72. Bonding with Fū

Naruto yawned as he stretched his muscles, waking himself up more. He then proceeded to pull himself out of bed. His eyes then gravitated back to the bed and the sleeping figure still laying in it.

"Hmm…" Hinata moved slightly in bed at Naruto's awakening, but she did not seem to wake up. Instead, she moved slightly to her left and took up the central spot of the bed.

'Heh. She's so cute.' A small pink tint developed on Naruto's face as he chuckled to himself. It had been a while since they shared a bed together, but it was a nice feeling for him to be able to sleep together with her – it helped him fall asleep faster and be more refreshed!

Not wanting to disturb her sleep, Naruto quietly got dressed for the day and proceeded to walk out of the bedroom. He then walked into the main room of Fū's house. Sitting on the couch, with a book in her hand, was his fellow jinchūriki. She proceeded to put the book down, however, upon noticing his presence.

"Morning. Sleep well?" Fū questioned.

"Yes I did, thanks." Naruto replied with a smile. "Your bed was super comfy!"

"Well, I'm glad." She smiled back. Her smile then turned playful as her eyes went back to the bedroom door. "That Hinata girl is your girlfriend, right? I hope you two didn't do anything in that bed last night; that's the one I actually sleep in, so I hope I don't have to clean it too much and-"

"Okay, hold up; we didn't do anything like that!" Naruto quickly interrupted, his face turning bright red. "We literally just slept!"

"Suuuuuure." Fū giggled to herself, which only caused Naruto's blush to redden further. Her smile then started to lighten into a smaller, more natural one and she relaxed further into her couch. "I have to say, though, she seems nice. As does Shikamaru and Anko. You have good friends."

"I do." Naruto grinned in response.

He opened his mouth to say something else, but he proceeded to recall the conversation he had been having with Fū in the greenhouse room about her 'situation' in Takigakure, and how she immediately changed personas and topics the moment Anko walked into the room. A slight frown developed on his face as he began to shake his head.

"So, do you think they're good people, then? That good humans exist?" He asked.

"Huh?" Fū blinked in response before starting to frown: "I mean, sure, yeah. I just said they seemed nice."

"Hopefully you can get to know them better." Naruto said, smiling again. "And maybe you can find more people-"

"Naruto, I get what you're trying to say, but please stop." Fū spoke-up, her frown turning into a scowl. "I've spent so long just trying to find someone in Taki who gave a shit about me as a person, and I couldn't find someone. The closest is Shibuki, and even then, he's just someone who feels bad about me and doesn't seem to go beyond that I'm happy you found people in your life like that and I believe that they're good people, but don't try and push me into finding someone here. It's not gonna happen!"

Naruto's smile disappeared as he shook his head: "You never know-"

"I do know!" Fū interrupted again, her voice raising. "Just stop dammit!"

Silence filled the living room for a moment. Fū turned away from Naruto and reached for her book again. Naruto looked downward, frowning, as he brought his hand to his face in thought.

The two remained quiet – Fū trying to focus on her book while Naruto thought to himself – for roughly two minutes. After getting his thoughts together, Naruto sighed and shook his head.

"I'm not trying to step over my boundaries or anything. Sorry." He apologized. Fū looked up from her book and back at the blonde. "I don't really know your situation anything other than what you've told me. I shouldn't be an ass and keep pushing for something. I'm sorry."

"… There's nothing to apologize for you." Fū said with a sigh. "I'm sorry for biting back on you. I know you're trying to help and I appreciate that. It's just… I don't know. I'm not going to find this help here in this village."

"… Well, at least you have people like me who will always be there if you need me." Naruto offered with a smile.

The mint-haired kunoichi put down her book back on the table again and proceeded to stand up. Her eyes started to slightly water, but she quickly shook her head and stopped herself. A large grin developed on her lips as she proceeded to hug Naruto, who quickly returned it.

"Thanks Naruto." She told him.

"Anytime." He replied.

The two pulled away from their hug and smirked at each other. They were quiet for a moment, but the tension that had been in the room had dissipated.

Naruto's eyes proceeded to wander over the room towards the door to the wide-open room that Fū used to plan her 'pranks'. A mischievous grin developed on the blonde's face as he turned back to face her.

"So, I've heard all these stories about you being this prankster and shit, but how legit are you?" Naruto asked.

"Pretty legit, if you ask me. I've got a creative mind for these things." Fū replied with a similar mischievous grin of her own. "Why you asking?"

"I'd like to compare, if you will." The grin on his face proceeded to widen.

Both jinchūriki rushed into Fū's 'planning room' as they began to work immediately on some sort of prank.

Shibuki sighed peacefully as he put on his casual attire. He had a lot of paperwork to get done with today, but he decided that he wanted to get in a good walk around the village before really getting started on anything to give his mind and body a good break. The young village leader was still uncertain about how to best handle the new information given to him about Akatsuki and thought it would be a good idea to relax slightly before figuring out the best course of action.

After getting fully dressed, Shibuki proceeded to walk out of the 'Village Leader's Mansion'. The moment he stepped out of his residence, however, he felt himself step on a trip wire.

Immediately, he turned around and reached to his side for a kunai, prepared to fight. Instead, he watched as various seals on the outside walls of his mansion started to light up. They proceeded to activate, and covered his mansion in orange-and-green paint, depicting various foxes and horned beetles.

"Shibuki-sama!" The village leader turned his head to see Zagi rushing over to the building, a scowl on his face. "So I see you were hit by this 'prank' as well."

Shibuki covered his mouth, resisting the urge to snort in laughter: "I suppose I did mention to Fū that I wanted to paint my home." He was unable to control his laughter after a moment and it started to come-out. "Heh. I guess she got a head start on it for me."

"… Well I'm glad you find it amusing." Taki's Jōnin Commander sighed in response. "I didn't find it very amusing. Neither did many of the shops that got hit by this prank."

"Oh?" Shibuki's laughter faded as a curious look developed on his face. "How many other places were painted?"

Anko, Shikamaru, and Hinata were openly gaping as they, along with the two jinchūriki, walked through the village. Nearly every store in Taki's market district was covered in either green or orange paint. Both Naruto and Fū were snickering to each other as they passed more-and-more houses.

"Okay, didn't you both say you worked on those just this morning? How the fuck did you get these many buildings painted?" Shikamaru asked.

"Fūinjutsu." Naruto replied simply as he pocketed his hands. "Easily the most useful skill anyone could have!"

"I must agree with that. Man, we were able to hit so many more houses than I ever could!" Fū stated proudly as she clapped her hands together. "Just imagine what other damage we can cause together!"

Anko's 'wide-open' expression immediately vanished and she immediately cracked her knuckles, her eyes moving back-and-forth between Naruto and Fū: "Okay, I'm just gonna say this once; try and prank me and I'll kick both of your asses faster than either of you can say Taki. So plan ahead but I better damn well be not one of your targets!"

Instantly, both Naruto and Fū froze in place as Anko began to leak killing intent. Both started to laugh nervously, rubbing the back of their heads respectively.

"D-Don't worry, that's not gonna happen!" Fū said quickly.

"Y-Yeah. Y-You're on my good side, A-Anko-sensei!" Naruto added.

"Damn straight I am!" She said proudly.

"Wow." Shikamaru shook his head, snickering to himself. "All that confidence just flew out the window."

"In their defense, Anko-sensei is still an intimidating woman." Hinata noted, giggling as well.

Naruto was about to respond to their conversation, but he stopped himself as he became aware of the looks the villagers were giving them. A few of the Taki citizens were starting to whisper loudly as they walked by. Two of them, sitting on a bench, were being particularly loud with their opinions.

"That bug bitch really messed up the entire marketing district! This is why no one likes her! Well, that and her being a demon and all."

"To think she's with those Konoha shinobi. Ugh. They're gonna end up hating our village!"

"I heard that Kamoshida-san saw that blonde-haired Konoha shinobi with her when she was doing her pranks!"

"Really? Ugh, she's infected one of the Konoha shinobi then. That village is going to hate us when he comes back."

A scowl developed on Naruto's face as he stopped walking. The rest of his team and Fū stood in place for a moment as Naruto shook his head and started walking over to the two loud Taki civilians.

"I'll be back. Give me a moment." He said.

"Don't waste your breath, Naruto." Fū hissed. "They're not gonna change or anything if you yell at them. Just let them be and move on!

"She's right." Anko spoke-up over him.

The blonde turned his attention to his former jōnin-sensei to yell at her for that statement, but his words died on his tongue as he watched her crack her knuckles and walk forward.

"And since they're not gonna change or shit, let me yell at them and put the fear of god in their minds instead." Anko stated sharply as she walked forward.

The group of four stood still for a moment as they watched Anko reach the bench. She immediately stomped on the ground in front of them, which caused them to divert their attention away from each other and towards the Konoha jōnin.

"Listen here assholes. You two must think mighty highly of yourselves to talk shit with each other while the person you're shitting on is just walking by! You've got a lot of nerve!" She growled. "However, just cause you two can talk shit freely doesn't mean you're free from consequences and, for the next few minutes, I'm your consequence!"

Fū's eyes widened as she watched Anko lay into the two Taki civilians, berating them for their words and judgment. She then heard snickering, which caused her to turn her attention towards Shikamaru.

"Heh, they look like they're gonna piss themselves." Shikamaru noted.

"Anko-sensei is the second-in-command of the T&I Department still, after all. She's good at this." Hinata said as she brought her hand to her face to conceal her laughter. "Maybe next time they'll think more when they decide to 'gossip'."

"Serves them right." Naruto said as he crossed his arms, scowling.

Fū stood there awkwardly as she watched Anko finish up her lecture. The two Taki civilians would turn their attention from her to Fū and Naruto. She thought she could see one of them mouth 'I'm sorry' before they both bolted away.

Watching someone defend her like that was something she was not used to. Fū was uncertain exactly what she was supposed to say or do.

"So, that went well." Anko said with a chuckle as she walked back to the group. "I think I went a little overboard, but whatever. Bastards like that need lessons drilled into their heads."

"Nah, you just yelled at them and leaked killing intent. That was just enough." Shikamaru said.

"You… didn't have to do that." Fū said quietly, frowning.

"I mean, I didn't, but I did. And Naruto would have if I didn't. As would Shikamaru or Hinata." Anko said with a shrug of her shoulders. The other three Konoha shinobi nodded their heads in agreement. "I don't know these people and they're being jackasses, so I felt more than obligated to tell them off."

"… Well, thanks." Fū let a small smile cross her lips. "That was pretty cool, not gonna lie."

"Hell yeah. Cause I'm the coolest." Anko declared.

"So, the market seems kinda boring right now." Shikamaru spoke-up, turning his attention towards Fū. "Got anything else you wanna do right now?"

"To be honest," Anko spoke as she cracked her knuckles, "I'm still a little heated after going off on those shitheads. How about a spar to cool down?"

"A spar?" Fū repeated the word as a smirk developed on her lips. "Sure. I haven't had a good real battle in a little while. I'm down!" She then turned around towards the lake surrounding the village. "Follow me. I got a perfect spot!"

Naruto, Anko, Hinata, and Shikamaru all nodded in understanding as they followed her onto the water.

Fū had led the Konoha shinobi onto the lake towards a spot of water on the lake that was seemingly colored a darker shade of blue than the rest of the surrounding water. The Nanabi jinchūriki walked directly and made the 'ram' hand sign. Immediately, she began to descend into the water. The Konoha shinobi followed behind, going onto the same spot and making the hand sign. They, too, started to sink into the water.

The group proceeded to land in a large, open cave. The walls and ceilings of the cave had sharp, pointed onyx-colored rocks, but the surface of the cave was flat. Despite the hole at the top of the cave being the only entrance and exit to it, the cave was quite lit.

"I look the aesthetic here." Anko noted with a smirk. "This places seems kinda quaint."

"There's actually a few places like this around lake around Taki. This one is just a little sparring area, but some of the other caves serve different purposes, like connecting to the tunnels underneath the village that can take you to the base of the tree that our village was built around, as well as to the entrance to the village." Fū explained. She then rubbed the back of her sheepishly. "I probably shouldn't have told you that, cause now you all can probably find a way to get into the village without help. But whatever – I assume you all are fairly trustworthy and aren't gonna try and lead a Konoha invasion on the place."

"You know we wouldn't. Also, we'll pretend we didn't hear any of that." Hinata said with a giggle.

"I mean, to be honest, I probably will genuinely forget that fact." Naruto admitted with a shrug.

"Even better!" Fū snorted in response. She then walked forward, creating some distance between herself and the Konoha shinobi. "So, anyone have a preference how we do this? Do we want to do individual sparring one match at a time, do a 'everyone for themselves' kind of thing, or teaming up?"

"Well, we have odd numbers, so we can't do team stuff." Shikamaru said as he pocketed his hands and walked away as well, creating more distance. "And I tend to find free-for-all stuff kinda too chaotic. So let's do some one-on-one sparring."

"Then you mind if I get in on the action first?" Anko asked as she cracked her knuckles.

"Well the sparring was your idea. It's only fair." Hinata said with a giggle.

The former genin of Team Three stepped backwards alongside the wall of the cave. Anko reached for the large scroll on her back. A poof of smoke filled the air as she unsealed the scroll, revealing the Shibuki blast-sword.

"Ooh. Fancy. I think you should be a fun challenge." Fū grinned as she brought her hands together and ran through a few hand signs. "Ready?"

"Damn straight!" Anko replied as she gripped her sword.

"Secret Ninjutsu: Scaled Sneak Jutsu!"

Fū took in a deep breath before exhaling quickly, releasing a fine, white powder into the air between herself and Anko. Upon exiting her mouth, the power was illuminated, creating a blinding light that filled the entire cave.

"Ah!" Anko groaned, closing her eyes momentarily.

"Damn, that's bright!" Naruto hissed as he turned away.

"Is that light coming straight from that powder? How is it so bright?" Shikamaru grumbled, closing his eyes.

'This jutsu… this would be overwhelming for me if I had my Byakugan activated.' Hinata realized as she struggled to focus on the two women. 'This… this could be another counter to it. I should ask Fū-san to spar next to try and combat this.'

Noticing that Anko was currently immobile, Fū rushed forward at her, attempting to land a punch directly on her. Just as her right fist was about to make contact, Anko, struggling to open her eyes, quickly blocked with her left arm. Fū then punched again with her left fist. Anko was unable to block this one in time and was sent backwards slightly.

"Wind Style: Drilling Air Bullets!"

Fū opened her mouth once again and released, this time, bullets of compressed air at Anko. Before they could make contact, however, Anko made a hand gesture, causing the scroll of her blast-sword to unravel and form a barrier around her.

"Explosive Blade Technique: Explosion Barrier!"

The explosive tags on the scroll activated, causing a massive detonation before the air bullets could make contact. The resulting explosions caused massive wind and dust to scatter on the battlefield, blowing both Anko and Fū backwards slightly. The white powder Fū released also dissipated. The two kunoichi readjusted themselves as they prepared to get into position to strike at each other again.

"So I did know that you were starting to be called 'Mitarashi Anko of the Blast-sword', but I guess the name is true. That sword is cool shit!" Fū stated with a grin.

"You haven't even seen half of what it can do." Anko grinned back, gripping her sword. "That white powder thing was pretty cool yourself."

"Thanks. It's a natural chemical that Chōmei produces in his body that releases light in a way that can blind literally anyone. Literally the perfect defensive tool for an insect. Or in my case, the perfect offense!" The jinchūriki noted as she made the same hand signs.

Within seconds, Fū opened her mouth and exhaled the same fine, white powder from her mouth. Anko quickly made hand signs of her own before releasing the Wind Style: Great Breakthrough. A gust of wind rushed at the oncoming powder, causing it to dissipate before it could brighten up the room. Anko then charged forward at Fū, swinging her Shibuki blast-sword. Fū moved away in time, but Anko made a hand sign, causing the scroll on the sword to unravel slightly and send a few explosive tags floating in the air towards the jinchūriki. She proceeded to jump into the air, avoiding the resulting explosions.

"It's good to see that powder is easy to blow away when you're just starting to use it." Anko noted.

"That's fair, I suppose. However, that's not even remotely all I can do." Fū retorted.

The jinchūriki was still airborne. Before she could start her descent downward, her body started to become encased in red chakra. Two tails of chakra developed around her body, but the tails almost resembled wings. These 'wings' proceeded to flap and Fū remained airborne.

"Hold on; that's the Nanabi's chakra, right?" Hinata asked, her eyes widening. "And she's using it to fly?"

"Well, the Nanabi is a beetle. It does have wings." Shikamaru mumbled in response softly. He, too, was focused on the eyes.

"Holy shit, that's so cool!" Naruto exclaimed before he closed his eyes for a moment. 'Dammit Kurama, I wish I could do that too!'

"I am a FOX. How the hell would I be able to fly?" The Kyūbi retorted.

"So, you're using the Nanabi's power. And you can fly cause of it." Anko noted. She readjusted her sword's position so she could make a series of hand signs. "Guess I ought to step up my game for a moment. Fire Style: Flare Aura!"

Chakra surrounded Anko's body, forming into the shape and color of red flames. She then proceeded to clap her hands, creating circular fireballs out of the fire concentrated in her hands.

"Fire Style: Hellfire Rain!"

Anko proceeded to chuck the fireballs into the air at Fū. The jinchūriki proceeded to fly away, avoiding the attacks. Anko proceeded to run through hand signs, causing the fireballs in the air to change direction and launch themselves at Fū once again. She then proceeded to fly upwards, avoiding the attacks once again.

Fū continued flying until she reached the ceiling of the cave. She then rocketed forwards toward Anko's body. Her body began to rotate in a circular pattern as she extended her right fist outward.

"Takigakure Hurricane!"

Anko jumped away just in time; Fū's fist collided against the ground, creating a massive crater that caused rock and dust to scatter. As Anko moved backwards and was trying to adjust her position, Fū proceeded to fly directly at Anko once again. The Konoha jōnin blocked her punch with the hilt of her sword, but the force knocked her backwards slightly.

Fū punched again, taking advantage of Anko's stunned state. Before her fist connected with Anko's face, however, Anko was able to strike at the ground with her blast-sword. The ground underneath Fū exploded just as Anko was knocked back, causing the jinchūriki to get blasted away as well.

Both kunoichi recovered on the ground within seconds. They were starting to breathe a little heavily, but both had an excited grin on their faces.

"Gotta say, your taijutsu hits hard. I'm very impressed." Anko noted.

"Thanks." Fū replied. "Your reflexes are great as well. You make for an interesting opponent."

As they both prepared to strike back at each other, Naruto, Hinata, and Shikamaru looked at Anko and Fū intently, all watching the fight in amazement.

"Fū fights hard. I can definitely see she's a capable shinobi." Shikamaru noted with a smirk. "Heh, she'd be pretty fun to fight against I think."

"I'm already interested after seeing that white powder jutsu." Hinata admitted, her right hand going up to her chin in thought. "I need to learn as much as I can about a potential Byakugan counter."

"Hey, if you all are wanting to fight Fū, then get in line! I call next!" Naruto declared sharply.

All three members of Team Three watched intently as their former sensei continued her spar with the Nanabi jinchūriki.

"Father, do you sense that?"

Kariudo Zagi was sitting down in a chair in his home, reading a book, when he turned up at the sound of a voice. He looked up and saw his daughter, Asuna, standing in the room with a concerned look on her face.

"What specifically are you speaking of?" He questioned.

"Seriously?" Asuna blinked in response before frowning. "You don't sense all of the new chakra signatures that seem to be appearing in the village? I feel them. I really feel-"

"It's probably the Konoha shinobi that came here yesterday." Zagi said quickly with a chuckle. "I'm sure you're just getting a feel for their chakra signatures."

"Huh?" His daughter blinked again before shaking her head. "No. Hell no. I remembered when they arrived yesterday. This isn't that. I'm getting MULTIPLE new chakra signatures."

"That's not the case." Zagi, again, replied. "Actually, I think it just feels like multiple chakra signatures. If I recall correctly, I think they may be sparring right now?"

"Sparring?" Asuna's frown deepened.

"Surely you sense Fū's chakra, correct? Her channeling the Nanabi? The other signatures are the Konoha shinobi with her, trying to keep up. Feels quite powerful, doesn't it?" Zagi said with a chuckle. "I'd hate to have to fight on their level."

"I… suppose that could be the case." Asuna sighed in response.

"Is that all you wanted to talk about? Would you like to get lunch soon?" Her father questioned.

A small smile developed on Asuna's lips as she nodded her head: "If you want to, sure. Let me get ready though, okay?"

With those words, the girl left the room, leaving Takigakure's Jōnin Commander alone. With his daughter gone, he brought his hands to his face and sighed, shaking his head.

"Asuna, please do not hate me for this. I have to do what he wants me to do…" Zagi mumbled to himself.

He did sense the same multiple chakra signatures entering the village, just as his daughter had. That was his signal. Tonight was going to be the night. It was going to happen.

"Taki, remain strong against this onslaught." Zagi closed his eyes in prayer. "And for the love of God, may one of you kill me before I do more harm than I desire…"

With another deep sigh, Zagi opened his eyes and began getting prepared to go out with his daughter for what he expected to be the last time.

"That was some good shit. You're a hell of a fighter." Anko stated with a laugh.

After Anko and Fū had completed their spar, and Naruto, Hinata, and Shikamaru had gotten their own chance to fight her, they returned to her home for a late lunch to celebrate. She proceeded to prepare sukiyaki for the group over a hot pot in her kitchen.

"As are all of you." Fū replied with a smirk. "I appreciated the chance to fight, though. Honestly, it's been a little while since I've gotten a chance to fight much. Felt like I was getting a little rusty, so that was good for me!"

"You call that rusty?" Shikamaru asked.

"Well, I never go on missions here." She grumbled. "Honestly, the last time I got a good chance to fight was back when Utakata visited. You guys gave me another needed chance to actually test myself!"

"Oh yeah. How'd that go? When Utakata came around?" Naruto asked with a smile. "I haven't seen him in a while."

"He was a lot of fun. A tad serious, but that Hotaru girl he was with helped balance that out." Fū noted with a chuckle. "By the way, they're totally a couple, right? I couldn't tell."

"They have to be." Hinata said with giggle. "I can tell that they seriously care about each other."

"Don't think they're official yet, though. Utakata seemed fairly oblivious to her feelings for him… like another jinchūriki I know." Shikamaru commented with a shrug.

"… Hey!" Naruto scowled at his best friend. "I'm the one who asked her out, y'know?"

"Roughly a year late on that." Anko added with a snort. "Naruto, from the day I met you guys, I could tell she was crushing on you hard. How you never noticed I'll never know."

A blush developed on Hinata's face as she poked her fingers together: "Well I think I wasn't that… um… obvious when around him…"

"Fuck that." Anko quickly refuted that.

"Incredibly obvious to his face." Shikamaru added with a smirk.

Fū snickered to herself as her eyes moved from Hinata to Naruto's slightly red-tinted face: "I can't really comment, but I don't think you both would be as red as you are if they weren't right."

"Sh-Shut up." Naruto grumbled.

Fū continued to laugh. Her eyes moved away from Naruto towards his other friends. A smile developed on her lips as she watched Anko and Shikamaru laughing and continuing to tease their friends, who were both getting even redder.

The Nanabi jinchūriki was really starting to used to their company. She was already hoping that the four would be staying in Taki for a little while longer.

"K-Kaku-"

The Takigakure shinobi was unable to finish his statement; he coughed up blood and fell to the ground. He joined a pile of other Takigakure shinobi – all lying in piles of blood.

A smirk developed on Kakuzu's face as he walked forward into a small building at the roots of the giant tree. Hidan and Suien followed him inside the building; the former had a bored look on his face while the latter was looking at the building with excitement.

The inside of the building was a single plain, basic wooden room. The only thing of note was a small glass bottle with a cork that was entirely filled with water. Hidan rolled his eyes as his eyes focused on the bottle.

"So, what's so special about that water that those Taki guys were guarding this thing?" Hidan asked.

"That 'water' is the Hero's Water; it is produced from the tree only once every hundred years and has the ability to increase a person's chakra tenfold!" Suien snapped back in response. His eyes then moved to the water in fascination as a grin developed on his lips. "I always wanted to drink that water, even once. It was gonna be a crux for my plan to take down this village."

"You can have some of it. Fair warning though; this water is supposed to shorten a person's lifespan after consumption." Kakuzu said with a shrug.

"We're shinobi; we aren't supposed to live long lives. Only accomplish what we need to and live after a life of fulfillment." Suien shrugged his shoulders.

"… What a simple view on life." Kakuzu chuckled to himself as brought the water bottle to his mouth. He lowered his mask and proceeded to drink, chugging the water until it reached a fourth of what it had initially possessed. He then tossed the bottle to Suien. "Drink what's left."

"Hmph. Was hoping for more honestly, but this should do for the job." Suien frowned but nodded his head as he proceeded to chug what was left.

"Shortening your life for this thing, Kakuzu?" Hidan's eyes narrowed on his partner, a look of amusement on his face. "Didn't think you'd ever be willing to risk your life like that."

"I am an immortal being, as are you. What exactly does it mean to 'shorten' my life?" Kakuzu said with a laugh. With his mask pulled down, Hidan and Suien were able to see the large, malicious grin on his lips. The former Takigakure shinobi could feel the massive amount of chakra that was rushing through his body. "This is only a tool to assist in our goal. By the end of this night, our leader will have access to the Kyūbi and Nanabi jinchūriki and this blasted village will be burned to the ground."

Within seconds, the door to the pavilion opened up. Kariudo Zagi walked into the building, a frown on his face. His eyes focused on the empty bottle in Suien's possession before they moved to Kakuzu.

"So… you did steal it." He sighed.

"Zagi, I noticed that no other Takigakure shinobi were alerted to our presence other than the guards that were stationed here already. You have my gratitude." Kakuzu said. "Now… to finish off your debt. I need you to lead an attack on the village leader."

"Shibuki-sama…" Zagi mumbled the leader's name before he nodded his head solemnly. "Understod…"

"Suien, I want you to lead your army into the village and attack. Create as much havoc as you can." Kakuzu requested.

"No need to tell me twice." Suien exclaimed as he cracked his knuckles.

"And us? We going to just go and capture the jinchūriki?" Hidan asked.

"Of course. However…" The malicious grin on Kakuzu's face widened. "If we find any Takigakure shinobi along the way… I would be very pleased to end their lives as painfully as possible."

"Hell yeah!" Hidan exclaimed. "That's my language right there! You maybe a heathen, Kakuzu, but Jashin-sama is looking down on you with respect right now."

Kakuzu ignored his partner's words as he started to walk out of the pavilion. His eyes focused on the roots of the tree and looked up, seeing its base. He shook his head, chuckling to himself.

"Funny. This has always been one of my goals for the past fifty or so years, but I had put the thought behind me. I never normally indulge in these wants, but I see no harm in doing it this time." He mumbled to himself, his eyes steeling as he tightened his hands into fists. The chakra from the Hero's Water was channeling throughout his body; it felt to Kakuzu almost as if it was begging to get released. "Tonight, I finally indulge. Tonight, I get my revenge on the village that threw me out. Tonight, Takigakure burns to the ground entirely."