Keeping a low profile was hard enough as rogue shinobi, especially ones of their caliber. Both of them knew that. But orders were orders. Kisame and Deidara were ordered to hunt down any and all information they could on the traitor of the Akatsuki, Itachi Uchiha.

Despite their years of partnership, Kisame offered little as to where the Uchiha could be. The clay detonating master thought it was somewhat odd. Even he knew his former partner, Sasori of the Red Sand, on a more personal level, and Deidara never saw the man's true face until they retrieved the Akatsuki ring from his lifeless puppet body.

Kisame exited the parlor, the smell of cheap prostitutes and even cheaper liquor following him. "Still nothing. He hasn't been around these parts from what the bartender says."

"Well, maybe we'd have better luck somewhere other than the slums of this forsaken place…hm." The man fiddled with a small piece of detonating clay in his hand as he waited for the shark man to fix the straw hat to his head.

"We have to keep a low profile, per Pain's orders." Kisame stated in remembrance. "Itachi will be harder to find if he sees us coming."

Deidara chuckled, following his new partner. "Sure. Though, I have a feeling he knows we are coming."

Kisame chuckled as well. "Yeah, you're probably right. Itachi was always a planner."

"Sure…a planner…or maybe someone's been tipping him off…hm."

As his reputation states, Kisame is a former member of the Seven Hidden Swordsmen of the Bloody Mist. A group of high-class swordsmen that could, and would, kill anyone that stood in their way. Or simply upset them. Ruthless aggression was key to their success. So, it was not a smart idea to upset Kisame or his sword, Shark Skin.

"…Unlikely. We would have known if someone was following us and reporting it to Itachi. Don't be stupid, Deidara."

An unsuccessful taunt and jab. Deidara had to admit, Kisame was possibly the hardest person to gauge if he was lying. It did not help that he was some kind of a shark-human hybrid for that matter.

Hunting down Itachi seemed like a dream come true to Deidara. After the embarrassment he has felt for years because of his near instant defeat to the Uchiha murderer, he needed revenge on him. This was the perfect chance to kill the bastard and prove the all-powerful Sharingan was overrated and could be simply outplayed.

But the search had been going in circles. Kisame was the most logical person to lead the search for the Akatsuki defector because of their partnership. It seemed like a slam dunk for Deidara and his goal of revenge. But all they had done was go to a few small villages in different lands, talk to a few different informants and bartenders about possible sightings of the man. Not even rumors. Just sightings.

Itachi Uchiha was an ANBU Black Ops Captain at the age of thirteen. He killed the entire Uchiha clan, including Wicked Eye Fugaku, in a single night. He infiltrated Konoha without issue and got the drop on their top jōnin, Kakashi Hatake. Itachi was an S-Rank shinobi and former Akatsuki member for a reason. Simple bartenders and small-town gamblers would never even know Itachi was seated next to them until their blood was splattered on the table.

And worst, and best, of all, he had defeated Deidara with ease.

Something was definitely wrong here.

"Where are we going now? Another small village near the border? Shocker."

"Quit talking before I gut you like the annoying fish you are. I'm tracking the impossible here."

"Sure, you are…tracking…hm."

Kisame stopped in his tracks. His tolerance for Deidara's comments had reached an all time low. And it was about time to shut every mouth that man had.

A signal came in. A voice echoed in both their heads. New orders from the top had just come down.

"Are you sure?" Deidara questioned. "We could succeed in Itachi's failure by capturing them both…hm."

The voice entered their minds again. Quelling the idea before it ever became a plan. There were reasons for his words. There was no need for the subordinates to question them.

"Hm…I suppose you're right. We don't need two villages chasing us."

"Well, well. Someone's finally following orders for once." A small chuckle escaped Kisame's sharp teeth. "And it's a shame really, I always wondered how I would fair against you and those clay objects."

Deidara huffed. "Only if you were so lucky. C'mon, we gotta hurry if we want to capture the Two-Tails."

-With New Team Seven-

"Are you three ready to go?"

While one of the teenagers had a creepish smile plastered on his face, the other two looked at him with grumbled expressions. Frankly, Yamato was not sure how Naruto and Sakura would react to Sai and his rough personality that was devote of emotion. Though, he could sense that something had happened between Naruto and Sai. What that something was, Yamato had yet to figure out.

"Yes, Captain." Sai answered blankly with a creepy smile on face.

"Yeah, I'm good." Naruto stated.

"Roger, sensei." Sakura stated like the others.

Yamato nodded. "Right. It'll take some time for us to connect with Delta Company. Optimally, we should meet up with them at the Fire Country side of the Great Naruto Bridge."

"Say what?" Naruto looked up in utter confusion. "The Great Naruto Bridge?"

Both Sakura and Yamato looked at the blonde in surprise, Sai remained emotionless and looked like he could give less of a shit.

"You didn't know that they named the bridge after you?" Sakura asked.

"Does it look like it I knew that?" Naruto asked sarcastically. "How long has that been a thing?"

"For awhile." Yamato answered. "It seems your heroics during that mission earned you that right."

Sakura looked back at their new team leader. "You know about our mission to the Land of Waves, sensei?"

Yamato nodded. "I know every mission that each of you have been on up until now." Sai's emotionless smile faltered slightly, but it was quickly vanquished. Yamato was quick to notice it. "We can discuss these matters later. We need to begin our journey." The former ANBU Operative turned towards the exit of Konoha. "Let's go!"

The New Team Seven took off for their mission, running at great speeds until they reached the forest and began leaping from tree to tree. Being war time, the team traveled in wedge formation. Yamato took lead, because he was the team leader, while Sakura and Naruto were to his left and Sai to his right. Naruto remained by Sakura because of his ability to create Shadow Clones to protect their team medic.

A thought came to the pinkette's mind. She glanced over her shoulder to her long-time teammate. "Say Naruto?"

"Hm?"

"…You don't know about Tazuna, don't you?"

Naruto's eyebrow shot up in confusion. "What do you mean? What happened?"

Sakura figured as much. If he did not know about the bridge being named after him, how would he have known about Tazuna. "Kakashi sensei and Anko sensei were sent to the Land of Waves on a diplomatic mission to have shinobi stationed there for protection. But while they were there…an Akatsuki pair showed…"

"The Akatsuki?!" Naruto shouted. "What the hell were they doing there?"

"From Kakashi sensei's report, they were there to collect the bounty on Tazuna's head. Kakashi and Anko battled them but…Tazuna was killed. And so was Anko sensei. And if it wasn't for Haku, Kakashi sensei probably would've been killed too."

"Haku? She's still there?" Naruto was surprised by this. He thought she would have left the land and moved on. But then again, it was the place her master died. It was probably extremely hard for her to leave. "I wonder if she was captured too."

"We'll find out when we do our recon. Focus up!" Yamato shouted in an orderly tone.

-Days later, Land of Fire side of Great Naruto Bridge-

"Captain Yamato!"

The man in question, and the rest of New Team Seven, heard the call of his name and turned. Aoba Yamashiro walked towards the captain of the team, adjusting his head band so that it was slightly tilted to the left. Aoba adjusted his red-framed glasses until they were sitting comfortably on his face. Aoba was named the commander of Delta Company when the mission was given by their commanding officer, Genma, from their F.O.B in the Land of Grass.

"Aoba, I was wondering where you all were." Yamato greeted the Tokubetsu Jōnin with a firm handshake. "Hiding out in the tree line?"

Aoba nodded. "We've used the downtime to rest up and prepare ourselves. We have even sent scouts across the bridge to get a better understanding of what's going on over there."

Yamato looked across the bridge, well, what he could see. There was thick blanket of fog that spanned over the entire area, effectively giving Delta Company the cover they would not have anywhere else. "And what have they found?"

Aoba's expression turned serious. "Most of the town is under extreme surveillance. It's impossible to see the civilians have been up to. Our captured shinobi are near the far side of the town, under constant watch. The scouts tried to get close but couldn't."

Yamato nodded. "What type of equipment do they have?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary."

"Did you get eyes in the jinchūriki?"

Naruto's breath hitch silently, not even Sakura noticed it. Aoba continued. "We believe so. The commanding officer, Kurotsuchi, was spotted near the center of the town in the command tent with another female. From the scouts description of her, its Yugito Nii."

Yamato let out a small sigh. "Then it looks like we can begin." He turned to their own jinchūriki. "Naruto…" The blonde turned to the sound of his name. "Are you ready?"

Turning back towards the fog covered bridge, he took in a deep breath. He released out from his mouth; his eyes slitted from the fury of the beast within him. Pressure was building up inside his chest. He had fought another jinchūriki before, this was entirely different. Or it felt like it was. He may not have known Gaara like he does now when they fought, but that fight felt different. Full of emotion that carried each other through it.

This was different. Yugito was just an objective to him. He felt no connection to her. With Gaara, all it took was a simple eye lock and they near instantly understood each other. There was a feeling in the pit of his gut that he would not have that with this female jinchūriki.

She was just his mission.

"Yeah, I'm ready."

Yamato nodded. "Good. Now, Aoba, let's discuss battle plans and evacuation for the civilians…"

-Across the bridge, Land of Wavws-

Kurotsuchi let out a bored sigh. She rubbed the back of her neck as she tried to relieve the kink in it. "Man, how much longer is this going to take?!"

Yugito Nii stopped playing the blue flame in her hand. "What do you mean, Captain Kurotsuchi? How long is what going to take?"

"This damn mission!" Kurotsuchi cried out in frustrating boredom. "This was only supposed to take a few days, but we've been here for almost two weeks! I hate being away from the action."

A thought came to the jinchūriki's mind. "Aren't you the one in charge out here?"

As if Kurotsuchi could be more frustrated, a vein popped in her forehead. "That's why this is so boring! I don't get to do anything!"

Yugito giggled slightly at the Iwa commander's antics. "I don't know what's the problem with the quiet. I like it. It's nice. And honestly, being here beats being back in Kumogakure."

Kurotsuchi raised an eyebrow. "How's that?"

Yugito summoned a small blue flame with her fingers and played with it. "I have freedom here. Lord Raikage doesn't let me or Lord Bee -especially Killer Bee- out of the village much. We're the prized jinchūriki. And because of that, we don't get a lot of free roam."

"Lord Bee?" Kurotsuchi questioned. "Are jinchūriki treated like royalty in Kumogakure?"

Yugito chuckled dryly. "I wouldn't say royalty. We have respect but it's only because Lord Raikage demands it from the villagers and other shinobi. And that only stems from Lord Bee being his brother."

Kurotsuchi was somewhat surprised by this. "Interesting. Iwagakure has some respect for our jinchūriki, but we certainly don't think of them as royalty like Kumogakure."

Yugito quietly glared at the woman, feeling some anger towards her. "Some respect? What's that's mean?"

"Master Roshi is a strong shinobi and all, but he's always disrespectful towards my grandfather. So, I disrespect him all the same. And Han is just a weirdo. He keeps to himself and rarely comes around."

Yugito scoffed. "You say disrespect, but you have some respect for him. You call him master."

"Only because he's so much older. He's been the jinchūriki of the Four-Tailed Beast for the past forty years. The only thing that has lasted longer than him is my grandfather's back problems." Kurotsuchi chuckled to herself at the Tsuchikage's expense.

There a silence between the two women as Kurotsuchi leaned back into her desk chair, trying to figure out a way to relieve some of her boredom. Nothing was coming to mind. Frustration mounted further in the woman.

"Gah!" She grunted. "I need to get laid!"

Yugito scoffed in disgust, rolled her eyes, and promptly exited the tent. She was thoroughly annoyed with the boldness and decorum that Kurotsuchi clearly did not have. Like who just bursts out about their lack of a sex life?

That did make Yugito think about her own love life and wonder if she would ever find that person in her life again. But the poor woman knew better. The twenty-nine-year-old, despite her best efforts, has never found someone to call her own. Even with the respect that she held in her home village, fear and judgement still was apparent. Men, and women for that matter, felt inferior to her status as a jinchūriki. No one wanted to be associated with her in that type of way.

Yugito sighed dejectedly. Maybe that was another reason why she liked to be out of Kumogakure. She was not constantly reminded of her heartache of loneliness.

'Katsuro…'

A name she always had on her mind but never allowed herself to say.

Something stirred inside Yugito's system. "He's here..." A feline, yet beastly, voice echoed in Yugito's head.

Yugito's breath hitched. 'Matatabi!?' The woman gasped. It felt like years since they had last spoke. "Who's here?" She did not bother to whisper or respond internally, s

"…The boy…the jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails, he's here. I knew my brother wouldn't be killed that easily."

Yugito stopped in her tracks. "W-What? The Nine-Tails Jinchūriki? But he was killed my Lord Darui three years ago, wasn't he?"

"That's what everyone was thought to believe, but my brother isn't one to go down that easily. The boy has come for you."

Yugito took in a deep breath, steeling herself for the fight. "Where?"

"The bridge. Meet him there."

"Right!" Yugito broke out in a sprint and made hast towards the Great Bridge.

Meanwhile, the beast within the female jinchūriki held a contemplative expression. The beast was beginning to feel something ominous.

'Kurama…do you feel this too?'

-Outskirts, near the bridge-

"Man, I can't see a thing with this fog! This patrol is pointless!"

"Shut it!" A lwa shinobi yelled aggressively at his partner. "This is duty for now. Don't start complaining on me now."

But in the man's defense, the fog was intense and extremely thick. The Great Bridge- as everyone called it because they refused to reference the jinchūriki of the enemy- was barely visible and the other side could never be seen.

And it was the perfect cover for Delta Company. Using the fog as the natural cover for their infiltration, Konoha shinobi, Izumo and Kotetsu, silently emerged from beneath the surface of the water and quickly sliced the enemy's throats. Blood flew widely as the clean cuts opened their tracheas. The two gasped for air on ground, only for the life to leave their eyes within moments of their fatal injuries.

Aoba shortly followed suit as more Konoha shinobi arose from the water.

"Everyone has their objectives. Move out!"

With a simple wave of the hand, the battle for the Land of Waves had begun…

Initially, Konoha had the element of surprise and took down as many Iwa and Kumo shinobi as they could be the alarm was sounded. In a matter of minutes, every abled bodied shinobi had been mobilized to fight the attacking force. Which gave the recovery team for the captured the perfect opportunity for a rescue. The P.O.W's (Prisoners of War) cheered for their rescue, but quickly snapped back into reality.

A fight for their station was at hand.

Aoba led the charge into the mainland and into the town. The civilians heard the alarm and ran inside their homes or any nearby building for safety. While they were not being mistreated by the Kumo and Iwa shinobi, they were bigger fans of Konoha over anyone else. Regardless, the fighting for the control over their country surrounded them. Whoever won or lost was not on any citizen's mind. They just wanted to survive.

Jutsus laid waste the landscape and buildings. Blood and bodies filled the streets. War had finally come to the Land of Waves.

-With New Team Seven-

Per Aoba's orders, the team was to stay with the secondary invading force and help protect the medical unit. Within a matter of a few minutes, the injured already filled the area. Sakura took it upon herself to lend a hand until it was time for her team to head out into battle. Sai and Yamato discussed strategies and important landmarks would serve well

Naruto stood ready. He was waiting to feel something. Some kind of signal that pointed in the direction of his opponent. According to his new team captain, jinchūriki were somehow drawn to each other in large scale battles. And to his merit, there was some proof. Despite following Sakura's scent and chakra signature, Naruto felt like he knew where to go when he fought Gaara.

"Are you nervous?" Sai had silently approached the Uzumaki.

Naruto barely spared him a glance. "No." A quick, rough answer.

"It is okay to be nervous before a battle. Or, at least, that's what I read in a book."

"A book?"

Sai nodded. "Before coming a member of your team, I had to study from multiple different books and research studies on how to convey certain emotions."

Naruto thought about how one would go about learning to express emotions through a book. It seemed like a terrible way to learn. Growing up like he did, emotion were not the easiest thing for him to express besides through anger. Or simply nothing at all. He really had to try and put himself out there to figure out how emotions worked in his body. Through his own knowledge, Naruto figured out that there were certain levels of shinobi that were trained to not feel emotion for a mission's sake.

"So, you're ANBU then?"

That creepy smile returned. "You're perceptive. I do have the same training that ANBU personal go through, but I started my training when I was much younger."

Naruto's brow shot up. Sai was no older than him. How young was he when that started? And what other group conducted that type of training? "Does that mean you're not ANBU?"

Sai's smile remained. "I am not at liberty to say. It is against my training to say anything about my organization."

Naruto saw something on Sai's tongue. It was quick and easy to miss, but he caught a glimpse of a small black mark on his bright red muscle. It loosely resembled a seal mark, or had the ability to be one. Despite his months of training on creating and studying fūinjutsu, Naruto's knowledge was on the subject was basic and that of a beginner.

"Boy…look alive. Our target approaches."

Naruto's attention shot towards the fog covered bridge. He focused and felt what the beast was telling him. He could feel a presence approaching quickly. There was no question that it was Yugito.

"Yamato! Sakura!" The two came running without hesitation. "It's go time!"

"Are you sure?" Sakura questioned. She had an uneasy feeling in her stomach about this.

Naruto nodded. "I'm sure. She's on the bridge. She's waiting for me."

Yamato stepped next to him. "It sounds like a trap. We have to be careful. The secondary force is moving out soon. We'll be on our own."

"Let's go!" Naruto ran onto the bridge and into the fog, the rest of the team following him.

-Naruto vs. Yugito-

"Kazakiri no Jutsu!" (Wind Burst Technique)

As he did some time ago, Naruto used the simple burst of wind to clear the thick fog from his sight. Before New Team Seven was the objective of his mission. Yugito Nii stood there with patience in her eyes. Naruto could immediately tell that she was in no hurry to have this fight.

"You must be the jinchūriki." Sai stated toneless.

"My name is Yugito. If I knew your names, I would call you as such. If you know who I am then call me by my name, not what I'm labeled."

An instant connection. "Then you know why we're here." Even though fighting her was not his mission directive, Yamato was ready for a fight. "It's nothing personal, so please don't take it personally." He looked at the other two shinobi under his command. "Remember, we are acting as support in this fight, Sai. Sakura, stay back unless one of us need medical aid. Understood?"

The two teenagers nodded. Sakura never liked the idea that she had to stay back unless her medical ninjutsu was needed, but she understood why. Tsunade had the rules set for the medical shinobi in a team. Unless one were to master the Hundred Strengths Seal, those rules must be followed without argue.

Yugito hardened her expression and looked at Naruto. She could tell, just by a simple look, that he was the host for the Nine-Tails. She also felt his strength, his very presence breathed strength into the air. This would not be an easy fight for her.

"You…I heard you were killed by Darui a few years back. How'd you survive?"

Naruto smirked a bit. "I guess I'm just hard to kill." Then he turned serious. "Let's just get this started then."

Dashing forward, Naruto appeared directly in front of Yugito. Her reaction time was impressive in their terms and blocked or evaded most of his strikes. Yugito was swift on her feet and had the flexibility to match it, much like cat. While Naruto was brute, and his attacks were filled with his strength. Even blocking his strikes were painful, a single hit could leave a heavy bruise.

Realizing that fighting strictly hand-to-hand would not serve her well, Yugito fell back on her beast-given ability. Separating herself with an elegant backflip, Yugito's fingernails and toenails grew to make long claws. As she landed, Naruto had closed the distance between them and continued their bout.

'Her nails?!' Naruto immediately noticed the change. He dodged a swing that nearly decapitated him. Only for her clawed toes to shoot up towards his face. Slicing his chin, Naruto was able to narrowly escape before the claws entered through the bottom of his jaw. 'Her toes too!'

Despite his evasion skills, Yugito was slicing Naruto left and right. He could barely escape each swipe without a cut. He needed separation before he made a mistake that would lead to his untimely death. Ducking underneath another claw swipe, Naruto threw down an explosive tag that ignited instantly into an explosion.

Both jumped out of the black smoke cloud on opposite ends. Naruto slid in front of his team, cuts filling his body and clothes showing the effects of the explosion.

"Naruto!" Sakura shouted in concern. She could see the blood from his wounds soaking his charred clothes. "Are you okay?!"

"I'm good!" Naruto stated calmly, though he had adrenaline running through his veins. He could feel the cuts and burns already closing up, thanks to the Kyūbi's healing factor. The smoke cleared relatively quick. Yugito stood there, charred clothes but no burns. Even some of hair that was fried had already regrown. 'A healing ability? Does every jinchūriki have that ability?'

It was as if the Kumo beauty was reading his mind. "You have the same ability as me. One of few who do."

That greatly peaked Naruto's curiosity. "One of the few? What do the others have?"

"Honestly, I don't know. From what I've been told, the strong healing ability is not common among other jinchūriki. It would seem each one of us has some type of unique ability given to us by the beast sealed in us. It's a grim look on it but I see it as somewhat as a consolation prize for being a jinchūriki…not that it makes up for anything."

Grim indeed, Naruto would have to agree. Drawing two kunai from his weapons pouch, Naruto charged again. He was surprised to see that Yugito's claws could hold up against the steel of his knives. Even with the kunai acting as an equalizer, Naruto was having trouble keeping track of all the claws. When he would block one set, another came from a different angle. Yugito had trained to near perfect to use these weapons.

But Naruto had his own perfected techniques.

Using a modified version of the fighting style 'Wing Chun', a concept-based martial arts and form of self-defense that unitized both strikes and grapples while engaged in close-ranges hand-to-hand combat, with his kunai knives, Naruto was quickly able to turn the tide of the fight and put Yugito on the ropes. His quick-paced swipes and grapples that proved too fast for Yugito to dodge. Within a matter of moments, Yugito was wearing the same type of tattered clothing as her opponent.

"A-Amazing!" Sakura was in awe at Naruto's ability. He really had become much stronger.

Yamato and Sai were equally impressed.

"This is really showing what training under a Sannin will do."

Sai keep his words to himself. 'So…this is your ability…Lord Danzō, you were wrong. I was never in the same class as him.'

Flipping backwards, Yugito gathered chakra in her mouth. "Nezumi Kedama!" (Rodent Hairball)

Yugito transformed her spit into mouse-shaped flaming ball of hair that continually split into multiple individual and similar balls of blue fire.

Naruto dodged, evaded, and jumped around as to not be hit by the flaming mice made out of hair. No matter how odd he thought the jutsu was, a single hit would spell bad for him. He countered with his own fire.

"Katon: Endan!" (Fire Style: Fire Bomb)

"Byōen Hōka!" (Flaming Cat Roar)

Two massive flames, red and blue, fought against each other in fiery combat. The continuous flames slipped past one another, barely missing either user. As the flames from their mouths grew hotter, the whiter the initial flame became.

The flames blew past another and directly at the rest of New Team Seven. Yamato was quick to erect a barrier. "Mokuton: Mokujōheki!" (Wood Style: Wooden Lock Wall)

Unable to use natural wood to his advantage, Yamato created a wall of chakra enhanced wood from his hands to protect the team from the flames. Though, normally, wood would burn from the any and all flames, but Mokuton was an exception to the rule. To burn away Mokuton one had to be a undeniable master of fire.

Both Sakura and Sai were completely shocked by Yamato's ability.

'Wood Release?!' Sakura internally gasped. 'But this is the Shodai's ability! How can Captain Yamato use it?!'

Sai had similar thoughts but knew what most likely occurred. 'Mokuton? The kekkei genkai only known to the First Hokage. For him be able to use the ability, something must have happened…' During his time as a young ROOT recruit and full-blown member, Sai was exposed to multiple different types of physical and mental experiments that might not be considered humane. While was not always the subject of this experiments, he certainly knew that they occurred. 'Could be it be he is a former member?'

A question to certainly be pondered.

The flames ceased and the two jinchūriki met in the middle of the fire, continuing their heated battle. Neither gave an inch. Constant pressure to be faster for the advantage.

Naruto struck a powerful kick that threw off his opponent's balance. An opportunity to be seized. Chakra quickly gathered in his hand and formed a spiraling sphere.

"Rasengan!"

Aiming directly for her center, Naruto felt a strong sense victory as the jutsu neared the target. But was blocked a fiery blue tail that stretched out from Yugito's backside. The tail absorbed the initial blast but both were thrown back the concussive shock.

Naruto wiped the sweat off his face. Yugito had changed. A blue tail made of the same fire waved behind her and her eyes had changed as well. From birth given black to heterochromatic pupil-less eyes of yellow and green.

'That must be from her Tailed Beast, right?'

"A partial transformation, yes." His own beast responded. "The Two-Tails is influencing her."

'Just like Gaara back then.' Naruto remembered. 'Hey, can we do that partial transformation like that?'

"You can wield Tojin, and I allow you access to my chakra. There is no need for a transformation."

Naruto took in a deep breath. The next stage of this fight had started. "Please don't tell me you're going to start spouting nonsense about the beast being your mother?"

Despite the fear inducing tail and eyes, Yugito held a rather confused and disturbed look on her face. "My mother? What on earth…?"

A small sigh of relief escaped his lips. No matter how he tried to rationalize that fight, Gaara's view on the One-Tail always gave Naruto the creeps when he thought about it. "Don't worry about it." He mostly said it to himself than his opponent.

"I take it this isn't your first time fighting another jinchūriki then."

"No…and probably won't be the last, either."

A sense of disappointment filled both jinchūriki respectively. A fact that they both knew to be true.

Quelling their feelings, they refocused on the battle. Four Shadow Clones appeared and attacked Yugito in tandem. Each clone was dispatched easily but it gave Naruto an insight on how Yugito fought with her tail.

'It's like the tail has a mind of its own. I saw no pattern in its movements. The beast must be controlling the tail to cover her weak sides. Let's try strength in numbers!'

"Tajū Kage Bushin no Jutsu!'

Clones by the hundreds surrounded the partial transformed jinchūriki. The small army charged in waves, never giving the woman a moment of peace. To Yugito's credit, she was definitely holding her own against the horde of Bushin. But just like before, using clones to defeat was never the objective. To stall, like it always will be.

Using her claws and blazing blue fire, the clones were quickly turning into clouds of white smoke. Yugito could easily see through the diversion and anticipated an attack from a hidden angle. But it is as they say, things are in the last place you look.

"Ōdama Rasengan!"

A bigger, stronger version of the Rasengan hurled itself from the real Naruto's hand and struck the protective tail of the Bijū. Due to the heightened strength, Yugito was having trouble keeping it bay. Pushing it harder, Naruto forced Yugito back ever so slightly. Forcing more chakra into his technique resulted into a rumbling explosion that destroyed a decent sized portion of the bridge. And Yugito fell into the waters below and remained hidden by the intense fog.

The remaining clones dispelled themselves as the real Naruto stood at the beginning of the broken railing. Despite his wishes, he knew that was not enough to defeat his opponent. He waited for her to resurface.

"Do you think you got her?" Sakura questioned, knowing the answer but still felt the need to ask.

"Not likely. She's probably using this break to re…group…"

Naruto's voice trailed off as every bodily sense began to go haywire. A MASSIVE chakra instantly appeared seemingly out of nothing. The air changed as the chakra flexed into existence. Every person in a five-mile radius, shinobi and civilian alike, felt the power the chakra held.

'Oh…fuck…'

First, it was the pupil-less yellow and green eyes that peered through the fog. Then, the body that was engulfed in flames of blue and black forced the fog to move from its presence. As the fog disappeared from the heat the flames produced, revealed was the Blazing Cat Monster, the Nibi, the Two-Tailed Beast.

With zero time to react, one of two massive tails flung around with break-neck speed and crashed into the bridge. Even a bridge designed from the engineering mind of Tazuna could not hold up against the strength and power the Nibi possessed. The bridge fell apart like puzzle pieces into water, Naruto could do nothing to evade and disappeared into the waters below.

"NARUTO!" Sakura called out in worried anxiety. She even attempted to jump in after him, but Yamato grabbed ahold of her before she could anything rash.

Naruto heard Sakura's cry for him as he slowly drifted further into the deep. Surrounded by the rubble of the bridge named after him, he used the moment think of a counter and what to do next.

"Did you really think you'd beat her before she'd transform?"

'No…but this is completely different from Gaara. She's in complete control, right?'

"Yes, my sister and her host have merged chakras and became one." Naruto noted the word 'sister'. "She's done this with every host she has been sealed into. She's not one to fight her host."

'Why?' He was genuinely curious.

"She fears death and will do just about anything to avoid it. Even throwing away her pride and merge with an unworthy human."

Seeing the conversation going nowhere, Naruto continued to think of possible strategies that he could enact to try and gain the upper hand. Unfortunately, there was not much Naruto had in his arsenal that could compete with the raw power of a Bijū. No amount of Shadow clones, jutsus, and Rasengans would earn him a victory.

That left three options. And all had heavy consequences.

The bridge continued to collapse like dominos. It seemed the bridge could only stay together as long as no other piece of the bridge's puzzle was never taken out of place. That made the only place for them to go to was the water but that made them an easy target for the Bijū. Sai realized this. Following his orders from Danzō and Yamato, he acted quickly.

In mid fall, Sai open his scroll and quickly drew something up. "Chōjū Giga!" (Ninja Art: Super Beast Scroll)

Jumping to life from his scroll, all three were gracefully caught on the back of a large owl drawing made of the chakra infused ink. Both Yamato and Sakura were pleasantly surprised to see that they had not landed on the water surface.

"So, this is your ability, Sai." Yamato stated out loud.

Sakura gripped the owl and it surprisingly felt real, her fear and anxiety momentarily forgotten. "Is this made out of ink?"

Sai nodded as he willed the owl to land on the ground. The large wings flapped, creating equally sized gusts, as it gracefully touched down. "It's special ink I create myself. I developed when I was younger. It's serviced me well." The team jumped off the owl and returned back to the scroll from where it was created.

Sakura looked on as the bridge continued to loudly fall into the water. The beast scanned area, waiting for the attack to come. For some time, there was nothing. And the thought of Naruto's defeat crossed her mind.

'No…'

A large metal sasumata pierced through the water and caught the Nibi between the two spiked forks as an equally sized magenta colored toad crashed through the surface of the water and smashed his sakazuki-like shield into the Nibi's belly, launching the beast back. The toad stood tall as water rushed like waterfall off his body.

Drenched, Naruto stood atop the large toad's head. "Good hit, Gamaken!"

"Thank you for the words, Naruto. But it felt very clumsy and ungraceful compared to Lord Gamabunta. But I'll try to be strong."

Naruto shook his head at Gamaken's lack of confidence, but that was how the toad was. Gamaken is probably the modest toad warrior from Mount Myōboku. But his skill was anything but.

The Nibi shook off the choked feeling. "A toad…from Mount Myōboku, I presume. It's been quite some time since I've dealt with a being from that place."

Both Gamaken and Naruto were shocked by reveal. "Y-You've been to Myōboku?" Gamaken stammered out.

"I've been alive longer than either of you could ever realize."

The mystery of the powerful beasts, Naruto always paid attention to whenever they spoke. A long history that was held in secret by each Biju. As much as his curiosity plagued him, Naruto had a fight to commence with. He promptly sat down in a meditative position.

"Gamaken, I need you buy as much time as you can give me. I'm going to enter Sage Mode."

Gamaken physical looked at the top of his, though he could not see the teenager. "Sage Mode? Does that mean you'll summon Lord Fukasaku and Lady Shima as well?"

"'Fraid not. I can't merge with them like Pervy Sage."

"You can't?" Gamaken was thoroughly surprised.

Naruto shook his head. "No matter hard I tried, nothing worked."

The large toad did his best to push his anxiety to the side. "Alright. I'll do my best!"

"I wouldn't have summoned you if I didn't think you could, Ken. Pervy Sage was the one who told me about this stalling strategy."

Taking in a deep breath, Naruto relaxed his body and remained still as he could despite the jerking movements from Gamaken. This would not be easy for Naruto to do. To gather the correct amount of senjutsu so that he did not turn into a toad himself, he needed absolute stillness. He hoped this would turn out in his favor.

'Matatabi…' Yugito spoke through their shared consciousness. 'What's he doing?'

'Gathering senjutsu…quite a troublesome technique I must say.'

'What's senjutsu?'

'Natural energy that comes from living things. A person can harness this energy and becomes a powerful boost to their abilities. If we allow him to enter such a state, it won't be good.'

Yugito was amazed that such a technique existed that made a Biju consider it dangerous, despite the Nibi's humbleness. 'What do we do?'

'Disrupt his meditation. If we can do that, he can't use senjutsu…and with any luck, he'll turn into a toad.'

Yugito stopped. 'Turn into a toad?'

'Senjutsu is a double-edged sword…or it can be. The payoff is equal to the reward. If the natural energy is not balanced properly then his body will revolt and morph into a toad. Terrible way to go.'

The beast jumped gracefully away as Gamaken came in with his sasumata, creating a tidal wave with missed attack. The toad continued to swing his massive weapon with precision and toughness, only to hit air or water as the Nibi used her cat-like agility to escape every blow. Frankly, if it were not for the agility, Gamaken would have beaten the fire off of the beast with his attacks.

"Byōen Hōka!" (Flaming Cat Roar)

With more strength than before, Matatabi fired off a concentrated fire ball. Using his sakazuki-like shield, Gamaken held off the blast with all his might. The blast exploded, throwing Gamaken back and distributing Naruto's mediation.

"God damnit, Gamaken!" Naruto cursed loudly. "I almost had it!"

"S-Sorry!" The toad apologized. "The blast caught me off guard!"

Naruto needed a new plan. It was hard enough to stay still on a constantly moving beast like this. He needed security. He thought of his team, but the Nibi could, and would, charge right through them. He looked down and the idea came to him in a near instant.

"Gamaken! Open your mouth!"

"M-My mouth?"

"Yes! I'll be able to be more stable in there!" Jumping high in the air, Naruto landed gracefully in the large amphibian's mouth. It was dank and the sensation of sitting the toad's tongue was unsettling. But this was the best he could come up with. He assumed the position again.

Sai looked on. "This fight is going to start getting out of hand the longer it drags on."

Yamato nodded. "I agree. The surrounding area is going to suffer the longer the fight goes on." The captain looked at the female of the team. "Sakura, what do you know about Naruto's Sage mode?"

Sakura seemed surprised by the question, but quickly put it aside. "Not a lot. He's never said much about it. And I've only seen it once. He used it to help bring the Kazekage back to life with Lady Chiyo's Life Transfer technique."

"Life Transfer?" Sai pondered quietly. He was unaware such a technique existed. But moved on from it quickly.

"That's not good enough. This battle needs to be ended sooner than later." He turned back to the battle at hand. And it would go a lot smoother because of his Mokuton ability. "Let's go, you two!"

"Right!" Sakura had been itching to go help Naruto out this whole fight. Even against the Two-Tailed beast, Sakura would do whatever she could to help him despite her fear.

Sai said nothing, indifferent about his involvement. Though, there was something about going against Biju that made him question their ability to do anything. Maybe it was fear? Hesitation? Whatever the feeling in his gut was, Sai had not felt it in a long time.

The ground shook momentarily before a large wall of solid earth stood in their path. A top of the solid wall landed a battle torn Kurotsuchi.

"I don't think so."

Yamato eyed the woman. "You must be Kurotsuchi. Granddaughter of the Third Tsuchikage."

"Yeah, unfortunately. But that's besides the point." Kurotsuchi crossed her arms. "Sorry to say, but I can't let you interfere with their battle. Though, I like the plan. Using the invading force as a diversion so that no other force would come to her aid while simultaneously freeing your fellow shinobi. Leaving the two jinchūriki to fight out."

Yamato internally cursed. He thought it would take them longer to figure it out. Honestly, the plan was mute the second Yugito transformed into the beast. He figured she and some others would come running.

"Be as it may, why aren't you helping your comrade? Jinchūriki's are a precious asset in times of war. And I'd hate to see what the Hokage would do their great weapon were to be defeated." Kurotsuchi could feel Sakura's eye drilling holes through her skull, but she could care less.

"I could be asking you that." Yamato countered. "A loss for Kumo is a loss for Iwa."

A simple shrug of indifference. "It is what it is. I follow orders. Nothing more."

The woman slammed her hands together and more walls erupted from the earth, nearly trapping the Konoha shinobi as they jumped to safety.

"It's been a while since I've fought worthy Konoha shinobi! Let's see how you three fair!"

Naruto felt chakras spike as he sat unmoving inside Gamaken's mouth. His team was fighting. Sakura was fighting.

He needed to end this now.

The orange pigmentation formed around the lids of his eyes as the natural energy found balance in his body, coursing the power of senjutsu through his veins. Leaving the protective snd unmoving shell that was Gamaken's large tongue, he signaled to the toad that he was ready.

On his back, Gamaken was holding off the Nibi's fierce mouth with his weapon with all his might. It was a losing battle, Matatabi's sharp fangs neared closer and closer to his throat. He felt the signal resonant from his mouth.

'Finally!'

Opening fractionally, Naruto burst through Gamaken's mouth and, with a resounding smack that echoed for miles, landed a powerful, senjutsu enhanced punch directly on the blue beast's jaw. His onslaught continued with stronger attacks, even using shadow clones to deal more damage to the Biju.

The Nibi fell against the water, creating waves the wake of her fall. Before she could try and maneuver away from the young Sage, he gripped her tail and, using feats of strength thought to be impossible, whipped the beast around and launched her directly into Gamaken's sasumata. Like a pebble, the Nibi jumped across the water until it crashed on the far side of the lake in the Land of Fire.

'Thirty seconds left.'

His internal clock counted down the seconds faster than he would have liked. That was not enough time to end this battle of titans completely, but it would certainly tip the tides in his favor.

Through the dust and fog, Naruto saw something. A different kind of aura…or chakra…or something from hell entirely.

The air itself changed. As if the air was being sucked into a vacuum and spit out with nightmares filling it. Black and white orbs, forming out nothing, combined into a ball of absolute darkness. The power the orb produced pulsates waves in the water. The sheer weight hit Naruto like a train, senjutsu was the only thing keeping him upright.

"Boy, this is beyond your ability now. There is nothing more you can do. Leave now or perish."

"What the hell is that?!"

"It would take longer to explain then we have left. My suggestion would be to run, but the explosion would kill us no matter what."

"Then what can I do?!"

"Redirect up. Only viable option."

A large gulp fell down Naruto throat and hit his stomach with an echoing thud. Whatever that beast was doing was absolute death with no chance of survival. If the Nine-Tails was advising him to avoid it, it was bad news.

'Twenty seconds until my senjutsu runs out.' He guessed the distance between him and the beast. Two clones appeared, beginning to forge his technique. 'I'll never make it time. And creating this will use up what I have left.' An ear-piercing screech noise funneled from the four spinning blades of the chakra fūma shuriken, causing the water beneath him to ripple wildly. 'I have to hit the underbelly. That should shoot the mouth up and cause it to fire into the sky. I don't think I want to hit that orb directly.'

"You don't."

Senjutsu expired and the full force of his jutsu was about to come down fully on his right arm.

A harmonic whistle echoed over the screech and Tojin came flying into a clone's hand. The Kyūbi had called the powerful weapon forth.

"Tojin, cast the net."

The sword jumped out of the clone's hand and flew into the air above the beast. Splitting into nine shadows of the original, chakra tethers connected between them to create a massive net. The nine shot down and captured the Nibi like a feral beast.

"Now's your chance!"

"Fūton: Reppūshō!" (Wind Style: Gale Palm)

Creating powerful gusts of wind, the clones launched Naruto through the air with enormous velocity to glide him across the water. The fūma shuriken spun widely like a maelstrom of wind and chakra. The flight caused ripples through the water; waves flew high like tsunamis from his speed.

The final ratios were being placed. The orb was ready to be fired. Matatabi struggled to free herself from Tojin's hold.

Naruto slid to a stop directly underneath the belly of beast.

'This is gonna hurt a lot!'

"Fūton: Rasenshuriken!"

The central sphere of the Rasenshuriken detonated and produced a Bijū-sized vortex of wind from the palm of his hand. Deep within the vortex, countless microscopic wind blades pierced every inch the Nibi's body and attacked both beings' chakra system. From his position at the epicenter of his own jutsu, Naruto was thrown deep into the waters below.

The orb of destruction had one missing particle and instantly became unstable. The sudden explosion of the Rasenshuriken disturbed the Nibi's concentration and caused a misfire. The intent was to have it be fired in the sky, but that was not the case.

The bomb cleared the fog as it traveled, revealing its destination.

The Land of Waves, and all its inhabitants, exploded in a massive devastating fire ball of absolute power. In a matter of seconds, the island was reduced to ash. And from ash formed crater that was filled with water.

At the launch point, the Nibi had completely disappeared. And in the beast's place was the host. Yugito held to life as she been forced back in control.

Washing up on shore, Yugito struggled to move. She was at the mercy of the waves. As was her opponent. With his damaged right arm dangling, Naruto pushed himself to his knees as he crawled out of the shallow water and onto the beachhead. His clothes were torn and only clinging to his body because of the water. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth from some internal injury.

"You…changed back…" Naruto was unsure how he could take through his immense pain.

Yugito coughed. "What…what did you do? I can't…feel my chakra. What happened?"

"Rasenshuriken…I created it a little over a year ago. It completely destroys a person's chakra system through wind blades smaller than a atom. Though, I didn't think it would effect you in a transformed state like that. It seemed like you were protected."

"Me and Matatabi are linked…one in the same. We share the pain, transformed or not."

Naruto's confused expression was barely hidden behind the pain. "Ma…Matatabi?"

"The Bijū's name…she's not happy with you or her brother…"

There it was again. The Kyūbi had called the Nibi, apparently named Matatabi, his sister and she called him her brother. We're they truly related?

"Why…why fight your own kind?"

The question caught Naruto off guard. He was unable to answer. His own kind? Did she view him as some kind of relative?

"Jinchūriki…we were created to be weapons of war…all we do is fight. Fight others. Fight each other. Does it ever end…?"

Does it ever truly end? Fighting. Wars. Blood shed. Something Naruto would come to ponder often.

"Not today, unfortunately for you."

Landing from a large clay dragon, Kisame held Samehada single-handed. While two of his targets were prime for their capture, only one would be coming with them today.

"You…!" Despite his injured arm and exhaustion, Naruto managed to reach his feet.

Kisame chuckled. "Always the defiant one." An annoyance growler from his throat. "Consider yourself lucky today, Uzumaki. You are not our target today."

Confusion momentarily overcame the young blonde, until his eyes set on the laid out jinchūriki behind him. His vision briefly saw his long-deceased mother before he blinked again and Yugito returned. Defiance filled his soul.

"…No. You can't take her!" Naruto shouted. "I don't know the Akatsuki' plan but I can't let it happen!"

Kisame tightened his right hand around the hilt. Today might be the day he defy the orders and go with his instincts.

"Hurry up, shark face!" Deidara shouted from his creation. "Bogeys inbound!"

"Chōjū Giga!"

Flying on a creation of his own, Sai fired off ink monsters. Deidara evaded the monsters and flew up high in the sky. Sakura jumped off the ink bird and landed between Kisame and Naruto. Sakura grabbed ahold of him and jumped back up onto Sai's ink owl.

"N-No!" Naruto struggled. "We can't let them take her!"

"She is not of our village." Sai stated simply. "Her status as a jinchūriki doesn't change anything. If the Akatsuki want her, let them have her. Our priority is to keep the Nine-Tails with Konoha."

Sakura sighed as she held Naruto upright. "I feel bad for saying this but he's right, Naruto. We have to keep you safe. She's not out priority."

Wanting to offer up more arguments to go back, Naruto simply did not have the strength to do so. He succumbed to his exhaustion from his bout and passed out on Sakura. She held a tight grip on him as to not let him fall off. The owl she was flying upon was large enough for her to begin her medical treatment.

"Sai, find Captain Yamato." Sakura shouted over the high winds. "He should be floating in the water. Protecting us from the blast nearly killed him."

"He's dead." Sai stated emotionless. "Our mission is deemed a failure. We must return to the village and report. No survivors besides us."

Sakura fiercely grabbed ahold of Sai's collar and held him over the edge of his own bird. "Team Seven does not leave behind comrades! No matter the member, we all leave together! Got it?!"

There was no fear on Sai's face. Barely a trace of annoyance either. He simply nodded as if he was on solid ground and not dangling over nothing. Under Sai's command, the ink owl glided through the air as they searched for the body of their team captain in waters that were riddled with bodies of shinobi and civilians alike. Most of the people on the island were evaporated in the initial blast, but those who were further away were killed by the concussive force the blast produced.

"There!" Sakura pointed to the floating body of their new leader.

Swooping down gracefully, the ink owl grabbed Yamato with its talons and ascended back into the sky. Sakura breathed a sigh of relief that he was alive. Yamato used his Mokuton ability to shield them all from the initial wave the bomb. Sai created the owl in the chaos to escape. But at the last second, Yamato's shield broke and he was swept away, making Sai ascend with only Sakura on the back of the owl. She peered out over the water and saw the absolute devastation that the blast from the Bijū caused.

This was the absolute power of a Tailed Beast. Now, Sakura had seen two beasts up close and personal. And both situations were handled by the boy she firmly held. Who was a jinchūriki himself. She felt sick. She could feel the pits of her stomach turn and jerk to the point that she could puke. Seeing this amount of loss of life terrified her just as much as a Bijū.

"Is this your first time seeing what war can do?"

Sakura was caught off guard by the question, she hardly noticed the landing. "Isn't this your first war, too?"

Sai's emotionless expression faltered and some solemn briefly fell through. "I've been fighting for a long time. Longer than you. Seeing all those people…" Sai glanced over his shoulder at the water littered with the victims. "…it means nothing to me."

"Nothing?!" Sakura shouted. "Those people had lives! Loved ones! An entire island of people are dead now and it means nothing to you?!"

"I did not know them nor held any special feelings towards this place. Why would it mean something?"

Sakura, frankly, had no response. Her patience was fired, Naruto and Yamato were both in need of medical treatment, and an ENTIRE island of innocent people were killed. Sakura was not having a good day by any means and she did not feel like continuing to deal with this emotionless tool bag.

"Wow. You'd make a good Akatsuki member with that attitude. We're looking for a new member to replace the one you killed…hm."

Bored of listening to their shouting, Deidara sat atop of his large dragon clay construct that gracefully held its position in the sky. Despite whatever maneuver Sai tried to do, there was nothing that could be done to escape. Experience trumped training every day of the week. He ignored their shocked mumbles.

"Oh, don't worry, I'm not here to take your jinchūriki. We have strict orders not to, actually."

Sai gripped his tanto over his shoulder. "Then why are you here now?"

"Just to spook ya." Deidara shrugged. "Old Shark Boy is dealing with the other host. Thanks, by the way. That fight had our lives a hell of a lot easier…hm." The clay user saw his newly assigned partner coming towards them with Yugito slung over his shoulder. "'Bout time, tuna breath."

Kisame locked his eyes on the pink haired chūnin, his shark-like teeth bearing through his mad smile. "Well, we meet again. It's interesting we keep running into each other. I feel like we have a connection or something."

Sakura, despite her fear of the man, stood her ground defiantly over Naruto and Yamato. Even if it would be a futile effort against the likes of him, Kisame would have to kill her to get to their next target.

Kisame's smile widened. "Yes…the fight I love in a woman." Yugito's body fell off the shoulder and hit with a sick thud. "Maybe you aren't too young after all…"

"Kisame Hoshigaki…"

A mist began to roll in over the area. It was chilling and familiar to Sakura. Her memories of this fog were filled with violence and fear. Now, it was her safety and hope of survival. Through the fog, she saw a figure crouched atop a tree.

"This mist…" Kisame knew it all too well. "So…you must be the demon's student. Oh, what was your name? It's been so long." He had no clue where the masked assassin was, but he was speaking directly to her.

"My master told me about you. You betrayed the guild of the Swordsmen of the Mist. Punishment for such is death."

Kisame chuckled. "Is that bedtime story he fed you? Oh, little one, you have no clue what you're talking about."

"I don't care. You wish harm upon that boy and master told me to kill you if given the chance. I need no more instructions."

"The bastard is dead. Can't let go, I see."

The massive sword known as Kubikiribōchō came down with fury, nearly slicing Kisame in half. The fog separated from the clash of two of the seven swords.

Haku locked eyes with Sakura through her mask. "Leave now and keep him safe!"

Cracked and rebuilt, the mask was as Sakura remembered. "It's you?!"

"Go now!"

The ink owl creation had already taken Naruto and Yamato in its talons. Sai had commanded the bird to escape by the time Sakura jumped on. She was sure if she waited another second, he would have left without her.

Watching their battle until they were no longer in view, New Team Seven has escaped the Akatsuki.