17

Kisame – To those that ever doubted us, hah! We're back!

Itachi – I would like to apologize for the delay, Phoenixsun had some serious issues writing this chapter

Kisame – I'll say, there was writer's block, procrastination, writer's block, procrastination again, super writer's block, and writer's block to the 4th power, among other thigns.

Itachi – Anyway… We are glad to present you with PHD's Chapter 17.

Kisame – Now that the Chuunin Exam arc is over, finally! I might add, this is the "official" start of the new "arc", titled… Well, we actually don't have a name for it.

Itachi – (Sighs) Nevertheless, we now leave you with the next chapter of The Power to Heal and Destroy…

Natural Enemies

He had left his room as little as possible during the last week. One could count how many times he had actually gotten up from his bed with one hand and still have enough fingers to pick up a coin.

Still, his apartment had been far from silent for the most part. The rooms of the small home had been filled with noise from the knocks on his door, several times per day. His perception wasn't completely honed, but the genin could easily guess the orchestrators of those knocks. First it had been Sakura and she would return later that same day, but received no answer either time. The next day it was Iruka-sensei, he had stayed the longest by far, his knocks resonated through the apartment for hours. Sakura came back the day after, she remained an hour and even called out to him, but still he gave her no acknowledgment.

The fourth day came with a surprise. Early in the morning, the Jinchuuriki was awoken by knocks from the last person he expected to visit him. Sasuke came to his door at least five times that day, yet his attempts were as successful as the others'.

He received many visits during the following days, mostly from Sakura and Iruka, though some might have been from Shikamaru or Shino, the genin wasn't sure.

Yet, despite the eagerness from his friends to talk to him, Naruto had no desire of answering their calls. The blond has suddenly found himself in a new world, a world where the Sandaime Hokage existed no more, and the boy had no idea how to move forward in it.

So he remained silent, locked inside the apartment given to him by the Old-geezer. Even the fox had refrained from speaking and simply kept to himself during his host's mourning. "This sorrow that you feel shows just how human you really are. Huh, I guess all those villagers were wrong…" After that, Kyuubi too went silent.

Naruto knew he should not dwell on his sadness; he had helped Konoha fight back the invasion and protected his friends. He knew that the Sandaime would have been proud of him, but still, he could not get rid of the feelings that were consuming him.

Yet, among the sorrow brought forth by the passing of the Old-geezer, another feeling was emerging, anger. The Jinchuuriki's sadness had been accompanied by a growing rage, rage towards himself.

On that rainy day he had shown weakness, he had revealed just how fragile he still is when he crumbled in front of Sakura. The mere memory of his failure infuriated him.

He was supposed to have changed, he was supposed to have become stronger, and he was supposed to be above the pain already. Yet, he still sought comfort in his teammate, he still required a shoulder to cry on, he still needed someone to tell him that everything will be ok. His own existence disgusted him.

So the Jinchuuriki hid, secluded himself inside his apartment and let the world go on by itself.

Suddenly, an excessively loud knock snapped the blond out of his thoughts.

"Naruto, open up!" Kiba's voice sounded throughout the apartment as the knocks sped up.

The Jinchuuriki was surprised, he had never expected Kiba of all people to come looking for him, yet the blond had little time to analyze the situation when another voice joined in. "Yeah! Come on, open the door!" Chouji's call was accompanied with a much louder knock due to the boy's physical strength.

"Do you have any idea how much you're worrying everyone by isolating yourself in here?" Naruto heard Shikamaru's voice saying. "Don't be so troublesome and just open up."

"Naruto-kun, I do not know what you are trying to accomplish here, but I promised Hinata-chan that I would not leave until I personally made sure that you are ok." Shino's borderline cynical voice added in.

A small chuckled was suddenly heard. "Come on, Naruto-kun." The blonde's eyes immediately widened, that voice sounded so similar to… "Your friends have come here because they are worried about you." Sarutobi Asuma said; it had taken some time for the Jinchuuriki to truly recognize the owner of the voice.

By now, Naruto was beyond surprise and awe, he could have never imagined that such a large party would arrive at his doorstep for his sake. It took all of his self-control not to go running to the door.

The knocks continued to bang on the door. "Come on Naruto, Ino won't get off my case if I can't at least get you to open this door." Shikamaru's voice commented.

"We're here because Asuma-sensei decided to take all of the guys out for food, we can't get going unless you come alone and I am already really hungry!" Chouji's voice whined.

Naruto could practically see four pairs of eyes on the other side of the door rolling at the brown haired boy's comment.

"We were going to get Sasuke-kun, but it seems he heard Kiba-kun coming and hid from us…" Shino calmly informed.

"Hey! Stop saying it was my fault!" Kiba defended himself, immediately being backed up my Akamaru's bark. "Anyways, we missed Sasuke so like hell we're going to let you off the hook, Naruto!" The Inuzuka proclaimed.

"Come on, Naruto!"

"Open the door!"

"Come on!"

Ulterior motives aside, the Jinchuuriki was tremendously moved the simple fact that they were there for him, so it took all of his concentration to block their voices out. "Naruto-kun…" Shino's voice manages to sneak in. "I do not know if you have already become aware that all of this idle chatter is nothing but a distraction, I could have open this door any time I wanted." At this the blonde's eyes widened.

"We just needed to distract you until all measures were made to ensure that you will not run away." Shikamaru explained. Immediately, Naruto stood from his bed just to find himself extremely weakened. Looking down, the blond realized that his body was already covered by the Aburame's bugs. Still, the genin forced his body to stand up, remaining vertical for merely a couple of second before his legs gave up on him and his body fell on the floor with a thud. "Ok, Shino, open it now."

The Jinchuuriki never stood a chance, the moment after he heard his apartment's door swung open, he saw the Nara's shadow swiftly traveling towards him and connecting with his, immobilizing the genin. Five minutes later, Naruto was being drag across town by the group of shinobi.

A soft knock graced the room. "Come in…" The boy seating in his bed by the window answered.

Opening the door carefully, Hinata walked into the hospital room. "How are you feeling today, Neji-nii-san?" The girl asked as she placed the food she had brought with her on the table.

A small smile appeared on Neji's face. "I'm doing pretty well, all things considered…" The boy responded as his eyes momentarily glanced at the second bed in the room before returning to his cousin. "But, Hinata-sama, you don't have to trouble yourself with coming to visit me so often."

The blue haired girl continued setting up the food as she smiled cheerfully. "It is not any trouble, Neji-nii-san." She replied happily.

In truth, despite the recent tragic events that have occurred in Konoha, Hinata was really happy. On that fateful day, the tension caused by the duel between Naruto and Neji caused her to passed out, it was not until she regained consciousness, after the whole ordeal was over, that Kiba had told her what had happened.

Her teammate affirmed that, through his chakra-enhanced senses, he had heard Naruto informing Neji that he was fighting him for her. That alone was enough to give her an unwavering reason to smile, but then Kiba continued his retelling.

According to the Inuzuka boy, while he was taking her unconscious form back to her house, under Kurenai-sensei's orders, Neji had suddenly appeared to save them from the Oto-nins that were chasing them, and Kiba was willing to bet that Naruto had something to do with her cousin's amazing turnaround.

Now, her relationship with Neji had never been better. She would to visit him at the hospital almost everyday after her father insisted that his nephew was to remain there for observation. It had been a little awkward at first, and then Neji would not stop apologizing, but now it was easy to simply seat by his hospital bed and just talk for hours. They would discuss topics ranging from trainings to missions to the reconstruction efforts, they even talk about village gossip and she was surprised to find out how well informed her cousin was. "Gai-sensei talks loudly…" A blushing Neji had said to defend himself.

The only regrettable part of the Hyuga heiress' days were the talks she had heard around the village about Naruto, it simply infuriated her, which was not an easy prowess, just how the villagers simplemindedly view him. To aggravate things, her teammates had told her how Naruto had secluded himself in his apartment and would not answer anyone's calls, not even Iruka-sensei's or Sakura's. Fortunately, Shino had assured her that him and the others would get him to come out of isolation.

"Hinata-sama…" Neji's voice snapped the kunoichi out of her thoughts. "I know that I have said this before but… I just want to tell you once more how sorry I-…"

"Neji-nii-san, please stop." The girl interrupted, pleased with herself for having mustered the courage to do so. "You do not need to apologize." She informed him. "I have already forgiven you since the beginning."

The simple look on his cousin's eyes was enough to move the Hyuga prodigy. "But I-" Neji unsuccessfully tried to talk. Unable to stand the look on those pale eyes, the black haired boy look down at this hands.

Suddenly, Hinata reached out and took one of the boy's hands into hers; it took all of Neji's self-control not to jolt in surprise at the action. Looking up, the older Hyuga was once again caught by his cousin's eyes that were now filled with a mix of kindness, honesty, and strength. "You are my cousin." The girl begun, her voice filled with determination. "No matter what you did nor what you do, I will always forgive you." She explained calmly. "So, if you are really sorry for what you did, please stop repeating yourself, it does not suit you, Neji-nii-san." She emphasized the end by squeezing his hand.

A small chuckle escaped Neji's lips, in all honesty Hinata found the sound odd. "There is no way for me to defeat you right now, is there?" He asked with his newly found tone of amusement.

The kunoichi giggled at her cousin's statement. "Nope" She answered sweetly. "You have to go through really desensitizing training for that." She added with a smile.

The two cousins shared a heartfelt laugh, the first one in many years.

"So, how come they changed your room?" Hinata ask as she handed the food she had brought to the boy.

A sigh escaped Neji's lip. "That's the thing…" He began. "I'm now sharin-"

"YOSH!"

The door abruptly opened, in its threshold stood one Rock Lee, smiling brightly as he supported his body on a crutch. "Oh, Hinata-san, long time no see!" The outgoing genin exclaimed as he gave the girl one of his patented shiny smile. "Neji-kun is not giving you any trouble, is he?" He asked as he looked from the girl to his teammate. "Because, even though I'm in crutches, I will defend you from your cousin with all of the burning passion of my youthful flame!" Lee proclaimed.

Another sigh escaped the older Hyuga. "It seems that when Hiashi-sama found out that one of my teammate was receiving treatment in this hospital, he thought that it would be good for our teamwork if we shared a room." Neji said in a defeated tone, though the young prodigy was sure there was a certain Head of the Hyuga clan, seating in his lounge, that was laughing his head off right about now.

"We were really lucky, were we not, Neji-kun? We have to thank your uncle for this." Lee said, completely oblivious of his teammate's dismay. "We need to rekindle our friendship and build up an even more powerful flame of youth!"

Knowing that he might regret the answer, the older Hyuga felt obligated to ask. "What are you talking about, Lee?" Neji questioned warily.

The taijutsu user moved to seat on his bed before answering. "Ever since we were assigned to become teammates, I always felt that you were a little distant from Tenten and me, always going by yourself and keeping us at bay." Lee began to explain. "At one point I even thought that you did not want to be my friend, that you were just annoyed by my presence." He commented, completely unaware of how close to the truth he had gotten. "Well, it seems that, after your fight with Naruto-kun, you have become more open and begun to let other in, do you not thing so, Hinata-san?" The boy asked looking at the younger Hyuga.

The blue haired girl was surprised by eccentric boy's words. She looked from Neji to Lee and back before lighting the room with a smile. "Yes, I think so too." She answered.

"See!" Lee immediately exclaimed. "So now that you have changed, for the better if you ask me, we need to work on our new and improved bond of friendship!" The boy proclaimed, giving his teammate his own patented 'Nice-Guy Pose'.

Neji sighed again and rolled his eyes while Hinata giggled at the eccentric genin's antics.

Still oblivious to the others' response to his action, Lee continued. "Also, after we get discharged from here, we have to go and get Naruto-kun, because he too will become a part of the most youthful flame of youth that this village has ever seen!" He declared as he suddenly stood up. "I'm going to call Gai-sensei and ask him to get matching jumpsuits for you and Naruto-kun!" The boy said before swiftly exiting the room.

"No, Lee, wait!" Neji called out; unfortunately his teammate was too fast, even in crutches, and he was already well out of earshot. "I'm going to live to regret these events…" The boy commented as Hinata lost control of her giggling, given birth to all out laughter.

The boy was slightly embarrassed of his actions. The moment he had heard Kiba screaming about their mission to capture the guys from Team 7, he immediately dropped his training and hid, even after they were out of earshot he had decided it was best to remain out of sight a while more. Two hours later, Sasuke finally felt it was safe to come out.

The Uchiha sighed. It wasn't that he did not want to be bothered by his comrades, it was simply that a class congregation was too much too soon for him. He had no idea how he should act on such occasions with such company.

To put it simply, the Sharingan user was socially challenged.

In truth, ever since he was a little kid, the raven haired boy had been all alone. From recess at the Academy to holidays, for days on end, ever since that fateful night Sasuke had always been by himself. "But maybe… Maybe I don't have to be alone anymore." The boy thought.

Like the rest of the spectators, Sasuke had been extremely shocked during Naruto's fight against Neji, though compared to him the villagers might as well have been just mildly surprised, but after the initial shock had subsided, which he would admit had not happened until the battle against Gaara, the boy began to think.

For far too long the Uchiha compound had been deserted, with only him as its sole inhabitant, but now that might change.

After he had a chance to reflect about his teammate's revelation, Sasuke had decided that the only possible explanation was that Naruto had his clan's blood running through his veins. "I'm not the last Uchiha in Konoha anymore…" The raven haired boy whispered.

He could still remember the myriad of feelings he had felt the moment he laid eyes on Naruto's blue and white Sharingan, he would not lie and say he wasn't scared, but happiness and excitement were also in the mix, even when the blond displayed a technique that was too eerily similar to what Itachi had…

Properly putting his training gear away this time, Sasuke considered his next plan of action. True, Naruto's Sharingan was different from his, unlike any he had ever seen actually, in both form and abilities, but the simply fact of it being the clan's Kekkei Genkai was more than enough to consider the idea of Naruto being an Uchiha. "Well, Otou-san did say that the Sharingan was the proof of an Uchiha…" The genin rationalized.

The boy prepared himself mentally, what he was about to do would be embarrassing and awkward in so many different levels, but, for the sake of the Uchiha clan, it was necessary. Well, the fact that he really did not want to be all by himself anymore was an added incentive, but he was really doing it for the clan's future, at least that would be the reason he would give the Shinobi Bureau Office when he ask them for an Address Change Form for Konoha nins.

Changing out of his training attire, Sasuke took a deep breath. He was about to put himself in a tremendously vulnerable situation, he was betting his pride, and going all out with it, on the chance that his teammate still regarded him as a friend. The idea of possible embarrassment made him a little wary of the situation, but the chance of another member of the Uchiha clan brought a smile to his face.

Giving a small bow to the picture of his parents, the raven haired genin exited the house. He hadn't realized while he was training, or while he was… hiding, but it was a bright and sunny in Konoha this afternoon. "It seems this is going to by a nice day." Sasuke commented.

Finally reaching an area that wasn't under reconstruction, Naruto came to the decision that there was no way to fight off the small smile that adorned his face.

While it might have been true that he was dragged out of his apartment by force, nothing short of kidnapping, the blond found himself admitting that he had spent an enjoyable time, the best he had in a very long time. Asuma had taken the guys to eat steak, at Chouji's request of course, and the group of genin passed the time taking shots at each other, Kiba having become the main character and being picked apart by his comrades while his dog laughed at his angry outburst.

There had only been a single regrettable aspect during their lunch. All along during their time in the restaurant, the blond had been the object of glares and sneers. Most of the other costumers, not to say all since the Jinchuuriki did not want to generalize, had decided to not enjoy their own food, and instead focus their efforts in loathing him.

Naruto wasn't as stupid as he once appeared to be, he had been aware of the consequence of his unveiling of the Sora Sharingan to the public, yet actually hearing their contempt filled comments had been hard on the genin, it had reminded him of a time when all that he could do was run and keep on running.

The blonde's smile grew slightly. He could now fondly recall how, after some villager had made an intolerably cruel comment about how the Jinchuuriki's blue Sharingan was a stain in the prideful mantle of Konoha that was the Uchiha clan, that it was a proof that the boy was an abomination and he should had never been born. If the ranting man had wanted to say something else, Naruto would never know, because a second later Akamaru had lunge himself towards him, biting the man hard in the arm.

The man screamed in pain and flailed his arm trying to shake the infuriated dog, only urging the animal to bite down harder, while Kiba had suddenly found the leaves outside of the restaurant tremendously interesting.

At that moment, the man's two companions had made a movement to stand out before they suddenly froze. Originally, the blond had thought that the two men had been caught by Shikamaru's Kage Mane no Jutsu, since the Nara was glaring at the group almost as hatefully as they were doing moments ago.

That's when Naruto realized that the men's immobility was caused by Chouji. The Akimichi had by then stood up and, for some reason, seemed imposingly sized, completely halting the men's movements.

Before the scene could escalate to a volatile level, it came to an abrupt end.

– Flashback –

"Somebody, get this beast off of me!" The man screamed as he tried to force Akamaru's mouth open.

Back in the genins' table, Kiba had finally become disinterested with the leaves and was in the process of standing up while closing and opening his suddenly clawed hand, as though he were warming up for something.

"That is enough, Akamaru-kun…" Shino said, surprising his comrades by appearing at the men's table out of the sudden. The black haired boy proceeded on patting the assaulting dog on the head, causing him to release the offending man's arm at last.

Immediately, the man pulled back as he clutched his arm in pain. "That miserable beast! I'll tell the authorities about this!" He declared.

The Aburame slowly moved his gaze towards the man. "About what, exactly?" The genin questioned. "I am not aware that anything has happened here…" The boy commented as he pushed his sunglasses up. "And besides, we have five other Leaf shinobi, one of them being a jounin, seating right in this restaurant, and I am sure none of them saw anything either."

The three men looked at the boy in bafflement, occasionally stealing glances at the table from where Asuma was giving them an ominous smile.

"So I think it will be better if you just leave this place now…" Shino commented as he turned around, walking back towards his seat.

It took the men all of four seconds to regain control of their bodies and take off running from the restaurant.

Just as he arrived at his seat, Shino turned around. "I am sorry for the scene, please go back to enjoy your day." The boy said addressing the others in the restaurants. Looking directly at the restaurant's owner, he proceeded. "We will pay for whatever they ordered." The Aburame informed him before regaining his seat.

Silence overtook the genins' table, it seemed that none of them could remember what their conversation was before everything started. Suddenly, the silence was broken by the roaring laugh of one Naruto Uzumaki.

As the others joined in, the blond realized that he had not laughed like this in the longest time.

– End Flashback –

Sighing, the Jinchuuriki sat down on a bench. Not since before his meeting with Uchiha Itachi had Naruto felt he had a place he belonged to like he did today.

The boy relaxed in his seat as he took in the scenery of the area. He was glad that the place had survived the invasion because it was nothing short of beautiful, surrounded by trees and with a small canal flowing thought it, it was a great place to be along with your thoughts. "At least I'm outside…" The Jinchuuriki commented, half expecting his friends to suddenly come out from behind the bushes and drag him to a more populated area. Taking a deep breath, the boy allowed his eyes to close.

Suddenly, something changed in the area and an ominous feeling took over the blond. Acting out of instinct, the Leaf genin jumped from his seat.

Not a second had gone by before the bench had abruptly turned to dust in a sizeable explosion.

Landing on the other side of the canal, Naruto started to look at his surroundings. A terribly monstrous chakra had suddenly overflowed the area. "How did I not sense it before?" The boy though as he took out a kunai and frantically continued his search.

"Suiton Suigadan!" All of a sudden, several twisters made out of water rushed up from the canal and came crashing down on the blond, leaving the young shinobi no choice but to jump back to avoid that attack.

The Jinchuuriki immediately took a fighting stance the moment his feet got back to the ground while the Sora Sharingan took its place in his eyes.

"Hahah! So it's true, you do have Uchiha blood running through your veins!" A voice was heard throughout the area. Before the blond could search from its source, mist started to come out of the water in the canal.

Naruto's Sharingan eyes noticed a tall, imposing figure suddenly appearing among the mist as the chakra that had infected the area spiked and intensified.

Whatever had appeared in the middle of the canal took a couple of steps forwards. "So you are Naruto, uh?" It was obviously a man, and from his silhouette he was apparently carrying a sword on his back. "Let me introduce myself." He added. "I'm Hoshigaki Kisame, formerly known as the Monster of the Hidden Mist."

To emphasize his introduction, the man spiked his chakra once more, blowing away the mist in the area, and revealing his appearance. Naruto's eyes widened, the man was probably the tallest person he had ever seen, but that was far from the most striking feature, as the man standing before had blue skin and what looked like gills below his eyes. Fighting off the initial shock, the blond also took notice of the scratched Kiri headband and the red cloud pattern on his black cloak. "You are with… Itachi…"

A smirk formed on the missing nin's face. "Oh, so you noticed…" He commented while taking his bandaged sword from his back and pointing at the boy with it. "That means I don't have to tell you why I'm here…" The swordsman said before he suddenly disappeared.

Letting his instincts take over again, Naruto jumped, barely evading a vicious strike from the former Kiri shinobi that crushed the ground he had been standing on. Not wasting anytime, the blond began a set of hand seals. "Goukakyu no Jutsu!" He shouted before releasing a massive fireball towards the blue haired man.

"Suigadan!" The swordsman exclaimed, hands moving so fast that the blonde's Sharingan could barely make out the seals, while his smirk reformed on his face. A new set of spinning water projectiles shot from the water towards the fireball, extinguishing the flames like it was nothing, and continuing towards the genin.

Swiftly, the Jinchuuriki's hands worked their way through another set of hand seals. "Kakougan Kangoku no Jutsu!" He called out right before an enormous granite wall rose between him and the crushing water missiles, successfully shielding the boy before crumbling down.

Kisame set his eyes on the Jinchuuriki in front of him, the smirk widening. "Not bad, not bad." He started. "No wonder you were able to survive Zabuza, but I'm nowhere near as nice as him!" He declared before forming another set of seals at even higher speed. "Suikoudan no Jutsu!"

Immediately, a shark formed from the water in the canal and shot towards the Leaf nin. The blond started to make hand seals and hoped for the best. "Suigadan!" The water projectiles surged from the water, shredding the shark apart.

Before the genin could take a breath of relief, his Sharingan caught the absence of the blue haired man. "Very good! You are acting like a true Sharingan user!" The boy heard from behind. A second later a sickening blow made impact with his back, causing several cuts.

"What the hell was that…?" Naruto questioned as he pushed his body of the ground, he could feel his blood starting to run down his back.

"Hahah!" The laugh directed the blonde's attention back to the swordsman. Kisame brought his sword forward and removed some of the bandages. "Let me present you Samehada!" The man announced as he revealed how the blade of his weapon was covered by large, blue scales. "This sword is meant to reduce its opponent to shred instead of simply cutting…" The smirk found his way bad. "Though that's not all…" He added before disappearing again.

The Konoha genin didn't have time to do anything as the missing nin appeared in front of him and Samehada came down over his body. Kisame was mildly surprised when the boy turned into a cloud of smoke. "Housekan no Jutsu!" The barrage of small fireballs seemed to come from every direction as they hit the former Mist shinobi.

Panting, Naruto dropped down from one of the trees. "That was really something, kid…" Kisame's voice sounded from the cloud of dust and smoke. "I never even saw when you made the clone." He commented as he brought his sword down, dissipating the dust in the process. "You are everything I hoped you would be. I'm having a lot of fun." The cloaked man stated with another smirk.

"Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" The blond called out. Immediately, a large number of Narutos rained down on the blue haired man.

Swinging Samehada with force, the swordsman reduced all the clones to dust. "Hahahah! Come on, show me what else you got!" The man dared the boy.

Gritting his teeth, the blond jumped back as his eyes focused on his opponent. "Amaterasu!" He exclaimed.

Black flames immediately overwhelmed the area in front of the Jinchuuriki, completely encasing the blue haired man in a terrible inferno. As the continued to pant, Naruto watched the flames causing the missing nin to collapse to his knees. The relief was short leaved as the swordsman's body turned into water.

"Come on, give me a little more credit, Itachi is my partner after all, do you think that I will be taken down by the same technique he uses?" Terror filled the young shinobi's eyes as he turned around just in time to see Samehada crash down on the back of his shoulder and push his body to the floor.

Naruto tried to push his body off the ground, but the strength with which Kisame was holding his sword was too much for the boy to even move. "No… It's not only that…" The blond thought. "My body… It feels heavy for some reason… Almost as if my chakra is diminishing…"

"Heheheh…" The small chuckle caught the Jinchuuriki's attention. "It seems that you are experiencing Samehada's other ability." Kisame commented as he pushed his sword down with more force, driving its scales deeper into the genin's back. "My sword is an awfully vicious predator. Apart from massacring its victim, it does so while eating away at his chakra, and growing stronger with each bite." The man explained.

From the floor, the Leaf nin's eyes widened even further in horror, understanding clearly the implications of the swordsman's words.

Smirking at his prey's reaction, the former Mist shinobi continued. "I know your type, brat…" He emphasized it by pushing further down. "Since you have an abnormally large supply of chakra, you tend to make up for the lack of precision of your attacks by adding an extract kick in their destructive power." The man chuckled before proceeding. "And there's really nothing wrong with that, I prefer such tactics myself, but once in a while, you find someone fully equipped to counter it…"

As he panted, the blond tried to move his head in order to get the attacking missing nin in his line of sight while he talked.

Realizing the boy's intentions, Kisame paced his foot over the young shinobi's head and pressed down hard into the ground. "Ever since this whole thing started, Samehada has been preying away at your chakra, that's why you have been panting for sometime now." A laugh followed the nukenin's words. "You see, I'm the most well suited to take you down! I have the ability to cancel out all of your strengths!"

Naruto could barely see pass his aggressor's foot, but he could still discern the prideful, wicked smile on the swordsman's face.

"We are two opposing forces, you and I…" Kisame commented. "You could even say that we are natural enemies." The said, pressing his sword even harder on the Jinchuuriki's back.

Leaf and twigs crushed as he walked. Jiraiya found himself somewhere deep in the training grounds. "Man, I haven't been around these parts in a really long time…" The sannin said as he leaned against a large tree. "At least all those prunes from the council won't find me here and make me work!" He happily commented. "So, why have you asked me to such a remote place?" The white haired man asked as he sat down on one of the exposed roots.

The faint sound of approaching steps could be heard from behind the tree. "They have begun to move once more…" A voice spoke. "Han of Iwagakure was confronted sometime yesterday, I belief it is a matter of time before they capture him along with the Gobi he carries.

Jiraiya leaned further on the tree as he looked up at the falling leaves. "I don't suspect that you're just making this out because you're bored, are you?" Silence was his only response. "What else can you tell me…?"

"They are now actively searching for any signs of the others." The person behind the tree answered. "I would guess the Jinchuuriki in Kumogakure are the safest at the moment, since they have their village's full support and protection." The hidden man commented.

A sigh escaped the Leaf shinobi. "That's true, I wish I could say the same thing about Naruto and this village, especially right now." A snorted laugh escaped the sannin. "Did you heard what happened during the Chuunin Exam? I tell you that boy leaves his father in the dust when it comes to making an impression." He amusingly commented.

"His… Father?" The voice questioned.

Separating his back from the tree, the white haired man turned his head slightly as he smiled knowingly. "Oh? Don't tell me you haven't figured it out." He teased.

Once again, silence was the only thing heard from the person standing in the tree's shadow.

"Anyways." Jiraiya started. "Akatsuki… What are we going to do about it?" He asked, clearly open for suggestions.

A slight shift of the feet was heard. "Just exactly… How many Bijuu are actually inside a Jinchuuriki out there?" The voice finally questioned. "I am not sure if even Akatsuki has a real definite number." He commented.

The sannin leaned back again. "I'm not completely sure myself…" The white haired man admitted. "It is a very erratic number, more so as of late." The man's voice suddenly took a saddened tone. "Especially after the tragedy of the Meido clan…"

"Meidou clan..?" The hidden man asked, the subject having clearly caught his attention.

Jiraiya shook his head slightly. "It's a long story… Perhaps some other time." He stated. "Let's just say that Konohagakure owes them a lot and leave it at that for now."

Silence overtook the two men.

After a couple of minutes had passed, the sannin spoke again. "Something tells me that this is not the only reason why you came all the way here." The white haired man noted. "The Gobi is not the only target, is he?" He received no answer once more. "When are they targeting him?" Jiraiya questioned, wary of the answer due to the presence of the man behind him.

"Right now…" Was the short answer. Jiraiya sighed again as he stood up.

Kage Mane no Jutsu – Shadow Manipulation Jutsu

Suigadan – Water Fang Projectile

Goukakyu no Jutsu – Great Fireball Jutsu

Kakougan Kangoku no Jutsu – Granite Prison Jutsu (Made up)

Suikoudan no Jutsu – Water Shark Projectile Jutsu

Housenkan no Jutsu – Mythical Fire Phoenix Jutsu

Kisame – Yes! That's how a chapter should be done!

Itachi – Please excuse Kisame's outburst, he is a little overexcited because this is the largest role he has had on this story.

Kisame – And I kicked some ass!

Itachi – … Anyway, we don't really know when the next chapter will be written, this next couple of weeks are sure to be hectic for Phoenixsun, also there are many other projects he is considering undertaking.

Kisame – Oh yeah, like the NarutoxReborn! Crossover where you are an Arcobaleno, that would sure be funny to see.

Itachi – If you know what's good for you, you'll shut up… Like I was saying, Phoenixsun would be posting the status and progress of Chapter 18 in his author's page, so be sure to check there for updates.

Kisame – Well, we will now be leaving you.