Author Note

Hi there and welcome to another chapter of Cursed Eyes.

Yep, for those unaware of what happened. I had made a poll recently about which of the still in-progress stories to finish and this one won with After the Storm, a close second. So, I shall pick it up where I left off. Before that, I'd like to say sorry for the long time without updating this story, as I know many of the readers quite enjoyed it. For a while there, I just wasn't getting the drive anymore and started struggling with the chapters. Surprisingly, it took the pandemic for me to watch other anime and get the juices flowing again. Well, at first, I focused on FSN stories, but then the Naruto vibe came back with force. Particularly, because quite frankly, I don't like how the Boruto anime is playing out.

First of all, Naruto in my opinion is still that same teenager kid in an adult's body. I don't know, some may like it and even find it funny at times, but I don't, sorry.

Plus, it irked me to see that his only skill is being a jinchuuriki. Without it, he's as useless as before. You'd imagine that a Hokage would have to at least have extensive knowledge and experience in the shinobi arts, but all we see is him using the fox's chakra the entire time. Sure, yeah, there is one occasion when he uses Doton Ninjutsu, but that is only for a lowly C-ranked wall for defense. Hell, not even another wind technique. Also, the whole scientific ninja tool is annoying…but I digress or else I'll start complaining about many others as well, so I'll stop here and focus on my story. This is why I began fanfiction in the first place…to write my own versions of Kishimoto's creation.

So, a brief summary about what happened in the last chapters of this story.

The moment came when Itachi decided to confront Naruto and they got into one hell of a fight, before Naruto emerged victorious. After that, Itachi had commented his true goals to Naruto…that he wished for Naruto to do what Sasuke would and kill him to cleanse the Uchiha Clan. Plus, Itachi knew that Naruto would overuse the Mangekyou Sharingan and eventually succumb to blindness. So, Itachi meant for his eyes to merge with Naruto's, so that Naruto could have the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan and for Itachi to be reunited with his brother in Naruto.

After Naruto returned to Konoha, they had the procedure and Itachi appeared in Naruto's head, telling him of what truly happened in the past to make Itachi go rogue.

With Itachi's memories, Naruto vowed to make a move on Danzo, though he was still unaware as to how he would go about it. In the meantime, Jiraiya had approached Tsunade with the acquired information regarding the location of Akatsuki's leader. She wasn't in favor of him leaving, but relented in the end. After Naruto's procedure was finished, Tsunade had gathered his rescue squad to go towards Amegakure at once to rescue Jiraiya from Pein's clutches. Before leaving, Naruto captured one ROOT ANBU that was following them and managed to acquire sensitive information about Danzo's dealings. Despite Jiraiya losing his arm in the process, Naruto was able to rescue him in time and they managed to escape to Konoha.

Once in the village, Naruto had relayed what Itachi explained and what he managed to acquire from the ROOT ANBU's memories. However, the method he used to do so was to capture the Hokage and Jiraiya in a genjutsu, which was interpreted by one ANBU inside the office as an attack towards the Hokage. Naruto's girlfriend, Itsuko (OC) attacked him despite her feelings for him, since the mission of protecting the Hokage was paramount for ANBU. That action sent the woman into shock and once she confronted him about it, Naruto had no choice rather than place her in a sleeping genjutsu, hoping that he could better explain himself the next day, in a calmer atmosphere.

Well, that more or less summed up the last five chapters, so let's get a move on, shall we. One important disclaimer before I begin, this chapter shall begin with a nice lemon.

I hope this chapter and the next ones are to everyone's liking and please give me your insight afterward with new ideas or even helpful criticism (or criticism just for the fun of it) to help me improve.

Last but not least, I figured that I could reintroduce the two OCs I used in this story, Itsuko and Hyuga Kasumi. Itsuko is modeled after Saeko Busujima from the anime High School of the Dead and Hyuga Kasumi is actually Kasumi from Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive. Itsuko is Naruto's girlfriend and Kasumi is Kakashi's long-lost romantic relationship that was rekindled after her assigned mission to protect Uchiha Uzumaki Naruto when he was being tutored by Kakashi in the use of the Sharingan.

Please enjoy.

Cursed Eyes

Chapter 26 – Windmill

Beta: Scheffinator

Outside Naruto's apartment, the full moon was out, illuminating the Village Hidden in the Leaves. The wind was gently whispering in the rather cold autumn night and one Uzumaki Naruto unconsciously rubbed his arms and body to better acclimate to the chilling wind that managed to invade his apartment. Right now, Naruto was dressed in only his Jonin style pants as he observed his sleeping girlfriend on his bed, quietly snoring as if nothing happened a few hours ago. Using the spinning Sharingan to send her to sleep was considered a sensitive action as he just couldn't allow himself to argue over the present and future course of action.

Furthermore, sleep right now eluded him as he couldn't stop thinking about the next steps.

As such, Naruto just took a seat next to Itsuko as he just observed her beautiful triangular purple fringe falling over her right eye.

The memory of her angry assault at him came barging in his memory and Naruto flinched slightly, before using his Sharingan to commit this new image to memory, hoping to replace the previous one. He was about to get up from the bed, when he heard Itsuko slowly waking up next to him. She slowly blinked her eyes and looked around, wondering just what happened to her before, when her eyes noticed her boyfriend's solemn black eyes staring back at her, with eyes of concern. Still, Naruto got up, knowing that looking at him right now was perhaps the last thing she wanted to see. He stopped, though, as soon as he felt her hands rub his back, affectionately.

"Naruto-kun, please don't leave." He looked back at her and saw nothing but care in her eyes.

"Sorry, Itsuko-chan, but I thought you were mad at me." She opened her mouth to question why, when the images of what happened in the Hokage's Office assaulted her mind. Instantly, she flinched and slightly avoided looking at his eyes.

Figuring that now he would be able to get up and leave her alone, he was surprised when she got up from the bed and hugged him fiercely, with a quiet sob.

"Please stay, Naruto-kun, I'm sorry for the way I acted…I was…I was beside myself in anger…I was blinded."

Naruto hugged her back, now with an eased weight on his shoulder in hopeful relief.

"It is I who should apologize, Itsuko-chan. I didn't mean for things to escalate as it did." Quickly clearing the small teardrops in her eyes and still hugging him, Itsuko smiled as she observed the beautiful imagery of the moon illuminating their apartment. The feeling only intensified when she acknowledged her arms holding her man around her neck and his strong muscular arms holding her close. Immediately, a warm and protective feeling arose from her core, making her all tingling inside. When she noticed that her lips were inches to his neck, she took the initiative, wanting to feel more of her boyfriend. The emotional thrill of the night's activities brought about tons of insecurities in her and she wanted to feel him. She wanted him to comfort her. So, when her gentle lips kissed his neck once, her eyes then saw Naruto looking at her for a few seconds.

With a tender smile, she used her hands to caress his whiskered cheeks and approached for a kiss. He at first thought that would be all, when her arms got around his neck once more and he felt the desire as she increased the kissing.

His arms got around her back as well and he could feel her chests squeezing against his chest.

"Itsuko-chan…" It was all he could whisper while they were making out as the woman moaned his name in return, while slowly removing her ANBU gear that was still on her.

"We can talk later, Naruto-kun…but for now, I want you." While still kissing, Itsuko had managed to graciously and expertly remove all her clothing as she laid down on the bed with her man laying down on top of her, while gently massaging her body. At this point, no one thought about anything else aside from this very moment as their bodies got closer. Itsuko's hands and arms went freely to feel her boyfriend's ample back and arm muscles, while Naruto was now kissing her neck affectionately, making her moan for him.

As her hands went for his bottom, her hands found an obstacle of fabric.

"Please lose your pants, Naruto-kun…" With a lewd smile, he started taking it off, before returning to their position, resuming the making out session followed by his lips caressing her neck and her breasts.

Her hands were just busy caressing his butt, feeling aroused by the mere touch.

"You do like to do that, don't you?" He whispered in her ear, making her jolt at the warm feeling inside her right now.

"I do…" It came out short of breath as Naruto's right hand reached inside her underwear. Not only that, but he kept kissing her neck tenderly, sending her over the edge. "You got yourself quite busy these last few days and I missed having you all to myself."

"I'm sorry…" While massaging downstairs and hearing her moaning, Naruto turned to kiss her as well in between some words. "Next time, the Hokage calls through the tattoo, I'll just rip my arm off."

"Yeah…you'll do that..ah…sweet kami!" Itsuko's mind stopped working for some seconds, as she then figured that enough was enough. "Stop teasing me already…and give me what I want."

Happy to oblige his girlfriend, Naruto lowered his own underwear and placed his arms around her. Itsuko's head was held in one arm while both of hers held him for dear life, just as she felt it get just where she wanted it.

"Oh my, how I missed you Naruto-kun…" The first thrust made her eyes roll as his warm body draped all over her and for him, the memory of their past experiences made it all the more thrilling right now.

"No more than I missed you, for sure, Itsuko-chan." The ANBU squeezed her arms, bringing his body even closer with hers, while feeling above the clouds as his member filled her insides completely.

"Ah…kiss me, Naruto-kun…" Doing as requested, their lips met passionately, while Itsuko couldn't stop moaning as he picked up the pace a little bit. Itsuko felt Naruto's arm hug tighten the hold and shivered at the hoarse sound he was making as he kept up the pace. Just everything he did at this moment was sending her over the edge and she felt her inner walls contract while the thrust continued. She had to stop the kissing in need of some air. At this point, both were nearing their finish, but both were too caught up to stop or even signal anything, other than their partner's name and moaning sounds. However, this battle was soon lost by Itsuko, when in the middle of their euphoria, Naruto came close to her ear and whispered.

"I love you, Itsuko-chan…" Those words alone made whatever control inside her obsolete.

"Oh kami, I love you too Naruto-kun, please don't stop…I'm…." Her second orgasm of the night soon approached and because of her own, he couldn't hold his own as well, as both lovers embraced while their brains rebooted.

They both melted on the mattress soon afterward in a desperate attempt to catch on their breath. Her long silk hair was splashed all over his chest and obscured her face for a moment. A couple seconds later, her eyes looked at his and Itsuko felt her desire was still high enough to desperately reach for his lips. Their shared short of breath and fast beating hearts just completed the rush and thrill of their love making. However, the same thought rushed through both their minds as Itsuko's hand even went downstairs, while whispering seductively close to his ear.

"Just don't expect that one or even two times will be enough for me tonight, Naruto-kun…"

"Wouldn't dream of it …"

===With the Hokage===

Still inside the hidden place beneath the Senju Household and much later into the night, Tsunade was observing Shizune using her medical Ninjutsu on the pervert's shoulder region.

Luckily enough, Naruto managed to rescue Jiraiya before he had lost too much blood and the toads managed to stop the bleeding long enough so that Shizune and her hospital crew were able to finish the job and cauterize the wound. Right now, with the exception of losing an arm, the perverted Sannin was in one piece even if he could no longer function the same way. For instance, hand sign techniques would be out of his reach for the meantime. Of course, Jiraiya was still a Sannin and could perform many other techniques with only one arm.

"How are you feeling, Jiraiya-sama?" The man in question looked at the place where his arm was a day ago and frowned in displeasure for a while. Certainly, the mind was willing something to move, but there was no limb there anymore.

Both Tsunade and Shizune worried about seeing that despondent look in his eyes, until his usual boisterous self-returned with a cheerful smile.

"Ah…don't worry about it, Shizune-chan, I appreciate the concern, but it takes more than losing an arm to stop the Gallant Jiraiya!"

The medic Jonin sweat dropped with a smile.

"I'm sure of it…well, I shall take my leave then, there is plenty of work left unattended at the Hokage's Office." Shizune turned to wait for Tsunade's approval and the Hokage nodded. She could see that Naruto's earlier dismissal still hurt Shizune, but Naruto was just over-cautious in the end. So, as she saw her second-in-command leave the room, she then turned to see Jiraiya taking his sweet time trying to put on his clothes with only one arm. Of course, in the middle of a fight, it would be easier, but he would have to get used to doing the regular activities all over again.

It pained her to see that this man's ninja career would have to be limited from here on out.

"There are some options we can try," Jiraiya looked at her as she continued, despite not meeting eye to eye. "Return your arm again…there is some research we are conducting with the Shodaime's cells for cellular reconstitution or we can call the Kazekage if he can provide a wooden arm?"

"You needn't worry about me, hime." Jiraiya flinched when her eyes glared at him, this time.

"How can you say that!? Of course, I worry. If Naruto was a second slower, you wouldn't be here anymore!" Sudden tears started falling from her eyes at the mere possibility.

"I just…couldn't handle losing you, too."

The thought that his hime thought of him in the same way as Dan filled him with warmth, despite him knowing that her heart would always belong elsewhere.

"Mah…mah, it all worked well in the end, aside from the arm. Even with one arm, I'm still a Sannin, you know. Don't waste the precious Shodaime's cells on me…and please don't bother getting me a puppet arm. I'll be alright in no time." Jiraiya was being his usual self and it soon brought a smile on the Hokage's face, despite it all. Perhaps, it was this entire situation with Akatsuki and Naruto's plan to go after Danzo. It made her anxiety levels spike.

"So, what's your take on moving after Danzo?"

Tsunade looked up in surprise at the subject shift. She was still due to get over the fact that her teammate could have been killed. However, now thinking about the old war hawk, Tsunade pondered, truly pondered just what could they do without upsetting the perilous balance that now existed. If what Naruto shared with them was real, then Sarutobi's teammate Shimura Danzo had his hands in practically everything and everywhere. Not only in Fire Country, but in all of them, as well as the hidden villages. Hell, exposing it all could be catastrophic and inadvertently turn Konoha into the main enemy instead. However, doing nothing with all the knowledge that they acquired just didn't sit right with her, either.

"I don't know, Jiraiya, after what Naruto has shown us, it all checked up with our own intelligence. He has spread his tentacles everywhere." Jiraiya knew that to be true, hence why Hiruzen never could move against his old teammate. "Not only his dealings with the Daimyo and the other hidden villages, but his atrocities in here…and the fact that he indirectly controls some of our most prestigious clans. His dealings with Orochimaru…he had participated in the invasion that ended with sensei's death. How could I leave him be after what we've learned?" The look in her eyes was all too evident of a person ruminating over the repercussions and Jiraiya knew too well what could happen, if they make the wrong move. However, Naruto's plan, even if still rudimentary, at least considered the situation accordingly.

"Hm. I don't think that Naruto wishes for this form or approach, Hime." Tsunade nodded, though she was biting her fingers at this point.

"Oh no, it's subtle enough that it could work, but at the same time, we could be dealing with major consequences, if we can't contain it."

"True…there is no way that others won't blame Konoha for what Danzo has done and it could spark a major war with us as main targets."

The sudden desire for a bottle of sake or…six for that matter quickly arose in both of their minds.

"With the exception of perhaps Sunagakure, the other three villages and even the smaller shinobi villages would use Danzo as a scapegoat to launch a full-out war against Konoha. So, as much as I want to move against him, everything must be perfect." Jiraiya couldn't help but snort at that…in a shinobi mission of this importance, the probability of it all working as planned is next to zero. For sure, the man has contingencies for most possible scenarios in place.

"I guess we can conclude that we can't do anything unless the Fire Lord approves first." Just the memory of that old character was enough to irritate the Hokage, though she agreed with Jiraiya. Hell, Naruto's plan involved the Fire Lord anyway. Ever since she came into office, the Fire Lord has done nothing but pester her about many subjects, a few of them truly important matters, but most of the time it was just mundane subjects that made Tsunade pull her hair off and open up a bottle of sake. To this day, she wondered the amount of patience her sensei had in dealing with the damn Fire Noble.

"I must be out of my mind, but perhaps it's time for us to finally finish sensei's job and cleanse the village's roots."

Despite the sensitive assignment and the possible repercussions, Jiraiya smirked at his teammate.

"All there is left is to choose the ones responsible for this assignment."

===With Naruto===

After their third time, sweaty and slightly out of breath, Naruto and Itsuko just laid on the bed with Itsuko's head on his chest and his arm around her neck. True to their desires, the couple managed to make due with their alone time as both were still heavenly entranced by post-coital bliss. The smell of sex filled the room and the sheets were drenched with sweat and…other substances to the point that the thought of washing it was out of the question.

"You know…that last time was out of this world, Naruto-kun, I swear I got crossed-eyed at some point."

The amount of endorphin in her brain was still high and when Naruto responded by kissing her deeply, Itsuko just melted in his embrace, as the sweet memories of euphoria bombarded her brain. Then the kiss stopped and Naruto removed the fringe from her forehead, before looking at her eyes.

"You almost gave me a heart attack, that's for sure." Itsuko giggled at his reply and moved her body to stay on top of his, with her arms hanging around his neck.

"To see you this tired is a first. To this day, I rarely see you needing to rest."

Naruto then smiled and closed his eyes in relaxation, which to Itsuko was quite a thrill to see. Ever since Naruto was appointed as a member of the First Response Team, his life has been one hell of an emotional rollercoaster. The constant training, the missions left and right, Itachi's machinations, the Jonin trials, knowing about his parents, almost going blind and then receiving Itachi's eyes, rescuing Jiraiya from the hands of the Akatsuki's leader…and that last stunt with the Hokage, of which she was still left in the dark about and concerning Naruto, being in the dark just was not acceptable to someone who was always kept in the loop about most occurrences.

"Naruto-kun, can you tell me what happened back then with the Hokage?"

The ANBU almost flinched at the sudden speed of his palpebral opening. For a moment, he contemplated dismissing the subject.

However, being an ANBU, Itsuko would be privy to a lot of secrets, so perhaps she may already know bits and pieces about his ultimate target.

"I can't tell you Itsuko-chan." Naruto could immediately see the hurtful look in her eyes. "At least, not with my mouth, that is." That last part felt strange, because it came more like a whisper. When Itsuko lifted her eyes to look at him, she was directly caught by surprise to see the Mangenkyou Sharingan looking straight at her and casting the genjutsu he used on the Hokage. To the hidden ANBU observing from the outsider's perspective, the couple were just lying there on the bed, talking. Ever since Naruto had awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan, Danzo-sama has ordered to follow the jinchuuriki around.

The ROOT ANBU Sai was responsible for tailing the Jinchuuriki and reporting it back.

However, Sai's location was nowhere to be found, which for ROOT, clearly meant that he was killed, somehow. Either, he had engaged the target and got killed or was captured by the target and then killed by Danzo-sama's fuinjutsu. Nevertheless, the point was moot as the new recruit left the place he was hiding to report back to his leader about the target's activities after his mission to rescue the Sannin Jiraiya.

Back in Naruto's room, his Mangenkyou Sharingan shone in the darkness, catching sight of the ROOT ANBU's subtle shunshin just as he released his girlfriend from the genjutsu. Her eyes trembled and her throat became dry at the revelations. For sure, she wanted to express her concerns, though she just couldn't figure out where to start. Despite it all, Naruto had just placed two fingers on her lips and negated his head. The message was quite clear, despite her need to shout from the top of her lungs.

Everyone inside ANBU knew who Shimura Danzo really was. The two ANBU organizations shared the same shadow path for heaven's sake.

"It sounds impossible, but you look even more beautiful every time I look at you, Itsuko-chan."

Her eyes still trembled as she saw his hand reach out to her cheeks and his lips land on her own.

She wanted to seriously talk about it with her boyfriend, but right now, even the mere mention of something related to the ROOT organization would inevitably place a target on their backs. So, taking a deep breath and understanding the game they needed to play right now, she followed suit, kissing him back with fervor. Naruto could feel the tremor in her lips, though being an experienced kunoichi, Itsuko betrayed nothing in her tone in response to Naruto's flirting.

"It's because you are here with me, my love…"

Their kiss then deepened as Naruto flipped their position, now being on top and resumed their fourth round of the night, by using his mouth to kiss her entire body, ultimately focusing on her reproductive organ.

With her hands, she reached for his hair and pulled it roughly, showing her distress despite the sudden shot of ecstasy from her lover's ministrations.

As she allowed herself to get lost by his care and moaning his name passionately, Itsuko's body trembled at the notion that the first three rounds were only a preview, compared to this one.

===Inside a hidden location in Konoha===

On the next day, Naruto was called by the Hokage into one of the buildings used by the village for sensitive interrogation and secretive dealings. He had been here once or twice, seeing Konoha's lead interrogator Morino Ibiki at work, questioning a rogue shinobi. The place itself was dark, save for a few lights close to the walls. Inside, he saw Jiraiya, Tsunade and Kakashi there in the middle of a fuuinjutsu circle. As soon as he stepped inside, it was like the noise outside vanished and he entered into a vacuum chamber.

Seeing that their last guest arrived, Tsunade cleared her throat and began.

"Alright, now that Naruto has arrived, we may begin. After you left last night, Naruto, I had an extensive discussion with Jiraiya about it and before you arrived, I briefed Kakashi about the important parts."

"So this means…" Tsuande openly snorted at the Sharingan user from connecting the dots and pointed her finger at him with authority.

"Huh, don't think this means I'm one hundred percent with this little plan of yours…if the Daimyo does not approve, then I'll call it off and you shall cease any actions, understood." Naruto said nothing at first, so Tsunade affirmed her standing. "Did I make myself clear, Jonin Uzumaki Naruto?" Tsunade even flared her chakra for good measure. This was perhaps the first time that the Hokage has ever berated him for anything and Naruto could feel the immensity of her power as a member of the Sannin. He was just glad that the woman had decided to take action. Looking around, Naruto realized that two other members were present in this meeting, though they were hidden on top of the pipes located on the building's ceiling.

'So, Tora-taichou and Itsuko-chan are in on it, too. I wonder who else has been chosen for this?'

"One hundred percent, Tsunade-sama."

The Hokage once more snorted and crossed her arms, acknowledging that the kid was looking upward when he responded, so he knew.

"Good, now let us proceed." And as such, the Hokage turned to explain the proceedings of one of Konoha's SS-ranked assignments in history.

===Somewhere in the Elemental Nations===

Inside one of the many caves located somewhere in the elemental nations, there was simply no light inside. Just plain rocks formation and some nocturnal animals that enjoyed the darkness.

That soon changed once the image of someone appeared as if broadcasted by television. The imagery was dark but hollow as only few characteristics could be seen from it. Spiky hair and purple set of eyes with multiple rings formed around it.

Pein looked around, making sure that no chakra signature was sensed within a mile radius and then made the hand sign.

"Assemble!" Pein merely observed as the rest of the Akatsuki organization appeared inside the cave, using the same technique as he did, through thought waves with Pein acting as some sort of control tower. The leader merely observed as the members opened their respective eyes and waited for him to start whatever it was that he wanted to talk about. So far, the group has been successful in capturing five of the nine tailed beasts. It was because of the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, that they failed to capture the Ichibi. The same Kyuubi Jinchuuriki who was responsible for killing two of the organization's members Sasori and now Itachi. The memory of Pein looking directly at the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki was still fresh in his mind.

"Oi, Leader-sama, any time now, you're taking my time away from my art, hmm." Of course, Deidara was considered the most hot-headed of the group.

"Yes, Deidara-senpai was busy playing with his clay dolls and complained the entire time." The playful and kid-like voice belonged to one of the members with an orange spiral mask.

"Oi Tobi! Say that one more time and you'll see my art, hmm." The man named Tobi became comically frightened at Deidara's threat, earning a snicker from Kisame.

"Ku ku ku, you two are quite the comedian." The Iwa missing-nin just growled at the former Kiri-nin, before Pein announced for everyone to quiet down.

"So far, we have managed to capture and extract five of the nine bijuu, leaving only the Ichibi, Nibi, Hachibi and Kyuubi Jinchuuriki." The last member of the list made everyone quiet down. To this day, the only one in the entire elemental nations that could be counted as the Akatsuki killer was the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, dealing not only with Sasori, but now Itachi as well. Plus, because of Itachi's actions, Uzumaki Naruto has been bumped up in the bingo book as an A-ranked target and that opened up a venue of opportunity for one of the Akatsuki's members.

"Hmmm, so I hear that the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki is worth quite the load in the black market these days. I bet he is worth even more than Hatake Kakashi these days, because of his Sharingan."

This man who spoke was named Kakuzu, a rogue ninja from Takigakure, wearing a black mask that covered his mouth and nose.

"You only think about the money, Kakuzu." His partner named Hidan had gray hair and carried a three blade scythe on his back.

"Money is the only thing you can have faith in, Hidan. It's because of money that this organization has managed to thrive."

Pein acquiesced to Kakuzu's affirmation, before turning to their new plan.

"Indeed, the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki has placed a thorn in our plans as of late, but he shall be taken care of in due time. Now, we need to focus on capturing the Ichibi, Nibi and Hachibi. So, Deidara and Tobi shall focus on Ichibi. Kakuzu and Hidan will take on the Nibi and Kisame shall capture the Hachibi Jinchuuriki." The names mentioned merely nodded in tandem. Kisame, though, had a different thought in mind.

"Oh, doing this without Itachi will be rather dull to be honest, though I would rather take on the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki instead."

"The Kyuubi Jinchuuriki shall be handled by me personally, Kisame. You all have your set of orders and I don't have to say that failure is not an option here."

A sudden silence came about inside the cave, before Deidara whistled.

"It appears Leader-sama is calling dibs. That's a first. And here I thought you'd let us do the dirty work." A

s per the usual, there was no emotion coming from Pein's voice as he closed the meeting. Ignoring Deidara's comment.

"You all have your assignments. Get to it." After that, Pein's image vanished, earning a snicker from the rest, before everyone else vanished as well.

===Somewhere else in the Elemental Nations===

Located in another place, somewhere in the elemental nations, only this place looked more like an indoor hideout with various rooms and endless hallways lit up by torches.

The Sannin Orochimaru was casually sitting in his chambers as he listened to his second-in-command Kabuto report about the elemental nations' events unfold before their eyes. Through every new event that he became aware of, the Sannin would smirk in amusement as it was this that he enjoyed the most, after doing his research for new techniques…the windmill is finally spinning and the period of 'peace' is finally finished. Kumo has been increasing their military capacity, Iwagakure has suffered the loss of its two jinchuuriki and were occasionally hiring Akatsuki to do their dirty deeds, Suna has managed to fully pay out their debt to Konoha after Orochimaru's so called 'failed' invasion and Kiri…well, Kiri was attempting to overcome its own pasted dark image carved by the Yondaime Mizukage, however they just couldn't get rid of that much red in their ledger.

Last but not least, Konoha or more precisely, the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki Uzumaki Naruto.

Ever since Orochimaru saw with his own eyes how Naruto fared against Kabuto in their fight against Tsunade and Jiraiya, it was clear to Orochimaru that Naruto would only grow in strength, with the Sharingan at his disposal.

Since he was placed in the bingo book, Naruto's actions became known all throughout the elemental nations and it only made Orochimaru salivate in pleasure to witness just what those eyes can do. Not only the Sharingan, to which Orochimaru became aware of its evolution to the Mangenkyou version, but it became known that Naruto had somehow managed to use lava Ninjutsu, which only made Orochimaru's interest grow even more in seeing just how much stronger he could become.

"Well, that's about it for now, Orochimaru-sama. Our spies in Konoha have reported that Uzumaki Naruto has even managed to rescue Jiraiya from being killed by the Akatsuki Leader, Pein."

The Sannin just tilted his head sideways at the news.

"Oh, now that would be a sight to behold Kabuto…two of the most powerful dojutsu facing each other in a powerful battle for supremacy. Truly marvelous, indeed." Kabuto smirked at that, while adjusting his glasses.

"Hm, I take it, you have lost interest in the Sharingan for now, Orochimaru-sama." The Sannin snorted at such blasphemy from his second-in-command.

"Never, though it appears that young Naruto-kun is developing his own with much efficiency and I have all the time in the world to collect, later on. Imagine Kabuto, having the body of Kimimaro and Naruto-kun's eyes…there would be nothing in this world that could stop me from achieving everything I desire most." Kabuto observed as Orochimaru licked his lips at the notion. "Now that I broached the subject of Kimimaro, how is his treatment so far? The time is approaching for me to exchange bodies again and I don't wish to wait any longer." Taking his spreadsheet, Kabuto analyzed the data with as much scrutiny as possible.

"The medicines we devised, aided by the cursed seal on his body and constant blood transfusion from Juugo, seemed to be reducing the damage to his lungs. It appears that we have finally had a breakthrough."

"Excellent, most excellent indeed. In time, I shall have the perfect body and after that, the perfect set of eyes." Lowering the spreadsheet board, Kabuto then pondered aloud.

"What do we do about Uzumaki Naruto in the meantime, should we send the Sound Four to pay him a visit? They have been getting antsy in this base, doing nothing but serving as Kimimaro's punching bag."

Orochimaru did entertain that idea for a while, but dismissed it for now. Certainly, for someone who defeated both Akasuna no Sasori and Uchiha Itachi, the Sound Four would be killed in seconds.

"As amusing as it would be to use them as cannon fodder, I am more interested in seeing young Naruto-kun reducing Akatsuki's numbers, one by one, until the time comes for the Mangenkyou Sharingan to face against the legendary Rinnegan." Kabuto smirked at the deviousness as Orochimaru continued, with his full-out smirk. "And who knows, Kabuto…perhaps, I shall be there on the sidelines, just waiting to see whose eyes I shall collect, after the winner is revealed."

"Huh, precisely…it should be entertaining to watch. I shall be on my leave, then." Kabuto bowed, before Orochimaru observed his second in command walk away.

Now, left alone in his chambers, Orochimaru has never felt so alive and pumped to see the events unfold…

Like a windmill that stopped working for a long time and now it is finally spinning.

Author Note

Ok, that's it for now.

So, the pieces of the board are all back in place once more as the players are each making their moves. For those who don't remember, since there is no Sasuke, then Orochimaru is still due to play a major factor in this story. And since there was no Sasuke, the Sound Four and Kimimaro are still very much alive. So, aside from Danzo and Akatsuki, Konoha is still dealing with the Snake Sannin and his crew of misfits. I have already written the framework of the following arcs of this story, all the way to the last confrontation and the ending. But, I have a lot of material to cover and plenty of entertaining ideas!

Please tell me your thoughts and happy new year for everyone and a healthy 2022 to all.

Next update: Nidaime no Sairin