Attention! HEY! HEY! YOU THERE! HEY! PAY ATTENTION!

Okay, so, this is the last chapter to this fic. BUT! The story isn't over just yet. I'm going to post another story which is the continuation of this one. So yeah, don't worry. Don't now when I'll post the next part, but don't despair! I will never abandon you guys! Anyway, I had fun, and I hope you guys who I dragged along also enjoyed this.

Enjoy! I own nothing!

He stood in front of Tsunade, his face an emotionless mask while his eyes showed his sorrow and disappointment. He had not only lost the Uchiha, but his own brother-in-law. Kiba had serious Chakra burns for pumping a continuous amount of chakra out of himself to make sure Akamaru got the least amount of damage with his attack, and Chouji was also suffering because of the pills he ate. They were stable, but so far they haven't woken up yet. Akamaru was fine as well, Hana made sure of that, but the dog refused to leave Kiba's side. Neji and Shikamaru were a bit bruised or a few broken bones, but were fine aside from that. Naruto himself and Sakura were unharmed, only low on chakra. With Hikari and Akyo on either side of him, Sakura beside Akyo, and Shikamaru to Hikari's left, they all stood silently as Tsunade went over the mission report and reviewed it over once again. She sighed and schooled her features before finally speaking.

"Alright then. The mission was, regrettably, a failure, and it seems that we've lost Shishi the demon, thus a blow to our power. Nonetheless, I'm glad to see that most of everyone here is at least somewhat unharmed. Now then, you say that Shishi was somehow... taken over?" at Naruto's nod, she frowned. "Explain."

"The best way to put it is that it was Shishi's body, but it was a completely different person. Kind of like should Ino use her Mind-control jutsu, but this seemed somewhat more permanent. He also had the strange eye on his forehead, which I'm sure means something. Lastly, he simply seemed... older. He's immature, that much is obvious, but when I fought against him, he was more controlled than his usual animalistic self. He actually planned most of his words and gave little away. After talking about mostly nothing, he simply left. and I gave chase, but he disappeared before I could catch him. Though, the area where his trail ended was devoid of both nature energy as well as all life forms besides the trees."

Sighing again, Tsunade leaned back and nodded. "Dismissed." With a bow, the ninja and two demons quickly left the room. Now alone, except for her secretary Shizune, she looked out the window and thought things through. 'Okay... Shishi has either gone beyond insane and simply ran off, or Naruto's theory is correct and he's being possessed. Things aren't looking good. Not only that, but it seems that the Uchiha boy got away and ended up who knows where. Apparently the chances of him reaching Orochimaru are slim, but it's too early to make assumptions.' Closing her eyes for a second, she sighed tiredly. "I get the feeling that things are only going to go downhill from here.

Water splashed against his face as he looked up to stare at his mirror. He frowned while closing his eyes, feeling as his youki stirred within him more than usual. 'A kidney, most of the intestine, and the bottom of my lung. No doubt, it started from the seal and it's spreading.' For a while now, Naruto had been feeling himself slowly... fade, almost. Or more like his insides were being replaced. He could feel how his own youki was replacing his insides, somehow making sure to keep the rest of his organs going with pure youki alone. Not only that, but his hunger was growing. He had tried eating a bit more than usual, but it didn't really seem to help. His stomach felt full, but his insides seemed to be more and more empty. Things weren't looking good for him so far. Then again...

"Naruto-ku~n." whispered a voice while a pair of arms wrapped around his waist from behind. Akyo stood behind him, a small grin on her face as she snuggled into his neck. "What's wrong?"

He sighed and smiled a bit. "My youki's been acting up a bit. It's okay. So far, nothing negative as far as I can tell."

"That's a lie, and you know it." Akyo forced him to turn around, a surprised look on his face when he saw her stern eyes. "I've known you since you were seven, so I know when you lie. It's all in that smile of yours!" Her hands shot out and grabbed his shirt, glaring at him, though he could see her lip tremble as she whispered. "Please... don't hide from me. It hurts to see you seclude yourself. You're not a kid anymore, and you're not alone either. You don't have to hide from any of us. We love you!"

He looked at her for a moment before he sighed again. He was doing that a lot lately. "I think my own youki is eating me. It's not painful, but I feel... empty. Like I'm missing something important. I can ignore it for the most part but... it's growing more powerful. It wants to... to eat, or something like that. And I don't know what to think about all of this. I wonder how long I have before-" he was cut off as Akyo flung her arms around him, her shoulders trembling. He quickly wrapped his own arms around her, rubbing her back in slow circles.

"W-what now?" she whispered, holding on to him and wrapping her tails around him, as if he might disappear in any moment. And if his organs really were being replaced, who knew. That might be exactly what's happening.

"Now we get answers. We have our problem, so now we have to find out all we can on it." he replied, looking determined. He wasn't about to let this... whatever it is, get the best of it. He was going to fix it! With a slight grin, he looked down at Akyo. "Come on, it's time to see the rest. It'd be nice to relax a bit."

'Not exactly what I had in mind, but I'm not complaining.' he thought, smiling as he sat back comfortably, resting his head on Anko's bust. It was her day off, and it seemed that she was more than willing to just relax for the day. He was currently between Anko's legs, her thighs below either of his arms, Akyo to his left and resting her head on his shoulder, Hinata to his right with her head resting on his lap, and finally was Gaia, who was more than happy to snuggle into his chest and roll into a ball. Not a bad way to spend the day, but he was slowly loosing feeling on everything below his neck. That can't be good.

"You're not uncomfortable, are you foxy-boy?" asked Anko, her hand making circles on his chest while she pressed her chest together, her globes smushing his face a bit. He blinked once before his face turned a bit red. "Oh? Is little Naru-chan embarrassed?" cooed the purple-haired woman, grinning widely while making sure to rub her boobs together a bit more. Naruto was beginning to have steam come out of his ears, too much blood boiling in his head.

"U-um, Anko-chan? I don't, uh, well, What are you doing?" he stuttered, a small voice in his head telling him to shut up and enjoy the moment. Strangely enough, the voice sounded like Shishi.

Just then they were interrupted by the doorbell ringing. Naruto, thanking kami multiple times, substituted himself with a nearby pillow and ran for the door, trying to ignore the groans of unhappiness as the girls' foundation (him) left them, resulting in them collapsing onto each other. Reaching the door, he opened it and found himself looking at empty air. He was confused, looking around, and realized that there was no chakra signatures anywhere, same for youki. Looking down, he saw what appeared to be a scroll, though the paper seemed weird. He picked it up and almost dropped it at how soft the paper was. Opening it, he scanned what was said before his eyes widened and he looked back to the house.

"I'm heading to see Tsunade-sama, I'll be back soon!" he shouted, before disappearing in a flash, not noticing how the shadows of his house began to tremble. Like they were laughing.

Tsunade looked down at the piece of paper that had a copy of the message on it. The scroll was next to her, giving her a creepy feeling. Mainly because she managed to find the 'material' used in place of paper. Skin. Human skin was ripped off of someone, presumably while they were still alive, and then turned into a scroll. And the message was just as chilling, mainly because it was always shifting. The characters were never the same, always shifting and moving like it were alive. But somehow, she could read it. Not using her eyes, but something in the back of her mind told here what was on the paper.

"I wait for you, jinchuriki. You have something that belongs to me. Know that you have a choice. You can ignore this and continue with your lives, like nothing happened. Or you can come to me and fight. Because in the end it won't really matter. I will have my biju. And you willdie. You have two years. by then, you will have either gotten stronger to fight or you will have finished your, as you say, 'list in the bucket'. If you wish to fight me in the end in hopes of living on, then talk with your demons. They know what is happening. Enjoy, because the war will soon begin"

She looked up at Naruto, seeing the boy calm, but also seemed to be silently fuming. "Is there something you know, Naruto?" she asked, clasping her hands in front of her.

"More of a theory." he grumbled, glaring at the scroll made of skin. "I get the feeling that the thing that took over Shishi might be the one responsible for this. I have nothing to back this up besides my gut." he grumbled, a bit peeved that he was saying this on account of it being more of a gut-feeling. Then again, his gut has usually been right in the past. Just then the secretary opened the door, a very frightened look on the poor man's face.

"G-G-Ga-Gaia-san i-is h-ere!' he squeaked out, opening the door to show Gaia behind him, looking stern as she held up a scroll just like the one on the Hokage's desk.

"Naruto..."

"Yeah. Me too." he mumbled, picking up and showing her his own scroll. Both jinchuriki looked uneasy, looking over to Tsunade. "It's possible that the other jinchuriki got similar messages. What now?"

"It can't be a joke." Gaia said, stepping forward with a disturbed look on her face. "Moth-... Shukaku has been... whimpering. He's scared." she said, looking at Naruto straight in the eye. "Naruto... What is going on?"

He shook his head while crossing his arms, a frown on his face as he glared at the setting sun. For some reason, the sun's light gave him no warmth. Only a sense of foreboding. Just then, Jiraiya suddenly appeared right outside the window, easily getting in through the window as if he'd done it his whole life. And Tsunade knew he did. Even when they were genin, he was the only one able to enter through any window with no problem. He paused when he saw how serious everyone is. "Great. Now I can't start off with a joke." he complained, hoping to at least get a snicker. Instead, Naruto threw him the scroll. The sannin caught it easily and read its content, frowning when his eyes seemed to be playing tricks to him as the characters kept warping and shifting. "What the...?" he shook his head and decided to go at it. He read the message and then looked up at Tsunade. "Does this mean we should get going?" he asked, receiving a nod.

Tsunade turned to Gaia and said, "Gaia-san, I'm going to have to ask you to leave for now. I promise to explain later, but the three of us need to talk in private."

The suna nin looked reluctant, turning to Naruto with a worried expression on her normally blank face. He smiled encouragingly at her and nodded, his hand reaching out and giving hers a slight squeeze. She nodded before she turned and exited the room, closing the door behind her. Turning to the toad-sage, Naruto quirked an eyebrow.

"So, where are you going now?" Naruto asked.

"We are going on a training trip." declared Jiraiya as Tsunade nodded. "That means you and me, boyo!" he said, giving Naruto a thumbs up. Said jinchuriki only gave him a deadpan stare that slowly caused Jiraiya's face to crumble. "Listen, I know I didn't exactly impress you, but I'm a sannin, as well as your father's sensei. I can teach you many things like taijutsu and some more advanced fuinjutsu, while also polishing a few more of your abilities. I know I'm not the person you want to be with at the moment, but believe me, things are beginning to get bad. The Akatsuki are on the move, and that means that you're going to have to get stronger." Jiraiya explained, crossing his arms while giving Naruto a serious look.

The teen stood there for a moment, thinking about all of this. He had two years, according to the scroll, and in those years he needed to get as strong as possible for whatever it was that was going to happen."How long will we be out?"

"About a year and a half." Naruto knew what his decision would be right then and there.

In a small town, there was a celebration going on. The daughter of the mayor was having a wedding, and, it being a small town, everyone was celebrating. There were games, food, puppet-shows, and fireworks. It was a very happy time, with people smiling and singing and cheering while drinking or clapping. There was one person in particular that was simply walking around, giving a rather uncomfortable aura. That is, anyone who got too close became uncomfortable.

"Oh man. I hate being here." grumbled a man that looked to be in his mid-twenties. He was wearing soft, smooth robes with the sleeves long enough to cover the hands and then some, wooden clogs on his feet, both a red color. He had long red hair that spiked a bit at the top, and his skin was a nice tan color. He was quite handsome, and had a scar that went from his forehead, over his eye, and ended just above his mouth. That actually made him seem more appealing somehow. The only thing that seemed bad was the look of disgust on his face. He hated humans. So very much. It took a lot of restraint just to keep himself from going all out and burning everything in sight. 'Not now. I have a job to do first.' he thought, taking a deep breath as he bowed his head. In the shadow that his hair created, his blood-red eyes shone like hell-fire as he expanded his senses. "I can't let her be taken. I've failed her once. I won't do it twice."

He continued to walk, moving past the people as quickly, but smoothly as possible. It was almost like watching a red haze go through a forest, carried by the wind. In and out of people's sight before they had a good look. Finally he found what he was looking for. A shrine. Walking up to it, he took notice that it was rather close to a large lake. He narrowed his eyes as he saw the thin layer of youki on the surface.

'That's gonna actually be good for the humans. It'll make them live a much longer life. That idiot, always wanting to help the damn monkeys. still... As much as I hate them, this is more important. If I fail... there won't be humans to hate. And no me to do the hating.' He changed directions and headed for the lake instead. He looked down at the surface for a moment before waving his hand behind him. A light wall of youki spread out behind him before it disappeared. 'Can't have anyone else know about this.' "Come on out. I know you're not asleep, turtle! And I know for a fact that you're not dead! You took care of your container a long time ago!" he called out, crossing his arms over his chest. He waited for a moment before the water began to bubble and shift before a spike jutted out. And then a few more, as three giant tails rose from the water. Then a large, dome-like shell appeared, spikes all over the 'collar' of the beast. FInally the head popped out, a single eye with a red sclera and a yellow iris, the sclera having rings originating from the iris. The other eye was covered by a mass of spikes, the entire body of the creature being a grey-green color while its belly was a deep red.

For a moment it seemed to look at the man in confusion, before recognition finally appeared, and it let out a gasp. "Kurama? What do you want? I haven't seen you since you gave up your title of Kyuubi to that little kid you call a sister." spoke the giant turtle, his voice a deep baritone that made the air tremble.

"Watch your tongue. I know Hikari doesn't have as much blood-lust as the rest of the Kyuubi before her, but she's still a good girl. I don't want to hear you speak ill of her." growled the man as his face seemed to become hazy for a moment before it cleared and showed his face now had a trio of whisker-like marks on each cheek. "I'm not here to make small-talk, though." His eyes narrowed as he spoke to the sanbi with a grave tone. "The king is stirring. And so far, we're both the only ones that can really be considered 'able' at the moment. Are you in, Isobu?"

The giant turtle was quiet for a second before he nodded. "Fine. Am I to assume that we're going to be looking for the rest of the pack?"

Kurama nodded, turning to leave as the giant turtle glowed green for a second and shrunk down to a much smaller size. When the light died away, a man around twenty appeared, black hair in wild spikes on his head while his right eye was covered by an eye-patch with a wave symbol on it. He wore a green poncho that reached below his chest, bandages covering most of his abdomen, and black pants with black boots. He had bandages over his arms as well, only leaving his fingers exposed. FInally, his eye was a deep green color. Shaking his head, Kurama mumbled, "I'm never going to understand why you always like being around humans." he looked back at the water. "Or why you like helping them."

"You know, just 'cause a few of the humans are dicks doesn't mean every single one of them is. Some of them are actually pretty nice." said Isobu, crossing his arms. He quirked an eyebrow as a grin began to spread. "Besides, you're just upset I can bed more girls than you can."

"Yes, Isobu, I am terribly jealous you can sleep with so many hairless apes." said Kurama while rolling his eyes as he began to walk away, Isobu not far behind as the three-tailed beast laughed heartily.

"Ah. I love it when we have a family reunion." mumbled Isobu, smiling as he and his 'brother' began to walk away from the village, a happy jump to his step. "Now, let's see what the world has to offer!"

He was a bit... intrigued. So far, everything here was like something only the best of the best could have ever known. The illusions, the weapons, the power. It all seemed to be something beyond human limits. Not only that, but the... beings were also beyond human. Well, except for this one in particular.

He turned to look at the girl that was assigned to keep him company and to make sure he never got lost. She was actually quite cute, having chocolate brown eyes, redish-brown hair that reached her shoulders and was wavy, and a nice tan color to her skin. The only weird thing about her so far was the clothing. It was mostly just tan short-shorts, a pair of green boots that reached her thighs, black gloves, and a baggy green sweater with a face on the hood, which she seemed to want to keep on even though it was sort of dark in the hallways. The face on the hood seemed to be sad or disappointed, the features being rather blocky and creepy.

The girl herself was actually rather quiet, usually only talking when she was spoken to. Whenever she did, though, she stuttered and mumbled and was just plain annoying. Reminded him of the Hyuuga weakling. With a sigh he continued to walk, the girl fidgeting and scurrying behind. She suddenly became rigged, and he knew why. He also felt it. Some sort of wave just passed through the halls, making him straighten up as a thought entered his mind. A thought that he knew wasn't his own.

'Needed in the throne room'

"U-um, m-milord? We a-are needed i-in th-the th-throne ro-room." squeaked the girl, jumping when he turned to her and glared at her with his cold black eyes.

"I know that. I felt it too." he growled, ignoring her as she began to apoligize profusely, bowing and clasping her hands together. He was pretty sure her eyes were even moistening. Honestly, the girls was probably worse than the Hyuuga. "Enough! Let's just go." he growled, watching as she sniffed, nodded, then turned and beckoned him to follow. Not even ten minutes later they were in the throne-room, the king on said throne with a slight smile on his face. He didn't like that smile. Mostly because of the fact it was on his face. Such an annoying face that he knew for a fact belonged to that fucking dog! He glared at the king, a bit peeved when the man simply laughed at the glare.

"Hello, boy. I hope that your caretaker has been of use to you. I wouldn't want you to be upset at her uselessness." said the king, giving a meaningful look at the poor girl who seemed to more pathetic as she pale while looking at the ground, almost like a small rabbit who didn't want to look at the impending doom. A pressure seemed to fall over the room, the poor girl beginning to tremble as her eyes moistened. She felt like she was dying, slowly and painfully. She couldn't breath, she couldn't move, heck she was pretty sure even her heart stopped working.

"She's fine. I have no problem with her." hissed the boy, a bit unnerved by the pressure. While he didn't really care for the girl, he knew that pressure was something beyond comprehension. Whatever the king would do to her, he didn't really want to know. Nor did he want it to happen to her, seeing as she wasn't bad company.

As soon as his answer was heard, the pressure vanished and the king smiled almost kindly. "Good. Then she won't have to be replaced. Yet." Turning to the boy, he smiled and said, "How is your shoulder, boy?"

Said boy rubbed his shoulder and mumbled, "It's sore, but I feel better." Almost grudgingly, he mumbled, "Thanks."

"No need. I see potential in you. It would be foolish of me to leave you with that worm." he said, the last word being more humorous and sadistic than any other word the boy had ever heard. The king... was completely detached from everything. It didn't love, or hate. It couldn't. It simply played with things and enjoyed it, never caring about the scars he left or the pain he has caused. He only wanted to sate his own hunger.

"Do you need me for something?" he growled, glaring at the king. Said demon smiled, crossing one leg over the other.

"I have a... offer, I guess you could say. I can make you more powerful than you already are, taking away all of your human weaknesses. You'll transcend all of them, becoming a god in their eyes." he grinned menacingly. "Of course, if you refuse, it won't really stop me from making you stronger. You'll still be human, but... let's just say that you that status will only drag you down. Interested?"

He instantly shot it down. While he indeed wanted power, he rather liked being human. Made life more... worthwhile. "No thanks. I'm fine."

The king just shrugged. Less work for him, more time to prepare for the upcoming war. "Fine then, you may leave. It's getting rather late." As the boy turned his back and left, the king grinned while waving his hand. "Sweet dreams, Sasuke-kun.

'This won't end well.' Naruto thought, fidgeting slightly as he stared at the door. Funny how he was ecstatic when he first saw this door, and now he was more scared than the thought of no ramen for a week. For behind these doors were his girls, and they would want an explanation. Sighing, he decided that he would need to suck it up and hope for the best. Oh well, he had a good run. Opening the door, he took a step in and listened. It seemed that there was talking going on in the living room. He took a deep breath and entered the room. "Hey girls." he said smiling as best as he could. He cringed a bit at the stern looks on the girls. Heck, even sweet Hinata was giving him a face that would make Hiashi proud.

"Naruto-kun, what's going on?" asked Akyo, a worried look that was seriously painful to look at. He hated seeing them worry like this. He sighed and decided to be blunt about it.

"I... have to go. For quite a while. About a year and a half, maybe longer." he started, holding up a hand when he saw the girls begin to argue. "It's for a good cause. I need to get stronger." His eyes met Gaia and she nodded, telling him that they needed to know. "Me and Gaia have been... challenged, I guess. Something is hunting us down, something more than just the Akatsuki. Something big. Whatever this thing is, it's taken Shishi. I don't know how or why, but I know that Shishi is in trouble, and as his family, we have to help him in any way we can. That's why I'm going with Jiraiya on a training trip. I'll be back as soon as I can, I promise." he explained. Now he waited for their reactions.

Anko was the first to speak. "Only a year and a half, right?" she asked, looking into his eyes to make sure he wasn't lying. He nodded, getting her to sigh while rubbing her temples. "I don't like it, but... if it's what you think is right, go for it. In the mean time, I'll help out the rest of the girls as best as I can." She suddenly grinned and added, "It also seems Tsunade-sama made an agreement with Sakura. Pinky's going to be our dear Hokage's apprentice. now."

Naruto nodded and turned to the rest of the girls and saw Akyo walk up to him. She reached him and wrapped her arms around him, taking in his scent while sighing. "Fine. I'll miss you, but I know you'll be back, stronger than ever." She kissed him on the cheek and smiled. "In the meantime, I'll be helping aunty with her research, as well as preparing for whatever it is we're up against. I'll train as well!" she said, grinning at her mate foxily. Naruto smiled while rubbing his cheek against hers, both purring happily for a moment before he felt another two pair of arms wrap around him. He saw that both Gaia and Hinata were hugging him, Hinata having a sad look while Gaia looked like she was in pain.

"I want you to stay. So badly." mumbled Gaia, refusing to let him see her face. She was always strong, always in control, yet her heart hurt and she wanted nothing more than to keep her precious fox close to her. Hinata was also sad. She had finally got the chance to be with him, to talk to him, to know more about him than ever before, and now he was leaving. Yes, he would come back, but it still hurt to think that she would be unable to see his sparkling eyes, his smiling face. The two girls tightened their hold on him as he sighed and patted their heads.

"I don't want to leave you girls either, believe me. But I need to do this. I'm counting on you girls to be strong." The two girls nodded, but were still unwilling to let him go. Pretty soon both Akyo and Anko joined in, the girls smothering him with their bodies. It was both comforting and suffocating. Once they parted, Naruto made a quick hand-sign and there were suddenly a total of four Narutos in the room. They wasted no time in each grabbing one of the girls and kissing each of them with as much passion as he could muster. For the rest of the day, the room was filled with moans as Naruto kissed and cuddled with his girls while he sent another shadow-clone to pack his things. Said shadow-clone grumbled on how he didn't get any of the action.

Now here he was, at the gates of Konoha, ready to leave as Jiraiya stood next to him, taking a deep breath. "Take a last look, Naruto. 'Cause it's going to be a while before we see this place again. And when we do come back, I'll treat you to ramen if you like. Only when we come back though." As soon as he said that, Jiraiya regretted it. It sounded like a nice thing to say, but it felt like he just killed his own wallet in an almost violent and inhuman way. It didn't help that Naruto's eyes seemed to glint almost evilly.

With one more look, Naruto turned his back and began walking. It was time to get things underway. 'Please wait for me, ladies. I promise to hurry back. And you wait for me too, Shishi. I won't let anything happen to my family.' Both men started their journey as behind them, the rest of their friends began to train in hopes of becoming stronger. And with this in thought, Naruto knew he left Konoha in good hands.

Okay, so Sasuke's alive, and there's a war being prepared. Oh man, things are getting complicated. For me, that is. As I said, this is the last chapter. I'm not abandoning the idea, seeing as I think I can still go on. And I actually have a plot now! How awesome is that!?

So yeah, I'm sure a few of you have noticed how more serious I've made this fic near the end. Guess I'm maturing, even if it is a little.

Hope you guys liked it, and please review! Flames will be fed to my sister.