Chapter 60: Aurora Part III

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

"Hmm…."- Bijuu

Chapter 60:

Aurora Part III

Kakuzu had his eyes closed as he sat on top of a middle sized crate, feeling at ease. The fact that there were burning buildings as well as a multitude of corpses on the ground around him didn't bother him in the slightest. Nor did the many screams still echoing throughout the night in this one peaceful town in the Land of Wind.

On the ground next to him was one ginning Hidan, a peculiar symbol drawn below him. The fact that his scythe was currently sticking out of his chest didn't bother him in the slightest.

"This is the good life! Don't you think so, Kakuzu?"

Said man finally opened his eyes before sparing Hidan a single glance. He didn't respond as he turned his attention up to the night sky. It had been around two days since they had confronted Sasuke near Iwa. Since then, two villages in the Land of Wind had suffered a similar fate as the ones in the Land of Earth. This time, though, he and Hidan had seen to their destruction personally. Well, them, and an entire army of Jashin followers that they had contacted with Hidan's help.

Kakuzu didn't particularly mind them at this moment. They were pretty much doing his dirty work for him. For free. So he got the money while they did all the work. It was a sweet deal as far as he was concerned. He could do without their talking, though. But oh well. Nothing was ever perfect. There were sacrifices in every endeavor.

"Most of the town has already been cleared, Hidan. Where are our next targets!?"

Hidan, who was in the process of standing back up, looked up at his fellow Jashin follower with a matching grin. "We're heading straight for Suna, my friend! We shall then teach those infidels the true power of Jashin-sama!"

Kakuzu resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he stood up from the crate. He would never understand Hidan or those like him. As far as they were concerned, the destruction and killing they were causing was enough payment.

'That only means more money for me then,' he thought before walking up to Hidan.

"Oi, let's go. We have to get a move on if we want to keep with our schedule."

Hidan merely grunted at this, pulling out his scythe from his chest. He was far too excited to talk back to Kakuzu right now.

Turning his attention to the other Jashin follower, Kakuzu said, "And you. Tell your forces to finish the townspeople here as soon as possible. Our real target is waiting for us."

The man smirked at this. "You have truly found yourself a great partner in him, Hidan! Of that, I have no doubt."

Hidan chuckled as he threw his arm around an annoyed Kakuzu. "Don't I know it! He used to be a money loving infidel when I first met him. But his eyes are opening to the wisdom of Jashin-sama everyday! Soon, he will be one of the best among us!"

'That'll be the day,' Kakuzu thought, snorting in disgust inside his head before shaking Hidan's arm off. The bounty hunter didn't bother to say anything else as he turned away from them, intending on making his way for Suna as soon as possible.

Seeing this, Hidan quickly followed with an indignant shout which Kakuzu ignored, preferring to keep to his thoughts.

Thanks to Sasori's intel, Kakuzu knew that sneaking into Suna wasn't going to be a hard ordeal. It was the getting out that was going to be tricky. But since the Sandaime Kazekage was no longer in the world of the living, Suna's forces weren't as strong anymore. Kakuzu was only a bit saddened that he couldn't turn the Kazekage's corpse in to collect the man's bounty. Sasori was far too obsessed with those puppets for that.

Either way, wrecking habit in Suna wasn't their only mission either. They already had a specific target to collect. Kakuzu could only hope that the Uchiha didn't get in their way again. If he did, the chances of completing their mission successfully decreased significantly.

But the man wasn't able to focus on his thoughts any longer as Hidan's chatter brought his attention back to the real world.

'This is going to be another long trip,' Kakuzu thought with a sigh as Hidan continued to talk.

And just like that, the Zombie combo made its way towards Suna, leaving behind a destroyed town and many innocent deaths.

"They sure do have a knack for destruction alright."

"It's why they're the best suited for this sort of mission. We can only hope that things in Suna go just as well."

Tobi didn't reply, his lone sharingan focusing on the destruction in front of him. There was once a time when such a sight would have made him throw up. But those innocent days were no longer here. Reality had seen to that.

Turning his attention away from the burning town, Tobi began to make his way down from the hill he was on, Zetsu following suit.

"So," White Zetsu began, "you're not going to Suna then?"

"There's no need for me to do such a thing," Tobi replied calmly. "Nori has already sent enough pieces to make sure that the plan goes without a hitch. We only have to wait for Kakuzu and Hidan to pick our target up before we can move on with the next phase of our plans."

"So Nagato-"

"Is no longer our concern," Tobi interrupted. "With the information I now have, Nagato no longer serves any purpose to me."

"Maybe so, but he still has the Rinnegan."

Tobi nodded. "Yes. And while I would love nothing more than to take it from him, Naruto and Sasuke have made it clear that they aren't going to stand by that. But with the retrieval of those eyes no longer being prudent, I see no reason to sacrifice what resources we have at the moment for a pointless task when we can be moving our plan forward like we are right now. But don't worry. Soon, those eyes will be back in our possession. For the moment, though, let them think that they have the upper hand there. We will simply strike when the time is most appropriate."

Black Zetsu didn't reply, already knowing that he wasn't going to convince Tobi. And with Nori now in the picture, he knew not to overstep his bounds lest his own plans be compromised. And it was far too early for that.

Looking back at them, the masked Uchiha stopped in his tracks. "You two already know what to do as well. Head for Suna. Be ready to bring the target to me after Kakuzu and Hidan have apprehended him."

"You got it!" White Zetsu replied excitedly as the two began to disappear into the ground. They wanted to make sure that they arrived before either Kakuzu and Hidan, just to make sure things were still going underway properly.

Watching them go, Tobi closed his single sharingan eye before activating Kamui, leaving no trace that he had ever been there.

"You sure did take your time, Uchiha."

Sasuke shot Miyuki a look of annoyance. He, Naruto, Jiraiya, and Sarutobi were inside Miyuki's dimension, having convened a meeting as per his request.

"It wasn't by choice, believe me."

"What happened in Iwa?" Naruto asked. "There have been many rumors going around. And then the attacks in the Land of Wind. No one knows what's going on anymore."

Sasuke frowned. "It's Nori. He's back to his old tricks again."

Jiraiya sighed. "What did he do this time?"

"He's using Iwa to stage the next shinobi war," Sasuke stated, dropping the first bomb on them all. "Using those women of his, he destroyed two towns in the Land of Earth all the while making the Tsuchikage believe that it was Suna trying to send a message of war to him. That is why he declared war on Suna a month ago. The Akatsuki also stepped into the picture, acting like some sort of mercenary group for the Tsuchikage so that he doesn't have to get his hands dirty directly. With an army of that Jashin cult, they've been rampaging the Land of Wind. But their ultimate target is Suna. I thought I could track their movements and put an end to all of this before it even began. But they had already set up sleeper agents in the towns they targeted. When I got there, it was already too late."

That certainly didn't lift anyone's mood up.

"But Suna has to do something about this," Jiraiya said with a shake of his head. "They must know of the trespassers in their country!"

Sasuke shrugged. "I'm not too sure of the situation over there. But I have heard rumors that the daimyo paid them a visit two days ago. I don't know about what, but it seems like they had domestic problems going on."

"Yeah, apparently there are rumors circulating that the Kazekage was killed," Naruto replied. "Ero-sennin got the information a couple of days too. But none of them mentioned anything about the daimyo showing up in Suna."

"He must have gotten there after the information was handed to me," Jiraiya said with a sigh. "But it no longer matters. With the daimyo in Suna, that can only mean one thing."

Sarutobi nodded. "Yes. If your intel is correct, Jiraiya, then that means that a new Kazekage has been chosen."

Now that surprised both Naruto and Sasuke.

"Are you sure about that, jiji?" Naruto asked.

Sarutobi nodded. "Yes. Not unexpected really. These are troubling times. Suna wouldn't last for long without a Kazekage. But this also means that we have to be careful in how we handle this situation. We could end up driving Suna against us."

Naruto couldn't help but agree. But thinking of Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro, Naruto knew that he couldn't just stand still and let a crisis like this go without doing anything to stop it.

"That may be so, but we're still moving for Suna," Naruto stated, bringing the attention of the others to him. "How long would it take for a strike force to be ready, jiji?"

Sarutobi shook his head. "If what Sasuke-kun says is true, then it won't matter if we send any support. They would arrive too late."

"Not necessarily," Naruto replied as he turned towards Miyuki. "Could you do it?"

Already knowing what the blond was asking of her, Miyuki answered, "I'm…not sure. I've never transported a large number of individuals before. I would have to prepare as much chakra as possible before I attempted it."

Nodding, Naruto turned his attention to Sasuke. "How long do we have until Akatsuki's forces arrive in Suna?"

"Considering the pace they're going, I would say about two days at max," Sasuke replied instantly. They had covered a large amount of territory in such a short time, after all. But that mainly had to do with the sleeper agents that they had set up already.

The Uzumaki then turned his attention to Sarutobi. "Well, there you have it. You have two days to get a team ready for Suna. Miyuki will then transport them all from Konoha to Suna instantly. From there, we can drive Akatsuki away from the village."

"Make sure to bring Tsunade too," Sasuke said with an irritated growl. "There's a certain member whose abilities I would like scanned for future reference. I'm pretty sure she'll be able to find what the secret behind it is after she has some samples."

"And what will you be doing?" Jiraiya asked to Naruto.

"I'll be heading to Suna as well," Naruto answered. "At the very least, I'll be able to meet with this new Kazekage before the shit hits the fan and prepare the Suna forces there. And before any of you say it's not the smartest thing to do, I know that. But this has to be done. At the very least the treaty between Konoha and Suna still holds. So they won't attack me straight out. And hey. Maybe the new Kazekage will be like the last one. Who knows."

Sasuke smirked, noticing just how uncomfortable both Sarutobi and Jiraiya still were with the idea of the blond going to Suna. If only they knew that the blond had already been to Kumo as well.

"Don't bother trying to talk the idiot out of this," Sasuke said in amusement. "Because you won't succeed. Trust me. That's why I'm here today, after all."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Oh, and expect some extra information on your desk after this mess blows over, jiji."

The Hokage raised an eyebrow at this. "About?"

"You'll see."

"Wait a sec. What about me?" Jiraiya asked, pointing to himself.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "What about you?"

"Don't give me that! I want to be a part of this too!"

"And you already have your part," Naruto said. "You're to watch over Nagato and Yahiko. Even though Hanzo is there too, I feel much better knowing that you're watching after them. We can't underestimate Nori. This could very well be a distraction to get Nagato as well. Either way, it's better if you stay in Ame."

Jiraiya scowled but understood the logic behind it. He didn't like it, but he did understand.

Nodding, Naruto stated. "Alright. Good luck to us all!"

Konan knew something was up the moment she spotted Naruto's serious look.

"Konan, I want you to back in Ame."

The blue haired girl's eyes widened. "W-what? But why!?"

Naruto sighed as he ran a hand through his blond hair. "Because some news have pooped up. Not good ones. And right now, I'm about to head into a very dangerous situation. While I mean no offense, I can't trust you to take care of yourself while we're there. That's why I want you back in Ame with Ero-sennin where I know you'll be safe."

Konan glanced towards Miyuki to see that the woman had the same opinion as Naruto. So it was two against one, eh?

"I'm staying."

Naruto was taken back for a moment at seeing the determination appear in the girl's face.

"I've already decided that I want to help make your dream a reality. And I'll be damned if you take this chance away from me!"

Naruto shook his head. "This isn't a walk in the park! The situation is much different than from what it was in Kumo! People are going to die. And I don't want to see you get caught up in that!"

"Do you think I haven't seen people die before?" Konan retorted with narrowed eyes. "I grew up in the middle of war. Death is something that I grew up alongside with. Even if I haven't killed anyone myself, it isn't something I'm not aware of. No matter what you say, I'm going. Even if you leave me behind, I'll still make my way there one way or another."

Naruto groaned when he saw the stubbornness in Konan's eyes. And he couldn't waste time around here either.

"Oi, are you seriously going to bring her with you? We both know that-"

'Yeah, I know. But she isn't going to back down from this. I have no choice.'

"Fine then," Naruto conceded as he threw his arms in the air. Seeing Konan smile, the blond continued, "But you are to stay with Miyuki at all times unless I tell you otherwise. You break that rule, and I'll send you back kicking and screaming if I have to."

The girl nodded.

Groaning, the blond ushered towards Miyuki. "Alright. Do your thing."

Nodding, the woman opened another portal behind her, the trio walking through it and leaving the forest behind.

"You sure do seem to be in a good mood."

Gin turned his head back to see the girl with her umbrella over her head. The pair was overlooking Iwa from a safe distance away at the moment.

Gin couldn't help but shake his head. "I will never understand your choice about carrying that umbrella with you. It's not even raining."

The girl raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And then what about your choice about acting like some lowly human?"

Gin chuckled as he shrugged, his brown eyes shining in mischief. "I may do this just to see how the other side feels. But because of this act of mine, I was able to have a lovely chat with Sasuke himself."

The girl furrowed her eyebrows at this. "Is that so? What do you think then?"

Gin shrugged again. "He's come a long way, that's for sure. He's more opened to seeing different potions of views. It looks like those tests of yours paid off in the end."

The girl nodded. "But of course. That was the whole purpose behind them."

"I never would have thought that Hagoromo would agree to such a thing, though," Gin said as he rubbed his chin in contemplation. "I guess it shows just how desperate he was. But you sure are mean for crafting those conditions on him. It must have killed him inside knowing that he had to lie to them like that."

"What he felt is none of my concern," the girl replied with an air of indifference. "As you already know, what I seek lies even beyond Hagoromo."

Gin chuckled. "Yes. But will Naruto and Sasuke agree with you. That remains to be seen."

The girl didn't reply as she turned her eyes towards Iwa. The next phase had already been set in motion. Now, it was time to see how Naruto and Sasuke would fare.

They were only still bystanders, after all.

"Alright, hold it right there. What exactly is your business in Suna?"

Naruto looked at the guard in front of him. Both Konan and Miyuki were standing behind him. waiting to see what would happen. It was already morning as well. Both he and Konan were still wearing their cloaks that shielded their headbands from sight.

"We're here for business of course!" Naruto replied in a chirpy tone.

The guard raised an eyebrow at this. He had fully been expecting Miyuki to answer since she looked like the oldest.

"Is that so? Well, you're going to have to show me your face too. It's standard procedure."

Konan hesitated, wondering just what Naruto was going to do.

Said blond shrugged before doing as told. The guard's eyes widened when his eyes landed on Naruto's Konoha's headband. He then almost had a heart attack when he noticed Konan's.

A second guard who was standing a bit far back noticed his partner tensing up. Becoming suspicious, he walked up to the group to see what was going on. But then he had the exact same reaction when he spotted Naruto and Konan.

Naruto chuckled uneasily when he saw this. 'Did I break them?'

"I'm betting you did…hahaha!"

"Your humor is still lost to me, Kurama," Matatabi commented with a sigh.

But Kurama didn't pay his sibling any mind.

Coming out of his shock, the first guard pointed a shaking finger at Naruto. "W-what's a Konoha shinobi doing here?"

Naruto shrugged. "Like I told you, business. I do apologize about dropping uninvited and all. And we would have been here sooner too, but we just had to take care of some things before we finally made it here."

"A-and what about her?"

Naruto shrugged a second time. "What about her?"

"Why is an Ame shinobi all the way out here!? And with you no less!?"

Konan smiled weakly, actually a bit surprised that they were making this big of a deal about her. She wasn't anyone dangerous. But all of this still made her wonder just why Naruto insisted on them wearing their headbands. They only attracted more problems than they were worth as far as she was concerned.

"Because she's my friend. Why else," Naruto answered like it was a no brainier. "But more importantly, we have important news to reveal to your Kazekage. It's terribly urgent. These are orders from Hokage-sama himself."

Konan was actually surprised at hearing this. Naruto sounded so…..professional.

The two guards looked at one another, unsure of what to make of this. While it was true that they had a treaty with Konoha, they didn't know if they should just allow outsiders just like that.

"What's the hold up over here?" a third guard asked with a scowl as he made his way over to them.

"Ah, captain," the second began with an uneasy smile, "we have three visitors here…..from Konoha and Ame."

The captain paused at this, his eyes going to the grinning Naruto. Shaking his head, he asked, "What is your business here, son? It's not everyday that a Konoha shinobi comes here."

Shrugging again, Naruto answered, "We have urgent news to deliver to your Kazekage. It's from Hokage-sama himself. That's why we're requesting passage. You can even send one of your guards with us to escort us to the tower. I don't care. We just need to pass. And we mean no harm either."

The captain paused at hearing this, his eyes meeting Naruto's. The blond stared right back, showing that he had nothing to hide.

Nodding, the captain turned to the second guard. "Alright, you. Contact one of the other squads. Tell them that we have visitors for Kazekage-sama. And you." He looked at the first guy. "Search them for anything suspicious. Sorry, but that's protocol." He directed the last part to the blond who simply nodded.

Naruto didn't want any trouble. That was why he was showing where he was from and what his motive for being here was. So as long as he got to meet with the Kazekage, he was satisfied.

Chiyo didn't know what was happening right now. Everything was happening too fast. The past month had gone in a such a blur for her. First, their beloved Kazekage goes missing with no trace. Chiyo herself had conducted an intensive search to see if she could locate the man. But in the end, nothing had turned up. The only evidence they had were the corpses of the guards who had been protecting the Kazekage the night said man went missing. They could only conclude that their Kazekage had somehow been murdered with the culprit taking the body with him for whatever reason. It was a shocking thing to take in for sure. The council had then gone into a period of disarray, wondering what they should do. Should they elect a new Kage? Or wait to see if the Sandaime turned up? But the choice was taken out of their hands when Iwa declared war on them for no reason whatsoever. In the beginning, the choosing of a new Kazekage had been on hold as the council tried to secure their borders. But the problem hadn't gone away. Their attention had soon returned back to that. The council hadn't been able to come up with a decision until the daimyo had arrived. That was how she was the new Kage.

The second problem...Sasori was also missing.

That was a more personal blow to her. She had no idea where her precious grandson could be. And it was eating her alive.

The excitement of her new position didn't last long for that very reason. But then reports started flooding in about towns being destroyed within their own territory. The only problem was that they couldn't find the culprits. It's like they just vanished! And now, she was receiving something as shocking: a Konoha shinobi was here to see her.

'Crap,' she cursed in her mind as she sat in her chair inside her new office. 'What to do here?'

The problem she currently faced was that no one, save the daimyo, the council, and some top ranked shinobi including her new Anbu guards, knew that the Sandaime Kazekage was no longer in power. Chiyo hadn't even been thinking about alerting Konoha, especially with all of the mess she had to put up with right now. But if she did turn him away, odds were that the Hokage could take that as a sign of disinterest in their alliance. And as much as she hated Konoha, Chiyo knew that the alliance with Konoha could be beneficial to them later on if the war with Iwa turned south.

But then again, her village was a proud and powerful place. They could do well without anyone's support. Especially Konoha's. That place should burn to the ground for what they did.

'Ugh.' The woman held her head, feeling a headache coming. 'What should I do dammit?'

The decision was suddenly taken out of her hands, though, when some blond boy suddenly walked into her new office. Her secretary had been trying to stop him from the looks of it.

In an instant, her anbu squad acting as her bodyguards sprung into action, forming a defensive perimeter around her desk.

Naruto whistled when he saw this. "Fast. And hey, jiji was right. But I didn't think the new Kazekage would be you, granny Chiyo!"

Chiyo could only look at the blond before her with a look filled with confusion.

"…..What?"

"You seem troubled, Pride."

Pride turned to look at her master, the two currently watching the band of Jashin followers making their way towards Suna. It had taken a great deal to evade Sasuke all this time. But since the Uchiha wasn't with Miyuki, keeping track of his movements was easy. Her master had also made sure to block Miyuki's jutsu over the area in case she tried to peek in. But it hadn't even been necessary so far. Why? Because the cult had camouflaged themselves into looking as normal civilians after they had destroyed the two towns. That way, even if Sasuke or Miyuki came upon them, they wouldn't be able to tell the difference. They were now marching as a group because it was the final stretch.

"It's about what happened with Gluttony and Envy…."

Nori smiled. "Oh, is that so? Then you don't need to worry. They gave their lives for our cause. It's the best that could have been asked of them. The same applies to the rest of you."

Pride didn't honestly know how to feel about that. He didn't even look a bit remorseful that the two were dead. And if she died, would his reaction be this lacking as well?

'No, I can't think like that,' Pride said to herself. 'He's the one that gave life to me. To all of us. Our lives are in his hands.'

Nori was no longer paying any attention to her, though. His entire focus was on the coming events. He was already aware that both Naruto and Sasuke knew of the impending attack on Suna. But he hadn't bothered to share that with Akatsuki. Why? Because this way was much more interesting! He also had a few surprises planned for the two.

Ah, how he was going to enjoy this. It was certainly something to look forward to.

"You're lucky I haven't killed you already, brat."

Naruto smiled. "It's goot to see you too, granny."

Chiyo scowled. "Do you know who you're talking to right now?"

Naruto nodded. "Of course I do. You're the current Kazekage now. Good job by the way. I hadn't expected it to be you. But now that I think about it, it's a good choice. That's not what I'm here for, though."

Chiyo frowned as she looked at sitting blond in front of her. She had dismissed her guards by this point, having sensed that the boy wasn't trying to harm her or anything. Especially since he was more than likely just a genin. But with the way he spoke to her, it was like they were good friends already or something.

Sighing, Naruto continued, "There are many things that I would love to share with you. Believe me. But there isn't much time. So I'm going to have to save that for later. Right now, Suna is in danger. There's an entire force out there that's on its way here to burn Suna to the ground."

Now that certainly got Chiyo interested. "What? If there was, we would know of it by now!"

Naruto shook his head. "Haven't you been dealing with many domestic problems? Mainly the previous Kazekage's death?"

"Just how do you know about that?"

"I don't actually. But there have been rumors flying about. Now that I see you here, though, it looks like the rumors are true."

Chiyo sighed. No point in hiding it now. "Yes, they are true. We don't know who did it. Or for what reasons. We're not even certain if he's dead. But given the current situation, we couldn't sit around and wait for his return."

Naruto nodded. "I understand. And that's why you have to listen to me right now as well. Or else Suna will pay the price."

Chiyo frowned, her distaste for Konoha coming back. "And how do I know that you're telling the truth? For that matter, why is a mere genin here? If this was really true, I would have at least expected one of the Hokage's students here."

"Oh, one of them will be here soon," Naruto said with a smile. "But the Hokage didn't know of the attack until last night. But we're getting off topic here. I understand that you have many questions, but they're going to have to wait. You just have to trust me."

Chiyo scoffed. "And why would I do that? Despite your blatant familiarity with me, I have never once met you before today. So I see no reason as to why I should believe a single word you're saying. Especially since you're from Konoha."

Naruto groaned. "Why do old people always have to be so stubborn dammit?"

"I beg your pardon?"

Naruto waved his hand in dismissal. "Forget I said that. But it's simple. If I'm lying, you can have my head on a silver platter."

Chiyo's eyes widened. "What?"

The blond Uzumaki shrugged. "What? I mean it. And I'm not worried either. Since unfortunately, I am right. I need you to believe me. If you do, we'll have a higher chance of getting out of this with as little casualties as possible."

Chiyo frowned. She couldn't believe it. The boy was absolutely serious. He would really let her kill him if it turned out that he had deceived her. She could tell from the look on his face. And his voice. There wasn't a single trace of humor in there.

'Such an interesting boy…'

But with such stakes, Chiyo realized that she could at least hear the blond out. If anything to commemorate the boy for his brave words.

With that in mind, the new Kazekage leaned back in her chair before inclining her head towards the boy.

"Alright, boy. Speak. I'm all ears."

Naruto smiled.

Miyuki still couldn't believe that things had gone just like Naruto had expected. The new Kazekage, Chiyo, had listened to what he had to say. She wasn't too sure just what exactly he had told her as it had only been between the two. But the woman had come to take a more positive look towards the jinchuriki. To Miyuki, it was simply Naruto's habit of making friends with the people he encountered, especially since the woman had come to accept the boy when they had first met in the future.

Even so, Miyuki had been curious enough to ask Naruto what he had told Chiyo to make the woman believe his words. He had simply scratched his cheek and said, "I showed her the heart of the most precious person to her."

She honestly had no idea what that meant. Even so, Suna had come to accept their terms. Or at the very least their terms regarding this assault. It remained to be seen whether Suna would officially join Aurora or not.

But Miyuki knew that she could worry about that later as she focused on her chakra. The time was almost here for her to transport the Konoha force that Sarutobi had put together. They were getting some last minute preparations finished apparently.

She didn't have to wait that long, though, as she felt a sudden tug in Naruto's chakra, which was pretty much the signal that she had been waiting for.

A second later, a portal suddenly opened up in front of her with Sakumo being the first one to walk through it. He was quickly followed by both Tsunade and Kaito. More and more Konoha shinobi followed after that, the number multiplying as the seconds went on.

Sakumo nodded his head in respect towards Miyuki, seeing the woman pant slightly as his entire force entered her dimension. He could only wonder how much strained it had placed on her to transport this many people. But thanks to her, they could arrive in Suna in a matter of minutes instead of the usual three days. And by then, it would already be too late for them to do anything.

Many of the shinobi behind him were looking at the dark world around them in amazement. Even though they had already been briefed about the details, they were still amazed. Not that Sakumo could blame them. This was a pretty amazing jutsu.

"Alright, people, listen up!" Sakumo exclaimed as Miyuki focused on opening another portal to get them to Suna. "The enemy has yet to hit Suna. But I have no doubt that they will strike soon. So as soon as we touch down in Suna, I want you all in your toes. Keep each other safe out there, you hear me! We will make it through this as a team!"

The gathered Konoha shinobi all cheered, feeling their blood pumping. They were ready to get things started.

Kaito looked at Tsunade. "You remember Sasuke's request, right?"

The Senju, now dressed in her shinobi attire, nodded. "But of course. Just leave it to me."

"And me too of course," Kagome said with a smirk as she stepped in between them. "I gotta make sure our Senju princess makes it out of this alive since her dear Dan isn't here to keep her safe."

Tsunade rolled her eyes. "Just watch yourself out there, Kagome."

The Uchiha woman smirked. "I always do."

Kaito merely shook his head, finding their friendship to be highly amusing.

Noticing all of this, Sakumo smirked as Miyuki opened up the second portal to Suna behind him.

"Alright, men, let's go!"

"So, this is the village we're hitting, huh? Can't say I ain't excited. Do you think they'll struggle too!?"

Kakuzu sighed as he looked over at Hidan. "Not this time, idiot. We have a specific target remember? And we're not supposed to kill him."

Hidan scowled at this. "T'ch. Fine. Be like that. I can't believe the others get to enjoy themselves while I have to go through this shit….."

"That's your duty as part of Akatsuki," Kakuzu stated as he began to make his way towards one of the side entrances of the village. According to Sasori, the natural wall around the village was filled with them. The redhead had supplied them with the most appropriate one. While they sneaked in, the Jashin followers would attack the main gate head on, drawing all the attention to them.

As they closed in to their destination, a sudden explosion some distance away drew their attention.

Hidan smirked when he saw this, bringing out his personal rosary as well. "It looks like it's begun already."

Kakuzu merely grunted before he continued on his way with Hidan following suit.

The main battle was none of their concern.

Chiyo looked at the scroll in her hands with a longing look. It was a sight that had been familiar to Ebizo for the last couple of days. More importantly, ever since that energetic blond had arrived to Suna.

"You sure do seem to be focusing on that scroll a lot, sister."

Chiyo's eyes went to her brother for a moment before sighing. "It's something that that boy gave me."

"What is it?"

"It's one of the puppets that Sasori created."

Ebizo's eyes widened at the answer. "How could he have such a thing?"

Chiyo chuckled. "That was my exact reaction when he showed me this. But he told me a lot of things. Unbelievable things to be honest. Things I could never have dreamt of. Some part of me still believes that he's lying honestly. But after seeing this…..I started believing him as well. And so far, I haven't regretted that decision. I guess only time will tell if I've made another mistake."

Ebizo was silent, not believing that his sister was admitting to her past mistakes. It was something to acknowledge them for yourself. But to share them with others? Well, that was a giant leap forward.

"Does this mean that he knows where Sasori is?"

Before Chiyo could answer, their attention was drawn to a sudden explosion by the main entrance of the village.

Chiyo narrowed her eyes when saw this, a kneeling anbu appearing in her office in a sudden blur.

"Kazekage-sama, the main gate has come under attack!"

"So, his words do ring true in the end," Chiyo muttered as she placed the scroll on her desk. Looking at her brother, she said, "Unfortunately, our conversation will have to wait. It's time we go out to defend our village from a pack of idiots."

Ebizo smiled. "I'm right behind you, sister."

Naruto scowled as he noticed this from on top one of the rooftops he was currently standing on. The last two days had certainly proven to be fruitful. Chiyo had accepted his aid and had placed all of her shinobi still in the village under alert. There hadn't been much else to do but to prepare for the impending attack. Unless Sasuke could somehow find their base of operations and take care of the situation like that. But Naruto highly doubted that. Despite his best efforts, Sasuke hadn't been able to stop the destruction of the two villages in the Land of Wind. Hell, not even the forces stationed at the border had been able to notice anything suspicious. No doubt thanks to Nori.

"You can think about squashing his face later," Kurama said from inside his mind. "For now, let's put an end to this attack as soon as possible."

Naruto nodded in agreement, also hoping that Konan stayed with her unit. The girl was too stubborn for her own good sometimes. But he could also understand where she was coming from. He had once felt those exact same frustrations of helplessness in the past.

Shaking his head, Naruto was about to set out to join the main defensive unit before movement down on the street below caught his eyes. That was weird. He was certain all civilians had been evacuated to the emergency safe zones earlier today. Was there a straggler left?

Frowning, the blond jumped down, intending on making sure the person got to safety before heading out. The person, who was wearing a brown robe over their regular clothing, instantly turned around the moment he landed. Naruto expected to see a normal frightened civilian, Instead, though, his eyes widened when he finally caught a glimpse of the person's face.

'N-no…this can't be!'

The person locked eyes with him for a single second before taking off towards the rooftops at an incredible speed.

Coming out of his stupor, the blond narrowed his eyes before he took off after the person.

"Brat, what the hell are you doing!?"

'You saw what I saw, Kurama!' Naruto screamed in response. 'And I know that the rest of you did too!'

"This has to be some sort of trick," Saiken said quickly. "There's no way this can be real!"

Naruto didn't reply. Even if he silently agreed with Saiken, he needed to get to the bottom of this. If not, it would haunt him for the rest of his life.

With that in mind, he set right after the person, the smoke from the battlefield lying forgotten behind him.

"You should come quietly with us now," Kakuzu stated. "Or else, we're going to give you a world of pain."

"I'd prefer if you did too," Hidan said with a sigh. "I only fight to kill. And if I fight you, I won't be able to kill you. See the problem right there?"

The man in front of them, who was wearing the standard Suna uniform, growled. "What the hell do you even want!?"

"That doesn't concern you," Kakuzu replied as he stepped over the dead body of a Suna chunnin. "You're all that we need. Now be a good listener and come with us."

The man growled for a second time, his features starting to change. "Y-you killed my whole squad….."

Kakuzu paused, seeing the man starting to undergo some sort of transformation. The left side of his face started to morph into some sort of sand monster looking thing.

Hidan whistled, also seeing the same thing. "Well, what do you know. He really is the jinchuriki!"

"Thank you for stating the obvious," Kakuzu said. "But it looks like he's not going to listen. So you're up."

Hidan raised an eyebrow. "What? Why me?"

"Because I've already caught one. So now it's your turn," Kakuzu answered. "You have to carry your own weight around here."

Hidan grumbled. "Fine. But mark my words. I'm not going to enjoy this."

Kakuzu didn't reply.

But Hidan wasn't paying any attention to him anymore. Taking his scythe into his hands, he frowned as he looked at the quivering man in front of him. "Alright, asshole. Let's finish this as quickly as possible. There's a massacre happening out there, and I want to be a part of it."

Instead of giving some sort of coherent response, the man simply lunged for Hidan, losing all reason. But Hidan merely smirk before sidestepping easily.

"Too slow, asshole!"

Not waiting for a response, Hidan instantly went in for a quick strike, impaling the Suna jinchuriki with his scythe.

'So it's over like that then,' Kakuzu observed quietly. It was better this way anyway. Who knew when the raging battle would turn towards over here.

Retracting his scythe, Hidan jumped back as he put some distance between himself and the male jinchuriki.

"Well, it didn't last very long," Hidan began as he licked the blade of his scythe that was covered in blood, "but I had a boring time nevertheless."

"Just get on with it already," Kakuzu said with a tone of annoyance.

Not replying, Hidan quickly set out to work as he began to draw the Jashin symbol on the ground below his feet.

The jinchuriki for his part held his head in pain, feeling Shukaku's blood lust telling him to tear both of his opponents in front of him to bits. Finally succumbing to it, he didn't pay any attention to the wound he now sported as he lunged for Hidan.

But it was already too late. Taking on a grim reaper like appearance, Hidan grinned as he impaled himself, the jinchuriki dropping down to the ground in pain as a result.

Laughing like the madman he was, Hidan screamed out, "That's right, asshole! Feel the pain! Doesn't it feel marvelous!? You want more, don't you!? Well, there's plenty left from where that came from!"

Kakuzu didn't bat an eye as Hidan began to impale himself all throughout his body, avoiding any vital organs as seeing that the target was a jinchuriki. He had seen this ritual a dozen times already, after all.

It wasn't long until the jinchuriki finally succumbed to all of the pain, leaving to the realm of the unconscious. With all of those injuries, the bijuu inside him couldn't even hope to try to come out either. Otherwise, it risked killing itself.

Hidan's enthusiasm died down at seeing this, returning to his normal appearance.. "That's all he had? The jinchuriki ain't that tough then!"

"Fool," Kakuzu said as he went up towards the unconscious jinchuriki. "This jinchuriki was highly unstable. He couldn't use the powers of the bijuu all that well. You simply lucked out."

Hidan shrugged. "Yeah, yeah. Can we at least get out of here now then? I have some killing I need to do!"

"That's out of the question."

Hidan frowned as Zetsu sprouted out of the ground next to the jinchuriki.

"There's a sealing that needs to take place now. So make sure that you're in a safe position when the summoning comes."

Hidan t'ched. "You're as bad Kakuzu sometimes, I swear."

Zetsu didn't respond as he consumed the body of the jinchuriki into himself. It was a sight that made even Hidan a little green.

"I guess my hunch was right then."

Both Kakuzu and Hidan found themselves trapped as a snake wrapped itself tightly around each of their bodies.

"Oi, what the fuck!?" Hidan screamed out, struggling against the snake to break free.

Kakuzu narrowed his eyes before his attention went to a nearby rooftop. It was none other than Sasuke himself.

"You do have a nasty habit of interfering, Uchiha," Kakuzu admitted.

White Zetsu chuckled. "But you're already too late! The jinchuriki is with us!"

"Don't be so sure."

Black Zetsu frowned when he saw how Miyuki suddenly appeared through a portal right next to Sasuke.

The Uchiha glanced at her. "Is it done?"

Seeing her nod, Sasuke turned his attention back towards the three Akatsuki members. "We've already been through this twice, Kakuzu. And I had to follow you guys for days trying to find you. I won't let you get away a third time now."

"Oh, we beg the differ."

Sasuke's and Miyuki's eyes widened as two new presences suddenly appeared behind them. Before either could react, they were both kicked straight through a nearby building, sending a pile of debris flying in the air.

The bigger one of the two newcomers pulled the snakes away from Kakuzu's and Hidan's bodies with ease.

The thinner one looked at them. "Go. Get the jinchuriki out of here."

Recognizing who they were instantly, Black Zetsu knew that Nori was a bigger troublemaker than he had first thought. But also knowing that there wasn't anything he could about it right now, he followed their advice, both him and White Zetsu sinking back down into the ground with the jinchuriki in their stomach.

Seizing the opportunity, Kakuzu took to the rooftops with a grumbling Hidan in tow.

Standing back up from the rubble, Sasuke motioned for the retreating Akatsuki members.

"You can take them right?"

Miyuki, who was also in the process of standing up, nodded. "Of course."

"Then I leave them to you," Sasuke said, turning his attention to the two in front of him.

Nodding, Miyuki made to follow the retreating zombie pair. The bigger of the two new arrivals was about to stop her until Sasuke suddenly appear before him, his sharingan now activated with a punch already prepared.

"Your opponent is me!"

Blocking Sasuke's fist with his palm, the new arrival jumped back a second later, rejoining his partner.

Sasuke frowned as he took in their appearances. They weren't wearing Akatsuki robes. In fact, their clothes reminded him a lot of what Nori wore. That detail only filled him with dread for some reason.

But he wasn't able to focus too much as the thinner of the two smiled. "Nori was right, after all. He will be a challenge. Maybe."

The bigger one merely h'mphed.

"I guess introductions are required, descendant of Kaguya," the thinner one said, his smile still in place.

Sasuke's eyes widened when the man activated the byakugan. His shock increased even further when the man showed him his open palm where a Rinnegan was also present.

"My name is Otsutsuki Momoshiki. And this is Otsutsuki Kinshiki. We have come for your chakra, Uchiha."

Sasuke suddenly knew that he was dealing with something entirely different.

"Oi, slow down already, will you!"

But Naruto's words went unanswered as the robed person continued jumping across rooftop to rooftop until they were nearly on the other side of the village.

Growing tired of the chase, though, Naruto threw a pair of shuriken straight for the person. But they were blocked easily as the person pulled out a kunai.

It was enough to serve as a hint for the robed individual, though, who landed down on another vacant rooftop a moment later.

Naruto was down with the person on an instant, his eyes filled with anxiousness. But he could't make out the person's features through the robe. It was infuriating.

The blond was about to demand answers until he heard clapping. Turning his head to the right, the blond was greeted to a clapping Nori who was standing on top of another rooftop and watching the proceedings with an amused look. Pride was also standing next to him with an impassive look.

"You really are so easy, Asura-kun."

Naruto growled, his mind finally understanding what was happening here. The bijuu for their part were quiet, wondering just where all of this was going to lead.

"I should have known that you were behind this," Naruto said through gritted teeth. "Are you getting kicks out of messing with my head now?"

"Messing with your head?" Nori repeated with a shake of his head as he suddenly appeared next to the robed person. "Don't be ridiculous. I'm merely presenting you with a gift on this marvelous occasion, Asura-kun! After all, isn't that why you came all the way out here for? Really. You didn't even try to use any jutsu in trying to stop her. You care too much, don't you?"

"W-what are you saying? She isn't-"

"But she is!" Nori cut in with a bow. And as if on cue, the person removed the hood, effectively revealing the person's face behind it.

"Behold, Asura-kun. I give to you your beloved once more!"

Naruto's head was spinning, not actually believing what, or rather who, he was seeing right in front of him right now.

It was none other than Uzumaki Aika.