Author's Note: Welcome back after only one week! I said I'd get this out quickly, and I meant it. This won't be a regular thing, I just wanted to make up for the long wait for the last chapter. Well that, and I also wanted to celebrate 3 years of me writing this fic! Can't believe it's been that long. Thank you for all of the support up until now. It's been amazing!

Feel free to leave a review; they are my motivational fuel, seriously. We're so close to 500 reviews and 1K favorites, and I can't wait to hit those milestones!

Thanks for reading and enjoy!

Chapter 27: Tobi is a Good Boy

Pakkun discreetly backed up and allowed the shinobi to step in front of him to face the threat.

A thick bead of sweat rolled down the side of Shikamaru's face. The one who called himself Tobi just continued to watch them silently.

'Tch, he probably wants us to attack him first.' Then, another thought occurred to him. 'Or, maybe, he wants to stall for time and keep us all separated from one another. The nine of us together would be a problem for them, but split up into three groups of three…'

They could be picked off one at a time.

"This guy's bad news." Naruto's carefully toned words shook the Nara from his thoughts. "I don't know why, but I can feel it."

"Yeah, I can already tell." Shikamaru whispered back. "He's playing the idiot, so we lower our guard. No way the Akatsuki would associate with someone like this unless he was powerful. And then, there's what Pakkun said about him…"

"Uh, are you guys done talking?" The masked man asked. His demeanor, voice, and way he spoke were the opposite of what they had expected from a member of the Akatsuki. It was a little off-putting. "I'm pretty sure we need to fight now." He raised his fists up and adopted a sloppy stance. "Prepare to feel my wrath!"

Evil and menacing individuals like Kisame and Kakuzu suddenly didn't sound so bad. At least they fit the bill for an infamous criminal organization.

…

…

…

Tobi put his hand underneath his chin and looked up at the sky. "Hm, what should I open up with?" He mused aloud to himself in a surprisingly innocent tone. "Oh! That's a good idea!" He exclaimed suddenly. "Wait, no… what if they… or maybe… that might work. Hmm…"

Temari grit her teeth. They had to get to Gaara, not waste time in a standoff with this clown! "We don't have time for this!" In a flash, her giant fan was off of her back and in her hand. With all three moons visible, she waved it at the strange man.

"Wind Scythe Jutsu!"

Strong, razor-sharp winds swirled outward and sliced up rocks and trees.

"No, wait! I wasn't ready, please!" He yelled as the attack seemingly swept him up. "Ahh!"

The Jutsu spanned a broad area and kicked up a lot of dust and dirt in the process. They lost visual on Tobi, but it was clear that Gaara's sister had done some damage.

She planted her fan into the ground and leaned up against it. She shot a confident smile over at the others. "He doesn't seem so tough."

Naruto's widened eyes caught the attention of the Sand Sibling, followed by her balance being suddenly thrown off.

"Hey, this is a pretty nice fan." A voice from behind her said playfully. "Where did ya get it?"

Temari corrected herself and whirled around to see Tobi nonchalantly in possession of her fan. He waved it around like an immature child playing with a toy without a care in the world.

The look of shock on her face said it all.

"How did he-" Shikamaru started but stopped. "I didn't even see him move."

Temari stepped forward and threw a head kick at the stranger.

He yawned mockingly, and, with his other hand, moved the fan to intercept. The kunoichi grimaced as her shin collided with solid steel, but she spun in the opposite direction with a back fist.

Tobi went to move to counter but found he couldn't. He glanced down at his feet. "Oh, cool!" He exclaimed as the girl's fist went right through his head and slammed into the fan. "You can do that weird Shadow Jutsu! I've heard about that; you must be from the Nara clan!"

Barely able to process what had just happened, all Temari managed to do was grab her fan from the immobilized man and create some distance. "Shikamaru?" She turned to the genius of the group for answers to what they all saw.

His mind swirled with possibilities. 'He was able to take Temari's fan away and wield it, so he's definitely a solid person that we can hit. On the other hand, her punch clearly passed through him.' There were still far too many unknowns to make a determination.

"I'm… not sure." He answered in a slightly confused tone. "I'll have to see more."

Naruto flicked a kunai at the masked man's chest and watched as it passed right through him. He frowned. 'Since I was sent through the connected seals, I'm pretty much useless in this fight. I barely have any chakra left. If I can just give Shikamaru more data that he can analyze, I'll be satisfied.'

"Hey, watch it!" Their enemy yelled. "Those are pointy, you could really hurt someone!"

'He's not even bothering to fight against Shikamaru's shadow.' Naruto thought. 'Is that because he knows that we can't hit him, or can he escape it at any time?'

"You know, I'm getting kind of bored of being captured… let's keep fighting!" As if he had read the clone's mind, Tobi sank slowly into the ground. The Nara family Jutsu seemed to have no effect on him.

"What?" The clone blurted out as he looked around. "Where the hell did he go?!"

"This doesn't make any sense." The Nara allowed his shadow to return to his body and brought his hand up to his chin. "When he started to sink into the ground, I lost my grip on him. How is he able to move around like that?!" He looked around at his equally confused comrades. "Keep your senses on high alert, we have to assume that he can pop out of anywhere."

"Naruto!" Hinata yelled, her Byakugan still active. "Behind y-"

It was too late.

The clone felt the cold steel of a kunai pressed against the front of his throat. The masked man's voice echoed in his ear from behind. His eyes widened.

'Wha-! How?!'

"I'll be here all week! Tell your friends…" Then…

Darkness.

The real Naruto put his head down and took in a deep breath.

Kiba and Shino had already left to go and help Shikamaru's team, which meant that Sasori was his problem, and his alone. Kiba tried to stay and help him, but the blond insisted that they both go. The Genin had a feeling that they would need all of the help they can get.

'Everything is going to be okay.' He tried to reassure himself. 'They can handle themselves.'

If he allowed worry for his friends to consume his thoughts, he would put himself at an immediate disadvantage. And he had a feeling that his opponent wouldn't think twice about cutting him down if he's distracted.

"You seem to be a little down." The Puppeteer called out to him as he withdrew a scroll from his robe. "Let me show you something that'll take your mind off of it."

"Three?" The Jinchuriki read the unfurled scroll aloud. "I don't-"

"You aren't from my village, but that doesn't mean you can't appreciate true art when you see it."

'What does he mean by that?'

'Poof!'

The smoke quickly dispersed and revealed another one of Sasori's puppets. The puppet was tall, had spiky, medium-length, dark blue hair, and yellow eyes.

"This is my favorite piece in my entire collection." His eyes narrowed, and his lips curved up into a sinister smile. "You'll see why soon, but you can call him the Third Kazekage."

'What? The Third Kazekage?!' Naruto's mind raced. He didn't know much about the Kage outside of his own village so, even if that was the Third Kazekage, he wouldn't be able to tell by its appearance.

The Puppet Master loved the expression on the boy's face. "I really don't like to keep people waiting." He waved his arms around and flicked his fingers in a calculated pattern. "So, let's get this over with!"

The puppet got to Naruto so fast, faster than he anticipated. Several poison-dipped blades came out of hidden compartments on its right arm.

'Damn!'

He flew through hand seals at incredibly high speeds. Tiger, Horse, Boar, Ram, Rat, Snake.

'Ninja Art: Needle Jizo.'

Naruto's spiky, blond locks elongated and wrapped around his body. The chakra-infused mane protected his body from the razor-sharp steel, but the collision's force was too much. The weaponized Kage's momentum carried through and tossed Naruto against the rocky cave wall. He crashed down on all fours and caught himself with his hands while his hair receded back to its usual place.

Sasori commanded his tool to follow, and it did just that. The pressure was on almost as soon as the blond had touched the ground. Naruto barrel rolled to the side just as the blades slashed into the earth. He grimaced as the sharp steel carved through the stone floor far too effortlessly.

'So sharp! Is that even steel?'

The Jinchuriki pumped chakra into his legs and kicked off against the ground to distance himself and the contraption. While in midair, he created a clone. The doppelganger appeared right in front of him. In one seamless motion, the real Naruto gripped his copy by the vest collar, pushed him down towards the ground, carried that momentum into a front flip, and heaved his duplicate at the puppet.

"I don't think so!" Sasori yelled, along with couple flicks from his fingers.

The Third's mouth opened, and dozens of needles shot out. The suicide clone exploded violently when the projectiles pierced it. Since he was still in the air, the force from the blast slammed Naruto back down into the ground.

The teen let out a groan and picked himself up. 'He knows to stay away from my clones. Maybe I played that card too early?'

The smoke had yet to clear, but he could hear Sasori's next move. On cue, what dozens of wooden hands busted through the smoke. He wove a few signs and kicked off the ground again, but he knew he wouldn't be fast enough to evade the attack.

Not yet, anyway. He pointed his open palms at the ground.

"Wind Style: Gale Palm!"

Naruto rocketed up in the air, flipped over, and landed on the cave ceiling. The army of arms sliced through the ground where he had stood. From his new vantage point, he was able to see over the top of the plumes of smoke and smoke that were kicked up from the assault. The teen ran along the ceiling in the direction of the one who pulled the strings. He and went through even more seals.

"Water Style: Water Jet!"

Out of his mouth shot a high-pressure stream of water. The blast of liquid slashed in between the puppet and his Master. Sasori's chakra string went taut and split off from the Third Kazekage as they were severed by the Jutsu. The water tore up the earth and rock as it made contact with the cave floor.

He smirked as the Third Kazekage, now free of Sasori's control, fell to the ground. Fukasaku would be so proud that he could perform that Jutsu at such a high level. Naruto rushed the redhead, who could do little to defend himself. The blond threw a strike at the Akatsuki's head, which he expertly dodged.

The Jinchuriki gritted his teeth and continued the flurry. Naruto prided himself on his speed, and he was surprised to find that Sasori, albeit with great difficulty, was able to avoid all of his attacks. A left jab followed by a right uppercut made Sasori flip backward to evade.

Naruto continued his assault. He spun into a back kick, Sasori stepped to the side, and it missed by mere centimeters. The blond contorted his body in the opposite direction to throw a back fist. Once again, the Puppeteer ducked just in time and stumbled away. His expression never changed, despite being on the defensive the entire time. "Is all you can do is dodge!" The Leaf Shinobi taunted.

It was clear that the Genin was superior in both speed and Taijutsu. All his opponent could do is disengage and get some distance.

Sasori didn't respond, though Naruto could see the subtlest movements in his fingers.

His eyes widened.

Naruto leaped to the side just as the Third Kazekage blitzed him from behind. The Third's razor-sharp, poison blades trimmed a few of the hairs on his head as it raced by.

Sasori smirked confidently. "Now it's your turn to dodge. No more playing around." He made a hand sign, and the husk of the Kazekage's mouth dropped open. "You're going to wish you hadn't sent those friends of yours away. It's over."

Grainy, black material drifted ominously out of the puppet's mouth. It made a sound that was difficult to describe; it grated and ground against itself. The sound was incredibly unpleasant.

The Jinchuriki narrowed his eyes. "Is that… sand?"

"Not just any sand." Sasori said as the black grains began to combine together to form something new. "This is what made the Third the strongest ninja in the history of the Sand Village. I'm going to use the Iron Sand to grind your arms and legs into dust. But, don't worry, I know enough Medical Ninjutsu to ensure you won't die. Not yet, anyway." He chuckled humorlessly.

'This is the Third's technique?' Was the first thought that crossed his mind. 'Human puppets can use Ninjutsu?!' It all made sense now. This was why Sasori made them. At first, it didn't make sense. Why go through all of the trouble of turning a human into a monstrosity?

It was for this purpose. To use the abilities of the dead as a weapon at your own disposal.

'This is bad… he has hundreds of puppets like this?'

'I'll have to be careful that I don't kill him.' The redhead thought with a touch of annoyance. He raised his arms up to command his instrument of destruction. "Iron Sand: Scatter Shower!"

The metallic sand rattled from the sudden chakra infusion, molded itself into large pellets, and accelerated rapidly at the blond.

After a couple brief scuffles, the two sides were at a stalemate. No one from Team Shikamaru dared to make another move, and Tobi looked more than content to just sit there and waste time.

The Nara's teeth ground together. They weren't getting anywhere! And worst of all, the masked guy loved every second of it.

"You know, you guys really are boring." Tobi teased as he rubbed the part of his mask where his chin would be. " That blond kid seemed kinda fun." He went to turn around. "Maybe he'll entertain me a little."

Hinata suddenly sprung forward, her Byakugan glared daggers into his back. She pressured him with the high-speed Taijutsu of her clan.

"Woah!" Tobi yelped as he narrowly dodged one of her chakra-laced strikes. "Hey!" He dodged another, arms flailing about in every direction. "I've seen those eyes before…" The goofy man clumsily dodged a flurry of jabs while in the middle of his thought. "You're a Hyuga, aren't you?! Oh no, I definitely can't let you hit me! You can turn off my chakra!"

The mysterious man expertly twirled around Hinata just as she leaned forward with a palm-strike to his heart. She overextended, her three-hundred and sixty-degree vision showing the movements of her enemy, but she couldn't do anything to stop it.

Tobi lashed out to strike.

"Fang Over Fang!"

Out of nowhere, Kiba sliced through the air with one of his clan's signature techniques. But, to his surprise, there was no contact made. He slowed down in midair, contorted his body, and landed to face his opponent. The Dog user's eyebrow rose in confusion.

The masked guy was still standing in the exact same place.

Shikamaru, on the other hand, might have seen the final piece of his puzzle.

'At least Hinata managed to get away.' He noted. And she didn't look hurt. 'Seems like we were able to make it in time thanks to Naruto's warning.'

"Kiba, Shino!" Hinata called out to them. "What are you doing here?"

They ran over to her. "We joined up with Naruto, but he said he was worried about you guys. One of us tried to stay behind, but he insisted that we came here."

Tobi was now surrounded on both sides. Team Kurenai on one side, Shikamaru and Temari on the other.

"Hinata, I need eyes on him at all times!" Shikamaru commanded, which seemed to get the attention of Team 8. "I think we might be onto something here…"

"Did you seem something, Shikamaru?" Temari whispered right beside him.

The Chunin made a hand sign. "Think so." He answered as his shadow extended out in front of himself.

Tobi didn't even try and move; he even casually watched the shadow connect with his. "That technique again? Didn't you see what happened before?" His voice sounded the same… but the tone. "You should already know that it won't work on me."

It was bone-chillingly calm!

"I know, but if you want to get out, it'll give our new arrivals a little glimpse at what you can do." Shikamaru was now smiling confidently. "I think I have you figured out."

"Oh?" The man's visible eye curved up in slight amusement.

"You use some kind of Teleportation Jutsu, right?" The Chunin asked rhetorically. "It allows you to move around unhindered, which is how you escaped my Shadow Possession. That explains why your scent just suddenly appeared earlier. You also can make yourself intangible to avoid attacks and rematerialize when you want to attack."

Kiba snarled. "If he can do that whenever he wants, how the hell are we supposed to touch him?!"

Shikamaru smirked. "Hinata." She blinked. "He was going to hit Hinata, but you came swooping in just in time, Kiba." Everyone looked at him blankly. He frowned. "Did you guys not see what happened?"

"Didn't he miss?" Kiba asked what he assumed was an obvious question.

"His attack… went right through me." Hinata said slowly, then her eyes suddenly widened in realization. "If he wants to attack us, he needs to materialize completely!"

Shikamaru nodded but was cut off before he could continue.

"Heh, you Nara sure are good." A shiver went shot up everyone's spine. Tobi no longer sounded like himself, his voice was deep. He sounded… terrifying. "I bet you're Shikaku's brat, right? Has to be. It might be a good idea to kill you right now. That way, you won't become a nuisance to me later."

'He knows my dad... Just who the hell is this guy?!'

Temari stepped in front of her friend. "A-As if we'd let you!" The slight quiver in her voice betrayed her true feelings.

They were out of their league.

That elicited a chuckle from the masked man, but he didn't say anything else. His lone eye was transfixed on the son of the most intelligent man in the Land of Fire.

'This guy seems pretty knowledgeable about the Leaf Village. The Hyuga and Nara Clans, along with immediately knowing who my father was. Was he a former Shinobi of ours?' A drop of sweat rolled down the side of the Chunin's face. "Just… who the hell are you, anyway? What do you want?!" The Nara asked as he allowed his shadow to return to him to save his chakra.

Their enemy smirked behind his orange masked. "In due time." He answered in his new voice as he held up a finger. "All will become clear eventually. That is, if you're around to hear it."

The Leaf, and one Sand, shinobi all felt pits at the bottom of their stomachs.

They had a terrible feeling about all of this.

"How is his pulse doing, Sakura?" Kakashi asked as he kicked off of another tree branch.

"He's steady and stable." She responded, somehow able to evaluate his vitals while leaping from tree to tree. "I'm positive we made it in time. He's in rough shape, but he's not getting any worse."

"Are you positive?" The blond clone asked. "We really saved him?"

Naruto's doppelganger was the one who was tasked to carry the Kazekage with Sakura by his side if medical aid needed to be administered. Kakashi was stationed in the rear, while Kurenai positioned herself in the front.

"I'd be a lot more confident if we could stop so I could give him treatment, but Gaara should still be fine."

"Let's not get carried away, Naruto." The Copy Ninja warned a glance behind them confirmed what his nose relayed to him. They gained some ground on their pursuer. "Not when Itachi is still hot on our tail."

"Speaking of that, are you sure it's a good idea to make it back to the leaf and leave the others behind?" Kurenai asked cautiously. "What's to stop Itachi from turning around and going after them?" She could feel the Uchiha as he got closer to their group, but could they count on him to continue to follow?

"As long as we have Gaara, Itachi has no choice but to come after us." Kakashi reassured. "What I learned from Master Jiraiya's intel is that the One-Tails is one of the first Tailed Beasts that needs to be sealed away. Not only that, but the Nine-Tails has to be the last."

"Still…" Kurenai looked back at the pair in the middle, her vision jostled slightly as she kicked off of another branch. It was clear from the clone's heavy breaths; he had reached his limit. "I don't think Naruto can make another batch of clones to give us breathing room from Itachi."

Kakashi frowned behind his mask. She had a point 'What to do?' He thought. 'Should we take the risk and engage with him? Do we have the strength to defeat him?'

The blond doppelganger's head snapped up and twisted around, his gaze lingered in the direction of the Akatsuki hideout. "Oh no, this is bad!" He nearly yelled.

He landed on a branch with Gaara but didn't jump to the next one. Naruto's body went rigid, a look of deep worry written all over his face.

His actions caused the other three to stop with him. "Naruto, what's wrong? We have to go!" Kurenai called out to him.

The blond didn't react to her words.

"Did something happen?" The pink-haired Chunin asked apprehensively.

…

"There's someone else." Was all he said, his eyes refused to leave that spot.

"What?" Sakura questioned further.

"There's another Akatsuki member." His voice was cold, which matched his current demeanor. "They attacked Shikamaru's group and took out a clone of me like it was nothing." Sweat rolled down his face. "Whoever they are, they're bad news."

Sakura and Kurenai looked as if they had been struck.

"A third one?" Kakashi wanted to confirm, to which the copy of his student nodded gravely. "Damn, not good. To my knowledge, they were supposed to operate in pairs. This is new." He muttered and opened his Sharingan eye. "Guess we have no choice but to stay here and fight. If Itachi were to turn back and join his allies… everyone would be in trouble." They had to operate based on the assumption that the Uchiha was aware of what had transpired near the hideout.

"We should get down to the forest floor. We're more vulnerable up here like this." Kurenai did her best to rally the demoralized team. She was worried but had faith in her and Kakashi's team to get the job done. That was all they could really do.

Team Kakashi dropped onto the soft dirt beneath them. Naruto gently laid his friend onto the ground, while everyone got into protective stances around the two Jinchuriki. A tense silence filled the area, while they waited for the infamous Uchiha to join them.

Just a moment later, their enemy dropped down from the sky like he had accepted an open invitation. His face was nearly blank, but he seemed slightly surprised that his prey had decided to stop and face him.

If he were honest, he would rather they continue to flee. He had made enough difficult choices this week.

"You decided to stand and fight, hm?" The Sharingan Master asked coldly. "Brave, but foolish."

The clone clenched his jaw tightly and pushed past the others. He made sure to avoid eye contact while he spoke. "What kind of game are you bastards playing at, huh?" The blond doppelganger nearly spat.

The outburst wasn't entirely unexpected, but it raised a few questions. "Game?" He thought it was pretty obvious what was happening, but the blond was always rather dense. "There is no game, Naruto. We simply require to One-Tails to further out plans. Hand him over, and I'll let all of you walk about from here."

"You know exactly what I'm talking about, you traitor!" Naruto continued his verbal tirade. "That orange-masked guy, who the hell is he? Is he with you?!"

The faintest of twitches flickered across the missing-nin's features. It was almost indiscernible, but Naruto and Kakashi saw it. For someone who killed their own kin to have any visible reaction to that statement was unexpected, to say the least. Questions were raised on their end, as well.

Did he not know about Tobi?

The Uchiha murderer's breath hitched in his throat, and he felt his mouth go dry. It felt like a bolt of lightning had ripped its way up his spine and into the back of his head. It took every fiber of his being to not let what he thought show through to his face.

"…Did you say an orange mask?" Itachi asked, outwardly calmly. Though, on the inside, his prodigious mind raced through all of the scenarios he had anticipated. This had not been one of them.

Not even close.

Madara had made a move? How? Why? From what he had understood, Madara had planned to join the Akatsuki as a member soon, but not yet. This did not make any sense. What could have possibly changed? Or, was this his plan all along and he was just unaware?

His eyes flashed as a realization dawned on him. A conversation between their leader and Zetsu he had noted to be strange came to mind. 'So, he must have been the emergency countermeasure that Pain spoke of.' Of course, how had he not deciphered that cryptic statement?! It should have been so obvious! His emotions swirled, so much so that it was difficult for even him to hold them back. It appeared that ANBU training was useful for some things, after all.

'Could he be after Naruto? No, that can't happen. This ruins everything…'

"Does that mean he is with you?!" Naruto's teeth were bared, and one of his hands was clenched tightly at his side.

Things had gone off of the rails, and fast. Itachi had to make a choice right now, that much was obvious. Though, he knew that no matter what he decided to do… it would change everything. This took him back to that fateful day seven years ago. When Danzo and the Elders handed the world's worst ultimatum and he was expected to make an unthinkable choice.

What could he possibly do now?

He gave his best attempt at a contemptuous grin. "It doesn't matter." He dismissed. "None of you will live long enough to find out." His gaze drifted down to the unconscious Kazekage. "Now, I'll be taking the One-Tails. If you insist on getting in my way, then I have no choice."

Itachi raced through a quick set of signs and placed his index finger and thumb in front of his lips.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

His choice had been made, and he would not look back.

Never again…

Naruto attempted to catch his breath just as he dodged one of the massive shapes that Sasori had created with the iron sand.

It crashed loudly into the cave walls behind him, and splintered rock shot out in nearly every direction. The dust and debris wedged between his vest and undershirt were unbelievably frustrating, but there were more important things to worry about.

The terrain had begun to change; the hideout's roof had started to cave in on itself from the Puppeteer's powerful attacks. Sweat rolled down the Genin's face.

'This guy's strong, I can't get close to either of them. Should I have let Kiba and Shino stay to help me?' The Jinchuriki, though with a touch of trepidation, his breath still labored. 'Did I bite off more than I could chew?'

"Is running away all that you can do?" The redhead threw the blond's own taunt back at him. "You'll slow down eventually, and, when you do, I'll win."

Those words were intended to sting, but they appeared to miss their mark. Naruto just gave him a blank stare, which showed no fear. He had been through far too much over the past couple of years. What would Jiraiya think about him if he failed on his first mission after they had trained so hard together? The work they had put in together couldn't be in vain. Not only that, but what of his friends? They were in danger… he owed it to them to survive.

Naruto's mind went back to what Jiraiya had said about his father. The Nine-Tails had been entrusted to him by his dad, the Fourth Hokage, the Hero of the Hidden Leaf. Could he really face the man in the afterlife if he were to fail? No!

Yes, that's right.

Naruto's eyes reinvigorated with the same flame his Master saw when they made their bet.

'That's right, I can't afford to lose here!'

The boy withdrew a familiar scroll from his pouch and smirked. He ran at the troublesome puppet and clenched his jaw in anticipation. 'I hope this works!'

'Heh, a head-on assault? Guess he's run out of options.' The puppet master maneuvered his chakra threads to counter his opponent's assault. The Iron Sand: Gathering Assault shapes were extracted from the cave walls, and barreled towards Naruto from both sides.

'Yes!' Sasori leaned forward in anticipation. He'd crush the boy's body, and drag him back to one of their other remote hideouts.

There, he would await his inevitable extraction.

Naruto threw his unfurled scroll into the air and made a single hand sign. "Lightning Trap: Release!"

From the scroll, massive tendrils of electricity spread across the battlefield. The conduction of the metallic sand drew in the white-hot bolts. The effect was immediate; the iron sand weapons began to shake violently as it, and the Third Kazekage puppet, were struck heavily by Naruto's attack. Now with no magnetic charge, the black sand dropped harmlessly to the ground.

'What?!' Sasori nearly panicked while he tried in vain to command his puppet to defend.

It was too late.

'Yes!' Naruto inwardly screamed, as he pulled out a small tag from his weapon pouch. He closed the distance fast and placed the paper tag on the forehead of the Kazekage.

'Ninja Art: Chakra Seal!' The blond leaped back, a confident grin on his face.

Sasori eyed him curiously and made a hand sign to continue his assault. The iron sand of the Kazekage quivered but did not move beyond that. It couldn't have still been from the Lightning Style attack. If anything, that effect would last a couple seconds at most. There was a faint flickering behind the usually dead eyes of the redhead.

Was he beginning to show his anger?

"What did you do?!" He demanded. The most dangerous attack in his arsenal had just been rendered useless… by a child, no less.

"I sealed the chakra within that puppet with a special tag that I made. Though, I never expected to have to use one on a puppet. It will no longer be able to expel chakra from its body, or use Jutsu. It's just a regular puppet, now." He shot the Akatsuki criminal a hard look. "It's over, please surrender, so we don't have to continue this game."

If Sasori could bite the inside of his lip, he would've drawn blood. He was at a point in his life that emotions of any type were a rare occurrence. But… this boy made him furious. His eyes narrowed menacingly; a growl nearly escaped his lips, proof of the distaste he had for the Jinchuriki.

'Heh. I wasn't going to let it come to this, but the brat isn't really giving me much choice. Guess I'll just have to destroy his will first, then capture him.'

To Naruto's great surprise, Sasori rescinded the chakra threads attached to the Third Kazekage. It's wood-like body rattled and bounced against the hard stone floor. He rose an eyebrow. Did that really work, was it over?

Couldn't be.

"There is no point in continuing the fight with the Third Kazekage." Sasori answered the unasked question, his voice as calm as can be. "It'll only get destroyed like Hiruko; wouldn't want that. I can always reverse the sealing effects after you die."

'Guess I shouldn't be too surprised.' The Genin thought with a slight frown.

"I do have a question, though." The Puppeteer asked as he withdrew another scroll from his robe.

"And what would that be?" Naruto asked back warily. He wanted to make a move but felt that rash action would only put himself in unnecessary danger, especially because of Sasori's potent poison.

"You had the perfect opportunity to destroy my puppet when you disrupted the Magnet Release. Yet, instead of doing so, you chose to simply seal away it's chakra. Why?"

The Uzumaki shot his opponent an odd look. "Why does it matter?"

"That puppet is still a threat as long as it's on the battlefield. It still has hidden weapon attacks that I could use at any moment. You know this, and yet you decided to take that risk anyway."

Naruto resisted the urge to break eye contact, but Sasori could still feel his gaze waver. His chuckle was filled with cruel intentions.

"The Sand Village should be able to have a proper burial for their Kazekage. If you have him, then they probably don't even know where he went. I'd hate to think about how they've felt since he disappeared."

"You're pathetic." Laughed the missing-nin. "You'd put your life in even more danger than it already is, for that? Why do you care? You aren't even a shinobi from the Land of Wind."

Naruto twitched.

'Yeah, why do you care.' A familiar voice said.

Naruto's eyes snapped wide open. Who had even said that? He allowed his senses to extend beyond Sasori and the battlefield but felt nothing around them.

They were alone.

'Even after all we've been through… you still continue to show your worst enemies mercy. You're just asking to die. He's right, you're pathetic.' The voice continued with harsh taunts.

A dull ache crept its way to the back of his head. He resisted the urge to rub his temples as the sensation continued to magnify. The boy's heart rate began to elevate, the sound of his blood being pumped throughout his body thundered in his eardrums. 'What's happening to me? Who's there?!' He pleaded for an answer.

…

Just when he thought the voice was gone, it answered.

'Isn't it obvious?' Their tone was derisive. 'I'm you!'

His eyes suddenly darted back to Sasori, who seemed unaware of the blond's inner turmoil. The redhead was too focused on the unraveled scroll in his hand to notice.

Whatever this was, it wasn't being caused by the Puppeteer. That's when the grim reality finally dawned on him.

It was his own mind doing this to him.

Sasori's voice cut through his dark thoughts.

"I didn't expect to actually have to use these pieces, but, oh well." While his eyes were lifeless, his devilish smirk betrayed cruel intentions. "They don't exactly have any practical use … but I've been saving them for this special occasion."

Daughter and son. That was what was scribbled within the parchment.

Naruto's eyes widened, and his heart sank.

"W-What's that." The Genin stuttered out.

"Oh, I think you know." Sasori seemed to be enjoying this. He channeled a small portion of chakra into his sealed scroll.

'Poof!'

"Afterall, you know them very well."

Naruto's eyes widened as he balled his hands into fists and dug his nails deep into his palms. Crimson blood rolled off his knuckles and onto the rocky floor. The pain was lost on him, he didn't even feel it. "No…" Tears brimmed at the edges of his eyes, only sheer will kept them from cascading down the sides of his face. His lip quivered, and his heart clenched. "How could I let this happen to them…"

Tsunami… Inari.

The Uzumaki remembered that day vividly, even though it was one he'd rather forget. Tazuna's body had been the only one to be found. The other two, they had mysteriously disappeared. Blood had been everywhere, but it didn't prove anything; that could have all been from Tazuna, for all he knew.

He feared the worst, but, at the same time, that foolish, optimistic side of him had filled his mind with beautiful dreams.

'Maybe they had gotten away.' He told himself.

'Why would the Akatsuki bother collecting their bodies?' Was an attempt to rationalize this reality.

'They're out there somewhere. I'll find them one day!' A futile statement that he had kept at the back of his mind. It allowed him to sleep during his bad days, and even smile on his better ones.

As he looked back on it, such impossibilities were now apparent. They only served to make himself feel better, a way for his brain to issue damage control.

To stop the bleeding if you will.

Now, as he looked at them, a sudden rush of nausea accompanied the tears that had broken through his resolve. It looked like them, but it also didn't. Inari didn't have his hat, so the hair at the top of his head fell out to the sides. A small change, but it made him appear to be a stranger.

Tsunami… where was her smile? Every time Naruto had seen her, she always beamed. Even when there was no reason to do so. And her eyes were supposed to be so full of positive emotions. In just her gaze, you could see all of the love she carried for her father and son, perhaps, even him. But now? Her face was lifeless, cold, and dead. That image would haunt him for a long time, that he knew.

Their skin was darker, and they had vertical lines at the sides of their mouths. Their bodies have probably been rigged with more of Sasori's poisonous weapons.

"What a happy little reunion, this is." The Puppet Master's monotonous voice broke the blond out of his stupor. "How about you three get a little more acquainted?" He waved his arms and, with a flick from his fingers, used the friends of the Jinchuriki to launch his next attack.

Naruto didn't even move, he couldn't. Not even when Inari and Tsunami blasted him with a flurry of punches, could he put up even a modicum of resistance. There was a taste of iron in his mouth after Inari connected with a particularly stiff punch to his face. Tsunami threw an uppercut to the body that nearly lifted the blond off of the ground. He doubled over and grabbed at his gut as all of the air was forced from his body. The mother-son combo kicked him away.

The Jinchuriki landed several feet away and found himself faced up at the sky.

He was just being toyed with.

There was a sneer on Sasori's face. If there was one thing he had always enjoyed, it was sadism. It was the most effective way he could exercise his will over someone else. After all. what could be more sadistic than beating someone to a bloody pulp with their own friends? As creatively wicked as the Scorpion of the Red Sand was, not even he could think of many things worse than that.

There was a method to his madness, a reason behind why he did things like this.

To make them feel the same way he did when his parents never came back, and he was helpless to do anything about it.

Then, why? Why wasn't he enjoying this?

Sasori frowned. 'What is this that I'm feeling?' His confusion only seemed to anger him even further. In this form, he wasn't supposed to feel anything at all.

As for Naruto, his glazed eyes were too unfocused to admire the beauty of the sky. In fact, none of his senses were working correctly. His nerves were too numb to feel the ground he was supposedly laying on, and even the ambient noises of her surroundings were drowned out by his own mind.

There was only one thing that he could hear. Oh, how he wished that it weren't the case.

"Like I said… we really are pathetic, aren't we?" Those words rattled around in his mind like a deafening sound desperately trying to escape a small, enclosed space.

And, in that moment, it was all there was.

Author's Note: I left a few hints about the fate of Inari and Tsunami, but no one ever mentioned anything. If you spotted them, let me know in a review. If you can find both, I'll PM you and give you Chapter 28 to read early! Sound good?

The reveal was nearly 20 chapters in the making, so I hope it delivered. Did it shock you, or did you expect it? Let me know!

Review, follow, and fav if you enjoyed it.

See you next time with Chapter 28: Two Steps Back: Breakpoint!

The next chapter is… well, you'll see.

TrenchcoatMan – Agreed, Naruto is better off by himself in this fight. Sending Kiba and Shino off towards Tobi means he doesn't have to worry about them against Sasori.

TheRoadtoHell666 – I love writing Itachi's thoughts. It's what I imagined him thinking behind that stoic expression he always gave.

vyoom – Kurenai has experience against Itachi. Kiba and Shino are also the trackers, they were better equipped to get to Naruto quickly.

ThelittleKing – Did you anticipate my puppet reveal? I foreshadowed at it at least twice, but no one seemed to pick up on it. Was it surprising? Let me know!

DragonshadowRyukage – Things may feel glossed over because we've been used to much slower pacing. If we maintained the same pace as the Time Skip 'arc,' we'd never finish this story. Training and development = slow-paced. Fighting and action = fast-paced.

Ros13y4 – As much as my Naruto changes, he'll still always keep some of his core elements. He's more serious here, but he can still be goofy and childish.

Ben91 - Chapter length varies so much because I have a stopping point in mind with each chapter. Sometimes I reach that point in 5k words, and other times 8k.

HardlyFlaccid - The scene with the farmer's was intended to remind people that Naruto is still Naruto at heart. It may come off as a bit cheesy, but it was very necessary to show that after he killed Jaaku.

bruins35 - I gave Naruto and Sakura more development so they fit better within the story, not for pairing purposes. But I see what you mean, if I take that road the seeds have already been partially sown. I wouldn't hold my breath, though. I haven't written Sakura and Hinata much, but so far their personalities don't really mesh well with Naruto's.