:1: Uzumaki Kaijin :1:

Almost three years had passed since Naruto's banishment, ever since the boy had all but vanished from the face of the Ninja World. The desperate search for the boy, while never abandoned by those who cared for him, it slowed down to a crawl as many of them went on with their lives. As for those who still hated him, they took his continued absence as a blessing and many of them carried on with their lives, convinced that they did the world a favor.

It is very ironic when they all will soon realize that while continuing with your life is often sound advice, you should always be aware that your past actions will reward you...or harm you.

Gaara, a red-haired young man with racoon-like pale green eyes, pale skin and bears the kanji for 'love' on the left side of his forehead was dealing with paperwork, the unfortunate responsibility that comes with being the Kage of Suna. After reading the twentieth document, Gaara mused, "As much as I hate to say this, being unable to sleep has his its advantages."

The jinchuuriki of the One-Tailed Racoon Dog, Gaara is afflicted with the inability to sleep due to the fear that the demon will consume his soul should he do so. As the tailed demon's vessel, Gaara has the ability to wield the sand from both the ever-present gourd made of sand on his back and from the soil around him. An automatic defence, Gaara doesn't even need to be consciously aware to be protected by his sand from external threats.

For many years, the boy had been an unstable psychopath, a tragic result of experiencing one traumatizing moment too many by the hands of a person he thought he could trust. However, during that fateful day almost three years ago, he met a person much like himself, Naruto Uzumaki. He was defeated by the blond jinchuuriki, Gaara overcame his despair-born madness and eventually even became the leader of the very village that once scorned and hated him, a village that now acknowledges his existence as a person worthy of respect.

Thinking about the tri-whiskered boy brought a melancholic smile on his face as he thought, 'It is truly unfair, that you are banished and unwanted despite everything that you have done for them and more, while a former monster like me became similar to what you yourself have wanted to be.' Knowing full well what the boy he used to know would smack his head for having such negative thought, Gaara was about to continue with his torment, he wished he could Sand Coffin when the door opened. Looking up from the boring document, the young man smiled more happily as he saw the tomboyish young woman with green hair and orange eyes standing in the doorway.

Fuu, the jinchuuriki of the Seven-Tailed Horned Beetle, smiled at Gaara as she asked, "Don't you ever sleep?"

Gaara's smile widened slightly into a small grin which was nothing like the psychotic smirk that he used to wear prior to being reformed by Naruto. It was during the first year after Naruto was exiled when Fuu entered the Land of Wind. Recognizing her presence, Gaara quickly identified her and after a conversation involving her past mistreatment and her desire to find happiness elsewhere, he decided to give her asylum in Suna. Things were tense at first as Fuu was not only a jinchuuriki but also a foreign ninja, but after her first year, the village decided that she means no harm to them. The fact that she is friendly with Gaara, once a reason for concern as due to the possibility of manipulating him through his feelings, quickly became a reason to keep her around as she could actually make him laugh with her carefree attitude and her appreciation for pranks, of which she gained from reading the Unmasking of Konohagakure. Even after taking her ninja skills and Biju-related powers into account. It still impressed Gaara how she managed to completely redecorate Temari's room which including bright pink walls, exceedingly frilly bed sheets and what must have been a ton of cute plush toys. Gaara could still remember how Temari, his older dark-eyed blond sister, completely flipped out when seeing the state of her room and the beating Kankuro received when he laughed his ass off at her for it.

"Even with my paperwork, could I actually sleep," Gaara replied, already familiar with her friendly banter.

Stepping into the room, Fuu sat on an empty spot on Gaara's desk as she spoke, "You know, you could always have someone else to take care of it for a bit while you and I have our wicked way together."

Hearing Fuu's seductive flirting made Gaara blush slightly, which meant that anyone else would have glowed bright red and a mild nosebleed. He shook his head and Gaara firmly said, "Maybe later tonight, after I secure a poor fool for this torture."

Snorting, Fuu said, "Alright, but be sure to relax this time. I understand that you cannot sleep and that any major changes to your seal are dangerous, but even so, you still need to relax your body and mind a bit."

Gaara nodded and smiled appreciatively and said, "I know, Fuu-chan."

Standing up off the desk, Fuu sauntered herself out of the office only turning to smile at him once she was at the door to say, "Later, Gaara-kun."

After she left, Gaara decided to call his ANBU to select the poor bastard that would bear his burden for the night. As his men proceeded to do their jobs and were hiding grins beneath their masks, Gaara thought, 'Naruto my brother, for showing me the right path that has given me so much happiness, I truly hope that you have somehow found yours...'

On the following day, after spending a satisfying night together with Fuu as well resisting the tempting urge of filling Kankuro's pants with hot, course sand for his teasing, Gaara went back to his office when he saw an ANBU messenger appear before him. Nothing his worry beneath his seeming calm state, Gaara asked, "What is it?"

"There is an Akujuu heading straight towards our village."

Gaara's eyes widened as he understood the potential danger. "Is it scouting our village for a point of attack?"

Shaking his head in uncertainty, the ABNU said, "Not as far as we know. If anything, its movements indicate that it wants to be seen and is probably here to deliver something to our village."

Raising an eyebrow, Gaara wondered, 'Is it delivering a message or something more malicious under the guise of a message?' Deciding not to put the village at risk, Gaara told the ABNU to have everyone on alert in case of a worst-case scenario while he intercepts the incoming Akujuu on his own. Despite protests from his siblings and his teacher who is now his adviser, Gaara assured them that his defense will protect him from the Akujuu and whatever it was delivering. Nevertheless, he didn't reject to them coming along to help him in case anything goes sour...

Before long, Gaara, Baki, and his siblings waited for the Akujuu which was heading straight towards them. A year after Naruto's tragic banishment and disappearance, the Akujuu were dragon-like beasts which come in many forms, including serpentine, canine and ape-like bodies. What they all have in common is their dark scales which have a red, blue, gold, or grey shine, horns, tails, digitigrade feet, clawed limbs and orange magma-like lines running along their scaly skin. Like the rumors said, they do possess scales which can repel ordinary weapons and even lower-tier ninjutsu, that didn't mean that their scales are indestructible and can be destroyed with weaker attacks if they are done repeatedly on softer scales to cause injury. On the other hand, it is still very difficult to kill them and to make matters more frustrating for those who wished to study them, they had a tendency to either violently explode or disintegrate into burning ashes once killed or fatally injured. There is also the unconfirmed rumor that fire-based, lightning-based ninjutsu along with mind-based genjutsu are completely useless against them.

Seeing the approaching creature, Gaara identified as an Akujuu-Ouka due to its wolf-like appearance including a face which looked like a wolf's skull, Gaara calmly faced the beast which showed no malice towards him. If it had, Gaara's sand would have attacked it immediately. This particular race were ferocious against ninjas from villages of Rain, Sound, and Mist, they showed no aggression towards the Sand Village with a few exceptions. One example is where a despised member of Sand's ninja forces tried to rape a helpless girl only to end up being brutally torn to pieces by a horde of enraged Akujuu which could climb on walls, like the ability a gecko has.

As the wolf-like Akujuu drew closer, Gaara silently prepared to defend himself from any attack while the three ninja behind him tensed. When the beast got close enough everyone noted it was wearing a collar with what seemed to be an encased scroll attached onto it. Slowing down, the creature stopped in front of the group and sat down, allowing the scroll to be detached from the collar. Gently nudging the scroll towards them, the Akujuu made it clear that the scroll was for them.

Glancing at his siblings and teacher, Gaara saw them nod and nodded in return as he allowed his sand to pick up the scroll and open its casing. Kankuro sent one of his puppets, a humanoid one named as Karasu, to read the scroll from a safe distance...

While Kankuro read the scroll on the behalf on his younger brother, Gaara, other leaders of various ninja villages have received the same scrolls as well. Among them was Tsunade Senju whose eyes narrowed as she read its contents. "I, the leader of the creatures which you humans have dubbed as the Akujuu, am sending this message to inform you that I am now the leader of a hidden village of my own. If you are interested to know more about myself and the possibility of a peaceful coexistence with my village if not more, please activate the seal placed upon the scroll. The seal will respond to anyone so there is no need to do it personally if you fear that it is a trap."

After rereading the scroll, Tsunade told Shizune, "Shizune, bring Sakura to my office right now."

Blinking, Shizune asked, "But why? I thought you still can't forgive her for what she had done to Naruto?"

"That's exactly why I'm asking for her. If this is indeed a trap, I can at least be sure that no one valuable to me dies from it."

Barely unnerved by Tsunade's bitter and cold response, she sighed and said, "Very well, I will have her sent to your office." Like Tsunade, Shizune hated the girl as well, but seeing her depression after she finally got it through her skull that earning Sasuke's love wasn't worth the effort, she realized that Sakura was no longer the foolish girl she once was. It wasn't easy to continue hating someone who has become a hollow, despair-filled shell who is truly remorseful for her past actions, but could do nothing to change them or their consequences. Heading towards the hospital where Sakura spends all of her working hours as a self-taught medic-nin, Shizune sadly thought, "If only you were still here, Naruto..."

Seeing no reason to avoid activating the seal, Gaara had Kankuro use his puppet to activate it and upon activating it, the seal glowed for a moment and then released a plume of black smoke.

His sand hovering around him to attack or defend if necessary, Gaara was almost surprised when he saw a robed individual standing on the seal. Due to the over-sized robe and its hood, as well as the cloth wrappings around his face, the figure's features were hidden except for his unnervingly dark-blue eyes which almost seemed to glow from underneath the hood and having plus-shaped pupils made identification impossible as Gaara asked, "Are you the leader of the Akujuu?"

Bowing, the person spoke, "In the flesh, in a manner of speaking." Although the voice was muffled, the Suna ninja was unnerved by the voice which sounded smooth but held an unnerving undercurrent as though the person who spoke might as well be a vicious monster in a costume.

Narrowing his eyes, Baki silently contemplated, 'A clone?' While uncommon, it is hardly strange for a ninja to use a clone, be it a shadow clone or an elemental clone.

Well aware of the use of clones to send messages, Gaara calmly asked, "Your message stated that you wish for a peaceful coexistence with our village if not more. While I am not against the principle of a peaceful coexistence, I cannot make any immediate decisions as we know too little about you and your Akujuu, which are quite infamous and thus cannot trust you at the present time. As such, I would need to discuss this matter with my people although it is quite likely that we will need you and your Akujuu to earn our trust in the event that we do consider accepting your offer." Even Gaara felt unnerved by the voice of the disguised leader, the voice promising terrible malice upon anyone that crosses him.

Nodding in understanding, the robed figure replied, "I understand, Kazekage of Suna. In fact, I am prepared to offer you a one-week grace period to make your decision as well as accept whatever you people demand from my own, within reason. Just be aware that we have no intention of becoming enslaved by anyone and are prepared to crush anyone that dares do harm to us."

Not surprised by the threat, as all worthy leader of a hidden ninja village would do the same with a bit more tact, Gaara replied, "Your understanding and...brutal honesty are appreciated."

As Gaara thought that the discussion had come to a close, the robed figure spoke, "By the way, I happen to be... a fan of 'The Unmasking of Konohagakure'. If you wish, I can contact the writer of the book to attend the meeting, personally."

Shocking, everyone snapped at attention to the robed figure as Gaara asked, "You know Naruto's current location, where?"

Waving a finger, thus revealing a clawed scaly hand wrapped in bandages, the figure spoke a parent teasingly such as a parent scolding a child, "That's no way to ask a favor from a fellow leader of a hidden village, unless you plan to be our allies immediately, the consequences be damned."

Frustrated, Gaara resisted the urge to threaten the Akujuu leader as he spoke, "Bring Uzumaki Naruto to our next meeting and I will seriously consider it!"

While his siblings and his former teacher wore worried expressions, the Akujuu leader seemed to actually smirk beneath the cloth wrapped around his mouth as he spoke, "Excellent! I will send my messenger to you to inform you the location where the meeting will be held once your grace period of one week is over. However, be aware that I am also making the same offer to most of the other villages and nations so be prepared to meet some unpleasant folks."

"I will keep that in mind. What is your name?"

"My name is Uzumaki Kaijin, Akukage of Yamigakure..." spoke the figure as his body started to disintegrate into smoldering ashes...

Meanwhile, as Gaara was done talking to the now named Uzumaki Kaijin, Tsunade stared at the robed figure with a frown on her face. Unnerved by his voice and his dark-blue eyes, what really piqued Tsunade's curiosity was that the apparent clone of the Akujuus' leader, momentarily glared at Sakura with such cold fury in his dark eyes that the girl literally trembled in fer before his gaze alone as he muttered, "You certainly know how to prepare n unpleasant reception, Hokage of Konoha."

Sensing that the man was tempted to strike Sakura, Tsunade ignoring Sakura's trembling form and spoke, "You are the leader of the Akujuu which I've been hearing so much about recently?"

Turning his attention to Tsunade, the robed figure dramatically spoke, "Indeed, my name is Uzumaki Kaijin, Akukage of Yamigakure."

Narrowing her eyes, Tsunade spoke, "While I have no personal issue of our two villages living in peace, I highly doubt that a peaceful coexistence is possible between us unless you have something which is of interest to the village as a whole." Silently adding on, 'Not to mention that even the ninja clans are fearful of your Akujuu which have killed number of ninjas, relations to Danzo's damned ROOT notwithstanding.' Indeed, the Akujuu had killed a number of ninjas who are related to Danzo's ROOT division which was suppose to be disbanded during the reign of the third. Having a strong resentment towards Danzo because he is one of the people who approved of Naruto's banishment, she needed no further encouragement to accuse Danzo for leading a still active disbanded ROOT as the members were killed during missions which Tsunade knew she never approved of. However, despite her efforts, she could not punish Danzo severely as she wanted because of his position of power in the council who also had support from the people who despised Naruto. Which Danzo no longer had an official seat of power, the man had a lot of political clout to influence the council, albeit indirectly.

"That is fine. I never expected peace to come for free anyway. In fact, I'm prepared to give you one week to think about accepting my offer for peace and I'm prepared to satisfy the demands of your people, within perfectly good reason of course."

"That's...awfully generous of you."

The Akujuu leader chuckled while he spoke, "Hardly, I am simply giving the people of your village, who happen to value a traitor like Uchiha Sasuke more than a tragic jinchuriki like Naruto in general, a chance to redeem themselves in my eyes."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow at his statement, while Sakura flinched at the stab, she felt go through her side. "You're a fan of 'The Unmasking of Konohagakure?'" It's common knowledge that outsiders who enjoy reading the book have a low opinion about the general populace of Konoha.

"You could say that. Actually, I know the author."

Shocked, Tsunade stood up on her chair and yelled, "Can you tell me where he is?!"

"That...is a question which will be answered when you attend the meeting in one week's time. Oh, and since this is his home village feel free to bring everyone that knows of him to the meeting. I'm sure that there has to be at least one more person in this entire village that might actually give a damn, unlike his former teammates." The leader's snarl was not lost when he mentioned Naruto's former teammates. As Sakura lowered her head in shame, not that anyone cared to notice.

"Alright, where is the meeting?"

"That is something which my messenger will inform you in one week's time," replied the Akujuu leader who then added, "Feel free to inform the people of this village that Uzumaki Naruto is very much alive."

Before Tsunade could speak any further, Kaijin disintegrated into a pile of smoldering ashes. Staring at the remains of the clone, Tsunade thought, 'An ash-based clone? That's a new one even for me.' Frowning, Tsunade continued her train of thought, "While I am happy that Naruto is alive and good, what is his relationship with the Akukage? Knowing him, he would have befriended anyone that understood his pain and that fellow does seem almost inhuman for some reason."

"W-what do you intend to do Hokage-sama?" Sakura stuttered, who now had a healthy fear of Tsunade considering she almost strangled her to death. The face that Tsunade continued to hate her up to this present moment only gave her more of a reason to be fearful of the powerful woman.

Glaring at Sakura, who's appearance was now that of sour milk, having dark rings under her eyes partly due to spending long nights, studying medical jutsu to heal Sasuke's leg and then followed by many sleepless nights after she finally seen through her crush on the bastard, Tsunade coldly dismissed her, "You're free to go now, get out of my sight."

Stricken by Tsunade's cold dismissal, only made worse by the fact she finally understood where she went wrong about Naruto within the second year after his banishment, she could only meekly bow and leave. Glaring at the pink-haired girl, her trails of tears partly hidden beneath her pink bangs, Tsunade pondered, "As much as I hate to admit it, that bitch does have a point. On one hand, I do want to know what happened to Naruto for all these years. On the other, if I push my luck further, those bastards will revolt and may even try to get someone else to be the Hokage, preferably one who will hate Naruto and happily brand him as a missing-nin." Probably the only reason why Tsunade was still the Hokage despite her resentment towards the majority of the population in Konoha is because she could not risk someone like Danzo or his cronies into the Kage seat.

Tsunade slumped into her seat and thought, 'Naruto, my little brother, I pray that you had somehow found something worth living for...'

Meanwhile in an unknown location, Uzumaki Kaijin had received the memories of his ash-clones and realized that the five major hidden villages, as well as a number of other nations including smaller hidden villages, are interested in hearing his offer for a peaceful coexistence. Of course, offering them valuable information such as the current location of one Uzumaki Naruto and possible means to counter certain threats such as Orochimaru and the Akatsuki made negotiations much more simple. Speaking of countering threats...

"Akukage-sama, we are ready to attack Otogakure."

Turning his attention to a humanoid Akujuu with a skull-like face and a vertebra-like tail, known as an Akujuu-Ningen, Kaijin smirked beneath his bandages as he spoke, "Excellent, I shall lead the attack myself." Kaijin's smirk became malicious as he added, "Soon, Otogakure will fall and with it's annihilation, the world will acknowledge the might of Yamigakure!"

Orochimaru was displeased, to put things mildly. A pale-skinned man with jet-black hair and snake-like yellow eyes, the man had been responsible for killing the third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi,t he man who was once his teacher before he betrayed his home village and became a missing nin. Obsessed with learning all the ninjutsu in the world and becoming the next God of Shinobi, Orochimaru had done many unethical experiments to achieve his twisted ambition. However despite his intellect and power, the man had faced more setbacks he would have liked to admit.

The first was when he killed Hiruzen who in a moment of self-sacrifice for his damn village, decided to take Orochimaru down, however while his attempt failed, he had effectively crippled his arms forcing him to retreat. As for healing his rotting arms, Orochimaru tried to obtain the help of his former teammate, the legendary medic-nin, Tsunade only to fail once more. Forced to take a new body, Orochimaru had hoped to gain Sasuke's body but in the end could not because someone just had to cripple the Uchiha boy thereby rendering him useless until his leg heals. What was more frustrating was the simple fact that he was refused to be healed by Tsunade or at least killing her should she refuse to heal him, as well as his inability to obtain Sasuke's body, was all because of certain blond brat dressed in a ridiculous orange jumpsuit.

As if the humiliating series of setbacks were not bad enough, Orochimaru had been constantly attacked by an unknown enemy ever since the end of the first year after the blond brat's banishment from his own home. The attacks were simple at first, mainly guerrilla warfare and sabotage for missions which involved his ninjas. However as time passed, the attacks grew more and more aggressive and bolder as the attackers started to attack his hidden hideouts and even went so far as to steal his research materials and test subjects. Even more frustrating is that the fact the assailants were obviously not from Akatsuki, Konoha, or any known ninja village as any and all sightings of these assailants invariable involved dragon-like beasts which have scales hard enough to repel ordinary ninja weapons and even weaker ninjutsu. Along with any attempt to bring back for sampling or interrogation ended in failure as the creatures somehow combust and burn into ashes upon death or capture. The creatures also have the uncanny ability to somehow strike only the locations where Orochimaru is not personally present thereby maximizing their attacks against the sannin with minimal risk of suffering his wrath.

Gritting his teeth, Orochimaru knew his village is now reduced to a mere shadow of its admittedly small former self and that the only reason why his main headquarters is still untouched is because he is present to kill any who dare to invade his territory. He could not find solace in the fact that the same creatures have attacked the Akatsuki, an organization he was once a member of before he defected to pursue his own goals, thus becoming their enemy as well. Clenching his fist, Orochimaru swore he would find out whoever is in charge of these creatures and make them suffer for it.

Suddenly as if fate and the universe had challenged his oath, a desperate Otogakure ninja barged into the lab where Orochimaru would often conduct his research and breathlessly reported, "Otokage-sama! The Akujuu...they're coming!"

Hearing the name of those accursed monsters which have been a thorn in Orochimaru's side for almost two years, the man clenched his fist tightly enough to draw blood as he released a downright palpable killing intent and asked, "How many?"

Almost crapping his pants, the ninja meekly reported, "We saw nine of them, scouts most likely, Otokage-sama."

"I see...have the men continue observation but do not attack them. I will deal with them myself!"

Not wanting to spend another moment with the man who might kill him at any moment, the ninja saluted before he left, "Understood!"

Soon after realizing the presence of the Akujuu, Orochimaru set out to face the creatures with one of his exceedingly few trusted allies, a bespectacled young man with gray hair and dark eyes named Kabuto Yakushi. Worried, the young man spoke, "Are you sure this is wise, Orochimaru-sama? This could be a trap."

Glaring at the young man, Orochimaru would have killed him had it not been for the fact that Kabuto is one of his few true allies and that he did raise a good point. Turning his attention to the direction they were heading towards, Orochimaru stated, "And what would you have me do? Hide and cower before enemies that would not even appear before me? I think not!"

Knowing the massive size of Orochimaru's ego, Kabuto knew it was a futile effort to reason with him, only when defeat or death is imminent can be reasoned with. Orochimaru may be an evil egomaniacal madman but he is also very unwilling to die, a fact proven by his numerous techniques to ensure that he would survive from almost anything. Besides, he does have a point that hiding from these enemies that have been avoiding him while attacking everything else associated with him is a wasted effort.

Before long, the pair arrived at the site and both Orochimaru and Kabuto took a good look at the creatures for the very first time. If they were being honest, they would have said that the creatures were nothing short of impressively intimidating as they all bore dark-colored scales, lave-like orange lines which seem to glow, horns, clawed limbs, sharp teeth, crimson eyes, also those of gold and orange which glow as well, plus-shaped pupils, and bird-like feet.

Leading the group was a creature which Orochimaru quickly recognized to be an Akujuu-Ningen. Following the lead of the humanoid Akujuu which strode with the calm confidence of a predator were two huge ape-like Akujuu with tough armored scales, turtle-like carapaces on the upper backs, heavily muscular builds, and thick powerful tails were known as Akujuu-Saru obviously the heavy-hitters of the group, next to them were Akujuu-Ouka, four of them with wolfish skulls and whip-like tails. The last two Akujuu were known as Akujuu-hebi due to having a serpentine tail, humanoid upper body, stubby claws for vestigial legs and snake-like heads. Slithering like snakes, the Akujuu-Hebi followed the other creatures ahead of them.

Glaring at the creatures which moved more like an organized ninja team than mere animals, Orochimaru was about to unleashed an attack order when the humanoid Akujuu suddenly stopped and spoke, "We know that you are there. Show yourselves!"

Deeply unnerved by the unnaturally deep voice which sounded like a breathy whisper and yet could be heard like a vicious roar, and the fact the humanoid one could apparently talk, something which hasn't happened before, the Oto-nin paused for a moment before Orochimaru decided to put an end to the charade. Appearing on a branch, Orochimaru glared at the monsters below him as he spoke, "Don't you know who I am?"

Smirking, the humanoid Akujuu replied, "Of course, Orochimaru, the cowardly trash of Otogakure."

Hearing the Akujuu's downright disrespectful statement, the ninjas were shocked to the point of being still at the sheer audacity of it until Orochimaru suddenly appeared behind the humanoid creature and stabbed him in the back with his personal sword. However, instead of painful withering on the floor, the creature simply chuckled before breaking down in a random burst of ashes and glowing-hot embers. Barely avoiding them, Orochimaru appeared on a random tree branch when he heard the same unnerving voice speaking behind him, "Looking for someone?"

Striking the speaker in a quick whirl, Orochimaru only struck air as when he suddenly heard loud screams from his men around him. Turning his attention towards his men, his eyes widened in shock as Gecko-like Akujuu managed to sneak up and attack his men undetected. While unconcerned about the safety of his men, the implications that Akujuu are capable of sneaking past was very unnerving to the snake sannin. Suddenly sensing danger, Orochimaru barely avoided being tackled from above by two gecko-like Akujuu which go by the name of Akujuu-Tokage. Deciding to retreat and gather his forces, he was just about to scram when he suddenly heard a monstrous cry from above...

High above the trees, a swarm of flying Akujuu were making their way towards Otogakure, Standing calmly on top of the head of a large whale-like Akujuu which bore flippers for legs and arms, known as an Akujuu-Kujira, was a smirking Uzumaki Kaijin. With a large number of the whale-like Akujuu following his lead, escorted by a larger group of smaller but faster and swifter dragon-like fliers called Akujuu-Tsubasa, Kaijin continued to lead the creatures onwards towards the hidden village, confident that the village will fall...

Staring at the flying creatures, Orochimaru realized that he been tricked. Gritting his teeth, Orochimaru was about to order his surviving men to follow him back to the village when the Akujuu-Ningen spoke from behind, "You surely don't think you can get rid of us that easily could you?"

Barely dodging the creature's swipe with its' clawed hand, Orochimaru hatefully glared at it and demanded, "What is your goal, creature? What benefit can you possibly gain from becoming my enemy?"

Smirking the Akujuu-Nin replied, "You speak as though you can easily destroy us?" Dodging Orochimaru's sword, the creature added, "You may be a powerful sage, but your pathetic cowardice notwithstanding, but you are ultimately single individual against our army."

Narrowing his eyes, Orochimaru then smirked as he spoke, "That's true, so allow me to even the odds, Summoning Technique!"

As the cloud of smoke, a typical consequence of a summoning ninjutsu, cleared, the Akujuu-Ningen looked upward to see Orochimaru smirking smugly at him from his perch on top of Manda, the purple-scaled horned boss summon of the snakes. a vicious summon who demands sacrifices, the titanic snake was about to demand an explanation from Orochimaru when he caught a certain scent which actually made him tremble as he spoke, "No...it can't be..."

Orochimaru lost his smirk as he gazed down at Manda as the giant snake started to actually panic in fear, something which he had never expected to see even if he had lived several lifetimes. Looking down, Manda caught sight of the sneering Akujuu-Ningen and shrieked, "T-Tiamat-Spawn!"

Unfamiliar with the term, Orochimaru was shocked when Manda actually chose to flee instead of facing the Akujuu. Barely able to keep his balance, Orochimaru demanded, "What is the meaning of this? Surely you are not so cowardly that you cannot even face one miserable Akujuu!"

Rather than answer, Manda continued to flee as fast as his serpentine belly would allow. However, as the giant snake was fleeing away from his village, Orochimaru canceled the summoning and then had to travel back, the snake sannin was forced to realize two facts, the first being that his summons are somewhat fearful of the Akujuu which are also known as Tiamat-spawn. The second is that Akujuu army is far larger than he anticipated as he was forced to fight his way through numerous Akujuu which are making their way towards the village as well...

By the time Orochimaru finally arrived to the village, he was greeted by the sight of a decimated settlement as various kinds of Akujuu besieged the village. Lead by the humanoid Akujuu-Ningen, Akujuu-Saru smashed through the defenses while Akujuu-Tsubasa attacked them from above by either dive-bombing them or by breathing bouts of flame. Akujuu-Ouka, and raptor-like Akujuu with bird-like faces and small clawed hands known as Akujuu-Hashiru, on the other hand sped through the defenses, causing as much damage as they can in their quick and vicious assault. Sticking close to the shadows, Akujuu-Hebi and Tokage sneaked past the defenders and caused mayhem behind enemy lines. What truly made any attempt to regroup and retreat impossible were the Akujuu-Mimizu, worm-like Akujuu with skull-like faces and stubby claws for limbs, as they burrow their way past the defenders, popping up to attack any unsuspecting victims, demolishing buildings by breaking their foundations, and aiding the Akujuu-Saru in tunneling their way past the defenders for other Akujuu to attack from behind enemy lines. Only the Akujuu-Kijura was not attacking, but they potentially dangerous if they were given the chance. To make it simple, the ninjas of Otogakure were fighting a losing battle and village was going to fall.

Staring at the settlement which will soon be reduced to ruin, Orochimaru was at a loss for words when a voice spoke, "Quite the sight, is it not?"

Turning to face the speaker, Orochimaru saw a robed figure and growled, "Who are you?" Furious, egomaniacal monster in human skin or not, Orochimaru knew better than to simply attack the stranger who is obviously related to the Akujuu.

Bowing, the robed figure spoke, "Uzumaki Kaijin, Akukage of Yamigakure, at your humble disservice."

Focusing on the word, 'disservice,' Orochimaru gritted his teeth as he spoke, "So you are the leader of these damned Akujuu!" Drawing out the sword, he demanded, "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you!"

Unfazed and even amused by Orochimaru's threat, Kaijin drawled, "Does the fact that your boss summon is terrified by my adorable hell-spawned minions count as one?"

Suddenly remembering about Manda's terrified panic, Orochimaru asked, "If these are Tiamat-Spawn, then it easy to assume that you are a contract holder of a type of summon led by a boss-summon named Tiamat." Left unsaid was that Orochimaru was worried about what sort of terrifying monster Tiamat was that just seeing its spawn alone would be able to cause such fear in Manda.

"Close, but not quite," replied Kaijin as he raised his bandaged hand and tore off the bandages, revealing a clawed hand with scales and orange volcanic lines not unlike that of an Akujuu. "You see, unlike you or the other two members of the Sannin from Konoha, I do not have a contract to summon them at will. If anything, my relationship to the Akujuu is something in a combination between a sage-summoner and a symbiotic partner not unlike that of that Inuzuka clan or the Aburame clan."

Well aware the two clans with symbiotic relationship with their dogs and beetle-like Kikaichuu respectively, Orochimaru frowned as he thought, 'Sage-summoner, does that mean he is aware of Sage training?' Deciding to defeat the robed figure and strong arm him to end his attack, Orochimaru suddenly attacked him by created shadow snakes from his hands which sought to capture him. However, rather then capturing him, Orochimaru's snakes only caught a random log as the robed figure spoke, "As much as a part of me would love nothing more to kill you in a quick, brutal and messy manner, I found something much more amusing than to simply tear our your pathetic excuse of a heart apart and piss on it."

Almost confused by the statement, Orochimaru was about to attack Kaijin once more, when he suddenly summoned four shadow clones. Surprised, Orochimaru was soon forced to engage two of the four shadow clones while Kaijin took out a pair of paper seals, one on each hand and placed them on the back of the head of each clone. Seeing Kaijin's actions, Orochimaru was reminded of his own kinjutsu, the Impure World Resurrection Technique, a technique which can be used to summon and control powerful ninjas from the dead. Eyes wide in panic, Orochimaru was sure Kaijin was about to summon a shadow clone of a powerful ninja to fight against him. However he could nothing to stop him as his two other clones suddenly created armor and wielded from using chakra alone. One of them took on the appearance of a court jester who wielded a scepter which changed into a wicked scythe while the other wore heavy plate armor and wielded a massive spiked armor. While the jester attacked in an erratic and unpredictable manner, a style of fighting unfortunately complemented with near-inhuman flexibility and mad laughter coming from the mask which bore a nightmarish demented grin, the Juggernaut of a shadow clone moved more quickly than his bulky frame indicated and struck with enough force to easily shatter trees and boulders. Working together, the two altered clones kept Orochimaru at bay until Kaijin said, "It's done. you may return. Delusion, Apathy."

The smaller clone, turning to face Kaijin, the jester seemed to actually pout beneath his mask as he spoke, "Aw, and I wanted to have some more fun hurting him!"

The Juggernaut shifted his massive hammer on his shoulder spoke, "That pathetic scum will perish eventually, so what does it matter?"

The Jester, who now goes by the name Delusion spat, "Yeah, whatever! Just make sure we get some popcorn while we watch the Boss make him suffer!" Delusion's face stretched into a mad grin to match the mask over his face as he cackled and disappeared in a cloud of burning ashes. the Juggernaut is known as Apathy, simply grunted in mild frustration as he too disappeared.

Seeing that the two clones disappeared of their own accord, Orochimaru warily glared at Kaijin and his two remaining clones as he asked, "And what exactly do you have in mind to make me suffer?"

Smirking, Kaijin snapped his fingers thus causing the two clones to suddenly transform before the Snake Sage. When the transformation was done, Orochimaru's eyes widened in shock as he spoke the words he never thought he would ever say again, "Mother...? Father...?"

Kabuto, who barely managed to avoid being torn apart by the Akujuu-Tokage and being made into a pancake by a panicking Manda, was making his way back to the Sound Village, when he heard laughter. Upon hearing the laughter, Kabuto felt a shiver crawl down his spine as it was the cruelest sound he had ever heard, which was saying something compared to Orochimaru. Realizing that it was coming from the village, Kabuto would have seriously considered leaving it, had it not been for the fact that Orochimaru would kill him or worse if he did so. As such, Kabuto reluctantly made his way to the village and quickly saw a sight which made him go pale.

Orochimaru, the cruel infamous Snake Sage and the leader of Sound was crying tears of despair and impotent rage as his body was ensnared in chain made of chakra which came out of a seal below him. Standing before the snarling sage was a robed figure Kabuto has never seen before as he smirked and said, "Now that is what I call a harsh family reunion! Of course, given your past misdeeds, I can't really blame your parents for being so very disappointed in you! Seriously, did you really think that your parents would be proud of your so-called achievements in being a complete and total bastard? Sure as hell, know mine wouldn't!"

Struggling against the chains which somehow canceled his numerous abilities to escape, Orochimaru demanded, "Who the hell are you?!"

The man's smirking visage suddenly became grimly somber as he spoke, "You want to know? Alright, I'll show you." Lowering his hooded cowl of his robes, the robed figure than removed the cloth cover his face, revealing sun-blond hair and more shockingly three whisker-like marks on each cheek.

Upon seeing the unmasked intruder who was obviously related to the Akujuu, especially with his exposed hand which resembled that of an Akujuu's own clawed limb, Orochimaru and Kabuto were shocked at the realization of his true identity. Staring into the cerulean-blue eyes that bore plus-shaped pupils and a malicious glint, Orochimaru gasped as he spoke in disbelief, "U-Uzumaki Naruto?"

Uzumaki Kaijin, leader of the Akujuu and the Kage of Yamigakure, also once known as Uzumaki Naruto, banished genin of Konoha and jinchuriki of the Nine-Tailed Fox, smirked maliciously as he spoke in a cruel tone which sounded nothing like the cheerfully optimistic boy he once was, "The one, the only, and the same, believe it!"

Finished! Fucking finally, this chapter is down, over 7,000 words, sorry for the long wait, I just really needed to finish my other stories' chapters first. Anyways, I will continue on! I love this one actually, it's an interesting take on a dark, malevolent Naruto, that and the next chapter will be awesome! Soon, my dear readers soon, the next chapter will arrive for your viewing pleasure! Later!

~Kourtney Uzu Yato