36

Kisame – ….

Shikamaru – …

Itachi – Well, it sure is eerily quiet in here today…

Kisame – Hmph…!

Shikamaru – Hmph…

Itachi – What happened between you gu… You know what? I'm not pay nearly enough to care. Here is PHD's chapter 36. Please enjoy.

A Simple World is Worthless

Sighing, the Sharingan user accepted defeat. "Ok, Lee, you win this time…" He relented. "But you better not get yourself killed here or I will go the afterlife myself and drag you back just so I can beat the living hell out of you…" He warned his teammate. "Or better yet, I'll turn you over to Tenten and let her decide your punishment." The spiky haired boy added before turning around.

With another smile on his face, Lee gave his friend a quick glance. "Don't worry, I promise." The older teen said as he gave his friend a thumbs up.

Naruto started running back towards the movie set as Lee and the former Iwa shinobi resumed the fight. It took every last bit of the blonde's self-control to ignore the sounds of battle coming from behind him and keep his focus in the path ahead. "I'm serious, Lee… You better win…" The Sharingan user thought as he ran through the trees.

Eventually, the sounds of Lee's fight faded out, but unfortunately they were soon replaced by new sounds of struggle. Realizing that there was a battle going on back in the movie set, Naruto sped up his pace.

Yukie had gotten pretty far when she original ran off, and the fight with Gareki had taken the Leaf genin even further away than he had originally realized.

As he approached his destination, cold sweat started to run down the back of the blonde's neck. "The fight… Is over…" He said to himself after his surroundings had gone silent. The young man gritted his teeth and prepared himself for what could be waiting for him just beyond the tree line.

Destruction; that was the simplest way to describe the state of the movie set Naruto had returned too. Broken sets, twisted steel pipes, smoking mountains of rubble; it was hard for the blond to tell what had been caused by the original explosion and what had been from the fight he had heard. Eventually, the genin's sapphire eyes found the lifeless body of an impossibly fat man lying inside a perfectly round crater and surrounded by over dozens of kunai and shuriken, clear indication that he had been defeated by Neji and Tenten.

"I told him to be careful… But he refused to listen." A voice suddenly said from behind the Leaf ninja.

Immediately, the spiky haired boy wiped around towards the source of the voice, a kunai ready in his hand.

A young man with black haired tied up in a pony-tail walked calmly from the edge of the movie set. "I tried to warn Gentan that he had never faced a Gentle Fist user before, but I guess he though all the fat on his body would protect him… If he had only heeded my words he would not have died so pathetically… So sad, he was always very entertaining." The new comer said in an almost amiable tone despite talking about a dead acquaintance. "And from what I could hear from here, Gareki did not fare any better against you, Uzumaki-san."

Naruto's eyes narrowed as they focused on the Hidden Mist headband with an X carved on it that hung from the man's shirt and made note that, just like Gareki, this man knew his name as well. "Who are you and where is everybody?" The boy asked.

Smiling, the man focused on the younger ninja. "My name is Kikaku Honda… I guess you can think of me as Gareki's superior." He responded plainly. "As for the movie crew… I do believe that the Aburame boy is leading them back to the hotel. However, unfortunately for the Hyuuga and the kunoichi, the moment they defeated Gentan, my associates descended upon them. The two of them put up an impressive fight, but they were eventually overpowered." The man commented.

"What?!" Naruto exclaimed, bearing his fangs as the Sora Sharingan manifested itself on the boy's eyes.

Immediately, Honda brought his hands up. "Do not be so alarmed." He said. ""I'm not entirely sure why, but my employers decided to capture them instead of outright killing them, so you should be glad about that." The man casually added.

The blond tried to reign in his new fury. "What exactly are you guys after?" The boy needed to keep the man talking to find out what he was actually dealing with.

The former Kiri ninja had no problems answering. "My comrades and I were hired to secure the capture for Fujikaze Yukie." He said. "I have to tell you, I was pleasantly surprised by how much trouble you kids gave us… It has been quiet entertaining." The older man said as he smiled once more.

Narrowing his eyes at the man's words, Naruto gripped his kunai tighter. "I'm not letting you lay a single finger of Yukie." The Jinchuuriki stated.

Honda's smile took on an almost feral look. "But Uzumaki-san, I have already captured her." The man revealed as he reached into his inside pocket. "She put up a good fight too, but, at the end, she was unable to stop me." He commented as he brought out the mangled remains of a familiar Leaf headband.

The very next instant, Honda saw a giant, chakra fist coming down on him. Gracefully, the older shinobi jumped out of harm's way.

"You bastard!" Naruto roared. "What have you done to Sakura?!" The boy demanded to know as Susanoo continued to form around him.

Once again, the black haired man brought one hand up. "Please, calm down…Like I said, my associates have decided to capture your comrades for reason only known to them." The man explained. "You still have a chance to save the pink haired kunoichi and the other two…" He said. "That is, provided you can get pass me." The former Mist ninja added with another smile.

"What do you mean…?" The spiky haired teen questioned, refraining himself from lunging at his opponent again.

The man's smile widened. "With the capture of Fujikaze Yukie, my responsibilities with my employer have been taken care of. As far as I am concern, I am free to do whatever I want." Honda informed as he, for the first time since he walked into the movie set, took a fighting stance.

With Susanoo blazing around him, Naruto prepared himself. "And why do you want to fight me." He asked.

"You are an oddity, Uzumaki-san, one of the few genuine ones left in this world." Honda responded. "I want you to entertain me for a little while." He added before swiftly throwing a couple of shuriken at the young ninja.

Charging forward, Naruto let the incoming projectiles bounce harmlessly off the chakra avatar around his body and instead directed another colossal punch towards his opponent.

Once more, the Mist nin simply jumped back to safety and let the construct's fist impact the ground.

Instead of the chakra avatar, over half a dozen blonds shot out of the cloud of dust raised by the attack's impact. A knowing smirk appeared on Honda's expression as he dodged the incoming attacks from the clones, before delivering a spinning kick and catching the real Naruto on the chest.

The Uzumaki was pushed back but managed to stay on his feet. However, before he could reassume his assault, the older shinobi had already finished a set of hand seals. "Suiton – Mizurappa." He called out before jumping backwards and shooting a torrential stream of water out of his mouth which caught all the shadow clones before they had a chance to evade and forced them to disappear.

Sharingan eyes immediately focused on the black haired man, but unfortunately, before Naruto could bring out the Amaterasu flames, the stream of water suddenly strengthen and shot towards the Jinchuuriki's direction, forcing him to abandon the attack and jump away.

"Now, that's more like it." Honda suddenly started to say as the younger ninja landed back on the ground. "That's the pattern I've come to expect from you." He commented.

Naruto narrowed his eyes at his opponent's words. "What are you talking about?"

Another smile appeared on Honda's face. "I've study you… Do you have any idea how many times you start your attacks with a team of shadow clones?" He asked. "And you always join them, you never stay behind. Then, if that approach fails, you tend to follow with a long range attack, usually a Fire Release." The man pointed out as if he were giving a lesson at the academy.

For a second, Naruto felt as if he was fighting Shikamaru or perhaps Kakashi.

"You see, this is my quirk." Honda continued talking. "I study and analyzed everyone around, all of my targets, and any body of note in the ninja world today." He revealed. "Uchiha Itachi, Yugito Nii, Kitsuchi, Chiyo, Terumi Mei. I know how all of the greats fight, even if I cannot beat them all yet!" The black haired man said as he opened his arms to show the grandeur of his words and his voice become more and more excited. "And you know what that has made me, Uzumaki-san?"

Suddenly, the Sharingan user noted that the missing nin's smile took a sour look.

"Bored…" Honda finished his statement, all the energy that his words had been building up had abruptly disappeared. "There are no more wonders in this world. Gone are the monsters like Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama. Gone are the gods like the Sage of Six Paths. I curse the fact that I was born in such a mundane time when even our best ninjas can be measured and predicted to the point they can be broken down into statistics and pattern." The man ranted. "But you, Uzumaki-san, have the potential to shatter this overwhelming dullness and that's what I will have you show me!" He stated before swiftly forming hand seals. "Daibakufu no Jutsu!"

A powerful torrent of water spewed out of the older ninja's mouth, forming a vortex that charged forwards towards the blond, steamrolling everything on its path.

Quickly, Naruto jumped into the air to dodge the incoming deluge and started on a set of hand seals of his own. "Suigadan!" He called out before the water that had been left behind by Honda's techniques suddenly sprung to life, forming a pair of piercing water twisters that shot towards the older man.

Honda dodged the blonde's attack by jumping away, but the moment he landed back on the ground, the younger ninja was right front of him finishing a new set of seals.

"Gokakyu no Jutsu!" Naruto shouted before breathing a colossal fireball at his opponent.

"Daibakufu no Jutsu!" Honda responded by spewing another cascade of water.

The fire and water techniques collided with each other in a violent explosion of steam that covered the entire movie set.

Naruto look around trying to see anything through the thick curtain of steam. "My, my, that was careless of you, Uzumaki-san." The missing ninja's voice seemed to come from every direction. "Don't you know that a Kiri shinobi can use steam just as if it were mist?" He questioned as his voice echoed unnaturally.

Suddenly, everything went completely quiet, even the ambient sounds of the woods had gone deadly silent.

The Sora Sharingan continued to search through the steam. Eventually, the genin's eye caught sight of a shade in his peripheral vision. Quickly turning to face towards it, Naruto saw a object cutting through the steam as it flew towards him and he immediately sent chakra to his eyes. "Amaterasu." Immediately, the projectile was covered in black flames.

It was at that moment that Naruto realized that the attacking object had been a kunai with a tag tied to it, and when the dark flames reached it, the tag detonated into a potent, white hot flash so strong that it felt like it would burn his eyes away.

In the middle of the destroyed movie set, the younger ninja screamed.

By now Shion could barely breath as she ran through the woods. However, the desperation and dread she felt kept the young woman from stopping.

Everything in the last hour had happened so fast. One moment she was making her way back to the movie set alongside Fujikaze Yukie and Sakura when suddenly another missing ninja showed up claiming to be there for the actress. The pink haired girl told them to hide while she tried to fight the black haired man, but it soon became clear that she was no match for him.

It was at that point when Fujikaze turned to Shion and told her to run. The older girl announce her wish to turn herself in to the enemy ninja in hopes that it would save the kunoichi that was trying to protect them and put an end to this chaotic situation they found themselves in as a whole.

Shion was not proud of herself for it, but she decided to follow through with the actress' plans and make a run for it by herself. As she left the older girl behind, the blond kept reminding herself that she had not seen any visions for either Yukie's or Sakura's deaths, and maybe that meant that they will be fine after all.

Eventually, the priestess found a hiding spot deep into the woods and she simply waited there, hoping that everything would be alright and that Taruho or Naruto would come for her soon.

After several minutes of silence, the young girl's hopes for an end to the conflict were destroyed when she heard the sounds of fighting start again.

The girl jumped when she suddenly heard an angry roar that she recognized to be Naruto's. Immediately, the Demon Country priestess decided that she could not longer just simply wait and hide anymore, so, arming herself with as much courage as she could muster, Shion stood up and started her way back towards the movie set were the sounds of Naruto's fight seemed to be coming from.

Shion willed her body to continue running pass exhaustion as the noises from the battle intensify, even when the entire forest was suddenly covered by a curtain of steam.

All of the sudden, a violently bright flash went off just up ahead. Covering her eyes, the blond jumped behind a tree as whatever generated the light also blew all the water vapor away. The girl felt as if something threatened to rip out her heart when she heard Naruto scream in anguish.

When she opened her eyes, Shion peaked behind the tree she had sheltered herself on and realized that she was already at the edge of the destroyed movie set and, right in the middle of all the rubble and debris, were Naruto and the black haired man, but the sight that greeted her filled the priestess with a new wave of overwhelming dread.

Hiding behind the tree, Shion stood there as her body trembled uncontrollably and her throat dried out, preventing her from making any sound as she watched the scene in front of her.

"Haah… Haargh…" Naruto heaved in pain as he fell to his knees and clutched his head tightly.

"Come on, Uzumaki-san… This cannot be the best you can do." A black haired man with a pony tail and a narrow nose said as a smile appeared on his face. "There are a lot of people that are expecting great things from you… I would be extremely disappointed if this was all that there was to your abilities." He added, managing to almost sound jovial.

The blond genin tried to compose himself, but his entire body was in pain. His feet felt as if they were standing on needles, his stomach as if something was wrapping around it, and his hand felt as if they were on fire, but by far the most pain was in his head. The Jinchuuriki could feel it pulsating, as if it were going to explode at any moment, and his eyes… His eyes…!

Shion tried to say something, she tried to call out to the boy hurting in front of her, but nothing came out. "No…! This is wrong…! This is not like it was in my vision!" The priestess thought as she saw blood start to stream down Naruto's eyes.

The young boy could not move, his body was paralyzed by the burning sensation he felt in his chakra pathway originating from his eyes, but the worst part was the he could not open his eyes at all.

Even the smallest moment of the genin's eyelids sent a new wave of overwhelming pain cursing through his entire body.

"I take it that you never heard of the Shukketsu Me explosive tags." The spiky haired boy heard Honda's voice said. "They are a relic now, but back during the Warring States days they were quite common in the battlefield. The tags release quite a potent flash of light when they come in contact with any kind of fire." The former Mist nin explained. "They were specifically created and use to cripple the Sharingan."

Still on the ground, all that the helpless Jinchuuriki could do was listened to the explanation for the pain his body was currently under.

Honda walked casually towards the younger ninja. "I kept one with me just in case I ever had to fight off Uchiha Itachi or Hayate Kakashi. I never thought that I would get to use it today." He said as he stood over the injured genin.

Before Naruto could react to anything, the boy felt a powerful kick connect with his shoulder and sent him flying back.

"It's quite disappointing, Uzumaki-san!" The missing nin stated. The spiky haired boy struggled to get back on his feet and tried to discern where his opponent's voice was coming from. "You walked right into my trap." Honda added. "It was almost too easy." The man's voice seemed to come from a random direction every time, preventing the blond from finding him.

Suddenly, the genin felt the blade of a kunai slash at his back. Barely able to stifle a cry of pain, the younger ninja immediately spun his body around and swing his fist. Unfortunately, all that the punch did was swing at empty air.

Immediately, the boy felt another kick connect, this time to the side of his ribs, which sent him tumbling down to the ground. "You have to do much better than that, Uzumaki-san." Honda voice mocked as he continued to attack the blinded genin, each time from a different direction.

Naruto knew that his opponent was toying with him as a punch drove into his gut, knocking the air out of him. Realizing he was out of options and that the former Mist ninja was about to attack him again at any moment, the blond quickly rolled up his right sleeve and used his thumb to smear some of his blood across the tattoo on it. "Namikaze – Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" The young man roared just before he was surrounded by electricity.

Honda watched the sight in front of him in amusement as a chain with a blade at the head shot towards him. The older shinobi jumped safely out of the way. "That's a smart move, Uzumaki-san. You might not be able to see, but Tenkai no Ryuga's chain can attack on its own." The man commented with approval.

The spiky haired boy straightened up as he held the lightning covered spear defensively in his hand while the chain coiled protectively around him.

"But…" The former Kiri ninja continued. "Is it fast enough?" He wondered out loud as he hurled a pair of shuriken at the younger shinobi.

Immediately, Ryuga's chain sprung to life and intercepted to incoming projectiles before flying straight at the black haired man, forcing him to jump into the air to dodge the attack.

Airborne, Honda shot several more kunai at his opponent which were immediately knock off by Ryuga's chain. However, the Mist ninja quickly sent a third wave of blades, closely followed by a fourth one.

Despite the chains quick movements, one of the kunai managed to pass through, flying right pass the genin on the ground and leaving a cut on his cheek.

"You see?" Honda asked. "That spear is not going to be enough to defeat me." He said before charging in towards the younger ninja.

Naruto gritted his teeth as he stood his ground. He knew that Ryuga's chain was trying its best to keep the black haired man at bay, but it was not enough to keep up with the older man's quick movements.

Still hiding behind the trees, Shion watched as the Leaf ninja struggled against the older shinobi.

The priestess did not have to be a ninja herself to predict what was going to happen next. The despite the chains incredible speed, it was already struggling to try to keep up with the black haired man and, sure enough, it eventually overextended itself, leaving the missing nin a clear path to towards Naruto, which he immediately took.

Shion did not know what possessed her to do so, but as she watched the Mist ninja rush towards the other blond from the rear, the young girl stepped out from behind the trees and shouted at the top of her longs. "Naruto! You are not going to die here!"

The sudden outburst caught both ninjas by surprised. The genin turned his head to where the voice had come from while the older shinobi stopped dead on his tracks, having completely forgotten about the blond girl that had been with Fujikaze Yukie and the pink haired kunoichi.

Naruto was the first one to recover from the surprised and took advantage of the fact that he finally knew were his opponent was standing.

Turning around, the spiky haired teen poured some of his chakra into Ryuga, which caused the weapon to start emitting electricity again. "Shin no Yari Hassha!" The blond roared before hurling the spear at the missing nin.

Honda could do nothing as Ryuga pierced him dead center on the chest with so much force that it sent him flying across the movie set and impaled him to a tree at the edge of the clearing.

"It's over." Naruto stated as he grabbed on to the weapon's chain and commanded it to send a powerful volt of electricity into the downed opponent.

"Gyaaargh!" Honda screamed as the electricity coursed through his body.

Once he felt it was enough, Naruto stopped the attack and retrieved Ryuga.

Shion immediately rushed towards her fellow blond. "Naruto! Naruto! Are you ok?!" She asked as she ran. "Your eyes… Are they…?"

The spiky haired boy turned his face towards the direction that the priestess voice was coming from. "It's alright…" He lied. "But what about you? Are you hurt?" The young man asked as he reached out with his free hand.

Shion immediately took the ninja's hand. "I'm fine… Yukie told me to run and hide… And I did…" The girl confessed, her voice coming out small out of embarrassment and guilt.

"Good." The blinded boy stated. "At least you're safe."

Unbeknownst to Naruto, a healthy blush appeared on the priestess' face.

"Heheh… Hahahah!" A pained laugher was heard through the movie set.

The two blonds immediately turned towards where the former Mist shinobi was still impaled by Ryuga.

Despite the man's current situation, the smile had returned to Honda's face. "Before our fight… I calculated the outcome… Again and again…" He started to say. "And, despite being extremely low… Your chances… of surviving never came out as zero… Uzumaki-san…" His eyes glanced at the girl. "But I could never predict… That you would beat me this way… I cannot remember the last time I was taken by surprise… Like this."

Naruto walked towards his wounded opponent as Shion followed closely behind him. "What are your plans with Yukie? Where did you take my friend?" The Leaf genin asked.

"I told you already… Uzumaki-san… My team and I… Were simply hired to capture Fujikaze Yukie… I'm not privy to my employer's plan…" The black haired man responded. "But, I can tell you that… Our associates were ninjas from the Hidden Snow…" He added.

A growled escaped the Jinchuuriki. "That's not enough!" The young man roared. "Tell me why you took my friends?!"

The smile in Honda's face never wavered. "I'm sorry, Uzumaki-san… But that's all I know…" He said, managing to sound almost casual. "But let me make it up to you… By telling you something else…" The man said as he grabbed his own headband. "We've been observing you… Uzumaki-san… You are more valuable to this world… Than you have ever realized." His grin widened at the look of confusion in the younger ninja's face. "Do not fear the Red Dawn… Because the White Night watches over you." Honda stated.

Shion gasped in shock when the black haired man's entire body suddenly turned into mud and then crumbled to ground. Leaving the Leaf ninja's spear stuck on the tree.

"He was a clone this entire time…" Naruto bitterly said as he knelt down to examine the mud left behind; he did not need his eyesight to know what had happened. "What the hell did he meant with all of that?" He wondered out loud.

The priestess looked at the other blond. "What do we do now?"

Naruto turned his face towards the young woman for a few seconds before standing up straight. "It's simple." The blinded genin stated. "We go after those Snow bastards who took Yukie and my friends."

Mizurappa – Wild Water Wave

Daibakufu no Jutsu – Giant Vortex Jutsu

Suigadan – Water Fang Bullet

Gokakyu no Jutsu – Great Fireball Jutsu

Shukketsu Me – Bleeding Eye (Made up)

Shin no Yari Hassha – True Spear Shot (Made up)

Kisame – ….

Shikamaru – …

Itachi – Ok, I can't believe I'm saying this, but the silence is actually starting to piss me off. What happened?!

Shikamaru – Nothing… *Whistles the Mockingjay call from the Hunger Games.*

Kisame – You goddamn bastard! *Lunges at Shikamaru from across the room.*

Itachi – Sigh… Sometimes I hate my job…