Welcome back everyone, and thanks for the reviews. I haven't forgot about Neji, he will play a pretty big role in the near future. I cant think of anything else that needs to be said, so enjoy.

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The group ran nearly nonstop for the next two days, only taking short breaks to keep their energy up, until they made it to Suna where they were immediately lead to the council room.

"Thank you for coming to our aid in such a timely manner Hokage-sama, please take a seat and we will explain the situation." One of the elder council members said as he pointed to an empty chair nearby.

Once Naruto was seated with his entourage standing behind him, the elder continued. "As you know from the message we sent to you, we were attacked by Akatsuki yesterday. There were two of them in the group and Gaara-sama fought hard to defend us, but he was eventually overwhelmed. All the information we have is that one of the attackers used explosion techniques, and the other one is... Sasori, from our own village."

"Akasuna no Sasori?" Naruto asked the old man, receiving a nod in return. "Alright, which way did they go when they left the village?"

"They left towards the north... The anbu team we sent to track them has yet to return so we dont know much."

"I see. Okay team, we move out in one hour, get some rest until then." Naruto said before noticing an old lady looking at him as if debating on talking to him.

"Do you need something Granny Chiyo?" (to my understanding, calling someone 'granny' in japanese culture isn't an insult, it is used much like americans say 'brother' to someone their own age unless it is to Tsunade.)

"Actually, I was wondering if you minded if I tag along with your team."

"Thanks for the offer, but i believe we have enough manpower to rescue Gaara."

"It's actually more of a personal vendetta. I ask you to let me go simply because Sasori is my grandson and I blame myself for the way he turned out, and I'd like to correct my mistake."

"I can understand that. If you want to you can come, we'll be leaving out in about 30 minutes."

"Hai, I'm ready to go when you are." Chiyo replied. Naruto then went to sit with his team and rest until time to leave.

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30 minutes later

"Everyone ready?" Naruto called out, earning nods from his group plus Chiyo. Temari elected to leave the situation to Konoha while she stayed behind with Kankuro who was in the hospital from the recent attack.

"Alright then, Kakashi if you would."

Kakashi bit his thumb and did a series of hand seals. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" he said as he touched his palm to the ground. There was a small puff of smoke, and when it died down, there was a small pug with a Konoha Hitai-ate on his forehead standing there.

"Yo Kakashi." The dog said as he looked over the group.

"Hey Pakkun, think you could lead us to the Kazekage?" Kakashi said as Naruto held out a torn piece of cloth for him to get the scent.

Pakkun sniffed it a minute and made a nod. "Yea, I can smell his trail. Follow me." He said before taking off and leaping into the trees followed by Naruto and his team.

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Location unknown. 2 days ago

Nine figures stood atop the fingers of a large statue with nine closed eyes. Seven of the figures appeared to be mere astal projections while two of them were actually there in person.

"Alright, from now on the sealing process will take three days and nights. Be mindful of your real bodies. Zetsu, use your real body as a lookout." Said the apparent leader of the group. All that could be seen of the man in his astral projection was spiky hair and three concentric rings around his pupils.

The image of the man that looked like a venus fly trap simply nodded his acknowledgment.

"Won't it take longer than three days with Orochi-teme gone?" The blonde haired feminine looking man who was there in person said.

"If you believe it will, then we shouldn't waste any time Deidara. Let us begin. Genryu Kyuu Fuin! (Phantom Dragons 9 consuming seals)" The apparent leader said as a large ball of light appeared in the mouth of the statue before splitting into 9 beams that were shaped like dragons. The dragons waved around in the air for a moment before they all turned and crashed into the chest of the unconscious Gaara who was laying on the ground between the hands.

Gaara's body was instantly covered in light and his body began to float into the air with a grunt of pain.

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The Konoha team travelled for several hours before Pakkun stopped on a tree branch. "They are just ahead, we should stop and rest for a moment before continuing on."

"Thanks Pakkun, we can take it from here." Naruto said and Kakashi nodded before Pakkun said goodbye and dissappeared in a poof of smoke.

"Alright guys, we rest here for an hour tops, and then we move out. Proceed with caution, these guys are S-Ranked missing nin, they will be stronger than you have ever faced before. If possible, leave the fighting to Kakashi, Zabuza, and myself." Naruto said before using his Sejigan to look ahead to see if he could find the chakra signatures, but didn't have much luck since they were all underground.

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Back with Akatsuki

"Leader-sama, there is a squad of 5 Konoha nin and 1 Suna nin approaching us. The Hokage and Kakashi Hatake are among them." Zetsu said suddenly while the group continued the sealing ritual.

"Thank you Zetsu. Kisame, Raiga, Hidan; use that jutsu to stall them, we are nearing completion. Kisame leave me 30 percent, Raiga and Hidan leave 50." Leader-sama said to the group earning a couple of happy reactions.

"Yes! Jashin-sama will have their blood as a sacrifice! The image of the man with a 3 bladed scythe on his back screamed out.

"Lovely! They will make an excellent funeral!" Raido said from his spot.

Kisame just smiled to himself and the 3 quickly did some hand seals and did their jutsu.

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"Alright, lets move out." Naruto said, causing the group to stand and get ready to leave. "We are about a mile away, expect heavy resistence once we get close.

With that the group leapt back into the trees and continued forward.

They didn't make it far before a voice stopped them in their tracks.

"Well, well, If it isn't the Hokage, The copy nin, and my old friend Zabuza. So nice to see you all like this." a voice called out from ahead of the group. They immediately jumped from the trees down to the ground to see the 3 akatsuki members standing ahead of them.

"Likewise. Kisame, Raiga, and..." Naruto said, trailing off as he looked at Hidan.

"The name's Hidan, and I'm here to sacrifice your heathen blood to Jashin-sama!"

"Okay, Hidan. Sorry to inform you guys, but you have a friend of mine and I intend to take him back home safely."

"I love bursting your bubble, Hokage-sama, but he will be dead within the hour, and it'll take you that long to get through us, that's if you even survive." Kisame said as his grin got wider and he pulled Samehada off his back.

"Kisame's mine, I've got a score to settle with him!" Zabuza said before blurring out of sight towards Kisame.

"Shika, back Zabuza up but don't interfere unless you have too. Kakashi, you and Ino take care of Hidan; Ino, same goes for you, don't interfere unless you have too or you get a clear shot. I'll take Raiga. Chiyo, you come with me but stay back, your fight is with Sasori and he's not here." Naruto ordered as the group split to their assignments.

"Aww, you hurt my feelings Kyuubi. I wanted to give someone a lovely funeral, but I can't kill you." Raiga said as a few tears rolled down his face. All of a sudden, he started to laugh hysterically. "Oh well, I'll just give your friends a funeral after I capture you!" he yelled as he pulled his two swords off his back and held them into the air. The clouds began to turn black and rain started to fall while lightning arched through the clouds.

"Rairyu no Tatsumaki!" Raiga yelled out as the lightning blasted from the clouds and into his swords. He began to spin around quickly until the lighting formed into the shape of a dragon.

"Hmm, let's see if what they say about Kakashi's jutsu is true." Naruto said to himself as he grasped his right wrist with left hand. Lightning began to cackle around his palm and dance to the ground, tearing up large chunks of rock while the sound of a thousand chirping birds filled the air.

Raiga's lightning dragon lashed out towards Naruto at blinding speeds while Naruto darted towards the dragon as fast as he could. They met in the middle and Naruto called out "Raikiri!" as he thrust his palm right into, and though the dragon, splitting it in half and dispelling the technique.

Naruto then started a series of hand seals. "Katon: Karyuendan!" Naruto yelled out as he spewed out a large column of fire towards the Akatsuki nin.

Raiga quickly combined his swords at the hilt and began to spin them in front of him, causing lightning to cover his body. "Raigeki no Yoroi!" he yelled as the fire engulfed him.

Naruto knew he blocked the attack and quickly leapt back to put some distance between the two of them.

The flames died down, revealing Raiga standing in the middle of a charred patch of ground with a smile on his face. "Come on Kyuubi-boy, is that all you've got?" he said with a large smile on his face before dissappearing from his spot leaving a trail of torn up earth from his lightning armor.

Naruto had no troubles following Raiga's movements due to his Sejigan, and quickly pulled his own sword off his back to parry Raiga's slash. The two went at it for a moment before Naruto found an opening and did a quick palm strike to Raiga's chest.

"Shinra Tensei!" Naruto called out as he made contact, blasting the bipolar swordsman away from him and through a few trees.

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"Well if it isn't little Zabuza-chan. I never imagined you working for Konoha." Kisame said with a large grin while he and Zabuza had a standoff.

"I personally didn't either, but then again I never saw you abandoning Kiri for the likes of Akatsuki either." Zabuza replied with his own smirk, though you couldn't see it for the mask covering his lower face.

"It's good work, keeps me in a steady supply of fights."

"You always did love to get your hands dirty. That being the case, don't let me spoil the fun." Zabuza said as he blurred out of sight only to appear right next to Kisame, with both of their large swords locked together, battling for dominance. After a moment the pair broke away and put some distance between them. Both of them immediately began doing hand seals.

"Suiton: Suiryuendan no Jutsu!"/"Suiton: Suikodan no Jutsu!" Zabuza and Kisame both yelled at the same time.

Zabuza spewed out a large column of water that took the form of a dragon as it rushed towards Kisame while Kisame thrust his right hand forward, blasting out his own column of water that took the form of a shark.

The two attacks collided and fought for dominance for a moment until both exploded, blanketing the area in a fine mist. Normally this would be problem, but for 2 former swordsmen of the mist, it was the normal for them.

Zabuza stood firm, eyes closed so he could focus on his other senses like he was so used to doing. He waited just a brief moment before throwing Kubikiribocho up to his left, causing a shower of sparks as it collided with Samehada.

"I see your time in Konoha hasn't dulled your skills any." Kisame said as Zabuza blocked his strike.

"Of course not." Zabuza whispered behind Kisame as he struck out with his blade, aiming to cleave Kisame in half.

Kisame only smirked as he felt the blade slice cleanly through his waist before both he and the Zabuza who blocked his strike exploded into puddles of water. Zabuza only grinned at this; Kisame wasn't the only one who enjoyed a good fight.

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"Looks like Jashin-sama is smiling down on me today, I get two playthings! I will take both of you heathens as a sacrifice for him!" Hidan yelled in a crazy voice.

"Well, you're... A bit out there." Kakashi said in his typical "I don't give a fuck" attitude.

"You heathen bastard! Don't you dare insult Jashin-sama!" Hidan nearly screeched before he ran towards Kakashi with his large scythe posed to strike.

Kakashi for his part actually briefly glanced up from his Icha-Icha book before looking back down and pulling out a kunai with his free hand.

Hidan reached him and smiled, thinking that the heathen had underestimated him and that he would get an easy kill. He swung the 3 bladed scythe straight at Kakashi's neck, intending to decapitate him quickly.

Kakashi raised his kunai up and blocked the blow without ever looking up from the little orange book. Hidan became more pissed instantly that Kakashi blocked his attack without even looking.

"Don't fucking treat me like a fucking pushover! Jashin-sama will have your blood!" Hidan yelled as he attacked Kakashi repeatedly, while Kakashi parried each blow without ever looking up from his book. Kakashi continued blocking the slashes for a moment before he giggled just a bit and closed the book.

"Mmm, great chapter. Now who are you again?" (a/n: not that Kakashi wasn't paying attention, he was just using his 'hip attitude' like he does with Gai. A bit of psychological warfare.)

"My fucking name is Hidan! I am Jashin-sama's most loyal follower, and I intend on offering you as a sacrifice to his honor!" Hidan yelled out as he slashed once more at Kakashi.

Ino was puzzled as she watched the odd interaction between the two. Kakashi hadn't moved from his spot, yet he was about to cause Hidan a stroke. Odd indeed.

"Jashin-sama you say?" Kakashi said off handedly. "Never heard of him. Must not be such a great god after all."

At this point, there were large veins visible all over Hidan's body. Ino figured his blood pressure had to be nearing 300 on the top number.

"JASHIN-SAMA IS THE BEST FUCKING GOD THERE IS! ALL WILL FUCKING BOW IN HIS FUCKING HONOR YOU GODDAMN GODLESS FUCKING HEATHEN!" Hidan exploded as he backed off for a moment before rushing back in for another assault.

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Naruto stood at the ready, knowing that such a powerful enemy wouldn't be killed by just one attack.

His patience paid off, as the ground began to shake around him. Naruto pulled out a tri pronged kunai and stood ready for another moment before quickly pitching the kunai into the air and disappearing in a flash of light.

Just as Naruto teleported off, lighting began to burst out of the ground and arc all over the place, pretty much destroying the whole field.

"Raiso: Dai Ikazuchi no Utage!" (Lightning Burial: Great Banquet of Lightning) Raiga yelled out as the lightning began to die down.

"Come out and play Kyuubi, I'd hate for you to miss the funeral of your friends!" Raiga said as he walked back out of the woods that he crashed into earlier.

Suddenly he heard a voice behind him. "Wouldn't miss it for the world, but unfortunately for you, that day is years from now." The voice said as he felt a stabbing pain coming from his chest. He looked down to see the tip of a tanto that was covered in lightning chakra protruding from his chest. He turned his head to meet the glare of Naruto.

"Nobody fucks with my friends." Naruto said in a low voice as he ripped the sword out of the side of Raiga's chest, allowing the lifeless body to fall to the ground.

Naruto leaned over to seal the body into a scroll when the strangest thing he'd ever seen happened. He quickly sealed the body and left to support his team. "What the fuck was that about?" He thought as he ran towards the other chakra signatures.

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Sparks once again exploded in the air as Zabuza and Kisame clashed with their giant blades. The two had been going at each other in a fierce kenjutsu battle for some time now, if the slashed up trees and ripped apart ground was any indication.

The pair leapt back to gain some distance, both panting but also with big smiles on each of their faces.

"It's been a while since I had this much fun." Kisame said, earning a nod from Zabuza.

"Likewise, but as fun as it's been, I need to wrap things up here. I have a mission to complete."

"While I understand where you're coming from, I'm not just gonna roll over and play dead for you, ya know."

"I wouldn't have it any other way!" Zabuza said as he blurred from his spot before clashing with Kisame once again. They went at it for another moment before Zabuza faulted and got slashed in the side and thrown back several feet before collasping into a puddle of water.

Kisame was still a bit off balance from hitting Zabuza when he suddenly felt a sharp pain on the left side of his chest. He turned to look at Zabuza, who had buried a kunai to the hilt into his left lung. He simply grinned as Zabuza ripped the Kunai out and swung Kubikiribocho around, decapitating Kisame. As the head fell to the ground and rolled off, Zabuza noticed something strange about it, and filed the information away to ask about later.

Shikamaru, who had happily stayed back out of the fight, also noticed the phenomenon and had a theory but decided that he'd just ask Naruto when they met back up. So troublesome.

The pair quickly leapt up to the trees and headed for Kakashi's fight to see if he needed help.

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Naruto, Zabuza, and Shikamaru landed down in the small clearing beside Ino at the same time, all of them watching the "fight" between Kakashi and Hidan.

Hidan was relentlessly attacking Kakashi, who still hadn't moved from his spot.

"Look, all I'm saying is that if 'Jashin-sama' was so great, wouldn't he have more followers?" Kakashi said as he blocked another slash from the enraged Hidan.

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" (Imagine the noise Gaara makes in the chuunin exams when Sasuke chidori'd him)

Hidan shrieked out as the right side of his face drooped down, his right arm hung numbly down by his side.

"Eww sumbish! Eww dawr inshul Jasssseem-dama agin?!" Hidan yelled out in a slurred voice and tried to once again attack Kakashi, but fell to the ground when his right leg didn't move right.

Naruto, Zabuza, Shikamaru, and Ino all sweatdropped.

"Did he really just win a fight by causing his opponent a stroke?" Naruto deadpanned.

"That. Is. Fucking. Priceless." Zabuza said before he fell to the ground laughing.

Ino and Shimaru were both speechless.

"Welp, that's that." Kakashi said with an eye smile as he walked over to the still slurred cussing Hidan. "Now have we learned our lesson about keeping our emotions in check?"

"Fawk eww!" Hidan yelled out before Kakashi shoved a kunai into his eye socket, ending his life.

Kakashi then turned to see his spectators, Naruto with a puzzling look, Zabuza holding his sides from the laughter, and Shikamaru and Ino both clueless.

"Whatever works, right?" He said to them with an eye smile.

"Umm... Yea sure, why the fuck not! I've seen it all now." Naruto said mostly to himself, though everyone else heard him and laughed. "Anyways, there is something odd here. Why did the bodies change after they were killed?"

Kakashi then turned around to look at Hidan, only to find a random shinobi from Suna in his spot.

"It must have been some kind of henge technique to fool us." Kakashi said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"No, I don't think it was that simple. I fought Raiga once before and the personality and jutsu and everything was spot on." Naruto said.

"Kisame too, the guy I fought was exactly like Kisame has always been."

"Maybe it was a type of cloning jutsu, like a 'body double' or something, that required a sacrifice to use."

"That makes sense, it's kind of like the edo tensei." Naruto said while looking at Shikamaru, who just nodded.

"Alright then, we move out again in twenty minutes. Rest up." Naruto said as the group all went to sit down and rest from the previous fights.

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Hope you all enjoyed. Once again, I apologize for any spelling/grammar errors. I hope you dont find the scene with Hidan too awful, I just like to provide some comic relief; I also dont like Hidan as a character. All that really made him special was his invincability, and I didn't see that working with a body double so I just threw it in there for fun. Not much else to say. Until next time.