Yugito's stomach growled as she glared at the tray of spoiled food sitting off to the side of the room. Two days. It had been two days since she had woken up from her humiliating defeat at the hands of Tayuya. Two days since she had boldly claimed her captors were living on borrowed time, that her village would be raining down justice on their heads any moment. Two days since she had allowed herself the sweet embrace of sleep, or the gift of food. Nothing they offered her could be trusted, and the vulnerability of sleep was out of the question. It was bad enough that she had been rendered unconscious the first time, having woken up to her chakra being sealed and her access to her tailed beast notably stripped from her.

She was thankful, as it were, for her shinobi training. Particularly that of her mental and emotional training that had helped her gain mastery of her bijuu. There had been no torture thus far, nor had she been treated poorly, though she figured that in itself was a form of torture. With each day that passed the growing anticipation of what could come was ever present in the back of her mind. All kunoichi were aware of what horrors could befall them should they find themselves in the hands of an enemy. Yugito had the benefit of being a jinchuuriki, so it was unlikely such things would occur to her, if only because the priority would be to sell her to a village pining for more power, or retrieve the bijuu from within her. Still, the potential for cruel acts was there, and Yugito wasn't unaware that there were many who would view her as quite the attractive little prize in such a situation.

Shaking her head of those thoughts and the tiredness of her eyes, Yugito looked around her 'cell' for the umpteenth time. Every inch of the room had been thoroughly inspected by now. Part of her knew there was no way out, even if another part still clung to hope that she would have a spark of genius and concoct an escape. It was a small room, plain walls made of stone, no doubt part of a larger complex cut into the side of a mountain. Seals lined each of the surrounding six surfaces. It didn't take a genius to deduce the list of possible uses for said seals. Yugito was sure Kumo would have found her by now, sealed chakra or not, had this room not been effectively cut off from the outside world. The more the hours dragged on, and sleep threatened to take her by force, the more Yugito wondered how good her chances of being rescued were.

Not good, obviously.

"You really should sleep."

Yugito sneered and threw a tiny rock towards the suddenly present form of Tayuya, the stone passing right through her like a ghost. Genjutsu. Oh, how she was learning to truly despise genjutsu. "And give you a chance to take the Nibi without a fight. No way," she said.

Tayuya sighed. "We aren't going to take your fucking bijuu," she said with a huff. "If that's what we wanted, you never would have woken up. Got it? Good. Now that that's out of the way, can we talk like normal fucking people."

"Talk?" Yugito spat. "You infiltrate my village, you lie to my face, you attack and kidnap me, and you want to talk. Sorry if I don't feel particularly chatty right now. Little busy wondering how long I have to live and such."

Tayuya scowled and looked over to the uneaten food on the tray. It was all exactly as she had left it; nothing had been touched in the slightest. "At least eat something, Yugito," she said. "We aren't going to poison you with food of all things."

"I'm not trusting you in any way shape or form," Yugito said with certainty, leveling the strongest glare her tired eyes could muster on the redhead. "I know who you are working for. I know what's in store for me."

The redhead smirked and tilted her head curiously. "Oh? Do you now? And who might that be?"

"Orochimaru."

Tayuya laughed, loud and obnoxiously. "That slimy fuck-stain is dead. Or did you not get the memo?"

Yugito didn't falter. "We heard the rumours. Doesn't mean we were fooled by them," she said. "It took me some time to dig it up, but we had some records of you. Tayuya of the north gate. One of Orochimaru's little puppets. Reports say you aided in the assassination of the third Hokage, as well as the assisting the last Uchiha in his going rogue. After some mess in Suna, you up and disappeared. You were filed under presumed dead in our systems. Not easy to go completely under the radar for four years."

Tayuya grinned. That last bit was as much an attempt to inflate her ego as it was an attempt to get an explanation out of her. It was true, in a world full of ninja, being able to disappear was a rare talent, especially for someone who had not long helped kill a kage. In the back of her mind, Tayuya couldn't stop from feeling almost excited to see how Yugito reacted to Naruto. The past two days of mostly ignoring the Kumo jinchuuriki had been unintentional. No one was trying to psych her out, it was just they had better things to do, like destroy their last base, and set up a few dead-end trails for the Kumo trackers to chase. Hell, just moving to the new base and setting it up to hold Yugito had taken the better part of a day. Now that everything had calmed down, there was finally time to try and talk to the woman, though Tayuya wondered if she may have burnt that bridge already.

"Yeah, that info is super out of date. Still flattering," the redhead said. "I haven't worked for the snake fucker since that bullshit Uchiha shitshow. And if I ever get my hands on that prissy little bitch that cost me my arm, I'll make sure he follows his pedo-sensei straight up the Shinigami's ass."

Yugito winced in disgust. "Must you talk like that?"

"Fucking oath I must."

"Of course," the blonde muttered. "I guess that well-spoken, kind young woman you put on show for me was truly all a work of fiction. Well played, I will admit. Even I had to question what was true and what was not."

Tayuya snorted. "I already told you, I barely had to lie about anything. All I had to do was twist things a little, be vague about some shit, and talk like a prim and proper kunoichi. A lot of what I said was true, if only a bit sugar-coated." Why she had felt the need to continuously use aspects of her real life to pad out her façade, Tayuya couldn't say. It had felt right in the moment, had helped her get closer to Yugito, so she thought, and made for a much more convincing story that she would never forget. Nevertheless, it was almost entirely unnecessary. Konan had said something about going soft, and Jugo had jibed that perhaps Tayuya was smitten by yet another blonde jinchuuriki. They were both idiots in the redhead's eyes.

Yugito watched Tayuya intently for a moment, thinking on her words before sighing. "I suppose none of that matters now," she said, leaning against the wall behind her in defeat. "So, what happens now? I deserve to know that much at least."

The redhead shrugged. "Not sure actually," she admitted. Tayuya knew the general plan, that being stopping Akatsuki and trying to save the jinchuuriki, and the world by extension. Outside of that, she was in the dark. Taking Yugito was really more of an opportunity thing than an actual part of the plan. Now that they had her, well, it was really anyone's guess as to what to do with her. Maybe they would just keep her locked away safely until everything else was sorted.

A smile suddenly crossed her lips as Tayuya looked towards one of the walls. "Incoming," she said, shimmering out of existence.

Yugito grimaced as she stood up and prepared for what was coming, the seal array on one wall glowing and shifting across its surface as a door formed into existence. She bared her teeth as the door slid open, taking a stance. Yugito wasn't sure who to expect. She knew Tayuya never came into the room unless to bring her food and water, and that was always under the guise of a genjutsu. There was no telling who else the redhead was involved with; how many others were currently skulking around the base. Yugito eyed the newcomer carefully. He was a tall young man with bright blonde hair and blue eyes, whisker marks on each cheek, and an insultingly innocent smile on his face. Even as the door disappeared behind him, his smile never fell. Yugito's expression only darkened as she realised who she was standing before.

"Uzumaki," she growled.

Naruto's smile widened. "Oh, good. You already know who I am. That will save me some time," he said, walking into the centre of the room and placing a new tray of food with a canteen of water on the floor.

Yugito backpedalled until she was hugging the wall behind her, mentally cursing at her current predicament. She knew who Naruto Uzumaki was. All of Kumo did. Ever since the rogue jinchuuriki had been made public, the Raikage had made sure every active shinobi knew who Naruto was and what he looked like. His name was moved to the top of the priority list for any team venturing out into the elemental nations, with a single goal in mind, recruit or capture. The jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi would be a massive boon for the village, and that wasn't even mentioning the boy's Uzumaki blood, or his relation to the fourth Hokage. Yugito had no doubt in her mind that every single village was hunting the Uzumaki in some way shape or form, which only added to the concerns that none had managed to claim him yet, or even get close to doing so. A testament to how dangerous the man before could potentially be.

"What is this?" Yugito hissed.

"Unfortunate," Naruto said simply, taking a seat on the ground and gesturing for Yugito to sit across from him. "This isn't how I wanted to meet you. If it were up to me, I would have wanted to meet you on equal grounds, with no hostility." He sighed deeply as his fellow jinchuuriki maintained her distance. "I tried to warn your village, of Akatsuki, of their threat to us. The Raikage did what all Kage do; he only saw what he wanted to see."

Yugito glared at him. "You don't know what you're talking about," she said. "Lord Raikage is a great man. Do not put him in the same boat as all those other greedy, selfish, self-proclaimed leaders of the other villages. He is above all of them."

Naruto smiled and shook his head. "I'll give him one thing, he certainly inspires loyalty in his people," he said in amusement. A lot had to be said about how much the people of Kumo truly admired their Kage. "I'm not here to argue about the rights and wrongs of the Kage. Neither of us are qualified to have an opinion on that I think."

"Then what are you here for?" she asked. "Why am I here? Was one bijuu not enough for you? Or are you planning on selling me to the highest bidder?"

"One bijuu is too much for anyone," he stated firmly, giving Yugito a pointed look. "Not that you would understand. You got paired with one of the cooperative ones. Tell me, how is Matatabi doing?"

Yugito gulped. "How do you…?"

"I know all of their names," Naruto said with a shrug. "Kurama said it would help one day, to be able to call them by their proper names. Then they would know to trust me… somewhat."

"Kurama?"

"The Kyuubi."

Yugito slowly sunk down to the floor, meeting Naruto's eye level. "What's going on?" she asked apprehensively. She was too tired for this shit. Still, Yugito remembered her bijuu's lessons from back when the two trained to become a proper team. For the bijuu, sharing their given names was considered a great honour, especially to a human. It signified a level of trust that the beasts rarely, if ever, allowed themselves to partake in. The only one who's name wasn't a carefully guarded secret was the Ichibi, if only because the tanuki, Shukaku, was too prideful to keep it secret. If the Kyuubi, greatest of the nine, was giving its name to its jinchuuriki, along with the names of the other eights bijuu, then something was very wrong with the world.

Naruto extended his hand calmly. "I think this is a conversation best had between the four of us," he said. "If that's okay with you."

The Kumo jinchuuriki stared at the outstretched hand worriedly. This all could have been a trick. Her chakra was sealed, and even if it weren't, Tayuya had already proven she could lock a jinchuuriki down with genjutsu. There was no way of knowing for sure if this was just another illusion. Perhaps this was the first step her captors were taking to break her. It would be genius if it was. Keeping that in mind, Yugito made sure all of her senses were as keenly active as she could manage before she shuffled forward towards the whiskered blonde. "You want me to trust you?" she asked sceptically.

"It would be nice, yes," Naruto said, shrugging. "But I guess you don't need to. All I need is for you to trust Matatabi."

"You'll let me talk to her again?"

He nodded. "As soon as me and Kurama have explained everything, you will be given full access to Matatabi. The two of you can talk it over in your own time and come to an agreement," he explained.

Yugito nodded slowly in understanding, her hand absentmindedly reaching for her stomach. She had never gone so long without contact to her closest friend, her lifelong partner. It would be nice to hear the Nibi's voice once more. With a shaky hand, Yugito reached out and grabbed Naruto's hand. Within seconds the two of them were coated in red chakra that felt so similar yet so different to that of her own bijuu. Even with this small amount, Yugito could physically feel how large the gap in power was between the Nibi and Kyuubi. In that moment, she was thankful that it had been Tayuya that had come to take her from Kumo. There was no telling how much destruction the man before her could unleash upon the world.

Naruto closed his eyes, and Yugito followed his example. A strange sensation overwhelmed her, and she opened her eyes to an infinite plane surrounding her, only with one notable other presence. "Matatabi!" Yugito called out in relief, running up to the giant cat and hugging the beast's front leg. "Are you alright?"

The Nibi looked around cautiously, bringing its two tails protectively around its jinchuuriki. "I am fine, dear. Though I must ask the same of you," she said. "What has happened? Why are we here?"

"That is the right question, dear sister," the Kyuubi's voice rumbled through mental realm. The beast chuckled as the Nibi quickly turned to face him, taking a protective stance in front of the blonde who could only stare up at the fox in a mix of awe and terror. "We have much to discuss, Matatabi."

"Kyuubi," the cat hissed. "What is the meaning of this?"

The fox continued to chuckle. "You will see. We are still waiting on some more to attend."

"Sorry about the wait," Naruto called out from atop the fox's head. "This wasn't a planned meeting so the others might take a minute."

Yugito looked at Naruto and Kurama with growing worry. Just what had she gotten herself into. "Others?" she asked weakly, not realising that in this plane of existence volume didn't matter. Everyone and everything would hear her words in this realm.

"Am I late?" a new voice called out.

Yugito turned to stare in shock at the owner of the new voice. A young woman with blonde hair done up in four ponytails and the symbol of Suna hung around her neck. The poor Kumo-nin didn't need to be told who Temari was. Everyone knew who the new Kazekage was, just as they knew of the unparalleled iron fist with which the woman controlled and commanded the desert of wind country. Within the boundaries of the desert, Temari was a god, and everyone in the elemental nations had come to learn that lesson through blood in recent years. Behind the sandy blonde stood the Tanuki, Shukaku. The Ichibi was notably meek in its appearance, hanging its head and not looking up at either of its kin.

"Right on time. Hey Temari," Naruto greeted cheerfully. "How's it going Shukaku?"

The Ichibi scowled and raised its head to glare at the Uzumaki. "You've some nerve talking to me, you puny little shi-" the beasts words were silenced as a giant blade of wind severed its maw from its face. The tanuki was quick to reform its features and return to its silent and docile state, keeping a wary eye on its jinchuuriki.

"Good boy," Temari said, patting the beast's foot condescendingly. Turning a curious eye to Yugito she then looked up questioningly at Naruto. "Induction?"

Naruto nodded. "Yep. Temari, meet Yugito and Matatabi. Yugito, meet Temari and Shukaku."

Yugito blushed awkwardly and bowed to the younger woman. "Lady Kazekage," she greeted politely. It wouldn't do to insult the leader of another village.

Temari mirrored the gesture and smiled. "Good to finally have another girl onboard," she said. "Was starting to feel singled out."

"This is most curious," a new voice said.

Yugito turned to see another newcomer. A tall, thin man donning a light blue kimono, a giant six tailed slug towering behind him.

"Utakata! Saiken!" Naruto called out. "How's Kiri holding up?"

Utakata smiled softly. "I believe they are still doing well, though I have not had the chance to return."

Yugito looked around in wonder and fear. So many jinchuuriki, so many bijuu, all in one place and being friendly. This was impossible. "Matatabi, what's happening? Do you know?" she asked.

The Nibi regarded its kin carefully, noting how the others all sat themselves before it and focussed on her singularly. "I do not. But this does not bode well. Not at all," the beast said anxiously.

"You can say that again," Shukaku spat irritably, only to turn away when Temari glared at him.

"The runt is correct," Kurama said. "You would do well to listen carefully to what we have to say."

"Let's get this show on the road," Naruto chimed in, clapping his hands together to get everyone's attention and jumping down to the ground. With a smile he regarded Yugito. "We are being hunted. Simple as that. This group, Akatsuki, they are tracking all of the jinchuuriki down and extracting the bijuu one by one. Apparently, they intend to bring back the Juubi."

Yugito quirked an eyebrow at that. The ten-tails? When was that ever a thing? Her doubtful expression fell, however, once she looked up and saw the overly serious stare Matatabi was levelling at the Kyuubi.

"That cannot be allowed to happen!" the Nibi said heatedly. "Surely this group is only made of humans. With the numbers we have here, we could destroy them and erase such ridiculous ideas from the world."

Yugito blinked. Was she being volunteered for a mission by her own bijuu?

Naruto shook his head. "Trying to take them all on at once will fail. They are incredibly powerful," he said. "They travel in pairs in order to overwhelm a jinchuuriki. The only real tactic we can think of is being prepared for them to make a move and surprise a pair with more than one jinchuuriki. That's why we need to be on the same page. We need to work together."

"Actually," Utakata stepped forward with a shameful expression. "I'm afraid our information might be wrong. While most of them could very well work in pairs, there is a group of six that are working together for Akatsuki."

Everyone turned to the Rokubi jinchuuriki with mixed expressions, though Naruto's pointed look of understanding was the most jarring. "Utakata… how do you know that?" the Uzumaki asked carefully.

Utakata smiled solemnly. "I'm sorry," he said. "The sealing has already begun. It's only a matter of time now."

The silence that filled the mental plane was deafening.

"… You didn't send for help," Naruto said, his expression darkening.

"I couldn't," Utakata admitted. "By the time I knew who I was facing, it was too late. I never got enough of a spare moment to try and reach out. The group I was fighting, they moved as one, talked as one. They all had the same eyes."

"Fathers eyes…" Saiken said lowly, earning disturbed looks from its fellow bijuu.

"You thought you could battle alone against the rinnegan?" Kurama growled. The fox wasn't foolish enough to think he could single handedly combat such power, even if it were a cheap knock off of the sage of six paths, in his opinion. The rinnegan was a distinct threat to the bijuu. As the tool that made their creation possible, those eyes also held the power to render them powerless, and as was being proven, unmake them. "Why did you not contact us the moment you were defeated?"

"Our connection to the outside world was being blocked," Saiken explained. "By the time we came to our senses, the extraction had begun. We were helpless until we felt the pull of your call."

"Where were you?" Naruto asked.

Utakata frowned. "One of the outskirt islands of the land of water. I am unsure of where we have been taken since then."

Before anyone could react, Naruto and the Kyuubi were gone, leaving Yugito with the others. The kumo jinchuuriki took a deep breath, glancing nervously between the two other jinchuuriki and their respective bijuu. She had seen and conversed with both killer B and the Hachibi in a similar way once before, but to be outnumbered like this was an unsettling sensation, even if they didn't seem hostile.

"Well then," Utakata started awkwardly. "I suppose the induction responsibilities fall to us." He looked pointedly at Yugito and smiled softly. "It will be one last bit of good I can do before I go."

Temari looked at the man sadly, only to quickly regain her composure and cast a serious look at Yugito. "You better listen to what we have to say," she said warningly. "The two jinchuuriki of Iwa were taken before we could reach them. Now Utakata too…" The young Kazekage shook her head. "If you keep your head up your ass, we won't risk ourselves to come save you. Everyone gets a chance, but that's it."

Matatabi glared down at the sandy blonde. "You would let us be taken?" she asked.

"Should you not heed our warning, yes," Saiken said. "If the bijuu do not come together for this, we will all fall. With all of us, this new wielder of father's eyes will be unstoppable. We must not allow that to happen."

The Nibi glared angrily at nothing in particular, one of its tails pushing Yugito forward as the beast sat down. "We will listen."

Yugito went to argue with her bijuu but was silenced with a look that would make even the Raikage sweat. In her mind, if this was as serious a situation as they implied, then it was worth bringing to the Raikage himself. Surely her leader would see the importance, and with Killer B and an entire village involved, their odds would be significantly improved. That being said, she knew A had ignored the initial warning given to him. For now, Yugito would listen, get all the information she could, and see where things went. Matatabi hadn't led her astray before, so it would be unwise to mistrust the beast now of all times.

Utakata stepped forward. "Excellent. Now… where to start."

{I}

There wasn't much that could frighten any halfway decent team of seasoned shinobi. Outside of running afoul of a particularly dangerous missing-nin, or stumbling across a rampaging bijuu/jinchuuriki, there just wasn't many situations that were considered outright scary. With enough time and missions under their belt, most shinobi became dull to the happenings of the world. Those that had served in the last war were notably more numb than the new generation, but that was to be expected. Keeping this in mind, it would come as quite a surprise to that on this particular day, several teams of ninja patrolling the south of the land of lightning, would return home with the same reports, all full of the same amount of fear.

The cause of this sudden outburst of panic was currently barrelling through the landscape in a beeline towards the land of water. Naruto held no illusions that he was as fast as his father had been. Even with the hiraishin, he was still falling short of such a claim. That didn't mean he wasn't currently on the verge of breaking the world record for travel time between the land of lightning and the land of water. Six red tails of chakra flowed behind him as he ran at full speed, every obstacle before him being obliterated mercilessly as he went. The hurdles that couldn't be simply powered through, well… Naruto glared at the wall of rock in his path, pulling a kunai from his pouch and overcharging it with wind chakra before launching it into and through the stone. Before he even reached the wall, he flashed out of existence and reappeared on the other side, the kunai disintegrating from the combined strain of both overcharged wind chakra and a bijuu powered hiraishin.

Contrary to popular belief, the hiraishin was not, in fact, a perfect technique. Minato may have been able to use it like it was, and had himself never rebutted the notion that the jutsu was infallible, but it still had its limitations like everything else. The distance between jumps was limited by the chakra necessary, the cost increasing with distance travelled, and transporting more than a single target at a time required a lot of practice and chakra control. Naruto would give his father credit; the man must have made a lot of medic-nin jealous with his chakra control to have been able to abuse the hiraishin the way he had.

Naruto wasn't so lucky. Uzumaki reserves aside, he was a jinchuuriki, and as such was required to transport two targets minimum with every use. Combine that with his not quite medic-nin level of chakra control, and it resulted in quite the chakra intensive jutsu to use for anything that wasn't short distance based. Even using the Kyuubi, it would have left him exhausted to try and jump across two entire countries in one hit.

So, he ran. He had flashed to the furthest marker he had in the land of lightning to get a head start, and also to ensure he didn't accidentally alert the whole country to their base's location, but after that it was all on leg power, at least until he got within range of the land of water. There were markers setup across dozens of islands, courtesy of his boredom during the past years. Once he got there, there would be nowhere to hide. So long as he made it in time, Utakata had a chance, and that was good enough for Naruto.

"Naruto, stop," the Kyuubi said sharply, getting the blonde to halt in his tracks for a moment, though not without justifiable anger.

"What?!"

"The ring…"

Naruto dug his hand into his pocket and pulled out the Akatsuki ring he had bought off Orochimaru. He hadn't even thought about his reasons for wanting it back then, just that it was an item he knew held some importance to Akatsuki. Now he understood why. The ring was pulsing, the symbol carved into it glowing dull. It had done this twice before. After Sasori's information, he had made the connection. Each time the ring pulsed was an indication of a bijuu being extracted, of another jinchuuriki having fallen, of another failure to stay one step ahead of the group. "We know what's going on already!" Naruto snapped, going to put the ring away.

"Put it on," the fox commanded. "I can sense Saiken in that ring. If it can connect us to him somehow, then I can sense where he is. A few moments lost will not change anything. It could help us save them."

Naruto growled but did as the fox said. He slipped the ring on and was immediately aware of two things. Firstly, there was a subconscious pull in the back of his mind not dissimilar to what it felt like when the Kyuubi wanted to talk in person. Secondly, someone was now very much aware of his existence. It was like the weird feeling you got when you thought something was watching you, even if you couldn't see them, only Naruto knew he was being watched, and he knew exactly what kind of eyes were now staring at him from across the world with what was likely a good amount of curiosity. Taking a breath, he calmed himself and let the mental pull take him.

When he opened his eyes, he wasn't surprised to find eight other sets of eyes focused on him with varying expressions. Eight individuals, all posed atop the fingertips of a massive demonic statue with nine eyes, two of which were open, with a third slowly joining. In the middle of the statues two hands, suspended within a coiling of ghostly chakra dragons, was Utakata. Much to Naruto's surprise, everyone present remained silent at his appearance. Not so much as a whisper disturbed the room as he took in his surroundings and those present. Some of the figures were easy enough to ascertain the identities of, but others he only knew thanks to Sasori. Speaking of which, the puppet master himself was also present, regarding Naruto with the only set of truly expressionless eyes.

'Kurama?' Naruto asked inwardly.

"This… is too far to be in the land of water," the Kyuubi said disappointedly. "This is far to the west. Too far for me to sense properly. Even at full speed, we would not get here in time." The fox hung its head as its senses reached out to the jinchuuriki of the Rokubi. "Saiken is almost completely sealed. There is nothing we could have done."

Killing intend and chakra presence rivalled by only two of those present flooded the room. Naruto's eyes turned red as they locked with the purple, ringed eyes of the only Akatsuki member to not flinch. Red chakra bubbled out of his spectral form, three tails forming and wrapping around the statues finger beneath him. Maintaining eye contact, Naruto knelt down and placed a hand on the digit, a sealing array spreading out over its surface. He waited for a moment, glaring, daring any of them to make a move, wanting to see if they even could stop him from doing what he was about to do. Nothing came of it. The leader stared him down, uncaring, unwavering, before returning his gaze back to the task at hand, as if Naruto wasn't worth his time in this moment.

The tails coiled tightly around the finger to the second knuckle and the seal stopped spreading. There were no words spoken, no threats or declarations, no desperate pleas for anyone to change their mind. In a flash, both Naruto and the top half of the finger he had been on, vanished. Opening his eyes again, Naruto felt the Kyuubi's chakra recede back into him. He reached out to feel if he could still sense the seal he had placed on the demonic statue finger and found nothing. Yet another drawback of the hiraishin, or advantage depending on how you used it. Something that was moved without a destination, ultimately consumed all available chakra and 'displaced' the object. Naruto had no idea where those things went, and he wasn't brave enough to find out. He could only hope that his efforts weren't in vain. There was no guarantee that the damage to that statue would be permanent. It had felt good at least.

'I'm going to kill them.'

The Kyuubi stayed silent as its jinchuuriki sat down on the ground, taking a moment of silence for both the man and the bijuu that had been lost today. Naruto sat there, at the end of the path of destruction he had hastily carved into the countryside, waiting, wanting anything to interrupt him in this moment. He could use the distraction. It wasn't very surprising when nothing rose to the challenge.

{I}

Jugo hummed pleasantly as he walked through the forest, a small petting zoo worth of animals following along beside him. Without a doubt, the best outcome of having his curse corrected was the increase in attention he got from all the creatures of nature. No longer was there any apprehension from them, or fear of any kind. Even Jugo himself had become comfortable in his own skin, a fact that was evident by his current activity. Normally, he wouldn't dare travel alone. The blood that stained his hands from his youth would never wash away, not truly, but progress was being made. After enough time and training to prove to himself that he was in control and no longer a potential threat to the innocent, he had finally decided to put himself forward and offer direct assistance to Naruto in their mission.

Just in time too, as it happened. After the attention Tayuya had drawn from Kumo, there had been a notable desire to spread out among the group. Divide and conquer so to speak. Konan still had her own intentions to take care, what with systematically purging any trace of Danzo from the elemental nations. With enough time, the war hawk of Konoha would be a caged animal in his own village. Guren was off doing whatever Naruto had sent her to do. Jugo wasn't let in on that plan, he just hoped Guren would be okay. Her history aside, Jugo could sense she was a good person deep down. Tayuya and Naruto would stick together and resolve the whole Kumo jinchuuriki situation, obviously. Jugo figured a bit of alone time for the two of them would be a good treat.

As for Jugo himself, he had been given a mission of great importance, if he did say so himself. Naruto had often spoken of his desire to track down the other jinchuuriki, to keep tabs on them and make sure Akatsuki wouldn't get their hands on them easily. It was something Jugo truly respected about the Uzumaki. Despite knowing nothing of most of the other jinchuuriki, he still felt connected to them in some way, shouldering a weight of responsibility over those that shared in his burden. That was enough for Jugo. If Naruto wanted to protect the jinchuuriki, then so would he. It was the least he could do. This is how he found himself journeying to Takigakure, the supposed home of the Nanabi jinchuuriki.

The mission parameters were kept simple. Go to Taki, see if the jinchuuriki was still living there, assess their standing within the village, and if at all possible, extend a hand to them. For what it was worth, Jugo sorely hoped that the Nanabi jinchuuriki was friendly and open minded. It would be a truly delightful outcome if he could bring them back with him and gain a new ally against the Akatsuki. Naruto would certainly be pleased. With that in mind, he made a point to ask several of his new animal friends to scout around for the jinchuuriki. It wouldn't be hard to find them once he got close enough, but a bit of help pointing him in the right direction would be appreciated. It also helped that animals were often naturally better attuned at sensing the bijuu, sealed or otherwise.

He walked for hours with no direction, merely enjoying this time to himself and the newfound freedom he had, now confident his days of losing control were long behind him. Eventually, he did accidentally stumble upon the hidden village itself. Well, the outskirts of it anyway. Jugo's sage sense told him everything he needed to know about the village without needing to venture too close. What with the numerous teams patrolling the area, that was probably a good thing. Taki had a reputation to uphold for having never been invaded, and he didn't want to find out how desperately they would fight to keep it that way.

He could already sense that the jinchuuriki wasn't within the confines of the village, though what that meant was yet to be known to him. The jinchuuriki could well have been out on a mission for all he knew, or already captured. Jugo frowned at that thought. It would be a shame if he had already failed. Shaking his head of those thoughts, he continued on, working his way around the border of Taki, being careful not to run into any patrols, and keeping his feelers out for any traces of bijuu chakra.

"Oh, hello little one," he said softly, holding out a finger for a tiny bird to land on. "You have something for me?" The bird nodded and began happily chirping, earning a chuckled from Jugo. "Lead the way."

He followed the bird, many of his animal followers quickly returning to their own business once they realised the direction they were headed. Jugo had to wonder if that was a bad sign. All living things held a natural amount of fear for the foul aura of a bijuu's chakra, but for all of the animals to avoid a specific area was disconcerting. Even the bird guiding him would only take him so far before he had to send it off with a treat for its help. The closer he got, the more Jugo understood why this part of the forest was avoided. The taint of bijuu chakra was thick in the air, in the trees, in the very ground beneath him. As he came upon a small house built up in a tree, it suddenly made sense. The jinchuuriki must have lived out here, beyond the village walls, alone. With this much chakra so heavy in the area, they must have been living out here for years.

Not sensing the home's owner anywhere close, Jugo carefully made his way in. It was a humble little abode, built rather well all things considered, but clearly showing signs of updates and improvements over the years. He wondered if they had built it entirely on their own or had someone helped. There wasn't much furniture, and what was there was either old and worn or had been repaired in some way. The most notable piece was a large heavily cushioned chair, covered in blankets, well used, and meticulously mended. With the lack of a bed, Jugo figured this was the next best thing. It was disheartening to see that anyone lived like this while serving under a village. Naruto had warned him that jinchuuriki weren't treated well, but this was unnecessary.

Jugo took a deep breath, his senses picking up on something moving fast towards him. He didn't let on that he could sense them, hoping that giving them the appearance of the upper hand would go a ways towards a peaceful meeting. He didn't want to fight anyone without good reason, especially a jinchuuriki. It came as little surprise when the individual tried the stealthy approach, keeping their distance and watching him carefully. So, the jinchuuriki was cautious. That was something Jugo could work around. Grabbing a piece of paper from beneath his cloak, he wrote a note and left it on the arm of the favoured chair before casually leaving and disappearing into back into the forest. With any luck, he wouldn't have to do any chasing.

Now, it was time to go and spoil some more animals.

{I}

"Anyone want to explain what the fuck just happened?" an irate voice asked to the group of eight.

"As much as it pains me to side with the idiot, I too am curious," another said.

Pain was unphased by the questioning stares of the Akatsuki members, his own eyes focused on the now missing finger of the Gedo Mazo. The missing rings of both Orochimaru and Konan was already enough of a setback, and now this too. He would have to see if the damage persisted with the demons next summoning. Either way, Naruto Uzumaki had just proven himself to be a bigger thorn in his side than he had a right to be. The Kyuubi jinchuuriki was, unfortunately, required to be sealed last, so no direct move could be made as of yet. Something would still have to be done, lest another unfortunate run in were to occur.

"Nothing for any of you to concern yourselves with," Pain said simply.

"Bullshit!" Hidan yelled.

"Perhaps the Kyuubi should be made a priority," Sasori suggested.

"I wouldn't complain about moving us up in the que," Kisame said with a grin, Samehada chittering excitedly on his back.

"No," Pain said sternly. "The Kyuubi must be sealed last. No excuses. You will all keep your distance until such a time as I instruct otherwise. Accidents will be dealt with accordingly." He made sure to stare deep into the soul of the religious fanatic with his last statement, making the immortal audibly gulp. There was still much debate on just how much good that immortality would do against a god, and Pain was beginning to desire to test it. "You will all return to your targets. Hidan, Kakuzu, you two are the closest to our next target. The actions of the Kyuubi jinchuuriki will require us to move up our timetable. Is there any issue with that?"

Kakuzu scoffed. "My old village has the girl outcast to beyond the village walls," he said. "Taking her will be a simple task. Just make sure everyone else is ready for another sealing as soon as possible."

"Do not underestimate the jinchuuriki," Pain said. "Even without perfect synchronicity, they are unpredictable. The Nanabi especially." That was more to say that there were very little records of what kind of abilities the jinchuuriki of the Nanabi might have access to courtesy of the bijuu. Others were easier to plan around. "It would be annoying to have to replace your skillset, Kakuzu."

"Oi! What about me?"

Pain merely glared at Hidan before severing the connection to the two immortals. "Sasori, Deidara, move for the Ichibi. If you have a chance to take it before the Nanabi is captured, do so."

"Hell yeah! Time to show that dusty sandpit what true art is," Deidara cheered.

Sasori grumbled. "Suna is already well aware of true art, you insufferable fool. I left several of my lesser pieces there for them to remember me by," he said. "Hmm, perhaps I can add yet another Kazekage to my collection."

"Your clunky toys are the worst form of art I've ever laid eyes on," Deidara said. "If it were up to me, I'd blow-"

"Enough!" Pain said. "You have your orders. Do not return without your target, or good reason to be empty handed."

The two artists grumbled and left. Pain turned his eyes to the remaining three members. "Keep your distance from the Kyuubi jinchuuriki. Remain mobile enough to be ready to aid or recover either of the other two teams, should it be necessary. The rings are the priority. We cannot afford to lose any more. Use whatever methods you require to ensure that is of no future concern. Second priority is making sure the Uzumaki doesn't interfere."

Kisame grinned wide and laughed. "Oh, this'll be fun," he said. "What do you think, Itachi. Wanna go and see who dies first?"

Itachi remained stoic. "Let's go. We have ground to cover."

With that, the two men abruptly left, leaving only two. "This is all quite interesting," the white half of Zetsu said in amusement. "Annoying more like it. The Kyuubi jinchuuriki is a problem," the black half added.

"I will handle the Uzumaki when the time comes," Pain said. "Until then, I need you to keep an eye on things. Make sure our mutual friend knows that I am moving the timetable forward. We cannot afford to waste time anymore."

"Madara will be most pleased with that notion," Black-Zetsu said. "We will try and find out all we can. Maybe even take one of his comrades for good measure," White-Zetsu said with a predatory grin.

Pain watched as the plant-like man disappeared before turning his eyes back to the remains of the statues missing finger. Looking down at the now dead jinchuuriki on the ground, he noticed the man seemed to have died with a smile on his face. That was interesting. From what he had seen from the last two extractions, the process was immensely painful. The Rokubi jinchuuriki had been enough of a concern for Pain to have elected himself for the capture, and he was glad that he had. The man had proven to be a powerful opponent. That being said, had Pain known of this apparent connection between jinchuuriki, he would have held off on the capture. Using the Rokubi to lure the Kyuubi into a trap would have been a preferable outcome. Perhaps such an opportunity would appear again, given the Kyuubi jinchuuriki's apparent desire to go against them so earnestly.

His thoughts lingered to his former partner, whom he knew was now working alongside the Uzumaki. It had been a difficult thing, to lose the last part of who he was before all of this, to lose his last remaining friend, to lose Konan. He had held out hope for some time that she would come to her senses, that she would see things clearly once more and return to his side. Those hopes were gone now. That was okay. More pain was good. It helped him solidify his resolve, refocus on his goal. The world would know pain, just as he did. They would learn to never inflict it upon others ever again. That was his promise. That was his word. The word of a god.

{I}

Utakata had been kind and gentle man. That much Yugito could tell just from the short time she spent with him. He was so careful to explain everything to her, always checking to make sure she understood, even if there hadn't been a whole lot to explain. Temari had chimed in from time to time, though the young Kazekage seemed more focused on taking in everything Utakata said. Considering it was the man's last words, that made sense, so Yugito had done the same. She owed that much to someone who otherwise would have died alone and silently. Yugito didn't know what Saiken was saying to Matatabi, but the stoic way her bijuu listened to its kin, never once interrupting, showed that she was extending the same courtesy to the other bijuu that Yugito and Temari were to Utakata.

When all was said and done, they used what little time there was left to share stories. Brief glimpses into each other's lives as jinchuuriki, the struggles they shared in. Yugito was especially interested in Temari's story, having chosen to shoulder the burden willingly even after seeing what it did to her little brother. She wasn't sure if she would have been able to do the same. Sure, she and Matatabi got along well, but it was a relationship of necessity rather than choice. Kumo would have simply found another jinchuuriki had she not been able to use the bijuu's powers effectively, that much had been made clear. It was obvious Temari held no love for the Ichibi, though she didn't seem to hate the beast either. That seemed to be the general mood behind bijuu/jinchuuriki relationships. Neither side liked their situation, but at least efforts were being made to coexist peacefully. It seemed that these little telepathic meetings were helping in that regard, based on what Utakata implied.

And then he was gone. There was no slow departure, no meaningful goodbye. Saiken simply vanished from the space, Utakata following shortly after with a smile on his face, offering only a soft 'good luck' before fading. It happened faster than Yugito would have expected, and it hit her much harder than she would have liked. Yugito was no stranger to death. Many shinobi had fallen to her hand, and she had lost many comrades over the years. The death of a stranger shouldn't have mattered to her, yet it did. Part of her understood why. She hadn't known any other jinchuuriki outside of B, whom had been such an unstoppable force that the very idea of a jinchuuriki being taken down easily was laughable. The idea that she herself would someday reach that level had been instilled in her from a young age. That idea was gone now.

Utakata was strong. Stronger than Yugito, that much was clear. He was the jinchuuriki of a much more powerful bijuu than her own, a shinobi of enough skill that he warranted the attention of the Akatsuki's leader, and the fight had been hopelessly one sided. Yugito was confident in her strength, in her skills and training, but seeing Utakata die like that… would she even be a challenge for Akatsuki? It was a humbling thought, though not as humbling as the realisation that her best chances of not being hunted down and succumbing to the same fate was to trust the very people that had stolen her from her home. The Raikage was not going to like this one bit.

"Wanna tell me what the fuck that was all about?" Tayuya asked heatedly.

Yugito opened her eyes and looked around. She was still in the room, only now she was joined by the real Tayuya, a large hole in the wall behind her where the door would have been. "Utakata…" she whispered.

"Oh good, you met bubble boy," Tayuya said, rolling her eyes. "Still doesn't answer my question."

"He's dead."

Yugito watched Tayuya closely. The redhead didn't even flinch at the statement. Her expression simply went flat, and all hostility washed away in an instant.

"Shit," Tayuya said emotionlessly, briefly glancing at the hole in the wall. "Akatsuki?" Yugito nodded and the redhead sighed deeply. "You on our side now or what?"

Yugito tensed at the question. Was she? Self-preservation urged her to say yes, but loyalty to Kumo would demand she refuse. These people, no matter their intentions, had gone against her village in their methods. Yugito would be seen as a traitor for aiding them in any way. If she refused, well, it was only a matter of time before the threat of Akatsuki was deemed no longer valid, then she and B would be sent out by themselves again, ripe for the taking.

"I… I don't know," Yugito answered honestly.

Tayuya frowned. "Whatever," she said. "You can wait here then until Naruto gets back. Try make up your mind before that. If you aren't going to help us, then we'll dump you back in Kumo and you're on your own."

Yugito nodded in understanding before tilting her head curiously at the girl. "You and Naruto… are together?" she asked. It wasn't to say such a couple was unbelievable, just that it was so uncommon for jinchuuriki to create such bonds. For obvious reasons, most chose to stay away from them; be it by order of the village or just a general understanding that death often surrounded such individuals.

"That a problem?"

"No. Just curious," Yugito said, eyes drifting down to the girl's puppet arm as she wondered about a particular detail Tayuya had told her back in Kumo. "And he-"

"Yes," Tayuya answered quickly. "What of it?"

"So, you understand then," Yugito said. "What it's like to have love and loyalty for someone even if they have hurt you in the past."

Tayuya glared at the blonde. "Not the same thing as your stupid village. Sooner you realise that the better."

Yugito picked up the canteen of water and took a sip that didn't betray how thirsty she actually was. Tayuya was right, it wasn't the same thing, but it was oh so similar. Kumo wasn't perfect, she knew that. It had dealt her its own brand of pain over the years. Still, it was her village, her home, her life. No matter how bad things got, she wasn't sure she could ever go against the life she knew, not truly.

She didn't speak up again. Tayuya fixed the hole in the wall with an earth jutsu and resealed the room before leaving the blonde to her thoughts. Yugito was thankful for the alone time for once. She needed to think about what she had been told, what she was going to say once Naruto returned. Reaching out, she dragged the fresh tray of food closer and started eating. Being poisoned was the last thing on her mind right now.

{I}

Fu waited patiently for the stranger's chakra signature to disappear in the distance. Whoever he was, his chakra was strange, and his presence was enough to make even Chomei suggest they keep their distance. Why anyone would be here, lurking around her home, was beyond the green haired girl. No one came out here unless to summon her back to the village or give her a mission. Even then, they often tried to do as quickly as humanly possible. This stranger had taken his time, investigated her house, shown no sign of caring about where he was. It could have been stupidity, or ignorance, though Fu doubted it. Everyone knew this was where she lived, and it certainly wasn't in the path anyone would take while travelling. For someone to be here, they had to know where they were going, or had to be looking for something, namely her.

Slinking into her tiny abode, Fu was careful of where she stepped. While no expert trapper by any definition, she had taken up the habit of leaving some surprises for anyone who might want to mess with her stuff. She half expected the stranger to trip one of them during his little intrusion, only being mildly disappointed when he walked out unscathed. If that wasn't a clear indicator that she needed to up her game, then she didn't know what was. With a practiced routine, she deactivated the handful of traps and began a thorough investigation of her own. Fu checked everything, making sure nothing was missing or out of place, keeping her eyes open for any nasty surprises that may have been left behind for her. Eventually, she had to admit defeat with no small amount of confusion.

The only thing out of the ordinary was the note sitting on the arm of her chair. Fu was suspicious of it at first, not daring to go near it despite it being right there in the one place she so desperately wanted to curl up on. Chomei assured her that there was no discernible chakra in the paper, not that it made either of them any more comfortable with the idea. The things that could be accomplished with Fuinjutsu were beyond the realms of her imagination, so a healthy level of fear for all written things was understandable, especially for a jinchuuriki. Fu's whole life, as it was, had been the direct result of a sealing technique; she wouldn't so carelessly let another get the better of her, even if it made her look like a superstitious fool.

As time dragged on and the comfort of her chair continued to call to her, Fu found herself inching closer and closer to the offending piece of paper until it was tiredly picked up and folded open. She read it, then read it again, and again. Maybe she was too tired to truly register it the first four times, maybe she was losing her mind. Either way, it couldn't be right.

'Uhh, Chomei? Who's Kurama?' Fu asked her bijuu curiously. 'And how do they know your name?'

The beast inside of her stirred uncomfortably. "That is a name no human should know, child," the Nanabi said, knowing the Kyuubi's lifelong hatred for humanity. The fox would never give its name out without good reason, let alone the names of the other bijuu. "We should tread carefully. Something isn't right about this."

Fu frowned and looked down at the note once more.

'Dear Chomei and friend,

We mean you no harm. If you would like to talk, please come find me when you are ready. Kurama would like to see you.

Sincerely, a friend, Jugo.'

Fu knew better than to trust anyone these days. Whoever this Kurama was, Chomei didn't seem too keen on the idea of meeting them. The stranger that had left the note, Jugo she figured, was another story. A friend? Yeah right. No one was her friend. It had to be a trick to get her to let her guard down. How gullible did he think she was. Even if she weren't a jinchuuriki, her shinobi training alone would have her question the sincerity of that parting statement. This wasn't the kind of world where people were thoughtlessly kind to people they didn't know. Fu knew that well. With a furrowed brow she pocketed the letter and curled up on her chair. Chomei would keep her feelers out for anything while she slept, as was the usual agreement, however Fu could tell that this evening was different for the bijuu. There was a seriousness to Nanabi that Fu hadn't seen many times before.

'Are you sure you're alright?' Fu asked.

Chomei eased up on its anxious fretting, its chakra settling as it reduced its sensing area to a more manageable perimeter. "I am fine, child. Worry not," it said. "Get some rest. I will think on the note, and we can talk in the morning. If what it says is true, then our plans may have to take place a little sooner than we thought."

Fu's eyes widened at that. Their plan? Soon? No way. They still had years before they would be ready for that. What could change things so drastically? Who the hell was Kurama? So many questions, Fu didn't know where to start and she was too tired to figure it out. As she drifted off to sleep, only one question stuck with her all the way into blissful unconsciousness.

Was she ready to run away from Taki yet?

A/N:

Wooh! Still updating. Who would have thought it. Does feel good to be back in the swing of things again. Thank you everyone who has left positive feedback, it has helped me a lot. Anyway, here's the next chapter, hope you enjoyed. Thought it was about time I started moving things forward with Akatsuki. Might seem a little rushed, not sure, but it also feels right somehow.

Before anyone complains about the whole ring and Gedo Mazo thing, I myself am a firm believer that the rings were supposed to be far more important in canon than they were, so I'm running with it. Plus, the idea of there actually being a way of disabling the stupid thing before it becomes an issue really helps seal off the bullshit black Zetsu/Kaguya/aliens stuff that I don't want to delve into. Do with that information what you will.

Yugito is being brought into the fold, Fu won't be far behind it seems. Utakata was just unlucky. Sorry buddy.

Had someone complain on an earlier chapter that this story had no goals or motivations for my characters, so I'm trying to mend that. Too little too late, I'm sure, but I'm trying. Anyway...

500 REVIEWS!

You guys are awesome. This is a big milestone for me and this fic. The fact that a majority of those reviews have been positive is just mind blowing. Thank you, all of you. Please keep them coming, they fuel my soul.

Till next time.

Soul out.