Hey all, welcome back to the next chapter of 'Immortalized'! I'm gonna go ahead and apologize for the several spelling errors in the last chapter. When I was proofreading it I was still half asleep, and I let a lot more get by than is acceptable. Hey, shit happens. Anyways, onto the chapter!


Chapter 8

The Masks We Wear


Lynx walked down the main hall of the Seventh Division's headquarters, happy to have his porcelain mask depicting the animal that was his codename back in place, secured firmly over his head. It was odd, he mused, as he continued along, that over the last few years in ANBU, he had come to see the mask he had donned as his real face, and his actual, physical face as the mask. He had become, in a sense, dependent on the mask.

His position within ANBU was absolute, he answered only to the Hokage, and on occasion, Lord Danzo, though the man had been dealing less and less with the normal ANBU forces and had seemed to be pulling out of the program. Within the Corps, Lynx had power. He was in a position of authority where his word was law, and while he definitely wasn't drunk on the power that had been granted to him, he would admit that it was convenient at times.

He had also come to own the tattoo that he had on his left bicep with pride, a pride that only an ANBU Captain could share with him. Yes, all in all the fifteen year old Lynx had come to enjoy his position in the black ops division, and he would be loath to leave it when the time eventually came for him. He knew that the typical operative only served for a total of five years within the organization, and he was quickly approaching his fourth. However, it was said that the Captains usually served a little longer, so he couldn't be too sure on how much longer he had left in the program. He'd savor every adrenaline filled moment, though, for Lynx was a bit of a danger junkie. The only thing he could say with certainty that he hated about the Corps, was the paperwork that came with being a Captain.

Lynx managed to hold back the small shudder, as he thought back to the meeting he had had with his Hokage earlier that morning, soon after his little escapade with Konoha's resident snake mistress.

Flashback- Earlier that morning

The Hokage was sitting at his desk, working on his ever growing pile of paperwork that never seemed to diminish, no matter how hard he worked on it, when he was almost caught off guard by a kunai knife sailing through his open window, impacting the ground just in front of his desk. The Hokage raised an eyebrow in mild surprise, not really concerned with it, until he noticed the strange markings along its hilt, and the odd three-pronged design of the knife, soon accompanied by blue flash that was reminiscent of the yellow one that had come to be recognized worldwide.

As the light quickly faded, the figure of one of his most trusted and reliable Captains was kneeled before him, his ever-present katana crossed over the back of his ANBU uniform, one arm clad in armor on the ground in a clenched fist. "You sent for me, Hokage-Sama." The young blonde headed captain stated, before the Hokage got over his light stupor and addressed him.

"So, you've finally mastered the Hiraishin, then? Congratulations! I remember when Minato himself first showed me it…" The old man spoke softly, and as he watched the young man rise to his feet, he couldn't help but be reminded of his late successor, though to be fair the blonde hair and blue eyes weren't really helping in this case. "Anyways, on to the matter at hand, here's what I need you to do…"

End Flashback

Lynx allowed himself a light chuckle at the memory, seeing as no one was around before he checked his emotions and stepped up to the door leading to the prison sector of the compound, waiting patiently as the two division guards verified his identity though chakra identification and various other methods, before he was allowed on his way. His destination was the cell occupied by the lone kunoichi he and his team had captured some months prior on a raid into one of Orochimaru's bases. So far, the woman had been questioned by several members of the Torture and Interrogation department, but seeing as how everyone was under special orders to not cause any undue harm, they hadn't been able to glean too much from the woman that wasn't already known from various other prisoners and Jiraiya's own spy network.

As he approached the cell, he remembered his orders from his Hokage and sighed, considering the technicalities that hed have to perform during this 'interrogation', if he could call it that. He paused briefly at the door, before nodding slightly to the two guards who released the various seals that had been placed over the entrance of the door, opening it and allowing the young blonde ANBU Captain inside.

Lynx had been inside the prison cells below Konoha before, every agent had. It was a part of their retention training, in fact, and before they could call themselves full members, they had to spend a week in the cells below their village, being tortured and questioned the entire time. Lynx had passed his with flying colors, and had been better for it, the few scars he had gained during that time quickly fading due to the beast he contained in his body.

He looked around, get a quick assessment of his surroundings, and noting absentmindedly that the various small amenities of the cells hadn't really changed in the few years since he had been down here. The cell he was in contained the minimum amount of items to keep it dull and dreary, but still hospitable and humane. There was a steel framed bed against the far wall, with a small sink and toilet falling next to each other on the far end, the only other addition to the room being a small desk and two chairs which were all nailed to the floor. And then, sitting on the bed itself was the kunoichi he had fought before.

She looked up at him, and for a brief second, he was sure that she didn't recognize him, he had grown a decent amount from the last time they had met, and his figure was also more defined from all of his hard training. This feeling soon faded though, as he watched her eyes narrow as she began glaring steel daggers at him, her dark brown orbs somehow piercing the darkness that was her cell.

"Oh, fuckin' great! Not only do you Konoha pieces of shit decide to keep me locked up in this god damn cell, asking me fuckin' questions all fucking day and night, but now you assholes gotta add insult to injury by sending in the cunt that beat me!" The foul mouthed kunoichi grumbled towards the new arrival to her cell, standing up and crossing her arms under her bust, cocking her hip out to the side as she looked on at her captor.

Lynx merely stood there, taking in the form of the woman, who had shed (or rather been forced to change) her old Oto robes and replaced them with a gray form-fitting prisoners singlet. While it was still just ever so slightly baggy it did not do much to keep her figure hidden, and whether or not she wanted to, she was giving Lynx quite the treat, especially considering the events of his previous night. Suffice to say, Lynx was quite thankful for his mask, otherwise he may have been sporting a blush. "Good Morning, Tayuya." He spoke simply, before moving to the side and taking a seat in one of the chairs, slinging his blade from off of his shoulders before placing it next to him, leaning it against the table.

The woman in question simply glared at him, before taking a seat herself at the opposite end of the table doing her best to not become unnerved by the unwavering eyes of the mask that stared back at her. "I'll start then. As you've correctly guessed, I was the one who defeated you, and subsequently captured you. The Hokage, in his wisdom, has seen fit me to come here and talk with you, and see if we can't broker a deal, of sorts." The man began, before sighing softly to himself, reaching his right hand up to the side of his mask, and after only a brief second of hesitation, unclasping it, bringing it down and placing it upon the desk, raising his head to lock eyes with the redheaded kunoichi.

Tayuya had been in the middle of sucking in a breath to begin her massive tirade of insults that she was going to spew at the man as he finished speaking and took off his mask, when her breath hitched for a brief second as she met his eyes. She was definitely unprepared for how young the man was, being about her own age if she had to guess. Tayuya had assumed from the way that the man fought, and from the way he carried himself and acted that he was older, being at least in his mid-twenties.

The young woman was also surprised by the man's looks. She had known he had a defined body, most ninja do, but his face was truly something else. When he had his mask in place the man exuded an aura of confidence and mystique, but now with it removed, she was able to stare into his cold, steely blue eyes, that somehow made her feel secure, but at the same time as if she was in danger. She paused in her tracks, doing her absolute best to fight the small blush that was beginning to spread across her face as she took in his visage, committing everything in it to memory, from the long dull blonde locks that brushed his face, to the two fading whisker marks on either side of his face.

"Yes, I know, it's odd for an ANBU to remove their mask, especially in the presence of a prisoner, but the Hokage's orders are absolute, and the chances of your escape are zero- especially with the modifications to your cell that I have made. Your best chances of ever leaving this cell are with me." Naruto began, noticing the lack of conversation that had permeated as soon as he had dropped his mask. Closing his eyes and leaning his head back, he sighed to himself, before crossing his arms. He would have just as much preferred to keep his mask on, or rather, not have had to partake in this at all, but orders were orders.

Shaken from her thoughts, Tayuya let out the breath she forgot shed been holding, before speaking in her usual hot blooded manor, laughing before she began. "You seriously think that just taking off your mask will get me to trust you, shithead? You must be more retarded than I thought! Listen here, Tree Fucker…" She paused as she leaned in close to the man who had been her captor, coming nearly close enough to be touching noses as she continued. "…I don't give two shits what you or anyone else here offers. I don't give a fuck that you removed my curse seal. You're not getting anything else even if you kill me."

After listening to her little rant, Naruto opened his eyes, standing from the chair, and crossing his arms. She wanted to play games? That was fine with him, he was already pissed off to be here, so he may as well make the most of it. He could even play it off as the Hokage's orders, he mused as he turned around, his back now facing her, before letting out a small laugh that started out as a low, deep chuckle, gradually beginning to build in size and tone, before it was full blown, barking laughter, slowly turning to look back at the woman in the cell, his new look freezing her to the core, as the first thing she noticed was that gone were the cold blue eyes that confused her, and replacing them were the red, slitted irises of a monster.

Naruto stalked across the room towards her, watching in mild satisfaction as she at first attempted to stand firm, but very rapidly sunk back into her chair as he approached her, allowing a deep red shroud of chakra to form around his body. He leaned in towards her, placing one hand on either side of the chair, effectively blocking her in as he leaned in close, bringing his now feral and beastly looking face to bear with hers, watching as she shrunk back even further as he bore his elongated canines at her, speaking with a now deep and gravelly voice that reverberated throughout the room, simultaneously fixing her in a glare that contained all of the killing intent he could muster.

"That's fine with me. I don't mind killing you, and I would have done so easily, oh so easily the first time I saw you, if I hadn't been under strict orders to capture, not kill. But here…" Naruto paused as he brought his right hand up to her face, dragging one of his now-claws across her cheek, just strongly enough to draw a small amount of blood as he continued, "…I have full access to maim, torture, and I can even return the curse seal to you that I 'oh so graciously' removed. It wouldn't even be hard…" He trailed off as he leaned back slightly, withdrawing his hand, and quite suddenly dropping everything as he turned around, the aura, his eyes and hands, everything returned to normal as the young blonde haired man returned to his seat on the other side of the table, folding his hands and leaning back. "But, I'd rather not do that, cleaning the blood out of this uniform is a bit of a pain in the ass…"

Tayuya was choking on air. Just when she thought she had the man before her figured out as a soft spoken individual, he turns into a complete monster right before her eyes, terrifying her more than the soft, subtle thoughts of her death like her former master. Then, he dropped the whole thing, returning to normal and acting like nothing had changed, before revealing to her that it was he who had removed her curse seal. Shaking softly, and quickly steeling herself before fixing the blonde with a halfhearted glare, she submitted. "Why are you even here, Shithead?" She questioned, not noticing that her hands were still clenched belong the table hard enough to draw blood.

"Well, I'm glad we got that out of the way, because honestly, I don't like having to go into my 'interrogation' mode as I call it. Does a number on my voice." Naruto joked, attempting to lighten the mood as he cleared his throat. "Now, onto the business at hand. Just cooperate with me for a bit, alright Tayuya? And I can probably hook you up with some better living quarters and the like. Hell, if you come far enough, it's not unheard of for people in your position to become a full fledge shinobi of Konohagakure."

Tayuya, for her part, merely looked into the blonde's eyes, carefully brushing a strand of straw red hair behind her ear. For some reason, although it was far, far too soon to say she trusted the young blonde haired Shinobi, she could say that she believed his offer, and really, it wouldn't wasn't too farfetched of an idea to change allegiance and become a ninja of another village. It had happened several times in the past, why not for her? Hell, she'd do just about anything to get out of the cell that had been her home for the past few months.


Sarutobi Hiruzen looked over the report that had been given to him by the ANBU's Seventh Division's Captain, Lynx, on the kunoichi he had captured from one of Orochimaru's bases. They had learned little from her, but what they had, was quite valuable. The largest and by far most important piece of information that they had gained was that the Sandaime's own wayward student was the current leader of Otogakure, the budding young village that had sprouted up almost overnight to the north of Konoha and west of the land of Hot Water.

Unfortunately, as much as launching a full scale assault against the land was appealing, it had been heavily advised against by the council, and even the personal envoys from the Daimyo had voiced their concern against it. Tensions were already thin with their relations to Sunagakure, and launching into a full scale war, even against one of the smaller countries, could mean disastrous consequences for Konoha, and Hiruzen was far fast the impulsive decisions he had been somewhat prone to make earlier in his life.

The old Hokage puffed thoughtfully on his pipe, savoring the tobacco as he continued reading the report as he came to the section on the kunoichi herself. Lynx had conducted a thorough 'interrogation' of the woman, following through on his investigation, and treating it more as a conversation between old friends instead of questioning an enemy shinobi. He hadn't learned too much more from the young woman, as Ibiki and the various Yamanaka's had done a very thorough job in their initial questioning of the young woman.

However, one thing he had gleaned in their several sessions that the blonde had conducted with Tayuya over the last couple months, was that there was no love lost between her and Orochimaru, and that one of the largest things keeping her loyal to him was the cursed mark upon her neck, and the relationship she had with someone in Oto, though she refused to say who, no matter how hard he pushed. Lynx had come to a conclusion on the woman, that while she could not be 'explicitly' trusted as a full and independent ninja of Konoha, she might one day be able to, and had even gone so far as to recommend her for early parole and probation, under a Jounin's supervision, of course.

The old Hokage thought it over, switching his pipe from one side of his mouth to the other, before grinning in the way that only 'someone who has just made a decision that will absolutely screw with someone else who has no way of retaliating against them', can. The old man had found a solution to the young woman's problem, and although he would be putting her under the supervision of someone who wasn't necessarily a Jounin, per-say, he would put in special instructions for her to have a specially modified version of their 'prisoner retention seal' put in place. This would be an interesting play indeed, and the ageing Hokage chuckled lightly to himself before signed the paper, stamping it with the official Hokage's seal, before calling out to his personal assistant to come collect the papers.

He was positive that this would irritate the young ANBU Captain to no end, but it would also help him to begin retaining his humanity. Though he didn't show it on the outside, the Sandaime was beginning to become slightly worried about the man. He had seen the way the young man acted both under the mask and when he was free of it, and it was clear that Naruto was conflicted over his identity. He had watched the way he reacted when he was ordered to remove his mask for the purpose of gaining a baseline during the interrogation, and noticed the slight hesitation that anyone else might have missed. He would begin the process to phase Naruto out of ANBU before too long, as soon as he hit the five year mark, which wasn't too far away, being a mere eight months out. He wanted to do it sooner, but he'd wait out of respect for the boy, and he also needed to give him time to select a replacement Captain.

He just hoped he wouldn't be too late in helping the boy retain his humanity.


Lynx sat quietly around the small cooking fire, eating the smoked rabbit with the three other members of his squad, Hawk, Weasel, and Badger. The four of them had gone out on a scouting and possible combat mission past the border of Fire Country, and a small distance inside the lines of Water Country. The team was tracking whatever had left the rather large trail of destruction that they had been following for the last several days.

Normally, it would be quite a big issue to have an ANBU team inside the border of another country, but Kiri was still largely involved in its civil war, though the former Mizukage, Yagura, had been killed in combat by the leader of the resistance force, Terumi Mei. Though Mei had tried to perform a swift takeover of the broken country, it was not to be had as many smaller factions had rapidly popped up all over the country, and no forces could currently be spared to perform regular border checks and patrols.

So here Lynx's team was, somewhere below the southernmost border of Hot Water, and far enough into water that the far off islands of what used to be Uzushigakure were just barely in view. They had been tracking what Lynx had the sinking suspicion was the lost Bijuu, the Sanbi. It had become well known by now that the late Mizukage had been the three-tailed Jinchuriki, and when he had been slain, the somewhat elusive beast had slunk off somewhere to heal and be reborn.

That was actually one of the reasons that Lynx had been chosen to lead this mission, as with his sealing prowess, he alone would be the one who was most able to seal the beast away in the event it was actually what he and the Hokage feared. The other reason for his placement being that he was the container of such a beast himself, and if anyone had to face it, he would be the most likely to come out on top. However, this did nothing to still Lynx's beating heart, for though on the outside he was calm and collected, on the inside he knew that this mission could go awry in a heartbeat, and if the Sanbi did indeed show its head, it would likely be the toughest fight of his life.

Before Lynx could take another bite of the rabbit he held in his hands, he was instantly placed on high alert as one of the many clones he had scouting and keeping guard for the small camp dispelled, leaving him with the vision of two figures running across the water and hopping between the small islands, seemingly in pursuit of the large chakra signature he had been aware of for the last several minutes. The weird thing that caught him off guard though, was the attire of the two men that ran across the landscape.

They were wearing black cloaks that were adorned with red clouds, and if anything was to be judged by the chakra levels even he could sense from this distance, they were at a minimum A-Class, if not higher. His clone had been unable to see their headbands, the cloaks themselves didn't show any village alignment as far as he knew, and his knowledge was only superseded by the Hokage himself. Lynx sighed softly to himself, dropping the rabbit and signing a few quick commands to his team as they rushed to move out in pursuit.

None of this boded well, and a fight was almost guaranteed at this point. The adrenaline junkie of a Captain shrugged his shoulders, before leaping into the thinning trees, fully intent on leading his team to another victory. He had a reputation to uphold, after all. A one-hundred-percent mission success rate spoke for itself.


Although the task force from Konoha left immediately after laying eyes on the two unidentified men, by the time they arrived to the area that the three large chakra signatures had congregated and stopped at, the battle was already underway. Lynx and his team came to a halt on one of the small islands, accessing the situation at hand, and watching as the Sanbi, enraged at this point, slammed one of its three tails into the blonde haired man he had been unable to identify, slamming the man deep underwater, while his partner just watched on, with what seemed to be a bored look on his face, though it was hard to tell as the man was hunched over, and a cloth that served as a mask that covered his entire lower face.

Lynx looked to his team, quickly unsealing four large scrolls that he handed to each one of his team, speaking in a terse, yet commanding voice. "You know what to do, move to the four corners of the area and begin the sealing. I'm moving in to distract and apprehend whoever decided to crash this party, and then I'll move to assist." Making one final decision, Lynx channeled his chakra and four copies of himself popped into view, each moving with one of the members of his team. "Have them dispel and relay any problems to me. You were all chosen by me for this mission, now go prove that I didn't make a mistake. Move!" Lynx yelled as his team phased out of view in front of his eyes, as he turned and faced towards the hunched man that seemed to have noticed his presence. Narrowing his eyes behind his mask, a tri-pronged kunai appearing in his hand as he threw the metal blade as hard as he could, aiming directly for the hunched figure.

He had been correct in assuming that the man was aware of him, for as the blade approached him the man dodged, easily placing himself off to the side of the offending kunai, but unfortunately not moving far enough away as Lynx flashed to the kunai in a streak of electric blue, and before the unidentified man was able to respond in kind, he found a small, glowing ball of energy slammed into his back, crumpling him. Lynx frowned behind his mask as he leapt back, unconsciously channeling chakra to his feet to keep him above the rumbling water, the raging Sanbi at his back.

It had been too easy to dispatch his enemy. Now, Lynx knew he was good, but he also knew the limit of his abilities, and those who got over confident in his job often wound up dead. He knew he had contacted with his opponent, he had felt his Rasengan drill into the man's back, and watched as his cloak was ripped to shreds. So he stood, drawing Kaze no Karitoriki and falling into a loose but ready stance, and watched and waited for his enemy to rise. His only baseline for this train of thought was a gut feeling, and the nagging feeling at the back of his mind that anyone who was strong enough to willingly take on one of the tailed beasts would never fall for a tactic like that, even if it was a technique that was only ever used by one man who was known to be dead.

He was rewarded for his patience though, as the fallen body that had begun to drift below the waves shifted, and the form of a young man, younger than even Lynx himself practically flew to the surface, flying over the ANBU Captain who spun on his heel facing his enemy the entire time. The young boy he was facing turned, and that's when Lynx began to notice what was different about him, starting with the joints and ball pivots that made up his body where there should have been skin and bones. Lynx watched on in abject curiosity as the man fully turned, revealing his face to him, and that it when it clicked for the Agent. Taking in the younger teens red hair, brown eyes, and the fact that what he had destroyed was almost certainly a puppet, there was no doubt in his mind who his newest opponent was.

"Akasuna no Sasori. S-Ranked missing-nin of Sunagakure, wanted for the multiple murders of Suna shinobi and civilians, the suspected murder and disappearance of the Sandaime Kazekage, as well as desertion in a time of war, with a bounty of one-hundred-million yen." Lynx stated calmly, reciting the bingo book entry to the letter, falling into a stance more suited to combat against a ranged opponent, preparing himself for the hard fight ahead, watching as the teen before him reached behind his back, pulling a singular scroll from his back, and shooting forward, bringing his blade down in a forward strike, hoping to stop the man from unsealing whatever he had in the scroll.

It was not to be though, as there was a small puff of smoke that emerged from the scroll a fraction of a second before Lynx's blade would have pierced Sasori's shoulder, the agents free hand grabbing ahold of the other man's left wrist, whose hand had been intent on burning him asunder with its built in flame thrower that he narrowly managed to deflect into the water. Lynx's blade was stopped by the arm of a puppet, which Lynx wasted no time in retreating from, and was proved once again correct in his instincts as multiple senbon shot from the mouth of the puppet into the space he had been seconds before. Lynx's eyes widened behind his mask as he gazed up the visage of the Third Kazekage, who appeared to have been transformed into a human combat puppet. Falling into a defensive posture, Lynx began thinking, his tactical mind a blur as it ran through strategy and counterstrategy.

"I see you have me at a disadvantage, ANBU-San. You seem to know quite a bit about me, while I don't even know your identity, and you've already destroyed one of my favorite puppets. It's going to take me quite some time to rebuild him, you know." Sasori drawled out, talking in an almost lazy manner. "But no matter. I'll soon add you to my collection!"

Lynx, his instincts screaming at him, leapt into the air, dodging past the very recognizable "Satetsu(Iron Sand) that had exploded out of the puppets mouth, raining down on the position he had most recently been in, and turning to follow his movements. The young ANBU Captain began falling to the ground, seamlessly creating a Kage Bunshin mid-fall that grabbed him and launched the man towards the real body of Sasori at an alarming speed, even as his clone was destroyed by the sand. However, Sasori hadn't lived this long by having slow reflexes, and moved the puppet that had been the third Kazekage to intercept, unfortunately, his view of Lynx was blocked, and in that quick moment, Lynx flashed to the forgotten kunai that had sunk to some distance down below the surface of the water, leaving a puzzled Sasori above the waves, unable to see his opponent.

He wasn't to wait for long though, as the ANBU who had disappeared launched up from under the waves, and began engaging the puppet user in close combat, quickly being pushed back by the puppet of the Kazekage, falling back a few yards away and beginning combat with his blade anew. So focused was Sasori on his combat with the blonde haired shinobi that he seemed unable to lay a single hit on, that he was caught completely off guard when the single opponent he thought he had been facing suddenly split into over twenty copies, all but three of which engaged his puppet in a flurry of Ninjutsu, while what he assumed to be the original and two other clones appeared in a shunshin above him, hands already frozen in the final seals of three separate jutsu.

A trio of identical voices called out the names of the three separate techniques as they sailed overhead of their redheaded adversary, "Fuuton: Diatoppa! (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!)", "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu! (Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!), "Raiton: Jibashi! (Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder!), the large ball of fire being boosted to almost enormous heights as it was boosted by the large gale of wind that amplified it, the blast of blast of lightning breaching the waves as it electrocuted anything that had fallen under the waves in an effort to dodge the blazing inferno that raged above.

Lynx landed on the surface of the water, the memories of his clones hitting him quickly as he realized the fight wasn't over yet. He focused on the memory of one of his clones, who had seen the puppet of the Sandaime Kazekage tear through three of his clones as it rushed to intercept the fire and Sasori, attempting to raise its wall of iron sand in time to block or at lease minimize the oncoming blaze from the absurdly powerful combination jutsu.

Lynx waited, and once again, his patience wasn't for naught as the burnt body of Sasori once again appeared from beneath the waves, looking quite damaged to say the least, if the missing left arm and leg were anything to go by. As the redhead once again began reaching of one of the scrolls on his back, he was completely surprised as for a split second he heard the sound of the wind blowing behind him, right before two larger-than-normal Rasengan's appeared at the base of his next and the small of his back, tearing apart anything in between them and scattering the fragments to the wind, even destroying the chakra implant that had been where the teen's heart would have been had he been alive.

Lynx watched as the man exploded, the 'Lynx' across from him popping out of existence and revealing itself as one of his signature Kage Bunshin. Looking down to his right, Lynx stooped low and grabbed the severed head of the former Suna puppet master, quickly sealing it into a small scroll, before he turned to the scenario behind him, taking in the sight. His team, and his sealing matrix were doing their job perfectly, the tailed beast in front of him being subdued through a complex variation of chakra siphoning, sealing, and releasing. Normally, a Bijuu was unable to be sealed inside of a scroll for any period of time, but Lynx had cracked the way to do it.

To simplify things, Lynx had created a sealing matrix that did four separate things and was perfect for the sealing of one of the weaker Bijuu (He shuddered to think that it would hold back something like the Hachibi or Kyuubi, and hoped he never had to attempt to seal them like this.). It started out simple, the four members of his ANBU squad had taken the large scrolls to each of one of the four corners of the area Lynx had designated, before opening the scroll and channeling just enough chakra into it to active it on a simultaneous signal. After the matrix configured itself between the four starting points, with the Sanbi lying in the middle and in contact with all of them, the containment aspect activated.

This had begun right as Lynx flashed towards Sasori, neither party taking notice of the twenty pillars of purple flame that emerged along the square border between each ANBU, each one falling in onto the enraged beast, smashing down upon it, weighing it down and preventing it from moving. This activated the second step of the sealing process as the four scrolls began to visibly siphon off the chakra of the great beast, absorbing it into itself, before forcefully ejecting it out the other end of the extended parchment, expelling the rancid chakra into the air and dispelling it.

That's when the third aspect of the matrix began, as soon as the chakra of the multi-tailed beast was at a manageable level, a kanji began appearing on the back of the shell of the large beast, being slowly burned into its shell. This seal that was being forcefully implanted on the great beasts back forcefully sealed off the rest of the beasts charka, holding it back like the caged bars in Lynx's own cell that held back the Kyuubi in his mindscape, cutting off the beasts access and link to its power. As the Bijuu was now no stronger than an absurdly strong human, such as a Kage, the fourth and final method of Lynx's sealing matrix began, which pulled the beast itself into the large scroll that Lynx himself had opened as he stood upon its back, yanking the large beast from this plane of reality into that of the pocket dimension created by the scroll.

Lynx breathed a sigh of relief as he closed the scroll, quickly writing out a sealing matrix upon the scroll itself, a security variant, so that only he could gain access and unseal the beast within. Making a mental note to get a blood and chakra sample from the Hokage so he would have the same access, Lynx placed the scroll large enough to belong to a summoning contract on the small of his back. He was soon joined on the waves by the four other members of his squad, and he was about to begin issuing the order to return back to Konoha when he stumbled, being quickly caught by his Lieutenant, Badger, and not recovering.

"Taichou! Are you alright?" The man asked, rolling the man onto his own broad back, allowing the team's medical expert, Weasel, to begin diagnostic. He didn't have to wait long, for as soon as the glowing green light faded from around Weasel's hands he spoke softly to Boar.

"Mild chakra exhaustion. This was to be expected since the final aspect of the sealing matrix pulled directly from his own supply. Additionally, during his battle with the unknown Nin, he appears to have suffered a small cut on his torso, and a poison injected. However, the poison has sense been nullified, seemingly by the Taichou's body itself, though it appears to have severely exhausted. Recommendation: medical attention when available, immediate return to headquarters."

Boar nodded, agreeing with the team's medic as he shifted his Taichou into an easier position to carry, reminiscent of a piggy-back ride, before setting off in a run towards land, heading west towards Konoha.

For as skilled as the team was, they never noticed the strange white bird, flying so high above the now still waves that it could have been mistaken for a normal seagull, nor the blonde haired man that rode atop it.


"So, allow me to restate what you've just told me, just so we're clear, because I might have misheard you." The Sandaime started, chewing the end of his ever present tobacco pipe, as he went over the facts in his head, and the folder on his desk. There was no reason for his agents to lie to him about this, nothing that they could possibly gain from messing with him, and this was going far, much too far for this to be a practical joke, so it had to be true. But the series of events themselves were just… absurd, and yet the mission was actually a success, the odds that they had been pitted against were absolutely insane.

"You moved to trail whatever it was that was destroying the small fishing villages on the border of Fire Country. Then, upon tracking out beyond the border, you not only followed it into the territory of a warring country, but evaded all contact with said enemy, performing only light reconnaissance of the area. Then, after coming into visual contact with two unknown entities headed in the direction of the assumed Bijuu, you pursued, engaging one of them in combat and revealing their identity as Akasuna no Sasori and killing him, before finishing the sealing and beating a retreat here?" The Hokage finished, looking at the five kneeling ANBU in his office, his eyes settling on the bowed, dull blonde head of the Captain Lynx, who responded in a clear and concise tone.

"Yes, Hokage-Sama. That is correct. In this scroll contains the remains of Sasori, if it is will suffice for the bounty." Lynx thanked Kami for his mask once again, as it managed to completely conceal the smirk that crossed his face.

The Hokage, however, chose to ignore the young Captains remark, instead focusing on the large scroll that leaned against the wall on the far side of the room. "And that scroll, it contains the Sanbi?" He questioned, still not fully believing that it was. He had only ordered Lynx to subdue the great beast, and as he hadn't sent any small children with the team of ANBU he wasn't particularly expecting them to return with it sealed in a scroll, as that hadn't ever happened before, to his knowledge.

"Hawk, Weasel, Boar, you are dismissed. Lynx, remain. I believe you said something about placing my blood and chakra inside the security seal?"


And for the next hour after having the Hokage put into the access list for the Sanbi's scroll, and the scroll itself being locked away in a large vault with the rest of the forbidden artifacts of Konoha, Lynx was berated, then congratulated upon a mission well done, and then berated again. So it was a few hours later when a Lynx with a talked off ear flashed into the home of his father, walking up the stairs to the master bedroom of the house, absentmindedly dropping his mask on the desk to the side, and falling unceremoniously onto his bed, wondering what that small "Oomph" was as he slowly closed his eyes, completely exhausted.

That is, he had thought he was exhausted, for a split second after he had heard the noise he was on his feet, knife in hand and at the throat of his intruder as he blinked the sleep from his eyes, looking into the dark chocolate orbs of the still half asleep redhead he was currently pinning to the bed. Recognizing her almost instantly, in mere seconds he had her arms restrained and was holding her against the wall, face first, as he flashed through a brief restraining jutsu, slamming his palms into the wood below him an watching as chains made of earth sprouted from the ground and encircled the former Oto-kunoichi.

"Tayuya. I'm only going to ask this one time because I'm a nice guy, and then I'm knocking your little ass out and returning you to your cell. How did you get out and why the fuck are you here? Better question, how did you even find here?" The blonde questioned, his hands already a blur painting out the kanji for the various seals he was creating that would both detain, silence, and subdue the woman who had intruded into his home.

Tayuya, who by this point was very much awake began quickly stammering out an explanation to her currently now two-time captor. "Naruto? Holy fuck relax! I was told to come here by your old fuck of a Kage after he made a probationary shinobi, Shithead! Kami if you slap me with a seal I swear I'll rip your fuckin' balls off and let you bleed to death!" The blonde paused in his writing, listening to the redheaded kunoichi deliver his explanation before he noticed a still sealed scroll bearing the Hokage's personal seal lying on the floor. Figuring that he had probably knocked it over in his brief scuffle with the woman, he quickly broke the seal, before quickly reading its comments, looking up and narrowing his eyes soon after completing his task.

"I…see. Apparently the Hokage neglected to tell me this when I met with him earlier." The blonde stated as he discarded of the paper he had been writing out his kanji on, before releasing the jutsu that had held Tayuya in place. "So, why the hell are you in my house? And how did you get it? I have seals all over the damn place to prevent things like this from happening!" Naruto finished, sitting down on his bed, and for the first time noticing the girl's state of dress, or rather, undress he mused.

Undress would be the more apt of the two terms, as currently the fair skinned girl was dressed in nothing more than one of Naruto's large black t-shirts complete with the Uzumaki spiral on the front, and a pair of her own panties, though the shirt did a very admirable job of covering them up. However, it did nothing to cover the young woman's long, slender legs, and it was then that Naruto noticed she wasn't wearing her usual battle headband that bore the Oto symbol, instead allowing her long red hair to fall down upon and past her shoulders, rolling and flowing down to the small of her back as she turned to face him, folding her arms under her bust and glaring at him.

"Listen Shithead, cut it with the third degree. Hokage-Sama…"Tayuya started, saying the title of her new village leader with as much sarcasm as she could muster, "granted me probationary status as a shinobi of Konoha under supervision of one of the Ninja of the village. As the one who brought me to this shithole you call a village, he decided that you would be the one who would look after me, especially since I already knew you worked with the ANBU. The old bastard even put this piece of shit seal on me, so that if go beyond the walls of the village my heart will stop or some shit." The woman eloquently finished, lifting her arm to show the blonde her inner arm, revealing the small circular shaped image filled with kanji neatly drawn there. "As for how I got here… well some guy with a Falcon mask came here with me, told me I was to stay here, and then drew a bunch of shit on the ground telling me it was safe to go inside."

Naruto briefly got up and looked at the seal on her arm, and after cross-referencing it with the letter he had been written by the Hokage himself, deemed hers to be true. Saying nothing else, the Uzumaki heir wordlessly created five clones who immediately left the room to move to their assigned task of resealing and improving the seals upon his house, as the original simply stripped out of his bloodied ANBU armor, and after giving Tayuya a brief view of his muscular back, grabbing a pair of loose-fitting sweatpants and a towel as he walked towards the bathroom, intent on getting rid of the blood and grime that still covered him with a quick shower.

It didn't take long for the young man to rise off and cleanse himself of the aftereffects of his latest mission, before half dressing himself in the pants he had grabbed before, walking back into his bedroom while drying his sandy blonde hair, half expecting the newest tenant of his house to have moved on to another part of the moderately sized house. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on your outlook, the lightly clothed redhead was still on his bed, curled around the only pillow on the bed, fast asleep, her ample chest rising and falling with her every breath.

Sighing softly to himself, the blonde ran his fingers through his damp hair, absentmindedly dropping the towel he had been using onto the back of a nearby chair. He walked over to near the head of the bed, where Tayuya was sleeping peacefully gazing down at her sleeping form, before smiling and unceremoniously pulling the pillow she had been curled around out from underneath her head, waking the girl up in the process.

"Hey Shithead, what the fuck? I was using that." The chocolate eyed girl glared up at the young man standing over her, only briefly allowing her eyes to roam over his distinguished upper boy, and after a valiant but futile attempt to hold back the blush that crossed her face, attempted to sit up before he roughly pushed her back down and leaned in close, getting up in her face and glaring back just as strongly.

"Listen to me, and listen well, Tayuya. This is my house, regardless of what the Hokage or anyone else says. Everything in this house, belongs to me. That includes my pillow. Clear?" The blonde questioned, though his tone made it absolutely clear that it was a statement, moving around to the opposite side of the bed, laying the pillow down and with the last of his strength remaining from his long and hard fought mission, plopped down onto the bed itself, head falling almost dead center on the pillow he had reclaimed from his newest roommate. He had only lain there for a few minutes when he felt the somewhat familiar weight of a head laid on his chest, and cracking an eyelid he was greeted with the sight of Tayuya's flowing red hair falling across his body, her left hand coming to rest in the center of his chest, just below the girls mouth.

"Tayuya?" Naruto briefly questioned, not exactly minding the new development, but not filled with enough energy to fight back against it, either.

"Shut up, Shithead. I'm tired, and you took the pillow, remember? So now, I have to make do with whatever the fuck I can. Also, this is the only Goddamn bed in the house and I'm not gonna be the one sleeping on the fuckin' couch."

He had to admit, her logic did make sense.


Authors Note:

And that brings us to the end of this chapter! Before people start raging over Naruto defeating Sasori somewhat easily, you gotta look underneath the underneath, Sasori was out of his element, fighting atop the ocean in his puppets for one thing, another large fact being that he had no knowledge of who Naruto was, and as such caused him to drastically underestimate his opponent. The biggest factor in the fight was luck though, in Naruto's final counter attack, his double Odama Rasengan happened to hit and destroy the container in Sasori's chest. Naruto knows the fight was won off luck, as he is only an A-ranked shinobi at best, and he had nearly every single advantage over his opponent, who was an S-ranked missing Nin. Anyways…

That's all I got. Out.