THREE
Suna: Part III
As soon as Shikamaru saw the blond hair on the man head, his eyes wide, "Impossible…"
The man scoffed. The spikey blond hair had grown and the length of it fell over the eyes of man hiding his eyes. The faces of the people standing in front of him are stared in disbelief.
"Shikamaru, it is possible for someone to have the same hair as Naruto. There is no way it's him," Choji says as he sees Shikamaru frozen in disbelief.
The blonde haired man didn't say anything as he crossed the two Katanas in front of him.
Kakashi sees the swords he is carrying, "KIBA?"
"Kiba?" Ino turned to Kakashi.
Kakashi sighed, "the name of the swords the man is carrying is Kiba, meaning Fangs. They are one of the seven swords of the Mist. They are made of a metal that is a strong conductor for lighting."
"Yes," Gaara says, "He is able to use Raiton."
"See Shikamaru, there is no way it could be Naruto," Ino said, "He couldn't use Raiton."
Shikamaru didn't reply, but he narrowed his eyes at the man.
"Raiton: Raiga!" the man states calmly.
A bolt of lights shot out of the cross of the two swords towards the group of Ninjas, but they were all able to jump out of the way. In the smoke from the lighting hitting the roof, Temari goes after the man again with the wind from her fan. In the frenzy, he was not able to prepare for the attack this time, barely able to dodge it.
The wind from the jutsu was stronger than the last one, causing him to loose the grip on his Katanas. Kakashi took advantage of the man's momentary distraction at the loss of his swords and charged at him, kunai in hand. Kakashi aimed right at the man's throat, aiming to slash it, but at the last second, the man was able to dodge. The kunai missed the man's neck but his cloak took the hit, revealing the scratched hitai-ate from the Leaf.
A leaf headband with a mark through it? That can't be right…. No…. that's impossible.
In Kakashi's moment of distraction, the man spins a lands a heavy kick on Kakashi's chest sending him flying backwards into Shikamaru.
Suddenly a large explosion comes from the distance. The man glances over to Deidara on his big white bird who is fighting Shino, Tenten, Gai, Kurenai, and Asuma who are all standing on top of the roofs of the village.
"Deidara!" the man yells.
"Shut up Na-Kid!" Deidara said almost saying the wrong thing without looking his direction.
The man just rolls his eyes.
"No time to be looking away" Shikamaru says as he's about the land on the man.
"Shit…" he tried to counter the attack by grabbing the Nara and body slamming him to the ground but Shikamaru's kunai had an explosive tag attached to it. Although he managed to get Shikamaru away from him, he didn't remove the kunai from his cloak where the Nara had lodged it quick enough and the tag exploded in the man's face.
Shikamaru slide to the other side of the building where the rest of the ninja had gathered. The man realized that the mask he was wearing had been ripped off in the explosion, but he ignored the fact as he walked over to pick up his Katanas. When he leaned up, he saw some very shocked faces.
Then he smirked.
"Impossible…" Shikamaru says.
"It can't be…"Ino says.
"How…" Choji says
"That's…"Kakashi says.
"You can't be…."Temari says.
"No…" Hinata says.
"NARUTO?!" Gaara yells loud enough for the other battles to hear them.
000
After hearing that name, Deidara glanced over towards the tower and sees the blond hair.
"Fuck'n hell, kid," Deidara says shaking his head "Now I have to go save his ass."
"Naruto?" Asuma questions as he glances over to the Kazekage tower. His eye widen when he sees the familiar blond hair. That name and Asuma's facial expressions make everyone else turn towards the battle on top of the Kazekage's tower.
"That's impossible" Kurenai and Gai whisper.
"Gai-Sensei, how is that…?" Tenten cries.
"I don't know, Tenten. I don't know." Gai responds shaking his head.
They turn back to Deidara but he's not there.
"Where did he go?"Asuma said looking around.
"Over there" Kurenai points to the Kazekage's tower as she see Deidara flies over to the Kazekage's tower.
000
The battle between Sasori and the leaf ninja comes to a halt when they hear the familiar name being yelled by Gaara.
"Was that?" Neji was the first to say anything.
"I don't know. Did you hear what I heard?" Lee responds as they both look at each other with questioning expressions.
"We need to get inside the village to see what's going on," Kankuro says.
The rest agreed.
Kankuro glances over at Sakura, who has a stricken look on her face.
"Sakura lets see what's going on." Kankuro places his hand on Sakura's shoulder.
Sakura was surprised at what Kankuro said but then agree.
"Damn it, kid!" Sasori mutters.
Everyone turns to look at Sasori, who is no longer there. They look around to see where he went but he was nowhere to be found.
000
"Naruto?" Shikamaru whispered.
Naruto glanced at the man who said his name. When he turned he saw the faces he had not seen in a very long time. He missed them, but there was no way he would be able to go back now.
"Naruto! You dumbass!" Deidara yelled as he landed next to Naruto after jumping off his bird. "Pein is going to be pissed when he finds out."
Deidara then proceeded to hit Naruto on the back of the head.
"Yeah, Yeah. He will be even more pissed if we come back empty handed," Naruto responded rubbing his head with one of his Katanas in his hand.
"He's right, Deidara." Sasori says as he moves towards his companion.
"Whatever, Sasori." Deidara rolled his eyes then turns his gaze back to Naruto.
"Besides that… what are you two doing here? I had the situation under control," Naruto says sheathing his swords then crossing his arms with an annoyed look on his face.
"Says the man with half a mask. And besides it's Pein's orders. If you ever reveal yourself we are to intervene," Deidara stated.
"I don't understand… what does them know who I am making any difference?" Naruto narrowed his eyes at Deidara. "Actually it makes it easier, I mean I can now use my good jutus like the various Rasengans."
"Who knows?" Deidara shrugged.
Then the rest of the Ninja who were fighting Deidara and Sasori arrive on top of the Kazekage's tower.
"What the Hell!?" Sakura yells.
Naruto glances towards them remembering that they were all standing across the top of the tower, "Fuck'n shit, they all here. Why the hell did Pein send me in the first place. You two could have handled this on your own."
"He is testing your loyalties," Sasori replied.
"Of course he is. Well he could have at least sent me with my own partner, not you two," Naruto waved his hand in their general direction.
"Watch it, kid," Deidara gave him a dirty look.
Naruto scoffed, "well, anyways, lets just finish. I've got plans for tonight."
"The only thing you'll be doing tonight is sealing a tailed beast," Sasori replied.
"Naruto, how are you alive!?" Shikamaru yells interrupting the Akatsuki member's conversation.
Naruto puts his arms behind and gave them that goofy smile like the old Naruto did, "Yeah, uh, long story?"
"Never mind that! Why are you with the Akatsuki?!" Gaara yelled.
"Why are you attacking Gaara?" Temari yells.
Naruto puts his arms down and cross them across his chest again. He sighs as he looks down, "Too many questions, too little time," He glanced up at everyone's faces. Their emotions ranged from hurt, anger, confusion and so much more.
"We don't have time for this, Naruto" Sasori says.
"Yes, I know," Naruto nodded and closed his eyes. When he opened again, the old Naruto they knew was long gone. The Naruto they saw now was dangerous and cold hearted.
Naruto lunged at Gaara who was now in the back of the whole group, dodging every attack that came his way. Naruto put his hand around Gaara waist pulling him off the tower with him. Naruto then unsheathed one of his swords and hits Gaara on the back of the head knocking him out.
"Deidara!" Naruto yelled as he and the unconscious Gaara fell from the tower.
Deidara and Sasori jumped on his bird and flew around catching Gaara in the tail and Naruto landing beside Deidara.
"Mission completed," Naruto stated as he stood up.
"That took longer than necessary." Sasori said.
"Yes it did. I am sorry my identity was revealed. It was an accident, Sasori-sama." Naruto bowed his head.
"Its alright. Pein will be pissed and you will probably be marked as a missing-nin now, but the mission was completed in the time allotted," Sasori replied.
"Lets go back to base," Deidara stated.
"Yes" Naruto and Sasori said.
Naruto looked back at the friends he once knew. There faces were full of hate, anger, sadness, confusion, and more. For the first time in a long time, Naruto didn't know what to do. But he knew what he had to do. Naruto turned back away from those old friends. He no longer wants to see those hurt faces. He reached back and tried to grab one of the Katanas as he was going to make sure Gaara would be out for the trip but when he reach back he noticed one of his Katanas were gone.
I must have dropped if after I hit Gaara. Naruto thought.
He looked back to try and find where the other Katana went then he noticed that Shikamaru was holding it, almost gesturing for him to comeback and get it. He smiled at Shikamaru with a silent "hold on to it for me", but Shikamaru just look angry.
000
"What the hell just happened!?" Asuma said breaking the since as everyone watched a man they though was dead fly off with their enemy and their friend.
"I don't know," Gai replied still looking ahead.
"He's supposed to be dead," Ino said.
"Yet he was standing there right in front of us…" Tenten stated.
"Its definitely not the Naruto we all knew… Did you see his eyes when went for Gaara? He looked cold, angry and heartless," Sakura said looking down, tears flowing from her eyes, "it was worse than Sasuke's."
Everyone just nodded.
"The old Naruto is in there," Shikamaru said gripping the Katana harder.
For the first time, the leaf ninja noticed that Shikamaru was holding Naruto's Katana.
"Where did you get that?" Kakashi asked.
"He dropped after he hit Gaara," Shikamaru replied simply.
"We need to go after-" Temari started to say when they heard a thump. They glanced over and saw that Lee had dropped to the floor in pain.
"Lee!" Gai and Tenten shouted at the same time.
Sakura rushed over to where Lee had fallen, "He has been poisoned."
"Many of Sasori's weapons have poison on them," Kankuro stated.
"We need to get him some where safe immediately. I need to treat him as soon as possible," Sakura said trying to stabilize Lee so he can be moved.
"Lets get him to the hospital," Temari nodded.
000
The Konoha Ninja and the two Sand ninja sat in silence outside one of the hospital rooms. They were contemplating what their next move would be. Naruto was extremely strong and probably only showed a fraction of his talent. There was one question on everyone's mind….
Why is Naruto with the Akatsuki?
Sakura had just finished healing Lee with the help from one of the Hidden Sand's elders- Granny Chiyo, but it would be a week or more before Lee would even be able to go back to Konoha.
Sakura walked out of the hospital room with Granny Chiyo and everyone stood up. They wanted to know if Lee would be all right. Who knows what would happen if Lee would die. Then they really would never be able to forgive Naruto.
"Is Lee alright?" Gai said.
"He will be fine. Although he needs to remain in bed for a while," Sakura replied.
"Oh, thank goodness," Tenten said.
"But we have a more important matter at hand," Kankuro said, "Our brother and Kazakage has been captured by a traitorous dead man and maybe dead soon if we don't act fast."
Before anyone could react, Shikamaru had Kankuro by the collar of his shirt and up against the wall.
"Naruto is not a traitor, he sacrificed himself to save to village," Shikamaru said, "watch your mouth."
"Shikamaru," Asuma said.
Shikamaru dropped Kankuro.
"We don't know what Naruto is," Kakashi stated catching everyone's attention, "For all we know he could be under the control of the Akatsuki or he really could have turned on us."
"Humph" was all the came out of Shikamaru's mouth.
"What are we going to do, Kakashi?" Asuma said, "I really don't want to kill Naruto if I don't have to."
"I agree with you Asuma, but we need to get more information before we can do anything regarding Naruto," Kakashi replied.
"What are you thinking, Kakashi?" Gai questioned.
"Well right now, our main goal is to retrieve Gaara, alive if possible. After that is accomplished we will then worry about Naruto," Kakashi and when he looked up, half the faces were in agreement while the other half looked like they were having a hard time accepting Kakashi's plan.
"Were going to have to face Naruto again when we try to retrieve Gaara," Kurenai thought out loud.
"Yes we are. Right now all we know is the Jutsu he can use before his 'death' and the lighting styles he was used against Gaara. I have a feeling Naruto is a hell of a lot stronger than any of us remembers. I also believe Naruto has matured quiet a bit. He doesn't rush into a battle like he used to. He thinks first now. So we are going to have to be extra careful," Kakashi relayed the information he had been thinking about, "We also don't know if Naruto is still the Kyuubi's jinchuuriki or not. I didn't see any signs pointing to whether he is or not."
"You're right Kakashi, the only problem is we wont be facing just Naruto. We may have to fight other Akatsuki members as well. Plus, I would think Naruto is still the Jinchuuriki since he is alive. If you have the Kyuubi extracted, you will die," Asuma said.
"Hmm," Kakashi seemed deep in thought. "Not necessarily. There was another host who had the Kyuubi extracted and live to tell the tale."
"Really? Who?" Kankuro questioned.
"That's not important," Kakashi shook his head.
"I think it would be smart to assume he is. What other Akatsuki members have we fought in the past? And who may we have to fight now?" Gai thought out loud.
"We fought several when they attacked the village. We fought Deidara and Sasori today. Itachi, and Kisame when they tried to obtain Naruto in the past. We also ran into a Black and white plant thing when retrieved Naruto's 'body'." Kiba stated.
"We also know from what Jiraiya said that there are 9 total members, 10 including Naruto." Choji said.
"That's right," Hinata said. "That only leaves us 4 members that we don't know."
"Well, we don't know that the black and white plant does yet, and we were never able to quiet figure out what Kisame's abilities were," Neji countered.
"Hmm. Well, I am suspecting that we are not going to have to fight all the Akatsuki members today. But we should be prepare for the worst," Gai stated.
"Shikamaru, have you been thinking of a plan?" Asuma glanced over to sulking teen.
"Of course," Shikamaru replied with out looking at any of them, instead Shikamaru was holding Naruto's other Kiba and he was staring at it with pain in his eyes.
"Then let's hear it" Asuma smiled.
000
"We're back!" Deidara sang out as they walked into the base followed by Deidara's white clay bird with Gaara in the tail. Naruto and Sasori just rolled their eyes at Deidara's lack of maturity.
"Deidara," Sasori walked over to one of hands of the Gedo Statue and hopped up on his position, "I am going to meditate."
"It still baffles me that Sasori meditates," Naruto leans over and whispers to Deidara.
"I know!" Deidara replies throwing his hands in the air.
"I can hear you," Sasori says.
Naruto just laughs out loud. Who knew being part of a criminal organization would turn out to be like this? Naruto thought to himself with a laugh.
"Naruto Uzumaki."
"Shit," Naruto winced.
"Your identity was revealed?" The voice called out.
"Yes s-sir" Naruto said reluctantly.
"But you were able to obtain the Ichibi?" the voice said.
"Of course, sir." Naruto replied.
"Then lets start the sealing. Deidara place the body in the correct place. I will summon everyone," The voice said.
Soon the Akatsuki member's holograms took their rightful place on each of the statues fingers. Naruto took his place on the pinky of the Gedo Statue.
"Lets get started. It will take us three days to seal the One Tail" The voice called out once more, "Make sure you real bodies are in a safe spot. We will need at the chakra we can get."
The Akatsuki members all made the correct hand signs and the extraction of the one tail out of Gaara began.