Hi! Not much happening. Just bombed another midterm (well, maybe I did okay, but I certainly didn't do great). Otherwise, I guess school is going better. I also bought Transformers and the first Naruto movie.

On another note, I've noticed my fic has become quite popular, especially in comparison to my InuYasha fic. In the five years since that one has been posted, I've received only 14 reviews and barely over a thousand hits. This one, 60 (and probably going up!) reviews, close to 10,000 hits! And my fic has been posted on 7 C2s! I just want to thank everyone who has read and enjoyed my fic. It's an honor to have others hold this story in such high opinion.

IronicEnding: I'm glad you think the fights are good! After all, isn't that why we all got into Naruto in the first place?

Tennisdesi91: I dunno. Maybe.

DarknesstoLight: Good one.

The World At Large: Had to respond because I need to get one review saying fantastic. Thank you!

Sky Maiden: First off, you can use the character filters nowadays to find stories with the pairings you want. While the amount of NaruSaku pales in comparison with the others, it's a growing trend. Second, don't take this the wrong way, but I never said anything about us "uniting" because our favored pairing is considered to be at the bottom of everyone else's choices. All we should do is continue to enjoy NaruSaku, regardless of what the others think. Going to war with the other fans, which I think your review implied, is childish and puts us on the same level of the NaruHina and SasuSaku fans who hate anyone just for liking a different pairing (I'm sure there are plenty of those fans who are mature and nice, but unfortunately the bad ones have left quite a mark on them). Nonetheless, please, continue to read!

Rickp2006: Also had to respond to review that says Damn Awesome.

Disclaimer: You know what? I own Naruto! (Kunai with explosive tag gets pinned to the wall) Everyone duck and cover!

Naruto felt himself floating in a river. "Am I dead? Were the injuries I sustained enough to kill me?"

Soon, the feeling passed, and Naruto felt himself lying on the ground. Naruto blinked several times before he finally managed to open his eyes. His eyes focused on a camp fire. "What happened?" he thought. It was night, and he had a blanket over him, along with some sort of crudely constructed matt beneath him. He looked to his side, and saw Sakura healing Yuji.

"Are you in any pain?" Sakura asked.

Yuji replied "No; I'm feeling much better." The genin then went back to sleep.

Sakura stopped the jutsu. She walked over to some bushes, gathering some plants; herbs, most likely.

"Sakura-chan." Naruto whispered.

Sakura turned her head back. "Naruto!" she whispered. She lightly ran to him, but somewhere along the way she tripped. Naruto, despite his state, managed to catch her and the plants she was collecting.

"Sakura! Are you alright?"

Sakura just gathered everything up. "I-I'm fine Naruto. Just tired."

Naruto then put his hand on her forehead. "You feel hot; are you sure you're not sick?"

"Naruto! I'm a medi-nin, of course I'm not sick!" Naruto just furrowed his brow. "What?" Sakura asked.

"I know you're lying, Sakura-chan. You're feverish, you look pale, and you look exhausted! When was the last time you slept?"

Sakura's eyes widened, then she looked away and frowned. "Not since I got here."

Naruto didn't like the sound of this. "Just when did you get here?"

"Pretty much a few hours before you fought that thing."

"And how long have I been out?"

Sakura hesitated, then said "Five Days."

Naruto couldn't believe this. "You mean, for five days, you haven't slept at all?"

Sakura had tears coming down her eyes, and she threw her hands up. "Just what do you expect me to do?" she yelled. "Kakashi-sensei's been poisoned, Neji looks like he had a little too much fun with an electrical outlet, which I bet was Kenji, and may never fight again, one of your students was torn to ribbons…and what about you? Your transformation damaged your body, you fell at least 30 meters, you've been stabbed, and you received one of the worst concussions I have ever seen! I don't think I need to remind you what your Rasenshuriken does to you! How can I rest?"

Naruto made no comment; instead he grabbed Sakura and pulled her close.

"N-Naruto?" Sakura asked.

"Sakura, have you done everything you could? Is everyone out of danger?"

Sakura didn't respond at first, but then said "I should be able to do so much more."

Naruto sighed. "You did everything you could. Sakura, right now all that's important is that everyone's safe. So please, just rest." Naruto pulled her head in closer. "Just rest."

"Naruto, I can't rest now…you….still…" Sakura's vision was blurring, and she was having trouble focusing. Her mind could only process "His hands feel so nice…he smells…kinda nice…" Soon, she went limp, and passed out.

Naruto got up, and laid her on the makeshift bed that was his. Naruto never really saw her when she was sleeping. "My god, she looks so beautiful." Naruto wasn't fully recovered, but found that so long as he took it easy, he could move no problem. He went to see Neji first. He was breathing more heavily than normal, and if what Sakura said was true…"No, no. Neji, I'm sorry; I should've convinced you to fight that thing, not Kenji; it's all because of me."

He went over to Kakashi. "Hey." He said.

"Kakashi-sensei?"

"I'm doing okay now. I'll need some therapy once I get back to Konoha though; the medicine Sakura had isn't enough."

Naruto nodded. "Kakashi-sensei?"

"Yeah?"

"You know about the person I fought, right? Everything?"

Kakashi knew where this was going to go. "Naruto, you won't…"

"Who says I won't?" Naruto nearly screamed as he threw his hands up in the air. "He was mistreated like me, ignored, discarded…and it was just one thing that caused him to snap. Who's to say I won't become like him?"

Kakashi said " The one who says you won't become like him is you: Only you can make that choice…and I think you've chosen well."

Naruto looked down and said "It still hurts. What the village put me through. How they still look down on me. Sometimes, I'll loose hope that I'll ever be acknowledged as a person. It's only when I go outside of Konoha that everyone treats me like a human being."

"Naruto: you don't need the love of a million people: Just the love of one. And I think you've found her."

Naruto stared at his former teacher. Then, at Sakura. "I think it's a little bit too soon to call it love in her case." He said in an embarrassed tone.

"Whatever you say." Kakashi smirked, underneath his mask of course. Then, Naruto began to walk away. "Sorry, I've got to check up on my students."

Naruto saw Yuji. Though he was not bandaged, scars were all over his body. "I guess Sakura wasn't well rested enough to close them up completely."

"Naruto-sensei?"

Naruto turned around to see Iori. "Hey; are you doing okay?"

"I guess." Iori looked troubled.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked.

Iori said "Sensei, am I worth saving?"

"Don't be silly; of course you are." Naruto looked back at Yuji, then understood the situation. "Iori, I know you haven't been nice to Yuji…but you're still his teammate. He wouldn't just let you die. Besides, guys are pretty forgiving when it comes to girls." Iori still looked sad. Naruto placed a hand on her shoulder. "Look. Just apologize the next time he wakes up. Tell him that he's a nice guy, and you'll treat him better from now on. And no, this does not mean you have to be his girlfriend; but as teammates, you're expected to be there for one another." Iori smiled slightly, and nodded her head saying she understood.

"Can't we go any faster?" Ino screamed.

Sai simply replied "No." He just had to groan. "Just how did I wind up with this ugly dog?" he thought. Sai was in a rotten mood, if that was even possible. Ino tried flirting with him every chance she got, she complained about the fact that they were letting something like a hurricane stop them from reaching Naruto, and it didn't help that she complained about her hair of all things. "I'll never understand women." At least the storm had cleared up now, and they could continue. They should have been there days ago, but it couldn't be helped. "Hang in there, Naruto." Sai thought. He was still far off from truly understanding what a bond meant, but over the years, something compelled him to help the other members of Team 7 the best he could.

Itachi and Kisame stood at the shore. "Let's get this over with, Itachi." Kisame said.

Itachi just nodded. They walked on to the water, and sprinted. Though the waves were high and made water-walking difficult, it was nothing a few leaps and bounds could take care of. Suddenly, Kisame just chuckled.

"What is it, Kisame?"

"I've been thinking: Madara wants the power of the biju. Yet we defeated everyone that contains them. Even those weaklings Deidra and Tobi managed to subdue one."

Itachi then said "You underestimate our prey. Shukaku was captured because Deidra forced the Kazekage into taking a blow for his people. It was more due to Hidan's unique abilities that the Nibi was captured. Being both one of the lesser biju and without a host to give it human intelligence, the Sanbi was easily outwitted by Deidra and Tobi. And if it wasn't for me using the Magenkyo Sharingan on the shichibi, you would be nothing but a corpse."

Kisame just shuddered at the thought. His sword couldn't absorb all of that fighter's chakra, and he would've been dead for sure had Itachi not used his eyes.

"There is always more to fighting then brute strength. The ability to overcome those who are physically stronger than you...that is where true power lies." Itachi stated.

A boat set sail into the sea. Orochimaru's vessel, to be precise. It was heading towards the main land. However, a return to his base did not satisfy him. No, today, he was livid. He lost a valuable ally, or if you would be speaking from Orochimaru's perspective, tool. It wasn't Kabuto; sure, it was bad news that Kabuto could no longer be used for combat. But he was still useful in terms of making medicine. It wasn't Sasuke; you wouldn't want to see him if it was Sasuke. No, it was Kenji! It was a loss Orochimaru could not comprehend! Kenji wasn't killed or crippled: He just cut ties with him altogether…

Orochimaru came up to the beach where the huge battle had taken place. He had already ordered Sasuke to take care of Kabuto and bring him to the ship. He just needed to be sure his other ally was okay. It wasn't altruism; he had been rather handy to have around these years. Finally, he found him in rags, kneeling towards the shore line.

"Raikage-sama." Orochimaru hissed. "I assume Uzumaki has been taken care of?" Kenji did not respond. Orochimaru then looked to the grave site right in front of Kenji. It was simple: Nothing more than a stick. This confused Orochimaru. Did he bury the other jinchuriki?

Then, he heard Kenji sob "Mana…I only want to be with you…Naruto made me realize what terrible things I've done. If only I had allowed myself to be taken by you, at least you would have been all right, and you would have never had to sacrifice yourself."

Orochimaru could only stare in disbelief. Kenji was one of the cruelest people he had known! How could he be mourning over someon? "Why did that girl just leave me?" Kenji rasped. " I planned to kill her. I tried to kill her teammate. Couldn't she see I have nothing left to live for?" Kenji broke down completely, his head touching the rocks.

Now Orochimaru was truly afraid of Naruto. Not for his power…no, he seemed to redeem people that were unredeemable. If he could do it with Kenji…"No! I can't let him take back Sasuke-kun! I must have the sharingan." Orochimaru, seemingly calm, walked towards Kenji. "Strife-sama. I'm afraid I have no more use for you." Orochimaru used his hidden snake-hands and pinned Kenji to the rocks. He then shot out Kusunagi from his mouth, hoping to impale him…until he saw his eyes. There was anticipation, but not out of fear. No, it seemed to be more like…relief.

"Weren't you going to kill me?" Kenji said. "Oh, I see. You're wondering why I'm not afraid. Well, I'll give you the abridged version of a long story: I lost someone precious. Someone I simply cannot live without. Death would be a blessing." He lowered his head, but still left enough room for his neck to be exposed. "So do what you will."

Orochimaru growled with dissatisfaction. While people wishing for death were far easier to kill, it was simply unsatisfying when you were mad at them. Oh well. "Give me the contract." Orochimaru ordered.

Kenji reached for two scrolls under his leg. "You mean these?" he asked. The contract had power over Kumogakure's economy; Orochimaru planned to nullify Kenji's original plans to destroy all the money, and instead use it for himself. Suddenly, electricity crackled around it, and next thing they knew, it was nothing more than a pile of ash..

"NOOOOO!" Orochimaru screamed. He pressed Kusunagi to Kenji's Adam's apple until he heard him gag. "WHY? WHY?" Orochimaru demanded.

"Before I die…I would like some form of redemption. Lightning country is free from your grasp as well. No more funds, no more experiments. They will recover on their own terms."

Orochimaru crushed a sake dish he was drinking after he finished reminiscing. There was no way to punish him; even a death prolonged by days would bring more satisfaction to Kenji than it would him. "So long as he does not threaten my plans, I suppose it's a loss I can get through."

Something bothered him though. "Without him, the threat Akatsuki posses is greater than before, especially in his vulnerable state. He could be captured!" Should he have killed him after all to prevent Akatsuki from achieving its goals? Maybe, but he wasn't too worried. The device used to contain the biju's power was unstable; for every year the Akatsuki was free to hunt the biju, the Akatsuki had to spend three stabilizing it. Although their time to hunt again was now, according to his spies, they hadn't made much progress. And so long as he could kill one jinchuriki, their plans will be ruined. "Uzumaki Naruto…I will be rid of you soon."

Sakura blinked her eyes. Then she shot up. She was on what was supposed to be Naruto's bed, with the covers over her. She looked around frantically. "Naruto? Naruto?"

Suddenly, something was heard over the bushes. "You don't have to be so loud, Sakura-chan." A familiar voice said. Naruto emerged, carrying a basket.

"Are those…?" Sakura thought.

Naruto looked at her, then the basket, and then laughed. "Oh, this? They're not herbs; I couldn't pick them out if I tried. I just found some fruit I know is good, and got some for everyone." Naruto went around to everyone who was conscious. Kakashi declined, claiming he wasn't hungry. Naruto figured that he just didn't want to be unmasked, since he couldn't do his super quick bites in his condition.

"Naruto, how long have I been asleep?" Sakura asked.

Naruto thought. "Oh, I'd say about twelve hours."

Sakura freaked out. "Half a day? What if someone…"

Naruto waved his hands. "Sakura, please! You were sick and exhausted, you needed rest! If someone was in trouble, I would've woken you up! Please believe me!"

Sakura then calmed down. "Sorry, Naruto. I just…" Sakura couldn't find the words.

"Just what, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked.

"I guess I just wanted to be acknowledged I could help everyone no matter what the circumstances. Kinda like you, I guess." She said, with a slight smile on her lips.

Naruto didn't know what to say. Then, he grinned like a goof-ball as usual. "Well, why don't you eat up? I'm feeling much better right now. Then, I guess we'll just carry everyone back."

"We may have to wait a while, Naruto." Sakura said. "Summoning a sea slug is the best way, and my chakra is a bit out of whack." Then, the medi-nin got up. "However, I should have enough to finish healing Yuji."

As she walked over, Naruto asked "Sakura-chan?"

"Yes?"

"What happened to him? To Kenji, I mean?"

Sakura decided to set Naruto down. Seeing Kenji in his state, as terrible a person as he may have been, she couldn't bear to see other people suffer. Her ninja senses kicked in at the last minute. She pulled out a kunai and parried incoming shuriken.

"Kill him while he's weak! Kill him!" A group of cloud nins was running straight towards Kenji, bearing every weapon, both real and makeshift imaginable.

Sakura knew what she had to do. She ran forward and punched the ground. The cloud nins backed off when the beach seemingly exploded in front of them. When the dust settled, Sakura got up from her battle position. "You bastards!" she screamed. "I know about everything he did. There's no excuse for his actions. But look at him now!"

At first, the ninja didn't respond with anything but confusion. However, one of them glanced over. And then another. They all saw the monster that held them captive cradling and crying over a woman. "What are you cowards waiting for?" The captain yelled, pointing his ninken at the jinchuriki. "Kill him!" None of them responded. The captain's look became one of pure rage, and it was directed at his squad "What's wrong with you all? You're sympathizing with our enemy? The one who holds our lives in the palm of his hands?"

Suddenly, one of the cloud nins walked over to where Kenji kneeled. Sakura sensed no killing intent from him, and let him passed. He kneeled right in front of Kenji, but not in a submissive manner. "Erase the seals." he said. Kenji only blinked, but the nin took it that he understood what he was asking. "Erase the seals…and we'll help you bury her."

At first, Kenji did not respond. Then, his hand slowly came up and touched the nin's forehead. Though he was afraid, he didn't make any attempt to stop his master. A green-light formed on his forehead, and disappeared.

"You're free." the jinchuriki whispered. He got up, and walked over to the squad, his head hung low. He repeated the same process on each and every one of them. He finally came up to the captain, who gritted his teeth. The captain pulled out a tanto, aiming for the young man's heart…and was quickly beaten across the beach by Sakura.

After he too was freed from Kenji's grasp, the cloud nins gathered around Mana, and helped Kenji bury her. Shortly afterwards, Kenji gave them the instructions for removing the seals on everyone else.

Soon, they gathered their unconscious comrade and took their leave. "Hey!" Sakura shouted. The cloud nin turned around to look at her. "I want you all to promise me: Should you ever have a jinchuriki again, you will treat him or her as a human being. It's because of your own fears and hypocrisy that you're in this situation now." The cloud nin nodded, their heads hung in shame…

"What happened to Kenji then?" Naruto asked.

Sakura could only shake her head sadly. "He didn't respond after that. I would've had taken him in, but I realized he was no threat. So, I left him. If he wanted revenge, he would've gone after somebody."

Naruto nodded his head in agreement, and looked away. "Kenji..."

Ino woke up on the bird they were flying on. She had only been asleep for a few hours, but she needed it. She looked to her side, and noticed Sai observing the scenery, drawing something on his pad. Ino got a sly smile, put her mask behind her back, and walked right over. "Good morning Sai." She said right into his ear. Sai jumped with surprise, and mentally she went "Hell YEAH!"

If only she knew it wasn't the kind of surprise she was aiming for. "Oh no, not her again!" he thought.

"Watcha drawing there? The sun? How lovely!" Ino practically screamed.

Sai just had to mentally sigh to himself. "What is with her?" Sai turned around, trying to ignore her.

Ino looked back, and saw Yamato was still sound asleep. He came down with a cold, but continued with the mission nonetheless. This gave Ino an idea, as another one of her sly smiles got plastered on her lips. "You're such a talented artist, Sai. In fact…" A slight shuffling of clothes was heard. "I was dreaming that you would paint me into your memory." her voice said in a most seductive manner

Sai turned around, and immediately turned paler than before, if that was possible. Ino didn't strip down…at least, not completely. Her armor was off, and her top was up to the point where one could see the bottom of her breasts. She hunched over so that her cleavage was exposed too. The worst part was when Sai noticed she pulled her pants and panties down, but had her exposed cheek to the side, allowing him no access to her sacred area, which was still conveniently covered by her hands. Which was a good thing for Sai. "What am I going to do? Why is she…" Sai then remembered to the incident when he was invited along with Team 7 and Team 10 to have lunch. Then he remembered what he had told Ino that day. "I only said that to be nice! I guess I should tell her the truth." Sai thought. "Ino-san." He said.

"HMM?" Ino said with a big smile on her lips.

"That day, when we had lunch with your teammates, I wasn't being honest." Ino's smile immediately faltered. "The truth is, I don't find you attractive. Your blond hair is so bright it burns my eyes, the way you have it makes you look like a dodo, and you're so skinny that I'm surprised you haven't died of starvation. Sorry Ino, but I'm not interested in you." Sai finally breathed. "There. Hopefully, that should clear things up."

Ino just stood there in shock, mouth agape. Soon, she adjusted her clothes properly, and walked right over to Sai. She closed her eyes…then opened them and slapped Sai right across the cheek. This sent the man flying off the bird. Ino then realized too late that now wasn't the best time: The paint bird Sai had summoned dissipated, and its remaining two occupants fell along with him!

All three former occupants swam up to the water's surface, and used their chakra to stay on the water.

"What happened, Sai?!" Yamato demanded.

Sai was at a loss for words for a moment. Though he was probably the most socially backward person in all of Konoha, he knew that personal and petty feuds should stay out of missions. Still, he knew Yamato wouldn't take "nothing" for an answer. "Well…"

Suddenly, water shot out of nowhere, and the three of them scattered. They looked at the direction where the water came from, and their eyes widened.

"It seems the nine-tails is nearby, and has brought some friends." A sinister voice said.

Before them stood members of the Akatsuki! Neither Ino nor Sai had seen these particular members, but Yamato knew one of them. "Uchiha…Itachi."

Ino looked at the famed Uchiha who killed his own clan. "That's Sasuke's brother?" she thought.

Itachi stepped forward. "Leaf ninja…we have other pressing matters that do not concern you. Step aside, and you may live."

Kisame snarled "I say we kill them! You know they will not go down without a fight!"

Ino made hand signals, and thrust her hands forward. "Shinranshin no jutsu!"

Suddenly, Kisame's body began to move on it's own. "Wh-What?" Kisame began swinging his sword at Itachi. Itachi, of course, dodged with ease, and did not seem the least bit concerned.

"The famous mind possession techniques of the Yamanaka clan. An interesting technique." Itachi noted.

Ino threw kunai to trick him into running into Samehada. However, they struck Itachi right on target. "Hah, even better!" she yelled. But then something occurred to her: That was too easy. Before she could react, the clone exploded, sending everyone flying. Kisame, free of the mind control, dove underwater. Ino rolled on the water's surface and kneeled. "Where is he?" she screamed.

Her question was answered when a rough hand grabbed her by the throat. "It seems we'll have to do this the hard way after all." Itachi said, no emotion showing.

Suddenly, Ino felt…strange. She looked at her hand: It was wrinkled! Sure, they were on salt water, but her hands couldn't have been under long enough to become prudish. Then she looked down at the ocean's reflection, and nearly screamed. She was old! She had wrinkles everywhere, her hair was white, and she really DID look like a pile of skin and bones.

"It's Genjutsu!" she thought. "It has to be!"

She looked up at Itachi, and prepared a round kick just for him. However, when it got up to hip level, it felt like her back had snapped in two.

"Old women should not exert themselves." Itachi said, as he watched Ino sink into the sea.

Ino struggled to stay afloat. "Come on, move it! It's nothing but genjutsu…" It was getting harder to believe that as she both saw and felt her body decay to bone.

"Ino-san!" Sai yelled. He and Yamato ran towards her, but they were caught in water prisons.

Kisame then raised his sword. "This is for interfering!" he yelled. He was about to bring it down, when Itachi raised his hand.

"Enough, Kisame. Our objective is the five-tails and the offspring of the seven-tails. We're wasting time."

After saying that, Itachi turned around and walked on the water towards Monsoon.

Kisame just growled. "Fine!" Kisame then ran towards his partner, leaving Sai and Yamato trapped in their prisons. He looked back, and sneered "Feel free to drown while I'm gone! I'll be back to check up on you!"

Sai struggled against his water prison, but the pressure, combined with his lack of air, was too strong for him. Yamato, however, came prepared. He put his chakra into a seed, and roots began to grow. Finally, the bubble burst. Yamato ran towards Sai, and cut his prison open with a kunai. Sai hacked water, and ran towards where Ino was. Was.

"She must've drowned!" Sai thought. He dove underwater, and found her. He grabbed her around the waste and brought her to the surface. She wasn't breathing.

"We'll have to do CPR." Yamato said. "You hold her up while I do the recitation."

Naruto wasn't in the best shape ever, but he was feeling a lot better from his battle now. He could do flips and chakra climbing with ease. Acting like he was about to fight put strain on him, though. "Oh, well, that's not an issue anymore." Naruto thought.

Yuji had fully recovered. Not the slightest trace of his wounds could be seen. Naruto caught Iori several times approaching Yuji from behind, only to chicken out. Naruto decided not to push it.

"She realizes her mistakes. She's just afraid her apology will be rejected. She'll do it when she's ready." He thought.

Neji and Kakashi, unfortunately, hadn't recovered. Sakura assured him that they would get better treatment at the hospital. Speaking of Sakura…

"Sakura! Where are you?" He heard a cough. He walked towards it, and saw Sakura lying down.

"I'm okay, Naruto. Just tired." She looked more sick than tired, in his opinion. But how? Though even the best of medi-nins got sick occasionally, they had great immune systems.

Naruto thought back to the battle…and a realization came to him. "It's my chakra, isn't it?"

Sakura looked at Naruto alarmed, then turned away. "I didn't want to hurt you, Naruto." She said. "I couldn't let you transform any further. I did the only thing I could think of at the time."

Naruto didn't know what to say. And he knew his fox transformation hurt Sakura before…"What's going to happen now?" You were ill for days just from a tiny scratch from me…"

"Naruto, I promise I'll be fine." Sakura stated.

Naruto just said "I'll believe that as soon as we go see Tsunade." Naruto heard from Kakashi why Orochimaru didn't possess Sasuke yet. If his fox's chakra could do so much damage to a sanin, there was no telling what it would do to Sakura. He got up, and gathered his team.

"Listen up. We've got comrades who are injured, and they need to be taken back to Konoha right now. I want the three of you to carry Kakashi and follow me."

Iori asked "What about Sakura-san and that guy?" and pointed to Neji.

"Leave it to me." Naruto replied. He bit his thumb and summoned a human sized toad. Naruto felt a bit tired afterwards, but he could still walk fine, and he knew so long as he took it slow, water-walking would be no problem. "Go over to Neji." Naruto said to the toad and pointed him in the direction of the Hyugga. "Shiguri, I want you to tie him to the toad's back." Naruto said.

Shiguri did as he was told, and Naruto picked up Sakura.

"Naruto…you're…"

Naruto cut Sakura off. "The longer we wait for you to recover, the greater the risk we face of loosing Neji and Kakashi-sensei. Don't worry: I'll take care of everything." Sakura didn't say anything, but fell asleep as Naruto adjusted her for a piggy-back position. "All right, let's move out!" Naruto yelled.

Kenji watched in camouflage attire as he saw the cloud ninjas he once enslaved cheer in joy. A cloud nin that Kenji recognized as Mana's second in command stood in front. It was Sakura who told the rebellion that Kenji was defeated. Then, the man spoke up.

"Today, our country is free!" he yelled to his troops. They pumped their fists in joy. "We will rebuild, select a new Raikage, and raise Kumogakure to new heights!" The crowd cheered at this. "And we must also learn from our mistakes!"

At this, they went silent. "While it's true that a jinchuriki enslaved us, it was also a jinchuriki that saved us as well. The previous Raikage sacrificed his wife to create a weapon that he feared he could not control. He shunned him, and so did we, in turn. Believe it or not, Kenji was just as human as us. I myself saw him wanting to play with us as kids, he would smile and laugh, I've even saw him crying once. Our leader, the late Mana, was all he ever had, and I could tell he always did love her. That is something I imagine the rest of you couldn't even comprehend him doing. What made him snap was the return of his brother, who betrayed the village. We didn't know it, but we should have at least had reservations for why he returned after so many years. If you had given everything to your homeland only to be rejected, and find them welcoming back a traitor with open arms, would you have felt any different?"

There were some murmurs among the men. "In contrast, the one who saved us was not only a Konoha ninja, one of our enemies, but a jinchuriki who contained the Kyuubi as well. I've done some background research on him: He had a lifestyle similar to Kenji's. We tried to trick him into helping us. We took his genins hostage. He caught onto it and topped us. Yet despite that, of his own free will he chose to help us. Why? It was because he had a heart of gold. He forbade Mana from allowing us to fight not for his own personal amusement. No, he did it because he did not want anyone to die. Just how many ninja do you know of that would do such a thing?"

No one could give an answer. "What Kenji did to us was wrong. But we wronged him first, and the rest was simply karma. Perhaps there are others like him. But if out of all the possible jinchuriki that exists, that Naruto Uzumaki is the only just one, he alone makes treating them all like human beings justified."

More silence followed, but this time, not from disagreement or confusion: no, everyone was crying. Kenji could not believe what he was seeing. "When we rebuild, this new law will pass: should a jinchuriki ever be born in Kumogakure again, we will not shun them. No, we shall treat them like one of us. If he is without family, he shall be adopted. He will be taught and housed properly. We will accept him as an equal, a comrade…a brother."

Slowly, people began applauding. Kenji gripped his heart and ran into the forest. When he got far enough away, he sat down crying. Then he remembered his discussion with Naruto about his actions. Then he thought back to what he just heard from the people he used to hate.

"They're not passing these laws because of what I did to them…they're passing those laws because of what Naruto did FOR them." Suddenly, Kenji lied down, and cried and laughed simultaneously.

"Aw, shit." Naruto moaned. He forgot one thing about their return trip: The sea.

"Even if I taught them walking on water and was at full health, this would be a problem." Naruto thought to himself.

"Um, sensei…" Shiguri said.

"I know. It looks like I'm going to have to send in a messenger toad instead." Naruto set Sakura down on the shore and bit his thumb, thinking "As if I haven't wasted enough chakra already."

He was down to the last hand sign, when a familiar voice chuckled "Well, I never expected to see you here." Naruto froze, and slowly looked up. Before him stood Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hogogachi.

"Itachi-san, if the information we received is correct, we'll be able to bag THREE jinchurikis!"

Itachi only replied "Whether the third one can live up to the definition remains to be seen."

Naruto was confused. Three? He was definitely one of the ones they were talking about. If they came here, it would mean they were after Kenji. But who was the third? Naruto turned to his team to see Iori trembling. His eyes widened in alarm: They were after her!

"Just what do you want with Iori?" Naruto yelled at them.

"Do you know what powers the offspring of a Jinchuriki possess?" Itachi asked, though it was more of a statement. Naruto didn't respond. "Neither do we. Which is why the little girl is coming with us."

Naruto immediately reached for shuriken and threw them at the two Akatsuki. Kisame blocked the ones directed at him with his sword. Others did manage to hit Itachi, but then a huge explosion knocked everyone off their feet.

"I wish he would warn me before he creates one of those!" Kisame yelled.

Itachi emerged from the water, and walked onto the shore. "Give us the child, and we shall let you live for now." Itachi ordered.

Naruto snarled, and drew a kunai. He ran forward, and slashed at Itachi. None of it did any good. Using his Sharingan, Itachi could easily see Naruto's moves from a mile away. Itachi foot swept Naruto, and knocked him down. "Only one with the Magenkyo and the Kekei Genkai can stop me." Itachi said.

"Naruto, get out of the way!" Naruto looked up to see an ill but standing Kakashi, with his Magenkyo exposed.

Itachi didn't look surprised. "Your magenkyo would be powerful. But you're weak. And you lack the second important variable that I have stated."

Kakashi whispered "That won't matter!" Soon, his magenkyo started spinning. Naruto ran a good distance, knowing what was coming. A black hole opened up some distance from Itachi. It wasn't as close as anybody would've liked, but Itachi was nonetheless being pulled in.

"Hmm, an interesting technique. But!..." Itachi's eyes changed, and spun as well. Slowly, the hole closed, only taking Itachi's cloak with it.

Kakashi and Naruto could only say "No way…"

"I do not know how you have managed to obtain the Magenkyo…but because of your condition, and the fact you're not like me, your sharingan jutsus are weak." Itachi pulled out a scroll, and summoned a katanna. "Kisame! Grab the girl! I'll see to them!"

Kisame ran towards Naruto's team. Iori was simply paralyzed with fear. "Ahh, you look just like your father little girl! I remember when we extracted his biju! He kept crying out your name!"

Just when Kisame got close, a wall rose from the ground with huge spikes, knocking Kisame to the ground. Kisame was back on his feet, but wires wrapped his limbs up. Shiguri came and threw shuriken, only to have it all blocked by Kisame's sword.

"Iori!" Yuji screamed. "Run!"

Iori finally snapped out of her trance, and ran, crying as she did. "In the end, I couldn't do anything!"

Kisame continued to struggle with his bonds. "Very clever of you." Kisame growled. "But!..." Kisame pulled one of the wires, and slammed Yuji into Shiguri. Both groaned.

"Are you okay up there, buddy?" Shiguri asked in a hoarse whisper. "I've been better. That guy is strong." Yuji replied. Both got up, and Yuji pulled out more wires. "Plan F?" Yuji asked. Shiguri nodded and replied "Plan F."

Yuji then poured a liquid over the wires he was holding. "Ready!" Yuji yelled. Yuji threw his wires, and once again ensnared Kisame.

"Fool!" he yelled. Shiguri made hand signs and fired up the wires. The flames traveled towards Kisame at an incredible speed, and reached their destination. However, when they finally hit him, his body collapsed into a puddle.

"A Bushin?" the two genins asked.

Suddenly, the real Kisame erupted from the ground and swung his sword. Though both genins managed to avoid a fatal blow, the blade still ruined their limbs, and the two found themselves crippled. For once, Kisame did not stick around to gloat. He leapt over the two genin, and ran after Iori. "Man, this has been such a crappy week." Yuji said, struggling to get up.

Itachi charged and sliced. Naruto blocked with his kunai, but he still got a nasty cut on his cheek. Naruto noticed that he could not keep it up like this; his kunai was cracking. Naruto flipped away and threw what shuriken he could. Itachi simply side-stepped them all.

"Katon! Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

A giant fireball was sent straight at Naruto, but he was ready!

"Suiton! Hanryohou!" Naruto brought a wave down to counter the fireball. Naruto used the smoke as a diversion and ran. "I've got to get to Iori!" Not yet, though. He dove in the bushes first. Itachi simply stood their, calm. "I can't leave him alone with the others!" Naruto thought.

Itachi just said "It's pointless. You cannot change the course of time, Naruto-kun. The biju's power will be handed over to my master." No response. Itachi continued. "It's unfortunate that the girl would get caught up in this. I saw her looking at us the night Kisame and I took away her father. I said nothing, feeling that killing her would be a waste of time. But I suppose I was wrong. The Akatsuki leader and our master wishes to see what she is capable of…but even if she does not display the power we hope for, she will be killed."

Naruto charged up his Rasengan and lunged towards Itachi. "You will hurt no one anymore, Uchiha Itachi!"

Iori continued running. A part of her wanted revenge…but she didn't know how it would be possible. She was no where near as strong as her father. If they were able to defeat him, what could she do?

Suddenly Kisame's large frame leapt in front of her. "Don't worry, little girl. I'm not going to kill you…not yet. First, let's see what you got!"

Kisame swung his sword once more, Iori dodging each one by a hair. "Come on, fight back!" Kisame roared.

Iori couldn't. She continued to jump over him again and again. Finally, the sword made contact with Iori's shoulder, and Kisame pulled. Iori fell forward, and grabbed her bloody shoulder.

"Hahaha, I guess I shouldn't expect much of someone your age. Not that your father amounted to much anyways."

Iori's eyes widened.

"One little hit, and he was on his knees begging for mercy! It was the most pathetic sight I've ever seen!" This of course was a lie; Kisame hoped to never fight someone like that without Itachi ever again. But nonetheless he thought he should push her. "Best way to see what she's capable of."

Kisame looked, and could have sworn that the girl was growing fangs. "It seems she does have some transformation abilities. Maybe a bit more." Kisame summoned a water sprout, and shot it at Iori. It wasn't very strong, but for someone like her, it would normally be enough. "I don't think killing you will be that much fun. Perhaps I should add your teammates to the mix? That kid with the glasses will be especially fun to torture! Kids like those are so full of themselves, it's not even funny! Then kids like him break down, but it's too late! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Suddenly, a pillar blocked the water, and Iori stepped out. She had the beast like features of an enraged jinchuriki; he took note of her silver chakra and silver-highlighted hair. "Hm, just like her father." Kisame prepared a horizontal swing….and was met with the back of Iori's sandal.

The shark-man was sent flying, praying he would land safely; judging by the stalagmites forming on the ground, the chances of that didn't look too good. He landed, and while most broke off, he knew he wasn't out of the woods yet. Once he stopped, his foot was grabbed, and he felt himself fly 180 degrees. The impact was hard…and that was saying a lot.

"Take this!" Kisame yelled as he stuck his sword forward. It began eating Iori's chakra, and she was starting to feel dizzy. However, she perked up, and backed away at an astounding speed. Then, she charged again.

Naruto couldn't comprehend what just happened. His rasengan had been countered. What was even more shocking was what it was countered with: A Chidori! But this one made Sasuke's pale in comparison. It was huge, and the sparks of lightning struck the ground, leaving little craters.

"I've seen my brother use it once. Did you not think my own sharingan could copy it?" Itachi asked.

Both attacks dissipated, and Naruto was hurled back over a hundred feet, burned from the attack and sliding across the rough ground. The battle was starting to take its toll on Naruto: The minor aches and pains he felt before became cramps, and he could barely move. Itachi ran forward and kicked the jinchuriki while he was down. "Give it up. You cannot defeat me."

Itachi suddenly felt himself restrained from behind. A bushin of Naruto had him in a full nelson! The real Naruto struggled up, and began forming another Rasengan. Though it was clear he was exhausted, he finished it up, and charged. Naruto was almost upon him, when time just stopped for everyone. Except Itachi.

"Itachi." A voice said.

"K-Kizu-sama?" Itachi asked, with fear in his voice.

"Kisame is taking too long. Go and aid him, then you shall return to the base at the shore. The two of you shall wait for the five-tails and nine tails there."

Itachi said nothing, but the leader knew that was a yes. Time started all over again, and Naruto continued moving. Itachi activated his magenkyo once more. "Amaterasu!"

Black flames erupted from Itachi's eyes, and Naruto was forced to double back. However, the flames veered course and went the opposite direction. Naruto soon realized he wasn't the target: Sakura was! Naruto released his rasengan and ran towards the girl, struggling to make it before the flames did. Just as he wrapped his arms around her waste, the fire caught his jacket. Naruto unzipped it quickly, and rolled to the side. Naruto checked them both, to see that they were unharmed. Quickly, he looked for Itachi, preparing for the worse. He wasn't anywhere! "Where could he be?" Then it struck him: Iori!

Iori held Kisame in a choke hold, and punched him repeatedly. Though each one still hurt, Kisame was able to take the blows, and eventually he countered with an uppercut. "You little brat!"

Kisame charged, but then Itachi stood right in front of him.

"This has been taking too long, Kisame. Let's take the girl." Iori charged, growling madly, but Itachi only stared at her with his sharingan. It began spinning…and Iori suddenly, relaxed, collapsing

"Itachi, you know what the Magenkyo does to you." Kisame said. "You shouldn't have wasted it on this brat."

Itachi replied "The drawbacks of the Magenkyo no longer concern me. Besides, I used normal sharingan hypnosis, not the Tsukiyomi." He picked up the child and said "Let's go. We don't have much time to head back and set up the trap."

With that, the two missing nins ran towards the shore, and continued onwards.

Naruto ran in the direction he saw Itachi move. "Iori! Iori!" Naruto looked everywhere. He found nothing. Not her nor the Akatsuki. Naruto sunk down to his knees, struggling to keep himself together. He failed miserably, as evidenced by his tears. "How could I? She was my student, I was all she had. Why do I keep failing the people I love?"

Naruto was brought out of his thoughts when a voice said "For the love of God, don't cry. At least give me some comfort that the one who defeated me isn't a total pussy."

Naruto shot up, and pulled out a kunai. Kenji stood right before him! But something was different. Something in his eyes…

"I saw them leave." Kenji said "I wasn't close enough to hear what they said, but they're off the island."

Kenji made the hand signs for a summon, but instead of a crocodile, he summoned a hawk. Kenji picked it up and said to the bird "I need you to look for three people. One is a little girl with red hair. The other two are wearing black cloaks with red clouds. And one of those two looks like a shark." The hawk flew up, and Kenji turned to face Naruto.

"We'll need allies."

Naruto, though still a bit stunned at what he was seeing, managed to say "This hasn't exactly been the best week for them."

Kenji just nodded, and said "Well, let's see what we can get out of this debacle."

The two jinchuriki came back to the shore, each inspecting their allies.

"His allies." Kenji reminded himself. The two genin, despite being unable to stand, held up their kunai defensively.

Though Kakashi could not move, he managed to choke

"Naruto…"

"It's all right. He's on our side…for now, at least."

Kenji didn't show any visible reaction, but instead looked around him. "Let's see, that guy looks poisoned. I don't mean to brag, but with what I put that guy through, he's definitely not fighting." He said, pointing at Neji. "Taking two genins to face the Akatsuki is not an option." He then looked at Sakura. "Nope."

Naruto yelled "Hey, come on! Sakura's really strong, literally I might add! I'll just pop in a soldier pill, and…"

"You don't want to risk her life. I'd hate to see how badly our little rescue will go if something happens to her."

Naruto stood silent, and then understood. He always trusted Sakura to take care of herself…and while he didn't let it cloud his judgment, the thought of her dying always came to his mind. Then Naruto realized that Kenji was trying to spare him from the pain he received. His former enemy was sympathizing with him!

Naruto walked forward, and said "Sakura told me what happened with Mana. Kenji, I'm…"

"Why are you apologizing?" the other jinchuriki snapped. He turned to face Naruto, his face more solemn. "Her death was my fault. I lost my temper that day and wouldn't let the anger go. Deep down, I still loved her. But I let that thing manipulate me, just because of how much I hated my brother. Houkou used those feelings to justify hating her. But this whole time, she was trying to save me. If I stayed, she would be alive. If I stayed…" Kenji's head sunk. "If I stayed, I'd have a family to care for, and I would never be alone again."

The two said nothing for a long time, and then they heard something. They turned around to see three Shinobi heading towards them. Naruto squinted his eyes, and immediately recognized them!

"Ino! Sai! Yamato!"

The three other shinobi made it to the shore. "We got here as fast as we could." Yamato said. "But the Akatsuki…"

Naruto interrupted and said "They've got my student. Apparently, she was the child of a jinchuriki. We have to save her!"

Ino looked behind Naruto, and asked "Who's he?"

Naruto looked behind and saw she was asking about Kenji. He seemed to have a nervous look on his face. He stuttered "I…I'm…"

"A friend." Naruto interrupted. Kenji just looked at Naruto in awe.

Meanwhile, Ino went inspecting everyone. She healed Yuji and Shiguri's wounds, and they were back on their feet.

Yuji lifted his leg up, and said "Not bad. But you weren't able to get rid of the scars like she did."

The next thing he knew, his face was right in the sand.

Shiguri just sighed. "Idiot."

Ino walked towards Sakura, fuming at what Yuji said. "I may not be Tsunade's top apprentice, but I will surpass you, Sakura!" she thought. She felt Sakura's body, and recognized all of the symptoms.

"Exhaustion, fever…irregular chakra…this is bad."

Ino looked up and said "I'm sorry Naruto, but I won't be able to get her back up into fighting condition. I can slowly heal her, but that's it."

Naruto nodded "Just do what you can."

He then looked at Yuji and Shiguri. "I need you two to stay with her, and help protect the others." Naruto said. "And this time I expect you two to do as you are told."

The two nodded, and Shiguri made his way to the center of everyone. Yuji, however, stood there.

Naruto got angry and grabbed Yuji by the collar. "Yuji, what did I just tell the two of you to do? You remember what happened the last time you didn't do what I told you? These guys are a thousand times stronger than that thing you fought! Besides, we have leaf shinobi who are incapacitated and need to be attended to!"

Yuji just stood there, and Naruto noticed something: Yuji was crying!

"Sensei! Please…bring her back! Promise me you'll bring her back! If you fail….I'll never forgive you!"

Naruto was shocked…then smiled. "You really care about her a lot, don't you?"

Yuji blushed a bit, and nodded sheepishly.

Naruto then chuckled. "Don't worry. I promise I'll bring her back. And since you're so anxious about trusting others with your loved ones lives…when we get back to Konoha, we'll train hard so that you will be strong enough to take matters into your own hands."

Yuji nodded, clearly thankful. Then, they both heard an "ahem". Naruto turned around to face Kenji.

"I think we've wasted some time." Kenji said, then pointed to Sai and Yamato. "Though these two lost, they're in good condition and will not make the same mistake again." Naruto nodded, and then Kenji pointed North-East. "I saw them head that way. If they have changed direction, my hawk will intercept with us and inform us. Let's move!"

Kenji tossed Naruto a bag of soldier pills. "Take them. We'll be needing them." Naruto swallowed a pill. Though he was still in some pain, he felt he was ready and able to fight at his full potential.

"Hang in there, Iori. I'm coming." Naruto then ran to catch up to the group, trying to quench the rage in his body…

I've got another rant on mind. Basically, there's some debate on whether Naruto should end up with or without a pairing, besides Asuma and Kurenai. Maybe I'm being a sucker for romance in a shonen series of all things, but I think it should, and here's why:

1) Naruto is a coming of age story. If part of the show is about growing up, settling down and having a family should be included.

2) If Kishimoto intends to have the story go on to the next generation (as in having a new generation of genins at the end of the story, nothing more), someone needs to bang someone.

3) In Naruto's case, it will give the most closure. Without arguing for a pairing with any specific females (though you probably know who I'm rooting for), Naruto finding someone and having a family with her would probably give him what he always wanted since childhood, something in my mind just friends who are like family simply cannot fill in.

It's just my opinion. Whether two people officially hook up or not depends on how relevant it is to the story, and as I pointed out, really has nothing to do with romance, but the development of the characters. For example, I don't particularly care for any pairings in Bleach (though I'm sure Kubo could pull any one pair off fairly well), because a couple getting together just does not have the same impact a series like Naruto would. But that's just my opinion.

Until next time!