Kaibunkage

Arc II

Chapter XIV

"Mommy was the High Priestess and Daddy is the Kaibunkage! And I'm going to be stronger than them both!"

- Current High Priestess of Demon Country; Uzumaki Shiori

Shizune was in awe after hearing Rin's story. Yet, she could do nothing but nod her head dumbly as the information sunk in.

"We should get to work, Shizune-san." Rin said.

"Right, right," Shizune replied. "It's just… You've been living in the same village as Naruto-kun this entire time and no one knew!"

"I actually arrived in Kemuri before Naruto did." Rin told her. "Plus, I normally stay in a town outside of Kemurigakure called Yozura Town. It's where I make most of my medicines."

"Kakashi is going to flip." Rin smiled at Shizune's words.

"Let's hope not." Rin said before the two rose to do their job.

Ranmaru followed Jiraiya as best as he could, but the old sage was surprising nimble whilst balancing two toads on his shoulders.

"Ah, so you are Ranmaru! Naruto-boy talks so highly of you." Pa stated.

"Why are you so thin, boy? Don't you eat?" Ma questioned.

"Now, now," Jiraiya said. "I don't think that's the problem. Ranmaru's just growing like his sensei, right Ranmaru?" Not knowing what to say or do, Ranmaru nodded. "Okay, so what were you saying Ranmaru?"

"They're all connected somehow." Ranmaru said. "As if they're dead, being controlled by a higher being…"

"When you say 'they' who are you talking about?" Jiraiya asked.

"When I was fighting against those dogs, I realized that they had no blind spots." Ranmaru explained. "No matter what angle I struck from, they could always see it coming. But then I remembered when I saw Nagato earlier-"

"Nagato? Wasn't that your student?" asked Ma.

Jiraiya nodded. "He was."

"Jiraiya-san," Ranmaru said. "When I attempted to put some of my chakra and life force into it, I felt a strange surge of chakra coming out of it. It alerted me of where all the summons and Nagato were. And then… It just stopped."

"Hmm… Maybe there's more to the Rinnegan than we know." Jiraiya said.

"The Rinnegan? He has the Eyes of the Six Paths?" Ma said.

"Jiraiya-boy, you should get out of here. There's no telling what those eyes can do!" Pa ordered.

"There's something I want to find out." said the Leaf shinobi. "We need to find the seal where he summons everything."

"I can take you to it." Ranmaru said.

Jiraiya turned to Ranmaru. "Ranmaru, after this, I want you to return to Konoha like we planned. Tell Tsunade what we've learned and then head out to Kemuri. If you hurry, we can beat them before the next summit."

"Hai, Jiraiya-san." Despite really wanting to know why Jiraiya would make such an order, Ranmaru knew not to question the superior unless absolutely necessary.

Jiraiya knew that the teen probably had questions and was glad that Ranmaru did not ask them. But that doesn't mean that Ranmaru necessarily liked this plan. Whatever Jiraiya had planned, Ranmaru would have to do it.

Ranmaru then shook those thoughts out of his head. He would stick around no matter what Jiraiya said. Those who broke the rules were trash, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash. His sensei had all but beaten that into him when he was a genin.

Jiraiya noticed the change on Ranmaru's face and sighed quietly. He was definitely Naruto's student.

Sakura made her way to her apartment with a smile on her face. It seemed that today would begin and end perfect. And if to be a sign of great fortune, the people within Kemuri were beginning to lighten up on her, though that was mostly Shiori's doings. Shiori had made it a point to tell everyone just how strong her father and Sakura was to the village, even stating that she would one day be stronger than them both. Plus, many of the students in Sakura's class liked the way she taught them. Although they normally complained about how "tortuous" Sakura's training was, they all agreed that it did wonders whenever they did spars with their families or clans.

"Shishou!" Sakura paused in mid-step to allow Sayuri to near her. "I'm ready for some more training."

Sakura blinked before closing her eyes. How could she forget about Sayuri's training? Opening her eyes, she saw the grinning teen in front of her. She had to teach Sayuri due to her promise. Well, that and Sayuri would not stop nagging her until she finally did.

"Alright, come inside. I'll show you what I've been working on." Sayuri nodded with enthusiasm before following Sakura into the building.

Sakura lived on the third floor of the building, ironically located next to another jonin that she hardly spoke to. Her apartment was a two-bedroom apartment, not as big as her parents' house of course, but it was comfortable living for Sakura. Then again, she had been living in shacks and caves in the previous years so this was much more preferable.

Sakura pointed to a space on the floor, Sayuri sitting there in an instant. Rummaging through her collection of books and scrolls that she had either stolen from someone or written them herself, Sakura took a small scroll and moved to Sayuri. Sitting in front of Sayuri with enough space to unravel the scroll and its contents, Sakura sighed.

"This is just a theory," Sayuri only nodded, her eyes focused on the scroll. Sakura opened it to reveal the written words on it. "Your kekkei genkai allows you to generate red lightning that can paralyze anything with just a tiny spark. It seems to be irreversible until I realized something."

"Meaning?" Sayuri asked.

"When Naruto-k…" Sakura paused, Sayuri frowning in response. Sakura cleared her throat. "When Naruto redirected it earlier, he merely allowed the lightning to flow through him and into the ground. Yet, he was still a bit stiff from it and his speed decreased drastically."

"That's what always happens." Sayuri said.

"Yet, when you were hit directly from your brother, you were merely paralyzed. A direct attack that would have killed anyone else and yet you were merely paralyzed." Sayuri huffed.

"Gee Shishou, everyone knows that a Hirameki can defend against their own bloodline." Sayuri grumbled, being quite annoyed by the lecture.

"So, in theory, only a Hirameki could reverse the paralysis." Sakura spoke. Sayuri frowned before Sakura pointed at the scroll. "Naruto's technique to deflect the Demonic Lightning is simply redirecting it through his body, though he still suffers a bit of paralysis. That's because he's using a slightly advance form of redirecting normal lightning for a special kind. He could never master this technique."

"But I would?" Sakura nodded at Sayuri's question. "Alright! What do I have to do?"

"This is going to sound nearly impossible but," answered the pink-haired medic. "We're going to try to emulate the Magnet Release with your red lightning." Sayuri's eyes widened at Sakura's serious expression. "If this works, then not only will you be able to repel against any of your clansmen's attacks, but you should be able to stop paralysis by merely absorbing the lightning out of their system."

Sayuri looked down at Sakura's notes before back at the woman in front of her. This sounded so easy and yet so hard at the same time. And with the upcoming war, she wondered if she would have enough time to master it to be able to stop Gyaku from hurting anyone else.

"Sayuri," Sayuri's thoughts were broken by Sakura's firm voice. "You have great chakra control and the fact that you can maintain a Water Clone while channeling Demonic Lightning through it is only a sign to how great you can use your kekkei genkai."

"But what if I mess up?" Sakura was one of the few people see Sayuri's more timid side while everyone else so the more self-assured, and somewhat cocky, Hirameki Sayuri.

Placing a hand on Sayuri's shoulder, Sakura smiled.

"You are the only person to be trained by two people who were trained by Sannin. If anyone can do it, it's the Black Rose of Kemuri, Hirameki Sayuri." Sakura said.

Sayuri grinned. "Right!"

"Now let's begin." Sakura said.

Hinata rode quite comfortably in the carriage, along with her arranged fiancé and his sister. The ride from Konoha to Demon Country was quite pleasurable with the company she was with. The Tatsuhiro Clan was low in surviving members, most of them hunted and killed for their abilities, but were friendly and kind to her.

"We're here." the voice of the driver said.

Kuroma was the first to exit, helping his sister, Akari, and then Hinata out of the carriage. Hinata's eyes scanned the scenery before landing on the palace that they stood in front of. While she admits that her compound was beautiful in more ways than one, this palace was simply breathtaking.

"Welcome to Demon Country, Lord Kuroma, Lady Akari, and Lady Hinata." a knight said with a bow. "The elders have scheduled a meeting with you two tomorrow, Lord Kuroma."

"We will be there." Kuroma replied.

Hinata hardly caught the other staff bringing in her bags along with the others' bags. The other caravan traveling with them were then directed to their homes that they would be staying at.

"Wow, this place is huge!" Konohamaru stated. Hinata smiled at the boy's excitement, he here with his teammate, Udon as temporary body guards for a day or two. They would be the ones that delivered the news about Hinata's wedding to the village.

"Konohamaru-kun, you shouldn't shout like that." Hinata said.

"Aw, come on Hinata-chan. This place is really big!" Hinata had to agree with him there. "So which house is the Boss's daughter's?"

"Lady Shiori's summer house is on the other side of the waterfall." the knight spoke. "Only she and the Kaibunkage are able to go inside it."

"Oh…" Konohamaru said before Udon yawned. "Gee Udon, you're getting as bad as Shikamaru. Stay awake!"

"Sorry Konohamaru but I haven't had a lot of sleep with all the change that's been going on within the village. You know that I don't have the stamina like you, Konohamaru." Udon responded.

"Yeah, yeah, I understand." said Konohamaru. "So is there a training ground around here? That Ranmaru guy seemed to be really strong if he got to be picked to go on that mission with Jiraiya."

"We will show you to your rooms," the knight said. "Lord Kuroma-"

"I would like to look around." Kuroma stated.

"Me too." Hinata added before looking at Udon and Konohamaru. "You two need some rest. I'll be safe."

"Hai." Udon said.

"I'm going to do some training." Konohamaru stated.

Udon was led away by two knights, his eyes drooping slightly from the work he had put in since the Sound/Mist invasion. He, unlike his two teammates, was a Tokubetsu Jonin while Konohamaru was a jonin and Moegi still a chunin. That meant that he had to stay within his area of expertise day in and day out.

Hinata watched the knights lead Udon away and then Konohamaru. She turned to see Kuroma staring at the sky.

"Is there something wrong?" she asked him.

Kuroma stood quietly before he brought his red eyes to meet Hinata's pale lavender ones.

"There is something we need to talk about."

Ranmaru stood beside Jiraiya, feeling the familiar Natural Energy radiating off of the man. In front of them stood six different bodies that all resembled one another in a way. They were currently within a different, much larger tower. The sewers around them lead them to the pipes that run underground.

"This isn't good." Jiraiya said. "Ranmaru, I think it's time for you to try and get out of here."

Ranmaru quickly ran through hand seals, lightning surrounding his arms. Holding his right palm stretched towards the ground, Ranmaru formed two beasts made of lightning (Lightning Release: White Tiger). The two lightning-made tigers roared as they ran for the Six Paths of Pain. Ranmaru spotted one of the orange-haired foes move in front of the lightning attack and raise his hands.

"He's insane…" Ranmaru muttered to himself.

The man, the Preta Path, began to absorb the attack causing Ranmaru and Jiraiya to grow a bit weary.

Jiraiya, seeing that the others were focused on Ranmaru and his attack, chose that moment to quickly speed behind on of the six bodies. Crouching, he began to harden his hair before firing sharpened needles of hair at his opponents (Sage Art: Kebari Senbon). Jiraiya was shocked when he saw a giant panda appear behind the man to intercept the attack.

"Ranmaru is right. They are all connected." Jiraiya stated.

"To your right!" Pa shouted.

Jiraiya was able to dodge the rocketing fist that punched through the stone wall. His attention was then turned to the strange man with his handless arm extended.

Seeing an opening, Ranmaru moved for the hole in the wall. It was an escape to the river outside and from there he would leave the village with Jiraiya. Forming hand seals, Ranmaru inhaled deeply and exhaled a cloud of smoke that covered the area (Ninja Art: Smoke Hide Jutsu). His dojutsu could help him spot Jiraiya a mile away, but the elder sage had already made a move for the escape route. Ranmaru followed before spotting the orange haired man that summoned the dog, bird, and chameleon earlier jump out of the smoke.

Paying the summoning man no attention, Ranmaru made his way for the hole, a step behind Jiraiya before he heard a deep voice.

"Shinra Tensei!"

A strange feeling surged through Ranmaru's and Jiraiya's bodies before they were hurled forward. While Ranmaru began to skip and roll off of the water's surface, Jiraiya merely slid on his two feet.

"What was that?" Ma asked.

"The power of the Rinnegan." Jiraiya said. The Six Paths of Pain shot from the hole, landing on the water's surface. "Who or what are you? And where is Nagato?"

"We are Pain." the Deva Path spoke. "And we are Kami."

Ranmaru stood up slowly. Strapping two sharp blades to one's back before toppling over by a force of whatever was not the best feeling in the world, sheathed swords or not. He stared at the six beings now known as Pain.

"None of them are the one known as Nagato?" Ranmaru heard Ma question. "How can that be? There are six users of the Rinnegan now and none are the boy you knew?"

"Jiraiya-boy, are you absolutely sure?" Pa added.

Jiraiya nodded. "I'm positive. Yet that one," Ranmaru saw Jiraiya point to the man that was speaking to them earlier. "He reminds me of Yahiko. But he has Nagato's Rinnegan."

"You think that I look like Yahiko?" Deva Path said. "He is dead, Jiraiya-sensei. And all that is left is pain."

At that moment, five of the six enemies charged at Jiraiya. The Toad Hermit prepared for his battle knowing that they somehow shared a common vision as Ranmaru had suspected. Jiraiya immediatetly brought his forearms to block a kick from the Animal Path and then spun around the Asura Path. His eyes then caught two of the six heading for the injured Ranmaru.

Ranmaru calculated his two opponents. The big one was the one that could absorb ninjutsu. But the smaller and quicker one, Ranmaru knew very little about.

"Time to find out." Ranmaru said grabbing a single kunai from his pouch.

He tossed it at the smaller one, the Human Path, and made a few hand seals. In an instant, the single kunai multiplied, becoming hundreds. He saw that his opponent was finding a way to dodge this and made a single hand seal, causing hidden flash tags to ignite on the kunai (Stunning Flash Technique). The Human and Asura paths were both stunned, forced to close their burning eyes as Ranmaru ran towards the larger one with his swords drawn.

"Very smart," Deva Path said holding a hand up towards the charging Ranmaru. "But not smart enough… Banshō Tenin."

Ranmaru gasped as a strange feeling began surging through him again. He prepared for the flight away from the one using the technique, yet instead he was pulled towards the man. His eyes turned to see the several of small rockets flying towards him.

"C-can't… D-die…" Ranmaru said building up his chakra.

Jiraiya moved quickly to save Ranmaru, even though he knew the chances of getting there in time were pretty slim. Still, he had to try something.

Ranmaru closed his eyes, thanking Sayuri for being such a great teammate. He then shot several of lightning bolts out of his body, striking the missiles that were coming for him (Lightning Release: Lightning Body Armor).

"Pest." the Deva Path muttered before slinging Ranmaru into the building behind him.

"Ranmaru!" Jiraiya called before spotting the Animal Path descending on him with a strange pipe in his hand.

"Now Ma!" Pa stated.

The female toad shot her tongue towards the attacker, wrapping around his throat. Figuring killing one would be better than none at all, Jiraiya shot forward the trapped man with a Giant Rasengan in hand.

"Rasengan!" Jiraiya shouted as he slammed the attack into Animal Path.

The body of the Animal Path flew through the air before splashing through the water's surface. Jiraiya stood with a small glare at three of the six bodies of Pain. In a blink of an eye, he was moving for the Deva Path, a fist ready to strike. The man simply caught Jiraiya's fist.

"What have you done to Yahiko?" Jiraiya shouted.

Deva Path's eyes narrowed. "Yahiko is no more. We are Pain!"

With that shout, Jiraiya's body, along with Ma and Pa, were sent flying throughout the air with one mighty Shinra Tensei. The sage could only stare at the body of his former student as he flew backwards.

"Yahiko…" Jiraiya mumbled before feeling a terrible pain in his back.

Standing behind the white-hair man stood the Asura Path, a chakra receiver shoved into Jiraiya's back. Jiraiya hissed in pain, his chakra being distorted in ways he never imagined. He could literally feel another presence in him now that he was detached from the two toads. The pain was enough to cause Jiraiya to fall to his knees before two more were shoved into him, one in each shoulder.

As the ache surged through his body, Jiraiya had pieced something together. Yahiko was dead yet his body stood in front of him. Jiraiya was certain of that. However, this Yahiko had Nagato's Rinnegan, much like the other five and the animal summons. When Ranmaru put his life force into the poles that were currently stabbing the sage in the back, he could feel connected towards the others. He said that they felt as if they were being controlled.

"Nagato…" Jiraiya stated quietly. "This isn't what I wanted for you."

"You wanted me to unite the world by understanding others. You were right." Deva Path said as he and the other paths began to close in on Jiraiya. "Now I am Pain. I understand all. I know all. And during my years of ascension and enlightenment, I have become Kami. And you… You have become nothing."

Jiraiya let out a weak chuckle.

"We're not so different, Nagato." Jiraiya said with a mocking grin. "After all, you were never good enough for Konan like I wasn't for Tsunade."

Jiraiya saw all five men's eyes widen with fury. With that, he knew that he was right. Nagato was alive and controlling these six, now five, bodies with his Rinnegan.

"Love only brings hatred! And hatred… Hatred brings more pain!" Deva Path shouted before raising his hand. Jiraiya's body began rising into the air. "And pain leads to peace…"

"Jiraiya-boy!" Ma shouted as Jiraiya's body began to descend at a fast pace.

Jiraiya knew that somehow, this was the end for him. He idly thought about Nagato and Naruto and their ideology. Their ideas reflected on the villages that they commanded ironically. Nagato related with the pain of everyone, the constant rain being a reminder of the tears that his villagers shed during times of war. And Naruto had a past of complete deception, as if he was trying to find his way through the thickest of smoke. Not knowing who his parents were, what being a jinchuriki was, and tons of other essential things made him that way. Now Nagato wanted everyone to experience pain and cover the entire shinobi world in rain, whether it be clear water or blood splatters. Meanwhile, Naruto had somehow relit an old spark inside of him. His drive to be the greatest was stronger than ever now.

Jiraiya smirked. "Where there is smoke, there is fire…"

Before Jiraiya could fully close his eyes and accept death, he felt something wrap around his waist tightly.

"What the…"

The five remaining bodies of Pain watched as a large toad swallowed Jiraiya before plunging underwater.

"Let's go Ma!" Pa stated.

"Hai!" the female toad said before the two dispelled.

"Do not let them get away." the Deva Path said before looking at the Naraka Path. "You know what to do."

The reanimated corpse nodded before Deva Path led the paths of Human, Asura, and Preta after the escaping shinobi.

Tsunade sat at her former training ground, enjoying the peacefulness. She had no earthly idea what brought her to the place. Yet, she was glad she was there. It brought back memories. It brought back the better memories before all the deaths began.

A smile came onto her lips remembering Jiraiya tied up on the post. For what it was worth, the white-haired knucklehead was pretty strong. It was the brains that he lacked. The look on his face being tied up was clearly priceless.

"Lady Hokage," Tsunade was not so happy about her trip down memory lane being interrupted and gave the the person behind it a hardened glare. Ebisu gulped silently. "W-we have word from Hoshigakure no Sato. Shizune-san as well as the Kemuri representative has both arrived."

"Is that all?" And by that, she meant was there any word about Jiraiya and Ranmaru's mission.

"Yes." Ebisu answered.

Tsunade waved him away. Once she sensed that he was a good distance away and that she was alone again, she let her mind wander to a question she had been asking herself for years.

Why? Why did Jiraiya, someone who could easily best her in the art of combat, always make her seem like the strongest? Sure, she could probably toss a tree farther than he could without the use of Sage Mode, but still, he was stronger than her and more suited for the title of Hokage. No matter how many times he said otherwise, Tsunade and some of the villagers knew that Jiraiya was a better candidate. But like always, he made her the superior. There were times that he watched the punch coming and did not do anything to dodge it, even though he could. Some times it was pleasing that he didn't move as that would have just pissed her off more. Yet others… Other times she wanted him to move.

Sighing, Tsunade turned her attention towards the sky. How one perverted sage could stay on her mind constantly was beyond her. And as of recent years, his blond godson was constantly in her head as well, though not to the same extent.

"You'd better be alright." Tsunade muttered.

A smile came on her face when she remembered a younger woman muttering the same thing a few years back. Maybe she and Sakura weren't so different after all?

The large toad boss, Gamabunta, made a halt in a large field before opening his mouth and unrolling his tongue. Both Ranmaru and Jiraiya rolled out of his mouth, the teen the only one conscience at the time.

"This isn't good," Ranmaru said holding his sore arm. "I don't know how much longer he has."

"You should've summoned me earlier." was the toad's response.

"At the time I didn't know what I was getting into." Ranmaru told the toad as he began to pull the chakra receivers out of Jiraiya's back and shoulders. "But now I do. Whoever this Nagato guy is, he reanimated six corpses, giving them his Rinnegan in the process. He stays safe while at the same time doing this to us."

Gamabunta released a heavy cloud of smoke from his mouth, smoking his pipe.

"Hmm… You are very sharp Ranmaru. Kind of hard to believe that you are the gaki's student." Gamabunta joked.

"…" Ranmaru stood up straight. "They're coming."

"If they're strong enough to do this to Jiraiya," Gamabunta said. "Then you shouldn't fight them alone."

"Don't worry about me, Gamabunta. I promise I won't die until I've made Shiori into a successful chunin." Ranmaru remarked before stepping away from the toad. "Please, make sure that Jiraiya-san is alright."

Four figures landed a few yards away from Ranmaru. Their dojutsu glared at Ranmaru's with the intent of killing him and his superior.

"Even outnumbered and outmatched, you still stand before Kami as if you can win." Deva Path said. "Give up and die willingly."

Ranmaru held a hand seal and created two Shadow Clones.

"You remind me of someone who I respect. This person is one of the greatest shinobi of this time." Ranmaru replied. "This shinobi is Haruno Sakura, now known as Sakura of the Salamander."

The corpse of Yahiko's eyes narrowed. "Sakura of the Salamander…? How would she remind you of me?"

"Her power and reputation comes from defeating those who tried to stop her fantasy." explained Ranmaru. "She was also warped in a false reality where the Kaibunkage would become Hokage and that Uchiha Sasuke would kill Itachi and become a jonin of the Hidden Leaf."

"She isn't as warped as you think. Uchiha Itachi is dead by the hands of his brother." Ranmaru shrugged lightly.

"The point," the teen continued. "Is that like you, she is empowered by a vision that will never happen. Or should I say, she was. She has come to accept what is real and what isn't."

"What is the point of this story?" Deva Path asked.

"Kami cannot die. You, however, can. That is why you hide behind these six." Ranmaru revealed the Lightning Fangs. "And that means you are more of a coward than a god!"

This infuriated the four Paths of Pain present as well as the two that were not. Before Ranmaru had the chance to react, he saw Deva Path's hand raised, palm towards him. He could feel the weird feeling surging through him again, meaning he was either going to be pulled towards the man or pushed away from him. And then he simply vanished.

Deva Path lowered his hand, seeing his opponents vanish in a puff of smoke.

"I am Kami…"

Nightfall soon arrived, Ē hearing the battle his brother had against Akatsuki, the three bodies lying on the ground in front of him.

"As I said," Kageno said from behind the Raikage. "They will go after your jinchuriki next. You're fortunate that your brother was strong enough to hold them off."

"Lord Mizukage," Ao said. "There is something wrong with their chakra. This isn't Kisame."

"It is, ya fool! The battle we had nearly broke his back. But now it's time for Lord Jinchuriki to relax." Killer Bee rapped.

Kageno raised a brow. "Did you chase after them?"

"He ran with his partner and Yugito to escape. But then he ran into King, the giant ape." Killer Bee explained.

"There was no need in dragging me out of my office." stated the Raikage as he glanced at the Mizukage. "Take me back."

Kageno ignored the slightly irate man and moved towards the corpse of Kisame, the man's head barely attached to his shoulders. He then looked at the bodies of Yugito and the headless Hidan. Yugito's nude body was wrapped in Kisame's Akatsuki cloack. Reaching down, he picked up one of Killer Bee's swords and sliced Kisame's head completely off.

"What is the meaning of this?" Ē shouted.

Kageno's eyes narrowed. A clone would have reverted back to its original form now, so maybe Ao was wrong.

"What about her chakra?" Kageno said to Ao.

"Different." Kageno nodded and moved towards Yugito's body with the blade.

"What the hell are you doing, Mizukage?" Ē questioned.

"Testing a theory." Both Raikage and Hachibi jinchuriki were seconds from attacking the brown-haired man, but rested for a moment. They were curious to see this "test." "She is the jinchuriki of the Nibi, correct? Her tailed beast should be able to contact yours, right Killer Bee?"

"Of course, ya fool." Kageno turned to the man.

"Then talk to it."

The request was obliged as Killer Bee attempted to communicate with Matatabi via his biju, Gyuki. Ē, Kageno, and Ao waited until Killer Bee spoke up.

"That's not her." With that said, Kageno beheaded the phony as well.

"Every person that has ever come across Hidan knows that he is quite the talker and beheading him doesn't kill him. It was in the reports from Konoha about his bouts with the Sarutobi Asuma as well as Sakura of the Salamander." Kageno spoke before looking at Ē. "Now do you believe me? My only personal gain in this war is to survive. And the more living allies I have the better my, and your, chances are."

Ē growled quietly. "You are a conniving man, Kageno. You're using the other villages to best Akatsuki and its army!"

"And you're not?" was the Mizukage's calm response. "My suggestion is to relocate your jinchuriki or else you will lose your precious brother next time."

"You haven't told me how you knew that they would be here." Kageno was already moving towards Ao when Ē said this.

"Akatsuki isn't the only ones with spies." Kageno answered before using his Evaporation Technique to leave the area with Ao.

The two Kumo Nin stood quietly as they watched the Mizukage and his guard become nothing more than water droplets and then rise into the air.

"Bee, get your things." Ē said. "You're coming home."

"Aw, come on big bro! I finally have room to roam!"

"Don't argue with me!" Ē shouted using his signature Iron Claw on Bee, the smaller man flailing around.

Mission successful. How ironic that that was the first thought that came to her mind as they left the restaurant. Despite the whispers and obvious stares, she, Haruno Sakura, had just completed what felt like an A-rank mission without sweating much. She had successfully taken Naruto out on a date with very little interruption.

"So," Naruto stated as they walked down a quiet street that lead to Sakura's apartment. "This magnet technique… It'll be able to completely repel the Demonic Lightning as well as heal those paralyzed by it?"

Sakura nodded. "Hai. Though, it's going to take months for her to complete it."

"We have months to spare, though the sooner the better." Sakura agreed with the Shodai as they walked comfortably beside one another. "Thank you for that, Sakura-chan. With Sayuri busying herself with this new technique, she won't be complaining about going on missions."

"Or challenging people to spars." The two shared a brief laugh, knowing how eager Sayuri was to train.

Naruto then let out a sigh. "It's kind of weird how I found this place." Curious as to why he had said that, Sakura turned to look at the taller man's face. "It was like I heard Old Man Hokage's voice calling me here. He and Haku's. The Third called me to the village and Haku called me to Mei."

"Is that another reason why you left? The Third Hokage told you to?" Naruto hesitated before smiling.

"I'm not telling." The completely childish response irked Sakura a bit, but she was not about to show it now.

Letting it go, Sakura turned towards the moon and stars in the sky. She had already made a mental note that tonight would be the best night she has had in a long time. There was literally nothing that could make this night bad as Naruto had finally put down most of his mental walls for her. And as if to test that theory, Sakura leaned against him gently. She waited for him to say something but he didn't. They just walked in silence until her hand gripped his.

"You have a promise to keep." Sakura's voice was barely audible, but with his trained and heightened sense of hearing, Naruto heard her loud and clear. "To never leave me."

"I pr-" was all the blond got out before vanishing.

Sakura caught herself before falling, looking around. She was well aware of Naruto's Hirashin, she knew that he and he alone was the only living being that could use it. That being said, he would have used it after he finished speaking before being cut off mid-sentenced. Sakura's brain rummaged through his other two transportating techniques and realized that the toads must have summoned him. It was the only one that made much sense.

Right before she could make it to her apartment completely did Naruto return with two bodies.

"They both need your help." was all he said before Sakura went from date to medic. "Hold on you two…"