"Absolutely not."

"An' why not?" Rōshi spat. His words were fiery, laced with the heat of the lava he spewed from his mouth. The magnitude of his distaste over the decision combined with his reputation would have a lesser man cowering.

Ōnoki was not that man.

The Tsuchikage arched one thick, greying eyebrow at his son, bearing the brunt of his tantrum with the stoicism typical of the Hidden Rock's leaders. He hadn't knelt to the redhead's whims as a child, and he certainly wasn't going to cave to the 27-year-old who'd been absent for most of the last two decades. "I don't need to justify my decision to anyone, let alone you," he replied dismissively.

"Yeh jus' had a mad Bijū trampin' 'bout th' country," snarled the lava-user. "Yeh think yeh can jus' ignore that? No one's gonna 'preciate him knowin' th' Gobi was close ter killin' 'em."

Ōnoki laughed, a low, gruff chuckle. "And you will?"

"Better than he will here!"

"So he can follow in your footsteps?" The Tsuchikage was no longer amused, his compact form levitating above the chair he'd just been seated in. "Leave the village and just bally about the mountains like some juvenile—"

"I come when yeh call!" Rōshi shouted. "Jus' saved yer ass from th' Gobi, didn' I?"

"You're our weapon against such threats, it's your duty—"

"I'M YER SON, NOT SOME DOG ON A LEASH, YEH DAFT, OL'—"

"ENOUGH!" Ōnoki bellowed. His hands were close together, a tiny sphere of white light held between them. He took several deep breaths, and the outline of a cube that encased the light dissipated. Slowly, he forced himself back into his chair, a modicum of professionalism returning to his countenance. "You are our weapon, and you will adhere to our rules! This is not up for debate. The Jinchūriki will be trained here, within Iwa. Should you wish to provide guidance, this is where you'll do it. Otherwise, leave. You're good at that. I'll not have you influence the boy in following your lead."

Rōshi's fists were clenched so tightly that he was sure his fingernails had pierced his palms and drawn blood. "Fine!" he spat. "Yeh can have 'im. But it won' work. He'll follow my lead whether yeh like it or not, 'cause yeh got no idea how ter raise anyone, let alone a Jinchūriki."

He made sure to slam the door to the Tsuchikage's office on his way out, a thunderous sound that matched the rage pounding in his ears.

-l-l-l-

Rōshi held a hand up to his forehead and squinted into the distance against the harsh glare of the sun. A vast expanse of rocks, buttes, and mountains loomed as far as the eye could see, and for a moment, the redhead wished he was back in the Land of Fire, where the forests provided lush shade and a wash of colors that left one in awe. The Land of Earth was so boring in comparison, dry and empty and uninspiring.

Mebbe we hate Konoha jus' 'cause they got it better.

He smirked at his own droll humor, though it was short-lived. The history of the rivalry between the Villages Hidden in Rock and Leaf was far too long to believe something so whimsical. It sounded like a theory Naruto, or even Utakata (on a good day), might bandy about to amuse themselves. Rōshi had lived too long to allow himself such trivial fantasies.

Although, as he trekked a dusty trail through the Land of Earth, he wondered if that was still true.

Time, he'd learned, had a way of changing things. Utakata would sometimes say that it was for the better, but the Iwa-nin's experiences had understandably soured him to such optimism. Decades of isolation, of watching people from so far away that they weren't aware of his presence, of sparse instances of trying to do the right thing and always failing because nothing could erode the stubbornness of Iwa's leadership (or his), had taught the Four-Tails' Jinchūriki not to trust in the passage of time.

And yet, only six months with the two younger Jinchūriki and Rōshi knew something had changed. It was a blip in the timeline of his life, and yet it was more time than he'd spent in the company of another person in the past 40 years…since he'd left the comfort of village life and sought refuge in the craggy mountains of the Land of Earth…

It was strange how living among people who simultaneously shared so many and yet so few similar characteristics could reveal so much he'd ignored for so long. Jinchūriki were inherently broken creatures; Mū had called him a weapon, something no longer human, and Rōshi – an impressionable five-year-old – had believed him.

The Hidden Sand Jinchūriki he'd fought during the Third Shinobi World War had been the same, from what he could tell in the little they'd interacted. Crazier than the lava-user, certainly, but that just made his brokenness all the more obvious. Utakata, for all his polite mannerisms, wasn't all that different, though it was certainly hidden better. Youth, Rōshi thought, probably helped temper things, but between the brunet's desperate connection to Yagura (and his mannerisms when he slipped) and the way he agreed with the Iwa-nin on certain topics, he was broken, too.

And then there was Han—

A scoff of disdain tickled his throat, and he forced himself to divert that thought towards the true outlier: Naruto.

The blond Jinchūriki was an anomaly among a set of tested data points, and after six months, Rōshi still didn't know how or why. His life had been filled with the same scorn and distrust the other Jinchūriki had faced, the same isolation and loneliness; hell, the boy was as stubborn and temperamental as the Iwa-nin on any given day.

But he was different. Somehow, within Naruto, the fragile nature of humanity had not shattered when bludgeoned by the curse of the Jinchūriki. Utakata saw that – had seen it way before Rōshi, if the Iwa-nin was being honest – and that made him…

Rōshi didn't know. There truly wasn't a word to describe the Kyūbi Jinchūriki. Resilient? That came in many forms. The redhead had lived by himself for four decades; that was resiliency.

But that had also served to isolate him further, bury him deeper in the cycle of hatred that festered within all Jinchūriki. Almos' all, he corrected mentally.

Naruto had…inspired, the redhead supposed…something in him. Working with the blond had breathed fresh life into a stale body. Rōshi had forgotten what it was like to actually help someone who wanted it despite the fact that it had only been a couple of years since the Tsuchikage's last ultimatum had quashed that feeling. Yes, Utakata had brought them together, and the redhead had even gotten around to training the brunet to be a better shinobi, but training Naruto, watching the stubborn Konoha native bounce back up every time the Iwa-nin had beaten him down, was like kindling a flame on a windy night. He'd lost count of the number of times he'd gone through that particular exercise during his exile, and as much patience and irritation as he'd burned through on those occasions, the end – warm comfort on a cold night – was always worth it.

It was early yet, but Naruto had the potential to be a great, roaring fire. And after the last six months, Rōshi wanted to be part of the fuel that kept it burning.

But to do so required they live, and with Akatsuki apparently on their tail, that was going to be a greater challenge than expected. Utakata, annoying as it was to admit, had a point. They needed to work together; standing alone would get them nowhere.

Forty years of isolation compared to the last six months of company, even through the frustrating moments, was evidence enough of that.

So now he was going to do the right thing…the thing he should have pushed harder for 23 years ago.

There yeh are.

He crested a small ridge and stared down across another expanse of rocky earth that culminated in a massive gorge. Kiri no Tani – the Valley of Fog – was located in the far western region of the Land of Earth, and getting to it from Konoha had been nothing short of tedious. It had been called something else long ago, though the name had been lost once the thick, white haze that permeated the ravine had become commonplace enough to grant it its new moniker. The only reason Rōshi knew the name was because Kurotsuchi had brought it up one day years ago, excitedly asking if he'd ever visited during his time outside the Hidden Rock. It was apparently a thing of mythological wonder to the younger Iwa citizens who were lucky enough to be ignorant of the mystery it enshrouded.

Rōshi snorted at their foolishness; the Valley of Fog was yet another example of people taking for granted that which they didn't understand. If they knew th' source o' all th' fog…

He descended the cliff he'd crested, wary of any loose rubble in his path potentially giving away his position. While the Hidden Rock had the normal division of sensor-nin who could track shinobi by chakra in the traditional way, it also had plenty of Doton specialists who were so attuned to their element that they could detect the presence of nearby people just by their approach. It didn't have quite the same effect as actual sensing – there was no way to determine the strength of one's chakra or any similar metrics – but if position and movement were all one needed, earth-sensing was a powerful asset. It was rumored that Ōnoki had taken to flying with the Light-Weight Rock Technique out of paranoia of a similar sensing ability revealing his presence (or if traitors wished to track him). Rōshi was likely more adept at the ability than anyone his father would have deployed to Kiri no Tani, but there was little point in taking chances.

When he finally made it to flat ground, Rōshi kneeled and placed a palm to the dirt. Vibrations thundered up through the earth from the ravine's floor, a telltale sign of his target's constant, pent-up frustration. The redhead smirked to himself. Same ol' same ol'. He tried to ignore those movements and focused instead on the surrounding area, on everywhere that overlooked the Valley of Fog. That would be where the sentries were posted, either too afraid or too disgusted to get close to the monster contained within walls hundreds of feet deep.

Jus' two o' yeh? Th' Tsuchikage's gettin' lazy.

Not that it mattered; it just made his job a bit easier.

He angled his heading towards the closer guard, stepping lightly and approaching at a slow, careful pace to avoid alerting the other shinobi to his presence. When he decided he was close enough that he could approach no further without additional precautions, he went through seals and then slammed one hand into the ground. Doton: Shōgekiha no Jutsu.

The Earth Release: Shockwave Technique ripped through the underground, causing the earth to shake and rocks to tumble down the surrounding mountains. Earthquakes weren't uncommon in the Land of Earth, and one so far away from most villages – which were built with infrastructure to withstand smaller ones – wouldn't draw any undue attention.

Even from the guards of one of Iwa's most prized possessions.

The rumbling of falling rock and heaving of the ground disguised the redhead's footsteps as he sprinted towards the first chakra signature. The guard had his back to the redhead, far enough from the edge of the precipice he was on to avoid being hurtled into the ravine by an errant aftershock. Rōshi withdrew one of his curved kunai from its sheath and thrust it through the shinobi's heart with barely a thought.

The man's form sagged into mud, collapsing at the Jinchūriki's feet. Rōshi jumped as two hands emerged from the earth, reaching for his ankles to drag him underground. He grimaced at his haste, expelling a stream of lava into an incoming wind jutsu that cooled into a concave shield and then succumbed to gravity. Dark eyes glanced around to find the second guard standing on a precipice on the opposite side of the ravine, chakra-enhanced winds emanating from his direction. Stupid, he berated himself, yeh know better than ter leave th' ground.

Chakra flared to life around him and formed into dark obsidian. With a quick application of the Added-Weight Rock Technique, his mass multiplied, and he plummeted to a field of earthen spires that had been set up below him. Rock crumbled beneath his impact, causing clouds of dust to billow up and cover the area. He shed the obsidian armor, allowing it to fall away in bits and pieces. Once it was gone, he breathed deeply, glad to feel solid earth.

Like most Iwa-nin, Rōshi didn't like leaving the ground. Their strength typically came from the earth, and losing that advantage could be akin to a death sentence. For the redhead, that went even further; there was an intrinsic, instinctual feeling of belonging when he was on the ground, and disconnecting from it felt like leaving home. He could picture the roiling magma deep within the earth, and its constant heat instilled in him a sense of calm and purpose.

The earth shifted beneath his feet, and he sidestepped a spike of stone that erupted to impale him. Stalagmites continued to burst from the ground in rapid succession, bundled together to prevent Rōshi from avoiding them, but each one was preceded by a slight rumble that shook in his bones, and dodging them was a trifle.

All the while, the wind-user's position across the ravine remained unchanged. Dust was still obscuring him and the (apparent) sensor, and that was likely stopping the other shinobi from taking decisive action. Rōshi allowed himself a tut of disapproval. Weak. Doton: Sazareishi.

Rock rose around both sentries, entrapping and then crushing them. Rōshi scowled as he felt the sensor-nin slip out of the Gravel technique's hold. Yeh're annoyin'.

He spun on his heel, summoning rock to cover his fist, and punched the open maw of an incoming earthen dragon. Stone showered the area, and Rōshi waited patiently for the Iwa-nin's next move. He half-expected the other shinobi to run away, but the earth remained still.

The dust between them finally cleared, and Rōshi saw the face of his opponent for the first time. Brown eyes went wide at the sight of the redhead. "You're the Yonbi!"

The lava-user flared his chakra, and as the sensor tensed in expectation of an attack, the curved blade of the redhead's kunai erupted from the man's chest. "Jinchūriki," he corrected with muttered distaste as his earth clone withdrew the blade and allowed the corpse to collapse. That the people of the village he'd protected with his life – and his sacrifice – still couldn't see him as anything more than the Tailed Beast within was only one of the many reasons he'd left. He held out his hand for his weapon, and once the Tsuchi Bunshin had turned it over, it returned to a loose pile of dirt.

An' now…

Rōshi turned his attention to the Valley of Fog, eyeing it with a healthy dose of skepticism. When he'd left Naruto in Konoha, he'd known that the task ahead would be difficult. Hell, when Utakata had discussed his plan six months ago and Rōshi had merely arched an eyebrow at the boy's naivety and scoffed at his idealism, he'd known that this would be a massive undertaking. And that had been before he'd even become a willing participant of the Kiri-nin's plan. That he knew it had to be done didn't make it any easier.

Summoning chakra to his feet, the redhead stepped over the edge of the gorge and began walking down its sheer wall. As his descent deepened, the white mist that gave the valley its moniker grew thicker, and every step taken was more careful than the last. With his visibility continually diminishing, Rōshi tried brainstorming the right approach to take, but no ideas came to mind. He ran a few fingers through his beard, scratching idly at his chin in contemplation. How'd I git sucked inter this mess, hm? What'll git 'im ter come with?

All he had was the solitude all Jinchūriki were burdened with and the fact that there was no love lost with the Hidden Rock.

Those, at least, he had in common with Han.

Screw it, he groused internally. He'd spent the majority of his life taking action without a plan, including following Utakata to Konoha and sticking around to train Naruto; there was no reason this should go any differently.

His foot made contact with a horizontal surface, and Rōshi stepped down to the bottom of the ravine. He extended his arms before him, the surrounding fog so thick that he could barely see his hands before his face. A thin trickle of nearby flowing water made its way to his ears, the sound reminiscent of all those months watching Naruto train with Utakata in the Land of Fire. Aye, I know what I got ter do, yeh don' need ter keep remindin' me. Damn brats…annoyin' me an' they ain't even here.

"So you've finally deigned to come to me."

The voice that greeted him was as deep as the Valley of Fog, animosity tangled in every syllable. Rōshi glanced around cautiously, dark eyes scrutinizing his surroundings even though the haze made it impossible. No vibrations shook the earth, and Rōshi scowled at the sensory deprivation. "I jus' want ter talk," he announced, arms held up to showcase his peaceful intent.

"Oh, is that all?" came the deep voice, cynicism lacing the rhetorical question. "I've never known you to be a big talker, Rōshi." With each word spoken, the mist thinned, and the lava-user turned his head in the direction of the voice.

Han was a giant of a man, even discounting Rōshi's diminutive frame, his massive form towering at least two heads over the Four-Tails' Jinchūriki. Scarlet-colored armor covered him from top to toe, including a kasa that shaded his pupil-less brown eyes – the only part of his face which was visible – from the elements. His right hand was tucked against his chest beneath a dark grey gi with torn sleeves and black trim, matching his dark grey pants. White smoke puffed out from an armored contraption on his back, adding to the haze pervading the Valley of Fog. He stood on the thin stream of water running through the ravine's floor, his stature as stiff and unyielding as the walls around them.

"Aye, yeh've got me there," Rōshi admitted warily. "But things're diff'rent now."

"How so?" Every word Han spoke was colored with dark skepticism. "Iwa's no different. I'm seen as nothing more than a child to be babysat and used when convenient, like a commodity." Years of solitude had given Rōshi enough inherent apathy to not flinch at the taller Iwa-nin's growing anger, though his dark eyes narrowed with suspicion. "And you're going to stand there and tell me that two decades later, things are suddenly different? That you've changed?"

The mist around them thickened once more, hiding the massive shinobi from view. This ain't good.

"You, who represent the very essence of Iwa, kowtowing to the Tsuchikage's whims for Iwa's benefit at the expense of everyone else; you, who made a Jinchūriki from a child and sacrificed him to the Tsuchikage so that you could enjoy your freedom…that you've come here pretending your intentions are innocent is laughable. I've waited a long time for this, Rōshi…"

Rōshi's grimace was hidden by the mist, though the thick white haze couldn't disguise the footsteps that thundered through the ground. Instinct had the redhead crossing his arms over his chest and shielding his forearms with stone in a hasty bastardization of the Fist Rock Technique.

Han's black-gloved fist slammed into the shorter Iwa-nin, sending the redhead careening into the ravine wall behind him. Rōshi grunted at the impact, feeling rock dig uncomfortably into his back. He activated the Hiding in Rock Technique, melding into the wall just before the taller shinobi's other punch fractured the stone that had been bracing him. "RŌSHI!" bellowed the enraged Jinchūriki. "Come out and fight me, you coward!"

Aye, yer pissed somethin' fierce… I knew this was a bad idea.

But he would get nowhere by running away, and he had come with a purpose. The Gobi Jinchūriki had combat experience and skill that dwarfed Utakata's, and if the brunet's plan had any chance of success, they needed Han.

Steam seeped through the cracks in the rock, and Rōshi armored himself in stone before propelling from his hiding spot in an aggressive blitz. Han effortlessly caught his fist, closing his fingers around it before the redhead could escape. He effortlessly lifted the smaller Iwa-nin into the air and then slammed him into the ground.

Rōshi was momentarily stunned by the attack, his stone armor cracking and falling apart at his feet. He expelled a small globule of lava, forcing the Gobi Jinchūriki to lean backwards to prevent his head from being broiled. Han retained his grip on the lava-user's fist, and the giant's movement brought him off the ground once more. Before the armored shinobi could react, the redhead planted both feet squarely in Han's chest, receiving a deep grunt for his effort.

Instead of releasing the lava-user, Han's grip tightened even more, and Rōshi winced as the bones in his hand were crushed. "Don't think I'll let you escape," Han growled.

Burning chakra spread along Rōshi's skin, turned into lava, and then solidified into black obsidian. Han's incoming fist struck the Yonbi Jinchūriki's midriff, but Rōshi's defense withstood the blow, and the redhead used the Added-Weight Rock Technique to increase his mass. Even Han's impressive strength couldn't keep up with the sudden burden, and he finally released the older Jinchūriki. Rōshi hit the ground and cratered it, reverting his mass back to its normal state and bounding to his feet. "Yōton: Shakugaryūgan no Jutsu!"

Spheres of flaming, molten rock erupted from his mouth. Han shifted through several defensive maneuvers, his strong limbs destroying each incoming projectile with ease. Rōshi expelled a stream of lava at the giant, but the Gobi Jinchūriki held up a gloved hand to deflect the liquid, sending molten droplets spraying out in all directions. With the heavy sound of something depressurizing, steam billowed out from beneath Han's armor. He immediately charged the smaller Iwa-nin with a speed that belied his size, and Rōshi again increased his mass, too encumbered by the obsidian armor to properly dodge.

"Funsuiken!"

The gloved fist that impacted his chest shattered the layer of protective black stone and sent the redhead rocketing backwards through the fog. A large boulder arrested his momentum, crumbling beneath him, and for several seconds, he lay in the rubble his collision had caused, obsidian chunks breaking off his body and joining the pile under him. Nnn…guessin' that's th' Kairiki Musō… he mused darkly.

After the end of the Third Shinobi World War, Ōnoki had taken some strange delight in regaling him with the great success Han – then a teenager, and still early in his tenure as a Jinchūriki – had had breaking through Konoha's forces with his Unrivalled Strength style of fighting, as if Rōshi cared about competing with his fellow Iwa-nin. The redhead hadn't seen the big deal – when he'd helped subdue the Gobi, the enormous irukauma's use of steam hadn't caused any great hindrance – and hearing about the Five-Tails' Jinchūriki's success when the lava-user had taken point against Suna and beaten the One-Tail Jinchūriki hadn't impressed him.

But if this was what a true master of Futton could accomplish, the powers of an untamed Bijū in a trained human host, he had underestimated the power of Boil Release.

And Han.

Clambering to his feet caused him to grimace in pain. I ain't been beat this bad since…trainin' with Mū?

Thunder rippled through the ground, and Rōshi threw himself to the side as Han burst through the fog in a bull's rush. Waves of steam were expelled from one side of his armor, the burst of pressure pivoting his body to face the older Iwa-nin. For a moment, there was an opening in the swirling fog, and the Yonbi Jinchūriki saw unbridled hatred in the giant's pupil-less brown eyes; then, with a gesture, the haze was all-encompassing once more. "You can't dodge forever, Rōshi."

I can so long as we're on th' ground.

Han may have been bigger, faster, and physically stronger, but he didn't fight like a shinobi of the Hidden Rock. Boil Release was a combination of Water and Fire Releases, so none of the earth-related training that Rōshi had gone through to master lava ninjutsu had been imparted to him.

Including earth-sensing.

More vibrations echoed through the ground as Han's footsteps reverberated his intentions, and Rōshi again dodged the linear assault, spinning around to launch another Scorching Steam Rock Technique at the giant's back.

"Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!"

A flood formed of river water blew Rōshi off his feet from behind and carried him in the direction Han had charged. The redhead tumbled around in the deluge, twisting his fingers through familiar hand seals even while disoriented. Doton: Doryūheki! Doton: Doryūkatsu!

A thick rock wall erupted from the ground between the two Jinchūriki, hiding the older Rock shinobi and the incoming Great Waterfall Technique from Han's view. Then the earth split, and Rōshi's disorientation turned to relief as the flowing water fell into the yawning chasm, allowing him to make contact with the solid earth of the divide's wall and meld through it with the Underground Fish Projection Technique. He could feel the Five-Tails' Jinchūriki moving around above him, and with a quick application of chakra, reached up to grab the steam-user's armored feet.

In short order, only Han's head was visible aboveground, his brown eyes glaring daggers at the surfaced redhead. "Are yeh ready ter listen?"

Hot vapor washed over him, followed by a shower of rocks as the earth surrounding Han exploded at his expulsion of steam. He was momentarily grateful for the decades of training with lava – it gave him a resistance to the boiling steam that blanketed him and would have likely cooked a normal shinobi – but a booted foot planted itself in his solar plexus with all the force of a hefted cinderblock. Rōshi gasped for air as Han's weight drove him into the ground, the giant standing over him with one foot on his ribcage like a conquering hero. Each ragged breath felt like he was drowning, the air more water than oxygen.

"Do you feel it in your lungs, Rōshi? The weight…the pressure of being unable to do anything normal, like breathing? How it feels to be restricted for once?"

Han's deep voice was incensed, each question punctuated with a little more pressure on the redhead's chest. Rōshi couldn't tell if the giant's image was distorted from all the surrounding steam or his own blurring vision. His hand scrabbled in the dirt around him and found a rock. He threw it up in the direction of the armored shinobi's head, chakra turning it into a small wave of dirt.

Han was too close to dodge, and his head and shoulders were assaulted by the mass of earth. It was enough to force him off the older Iwa-nin's chest, and Rōshi gasped as the pressure on his lungs decreased. He flared his chakra, the heat of his Lava Armor burning off the surrounding fog, and the ability to breath became instantly noticeable. Instinct forced him to his feet, the training of a shinobi raised to ignore his pain and take advantage of any momentary weakness taking over, and he charged Han, lowering his shoulder and throwing his weight into the man's midriff.

Han fell backwards, still distracted by the redhead's unexpected dirt deluge, the ground cracking under his weight. Rōshi blazed through seals and slammed his open palms against the larger Iwa-nin's armored chest. "Doton: Chōkajūgan no Jutsu!"

His chakra spread throughout the Gobi Jinchūriki's body, increasing Han's weight exponentially. "Rōshi…" he growled, the chink of his armor as he tried to lift his arms echoing with the hatred in his voice. "What did you do to me?"

"Same thing I did ter th' Gobi," he replied, rising to his feet and wincing as his bones cracked. Adrenaline gone, he suddenly felt all of his 50 years, his body screaming after the beatdown Han had delivered. The giant's struggles became more pronounced, and Rōshi summoned lava from beneath the earth to flow around the taller Iwa-nin and harden into strong obsidian bands that further restricted his movement. Even still, the armored shinobi continued to move, and Rōshi had to admire his tenacity – or his hatred – to resist both the Ultra-Added-Weight Rock Technique and his restraints. Steam billowed out from beneath Han, but even that wasn't enough to propel him into an upright position. "Now are yeh ready ter listen?"

Han managed to lift his head just enough for pupil-less brown eyes to momentarily shoot daggers at the redhead. "To whatever high and mighty speech you have?" His head fell back, cratering the ground beneath it. "Hardly."

"Yer wrong."

"Shocking."

"I came here ter help yeh, yeh daft idiot!" Rōshi snapped. The giant's sarcasm and obstinance was becoming a test of his thin patience. His respect for Utakata – and the tribulations the brunet had gone through to convince him to travel with him and keep him in Konoha despite his own stubbornness – rose. "If yeh'd shut up fer five minutes—"

"Help me? Like you helped me after I became a Jinchūriki? Like you helped me when Iwa taught me to be a weapon? Or are you referring to how you helped yourself?"

Rōshi heaved a sigh laden with regret and settled into a cross-legged position on the ground. "Aye, I made a mistake. An' I ain't askin' yeh ter fergive me. When I asked ter train yeh, Ōnoki tol' me I had ter stay in Iwa ter do it, an' I wasn' gonna let 'im have control o' me again. But th' past's th' past, an' I ain't here ter fix it."

"Then why exactly are you here?"

"Th' Jinchūriki're bein' targeted—"

Han barked a laugh. "Tell me something I don't know."

"It's Akatsuki."

The Gobi Jinchūriki was silent for moment before skeptically posing, "The group Deidara joined?"

Deidara? The name was vaguely familiar, though the redhead couldn't think of why. He shrugged, and when he realized Han couldn't see him, said, "I s'pose. Ōnoki's used 'em afore."

Han scoffed. "So you came to warn me about a group of terrorists. Great. I'll keep an eye out."

"This ain't a joke!"

"No? You think Akatsuki can beat a Jinchūriki, after the wars we've fought?"

"Yeh ever fight a Kage?" Rōshi argued. "I'm guessin' not, since Ōnoki an' yeh are both still 'round."

"Are you comparing Akatsuki to a Kage?" Han snorted. "Please. They recruited Deidara. If they're getting help from Akatsuchi's pathetic excuse of a friend, then they aren't the threat you make them out to be."

"Ev'ry team's got a weakest player, even th' Bijū. An' if yeh think th' Ichibi's nothin' ter sneeze at, yer wrong. 'Cause o' th' two o' us, I'm th' only one who's fought it. 'Sides, yeh jus' lost ter me."

"You got lucky," Han growled.

"Aye, an' luck's all they need ter git yeh. Mebbe yeh think yeh can take 'em, but they think they can take yeh, an' that means that we got ter take 'em seriously."

"We? You're proposing, what, an alliance to defeat Akatsuki? Between you and me?"

"Somethin' like that."

Han laughed, a deep, cynical sound. Rōshi wondered if he had sounded as skeptical when Utakata had proposed the same thing six months ago. "You've never cared to protect me before," Han said, a sneer in his voice, "and I—"

"I already tol' yeh, I tried!" Rōshi shouted in frustration. He was on his feet now, face approaching the color of his hair as his short temper spiked. "Yeh've met that ol' bastard Ōnoki—"

"Spent more time with him than you, that's for sure!" Han spat.

"—an' yeh still think anythin' I said woulda got yeh put under me?!" the redhead bellowed. "I got no power in Iwa! I'm a weapon, same as yeh! Yeh think bein' th' son o' th' Tsuchikage means anythin' compared ter bein' a Jinchūriki? It's all shit! Iwa, Ōnoki, our lives, our duty! We git nothin' 'cause no one gives a shit!

"Aye, so I failed ter protect yeh afore. I tried ter save myself, an' look how I ended up. Yeh think yeh woulda been any diff'rent if I'd been there, eh? Yer still a Jinchūriki, yeh still woulda been alone an' hated an' pissed! But now we got ter move on ter what we can control."

Silence reigned as Rōshi's diatribe ended, the redhead heaving angry breaths of humid air. The redhead wasn't even sure if what he'd said had made any sense, or that it would sway Han to their side; it was had been a rant to air his own grievances, the boiling rage that had consumed him since he was a child, and it had felt…good. Too many decades in isolation had allowed anger – at his status, at the Tsuchikages (both Second and Third), at the Yonbi, at life – to fester with no outlet.

And Han understood all that…knew the rage, the hatred, the feeling of being used by a village which didn't respect him just because he'd been a convenient tool to stick with a dangerous, misunderstood creature.

At least, he should have. It was becoming more apparent that Han had channeled all his rage into hating Rōshi, and to a far greater extent than the redhead had anticipated. His current injuries were a testament to that.

"What do you want from me, Rōshi?" Han finally asked. His deep voice was controlled, his anger carefully stuffed within his armor. Rōshi wasn't sure whether to interpret that as a good thing or not.

"I want yeh ter come with me."

"I can't go anywhere right now."

Rōshi hobbled over to Han and laid a hand upon the obsidian bands tying him to the earth. With a quick manipulation of chakra, the stone fractured and broke away. Moving to touch the giant's armor, another burst of chakra released the Gobi Jinchūriki from the Ultra-Added-Weight Rock Technique. He stepped back as the steam-user rose to his feet, his impressive height towering over the redhead's short frame and making him feel suddenly inadequate. "Yer free now."

Han scoffed. "Hardly. A free man needs no guards. We don't all have the luxury of going wherever we want on a whim."

"I took care o' yer guards." Han stared at him, and if any more than his eyes were visible, Rōshi might have called the expression shocked. "Aye, yer welcome. Yer as free as I am now, if yeh want ter call it that," he added dryly. Digging into a pocket, he produced the river rock engraved with the kanji for 'four'. "I got one o' these, too, yeh know. It ain't like I'm above it all."

Han's hand was once more buried beneath his gi; from the movement of the cloth, it seemed like he was fidgeting with his own stone. "And yet," the giant noted in a clipped tone, "you freely admit to killing your fellow shinobi, and you fear no consequence."

Rōshi snorted. "If that's how yeh see 'em. I don'. Mebbe there's other shinobi who're more my fellows. Got ter take risks ter reap rewards, eh?"

"What, you think I'm more like you than they are?"

The redhead's face grew solemn. "Yer a Jinchūriki, ain't yeh? That's more'n most can say." And as strange as it sounded, Rōshi trusted Han more than the other Jinchūriki. Utakata, for as well-meaning and polite as he appeared, had greater priorities than the lava-user, namely the safety of the Mizukage. And Naruto's naivety, his unwavering devotion to his village, only accentuated his youth and inexperience, meaning Rōshi had no appreciation for his judgment.

But Han was an Iwa-nin. He knew how the Hidden Rock operated, knew the Tsuchikage's temperament and games, shared the country's history, and had grown up under the same thumb the redhead had. As much as the bigger Jinchūriki would hate to admit it, their situations weren't actually all that different.

They weren't all that different.

That Rōshi could take Ōnoki in a fight, and that his tendency towards disobedience had led the Tsuchikage to rein in the Gobi Jinchūriki tighter than he had his own son, were about the only true variations that immediately came to mind.

Han stared at him for a long moment, as if trying to discern something from the older Iwa-nin's serious expression. Rōshi waited with more patience than he ever would have considered himself capable of, hyper-aware of the fact that the major obstacle he'd feared in trying to recruit Han – that the Gobi Jinchūriki would try to kill him outright without hearing him out – had been cleared. Rushing the armored shinobi now would only risk driving him further away.

"Fine." The giant's arms were crossed over his chest in a show of (petulant) defiance. It reminded the redhead a little of Naruto, and the corner of his mouth twitched with humor. "Let's see what freedom feels like."

-l-l-l-

A distinct sense of nostalgia followed Rōshi as the pair of Jinchūriki traveled out of the Valley of Fog and began the arduous journey back to Konoha. This time, though, he was the injured one slowing their pace to a crawl, not Utakata, and Han had taken his place as the skeptical, dour Iwa-nin unwilling to help.

And, for once, he was starting to feel like he needed it. Without the adrenaline from his fight, his body was protesting every movement he made, the power of Han's strikes finally becoming apparent. He wasn't skilled in the medical field, but it didn't take a genius to figure out that the larger Iwa-nin had done a thorough job of bruising or breaking his hand, shoulders, back, chest, and ribs. One hand clutched his aching side in an effort to quell the pain throbbing there as they ascended another mountainous crest, a grimace stretching his lips. This better've been worth it.

"Where are we going?"

The gruff answer came through gritted teeth. "Konoha."

"It sounds like you're in pain."

"Aye, yeh did a number on me."

"Good." Han's deep voice sounded just a little pleased.

"…So yer not gonna offer ter help me."

"Why should I? You can handle yourself."

Rōshi sighed, though he had to admit that he hadn't really expected the younger Jinchūriki to make any altruistic gestures. Automatically, how do you expect to work together if you won't help me? rose to the tip of his tongue, but he bit it down. He would make no in-roads with Han by asking for help, and getting the Gobi Jinchūriki to stay was now priority number one.

He summoned chakra to his injured hand, drawing dirt to his palm and manipulating it into an earthen glove; with a thought, it hardened to stone. It'll have ter do, he mused, admiring his handiwork. While it didn't ease his pain, the makeshift cast would at least prevent him from doing further damage to his crushed fingers and wrist. It was a pity he couldn't do the same for the rest of his body, though the image of trying to make it back to Konoha while partially encased in a rock body cast caused him to snort in amusement.

Han's armor clinked as he turned to the redhead. "What's so funny?"

"Nothin'."

The giant scoffed. "Right. Your life is so good that you find walking amusing."

"Sometimes yeh got ter 'preciate irony."

"Like the irony of going to the village of our sworn enemy? That kind of irony?"

Rōshi shrugged, regretting the gesture when his shoulder throbbed in protest. "Aye, somethin' like that."

"And why exactly are we going to Konoha?"

"'Cause that's where our base is."

"Our?" The disbelief in his voice was nearly a tangible thing. "You're working with someone? You're working with Konoha?"

"Don' be daft. Konoha'd kill me afore workin' with me. Th' Rokubi Jinchūriki an' I are trainin' th' Kyūbi Jinchūriki."

There was a long moment of silence while Han seemed to process what the older Iwa-nin had just said. Rōshi considered how to elaborate on his statement, knowing it was a gross oversimplification of the last six months, but before he could, Han's giant hand had wrapped around his throat and hoisted him into the air. "You'll train another Jinchūriki, an enemy Jinchūriki," he thundered, "before you'll train me? What are you playing at, Rōshi?"

"It's been twenty years," rasped the redhead, "an' I already tol' yeh it wasn' my call. I'm here now ter give yeh somethin' better than yeh've got. Yeh think things can't change?"

"Things, yes. You, no."

"I came fer yeh, didn' I?"

Han's anger slowly appeared to subside as he digested the redhead's words. He lowered the aloft Jinchūriki, taking a step back when Rōshi's feet were again on solid ground. When he spoke, his voice had returned to a measured baritone, though a trace of hostility still remained. "What's the point of all this?"

"Eh?"

"You're going to tell me that you've been in Konoha, working with other Jinchūriki, all to, what, rescue me from Iwa twenty years too late?"

"It's all part o' th' plan."

"Against Akatsuki, right," intoned the armored shinobi. Skepticism dripped from every word. "Your plan sounds brilliant."

"It ain't my plan."

"Well that changes everything," came the sarcastic response. "I'm reassured knowing that you're not the mastermind of this nonsense. Your last plan that involved me worked out so well."

"Give it a rest," Rōshi grumbled. "I did what I was tol', no diff'rent than yeh. Yeh think I like followin' th' Tsuchikage's orders?"

Han snorted. Rōshi's dark eyes flickered over to him, and for a moment, he wished the steam-user's face was visible; he sounded almost bemused by the suggestion, and any confirmation of their shared humor would be a boon to swaying Han to their side. "I suppose not." They walked in silence for several minutes, Rōshi trying to straighten his staggering in order to keep up with the younger Jinchūriki's giant strides, when the armored shinobi suddenly cleared his throat. "What happened that day? The day I was…"

"When yeh were sealed?" Han made a noise of confirmation, though to Rōshi's trained ears, it sounded like he was trying to feign disinterest. "Yeh don' remember?"

"It was a busy day over twenty years ago!" Han snapped. "I'd be surprised if you remembered—"

"Aye, I remember," he interjected. "Yeh don' ferget somethin' like that…"

His pocket shook, an intense heat radiating from within. Rōshi dug his hand into his pocket, pulling out the river rock engraved with his call sign. The kanji was glowing a bright reddish-orange, and it vibrated within his clenched fingers. Now what?

He exited his hideout in the southern mountain range of the Land of Earth, looking northeast toward the Hidden Rock, but a thundering through the earth drew his attention directly east. A cloud of dust on the horizon greeted him, a feeling of dread coiling in his stomach at the sight. Ōnoki had been claiming since the end of the Second Shinobi World War that another conflict was on the horizon, but the redhead hadn't expected something so literal to come knocking on his doorstep.

He took off in the direction of the approaching dust cloud, sprinting across the wasteland to intercept the threat. Much quicker than he expected, apparently because the imminent threat was covering more ground than him, the enemy was revealed.

Several hundred feet tall and twice as long, a horse-like creature covered in snow-white fur galloped towards him. Five elegant tails whipped behind it as its hooves pounded a thunderous frenzy across the Land of Earth. Its head was the only non-equine feature, its oblong shape more reminiscent of a sea creature, four long protrusions spiking from the back of its head like reverse horns. Despite having never seen it before, it was obvious what he was facing, and why he'd been called.

Th' Gobi…

He blazed through hand seals and slammed his palms against the ground. Doton: Retsudo Tenshō!

The land ruptured, blocks of solid earth rising and falling at random as the Tearing Earth Turning Palm technique took effect, creating a massive shift in the landscape. Rōshi hoped it would delay the massive Bijū, giving him a moment to come up with a strategy.

The Five-Tails leaped over it, and Rōshi craned his neck to watch the Tailed Beast – almost majestic in midair – avoid every pitfall of his altered landscape. When it landed, the earth fell away beneath its hooves, creating a massive pit which appeared to contain the creature.

"So you got my message, eh?"

Dark eyes turned to the sky, where the diminutive form of the Tsuchikage floated above him. Rōshi scowled, watching his father bring his hands together and form a spark of white chakra that quickly expanded into a semi-translucent cube. "Are yeh mad?!" he hollered.

"Drastic times!" Ōnoki yelled back. "Jinton: Genkai Hakuri no Jutsu!"

Rōshi bounded out of range of the disintegration technique as heavy, hot, white smoke – like boiling fog – rolled across the area. A rush of wind sent the white haze rushing past him, and when he turned around, the Gobi was in the air again, head lowered to ram Ōnoki. The tiny Tsuchikage held his ground, spitting earth over his fist and hardening it to stone before punching the Five-Tails.

It buckled under the blow, head practically bowed in deference to the strength of the Third Earth Shadow. As its body fell, its tails came up and struck the unsuspecting Iwa-nin, sending Ōnoki hurtling through the air. The Tsuchikage righted himself and roared, "Are you gonna just stand there or are you gonna do something?!"

"Aye, I'm workin' on it! Yōton: Kakazan!"

"Do you think I care about how you fought the Gobi?" Han interrupted testily.

"Yeh wanted ter know 'bout that day," Rōshi argued.

"I want to know why it was me," growled the armored shinobi. "You were there, you have to know the reason!"

Aye, I wish I did.

The truth was, he had no idea where Han had come from, why he'd been chosen, or anything else associated with the larger Jinchūriki. He and Ōnoki had eventually contained the Gobi after a long battle in a wasteland marked by divots, uneven earthen features, cooling lava, and broken rock. The pair were holding their position atop the Five-Tails' elegant back, hands channeling chakra into the creature to keep it buckled under its own Chōkajūgan-affected mass, when the sealing team had finally begun their task. He hadn't seen the brown-haired waif of a child who had been turned into Iwa's newest weapon until the sealing had been completed, and even then, Han had remained blissfully unconscious, and Rōshi had been too tired to question anything.

In his 27 years of life to that point, the Gobi had been the hardest battle he'd fought by far; he hadn't even been able to resist when his brother had approached and thrown the redhead's arm over his shoulder in a gesture of support.

He shook off the memory. "Yeh still don' remember anythin' 'bout yer past?"

Han didn't immediately respond, and Rōshi gave up the conversation as lost. Between the redhead's isolation and the armored shinobi's resentment, that their dialogue had continued as amicably as it had was a feat unto itself. "Nothing relevant," Han finally said in a gruff voice.

"Mm."

They lapsed into silence after that, and the redhead spent his energy focusing on how to make his travel as physically painless as possible. He shot infrequent glances at the giant Jinchūriki beside him, trying to judge his companion's mood, but Han remained unreadable, his eyes fixed straight ahead. Rōshi let him be; Han needed time, and probably exposure to Naruto, and until they reached Konoha, he could only grant one of those.

So they traveled in silence, at an even more sedate pace than the one Rōshi had used to get from Konoha to the Valley of Fog, stopping to eat and rest as needed. When they reached the Land of Grass, Han's interest seemed to pique, his head swiveling around to take in the sights of the vast green expanses noticeably absent from the Land of Earth.

That interest only increased when the Land of Grass gave way to the Land of Fire, its towering trees and bright flora a captivating sight. Rōshi stayed silent in the wake of his fellow Iwa-nin's quiet awe, taking a deep breath of the temperate air and allowing clean forest air, not dust and desolation, to fill his pained lungs. Ahh…

"So this is where you've been staying, hm?" Han seemed to make an active effort of looking around, not bothering to disguise his intrigue. "Quaint."

"Aye, it's diff'rent than Iwa, that's fer sure." He continued moving deeper into the country. "C'mon, we ain't there yet."

It was still several more days before they reached the spot Rōshi had taken to training Naruto, a little outside of Konoha proper. Their campsite was still there, as empty as he'd left it; that Utakata hadn't returned probably wasn't something to be too concerned about. There was no telling how long it would take to locate the Nibi and Hachibi Jinchūriki in the Hidden Cloud, nor the Ichibi or Nanabi Jinchūriki, if his intention was to go for all available resources.

"Everything looks the same."

"Aye, there's no gettin' bearin's, that's fer sure."

"So…this is it then?"

"Aye. Now we wait."

"For what?"

"A Jinchūriki ter show up."

"And how long will that take?"

Rōshi shrugged. "If Naruto don' show soon, I'll go git 'im."

Han leaned against a tree with a huff of annoyance, arms crossed over his chest. "Whatever." The Yonbi Jinchūriki followed his example, sitting down at the base of a trunk and massaging his aches as a sense of exhaustion came over him. His eyes began to droop as the weight of his travels suddenly became too much.

Something wrapped around him, and dark eyes snapped open to find roots binding him to the tree trunk. Across from him, Han was struggling against his own bonds, but his strength seemed diminished. Rōshi's own limbs felt heavy, as if he'd used the Kajūgan on himself and couldn't handle the increased weight. Genjutsu, he surmised with an annoyed grimace. Th' soft shinobi art. His head lolled backwards against the tree, dark eyes spying innumerable porcelain masks staring down at him. ANBU…so yeh finally found us, eh?

One of them was holding out his palm towards the pair of Iwa-nin. Rōshi felt a strange lethargy at the power emanating from this Konoha-nin, one which dragged at his body's core. "Do not resist, and you will not be harmed," spoke the ANBU. Lightning raced down from above, forming a collar of electricity around his neck. "You have no other recourse than to submit."

Rōshi took a moment to assess his surroundings before managing a lazy, rolling gesture with his shoulders, an attempt at a shrug. "Aye, if yeh say so."