Chapter Eighty Four: The Summation Part I

Orochimaru's Private Quarters, Ancor Vantian)

With all the chaos that was about to take place on the airborne fortress, Orochimaru was surprisingly serene at his workplace as he was recording and documenting everything regarding the success of "Project Star." Of course, his private writing session would have to wait, given that Orochimaru soon heard footsteps and a knock at his door. Without turning around from his work, he addressed the person present, "Good, you got my summons."

A male voice rang in Orochimaru's ears, "You better have a good reason for making me lug this guy all the way here, Boss."

"I can assure you, Yatagarasu," Orochimaru said, "my reasons will intrigue you quite a bit."

"Oh, how so?" Yatagarasu asked.

"Considering your particular actions against Konoha all those years ago, I would think that you of all people would enjoy mind games," Orochimaru replied.

"Get to the point," Yatagarasu retorted. Orochimaru chuckled, "That man you have there will serve as a sacrifice for my Edo Tensei. I'm going to play my own mind games with the group of Iwa-nin that are working together with the Konoha-nin."

The man whistled, "Damn, I almost feel bad for this guy."

"And I almost felt bad for you when I found out you went after Tsunade all those years ago," Orochimaru remarked, "But then I remembered that getting on her bad side is not a good idea, especially when you are so beneath her level."

"Watch it, Boss," Yatagarasu replied, "I almost had her."

"Even if you negated her super strength, she's still a Sannin for a reason," Orochimaru reminded him, "Just as I am a Sannin for a reason."

Orochimaru turned around and narrowed his eyes at the man, "Do not test me, Yatagarasu. Are we clear on that?"

"Of course," said Yatagarasu, "You saved my life, and I intend on repaying that debt to you to the best of my ability."

"Good," smirked the Sannin, who then pulled out and unraveled a scroll with mysterious markings on it, "Let the ritual commence."

Pulling out a vial of blood, he opened it and emptied its contents onto the scroll's markings. Out of curiosity, Yatagarasu decided to ask a few more questions. "So Boss, who exactly are we resurrecting today? A previous Tsuchikage?"

"Oh, I wish," scoffed Orochimaru, "Bringing back a previous Tsuchikage would certainly strike a nerve with Ōnoki on a personal level, given his personal friendships with the previous Tsuchikage. However, unlike the remains of the deceased Hokages, the remains of the Shodaime and Nidaime Tsuchikage are much more carefully guarded in comparison, locked away in a special tomb which can only be opened by a special key. And that key's location I have yet to discover. Anyway, the person I'm deciding to bring back is not of ancient history; in fact, this person had died not so long ago."

That detail piqued the mercenary's interest, "Oh, is that so?"

"Watch and learn, Yatagarasu," Orochimaru suggested, "Watch and learn."

After forming a few hand seals, Orochimaru struck the scroll, causing the blood to leak from the scroll and form a seal around the unfortunate victim, encasing him with ash and dust to form the appearance of the intended revived person.

After studying the revived person briefly, Yatagarasu smirked, "Oh, so it's her again. I haven't seen her in years since the two of us have last dueled."

(Location on Sora no Kuni)

"There are no enemies in front of us, however, there are patrols to the east and the west," Neji told Tenten with his Byakugan activated. Tenten nodded and unsealed several kunais with explosive tags on them. Never would she have guessed that she would need to use these on what was supposed to be a diplomatic mission.

Sighing, Tenten attributed this to being around Naruto. As good of a man as he was, Naruto was literally a magnet for trouble. Shaking those thoughts from her mind, Tenten prepared her ambush, "Neji, I want you to take half of these and attack the patrol to the west."

"And I take it you will attack the patrol to the east?" Neji inquired.

Tenten nodded and added, "Once we run out of exploding tags we will withdraw. We'll meet up south of here. You will go southeast, I will go southwest."

"Understood," Neji replied. Tenten prepared to leave, but something Neji said stopped her, "Tenten?"

"What is it, Neji?"

"Be careful," Neji advised. Tenten smirked at this, "Same to you. But remember, I'm not the one who came home with a hole in my chest last time."

Neji frowned at this, but nodded in agreement. With that, the two broke away from one another, explosive-laced kunai in hand. Tenten quickly found herself standing above a small squad of Sora nins. Quietly, she drew her explosive kunai, which numbered at around twelve. Grabbing four, Tenten threw each of them at high speeds, surrounding the Sora nins. They all gasped as kunai surrounded them.

"What the hell?" One spoke up.

Another noticed the exploding tags, "Watch out-"

Before he could finish the tags detonated, and the patrol seemingly disappeared into a ball of fire. Unfortunately, six out of the twelve shinobi managed to emerge from the ball of fire unharmed, having used their machine gliders as improvised shields. However, it was clear that the gliders themselves suffered at least some minor structural damage.

The shinobi who appeared be the team leader of the patrol survivors glared at Tenten, saying, "You'll pay for that, you wench, and you'll regret deciding to take on a squad all by yourself."

The six patrol members then proceeded to take to the skies with their gliders, proceeding to ruthlessly retaliate against Tenten with their mechanical bombs, along with the usual paper bombs.

'Shit! I should've been more thorough,' cursed Tenten as she kept moving across the roofs, dodging one explosion after another, 'I guess it's true when they told us at the academy that no plan survives first contact with the enemy.'

She eventually found a huge pile of debris to take cover at, pausing for several moments to evaluate her remaining resources while also planning her next move. While she was a bit frustrated that she no longer had Neji's Byakugan support to rely on, she had no room to complain. She was the one who had suggested they split up after all.

Explosions started to sound off in the west. That could only mean that Neji was doing his job. But what about the others?

"Never mind about that!" Tenten reminded herself, "They'll do just fine! I need to focus on the urgent problem in front of me right now!"

Remembering her backup plan, Tenten pulled out a familiar looking seal from her pocket; it was the special seal on Keisuke's arrow that she had been to trying to comprehend during her studies at Naruto's safe house.

'Well, this should come in handy,' she commented.

(In A Different Part Of Ancor Vatian)

Karin stood as she looked at the three before her. While she did not enjoy being near any of them for various reasons, they were still Orochimaru's loyal subordinates, so she had to put up with them if she wanted to continue remaining on Orochimaru's good side.

The first was Guren of the Crystal Release. A woman of average height with blue hair tied up in a ponytail. Karin simply couldn't stand how the woman seemed to treat Orochimaru like a god. Karin was well aware of how strong the man was and that he was their master, but never once did she believe him to be a god. To her, Guren was simply crazy.

Then, there was Juugo of the Scales. He was a muscular male in his mid teens with gravity defying orange hair. Karin was downright terrified of being near him. Why Orochimaru let him out of his cage to be a part of this operation was simply beyond her.

Finally there was the teen male Karin simply despised the most. His name was Suigetsu Hozuki, the so-called Second Coming of the Demon.

'Yeah right,' Karin thought, 'He's about as intimidating as a kitten. He's also as annoying as one.'

Suigetsu was a thin young teenager with shoulder length white hair and a fanged grin. Karin hated his stupid fanged grin. How he was always so snide and indifferent. But most of all, she hated how the man simply had no tact.

What was even worse was that she couldn't do anything about it. Suigetsu's status as a Hozuki gave him a rather unique body structure. He was completely made out of water and would regenerate from almost any attack. Dealing with Suigetsu always made Karin wish she knew some Raiton ninjutsu. That would certainly hurt him.

"So what's the situation, Karin?" Guren asked, "Orochimaru-sama wouldn't have brought us all together if it wasn't important."

"Isn't it obvious?" Karin pushed up her glasses, "The sounds of explosions outside should've made it clear. Sora no Kuni is under attack by an unknown enemy."

Suigetsu smirked at this, "Finally, some action, I was getting bored."

Juugo, however, seemed frantic upon hearing this and said, "Why did Orochimaru-sama send for me then? He knows I'll lose control if I go out there! And now that Kimimaro is gone…"

Juugo trailed off at this. He still couldn't believe that his closest friend, the one young man who could ever calm his rage, was dead.

"Kimimaro…," Juugo was close to crying, remembering his friend. Guren glared at Juugo and said sharply, "Enough, Juugo! Kimimaro is dead. That's all there is to it. You should be proud that he completed his final assignment for Orochimaru-sama."

Juugo narrowed his eyes at Guren. He desperately tried to stay calm. He managed to calm himself and retort to Guren, "You're just jealous that Orochimaru-sama picked Kimimaro as his next body instead of you," Juugo said lowly, "You have no right to speak ill of him out of jealousy."

"What was that?" Guren glared at Juugo

"Both of you be quiet!" Karin shouted.

"Oh no, let them fight, Karin," Suigetsu grinned, "If we're lucky they'll kill each other and rid us of them both."

"You shut up too, Suigetsu!" Karin turned her anger on Suigetsu and punched him in the face. Karin's anger increased when she saw his head explode in water and then quickly reformed. Suigetsu's smirk grew at Karin's failed attempt to hurt him.

"Ow," he said mockingly.

"Anyway," Guren said after calming down, "what exactly are we going to do about these enemies of ours. If they intend to destroy all that Orochimaru-sama has worked for, I will kill them all myself."

"Get in line," Suigetsu interjected, "I haven't had any fun for a while now."

"Look," Karin was hoping to get things back on track, "We're Orochimaru-sama's elite here. He's depending on us, especially now that the Sound Five is defunct. We have no other plan other than just hunt down our enemy."

"The only exception to that rule is Juugo," Karin turned to Juugo, "I want you to stay outside at all times. When you lose control, we can replace buildings, but we can't replace what's inside the Ancor Vatian."

"I don't want to lose control, Karin," Juugo said.

"You don't have a choice," Guren glared at Juugo again, "If Orochimaru-sama had you brought here, then it's clear that he wants you to lose control."

"I don't want to hurt anyone!" Juugo said sharply, feeling his rage building up.

"Whoa, chill big guy, save it for outside this place," Suigetsu said, taking a step back.

"Juugo, go outside, now!" Karin ordered. Juugo reluctantly nodded, realizing that he would lose control soon thanks to Guren. He then left, feeling his anger building up. Karin looked at Guren.

"Okay, Guren," Karin said, "since you've clearly become the object of Juugo's anger, you will have to remain here and kill anyone who's lucky enough to get inside this base."

Guren narrowed her eyes at this.

"Such an assignment is not making good use of my talents," Guren told Karin, "I should be on the front lines fighting for Orochimaru-sama."

"You don't have a choice anymore," Karin reminded her, "you pissed off Juugo and if you go out there with him, he'll hunt you down and kill you."

Guren grumbled but agreed to what Karin said.

"And me, Karin?" Suigetsu smiled.

"You, I honestly don't care what you do," Karin said coldly, "Personally, I hope you die here. Just go out and find someone to kill."

"But Juugo…"

"Your liquid body will protect you," Karin reminded him, "I wish it didn't, but it will."

Suigetsu scoffed, but left as well.

"And what are you going to do, Karin?" Guren inquired. To that inquiry, Karin replied, "I'm going to stay in here and direct operations inside the base. You guys are the muscles, I'm the brains."

'It's a good thing you have brains, because you can't fight for shit,' Guren thought disdainfully.

"Now get going," Karin ordered. Guren nodded and left. Karin took a deep breath, calming herself down.

"I'm going to stop those bastards," Karin told herself, "I will not let them take my new Uzumaki brethren away from me."

(At a Different Section of the Fortress)

Tsuchiko's group came across several strange cannons. Nobody needed to speak, so Kurotsuchi and Kitsuchi watched as Tsuchiko sped through several Hand Seals. "Raiton: Rakurai!"

Bolts of lightning shot out of Tsuchiko's hands and tore through the cannons, one by one. The three Iwa nins quickly fled as the cannons exploded. They could already hear the Sora nins gasping and shouting in surprise.

"Hey, Tou-san," Kurotsuchi spoke up, "is this really what we are going to do? Why didn't the Namikaze tell us much of his plan other than causing chaos for the Sora nins?"

Kitsuchi sighed at Kurotsuchi's paranoia and told her, "All we can do is trust Namikaze-san, Kurotsuchi. The boy has proven himself trustworthy so far."

"Yeah, but still…," Kurutsuchi argued.

"I'm sure Namikaze-san has thought further ahead," Kitsuchi added, "This is more of a rescue mission and an assassination mission than anything else."

Tsuchiko nodded in agreement at this,"Yeah, he's rescuing the orphans and in the middle of hunting down Orochimaru. Both are pretty tall orders when you really factor in all the variables."

Kitsuchi grunted at this, "Like I said, all we can do is trust in Namikaze-san…I can't believe I'm saying that."

"I think we all can agree with that, Kitsuchi-san." Tsuchiko admitted. As hard as it still was to believe for Tsuchiko, she had to admit that the Namikaze was quite genuine in what he claimed he wanted to do; namely to end the hatred between Iwa and Konoha.

'I can't believe I'm actually admitting this,' thought Tsuchiko, 'but Ryota couldn't have picked a better future husband.'

Gathering chakra in her palms as she hurled another bolt of lightning, Tsuchiko found both her thoughts and her projectile attack interrupted by a spear shaped from wind.

"That nature manipulation!" gasped Kurotsuchi, "No, it can't be!"

When the smoke cleared from the collision of the two projectiles, a figure emerged. She had long black hair, light purple eyes, and a very familiar face. But what was noticeable about this woman was her sclera taking on a grey coloring while the rest of her body showed cracks and other signs of decay.

"I'm so sorry, kōhai," mourned Niwaishi, who was currently in Edo Tensei form, "I don't want to have to fight you, but the jutsu that brought me back from the dead prevents me from resisting."

Tsuchiko, Kurotsuchi, Akatsuchi and the rest of the Iwa nins present there had looks of mortified shock and disbelief at who they were seeing in front of them. However they were more mortified that their deceased dear friend and colleague was revived from the dead to be forced to fight them against her will.

(Deeper Inside the Fortress)

Konan coldly walked through the corridor, with spots of blood staining her dark blue sleeveless shirt and black pants. As she was walking, next to her were the numerous corpses of Oto-nin, Sora-nin, and freelance mercenaries, who learned the hard way that one can indeed die from a paper cut.

Or more, accurately, from dozens of deep paper cuts aimed at the right places, ranging from the jugular vein to the femoral arteries.

'They all did deserve to die,' justified Konan, 'They were accomplices to Orochimaru's kidnapping of innocent children.'

Of course, Konan had other reasons for participating in the siege of the airborne fortress. Doing so would provide opportunities to search through Orochimaru's lab for more specific information on his activities, assuming that there was a lab in the first place.

(Meanwhile, in another location in Sora)

After finishing several hand seals, Gari punched the building in front of him. "Bakuton: Jiraiken!"

A blast of red energy completely obliterated the building in front of him and several other buildings as well. Ittan sighed at this, "If they didn't know we're here before, they certainly do now."

Akatsuchi giggled in this, "Gari-san really goes all out in what he does, huh?"

'When he does, he overdoes it,' Ittan thought.

"Gari, we need to hide," Ittan reminded his comrade.

Gari nodded at this, and the three vanished before the Sora and Oto Nin could recover from Gari's attack. With this, along with the many explosions caused by Tenten, Tsuchiko, and Neji, the battle of Sora no Kuni was officially underway, and the entire area was now on high alert.

(In A Different Area)

A squad of Sora nins ran through the steel halls, looking for their attackers. Their leader was clearly furious at being attacked.

"I want them found!" He shouted. "Do you hear me? We will make them pay for mocking Sora!"

"Hai, Taicho!" All of his men shouted in unison. Unbeknownst to this squad of twelve men, however, a certain shinobi had already struck before they could even go through with their intentions. The captain suddenly felt dizzy. As his vision started to blur, he managed to make out several bugs resting on his arm. His eyes widened when he realized what was happening. Several screams told him that the same thing was happening to his men. Before the captain could react, a swarm of bugs enveloped his body, along with the rest of his squad.

Shino Aburame watched this happen with grim satisfaction. Chouji shuddered slightly at the sight while Shikamaru looked indifferent. Shikamaru looked at his friend.

"I know it's troublesome, but it's part of the job," Shikamaru reminded him, "After what you did to that Oto Nin during the Retrieval Mission, I thought you would understand that."

"I do," Chouji replied, "you just never get used to it."

Chouji watched as the bugs left the incapacitated men and returned to Shino. Chouji than asked out loud,"I wonder how Naruto copes with killing."

"It's not our place to ask," Shino interjected, "Why you ask? Because everyone has different ways of coping. Keep in mind that Naruto-san has to cope with many things, and not just killing. Therefore, it is logical that how he copes is…different."

Shikamaru nodded, remembering the day where Naruto announced his burden to Konoha.

"Isn't that the truth," Shikamaru muttered.

(Meanwhile)

Two squads of Oto Nin confronted Ōnoki, who had forgone subtlety after the explosions.

"He's just an old man!" One of the squad leaders shouted, "Kill him!"

Ōnoki frowned at this.

"Just an old man?" Ōnoki repeated, "You youngsters really aren't that well informed if you are unaware of my reputation."

Ōnoki sped through some hand seals. "Jinton: Genkai Hakuri no Jutsu!"

A cube with a sphere in the middle appeared. Ōnoki fired it at the two squads, who were all left wondering just what the technique was going to do. The cube then expanded and trapped both squads inside. The sphere then exploded, creating a controlled blast that was trapped inside the cube, killing both squads in one fell swoop.

Ōnoki smirked at the carnage he had just created. "I may be an old man, but I'm still Ōnoki of Both Scales."

(Meanwhile)

Utilizing the stealth skills that his beloved Anko had taught him, Naruto effortlessly snuck inside the Ancor Vatian. Naruto had a determined look on his face as he moved through the shadows.

All of you hang on, Naruto thought, referring to the Gonin no Uzumaki, I promise I will save you all.

(Hokage Mansion, Konoha)

Tsunade took a sip of her sake and looked at her guest. She studied her, hard, looking for any changes from her old personality. Tsunade could certainly understand why. Nobody was the same after spending an extended period of time with Danzo and his flunkies.

"That about sums it up, Shiho." Tsunade told her.

While physically Shiho had been healed up by Tsunade, she was still mentally hurt, especially when Suzume of all people had tortured her. Because of her mental injuries, along with Tsunade's ludicrous idea, Shiho could not bring herself to respond to Tsunade.

"I understand if this is all overwhelming to you, believe me, I do. Everyone feels overwhelmed when they are dealing with Danzo. Sarutobi-sensei was always so frustrated after every meeting with him…"

'He almost always took it out on us,' Tsunade frowned at the memory of Hiruzen always upping the training regime after talking with Danzo.

"…But listen, Shiho," Tsunade continued, "You need to understand that I need an answer now. You may be officially dead, but I don't think Danzo will ever be fully convinced, even if one of his best operatives reported it."

Shiho nodded at this.

"I will repeat the offer," Tsunade said, "I will hand you over to Jiraiya, who will train you in spying, espionage, and information gathering. You are one of the best workers in the Cryptology Department Konoha has had in a long time. We can put those talents to better use by having you made Jiraiya's apprentice in his spy network."

Tsunade then heard Shiho spoke. "What was that?" Tsunade inquired.

"My parents," Shiho said, "what about my parents?"

Tsunade gave Shiho a sympathetic look. "I'm afraid they will have to believe you are dead as well, Shiho. I'm sorry, but we cannot risk involving them in this. If Danzo did ever catch wind of this, they may be at risk. As long as they believe that you are dead, they are safe, and Danzo will not have any leads."

Shiho wanted to cry, but she was almost completely broken. Too broken to cry. "Isn't Jiraiya-sama a…a…"

"A pervert? Hell yeah he is." Tsunade said. "But I've made that idiot promise that he'll tone it down when he's training you…and just about all the other times he's with you."

'A promise he'll probably forget and then break,' Tsunade thought, 'Oh well, gives me an excuse to beat the crap out of him.'

Tsunade looked at Shiho with a calculating gaze. "Now then, Shiho, do you accept the offer, or not?"

Shiho looked at Tsunade with sad eyes.

"I don't have a choice," she said softly, "If I say no, he'll find me for sure."

Tsunade nodded, angry at Danzo for his actions. If that bastard didn't cover his tracks so well, she would have dealt with him a long time ago, something Sarutobi-sensei never could.

"Very well," Tsunade said, "I'll contact Jiraiya and have him reverse summon himself back to Konoha."

Tsunade got up from her seat. "Now where was that damn messenger toad.

(Meanwhile In Naruto's Mindscape)

Kurama was still chained and nailed to Kushina with Minato standing between them, relatively speaking.

"Now, Kushina-chan, as I was saying," Minato said, "Kurama and I have been discussing in depth how past events and reports that so many in Konoha and other places were made to believe don't add up as we found discrepancies one after another."

"Minato-kun," Kushina replied, "I remember as clear as day what happened days before and less than a few hours after Naruto's birth. So should I explain first how I remember things?"

"Well," Minato said as he thought about it, "I have a much longer story to relate so I suppose it would be better to hear the shorter one first."

"Shorter?" Kushina retorted.

"You have been missing in action and in suspended animation for over thirteen to fourteen years Kushina-chan so it's only realistic to say that your story will be shorter."

"Whatever," Kushina replied before she went into detailed to explain her version of what she remembered. Minato and Kurama listen closely to her explanation as the giant fox found no loopholes or discrepancies in her explanation. Before long, Kushina was done explaining what she remembers, leaving a silent but meditative Minato contemplating on her story.

"I can't help but believe how your story adds up and makes more since than anything," Minato confessed, "I'm trying to figure out how I and so many others were made to believe something entirely different."

"Speak for yourself," Kurama retorted.

"What do you mean by that?" Minato asked.

"What I mean is that I wasn't affected by the jutsu that led you and everyone else to believe what you all believed before hearing the truth of Kushina's story," Kurama revealed.

"You mean you knew all this time!?" Minato asked in disbelief.

"Of course I knew," Kurama replied, "While sealed in here and watching what was taking place outside I knew something was completely off. I said nothing about this because I knew that neither you nor your brat son of yours would believe me...plus I hate you; and your wife even more."

"Nice to know your hate of us isn't held against Naruto," Minato remarked.

"Shut up," Kurama retorted. Ignoring the fox, Minato turned to Kushina and asked, "Kushina-chan, tell me everything you know about the Uzumaki, their history, their ties, whatever enemies they had, everything. Perhaps something from my memories might be triggered from your explanation."

Kushina nodded and replied, "I'll tell you everything I can remember."

(With Tenten)

Tenten looked down at the streets and surveyed the damage she had caused, from the dead and wounded Sora-nin, to the burning buildings.

Combining these seeker arrows with exploding tags was a stroke of genius on my part. If he wasn't such an asshole I'd thank that Keisuke for designing such a brilliant bow and arrow. Tenten thought.

Tenten leapt across several buildings, looking for new victims to strike down. However, she suddenly froze, her eyes widening. Sitting on the other end of the roof she was currently on was a young man with shoulder-length white hair and sharklike teeth. He was casually drinking a bottle of water.

Suigetsu Hōzuki noticed Tenten and frowned.

"Damn," he muttered, taking the straw out of his mouth, "and I wanted to enjoy this for a bit longer."

Suigetsu then noticed the headband on Tenten's forehead. He smirked. "A Leaf-nin? Well I'll be damned, never thought they'd come right to me."

"You're going to wish I hadn't!" Tenten shouted, taking out several kunai.

Tenten tossed the kunai at Suigetsu, who simply sat there and smirked at his opponent.

What the hell is going on? Why isn't he dodging? Tenten wondered. Tenten soon got her answer, and it made her worried. Tenten watched in shock as the kunai simply passed through Suigetsu's body. Her mouth gaped as the supposed wounds became water, water that quickly reformed.

"But how…"

"I'm a part of the Hōzuki Clan." Suigetsu explained. "We are able to liquefy our body at will. If that's all you can do, then I'm afraid that I am the worst possible enemy for you."

Yep, Tenten thought, I'm in deep shit.

Suigetsu stood and and gripped the hilt of his sword that was tied around his waist. He then retrieve his sword from his sheath, and swung it around a few times to get a feel for his weapon of choice.

"My older brother was a master swordsman," Suigetsu commented, "I'm seeking to follow in his footsteps in mastering the art of the swords and being a skilled killer. I think I'll start by taking your life."

Tenten took out a sword and released one of her katanas that was sealed inside of it.

"He's going to be a dangerous opponent," Tenten decuded in an undertone, "I'm going have to find a way of hurting this guy...If I can at all."

Suigetsu didn't wait a minute longer as he rushed at Tenten. Tenten retorted by charging forward with her kakana in hand.

(With Juugo)

"…I'll kill a man next…no a woman…no a man…no…"

In an alleyway was a hulking young boy. Marks were starting to form on his skin. Juugo clutched his head, desperately trying to keep himself from losing it. However, deep down, even Juugo knew that this was a losing battle. The chances of him stopping himself from losing control were near-zero, especially with Kimimaro now dead.

"…A man…," Juugo continued, "…No a woman…no a man…no…the next one I kill will definitely be a woman…"

Meanwhile, Shikamaru, Chouji and Shino leapt across the rooftops, looking for their next target. Unbeknownst to the trio, the alley Juugo was in was directly in their path. And their good fortune was about to do a complete one-eighty.

"…The next one I kill will be a man…," Juugo muttered.

Juugo suddenly looked up, hearing a sound. He managed to catch a glimpse of a man leaping across the rooftops. His gaze immediately turned crazed and murderous.

"They're dead," Juugo growled insanely.

When the Konoha trio reached the edge of the roof they heard the sound of something crashing onto the roof. They all turned around and their eyes widened. Juugo stood on the other end, his mind completely taken over by his insanity and his body completely taken over by his Curse Mark.

"I recognize that look." Chouji noted, recalling his earlier battle with Jirobo.

Shikamaru nodded and said, "This guy's got a Curse Mark like those Oto guys who escorted Sasuke during the failed retrieval mission."

"You're all dead!" Juugo shouted. "I'm gonna kill you!"

Juugo charged them and swung his fist downwards. The trio leapt out of the way and barely dodged the attack. Shikamaru then heard the sound of men approaching.

"Something happened on the rooftop!" A man shouted. "Let's move!"

Juugo noticed the men approaching and glared maniacally at them. He hissed, "More lambs to the slaughter!"

A Sora nin saw Juugo and gasped, "That's Juugo of the Scales!"

"Oh shit, you're right!" another shouted.

"Let's get out of here before he kills us!"

Most of the Sora nins ran.

"You fools!" The leader shouted, "Don't run! Our enemies are right there."

"I'm gonna kill you first!" Juugo roared. The leader turned around and gasped. Juugo grabbed him by the throat.

"What are you doing?" the Sora group leader wheezed.

"Die!" Juugo shouted, crushing his throat. The three Konoha Nin watched in stunned silence.

"He killed his own comrade," Chouji muttered in shock.

"It's clear that he's not alright mentally," remarked Shino who was disturbed by this.

"Kami," Shikamaru too, "what the hell did Orochimaru do to that poor guy?"

All three were broken out of their thoughts when Juugo leapt back onto the roof. They all leapt out of the way and dodged his next attack. Shikamaru quickly retaliated. "Kagemane no Jutsu!"

Before Juugo could react, he was fully ensnared. Shikamaru smirked in victory and declared, "Kagemane complete."

Juugo growled in anger when he realized he could not move. Roaring in anger he managed to move, and break Shikamaru's hold over him in the process.

Shikamaru's eyes widened at this. "No freaking way."

Juugo ran towards Shikamaru in anger and screamed, "Die!"

Chouji, however, intervened. He moved in between Shikamaru and Juugo and punched him with an enlarged fist

"You aren't touching Shikamaru!" Chouji shouted.

"Chouji," Shikamaru found himself having flashbacks to the Retrieval Mission.

"Continue the mission without me, Shikamaru." Chouji ordered.

"What, no!" Shikamaru shouted. "I'm not abandoning you again!"

"Your Kagemane is useless against this guy. He managed to break through it with nothing but sheer power," Chouji reminded his best friend, "Leave this to me, I can take him."

Before Shikamaru could respond, Shino stepped in and offered, "Allow me to fight by his side, Shikamaru .Why you ask? Because it is the least I can do after missing the Retrieval Mission."

Shikamaru did not want to abandon Chouji a second time. But Chouji did have a point. With his Shadow Possession Jutsu useless, Shikamaru could not do much against Juugo.

"Be careful you two." Shikamaru said, leaving before he could change his mind.

Juugo recovered from Chouji's fist and glared at him. "You're dead for that." Juugo growled.

"You ready for this Shino?" Chouji asked.

"Of course I am." Shino responded.

As the two charged Juugo, a saddened Shikamaru moved across the rooftops.

'Why do I always end up being so useless?' Shikamaru thought.

(With Naruto)

Naruto, looking to save time, bit his thumb and raced through a set of hand signs before slamming his hand to the ground.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Naruto said before a burst of smoke appeared. When it cleared, two foxes stood in front of him.

"Tails, Rena; it's been a while," Naruto greeted.

"It sure has," Tails replied with his childish smile.

"What do you require of us?" Rena asked politely.

"We're presently in a flying battle fortress armed with advanced technology, weaponry and flying machines. I figured Tails would be best in studying and dismantling this fortress's systems and weapons, and hopefully find a way to destroy this fortress."

"Leave it to me!" Tails assured.

"Should you find a way to destroy this fortress," Naruto continued, "wait till I gave you the OK to do so as I have my comrades moving through this fortress looking for fighting the enemies responsible for the problems and kidnappings I'm dealing with in Iwagakure."

"Got it," Tails before he started spinning his two tails and flying off to search for the fortress's main systems. Turning to Rena, Naruto said, "I'll need you to track down where five of my young friends are being detained."

Naruto retrieved Tsukiiwa's white headband and allowed Rena to smell it. Once she memorized the scent, she nodded her head.

"I understand my mission," Rena said before running off to find the children. With the two foxes leaving to perform their tasks, Naruto took off to find Orochimaru. As he was running through the corridors and up a flight of stairs, he came into a large opening and was nearly impaled with a poison laced spear that he narrowly dodged.

"Impressive," a voice said, "Every other target I went after never saw that coming and died."

Naruto looked up to see a figure standing in the shadows on one of the platforms.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked cautiously.

"A person your mother Tsunade owes a huge debt to," the figure answered as he stepped out of the shadows, "A debt she will pay with your life."

"I'm afraid I don't follow," Naruto remarked.

"Your mother and I have an old score to settle," the man said, "And so that you know, I'm Yatagarasu."

"I heard of you from kaa-chan," Naruto recalled, "You're one of the people she fought a long time ago. Honestly, I thought she beat you to death."

"She almost killed me I admit," Yatagarasu said, "But thankfully I had allies in high places that didn't want to see me dead. And what better way to repay the Slug Princess than having her live with the fact that her only son was killed by the man she nearly killed."

"You lost to my kaa-chan in a one-on-one fight and now you seek revenge against her by seeking to kill me," Naruto stated coldly, "You're a true coward."

"Call me what you want but I'll have you dead before the end of the day," Yatagarasu replied.

"I won't be beaten so easily and I'll warn you once: step the hell out of my way or die," Naruto said while not wanting to waste time fighting the man.

"It's not like you have much of a choice but to fight me and die," Yatagarasu retorted before pulling out his sword and charging at Naruto. Naruto quickly summoned his narigata and rushed at Yatagarasu, engaging the man in fierce death dance as they clashed their respective weapons against each other.

(Elsewhere)

Amidst the chaos, Shikamaru was making his way running across the rooftops of the fortress. He didn't like that he had to continue on without Chouji but his friend and teammate insisted that he kept going while he dealt with Juugo. So far Shikamaru avoided be detected as he was seeking to conserve as much chakra as possible.

"This diplomacy mission proved to be the most troublesome mission by far that I've ever willingly accepted," Shikamaru commented to himself, "I should have just stayed home and enjoyed my time cloud watching."

"That will be the last of your worries," a female voice stated. Shikamaru looked to find Karin approaching him.

"You were quite stupid coming here," Karin said, "But I won't let you and your friends have your way."

"Listen girl," Shikamaru replied, "I'm really in a hurry to leave so why not tell me where those five children are being held?"

"They're my new Uzumaki brothers and sisters," Karin said, "And like I said..."

Chakra chains started appearing out of Karin's body with each chain having a kunai attack to them. Shikamaru was caught off guard by Karin calling Tsukiiwa and the other four children her new Uzumaki siblings. But seeing the situation he was in he had little time to question Karin further on that topic.

"You won't have your way!" Karin yelled out as she launched one of her chains at Shikamaru.

"Why do I always get the crazy females to fight," Shikamaru groaned in dismay.

(With Konan)

Konan passed the corpses of the Sora ninja she slayed with her paper release technique. Not a single one was spare from her wrath. At the same time though, she was still intrigued by the stories she heard about Naruto. Wanting to satisfy her curiosity and see N,'aruto in action for herself, To turned heels and made her way to find him.

'This will be my only chance to ascertain Itachi's story about the boy before we'll have to seal the Kyuubi that resides inside him,' Konan thought. Though she knew Itachi was a trusted member of the Akatsuki however, the fact that he engaged Naruto twice and on both occasions Naruto gave Itachi a good fight intrigued her considering how strong Itachi himself was. Added to her fascination of Naruto was that like Pain, he never lost a fight.

As she was making her way to find the ninja of interest, a young female in her late teens appeared in front of her. This teen wore a teal short kimono with a grey turtle neck and short sleeves with a jade-green rope belt around her waist, and red shorts, light purple wrist bands and navy blue sandals. Also, the strands of purple hair that framed her face were short.

"I'm Guren and I won't allow you to go further beyond this point," Guren stated. Konan looked at the young female with disinterest and replied, "I have neither the time nor patience with you child. Step out of my way or die."

"You and your team interfered with Orochimaru-sama's plans far enough," Guren added, "Now face me in combat!"

Konan was already taking steps to prepare to deal with the kunoichi in front of her. However, the older woman was surprised when she saw Guren crystallize a nearby pole at a molecular level and then causing it to shatter into crystalline dust as a result.

"I see," Konan realized with narrowed eyes despite her calm expression, "You possess the rare Crystal Release bloodline."

"And with it," Guren declared, "I'll use it to be rid of you and the rest of your team!"

"I have neither the time nor patience for you," Konan warned, "Step out of my way or suffer my wrath."

By using her crystal power, Guren summoned and freely manipulated her crystal constructs to create crushing walls around Konan. Not wanting to waste time fighting the young girl, Konan burst into a sea of flying paper, shocking Guren.

"What the!?" was all Guren could shout before Konan wasted no time in rushing to cocoon the young kunoichi. Making quick haste, Konan, while holding Guren in her paper cocoon, brutally slammed the girl several times into the steel pipes, wall and floor, effectively injuring the girl and knocking her unconscious. She then threw the unconscious girl out of her cocoon away from her like an unwanted pile of trash. Guren, bleeding from the head and mouth rolled on the floor a couple of times before coming to a complete stop while lying on her back. She had sustained a concussion, two broken ribs and a fractured left arm. Her crystal walls dissolved and melted away.

Konan then reassembled herself and continued on her way to find Naruto without giving Guren a second glance or word.