Glad to see you scrolling through the chapters, back to the near beginning. This, like the chapters before, have been majorly overhauled.

In general, there haven't been any changes to the story, just bits of extra info to fill up the story overall.

I hope you like it! Enjoy!

He ducked underneath a protruding piece of rock. The Cavern they were hiding in, was a great way to remain covert, but in terms of comfort, it was hell. Ghost looked at the inhabitants of the room with a weary face. He had just returned from a scouting mission in Iwagakure and from what he had heard from Kisame, they weren't far out.

Around a large table were members of the Akatsuki, as well as his organization, the fellowship of hunters. Something Rome and Mayu had decided upon. It was something Ghost thought had a nice ring to it. They never really had an official name to their group, and they had all been dubbed as hunters.

Their callout wouldn't change though. They still referred to themselves as hunters, but as an association, 'the fellowship of hunters, or as people had already dubbed them, 'the fellowship' sounded more cohesive. "How are things on this end?" he asked.

The group looked up from the table and smiled at him. Micheru stepped away and made her way over to him. "When did you get back?"

He stepped out of the shadow and showed her his grimy face, a smile adorning it regardless. "Just now."

Her lips curved upwards. She stepped aside so Ghost could enter the room fully. He gave a nod to Konan, who stood to the side, conversing with someone he wasn't familiar with.

It was Rome who answered his earlier question. He beckoned for Orodochi to join him at the table. "Iwagakure's has decided to help us. Their own scouts have reported the threat that they're facing. They have sent a thousand shinobi to assist us, but under their own command," He jabbed his finger at Amegakure. "They are sending over 150 of their troops to help us. Thank Pein for that."

The blonde furrowed his brow. "What of the others?"

Rome sighed, rubbing his face. "Konoha, as we know, isn't taking it seriously. Suna isn't going to send any troops but are fortifying their borders."

"Same goes for Kirigakure, and Kumogakure," Mayu had been walking in circles around the table for a while now. In her eyes it felt like a repeat of Mirarca was about to happen.

"Once the Reaver threat is truly exposed, by their own doing, the others will fall in line." Pein's low voice spoke up from behind them.

Rome nodded in agreement. "For now, this is what we have. We will leave when Ame's shinobi arrive."

Ghost stifled a yawn; he hadn't gotten a lot of sleep. Once his assignment was done, he had hastily made his way back to the hideout, which was a day's travel from Iwa. "Okay…"

Micheru joined him at his side. "Do we have any idea when?"

"They arrive tonight. We'll give them a few hours of rest, and then we'll head out," Mayu answered. "You should try and get some sleep, Orodochi." Her lips curved upwards. She had enjoyed the little addition to his name. When Micheru had called him that a week ago, it caused laughter around the group, but not one of spite. The name had stuck.

He yawned again, but this time he was unsuccessful in suppressing it. "Probably a good idea. I hadn't had time to set-"

"I got ya. Both Hawke and I moved your stuff to your room."

He dipped his head in gratitude and gestured for her to take the lead. "I'll see you in a few." He followed Micheru out of the room and proceeded to knock his head against the rock. "Kuso…" he muttered loudly as he winced in pain.

Micheru, help up a lantern to give him a closer look, a sympathetic smile on her face. "Robatsu bumped his had quite a few times as well. Are you okay?"

He rubbed the spot to alleviate the pain. He grunted an 'okay' and something else incomprehensible. She shook her head and turned back around.

After a few more turns and low hanging rocks, they arrived at his room. There was a piece of paper plastered on the door, with the name 'Orodochi Ghost'

He snickered upon seeing the name. "Your doing?"

She nodded happily, opening the door before stepping aside to let him enter. "It's not much, but its better than sleeping in the forest…or sharing a room with Hawke…Poor Raipa."

He stepped inside, looking at the small room, with bathroom attached to it. There was a bed in the corner and a nightstand beside it. Next to the door there was a closet for his outfits. "This is great," he turned to Micheru, who was standing in the door opening, with an expectant gaze. "Much better than I expected!" he undid the knots of his outer garment and threw it on the bed, revealing his dark short sleeved shirt underneath.

"Uhm, I'll take that as my cue to leave," Micheru hastily said as she left the room.

"It's just the jacket thing!" he replied with a slight fluster.

She peeked from the corner, a grin on her face. "I know. I'm just joking. I'm gonna grab a bite to eat, you want to join me?"

He stuck his thumb over his shoulder. "Gonna take a shower first, I feel dirty. I'll join you in a bit."

"Wouldn't take too long if I were you. Hawke will eat everything." She winked before disappearing into the hallway, closing the door behind her.

He snorted in amusement and walked towards the bathroom, trying to kick off his boots, nearly falling over in the process.

Ghost slid past one of the Jonin who originated from Ame. Looking ahead he saw Raipa ahead of him, talking with Robatsu.

There was a long line of marching shinobi, heading towards the designated beachhead. The reason they weren't using their normal method of transportation, was because they wanted everyone as fresh as possible.

He had managed to get a decent amount of rest, but still felt weary. Three days of little to no sleep would do that to a man.

Regardless of the hours he slept, his mind continued to plague him from time to time. Memories of Irosa popping up. He winced as another memory popped up.

'Mister what's going on?

'Please I beg you, shinobi-san. Let us go! We won't say anything…please!'

'Ghost! Are you finished with your part? I got a couple of baka's who are actually putting up a fight.'

The memory ended just as quickly, and he shook his head. "Get out of my head…"

"What are you talking about?" Micheru asked as she popped up beside him.

He briefly glanced at her, shrugging. "Just a headache. We're getting close, right?" He recognized the area. He had been here during his assignment as well.

"Yeah, shouldn't be much longer," She eyed him from the corner of her eyes. "Are you okay"

"I'm fine, Micheru."

"You don't look fine…"

Ghost sighed. At times like these Micheru's concern could get annoying. "Don't worry, I promise I'm-"

"Yeah, are you alright, Orodochi-kun?" Kisame interrupted him, sliding his arm over his shoulders.

The blonde shoved the arm away. "Leave me alone, Kisame. I'm not in the mood for your childish behavior."

"Still angry? I didn't take you for someone who would hold a grudge after such a long time…Perhaps I should have, Konoha and all that." Kisame feigned surprise.

"Shut up and keep moving, Sushi, you disgust me."

Micheru was taking in the conversation with interest. They had a shared history, one that hadn't gone down too well apparently. She had been curious about Ghost's absence over the last years, and any bit of information she would be eager to get her hands on.

The marching shinobi reached the crest of a hill and spotted the beachhead that lay ahead. They had finally left the rough and harsh terrain behind, and met salty sea air, along with light forested areas. They started making their way down the hill, where they reached the sandy shore. Pein had taken the lead and was giving orders to his Ame-nin, who quickly went to work.

The beachhead itself was already filled with shinobi from Iwa, who looked with no small amount of apprehension and distrust at the newcomers. But they had received specific orders from Kitsuchi, not to take matters into their own hands. They were supposed to work together.

Ghost hopped from the rock he was standing on and landed on the sand. Even with his boots on, he could feel the heat emitting from it. He walked up to Itachi and briefly glanced up to the sky. "We'll have the advantage the first couple of minutes. The sun is in our back, that will give us a slight edge."

Itachi didn't respond, instead he narrowed his eyes. "They're nearly here."

The Hunter spotted the fleet almost instantly. Small vessels were emerging from the larger ones. "Transport ships. I expected they wouldn't get their main fleet in any unnecessary danger."

He continued his trek down the beach, leaving Itachi behind. He saw groups of shinobi setting up traps and making final steps in preparation for what was about to come. A little way ahead, and up the slope, he saw a series of small tents that had been set up. Barricades were surrounding it, with shinobi guarding the entrances. He quickly stepped past them and could see Mayu standing in the opening. "Mayu. They're almost here. Is everything set?"

"Shouldn't be much longer, just some final preparations," she gave one last order to the Ame-nin standing in front of her before turning to him. "I'm assigning Hunters to shinobi from Iwa and Ame. You're assigned to squad nine."

"They know I'm to take the lead?"

"Everyone's been made aware, even the Iwa-nin."

He wasn't particularly glad about having to lead a group of shinobi he didn't know. But for the sake of cohesion, he would bite his tongue. "Where are they right now?"

"They were with squad 15 at the foot of the hill, just below this encampment."

Naruto thanked her and quickly turned around, sprinting towards his squad. He dashed past Rome and Micheru, who both locked their eyes on him.

"Good luck!" Micheru shouted over her shoulder but didn't get a response.

Turning back to her mentor, she felt uncertain about the situation and fidgeted with her hands. She hadn't been in any large-scale battle before and seeing the number of ships rapidly approaching…It made her doubt everything. "We don't have enough men…" She nearly whispered.

Rome checked his squad's equipment, before giving an approving nod, not that he expected anything less. Pein had sent a well-trained shinobi. "It certainly looks that way."

"It matters little. If we don't halt their assault, they will turn their eyes on Iwagakure and destroy it." Pein said as he walked past them both, not sparing a glance.

Micheru eyed him warily. She knew that the Akatsuki were their allies, but that didn't make the feeling in her gut any less. The man held an aura of danger. One that she simply couldn't shake "Where am I assigned to?" she slowly asked, tearing her gaze away from the Akatsuki leader.

Rome purposefully dodged her gaze. "Mayu wants you at the medic post."

"Are you kidding me?!" she exclaimed, waving her arms in anger. "haven't I proven myself in Konoha?"

Rome held up his hands and slightly backed away, bumping into the group behind him. "Look. I know what you mean. But we're lacking in medic-nin as it is. Please don't make it anymore difficult than it already is."

Gritting her teeth, she abruptly turned and walked away, her blonde hair flowing in the wind. "Unbelievable!" As she was marching off, her eyes caught sight of Kisame sitting on a rock…patting his sword. "What…?" She blinked, and she saw him turning his blade and patting the other side.

The Akatsuki agent saw that she was looking at his weird behavior and gave her an unnerving grin. He shooed her away with his hands.

Shaking her head, she moved on towards the medical post that lay behind the command post. She forced her emotions down. The people there had nothing to do with Mayu's decision and knew they didn't deserve her ire.

"5 MINUTES! THEY WILL BE UPON US IN FIVE MINUTES!" Some yelled from the top of his lungs. People tensed up at the announcement, and it was quickly repeated down the line.

Everyone quickly made final checks and were quickly making their way to their assigned positions. Ghost was one of them, guiding his squad to the front of the beach. His feet got splashed by the water but ignored it as he noticed minor movement in the distance. He squinted his eyes before they widened in surprise. "WE GOT INCOMING!"

He waved with his hands for his squad to get behind cover while he made himself as small as possible.

His team quickly made for the improvised covers they had made out of thick tree branches, and other material.

Hawke was behind his improvised cover and looked over his shoulder to see how the others were faring. A barrage of arrows landed on the beachhead, but only struck a few. "Bastards…" he muttered, before he broke out into a chuckle. "This is going to be one hell of a fight!" a big grin appeared on his face.

As the attack died down, Ghost slowly stood up. From the corner of his eye, he saw a small hole in his hood. He let the fabric slid between fingers. 'That was a close call.'

Kisame's shouting broke him from his thoughts, jabbing his hand towards the incoming fleet of small boats. "Get ready, brat!"

He turned his focus on the incoming attack. The boats were big, but simple. They were capable of holding a large number of men, but were vulnerable to jutsu, katon in particular.

A Jonin ran up from behind him and reached the waters, with more following him. "Light them up!" In unison they weaved through the necessary seals. Katon jutsu flew towards the attackers and het the boats with great success, setting many ablaze.

Kunai with exploding tags could be seen as well, either hitting their mark, or narrowly missing it and exploding in the water, causing small waves of water to hit transport ships.

Even doton users were helping out when they were getting close. Walls of stone erupting from below the water, crashing into the unsuspecting Reavers boats above.

Ghost lowered his hand, watching as his own katon jutsu hit its mark, setting the boat afire, killing the men and women aboard.

A loud, inhuman roar from further down in the water and Orodochi tried finding the source. Seconds later he could see Kisame running out of the water. The man was very effective in the water, having taken out five ships in quick succession. He gave him a nod of acknowledging before turning his gaze to where he heard the intimidating sound.

"Scared, brat?"

"Not even a bit, sushi." It was a slight lie. He wasn't scared of what he had heard, but he was scared of the immense fleet that was now slowly reaching the shore.

He could hear Kisame talking beside him but paid it no mind. His eyes roamed the waters before abruptly diving to the side as a large spear flew past his head.

A broad man dove out and followed the same path as the spear. His eyes were glowing bright red and had a malicious smirk on his face. Naruto scrambled to his feet and let his fist fly, hitting the man straight in the jaw, sending him sprawling to the ground. He jumped after him, quickly palming a kunai.

The man managed to recover fast and rolled to the side, and with a burst of his strange chakra, he elegantly flew back to his feet.

Kisame came barreling from behind and slammed his massive blade, Samehada into the man, but was surprised to see he managed to put up a guard.

"You got him, Kisame?!" Ghost yelled as he was reluctant to join. Ships in front of him were now unloading their troops and they were quickly approaching.

"Of course!"

The teammates of Ghost watched with wide eyes at the strange man. "What the hell is he?!"

"Focus!" the blonde shouted, tossing his kunai, along with a handful of shuriken towards the incoming attackers. Fortunately for them, they didn't appear to be housing any demonic chakra.

His teammates joined him and together they flung attacks towards the rapidly encroaching enemies, while Kisame was exchanging blow for blow with his own foe.

"Is that all you got!"

Ghost ducked underneath the incoming blade and stepped closer to his foe, inside his guard. He slammed his fist in his stomach. The reaver doubled over in pain and he used the advantage to ram his kunai in the man's throat. The sound of gurgling blood reached his ears, but he ignored it. He gave him one final kick, dropping him, face first into the sand.

The sound of clashing metal reached his ears, and he used his moment of pause to look around. Everyone was fighting and absolute chaos was unfolding in front of him. The advantage they had at the start was disappearing in front of his eyes. As more and more transports were reaching the sandy shores, the numerical advantage the Reavers had, only became more apparent.

He saw that his teammates were holding their own, and he had assisted them, where he could. The problem was that the Reavers recognized his outfit and were specifically focusing on him. It was clear that they didn't hold the Hunters in high regard.

He saw his teammate Kiro slit the throat of his foe before jumping on the back of another, saving his teammate in the process.

It was clear that the main force of the Reavers consisted of men and women that were of equal prowess as that of the shinobi, if slightly less so. A Reaver legionnaire was considered to be of Chunin strength, while a hastae, nicknamed by them simply as a 'holder', was considered to be of Jonin or Anbu strength. And then there was the Praetorian, or 'shifter' as they called them. They were considered to be the very elite of the Reaver forces. All of them were well above Anbu strength and many could even be considered near kage level, or sometimes even above it.

The legionnaire didn't possess any demonic presence and made up the bulk of their forces. Effective, but in numbers is where they excelled. Hastae's, or Holders were individuals who were merged with that of a demon but were unable to retain control. Their mind corrupted by the tainted presence. Critical info that had been given by Rome when they had met.

Praetorians were the ones who were able to conquer the power of the demon and not get corrupted by it. These 'shifters' were mentally strong and because of it were capable of creating a near perfect synergy with their 'chakra', and the demon's, whereas a Holder's chakra would be drowned out by the demonic's.

He saw his teammate kill of the last one and then quickly made their way over to him. "What's next?" One asked.

"I got a message that Hunter Raipa needs assistance help. He's at sector 3. I'll stay here and hold this position; you meet up with my teammate and help him out."

"You sure you can handle it?" The older one of the group asked.

"I'm sure, now go!" Ghost ordered.

The group dashed off and headed towards Raipa. The hunter watched them leave. He was well aware that there had been sightings of Hastae's at Raipa's position. 'I think I just sent them to their deaths…'

He tried to shake away the thoughts and focused his attention on his next opponent, who only had eyes for the incapacitated shinobi beneath him.

He dashed towards the Reaver, grabbing a spear that was stuck in the sand in passing. Thrusting the spear forward, he skewered the man, ripping his insides apart. Pushing the now dead Reaver aside, he quickly picked up the wounded Iwa-nin and swung him over his shoulder. The feeling of his breathing on his neck was the indication that the man was still alive.

"A-arigato…H-hunter-s-san."

"Don't worry about it. Let's get you some help." He quickly created a few clones with his free hand and proceeded to run towards the nearest medical hub.

The Anbu saw him approach the camp and quickly stepped aside, allowing him through.

"Over here, Ghost!"

He turned and saw Micheru waving him over. Stepping past a crowded part, he gently laid the wounded man on the table in front of him. He took a closer look at the huntress and saw that she was covered in blood, which he quickly deduced wasn't hers.

She was quickly scrubbing her hands to get as much blood from her hands as possible. "How is it going out there?" she asked, taking in his posture.

"Okay for the moment. But that won't last…This is a fight we're not meant to win."

"I feel the same way. Not that it really matters." She leaned over the wounded man and listened to his breathing. Giving a nod of satisfaction she started examining the wounds.

His eyes lingered on her for a moment longer before he let out a dry cough. "I need to get back out there."

Micheru looked up from her patient and gave him a confident smile. "Good luck, Orodochi. Don't die on us!"

"Wasn't planning on it." He replied with a cheeky grin.

~Ghost, come in, over. ~

He turned and ran out of the tent, giving a wave towards his fellow blonde. Pressing the button on his neckpiece. It had a small cord attached to it, that went to his earpiece. "What's the problem, Mayu-sama."

~Hawke has got two holders and can't handle them both. I need you to help him out.~

"I'm on my way." He briefly looked around but spotted his old teacher fast. He slid his feet back and slowly breathed in before exhaling, lowered into an offensive stance, a kunai in each hand. He pushed off and disappeared, leaving in his wake a torrent of sand.

He came to a skidding halt, behind him a trail from where he had planted his feet. His hand and kunai were drenched in blood. Slowly he straightened his back, aching slightly because of his ability. He saw Hawke slowly getting back to his feet. He held out his hand, which he gratefully accepted. "I thought you were better than this, Hawke." A smirk on Ghost's face.

He waved him off, trying to get his breathing under control "Just…A…Short…break, you…know how it…is"

He snorted in amusement and patted his teammate's back. "Hang in there, Hawke."

"I could say the same, you know!" he shouted back, but Naruto had long since disappeared in the mass of fighters.

Itachi effortlessly parried the incoming attack and retaliated with a high kick, hitting him straight in the face. His cloak was blowing in the wind.

His foe flew through the air before crashing his head against a rock. With a dazed groan, the Reaver tried getting back up, but Itachi had jumped after him, and planted two kunai in his chest, ending the man.

Using his hands, he flipped over the rock and landed behind it, sprinting towards the approaching boat, which was lowering its rampart. Itachi saw this as the perfect opportunity and flew through hand seals. "katon goukakyuu no jutsu!" The large fireball hit the boat with perfect precision, setting it ablaze, killing everyone aboard.

His sharingan saw an incoming projectile and he leaned back, deftly dodging it. Standing not far to his right was a large group of Reavers, dead shinobi lay at their feet.

His eyes quickly darted around, registering the information in front of him. He pushed himself off and sprinted to the group, who in turn grinned at the supposed stupidity of the Akatsuki agent.

As soon as the Uchiha was in range, he ducked underneath the first swing and countered with a quick jab of his kunai, piercing his stomach. Aware of the next attack, he fell to his knees and slid down even further. He threw his kunai to his sides and knew he had managed to strike another one. He noticed that he had reached the apex of his speed and quickly used a handstand to push himself off, planting both his feet into a third Reaver, launching him into the air.

A quick flip landed him back on his feet , his hand already holding a new kunai. He blocked the incoming attack and used his free hand to reach for the outstretched limb and pull the Reaver in front of him.

A second later, a hail of throwing knifes impacted against the body. Itachi dropped him to the ground once the ranged attack stopped, having serves his purpose as a human shield.

Two shuriken flew from his sleeve and struck two Reavers, killing them by piercing their throats. He saw a small round object land at his feet and swiftly jumped back, a medium a sized explosion erupted a moment later, clouding the area in smoke and sand.

Itachi came barreling through and jumped into the remainder of the group. A second later he exploded, revealing him to be nothing more than a clone.

"Bunshin Daibakuha…" Itachi said in a near whisper, watching as the group got killed.

Konoha, two days prior.

Tsunade was reading the report with a mixture of disbelief and regret. Multiple scouts were all calling in the same thing. Troop movement, and all of it was heading towards Tsuchi no Kuni. She closed the file and tossed it on the corner of her desk.

Shikamaru came walking in, holding another one. She was tempted to kick him out, she read enough to know that she had made a mistake. "Another one of our scouts." He said as he held up the file before sliding it across the desk.

She stopped it with her hand, unconsciously tapping with her finger on it. "Was I wrong?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "I don't really think there was a right choice. Two rogue-nin came here, with a history of violence against Konoha. We would've doubted anything they would've said."

"I didn't doubt Ghost's words about Naruto." She muttered with a heavy heart. The revelation that Naruto had died, had hit her hard.

The Nara looked out the window, he too found it difficult to think about his old friend. "We tend to believe what we fear."

And believe it, they did. There had been no reports, or sightings of the blonde in years. In the past, Jiraiya was able to dig up bits and pieces of info. But that had stopped long ago, thus creating the fear.

"Tell me, troublesome Nara. What now?"

"I recommend that our scout keeps following them, update us frequently."

"Of course. Anything else, Hokaga-sama?"

Despite the reports, she still felt hesitant to believe what she had read. "Send out 5 Anbu detachments, along with a squad of Konoha representatives. I want Kakashi amongst them. Invite them for further talks."

Shikamaru gave a short bow and muttered something underneath his breath that sounded suspiciously like 'troublesome'. Before she could press that matter, he had already left.

Tsunade stood up from her desk and walked to the window, taking in the gorgeous view of the village. 'So, war is on our doorstep once again…what do I do now, Dan?'