'It is an odd thing war. Truly one of the most horrible, yet necessary things in all of existence, wars have been fought for anything and everything, ranging from the insignificant and worthless to the most important and moral things possible. Yet, unlike so many other things, the fortunes of war are liable to change in but an instant, a mere few seconds determining the difference between victory and defeat. It has been proven so many times that one man can be that difference, such as Achilles, Siegfried, Cesar, Nobunaga, and Henry.

Such was the case in the Rebellion of the Mist, a civil war that raged on for the better part of eleven years. For the largest part of the war the rebels were on the retreat, until he came.

Up from the shadows came one man, bathing in the blood of his fallen foes, the Demon Hawk of Kiri. No one knew where he came from, nor did they know his name, but what they did know was this; The Demon obliterated all that was in his way. Even the last loyal member of the Legendary Swordsmen fell before him under four months of the time he entered the war. With his aid the Mizukage's plans were wrecked at every turn, and the oppression he heaped down upon his people turned them against him as the Rebels grew ever stronger. The hope for victory filled the people, making those who had been too afraid to strike out more confident, joining the Rebellion and making the numbers swell to obscene amounts. Within but eight months of his arrival to the war, The Revolution outnumbered the Mizukage's forces, only the die-hard loyalists and the monsters remaining under his command.

While the credit for turning the tide of the war goes to him, his role will never be known on a grand scale. No, the man is too clever for that, and he served a woman equally intelligent. His leader, Terumi Mei, saw his potential for shadow warfare, and for leadership, and knew that even after the war this man would be important for Kiri's survival in the future.

I must admit that I smile as I recall that women, even so close to my death I have nothing but the utmost respect for her. She took what I believe to be a mercenary and found a way to make him loyal to her, and to her alone. Whether it was through seduction, fuinjutsu, or some other thing I am unaware of is irrelevant, the fact remains that she did so, and by doing so she has secured the future of the Village Hidden in the Mist.

I have so much respect for this woman not because of her skill in battle, nor for her ability to negotiate, though I do respect both. No, what I respect her the most for is her vision, the ability to look past the current conflict and to prepare for the future. I am ashamed to admit that very few shinobi are capable of looking past the next job, despite the fact that it is those with foresight who become truly great. It is for her foresight that I commend her, the foresight that allowed her to recruit this man, the only one I have ever learned of that could possibly match the War Hawk in his own game.

The Shadows are a dangerous place, for they conceal many things. Unknown to the civilians everywhere, wars are being eternally fought in these nations for nothing more than a few feet of land, or a paltry mission sum. The borders are in constant flux thanks to these wars, even if all seems benevolent on the top side. However, there are those who carve a place in these shadows, those who make their home there. We were the guardians of our villages, still are in fact, as the respective Kage's guard the light, we guard the dark, allowing our civilians and shinobi to live in a more peaceful era then they otherwise would. There have been two cases where the positions have blended, but that's not important at the moment.

What is however, are the names of who these people are. Consider it my first and only gift to you, Mei Terumi and Hanzo the Demon Hawk. These are the four men who are the greatest players in the darkness, three of whom have made it their home.

There is the Thunderstorm of Kumo, legal name of Cloud. Wielding a sword in the manner of Kubikiribocho, it is massive and unwieldy, but just as Zabuza was capable of, he is stealthy and swift, and his lightning and sound jutsu are not to be underestimated. He is the head of BOLT, the shadow version of Kumo's ANBU Black Ops. This man carved his name through a world of bloodshed, showing leadership skills and enough intuition to compete with the best, the War Hawk, and as such swiftly rose to power.

Second is the Desert of Suna, Sand. It is undoubtedly not his real name, but he gained both names through a rather unique bloodline that made his body up of completely sand. He can turn most things into dust and sand through his unique chakra, and for some odd reason water has no affect upon him, despite the sand's rather obvious weakness. In between Kumo, Iwa, and Suna, Sand is the worst opponent we can face at this time, for while Suna is the weakest village in the light, they are the second strongest in the shadows thanks to this man. In tactics, leadership, and skill he is second to only one.

Third is the Avalanche of Iwa, Gaia. The only female of the group, she is well known for her overwhelming power and severe lack of subtly. In fact it is a miracle she got anywhere in the shadows, considering that discretion is an absolute must for those who live that profession. Do not let that fool you for even a second though, for she is sharp as a kunai, and quick-witted enough to adapt. It is her greatest ability, for what she lacks in subtly she more than makes up for in her quick response to any situation. I honestly do not know if there is anything that can faze her.

The last is quite possibly the most dangerous man in existence. If you are anywhere near as skilled as I believe Hanzo then you have already had dealings with this man, for he has fingers in every civilization in the Elemental Nations. As you are aware by now, this man is The War Hawk, Shimura Danzo. The only person in history to hold a position as leader of the shadows for the better part of a century, and the only man to secretly obtain SS status. Of course, that status was lost during the Kyuubi attack, when he sacrificed his right arm and most of his chakra control to stop an Imari(Menacing Ball) that held the full power of the Kyuubi from destroying his village by calling down the full might of a hurricane. It was a suicide jutsu, and only through some miracle did he survive. While the man is still an S-Rank ninja, his current control of Wind is but a pale mockery of what he once had.

Do not let these injuries fool you; Danzo is still every bit as dangerous as he once was, even if he is only half the man he used to be. His kenjutsu is legend, being able to go toe-to-toe with an Uzumaki clan leader and win before they were destroyed, and his skill has only grown with age. His wind manipulation is still unrivaled, to the point where he can has snuffed out a fully raging forest fire within the past year, and we are aware that he has a rather powerful fire affinity, even if he rarely uses it. While his taijutsu is low, and he cannot use genjutsu anymore due to his ruined chakra network, it does nothing to lower his sheer skill and experience.

On top of all this, his mind is sharper then the most finely honed blade, easily genius intelligence, and only increased by the decades of experience under his hi-tai-ate. He is a schemer, able to make plans, back-ups for those plans, and a dozen back-ups for the back-ups in a matter of minutes. His organization of Root is also the largest force of shadow warriors, but despite that he has far more ground to cover. While the minor villages fight in these wars, they are just that, minor, and as such cannot stand up to the might of one of the five major villages. Because of this, they pay a hefty tribute to one of the bigger villages to fight for them. Danzo is forced to take care of just over half of the minor shinobi villages, not to mention the escort for the Daimyo's of the lands he controls, Danzo's superior numbers are spread every bit as thinly as the others. The only real difference that numbers make in these wars is the amount of land you can hold, and the total amount of soldiers you can gather when something threatens your main village, which is the main thing that one is trying to protect.

I tell you these things, Demon Hawk, because you will need to know them if Mei does what I am sure she will, and makes you the future Flood of Kiri, the head of our shadow force. I have always wanted nothing but the best for my village, and not giving you information about our enemies out of spite during such a crucial time would be remiss of me. I sincerely wish you luck, and pray that you can aide Mei in guiding Kirigakure to greatness, something I was too weak to do.

-YondaimeMizukage, Flood of Kiri-Yagura

~Break~

"So it's ready?" Naruto looked around at the shadowed figures in the room, slightly amused at just how a mere five people could be so influential, so much so that they would soon be responsible for the conquering of a Shinobi village. Five people, not including himself, were gathered around a map-covered table, ending the last few plots against the rule of the corrupt Mizukage.

Two of the five were normal compared to the other three, though certainly quite important. The first was a masked man, the Daimyo of Water Country. He had worn a mask since early childhood, when rivals of his father had kidnapped and tortured him. He hadn't allowed it to get to him though, and once his father had died a few years ago he had put his full support behind the bloodline rebellion, saying that Yagura was not doing what was right for his people. The second was the wealthiest woman in all of Kiri, a rather attractive busty blond women whose policy was that war, while good for business when against others, destroyed business when it was close to home. She was right of course.

The third member was a middle-aged man with an eyepatch, one that Naruto knew contained a byakugan taken from a Hyuuga main branch member beneath it. The man, whose name was Ao, was a rather skilled former hunter ninja, hunting down the rouges who fled from Kiri before the bloodline rebellion. Eventually he was promoted to head of the hunter-ninja, and then head of the ANBU, and as his experience and power grew, so too did his influence. When the bloodline rebellion first began her remained behind as a spy, despite the fact that he utterly despised what Yagura was doing to his beloved Kiri. Now he was a general in the Rebellion, one of two truly competent generals, technically one considering the other was a general only in name. Ao was a skilled swordsmen, natural considering that he had been raised in Kiri, and was talented with both water and lightning Ninjutsu. Ao believed in a more masculine approach, at least where men were concerned, becoming irritable if a man was anything approaching what he considered "weak".

Of course, this put him in quite a bit of conflict with the second general, even if the boy was only a general in name. This was a boy, only a few years older than Naruto, who was nearing thirteen years of age despite his slightly older looks suggesting the contrary. It was times like this that he truly appreciated the Kyuubi. He had matured greatly during his last time with Konoha, enough to be mistaken for at least seventeen, considering the manipulative abilities of the Kyuubi's chakra. Sure, it had taken a few years off his life, but Uzumaki tended to live for quite a while normally, and chances were that as a ninja he would die long before he reached retirement age.

Regardless, the boys name was Chojuro, a rather intelligent and shy young man who had passed the task to obtain Hiramekarai, making him the only member of the Seven Swordsmen currently in Kiri. Not only did this give him a large amount of influence in discussions, it also drew the personal interest of Mei, who Chojuro was hopelessly and helplessly in love with. Not the extreme or possessive love either, no, this was the love of a man who knew that he would never get the one he loved, and had instead set his soul on doing everything he could to bring her happiness, regardless the cost to himself. It was something that earned the respect of those that knew it, and Naruto was no exception.

Chojuro was young, inexperienced, and shy, but he made up for all that by being quite the titan on the battlefield. There were three legends that the remnants of the Mizukage's forces feared, and those were Ao, Chojuro, and of course, Hanzo, or him. The last one was a legend, sure, but in this final battle between the two forces Mei would be reserving her talents, chakra, and stamina for the fight against Yagura. It would be the responsibility of her forces, more specifically the three of them to both get her there and to make sure that Yagura's mercenaries didn't kill too many of the rebels, who were now more legitimate then the recognized Mizukage.

The plan was simple, but also would wind up with a fair few casualties even if they were careful. Due to the death of Kushimaru, Yagura had been forced into a corner, and like all things that fight, when one has nothing left to lose, they become several times more deadly. Yagura had managed to dip into the pool of mercenaries, mostly bandits that even now ravaged much of Kiri, along with the many camps that sprang up around the Elemental Nations. Yagura knew that one bandit was no match for even a genin shinobi, and that a properly trained chunin could take down around twenty without resorting to jutsu. A jonin could probably take out around fifty without jutsu. With jutsu the numbers they could take out were easily doubled, but Yagura had created a rather insidious plot. He trained the bandits, not a lot, but enough to awaken their chakra, and perform some of the more basic jutsus. That, when combined with the strategic dispersing of trained ninja in the ranks allowed for both the force of numbers and the disguised assassins that could strike unguarded backs amongst the chaos of a battle.

Yagura's thousands of bandits and his five hundred or so ninja's were marching on the Bloodline base, despite knowing full well that he was marching to his doom. None of the group were sure just what the man was planning, but it was evident he had gone insane, or, as Mei told him in more private conversations, attempting to fight the genjutsu and make ending the war easier for those who were left. Regardless as to which it was, the fact remained that this was not an opportunity that the Rebels could take lightly.

Yagura's forces would be passing a large plateau, one which would provide perhaps the best ambush point possible. The rebel army was already marching to meet the threat, staying a fair distance away from the ambush point. Looking at it, Naruto wondered just how insane Yagura was to even consider fighting there, for the area in which the two armies would be fighting would be a bridge.

It was an old, massive bridge, spanning the mouth of the Aka River, the last place where one could cross the river before it reached the sea. As such, neither side could afford to blow the bridge, especially as there was a large amount of civilian traffic over it during the trading season. On one side of the bridge was the plateau, and the other was where the rebellion army would be. Considering that Yagura was intending for the Rebels to be on the defensive, it was an incredibly stupid move, no matter how numerous his forces were. A bridge that size could be held for hours by a force half the size of what they had, more then enough time for the bulk of the rebel forces to arrive.

Perhaps Yagura had thought that the little attack against the people would have drawn more people then what it did. He had sent what seemed like a sizable force to attack one of the few remaining bloodline compounds in Kiri, and in response the Rebels had moved a large portion of their own forces in counter. They still had about a thousand soldiers, which was more then enough to hold the bridge. Not only that, but with Naruto's ambush plan, it was enough to destroy Yagura. If what he was intending worked, there would be almost no casualties on the rebel side.

"Yes, it's ready. Our army is moving into position, Yagura's forces are on the move, all that remains is for Hanzo to take up position on the plateau." Mei said. Every eye in the room turned to him. The Daimyo spoke up.

"Thank-you for agreeing to fight for us Hanzo-san. Without your skill with earth this entire ambush would…" Narutoraised a hand, shutting the man up.

"Don't thank me until it's over. There has to be something we're missing. Yagura is smarter then this." Ao spoke up now.

"Perhaps he wasn't aware of anyone with an earth affinity. After all, none of us knew that you had one until you put up this plan. Not only that, but Mei-sama's affinity is not strong enough for something like this. It usually takes four or even five powerful earth users to do what you will do today." Naruto nodded in agreement. It did usually take at least four shinobi for this, but he had several advantages most people didn't. The meeting broke up, each going their own way. Mei came over to him, Chojuro right behind her.

"Have fun Hanzo." She said, receiving a nod in return, causing her to sigh. She had tried to get closer to Hanzo, after all the man knew more about her then did any other person on earth. The breakdown the day they met had only been the first. Unfortunately for her he had remained as, if not more, distant to her as ever. It was a mystery she wanted to crack, as she wanted at least one friend she could trust, rather then one man she knew little about she could trust. She watched him leave, wondering just how to get him to open up to her, as she had done to him.

~Break~

The armies were in position, now it was time for the last bit of negotiation. Mei, Ao, and Chojuro approached, as did Yagura and his two lieutenants, both of whom were new.

"Come to surrender Mei?" Yagura spat, no sign of his former kindness in any part of his angry eyes.

"Hardly. We give you one chance for surrender, or your soldiers will die." Her voice was strong and unshaking, despite her nervousness. Yagura laughed, before speaking again.

"You have the arrogance to claim that we will be destroyed? We outnumber you greatly. What makes you think that we would possibly surrender to you?" A feral grin spread across Mei's face, happy that the war was about to finally end. Her arm raised, and the earth started to shake.

"That!"

~Break~

Naruto knelt on the ground, channeling pure earth chakra through his body as the first step in calling the forces of nature to his will. What the rebellion leaders were expecting was a shinobi made avalanche, one that would take out maybe half the enemy army, but what they would get is something far superior.

For unlike others who had done this single-handedly before him, Naruto had a rather sizable advantage. The Chakra of the Kyuubi, a powerful battery for his jutsu. He would only be using it for the first phase of his little plot, one that would ensure that Mei would give him a permanent, high place in the Mist Village. While he was sure that he had her convinced, a little overkill never hurt him.

He saw the signal, Mei's arm rising up, and the earth began to shake from the pure force of his chakra. The cliff rose, arching towards the heavens as shock coursed through every shinobi on the ground, before crashing down upon them like a Tsunami, tons of rock and soil obliterating all in its path. As Yagura's army took massive casualties, the cry of a hawk rang out over the commotion, the source flying above the army. 'Phase Two.'Thought a slightly tired Naruto.

He tossed a few senbon in the air, a hand seal made with his other hand, multiplying the few into hundreds, hundreds to thousands, and the thousands to millions. Eyes half shut in concentration, the needles alit with a crimson flame, engulfing the sky with a fiery inferno strong enough to block out the sun. His eyes opened fully, the technique name being muttered just before it began.

"Katon: Hells Inferno." A far stronger version of Hells Thunderstorm rained down upon the disorganized and damaged army, the needles piercing through rock, bone, and flesh alike.

No words could describe the massacre, and not a single man survived it.

~Break~

Yagura's rage was palpable, the aquamarine chakra of the three-tailed turtle blasting out from his chakra pores, even as Mei grinned in triumph.

The plateau rose, then crashed down upon Yagura's army, and it was then that Mei knew that something was not going as planned. An earthquake cleaved the earth in twain, massive cracks breaking through the soil around the remnants of the plateau, before a hellish fire storm raged down upon the land. The three tails chakra dissipated from Yagura's shock, before it returned, a tail bubbling up behind him. Mei's smile vanished as her chakra rose to match his, the four people accompanying the two titans vanished. A second tail joined the first, and then a third, though Yagura didn't go full Bijuu mode. He knew quite well that that would only inconvenience him against a single opponent. Mei prepared herself for a long fight.

Yagura started it off, his steel staff popping into existence as he moved to her faster than she could react to. She could only just see the blur of his movement, and even then it was only thanks to the chakra shroud. His staff hit her stomach, sending her flying. She flipped over and landed, cursing mentally. 'I trained for years to make up for the overwhelming speed his chakra shroud gives him…am I still this far behind?'Yagura moved again, but this time she noticed something different. A slight pulse of chakra before he moved, showing the sight of him moving. The blow came a second after he struck, making Mei know what was going on.

She caught the staff on the third blow, smiling grimly at Yagura's growl. Yagura moved, the staff spinning and striking after he jerked it out of her hand, but she was ahead of him now, every blow missed by centimeters. 'Yoton: Lava Palm.'She thought as one of Yagura's strikes opened him up to attack, her palm being covered lava from her bloodline, striking the man in the chest, sending him flying into the air. Other than that there was no affect, and as Yagura landed on the ground he tossed his staff aside.

"You saw through my genjutsu rather fast, to be expected of you Mei. However, close-range combat was never my specialty." Mei tsked to herself, gathering chakra to prepare for what would be the fight for her life.

"Suiton: GokuRyuu (Five Dragons)!" Five massive dragons coalesced into being behind him, charging at Mei with immense speed, even as Mei created her own counter.

"Doton: Wall!" The catch-all defensive jutsu for earth formed into a massive wall before her and easily absorbed the chakra enhanced water, which allowed Mei's counter attack.

"Doton: Doryuudan no Jutsu! (Earth Dragon Blast)" Three dragon heads formed from the wet wall, shooting a large amount of mud balls towards Yagura, who raised a hand, sucking the water from the jutsu and leaving nothing but dust, which soon crumbled away.

"Come now Mei, I'm disappointed. You know that mastery of the three tails grants one godlike control of water, and you send mud at me? Suiton: Mizu no Waruasobi! (Trick of Wather)" He flicked his hand, a small bullet of water blasting towards her, piercing through her wall with ease. She caught it in her hand, lave encrusting her body for a brief moment. A sneer appeared on Yagura's face.

"There we go, now you show yourself for the abomination you truly are, and how inferior you are to me. That was a simple E-rank Jutsu, what will you do when I truly start going all out?" Mei said nothing, only bringing out the lava from inside her. It was time to show Yagura just how "inferior" she was.

"Suiton: Suihou no Jutsu!(Water Cannon Technique)"

"Yoton: Lava Cannon!"

The boiling jet of water met the stream of Lava, Steam filling the air as both sides poured more chakra into it, but that only helped Mei as she made a new jutsu, showing her skill with her bloodlines as she continued to match Yagura's attack.

"Futton: Acidic Mist." She thought as the steam around her turned into her new attack. Yagura however noticed the change immediately, and used Mei's acidic steam to his advantage.

"Suiton: Suijouki no Jutsu!(Steam Technique)" The steam billowed around him before flowing towards Mei, but having no affect other then obscuring as the cannon battle ended for the moment. Yagura left nothing to chance as he continued.

"Suiton: GekiryuuChikara! (Raging River Force)" From the River below a massive amount of water formed into a wave, crashing down upon Mei's position and leaving the bridge flooded.

"Yoton: Dome." A dome of Lava protected Mei from the wave, soon hardening into stone from the water. Yagura growled at the sight, growing a bit bigger before regaining control. Mei smiled from the shadows, knowing that if Yagura went into full three-tails mode, where he became the size of the Biju, the battle was over. Her lava could easily pierce the chakra and annihilate him, but the problem was getting him to transform. Yagura was quite talented at keeping his temper.

Yagura's staff reappeared in his hands, one hand going through seals as water coated his staff. He looked around, soon spotting Mei, growling at her.

"Playtimes over!"

"Suiton:…"

~Break~

The hawk landed on the ground, Naruto hopping off its back and onto the ground, the summoned beast nodding in a farewell before vanishing back to its realm. He turned to the bridge, intending to help Mei fight Yagura once he recovered from the slight chakra exhaustion. Now matter how powerful you were, two S-rank Jutsu in a row with barely a minute between them would take a lot out of you.

A burst of spores exploded into being around the brown-haired man just as he was inhaling, a fair amount of the spores going straight to his lungs. Swiftly coughing up blood, he went to one knee from the sheer force of his reaction to it. 'What the hell is this? I'm immune to most poisons…this is not good. Kyuubi, how long?' The demon fox was practically snarling at the moment, but took a moment from his rage to respond, voice sitting with hate.

"Two and a half minutes, maybe more. This poison would normally have obliterated your lungs by now. Whoever made it, they are very good. Besides that, keep on your guard Naruto. I'm sensing a chakra that I haven't felt since I attacked Konoha and was sealed into you…that damn Uchiha!"Naruto's eyes widened, instinctively pulsing his chakra in case he had been caught in a genjutsu. Nothing changed, but ever so slowly a raven haired man wearing a orange mask and a black cloak rose from the ground. Insane laughter bubbled up from the man's chest, ending in a perky, cheerful voice.

"Hello! I'm Tobi! And Tobi's a good boy!" Naruto made no movements other than to slowly rise into a standing position, attempting to avoid aggravating his lungs. Kyubi could fix them, but it would take some time.

"Tobi eh? I take it you're the reason that I've been poisoned?" He spoke, blood dribbling down the side of his chin from his mouth as he did so. He noticed the masked-man's surprise through body language rather than facial expression, and waited for the man to make a move. The longer he stalled, the better.

"Ohhh, Tobi's impressed! You're the only one who has been able to take Sasori-Ni's poison and still live after a few seconds. You must be a good boy too!" Naruto's eyes narrowed, hearing a second-timber in the man's voice. 'Split personality? That…could prove troublesome. The second one came out right before the Sasori-ni part, showing an analytical side. Both sides of him likely specialize in different areas if that's the case…I still need to play along for now.'

"I suppose I can be a good boy, Tobi. Tell me, why did you poison me?" 'If I'm right, his more childlike side will tell me the better part of his reasons…then his serious side will take over, and I can meet the more dangerous Tobi.'

"Eh? You're still awake? Well…I suppose it wouldn't be so bad to tell you why. Just don't tell anyone, after all, Tobi's a good boy right?" Naruto got the impression of puppy eyes staring at him as he hesitantly nodded.

"You're dangerous! Ni-chan says that you could cause a problem to our plan to see Rin again, and that you need to be taken out, or controlled!" The way the man said it was just so innocent, as he bobbed around the area, looking at everything with all the curiosity of a happy child, even poking the smoldering remains of a bolder in fascination.

"So, so, Ni-chan said that since you're strong enough to resist the poison, I should get control of you." Now he started to seem guilty, lightly poking his fingers together as his voice quieted from the enthusiastic tone he had held the entire time.

"He…he says I should either kill you or place you in Yagura-ni'sgenjutsu. I don't want to do either, but…I want to see Rin-chan and Kakashi-ni again, and this is the only way. I'm sorry!" And the man looked sorry, almost as if he genuinely felt guilty, despite the fact that the serious tone was becoming steadily more dominant in his voice, especially when he had said that this was the only way.

'Kakashi? How does Tobi know Kakashi? Circles in circles.' Tobi suddenly cheered up again, moving to right in front of him so fast that he had to of teleported somehow, nearly causing Naruto to attack him. The only reason he didn't was because of Kyuubi's warning.

"Not yet Naruto. I've managed to restore your chakra access, but you still can't move without spreading the poison. I'll need another minute for that, and you'll be coughing up blood for a good half hour after that." Tobi spoke again, voice happy and energetic once again.

"I know! Tobi will give you a last request! Make it good, because your time is running out." The man's voice turned dark after the first sentence, a black aura seeming to slowly make its way out, until Tobi shook his head and said"

"Ni-chan! I can handle it! Tobi agreed to give a last request!" The dark cloud sank back into him for the moment, and Naruto relaxed a small amount.

"I'm sorry Hanzo-san! Ni-chan is rather impatient, so can I go ahead and give you your final wish? Before we control you at least." Naruto shifted a little, testing his body. It hadn't been a minute yet, but he could force his body to move if he had too.

"Very well," He started off amicably, golden eyes beginning to shine slightly behind his mask, surprising Tobi.

"How do I stop your genjutsu from taking affect against me?" He asked, mentally smirking, as Tobi recoiled in surprise, nearly falling. Then he laughed, a short chuckle expanding into belly shaking laughter, both the innocent tone and the more serious tone mixed within it. When Tobi spoke again, it was with both aspects of his personality in balance, a double-timbered tone that seemed to indicate possession.

"Clever. Very Clever. You are a good boy after all, choosing to learn how to stop us from possessing you. But Tobi is a good boy! And he keeps his word. To Defeat the genjutsu, you need only avoid the casting, which is almost impossible, considering Tobi can cast it at any moment. I suppose the best way to stop it from happening would be to damage Tobi to the point where Tobi can't focus, which would result in Hanzo-ni escaping with his life, and in control of his body, rather than Tobi being in control! There we go. You will fall, regardless whether you know or not. Tobi is sorry Hanzo-ni, but You're in the way of seeing Rin-chan and Kakashi-ni, and in the way of my ambition!" It was obvious that the time for talk was over, Tobi completely losing control to his darker side, the aura once again taking presence in the air.

"Genjutsu: …" Tobi began, but was stopped almost immediately by a massive amount of dust kicking up around the pair, blocking Tobi's sight of Naruto. 'Clever once again. It seems my child-side may have already cost us the battle just by telling him that it was a genjutsu. It isn't an area affect genjutsu, which means I have to see him, and have a moment to concentrate to control him. Someone like this cannot be left alive, whether under our control or not. He would break out faster than Yagura.' The dust didn't settle for over a minute, the roar of the wind controlling it keeping any sounds out of the twos ears, and Naruto was finally able to kick off the poison. The dust settled, revealing neither of them had moved. Naruto crouched over, placing his right hand on the hilt of his katana. Tobi tsked to himself, getting ready for a fight. Apparently this man had built up quite a resistance to poisons.

"Kenjutsu: Fiery Dragon." He moved towards Tobi, faster then most ninja ever could, slashing into the black-haired mans body, only to go straight through him. Naruto's eyes widened behind his mask in shock, and as Tobi reappeared in front of him he only just managed to dodge the punch that was sent towards him, but a second slash once again went straight through the man, opening up Naruto for a counter, as Tobi snapped up a kick into Naruto's face.

The crunch of Naruto's nose breaking resounded through the field, even as the effects of the jutsu battle between Mei and Yagura continued in the distance. Tobi back flipped away, kicking off of Naruto's already damaged face to gain momentum. Naruto's mind was already whirling, attempting to figure out a way to damage the man.

'I went straight through him both times, my blade not doing anything to him.' He placed a hand on his nose, wrenching it back into place without even a wince, Kyuubi's chakra already doing its job. 'Despite this, he could hit me perfectly. He was solid when he hit me, and as such he can't use whatever intangibility ability he has when he strikes. As such…' Naruto sheathed his blade, switching to taijutsu even as the man moved to attack him again. His thoughts had taken less then a second, to Tobi's knowledge all that Naruto had done was set his nose and sheath his katana. Tobi attacked this time, fist moving quickly to strike Naruto down.

The brown-haired man easily dodged the fist, he was faster than Tobi. His hand came up, catching the outstretched limb. Tobi growled, before foolishly attempting to hit him, continuing with taijutsu despite the fact that his secret had been discovered so quickly. Naruto easily dodged the man's right hand, twirling around him while still holding his left, before stomping on his right ankle. A few seconds pause resounded through the clearing as Naruto registered his now broken foot. A slight wince spread across his features before Tobi's right elbow sent him flying, several broken ribs joining the list of damages.

'What the heck? Is he made of steel or something?' A flash of the man's left arm appeared, the fleshy wrist held in his hand. 'No…it must be armor of some sort. I need time now though…I can't walk on this foot. Kage Bunshin.' The most effective clone popped into existence as Tobi turned around, a swift genjutsu giving Naruto the cover required to heal himself, palms glowing green as he focused on restoring his mobility. The clone launched an attack, the superior speed keeping the clone alive long enough for Naruto to finish. Naruto began to prepare an ambush for the masked-man, saturating the ground with earth chakra while he had the chance. The earth would be much more responsive to him, Tobi as well, but at least he would have an advantage when the jutsu fight started.

He drew his katana; nose, ribs, and foot completely healed, as the clone slowly drew Tobi towards him. 'Three seconds…two…one…now!' Tobi launched a kick towards his clone, the chakra creation taking the hit so that Naruto could slash the man in the back. What he wasn't expecting was the sudden intangibility of the man, Tobi's foot going through his clone as Naruto's katana went right through. The former blond jumped back, sheathing the katana as his clone was killed by Tobi whipping his foot out of the clones head.

"I can't do that on humans…but clones are easy." He said, the deep voice insuring that it was Tobi's darker side that was still out…for the moment.

The man turned around, glaring at Naruto from the single eyehole of his spiraling mask. Naruto put his hand on his katana, sealing it away completely, knowing it would only get in the way. He settled into a stance, left arm half extended with his right close against his chest, ready to counter anything Tobi might do. The Uchiha didn't disappoint, as he started off the jutsu portion of the battle.

"Katon: Blazing Red Cannon!" A red sphere formed on the man's hand, blasting towards Naruto, who just channeled earth chakra to his hand and batted it aside, far more concerned about the real attack then the souped-up E-Rank.

"Katon: Dorogan no Jutsu!" A large ball of red flames flew towards Naruto, exploding on contact with whatever it hits. A stomp on the ground had a stone bursting up underneath it, piercing the technique through the center and causing it to explode prematurely. Yet another, admittedly more dangerous distraction, as Tobi finished charging chakra for his real attack.

"Katon: Amaratsu Roaring Flame Sphere!" Black flames poured forth from the Uchiha's eye, forming into a massive sphere easily twice the size of a single-story house, before it rocketed up into the sky, unthreatening for the moment. Tobi continued the fire barrage however, this time using more dangerous techniques.

"Katon: Fire Hammers. Katon: Eternal Flames. Katon: Fiery Rain!" Naruto cursed mentally as hammers of fire spun towards him, a crimson ring encircled him while closing inwards, and larges drops of fire coalesced into being above him. The three attacks were each B-rank or above, and to pull them all off within seconds of each other was no small feat. However, Tobi would have to do far better than this to beat Naruto.

"Doton: Mizu Sousetsu no Jutsu! (Water founding Skill) Suiton:…" A crater formed into the earth, water spraying into it at high speed. Despite this, the lack of water within close range of him, Naruto had to focus for several seconds to call up the amount of liquid needed, almost enough for him to wind up dying.

"Suiton: Suijinheki! (Water Barrier)" The ultimate defense of a water-natured shinobi swirled into being around him, a small coating of water flowing up his feet from the crater to cover his entire body. One word finished the technique, a mere second before the three fire techniques killed him.

"Expand."

Tobi didn't know what happened. One moment his opponent was almost dead, and the next he heard something. The roar of a river, flowing speedily over rapids drowned out all else, as crystal-clear water exploded into a dome from the epicenter of his techniques. All of the flames were annihilated in an instant, and the dome of water swirled around to hover behind Hanzo in three large spheres. His shock caused his more childlike side to take over, not something he wanted in a battle.

"Uaaahh! Hanzo-ni, that's awesome! Let me show you what I can do!" Naruto's eyebrow rose behind his mask. 'The child-like side of him is in control? I don't like this.' Naruto's instincts were quite good, and it was proven in but a single moment, as Tobi showed just why his more serious side took control for fights. Otherwise there wasn't anything left.

"Raiton: Ten Thousand Lightning Bugs!" Naruto watched in horror, unable to stop the jutsu as thousands of little balls of white light leaked out of Tobi, moving at the speed of light to surround Naruto. His water techniques wouldn't help him here. Tobi stopped holding the seal, but retained control of the many spheres of pure lightning. Then Tobi continued, pulling off one of the strongest S-rank lightning techniques in existence.

"Raiton: Kouten no Saiketsu! (Heavens Judgement)" Naruto's mind was spinning as he tried to figure out a way to avoid the technique. An attack of that power was created to shred through any and all defenses, and the lightning bugs would obliterate whatever was left. That left but a single option. It would wipe out his chakra, but something was telling him that it wouldn't be a good idea to use the Kyuubi, not just the fact that he refused to reveal it. He popped a soldier pill into his mouth, feeling the foreign chakra restoring him. Several moments went passed, as both shinobi charged up chakra, the earth cracking around them, gravity itself distorting from the two titanic chakras.

"Rasengan: Tails of the Moon." A blue sphere, whirling around at the speed of sound, formed into his hand, all three spheres of water behind him flowing into it, along with all the water that had flowed into the crater beneath him, fire raging from his body to be absorbed into, and the earth itself being ripped apart and sucked into the jutsu. Hundreds of the lightning bugs were sucked into it, and oxygen from all around him was devoured by the element hungry jutsu, the orb expanding in size with each new element, forming into a small house with each of the five elements swirling inside it. His strongest Jutsu, a one shot jutsu that took well over ninety-five of his total chakra, one inspired by the mightiest of the Biju. The Juubi. An aura far darker then Tobi's seeped out of the sphere, forming into an Avatar of the beast itself, The massive Wolf with tomoed eyes howling out a bone-chilling challenge to all who would oppose it. Tobi wasn't immune, almost losing concentration on his jutsu because of it.

Deep inside the seal the Kyuubi curled deeper into a ball, covering its head with all nine of its tails. It had hated this jutsu from the moment Naruto successfully created it. The boy had impossibly brought out the very aura of the Juubi into the sphere, even going so far as to form it for the first time underneath the full moon and ask the god-like being to bless it. Kyuubi didn't know why, it didn't know how, but the Juubi had blessed that jutsu. This would be the first time it was used in battle, and the nine-tailed fox demon was afraid of the results.

Every remaining lightning bug gathered inside Tobi's hands, the light fighting the overwhelming darkness of the Juubi. He blasted the combined techniques before Naruto ever moved, a beam of pure energy carving through the earth faster than anything ever seen and heading straight for Naruto.

The shinobi pushed the Rasengan in front of him, the two forces colliding with a massive boom as the Juubi roared out a victorious cry. He walked, slowly but surely, the jutsu held in both hands, annihilating what was quite possibly the strongest attack in the history of the elemental nations history. Blackness enveloped the world as Naruto's Rasengan met Tobi's hands, an explosion ripping straight through the ground for miles around.

The location of the clash would be forever known as the Demon's Abyss, for it became a fifty mile long trench that penetrated nearly to the core of the earth.

~Break~

Mei panted on the ground, lying defeated. She had failed. She had been foolish to try and match Yagura in a jutsu battle, despite it being her very best ability. Despite her bloodlines superiority to Yagura's water Ninjutsu, the Jinchurikki's unlimited access to a massive amount of chakra from the Three-Tailed Turtle had caused her to lose. It was over. Since the massive black explosion there had been no sign of Hanzo, and she feared that he had died. With him dead, she knew that there was no one else who could stop Yagura.

Speaking of the man, he moved towards her, a smirk on his face as the chakra shroud dissipated into the air, unable to hold it anymore, not that it mattered now. He didn't bother with words, just forming a few seals to finish her off. She didn't close her eyes, wanting to see her end coming.

"Suiton: Mizu no Yaiba. (Water Sword)" A long sword formed in Yagura's hands, the crystal blue water would be the last thing on this earth that she sees. A choked out sentence surprised her though, a slight spatter accompanying it.

"Doton: Ishi no Yari." A spear of stone impaled Yagura from the ground up, piercing his brain before he had time to think, the water sword crashing onto the ground from his lip hand. The spear crumbled as soon as it formed, showing sight of her savior.

Sun-kissed blond hair, almost crimson and covered in blood highlighted a tanned face, a cerulean eye gazing at her, the other gone, a scar covering his right eye socket, which was nothing more than a black hole in his skull. Blood dripped off him from various injuries, both arms completely shredded, the bone showing through in many places. He was barely walking, left leg obviously broken, and his body was littered with gashes. Despite this, Mei recognized him, wondering just what the hell happened to him as she struggled her way up, the rebel medics coming to check on the pair.

"Hanzo?" She queried. That was all Naruto remembered as his eye rolled into the back of his head, the pain and chakra exhaustion forcing him from the realm of consciousness.

~The End~

AN: Alright, sorry for the absence, but Mei's fight with Yagura didn't want to happen. As you can tell, I just gave up on it. If requested by…shall we say fifteen people? Yes, fifteen requests and I'll do my best to type it. Don't expect it anytime soon though, I stopped it because I couldn't visualize it.

So, how bout the battle with Tobi? I like this version quite a bit better then the Anime's, because personally I think that Obito wouldn't have survived that sort of trauma without a second personality.

You all will find out why I put the Italicted prelude in here in the next chapter…so please, no complaining that it didn't match the story.

OoklahThePunk57, I was quite happy to read the review you wrote. Just for the fact that despite the size, it was quite positive. I think the first reaction I had to it was 'What did I do to piss him off? I've only seen flames this big." Now for your statements, I'll admit to sacrificing Sarutobi's intellect for plot advancement now that I read back over it, but at the time I was thinking something completely different. After a lifetime of warfare, seeing friends and family die in front of him, both his beloved sensei's dying, and a lack of counsel for any of these things would wind up destroying anyone in my opinion, which is what I was thinking when I wrote about him. The village was all he truly had left, and when it was ticked off at him it all came crashing down around him. Probably his only mental breakdown. Also, don't worry, Sasori will not be taken down by a chunin-medic ninja and his grandmother…despite what it will look like at first. My fights are Ninjutsu heavy because in an open fight, Ninjutsu is what really turns the tide of battle. I honestly believe that the only reason Rock Lee hasn't died is because he doesn't give his opponents an opportunity to use genjutsu, or those that he face suck at them. They even use little Ninjutsu.

I'll just ask this. If you had the choice between doing undodgable, hard to counter attacks or up close and personal, which would you pick? This is despite the chakra limitation, but even then most shinobi fights don't last that long.

Sanquaria…think I spelled that right…Don't worry, Naruto will be facing incredibly powerful opponents…one that will surpass even his limits.

, there wasn't going to be much of the mist rebellion anyways. Naruto came into it during the waning months, despite how much influence he had over it.

Thank you very much Thorndsword, my ego is quite high right now.

Now I'm doing something different, because I honestly can't decide. I don't know how to set up a poll for this either, so just leave your opinion in a review or pm me.

I can't decide who to pair Naruto with. I have several ideas, three to be specific, that would work for my Naruto and the way I am going to take my story. I can see him landing with each one, considering the way I am making my characters, and I leave the decision up to you all.

Terumi Mei. Natural choice.

Subaku no Temari. Choosers of this choice will see no action for a while, so be careful. As BBWulf put, there will be no tasty lemons for her for a long while, if I do any at all.

Final choice, Akatsuki no Konan. I have no clue of her last name, so I'll just put that. Naruto will be taking down Akatsuki, so I can see this one happening much better then Temari, but it's up to you.

This little poll will be up for the next three chapters, and then I shall stop accepting opinions.