Another One Bites The Dust

Fire Country is blessed by nature by many ways that other countries become rather envious about. The temperature wasn't as high as Wind Country and its water supply was ten times as much. It didn't have dangerous storms like Lightning Country, although it rains just the necessary amount to supply the flora and fauna with fresh air and water to cool the temperature. Also, where all you can see is wide set of forest around, in Earth Country, there is nothing but rock scattered around the place. The day today couldn't be better, it was spring and the temperature wasn't too hot, allowing a cool wind breeze to swing by and cool off five Konoha-nins that happened to be stopping near a lake in order to drink some water. Naruto and his Anbu team along with Kurenai had been travelling close to five hours now, so they stopped for a while. Normally, being an Anbu that wasn't such a thing as getting time to rest, however this mission wasn't considered a normal one.

Tracking a tailed-beast was hard enough, also the team could expect to run into Akatsuki once more, so saving as much chakra and stamina was the best course of action, considering they knew little to nothing of what they would expect once arrival. Kakashi was wondering if they would find some new members of that organization and feared for the worst. Apart from the ones already taken care of, the only one Konoha knew of, was Uchiha Itachi and if such a foe appeared, Kakashi would be hard pressed not to feel like his group is outmatched, even if it would be five against one. Aside from Itachi, the other members were a secret and even Jiraya couldn't find the rest. The silver haired man was currently filling up his canteen when he turned to see the black masked Anbu next to him, doing pretty much the same thing. Kakashi couldn't help but smile upon seeing the level both of maturity and skills that Naruto was able to reach in so little time. It seemed just yesterday that he was chosen to be the jounin-sensei of team seven and hearing the blond screaming to the heavens everything that came out of his mouth.

Right now, though, the blond was anything but hyperactive. On the contrary, Naruto canalized his pent up energy into chakra and is, then, able to withstand longer fights and long training regimes. Naruto for his part, was filling up his canteen, before he closed the bottle and went back to see how Kurenai was doing. Said woman was panting a lot from over-exertion, but she knew following an Anbu team was hard work, so she didn't complain. Right now, she was massaging her legs a little bit, while waiting for her boyfriend to come back with some water for her. Upon looking up, she saw the black masked Anbu approaching, before he stretched his arm, thus offering the woman some water, before settling down next to his girlfriend. "How are you feeling?" – Asked Naruto to which Kurenai responded by saying that her legs stopped aching, but her chakra flow was unstable right now, which meant that she couldn't use it, otherwise it would be depleted soon enough.

"Relax for a while, according to the fox, we are still maybe a couple of hours away from our destination, so we'll take another short stop, before meeting with the Sanbi, rest up a bit Kure-chan" – Said Naruto, caressing her shoulders a little bit, since he couldn't take off her mask, and got up to check on Bear and Hawk for a while. Even though he was the one guiding the team through their destination, Hawk was the team leader and captain, so he was calling the shots. Naruto arrived on what was some discussion between Bear and Hawk regarding their mission. Bear was about to reply what Hawk said about maybe encountering other enemy villages, before greeting Black Wolf. "Ah Black Wolf, me and Hawk-taichou here were discussing about our possible opposition in reaching the Sanbi. What are your thoughts about it?" – Asked the big sized man to which Naruto turned to think for a while, before responded.

"The call for help could only be heard from those of the beast's kind, hence how Kyuubi managed to hear it. Other than me, it's fair to say that other jinchuurikis must have heard it as well, so it wouldn't be a surprise if we encountered a jinchuuriki. The problem is, though, that is said jinchuuriki did the same thing as I did, then I guess his or her village would send ninja backup. Not only that, but if Akatsuki learned of the tailed beast's position, than we'd have to face them as well" – Stated Naruto, before Kakashi arrived at the group and exposed his line of thought. "Our top priority is to battle Akatsuki, but should any other village appear, I also fear that they could attempt to use Sanbi as means to have a new jinchuuriki and that is something we cannot allow. According to Black Wolf, the Sanbi is weak from using too much energy to escape their grasp, so it wouldn't be hard to use fuuinjutsu and seal him for good" – Explained Kakashi to which the group nodded, before Naruto turned and walked up to Kurenai, before seating next to her once more. Although her mask was on, Naruto knew that something was up and couldn't shake the feeling that Kurenai was afraid of something.

"What is in your mind Kure-chan?" – Asked Naruto to which Kurenai smiled behind her mask. She was really surprised that her boyfriend knew her so well; despite her face being covered by her mask. "I'm sure is nothing, don't worry about me. It's just that bijuus and Akatsuki sort of became a tough subject for me to handle. They are after you and I'm worried that something might happen. I don't want to lose you" – Said Kurenai, earning a sigh in worry from Naruto. He knew where this was coming from, since Akatsuki's drive was rather annoying to say the least, but he wanted to comfort his girlfriend enough that she feels safe around him, so he asked for her to cast a genjutsu on the both of them, so they could take face to face. Kurenai nodded and made a couple of hand seals before both Naruto and Kurenai became invisible, thus allowing them to remove their masks. Upon seeing Kurenai's face, Naruto's heart began to ache immediately. She was looking down and the sign of past tears was plainly visible. Naruto didn't want to lose her either, also he didn't want to see that face of hers ever again. It clutched his heart to, although indirectly, be the cause of her sadness and moved to give her a strong and comforting hug. Kurenai welcomed the hug and shoved her face on his chest.

After the hug was over, Naruto moved to kiss her lips softly for a while, before looking at her red eyes and smiling. "Kurenai-chan, there is no kunai or powerful jutsu that could hurt me more than seeing you cry" – Said Naruto before he grabbed Kurenai's hands and looked at her eyes once more, before continuing. "My enemies, although powerful, doesn't even match the power of my allies. No matter what happens, I'll always come back for you, red rose" – Finished Naruto, before kissing her once again under the sunlight. Kurenai was always taken aback by how lovely her boyfriend is and how with just a few words, he could comfort her in more ways than no one ever did. In a moment, she felt silly for worrying too much and voiced it to Naruto. The blond smiled, in return and assured her to talk to him every time she need to. "I want to be there for you Kurenai-chan" – Said Naruto, earning a nod from Kurenai before she hugged him once more and then got up from the ground.

Once the genjutsu was dispelled, the group could see both Naruto and Kurenai there unharmed, so they were relieved. Before sensing Kurenai's chakra, both Hawk and Bear turned to see but they were already gone. Kakashi, however, smiled at the scene played in front of him, since his sharingan couldn't be fooled by the genjutsu. Naruto knew how to calm Kurenai down; he thought and wondered about the couple's future. After everything was sorted up, the group initiated their course of action.

===Inside a cave===

Orochimaru, of course, wasn't known throughout the elemental nations as being a rather ruthless individual. So it was safe to say he didn't have any sort of attachment to anyone. He was staring at the body of his second-in-command Yakushi Kabuto completely trashed with marks that came from what seemed to be a lightning attack. From the spy he sent to check on his experiments with the cursed seal, he came to know that Kabuto's corpse was located inside a huge crater and Orochimaru wondered which attack would be potent enough to kill Kabuto as well as dig so deep the land. It wouldn't matter though, as Orochimaru had some ideas about how to use Kabuto's healing ability and finally perfect the Cursed Seal Level Three.

The only god damn problem was finding a new host for him, though. The last time he had to switch was over two and a half years ago, so he'd have to find someone worthy to do it, so that he could attempt to finalize the operation on advancing his ultimate creation, the cursed seal. The man did have the courtesy to curse, though as his top subjects were utterly destroyed by what seemed to be ninjas from Konoha and after Orochimaru heard the spy's info, he seriously wondered if the Anbu was responsible. Surprisingly, Orochimaru was made aware of one Anbu team being able to accomplish quite many things together and one of them was defeating Akatsuki member Hoshikage Kisame. Orochimaru even knew that Itachi chose to flee, at the time, and that was saying something. Just thinking about the elder Uchiha, made the snake-face snarl in anger. The sharingan was his ultimate goal and when Itachi joined Akatsuki, Orochimaru once tried to possess the doujutsu, however he couldn't do squat against the Uchiha's unlimited potential in genjutsu, which in turn, trapped Orochimaru in place, stopping him for whatever moves he intended at the time.

Orochimaru thought about using Sasuke once again, but then remembered not sensing his cursed seal being used at all after the damn Kyuubi brat managed to take him away. It was like Sasuke managed, somehow, to suppress the will of the cursed seal and learned to control his emotions, which in turn, stopped the fuel for the cursed seal. Few actually knew this, but the secret of the cursed seal is that it was to be fed with negative emotions such as anger, insecurity and hatred. That's why Sasuke couldn't get rid of the cursed seal before, from being so focused on hatred and anger towards Itachi, hence feeding the seal every time. The snake-face, even with all his wisdom, was acknowledging his lack of options right now. He was now alone to do everything since Kabuto passed away and he didn't, yet, have a suitable body to pass on to in six months. No matter, though, the man's drive was too much to simply give up now. He knew it would be a long shot, but if he manages to complete the curse seal level three, than he could find a suitable body for him, in order to either steal Itachi or Sasuke's sharingan.

===In Konoha===

In Konoha, more precisely the Anbu HQ, two of their members were fighting each other. Shino and Shikamaru, after their fight against Naruto, started evaluating their techniques and how much they could improve them. Shikamaru remembered about how Naruto managed to get passed by his shadow and went to ask his father about creating ramifications for the shadow possession technique. Needless to say, his father was impressed and immediately taught his son how to do such advanced shadow manipulation, which in turn was called Kage Nui no Jutsu (Shadow Sewing Jutsu). Shika also remembered how much chakra he had to endure for the kage bunshin and wondered what he could do to increase his chakra reserves. Shino, for his part, concluded that his speed in ninjutsu must be refined. Between making the needed hand seals for the technique and its execution, Shino lost precious time and thus, allowing Naruto to see the technique being created and also allowing him room to dodge.

The two of them were now on straight taijutsu match in hopes of raising their stamina and increasing the force of the blows. Another thing about Naruto's fight was that each punch or kick that Naruto hit them with, were more like being hit by a ton of bricks, so they wondered if Naruto's ability to use chakra isn't suited only for ninjutsu and genjutsu, but also for taijutsu. For once, his agility rose tenfold when he applied chakra for better propulsion. "Say, Shino, what don't we change into ninjutsu training" – Asked Shikamaru, earning a nod from Shino who in turn, began making hand seals for a technique he learned from the library. Raiton Ikazuchi Nami (Lightning Release: Thunder Wave Jutsu)" – Said Shino as he released the attack on Shikamaru, before seeing the Nara heir jump, thus dodging the incoming wave, before making hand seals on the air for Suiton Suigadan no Jutsu (Water Release: Water Fang Jutsu). The attack was charging quickly against Shino, who in turn used his clan technique called Mushi Kabe no Jutsu (Insect Wall Jutsu), which consisted of his bugs surrounding the Aburame, flying at incredible speeds, thus forming a protective vortex.

The technique blocked the water attack, but Shikamaru didn't have to guess the next attack and moved for an attack on his own. Just after landing on the ground, Shikamaru made a large series of hand seals for Suiton Suiryuudan no Jutsu (Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu), before sending the humungous water dragon at Shino. The bugs stopped the wall and returned to Shino, so he was too damn late to raise any defense, thus resorting to academy level evasion technique using his bugs as decoy. After Shino escaped the technique, he began some hand seals once more, this time for the first technique he learned called Raiton Rakurai no Jutsu (Lightning Release: Thunderbolt Jutsu), before he sent the lightning attack straight at Shikamaru. The technique was too fast to dodge in time, so Shikamaru used the water barrier and let the lightning be conducted up to where the barrier was formed, thus leaving him out of harm's way.

Right after the water barrier, Shikamaru kneeled on the ground panting hard. He had been training non-stop in taijutsu so even if he only used three or four jutsus; he was, of course, tired. Shino was as well, since he was in the same boat as Shikamaru. Plus the fact that his hive absorb some of his chakra from time to time, so it was safe to say he felt depleted right now. Nevertheless, Shino knew his ninjutsu improved and that his speed with seals doubled since last time. "I think it would be better to just rest a little bit. My chakra is nearly depleted and we have a mission in about two hours" – Said Shino, earning a nod from Shikamaru who in turn, lied down for a while and looked up in order to see the clouds, but instead all he could find was the place's ceiling. I kind of miss watching the clouds, this Anbu job takes a lot out of me, so troublesome. How can Naruto do it and still have time for other stuff. – Thought Shikamaru as he closed his eyes for a second and recollected his fight against the blond. Naruto pretty much beat the crap out of him and he was only limited to taijutsu. The Nair heir couldn't help but flinch from wondering about Naruto's ninjutsu.

Shikamaru sighed in dismay thinking about how tough it must be to fight someone like Naruto and wondered if he would get to face such opponents on Anbu missions. Both he and Shino were more reserved shinobi, not focusing much on brute strength, but instead focusing in the art of deception. In a one on one fight, they were nearly unstoppable, but against a group, he wouldn't be able to do much. Naruto, on the other hand, had both the chakra capacity and the technique necessary to deal with not only groups of people, but also individual fights, hence why Shikamaru believed that Naruto to be one of the best shinobis within Konoha. He could just hope that things wouldn't be too hard to control and that his life could go on without much troublesome situations.

Shino, for his part, wondered about the blond as well as his abilities so far. Shino believed himself to be on par with what the Anbu could throw at him. He had his bugs to aid him, plus his raiton abilities really helped. Nevertheless, he felt that Naruto was so far up his level that the bug user, often, wondered if Naruto really was the one that graduated together with. His power was higher than most jounins around and even his genjutsu ability was top notch. Not to mention that Naruto's ninja abilities such as infiltration were out of this world. Shino remembered Naruto's Anbu jounin test and how tough it was to complete it. The bug user often times, wondered if he would be able to complete a task where he wasn't allowed to use chakra at all. Just as other of Konoha's clans, Shino just couldn't suppress his chakra because of the kikaichu bugs inside of him. I wonder if I'll ever reach your level, Naruto.

===With Naruto and company===

Jumping through the trees, Naruto warned Hawk of their proximity to the target. Hawk nodded and ordered everyone to stop for a while and gather their energy in order to fight any eventual opposition. The group nodded and rested for a while, which each of them sitting on the ground and having a conversation with each other, in order to pass the time a little bit. A few distance away from the target, Naruto could already hear Sanbi screaming of some language inside his head, but since he didn't understand a word of what he was saying, he waited for Kyuubi to translate.

"We are close; he can already feel my presence, so he's greeting me in demon language. He also said that the ones that captured him would certainly send in one member to try and capturing him again, however he warned us to speed things up because it would take a while for his energy to come back and he doesn't know if he could hold his own against this group" - Translated Kyuubi, though Naruto could hear the fox mumbling about how much of a coward the other demon was. How much energy he must have used, that he is taking so long to recover? – Asked Naruto, though he heard Kyuubi give him a snort in amusement, making it sound like a stupid question to ask.

"Our energy doesn't need time to recover, fool. For Sanbi, to take this long to recover, it means that in order to escape Akatsuki, he must have sacrificed something. For us demons, our power is measured by the number of our tails. The turtle has three tails; however we can sacrifice one of our tails in favor of using momentary strength burst. My best guess is that he did just that" – Explained Kyuubi, earning a nod from Naruto, who, after closing his eyes, was back to real world, looking at the group talking about how to approach the beast. Kakashi, because of the sharingan, acknowledged Naruto's inner communication with the demon and asked him about what the fox said. "We are close, the lake is a few miles north from here, but I have to approach the lake alone, I'm afraid" – Said Naruto, earning looks of worry from the others, before he explained better.

"Sanbi is rather afraid of enemy trying to capture him again, since he's low on energy right now. Therefore, he'll only make himself visible if Kyuubi approaches. Sanbi can feel the fox inside of me, so if I approach him, he'll show up. However, if all of you stand before me, he will keep hiding until I'm to be left alone." – Explained Naruto, earning a nod from those present, before Hawk stated that they will be guarding Black Wolf from the shore. In case of any trouble, he will use his intercom and call us in" – Stated Hawk. Minutes later, the group got up once more and charged towards their destination.

===With Akatsuki===

Zetsu was considered to be the best tracker in all of the elemental nations. With his ability to travel below the ground and through the trees, he could be anywhere instantly. Also he had the ability to trace chakra from a considerable distance, so it wouldn't be hard to track a fleeing tailed beast. However, as best as his abilities of tracking, apparently Sanbi holds the same mastery in hiding. So far, the half plant half human shinobi couldn't find trace of the demon's chakra or anything that could lead to his whereabouts. He was about to change directions when he sensed up to ten chakra signatures heading towards the same distance.

He could feel that all ten of the chakra signatures were high jounin level and immediately began to process the information. Zetsu wasn't ignorant to the fact that tailed beasts were and still are every hidden village's dream to control. So it wouldn't surprise the veteran shinobi if he encountered either one of the five hidden villages attempting to seal the Sanbi inside a born child to serve the respective village. Of course, Zetsu considered going back to the hideout and express this new discovery, simply because extracting the demon out of the jinchuuriki was much easier than sealing the demon itself.

Nonetheless, Zetsu pretty much knew that he just couldn't assume things, simply because of his sensory perception. He was still due to consider that just like he was in trouble finding the demon, than the other presences share the same predicament. After all, being an S ranked shinobi, there wasn't many with that could rival his abilities. Sinking below the ground once again, Zetsu travelled towards the destination in order to scout the enemy's intentions.

===With Naruto===

As Naruto and gang travelled towards the destination, Kyuubi was getting more uneasy by the second. It was the same time when Naruto went face to face with Gaara and Naruto feared the encounter of another jinchuuriki. Naruto strived to become a strong shinobi, but he refused to rely on Kyuubi's chakra to win battles. However while he was denying his inner demon, there was a slight chance that his counterpart doesn't think the same way, which would get the team in whole lot of trouble. "Trouble would be an understatement, I'm afraid. If the one I'm sensing is who I think it is, you won't be able to beat him, without my aid" – Talked Kyuubi for the first time, speaking with Naruto casually.

Which demon are you talking about? - Asked Naruto, before Kyuubi explained. "The only one besides me who wasn't captured yet. The Hachibi (eight tails) although less powerful than me by a slow margin, can easily kill everyone by simply lifting one of his tails. The good news is that he's not as bloodthirsty as I am" – Explained Kyuubi, though Naruto was not satisfied with what was about to happen. So, you mean to tell me that three tailed beasts will have a little reunion. What are the odds of a full-out confrontation between me and the hachibi jinchuuriki? – Asked Naruto, though slightly afraid of the answer.

"Just don't piss him off and maybe he won't resort to using the Hachibi's power. However, if he's one hundred percent dependant on the demon, well…safe to say you're screwed" – Stated Kyuubi, earning a sigh in dismay from Naruto, who in the real world, looked at Kurenai and was instantly worried about her wellbeing. Man, it was a bad decision to come here. "Maybe it's, maybe it isn't. It all depends on the jinchuuriki's state of mind" – Said Kyuubi, earning a look in more disappointment from Naruto who was still due to meet one jinchuuriki in their right state of mind, or at least kept their respective sanity. Gaara was a lunatic that happened to kill with the purpose of confirming his existence. Somehow, Naruto was relieved upon not knowing any other jinchuuriki besides the now Kazekage, so he at least hoped beyond hope that the Hachibi Jinchuuriki wouldn't be controlled by his or her demon. "I believe it's better to let your team know of this and make the right decision" – Advised Kyuubi to which Naruto nodded and told everything to his team.

Kurenai flinched at the mention of facing another jinchuuriki, but the rest of them began to process the information from a professional point of view. "It would be safe to assume that the Hachibi Jinchuuriki came accompanied by backup, just as we're accompanying Naruto, so if we reach our destination, we'll have to engage them and Black Wolf, you'd have to face the jinchuuriki. I'm sorry about it, but in terms of power, you'd be the only one who could match him. We'll deal with the remaining opposition" – ordered Hawk, earning a nod from the group.

After a few more minutes, the Konoha group arrived in what seemed to be a lake surrounded by heavy mist, thus blocking the view entirely. Kakashi, with his sharingan, noticed something weird with the mist. It appeared that a large genjutsu was casted throughout the area, so anyone could fall for the illusion. "Be careful with this mist, everyone. My sharingan detects a large genjutsu affecting this area" – Said Kakashi, while looking around the sight in order to find the opposition. Naruto, for his part, offered to blow the mist away with a jutsu, but Hawk advised otherwise. It would alert the enemy to our presence, therefore they needed to approach with caution and not be influenced by the illusion mist.

After a few steps towards the lake, the members were all caught in the illusion, but none of them thought highly of it and continued to walk towards the lake, where according to the fox, there is where Sanbi would be expecting Naruto. Looking back at his comrades, Naruto saw Kakashi and Kurenai nod for him to continue his path and have a chat with the turtle. However, just as he was about to place his right foot on the water, he heard the sound of shurikens flying and jumped backwards in time to avoid it. Landing next to his team, the Konoha's team were surprised to face what appeared to be six members of Kumo's Thunder Anbu Team. Kyuubi did already pointed out the Hachibi Jinchuuriki and Naruto looked to see a rather big man, roughly the size of Bear and Naruto was unnerved to see not one but eight swords strapped to the man's body.

As if the whole team knew who the man was, everyone was focusing on the Anbu's eight swords as well as the fact that his chakra had a different feeling that of those around him. "What's the meaning of this attack? Attacking a ninja from another village is can lead to war" – Shouted Hawk, but none of the Kumo-nins said anything, until the one with the eight swords approached and stood face to face with the black masked Anbu.

(AN: I don't have a clue on how to create rap lines, so I will save the readers from my pathetic attempts at doing so)

Naruto just stood there, unmoving. He wasn't afraid of the enemy, instead just watching his every move and analyzes him If possible. The man was collected so Naruto presumed he was in control of his actions. The swords alone were already intimidating, but Naruto had the mask to hide his anxiety. "I've already seen you before, but I can't quite put it. Your mask is familiar, though" – Said the big man, but Naruto didn't say anything. It was better for his foe not to know about his reputation as well as his abilities. "I'm just a junior Anbu member, sir. And I believe my commander here is waiting for an answer as to why your team deliberately attacked us" – Stated Naruto, before looking at Hawk and giving him a nod to confirm it.

The Hachibi Jinchuuriki was intrigued. He knew he saw that mask somewhere, but he couldn't remember. Also there was the fact that he felt a familiar presence inside the guy and wondered if he was exactly like him. It was at this point that he remembered seeing the newest addictions to Kumo's bingo book and he saw what appeared to be a black masked Anbu from Konoha, stating that the man was responsible for killing one fair share of Kumo-nins and was ranked as a B ranked shinobi, with the order to kill in sight. "Ah now I know where I saw you, Konoha's Shippuu Ookami (hurricane wolf). I'm kind of disappointed, though, I expected someone rather taller and more aggressive" – Stated the Anbu, making Naruto flinch at being caught and silently cursed Tsunade for inventing the god damn nickname.

"I guess is no use hiding that fact from you, is there? However, you are still due to respond my commander's question" – Stated Naruto, now being ready for an eventual battle. The man for his part turned to his associates and nodded. "Oh nothing major really. Our objective here is of no concern to Konoha and as for attacking you, I kind of felt like it" – Said the man before doing a back flip and throwing all his swords up to the air in unison. That was the signal for attacking and the Kumo's thunder Anbu took of their swords as well and fell into a fighting stance. "I'll take the big one, you guys scramble with the others, hime, stay with dog, please" – Said Naruto as he began a series of hand seals. Fuuton Daitoppa (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough Jutsu). The group, afterwards, scattered and each went against one of them.

The Kumo-nins didn't have the time to move before the huge gust of wind sent them flying, well except for the one who recognized him as he stood there. Naruto smirked thought, as the man's swords weren't as heavy as him, so they were sent flying as well. "Somehow, I got the feeling that you're the most dangerous of the group" – Said Naruto as he took his ninjato and positioned himself for the battle. The man smiled behind his mask and knew the meaning behind this foe's words. "I know you don't know me and only those within Kumo's village, knows of my condition. Besides them, the only one who could spot what I carry inside of me could only be another with the same condition, isn't that right Jinchuuriki?" – Asked the man, earning a nod from Naruto.

"I kind of figured that another one would come for the Sanbi, but I never would believe to meet the Hachibi Jinchuuriki in person, It's really a pleasure" – Said Naruto, as he charged the enemy with superior speed, surprising the enemy who in turn, managed to collect one of his swords and managed to block the incoming attack before watching the blond use his footing to stop the movement and eye the opponent. "I must applaud you regarding your sword ability, you sure take care of it a lot to be able to move like that, I really wanted for my students to move as gracefully as you do, but unfortunately I have my eight swords now and you only have one, no one can beat the eight" – Said the enemy, before charging Naruto this time. However, instead of slicing Naruto's body entirely, the Kumo-nin passed by him as if the man was transparent.

Naruto didn't want to waste this opportunity and used the lake near him as a weapon. After a large series of hand seals for Suiton Suiryuudan no Jutsu (Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu), one large water dragon came out of the water and charged towards Naruto's enemy. The enemy for his turn looked up only to see the huge water dragon approaching and placed his arms in front of him, in order to brace the impact. Naruto didn't rest though, he knew the man wouldn't be defeated like this and stood ready for a possible attack. True to his worries, the enemy appeared right next to him with an inhuman speed and began spinning with his eight swords, before Naruto substituted himself with a nearby stone which was sliced in multiple pieces.

"You have the skills, I give you that. But you can't hope to beat me without using your demon's power. Only one truly tuned with his demon would be able to go on par with me. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Hachi Kira, brother of the current Raikage and jinchuuriki of the Hachibi and now, you're executioner" – Stated Kira to which Naruto nodded and presented himself. "I have no desire of telling you my name since it would be irrelevant at this point and I'm the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Yoko" – Said Naruto, though wanting to see the man's face when he realizes that his demon was far more powerful than the Hachibi.

Kira, true to Naruto's words, stiffened a bit. True, he was tuned with his demon and all, but Kyuubi had nine tails of power while the Hachibi had eight. Surely, he was in disadvantage. Inside his mind, Kira could only listen. "This boy speaks the truth; I can feel Kyuubi-sama's presence within him, even if it's not being used at the moment. Perhaps would be wise to deal with him without my aid" – Stated the Hachibi before Kira protested. "Fool, you damn well know that Kyuubi is stronger than me and also should we battle, this world or at least a very large area would cease to exist. Therefore, we cannot confront each other" – Said Hachibi, earning a nod from Kira.

"It seems that my demon is a little bit reluctant to lend me his power, no matter though, I'll beat you and bring your head to Kumo. Also, since I'm unable to use my demon, you must have the same restriction" – Said Kira, earning a nod from Naruto. "Unlike you, I'm not reliant on my demon, let's see who is the better Anbu" – Said Naruto, before vanishing once again, using chakra to increase the speed of his movements. As he approached, Kira used four of his swords for defensive, however Naruto wasn't stupid as to attack with his sword alone, so he focused wind chakra and channeled through the metal, thus increasing the power of the attack. The impact between Naruto's sword and Kira's four echoed throughout the entire area and Kira was surprised to see that Naruto's attack required all four of them to defend.

"Huh, I believe that the bingo book underestimated you a little bit, Anbu. I believe I have to go tough on you" – Said Kira, before throwing his swords up once again and positioning his body as to position his swords between every joint in his body and two in his hands. "This is my perfect stance, there is no attack that could penetrate nor defense that could uphold my attacks, prepare yourself" – Said Kira, before vanishing and appearing right in front of Naruto, instantly. The blond for his part, was taken by surprise and barely managed to avoid being sliced, however he suffered two cuts on his left arm, thus stopping him from using Kenjutsu.

Placing the sword on his back, Naruto began to make some hand seals before whispering Fuuton Suidou no Tatsumaki (Wind Release: Tornado Tunnel Jutsu). Kira noticed the hurricane forming, but rather instead of going up, it was moving…straight forward. Kira never knew of this wind technique and safe to say, he never stood up to a tornado like this before. As the attack approached, Kira began spinning his body, thus using the sword's movements to block the incoming wind. When the attack landed, though, Kira was taken aback by the difference. While in a normal hurricane, only a part of the hurricane would hit, whereas now, Kira had to defend himself against an entire tornado.

Naruto for his part knew of a tornado's weakness. If the opponent possessed enough knowledge, he could alter the hurricane's direction, thus making it go another way, so Naruto used his creation, since it would be impossible for this Kira to stop the entire force of the hurricane. True enough, Kira was doing everything he could to get rid of the hurricane and was cursing himself for underestimating the technique and taking it head on. He was getting tired of this damn technique and immediately used Hachibi's chakra and disrupted the attack.

Naruto found this opportunity to be rather surprising. "I thought it was you who said not to use our demon's power" – Said Naruto as he saw a slightly similar aura surround Kira's body. The man snarled at his counterpart. Naruto was there crossing his arms, in a real attempt to mock the opponent. "Tell me something, why didn't you embrace your demon? Without it, we are just like everybody else, don't you want to be special" – Shouted Kira, earning a look in wonder from Naruto. Why was the man so focused on knowing this!?

"I don't know how hard it was for you growing up, but I can tell you for sure, that being a jinchuuriki doesn't make you special not in the least. On the contrary, they are ostracized since birth for something he or she didn't cause it. I happen to be an example of that as was the jinchuuriki of the one tailed demon Shikaku. Our childhood was anything but ordinary. People look at you with so much anger on their faces and no matter what you do, you'll end up being the village's scapegoat for all the damage Kyuubi himself inflicted on Konoha almost 17 years ago. Jinchuuriki are known to be each village's most prized weapon and they seek to capture the demons and control them. It takes a lot of determination not to be controlled by the demon inside of you. Every night, I would wake up in the middle of the night, sweating in fear from sights of destruction and blood that happened to be caused by the same demon whose home is inside your belly" – Explained Naruto, earning looks of total shock by Kira.

This was not his life at all. Kira always had at least someone to look out for him and never once did people look at him with hate, while growing up. He at some point believed that was all because of the fact that his brother was next in line for the Raikage's position, but…but seeing another jinchuuriki explaining a life completely different than his, he could understand why this fellow wouldn't rely on the Kyuubi for power. The demon fox, of course, made his life a living hell. But Naruto wasn't done explaining.

"Nevertheless, while I don't embrace its power, that doesn't mean I didn't take responsibility for what happened to the village. For numerous times, I faced on my free will, the punishment that the shinobis back home wanted to inflict at Kyuubi. I took them all without even a blink. Kyuubi is, after all, a part of my being, no matter how much people I care about say otherwise. No matter what I do, he will always be around, so it would be worthless to deny it" – Said Naruto, earning a nod in astonishment from Kira.

"What are you telling me this? You don't even know me" – Asked Kira, before looking intently at Naruto's mask to study the man's eyes, but surprisingly, no sadness reaction were visible. Kira expected this man to open up his life and then, begin crying, but instead, Naruto's eyes were as passive as a trained shinobi was during a mission. "I just wanted to show you why I don't intend to use the Kyuubi's chakra and while he's a part of my being, I don't have to rely on him to win battles. I have my own strength to deal with Konoha's enemies" – Explained Naruto.

Kira couldn't help but smile at the man in front of him. Hearing the man's history, one could presume that he became as evil as the devil inside of him, but no. Naruto was not strong physically but in spirit as well. This fight was over; there wasn't any reason to fight in the first place. Their mission was to talk to the Sanbi and that was all. "You earned my respect, Anbu-san. I never thought to hear a guy with such strong resolution. My quarrel with you was only for pure pride of my abilities. As to why I'm here, I think we share the same mission" – Said Kira to which Naruto nodded, before hearing something. "Naruto, be aware, I sensed some high chakra signature nearby and it certainly resembles one from Akatsuki" – Said Kyuubi.

"Kira, I'm afraid we have to deal with a common enemy. Kyuubi said to me that someone from Akatsuki is observing us. Could you help me deal with this guy?" – Asked Naruto to which Kira nodded, before using Hachibi's power to further improve his senses. Immediately, his eye sight was improved and he could very well see the black robe with red clouds looking at them. "Before we do this, how can I address you?" – Asked Kira to which Naruto smirked and asked to be called black wolf. "Okay, black wolf, a few miles that way is a guy that looks like a giant plant. He happens to be using their clothes" – Said Kira, earning a nod from Naruto who explained his plan.

===With Zetsu===

The giant plant man got somehow lucky that he managed to spot the Hachibi's vessel. Apparently, he was an Anbu from Kumo and was fighting an Anbu from Konoha. He couldn't be too close to hear the conversation from fear of being discovered. But the fact remained that he found the Hachibi and would do everything to capture him for the group. Suddenly, Zetsu felt the use of chakra nearby and got ready for everything. He didn't know he could be traced, but he was prepared to defend himself if needed be. Looking around, he realized much too late that he was being trapped inside a minor genjutsu that would change his surroundings hence the fact that when Naruto appeared behind him, Zetsu was actually seeing a couple of foes in front of him approaching.

Naruto, seeing the opportunity to once again use his illusion fist style, focused chakra to his feet and slammed it on Zetsu's back, thus sending him flying towards the lake where Naruto and Kira were fighting earlier. Zetsu, though, being the experienced shinobi he was, used the momentum and flipped his body in order to land safely on the ground. However, before he could actually land, a giant hand suddenly grabbed him and lifted the whole way up for Zetsu to be face to face with the Hachibi himself. "So, I was meaning to get my hand on at least one of you weaklings. You're unlucky since I'm happen to be herbivore; therefore I normally feed myself from plants" – Said the Hachibi, before placing the unfortunate S ranked missing-nin inside his mouth, before eating the damn plant.

Meanwhile, both Naruto and Kira were looking at the hug demon as he killed one of the Akatsuki in the worst way possible. Just after the demon swallowed, it vanished and returned inside Kira; seconds before everyone appear once again, panting from extreme exhaustion. Both sides were pretty much even and no one would land a decent blow on the other. Both the groups decided to join forces with their missing members; however all of them looked that their missing members were crossing their arms, while just talking. "Black Wolf, what's the meaning of this? He is our enemy" – Shouted Hawk, slightly agitated that Black Wolf was just standing there while he and the others were doing the fighting, however he saw that while Naruto's Anbu armor was unscathed, he couldn't say the same for Kira.

"Sorry Hawk-taichou, we engaged against one another in battle, however I'm afraid Akatsuki decided to meddle in our fight hence why we stopped and took care of him" – Said Naruto like it was nothing, however the shock of his words soon was visible and everyone began questioning how and who. "I don't know who the guy was or what his name was. What I do know is that he appeared to be like a plant and was spying on us and he was a missing-nin from Kusa, I managed to see his crossed hitai-ate. Well, long story short, my friend here ate the damn plant and is now digesting it as we speak" – Explained Naruto, earning laughter from Kira and a look of disgust from Kurenai.

So, after calming the group down, Kira explained to the Konoha-nins that he was here to talk with the Sanbi, since the turtle called in to him for help. Naruto chose not to reveal that he was here for the same thing from fear of exposing his position as jinchuuriki, so he explained that Konoha's mission was to do some recon of this area and blamed the heavy mist as the reason. Naruto's team were highly experienced and knew not to contradict him and Kira, having already heard Naruto's plea not to divulge his vessel, nodded in understanding. The group of Kumo-nins said for Kira to step things up with his objective while they would be resting a bit on their camp they made not so far, so Naruto was relieved as hell, since he couldn't go with Kira to meet the Sanbi.

Looking at one another, Naruto and Kira nodded and walked towards the lake, in order to meet up with the three tailed demon, while Naruto's group stood guard at the lake shore. After a while of walking, both Kira and Naruto felt the strong presence before the entire lake began to glow a golden color. Both of them were startled at first, but their respective demons calmed them, saying that the turtle was just coming out of hiding. Looking from above, only Naruto and Kira were visible. However, a sudden shadow below the water appeared small and begins growing as it was submerging. It wasn't long until the turtle's body became fully submerged and he was facing both Naruto and Kira. "Greetings, Kyuubi-sama; Hachibi-sama" – Stated Sanbi, before the images of both the eight-tailed ox and the nine-tailed fox appeared behind their respective jinchuurikis.