Never Before

Summary: With the Huns closing in, the Emperor fears his kingdom will be destroyed. The new soldiers are clearly not ready and the Imperial Army does not have enough men for a war. Desperate, he sends his fastest messenger to the only person he can think of who can help them. He had heard of a deadly group of ninjas in Japan and hoped they would help. What he doesn't know is the leader of the group is his old friend's grandson and he decides to help his grandfather's friend. Will the soldiers be able to survive the intense training, or will the ninja have to stay and help with the war themselves? AkatsukixMulan crossover. Inspired by the video We Are Akatsuki! by Night Gaze and me loving the Akatsuki, add in me thinking of how awesome it is that the Akatsuki could beat the shit out of them and you get this. No pairings.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Mulan or the Akatsuki, but I own the idea.

"Akatsuki kick ass" talking

'Akatsuki kick ass' thoughts/flashbacks/dreams

'Akatsuki kick ass' any inners, I will tell you who

-Akatsuki kick ass- noises

Emperor's Palace

The light tapping of feet against the tiled floor broke the silence as the old emperor paced anxiously, awaiting news about the new soldier's training. He knew they wouldn't be ready in time for the Huns, but he had to hope. He sighed, annoyed. Calling for one of his servants, he asked them to fetch him a messenger bird. Bowing, the servant left, hurriedly returning with the bird he requested. The Emperor dismissed him; sitting at his desk to write a letter to the only person he could think of who could help. Scratching his head, he began the letter formally, but scrunched it up after a bit, shaking his head and beginning again. The sound of the Emperor writing was the only sound to be heard in the pressing silence. Soon though, another sound broke the silence; the sound of the Emperor chuckling as he finished the letter. Reading it over to see if there were mistakes, he nodded and folded it, tying it to the leg of the bird and telling it of its destination, he watched it become a speck in the distance, hoping against hope that the man he had heard of would agree.

Forest Just Outside of Akatsuki Hideout

The rare bird flicked its head slightly before being silenced with deadly aim. Catching the corpse of the bird, the man, with hair the color of the sun and eyes as deep and cruel as an ocean, tore the note from its leg. Seeing it addressed to his leader, he immediately left for the hideout in which he resided.

Knocking on the black oak door, a faint click was heard as it was unlocked. He opened the door, almost seeing some of the suffocating darkness leak from within. Stepping inside and into the glaring spotlight, the man bowed low, the tips of his bangs brushing the floor before rising at signal from his leader, who questioned him with hard, demonic eyes. Seeing he was not in a patient mood, the man bowed again and spoke, his rich voice filling the silence.

"Leader-sama, I found this bird while scouting around the hideout." he reported, producing the bird. The leader took it, examining the color. Placing it aside, he nodded to the blonde man to continue. "Attached to it's leg was a letter addressed to you." he finished, stepping forward, keeping his eyes down out of respect and fear, he handed the letter to the dangerous man before stepping back and bowing again, standing still in the glaring light in case the man needed anything. Silence claimed the room once again as the leader read the unknown letter.

Dear honored leader of the infamous assassin group, Akatsuki,

I have written this letter to you in a time of dire need. A war is closing upon us and I request your, or that of your ninja's, help. New soldiers are in the midst of training, but I fear they will not be done in time. The Imperial Army will not last long in a war against our enemies, the Huns. Please send a return letter, by either bird or one of your ninja with a reply. I sincerely hope you will help us, for if not I fear the Imperial Kingdom will fall and the Huns will rule China, spreading to other countries in their power. None will be safe from their wrath, so I beg you, as the Imperial Majesty, to help us.

Please send a swift reply; we do not have much time.

His Imperial Majesty and ruling Emperor of China.

A cruel smirk slowly spread its way across the leader's hidden face as he silently chuckled to himself. Looking up at the blonde man still occupying the room, head bowed, the leader spoke for the first time, a deep rumbling voice seeming to sprout from the darkness with the harshness of sandpaper and the sharpness of broken glass to scrape over the man's ears.

"Deidara, go and fetch me Zetsu, Itachi, Kisame, and Sasori. When you are done, you will return to this room. You all have a new mission, and this one will take you to a new country with new challenges, thought I'm sure you can handle them." he stated lowly, hissing the last part to give his voice a demonic edge, making Deidara flinch inwardly.

"Hai, Leader-sama." he spoke quietly, before bowing deeply and exiting the room, leaving the leader to his thoughts.

'Well grandfather, I'm sure you would be surprised to find my organization is helping an old friend of yours. It's a miracle he's still breathing.' he thought maliciously.

Another knock sounded on the door and the leader unlocked it with his chakra. Opening the door, 5 men, including Deidara stepped through, closing it to the soft light of the hallway and stepping into the glaring spot light, now big enough to hold five people in its blinding light. Deidara stepped forward and bowed deep.

"I have brought you Akasuna no Sasori, Hoshigake Kisame, Uchiha Itachi, and Zetsu, as you requested Leader-sama." he stated, each person bowing as their name was said. The leader waved his hand and they all straightened.

"You four will be going to China to help train their soldiers to withstand the attack of the Huns. The man requesting our aid is the Imperial ruler of China, and my grandfather's friend, so do not screw this up. You will stay until the training has been completed, and if needed, to help fend off the Huns. Zetsu, you are not to be noticed. You will be watching and sending me detailed reports daily of the process. You leave tomorrow, 4 a.m. so go prepare and sleep. You have a long journey ahead of you and I don't need someone dying of exhaustion. Dismissed." he finished. The five men bowed deeply and exited the suffocating darkness. Walking down the dimly lit hallway, the tallest one of the group started a conversation.

"So, how long do you think we'll have to travel to get there?" he asked casually. At first, no one responded to the question until Deidara spoke up.

"Well Kisame, at least a week..."

"Longer." a silky voice cut across, surprising Deidara and the shark-man termed Kisame. "We will be traveling at least three weeks at best to get to the Imperial Kingdom in China. That's only if we enhance our speed with chakra." monotoned the ebony haired man. Grinning with a shark-like quality, Kisame answered his partner.

"Well then, we better get packing if we're gonna be traveling as long as Itachi says we are." the other two nodded decidedly. Coming to their rooms, Deidara waved to the other team before entering his room with his partner, Kisame doing the same on their side. Calmly entering the plain room, the man named Itachi strode silently over to his black oak dresser and opened one of its many drawers, pulling out a belt packed with scrolls, some empty loops to be seen. He then walked over to his side table and unlocked the top drawer with his chakra, pulling it open. Inside, he pulled out sox more scrolls, each a different color; black, blood red, white, dark purple, navy blue and silver, he strapped these to the black leather belt and closed the drawer, relocking it and setting the belt on top of the side table. he looked over to his partner who was looking at him and glared, breaking whatever trance Kisame was in. He laughed nervously, apologizing before repeating everything Itachi had done; expect his six scrolls were navy blue, teal, aqua, sky blue, baby blue and ocean blue. Finished packing, he fell back onto the bed and fell asleep, hoping for as much rest as possible before morning, Itachi following suit.

Next Day, 4 a.m., Outside of Hideout

A cold wind whistled through the branches of the trees surrounding the hideout, tousling the hair of the blonde as he growled in frustration, grabbing his hair roughly and shoving it out of his face, only to have it blown back a few seconds later. Sighing in exasperation, he turned to Itachi, who stood ever silent.

"Oi, Itachi-san, when is Kisame going to come out of there? We're supposed to have left already." the blonde growled. Itachi opened his eyes to look at Deidara before shrugging. Sighing, Deidara decided to stand still and wait. For a few minutes, there was complete silence, until the door of the hideout was slammed open and Kisame came running out, looking extremely apologetic. All four of the others standing outside glared at him. Kisame sighed.

"Sorry guys, I got hung up on...something." he stated vaguely. The others looked at him, and then nodded before disappearing into the trees to start on their long journey to the Imperial Kingdom.

Ok I'm gonna explain some stuff here. I'm not sure if the Akatsuki use backpacks, so I made them transfer their stuff to scrolls, which they can then summon when needed. I'm trying to make them well, unfriendly but it's really hard. Ok, continuing on. Oh and I'm skipping their entire journey. Oh! And in this story, kinda like in Clay and Puppets, Sasori is not a full puppet yet, as this happened before the Akatsuki started moving again. It's only his right arm that is wooden.

3 Weeks Later, Imperial Kingdom Soldier Camp

Red eyes gazed about the camp set up in front of them, taking in every detail to store for future reference. Deactivating his bloodline trait, Itachi glanced over his shoulder at Deidara, Kisame, and Sasori, Zetsu already having dissolved into the surrounding forest.

"As I can see, there are approximately 300 soldiers, all of low skill level, some with none at all. I have located the person who is training these people, and if I am correct from my research, he is the son of the Imperial Army's general, Captain Shang Li. He is of slightly higher skill level, but still of no threat if he were to turn on us." Itachi finished, letting the others take in the information. Once everyone seemed prepared, they decided to approach Shang directly. Rising silently from the bush, they stepped clear into the sunlight and walked in a line, Itachi leading, Kisame taking up the back. As they passed the training soldiers, everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at the new comers. All were kept at bay by Itachi's murderous aura and Kisame's size as they approached Shang, who was bent over a map. As the came to a stop beside him, he looked up and glared at them through narrowed eyes.

"Who are you?" he demanded, angry and some strangers showing up to interrupt his training of the soldiers. Keeping a cold face, Itachi answered him calmly and in monotone.

"His Imperial Majesty has hired us to help train the soldiers to withstand the Huns' attack." He replied, handing Shang the letter, who took it, glared at it, the turned his attention back to Itachi.

"I don't need help from amateurs, so why don't you go back to where you came from, pretty boy." He growled back at Itachi, whose eyes narrowed slightly. Hearing the threat/insult, the other three started chuckling evilly. Kisame stepped forward, surprising Shang with his appearance.

"Excuse me, but you might not want to insult Itachi here." He told Shang, grinning around pointed shark teeth. Shang glared at him.

"What's he gonna do, shark-boy? Glare me to death? I don't think so. I am the son of the Imperial General. I could easily kill him if I wanted to." He shouted, gaining the attention of some of the soldiers outside, who gathered around the tent. Shang smirked. "In fact, I challenge pretty boy to a spar. We can do it privately if you want, less embarrassment…" He didn't get to finish as Itachi had already turned and started walking outside.

"No need." His short reply came, enraging Shang even more, stalking outside. By now, the entire camp had gathered and looked on in interest. Itachi's eyes swept over all of them, making some tense and most shiver. Itachi looked around and took in his surroundings. Behind him and Shang, who was across from him, were the edges of the forest. To his right, a few meters away, was a tall, wooden pole, behind it open field. To his left stood all of the soldiers to be trained, at least 4 meters away from them. Kisame, Deidara, and Sasori all stood in front of the pole in a line. Itachi turned slightly and started walking towards them, Shang behind him announcing the spar that was about to commence, getting everyone seated even in their anxiousness. Itachi merely shut him out and continued to remove his cloak, his scroll belt, his chest armor, his leg armor concealed by the cloth covering his legs, his head band, his kunai and shurikan pouches, and even his shoes before walking over to stand across from Shang once again. Kisame, setting Itachi's things on the ground, called to his partner before the battle began.

"Hey Itachi! Try not to kill him, and don't use your eyes." Itachi looked at him and nodded, confusing everyone who didn't know Itachi.

"Do not worry Kisame, I will have no need for my eyes. I don't think I will even need my ninjutsu or genjutsu." Kisame smirked as Shang became more confused.

'Ninjutsu? Genjutsu? What are these guys? What do they mean by 'eyes'?' Itachi smirked at how confused Shang looked before speaking in a monotone.

"Can we start now?" he asked, silently mocking Shang, who smirked and nodded. The spar began and no one moved. Shang stood in ready position, while Itachi stood with his arms crossed, completely relaxed. Shang growled and charged at Itachi, who dodged the punch easily by stepping to the side, making Shang stumble over himself before he caught himself and turned quickly, trying to punch Itachi with his left hand, only to have it side stepped again, causing him to lose his balance and collapse onto the ground, face smothered in the dirt. Itachi smirked, watching Shang try to gather his pride and charge at him once again. This time, Itachi didn't move and instead caught Shang's fist, kicking him in the stomach, sending him flying across the clearing and into a tree, splintering the bark. Shang opened his eyes and winced, clutching him stomach. He looked up and glared at Itachi, trying to stand, he ran at Itachi for the last time, but instead of grabbing it or moving, before Shang could even get close to Itachi, the Uchiha prodigy disappeared and Shang found himself pinned against a tree by his neck, onyx eyes boring into his. Itachi smirked and spoke, never taking his malicious eyes off of Shang (no pairing, remember? Sides I hate Shang).

"I do believe this 'spar', if you can call it that, is over." He stated, pulling away from Shang and turning swiftly, walking back to his partner. Shang sat against the tree, rubbing his neck, listening to the murmurs from the soldiers.

"Wow, I can't believe how fast Shang was beaten!"

"Ya, it had to be, like, three minutes or something."

"Man that guy is strong!"

"He didn't even have any weapons or armor!"

"Shang couldn't touch him at all!"

"He's so fast, it's incredible!"

Shang growled as he heard the fans this man had made out of his soldiers. Standing, he sighed and walked over to Itachi, how was now completely re-equipped, cloak and all.

"Good spar. You blew me out of the water." He stated dryly before turning to the soldiers and silencing them. "Listen up you maggots! You are to give these four your full attention, as they are now your new trainers. If you would please, introduce yourselves, show us something you can do specially, and say something about yourselves." Shang told them. Kisame, being closest to the right, went first.

"Hoshigaki Kisame, call me Kisame." He stated first. Moving on, he performed some hand seals and slammed his hands into the ground, water erupting from in front of them to create a giant tidal wave that washed over the awed soldiers. "Something about myself eh?" he said, standing up from the kneeling position he had been in. "Well, I used to be one of the Seven Swordsman of the Mist, who are a well known assassination group where I come from." He finished, showing his shark teeth as he grinned. Sasori went next.

"Akasuna no Sasori, call me Sasori." He monotoned. He then pulled a scroll from his belt and opened it, a puff of smoke appearing then dissolving into the air to reveal Hiruko. A collective gasp drifted through the air before Sasori put his puppet away. "As to something about myself, I am slowly turning myself into a puppet." This earned surprised gasps before the group settled again, Deidara's turn next.

"Deidara un. Just Deidara." He said calmly. Smirking, he removed his hand from his clay bag, squeezing it, before opening his hand to reveal a bird and three spiders. Placing the bird on the ground, the made the seal of the ram and another cloud of smoke erupted, this time revealing a giant version of the clay bird Deidara had just made. Hopping on it's back, it spread its wings and lifted it's creator into the air. Once high enough, Deidara dropped the clay spiders. Half way to the ground, he made the seal of the tiger and shouted 'katsu', making the spiders explode in the air. The bird slowly floated to the ground before disappearing. "And something about me…well, I have mouths on my hands." He grinned, showing them. The group was shocked into silence as Deidara finished and everyone turned expectant eyes on Itachi, who opened his eyes.

"Uchiha Itachi." He said calmly. Looking at Kisame meaningfully, who nodded and stepped behind Itachi, Itachi performed rapid hand seals, then, forming and 'o' shape with his hand, he blew into it, fire coming out the other end, forming and growing into a giant fire ball that slowly moved towards the crowd of soldiers, looking like the sun was gliding along the earth. Signaling Kisame, the shark-man performed the same hand seals from before, summoning another huge tidal wave to put out Itachi's fireball. Standing straight, he looked at the awed soldiers. "I killed my entire clan at the age of 13." He said, no emotion ever crossing his face. Shang stared at him before turning back to the crowd.

"Ok, with that done, everyone back to their tents. Your training with these guys begins tomorrow, so I suggest you all get a good amount of rest." He shouted, smirking at their distressed faces before dismissing them to their tents. He turned back to the ninja and bowed. "I apologize for my attitude earlier." Itachi nodded at him and Shang rose. "Please make yourselves comfortable." He said finally, leaving them to themselves and each other. As the ninja shrugged and headed into the forest to set up their camp, each had the same thought in his mind; tomorrow would be interesting.

Ok, there's the first chap. To let you all know I'm working on updating my other fanfics. Visitors will be next, Unknown Sibling, Ultimate and Accidental are coming along and I have a new fanfic besides this one; The Survivor. Anyways I'll try and update any of them soon so hang in there.