Author's Note: Welcome back.

This is a chapter I've been itching to get to for a while. Hope you all enjoy. Leave a review if you're feeling kind.

Chapter 57: Project Matsuura

Naruto narrowly evaded the oncoming strike with seamless elegance. This new mode had unlocked much greater control of his body; each movement no matter how small was sharper, faster, and more responsive. However, all the grace in the world couldn't block the invisible blow that caught him clean on the cheek. The impact sent him flipping end-over-end and finally onto his back with a dull thud.

"Ugh," The branches above him blocked the golden rays of the sun from getting in his eyes. If not for the aches and pain in his bones, this would be an ideal place for a cozy nap. Even with the vastly improved recovery and stamina granted in Sage Mode, this pace of training was exhausting. "You hit like a ton of bricks, Sensei."

"You may have mastered Sage Mode quicker than Jiraiya-boy, but he has much more experience than you in harnessing Nature Energy!" Fukasaku cupped his hands around his mouth to travel his voice. He sat atop a particularly high branch that offered the best view of this once-in-a-lifetime spectacle.

This was the first time in his long history that he's had two human students engage in combat as Perfect Sages.

Jiraiya stood a few paces away still confidently in his stance. The toad-like features he was long accustomed to having were now gone. Similar to Naruto's appearance, the only indications of Sage Mode were his pupils and the shade of orange around his eyes. It had taken him some time alone in that forest, but his efforts to become one with nature had bore fruit. He, too, had finally done it.

Jiraiya the Gallant had achieved Perfect Sagehood.

"Remember, Nature Energy becomes an extension of the user in this form," Fukasaku continued. "Jiraiya-boy is utilizing this to his advantage, and you must be able to sense and counter accordingly. His fists are not the only danger."

"I know, I know… it's easier said than done," Naruto groaned, still flat on his back. "Why do I even need to train like this, anyway? I'm not going to be fighting other Sages, am I?"

"That isn't what this training is for," Jiraiya chimed in. "To react is to feel, to feel is to understand, and understanding is necessary for mastery. If you can sense and counter my attacks in the heat of combat, then you'll be able to use those same abilities to their fullest capacity in your battles. It's easy to grasp something when doing it at your own pace, it's much harder to do it at someone else's. Ya get what I mean?"

"Ya know, sometimes I forget how wise you are," Naruto picked himself up off the ground. The pain couldn't erase the cheeky smile on his face. "You act like a clown most of the time, so moments like these are pretty jarring."

Jiraiya's eye twitched and Fukasaku let out a ribbit of laughter.

"I get it now, though," Naruto quickly turned serious. "I think I'm starting to get the hang of it. Just give me a little bit of time and I'll be giving you a hell of a fight."

"That's what I like to hear, Naruto," Jiraiya smiled eagerly and lowered even deeper into his stance. "Come!"

Naruto followed suit, then disappeared in a show of unbelievable speed.

'Boom!'

'Crash!'

'Thud!'

You could cut the tension in the room with a butter knife. Tsunade did not feel an ounce of fear or restlessness. If anything, her anger is what showed through the most. The man before her was one of the two known leaders of the Akatsuki– the terrorist organization hell-bent on bringing the world to its knees to suit its wicked ambitions. They were responsible for most of Naruto's current hardships, the increasing tension and animosity amongst the Five Great Nations, and, most personally for her, the death of Shizune.

Tsunade took in a slow, deep breath to steady her powerful emotions. This would be the worst time for her to get lost in hatred. Her role as the Hokage right now was to keep a level head and protect her home in any way she could.

"So, can we talk?" The man she called Yahiko asked again. "Given our… history, I can understand why you'd have reservations. Our two sides have been going at it for a while now. You've dealt me a heavy blow just a few days ago. Kisame and Hidan? I must say, Lady Tsunade, you are quite the shrewd tactician."

"How did you manage to get into my village undetected?" Tsunade asked as calmly as she could.

"You know how," Pain answered cryptically while approaching her desk. "I've been here for quite some time, actually."

"I see," Tsunade said with narrowed eyes. "You slipped through the Barrier Corp's blind spot before I had them patch it up, huh? Did Zetsu report that information back to you? I should have known… your goal all along was to infiltrate yourself."

"You can only prepare for so much, Lady Tsunade," Pain spoke in a sagely tone. "We've been steps ahead of one another on multiple fronts– this just happened to be one of the few I outmaneuvered you on. Don't fret, your village is the only one that has caused any concern amongst the Akatsuki. The other world leaders sit back and wait for things to happen and then react, but you? You are like me… we make things happen. I hold a great deal of respect for you because of that."

"Don't patronize me; we're nothing alike," Tsunade warned. "Why reveal yourself now? If you've been here for as long as you claim, you would know that Naruto is not currently in the Village. There's no one here for you to capture, so why don't you do the smart thing and leave before it's too late?"

"Naruto– he's quite something, isn't he? A naive boy growing up before your very eyes into what he is today. You must feel proud of the Shinobi you've helped cultivate. There was a time I thought he had sensed my presence in this village. It would have ruined everything, but he didn't trust his intuition and let it go." Pain's tone was eerily calm despite being in the heart of enemy territory. "No, I prefer that he's not here. His interference would actually… complicate things."

"Does that mean you're here to wage an attack against us– why come see me first? You wouldn't be foolish enough to think I'd surrender without a fight, would you?"

"I have no intention of attacking the village if we come to an understanding. No, I've actually come for you."

"Me?" Tsunade blinked. "What are you talking about?"

"Leave the village with me right now and no harm will befall it," Pain started to walk around her desk, which made Tsunade shoot up for her chair in a battle-ready stance. He paid her no time and continued toward the window behind her desk. "You have my word on this."

"Are you out of your mind?"

"Some would say so, yes," Pain replied. "It is human nature to reject what you cannot understand. What the common man may see as radical, I see as revolutionary. My goal is to change this world and bring about peace, and nothing will stop me from accomplishing it."

"Peace?" Tsunade sneered. "This is your idea of peace?"

"No, this is simply the price one must pay to obtain it."

"What if I refuse to leave with you? Is your next 'peaceful' act to burn my home to the ground?"

"I hope it won't need to come to that," Pain's back was now turned to her while he admired the view from the window. "I know that we can resolve this without violence. Do not test my kindness, you will not like what will replace it."

"Kindness," Tsuande started to subtly gather chakra into her right hand. Pain dismissed her as a threat, and she would make sure he'd regret it. "Sure, I understand."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Pain's words made her blood run cold. "I'm not a fool… I did not come alone. See for yourself."

Tsunade allowed the chakra to dissipate and hesitantly positioned herself to peer out the window. It was dark out, but there were two silhouettes scattered off in the distance staring back at them. She could just make out the blood-red woven into their Akatsuki cloaks. A sense of doom replaced that feeling of rage that was present just moments prior.

"There are more of us outside of the village waiting," Pain said with a steely edge– the kind of tone that dared you to try his patience. "One signal from me and they raze your home to the ground. Man, woman, and child– we will spare no one. Their blood will be on your hands. Are you prepared to fight this fight?"

"Y-You can't."

"Naruto Uzumaki, Jiraiya-Sensei, Kakashi Hatake, Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, Might Guy– many of your strongest protectors are not here to protect. It may cost me a great deal, but I could bring down this nation in a single night if needed."

"Naruto and Jiraiya can be called back at a moment's notice," Tsunade threw that out there more as an attempt to disarm Pain's threat than anything. It was true, and while she didn't want things to escalate to such a degree, the Akatsuki needed to know they weren't completely helpless. "You will fail if it comes to that."

"I sensed their chakras suddenly disappear, and anticipated that they could return at any time similarly," Pain admitted. "However, how many people would die before word got back to them? Are you willing to bet the lives of those you're sworn to protect on such a risky gambit?"

Tsunade ground her teeth together so violently that the friction was audible. This man was truly vile. It felt like evil was a dime a dozen nowadays; the state of the world had deteriorated to the point that pure altruism was exceedingly rare. Nations ran on self-preservation and greed, and the battle to the top was decided by who could step on the most people on their way up. And yet, he was a rare breed seemingly devoid of all humanity.

It made Tsunade sick just thinking about it.

"So, that's your game?" Tsunade started. "You think by holding me captive in the Hidden Rain you can lure Naruto in and capture him?"

"Oh?" Pain sounded mildly impressed at that. "No wonder you recognized this face so quickly. Jiraiya-Sensei figured that part out, didn't he? I was hoping to surprise them, though I should have known better. "

"Let me get this straight… you plan to steal a Kage from their village, and you think this won't lead to a full-on invasion to recover me? Are you truly prepared for this?"

"Under normal circumstances, I would be inclined to agree with you," Pain admitted. "However, as I said earlier, your military might is stretched far too thin at the moment. You're already at risk of being invaded by your begrudging allies; tensions are high, and the Kage of the Cloud, Stone, and Mist are waiting for you to slip up and make a mistake before the day of the Five Kage Summit." Tsunade's look of shock elicited a small grin from the stoic Rinnegan-bearer. "Yes, that's right; I know far more than you realize. That's why I'm confident that Naruto and Jiraiya-Sensei will seek me out all by themselves. They have no other choice."

Tsunade was out of thinly veiled threats. This was it, there were two choices left; stand and fight an enemy of unknown quantity with untold abilities, or submit to his will and leave peacefully in the night. The former would lead to the deaths of countless Shinobi and civilians, while the latter would put Naruto and Jiraiya, and by extension, the entire world in grave danger. In this moment of desperation, one recurring thought rang in her head.

'Put your faith in those two, and they'll do the rest!'

"Fine, I'll go with you," Tsunade answered with conviction.

"I knew you would see reason," Pain didn't seem the least bit surprised. "I'm not the monster you believe me to be. Since you chose to resolve this without involving the people of this village further, I shall allot you some… concessions on top of our agreement."

"Fine, spit them out," Tsunade couldn't bear listening to his laughable attempts at goodwill. "What are these concessions?"

Everything looked the same out here. Even with his keen eyes, it was nearly impossible to differentiate one area from another. He knew the general direction it was in, but that wasn't much to go off.

After passing by what seemed like the same rock for the twentieth time, Sasuke stumbled upon a promising sight. Slash marks from what appeared to be a large blade littered the earth. There was even a thin layer of dew on the ground, despite the lack of foliage in these parts. He wasn't conscious for the entirety of the last few days but was fairly confident it hadn't rained in that time.

"This must be from the mist," Sasuke muttered to himself. A thorough search of such an open space wouldn't take him too long– it's not like he had anything better to do, anyway. "It's gotta be here somewhere."

After just a few minutes of searching, there it was. On the ground not too far from where he stood laid the Executioner's Blade. Sasuke bent down to pick it up, which unveiled something curious. Unlike the smooth stoned terrain all around him, the ground underneath the blade looked more akin to rubble. His eyebrow rose in curiosity and started to shovel the small pieces of crushed stone off to the side.

Suigetsu wouldn't have gone through so much trouble to bury something if it wasn't important. Sasuke had a pretty good idea of what it was. After a moment of digging, his suspicions were confirmed when hairs poked out from beneath the rock pile. He cleared some more and then grabbed a wad of silver strands and yanked Hidan's head out.

"Ack, agh!" Hidan spat out a mixture of dirt and pebbles. "It's about damn time ya found me, Kakuzu; I thought I was going to be stuck down there forever!" He sounded both angry and relieved. "Before you put me back on my body, wipe the dirt out of my eyes, will ya? It burns like hell and I can't see a thing!"

Sasuke wordlessly did as instructed and used his thumb to wipe away any leftover debris on or around his eyes.

Hidan grunted his thanks and blinked a few times.

"Ah, that feels so much better," Confident that his vision was back, he opened his eyes. "Say– what happened to those Leaf clowns, anyway–"

The first thing his eyes saw after days of darkness was the Sharingan.

"Wha–?"

Sasuke watched the fierce fight in Hidan's eyes to stay conscious but to no avail. Then, he simply slung the unconscious head over his shoulder and headed back to camp.

…

…

…

Each of Orochimaru's numerous hideouts scattered across the Shinobi World had one thing in common– they were all labyrinths, each uniquely configured to make it nearly impossible to navigate without prior knowledge of their layouts. Sasuke had only been to this specific hideout once for a few days in his time under Orochimaru, which was enough for him to have the passageways memorized.

After the battle with the Akatsuki, under Sasuke's guidance, Team Kakashi had managed to relocate here to hide out and heal their injuries before they returned to the Leaf. It was one of the many hideouts that were solely used as a safe house for Orochimaru to hop between to evade enemy detection. That meant the only people with intimate knowledge of its location and layout were Orochimaru himself, Kabuto, Sasuke, and probably Karin. When Orochimaru was not using it, it was empty– making it the perfect place for them to lay low.

Sasuke could feel the back of Hidan's head sway into his shoulder with every other step he took. The Genjutsu was more effective than he anticipated; it most likely was because Hidan was separated from most of his chakra network, though Sakura would know about that sort of thing better than him.

Sasuke turned yet another corner– the goal was to pick a room deep enough within the hideout to be secure, but not so much so that the others get lost in unfamiliar territory. Finally, Sasuke approached a door at the end of the hall.

'Knock, knock… knock knock…knock knock.'

"Who's there?" A muffled voice asked tentatively from the other side of the door.

"It's me," Sasuke replied.

There was a slight pause. "What was Naruto holding when we found him unconscious outside of his apartment?" The voice, identified as Sakura, continued her line of questioning.

Sasuke smirked at the question. They should have come up with a consistent code similar to what they had in the Forest of Death.

"You weren't there when we found him, but it was a framed picture of Team Seven."

After another moment of silence, there was a soft click and the door opened slightly to reveal Sakura's relieved face.

"You took too long!" She said in exasperation. "I thought we agreed you'd only be gone for one hour– It's been three! What were you doing all this time other than worrying Kakashi-Sensei and me? Get your ass in here!"

The door swung open fully. Sakura's emerald eyes looked into his onyx eyes intently.

"I see you found it," She gestured to the massive sword strapped to his back. "Did you run into any trouble out there?"

"No, it's silent– no one from what I could see. I don't think anyone from the Akatsuki is lurking around," Sasuke revealed what was slung over his shoulder and stepped into the lab. "The sword isn't the only thing that I found."

"Is that…?"

"Yeah, it is."

"Ah, Sasuke," Kakashi's head poked out from behind his favorite book. "I'm glad to see that you're okay. You gave Sakura quite the scare with how late you were running."

"Sensei!" Sakura shouted.

"Heh heh, sorry," Kakashi replied sheepishly, though he sat up in his bed once he recognized what his student had returned with. "Ah, so you were right after all. Suigetsu managed to hide Hidan's head in a spot where Kakuzu couldn't find him?"

"He buried him in the ground underneath his sword," Sasuke explained as he dropped Hidan off at the table next to the massive water tank in the back corner of the room. "I couldn't find his body, though. I'd venture to guess that Kakuzu managed to recover it after we parted ways."

"Why wouldn't he turn over everything to try and find the rest of his teammates?" Sakura asked. "What use is a body without the head to match?"

"I'm sure he searched but assumed we had the head when he couldn't find him," Kakashi theorized. "Being outmanned three-to-one, he probably wasn't too keen on sticking around for very long in case we decided to pursue him. That was some quick thinking by Suigetsu to hide it and still make it over to you to help with Kisame."

"Yeah," Sasuke traced his hand on the glass water tank. Suigetsu was inside, still unconscious from their fight with the aforementioned shinobi. "How is he doing? Any updates?"

"No, nothing yet," Sakura answered sadly. "The tank has helped with healing any external injuries he sustained, but his body is still stuck in its liquid form. If he doesn't wake up in the next couple of days, I'll have to do a full body examination to diagnose the problem."

"Is he stable enough for that?" Sasuke asked,

"Right now? No. In a few days, he might be, though. Try not to worry yourself too much about it. It's only been four days, and Kakashi-Sensei is still bedridden from chakra exhaustion. Suigetsu sustained a lot of damage and just might need more time to recover."

"Do you think the Hokage or Karin could help him?"

"Lady Tsunade wouldn't be able to leave the village, and I think it would be a bad idea to move him such a long distance in this condition," Sakura frowned. Sasuke was never all that great at hiding when something bothered him. "Karin, on the other hand, could be sent here with a squad. I don't know much about how her ability works, but it might be worth a shot."

"...Can we send word to the Leaf–"

"Already did."

Sasuke turned around. It was Kakahsi who spoke.

"What?"

"I said I already did," Kakashi repeated, his eye-smile as vibrant as ever. "While you were gone I figured it would be a good idea to send in a backup team, so I sent one of my hounds back to the Leaf. I requested that Karin be on that team."

"Why would you–"

"Even if Suigetsu were to wake up soon, he'd be in no condition to travel. Meanwhile, we're sitting ducks in foreign territory. We need the help, and Karin is a friend to both of you. It just made sense." He finished with a lazy shrug.

"We'll need the help now that we have to escort the head of an immortal Akatsuki member's head back to the village," Only after Sakura finished that sentence did she truly grasp the absurdity of their situation. "Agh, I really should have just stayed home. This is crazy…"

"Our targets were Hidan and Kakuzu… Kakuzu may have gotten away, though I'd say Kisame was a pretty good consolation prize. Our mission was a resounding success. We dealt the enemy a massive blow," Kakashi put his book aside and looked intently at his students. "I'm sure that Suigetsu will recover, and we'll celebrate this victory with a night out once we get back to the village."

"Hell yeah!" Sakura added. "Naruto better be there, too! He should be leaving on his mission to the Hidden Rain any day now, right? I sure hope they play things smart and come back in one piece."

"He will," Both Kakashi and Sakura looked somewhat surprised by how adamant the typically reserved Sasuke was. "When Naruto has his mind set on doing something, it's going to happen. Besides, we made a deal… and I'm not going to let him get out of it that easy."

Sakura couldn't contain her smile; embarrassed by it, she brought a hand up and turned her head away from them.

This was the first time it felt like the good old days of Team Seven. A part of her was pessimistic that things could return to even a fraction of what they used to be, but there was renewed hope their fractured relationship would continue to heal. She could see herself becoming close friends with Karin and Suigetsu, too.

Now, they just needed to make it home safe.

The walk from the tower to the village outskirts caused Tsunade a great deal of stress. If anyone had detected them, things would have escalated to a full-blown conflict in a matter of seconds. Luckily for her, it was the Hokage's responsibility to have detailed knowledge of all ANBU shift rotations. Tsunade left a clone back at the office and suppressed her chakra, then the two of them quickly slipped past the sentries completely undetected. Once at the village borders, Tsunade used her password to bypass the Barrier Ninjutsu security measure without alerting the Barrier Corp, which had been updated since Itachi's infiltration three years ago.

That was when a second Akatsuki member that Tsunade didn't recognize appeared next to them and stepped through the opening she had made without a word. He was somewhat tall with a long ponytail and a fringe hanging down from the right side of his head. She tried to get a glimpse of his face, but the angle was not the best and his hair ultimately got in the way.

"Where's the other one?" Tsunade asked sternly. "I saw two of your goons earlier, and we're not going anywhere until they are out of my village."

Instead of a verbal answer, the newcomer began to weave through a set of hand signs.

"Summoning Jutsu!" A plume of smoke erupted next to him, then quickly dispersed to reveal a third man clad in the notorious Akatsuki cloak. This one was a tall and stocky man with hair tied back in a tight ponytail and long, needle-like piercings through the tops of his ears. He, too, made a concerted effort to hide his face from view. However, she couldn't help but notice that all three of them had the same unusual shade of orange hair.

Tsunade's eyes narrowed, though she said nothing.

"Shall we go?" Yahiko asked politely.

"You can summon each other?" Tsunade said in a low tone. That explained how three people managed to infiltrate under their noses. Only one needed to enter, and then once they secured a safe location the other two were summoned. "How do I know you aren't intentionally leaving some of your men behind?"

"You'll just have to take my word for it, Lady Tsunade. I have already gotten what I came for… there is no need for the Akatsuki to linger any further. You said it yourself, the Nine-Tails will come to me in pursuit of you. Splitting up my battle strength when I am anticipating an attack would be most unwise, don't you think?"

Tsunade ground her teeth together with fists balled tight, biting the inside of her cheek so hard that it drew blood– pretty much everything to suppress the scream of frustration that so desperately wanted to escape.

"Fine, let's go."

"Excellent. Please, follow the two in front of you. I will stay at the rear flank."

"Where are we going?"

"Far enough away to not alert the village. It won't be long, and then I shall honor my end of our agreement." Pain explained.

…

…

…

The four of them walked in complete silence– not even once did either of the two in front glance back at her; they didn't need to. Tsunade could feel the gaze from Yahiko aimed at the back of her head. That was all the assurance the others needed.

One of the Legendary Sannin, the Fifth Hokage of the Leaf Village– no one had dismissed her to this extent before. Tsunade took a deep breath to focus. There wasn't time to be angered by such a thing. The focus needed to be on how to get herself out of such a hopeless situation.

'Jiraiya was insistent that the orphan with dark red hair, Nagato, was the one who manifested the Rinnegan. If that's true, how on earth does Yahiko have it? Could he have turned against Nagato and taken the eyes by force, or maybe he acquired them in a similar way to how Kakashi got the Sharingan? Does this even matter– how would it help me right now, anyway?' Tsunade thought to herself. 'Then, there's these two lackeys in front of me. I can't see either of their faces, but they don't appear to be in any of the intel we've gathered from Sasori and other sources.'

Excluding Orochimaru, they had information on the existence of ten members of the Akatsuki. Itachi, Kisame, Kakuzu, Hidan, Deidara, Sasori, Zetsu, Konan, Pain, and Madara Uchiha. Itachi took his own life in a confrontation with Sasuke. Kisame was just recently killed by Orochimaru when he emerged from Sasuke's Curse Mark. Kakuzu managed to escape his encounter with Kakashi and Sakura with non-life-threatening injuries. Hidan's whereabouts are currently unknown to her, though his head was severed by Suigetsu. Deidara was killed by Jiraiya in the struggle for the Three-Tails. Sasori was defeated by Naruto during the rescue of the Kazekage and is currently a prisoner overseen by Ibiki in the Leaf Village's Torture and Interrogation Division. Multiple Zetsu clones were killed but, likely, the original is still alive. Lastly– Pain is standing right behind her, while Konan and Madara are still very prominent threats and are off doing God knows what.

That is to say… Tsunade had no earthly idea who the two Akatsuki members in front of her were. Were the new members meant to replace some of the ones who have already been eliminated? Why was one able to summon the other– are they connected somehow and that's why the Akatsuki recruited them? By far the biggest question eating away at her– why do they have the same hair color?

That can't possibly be a coincidence.

"To think one of Jiraiya's students could be behind such horrible acts," Tsunade wanted to bite her tongue, but the words just slipped out. "How could someone taught by such an honorable man turn out the way that you did, Yahiko?"

"You shouldn't speak on things that you do not understand," He responded, the hint of respect previously in his tone now gone. "What would a privileged Leaf Ninja know about pain? Always at the top of the mountain– stepping on us smaller nations to get where you want. Don't make me laugh."

Tsunade pursed her lips, then decided against continuing to speak her mind. That seemed to be a soft spot for the Akatsuki's leader. It wasn't in her best interests to continue that discussion.

More time passed in tense silence, until the footsteps behind her suddenly halted. They had just made it to a small clearing deep in the forests of the Land of Fire.

"Stop here. This is far enough."

Tsunade stopped, but the two that had been in front of her didn't. She watched them take off into the forest, then turned to face Yahiko with a cautious gaze.

"So, you kept your word," Tsunade didn't sound entirely convinced. "It's going to be just you and me."

"I always keep my word," Pain responded. "I am simply honoring your request for a fair fight for your freedom. I've heard you're a woman of high stakes, and you haven't disappointed yet."

"I have to admit, I've dreamt about this day," Tsunade slipped her shoulders out of the jacket and let it fall to the ground. "You took away someone very special to me… a part of me wanted things to turn out this way."

"Ah, yes. Shizune's death was… necessary for our cause," Pain's stoicism remark made Tsunade's eye twitch. "As I said, I will do anything for the sake of peace and justice."

"Shut up."

Pain blinked, and Tsunade was gone. He looked to the left, right, then up. There she was high in the air with her left leg raised high above her head.

"It seems we're done talking." Pain looked up at her with apparent disinterest in his eyes.

'Why isn't he moving?' As she descended within his range, Pain, almost lazily, uttered two words.

"Almighty Push."

"Gah!" Tsunade slammed into what felt like an invisible wall and sent her flying in the opposite direction. Her body skipped along the ground like a flat rock across a calm lake until finally rolling to a stop. She picked herself off the ground but chose to maintain her current distance. 'What was that? Some kind of Jutsu?'

Pain, stoicism still intact, hadn't moved from his spot. The ground around him remained unchanged— not even a pebble was out of place. It was like nothing had happened, which made it all the more strange. She extended her senses and looked deep within to gauge the flow of her chakra. Nothing out of the ordinary… this was not Genjutsu.

'Whatever that Jutsu just now was, I couldn't see what hit me.' Tsunade wiped away some blood dripping from her mouth and looked at it. 'And yet, the force behind it was considerable. Could this be one of the powers of his Rinnegan?'

Pain lifted his arm, and pointed his open palm at her.

Tsunade tensed in anticipation.

"Universal Pull."

'What?!' Tsunade's eyes widened. Similar to his previous attack, it was as if some invisible force had latched onto her and refused to let go. This time, however, it was ripping her back towards Pain. She dug her heels into the ground and pushed chakra through the soles of her feet in an attempt to tether herself to the Earth. Pain's Jutsu pulled, and pulled, and pulled as it relentlessly dragged her across the terrain. 'I can't hold out for much longer!' She thought through gritted teeth.

Pain's look of disinterest slowly shifted into one of mild admiration. It was futile to resist him, of course, but he could not help but gain a touch more respect for the Kunoichi who so vehemently opposed his overwhelming power. Still, he was inevitable.

Tsunade's stance finally yielded and her feet lifted fully off the ground. A black metal rod emerged from Pain's sleeve and slid into his open palm; he still had not moved his body even one step.

Tsunade saw that and had to resist the urge to panic. There was nothing she could do to stop her forward momentum, so any ideas revolved around that were ignored. The pull of the technique was simply too great. She closed her eyes. The only option was to simultaneously be on the offensive and defensive.

'Release!'

"Now, die," Pain plunged the metal rod through Tsunade's chest. A sickening squelch confirmed his aim to be true.

"Gah!" Blood poured from both Tsunade's mouth and from the newly opened wound. Her heart had been pierced clean through. She staggered forward and placed a hand on Pain's shoulder, which he allowed. "Y-You–!" Tsunade managed to spit out between pained hacks and desperate wheezes for oxygen. While her teeth were stained red with blood, loose bangs concealed the rest of her face from view.

"Is that all one of the Legendary Sannin and Kage can muster?" Pain looked down at her with a flicker of disappointment in his otherwise stoic face. "How pathetic."

Tsunade suddenly looked up to meet his surprised eyes, a familiar pattern now adorned her forehead. Steam began to form around where the rod was lodged through her chest. Pain felt her grip around his shoulder tighten considerably.

'I can't move," he thought, unable to react in time as a heavy fist landed on his chin.

"–You Bastard!" Tsunade's chakra-infused haymaker launched Pain into the sky. She quickly ripped the weapon out with little concern for her well-being and tossed it to the side. Before the rod clanged against the ground, Tsunade injuries had already almost completely healed. Meanwhile, her mind was racing. He'd land and be back soon enough, so there wasn't much time to think.

The fact that she was forced to release the Strength of a Hundred Seal so early into their fight did not bode well. Jiraiya had relayed to her what he knew of the Rinnegan's abilities gathered from his time training Nagato. Despite that, it was evident they did not know everything. She expected mastery over all changes in chakra nature, which would have been trouble enough in its own right, but this?

'That was definitely some sort of gravity manipulation Rinnegan ability,' Tsunade surmised after a moment to assess the situation. 'First, an attack that repels and then one that attracts, all with him acting at the epicenter. Still, I managed to get a hit in so it doesn't seem like those abilities can be used continuously… I'm just not entirely sure what the interval between uses is; with my luck, it's only a few seconds.'

"Now, that's more like it," A voice came from above.

Tsunade looked up, eyes wide in shock. Pain was there, hovering without any assistance about ten meters in the air. The disinterested look on his face, coupled with the way he looked down on one of the Kage as if they were a mild annoyance only added to his divine aura.

"What are you?" Tsunade asked in a mix of awe and frustration. To her knowledge, only Oonoki and his predecessor were capable of flight, and that is achieved through the use of Earth-style lightening their bodies… something told her that was not the case here. This was true flight.

"It seems you are finally beginning to understand," Pain's voice dripped with authority. "You want to know what I am? This world is marred by endless cycles of love, hate, war, and destruction. When you Leaf Ninja ravaged the Hidden Rain in the era of the Second Great War, the pain inflicted on us changed me into something greater. Yes, I've grown from a man… to a God."

"You've gone mad," Tsunade's hand twitched toward her pocket. "No sane person would believe such a thing."

"I don't expect a mere mortal to be able to comprehend it," Pain seemed unbothered by her words. "I was chosen to be the divine intervention that this world needs to guide it down a path to peace, and I will do whatever it takes to achieve that."

"That's why you're gathering up all the Tailed Beasts? You're deluded enough to believe in this sacred calling, and you want to use the power of the Tailed Beasts to get you there."

"Heh, something like that," He confirmed. "It's not something you need to concern yourself with. Simply sacrifice yourself to me and the world shall take one giant step toward peace."

To Pain's surprise, she smiled.

"Not a chance! I'm not sacrificing my life to fuel the delusions of a madman," Tsunade pulled a smoke bomb out of his pocket and threw it down at her feet.

'Poof!'

"How bothersome," Pain frowned slightly as his target was consumed in a cloud of black dust. When the smoke cleared, she was nowhere to be found. "She will soon learn that one cannot fight against fate."

…

…

…

Tsunade put her back against the tree's trunk and slid down until her butt touched the branch. The silence within the forest was drowned out by the sound of her thumping heart. She needed to formulate some sort of plan, though what mattered most was to first get her breathing under control.

If she made a break for it back to the Leaf, Pain would simply follow her. If that were to happen all hell could break loose when he holds to his promise and attacks. Even if they managed to recall Naruto and Jiraiya back from Mount Myoboku to combat the Akatsuki, it would take too long and the unsuspecting villagers would take the brunt of it. No, Tsunade needed to settle this here and now.

"Did you think you would be able to get away that easily?"

Tsunade jolted to her feet. Pain was there, standing right in front of her with another one of those black rods in hand. She threw a jab that Pain effortlessly sidestepped, then followed up with a hook that forced him to block with his weapon. To her shock, the metal rod groaned in protest but didn't break on impact. That didn't deter her, however, as she continued to press forward with a flurry of strikes.

Pain managed to block or deflect most of them, though a few did manage to bypass his defenses and land true. With every landed hit Tsunade's confidence grew more and more. Her full strength was at bay for the time being so as to preserve her stamina for what would likely be a long haul, which led to Pain's lack of respect for her power.

Tsunade planted her heel deep into the branch, focused her chakra to its maximum, and unleashed a full-power punch mixed seamlessly into her ongoing onslaught. It just narrowly missed by the smallest of margins.

Pain's eyes widened when a particularly dangerous fist whizzed by the side of his head. Just from the concussive force of it passing by, he knew it would have been very bad to be on the receiving end of that one. Worry had loosened his focus for just an instant, just long enough for Tsunade to follow up with another. Her overhand right was mere inches in front of Pain's chin.

"Almighty Push."

'Poof!' Tsunade exploded into a cloud of smoke.

'A Shadow Clone?!'

Pain looked up, then hurriedly stepped back just in time to avoid an ax kick that severed the branch from its trunk. With Pain's footing now gone, he found himself in freefall. Tsunade contorted her body in midair to plant her feet against the tree, then kicked off with a huge burst of chakra and drove her shoulder into Pain's chest.

They both crashed mercilessly into the ground, but Tsunade was the first to her feet. Her goal was to close the distance before he could recover.

'I was right!' Tsunade thought triumphantly. 'He can't use those gravity Jutsu continuously; there are at least a few seconds of cooldown between uses! I need to finish this before he–.'

"Universal Pull!"

Tsunade's forward momentum had just become her worst enemy. The pull from the Jutsu easily lifted her off the ground at speeds too great to fully comprehend her surroundings. Pain caught her by the throat and then slammed her harshly into the unforgiving ground. Dazed, confused, and nauseous, Tsunade could barely register being turned onto her stomach. However, all the fog in her brain seemed to disappear when a sharp pain erupted in both her hands and along her back.

'W-What?' She blinked and weakly lifted her chin. Pain had pinned her to the ground through her palms with another one of his metal rods. She could only assume more of them were shoved into her back.

"I underestimated you," Pain admitted. knelt in front of her, looking down with cold and unapologetic eyes. "How foolish of me. Medic or not, you are still a Kage."

Tsunade hadn't heard a word he said. Instead, she was hard at work gathering the strength necessary to break free from these bindings. Her fingers dug into the earth hard enough to draw blood beneath the nail beds. Sweat formed at her brow from the effort and she bit down on the inside of her cheek in frustration

'M-My chakra is agitated… I can't focus–"

"These metal rods transmit my chakra into anything they pierce," Pain explained. "No one, not even you with your Senju and Uzumaki blood, has strong enough chakra to resist me at this range. As long as these are in you, you won't be able to focus any chakra to unleash that ferocious strength of yours."

"B-Bastard!" Tsunade spat. "You're not going to get away with this!"

"We'll see about that," Pain stood up and pointed his open palm down at her. Tsunade watched in a mix of anger and confusion as his pupils dilated. "Now, we ought to be on our way."

Tsunade could feel the rods heat up as the chakra within them was activated. Her body lifted off the ground and hovered behind Pain as he walked.

"Stop, put me down!" Tsunade fought with all her might, though her body refused to respond. She was at his mercy, unable to move of her own free will. "Where are you taking me?!"

"It would be easier to simply show you."

Pain walked at a relaxed pace as if he did not just take the leader of one of the Five Great Nations as his hostage. Tsunade's willpower had been shaved and whittled down with every failed attempt to break free. Now, her head hung in defeat, she could do nothing but get lost in her head, her fate in someone else's hands.

The Hokage's duty is to defend their village and nation from outside threats. She had failed to uphold that on multiple occasions. The infiltration of the White Zetsu, which led to Shizune's death, stuck out as a misstep that would haunt her for the rest of her life. And now– the greatest threat to her home has beaten her with relative ease and will use her as bait to lure two more of her loved ones into danger. It didn't stop there; if Naruto was in danger, then so was the entire world.

'Grandfather,' Tsunade felt tears prick at the corners of her eyes. 'I'm so sorry… I couldn't live up to your legacy. I've failed you for what could be the last time…'

"So, we meet once again. Face to face."

Tsunade lifted her head. They were somehow indoors; she looked around, it was dark due to the absence of natural light from outside, and it smelled strangely of paper. After scanning the room for several seconds, her eyes finally caught sight of the man who spoke and they widened as a result.

The man had pale, white skin with vibrant straight red hair. His upper body was severely emaciated with several black rods sticking out of his back. His arms and lower body were in some sort of six-legged contraption to assist with mobility.

"Y-You're," Those eyes, that hair; it was unmistakable. "It's you. Nagato."

"Lady Tsunade," Nagato acknowledged her with a nod. "It's been a long time."

"You're alive? I don't understand; two Rinnegan bearers…?"

"My apologies," Nagato sounded genuine. "I allowed you the option to fight for your freedom and lured you here using the Deva Path under false pretenses."

'Deva Path…?" Tsunade looked up at the body of Yahiko that brought her here. Or rather, who Nagato just referred to as the Deva Path. 'Yahiko' just stared ahead with a blank, almost dead expression on his face. That's when it clicked. Similar to her, Yahiko's body had several black rod chakra transmitters pierced through his body. Now that she had given it some thought, Yahiko's body had felt ice cold when they fought. The distractions of combat made it so she had not noticed. 'Yahiko is–'

"As you can see, the current state of my body keeps me from fighting in the conventional sense," Nagato seemed to pick up on her train of thought. "I use my abilities and chakra to control corpses to fight on my behalf. Yahiko, a face you recognized, just happens to be one of my Paths."

"Why are you telling me all of this?" Tsunade asked with an edge to her voice. These were no doubt secrets he used in battle to gain the edge on his opponents. Revealing this so casually to her could only mean one of two things. That he already decided to kill her, or…

"I am telling you this because you have the means to help me."

"You think I would consider healing you?" Were it not for such a dire situation Tsunade would have cackled in response. "You're a terrorist lunatic, and I can't wait for Jiraiya and Naruto to put you into the ground once and for all."

"No, I knew you would never heal me willingly," Nagato shook his head; not in disappointment, but amusement. "However, I have other means to achieve what I want."

Tsunade, still hovering, began to float toward Nagato against her will. She had long given up on trying to resist her bindings, but his words just triggered her fight response.

"It's pointless," Nagato could feel her trying to power through his control, though he did not sound worried. "I already told you that no one can resist my chakra at this range. I can control every muscle in your body effortlessly, even now as you try to fight against me."

Once she got close enough, Nagato pulled his arms from the contraption housing his torso, then reached out to remove the rod pierced through Tsunade's palms.

"W-What do you think you're doing?!" Tsunade grunted in discomfort. Once her hands were unrestrained, they involuntarily clasped together to form the Tiger seal. Her eyes widened in horror. "T-This is–"

"I am in complete control of your body right now," Nagato explained matter-of-factly. "That includes the ability to wield your chakra to use on my behalf."

"No, you ca–"

"Ninja Art: Mitotic Regeneration." Pain echoed.

It was instantaneous, the wounds through Tsunade's palms began to steam and close up. Every scratch, cut, or other form of external damage besides the rods pierced through her back began to heal at an astonishing pace.

Pain placed his hand on top of Tsunade's head.

"This isn't possible," Tsunade's mind was racing with hundreds of thoughts per minute. It's one thing to know about her Mitotic Regeneration Jutsu, but to be able to force her to perform it is an entirely different matter. That was the moment her blood ran cold and she looked into Nagato's rippled eyes.

…

…

…

"Okay, I have something that should be of some use to you." Lady Fifth bent over her chair and pulled out one of the many drawers in her desk. "I think you've progressed to the point in your training where you don't need me to hold your hand through every step."

"Are you looking for something in particular, Lady Tsunade?" Sakura asked, confused by the strange behavior.

"Why, yes I am." Her mentor confirmed as she bent down to search the bottom shelves of the display. "Ah, here it is!" She pulled out what appeared to be a dusty old tome with intricate, hand-drawn symbols on the outside.

"What is that?" The girl asked curiously.

"This is something that was left to me by my grandmother, Mito Uzumaki; she's the one who taught me how to use the Hundred Healings Mark. It's an ancient Uzumaki text that details the process of creating one's own forehead mark to store chakra behind. I think you're finally ready to learn from it. I know you've already begun the process of stowing away excess chakra, but this final step will allow you to gain access to that reserve and use it to its fullest extent."

"Uzumaki? I didn't know they were a Clan." Her eyes shined in awe at the piece of history placed before her. "That means Naruto is…"

"That's right. The Uzumaki Clan's history isn't really taught much in the Academy, but they were a prominent group of Shinobi from the Land of Eddies that shared a deep alliance with the Leaf Village."

"But why isn't it taught?" The emerald-eyed kunoichi asked tentatively. "Did something happen to them?"

"Their land was destroyed about thirty years ago in the Second Great Shinobi War." The half Uzumaki's voice seemed numb to the tragedy. "Unfortunately, they became just another casualty to the horrors of war."

"I see." Sakura's face fell at such casually spoken words. It reminded her just how much the Hokage lost throughout her life. Too much. "Well, I'm glad you still have a few things to remember your ancestors by."

"Yeah." Hashirama's granddaughter flipped open the cover and trailed her fingers across the words scribbled inside. They were instructions left by her grandmother decades earlier meant especially for her. With a content sigh, now trapped in her own world, she flipped a few pages further to go down memory lane.

However, that was short-lived. 'How odd. Pages twenty through thirty are missing.' She thought to herself. Based on the state of the interior binding of the text, it was apparent that those select pages were roughly and carelessly ripped out. Her eyes narrowed considerably. 'I'm certain that all of the pages were here the last time I looked through this. And, if I recall, the missing sheets focused on the Hundred Healing Mark's history, its uses, applications, and the effects it had on the user's body.' A chill went up her spine, though she was unsure as to why.

"Is everything okay, Lady Tsunade?" Sakura's voice, which seemed to snap her mentor from her thoughts, was a mix of mild concern and confusion. "You spaced out for a second there."

"Ah, yeah, I'm okay." She responded weakly. "Seems I got caught up in the memories I have from when I was little. This book… holds a lot of precious ones."

…

…

…

"It was you. Zetsu, he–" Tsunade's voice shook with horror. She could feel her chakra slowly drain away. "You never intended to use me as bait to lure in Naruto, this is what you wanted all along!"

"Zetsu retrieved the information for me during his time infiltrating the Leaf. Impersonating Shizune made it very easy for him to get his hands on what we needed. Once I had it, my intention was to learn the Jutsu on my own, though that never materialized. Your mastery of chakra control is simply otherworldly," Nagato's sunken and emaciated features started to fill out, replaced with a physique reminiscent of his physical prime. "The next logical step was to get it right from the source."

"D-Don't do this," Tsunade could feel her features start to age and decay. Nagato absorbed more than just the Jutsu, he was siphoning almost all of her chakra to fuel his transformation. Not even the reserves behind the mark on her forehead were out of his reach. "S-Stop!"

"This is necessary to ensure that peace and balance are achieved. You should feel honored that you get to be a part of something greater. I will not forget your sacrifice," Nagato, his body now fully rejuvenated, pulled himself from the contraption that had housed his body for years. The feeling of his feet touching the paper ground was a surreal moment once believed to be out of his reach. His body and mind were activated in a way they had never been before. The last time he could walk under his own power, his ocular powers were nowhere near the level they were now. This was it, he had achieved true Godhood.

Pain removed his hand from Tsunade's head as her eyes rolled back in their sockets. She slumped forward, still floating just above the ground, her neck no longer able to support the weight.

Nagato looked at his hands and clenched them tightly, then down at his legs. The damage done to them by Hanzo all those years ago had healed completely. His full mobility was restored once again. Now there was nothing he could not do. It was only a matter of time before the world knew what true pain was.

"At last, Project Matsuura has been realized."

Author's Note: Perfect Sage Jiraiya was unfortunately overshadowed. Nagato has achieved his physical prime. What does this mean for the world?

It's been a while, so I'm sure most people forgot about "Project Matsuura."

The name is derived from the real life folklore of Jiraiya the Gallant. In those stories, Tsunade was from the Matsuura clan, which was a subtle hint that Pain's target would ultimately be Tsunade.

The flashback excerpt with Tsunade and Sakura was taken from the chapter "The Broken Promise?" (44/62) to jog your memories since it's been so long since that happened.

This one has been planned out for a long time. I'd love to know your thoughts!

Until next time with Chapter 58: "Singing in the Rain!"

Disquieting One - It was an interesting thought, but Pain has no interest in a truce unless the other side agrees to his demands.

Rebell 01 - It was neither a talk nor invasion. Pain wanted his rebirth.

Ky111 - Pain's master plan has been revealed. What did you think?

NaruCrazy- You were damn near spot on. The animal Path snuck in through the gap in the barrier and remained in hiding until it was time to summon the others. Naruto actually sensed them briefly in the beginning of "Old Dog, New Tricks," but didn't trust his intuition.

I threw in a quick summary into the chapter of the status of all Akatsuki members from Tsunade's perspective. How that helps!

Phazer12 - Man, you absolutely called it with Project Matsuura. You were the only one I saw who was able to figure it out. Well done!