Yo!

First of all, I apologize for the delay. It's just that I was hit by a really bad writer's block. Only after beginning a new story (which you can check on my account - it's pure Naruto world), I got that spunk back.

So, here's the chap.

Reviews:

Guest (Meemo?) - Thanks for your support.

Guest (Amanda J24) - Thanks. I appreciate it.

Guest (Liminata) Thanks.

The village was, to put it simply, busy.

Life was in great hustle and bustle; shinobis and civilians were going to and from the village-based around a huge tree. Despite the threat lurking around, the human settlement was still in a rush.

Not that it was visible.

If not for the chakra signatures of the denizens, the place could easily pass as an indistinguishable part of the forest surrounding it. Truly, this village, despite being a minor one, per the norms in this world, was an actually hidden village.

Though, the conspicuousness of the major villages could be a deliberate show of their status and strength.

Still, it didn't matter.

Raising his hand and pointing the palm towards the inhabited area, Kaga blessed the souls which were in the wrong place at the wrong time, before the pulsing black orb of energy left his hand to deliver the judgment.

A bright flash followed and the village of Takigakure was no more.

"I think it's time for a break, all in agreement?"

"Definitely," Mizukage voiced her accord, relief from the tedious meeting blatant in her eyes. "We have been at this for two hours; time out is rightly deserved."

Kazekage also nodded followed by Onoki. Seeing this, Raikage sighed grumpily. "Very well," As if time is a luxury…

"Alright, let's go to… '' Tsunade uttered only to halt as the door of the meeting room was knocked once before it opened and an anbu walked in before kneeling down, face towards the ground and a fist at his chest. Great! What's it now? "Report." A sigh remained barely repressed.

"Pardon me for interrupting the meeting, Hokage-sama but I bring urgent information from the Intelligence division," The anbu paused for a bit. "As of now, the village of Takigakure is no more."

"What?!" Ai roared towards the knelt anbu who, to his credit, stayed calm, at least from the facade. Even the other Kages shifted into alarmed visages.

If it were any other time, an attack against a minor village which was also an ally of any of the great five, would have been welcomed but now, they did not have such luxury. Every single shinobi was important.

"Explain," Tsunade voiced, taking the command in her hand, knowing the Anbu were still getting oriented to the whole alliance system.

"The… division sensed massive chakra disappearance from the direction of Takigakure, and as that area is devoid of any other settlement in the proximity, Inoichi-sama is, unfortunately, confident regarding the fate of the village."

Shit! Tsunade couldn't conceal the worry from her features. Taking a moment to compose herself, she nodded towards the knelt Anbu. "Dismissed," Then, she turned towards the fellow Kages only to jerk vigorously, the series of tremors causing her to use her chakra.

"The hell is this?!" Onoki boomed, the only person in the room flying in the face of tremors, literally. A quick glance revealed the cracks in the walls before his eyesight caught on to the small particles of dust from the cracks defying gravity. This is similar…

"The Saiyan Prince! He is in the midst of a battle!"

Every eye swerved towards the sensor from Kumogakure who was visibly straining himself, beads of sweat streaming down his face. Then, his eyes rolled into his head and he collapsed down.

"C!" Raikage boomed, teeth grinding, the sheer magnitude of the power rearing the frustration in him. Damn it! The training wasn't enough...

"It is the best time to use the variant of Hiraishin, Hokage-dono," Mei expressed, her eyes clearly showing her thoughts.

"Mizukage-dono?" Disbelief lacing his words, Gaara looked perplexed. "I hope you have not forgotten the Gokage summit incident," What is she thinking? Rushing into the battle of those titans...

"Of Course not," Flipping her auburn hair, Mei calmly replied. "But I would like to gauge the battle or at the very least, the effects on the surroundings."

"I agree," Onoki muttered, after a bout of silence. "We cannot win in a direct battle but would have to use the environment to our advantage and for that, assessing it is a must."

"Very well." Tsunade replied, motioning for an anbu who appeared in an instant. "Summon the Hokage guard platoon."

Kaga's eyes veered towards the left for just a bit before a smirk appeared on his face. "I hope the welcome was to your satisfaction… Prince of Saiyans," Waiting for a bit and not receiving a reply, the dark god turned back, coming face to face with the mortal.

A stare down followed, as Kaga assessed his soon-to-be opponent. The garbs, the expressionless face were all the same but there was a different ferociousness in the green eyes, and the power… it was enormous. Though, there shall be a difference… this time.

"For your sake, you should have said your farew-ack," Tongue caught in his teeth, the dark God saw his surroundings blur later than he felt his body in motion. Pain, several times immense than the previous battle, shot through his skull. Accursed Saiyan!

Another shot of searing pain from his stomach accompanied by the saliva from his mouth and a bulge in the back made him aware of the neatly placed kick in his abdomen before he felt his body, still hunched, about to follow the motion but another kick to his jaw sent him mowing down towards the burnt grounds.

"Ugh!" What hit me?"

The last thing she could recall was Nanabi shouting at her to brace before the entire area had shaken as if someone had toppled the earth itself. Nanabi? Nanabi?! Oi! Are you alright? However no response came. Now of all times… She groaned.

Already familiar with the moods of the beetle and knowing the bijuu would talk on its own, she decided to at least know about the surroundings. Fu began opening her eyes, which proved to be an arduous process as a searing pain shot through her head, but she pressed on.

Her tenaciousness was well known.

Slowly opening her eyelids and adjusting to the light, the green haired girl took in her surroundings only to recoil in shock, the action alerting her of the pain in various parts of her body. Ignoring that, she saw the state of what was once a village brimming of people.

A crater was now in its place.

A huge crater.

Pitch black smoke was everywhere, rising from the ashen ground; the odour of death prevailing in the atmosphere. W-what is this? What happened here? What could cause this?

There was no doubt what the village had undergone through.

A catastrophe.

The girl tried to rack her brain, tried to think of anything before the apparent cataclysm but nothing turned up. How is this possible? Such huge destruction could not happen in the blink of an eye.

And with Nanabi unresponsive for now, she had no means to get answers she desperately wanted.

Further, despite her knowledge, albeit limited, of the Shinobi world, she did not know anything that could be the cause of this… this sheer hell. There was no better word to describe the current state of the environment.

Nothing was left.

She gulped. True, the people were not good to her most of the time but still… She would not wish this even on her enemies. There were children too… Footsteps approaching her brought her out of her musings.

Hope stirred inside her. Maybe, somebody survived. Right now, she did not care if the survivor was of the group that detested her, she just wanted to see, for herself, that the loathed jinchuuriki of the village was not the sole survivor. Life can't be that ironic, right?

Therefore, not caring about the pain, Fu turned her head to face black ninja sandals and immediately she looked up only to gasp. Red colored clouds covered the black cloak gently floating in the calm breeze. Akat… suki?!

When Konoha had sent a messenger, to their allied nations, about a group of rogue S-rank shinobis, hell bent on capturing the jinchuurikis before extracting the bijuu. Shibuki had personally visited and warned her.

"Should you ever come across any of them, just run really hard."

She wasn't hoping to meet them so soon.

And now, totally aware of her. prone and vulnerable position, she knew she wouldn't be able to implement her promise to Shibuki.

The unknown shinobi crouched beside her, and straining her neck, she looked up at the face and saw a pair of ringed purple eyes glowing ominously from the thin veil of smoke obscuring the face around which red hair was visible.

"Sleep, Nanabi."

Those were the last words she heard along with the feeling of his hand on her head before her vision blackened.

Kaga impacted the ashen ground, forming a crater. For a moment, everything stood still. His mind seemingly lost the ability to comprehend but after a bit, he gritted his teeth. That Saiyan!...

In the end of their previous battle, he had already sensed the Saiyan Prince's tremendous power and till this morning, he had trained hard to counter that. But only feeling the power and actually experiencing it, were totally different things.

He had come to know that today.

The truth was a bitter pill to swallow. He was not strong enough. All that training was for naught and … His eyes widened as the humongous Ki of the Saiyan appeared just above him, the dark God only having a moment to brace before he felt the impact.

Not wanting to repeat the mistakes of the previous battle, the Saiyan Prince, with a burst of ki, blurred and appeared over his fallen foe, delivering a devastating elbow to the back of the God reject, the latter's body rebounding from the blow.

Fissures appeared around the crater under Kaga's body, before widening and merging to form a new crater. But Vegeta was relentless. He fixed atop the back of the prone dark God before launching a series of planet destroying yet extremely fast punches on the spine.

The crater continued to deepen with every punch, the God-reject not even making a sound.

Immense pain wrecked his body with every strike. But surprisingly with every bout of pain, stirred a feeling of calmness in his mind, causing his burning rage to morph into smoldering one. The sensation of revenge flourished but so did the awareness of his mind.

Kaga felt confused at the conflicting sensations his mind was experiencing, but he was also surprised at his increasing cognition. It was as if the battle was restoring his sensi… A lightning streak seemingly passed through his mind and his visage recoiled in shock.

He was sure of what he felt.

The congregation of Ki, in the Saiyan's punch, just before its movement towards his prone body. And the hit, next moment, connecting on the back of his head was the confirmation. It seems I have been rather impetuous in judging this battle… it may prove to be productive.

It was time for retaliation.

Again, he felt the Ki in the Saiyan prince's punch followed by the movement, but this time he was ready.

Jerking his head back, Kaga brought his arms up and clasped onto the wrist of the Saiyan before, with a burst of his Ki, he flung the latter forward, over his head.

He felt the Saiyan's Ki moving away from his body and then he opened his eyes, two rays of black energy shooting out of them before meeting the blue clad body of the Saiyan. A huge explosion happened followed by black smoke.

Not waiting, the dark God released a series of Ki blasts from his hands, multiple explosions engulfing the area already covered by black smoke. Immediately, he flew towards the black smoke, already sensing the Saiyan still in bracing position for further attacks.

Leg extending and coming in an arc, he was mildly surprised when his attack did not connect, the limb simply passing through smoke, dispersing it.

Again, he felt the Prince, having appeared behind him, about to attack, and he tried to shift his body but the hit was a bit faster.

It connected.

Delivering the punch, Vegeta let go of the limb, the force behind the punch launching the God- reject towards the skies. With a yell, he began firing ki blasts at his airborne opponent while flying at some distance to the body.

Yellow white smoke covered the area around the dark God but only for a moment before something shot out from the smoke towards the skies, evident by the trail of smoke that followed. The Saiyan prince's eyes quickly followed the trajectory. Shit!

Kaga flashed in his vision, a punch aimed at his head, which Vegeta dodged but just in the nick of time. Quickly twisting anti-clockwise, he slammed his right Knee into the guts of the dark God which was blocked by the latter pulling his legs to the stomach.

Still, the force pushed him several metres back.

Vegeta followed but before he could, he felt heat above his head. Looking upwards, he only saw a black Ki sphere the size of a Saiyan pod before the impact took place, causing a humongous explosion and flinging him towards the horizon.

Damn! That sphere was what shot out of the smoke earlier… Blasted Kai and his blasted telepathic abilities… The augmenting heat following him made him aware of the Ki blasts approaching him.

Enough!

Further releasing the restraints on his Ki, the Saiyan Prince relished in it for a bit, before, with a yell, he halted his motion, Ki manifesting around him as a protective cover, just in time the black Ki spheres made contact.

The pulsing spheres of energy stopped, the energy of his aura pushing against them. With a flex of his arms, Vegeta extended his energy causing the spheres to explode, his aura absorbing the impact.

So far he had managed to push me to nearly three fourths of my second level… this can't go any longer… The Prince broke out of his thoughts as Kaga again flew towards him, several spheres of energy coming to existence around the air-borne Kai before they shot towards him.

Eyes narrowing, he upped his guards. What's his game? Didn't he see this won't work on me? But then the spheres flew around him, seemingly in a circle, before exploding.

And those explosions were ear-deafening. He could feel the very particles of air vibrate. How much energy did he even put into them? Nevertheless, they weren't enough nor close to cause him any direct harm.

Smoke engulfed the area around him, and Vegeta cursed his inability to sense God ki. He was about to blow the damn thing away when the curtains of smoke parted, an arm coming towards him.

But he was faster now.

His own hand shot up, clasping the limb before he simply pulled it in, other hand simply catching the dark God around the neck. "This ends…" Kaga's eyes flashed but Vegeta simply pushed his neck back, the black beams of energy shooting over his head. "... now."

He began channelling energy to his hand, smirking as the God-reject's eyes widened in alarm, the Kai began thrashing but his firm grip prevented any escape.

A knee strike was blocked with one of his own.

Then, the energy charge was completed and he fired it with full power…

… or he would have if not for the dark God to stretch his mouth, a black beam emerging from the depths of his throat.

The Saiyan Prince tilted his head sidewards, the beam passing harmlessly, but due to the slight distraction, he felt his own energy destabilize and explode, sending them both in opposite directions.

As he tried to stabilise himself, he couldn't help the irritation that evinced on his visage. Just how many damned energy shooting orifices he possesses? But these recent developments are concerning.

Being a veteran of such battles, he knew what he saw. The God reject's sensing abilities were clearly augmenting. Just in the beginning of this battle, Kaga wasn't able to even keep up with him, unlike the previous battle.

But somehow in the midst of their clash, the blasted Kai had started showing indications of improved and quickly orienting sensing ability. Somehow, the battle had expedited the process.

Yet again, somehow, Kaga had managed to evolve to the point of detecting his movements.

Not only that, he was also beginning to make efforts to dodge, and coupled with his seemingly endless abilities and a cunning mind, the Supreme Kai wannabe was a tough opponent.

… With whom, he couldn't waste any more time.

Finally! Managing to stop his movement, Vegeta glanced towards his opponent, about to collide with the earth, before he shot towards him.

Did the surroundings really blur or was it my assumption?

Terumi Mei couldn't help but think, totally awed at being the witness, for the first time, of the legendary Hiraishin in action. To think, such a jutsu could exist; truly, the Yondaime Hokage was unparalleled.

Oh! What I won't give to have him in my arms… She slightly giggled.

"Uh… "

The sound interrupting her musings, she looked towards the source who was clearly embarrassed about something. Following his glance revealed the problem.

In her bout of fantasy, she had, somehow, latched onto the bicep of … Ah! Shiranui Genma who was quite flustered. She couldn't help but be amused. Well, he has a nice bicep.

The auburn haired beauty moved even closer to the senbon chewing man, her hand beginning to trace his cheek. Giving a pout, she murmured. "Am I… not upto your expectations, Genma-kun?" The tone, a tad bit more sultry.

A red hue covering his entire face, Genma couldn't help but gulp. H-how are you supposed to answer this? Oh, the woman was perfect, straight outta Icha Icha paradise but he was sure if he replied in affirmation, the Kage would have his head and if he replied negatively…

… Well, he didn't even want to think about it.

A sensual gasp brought him out of his thoughts, eyes drifting towards the busty Mizukage who was looking quite flustered on her own. What now?

"Kami help me," Mei began, shyly. "A helpless girl surrounded within the arms of three men… "

The three immediately broke the contact, arms falling onto their sides before they took a step back. The Mizukage couldn't help but laugh. "Ha! You Konoha shinobis are too easy," Her laugh subsided into a chuckle. "Now, off you go or I might try something."

Next moment, they were gone…

…. In a flash.

Controlling her amusement, she took in the surroundings. The ground was ashened, smoke rising from various places, and if not for the tree tops visibly at the skyline, nobody could tell it was once a flourishing village.

All traces of amusement left her body.

Slight shuffling drew her attention as Kazekage appeared in the same manner as her. Next was Raikage followed by Tsuchikage and finally, the Hokage herself.

And standing there, as others joined her, apart from their titles, the thing they all had in common, at that moment, was their solemn expressions.

True, there had been shinobi wars but, at the most, they had been aimed at what their titles described - shinobis. Civilians, children and even elderly were, most of the time, spared.

Unlike this… total destruction before them.

"This only scrapes the difference in our power gap," Gaara murmured, the others expressing their agreement. As if corroborating his words, a series of shock waves followed, nearly toppling them.

"That's our cue," Onoki voiced, the other again nodding before dashing towards the centre of the depression.

A couple of moments later, they arrived. A quick glance revealed the shape of the crater. It was skewed towards their front. "All right, let's do- " Tsunade hissed, drawing the attention of others, before looking at her bare hallux which had begun to slightly blacken just below the nail.

Surprised, she crouched, other paying close attention, inspecting her toe. "It's a burn," Her voice was full of interest. "Unlike one caused by Chakra," Pausing, she administered some healing chakra only to have her eyes narrowed.

"What is it, Hokage-dono?"

"I can feel… my chakra trying to heal the cells but it isn't as effective as it should."

The Kages shared glances. There was no doubt about her claims, being a legend in medic. But what could give a pause even to someone of her status?

The answer came in the form of a slight spark that appeared just before them. It was almost black in color and they would have nearly missed it if not for the almost part. The result was more astonishing; the previously crumpled leaf straightened for a bit before resuming its shape.

As if, for a moment, the leaf had tried to be… alive.

They continued to watch in silence for the next couple of moments. Another spark appeared, too close to Tsunade's feet, but this time she covered them in chakra.

Only to hiss again when the spark again struck her, penetrating her chakra easily, this time on the outermost toe. Damn these sandals! I should have worn the whole thing. Still, she voiced her findings for all. "Clearly, these sparks are the remnants of Kaga's energy."

"Hmm… if we can somehow preserve it, the subsequent research may prove to be edifying." Raikage added.

"Indeed," Tsunade directed her gaze towards her guard. "Inform Jiraiya about this and bring him here."

"Hai!" The Hokage guards disappeared.

"..."

"..."

"That's quite a handy jutsu."

"It is, isn't it?" Mei replied to Onoki.

Tsunade sighed.

Hoshigaki Kisame, as he bit through a fish, looked at the back of his partner. Ever since Uchiha had left Akatsuki, he had been strangely silent.

Even more so than ever.

And this morning, he had expressed his desire to move here - in the middle of nowhere in Fire country. They had arrived, he glanced at the skies, just half an hour earlier.

And since then, Uchiha Itachi had done nothing but stare towards the east.

It was confusing.

The Uchiha hadn't even turned when sudden booms and explosions rocked the skies towards the west. They were a nice distraction though.

But if only he had someone to shred, everytime Itachi behaved like this…

Shrugging, he opened his mouth, bringing the roasted fish closer…

"Kisame… "

And took a bite. At least, he roasts the fish quite well.

"... it's time."

Throwing the remnants, the blue-skinned man rose, using one of the thin bones as a toothpick before approaching his partner just in time to see a crow landing on the latter's shoulder.

Kisame grinned. "I assume your brother is around?"

Itachi nodded, after a bit. "Along with a girl, possibly of the Uzumaki clan, a boy of the Hozuki clan and an unknown element."

Kisame's grin widened. "Leave the Hozuki and the unknown to me."

"... What about the girl?" Itachi didn't know why he asked that.

"You can have a threesome?"

The most indifferent barely repressed a sigh.

Jiraiya appeared, the hokage guard platoon stepping aside for him to go. He approached the Kages, inclining his head a bit. "Raidou told me."

Tsunade stepped forward. "Only problem is that the sparks diminish as quickly as they appear."

"Hmmm… " Jiraiya thought for a bit before nodding to himself. Wordlessly, three shadow clones appeared and dashed towards different parts of the crater, the toad sage himself administering the area around him.

For the next hour or so, Jiriaya worked in tandem with his clones, the Kages watching him silently, placing his special storage scrolls here and there, tweaking the seals in response to the sparks as they appeared.

Finally, he stepped backwards, clones dispelling themselves, and clasped his hands in a seal. "Alright," He released a breath. "Fuin: Activate."

"..."

"..."

Raikage snorted.

Jiraiya glared at him.

Tsunade again sighed, rubbing her temples.

Then, a sizzling sound happened followed by several others at the same time, drawing everyone's attention. They watched, surprised, as sparks of energy began pulsating in a continuous manner as opposite to the previous sporadic.

Then the sparks began to join to form a long streak of lightning which was immediately sucked into the scrolls.

The white haired sannin shot a triumphant look at the Raikage who only looked sideways, nose pointing high, only for a clone of the toad sage to appear in his vision, the same smirk on its face.

Mizukage smiled in amusement. Men!

Tsunade sighed again. This is going to be a long day.

The Saiyan prince halted just above the cloud of dust caused by the dark God's collision. A swipe of hand later, it was no more.

And neither was Kaga, anywhere to be seen.

Vegeta whirled in all directions, leaving after images around him. A growl escaped his throat. Where the hell is he?!

The dark God had clearly said, before they had begun, that this would be their last battle. Don't tell me he chickened… A gasp left his lips as he was hit in the stomach, clearly by a leg.

What the?

A moment later, another hit landed…

… or it could have if he, on sensing the shift in air particles, hadn't brought up his arms in defence. Though it could have been better.

Another hit, again by a leg, managed to almost push past his defence and would have completely if it hadn't been stopped, apparently by Kaga himself.

For the next few moments, Vegeta kept his guard up, eyes, ears and mind pushing past their limits. This invisibility is clearly a hassle.

But nothing came.

What's his game now?

"Saiyan Prince," Vegeta's eyes narrowed as the voice began resounding from all directions. "... clearly, I have committed the mistake of overestimation. You are stronger than me, even at present."

There was a pause.

"Though, I hold the distinction of concluding this battle due to this unique ability in my arsenal, but I shall spare you today for I am of the belief that one last battle is of utmost necessity to fully awaken my dormant abilities."

The Saiyan Prince again growled, eyes swerving in all directions. "So, you're a coward; the moment you see your failure, you run away tucking your tail between your legs."

"... Such trivial remarks do not bother me. Though, I am surprised. I was of the assumption you Saiyans find thrill in the prospect of a battle."

The question mark was unspoken yet Vegeta didn't reply.

"I see," The voice was heard after a bit. "Having said the same, my point still stands. You are an imperative element in my plan. Only in the aftermath of our much needed battle, I shall be restored to my actual prowess."

"So… be prepared. This cloak of invisibility shall be my weapon against you. The moment this planet completes nine rotations, we shall have our final battle where it all began."

Then there was silence.

After a couple of moments passed, Vegeta dropped his guards, reverting to his base form. This was getting too exhausting. Battle was something, the Saiyans lived for but when these annoying abilities got mixed in, it became a troubling experience.

Why can't these villains be… normal?

"Normal, huh? But that will be boriiing!"

The black haired Saiyan blinked. The Fuck?! What are you doing in my mind?

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