Notes: Got some complaints that the good guys were in a situation that they couldn't possibly win their way out of. I suppose it depends who you consider the good guys, but anyway, things start to turn around here. Oh, and this is the last chapter titled “The Breaking of Konoha,” for those who asked.

The Nature of Love

A Naruto Fanfic by

Nate Grey (XMAN0123-at-aol-dot-com)

Chapter 34: The Breaking of Konoha, Part 5

Kyuubi was not a doctor. He was very familiar with the human body, having eaten, torn open, or transformed into more than his share in his lifetime, but he was not a doctor. Had Naruto ever actually been properly examined by a medic-nin in Konoha, they would've been simultaneously shocked, appalled, and amazed by their findings.

The Yondaime's seal had bound Kyuubi to Naruto for life, and periodically siphoned off some of the fox's chakra for Naruto's use. That covered many specifics, but left many more at Kyuubi's discretion. So by the time that Naruto had first learned what chakra was, Kyuubi had plenty of footholds in the boy's body, and had been customizing it as much as he dared without drawing Naruto's notice. At first, this was just the fox's preference, but as Naruto's sub par diet and daily beatings came into play, it was simply a matter of survival. The facts were that Naruto wouldn't have reached age six without the fox sealed inside of him, although it could also be argued that his situation wouldn't have been so desperate if Kyuubi were sealed into anyone else.

But now that Naruto and Kyuubi had something of a partnership, and Kyuubi had grudging permission to manipulate the body, he'd learned a great deal more about his living prison. Something that had always perplexed him, however, were the group of blockages to Naruto's human chakra. To Kyuubi, they were always in the way, decreasing the boy's already substantial chakra flow. But he slowly came to realize that they were present in all humans as safeguards, regulating how much chakra they released at any one time. Too little, and the human was powerless; too much, and the human could burn out.

Naruto's blockages were far stronger than any other human's, of course. They had to be, to have any hope of holding back the portion of Kyuubi's chakra that the seal allowed through. Kyuubi had never paid them too much attention, because whenever he sent enough chakra through, one or more of the blockages opened up, and any resulting damage from the force was healed with time and rest.

Now, though, these blockages were the key to restoring their power. Kyuubi knew that if enough of them were open long enough, absolutely nothing could stop the intensity of the demonic chakra that would flood Naruto's body: not the Yondaime's seal, and certainly not Kankurou's. The main problem with this idea, though, was that the backlash would leave Naruto virtually defenseless for an unknown period. Fortunately, Naruto had defenses that were not directly connected to his body, in the form of his summons. If Kyuubi directed a portion of the flood into them, they could defend him while his body recovered.

But, again, Kyuubi was no doctor. He had no idea if the blockages would ever re-seal themselves after releasing such a huge amount of demonic chakra. Naruto would die in a matter of minutes if they all stayed open permanently. On the other hand, if just one or two stayed open long enough, Naruto would be able to handle additional tails of Kyuubi's chakra, and more easily process Kyuubi's chakra overall. Assuming that Madara hadn't implanted some sort of time bomb in Naruto's head, they'd be more powerful than ever before.

As a precaution, Kyuubi created seven copies of himself, and sent each one to a different blockage. It was humiliating to watch the tiny versions of himself scamper off, but it was all that he had to work with, for the moment. And since each of those pathetic copies were carrying just under one whole tail's worth of his chakra, they were far from useless. Kyuubi himself stood guard by the final blockage at Naruto's heart, the one that would definitely kill them both if it were allowed to open. Under no circumstances was he going to allow that, and he'd devoted just over two tails worth of chakra to that cause, just in case.

At Kyuubi's mental nod, each of the copies blasted the blockages with a surge of demonic chakra. For a long moment, nothing happened. And then the blockages began to burst open, one by one, filling Naruto's body with more demonic chakra than Kyuubi had ever allowed him at one time.

Growling, Kyuubi launched himself at the final blockage as it started to open. Two huge tails of chakra burst from his rear and slammed against the blockage, holding it closed as the rest of the fox's chakra rushed and roared through the boy's body. It took all of the fox's remaining strength, but the blockage remained firmly shut.

With a final command for each of his clones to shut the blockages after a set period, Kyuubi sagged against the final blockage, digging his claws in to be sure it wouldn't open while he was recovering. "You owe me big time for this one, brat," he grunted just before falling asleep.

Although he had every right to be pleased, Kankurou couldn't help feeling disappointed. Today, he had planned to show his master, and the world, that he would one day succeed Sasori as Akatsuki's puppet master. But nothing was going the way he'd planned.

As things stood, the most impressive thing he'd done on his own in Konoha was wound the Sandaime Hokage. Had they not been interrupted, Kankurou was certain he'd have added another Kage to his collection. There was still hope for that idea, though: he'd run into Sasame on his way through the village, and while she was determined to kill the Hokage herself now, she'd promised to give him the body afterwards. Like her "father," she saw the importance in a ninja perfecting their jutsu, and like Kankurou, she was also the product of a dark legacy. But like her, Kankurou had to first prove himself worthy of all the effort that his masters had put into training him.

Unfortunately, it seemed as if Kankurou's time in the spotlight was at an end, at least as far as the invasion was concerned. Now, he'd pretty much been demoted to acts of massive destruction on Konoha, while his superiors were in the thick of the real action. A less intelligent subordinate might've been perfectly pleased with that task, but Kankurou knew busywork when it was handed to him, as he'd gotten plenty of it in Suna.

This was not to say that Kankurou didn't enjoy the destruction he was currently causing, just that he knew there were more important things he had been excluded from. And from all indications, Jorougumo was enjoying the test run even more than its summoner.

Kankurou's spider was truly a weapon of both genius and terrible beauty. Even without its armor, Jorougumo was naturally armed with brute strength, paralyzing stingers, frightening speed, and the ability to stalk its prey virtually undetected. The armor simply added more to its already lethal arsenal: flamethrowers, exploding tags, shrapnel bombs, and almost ten times more poison than Kankurou had ever needed to use at once. Of course, as the poison's main ingredient was the spider's own venom, it was completely immune.

Even better, if Jorougumo ever managed to receive so much damage that it automatically retreated back to the world of summons, the armor would remain behind as Kankurou's most massive puppet, fully functional and every bit as deadly as the spider itself.

No one in Konoha had time to reflect on that, of course. Not unlike most Leaf-nin, Jorougumo traveled by rooftop, pausing only briefly to shower the enemies that passed below with projectiles. Kankurou rode on the spider's back, observing with only mild interest.

That is, until chakra flared behind them, and Kankurou turned just in time to have a mud ball slam into his face. Jorougumo hissed as its body was pelted with mud as well, more angered than hurt.

Kankurou wiped his face, very much surprised to see Kyojuu glaring up at him from the ground, atop a dragon's head composed of earth. "Persistence is really overrated, you know. Can't you go annoy someone else?" A twitch was all it took to open one of the many compartments on Jorougumo's armor, and Kyojuu vanished in a stream of flames. When Kankurou finally cut the flamethrower, only blackened ground remained, but somehow, he knew he couldn't be that lucky.

Sure enough, pain exploded in his back as electrified claws ripped through Kankurou's flesh. He fell roughly across Jorougumo's back, letting out a strangled cry of shock as Kyojuu knelt over him.

"If you're going to hunt demon vessels, you should learn not to underestimate them so much," Kyojuu growled, flexing his claws for a second strike.

"I'll keep it in mind," Kankurou chuckled as his right arm collapsed in on itself, revealing a grenade launcher that fired directly into Kyojuu's startled face. Poison gas enveloped them, and Kyojuu tumbled from the spider's back, landing on the ground hard. Amazingly, the demon vessel just grunted and stumbled back to his feet, coughing but still very much active. At the very least, he should've still been on the ground twitching with so much poison in his system.

"Nasty stuff," Kyojuu choked out, shaking his head. Without warning, his cheeks bulged, and he vomited up what looked like water with purple dye in it.

"So poisons are useless against you," Kankurou muttered. "Should've brought my other arm. But Jorougumo is more than enough to deal with you."

"Actually," Kyojuu replied with a grin, "I'm more of a one-on-one type of guy. So either you send your friend away, or I will." He knelt down and slammed his palm into the ground with a cry of, "Doton: Retsudotensho (Earth Release: Split Earth Turn Around Palm)!"

Kankurou laughed as the ground began to rumble slightly. Not only was Jurougumo standing on the side of a building, but the jutsu didn't seem to have nearly enough power to do any real damage. "Are you seriously going to use a C-rank jutsu against a summon? And you're not even doing it right!" He jumped off the spider's back, sticking to the side of the building with chakra.

Kyojuu just grinned up at him. "Funny thing about us demon vessels. We'd all be geniuses if people didn't work so hard to sabotage us growing up. So even if we learn things wrong, our way tends to turn out more powerful. For example, Naruto can't make a normal clone to save his life, Yugito can't pull off a genjutsu below B-rank, and me? I never really got my version of Retsudotensho below S-rank. Damnedest thing, really."

Kankurou swallowed his laugh hard as an enormous hand of tightly compacted rock and earth tore out of the ground and grabbed Jorougumo. Once the spider was trapped in the hand's firm grip, the rocks began to grind against the summon with incredible speed and pressure. Jorougumo was only able to stand the pain for a moment before vanishing, leaving his armor behind... and even that was soon useless as it was crushed and dragged deep into the ground.

"I'm losing my touch," Kyojuu grunted, flexing his fingers. "I was aiming for the whole building."

That was all that Kankurou needed to hear. He'd already lost the use of two puppets, and one of those for good. The plan had never accounted for Yugito and Kyojuu resisting his seal, and he certainly hadn't been prepared to fight any demon vessels other than Naruto and Gaara. It was safe to say that he was in way over his head, but only for the moment. Frowning, he fed some of his chakra into an emergency seal on his forearm. It acted as a signal flare, one of many that linked back to Kagero of the Fuma Five. Once she recognized the request for transport, a silvery light enshrouded Kankurou's body, and he disappeared right before Kyojuu's eyes.

Kisame had the great misfortune to be carrying Naruto under his arm when, as he would later report to his boss, the chakra bomb went off. Had he been anything less than all demon, he would've been killed instantly. As it was, Kyuubi's demonic chakra blasted open his unprotected side, burning what flesh wasn't instantly obliterated, and sending the fox's toxic chakra racing through Kisame's body.

To the shark man's credit, he just barely remained standing, and had the sense to get Naruto away from him by hurling the boy at a tree. Kisame was not surprised when Naruto passed through the tree unharmed, the toxic aura around his body simply eating away at the bark before he could impact with it.

And still Kyuubi's chakra continued to pour from the boy's body as he hit the ground, increasing the size and potency of the aura by the second. Even the earth beneath him began to gradually sizzle and break apart.

Hurt as he was, Kisame still had his mission in mind. He started to reach for Samehada, but stopped himself. One look told him that trying to absorb that much of that kind of chakra would not only cost him his sword, but possibly the rest of his body. On the other hand, Samehada was still good for something. Kisame whipped out his sword and held it close to his wounded side, hissing in pain as Samehada forcefully extracted and suppressed the foreign chakra invading his body. It was a close thing, but Kisame was able to drain off all of the fox's chakra from his system, even if it left Samehada blackened and tinted dark violet around the edges.

"You're starting to be way more trouble than you're worth, kid," Kisame sighed, closing his eyes and activating the art of astral projection that all members of Akatsuki had to learn. "Sasori, something went wrong with the seal. The damn Kyuubi kid is leaking poisonous chakra like it's going out of style, and even I can't touch him anymore."

He got the distinct impression that Sasori was under some heavy strain when the puppet master replied. "Then your part of the mission is a failure. Orochimaru is dead."

Kisame cursed softly under his breath. Orochimaru, as they all knew, was one of the few people who might have any luck at sealing away Kyuubi's chakra for any length of time. The number went down even more if the sealer had to do it while enduring the fox's toxins. "We can't just leave him here! Konoha's likely to kill him on sight if they think the fox is escaping!"

"You mean it isn't?" Sasori asked, sounding surprised.

"No, it's probably some kind of last defense. I'd bet anything releasing that much power knocked out the fox, but he might be the only one that can stop it, even if he's in no shape to."

"There is another option, but it's not in our best interest. We would lose possession of the boy, even if it was only temporary."

"If it'll keep him alive until we can get our hands on him again, then we have to-"

"Give the boy to Jiraiya."

Kisame froze, certain he'd heard wrong. "What?!"

"He is a seal master, and the only other member of the Sannin that we know for sure has an interest in keeping the boy alive. He will make sure that the boy survives this. But you must ensure he is placed in only Jiraiya's care. Anyone else from Konoha would be a risk."

"Well, as much as that plan sucks, I can't move the kid, so how go I get him to the old fart?"

"I imagine you won't have to. I can feel his chakra from here, and Jiraiya should be much closer to you, if you just crossed paths with him."

Sure enough, Jiraiya landed several feet from Kisame a few seconds later.

"The kid's all yours," Kisame said, after confirming that it was indeed Jiraiya and not an imposter.

"You're just leaving empty-handed, after all that trouble to get him?" Jiraiya asked, staring at him with suspicion.

Kisame shrugged. "Hey, shit happens. What are you gonna do?" He swung his sword up so that it thumped lightly against his shoulder. "Good luck sealing him up again. You fail, and I'll make sure the boss knows it was you who ruined his plan." With that, he turned to leave... except that he was heading back into the village, not away from it.

"You lost?" Jiraiya couldn't help asking.

"Going back for my partner," Kisame answered. "Maybe I'm in no shape to handle the kid as he is, but the day a scratch like this keeps me from busting heads is the day I lay down my sword for good."

Despite the fact that he knew Kisame might cost Konoha several good soldiers, Jiraiya made no move to stop him. Naruto's survival was his greatest priority at the moment, and anyway, he had to respect Kisame's loyalty to his own cause. With any luck, though, Kisame and Itachi both would lose their lives, and it would be a while before Akatsuki was able to mount another attack.

But after taking a long look at Naruto, Jiraiya had to admit that today didn't feel very lucky at all, for anyone.

ANBU were thought to be some of the most courageous ninja alive, or at least the ones who feared dying in the line of duty the least. Ironically, they were some of the most likely to die on a mission, but the fear of that was virtually unheard of among their ranks. And yet ANBU was not without a great deal of common sense.

So when Kurenai dropped Hyuuga Hiashi with a single jutsu, she became their priority.

The Hyuuga clan head was not dead, but one could not be sure of that at a glance, given the blood streaming from his ears. Attacking him alone had declared Kurenai a missing-nin, but leaving him seemingly dead was a death sentence itself.

Kurenai stood her ground as the ANBU advanced on her. She was almost tempted to smile, because she knew that one of the first things rookie ANBU were taught was to never ignore Uchiha Itachi in any battle.

Sure enough, there was an unearthly shriek behind her, and each of the ANBU went up in flames. Curiously, several of them doused themselves with Suiton jutsu, but the flames simply kept burning, gradually consuming them all.

Kurenai turned around, only to gasp in shock as Itachi nearly collapsed in her arms. His sword was halfway out of its sheath, and his hand was covering his right eye, but blood was leaking through his fingers at a fantastic rate.

"I knew I would not regret sparing your life," he panted, attempting to steady himself. "Now, we must escape, before-"

"DYNAMIC ENTRY!!!"

With speed she didn't know she possessed, Kurenai leaped in front of Itachi, crossing her arms in front of her face as Guy's foot slammed into her, driving both her and Itachi back several feet. It was only Itachi's arm around her waist that kept Kurenai upright, but it did neither of them much good when Guy quickly appeared behind them and hit Itachi with a leg sweep, sending the Akatsuki duo to the ground with their legs tangled.

Kurenai knew there wasn't much hope of her matching her former comrade's speed, but she'd already come too far to just give up. Guy wasn't alone, however, as she found out when a large monkey landed in front of her. For a moment, she thought Son Gohan had come to help her out.

"Found your woman, Asu-kun," the monkey said, frowning and scratching his head. "Oh, wait. She's got Gohan's mark. You didn't tell me that part."

"Does it really matter, Goku nii-san?" Asuma said as he walked up beside the monkey, his mouth set in a firm frown.

"Yeah, it does," Goku replied. "I can't help you any further if she's with Gohan. After what Enma did to us, the Son family always sticks together, no questions asked. I'll help you track her whenever you want, but that's it. In fact, I'd better check in with Gohan right now so there's no bad blood between us. Sorry." Goku vanished in a burst of smoke.

Asuma grunted, chuckling humorlessly as his gaze shifted to Kurenai. "So I guess this isn't exactly a rescue mission anymore."

Kurenai just stared at him, her face surprisingly blank.

"Normally, I'd just back off and trust that Gohan knew what he was doing. But I know the only way you could get in touch with him is through the scroll I told you about, and you'd only use that if you thought I was in real danger. So if you're doing this for my sake, then-"

"I'm doing this," Kurenai interrupted, "so I can overcome the limits of this village."

"Now you sound like him," Asuma muttered, glaring at Itachi. "Which is just fine, since I can't really hurt you one way or another. I'll just take it out on him, and I assume if you'd go so far to protect him, you won't run without him."

"I won't just sit back and let you attack him, Asuma," Kurenai warned.

"I figured as much. That's why I asked Guy to accompany me."

"Abandon this unyouthful path, comrade!" Guy said loudly, flashing his teeth at her.

Kurenai said nothing as her mind raced. Itachi was in no condition to fight, if he couldn't avoid Guy's attacks without help. Likewise, she didn't want to fight Asuma if she could help it, but she couldn't just let him hurt Itachi, either. And so long as Guy was around, escaping was pretty much impossible on foot. Even on her best day, she would've struggled against Asuma's combat expertise alone. There was no way she could take them both down, even with a weakened Itachi helping out.

"So you guys found her that quick? Maybe I need to get me one of those monkeys."

Kurenai's eyes widened in shock as Anko appeared just behind Asuma, limping noticeably with her midsection heavily taped, though the tape was stained dark red. Her skin was so pale that she could've easily passed for her former sensei in the right light.

Asuma spared her a glance. "You should be resting, Anko. Kakashi would have a nervous breakdown if he knew you were out here."

"He'd do more than that if he knew why I was here," Anko replied confidently. "But I won't stay long. I've just got a question for Kurenai, that's all." With that, she bit her thumb and knelt down, smearing the blood on the ground. At once, two enormous violet snakes with black markings burst from the dirt, hissing menacingly as they curled around Anko's arms and glared at Kurenai. "So tell me, Kurenai. Am I the best friend you ever had or what?"

It only took a few seconds for Kurenai to realize what her friend meant. "Anko, you... why?" she whispered.

"Because I know you, and if you're siding with Akatsuki, you have a reason that you believe in with your whole heart. Wrong or right. I won't ask what it is, but you owe me big time in the next life. So, any last words?"

"Yes," Kurenai sighed. "Thank you."

Anko nodded, and then the snakes attacked... the two Leaf jounin behind her.

Despite being caught off guard, Guy completely avoided the first snake's strike, being the faster of the two jounin. Asuma was slightly less lucky, but not without his own defenses. The second snake's fangs grazed his arm, but he was able to drive one of his trench knives into its skull from behind. The snake thrashed wildly as it died, its tail moving with blinding speed and crashing heavily into the side of Asuma's head.

Guy kept dancing out of his snake's reach, and decided to cut it off at the source. But as he turned to attack Anko, she smiled weakly, and collapsed facedown in the dirt. He paused, expecting the snakes to vanish with their summoner unconscious, but was sadly mistaken as the snake's fangs sank fully into his leg. However, that gave Guy a stationary target, and he quickly stomped on the snake's head with his free leg, ending its life instantly.

The other snake vanished the moment Guy turned to make sure it was dead, and by then, he knew, Kurenai and Itachi were long gone. His first priority was to make sure his comrades, among whom he still included Anko, lived. As Asuma was just stunned, he knelt down to check Anko's pulse.

The only problem was, there wasn't one.

At that very moment, Gaara was pounding away at Sasori's large puppet with his rock-encased fists. Shukaku was, surprisingly enough, watching his back with their tanuki tail, batting away or absorbing Sasori's wide variety of projectile weapons, and sometimes firing them right back. This was, over time, very effective. Between himself and the single puppet he was using, Sasori only had so much chakra and so many projectile weapons, which eventually limited him to just two main attacks: the poison-coated cord that extended from his belly, and Hiruko's spiked tail. These weapons were not exactly doing much damage to Gaara, but out of Sasori's entire arsenal, they were the only two that forced Gaara to use a considerable amount of effort and sand to block.

Sasori was more than a little surprised that his primary weapon, untold amounts of a customized poison that practically ran throughout each of his bodies at this point, was having no clear effect. If Gaara had been poisoned, he was either too focused or too angry to feel it, unless Shukaku had some sort of defense against poison as well. But such a thing was almost impossible, because even if none of Sasori's hits had delivered the poison, then at least trace amounts should have survived when Gaara turned Sasori's puppets into sand for his own defenses.

Without warning, Gaara blinked, and then let out an inhuman roar of agony and fury, grabbing his head and thrashing about wildly, to the point where even his own tail began to slap at him to bring him back to his senses.

Sasori wasted no time, immediately directing all of his remaining poison projectiles at Gaara in a lethal hail. If this failed, Sasori knew he would have no choice but to either bring out his entire puppet army, or his favorite puppet, which he had been saving for when Gaara was at his limits.

The poison never reached Gaara, as an enormous snake composed of rock and sand burst from the ground, swallowing the projectiles and sending them back at Sasori, along with a curious gray smoke that Sasori knew at a glance was poison itself. Another snake emerged in the next few seconds, hovering protectively around Gaara as he slowly sank to the ground, whimpering in obvious pain.

Sasori made a final desperate charge with Hiruko leading the way, summoning the Sandaime Kazekage to his side as he ran towards Gaara. As he'd predicted, the snakes attacked. The first bit clean through Hiruko, destroying the puppet with ease. The Sandaime Kazekage met the second snake head-on, driving a giant spear of sand into its head, which exploded a few seconds after contact. This left Sasori a clear path to Gaara, who was still too caught up in his own pain to notice. It would only take a light touch, Sasori thought grimly as he closed in, and then Shukaku would belong to Akatsuki.

That was when one of Gaara's hands fell away, revealing the half-transformed face of Shukaku. "Not today, insect," it whispered, letting out a high-pitched giggle of madness.

Sasori gasped as a third snake erupted from the ground beneath his feet, its fangs gleaming with a black fluid that could only be venom, just before they sank into his body, exactly where his heart had been just a second before.

Now his heart was safely inside the Sandaime Kazekage, but it was impossible to tell whether Gaara was aware of that, or anything else. Shukaku was in control for now, and from all appearances, he was nowhere near his limits, while Sasori was. It was difficult to abandon his original body and the many memories attached to it, but in the end, it was just another puppet, and therefore expendable, so long as his heart survived.

The snake seemed to take great pleasure in chewing Sasori's old body, and Shukaku's laughter only grew, both in volume and madness, as he looked on.

"You win this day," Sasori murmured through the Kazekage’s mouth as he retreated into a swirling cloud of dark brown sand, "but we will meet again."

The laughter trailed off after a few seconds, replaced by heart-wrenching sobs as Shukaku retreated as well, leaving a broken Gaara with the realization that, once again, he had failed to protect someone he loved. "Kaa-san," he whispered, tears streaming from his eyes as he collapsed to the ground, "forgive me for failing you again..."

A moment later, Hanabi's hand came to rest gently on top of his head. "She does, Gaara," the girl whispered, mimicking the motions of the ghostly form of Anko next to her. "She does."

Konoha - Hospital - August

Haku had seen many impressive things in his life, most of them shortly after he'd begun training under Zabuza. Yet he was still tempted to place Yamanaka Ino using Nara Clan jutsu at the top of list, for the sheer amusement value alone.

Somehow (and he was still unclear on the how of it), Konkon had taught Ino to manipulate shadows. What Konkon HADN'T taught her, obviously, was how to keep a tight reign on her own shadow, which turned out to be even more rebellious than Konkon herself. Half of the time it was making mocking motions behind Ino's back, and the rest of the time it was literally forcing Ino to drag it around (apparently living shadows could be quite heavy, when they wanted to be).

It was a wonder that Ino had managed to drag herself all the way up to the sixth floor of the hospital in that state, and with Konkon in fox form perched on top of her head the whole time. Ino had only had enough strength left to collapse into Haku's arms, after she'd made a decent effort at throwing Konkon headfirst into the wall. Naturally, the fox just bounced off neatly and landed on Haku's shoulder. It was a simple matter for Haku to carry Ino to an empty hospital bed, and he even managed to get her a private room to rest in, although it didn't stay that way for long.

Ino and her shadow must have made quite a sight, because less than ten minutes later, Nara Yoshino walked in, apparently summoned by word of mouth alone. She took one look at the shadow, which was twisting the sleeping Ino's hair into odd shapes, and snapped.

"Shikamaru, you stop that right now!"

The shadow sprang away from Ino as if struck (which was impressive, since it was HER shadow) and tried to hide in a corner.

Haku could only gape at her. "You mean... that's Shikamaru?"

"No, only his shadow, and possibly a small portion of his soul," Yoshino corrected. "I'm guessing, since there hasn't been a case like this in a long time, and I'm not really an expert myself. Apparently Nara shadows can attach themselves to a living person, if there's a strong enough connection. But shadows are naturally mischievous beings, so they're not always the best reflection of a person's feelings. Unless, of course, Shikamaru's way of letting Ino know he cared was teasing her and generally being a nuisance."

Haku clamped his mouth shut, because that sounded somewhat like Shikamaru to him. Although Shikamaru had always managed to annoy Ino more through inaction than anything else. But it didn't seem right to admit as much to his mother.

On the other hand, because Yoshino was Shikamaru's mother, she knew him better than most, and also knew exactly what Haku had to be thinking at the moment.

"He and Chouji... died well," Haku murmured after a moment. "Bravely. Defending Ino and their friends."

Yoshino stared at him. "My Shikamaru did that?" She seemed more surprised than distraught.

He nodded. "The opponent we faced... there was no chance of any one of us defeating him alone. We even had trouble wounding him at all. But your son and Chouji managed it."

"Well, he was never stupid, or even a coward. Just lazy as the day is long." She shook her head, brushing away a few tears.

Ino's shadow slowly walked over, patting Yoshino's arm tentatively.

Haku felt like he was intruding, but he really didn't want to let Ino out of his sight, either. He'd been away from her too long already, and there was still a war going on outside.

Suddenly, Konkon tensed on his shoulder. "Big chakra, coming this way fast! Everybody away from the wall!"

Haku moved to grab Ino, but was startled to see that her shadow had already done it, and was in the process of dragging her across the room. He must have hesitated too long, because Yoshino grabbed his arm and yanked him over to the far wall just as the opposite wall cracked and caved in, admitting an enormous ball of dark violet chakra. Just behind it was Jiraiya, riding a white weasel the size of a horse.

"That's her!" the giant weasel bellowed. "The girl that smells of fox, and her pet healer!"

Haku blinked, torn between being honored and insulted. Honored that word of his talent in the healing arts had reached even the weasels, but insulted that they saw him as a pet anything.

Jiraiya didn't seem to notice, thankfully. "Kid, you better be as good as I've heard, or we're all screwed."

"This sounds like something that you should trust to-"

"I don't have time to track down Tsunade or Shizune right now. Look on the bright side: you pull this off, you'll be the third best healer I know. Get ready."

There was no more time to make excuses, as Jiraiya turned to the ball of dark chakra, formed twin Rasengan in his hands, and drove them into the ball.

Instead of exploding outward, the ball collapsed on itself, spreading across the room in the form of violet fog. The giant weasel quickly collected the fog by rapidly circling in the air near the ceiling, expelling the poison from the room in a dark funnel through the hole in the wall. Where the ball had once been, there was only an unconscious Naruto.

Yoshino's eyes widened. "Isn't that-"

"You do anything to harm him, and I'll kill you myself," Jiraiya said without even looking at her.

"I wouldn't!" Yoshino replied defensively. "It's just, he looks so... helpless."

"He always was. But so few from this village were ever willing to admit it."

Haku leaned closer to examine Naruto and frowned. "I'm not sure what you expect me to do, Jiraiya-sama. There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with him."

"What? There has to be something wrong with him!" Jiraiya snapped. "The kid was letting out enough toxic chakra to drive off an S-class ninja! Even I just barely managed to transport him here without losing an arm in the process! If it wasn't for the kid's weasels, I wouldn't have done it at all!"

"Well, now that poison is gone, I can't find anything wrong with him. I don't know what happened to him out there, but I think he's in perfect condition. There isn't a scratch on him." Haku could tell from the expression on Jiraiya's face that the old man knew exactly why that was.

In that moment, Naruto's chakra flared, and his eyes snapped open.

Jiraiya's lips thinned, less because Naruto was awake so soon, and more because Naruto's chakra felt less like a human's, and more like a human's blended almost perfectly with Kyuubi's.

Naruto glanced around the room, until his gaze fell on Ino, still clutched protectively by her shadow. Everyone in the room held their breath as Naruto's blue eyes instantly darkened to red. "Healer," he said slowly, sounding quite unlike Naruto, "what happened to her?"

"She's just tired," Haku replied, knowing full well that calling him Naruto would be a mistake.

"Kyuubi," Jiraiya said, drawing the boy's attention. "What have you done with Naruto?"

"You know as well as I do that escape is impossible for me, old man," Kyuubi replied, glaring at Jiraiya. "Without my intervention, the boy would be in the clutches of Akatsuki. He is as safe as he could ever be with me."

"And you still haven't answered my question," Jiraiya snapped.

One of Naruto's eyes faded back to blue. "It's okay," he said in his own voice. "Let Kyuubi do what he needs to."

"You can't trust the fox, kid."

Naruto smirked. "Put yourself in my place. Would you trust the evil demon sealed inside you that needs you alive to survive, or the humans who put him there and treated you like crap for saving their worthless lives? I'd rather take my chances with the devil that made me strong, instead of the ones who kept me weak and afraid."

"That's the fox talking, Naruto."

"I know you'd love to think that, but we've got bigger problems, like the war going on outside. And I think there's only two people in this room qualified to end a war."

Jiraiya scowled at him. "You asking me to trust you with the fox running wild?"

"Would you have taught me the Rasengan if you couldn't? We're wasting time. Konoha's people are dying, and my friends are in trouble. So neither of us can afford to just sit here. Does that sound like the fox talking?"

"Fine. But you lose control again, and I'll cut you off from the fox's chakra for good."

It sounded like a major threat, but they both knew, on some level, that it wasn't an option anymore. Jiraiya would need Kyuubi's help, and there was probably no longer a safe way to seal off Kyuubi's chakra within Naruto's body. Kyuubi alone knew that had been Madara's intention all along, and however reluctantly, he was grateful.

Kyuubi's gaze fell on Konkon next. "Protect the girl while I'm gone, kit. Use my image if you must."

The little fox nodded at once. "You got it, Boss."

That made Jiraiya pause, but Kyuubi had already stepped to the large hole in the wall, and was loudly sniffing the air before him. "What are you looking for?"

"The nearest demon," Kyuubi answered, closing his eyes. "My allies are my priority. Save the foolish mortals if you want, but stay out of my way."

"What happened to ending the war?"

"Securing the demons first IS the quickest way to end the war. You don't really think they kept Shukaku simply out of fear, do you? He is nothing but a weapon to them, and I must admit that they had the right idea. Only Shukaku's greed makes him an unreliable weapon, but he will submit to any power greater than his own." Kyuubi's eyes snapped open. "Ah. Found him. Move it, old man."

"Hold it!" a voice cried.

Kyuubi turned slightly to see Ino struggling to stand, finally needing Haku's arm to do so.

"You're not going anywhere without me!" Ino snapped. "I won't let you leave me behind again!"

Jiraiya closed his eyes briefly, fully expecting the girl to be slaughtered.

"Very well," Kyuubi said, "but I cannot allow my attention to be divided. You must have adequate protection."

Ino gasped as she felt a sharp tug on her chakra, and then Konkon went up in smoke, revealing a crimson-furred, six-tailed vixen the size of a large bear.

"Now THIS is a real body," Konkon purred approvingly. Two of her tails wrapped around Ino and Haku, depositing the startled pair on her back. "Better hang on tight."

"H-How did he do that?" Ino whispered. "That was MY chakra he used!"

"Uh, hello? You signed the fox contract, which makes you a fox summoner, and Kyuubi is the Boss Fox."

"But he shouldn't have access to my chakra!" Ino insisted. "That's not normal!"

Konkon rolled her eyes. "Neither is Kyuubi. Maybe it was in the fine print?"

Despite being stuck in the middle of an identity crisis, the one thing Shizune was sure was that she'd trained for most of her life to be a healer. So when Iruka had burst into the lab with an unconscious Tayuya in his arms and a panicked expression on his face, she hadn't thought twice about helping them. Kabuto had been decidedly less eager, but hadn't stood in her way, as she wasn't doing anything else. Kimimaro was stable, and now it was up to his body to heal on its own.

It bothered Shizune, not only that Kabuto might stop her from helping his supposed allies, but that she would actually obey if that had been the case. The Kabuto that had saved her life so long ago would have helped anyone. Now she was starting to wonder if he was just one of the many masks that the true Kabuto wore. The problem was that even if they were just masks, she still loved one and considered it her brother.

Focusing on healing Tayuya was a welcome distraction, although the genjutsu user was mostly out of danger by the time she ended up on Shizune's operating table. Iruka explained that he'd forced her to accept some of his chakra through her seal, which made a twisted kind of sense. Shizune knew that Orochimaru's seals forcibly extracted chakra, but she had never considered that they might also absorb foreign chakra through direct contact as well. There was, of course, the possibility that this only worked because of Iruka and Tayuya's unique connection, but it was something to keep in mind for future reference.

Because that was another thing that Shizune was slowly becoming certain of: her mind wouldn't allow her to disobey Kabuto. Even thinking of doing so seemed to give her a headache, as did thoughts of Tsunade and Konoha, which had to be Kabuto's doing. But even under those limitations, Shizune was considering all of her options. There was still a slim chance that she could save Kabuto, or at least convince him to release her. He clearly wasn't above manipulating her, but she was also certain that part of him still cared for her. She would just have to appeal to that side of him, until he either agreed with her, or dropped his guard enough for her to overwhelm him. It wouldn't be easy, but Shizune had learned patience through years of dealing with Tsunade. She only needed to wait for the perfect opportunity to come along.

Hyuuga Rei rarely ever panicked. With Hanabi as her charge, she was of course prone to frustration, and sometimes worry, but rarely panic.

Today, however, she was definitely panicked.

It had not been a mistake to entrust Hanabi's safety to Gaara. She'd seen them together, and Gaara would die before he let someone hurt Hanabi. And she knew from the various reports that had crossed her desk that no one had even come close to killing Gaara yet.

The mistake had been in allowing them out of her sight. She had parted ways with them upon spotting some of her fellow Branch House members slowly losing ground against a large group of Sound-nin. Afterwards, though, several of her kinsmen asked after Hanabi, and Rei had muttered some excuse before darting off. She'd later tracked down Hinata at the stadium, and then helped her admit Sasuke to the hospital, but still had no idea where Hanabi currently was. Hinata had convinced Rei to stay put, not because she thought Hanabi might get hurt, but because it was likely that one or more demon vessels would need to be healed, and just as likely that someone would try to refuse them treatment. And if Gaara did show up there, Hanabi would likely be with him still.

Although Rei had faith in Gaara, she also had eyes, and she knew that there was far too much going on around them for Gaara to be focused on Hanabi every single second. And if Hanabi died, or was hurt to the point where the clan considered her useless, it would be simpler and ultimately less painful if Rei just slit her own throat. The Hyuuga council was little more than human vultures when it came to punishment, and they would slowly strip away everything she had until there was nothing left.

But Rei briefly forgot her own problems when, in a burst of black flames, Kakashi and Usako dropped roughly to the floor in front of her. Blood immediately began leaking from Usako's splintered mask, but Kakashi managed to stay upright, barely.

Rei bent down to check Usako's pulse, but Kakashi stopped her. "She's alive. Bleeding from the face, and shards of her mask are probably embedded, but she's unconscious."

"And you?" Rei asked.

Kakashi took a deep breath and rose to his feet, and Rei noticed his eyes for the first time. She swallowed a gasp as his new Mangekyou Sharingan considered her for an instant. "I'm going to find my wife."

"There is no need, my eternal rival!" cried a loud voice behind him, and a second later, Guy limped over to them, carrying the bodies of Anko and Asuma over each shoulder. He froze upon seeing the state of Kakashi's Sharingan. "I see there is no need to inform you of the situation, then," he said quietly.

Kakashi swallowed hard, not expecting to see Anko's body so soon. "Give me a few minutes to say goodbye?" he asked, reaching for her with trembling hands.

Guy handed over Anko without protest, then bent down to carefully replace her on his shoulder with Usako. "I will see that these two receive treatment." He quickly moved on, throwing one last, sorrowful glance over his shoulder as he went.

Rei hesitated, watching uncomfortably as Kakashi merely stood there, holding Anko in his arms with obvious care and total devotion. She felt like she should say something, having lost her own family, but no words came.

"It's strange," Kakashi said suddenly, staring at Anko's face. "This eye is probably my most valuable possession, but I'd pluck it out of my head right now, just to tell her I love her one last time, and have her hear me. And you know what the worst part is?"

"What?" Rei asked, her voice hollow.

"I think I finally understand Orochimaru's obsession with immortality. Death is... so final. There's life, and then... nothing. Why would anyone want that? It's amazing that he's the only one fixated on living forever." He closed his eyes and buried his face in Anko’s hair.

Rei had no idea how to respond to that. She had never spoken to Kakashi before, so she had no right to judge him. But Kakashi was only growing creepier by the second, so she quickly excused herself and walked away. Like Guy, she glanced back along the way, only this time, Kakashi and Anko were gone, leaving another ring of black fire in their wake.

"Have I mentioned how confident I am in this wonderful plan of yours?" Kurenai spat as she practically dragged Itachi over the rooftops of Konoha. That they hadn't been spotted and stopped again was only due to the combined efforts of Kurenai's genjutsu, laced with what little chakra that Itachi could spare.

"I don't think I care for your tone, Kurenai-san," Itachi replied weakly.

Kurenai didn't know whether to glare at him or panic further. If Itachi even sounded weak, this couldn't possibly end well. Sooner or later, someone extremely skilled at genjutsu would see through the illusion, and while that would normally be a list that Kurenai was at the top of, she reminded herself that Leaf-nin weren't the only threat to be wary of.

A fact that she soon regretted on coming face to face with Tsunade.

"I do not have time for this," Tsunade growled as she rushed forward.

Kurenai froze, less because she was afraid and more because her priority was to protect Itachi, though she could see no real way to do that with Tsunade of the Sannin charging her with a fist cocked to knock her head clean from her shoulders. Tsunade had already seen through her genjutsu, so that was mostly useless, and in the strength department, Tsunade was an even worse opponent for Kurenai than Guy had been. Suddenly, Kurenai actually regretted not sticking with Kisame. He had been in far better condition than Itachi, and would've at least been able to stall Tsunade while Kurenai escaped.

Tsunade was just starting to drive her fist forward when it collided with a quickly expanding mass of black fire.

Thinking Itachi had recovered somewhat, Kurenai looked down to see that he looked just as startled.

Tsunade hissed in pain and jumped back as the flames continued to grow. The black fire began to take on a humanoid shape, and Kurenai was doubly shocked when the still-burning man fell into an advanced Gentle Fist stance.

"Are you alright, Itachi-san?" the man asked quietly, keeping his eyes on Tsunade.

"Tobi," Itachi whispered, his voice soft with disbelief. "Why are you here?"

"I am done watching my kinsmen die. I won't let it happen again." Tobi turned his head slightly, and Kurenai could just make out a single Sharingan through the flames before Tsunade charged again.

Tobi met her head on, blocking her first punch with his forearm, but unable to stop the second one, which plowed into his ribs hard enough that Kurenai could easily hear them snapping like dry twigs. The flames cloaking Tobi's body instantly died out, revealing his Akatsuki robe and masked head.

Tsunade grunted in slight surprise, then aimed her next punch at Tobi's head. She had been a little shocked that the last punch hadn't sent him flying, but if he was with Akatsuki, and an Uchiha, that made more sense. Based on his earlier speed, she figured he wouldn't be ready for her next attack.

She figured wrong.

Tsunade's fist plunged straight through Tobi's head, with no resistance at all.

This stunned her, until the Tobi she'd just punched through shimmered and faded from sight. Eyes widening, Tsunade tried to spin around to block the incoming attack. While she did block Tobi's punch with her left forearm, and it was far less powerful than her own, it left her arm with an odd tingling sensation that it only took an instant for her to recognize. But by then, her movement had already slowed, and Tobi dug his fingers into her arm just below the shoulder, causing the entire limb to go numb.

Tsunade's eyes locked onto his Sharingan, and she was shocked to see the sorrow there.

"Forgive me, Tsunade-sama," he whispered, just before driving his elbow hard into her shoulder.

Tsunade screamed as she felt her arm break, more out of stunned realization than pain. She hadn't noticed until it was too late, but every single time she'd touched Tobi, the contact had closed off some chakra channels in her hands and arms. Finally, he'd shut off the ones near her shoulder just to make sure she couldn't heal the broken arm without considerable difficulty. It was as if he'd combined the best aspects of Gentle Fist and Strong Fist into one devastating taijutsu style. The man was truly a genius. But even more disturbing was that his voice was oddly familiar.

"Obito-kun?" she whispered in disbelief. "Uchiha Obito?"

"He's dead," Tobi said flatly. "Maybe he wouldn't be, if he'd attended your class instead of me. But he is dead, now. Please stand down, so that the same doesn't happen to you, Tsunade-sama. I will protect Itachi with my life, and if I must kill my heart to kill you, I will do it."

Tsunade stumbled away from him, processing everything she'd heard. She was in no shape to continue this fight, not if Tobi had actually been holding back so far.

"Tsunade-sama!" a voice below them shouted, and then three ANBU appeared in front of her, swords drawn and ready to attack.

Tsunade almost ordered them to forget about her and attack, but then she caught Tobi's eye. "Let them go."

One the ANBU turned to face her. "What?! Tsunade-sama, reinforcements are on the way, so there is no reason to-!"

"I said let them go!" Tsunade snapped. "You don't know what you're dealing with here!"

"I must respectfully disagree, Tsunade-sama. We have orders to apprehend Kurenai at all costs."

"From who?!"

The ANBU didn't answer, which told Tsunade all that she needed to know. "Look, don't throw away your lives for that man-"

"Don't let them get away!" the ANBU shouted, just as six more ANBU leaped onto the roof, closing off any possible escape route for the Akatsuki trio.

Tobi stepped closer to Kurenai and Itachi, lowering his voice. "Get down, and once I've dealt with them, grab onto me and hold on tightly. Hatsumi’s seal will expire shortly after that."

Kurenai frowned as she saw Tsunade turn and flee. Either the Slug Sannin had suddenly become a coward, or she knew something about Tobi that the ANBU didn't. Tobi soon provided evidence that pointed to the latter.

"You are all within the field of my divination. You, who have dared to glance upon Heaven's holy fire, have been found unworthy, and so you must die by it."

A few of the ANBU snorted at the poetic language, but the laughter died as Tobi shouted, "Uchiha Hijutsu: Mattaki Kaiten (Uchiha Secret Technique: Complete Heavenly Spin)!"

Kurenai felt incredible heat roll over her body, the rooftop sizzling and cracking beneath her as an expanding spiral of black fire flew from Tobi's rapidly spinning body. She saw one ANBU get hit by the spiral, and he didn't so much get consumed by the fire as he was sucked into it, but the results were the same. Within seconds, only Tobi, Kurenai, and Itachi remained on the blistered rooftop.

Tobi came to an abrupt stop, then bent over and made a loud, wet-sounding noise behind his mask that Kurenai had no desire to investigate. "Dizzy," he murmured, dropping to his knees. Kurenai and Itachi both grabbed one of his arms mere seconds before all three vanished in another ring of black fire.

"Don't give up, Saru-jiji. It isn't your time yet, and I would know."

The Sandaime Hokage slowly opened his eyes, more than a little surprised to see Yugito standing before him. Somehow, the Shodai's protective tree barrier had recognized her as an ally, and allowed her to reach through enough to close his wounds. But he was quickly reminded that Yugito's power was a far sight from healing: the pain from the cuts remained, and the lost blood had not been replenished.

"You shouldn't be here, child," he sighed, feeling his age. "Your power is needed elsewhere."

Yugito stared at him, and something in her eyes actually made him shiver. "Saru-jiji," she said softly, "you do understand why I'm here, right? You know what called me back to you?"

He blinked slowly, suppressing the small bit of fear that began to rise in him. "You said... it wasn't my time."

"No, I said, 'It isn't your time yet.' So..." She paused, biting her lip. "You need to be careful, Saru-jiji. Depending on how you do die, I might not be able to help you."

"You mean to bring me back." He smiled sadly. "Has it ever occurred to you, child, that Hokages aren't meant to be resurrected? I'm afraid it only makes a mess of things in most cases, and cheapens their noble sacrifices. Some people are better off dead, and I may be on that list. If that is case, then I must ask that you let me go when the time comes. I have lived a long, long life, and as much as I have enjoyed it, I do not think I wasn't meant to repeat it, nor do I care to. This invasion is a direct result of one of my many mistakes, and if my time has come, then we should both accept it."

Yugito smiled sadly, brushing away the start of tears from her eyes. "That's the one thing I hate about all of you good Kages. So ready and willing to throw your lives away at the first opportunity." She leaned forward to gently kiss his cheek. "I'll respect your wishes, Saru-jiji, but one way or another, I'll see you again. That's a promise."

The bond of family had always been a curious thing to Hinata. Aside from fear, it was the only thing that had kept her from running away from the Hyuuga compound the moment she was able to. Despite the clan's treatment of her, they were technically the same as she, and she belonged with them. That was more or less what they'd taught her, and what she'd recognized with her own two eyes. Neither had been happy with the arrangement, but they'd allowed it, for a time.

Then Sasuke had come into the picture, and suddenly Hinata found herself a part of a new family, one where her opinions and feelings mattered. For the first time, she knew she was precious to someone outside of her clan, and it was an amazing experience. Given the choice, she would never return to the Hyuuga willingly.

And yet, when Rei had informed her that Hyuuga Hiashi had been seriously wounded in battle, Hinata was unable to harden her heart against him. She hated him, for what he'd done to her, and might still one day do to Hanabi, but in the end, he was the only father she'd ever known, and part of her would always love part of him, if only to spite him.

Ironically, Hinata met no resistance when trying to see her father, despite the heavy guard of Branch House Hyuuga and even an ANBU for good measure. She could only guess that this was either because of Rei's presence, or at least in the ANBU's case, high praise from Ibiki. That she was allowed into the room at all told her, at the very least, that her father was not conscious.

But even that knowledge left Hinata ill-prepared for what she found inside the room. Her father was indeed unconscious in the hospital bed, but other than a bandaged wound on his shoulder, appeared to be unmarked. For a moment, she wondered if Rei had exaggerated his condition in a misguided attempt to repair the rift between father and daughter.

The only real oddity about the entire scene was the bird-masked, brown-cloaked ANBU at Hiashi's bedside, staring down at the clan head intently. The ANBU didn't move the slightest bit until Hinata took a step towards him, and even then he only spared her a glance.

"How are you with genjutsu?" he asked abruptly.

Hinata and Rei traded confused glances, uncertain who he was addressing.

"Both of you," he amended a second later, sounding slightly impatient.

"I would guess you are more skilled than either of us, ANBU-san," Hinata replied.

His shoulders slumped visibly. "Shit. Then we're screwed."

"You mean genjutsu did this to him?" Hinata asked in surprise. It was hard to imagine that the head of a clan known for being nearly immune to genjutsu had been incapacitated by one. Of course, the Uchiha had always been more skilled at countering them, but the Hyuuga had, for the most part, been able to pierce illusions with ease.

"Yeah, and that's all we know about it," the ANBU growled. "A word of advice: don't ever let your superior get killed in action, or they'll stick you with his job. Damn stupid Ibiki had to go and get himself dead..."

Hinata's eyes widened. "Ibiki-san is... dead?"

"Yeah," the ANBU said, suddenly sounding proud. "And he couldn't do it simple, either. No, he had to take on the Sound-nin riding Manda, the crazy idiot. Wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself."

"It wasn't Orochimaru who killed him, then?" Rei asked.

"No. Some tiny girl with orange hair. But she was riding Manda, and until we actually saw her up close, nobody could really tell the difference. Even her chakra was the same as his, and I don't even want to know how they pulled that off. And that's not even our biggest problem." He gestured towards Hiashi. "Our resident genjutsu expert was the one we'd normally get to fix him, except she's the one who did it, if the story I heard is true. So no help there. If she does this to anyone without the Byakugan, I'd hate to see the results."

"What can you tell us?" Hinata asked softly, staring at her father. She was reaching for his hand before she could stop herself, and by the time she'd touched it, it was too late to turn back. His skin was warm but unmoving, and somehow that comforted her.

The ANBU gave no warning as he formed an oddly familiar hand seal. Before Hinata could ask, her father grunted and opened his eyes. They swung wildly for a moment, before settling on the ANBU, and then Rei. Neither drew much reaction other than calm recognition, but when he saw Hinata, and where her hand was, his eyes widened.

"Hiashi-sama," the ANBU said, nodding slightly. "Forgive me, but I had to wake you for security reasons. I succeeded Morino Ibiki in the field. Anything you can tell me about the genjutsu Kurenai used on you would be extremely helpful for future reference."

Hiashi blinked a few times and calmed down, but his gaze never left Hinata. "I thought my brain was drowning in its own blood," he said simply.

"You were bleeding from the ears, according to the group that brought you in," the ANBU confirmed.

"Hmm. I suspect it would be lethal under the right circumstances, or against a lesser-prepared foe. Do you think you can counter it, Crow?"

It was obvious, to Hinata at least, that her father respected and even admired this ANBU's skill with genjutsu to ask such a question. His answer, therefore, worried her.

"I was never as good as Kurenai. And I don't have your eyes to fall back on if that's still true."

"You have... other talents," Hiashi said evasively, clearly aware of their present company.

"Nothing quite as good, though." The ANBU sighed and shook his head. "I was only able to bring you out of it because on a subconscious level, you knew it was an illusion all along. I just had to guide you out of it."

"I am in your debt, Crow."

"Let's say we're even," Crow replied, and Hinata had the feeling he might've been winking behind his mask.

"As you say." Hiashi's eyes followed the ANBU as he left the room, then swung back to Hinata.

"I'm glad you're safe, otou-sama," she whispered, slowly releasing his hand.

If Hiashi had a problem with her calling him that still, he didn't mention it. "Where is Hanabi?"

"With Gaara," Rei answered. She hoped that was still true, at least.

Hiashi frowned. "And why are you not with her?"

"There was... a monster in the stadium. I aided Hinata and Tsunade-sama in its defeat."

Hiashi blinked very slowly. "Ah. That red creature."

"It killed two chuunin hopefuls and shrugged off even lethal blows," Hinata said. In a softer tone, she added, "It tried to take Sasuke."

"I see." He looked disturbed by the news, though it was hard to say why. "And I suppose neither of you can confirm the reports that claim Hanabi was actually fighting Orochimaru alongside the Shodai Hokage?"

There was only one thing that Rei could think of to save herself.

"Truly, Hanabi-sama is the heiress of the Hyuuga Clan."

Hiashi looked as if he might laugh, or possibly choke. "Indeed."

There is some knowledge that only the dead have access to, or even have a use for.

For most of his life, the Shodai Hokage had studied the forests around him, and had even given birth to several more through his unique skill for Mokuton jutsu. Among his people, he'd been praised as a storehouse of shinobi skills and techniques, as any Kage most likely would.

Then he had died, and found out that all the knowledge he'd amassed in his life... was nothing compared to the tomes of the dead. He had discovered that all of his research into Mokuton, his most advanced and commonly used art, was woefully incomplete and full of mistakes. That no one but the dead would ever realize this was a small relief, but the Shodai Hokage's honor would not allow him to leave the matter unsettled. Even then, he felt as if Konoha still depended on him in some way, and it was the Hokage's duty to arm himself as best he could, in order to best protect his village.

For years after his death, he had studied the art which had served him so well in life.

Had he known that he'd ever be called back to the world of the living, he would've done more.

But what he had done was more than enough.

That knowledge brought an almost amused grin to the Shodai Hokage's face as he knelt over Orochimaru's corpse. "You are among the greatest scourges that this village has ever known. But you, too, will serve your purpose to nourish the Will of Fire." He let a single seed fall from his hand onto Orochimaru's chest, and then gave it the smallest application of chakra that he could manage.

The seed burst open instantly, and a single vine emerged, burrowing into the Snake Sannin's chest and taking root deep inside his black heart. From there, it grew rapidly, forming a sturdy, twenty foot tall tree with man-sized, heart-shaped leaves in under a minute.

"It is time to tend to our garden, my friend," the Shodai said, placing his hands on the tree trunk.

In response, the enormous, heavy leaves began to sprout up from the ground all over the village. Most Sound and Sand-nin were too startled to do more than gasp before they were swatted down and crushed by the overly aggressive plants.

Slowly but surely, Konoha began to gain ground in the invasion that had nearly torn it apart.

"Why don't we have THOSE in the shop?" Ino gasped, her eyes wide as she watched the odd leaves attack their enemies.

"You wouldn't. That is a Tree of the Underworld," Kyuubi said quietly.

Ino tore her eyes away and stared at Kyuubi, who, oddly enough, looked uncomfortable. That even a creature as powerful as him was afraid of death was a sobering thought. Although it was only due to his power that they weren't down there among all the destruction. Instead, they were floating high above Konoha in a large, swirling ball of wind chakra. At least, Ino assumed it was wind chakra, since the ball was blue, Kyuubi seemed more likely to use fire, and Naruto clearly had some talent with wind chakra.

Behind her, Haku was silent, though he would occasionally squeeze her waist, as if to remind her that he was still with her. Had anyone else done it, Ino might've thought they were trying to cop a feel, but she knew Haku better than that.

The others were silent as well, mostly because they were still in various stages of recovery. Gaara had been unconscious since they discovered him, and though Hanabi said he was just exhausted, it was clear from the worry in her tone that it wasn't the only problem. Yugito had closed up his few wounds only after Kyojuu confirmed that despite the lingering smell, there was no poison in Gaara's body. Curiously, Kyojuu had said that Gaara's wounds, which consisted mostly of deep scratches on his face, were self-inflicted. Ino had been about to ask about that, but Hanabi had quickly changed the subject.

Temari was only being quiet because she'd fallen asleep beside Gaara, completely worn out from the day's events.

It was Konkon who finally broke the silence again. "Hey, Boss. Did you-?"

"Yes, kit," Kyuubi interrupted. "I felt it, the same as you. And it cannot be a good sign."

"What? What's wrong?" Ino asked. "Tell me!"

Kyuubi slowly looked at her, silencing any further demands with the weight of his gaze. "You may be a fox summoner, but even if, through some miracle, you gained enough chakra to summon me, you could never command me." Then, after a long pause, he added, "You have a personal summon for such things."

"Konkon?" Ino asked immediately, nudging the large fox beneath her.

"Manda, the Snake Boss, was just dismissed," Konkon replied. "By his summoner."

"But... that's good, right?"

"No, it's very bad. It means their objectives have been met, and that Manda was no longer needed. That also means he probably enjoyed a very filling meal before he left, and in case you were wondering, there aren't any giant rats around here."

"More than anything else," Kyuubi continued, "it most likely means the Hokage is dead, or is about to be."

"W-What?!" Ino cried. "Then we have to do something! We have to stop this!"

"Um, Ino?" Konkon asked, laughing nervously. "You really need to brush up on your history, if you think the Boss is gonna help a Hokage."

"But... the Sandaime didn't do anything to you!"

Kyuubi snorted loudly. "No, he just allowed this village to become a second prison for my container and me. As if we weren't miserable enough just being stuck with each other. I will not help him."

"Naruto would never agree to that! He'd never accept it!"

"It is time that you and all others realized that a demon container's existence is nothing but sacrifice," Kyuubi said quietly. "They are not blessed with, or entitled to, the things that normal humans are. If the boy did not realize what giving me control might mean for those of this village, he would be a hopeless idiot. He knows I will only serve our best interests, and nothing the Sandaime could do would help us. The old man proved that long ago, several times over."

"There's no point in wasting time arguing, Ino-san," Yugito offered. "Kyuubi won't help you with this, but I suspect he won't try to stop you, either."

"Fine!" Ino snapped. "Hanabi, let's go!"

"I'm staying with Gaara," Hanabi murmured softly. "I owe a great deal to Sandaime-sama, but I can't leave Gaara. Not right now, at least."

Ino frowned. "Well... what about you, Yugito?"

"I've given Saru-jiji all the help I could. But he asked me not to interfere again. If he dies, he will do so when he is ready."

Ino stared at them all in disbelief. "So... none of you will help me?"

"I'll go," Kyojuu said at last, hauling himself onto Konkon's back behind Haku. "I'm not doing anything useful here, anyway. And I don't want to think what Naruto might do if anything happened to you."

Ino blushed slightly, then frowned at the others one last time before urging Konkon forward with a pat on the neck. Konkon nodded and leapt through the wind barrier, meeting no resistance, just as Yugito had predicted.

"Listen, don't be mad at Yugito," Kyojuu said as they fell. "She doesn't want the old man to die, either."

"So why wouldn't she help?" Ino demanded.

Kyojuu sighed. "She's a shinigami, Ino. If she helped, the old man probably WOULD die. If he asked her not to help, it's because he doesn't want to live again."

"It won't be much longer now, child. We're almost at the hospital."

"Okay, Hokage-sama."

The Sandaime Hokage took a deep breath and continued his slow and painful journey through the village. It was hard to say what hurt worse: his damaged arms, the damage he was currently witnessing to his village, or the fact that, once again, another Hokage had stepped up to save the day. He'd lost a great deal of sleep over the years, wishing he'd either given his life in battle with Orochimaru, or against Kyuubi. Konoha would be so much better off, had the Yondaime lived. Or at least, the more corrupt elements in the village wouldn't be quite as prevalent. There was only so much an old man with limited support could do.

But being an old man did have some advantages, even if they were a little embarrassing.

The small girl at his side was a perfect example. They had never met, but she was apparently the daughter of a merchant who had come to Konoha for the chuunin exam finals. She was only a civilian, but she'd gotten a little ninja training from her older cousin, who was a retired jounin. Armed with nothing but a chakra-charged kunai, she'd cut him out of the Shodai's tree barrier, determined to get him to the hospital. As she was the second person who'd come by, the Sandaime knew it was only a matter of time before an enemy showed up.

"By the way, child," the Hokage said as he led her by the hand, "you never told me your name."

The orange-haired girl offered him a shy smile, blushing cutely. "It's Sasame, Hokage-sama."

Next Chapter: Will of the Snake

Even as the Sound starts to retreat, Orochimaru's heir cripples Konoha with a single strike. But she isn't the only one following in the Snake Sannin's footsteps, as Kakashi puts his new Mangekyou Sharingan and a forbidden jutsu to good use. Sasuke tries to defect, but there’s someone standing in his way: his wife!

Endnotes:

It's been pretty well established that the circumstances to obtain the Mangekyou are kinda dodgy. I'm going with the theory that so long as you feel directly responsible for an especially loved one's death, you can obtain it: Kakashi feels as if he could've prevented Anko's death, and so places the blame for it entirely on himself. As such, I have NO explanation for why it takes canon Kakashi so long, except that possibly his Mangekyou is as late as he is, or maybe it just takes longer with a transplanted Sharingan.

Jutsu list:

Kyojuu's jutsu:

Doton: Retsudotensho (Earth Release: Split Earth Turn Around Palm)

This technique allows the ninja to control nearby stone and rock. When the ninja slams their palm to the ground, surrounding rock will begin to churn and twist up crushing all those trapped within it. Kyojuu's version is S-ranked because he fuels the jutsu with Gobi's chakra, affecting a much larger area and mimicking the movements of Kyojuu's hand if he desires. From there, he can simply crush his target, or have the rocks grind drown any remaining defenses first.

Doton: Doryudan (Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet)

This jutsu creates a likeness of a dragon's head that launches mud balls from its mouth onto the opponent.

Raiton: Tsume no Gobi (Lightning Release: Claw of the Five Tails):

Kyojuu adds elemental chakra to a normal rake of his claws.

Suiton: Kakou (Water Release: River Mouth):

Kyojuu increases the amount of water in his body, flushing out most foreign substances, such as poisons, through his mouth. This is more or less an automatic defense against anything the Gobi considers a hostile element within Kyojuu's body.

Kurenai's jutsu:

"Akatsuki no Jutsu"

Magen: Akatsuki no Jutsu (Demonic Illusion: Daybreak Technique):

A genjutsu that traps the victim in the illusion that their brain is bleeding. From the victim's perspective, their vision is gradually swallowed up by a sea of red, before they black out entirely. The illusion is so convincing that the body may actually bleed on its own. It should be noted that the full version of this technique is fatal: while the paralyzed victim drowns in illusionary blood, Kurenai can pierce their skulls with a kunai, making the illusion reality. But even the genjutsu half alone can kill if too much blood is lost, the victim's will is too weak to resist, or if the brain is simply unable to recover.

Gaara's jutsu:

Kuchiyose: Daija no Suna (Summoning: Serpents of Sand):

With Anko's spirit now bound to Gaara's body, Shukaku can summon snakes in sand or rock form, complete with poisonous breath and venom. Being composed entirely of earth, they cannot be killed, and can reform as long as Shukaku has enough chakra to do so.

Sasori's jutsu:

Satetsu (Iron Sand):

This jutsu was created by the Sandaime Kazekage, who based it on techniques used by one of the previous Jinchuriki of Shukaku. Using his magnetic chakra, the Sandaime Kazekage could manipulate Satetsu into any shape he desired. After the Sandaime Kazekage was turned into a Human Puppet by Sasori, the latter was able to use Satetsu and its related jutsu as well. The Satetsu used by Sasori is highly poisonous.

Kakashi's jutsu: Kamui

SPECIAL NOTE: Kakashi's single Mangekyou jutsu finally has a name now, so I'm going to use it, although technically the way I'm using it is slightly different. Supposedly he can send things into a different dimension. In my version, he can send things (himself and others included) THROUGH a different dimension, so that they re-emerge somewhere else. Teleportation, in other words. I suppose he should technically still be able to just leave things in that dimension, either on purpose or accidentally. But as this is a Sharingan power, I'm assuming that extra dimension isn't exactly rainbows and rabbits.

As for why I'm doing it this way, obviously Madara has already exhibited similar powers (I STILL say that mysterious phasing ability is either Madara moving super fast or teleporting).

Tobi's jutsu:

Kakuremino no Tenju (Cloak of the Tenju):

Tobi uses the black flames of Amaterasu to form a temporary shield, though it can be disarmed if met with enough force.

Hyuuga Hijutsu: Taiatari no Hisshou (Hyuuga Secret Technique: Certain Victory of the Body Blow):

Tobi gathers chakra just beneath the surface of his skin, expelling it gradually each time an opponent strikes him with taijutsu. In this way, he can slowly seal off their chakra channels through even brief contact, disarming them long before they realize it.

Uchiha Hijutsu: Mattaki Kaiten (Uchiha Secret Technique: Complete Heavenly Spin):

Tobi blends the black flames of Amaterasu with the Kaiten to create a large spiral of black fire around himself. Anything that touches the spiral is pulled in and consumed by the black fire. This attack puts a severe drain on Tobi's chakra, and the high speed at which he needs to spin to bring about the black spiral causes him to become very dizzy for several minutes afterwards.

Shodai Hokage's jutsu:

Mokuton: Kaju no Meido: Ryuuketsuju (Wood Release: Flowering Tree of the Underworld: Dragon Tree)

A violent, rapidly-growing tree that can only take root in the hearts of those that have recently died. Although it requires a small amount of chakra to grow, once it reaches maturity, its leaves absorb chakra from its victims to maintain itself. It will only stop growing and die on the command of its master.