The Takeover

by sinisteruto

What if Haku, Zabuza, Minato, and Kushina had a much more profound impact on Naruto as a shinobi than they did in canon? What if Naruto realized early what a waste of time his training trip with Jiraiya was and took matters into his own hands? What if Naruto stuck to his original plan of taking it over, not to prove himself or make everyone love him, but for his own ambitions?

3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any other series I might use for inspiration.

Taking Down The Enemy

Forests of Fire Country:

At a random location, near an equally random tree, a scroll, as if by magic, appeared out of nowhere in the air, the sealing matrix on the scroll glowing briefly before, with a large puff of smoke, three figures appeared out of the scroll, one a tall, muscular, spiky blonde haired individual wearing a Konoha jonin uniform, the other a woman with beautiful red hair and a black tunic tied at the waist with a red sash, along with black shorts and black sandals, and last but not least, a green haired beauty with orange eyes and a slim but sexy figure.

"Is this for real? Has the original dipshit actually summoned us?" The Redhead asked in disbelief.

"He indeed has, Tayuya-chan, which means I should be receiving memory feedback any time now." The blonde haired male individual replied calmly.

"I wonder what happened? Where even are we, Naruto-kun?" The green haired beauty asked curiously.

"I just received the memory feedback. Listen carefully, Fu-chan, Tayuya-chan. The Kazekage, Sabaku no Gaara-dono, has been kidnapped by Akatsuki. The boss has been prohibited from leaving the village by Godaime-sama. The boss activated the sealing scroll in which we were stored and teleported the scroll to this location, in Fire Country, that he marked with the Hiraishin no jutsu. That is why we appeared here." Naruto explained.

"I see. So the original dipshit wants us reinforced shadow clones to go and save Lord Kazekage from Akatsuki while the original versions of ourselves stay in Konoha and follow Godaime-sama's instructions huh? It's an interesting plan, it quite clearly exploits a loophole in the instructions." Tayuya said with a serious undertone, not swearing or cursing at all, which was a clear indicator of how seriously she was taking the situation.

"That is incorrect. We're going to use the Hiraishin Substitution Technique to switch places with the originals. The boss is not taking Akatsuki lightly enough to leave such an important task to mere shadow clones, reinforced or not. So with that said, both of you create shadow clones and dispel them so that the original versions of you can get the memory feedback. When they are ready to switch, they will use the same method to let us know." Naruto commanded, the two girls nodding their heads in the affirmative as they did as instructed.

'It seems I'll be fighting the new team Kakashi in the boss's steed. I better make sure not to be defeated. It will be weird if I suddenly poof out of existence.' Clone Naruto thought amusedly.

Short While Later: Konoha

'Good! The others are nowhere near catching up to me, which means they didn't see the boss and I switch places. Kakashi is the fastest out of them, but even he couldn't close the gap, and even if he had been able to, the Hiraishin Substitution happens in an instant. He probably would have been hard pressed to see it even with his sharingan.' Clone Naruto thought as he stopped at a clearing, deciding to wait for the others to catch up to him so that he could get the show on the road.

'Running away forever kind of defeats the purpose of the test I suppose. Time to whoop some ass.' Naruto thought as he waited for the others to arrive

"……."

"There is no point in hiding! I know you're out there! You probably don't know this since my sensory skills were underdeveloped due to lack of training before I left the village, but I'm a sensory type, the best there is! My sense of smell is better than the Inuzuka clan, my hearing is the best that I know of, and my chakra sensory perception, without exaggeration, is likely the best in the entire shinobi world. I know your exact positions. This is one of the rare cases where following the shinobi code will be to your detriment!" Naruto said out loud for the benefit of his opponents, and in order not to waste time because he didn't want to wait here all day for them to come up with some type of strategy that ultimately, in all likelihood, would not amount to anything, disappointed however when there was no change in the actions of his opponents as they continued to conceal themselves, seemingly waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.

'I suppose it doesn't make sense for them to just simply take my word for it, after all, for all they know, I could just be bluffing. From their perspective they are probably asking themselves why someone would intentionally throw away an advantage by revealing previously unknown information about themselves.' Naruto thought as he patiently waited for his opponents to make a move, surprised by how long he actually had to wait as it took a whole ten minutes of just standing there like an idiot before his opponents made their move, two hands coming of the ground from underneath his feet in order to grab onto his ankles and pull him underground, hands that Naruto recognized as Kakashi's, because they could only belong to him, and because he had actually sensed the chakra signature of Kakashi, or rather the chakra signature of Kakashi's shadow clone moving towards him from beneath the surface.

"Earth Style: Double Suicide Decapitation Tech…" The clone trailed off as it was instantaneously vanquished, Naruto stabbing his Hiraishin no Ken down into the earth at roughly the same time as the clone ejected its hands out of the ground, stabbing right between its eyes and killing it in an instant, the clone disappearing in a puff of smoke. However, while the shadow clone was busy with its attack, the real Kakashi had already been preparing his next move as he came out of the clearing and began hand seals for his attack, the last one being a snake hand seal.

"Earth Release: Bottomless Mud Hole!" Kakashi said as he put his hands on the ground, causing the entire surface around Naruto to turn into Mud that sank him down to the bottom and drowned him, at least that's what would have happened had Naruto not channeled the lightning oscillations of the Hiraishin no Ken into the surface, made easier by the fact that he had already stabbed the sword into the earth when he killed Kakashi's shadow clone, lightning chakra spreading across the surface and thereby cancelling the mud hole before it could take effect, earth style being weak against lightning style and all.

However, it seemed that that was not the extent of Kakashi plan as, from the moment that Kakashi's clone attacked, so had not only the original Kakashi began his attack, but also Sakura as she had jumped high into the air so that she can attack from above, Naruto realizing that the fact that Kakashi had attacked using earth style and those two jutsu in particular had been because he wanted to focus Naruto's attention downwards so that he wouldn't see Sakura coming from above until it was too late.

However, being a sensory type, Naruto had, of course, sensed her from the moment she made her move and before even that, thereby easily jumping out of the way just in the nick of time, Sakura missing with an overhead kick completely and hitting the surface, causing a massive explosion as the terrain was affected and completely changed by the impact, as if a powerful earthquake was hitting the training ground.

'Damn! I wasn't sure if she could actually master Tsunade baa-chan's super strength technique seeing as Shizune nee-chan doesn't seem to have been able to, but I sure am glad I played it safe.' Naruto thought, who was not in fact safe at all as Anko, from up on a tree, launched her own attack on Naruto, using the hidden shadow snake hands technique and summoning dozens of large snakes from both the sleeves of her trench coat, sending the serpents at Naruto at incredible speeds.

'Ah I see. Getting me airborne was the fourth phase of the plan so that I couldn't dodge the snakes. Yeah, this whole plan is too perfect for anyone other than Kakashi-sensei to have come up with it.' Naruto thought, far too calmly for someone in his situation.

"Secret Technique: Flash Sword Technique!" Naruto said as he did the unthinkable, slicing every single one of Anko's snakes seemingly without moving his arm at all, all anyone able to see being the after images of his sword flashing as the snake summons were completely annihilated.

However, Sakura, as surprised as she was by what she just saw, did not let up and slow down at all as she continued to play her part in the next phase of the plan, which was to catch Naruto on the landing because, with him putting a no flying restriction on himself for the contest, he would not be able to evade her unless he decided to break his own restriction, which of course would qualify as an automatic loss for him.

'Damn that Kakashi-sensei. He's too good. I guess this is the value of experience and being trained by the Yondaime Hokage himself.' Naruto thought, however not about to lose the contest at all as he put his sword back on it's place on his back, much to the confusion of everyone.

'What is he doing? Is he giving up?' Kakashi thought with confusion, his thoughts echoed by Anko too, who totally didn't understand what was happening.

However, they would soon be even more surprised than they were as a cloak of golden yellow lightning chakra formed around Naruto, a cloak very similar to the one he used as a jinchuurki, even possessing the shape of a fox and all nine of its tails, except made entirely of the Hiraishin no Ken's lightning chakra.

Even more surprising was what happened next, Naruto catching Sakura's full powered right hook in the palm of his left hand, stopping her momentum completely, a powerful shockwave washing over the battleground as trees were toppled over and the land scape was reformed again, a large crater forming around both Naruto and Sakura's feet as a result.

To say Sakura was shocked would be an understatement, not to mention both Kakashi and Anko similarly frozen in surprise by the ridiculous strength feat of, well, both of the younger generation shinobi, but more so Naruto than Sakura because, being Godaime-sama's apprentice, they sort of expected this kind of feat from Sakura.

"I-impossible….!" Sakura trailed off in surprise, unable to believe that Naruto had successfully nullified her trump card so easily, especially because he didn't even use his rasen chakra no yoroi technique, which of course, was supposed to be restricted.

"Impossible? You still don't know who you're dealing with do you? Well, let me show you." Naruto said as, much faster than Sakura could comprehend, Naruto punched her in the abdomen so hard that that her body and her mind simply shut down completely in order to protect her from the pain and agony, another shockwave reverberating across the battlefield as Sakura's body reflexively curled around Naruto's fist before she fell face first on the ground, after which Naruto grabbed her by the collar and threw her at Kakashi's feet.

"One down, two more to go." Naruto said gravely.

"……"

"You cheated Naruto. You said you wouldn't use any ninjutsu." Kakashi said, eyes narrowing at the blonde Uzumaki.

"Trying to buy time are we? You forget how well I know you, Kakashi-sensei. Very few people in the ninja world pay more attention to detail than you. I specifically said that I would not use taijitsu and kenjutsu, but I also said that I would use the abilities of my sword. This hiraishin chakra cloak is one of the abilities of my word." Naruto said with a devilish smirk before turning his sights on Mitarashi Anko, who was standing on a tree on the far right of Kakashi.

However, Anko, quickly realizing what was about to happen, disappeared in a puff of smoke, revealing that she was in fact a shadow clone, the original jumping out from behind Kakashi, already at the end of her hand seals as she bit her finger and put her hands on the ground, releasing an exorbitant amount of chakra as she summoned a gigantic boss level snake summon, a large purple one that Naruto easily recognized as Manda.

'That….was unexpected. However, her chakra is dangerously low. It took everything she had just to summon this dude. Has she gone mad? All this just to win a sparring match? All this for a chance at a victory she might not even see?' Naruto thought because he knew that if chakra exhaustion didn't kill her, then Manda's digestive enzymes surely would, because that guy, for a summon, sure did not like being summoned as far as Naruto was aware, and when he was summoned, he would demand a hundred human sacrifices as payment, at least that was what Naruto remembered him asking Orochimaru for when he, Jiraiya, and Tsunade battled against Orochimaru and Kabuto.

"Orochimaru! Teme! You better have fixed your arms! I won't be summoned by a weak, useless piece of……is that the Kyubi brat? I remember you you little piece of shit! You're a toad summoner, I can smell the toad on you! Never mind the payment, Orochima….w-what? Impossible! Where did a measly ant like you get the chakra to summon me….?" Manda trailed off as Anko fell off from his head, shocked to the core by what he was seeing as he was unable to believe that not only had Anko had the chakra to summon him without killing herself in the process, but also because of the fact that she even had the guts to attempt to summon him.

Nevertheless, Manda didn't dwell too much on the matter because the solution was simple enough. Eat the stupid little ant that dared to summon him as payment for her disrespect and stupidity, and then proceed to take care of the kyubi brat at his own leisure.

But, as good, albeit evil a plan as it was, it did not quite go as planned because his meal was taken right from under him by a silver haired jonin, one that Manda was able to recognize easily as he knew him as the student of the deceased toad summoner, the Yondaime Hokage Namikaze Minato.

"Another insect getting in my way!" Manda hissed angrily, trying to decide whether he should go after the silver haired jonin or stay and kill the kyubi brat, ultimately, his hate for the kyubi brat winning out as he decided that he could always deal with the silver haired jonin later.

'He had his shadow clone take Sakura and run while he went to save Anko. Such a quick thinker.' Naruto thought as he made eye contact with Manda, sensing nothing but malice and rage from the gigantic snake, malice and rage that was completely focused on him.

"Manda-dono. It's been a while." Naruto greeted politely.

"You're a lot more respectful than I remember. Of course, you're also going to be a lot more dead soon." Manda said as he licked his mouth with that ridiculously long tongue of his.

"So, are you're saying there is no way I can talk you out of this?" Naruto asked with a heavy sigh.

"Ahahahahahaha! You're also a lot more foolish than I remember you to be. I didn't even believe it was possible for you to be even more of an idiot, shame on me…" Manda trailed off dangerously, Naruto getting the sense that Manda was going to pounce on him any second now as the level of malice coming from him spiked exponentially, Naruto closing his eyes as he adopted a prayer-like stance, his hands clasped together in front of him.

"Hiraishin Secret Art: Type 1: One Hundred Swords Bhudha Statue." Naruto said as the chakra cloak around him morphed and grew exponentially, turning into a gigantic bhudha statue made of golden yellow lightning chakra, a statue that was significantly bigger than even Manda, the statue possessing a hundred sword wielding hands, hands that were all ready to slaughter the gigantic snake serpent, Naruto in the safety of the bhudha statue as his entire body was submerged in the Buddha's forehead inside what appeared to be a triangular chakra pendant.

'W-what the hell is this? Where is he getting so much chakra? Is it from him? Is it from the sword?' Manda pondered, sweating nervously as he began to wonder whether he should carry on with this battle or not.

"Manda-dono…" Naruto trailed off, Manda looking at Naruto warily as he waited with bated breath for what the blonde Uzumaki was about to say.

"……."

"Attack me if you dare, little ant…" Naruto said with a condescending tone, Manda's eyes widening in surprise before he went bat shit crazy, completely losing his mind as his rage overcame his better senses, the purple serpent attacking Naruto at a much greater speed than Naruto expected, and with much better tactics than Naruto anticipated as Manda used earth style to go underground and came out from behind Naruto.

"Type 2: Asura." Naruto whispered as three extra faces grew on the bhudda statue, one on each side of the head and one at the back, Manda surprised to come face to face with the Bhudha Statue, having thought that he had managed to make it to its blind spot.

As a result, Manda tried to halt his advance, but it was too little too late as he got sliced into pieces by the super sharp and super fast sword hands of the Hiraishin Buddha. However, just in the nick of time, Manda managed to reverse summon himself, his experience coming to the fore as he barely avoided any fatal damage.

'That wasn't as hard as I had imagined it would be, but then again, as strong and as fast as Manda is, his inability to carry or use weapons is a majot weakness compared to the sword wielding toads of Mt. Myobuko.' Naruto thought, focusing his attention ahead as he thought about whether he should continue the battle or call an end to it.

'Manda and the Bhuddha Statue at too big. The whole village saw that. I can sense Tsunade-baa-chan and her ANBU elite heading this way. This little test is over, and I suspect Anko-san will be in a lot of trouble. What the hell was she even thinking summoning Manda? That guy is so evil he would have gone on a feeding free all across Konoha if J didn't stop him, not even for nourishment but just for the fun of it.' Naruto thought, hoping to get a good explanation out of Anko when she recovers.

Meanwhile: Land of Rivers:

"The barrier has fallen. This was a miscalculation on my part. We should not have chosen to seal the bijuu so close to Wind Country. Or perhaps I should start thinking about creating a jutsu that will enable us to seal the bijuu at a much faster rate." A disjointed voice said, a voice belonging to a holographic figure that has spiky hair and weird looking eyes with concentric rings around them.

"Tche! Some leader you are! What a monumental blunder! I thought your barrier was supposed to create real clones of the people trying to break the barrier and fight them. How do people defeat themselves in battle? It's supposed to be the ultimate stalemate. Teme! Are you even a real God, huh?" Another disjointed voice said angrily, one belonging to a holographic figure with slicked back hair, who seemed to be carrying a very large scythe on his back.

"Shut up, imbecile! This is the one person who can actually kill you. Don't think for one second I'll help you if you piss off Leader!" Another one spoke up, chastising his partner, this one being a rather tall man with a mask that covers his entire face except for piercing eyes, seemingly not carrying any weapons on his person.

"Uzumaki Naruto is a smart one. He and his lady friends used clones to remove the barrier markers. Therefore, the replicas created upon removal of the markers were only as strong as the clones and not the originals. It is the jutsu's only weak point." The man, now identified simply as Leader, replied calmly, as if their plans were not under any threat whatsoever.

"So, what do we do now, Leader? We're still a whole day away from completely sealing away the one tail. Our enemies will arrive any second now." a hunchbacked man with a deep, gravel voice, namely, Sasori of the Red Sands, asked, a man wearing the traditional black Akatsuki cloak with red clouds on it, spotting only three locks of hair on his head and wearing a desert scarf to cover the lower half of his face.

"Defeat the interlopers and then come home. We'll complete the sealing ceremony in my sanctuary." Leader replied, much to everyone's surprise as he very rarely invited members to come home, home being a code word for Amegakure no Sato, which was of course, was Leader's birth place and the place of his base of operations.

"It was said that the Uzumaki brat travels with another jinchuuriki, the seven tails, hn. Taking on two jinchuuriki might pose a problem even for us, hn." Deidara said warily, a young man with long blonde hair styled in a pony tail and a band of her covering one side if his face, a man of around 19 years old give or take. He was also wearing the full Akatsuki uniform, missing one sleeve of course as he had lost his left hand in his battle with the Kazekage.

"We cannot risk you being followed to our sanctuary. You must make sure you are not followed, and the only way to do that is to defeat the enemy. Also, this time, try to use the skies. You both have the ability to fly. Use it so that no one is able to track you down." Leader ordered.

"As a former ninja of Takigakure, I can say with certainty that the Nanabi jinchuuriki can fly. And if I'm not mistaken, Zetsu reported that the kyubi jinchuuriki briefly displayed the ability fly in his fight against the Raikage. We have to assume that they will be able to follow you even if you use the skies. Therefore, it is essential that you incapacitate or even capture the nibi and the kyubi before you head out, or they'll just follow you." Another holographic man replied, the one who previously chastised his partner for instigating hostilities with Leader, a man known as Kakuzu.

"Kisame, Itachi, I believe you are the closest team to Sasori and Hidan. Head out to them as fast as you can. This will be a difficult battle even for them. Go, now, and provide back up for them. Dismissed!" The man identified as Leader instructed before canceling his holograph technique, just in time too as the interlopers made their appearance literally seconds afterwards.

"Interesting. I could have sworn I heard voices coming from here. Sensed their chakra too, but there's only two people here. What do you think dick cheese, teleportation?" Tayuya asked with both curiosity and confusion.

"Who can say for sure. The important thing is that Kazekage-sama is still alive, and his bijuu is still inside of him, albeit they both seem extremely weakened. In fact, I can't even believe Kazekage-sama is alive at all in his condition, he must be keeping himself alive with sheer will power alone." Naruto said observantly, doing extremely well to curb the anger that was bubbling inside of him at seeing what these Akatsuki fiends had done to his brother.

However, he knew better than to let his emotions run amok. He may have not agreed with everything that Zabuza believed in, but after having spent the last three years repeatedly reading the man's journal, Naruto had come to appreciate and even adopt some of the man's philosophies. Just because the man was an extremist, didn't mean there wasn't some truth and merit to his beliefs and philosophies.

The ability to detach yourself from emotions is a vital skill for a shinobi, but what most shinobi don't realize is that there is a time for detaching emotions and a time to accept and even use emotions. Now was not the time to entertain any emotional sentiment however, now was the time to be cerebral and practical, lest he put himself at a disadvantage against these extremely dangerous fiends.

"That must mean, deep down, he was still holding on to the hope that he can survive, that someone would come for him and rescue him in the same way that he saved his village." Fu said with a grave undertone, an unfamiliar demeanor for the usually exuberant and energetic kunoichi.

"Well will you look at this, Sasori no dana, we're totally being ignored here, hn. Even at the brink of death, this little one tail brat is still hogging all of the attention for himself, hn. Is he just that much more popular than us or are these Konoha brats underestimating us? Maybe if I show them how amazing my art is, they'll show us a little more appreciation, hn." One of the Akatsuki duo said, the one with the long blonde hair styled in a pony tail, wearing the traditional Akatsuki uniform, complete with a long black turtleneck cloak with red clouds on it, blue ninja pants, white leg warmers, and blue ninja sandals.

"You seem to be on the young side, not something I expected for an Akatsuki member. But then again, Kakashi-sensei once told me that there are shinobi younger than me but stronger than him in the shinobi world. Akatsuki took quite a risk in recruiting you though, after all, inexperience and youthful ignorance does tend to rear its head sometimes, like for instance how you let Kazekage-sama take your arm away from you." Naruto said with a condescending undertone, causing a scowl to appear on the blonde haired S rank criminal.

"The hell you on about? I'm fucking older than you, Kyubi no gaki, hn! And I have way more experience than you, hn!" Deidara retorted heatedly.

"Then why did you allow my words to distract you enough to let Kazekage-sama slip from right under your fingers?" Naruto added, causing an even more confused expression to appear on the S ranked ninja, opening his mouth to mount a scathing retort but getting cut off before he could by a burst of chakra chains from underneath the ground, the chains however not targeting him but the clay bird that was flying close to him, the bird that was carrying the lord Kazekage.

Quicker than the Akatsuki duo could react, the bird was wrapped completely around in chains and pulled underground, only to appear across the cavern as the chains burst out from underground again next to Naruto, or rather next to Tayuya.

"Yuya-chan, remove Kazekage-sama from the clutches of that abomination's talons so that I can heal him. Once that is done, escort him back to Sunagkure and fortify the village. Have your doki patrol the village and stick to Kazekage-sama like glue. Fu-chan and I will handle things here." Naruto instructed.

"Roger that!" Tayuya replied as she quickly tore the Kazekage out of the clay bird's talons and gently laid him down on the floor, Naruto releasing more chakra chains from his spine and having them wrap around the Kazekage so that he can transfer his healing chakra to Lord Kazekage.

"You lost the one tailed jinchuuriki, Deidara." The other member of Akatsuki, the one named Sasori, said with a very calm tone all things considered.

"The hell I did! I haven't lost anything, hn. Besides, even if I did, it would be we lost the jinchuuriki. You were here right next to me when he was taken, hn!" The blonde haired young man, now revealed to be Deidara, retorted.

"Whatever happens, next, be sure to avoid those chains. Those are the chakra chains of the Uzumaki Clan, a bloodline ability of theirs. From what I can recall, those chains are indestructible, they can hold down and immobilize completely even a bijuu. The Uzumaki clan also used them as a medium for their barrier and sealing jutsu. Those aren't just any regular chains." Sasori said with a grave undertone.

"Thanks for the warning, hn, but that wasn't necessary. I've already got the kyubi and his friends in checkmate, because art is….an explosion!" Deidara exclaimed, holding his right hand up in a snake hand seal, a crazed look on his facial features, a look that quickly turned confused and sullen when absolutely nothing happened.

"…….."

"Katsu!!" Deidara tried again, putting more concentration and effort into activating his jutsu, anger and confusion now permanently settling into his face.

"……"

"Oi! Kyubi no gaki! What the hell is this? What did you do damn it, hn?" Deidara exclaimed petulantly.

"The chakra chains can subdue bijuu not only because they are indestructible, but also because they can suppress and even absorb chakra. Ninjutsu is the application of chakra, if the chakra is absorbed or suppressed, there can be no ninjutsu. Your bird, as such, did not, and will not explode, I've already absorbed all of the chakra that you put into it, it is not more than a pile of bird shaped clay now." Naruto replied in plain and simple language, buying time for the Kazekage to wake up and get back to his feet, which, of course, is what happened right after he finished talking, the Kazekage stirring as Tayuya helped him to get back on his feet, still, of course, wrapped in chains as Naruto, after healing him, began refilling the Kazekage's chakra reserves.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, Kazekage-sama. It's been a while since I last saw you. I haven't seen you since the Sasuke retrieval mission three years ago. I meant to visit you during my three year training trip but a lot of things happened on the trip." Naruto replied without turning around to look at his brother, not willing to lose sight of the Akatsuki pair for even a split second.

"N-Naruto…..Naruto Uzumaki? Is it really you? You look….different." Gaara said in disbelief, his voice even and flat like usual, although, if one paid enough attention and knew the Kazekage well enough like Naruto did, they could feel the heavy emotion in his tone.

"It's me, brother. Listen, we'll catch up later okay. I've healed your injuries and refilled your chakra reserves. You should be able to protect yourself now." Naruto said as he released his chakra chain technique.

"However, Fu-chan and I will handle these two. Tayuya-chan, the one with the red hair standing next to you, will escort you back to Sunagakure. You're the Kazekage, your job is to protect and fortify your village. Besides, your people need a big win right now, I don't think anything is bigger than the miraculous return of their beloved Kazekage. And don't worry, Fu-chan and I can handle this, we'll definitely win. And you can trust Tayuya-chan, she's really strong. Believe in me, okay?" Naruto said, knowing that Gaara's natural instinct would likely be to resist his request and choose to fight with him.

"You don't have to ask me to. I already believe in you. You're the reason I was able to become Kazekage, why would I doubt you now?" Gaara replied matter of factly, internally surprised however by how big and tall Naruto had become, and of course, not missing the fact that Naruto was wearing a jonin vest now, or the fact that he seemed to have picked up kenjutsu if the skyscraper on his back was anything to go by.

"Good. I'll see you later then." Naruto deadpanned, Tayuya levitating herself as she used her sound release to induce flight.

"Kazekage-sama, we'll use the skies, okay." Tayuya said, Gaara's eyes widening slightly when he saw that Tayuya can fly, but quickly schooling his features as he created a flying carpet of sand and used it to fly, the two of them, at break neck speeds, flying out of the cave as they went on their way.

"You're not getting away that easily, hn!" Deidara exclaimed as he spat out six clay balls from the mouth on his hand, clay balls that, with a poof of smoke, turned into birds and began flying at ridiculous speeds towards the escapees, Sasori also opening his mouth and firing a large volley of senbon towards the escapees.

However, that had no effect at all as Naruto summoned his chains again, forming a translucent barrier in front of him and his comrades, the birds hitting the barrier face first and exploding on impact, the senbon also hitting the barrier and getting easily deflected. When the smoke cleared, it became clear that the explosions had no effect at all on the barrier, at least, that level of explosions didn't, and needless to say, the senbon also had absolutely no effect, much to Sasori and Deidara's chagrin.

"They're going to get away at this rate…." Sasori trailed off gravely.

"Like hell they are, hn!" Deidara exclaimed as the mouth on his hand spat out another ball of clay that transformed into a large dragon, Deidara jumping on the dragon before sending two sets of clay birds, one set towards Naruto and Fu, and one set towards the roof of the cave, wanting to make sure the kyubi brat kept his barrier up because after all, the kyubi brat cannot both chase after him and keep the barrier up at the same time.

His plan worked like a charm of course, Deidara flying up and out of the cave through the hole that he created at the top, forcing Sasori however to dodge the debris that was falling down on him. However, Fu was quick to react, activating her bijuu wings and exiting the cave the same way that the Kazekage and Tayuya exited so that she can intercept Deidara outside, leaving only Sasori and Naruto inside the cave, Naruto deactivating the chakra chain barrier as he took a few steps forward in order to confront Sasori in one on one combat.

"Looks like it's just you and me now, Sasori of the Red Sands." Naruto said with a grave undertone.

"Of the Red Sands you say? So you know who I am then? Does that mean that the Kazekage's puppeteer brother somehow managed to survive my poison? Did you save him with your, to be frank, quite amazing healing capabilities?" Sasori asked, concluding that the only way Naruto could have known his true identity was if the Kazekage's brother, Kankurou, told him who he was.

"Kankurou huh? I suppose it makes sense that it was you who put him out of commission. The report said that he had been poisoned, and If there is anyone who uses poison between you and your loudmouth partner, it would undoubtedly be you. But no, I haven't run into him yet, though I have no doubt that he will make a full recovery." Naruto replied, trusting that Shizune would be able to take care of whatever damage Sasori did to Kankurou.

"Haven't run into him? Does that mean that you came straight here? That doesn't sound a whole lot like what I imagined the protocol would have been when the Hokage gave you her instructions." Sasori said with an inquiring tone.

"……."

"Wait, she doesn't know you're here does she? Hehehe, yes, of course. I thought it was awfully suspicious that she would throw not one but two jinchuuriki at us. She would have wanted to keep at least one close to her, and given her relationship with you, it would have been you that she kept close to her bosom." Sasori said analytically, and of course, accurately.

"It doesn't really matter does it though? I'm here now, about to kick your ass and take your life. That's the only thing that matters." Naruto retorted.

"You would be surprised. In my many years of experience, I have come to learn that information, no matter how seemingly trivial, is the most important asset that a shinobi can have." Sasori replied sagely.

"A pity you never met Zabuza-sensei then. You would have made excellent friends. He believed in Information gathering too, in fact, he was obsessed with it." Naruto retorted.

"Momochi Zabuza, the Demon of the Mist, the rogue A class criminal you encountered on your first mission outside of Konoha. So that is how you know enough about me to call me by my full name? It would explain your choice of weapon too. But, unless The Demon's demise was all a ruse, when would he have had the time to train you in his style of Kenjutsu? When would he have had the time to teach you about information gathering?" Sasori asked curiously.

"……."

"No answer? Should I take that as a yes? That his death was indeed a ruse?" Sasori asked curiously, however quickly thinking better of it as he was sure that not even The Demon of the Mist could fool Akatsuki's vast spy network, after all, between him, Konan, Zetsu, and Kakuzu, they had four of the very best spy masters in the world. No information could be hidden from all of them.

"No, there is another possibility isn't there? You could have found his hideout, maybe found a few ninja scrolls that he kept, maybe even….his personal journal and personal bingo book? How close am I?" Sasori asked, Naruto narrowing his eyes ever so slightly, realizing that this man truly was supremely experienced, and that had an incredible amount of intelligence.

"Okay, I'll give it to you, you're good, good enough to maybe win this information gathering battle that you seem to be enjoying so much. However, can you win an actual battle against me?" Naruto retorted as he pulled out his sword, the bandages wrapped around the sword disappearing with a puff of smoke to reveal the Hiraishin no Ken, a sword the size of a zanbatou but made entirely of yellow lightning oscillations.

'My senbon barrage is useless against him. He'll simply erect the chakra chain barrier if I try that mode of attack unless I manage to surprise him somehow. Should I just let him come to me then and fight him in a kenjutsu battle?' Sasori thought, not making a move as he waited for Naruto to make his first move, not having to wait long at all as the Blonde Uzumaki disappeared in a burst of speed, Sasori's eyes widening in surprise at the sheer speed at which the blonde Uzumaki moved, however, thanks to his own super reflexes and his experience, he was able to react in time as he used his metal tail to block the attack, coating the tail with his chakra in order to counter against the razor sharp lightning oscillations of Naruto's sword.

Not wasting the opportunity, Sasori tried to take advantage of the situation as he fired a senbon barrage at the blonde Uzumaki, figuring that the blonde Uzumaki, at this close a range, would not be able to erect the chakra chain barrier, nor would he be able to block or dodge his senbon barrage.

However, much to the puppeteer master's surprise, Naruto neither attempted to dodge or block the barrage, but instead, with lightning fast reflexes, sliced all fifty senbon into tiny microscopic pieces with his right hand alone, his arm movements creating multiple after images as Sasori stared in awe at the blonde Uzumaki's kenjutsu abilities.

"You like it, my flash sword technique? I developed it myself." Naruto asked braggadociosly, seeing the stunned look on the master puppeteer's facial features, which was an impressive feat in itself given the fact that the puppeteer wasn't even using his real body.

"Pride and haughtiness always comes before a great fall." Sasori replied irritably.

"Then fall, Sasori of the Red Sands." Naruto said as he appeared right in front of Sosori, again using his insane speed to appear in front of the S ranked criminal and executing a downward slash with his lightning sword, Sasori once again reacting on time and in fact finding it much easier to do so this time as he began to adjust to the Blonde Uzumaki's speed, using his chakra enhanced tail to once again block Naruto's attack.

However, much to his surprise, his tail did not connect with the Hiraishin no Ken at all, missing completely as the Hirashin no Ken made contact with his body, slicing his body in half clean through and connecting with the surface of the cave, creating a large explosion on impact that left a huge crater on the floor of the cave, dust, debri, and something else flying out of the crater, something very peculiar Naruto thought.

'What was that? Another body? So the thing I killed was not his real body? Was he puppeteering from inside another puppet? Is he insane?" Naruto thought as he jumped out of the crater, one hundred percent sure that his enemy was alive as he could not only sense his chakra but was beginning to see him through the dust, standing on the far side of the cave.

'What just happened? It looked like his sword changed shape mid-attack. No, it's more like, it started to move like a snake and went around Hiruko's tail. His kenjutsu skill is out of this world. I dare say he is just as good at Kenjutsu as Kisame.' Sasori thought with trepidation.

"You know you're the first person to ever survive both my flash sword and my rippling sword technique. You Akatsuki fiends really are something else." Naruto said casually.

"Is that so? Well, if it's any consolation, you're the first person to ever destroy Hiruko. The fact that you did it with one shot makes the feat ever more impressive. That puppet was designed with defense and counter offense in mind." Sasori replied with a vastly different voice, a much more calm and serene tone of voice, a voice that Naruto felt like he could listen to all day long.

"Hey….aren't you supposed to be like, in your mid thirties? Why do you look the same age as me? Are you Sasori's son?" Naruto asked incredulously, finally able to lay eyes on the real body of his nemesis.

He looked like an average sized teenage boy, around 15 or 16 years old with red hair and brown eyes. He was also wearing the standard Akatsuki uniform and had a purple Akatsuki ring on his left thumb with the kanji for sphere on it, also spotting teal nail polish on his fingers.

"No, I do not have children. I'm not very fond of children, and they take too long to raise into adulthood. I doubt I would have the patience." Sasori replied calmly.

"Too bad. A ninja as talented as you allowing your bloodline to die off because you lack the patience to raise a child? I can't think of anything more sad than that." Naruto retorted.

"Maybe I'll change my mind in due time, I'm still only 35 years young after all." Sasori retorted as he took out a summoning scroll and, with a puff of smoke, released two dual swords, grabbing one in each hand as he threw the scroll away.

'Those swords are made of chakra conducting metal. So he intends to use chakra enhanced swords to counter against my Hiraishin no ken? Does he actually believe that he can beat me in a Kenjutsu battle? Ridiculous!' Naruto thought incredulously.

"Sorry, but you're not leaving this cave alive, no children for you." Naruto said as he disappeared in another burst of speed, so fast that he appeared behind Sasori on his blind spot as if by teleportation, aiming a downward slash on the Puppeteer's head, however, Sasori's head spun around doing a complete one eighty, his arms and body doing the same as he crossed his swords above his head in order to stop Naruto's attack, causing a large explosion as the sheer power of Naruto's attack was enough for the shockwaves to pass through the entirety of the surface of the cave, causing waves and fissures on the surface, not to mention the large crater under Sasori's feet, his puppet legs creaking under the pressure of Naruro's power, Naruto surprised that Sasori was able to hold him off at all but adding more pressure as he continued to press his sword down at the S ranked criminal.

'I can't get him off me! I have no choice!' Sasori thought as a contraption came out of his mouth and released a deadly poison right on Naruto's face, but, much to Sasori's surprise, Naruto not even trying to get away from the cloud as he continued to apply pressure, so much so that Sasori was now on the verge of having his own swords pressed back down onto his chest.

'How is this possible? Is he immune to my poison? Is it because he is a jinchuuriki or is it because of his high level healing abilities? If it is the former, does it mean that all jinchuuriki are immune to toxins?' Sasori thought with trepidation, realizing that if he didn't make a definitive move right now, he was either going to outright die or become severely compromised.

'Kuso!' Sasori thought angrily as, from a contraption on his stomach, a chainsaw shot out through his cloak and attempted to skewer Naruto, who however was fast enough to jump out of the way and go around Sasori, back to his side of the cave, not wanting Sasori to be the one on the side of the exit in case he tried to escape.

"By the skin of your teeth, or should I say by skin of your torso?" Sasori said as his head, arms, and body spun around again in an unnatural, inhuman way in order to face the blonde Uzumaki again.

"Even you don't actually believe that." Naruto retorted.

'This body is quite clearly another puppet, but there is no way that his real body is inside this particular puppet, it just couldn't possibly fit inside it. Does that mean that the real Sasori is not even here, because If that is the case, then where the hell could the real one be?' Naruto thought as he expanded his sensory ability over a wider net, to the point that he could sense everything within the entirety of The Land of Rivers, but unable to pick any other chakra signature that resembles Sasori's chakra signature, although he did discover something quite a bit peculiar.

'There's a large mass of life force on the left side of his chest area. Is that where he stores the chakra that controls the puppet? Which means, he doesn't need external chakra strings to control the puppet but internal ones. So to destroy this puppet I have to destroy the left side of his puppet, but then where and how do I find the real Sasori?' Naruto thought tensely.

"Oh I do believe that, and the fact that you have completely halted your advances lends credence to my earlier statement. You were close to getting skewered by me, and you didn't like it, which is why your feet now have you stuck where you are as if knee deep in mud." Sasori retorted.

'Or is it because my poison is working? Is that why he won't continue his assault?' Sasori pondered.

'Psychological warfare? I guess I shouldn't be surprised. This guy is not just a powerhouse, he embodies all the fundamentals of being a true ninja, from intelligence gathering and subterfuge, to psychological warfare, trap setting, manipulation, and poisoning, but two can play at that game.' Naruto thought as he came up with an idea, a long shot idea that wouldn't in no way grant him victory, but would give him an indicator about what it might take to attain it.

"I'm just wondering what that mass of chakra on the left side of your chest is. I want to investigate it, by shoving my Hiraishin no Ken into it." Naruto said with a confident smirk, much to Sasori's surprise and concern, although, thanks to his puppet body, it was easy for him to mask it and not have it show on his facial features.

However, as they say, actions speak louder than words, much, much louder, and Sasori's actions were almost a dead giveaway as he quickly took out another scroll and summoned a whooping one hundred puppets to which he connected his chakra strings and had them at the ready, all one hundred puppets armed with swords or some kind of blade and all one hundred puppets channeling chakra into their blades in order to counter against Naruto's Hiraishin no Ken.

"Oh would you look at that? I mean, I thought it was a long shot, revealing my so called plan like that. I mean, it was possible that the reason I couldn't sense your real body anywhere in The Land of Rivers was because the real you was hiding behind some kind of chakra cloaking barrier technique or something. However, the strength of the life force in your chakra box or whatever, and the sheer amount of chakra made me think that there was a possibility, small as it was, that this puppet right here was your real body. If it was, and my unlikely hunch was spot on, then your reaction to me revealing my knowledge of your heart box would tell me all I needed to know. So thank you, Sasori-dono, for easing my anxiety and erasing my doubts." Naruto said with a foxy grin.

'Arrogant little brat! How could I, with over twenty years of experience on him, have been played like this? This is unbelievably vexing, and embarrassing!' Sasori thought furiously.

"You haven't won yet, Uzumaki Naruto. You will soon learn that knowing how to defeat someone, and actually being able to defeat them is not the same thing." Sasori said with that ever calm and serene voice of his, even though he wasn't feeling exactly calm right now.

"We'll see." Naruto as he activated his shunpo no justu, which essentially was a shunshin technique enhanced by wind manipulation, the result being the complete removal of air resistance, the buffering of any sound to his movements, and the exponential enhancement of the speed of the shunshin itself, causing Naruto to move at an insane amount of speed as, in just a couple of seconds, he had already sliced and obliterated nearly half of Sasori's puppets before they could even react, much to Sasori's utter disbelief as, even though he had heard from Zetsu that Naruto was able to keep up with the Riakage's speed, he never expected it to be something quite like this.

Still, the more of Sasori's puppets you kill, the stronger he becomes, because the lesser puppets there are to move, the more control he has over them. Therefore, as the numbers dwindled, the more Sasori could react to Naruto's speed, although react was really an overstatement as they all got obliterated anyway, up until there were only three remaining, which was when Sasori began to he able to block and counter some of Naruto's attacks, this time Naruto being the one in disbelief as he realized that he might have actually underestimated Sasori, the blonde jinchuuriki jumping away in order to re-assess the situation.

'Sasori is a sensor type that is quite certain, a very good one. The puppets are super strong and fast because they, hard as it is to believe, have their own chakra source which he then enhances with his own chakra. They don't have anywhere near my movement speed, but they move with unnatural reflexes because of Sasori's chakra strings and his sensory abilities. Also, their movements are awkward and unnatural, they don't move like normal humans. Finally, because Sasori is standing far back at a much safer distance, he is able to see the whole battlefield and all of my movements from his vantage point. Blind spot attacks on the puppets therefore do not work. This guy is no joke, he really is an S rank ninja.' Naruto thought warily.

"Alright, time to end this." Naruto said as he charged, once again using the amazing speed of the shunpo no jutsu as he attacked the puppets with speed, skill and aggression, the puppets once again working together to cover each other's blind spots as they repelled Naruto's assault on them.

But, one thing Sasori didn't expect, or maybe didn't think was possible, was for Naruto to be able to combine the flash sword technique with the shunpo no jutsu, Naruto using the two techniques in conjunction and subsequently obliterating one of the unsuspecting puppets, leaving Sasori with only two remaining puppets.

Naruto, knowing that the two remaining puppets would be stronger than they were when there were three of them, used his wits to consecutively catch Sasori by surprise, Sasori ready this time for the flash sword/flash step combination but Naruto, at the last possible moment, switching to a rippling sword/flash step combination, thus, obliterating both of the last remaining puppets, slicing them into microscopic pieces like he did with most of Sasori's puppets. However, as soon as the last two puppets died, Sasori was already summoning another puppet, another puppet that looked just a little too real to be a mere puppet, and definitely felt real as Naruto could sense immensely potent chakra coming from it.

As if it's appearance wasn't suspicious enough, Naruto was able to immediately discern the identity of the puppet when he sensed the magnetic release being used by the puppet, having sensed something similar from Gaara just before his battle with Sasori, the iron sand coming out of the puppet's mouth serving as further proof that this was indeed the puppet of whom Naruto thought it was.

"Sandaime Kazekage-dono? So you are the one responsible for his disappearance all those years ago?" Naruto thought out loud, a thought that would have driven him over the edge just three years ago, but only filled him with a lot of questions right now, like whether Sasori did it purely for power or whether there was some other underlying reason for his actions.

'Well, it doesn't matter. Power was definitely part of it, otherwise he wouldn't have turned the Sandaime Kazekage into his trump card, assuming this is in fact his trump card. I can't assume anything with this guy. It's one surprise after another.' Naruto thought warily.

'I haven't been pushed this far in a very long time. I believe the last time I had to use this puppet was when I fought one of the Densetsu no Sannin, Orochimaru. You see most S ranked ninja are more leadership material than followers. The only way to make them join another organization and follow someone else's orders is to defeat them in battle and earn their respect, grudging as it may be. People respect power more than anything else in the world." Sasori said warily.

"Does the fact that you joined Akatsuki mean that someone in Akatsuki was strong enough to defeat you even when you used this ability?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Interesting. You don't seem surprised by the fact that I defeated one of your legendary sannin, in fact, you seem to be treating it as an after thought. Rather, you're more interested in who defeated me. It says a lot about your mentality. Clearly, the information we have about you is outdated, or was never sufficient to begin with." Sasori retorted.

"Orochimaru is powerful, I have no doubt about that. However, I already knew even before my training trip that his strength was not insurmountable, because I had seen him lose two times, first to Sandaime-dono, and then to Godaime-sama. Secondly, I have asked myself many times why he went after Uchiha Sasuke when he was in the same organization as Uchiha Itachi. And then it dawned on me, the reason for his defection from Akatsuki, and why he was so desperate to get his hands on Sasuke…" Naruto trailed off.

"Uchiha Itachi. Orochimaru tried to take Itachi and failed, and it must have been a very profound defeat for him to have gone to the lengths he did to get Sasuke. Of course I met Itachi and Kisame too, and to my surprise, they were even more terrifying than Orochimaru was, despite being far less creepy than him. I remember thinking, Akatsuki must surely have thee most powerful shinobi in the world. You haven't disappointed thus far. So why would I be surprised that you defeated Orochimaru? I'm more surprised that you were defeated soundly by…anyone." Naruto said, subtly but unquestionably giving praise to Sasori's abilities.

"Hn, flattery? Really? If you think that will save your life, Uzumaki Naruto, then you are mistaken!" Sasori said as a sheet of iron sand under his feet levitated him into the air, more iron sand forming around him until he was enclosed in an sphere of iron sand.

"Daisan no me!" Naruto heard Sasori say from inside the sphere as another smaller sphere formed above Sasori and took the form of an eye.

'The iron sand version of Kazekage-sama's sand cacoon and third eye technique? This is going to be troublesome. I have to end the battle instantly before things get out of hand' Naruto thought as he lifted his right hand in the air and formed a larger than normal rasengan with wind blades of destruction circulating around it, the wind blades causing an almost unbearable screeching sound.

"Wind Style: Rasenshuriken!" Naruto said as he immediately threw the rasengan with all of his might, the jutsu flying at a ridiculous speed as it cut a warpath through the air and headed for the sphere in which Sasori was enclosed, Sasori, realizing the danger, quickly erecting a wall of iron sand in front to stop the rasen shuriken, but not in time as the jutsu was already close to the satetsu no muya, his iron sand cacoon.

Sasori, not willing to overly rely on the satetsu no muya, tried to escape through the back of the sphere along with the Sandaime Kazekage, and almost did not make it as the rasenshurken expanded and sucked everything into it, Sasori and the Kazekage almost getting sucked into the death chakra sphere of destruction but, thanks to a combination of Sandaime's magnetic release and Sasori's chakra strings, Sasori and his puppet were able to somehow pull themselves away from the suction effect.

'That was a little too close for comfort…' Sasori's thought process trailed off as he got skewered directly in his heart box with a kunai, Naruto having appeared out of nowhere and stabbed him right through his most vulnerable body part, in fact, his only vulnerable body part.

"H-how….?" Sasori stuttered, unable to understand at all what the hell was happening.

"You're a sensory type, a very good one. It's not easy to surprise you, so I needed to completely erase my chakra signature in order to get the drop on you. It's an Uzumaki clan thing, the ability to completely erase one's chakra signature. It comes at a price of course, you can't both extinguish your chakra and use it at the same time. You have to choose one. Plus, I had to seal away the Hiraishin no ken before utilizing this tactic, otherwise it would have been pointless to extinguish my chakra." Naruto explained as he gently placed Sasori on the ground, using his chakra again in order to sense his surroundings and be able to move at top speed at a moment's notice.

"You mean to tell me, even without access to your chakra, you can move that fast? Fast enough to get me, even if I was completely caught off guard?" Sasori asked in disbelief.

"I'm strong and fast enough to defeat most chuunin without access to my chakra. The Uzumaki clan were known for their strong bodies after all. However, what really got you was the rasenshuriken. It almost killed you, so your attention was focused almost solely on it. It also has a lot of chakra, which means, for a chakra sensor like you, it was as if the sun was shining directly in your eyes. Your senses and reflexes would have been dulled for a brief period at the moment of explosion. I took advantage of that. The window was small, any slight miscalculation could have ended in my death, but reward goes to the brave. You have to be willing to risk death to win, plus, I didn't want to see what other surprises you might have, whether that be your main body, the Sandaime Kazekage, or some other trump card in your other sealing scrolls." Naruto replied.

'Also, I was lucky that my rasenshuriken went passed your iron sand wall before you could erect it. Why would you erect an iron sand wall when you already had your iron sand caccoon to protect you? It's because you weren't sure if the iron sand could protect you from my rasenshuriken. You wanted to use the wall as a test, or at the very least, to cause an early explosion so that the rasenshuriken doesn't reach your cacoon, but because your wall was not erected in time, you had no choice but to abandon the cacoon just to be safe. Your overly cautious nature however worked against you this time. It was no match for my risk/reward tactics." Naruto elaborated, Sasori utterly amazed that someone had somehow managed to use his, up until now, nigh perfect tactical acumen against him.

"My fighting style is centered around either predicting or controlling the actions of my opponents to lead them to their untimely deaths. Your unpredictable nature and unique abilities were just a horrible style match up for me. I cannot believe it took someone like you, with not more than four years of experience, to completely dismantle me. Uzumaki Naruto, you truly are one of a kind." Sasori said with both incredulity and praise, and then finally acceptance as the S ranked ninja accepted his pending demise.

"Both your puppet body and your trump card, Lord Kazekage are still in tact, and your life force is fading rapidly. So I must ask, would it be an insult to your death if I passed these precious heirlooms on to Lord Kazekage's elder brother, Kankuro? Admittedly I don't know much about puppeteering, and I doubt he is as talented as you based on what I've seen and your achievements, but his passion and commitment to this shinobi craft is unquestionable. I believe he will bring honor and fame to your art. It will live on, through him, and perhaps his descendants." Naruto said, Sasori surprised by the compassion and sincerity of the blonde Uzumaki, even more surprising being the fact that, despite the sincerity of Naruro's words and feelings, Sasori couldn't find a single opening for one last final attack, the blonde Uzumaki staying alert throughout the conversation.

"Akatsuki does not tolerate betrayal. If I were to pass on my craft to Kankuro, who will then use my craft to fight against Akatsuki to protect his brother, would that not make me a traitor?" Sasori asked rhetorically, surprising Naruto slightly as, even at the brink of death, with absolutely nothing to lose anymore, Sasori still didn't want to betray his comrades.

"So even members of a criminal organization like Akatsuki have honor and integrity in their actions and refuse to betray their comrades? I don't know what I expected but it was not quite this. Nevertheless, I accept your feelings, Sasori-dono. I don't agree with a lot of your decisions, obviously, but I respect you nonetheless. You do not have to bequeath your inheritance to Kankuro, but…the shinobi principle of taking the spoils of war still applies. So I will claim your puppets and whatever other knowledge I find from you for myself as the victor of our battle, and then I, not you, will bequeath those items to Kankuro. Would that allow you to rest easily?" Naruto asked compassionately.

"Hn, what an interesting child, no, what an interesting young man you are. Yes, I believe that will suffice. Now, before I pass on, let me give you some information that might help you. We of the Akatsuki are aware that the reason for your training trip was not just to defeat us, but to prepare to defeat Orochimaru as well, so that you can save your beloved friend Uchiha Sasuke. I have some information for you regarding that." Sasori said as he pulled out another two scrolls out of his jacket, one of them disintegrating into ashes while the other was handed over to Naruto, the blonde Uzumaki raising a curious eyebrow at that little development.

"The one I destroyed contained all the intel that I collected for Akatsuki, this one however has all the intel I have on Orochimaru, including the details of my spy that I have in Orochimaru's court. It also has my journal notes on espionage and intelligence, and espionage related ninjutsu and fuinjutsu. This, Uzumaki Naruto, is my gift to you. Use it….use it….wise…ly…" Sasori trailed off as he finally ran out of time, the redhead puppeteer unable to keep himself alive any longer.

"…….."

"Goodbye, Sasori-dono. It was an honor to do battle with you." Naruto said as he clasped his hands together and made a short prayer for Sasori, before quickly rising up and preparing to seal away the Kazekage's puppet body.

'This guy would have been troublesome if I didn't act quickly. Fighting an iron sand user in a small, enclosed space would not have been ideal. No doubt it was a powerful weapon, but because Sasori was powerful in his own right even without it, he underestimated how to use it to its full potential. Someone like Kankuro, who isn't that strong without his puppets, will not underestimate how to use this power, especially when his brother is a sand using magnetic release user too.' Naruto thought warily, hoping that this wasn't a decision that would come back to haunt him in the future.

'No, taking it for myself and the Uzumaki clan won't do. We can't be allies with the Sand and then turn around and use their beloved Sandaime as a puppet weapon. That is grounds for war, even if said tool was obtained legally by virtue of the spoils of war custom. Some things transcend laws and regulations. Besides, Kankuro needs this to be able to better aid Lord Kazekage in battle. It's the best way I can ensure Gaara's safety, along with that of his family and village.' Naruto thought, done sealing the Sandaime away as he then sealed the corpse of Sasori himself away and began flying back to Sunagakure.

'That went well, but I have to stay vigilant. Akatsuki might have sent reinforcements.' Naruto thought as he flew back to Sunagakure at mach speed.

End Chapter

Hope you guys enjoyed the battles and liked the versatile and innovative uses of the Hiraishin no Ken. It is like an entire combat style in itself, but as they say, a weapon is only as powerful as its user.

It kinda looks like Naruto, Fu, Gaara, and Tayuya, if things go according to plan, will make it back to Suna before Shizune, Yamato, and the substituted clones of Fu and Tayuya make it to Suna. In that case, Yamato and Shizune sure are going to be in for a surprise.

Wonder what will happen to Anko, and what the hell she was thinking? Did she intentionally summon Manda or what the hell was up with that?

Stay tuned to find out more.

Thanks again to everyone who reviewed and I hope you all continue to enjoy the story.

Peace.