Chapter 34

"Are you ok?" Shikamaru asked. The picturesque night's sky was alight with stars. If not for what the next day promised, he'd love nothing more than to gaze upon them. But that wasn't to be and there was something more important to attend to now.

"I don't know how to answer that. We're going to attack to S-rank, allegedly unkillable shinobi tomorrow in revenge for a man that treated his children like tools. Well, the lucky ones. Gaara, he just emotionally tortured until he snapped. Yet, we still march off to face his killers. Am I supposed to be ok with that?"

"Fair point." He said as he took a seat beside Temari.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to unload on you. This is just a lot and I'm not sure my father is worth putting my brothers at risk." Shikamaru said nothing, he truly didn't know how to respond. He might find them troublesome but he's always had the support of his parents. He wasn't naive and knew awful things went on but simply couldn't connect to the experience in any real way. Instead of words, he simply reached for her hand, never taking his eyes off the sky.

"I can't honestly say I relate," Shikamaru started after a period of silence, "and I don't want to spout cliches, it'd be too troublesome. I'm an only child and very few of my clansmen are around my age. So, really, I just had my best friend Chouji when I was growing up until I got my genin teammates."

"You three seem close."

"We weren't always. Shino can be a little stiff, some say I'm lazy-"

"You are-"

"I prefer to call it dedicated efficiency. And Naruto… he was in twelve kinds of pain and didn't know where to put it all. It took us a couple of months to gel, for Shino to believe we wouldn't shun him and for Naruto to get a handle on his survivor's guilt and open up."

"What about you?"

"I was to engage as well. Once we got on the same wavelength we were a really good team. I even started to not mind the effort, willingly doing things I used to work very hard to get out of. You likely won't resolve how you feel about your father tonight but if you need a reason to go through with this, to give it your all then do it for your brothers and leave the rest for later."

"Hm, and here I thought you were the dumb one," Temari said with a laugh.

"That'd hurt if you didn't have to live with the knowledge the only time you've beaten me is because I let you win." Her laughter stopped and a scowl found its way to her face. Temari left back to her tent muttering about rematches and revenge against lazyasses. Shikamaru could only think about how troublesome it'd all be and also, paradoxically, how little he'd mind it.

The next day the two teams watched their targets as they traversed a wooded area. A clearing approached and Baki gave the signal this would be where they attacked. Shikamaru tossed a kunai with an explosive tag toward the former Akatsuki, the explosion separating them but both were unscathed.

"I'd wondered when you were going to attack, you've been trailing us for two days," observed Kakuzu.

"What, they've been following us for that long and you didn't say anything? What the fuck? It doesn't matter, I'm going to sacrifice them to Jashin-sama."

"Hidan, shut up. Besides, two of them are jinchuuriki and we can't be killed."

"Then I get the rest of them!"

"No, the tall Suna ninja has a bounty. Isn't that right, Baki?" The elite Jounin said nothing in response.

"This is bullshit!"

"Just take the Konoha ninja and remember they are the ones that killed Sasori and Deidara so try not die a stupid death."

"Fuck you, blasphemer," Hidan yelled as he recklessly charged toward the Konoha team, the squad deciding to take off into the trees. It was an obvious tactic to separate the two ninja, Hidan simply didn't care when he had a trio of new sacrifices and a jinchuuriki to torture.

Kakuzu didn't care he was alone, not fearing the ninja that stood before him. He decided it would be best to neutralize the most dangerous opponent first before picking off the other three. In a burst of speed, too fast for Temari and Kankuro to track, and apparently too fast for Baki to react to Kakuzu was in front of Gaara. He aimed a punch directly toward the sand user's heart, hitting him squarely, his speed allowing him to bypass Gaara's automatic defense. Kakuzu was surprised when the jinchuuriki dissolved, and even more so when he had a seal on his body. The other Suna ninja had created a lot of space, that and the faint glow of the seal was his warning of what was to come.

A high powered explosion went off, creating a dust cloud around the missing ninja. None were content with assuming the blast had been enough. Now dropping the [False Surrounding Jutsu] on Gaara and himself Naruto blurred through hand signs while Temari completely opened her fan, giving it a powerful swing.

[Wind Style: Great Sickle Weasel Jutsu] met [Fire Style: Sea of Flames] creating a fantastic firestorm, setting much of the targeted area on fire. Kakuzu appeared atop an undamaged tree. He wouldn't announce it but that trick took out two of his hearts, as they hadn't managed to get out of his body. The combination jutsu hadn't done any damage as he got his [Earth Style Armor] up before it hit. He was left with doton, katon and raiton. If need be he knew he could simply take the hearts of the fools challenging him now.

The squad of Suna ninja and Naruto spotted Kakuzu's location and braced themselves. They understood that while the trick may have done some damage, the real fight was about to begin. Without a moment's hesitation, Kakuzu charged and Baki opted to meet the unspoken challenge.

Hidan's frustrating level was increasing at an exponential rate. Despite being faster, stronger, better than the non-believing filth he was chasing he couldn't close the distance and couldn't land a strike. His aim was always just a little off. If not that, he had to get out of a trap or power through an explosion. It was infuriating. He just wanted to kill them a little, why did they make it so hard? He'd make it extra painful for the aggravation they'd caused him.

The Jashinist touched the ground for the briefest of moments and felt unable to move. Then he saw two flashes. He screamed bloody murder when he realized his torso had been severed at the waist and his head had been as well. The woman and the red-haired one he wasn't supposed to kill stood over him, ignoring his curses and promises of infinite pain. The red-haired one picked his head up, a placed it on a scroll. Hidan's last words were cut off as his head was sealed in a storage scroll. Naruto sealed the rest of the body in different scrolls, planning to keep the head long enough to cash in the bounty and then disposing of it, or giving it to Orochimaru-shishou.

Kurenai wiped away a bit of sweat from her forehead. Using such subtle genjutsu on the move was tricky and the concentration required caused some strain. But, it ultimately worked out and now Team Kurenai headed back toward Team Baki, ready to wrap this mission up. Naruto's report that his clone had been dispelled made them move all the faster.

Kakuzu's current emotional state mimicked that of his partner's. Things had been going well. He got the better of the midair exchange with Baki, even maneuvering the Suna ninja into a piledriver. It should have been lethal but it only knocked Baki out as the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki somehow soften the blow with some bouncy water jutsu but Kakuzu didn't have much time to contemplate it as he had to dodge the onslaught of sand aimed at him. It wasn't a problem, the attacks were much too slow but the fan user and the puppeteer were being annoying. He detached two of his remaining hearts, allowing them to act independently.

The fire nature mask and the lightning nature mask targeted Temari, causing Gaara to erect a defensive barrier. It held but not without a good deal of effort as the lightning chakra nearly pierced it. Kakuzu dashed toward Kankuro, bypassing Ant and Crow and pummeling the boy. Kakuzu disengaged to avoid a sword swipe but the blade was infused with wind nature chakra and still severed a hand. Kakuzu jumped over a wind blade and began to fight once more.

Gaara had since managed gone on the attack but the two masked creatures were proving nimble enough to avoid his assaults, even his sand spears. Temari was able to negate the lightning attacks but it was taking a toll on her chakra reserves. They were losing the battle of attrition and there was no guarantee when Team Kurenai would return.

"Argh!" Baki cried out as he was pierced in his extremities by Kakuzu's threads. The missing ninja was about to take his heart but Naruto cut Baki free moving at his maximum, non-Kyuubi chakra enabled, speed. He then shunshin'd away. Kakuzu called his masks back, planning to wrap this up. The fire mask was diverted by Naruto's [Water Style: Water Lance] right into Gaara's [Sand Coffin], finishing it off with a [Sand Funeral].

The lightning mask made it back to Kakuzu just as he sent his remaining attached hand underground. It came up behind Temari, grabbing her by the ankle and breaking it, causing her to let out a scream. He thought he'd fended off Naruto's approach but the Uzumaki's utilization of his supersonic chakra imbued sword made quick work of it allowing him to reach and stab Kakuzu in the back. Naruto placed a hand on Kakuzu's back as he attempted to pull the blade out but the, now angered immortal retrieved the jinchuuriki with his threads and stabbed Naruto in a nonvital area, causing him to disperse.

This only increased Kakuzu's anger as he'd wasted time holding back against a clone. He was ready to beat the remaining jinchuuriki into submission but he suddenly felt the weight of the world on his shoulders. The gravity seal the shadow clone placed on Kakuzu had finished calibrating and activated, immobilizing the former Taki ninja. He was nearing collapse due to the great weight but couldn't pay much attention to that as the layers of sand surrounding him were of greater concern. To make matters worse, every ounce of his chakra was being used to buttress his muscles so he wouldn't be crushed and he couldn't mold it externally.

He couldn't believe his end was going to come at the hands of children. He, a ninja that had dueled Hashirama Senju and survived. He didn't have long to contemplate the injustice of it all as Gaara performed his [Sand Waterfall Funeral] crushing the remaining hearts of Kakuzu, ending the life of the longtime ninja. Team Kurenai arrived shortly after and helped patch up Team Baki. None were trained medics but knew enough first aid to hold them over until they got to a friendly medic, though Baki and Temari had to be carried. Fortunately, two of Naruto's larger summons were willing to aid in that task and the teams traveled to an outpost on the Land of Fire border where they could receive real medical attention.

The two teams stayed there for only a few days, just until Baki was well enough to travel as Temari's ankle would take a little longer to heal. Each team said their goodbyes, though Shino and Naruto noticed Shikamaru paid a little more attention to Temari. Neither was shy in pointing it out, much to the annoyance of the Nara heir. It took them two days to arrive back to Konoha, none knowing the challenges that lie in the near future.