't stop there. Yagura soon found himself immobilized as the chains tore straight through his body before they attached themselves to the ground all around him.

'One down,' Kushina thought, already knowing that her chains were enough to keep even the Sanbi at bay since they were being pumped with the Juubi's chakra as well.

"Sabaku: Hando!"

Kushina had to admit that she was certainly surprised as Gaara used the sand around them that her chains had cut through before to form to create two enormous sand hands. She already guessed what they were meant for as they made to trap her inside them. Gripping her sword more tightly, the redhead brought her arm back before swinging the sword, sending a wave of pure energy around her similar to Naruto's Susanoo attack which destroyed the hands with ease.

Gritting her teeth in frustration, Kushina looked straight at Gaara who would no doubt throw another attack at her. Which made it impossible for her to concentrate on freeing the Sanbi.

'We should have taken them all down together,' she thought. 'That way, we could have protected each other as one of us freed the bijuu one by one.'

But it was too late for that now. Unless she retreated. But that would make her capture of Yagura meaningless. And she didn't want that.

It seemed that her prayers had been answered, however, as a blue hand clasped down on the jinchuriki of the former Sand village, forming a cloud of dust around the area. Kushina quickly recognized the jutsu. Which brought a great amount of shock to her.

'That's the Susanoo!' she screamed in her mind. 'But only Naruto has it now! And the only other one with a sharingan right now is Ken. But he doesn't have both eyes….!'

Just what the hell!?

"Well, well, this certainly wasn't the way I expected to have my reunion with my best friend after all these years. But I'll take what I can get."

Kushina froze as she instantly recognized the owner of the voice. But that wasn't possible! As the dust cleared, however, Kushina came face to face with one person she thought that she would never see again. Uchiha Mikoto.

Her eyes were wide in pure shock as she gazed upon Mikoto's form who was shielded by her own Susanoo, its color being a pale blue. Her normal sharingan had changed into that of the mangekyo. Its form was that of a flower with four petals. And much like with Naruto's own mangekyo, its shape was red with black in the back instead of the normal sharingan's black and red design. Kushina found the design to be quite beautiful in all honesty. But she didn't linger on it for too long, though. She was more concerned as to how her best friend was even standing in front of her right now.

But having sensed this, Mikoto raised one of her hands to stop the redhead from speaking. "I know you have a lot of questions for me, but we'll save that for after we free this two. Sound good?"

Kushina simply nodded as she readied her sword. Smiling, Mikoto used her Susanoo hand to grab Gaara before the jinchuriki could recover. Seeing the opportunity she had been waiting for, Kushina pumped as much of the Juubi's chakra as she could into her blade before throwing it with great precision at Gaara. Before said shinobi had the chance of retaliating, the sword pierced right through his right shoulder, which quickly immobilized him as well as the Juubi's chakra did its work throughout his body.

Wordlessly, Mikoto dropped the now incapacitated jinchuriki to the ground, her Susanoo around her disappearing. Kushina's own shroud disappeared as well as she ran up the Uchiha, the two quickly hugging it out.

"I-I thought you were dead…" she managed to say as the tears began to spill out of her.

Mikoto chuckled as her own tears began to stream down her cheeks. "I did die on that day, Kushina. There's no mistake in that. It wasn't until recently that I was able to come back through the meddling of one very pissed off goddess. I'm sure you've met her too."

Kushina frowned at that. The only "goddess" she had ever met had been that crazy old bat-

She gasped in realization as she stepped back to look at her friend in the eyes. "You mean Izanami?"

Mikoto nodded. "I do. But I'm guessing from your tone you didn't actually believe her when she told you that she was a goddess."

Kushina frowned again. "Of course not. But considering the crazy things we've seen in our lives, I shouldn't have doubted her. I guess the bastard's lie made me more paranoid than I'd thought."

The female Uchiha didn't need any explaining as to who the bastard was or what the lie was. Izanami had already explained all of that to her.

"While I would love to catch up with you some more, right now isn't the time. You have to free the Ichibi and the Sanbi so that we can help out Naruto just in case. I didn't come back just to have the idiot die on me before I get the chance of making him explain to me why he's been an idiot all these years."

Kushina giggled slightly at that. "Don't worry. You'll get the chance. Especially since I want to do the same too. But you're right. We need to get a move on." She would ask Mikoto about her mangekyo later too.

Looking at the two immobile jinchuriki, Kushina focused all of her willpower into the chakra of the Juubi that was coursing through both of their bodies. Feeling it, the redhead then tried to take it a step further as she tried to connect the two together. It would be easier if she freed the two bijuu in one sweep.

The last thing she felt before she descended down to the realm of their mind was Mikoto placing her hand on her shoulder. It seemed that the female Uchiha intended to follow her inside too. But Kushina didn't mind. Instead, she cherished the warm feelings that Mikoto brought to her. It was definitely great to have her back.

And she knew Naruto would feel the exact same way.

Fuka felt a lot better than she had in many, many years. It had mainly due to the fact that she now felt free from the shackles of guilt and self pity that she had been wallowing in over the years. Even if she had hid it well. Those feelings had only increased the night that Anko had been taken away from them and the fact that she had been unable to protect another one of her precious family. She had felt utterly useless. Although then those feelings had wane a little when Naruto, the old Naruto, started to come back. But they hadn't been erased completely. And that was proven to be the case when her Juubi chakra had gotten out of control. It had gained its own consciousness through her doubts. But thanks to Naruto and the words he had told her, she had managed to fight against it. Better yet, she was now able to use it as a weapon against those who threatened her and her family.

And those threats at the immediate moment were both Utakata and Fu who were currently chasing after her as she evaded Utakata's special bubbles as she ran throughout the hallways of the building. She knew that getting hit by one of those would hurt like a bitch. Which was why she wasn't planning on letting that happening. Something to help her aid with that goal was the fact that she was faster than the former rogue nin. The downside was that Fu wasn't as slow thanks to her wings that she was able to utilize through her armor. Which, in Fuka's opinion, was a bigger hassle to deal with than Utakata's explosive bubbles.

'I'll have to make a stand somewhere,' the redhead thought as she stopped on the ceiling of one of the vacated hallways of the building. This part of the building seemed to be undamaged as well. But as both Fu and Utakata appeared on the other side of the hallway, Fuka knew that that was about to be rearranged.

Utakata stopped in his tracks a few feet away from her. Fu, on the other hand, flew straight towards her.

'I see,' Fuka thought as she noticed how Utakata readied himself with his bubble pipe. 'A long rage attacker and a short range one. Heh, they thought this combo through.'

She finished her train of thought as she blocked a punch from Fu who was now right in front of her. But Fuka had to scowl in pain as the scales that emanated from Fu's armor managed to puncture her throughout her body. Quickly cutting off her chakra to her feet, Fuka dropped down to the ground, thanking whatever god had made her an Uzumaki. Otherwise, she'd be on her way to her death bed right now. But she wasn't able to relax for a moment as she found herself surrounded by bubbles right after she had touched the ground. She could only curse right before they all exploded.

Fu flew back towards Utakata who was watching his handiwork with dull eyes. The two were about to leave to finish their off other targets, thinking that they had defeated Fuka already. At least, that was what they thought until a very disfigured chair flew from the smoke and debris.

"Don't underestimate the Substitution jutsu!"

"Doton: Ganchuso!"

Utakata found himself impaled by multiple rock pillars coming down from the ground beneath the building. Fu for her part had been able to fly away at the last moment, dodging the rock pillars.

Standing behind Utakata, Fuka scowled as she saw this. She readied herself as she saw Fu readying herself to throw more of those troublesome scales at her. The redhead knew they wouldn't really have any effect on her. But they still hurt. A lot. So she knew that she wasn't about to get caught in that. So she readied her next jutsu in a counterattack.

"Suiton: Haran Bansho!"

Fu's bijuu powered scales were thrown back as a massive wave of water collided with her from the ceiling above them, sending her down to the ground. Fuka smirked as she prepared for her combination attack.

"Raiton: Jibashi!"

Fuka watched in satisfaction as her lighting attack was enhanced by the already present water in the hallway. The end result was Fu being in the receiving end of a very very powerful stream of lighting that even cracked her armor in some places. Fuka's combined attack had also caught Utakata in its wake. Said former shinobi was still trapped by the rock pillars as well. But unfortunately for Fuka, her attack also had the unfortunate side effect of destroying her rock pillars, thus freeing the jinchuriki.

Jumping back, Fuka readied herself as the two jinchuriki stood right back up as if nothing had happened. It just further proved to Fuka the fact that the two standing before her, while they may look human, they really weren't at this point. They were just mindless drones for the being that Fuka and the others were trying to stop right now.

'I guess wasting anymore of my chakra on them would be pointless,' she thought. 'They'll just keep on shrugging off any of my attacks. My only way is to free them from the bastard's control. Heh, something easier said than done…..'

Or so she would have said in the past. But she had also saved some time for training with her new powers that she had gained thanks to Naruto. A power which she knew would be the only way that she would win here today. If not, then, despite the legendary Uzumaki stamina, she would definitely tire first. After all, she was dealing with two bijuu. She knew that for a fact. Seeing red chakra beginning to swirl around her two opponents only served to make Fuka act faster.

Concentrating, she called out for the chakra which she hadn't used willingly until these past few days. It wasn't long before her hair begin to swirl as markings, similar to those that appeared on Naruto, spread throughout her body. Her eyes changed from those of her exotic blue swirly eyes to a darker red, the swirls being magnified to a magnificent degree.

Both Fu and Utakata had transformed into their bijuu form two. But despite their menacing new appearance, Fuka didn't flinch. Instead, she smirked as a mini bijudama appeared in her right hand. She was really thankful for the time she had spent in practice.

Next thing either bijuu knew was that they were in the receiving end of a barrage of mini bijudamas which, while they didn't cause as much destruction as the a regular sized one, did cause their fair amount of pain on their targets. This was proven to be the case as the two bijuu were blown away into the wall on the other side of the hallway despite having had tried to shield themselves with their tails.

Fuka walked forward at a slow pace, keeping her guard up in case the two bijuu tried something. And her hunch was proven right as Fuka was forced to dodge a barrage of bijudamas from the two bijuu who had recovered on the other side of the wall. Jumping up to the ceiling again, Fuka tried to think of a way to get close to the two rampaging bijuu before they transformed completely. She wasn't sure if she would be able to handle the two if it came down to that.

But it seemed as if the bijuu themselves were impatient as the Nanabi came flying towards her at an amazing speed. Thanking her luck, Fuka smiled as black lightning began to sizzle to life around her. This was another little tricked she had learned during her training.

The Nanabi was sent flying back as Fuka appeared in front of him in an instant, her speed having increased tremendously thanks to her lightning enhanced body. The Rokubi dodged to the side as his fellow bijuu flew right past him. But the beast didn't seem to pay any attention to that little detail. Instead, he tried to locate the Uzumaki, only to find the hallway empty.

"I'm right above you."

The bijuu wasn't able to dodge in time as Fuka appeared right above him, a bijudama in her hand which she landed on the bijuu's back. The end result was the bijuu being pummeled into the ground. Fuka pushed the Juubi's chakra within her into the bijuu, but before she could finish the Nanabi appeared behind her. Fuka scowled as the Nanabi grabbed her by the shoulders before throwing her away from the dazed Rokubi.

Landing on her feet, the Uzumaki knew she didn't have long before the Rokubi recovered. Now, this whole process would be so much easier if she could shape her bijudamas into rods like Naruto could. Unfortunately, she hadn't managed to get that far into her training. So she would have to make do with what she had.

The Nanabi didn't waste anytime in going after her again. But this time, Fuka was ready for the bijuu. In a speed that would make even Yoruichi proud, the redhead appeared and reappeared all over the area, confusing the bijuu out of his mind. And it was exactly what Fuka had been expecting. In an amazing show of chakra shape manipulation, Fuka managed to create a Rasengan like jutsu in her hand made out completely of the black lightning that was currently upgrading her speed. She pumped some more of the Juubi's chakra into it as well. Just to be safe. And she did all that while moving throughout the hallway in a successful attempt at confusing the beast.

The Nanabi was abut to transform again, having grown tired of the game Fuka was playing at the moment. But he didn't get the chance as Fuka reappeared before the bijuu right below him, smashing her new technique straight into his stomach which sent him flying straight into the ceiling and above all the while howling in pain. It had been the first sign of pain Fuka had ever seen them show.

Landing back on the ground, Fuka panted as she fell to her knees, her Juubi chakra receding back into her as her lightning and markings disappearing as her appearance went back to normal. Looking towards the direction of the Rokubi who was struggling to stand again in a dazed manner, Fuka knew that she needed to move and free the bijuu before it completely pumped out the chakra she had put inside of him and fought her again. That'd be a hassle.

Fuka grinned as she stood back up, summoning the Juubi chakra again.

'The things I do for love…'

A few years ago, if someone were to have told Ken that he'd be in the situation that he was currently in, the CIA agent would have laughed at the person's face. It was just too surreal for Ken to have ever considered that this was what lied for him in his future. At least, that was the case until he met Mitarashi Anko. The woman had been something of a celebrity in the agency, having a perfect record in all her missions. She was by far the best agent the CIA had at the time. Or ever really. Of course, Ken hadn't thought much of her still just like with anyone else he knew of. It just wasn't in his character. Mainly because he had been lost in his own darkness. He had been a workaholic at the time, not paying any attention to anything else. It was mainly because he had felt like he had a part of himself in his job. And it was Anko who had gotten him out of it too.

Flashback: Start!

Ken grunted in pain as he stood up, immediately on guard as his brain remembered exactly what he was supposed to be doing. And where. It was an espionage mission along the border between Iraq and Iran. Supposedly intel had been picked up that Iran had been seen making a move in the area. Why? They didn't know. It was why he was sent in to investigate. And he had been doing a good job until-

"Nasty shot you got there, buddy."

Ken looked to his side to see a woman sitting down beside the fire which he hadn't noticed before. He wondered why for a second, but then realized that he had been too preoccupied with his thoughts. Looking at the woman closely, Ken lowered his guard as he realized that the woman was Anko.

"What are you doing here?"

Anko grinned. "You mean besides pulling your ass out of the fire?" Ken didn't look amused. Seeing this, Anko shrugged before continuing, "Well, the boss thought that maybe leaving a sensitive mission like this to one man was a bit too careless. It seems like he was right."

Ken didn't respond as he flexed his right shoulder which was covered in bandages, wincing in pain as he did so. "What happened exactly?"

"Nothing much really," Anko answered. "You just got a bit too close to their camp is all. One of the snipers got you. And trust me, the bastards have better aim than you realize. Or maybe not too great since you're still alive."

Ken frowned as he now recalled that particular detail. He hadn't actually expected for the Iranians to place any snipers. But considering the fact that their reasons for being this close to the border were probably hostile, he should have expected that. That had been too careless of him. His mind then remembered how he had tried to retreat. But the Iranians had been right on his track. He had known he couldn't be captured since the CIA was to remain anonymous in the area. But he hadn't been able to do much before he had passed out out of blood loss. And that was the last thing he remembered.

Looking at Anko, he asked, "How did you get me out of there?"

The woman chuckled. "Trust me, you wouldn't believe me if I told you. So don't worry about it. And don't feel bad about this either. It happens to all of us sometimes."

Ken didn't bother with a response to that. Turning to look at the fire, the man wondered if it was safe enough to actually start a fire in the open. Especially since it was now nighttime. But Anko looked to be as calm as always. And for some reason, that reassured him. He just didn't know why. His mind also kept nagging about what Anko had said about her method of saving him.

After a few more minutes of silence, Ken finally said, "What if I actually believed you?"

Anko glanced at him, one of her eyebrows raised. "And what does that mean?"

Ken looked at her. "You said that I wouldn't believe you if you told me just how you saved me. Well, what if I told you that I would believe you, no matter what."

Anko simply turned her head to look at him, their eyes locking together for the first time. He didn't know how, but Ken could see something dancing around in her brown eyes. Hope. But that just served to confuse him even more.

"Do you really mean that?" she asked quietly, her eyes still locked with his.

Ken merely nodded.

"Just so you know, if you're lying to me, I'm going to cut your balls off. And don't think I don't mean it. In your condition right now, it'd be a piece of cake for me to do."

Ken didn't doubt that she would. So once again, he simply settled for a nod.

In the next few minutes, Ken found himself coming to knowledge with things he had never considered to be a part of reality. And things just didn't stop there. Anko went even further as to explain to him just who and what she really was. And for some odd reason which Ken couldn't for the life of him figure out, he found himself believing everything that the woman told him. But just why? Why did he believe everything so easily?

It was also on that night that the two had first slept together. And that was something that would forever be imprinted in his mind.

Flashback: End!

Ken smiled at the memory as he hid behind a pillar in a room that oddly resembled some sort of assembly. He didn't know what exactly it was for, but he didn't pay too much attention to the detail. Instead, he focused his new sharingan into the steam filled room, trying to figure out just where Han was hiding himself. He had learned from Naruto and the others how this was one of the countermeasures one could take against the sharingan. It was why Han was a tough opponent for him. But he had signed up for this. And he would see it through.

His senses went off, telling him to duck down to the ground. Knowings to trust his senses, Ken did just that. Less than a second later, Han appeared in his spot, sending a kick in which completely destroyed the pillar.

Jumping back, Ken realized that he had his sharingan which would make him invulnerable to those attacks for a period of time. But he recalled how it took such a large amount of stamina out of him. Even with those cells that Kushina had implanted him with. He hadn't paid too much attention when the redhead had been explaining the purpose to him. He did know, though, that it augmented his ability to use the sharingan more effectively and with less stamina drainage.

Han seemed to have grown tired of their game of hide and seek. The large built man charged straight for him. But Ken knew that it only gave him the advantage.

The former Iwa shinobi used his steam from his back to propel him towards Ken at a faster speed than before. But Ken didn't move as the jinchuriki sent a punch to him. Instead, he allowed for it to phase right through him as well as Han. Before the former shinobi could turn around to attack Ken again, said man was already on him. Grabbing one of his shoulders, Ken focused his chakra into sending the jinchuriki into his dimension that he had recently been made aware of.

After doing so, Ken dropped to the ground on one knee, panting. He had used so much chakra already. He had transported all of them to the meeting, had sent all of the world leaders to another location, and had been fighting the so called Gobi jinchuriki this entire time.

"You seem to be having trouble."

Ken didn't reply as he already recognized the voice. White Zetsu appeared on the ground beside him, his usual grin in place.

"I can help you, ya know."

"What are you doing here? I thought you and Black Zetsu wanted to watch the others fight," he said.

White Zetsu shrugged. "They're almost finished with right now. Even with the Yonbi. I also saw how you were struggling. So I decided to offer you some assistance."

Ken glanced at him. "What kind of assistance?"

White Zetsu grinned as one of his clones appeared on the other side of Ken. But this one wasn't like the other clones that Ken had seen. His face for example was all twisted into a spiral like form. He knew what White Zetsu had meant when he saw the clone wrapping itself around him.

"This will increase your usage with that sharingan," White Zetsu explained with a grin. "My clone will pump you with chakra, especially since we managed to steal some from a very powerful individual. So you don't have to worry about the repercussions. Not to mention since you already have some of the Senju's cells in you."

Ken didn't answer him. He was trying to get used to the feeling of wearing one of the clones as a sort of armor. Once he got past the weirdness of it all, he knew that it felt great. Beyond great. He felt powerful, more than ever.

"Don't worry. I'm a good boy."

Ken wasn't surprised to hear the clone speaking to him in his head. At this point, anything was possible to him. Looking at White Zetsu, Ken simply nodded to him before he disappeared into a swirl.

Once he was gone, White Zetsu chuckled. "He reminds me so much of Tobi…..I wonder if he'll end up the same way."

Only time would tell. And he couldn't wait to see it.

Han was trying to figure a way out of the weird place that he found himself in. But so far, he had nothing. There didn't seem to be a single way out of this damn place. And that was certainly starting to irk him beyond belief. Not that it was expressed on his face anyway.

A few feet away, Ken appeared out of the swirl, taking in the sight again of this weird place that the sharingan he now had gave him access to. He still didn't fully understand it all. And neither Naruto nor Kushina had truly explained to him what this place was.

"So, it was rebuilt again. I wonder how….."

"What do you mean?"

The clone chuckled. "Once Obito and Tobi both died, this place was supposedly destroyed. As far as we could tell anyway. Maybe it's because you're using Tobi's sharingan again that it was rebuilt again somehow. Although I could be wrong. Oh well. Thinking through things isn't exactly my forte."

Ken listened closely to the explanation, briefly wondering just who both Obito and Tobi had been before noticing that Han had spotted him already.

"You should be careful, though," the clone warned him. "In here, you can't just let the attacks phase you as if they were nothing. He can damage you in here easier than out there in the real world."

Ken silently thanked the clone for that little detail. But he knew that he would have a hard time dealing with the shinobi now that his main weapon was taken away from him. Sensing this, the clone chuckled.

"It'd be a shame if you died a worthless death here, so out of consideration I'll let you in a secret power of mine that my original and Black Zetsu have given me as a gift thanks to my services."

Ken wasn't sure if he understood what the clone was saying. But he wasn't able to dwell on it as Han jumped into the air, intent on kicking him down to the ground as hard as he could. Ken was about to jump out of the way until he felt himself unable to do so.

"Hey, what the hell are you doing!?" he screamed out as the clone took charge of his body. But the clone didn't respond to him. Instead, Ken found himself raising his hands into the air towards the incoming Han. And right before his eyes, Ken saw himself shoot out what appeared to be stakes made out of wood. Still being in midair, Han wasn't able to counterattack the stakes made out of wood. So instead, he brought his arms together in front of him, using them as a shield. The stakes impaled both of his arms and sent him down to the ground.

"W-what was that?" Ken asked as his hands lowered.

The clone laughed gleefully. "Hehehe this is the power of one of the most powerful shinobi who ever existed. Even Naruto never did truly defeat him. But I can explain things to you later. Just know that you have the power of the Mokuton on your side now. That should be enough to deal with the Gobi."

Ken found himself mentally thanking the clone. Turning his attention back to Han, he saw the jinchuriki in the process of removing the stakes from his arms. Summoning even more stakes all along his arms, Ken thought that he was more like a hedgehog now than anything else. But he put that thought to the back of his mind for now.

Having removed the stakes from his arms, Han made to get up only to find himself on the receiving end of even more of the annoying stakes as Ken fired them from his arms, much like how Fu used her scales from her armor. If he could, the former Iwa shinobi would have grunted in pain as the stakes impaled him all around his body. Getting even more annoyed at the situation, not that Ken could notice it, the jinchuriki decided to step things up as red chakra began to surround him.

Seeing this, Ken cursed as he had wanted to finish the fight off before it got to this point since he didn't know if he would be able to handle the jinchuriki then. But the clone decided to cut in again, his tone still playful despite the situation.

"I did tell you how this power once belonged to one of the strongest shinobi of all time right? Well, he once used this power to contained the Kyuubi. In comparison, the Gobi is nothing. But don't worry, I'll help you out in drawing even more power out."

Unlike before, Ken didn't try to resist the feeling of having his body taken over by the clone. After all the assistance the clone had given him, he was already trusting him. Especially since he knew that the clones lived to serve Naruto. And right before his eyes, Ken found himself doing hand seals with his hands that he didn't know that he could ever do. But he realized that it wasn't him, but the clone who was doing it.

"Mokuton: Mokuryu no jutsu!"

Ken knew that he had to be impressed as a dragon made out completely of wood shot out from underneath him. The former CIA agent had to fight back a laugh as he stood on top of the dragon's head. Looking forward, he came face to face with the Gobi having had completed transformed into his bijuu form.

"Are you sure that this dragon will be enough?" Ken asked.

The clone chuckled. "I already told you: the one who had this power used this very same dragon to contain the Kyuubi. But I'll explain it to you in a bit more detail. This dragon isn't an ordinary one like the other dragons from the different elemental releases. No, the special property of this dragon is absorbing bijuu chakra. So basically, we're going to use it to drain the Gobi of his energy before you go in and placed that seal that Naruto gave you in order to suppress the control the Watcher has upon him. Sound good?"

Ken had to admit that it did sound like a good plan. But as his previous line of work had taught him, no matter how great a plan sounded, it was always better to have a backup just in case. He could only hope that things didn't escalate any further, though.

The Gobi had grown tired of waiting for him to attack. So instead, the bijuu charged at him, his horns pointed straight at the dragon.

'He's trying to charge at us like a battering ram,' he realized. Taking control of the dragon, Ken had to use his chakra to stick to the dragon's head as it shot forward to intercept the incoming bijuu. The Gobi couldn't stop himself as the dragon shot around him at the last second. Ken had to fight back a curse as the Gobi was able to score a hit to the dragon's body in the back.

"Remain calm, you. Just use your chakra to reinforce the dragon. And remember that I have plenty to supply you with."

Ken grinned as the wood dragon started to wrap itself around the Gobi, using his chakra to make the dragon's body even stronger like the clone had suggested to him. The Gobi howled out in anger as he tried to break free. Ken noticed how the attempts got even weaker as time went on.

The clone laughed as he commented. "I told you this would happen. Senju Hashirama was one of the few shinobi ever to be able to control the bijuu."

Ken realized that Hashirama must have been the one who had originally had this power. But he didn't dwell on it as he brought out the seal that Naruto had give him. Seeing how the Gobi was starting to revert back into his human form, Ken knew that it was now or never.

The dragon started to make its way back as the Gobi's true body disappeared, the bijuu no longer being able to sustain it because of his lack of chakra. Han hit the ground on his back with a large thud. But before he could even start to recover, he saw Ken coming down on him. He made to move, but Ken shot out even more of the stakes from before. The stakes impaled both of his shoulders and legs, keeping the jinchuriki in place.

Ken grinned in victory as he landed on top of the large built jinchuriki, placing the seal on his forehead. The jinchuriki's struggles died down after that, having already lost consciousness. The wood dragon disappeared as well, already having completed its purpose.

Ken fell on his behind next to the downed jinchuriki, still not fully believing the fact that he had been able to defeat the jinchuriki. Granted, he knew that he owed a lot of this victory to the clone that was accompanying him right now.

"I really should thank you. I wouldn't have been able to defeat the Gobi without your help. No matter what Naruto believes, I really am just someone who had the luck of being introduced into this. Heh, I wonder how I'm even still alive."

"I wonder about that….."

Ken paused as he heard the clone. "And what do you mean by that?"

The clone chuckled again. "I know of Anko. My original has told me everything that he knew about her. She wasn't the type to involve someone that she knows would only drag her down. She saw something in you that she felt like she could believe in. If that wasn't the case, she wouldn't have asked you to contact Naruto in case something ever happened to her. Then again, this is only my guess. But considering the fact that you've been able to adjust to using the sharingan to this degree in just a few days as well as handle the chakra I'm giving you along with everything else….well, let's just say you aren't as normal as you might like to think of yourself as, Ken Washington. I'm sure Naruto knows this too. Otherwise, he wouldn't have asked you to come here today. On that one, I'm sure of."

Ken was silent, not knowing on how to respond. He liked to believe that Anko had simply been honest with him because there had been no one else to confide in. And perhaps that had been the case in the beginning. But just as the clone had pointed out, she wouldn't had involved him anymore than that if she didn't think that he could handle it. He wondered…..

'Was it my path to do this today?'

It would certainly be of a great shock to him if it was.

Isshin looked down at his handiwork. Bee was on the ground on his back, the seal that Naruto had given him on his forehead. All around them, the deserted street was as destroyed as if there had just been a war here. There were craters everywhere. The buildings in the area had been destroyed as well for the most part. Not that Isshin had had a choice in the matter.

After having had cornered the jinchuriki, Bee had transformed into the Hachibi in an instant. After that, it had been Isshin bringing out his strongest techniques to the table to bring down the bijuu. But it hadn't had the desired effect as the bijuu had been quick to recover. It had been then that the former shinigami captain had resorted to using the seal on himself, which had augmented his powers beyond imaginable. Not only that, but they had had more effect on the bijuu than before. After that, the shinigami had been quick to bring down the bijuu, almost going as far as slicing the bijuu in half. The Hachibi hadn't been able to keep his form after the relentless attacks of the shinigami, so had had to change back into his human form. From there, Isshin had quickly placed the seal on the jinchuriki. Which brought him back to the present.

He didn't turn around as he heard someone drop a body behind him. A whistle followed after that.

"Well, seems like you had your hands full here too."

Isshin smiled slightly as he turned to look at his fellow shinigami, Yoruichi. On the ground below her was the unconscious form of Yugito.

"Looks like you filled your quota," he observed.

Yoruichi hmph'ed as she crossed her arms in front of her. "Had you any doubts?"

Isshin smirked before asking, "Why did you bring her? I thought that we didn't need to bring them anywhere after we defeated them."

Yoruichi shrugged. "I thought so too. Until this woman with these weird red eyes told me that Naruto wanted them to be brought to him as soon as possible. Looks like he still has more allies than we thought."

Isshin could only nod before turning his attention back to the UNO building in the distance. He had felt a familiar power when he had been fighting against the Hachibi before.

Following his gaze, Yoruichi grinned as she too had felt the power that Isshin was no doubt interesting in. "Hahaha seems like the brat is more like you than you thought eh? He and Urahara succeeded faster than we thought alright."

Isshin couldn't help the grin that befell his face as he picked up the unconscious Bee. He felt better now knowing that Ichigo was there to save his sisters.

"He is my son, after all."

So, I'm back, And a lot sooner than I thought. But yea. It's just how it is. And like I said earlier, I did decide to split the chapter up because there was simply too much to do for me to put it in one chapter. And it felt better to end it here too. So yea. That's what I decided to do. Hope you enjoyed it, though.

Anyway, I don't know when I'll be back again. Hopefully as soon as this time around. Cause next chapter is the final chapter. Besides the epilogue anyway.

Again, hopefully you enjoyed it. Till next time.