DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR ANY ASSOCIATED CHARACTERS

Apologies for the delay in chapters, I've been a bit busy with a few things lately, as well as a bit of writer's block. But I managed to get this chapter out. Hope all of you enjoy, and drop a review if you want to see more!

Chapter 23 - Battles Rage

The rear guard was a mess. From the looks of it, all of the Jonin had rallied at the front lines. While that meant they had a greater chance of delaying the enemy or even pushing them back, it also meant that inexperienced Chunin made up the bulk of the rear guard.

A series of temporary garrison posts seemed to have been set up along the roads, but they were poorly positioned, and the garrisoning Chunin were all out of place. Seeing this, Obito landed in the middle of the nearest one and started barking orders.

"You call this a defense? Move those barricades to block the street, and set up long range fighters on roofs on either side of the road. The rest of you, take up a layered defense formation, and look fucking alive! This is a damn warzone!"

Most of the Chunin obeyed without question, simply due to Obito's status as a shinobi. Those who dared to have a questioning thought were silenced by a single glare from the blood red sharingan. "Who the hell is in charge here?!" Obito demanded to the makeshift garrison.

"We report directly to Iruka, sir," one of the Chunin said stiffly.

Obito flexed his jaw in annoyance. He and the schoolteacher had never seen eye to eye, and this was the last thing that he needed to deal with right now. "And where can I find him?" the Uchiha asked through his teeth.

Following the directions of one of the shinobi, he came to what looked to be Konoha's temporary headquarters. It was really just a shop that had been converted into a command tent, where Iruka pored over a map of the city. A series of X's had been placed along key intersections of the roads, as well as the rooftops. Obito recognized them as the places where the barricades had been placed.

"I should have known that you'd screw up something so simple," Obito said with an icy tone as soon as he entered the shop. "Can't even command a rear guard, can you?"

Iruka looked surprised to see him, but before the teacher could speak, Obito silenced him with a raised hand. "Before you speak, I've already repositioned your checkpoints. Now, I just have one question. Where are my students?"

"The last time I saw them, they were escorting a group of civilians to the trauma center at the base of the Hokage's Tower. That's where Rin has set up a temporary medical care station," Iruka relayed.

The Uchiha turned on his heel and stalked out, following Iruka's directions. Obito never approved of how soft Iruka was, and as far as he was concerned, this was the icing on the cake. Not only did he ill prepare students for shinobi life, but his lack of preparedness and tactical know-how really got under Obito's skin.

Obito knew that something was wrong the moment he arrived at the temporary clinic. For one, his Genin were nowhere to be found, and neither were any other Genin. The Uchiha never slowed his pace until he arrived at the base of the Hokage's Tower, in the middle of what looked to be an intensive care area.

Civilians and shinobi alike were bleeding, crying in pain, or even lying still in the cases where care was no longer needed, their souls having passed on already. The sharingan in Obito's head scanned the area, desperately, frantically searching for any sign of his Genin. Deep down, he began to doubt his decision to send them off on their own, at least until a voice behind him called his name.

"Obito-sensei?"

Whirling around, Obito was instantly filled with a small amount of relief, seeing Sakura running towards him. He ran a hand through his shaggy brown hair as she came to a halt. "What're you doing here? I thought you'd be on the front lines by now."

Obito ignored her question. "You alright? Where are the others? Were you separated? Where are the rest of the Genin?"

"I'm fine. I have some first aid experience under my belt because of Rin-sensei, so I volunteered to stay here and help with the wounded," she replied.

"Naruto and Sasuke?" Obito pressed.

"They went straight to the gate after they heard Guy-sensei was heading there. They went to deliver your message," Sakura said, a cautious tone taking root as she was wary of Obito's burning intensity.

Obito ran a hand across his face. "Fuck, I knew I shouln't have told you all to do that. That was my responsibility. What about the rest of the Genin? Did they not make it?"

The pinkette pointed towards the mountain behind them. "They're serving as guides for the evacuating civilians. I'd be there, too, if I didn't have first aid training."

Sakura didn't think she'd ever seen Obito like this. He genuinely looked worried, a sharp change from his usual cold indifference. The emotion was clear from behind his eyes, piercing the sharingan.

"I'm sure they're on their way back right now, sensei," Sakura offered. Truth be told, she was worried as well. Naruto and Sasuke had been gone for some time, much longer than they should have been. She wasn't certain of anything when it came to those two, but there was a significant chance that they'd run into trouble along the way.

Unfortunately, there would be no way to tell, seeing as neither of them were here. Sakura would just have to trust in her teammates' abilities and return to her duties. That's what a true shinobi would do.

"Obito?" a voice called, causing the Uchiha to turn.

"Rin," he recognized. "Any word on Naruto and Sasuke?"

The kunoichi looked bewildered. "I haven't seen them since the arena. Did something happen to them?"

"I don't know," Obito shook his head. "But I'm going to find out."

Before the two kunoichi could so much as blink, their clothes were ruffled by the sheer power of Obito's leap. The burst of chakra from his soles had created cracks in the concrete of the courtyard. Rin set her mouth in a grim line.

"Why do I get the feeling that he's going to do something stupid?" she wondered aloud. Turning her attention towards Sakura, she said, "All the wounded here are stable. Get them evacuated safely, then follow them in the rearguard with the rest of the Medical Corps."

"What about you?" Sakura asked.

Rin gave her a hard look. "I'm going after him."

Minato was conflicted, which was not something that he needed to be while fighting one of the Tailed Beasts. On one hand, his village was in danger, and it was his duty as Hokage to do everything in his power to protect it. On the other, if he was truly unable to wake Gaara, would killing the boy be a necessity to protect his village? He hoped that it didn't come to that.

From within the Nine Tails' chakra, Minato could calmly observe each of the One Tails' movements, and provide a counter. It wasn't a question of whether he could stop the beast or not. It was if he could do it without killing the boy.

"You're getting soft, Hokage," the demon fox said from within Minato. "You wouldn't have even flinched at killing that boy twelve years ago."

Gritting his teeth, Monato had to resist a counter statement. He and the fox weren't exactly on the best of terms, and this partnership was one of necessity, rather than friendship. They each got something they wanted. For Minato, he gained the ability to fight the One Tails on more than equal ground. And for the Nine Tails, he got a chance to beat up on his younger sibling. It was a win-win.

As for the fox's accusation, there was an element of truth to it. He'd slaughtered shinbi by the dozens during the last War, but those days were behind him, or so he hoped. In truth, Naruto's birth was what had set him upon that path. Having a son that was his sole responsibility had given him a new perspective on killing. Did eah shinobi he killed have children? Wives? Husbands? He tried not to dwell on it, or he'd be haunted for the rest of his life.

Back in the present, a tail swipe from the One Tails was caught underneath the left arm of the Nine Tails. Minato countered with a right hand to the lower jaw, and followed it up with an elbow to the gut. Then, still retaining his grip on the tail, he used it to swing the One Tails over head, and slammed him against the ground. Coming to a rest on its back, the One Tails let out a roar of pain, Gaara's limp body hanging backwards now.

Taking this opportunity, Minato quickly allowed the chakra of the Nine Tails to dissipate, then used an earlier mark to teleport directly to Gaara. He began to shake the boy, but to no avail. It seemed more and more likely that death would be an outcome, at least until Kurama spoke from within.

"Use my chakra. The pulse should push that disappointment of a sibling back into him," the fox growled. In Minato's head, the image of the fox lounging behind him, as if it were naptime, burned in his mind. Regardless, the beast was right. His chakra would suffice.

Minato placed his hand onto Gaara's, and began to infuse chakra just as the One Tails began to stir beneath his feet. But before the beast could clamber to its feet and wreak more havoc, Minato allowed the darker orange chakra of the Nine Tails to travel through to Gaara.

The result was instant. The One Tails' body began to fade into sand, which was sucked back into Gaara's body as Minato held the unconscious boy in his arms. As the process continued, Minato noted the sealing formula, and frowned with disapproval. Whoever did the seal for this boy had made a critical error. No wonder the boy was so volatile. This allowed the beast to take control at any point were the boy to become unconscious.

Right on queue, Gaara's eyes snapped open, and his pupils began to flit both right and left. The sand around him began to rise in his defense, but Minato acted quickly, and held one of his three-pronged kunai to the boy's throat.

"Move, and I won't hesitate," Minato said in a low voice. By now, the pair were standing in the center of the massive arena. Ruts the size of ships had been dug in the ground from the two beasts' claws, and chunks of the stadium seats had been reduced to rubble. The faint sounds of combat were drifting in, but the pair were alone.

"Your village has betrayed us," Minato said with narrowed eyes. "It's clear that you were a piece of their plan, so you'll be coming with me."

Naruto was on his toes, ready for anything that Zabuza and Kabuto could throw at him. With Bushier-Brow Sensei, he knew that Zabuza could at least be occupied for the moment. But Kabuto was a wild card. He'd been present during the Chunin Exams, but he'd opted out before the elimination matches could begin, so there was no way of knowing what kind of abilities that the spectacled boy possessed. It was clear now that he'd been scouting for Orochimaru, but scouting whom?

Coupling the mystery surrounding Kabuto with the prospect of facing Zabuza again was certainly intimidating, Naruto knew that much. He could feel the killer intent flowing off of him, but it felt different from the last time. When they first faced him, all of his killer intent had been directed straight towards them, reinforcing the reality that he was here to kill them. But this time, it was as if it was directed somewhere else.

Naruto glanced to Sasuke on his right. "You feel that?"

"Yeah," the Uchiha heir replied, narrowing his eyes. "He's different."

From next to the pair, Guy shot them a thumbs up. "You two don't worry about him. I'll take care of him. Just focus on the other one."

Sasuke nodded, activating his sharingan, but he was stopped by an outstretched hand from Naruto. The blonde had a dead serious look in his eye, as if he were doing an impression of Obito.

"What plan do you have in mind?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto shook his head. "No plan. Just me. You're in no condition to fight anyone."

"What?" Sasuke looked almost angered at the accusation. "And you are?"

Naruto didn't bother to look at him, focusing his gaze on Kabuto. "You've already fought in three matches today, using the sharingan in each one of them. Your chakra is dangerously low, ya know?"

"I can still fight! You're my friend, I'm not leaving you here!" Sasuke protested.

"It's because we're friends that I'm saying this. Bushier Brow-sensei and I can handle these guys, or at least hold them off long enough for backup to get here," Naruto said. Then, he turned and gave Sasuke a thumbs up, a wide grin on his face. "Don't worry about me. You get back to Iruka-sensei and help evacuate."

Sasuke looked like he wanted to protest further, but Guy smiled and mimicked Naruto's action. "Don't you worry. I'll have him back in no time. Just go warn the others that Kakashi and Orochimaru are behind all this."

Sasuke half sighed, half growled. "I don't like this, but I see your point. I'll go. But if you die, I'm gonna kill you myself."

Naruto chuckled dryly. "I'd expect nothing less. Get out of here."

Sasuke leapt away without a word. Neither Kabuto nor Zabuza even made a move to pursue, simply watching the retreating Uchiha. Kabuto smirked in amusement, while Zabuza nodded.

"Good choice. We would have killed him," Zabuza said, malice absent in his voice.

Naruto was genuinely confused now. "Whose side are you even on?!"

"Oh, Zabuza here has reasons to work with us that you wouldn't understand, Naruto. Now be a good boy and come along with us, before this gets any messier. Capturing you wouldn't be such a hassle if Lord Orochimaru and Kakashi were to do this personally, but I'm afraid the pair of them have their own matters to attend to," Kabuto sighed sarcastically. "I suppose I'll have to get my hands dirty, then."

"The hell you want me for?" Naruto scrunched his brow. What could these criminals possibly want from him other than a ransom from his dad? Then again, if they were looking for a ransom, there were easier men to negotiate with. Minato would kill them in an instant rather than pay to have Naruto back.

Hearing this, Guy instantly became more suspicious of Orochimaru and Kakashi's plan. If that was even possible. Was it possible that they knew about the Kyuubi inside of Naruto? If that was the case, then Guy was wary of what men like those two could do with a Tailed Beast.

The taijutsu master took a few steps forward, covering Naruto in a defensive position. "Change of plans, Naruto. You and I are gonna fight these two together. You'll be my backup, so cover me in any way you can," Guy said, flashing his pearly whites and dropping into his stance.

Naruto nodded wordlessly, ready to get to the fighting part and end the conversation, seeing as all it did was confuse him more and more. The air grew thick with suspense, both sides waiting for the other to make the first move. Predictably, Zabuza ran out of patience first, breaking into a dead sprint towards them. Guy rushed forward to meet him, fist already flying forwards.

Zabuza brought his forearm into position in front of him, catching Guy's fist square on the blade. Any other shinobi would have shattered their knuckles and wrist from the impact that reverberated through the steel, but Zabuza could sense that this one was different. He didn't even look like he felt pain from that strike.

Guy used his momentum to rotate his body, flicking his legs out to his right, where he clotheslined Kabuto. The silver-haired boy was knocked onto his back, where clones of Naruto sprang into action, intending to pounce on him and restrain him. But Kabuto's hand began to glow with chakra, forming blades around his palms, which he used to slice through both of the first two clones.

Zabuza rotated, bringing his blade round in a sweep that threw Guy off of the blade. The taijutsu master slid to a halt on the street, Naruto appearing behind him and smacking a fist into his palm. The pair of grinning Konoha shinobi only served to anger Kabuto and Zabuza even more. While Zabuza may not have seemed like he wanted to kill them, he still had the pride of a high-level shinobi, and that meant that he hated losing.

Kabuto, on the other hand, only showed his anger through a narrowing of his eyes. From behind his glasses, it looked as if he were squinting, but Naruto knew better. He stayed on the balls of his feet, ready to dart in any direction in the event of an attack.

In a low voice, Zabuza began to speak to Kabuto from beneath his bandages. "Get ready to grab the kid."

After making a few hand signs, a thick mist began to blow into the village, covering several blocks, with Zabuza at the epicenter. Soon, it grew so thick that Naruto could barely see the outline of Guy mere feet to his left.

"Stay alert, Naruto. Watch how the fog moves and you'll be able to track him," Guy said steadily.

In response, Naruto created three clones of himself, and they all stood back to back with one another, ready to respond to any situation. There were moments when he thought he saw a flash of movement, then there were others where he figured that it was just his breath displacing the fog. He couldn't be sure, and it was setting him on edge.

Just when Naruto thought the fog was fake, a distraction placed down by Zabuza so they could escape, he heard the swordsman's voice near his ear.

"Sorry kid."

Naruto barely had time to register the fact that Zabuza had completely penetrated his back to back formation, and his blade began to descend, ready to cleave him in half, or so he thought. The blunt edge of the sword was the one being used, though it didn't seem to matter. Just when Naruto thought he was going to die, Guy's foot knocked the blade aside, causing a massive rut in the dirt.

"I think it's time to get serious," Naruto could hear the smirk in Guy's voice as he landed back on the ground.

Zabuza disappeared back into the mist, but his voice responded, reverberating back and forth as if he were standing in four different locations within the mist. "Bring it on."

Without warning, Naruto could see as the mist was blown away. The power emanating off of Guy had seen to that. His skin had turned red, and he had a wide smile on his face.

"Eight Inner Gates: Sixth Gate of Joy, open!"

While Kakashi didn't necessarily enjoy Orochimaru's company most of the time, he was always glad to have him around during matters of combat. The pair of them could confidently handle any threat with a degree of ease, depending on said threat. But when Kakashi was separated from his partner, he became even more dangerous, like a caged animal. After all, a beast is at its most dangerous when backed into a corner.

The pair had traversed the rooftops together up to this point, but Kakashi stopped when he reached a taller residential building. "This is it."

Orochimaru gave a wry smile. "Does Kakashi not enjoy my company anymore? Very well, I suppose I have my own business to take care of. Do try not to get yourself killed. I don't want that fool Deidara placed with me."

The Sannin leapt away, sensing Kakashi beginning to travel in another direction. The white-haired shinobi always was rash, but he was strong. His vendetta would be partially completed today, with the rest well on the way to completion. Orochimaru understood Kakashi's vendetta better than most. After all, their situations were perhaps identical.

The deaths of their former teammates and mentors were at the top of their lists. But Kakashi seemed to be staying the course while Orochimaru was taking a detour. Prioritizing a new body was more important than the revenge he'd been craving for years. What's another few years when you're immortal.

Orochimaru allowed these thoughts to run as he leapt from rooftop to rooftop, searching for his target. He would know from the unique chakra signature and general power emanating from him. After all, each Uchiha was one of a kind.

But as Orochimaru searched, he became aware of a familiar chakra signature approaching from directly ahead of him. Sighing lightly, Orochimaru came to a halt and crossed his arms on a large rooftop. A smirk set itself on his lips as the newcomer made himself known.

He wore red and white robes with a matching hat, the kanji for fire set into the brim. His goatee had long since shifted to white, and he had liver spots on his face. Despite these hindrances, he looked to be in good condition, if only judging from the look of sheer determination that seemed to bore into Orochimaru's soul.

"Why, Sarutobi-sensei, what a welcome sight," Orochimaru said sarcastically.

The retired Hokage scoffed. "Don't play those games with me, Orochimaru. We both know you're responsible for this devastation. I should've stopped you long ago, but I won't make the same mistake twice."

In an instant, the robes were replaced with green battle armor, striking a much different figure than the previous decrepit old man look. Orochimaru cackled with amusement. "Oh, Sarutobi-sensei, as much as I'd love to tangle with you and exact my revenge, I'm afraid that I have other matters to attend to. But don't worry, I'll leave you in capable hands."

A questioning brow rose on Hiruzen's face as Orochimaru clapped his hands together. "Reanimation Jutsu!"

From the ground, two coffins rose, numbered one and two respectively. Hiruzen's eyes grew wide with realization, only serving to fuel Orochimaru's amusement. "Oh, don't worry. The jutsu isn't perfect, but I believe that these two will be sufficient to deal with you while I go attend to my own matters," Orochimaru grinned as the coffin lids fell to the ground.

The First and Second Hokage, each adorned with their battle armor, stepped from the coffins. Their eyes were blank and completely emotionless, but they radiated power. They had cracks in their skin, as if they had been made from paper.

Hiruzen took an involuntary step back, mouth open in disbelief. "Lord Hashirama, and Lord Tobirama! Are there no limits to your perversions, Orochimaru?!"

"If only it were I making you shake like that, sensei," Orochimaru teased before laughing again. "Regardless, I'm sure the three of you have some catching up to do. I'll leave you to it."

He waved sadistically to Hiruzen before his chakra propelled him off of the roof. As much as he'd like to stay and witness the murder of his former sensei, he had more important things to attend to. Things that would ensure that his future plans would succeed.

B had to admit, this giant snake was proving to be his toughest opponent in years. Evidently, it had extensive experience fighting other large adversaries, or else B was confident he would have been able to end things by now. Oddly enough, the more they fought, the angrier Manda seemed to get. It was as if he wasn't taking damage, only growing angrier.

Not to mention that B was severely handicapped when it came to the amount of power he could use in this particular fight. He couldn't risk a Tailed Beast Bomb, or he would level the village. That was sure to put him in hot water with the Hokage, as well as his brother, the Raikage.

The latest punch hit Manda in the jaw, causing him to rock backwards, but he'd been ready for that. As his momentum was reversed, he threw his tail towards B, wrapping it around his waist and heaving. The entirety of the bulky Eight Tails went over Manda's head, thrown directly into a nearby building. Rubbly fell down over B's eyes as Manda cackled.

"You are not worthy of challenging me! No one is!" the snake roared.

"This isn't going as well as you thought it would, B," the Eight Tails warned from within.

B smirked. "Yo, don't you know I'm a pro? I got this all under control!"

Willing himself to get back up, the eight-tailed ox clambered back off of the ground. B grit his teeth as Manda glared back, hissing lightly as he coiled up. Then, as if shot from a bow, Manda struck forwards, fangs aiming for B's neck. The forearm of the beast knocked Manda's head aside, leaving his neck open. B wrapped his tentacles around Manda's neck, and used the leverage to swing up in the air.

When he was directly overhead, B squirted ink from the sack he knew to be part of the Eight Tails. It fell directly downwards, landing all over Manda's face, most importantly his eyes. The snake recoiled from the new sensation, and began to rub his face in the dirt to clear the discomfort from his eyes. Due to his lack of hands, it became a difficult task that only served to agitate him even further. Blind and angry, Manda roared, a primal thing, born of rage, and B could feel it, even if he lacked sympathy.

"I think it's time for you to go, before I put you on death row," B rhymed, cracking the knuckles of his massive avatar. Manda whirled and thrashed, trying to discern the attacking direction of his opponent, but it was much harder, as he was relying solely on scent.

Surging forwards, B rocked Manda backward with a hook to the jaw. While the snake reeled, B spun on his tentacles and maneuvered behind his foe. Grasping the tip of Manda's tail, he lifted up and began to spin. At first, Manda's sheer weight caused most of him to drag on the ground, but as they spun, he began to gain air. B spun a few more times until finally releasing the tail, causing Manda to fly through the air, back through the main gate, where he'd first come from. A large puff of smoke afterwards signaled the disappearance of the massive snake.

Allowing his Tailed Beast Mode to fade, B landed in a crouch on the ground. Grinning internally, he couldn't help but rub off on the Eight Tails, who couldn't help but smile. "Guess he won't be a problem anymore."

"I sent that fool flying. Now we gotta stop our friends from dying!" B exclaimed as he drew two of his swords and took off towards the town center, where he knew Guy was falling back to. It seemed that things were finally beginning to go their way.

Searching was Obito's least favorite thing to do. He liked to know exactly where everything was at all times. The variable of something being missing wasn't welcome in his mind. Especially when his students were the ones missing.

After working a grid outwards from the garrison posts, he was becoming more and more sure that Naruto and Sasuke would be on the front lines, fighting. They never seemed to listen to his warnings about danger, why would they start now? Running across the rooftops and searching with his sharingan was beginning to turn into torture. The longer the search continued, the higher the likelihood that he'd find his students lying dead in pools of their own blood.

"Obito!"

Glancing over his shoulder as he ran, he was surprised to see that Rin had caught up to him. "Shouldn't you be taking care of the wounded? Why are you following me?"

"This is not the time to be that way, Obito. Your students are missing and we need to find them. It's driving you crazy, I can tell," Rin responded, closing the distance to come alongside him.

Obito flexed his jaw, anger threatening to boil over. Not for Rin, but for those who had dared to attack his village, as well as his students, who had been reckless enough to run off on their own in a warzone.

Finally, Obito sighed in response. "Of course it's driving me crazy, Rin. What observational skills you have there."

"Now's not the time for your passive aggressive sarcasm, Obito," Rin scolded. "We just need to find Naruto and Sasuke."

Just as Obito was about to respond, a dark, bird-shaped shadow covered the pair of them. Sliding to a halt on the roof he stood on, Obito turned his gaze skyward. A large crow was swooping towards them. It slowed its descent as it neared, and flapped its wings to soften the landing. A tall, dark-haired shinobi with the sharingan slid off its back.

"Itachi," Rin smiled with relief. "Thank goodness you're okay."

"Where's Sasuke?" the Uchiha clan head asked.

"Where do you think?" Obito asked, gesturing with both arms to the village before them. "Got himself lost, along with Naruto."

Itachi frowned slightly, eyes flitting between Obito and Rin. "I can search more efficiently from the sky. The pair of you should turn your attention to the enemy shinobi still besieging our village."

"To hell with that, they're my students, that makes them my responsibility," Obito growled. He was more angry with himself than anyone else, seeing as how he'd inadvertently allowed Naruto and Sasuke to go off on their own, placing them in even more danger than they already were in.

Itachi shook his head. "I understand that, but Sasuke is my brother. I'll find him. The front lines could use a presence like yours, Obito. Whether you accept it or not, most of Konoha's shinobi respect your abilities, even if they despise your personality."

Knowing that Obito would argue about this to the ends of the earth, Rin decided to place herself between them. "Itachi's right. We should help in other places. If we push the enemy out of the village, then there won't be any danger to Naruto and Sasuke."

"Precisely. I will find them," Itachi said as he mounted the crow once again. With the flap of wingbeats, he was gone.

Obito whirled on Rin. "They're my responsibility, Rin. And who are you to dictate what I do in a situation like this? If I wanted to, I could wipe this entire army out by myself!"

"Then do it!" Rin fired back. "You can, so why don't you?! I know the answer. It's because you're too busy worrying about your students! I've seen how they've changed you over the past few months, Obito, but you need to allow others to help you. Let Itachi search for them so that we can do our jobs to protect this village!"

Obito turned slightly to the side, fists clenched at his waist. He knew that she was right, but his anger was clouding his judgement. In the past, he would have placed himself between the village and the enemy, not caring what happened to him. But now, he was genuinely worried about individual people for the first time in years.

As he thought, his eyes wandered, the sharingan picking up every detail, one last desperate look for Naruto and Sasuke. Finally, he sighed to himself, and turned back to Rin, ready to accept his role. But before he could agree to it, something over her shoulder caught his eye. His sharingan instantly widening, he roughly grasped Rin's upper arm with his right hand, and threw her to the side.

With his left, he brought it up just in time to catch the wrist that was connected to a blade of lightning.