Chapter 14 : Nanabi

Itachi and Kisame were walking through the woods on the borders of Hi No Kuni near Takigakure (Hidden Water village), heading towards their next mark. To most the pair would seem quite odd, one being a person who looked more like a shark than a man with bloodlust to match. While the other was vastly shorter, with a pair of blood-red eyes and a demeanor that was cold enough to freeze hell. Despite their vast differences both in countenance and battle styles, they were the only pair within Akatsuki that truly got along. Both held great respect for the other and considered each other equals, though Kisame would often defer to Itachi in combat situations due to the man's finesse and tactically sound mind.

Kisame turned to look at his partner as they walked, "so how are we gonna get this one?" It was the question he had been wanting to know for a while. The Nanabi was not originally their target, having been Kakazu's before the man was killed. From what Kisame had heard, the Nanabi Jinchurikki had two powers that made her quite a difficult opponent. Her bugs were similar to those in the Aburame clan, and her super-powered strength was said to be on par with Tsunade due to her affinity with the earth element. And while Kisame was sure he could take her if push came to shove, having a ninja who could use their bugs to drain your chakra as he did with Samehada would make it much tougher.

Itachi did not even bother to look at Kisame as he spoke, using the same emotionless tone he always did. "You are going to be the distraction that draws her out and the other ninja to you, when you do I will take care of her since her bugs put you at a disadvantage."

Kisame gave the Uchiha slayer a shark-like grin, "So I go in and cause mass amounts of damage?" the shark man chuckled, "Sounds good to me." Readjusting Samehada on his back, Kisame grinned at the prospect of fighting a lot of enemies.

It was something that never failed to bring a smile to his face.

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Shibuki gave a happy grin as he finally finished all of the paperwork for his village, leaning back in his chair the young village leader let out a sigh. Not much had changed for the village in the last four years, it still looked the same as ever with the large tree in the middle where the Hero's Water was produced stood as tall and grand as ever. The waterfall entrance and natural defenses of Takigakure had allowed for it to escape damage from all three shinobi wars, as well as keep the country from ever being invaded.

The only real change that had happened came when Jiraiya had arrived in Taki to warn them about the threat of Akatsuki. Ever since then there had been much debate on what to do with Fu, the Jinchurikki for the Nanabi No Kabutomushi (Seven Tailed Beatle), and his sister. Many of the elders of the village felt that Fu should either be exiled or even just outright given to Akatsuki in order to appease them. Many of the civilians, unfortunately, agreed with them, like in most places Jinchurikki were just as feared and hated here. However, Shibuki as the village leader had adamantly shot down all of their attempts at getting rid of his sister, claiming that not only would it be foolish to give her to a group of criminals, but also reminding them that Kakazu had been a part of that group before his remains had been sent to Taki, courtesy of Naruto. That had been the only reason the elders did not press the issue as much as they would have, since anything related to Kakazu was considered Taboo.

Even though not much had changed for the village, it had for Shibuki. A little over four years ago he had been nothing but a coward, riding on the fame of his father who had used the Hero's water to save the village from a threat it had been faced with, sacrificing his life in the process. All that had changed when one blond Konoha shinobi had come to Taki on a mission. During that time Shibuki's former teacher Suien had betrayed the village in order to get his hands on the Hero's Water, at first Shibuki had been too afraid to do anything. His father had died protecting the village, which had given Shibuki his cowardly nature since he did not want to die. Naruto had been the one to change his outlook, going down to face Suien knowing that he was outclassed. It had been that never-say-die attitude that had given Shibuki the courage to fight for his village, even going as far as to drink the hero's water, something that would normally kill the person who used it. He had miraculously survived after using the Hero's Water, and after that had taken up being a true leader to Takigakure.

A large explosion within the village knocked the young man out of his thoughts. Before he could even so much as stand up, one of his men burst into the room panting heavily.

"What the hell is going on!" asked Shibuki in a commanding voice.

"It's… Akatsuki…. Shibuki-Sama," the Chunin panted, "they're here… inside Taki!"

Shibuki's eyes widened at this information, he knew it would only be a matter of time before Akatsuki tried something to get his sister, or more specifically the Nanabi. It was for that reason that he had ordered Fu not to do any missions, keeping her within the village where he felt that she could be better protected by using the village's natural defenses. He would have never assumed that Akatsuki would be so reckless as to actually attack her within the village…

"Gather all of our shinobi forces!" Shibuki ordered, "They've come for Fu, we have no idea what a group of such criminals will do if they get their hands on the power of the Nanabi! Also, send out one of our hawks to contact Konoha and request for them to send aid!" Shibuki did not give the man any time to answer as he put on his Jonin flak jacket and left, rushing towards the explosion. After the Suien incident Shibuki had trained himself as hard as he could, he was pleased to say that he was now officially considered one of the strongest ninja Taki had ever produced and he would be damned if he could not protect his home.

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Kisame grinned as all of the ninjas in the village headed for him, reaching a hand over his back, the shark man pulled Samehada off of him as he stood on the surface of the water next to the Hero's Tree. Soon enough the ninja came, surrounding and charging at him. Grinning he unleashed his carefully hidden reserves of chakra, letting his power explode from his body. His chakra was so strong that it was visible as deep blue color, and had caused many of the ninjas who had been charging to stop in shock. This was the reason that Kisame had earned his nickname the Bijuu without a tail, Kisame's reserves were near without any equal, the only one being his superior in chakra reserves being Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze, and easily rivaled that of some of the lesser Bijuu like the Ichibi and Nibi.

Not giving the Taki ninja a chance to recover, Kisame rushed them. Swinging his sword with reckless, yet control zeal. Samehada smashed into one of the shinobi, taking the man with him as he continued on to hit another one, sending the two flying away with broken ribs. The others soon snapped out of their stupor and charged, one of them closing distance with Kisame, attempting to impale him with a Kunai. Only for Kisame to smash Samehada on the man's shoulder, dragging the sword as the scaly spikes came out and tore the man's skin off. The shark man did not bother with the man as he screamed, merely kicking him out of the way as another ninja came up to him. Kisame grinned as he ducked under a swipe from a water sword, coming up as he smashed Samehada into the kunoichi's stomach, getting the woman to cough up blood before sending her flying away.

"Suiton: Suigadan! (Water release: Water Fang projectile)"

Kisame turned around as he heard the ninjutsu called to see several dozen water fangs coming towards him, the man merely gave a shark-like grin as he put Semehada back on his back and began doing his own hand seals.

"Suiton: Suejinheki!"

A giant wall of water formed around Kisame, blocking the water fangs from hitting him. When the attack subsided Kisame went through even more hand seals before calling out his jutsu.

"Suiton: Suikoudan No Jutsu! (Water Release: Water Shark Projectile Technique)"

A large column of water rose from the surface of the lake, easily reaching a height of sixty feet before charging the Taki Ninja, taking the shape of a shark halfway through. There were several pained screams as the jutsu tore straight through many of the ninja, either outright ripping them apart or taking off limbs. The jutsu crashed back into the lake some distance away, taking that as his cue, Kisame grabbed his sword again and charged.

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"Shizune-san!"

Shizune looked up to see a man running towards her carrying a message in his hand. Noticing the man's frantic look she began asking questions to calm the man, "what's wrong?"

"Here… letter… Takigaukure…" the man said in between his pants.

Shizune took the letter and began to read, she felt her eyes widen at the news the carrier hawk from Takigakure had sent them, knowing that they had to respond quickly to this she made her way to the Hokage Tower. Rushing up the stairs and not even bothering to knock as she usually does, the young woman barged in on her sensei.

"Tsunade-Sama!"

Tsunade spits out the Sake she had been drinking at the surprising intrusion, she looked over at Shizune and was about to offer some excuse about being caught drinking when she noticed her apprentice's worried countenance. The Busty blond instantly went into her Hokage mode, "What's wrong Shizune?"

"Akatsuki is attacking Takigakure!" Shizune cried out, causing Tsunade's eyes to widen. "We just received a message from them that they are under attack, the description given indicates they are being attacked by Kisame Hoshigaki!"

Tsunade narrowed her eyes as she realized something, "Did the reports mention anything on his partner?"

Shizune shook her head, "No Tsunade-Sama, he apparently has not been seen."

Tsunade nodded as she made her split-second decision on what to do, they could not afford to let Akatsuki get their hands on any of the Bijuu so they would need to act fast. "Get me Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze, Kakashi Hatake, Sakura Haruno and… Sai!" the blond woman ordered.

Shizune looked surprised, "Tsunade-Sama are you sure? I mean Naruto-kun is…"

"I know very well that Naruto is also a target," Tsunade interrupted the black-haired woman, "However he is also the only other S rank ninja in the village right now besides me and the only one who can face Akatsuki one on one and win. Now hurry up and get them!"

"Hai Tsunade-Sama!" Shizune said as she rushed out of the room.

Tsunade turned to look at the village, a troubled look crossing her visage.

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Naruto finished putting on his shinobi clothing and made his way down to the kitchen, a clone had already cooked breakfast and had it set on the table. Sitting down Naruto piled as much food as it could fit onto it and began to eat as he planned out the day. He had just finished his training routine, maybe he should go and get a mission or see if one of his friends wanted to spar. As he continued eating a ring came, signifying someone was at the gate. Pushing his plate away from him, Naruto got up and made his way over to the door. Walking outside he moved over to the gate and unlocked it, opening it up he came face to face with a flustered Shizune.

"Shizune-nee-chan is something wrong?" Naruto asked as he picked up her increased heart rate and tension.

"Ts-Tsunade-Sama has a mission for you," Shizune said as she looked at him, "It's Akatsuki!"

Naruto's eyes widened, before narrowing, he grabbed onto Shizune and disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Itachi breezed through the now nearly deserted streets as he made his way towards the hideout, where if the information Akatsuki had received was correct, was where the Nanabi had been hidden. A simple genjutsu surrounding him made the clan slayer all but invisible to the naked eye as he moved. He was on the opposite side of the village from where Kisame's battle was going on, a tactical decision made by him so he could get the Nanabi without much resistance. Looking ahead of him, Itachi saw a large dome-like structure where the Nanabi was supposed to be held. Before he got there however the black-haired man was forced to dodge a swarm of beetles.

Looking up Itachi spotted Fu standing on top of the dome, glaring down at him. Fu was a girl in her mid to late teens with an orange hair clip in her short green hair; she had lightly tanned skin and pink eyes. Her ninja attire consisted of a white shirt that exposed her midriff and she had mesh net armor underneath. On her arms from about mid-bicep to the end of her wrist were white armbands, her Takigakure Hitae-ate was displayed on her right arm. She was wearing fishnet shorts and had a short white apron skirt over it. The last article she had on her was an odd-looking red cylindrical object strapped to her back by red straps that crisscrossed her chest.

"I figured Akatsuki would come here looking for me," Fu said as she glared at Itachi, "I should have realized it would not matter if I was in a village or not."

Itachi ignored her words as he spoke, "Come with me and we will not harm this village any more than we already have."

Fu's eyes narrowed even more, "What makes you think I'd ever come with the likes of you. I know what you want to do with me, I have no intention of dying because you want the Nanabi!" As she said this a swarm of bugs moved in on Itachi, who jumped out of the way and sent a fireball at the swarm, which dissolved before the fireball could hit them.

Itachi did not let any emotions that might come on his face show as he prepared to battle the Nanabi Jinchurikki and take her by force.

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Naruto appeared within the Hokage office with Shizune to see that Kakashi and Sakura were already there, he also noticed the odd pale boy who had attacked him the other day but ignored him for the time being. "You called Tsunade-Sama?" Naruto asked as he looked at the woman, using a respectful suffix due to the serious nature of why he was here.

"Yes," Tsunade said as she looked at him and the other three in the room, "We have just received a request for help from Takigakure. Akatsuki is attacking them in order to acquire the Nanabi Jinchurikki Fu," she watched as Naruto's eyes narrowed before continuing, "You four are going there to assist in…"

"Four?" Naruto questioned as he turned to look at the pale-skinned youth, "you mean he is on my team?"

"Yes," Tsunade said, "This is Sai, he will be working with you for the foreseeable future."

I see Naruto thought to himself, so Danzo is starting to consider me enough of a threat that he wants someone on my team to watch me and discover some kind of weakness to exploit in order to get me under his thumb. Out loud Naruto said, "Very well, do we know which Akatsuki members are attacking Taki?"

"The description we were given matches that of Kisame Hoshigaki," Tsunade informed him.

"And Itachi?" Naruto asked, narrowing his eyes in thought.

Tsunade shook her head, "He was not in the report."

Meaning that Kisame is merely a distraction to keep the Taki ninja occupied, in the meantime, Itachi will find the Nanabi and take her before they know what's happening, the blond deduced within his mind. It was a sound plan he had to admit, one that depends on the enemy could be used to great effect. Naruto was shaken out of his thoughts by Tsunade.

"Naruto you will be in charge of this mission since you have the most experience when dealing with Akatsuki members."

Naruto nodded as he turned to address his team, "I want you three to prepare for an S class mission, you have one hour to get your equipment ready and then meet me at the east gate."

Kakashi and Sakura nodded, both somewhat surprised by Naruto's now commanding presence.

Sai merely gave the blond a smile, "We will be there, it will be a pleasure working with a dickless wonder like you."

Naruto blinked in surprise, before narrowing his eyes as he resisted the urge to kill the teen for his insult. He could not afford to kill someone when he had a mission to prepare for.

He would just have to prank him later.

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Kisame grinned as most of the Taki ninja lay dead or dying around him, the few that were still capable of fighting were eyeing him warily. "Alright so who wants to be the next victim to help me feed Samehada?" the shark man asked, looking around him as the ninja tensed.

"How about no one?"

Kisame and the others turned to see Shibuki looking at the Akatsuki member with a harsh glare, "I'm not going to let you get away with this and I'm not gonna let you get my sister!"

Kisame chuckled, "If you say so Gaki, though I think it would be more convincing if you backed up your words with action." Kisame swung Samehada as if it weighed nothing, setting it on his shoulder as a shark-like smirk graced his face.

Shibuki said nothing as he shot off the branch he was standing on, going through a string of hand seals before calling out his jutsu.

"Suiton: Suiryuudan No Jutsu!"

A large water dragon rose up from the lake, roaring as it launched itself at Kisame. The shark man lifted Samehada over his head, when the water dragon came near him smashed his sword down, breaking the water dragon apart and absorbing some of the excess chakra. Jumping into the water, Kisame swam to Shibuki at speeds that most people could not run. Jumping out of the water the Shark-like member of Akatsuki tried to smash Samehada into Shibuki's stomach, however, the Taki leader evaded to the side. Pulling out a kunai Shibuki threw it at Kisame's arm, pulling his arm back, Kisame used Samehada to bat the Kunai away. Spinning around Kisame swung Samehada at Shibuki, who ducked under the large blade and tried to get in close. He was unable to as Kisame's foot smashed into his ribs, sending the village leader flying.

Shibuki flipped in the air and landed on the water's surface, skidding back a bit as he held his ribs, thankfully he did not feel anything that was broken. Standing back up he was just in time to see Kisame finishing a set of hand seals before calling out his jutsu.

"Suiton: Daibakufu No Jutsu!"

A giant vortex of water shot up in front of Kisame before flying towards Shibuki, cursing the young man dived out of the way. Rolling across the water's surface he came up only to see Kisame in front of him, swinging Semehada down at his head. The Taki leader was able to get out of the way of the man's sword, which missed smashing his head and ended up sending water flying everywhere. He could not however dodge the knee that planted itself in his gut, Shibuki coughed up some blood as he was sent flying back. Skidding across the water he was able to get back on his feet but had to bend on a knee and hold his stomach.

"You're not too bad gaki," Kisame complimented as he walked up to Shibuki at a slow pace, "but your about fifty years too soon to beat me."

Shibuki cursed as he felt pain rack his body, despite all the training he had done he could not defeat this man. A stray thought crossed his mind, he could use 'that' but he knew what the consequences would be if he did. He shook the thought off, it did not matter, all that did was that he protect his home. Reaching into his pocket Shibuki pulled out a vial of liquid, it was a small sample of the Hero's Water. Opening the vial he drank the contents, chucking the vial away as his chakra burst out of him, increasing to ten times what it had been.

Kisame stopped where he was and looked on curiously, honestly he was not very concerned with the boy's chakra increase, which was now almost at his own level. Even if it went above that he could just use Samehada to absorb the chakra. Still, the fight should be much more interesting now, Kisame thought with a shark-like grin.

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Naruto searched his surroundings as he and the three members of his squad were jumping through the trees, making sure they were on the right path to Takigakure. As soon as the three had appeared at the gate Naruto had set a grueling pace, telling them to keep up or they would be left behind, knowing that he had very little time before they managed to capture the Jinchurikki there. Thankfully the only person who seemed to be having a problem keeping up was Sakura, who while having gotten stronger was still just a Chunin. Naruto and consequently the other three stopped as they reach a waterfall, behind which the blonds enhanced senses picked up the sound of battle.

"It sounds like the battle is still going on which means that they have not managed to capture Fu yet," Naruto began without preamble. "According to the report on the fight we received from Taki, only Kisame is actually fighting. This means that his partner Itachi is most likely either searching for or currently engaging the Jinchurikki in battle."

"Wait!" Sakura said, "Itachi… isn't he…"

"He's the one Sasuke wants to kill," Naruto said, "Itachi Uchiha. Now Kakashi and Sai, I want you two to engage Kisame and keep him from causing any more damage. Sakura, I want you to help heal the wounded that you find since you're more suited for a support role and will need to be in top form if Kakashi or Sai get hurt. Meanwhile, I'm going to find Itachi and deal with him, hopefully, we'll be able to dispose of them, but if not so long as they do not get their hands on the Jinchurikki we'll be fine."

"Are you sure you can handle Itachi on your own Naruto?" Kakashi asked in a worried tone, "I mean I know you've gotten powerful but…"

"Don't worry about me Kakashi," Naruto cut the man off, "I know my limits, I'm positive that I can beat Itachi should it come down to it."

"I don't see how someone who seems to be lacking a penis can fight an S rank criminal," Sai replied with the fake smile he had been giving them since the start.

Naruto glared at the boy, this kid had been nothing but trouble since they had met. Aside from the fact that the smile he gave was obviously fake and the boy had the emotional range of a toothpick, he also seemed to have some weird kind of dick fetish. He had mentioned Naruto's penis at least six different times when the blond was speaking, most of which was an insinuation to Naruto's lack of one.

Yep, this kid was so lucky they were on a mission right now.

"I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that so that I don't end up killing you," Naruto said. He turned to look at Kakashi, "You're in charge until I get back, try not to get yourself killed." With that Naruto disappeared.

"You heard the man," Kakashi said, "Sai and I will go first, Sakura you come in after us and when we have Kisame fully engaged I want you to start helping the wounded."

"Got it Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura said as Sai gave a nod of affirmation.

"Good then let's go!" Kakashi and Sai sped off into the waterfall entrance to Taki with Sakura following close behind.

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Shibuki fell onto his knees as he felt his body begin to shut down and weaken, a side effect of using the Hero's Water. The village leader knew that he did not have much time left, the first time he had used the Hero's Water he was lucky since his reserves had not amounted enough to really make the Hero's Water affect him. This time however his reserves were just a little under a standard Kage's and he would not be able to get out of the full effects of using the water.

Looking up he saw the grinning figure of Kisame stalking towards him. Shibuki had thrown everything he could at the shark man, from taijutsu to S rank ninjutsu, none of it had worked. The man was like a monster, with chakra reserves that seemed to have no rival and monstrous speed and strength to match. Nothing he had done affected the shark-like man.

Said man stopped a little ways away and grinned, "Well that was actually quite fun, I'm impressed. It's almost a shame I gotta kill you now… though it looks like you're about to die anyway." Kisame chuckled as Shibuki glared at him, the shark man was just about to use one of his favorite jutsu when the sound of a thousand birds chirping filled the air.

Turning their heads the two saw none other than Kakashi Hatake racing towards them, his Sharingan eye blazing and lightning coming out of the palm of his hand. Racing up to Kisame, Kakashi thrust out his hand forcing the shark man to jump back as he pulled out Samehada. The jutsu clashed with the large blade before dissipating from the sword sucking up all of the energy, Kakashi was forced to jump back as his jutsu disappeared.

"Well if it isn't Sharingan No Kakashi," Kisame said with a large grin, "you managed to get here quite fast."

"Really?" Kakashi said in a nonchalant voice, "that's too bad, I was hoping to use my latest excuse for being tardy. Oh well."

"I hope you give me more of a challenge than what I've been getting so far," Kisame said as he ignored Kakashi's words.

"Well, I suppose since I'm here I might as well," Kakashi replied, his nonchalant voice belying his serious demeanor.

Before Kisame could say anything more another voice spoke out.

"Choujo Giga!"

Several lions made of ink shot down from the tree and came towards Kisame, who used Samehada to smash them apart. Doing so he got covered in ink as the beasts were destroyed. Using the distraction Sai provided Kakashi went through more hand signs, calling out his jutsu as he took a deep breath.

"Katon: Gokyakou No Jutsu!"

Kakashi blew out a large fireball that headed for Kisame. However, the shark-like Akatsuki was not about to let himself get fried, going through his own hand seals he called out his jutsu.

"Suiton: Suejinheki!"

A large wall of water formed around Kisame, blacking the fireball which dissipated with a hiss of steam. The water wall dropped revealing no one in it putting Kakashi on guard, taking out a kunai the Sharingan ninja looked around for his enemy. He spotted the shark man when Kisame shot out of the water, barreling towards the scarecrow. Kakashi jumped out of the way, pulling several kunai out of his pouch as he sent them sailing towards Kisame. Said ninja grinned as used his sword as a shield, going back into the water and swimming towards Kakashi. The copy ninja jumped into the air just as Kisame came up and attempted to smash him with Samehada, going through several hand signs Kakashi called out a jutsu that Naruto had taught him in one of their training sessions together.

"Raiton: Gian!"

Kisame cursed as a blast of lightning shot out of Kakashi's mouth and headed towards him, landing on the water Kisame jumped into the air. The lightning jutsu hit the water, sending electricity everywhere, several volts traveled along with the water droplets Kisame made and hit him. The shark-like ninja grit his teeth as he pushed past the pain, putting Samehada on his back as he went through several hand seals.

"Suiton: Suikoudan No Jutsu!"

A column of water rose from the lake and barreled itself towards Kakashi, taking the shape of a shark as it got closer. It smashed into the copy ninja, only for Kakashi to burst into smoke before turning into a log.

While the battle was going on, Sakura hurried over to Shibuki.

"Shibuki!"

Shibuki looked up to see the pink-haired girl that had been with Naruto during Suien's betrayal. "Sakura-san," he said in a haggard voice as the effects of the Hero's Water took its toll on him.

Sakura kneeled down next to him and began to run a medical scanning jutsu over him. She furrowed her brow at what she found, while there was nothing wrong with his muscles, bones, ligaments, or joints, there was a serious issue with his chakra system. All of his chakra coils were breaking down, the tenketsu were literally starting to shrivel up. Sakura got out a scroll with medical supplies, unsealing its contents she grabbed a jar of soldier pills.

"Here take this," She said as she put it near his mouth. Shibuki looked at it for a second before taking the pill in his mouth and chewing.

"Blah!" he tried to resist the urge to spit out the terrible tasting pill. Chewing it up and swallowing. While he took the special soldier pills Sakura had created, the pink-haired girl began to pour medical chakra into Shibuki's coils, keeping them from becoming more damaged until the pills could do their work.

"You're very lucky we got here in time," Sakura told Shibuki, "Had we gotten here any later, you would not have survived whatever is happening to your chakra coils."

"Good to know," Shibuki said in a strained voice as he finished swallowing the rest of the horrific pill. He was actually beginning to think it was better to just die than eating something that tasted as horrid as these pills.

Sakura did not say anything else as she continued her work.

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Itachi looked at Fu's fallen form, which was burnt up and had numerous cuts and bruises. Looking up, the Uchiha slayer surveyed the destroyed landscape that had been caused by Fu's insane strength. The battle had been a lot harder than he had anticipated. Due to the use of her bugs, Itachi's greatest advantage had been negated. Contrary to what some might think Itachi was not a ninjutsu specialist, while he was good at it, better than most even, his true specialty was the subtle power of genjutsu. Unlike most of his clan who preferred to flaunt their Sharingan and show off the jutsu they copied, Itachi felt that deception and misdirection were better suited for a ninja, and that genjutsu accomplished that task better than other ninja arts.

That power had not worked on the Nanabi Jinchurikki, whose bugs would dispel his illusions before they could set in. Also because he could not kill her he had been unable to use his Mangekyo ability Amaterasu. This had forced him to use ninjutsu and taijutsu, though even with just those two spheres to use Itachi still won with relatively little injury. He walked over to Fu's unconscious form and was just about to lift her up when his instincts had him dodging a hail of kunai that came from the left.

"You know I was wondering when we would meet again," Itachi looked towards the source of the voice, to see Naruto looking at him with a blank expression that matched his own.

"It is good to see you again Naruto-kun," Itachi said in an emotionless voice as he stood up. If the Uchiha was surprised he did not show it, merely stared at Naruto with his emotionless mask. "I hear you have gotten much stronger."

Naruto shed his weighted trench coat, knowing that to beat a Sharingan user he would need speed. "One does not train with a Sennin and not learn a thing or two," Naruto replied, "in any event, I'm here to make sure you don't take Fu over here."

"I see…" was all Itachi said as he prepared to battle against Naruto, knowing he would have to go all out from the start to win.

For a long moment, the two were just stared each other down, Naruto slipping into his father's stance as Itachi's Sharingan began to spin. On an unspoken signal the two began, Naruto tossed several kunai as he jumped towards a building. Those kunai had their momentum arrested when they met Itachi's shuriken as he too jumped to a building, this one on the opposite side of Naruto. The blond shinobi launched several shurikens this time, focusing wind chakra into them. In retaliation, Itachi threw some more shuriken himself but was forced to dodge when his own weapons were sliced in half by Naruto's. Looking up Itachi spotted Naruto heading right for him, he blocked the incoming strike but was still sent back from the power the blow held. Flipping onto his feet Itachi pointed at Naruto.

Itachi vanished from view and soon fire began to surround Naruto, realizing this was merely a genjutsu Naruto stopped all of his chakra and sent a large pulse of Kyuubi's chakra. The burst destroyed the genjutsu and unknowingly broke the second layer that Itachi had placed over it. Naruto watched as Itachi shimmered into existence right next to him, blocking the strike from the S rank criminal before lashing out with his own fist. Itachi ducked under Naruto's fist and came up trying to smash an open palm into the blond's torso, Naruto twisted his body to the side as he redirected Itachi's attack and came at the shinobi with an elbow. Itachi jumped away, beginning a set of hand seals.

"Katon: Goryuuka No Jutsu!"

A large fire dragon shot towards Naruto who held up both hands, palms facing the dragon as it charged at him.

"Suiton: Suiryuudan No Jutsu."

A dragon made of water coalesced in front of Naruto, it raced towards the incoming fire dragon. The two jutsu exploded against each other in a blast of smoke and steam. Itachi looked into the smoke as he prepared for anything, despite this he was caught off guard when a pale blast of lightning shot through the steam. Quick use of the Kariwimi got him away from the blast, however, a second later Naruto appeared in front of him. The blond ran Itachi through with Susanoo, only for the black-haired man to disappear in a puff of smoke. A large ball of fire came at Naruto from above, using his speed the blond was able to dodge. Pointing a finger where the blast came from Naruto sent another Byakurai towards Itachi and went straight through the man's chest. However, as Itachi hit the ground his body turned into a flock of crows. Naruto had just enough time to realize it was a genjutsu before a lightning-covered hand shot into his back.

"You have grown quite strong Naruto-kun," came the emotionless voice of Itachi behind him. "To be able to keep up with me means you must have trained quite hard, however you are still not at my level, give up."

Naruto turned his head and smirked at Itachi, right before he exploded. Itachi was barely able to make use of a Kawirmi to escape, however, Naruto was already waiting for him.

"Kai."

Naruto felt half of the weight for the gravity seals and resistance seals on his body release, making him feel hundreds if not thousands of pounds lighter. He struck out at Itachi with a knife-edge to the throat, the Uchiha Akatsuki member tilted his head only for Naruto to grab him by the back of the neck and pull him into a head butt. Itachi stumbled back with a bloody nose as Naruto came at him again, throwing a high kick low kick combination. Itachi ducked the first and swept away the second, he did not even notice the third one until he felt a foot connect with his chin. Itachi used the momentum of his kick to get air-born and caught Naruto with his own foot. The blond jumped back as Itachi's foot clipped his chin, flipping in the air and landing back on his feet.

"Fuuton: Renkudan."

Naruto sucked in a deep breath before hitting himself on the gut, sending a condensed ball of wind chakra at Itachi. Going through several hand signs Itachi sucked in a breath as he called out his jutsu.

"Katon: Gokyakou No Jutsu!"

A large fireball came out of Itachi's mouth and headed over to the cannon ball-sized wind bullet, due to wind's weakness against fire any sort of fire jutsu would not only plow right through a wind jutsu, but the wind would increase its power even if going in an opposite direction. That was what would have happened here if a Naruto's Kage Bushin had not appeared under the fireball and shot a water bullet at it. The condensed ball of water went straight through the fireball, leaving a large hole in it before it dissipating. The wind bullet continued on and hit Itachi, who disappeared in another puff of smoke.

Naruto spun around on his heel, stretching out his arm to block the incoming kick. Grabbing Itachi's foot Naruto spun it, sending the Uchiha spinning before landing on his back. Itachi struck out with a leg, managing to clip Naruto on the foot, and sent him sprawling to the ground. The two pushed themselves back up, moving into a series of flips as they jumped away from each other. Naruto flicked his wrist and shot several kunai at Itachi, who dodged them, remembering what happened last time. Itachi began going through several hand signs as he prepared another jutsu.

"Katon: Hosenka No Jutsu!"

Several basketball-sized fireballs sailed towards Naruto, the blond shinobi's cheeks bulged before several water bullets shot out of his mouth. Connecting with the fireballs and creating steam, Itachi came out of the steam with a Tanto in his hand. In response Naruto unsealed Susanoo, blocking the left side slash. Naruto moved the locked blades up and over his head, snapping a kick at Itachi's midsection. Itachi lifted his leg, letting his shin take the hit, though Naruto smirked when he noticed the normally emotionless face wince. Pulling back his blade Itachi came in with a thrust to impale the blond, Naruto redirected the attack to his right. Closing the distance he smashed an elbow in Itachi's ribs, only for the man to disappear in a swirl of flower petals.

When did he get me with a genjutsu? Naruto wondered as he dispelled it. He was just in time to twist his body as Itachi tried to stab him from behind, this time it managed to graze his torso before Naruto brought his sword up and redirected the attack over their heads, locking the two blades together. With their blades locked Naruto threw a fist at Itachi's face. Itachi tilted his head to dodge the blow, however, Naruto encased his fist in wind, and Itachi was sent sailing back with the same force as if he had been hit by Tsunade. Itachi flipped onto his feet, looking up he saw everything going dark until he was consumed by blackness. For just a moment Itachi actually felt a hint of fear, while he never took the same pride in his eyes that the Uchiha clan had, he still had the same fear of going blind. To not be able to see anything despite having his Sharingan active was a frightful thing. However, he knew it was a genjutsu and flooded his chakra coils with as much chakra as he could muster.

"KAI!"

The genjutsu dispelled just in time to see Naruto run-up to impale him, the blond ran Itachi through, only for the Uchiha to turn into a log. Naruto cursed as he turned around and saw a fireball sailing towards him, flicking his wrist Naruto unsealed a tri-pronged kunai. He began to spin the Hiraishin Kunai in his grip as the fireball sailed towards him, when it reached rather than explode the fireball was sucked up into his kunai. Itachi felt his eyes widen as he saw the technique that he had seen the Yondaime do several times in the past, he had not realized that Naruto had come that far with the Hiraishin. A whistling noise snapped his attention back to reality, looking up he saw another tri-pronged kunai heading for him. Jumping back Itachi let it fall to the ground, however, he was forced to use another Kariwimi to escape when the fireball he had launched came out of the kunai.

Itachi reappeared on one of the buildings, his breathing getting a little heavier than before. "It seems you truly have gotten strong, unfortunately, I do not have time to test my strength against you."

"You mean you no longer can," Naruto said, "You're too low on chakra to do any more than the basic academy jutsu. From my estimation you had already used about 1/4th of your chakra to fight Fu, I came in fresh and have far more chakra than you even at full strength. Your genjutsu does not work on me anymore, and only the Tsukiyomi will have a true effect." Itachi's small frown said it all, they both knew he would be unable to continue fighting and unfortunately for him Naruto still had more than half of his reserves left. "Not like it matters anyway," Naruto continued with a grin as he pointed over to where Fu was. Itachi followed the blond's finger and saw that Fu was gone.

He must have had a Kage Bushin take the Nanabi Jinchurikki away, Itachi thought, he truly has gotten strong. "So I see, I doubt torture will get you to tell me where she is."

"If you could torture me you mean," Naruto shot back, "you can't use Tsukiyomi right now and we both know the damage it does to your vision."

"It seems you really have gotten stronger Naruto-kun," Itachi said, "You are correct I cannot win right now." his Sharingan right eye suddenly morphed into a pinwheel, Naruto's eyes widened as he felt chakra gather in Itachi's now bleeding eye.

"Amaterasu."

A black flame shot from Itachi's eye, Naruto pulled out a scroll from his pouch, unrolling it as he channeled chakra into a seal that was written on the scroll. The black fire was sucked into the seal, which glowed after all of the flames were inside. Naruto rolled up the scroll as he looked around, Itachi was gone. A Kage Bushin phased into existence beside him before puffing out, a little while later another clone came out from one of the buildings, carrying a still unconscious Fu.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Kisame grinned at Kakashi and Sai who stood several feet away. He had several burn marks from close calls with Raiton jutsu and a few scrapes, but otherwise still looked capable of fighting. "You two are pretty good, it's nice to see that I can have a decent fight here," Kisame spoke with his shark-like grin on his face. "But don't think this is over, I haven't even gotten started yet!"

Kakashi and Sai tensed, before any of them could act, Itachi appeared next to Kisame.

"Kisame, this battle has become unfavorable," Itachi said, "It seems we will need to reevaluate Naruto Namikaze's strength."

"The blond gaki's here too huh?" Kisame said, "Well damn had I known that I wouldn't have wasted time with these two."

"It matters not," Itachi said, blinking the blood that was running down his eye away, "What does is that we need to leave since we are at a disadvantage."

Kisame sighed but put Samehada on his back, he went through several hand seals and called out a jutsu.

"Suiton: Tsunami no Jutsu (Water Release: Giant tidal wave Jutsu)"

A large wave rose up in front of Kisame and Itachi, reaching a height of nearly a hundred feet before it came crashing down towards the Konoha ninja. Kakashi and Sai jumped out of the way, Sakura grabbed onto Shibuki before jumping up herself. They landed on the tree as the wave crashed against it, shaking the foundations of the tree before settling down. Looking over to where Itachi and Kisame had been, they noticed the two had disappeared. The three Konoha ninja and Shibuki were back on the ground, Kakashi and Sai walked over to Sakura, who was checking over Shibuki to make sure her pills were healing him right.

A little while later Naruto appeared next to them, still holding Fu in his arms. He looked over at Shibuki and grinned, "Wow Shibuki, you look like shit."

"Yeah well thanks, cause I feel like…" his sarcastic response was stopped as the voice registered in his mind. The pitch and timbre were deeper than he remembered but he knew that voice, looking over he spotted a smirking blond with blue eyes and six whisker marks. "Naruto!" he exclaimed before spotting who the blond was holding in his arms. "Is she…"

"She's fine," Naruto interrupted, "they need the Jinchurikki alive in order to extract their Bijuu, she's just unconscious is all."

Shibuki sighed in relief, "That's good…" he looked over at Naruto again as he spoke, "You know I'm surprised at how fast you got here."

Naruto gave a sheepish grin as he put a hand behind his head, however before he could answer, Sakura did it for him.

"That's because he decided to set a ridiculous pace," Sakura huffed, "He claimed if one of us fell behind they might as well go home."

Naruto shrugged, "Yeah well just think of it as training… anyway we'd better get you and sleeping beauty here to the hospital." Naruto looked around to see many other ninjas who had been injured, he blinked for a second, "We should probably get them to the hospital too."

Shibuki felt like rolling his eyes at the obvious suggestion, "You think?"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Fu's eyes fluttered open, groaning as she sat up. Looking around she realized she was in the hospital, Fu furrowed her brow as she wondered what had happened. The last thing she remembered was fighting that Akatsuki member, but she did not look like she had been captured, if she had she was pretty sure she would not be alive.

"No!"

Hearing her brother's voice coming from the room on her left, Fu stood up and walked over to the wall, putting a hand on the wall as the conversation continued.

"Shibuki you know this is the best option."

Fu blinked when she heard the unfamiliar voice, deciding to find out who it was, she left her hospital room and entered Shibuki's.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Shibuki looked at the blond Konoha shinobi with a scowl, "I'm not going to let my sister be taken away. I spent too much effort to keep her from being exiled or given to the Akatsuki to let you take her back to Konoha."

"And what happens if Akatsuki attacks again?" asked Naruto, giving his friend a frustrated look, "We might not be able to get here in time, or what if they decide to send more than just two members? Your village would be in even more danger." Naruto took a deep breath before plunging on, "I'm not saying exile her, after the threat of Akatsuki has been dealt with, she'll come right back."

The two had been arguing this point for the past day as they waited for Fu to wake up, right now the two were in the hospital. Shibuki was lying on the bed, several bandages wrapped around his frame from the injuries he had sustained during his battle with Kisame. Naruto was sitting a little ways away, looking at Shibuki with a determined expression.

He knew Shibuki did not want his sister away from him, but he also knew it would not only keep her safe but would actually be good for her. Like him, she had also been hated by nearly everyone in her village. Unlike him however she still had it bad, she was still mass hated by the population. Because of this Shibuki was quite protective of her, he was the only one she would actually talk to. Because of the hatred she suffered from, Naruto had heard that Fu had grown to hate most of humanity due to her neglect. That was another reason Naruto felt she should come with him, if she stayed here, where she was hated Fu would likely continue to hate humanity.

Shibuki opened his mouth to retort but another voice broke through the room.

"What's going on Shibuki-nii-san?"

The two turned to look at the door, Fu was standing there looking at the two. Shibuki put on a smile as he addressed her, "Imouto, how are you feeling?"

Fu shrugged as she walked further into the room, her eyes moving over to Naruto with a wary expression. "Alright," she replied at last, "I'm not sore anymore or anything. What happened? And what are you two talking about?"

Shibuki was about to answer when Naruto cut him off, "Akatsuki came to take, you got in a fight with Itachi Uchiha and lost." Fu scowled a bit at Naruto's rather blunt statement, even if it was true no one liked their faults being so blatantly shown. Naruto either didn't notice or didn't care as he continued, "Shibuki had sent Konoha a message and the Hokage sent us here. I found Itachi about to take you and battled him, eventually forcing him to a retreat." Naruto watched the various emotions play across Fu's face, fear at almost being caught, and a mixture of gratitude and weariness at him for saving her. Naruto continued, "As for what we were talking about, I thought it would be a good idea if you came to live with me in Konoha until Akatsuki has been dealt with."

Fu's eyes widened in shock as she looked from Naruto to her brother, for a second she was unsure what to think. "You want me to come to Konoha?" at Naruto's nod she narrowed her eyes, "Why?"

"Because this time you were lucky enough that I was not on a mission," Naruto answered simply. "Right now only I and Jiraiya are capable of fighting S class criminals due to our freedom from any serious duties. The only other people who can battle them on even grounds are the Kage's, and they are stuck to their desks most of the time. If I had not been available Konoha would have been unable to send any aid and you would have been captured." Both Fu and Shibuki winced at that, what he said was harsh but considering what happened, it was also true. "That is why I feel that having you come to Konoha will be beneficial, it will be much easier to protect you that way."

"Why would you do this?" Fu asked, "I know who you are and that you're considered a hero here for what you did to help my brother. But you know what I am, so why would you…" she trailed off and found a blush spreading across her face as Naruto took off his armor and lifted up his shirt, however that blush soon turned to shock when she saw the seal on his stomach.

"I'm helping you because like you, I am also a Jinchurikki," Naruto said, "Like you, I was hated for most of my life. Hell, it wasn't even until my heritage as the Yondaime's son was revealed that people started to look up to me, and even now there are some people who are only acting like they respect me because of who my father was, but still fear and hate me." Naruto put his shirt back down and put the armor on, ignoring the looks of shock on the two Taki ninja. "Plus I think it would do you good to get out of a village that hates you."

That got the two to pause and think, right now she was mass hated by the people in Takigakure. Her only solace had been when she was on missions, allowing her to go to cities that did not hate or vilify her. Fu looked at Naruto, tilting her head to the side as if trying to solve a puzzle.

"If I went with you people would eventually find out about my status," Fu said at last. "They would still hate me."

Naruto shook his head, "No they wouldn't, I'm well known by now as the Jinchurikki for the Kyuubi. Sure some of the older generations might hate you, but the younger generation would look up to you." Fu gained a thoughtful look as Naruto continued, "It would also mean you would be protected by myself, Jiraiya, and Tsunade, three S rank ninja."

Shibuki was silent as he looked at Fu, who seemed to be deep in thought. He did not want her to go, but in the end, it was her decision and if she wanted to he would support her. After a few minutes of silence, Fu came looked back at Naruto, "If this is the best way to deal with Akatsuki then I will go with you."

Naruto nodded, "We're going to stay here for a few days while Sakura helps to heal the injured, then we'll leave."

Fu nodded as Naruto left the room to give the two some time alone.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" Shibuki asked in concern.

"I…" Fu shook her head, "yes, I don't want to be looked down on and hated anymore, if what he says is true then I…"

"I understand," Shibuki said, "if this is what you want, I will support your decision."

Fu looked at Shibuki with a rare smile, "Thanks nii-san."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto walked around Taki as he surveyed some of the damage done by Kisame's assault, it had not been much, most of the damage was done to the ninja forces. As he walked towards the large tree that held the spring for the Hero's water, Naruto saw Sai sitting near the edge with a canvas in one hand and a brush in the other. Walking up the blond saw that he was painting a picture of the tree.

"That's a good painting," Naruto said as he looked over Sai's shoulder. Sai's head snapped around and Naruto saw a brief flicker of surprise in the boy's eyes, so he's not just an emotionless puppet after all…

After a moment the pale-skinned youth gave Naruto his fake smile, "What can I do for you dickless?"

Naruto felt his eyebrows twitch in annoyance, "You know we're really going to have to work on your etiquette. Also, can you stop talking about my dick, I don't swing that way."

Sai tilted his head, "I do not know what you're talking about, I was merely commenting on what I have noticed from observation."

"Whatever," Naruto said as he rolled his eyes, the blond turned back to the painting, "So you like to paint?"

Sai looked at his painting and shrugged, "I'm… not sure."

"What do you mean you're not sure?" Naruto asked in confusion, "You either do or you don't."

"That's just it, I'm not sure," Sai replied with a shrug as he went back to his painting.

Naruto sighed at how frustrating Sai was being, if this was what Danzo did to his men, then Naruto was glad the old fool had never been able to sick his claws into him. "So you got a name for that painting?" asked Naruto as he sat down.

Sai blinked as he stopped painting and looked at the blond shinobi, "I… no," Sai looked back at his painting and frowned.

"Well that's no good," Naruto said, "You know every great masterpiece has to have a name, otherwise it's not as memorable."

"Maybe…" Sai said, "I've never been good with names… I've tried before but… every time I try and think of one, it never comes to me."

Naruto nodded as he realized that Danzo had probably stunted most of this site, which relied more on emotion. The fact that the boy was even painting at all was a miracle since it meant he was not completely indoctrinated, "well you just have to let them come to you I guess."

"What would you name it?" Sai asked and Naruto could hear a hint of curiosity in the boy's voice.

"To be honest I don't know," Naruto replied, shrugging his shoulders, "I'm not an artist and I've never been good at naming things, hell even my jutsu names suck. My emotions are felt in a different way than creating art."

"Emotions?" asked Sai, "I don't have any emotions."

Naruto quirked an eyebrow, "None at all? Don't you feel something when you create work like this?"

Sai frowned, "… No, I feel nothing."

Naruto stood up, "I think you're lying," Sai's head snapped up to look at him, "Why else would you paint? I know for a fact that your master Danzo would not like you to have an outlet designed to express feelings, and painting is such an outlet." He noticed Sai gaining a thoughtful look, "I think deep down you do feel emotions, but they're buried so far underneath that you don't know it." Naruto paused for a moment, "Well whatever, it's none of my business I guess. Just make sure you're ready to leave three days from now."

As Naruto walked off, Sai turned to look back at the tree, a thoughtful frown on his face as he continued painting.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"So you are telling me you have failed to capture the Nanabi Jinchurikki?" Pain asked the holographic figure of Itachi, narrowing his Rinnegan eyes.

Itachi kept up his emotionless façade while speaking, "Yes, it seems they managed to request aid from Konoha. They came faster than I expected and I was forced to fight Naruto Namikaze. From what I understand, the Nanabi Jinchurikki is now in Konoha under his protection."

"It seems the gaki is getting pretty strong, to be able to force Itachi to retreat," Kisame said, a shark-like smirk forming on his face, "Makes me wish I had fought him myself."

"To be so strong means he must be a good boy!" Tobi yelled, "he is like me! Tobi is a good boy!"

"Tobi shut up yeah!" Deidara shouted at the spiraled masked man, "how many times have I told you not to be so annoying!"

"Whoops! Sorry, Deidara-Senpai!" Tobi said in an embarrassed voice as he rubbed the back of his head.

Pain closed his eyes as a troubled look crossed his face, that boy was causing more trouble than he was worth. He would need to be dealt with soon… "I will need to think on this new development, all of you are dismissed."

The images faded out leaving only Pain, Konan and 'Tobi' left.

"That boy is causing even more problems than his father," Madara said, no longer acting the fool. "He will need to be dealt with soon."

Pain opened his eyes to look at the man, "Should we send the Akatsuki after him?"

Madara thought about the question for a moment before shaking his head, "No… at the moment it would require more power than we currently have since it would mean going up against Jiraiya and Tsunade as well as Konoha itself. I wish to concentrate our efforts on the other Jinchurikki. Send Itachi and Kisame after the Yonbi, he has been spotted in Tsuki No Kuni. Deidara and I will go after the Gobi, which has been spotted in the eastern province of Kiba No Kuni (Land of Fangs). Also, what news of Sasuke?"

"He is still under Orochimaru's guard," Pain said, "however the Snake Sannin has yet to try and use his immortality jutsu on him."

"Good," Madara said, "I will have need of Sasuke's Sharingan and cannot have Orochimaru getting his hands on it. We have had many failures as of late Pain, I expect them to be rectified soon." with that Madara faded out of existence.

Pain scowled as Madara disappeared, he disliked how this man tried to order him around. However he knew that right now it was not possible for him to do anything, it was Madara who had made all of this possible and currently Pain did not have the strength to beat the Sharingan user. But soon… soon he will feel the power of a god. Pain thought as he faded out as well, leaving the only female member of their group left.

Konan closed her eyes, she would need to tell Naruto of this development soon.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The trip to the Hokage tower was for the most part silent, Fu listened as Naruto explained a little bit about Konoha, giving her a bit of a history lesson on the major sights. Walking into the Hokage Tower the five ninjas went up the stairs to the top floor. Naruto walked up to the desk where Shizune was currently going through several files, tapping on them a few times Naruto got the black-haired woman to look up.

"Oh, Naruto-kun!" Shizune exclaimed with a smile, "I take it the mission was a success?"

Naruto gave her a smile, "Was there ever any doubt?" he asked rhetorically. "Yeah the mission was a success; we also will be having a guest I placed under my protection." At this Shizune noticed the green-haired girl that was with them.

"I see," she said as she put the files she had been handling down, walking over to the door she knocked several times before opening it. "Tsunade-Sama, Naruto-kun has returned from his mission."

Naruto and the others followed Shizune in and stopped in front of the desk. Tsunade looked up to see the four ninjas she had sent, as well as the new arrival.

"Report," she said in her Hokage voice.

Naruto nodded as he began to explain what had transpired during the mission, from sending Kakashi and Sai to deal with Kisame and Sakura to help heal the injured while he fought Itachi into retreat. "… after that, I invited Fu to stay here under Konoha protection, I also felt it would be a good idea to help with her training so that she can become strong enough to protect herself."

Tsunade looked at the green-haired girl, who seemed slightly unsure of herself now that she was actually in Konoha. The busty blond sighed, somehow she had expected this to happen. "I suppose she will be staying in the Namikaze compound then?" Tsunade asked.

Naruto nodded, "Yes."

"Very well, I'll be expecting a written report tomorrow," the blond woman said in a commanding tone.

Naruto nodded before turning to Fu, "Come on we'll get you situated into your new home, for the time being, then I'll show you around Konoha."

Fu blinked a few seconds before nodding and following the blond out.

When the blond and the others left Tsunade turned to the only one left in the room, "So how did he do?"

Kakashi snapped his book shut before speaking, "He did extremely well. He was able to pick up what was happening long before we even got to Takigakure and created a plan of action that was not only sound but also worked by utilizing the abilities of himself and his team."

Tsunade nodded, "Do you think he's ready for promotion to full Jonin?"

Kakashi gave a hmm of thought before answering, "Yes, but I would have him take a few more missions before giving him Jonin status."

Tsunade nodded, "Thank you, you're dismissed."

Kakashi nodded, pulling out his book and giving a perverse giggle as he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Fu sighed as she finished placing all of her clothing in one of the drawers, looking around the room she had to admit it was nice. Way nicer than my terrible apartment back home, she said to herself. The place reminded her of a few of the tales she had read about the rooms in a Daimyo's palace. Finding that everything was put away she nodded and to herself, moving over to the door as she made her way out. Walking down the hall she was stopped as Naruto came out of his room.

"Hey you got your stuff all put away?" asked Naruto.

Fu nodded, "… Yes."

Naruto noticed a small frown etched on the woman's face, "Miss your home?"

Fu looked up at him before shaking her head, "Not really, I was always hated there for what I held. Forced into a harsh training regimen in order to harness the Nanabi, sent on suicide missions afterward, only to be treated like the plague upon return."

Naruto nodded in understanding, "The life of a Jinchurikki is never easy." Naruto paused for a moment as he decided to switch topics, "How about I show you around and we can go out and get something to eat."

Fu looked at him somewhat startled that he was being so nice to her, though he is also a Jinchurikki. "Ok," she said out loud.

"Great!" Naruto said as he pushed her down the stairs, "Then there is only one place we can get food."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Oi! Ojisan some Miso ramen for me and my friend and keep 'em coming!" Naruto shouted as he entered Ichiraku's and sat down at the stool reserved for him. Fu followed close behind, sitting down on his right. Teuchi and Ayame turned around to find the two sitting down, the old man offered a grin.

"Well, Naruto! It's good to see you, and who is your friend? Another one of your…" the old man held up a pinky and wiggled it conspiratorially.

Fu felt a large blush spread across her face, Naruto just laughed as he waved a hand in the air. "Nothing like that Teuchi-Ojisan, she's staying here from Taki until all this Red Cloud business is taken care of. I offered her a place to stay until then."

Teuchi nodded, knowing better than to question Naruto about his missions, "alright then, your Miso will be coming right up!"

Ayame walked over to the counter and plopped her head on the butt of her hands, leaning on the countertop as she looked at Naruto. "So I take it you were on a mission? You were gone for quite a while," she said.

Naruto nodded his head as he slurped up the noodles, "Yeah I had to go Taki and help defend the village from an enemy that was attacking it." Naruto kept his explanations vague, while he loved the ramen chef and daughter duo, he did not want them getting involved in anything Akatsuki related.

Half an hour later Naruto and Fu finished and the blond paid for their meal before leaving, the two were walking along one of the streets when Naruto turned to Fu. "Come on, I'll show you around the rest of Konoha," he said as he began to give her a more detailed tour of the village.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"I see…" Danzo said as he listened to Sai's report. If what his subordinate said was true and Naruto had been able to force Itachi into a retreat then the boy was indeed powerful. However, there was another piece of information that intrigued him even more, "So the Nanabi Jinchurikki is here? And wipe that stupid smile off your face!"

"Yes Danzo-Sama," Sai replied with his head bowed in a submissive position, "she is staying at the Namikaze estate under Namikaze-san's protection." Sai looked up with his smile still in place, "and I was told that a smile is the best way to get into people's hearts."

Danzo frowned in thought as he ignored the boy's words, for now, instead of coming up with a plan for the new information he had received. If he could somehow get the Nanabi Jinchurikki under his control then it would help solidify his position, however, the Namikaze would still be a problem. "This is most interesting information," Danzo said, though it seemed as if he was talking more to himself.

"Danzo-Sama," Sai said, getting the one-eyed man's attention. "I would like to request to stay with Namikaze-san as a member of his team."

Danzo looked at the boy in shock for a second, Sai had never once requested anything and him doing it now made Danzo wonder what was going through the boy's mind. However, Danzo's arrogance in the belief that a shinobi he personally trained could never turn on him kept the man from assuming it was anything more than wanting to keep an eye on his target. "Very well, I will allow it," Danzo had already planned on having Sai continue watching the boy so he could discover Naruto's weakness. "I will want weekly reports on what Namikaze-san is doing and who he spends time with."

"Hai Danzo-Sama!"

XXXXXXXXXXX

Omake: Penis or no penis.

"I don't see how someone who seems to be lacking a penis can fight an S rank criminal," Sai replied with the fake smile he had been giving them since the start.

Naruto glared at the boy, this kid had been nothing but trouble since they had met. Aside from the fact that the smile he gave was obviously fake and the boy had the emotional range of a toothpick, he also seemed to have some weird kind of dick fetish. He had mentioned Naruto's penis at least six different times when the blond was speaking, most of which was an insinuation about Naruto having a lack of one.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that so that I don't end up killing you," Naruto said. He turned to look at Kakashi and was about to speak when Sai interrupted him.

"You know you shouldn't deny your dickless status," Sai gave the blond shinobi a large smile, "I read in a book once that the first step to getting over something is admitting you have a problem."

Naruto eyebrow twitched as he ground his teeth together, "Sai if I hear one more word about dicks out of you I'm gonna-"

"You can't do anything," Sai said, "after all when you're a dickless wonder like you are, there is nothing you can do. Best to just accept it and move on."

"That does it!" Naruto growled as a familiar ball of swirling blue chakra formed in the palm of Naruto's left hand, before increasing its size to epic proportions. Naruto appeared in front of Sai in a yellow flash as he thrust the giant ball of energy into his hand.

"Cho Oodoma Rasengan!"

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Omake 2: Itachi's book.

"I see…" was all Itachi said, preparing to fight against the Namikaze heir.

"However before we begin I would like to discuss something with you," Naruto said in a serious tone.

Itachi frowned as he wondered what the blond wanted to talk to him about, "what do wish to discuss?"

Naruto grinned as he walked up to Itachi and pulled out… a book? "I wanted to thank you for writing this! This book is an absolute godsend, I can't tell you the number of times this baby kept me from being raped!"

Itachi took a look at the book, Fan Girl 101: How to Identify and Avoid Fan Girls by Itachi Uchiha. A rare smile graced Itachi's face, "I am glad you can appreciate that book, it is one of my proudest accomplishments."

"I'll say," Naruto said, "when Konoha gave you that title of genius they really meant it, this book is pure genius. Though I noticed you forgot to add something to it…"

Itachi looked at him in undisguised curiosity, "oh, what did I forget?" he was sure he had gotten everything.

Naruto shuddered, "you forgot to add how to escape fanboys."

Itachi felt a shiver crawl up his spine as he heard the words that made him pale even worse than fangirls. "That is a most problematic idea Naruto-kun," Itachi said as he reached into his pouch and pulled out… a box of pocky. He grabbed a stick and put it in his mouth before offering one to Naruto, "we should discuss how to rectify this problem over some pocky," Itachi told the blond, who had a curious look on his face.

Naruto took a stick and put it in his mouth, "this is some good stuff."

Itachi nodded, "you are quite lucky, I have never given any of my pocky to anyone."

"Not even to your old family?" asked Naruto as he bit a piece off.

Itachi gave him a deadpan look, "Naruto-kun, why do you think the massacres even happened?"

"Uhh… well I just thought you went psychotic and killed them," the blond commented sheepishly.

"No that is not what happened at all," Itachi said.

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Before the Massacres: Konoha

"Itachi-kun!" Mikoto said as she saw her eldest son sitting on the porch eating his Pocky, "seriously Itachi-kun can you eat something other than pocky?"

Itachi froze before turning around, "what did you say?" his voice barely a whisper.

"I'm telling you, you need to eat something other than pocky," Mikoto said, "it's not good for you!"

Itachi glared at his mother, the anger of her words turning his regular Sharingan eyes into the Mangekyo, "Nobody tells me to stop eating pocky!"

Before Mikoto knew what was happening Itachi began his rampage, killing off the entire clan in a single night, thus causing what would become known as the Uchiha massacre.

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Naruto looked at Itachi as he related the true events of the Uchiha Massacre, "dude, has anyone ever told you your insane?"

"Several have yes," Itachi replied with a shrug, "now about that new book…"

Naruto nodded as he began to discuss several ideas with Itachi, neither noticing that Fu had woken up and was listening to the two in shock.

And this is the person who beat me, Fu thought lamentingly.