I'm so sorry I haven't posted anything lately. I'm supposed to be posting once a week, and the last two weeks passed by with nothing. My aunt's in the hospital, and then my car died, so life has been kind of hectic. Thankfully, everything is picking up and looking better, and in the past week I finished a full three chapters, one each for Rinnegan Raising, Life of a Human Sacrifice, and the long-neglected Serpent's Apprentice! I hope you enjoy all of them!

-Alexander Jay

Chapter Nine

Pain waited in the cave as the images of the other Akatsuki members appeared one by one. No one spoke until everyone was in attendance.

"I have summoned you here to discuss the movements of the Jinchuriki," he began. "Zetsu, your report."

"You all know of Orochimaru's new village invading Konoha," the strange being called Zetsu said. "Two Jinchuriki were involved. Uzumaki Naruto, the possessor of the Kyuubi, now serves our former companion. And Sabaku No Gaara is a loyal member of Sunagakure. Both used the power of their Bijuu during the invasion, with Gaara fully transforming into the Shukaku before being repelled by the Summons of Hatake Kakashi. Uzumaki drew on a significant amount of the Kuubi's chakra in order to fight Konoha's infamous Ino-Shika-Cho trio. He was successful, but had little chakra left to continue taking part in the invasion."

"What are their abilities?"

"Gaara relies heavily, maybe even exclusively, on the Shukaku's ability to manipulate sand. It forms an automatic sand shield to protect him from any incoming attack. He can also control it to smash, grab, or impale his enemies. He appears to have no other shinobi skills."

"And Uzumaki?"

"He uses both wind and fire ninjutsu, but I suspect his affinity is for wind. His chakra control is normally excellent, but it seems to diminish as he draws on more of the kyuubi's chakra. He has a rather vicious taijutsu style using knives coated in wind chakra, and carries an assortment of weapons sealed into his forearms. I witnessed him and Orochimaru fighting Tsunade and Jiraiya some time after the invasion, and he displayed an impressive mastery of kenjutsu with two wakizashi. He possesses Orochimaru's Snake Summons, and also performed Edo Tensei to Summon several Uchihas to fight in the invasion."

Most of the group's eyes flicked over to Itachi, who remained still as a statue.

"Uzumaki showed no signs of any genjutsu ability," Zetsu continued. "And his main weakness would seem to be that using the Kyuubi's chakra drains his stamina relatively quickly."

"Anything else?"

Zetsu took a deep breath, looking at Itachi again before speaking.

"Last week, Uzumaki took several Otogakure shinobi to capture Uchiha Sasuke and bring him back to Orochimaru. Sasuke went with them willingly. Upon their return, Orochimaru performed his immortality technique and took possession of Sasuke's body."

Again, most of the group glanced at Itachi. Pain chewed it over for a minute as everyone waited for the verdict.

"Itachi, you shall capture Uzumaki Naruto. Deidara, your target is Gaara. Keep in mind, we do not move to capture any Jinchuriki until at least two years from now, once all the preparations are complete. Tipping our hand too early could jeopardize the entire operation."

"I understand," Itachi said emotionlessly.

"Yeah, yeah," Deidara agreed. "We won't screw it up."

"Good. Zetsu, what of the other Jinchuriki?"

"Most of them haven't changed. The Mizukage is still fighting his civil war, but it's starting to go badly for him. I'm still tracking down Kiri's Jinchuriki that deserted them. Kumo's Jinchuriki are the same, as is Taki's and Iwa's remaining one. I found the Yonbi's host, I can locate him at any time now. He's mastered the use of the Yonbi's Magma Release."

"Well done. We shall allow Kirigakure to continue their war. If the Mizukage dies in the process, we shall simply take the Sanbi after it regenerates in the wild. Sasori, that is your target."

The hunchbacked man nodded his understanding.

"Kisame, your goal is the Yonbi. Hidan, the Nibi, Kakuzu, Nanabi. Konan shall acquire the Rokubi, and I will take the Hachibi. Zetsu, yours is Gobi. I reiterate, we do not move on any Jinchuriki for the next two years. You already have your assignments for that timeframe. Carry them out to the letter. We reconvene in three months."

Everyone voiced their understanding before leaving, their images fading away until only Pain and Konan were left in the cave.

"Is it wise?" Konan asked. "Sending Itachi after his brother's killer?"

"If he fails, it leaves an opening for our friend," Pain said. "And we both know he will be up to the task if it comes to that."

#

Otogakure

Haku walked into the library, pausing to look at what the nearest Naruto was reading. To his surprise, it was a book on architechture. The next Naruto was reading one on carpentry, the next studying stonework. He walked all through the libray, reading shamelessly over the shoulders of more than a hundred Narutos. Each one was reading something about buildings or the construction of them.

"Can I help you, Haku?" one of the Narutos asked, looking up from a scroll containing the blueprints of a castle tower.

Haku turned to him at once, suspecting this was the original. The clones tended to defer to him when possible. "Orochimaru-sama is asking about paperwork again."

"Finished."

"Zabuza-sama wants to spar."

"Too busy today."

"Jugo-san asked me to pass along a message, thanking you once more for saving Kimmimaro-san."

Naruto sighed. "Noted, and please ask him to stop saying it every day? Kimmimaro is one of us, saving him was my duty."

"And Kimmimaro-san would like to request that you simply reinfect him with the original disease, intead of relegating him to being a teacher."

Naruto couldn't help cracking a wide grin. "But Haku-san, poor Kimmimaro was stuck flat on his back for months, with no one but stuffy old Kabuto for company. Why wouldn't he appreciate the opportunity to run around and spend the day in such an energetic and lively environment?"

Haku restrained a smile. Everyone knew why Naruto had forced the Academy teaching position onto their white-haired friend, and they all agreed that it was Kimmimaro's own fault.

"I'll pass along the sentiment."

"Thanks. Anything else?"

"One." Haku waited until Naruto raised an eyebrow in an expression that managed to combine curiosity and annoyance. "I'm burning with curiosity to know what you're reading all this for."

Naruto chuckled, turning back to his book. "Don't leave town for a couple days. You'll find out soon enough."

Haku knew that he'd have to accept that. In the months since Konoha's collapse, Naruto had been doing this more and more often, spending days or weeks studying for some project of hs without sharing a thing with anyone. Haku was on the way out when he actually did recall something. "I nearly forgot, Orochimaru-sama has a meeting with the Kazekage next week, and he insists you join him."

He thought he heard the blond Jinchuriki mutter something that sounded like "boring-ass diplomatic bullshit" before calling out, "Yeah, sure," and waving goodbye as Haku left.

#

"Orochimaru-sama?" Kimmimaro was surprised to see his leader joining the group congregating some distance away from the Tower. "Did Naruto-sama call you here as well?"

"He did," the snake-like man admitted. "Did he deign to inform you as to the purpose of this meeting?"

"No, he would only say that it was an important matter."

Noting his subordinate's twitching eyebrow, Orochimaru suspected that, like himself, Kimmimaro had tried and failed to force more information out of the Naruto clone. Naturally, it had popped itself once they began asking more questions.

Glancing around, he couldn't help but silently wonder at his apprentice's ability to draw people in. Not only Kimmimaro, Jugo, and the Sound Four, but also Zabuza, Haku, and two new recruits with some interesting abilities. He thought their names were Suigetsu and Karin. Orochimaru had decades of experience observing and manipulating people. The group before him now wasn't just subordinate to Naruto, they were allies of his. Loyal, maybe even friendly, which in his experience was a far more remarkable feat. He himself could command loyalty and respect through fear, and these days more than ever. But since the fall of Konoha, Naruto seemed to be so much happier than in all the years before. That honest joy leaked out of him and affected everyone. They didn't just see some value or security in following Naruto, they wanted to be close to him, to work together and be a team. To share in that happiness he carried with him everywhere.

It was difficult to admit, even if only to himself, that Naruto had such a gift that he himself lacked. He'd asked himself where the change had come from, and recalled that moment atop Konoha's wall. Naruto had looked back at the burning village, the place he'd devoted his life to ruining, and said he was letting go of his anger.

A childish notion, to be sure, but if that was truly what had made him so different... well, Orochimaru wished he was naive enough to attempt it. As it was, he could only make use of the greater loyalty it bought them.

Seeing a small crowd evacuating the Tower of Sound, Orochimaru couldn't help frowning. What reason could Naruto possibly have for sending all the workers out of the building? It would delay their productivity significantly, and now, at a time when Otogakure was still getting its feet under itself as a real, centralized village, they needed every second they could-

His train of thought was cut off as the Tower was abruptly covered in Narutos. His attire was unusual, and highly un-shinobi, consisting of rough worker's clothes and adorned with all variety of tools.

Then, amidst a god-awful racket, the Tower began disappearing. In minutes, the walls and ceiling had been taken apart, revealing the inner workings of the Tower, including a number of secret passages. Part of Orochimaru's brain noted that all of the paperwork and other important items had been removed from the offices beforehand, even as most of him was preoccupied with trying to figure out what tortures to put Naruto through for this nonsense.

He was distracted by a Naruto on the ground taking out a scroll and unsealing a huge amount of lumber, stones, bricks, mortar, steel beams, welding tools, and other construction paraphernalia. Teams of Narutos started running materials up to the clones already on the Tower, while others used Earth jutsus to open holes in the ground that they then poured concrete in. They were laying foundations, Orochimaru realized, drawing on his knowledge of structures; any good shinobi had to know the best ways to demolish or infiltrate a fortress.

The scale of the project soon became apparent as, in less than thirty minutes, more clones had to be summoned to keep up with the rapid pace of their work. The hundreds of worker-clones cooperated with ease, no questions or complaints passing between them. They all knew the end goal, and were entirely focused on reaching it.

Once the foundations were laid, they erected steel beams spaced around the original Tower. Then they began building on this new framework. As soon as the bare bones of the larger tower were established, teams of Narutos began to inscribe seals, carving the patterns directly into the building and activating them quickly in order to move on to a new seal. The pulses and effects began piling up so much that even Orochimaru wasn't certain what they were all for, although many were obviously meant for security.

Maybe an hour and a half after beginning, the army of Naruto clones - nearly a thousand strong at this point - vanished in a blast of smoke, leaving just one Naruto behind, dressed in his ninja clothes once again. Although he'd been changing his outfit lately, he seemed to have settled on a set of tough, black pants with several pockets and attached pouches, along with ninja sandals. His forearms were wrapped up, and seals were visible, tattooed along his fingers and up his right bicep. He didn't wear a shirt, but had a black cloak that mostly concealed his upper body and nearly swept the ground behind him, with a dark red Uzumaki swirl on the back.

"Your new Tower of Sound, sensei," Naruto said, tossing Orochimaru a scroll. "I've been reading up on castle designs and defensive seals, all the blueprints and details are in there. I also projected about ten years down the road to figure how big it should be based on how much the village infrastructure might grow. Once you've activated all the seals to their fullest extent, and keyed in the relevant people, it should be capable of withstanding a siege from one of the other Great Ninja Villages, or overseeing an Otogakure six times bigger than what we'd originally planned for."

"Your work is appreciated, Naruto," Orochimaru said, grinning at the new, much larger Tower, trying to appear as though he wasn't surprised by all this. For the same reason, he put the scroll in a hidden pocket instead of perusing it at once like he wanted to. His student was unpredictable, but also brilliant. A little irritation here or there was worth it.

#

Konohagakure

"Well, Tsunade-hime?" Jiraiya asked once the courtyard was empty. "Where to?"

His old friend looked out despondently for a minute. Less than a quarter of the village was still around to hear her final speech as Hokage. It had been short and straightforward: both Iwa and Kumo were sending significant forces their way, and so many had already left that to remain would be suicide. She couldn't order them after disbanding the village, but she did suggest that they leave as quickly as possible, and keep the memory of Konoha alive for future generations.

That many of the older villagers spit on the ground before stomping off didn't help the glum atmosphere. Jiraiya and Tsunade both knew that she wouldn't be remembered with fondness or joy by anyone from Konoha. To most, she was someone too weak to save the village, never mind the fact that no one could have saved it at this point.

Neither one voiced these thoughts as they watched people trudging towards the village gates.

"A bar," Tsunade said. "And once everyone else has left, then we'll go somewhere."

"You know a lot of the older folks won't leave," he said quietly.

Tsunade nodded stiffly. "We can't do anything about that," she said.

Heaving a sigh and adjusting the scroll on his back, Jiraiya nodded firmly. "Then let's go get smashed," he said. "And then hit the road."

#

Naruto turned around suddenly and smiled.

"Gaara, how are you doing?" he asked his fellow Jinchuriki. Orochimaru and the Kazekage both turned to see Gaara standing in the now open doorway, staring coldly at Naruto.

"I want to fight you," Gaara stated calmly. "If I can kill you, that shall be a greater proof of my existence than any other."

"Really?" Naruto looked at him with interest. No one said anything for a few seconds. Orochimaru had one of his amused smiles as he observed the two Jinchuriki, while the Kazekage was hiding his nervousness. He did not want Gaara damaging their alliance with Oto by fighting the Otokage's apprentice. Finally, Naruto shrugged and stood up. "One condition." Gaara tilted his head slightly, looking at Naruto curiously. "We fight out in the desert, away from the village. I don't want to have to pay for the collateral damage if we start wrecking the place."

"Very well." Gaara didn't care about that. Killing a bunch of civilians didn't mean anything to him.

"Uzumaki-san, please do not feel any obligation to accept his challenge because he is part of my family," the Kazekage stepped forward, hoping to give the boy an excuse to bow out.

"Don't worry, I'm not doing it just because he's your son," Naruto assured him, smiling cheerfully. "I'm doing it because he's a Jinchuriki, like me. And I think it'll be interesting."

"Do not fear, Kazekage-dono," Orochimaru added, sounding highly amused. "I shall harbor no anger for you if Naruto should die because of this fight."

"I appreciate that. I also shall not take offense if Gaara is to be killed." While that was true, he also didn't think it was possible for Gaara to lose, not to this smiling kid Orochimaru called his apprentice.

#

The Kazekage was terribly glad to be wearing a veil as it hid his look of shock and horror. The giant demon Shukaku had just collapsed, finally succumbing to the twenty-some-odd giant snakes wrapping around and squeezing its arms, legs, and neck. Naruto grabbed Gaara's falling body and the two of them landed on the enormous sand dune while the snakes all vanished in large puffs of smoke. The blond boy let go of Gaara and sealed away the knives he was holding. He seemed to be talking to Gaara, but the Kazekage couldn't make it out, except that Gaara was yelling angrily in response. After a few minutes, Naruto shrugged and leaped away. He quickly reached Orochimaru and the Kazekage, along with the other Suna shinobi who had been drawn to the fight when Gaara unleashed Shukaku's full power.

"That was a good workout, tell him I appreciate it," Naruto addressed the Kazekage. "And tell him I'm available for a rematch whenever he wants one."

"Very well," he answered automatically, keeping his emotions out of his voice thanks to many years of practice. Despite that, the boy sent him a knowing and very annoying grin. Oh yes, he was Orochimaru's apprentice all right. They had the same knack for irritating people.

"You took longer than I expected, Naruto-kun," Orochimaru commented.

"I wasn't sure how well he could heal, so I was a little more cautious at first," Naruto explained. Orochimaru shook his head, looking amused.

#

"How did he do it?" Kankuro demanded for the hundredth time. Temari just shook her head in bewilderment. It had been two days, and she still couldn't get over the fact that Gaara had been so soundly defeated. She and Kankuro had watched from the very beginning, and had been astonished as they watched the fight play out.

The other boy, Uzumaki Naruto, had attacked Gaara completely fearlessly, slashing out at him with those claw-like knives of his and cutting right through the sand shield like it was nothing. He'd given Gaara some cuts across the chest before her little brother had exploded with fury and attacked with the sand. Uzumaki had actually been in a Sand Coffin, but had spat out a new body for himself, leaving behind his old one like a discarded shirt. He'd gone right back on the attack, but Gaara didn't stand around and wait the second time, he kept on attacking. After dodging for a while, Uzumaki had unleashed a powerful wind attack that sliced through the sand shield, leaving a wide gap for him to leap through and hit Gaara. He could have killed her brother, she knew it, but he had just given him another good sized cut and punched him in the face hard enough to break his sand armor and knock him to the ground. And then he'd laughed. It was one of the most disturbing things she'd ever seen, that cheerful blond boy laughing while he fought Gaara.

Gaara hadn't liked it. In fact, he had disliked it so much that he unleashed Shukaku against the boy. But even that hadn't made a difference, as Uzumaki had simply performed a Mass Summoning Technique and unleashed almost thirty giant snakes on Shukaku, getting them to bind the monster from head to toe, strangling him and preventing him from raising his hands or taking even one step. Uzumaki had almost casually attacked Gaara, punching him several more times before using a spinning kick to hit Gaara in the jaw, probably breaking it and weakening Gaara's control over the sand enough for the snakes to succeed in crushing the monstrosity, reducing it back to sand.

As if that wasn't enough, Uzumaki had then grabbed Gaara and seemed to intentionally help him land safely. They had talked briefly, Gaara yelling while Uzumaki remained calm, then he'd left Gaara there while he went to speak to the Kazekage and Orochimaru.

Two days later, and she and Kankuro were still trying to wrap their heads around it. In almost thirteen years, they had never seen Gaara have a hard time beating anyone, forget losing in less than ten minutes. It was rather terrifying, to be honest. As their sensei Baki had put it: the only thing that can kill a monster is either a hero or a worse monster. And she had seen the Uzumaki boy's sensei on more than one occasion. He was no hero, and she doubted his apprentice was any better.

Still... To defeat Gaara... He may not be a hero, but she couldn't help looking up to someone who could do that. And he hadn't even done it with raw power. He'd won with skill, even though she knew he was a Jinchuriki. There'd been no sense of a Biju's chakra while he was fighting.

"Imagine if he was a Suna nin," she muttered. Kankuro looked at her like she was insane.

"We already have Gaara, and now you want there to be someone even stronger than him?"

"No, I'm just saying, maybe Gaara wouldn't be the way that he is if there was always someone who could stop him."

"Or maybe he'd be stronger after fighting him over and over," Kankuro countered. "Look sis, I'm alive right now, and I plan to keep it that way."

#

Lightning Country

There was a gloomy silence among the group as they sat around their campsite. They were too poor to afford a hotel room, especially given their most recent failure. Even Rock Lee was quiet. Neji kept shooting little glares across the campfire towards Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji. Tenten sat beside him, sharpening a kunai just so she'd have something to focus on.

Gai deliberately sat between the two groups of Genin as he cooked fish, which he'd caught with his bare hands from a nearby river. He impaled them on sticks, leaving them sticking up out of the ground for any of the kids to take. No one went for them right away.

"Failures happen," he said, finally breaking the silence. "We'll have to get used to it."

"It would have gone smoothly with the four of us, sensei," Neji bit off.

"Maybe," Gai allowed. "Maybe not. We agreed to form a team of seven, and that won't change."

"Sensei-"

"No!" Gai snapped, stunning Neji into silence. Gai-sensei didn't snap. At worst, he would look disappointed before cajoling his students into doing better. He only raised his voice while praising them or going on about the Flames of Youth. He didn't snap at his students.

"We can't abandon them," Lee said. "We're all teammates now. Teammates help each other."

Neji folded his arms huffily over his chest. "They should remember that too."

Ino and Choji looked at the ground, embarassment obvious on their faces. Shikamaru looked up at Neji, but not out of defiance.

"Yeah, we messed up," the shadow-user admitted. "We were supposed to cover the left flank, and they got past us. And that mistake cost us the mission. We'll do better next time," he promised.

"Really?" Neji asked skeptically.

It was Tenten, sitting next to him, who answered the question. With a flick of her wrist, she threw the kunai she'd been sharpening so it buried itself in the log the younger Genin were sitting on, right between Ino and Shikamaru. "Yeah, Neji, they will. Because we'll train them until the next mission."

"We will?" he asked incredulously.

"Yes!" Gai exclaimed, now looking excited. "Of course, what a brilliant idea, Tenten! By training one another you will quickly grow accustomed to working together and will be familiar with one another's techniques and habits! And then we will truly be a single team!"

"Yosh! And if we have not trained you properly by the next mission, then we shall each do one thousand handstand pushups!" Lee declared.

Neji paled, knowing that his teammate would insist on them actually doing those pushups. Turning back to Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji, he quickly said, "So, you'll be up early to start training tomorrow. We can't fail the next mission."

#

Otogakure - Two weeks later

Naruto knocked Zabuza's sword aside with his nodachi, following up with a lightning-fast fire flower at point-blank range. It wasn't precise, and hardly looked like a flower, but a face-full of fire wasn't an easy thing to ignore. Zabuza flinched back instinctively, trying to bring his giant sword back around to cleave Naruto in half. The Jinchuriki used the opening to toss his sword into the air and unseal his knives, ducking under Zabuza's slash and lashing out with both hands as he rose back up. The wind blades cut into Zabuza's chest, but the swordsman had activated his curse mark in time, focusing the powerful chakra into a rudimentary shield.

Blood spurted from the cuts, but Zabuza didn't slow down, letting go of his sword to deliver a powerful, double-handed blow to Naruto's chest, knocking the Jinchuriki back and off his feet. Naruto recovered, but Zabuza didn't let up, channeling the curse mark chakra into an otherwise harmless water technique, one that was used for cleaning. The simplicity let him use it with only a single hand sign, and the power of the curse seal turned it from a quick swipe of water into a two-foot wave that raced at Naruto with the speed of a thrown shuriken.

He barely leaped over it, and Zabuza met him in mid-air, his sword retrieved and coated in dark chakra. Naruto blocked with his claws, the wind blades biting into the enhanced metal, but getting stuck partway through. Unable to pull away, Naruto was swung through the air, unable to regain control. His knives were torn from his hands and he parted from Zabuza, spinning through the air and barely managing to land on his feet and turn his fall into a roll. He tumbled the length of the sparring ring, coming to rest on his feet and one hand.

Zabuza, of course, had bought himself plenty of time for another move; as Naruto got to his feet, he found a water dragon forming above Zabuza. The swordsman must have unsealed water from a scroll instead of generating it from his chakra. The dragon showed the signs of having been made with the curse seal chakra, as its fangs were larger and numerous spines had sprouted all along the length of its body. A great mane of white froth formed around its head as it charged at Naruto.

Letting go of his tight control on the Kyuubi's chakra, Naruto let the power well up inside him. Forming hand signs as a cloak of red chakra coalesced around him, he prepared a technique. With Kyuubi's chakra freed, his control was shot, meaning the technique generated a ball of fire, rather than a precise flower bud. But it would work. Thrusting his hand forward, palm facing Zabuza's dragon, he pushed all the chakra into the ball of fire.

It erupted forward, a stream of white-hot flames that collided with the rushing dragon. Water exploded into steam and a heat wave hammered both combatants, raising blisters on their exposed skin. The roar of the fire and steam threatened to deafen them as the steam filled up the room, blinding them to each other. The contest between fire and water lasted almost a minute, until both techniques finally petered out. Both Naruto and Zabuza found their ears ringing as they adjusted to the silence.

Neither one stayed still for long. Both aware that the powerful chakras they were using announced their positions, they didn't bother hiding in the steam. Instead they charged, Zabuza activating the second stage of his curse mark to transform into an oni-like figure with iron-hard skin and nails and fangs of diamond. Naruto had used up the chakra cloak, but was still faster and stronger, his movements leaving trails of red chakra behind him. They met in the middle, exchanging rapid blows, both more precise and skilled than their feral appearances would suggest.

Naruto generated fire in his hands, using his claws to dig into Zabuza's hide and then pumping fire into the wounds. The injuries were healed, just as Zabuza's punches and slashes healed on Naruto's body, but as the fight went on for one minute, then two, three, four, the burns took their toll, and eventually Zabuza's arms began to give, his blows weakening. The chakra from the curse mark was running out, and Naruto didn't slow down. It didn't last another minute before Naruto swept Zabuza's legs out from under him and pinned the swordsman, aiming his claws at his throat.

"I get it," Zabuza growled, letting the curse mark recede. "You win."

As they got up, both resuming their ordinary appearances, Zabuza grunted in annoyance. "The only reason you keep winning is that your stamina is inhuman." He looked down at the boy - thought not as far down as he used to. Naruto was still young and growing. "You do know that ordinary people have to stop fighting at some point, right?"

Naruto chuckled. "Yeah, I've seen everyone else quit training after just a few hours. Never been me, though."

Zabuza snorted in disgust. "Well, your skills are good as ever. But there's been nothing new, I'm almost disappointed. We haven't fought in over a month, I was hoping for a surprise or two."

"I've got ideas for new techniques, but they're all proving kind of tricky," Naruto said.

"Wait. Are you inventing new techniques?" Zabuza demanded.

"Yeah, why?"

The swordsman sighed. "Naruto, you know how many people invent their own techniques?"

"Me, Orochimaru-sensei, Haku, Kimmimaro," Naruto shrugged. "It's not a lot, but it's not like I'm the only one doing it."

"Haku and Kimmimaro both have kekkei genkai and no one to teach them traditional techniques," Zabuza pointed out. "If they produced ice spit or bone nails, they can claim they've invented a new technique. And your sensei is even crazier than you. For reference, Naruto, maybe one or two shinobi in a single generation of each village will create new techniques. It's a terribly time consuming and difficult process."

Naruto shrugged. "I've got enough chakra to create a few hundred Shadow Clones every day, I'm literally studying half a dozen subjects daily. Inventing techniques is just one more project."

Zabuza sighed. "In that case, you have no excuse not to show me something new next time we spar. See you around, Naruto."

"Okay. Hey, you're going back to Kiri soon, aren't you?"

"Yeah, your sensei funded us enough to establish a big enough force that it's really possible to take the village back now. We'll be leaving at the end of the week."

"Good luck. It's been good to have you around, I'd hate to lose my sparring partner."

"Thanks, kid. Feel free to come visit."

#

One month later

The front of the hotel exploded outward, raining down splinters on the road. With that out of the way, everyone on the street could see Tsunade, one fist still raised from punching the wall. Facing her was a mercenary group who'd thought she was an easy target. Behind them, just coming down the stairs, was Jiraiya, chuckling at the scene. "I hope you're making it easy for them to escape, Tsunade-hime," he called down to her. "It's not worth your time to actually fight them."

"If they honestly think they stand a chance against us, I'll gladly send them all to the hospital," she said, glaring contemptuously at the merc leader.

The staring match only lasted two seconds before he led his men in a charge out of the hotel and out of the Sannins' sight.

"Now then, before this place collapses," Jiraiya muttered, weaving a couple hand signs as he spoke. Slapping his hands on the ground, he manipulated the earth to raise up several stone pillars where the wall had been, supporting the broken remains of the roof. "Shall we go? I doubt they're eager to sell us breakfast."

Tsunade smirked, nodding. "Sure. And you're buying breakfast."

He frowned. "Me? Why?"

"If you ever got up at a decent hour, I wouldn't have had to scare them off all on my own."

He heaved a theatrical sigh. "Fine, I'll make it up to you." Offering her his hand with a dramatic flourish, he asked, "Shall we away, my princess?"

She rolled her eyes, smirking at her travel companion. "Cut out the nonsense, and maybe I'll hold your hand one day."

"I have nothing if not hope," he quoted, grinning at her.

Still smirking, trying to keep it from turning into a laugh, she walked out of the hotel alongside him, the pair quickly disappearing from the small village.

#

One month later

Once again, the nine members of Akatsuki gathered in the cave, appearing one at a time. Itachi and Kisame were to last to appear by several minutes.

"Why were you delayed?" Pain demanded at once.

"I was in the middle of an interrogation," Itachi said smoothly. "I ended it as quickly as I could."

Pain accepted that, even though he wondered just who Itachi was interrogating. He had a pretty good idea why it was happening.

"Zetsu, your report."

"With one exception, the JInchuriki are in the same positions as before. The Mizukage is losing his war. Within a year he'll be dead."

"As we discussed before, that is acceptable."

"Uzumaki Naruto and Gaara had a fight in Sunagakure," he continued. "I didn't see it, but all the talk seems a bit exaggerated. It is clear, however, that Uzumaki won and left Gaara alive."

"Interesting," Pain mused. "Anything else?"

"Not related to Jinchuriki. I've already compiled a report on my other assignments."

"Good."

Pain went around the room, checking that each member was keeping up with their duties. Finally, he reached Itachi.

"Over a dozen shinobi on each side of Kiri's civil war have been controlled with my genjutsu. I can use them at any time to control the outcome of the war."

"We do not need to interfere in the war," Pain said. "Prepare for the Mizukage's defeat and make sure that when that time comes, you can take control of Zabuza Momochi. He will be in a position of great importance, and will be our best avenue to control the country and reach Orochimaru."

"Understood."

"Anything else to report?" Pain asked.

"Nothing," Itachi answered calmly.

Pain was silent for a few seconds, leading everyone else to worry that Itachi had done something wrong. But he let the matter drop. Zetsu could tell him what Itachi was up to.

The meeting wrapped up quickly, with the next one set for six months later.

#

Naruto couldn't stop grinning as he set up for the summoning. He'd even been nice to Kabuto, since the grey-haired medic found one of the corpses he'd requested. Taking the samble of flesh in his hands, he carefully smeared it across the scroll. The seal formula for Edo Tensei unfurled from the scroll, centering around the tied-up prisoner in the chair. The man writhed and screamed through the gag as the technique took effect. Ashy matter coated him from head to toe, replacing his body and changing his appearance to the man Naruto was calling back from the dead.

He made a hand sign and the bindings were released, letting the revived man move and speak freely. Naruto was now facing a man clad from head to toe in bandages. A pair of black pants and ninja sandals covered his legs, but that was all. The man's sclera were black.

"Second Tsuchikage," Naruto said, bowing to the man. "It's an honor to meet you."

"Who do you think you are?" the Tsuchikage growled. "When did some brat gain one of the Second Hokage's kinjutsu?"

Naruto smiled. "The Second Hokage is long dead. The Third Hokage's student, Orochimaru, acquired the technique in wartime. Orochimaru later left the Leaf Village to found a new Hidden Village, Otogakure. I am his apprentice, and he allowed me to learn the technique."

"And why am I here? I don't see anyone for me to fight."

"No, you're not here to fight for me," Naruto said. "But you see, it occurred to me that simply turning the dead into soldiers isn't the only great use of this technique. Shinobi spend so much time and effort studying the corpses of our enemies to discern their secret techniques. With the Edo Tensei, all we have to do is ask."

"The Dust-Release cannot be used by just anyone," the Tsuchikage said. "Only myself and my nephew have ever mastered it."

"That's fine," Naruto said, shrugging disinterestedly. "I don't need a special element. But I've recently been playing around with camouflage," he said, twitching his green-brown mottled cloak. "And I remembered hearing about a shinobi who could hide not only from sight, but from chakra senses." He gave Mu a predatory smile. "Now then, Tsuchikage-sensei, teach me that technique."

#

One month later

The last of the guards fell, a knife planted squarely in the back of his skull. Under the invisibility technique, Naruto heaved a sigh.

"That was almost boring," he mused as he walked into the castle. The sentries didn't notice him at all, letting him walk right past. Those in front of the door were killed with a swift wind technique before they knew he was there, then the door was kicked down.

"Who is it?" the old man demanded. "Who's there? Show yourself!"

His voice quavered with the attempt to exercise an authority he'd long since lost. Naruto strode over to him, picking up the frail elder by the collar and hoisting him into the air with a single hand. He let the technique slip just a little, allowing the man to see a hazy silhouette.

"Daimyo of Fire Country," he stated coolly. "Your ninja village has fallen, and your country is being eaten away by the competition. Every day you lose more land, handing over pieces in desperate hopes of placating us. But you must know that we will continue until you have nothing. You should have had the dignity to retire and live a life of luxury with your wealth, instead of clinging to a decaying title and land."

"You would never understand the responsibility of my position, you murderer," the old man growled.

"And I don't care to," Naruto said. His wakizashi plunged into the man's chest, piercing his heart and spraying blood on the wall behind him. "With no one to lead, Fire Country shall die all the quicker. And Rice Country shall grow in its wake."

He dropped the corpse, bringing the technique back to full effectiveness as he walked out of the building. Otogakure would soon become the fifth Great Hidden Village.

#

Naruto grinned as he took up a taijutsu stance standing across from Gaara. He summoned his knives from the seals on his fingers and watched as sand rose up all around Gaara. They had no signal, so he simply waited until Gaara attacked. Naruto grinned as he easily avoided the sand, like last time, and charged in to attack. He struck at Gaara with his knives, extending his reach with wind chakra. To his shock, Gaara swung his hand forward and a blast of sand rushed out, hitting Naruto in the chest and sending him flying away from Gaara. He scrambled back to his feet and had to quickly dodge more attacks. The sand was a lot faster now than in their last fight.

"You've been practicing, Gaara!" Naruto called out as he continued to run. He put away his knives and quickly wove hand signs before unleashing a pair of Renkudans at Gaara. He wasn't surprised to see the sand form a solid wall that blocked the jutsu. The sand was scattered by the explosion, but Gaara was far enough away to not be hurt at all.

"Of course," the redhead growled. "I must kill you to prove my existence." The sand kept coming after Naruto while they spoke.

"I see. Well, you've clearly gotten a lot faster in just five months, you must have trained hard. So I'll have to apologize." Gaara frowned, confused. Then his eyes widened in shock as Naruto seemed to vanish. "It's not good enough," Naruto said from behind Gaara. He spun around, but Naruto was already attacking, slashing him from shoulder to hip with one stroke of his claw-knives, then jumping and performing a kick that caught Gaara on the side of his neck. If it weren't for his sand armor, the blow would have probably broken his spine. As it was, it just knocked him to the ground. He angrily tried to jump to his feet, only to find himself flopping around like a fish.

"What?" he growled, trying to push himself up with his hands only for his neck and left leg to twist and turn.

"Nerve Scrambling Technique," Naruto explained. "I sent lightning chakra into your spinal cord to short-circuit your nervous system. Your brain isn't sending the proper signals right now, so you can't move anything the right way."

"So what!?" The sand lifted Gaara up off the ground so he could float in the air over Naruto and glare down at him. The blond haired boy sighed, then seemed to vanish again. An extremely powerful kick struck Gaara in the stomach, forcing the air out of his lungs and making him fall to the ground as his concentration on the sand was broken. Naruto was once again standing over him.

"Do you wanna call on Shukaku again?" Naruto asked him conversationally. "We both know it'll be the same result in the end. Your sand still isn't fast enough to keep up with me."

"I will kill you," Gaara snarled hatefully.

"Maybe you will, someday," Naruto agreed. "But not today." He turned around and leaped away. Gaara howled in fury, knowing that his prey was escaping again, and he could do nothing about it.

#

"Baki." Temari, Kankuro, and Baki looked at Gaara as he spoke his sensei's name.

"Yes, Gaara?"

"You saw my fight against Uzumaki Naruto."

"I did," Baki agreed. He saw no reason to deny it.

"What do I need to do to kill him next time?"

Three people stared at him in shock as he asked for help. Baki quickly came to his senses and thought it over, analyzing the battle and trying to decide on the biggest flaw in Gaara's fighting style.

"You need to learn taijutsu," he answered after a few moments of contemplation. "Once he got past your sand, he was easily able to defeat you. If you learn taijutsu, you can use your sand to force him into a close combat fight, then gain the upper hand in that and kill him."

"Teach me taijutsu, then."

"I will, but I must warn you, my specialty is in ninjutsu. I am capable in taijutsu, but I am far from the best. Even if you master everything I know, it won't be enough to counter Uzumaki Naruto."

"It is a start. And no matter what, I will kill him one day."

#

Orochimaru sat at his desk, writing in scrupulously neat handwriting the results of his latest experiments. The lab bubbled as it always did, various long-term test subjects undergoing all kinds of chemical experiments. A slow but steady drip, drip, drip came from the largest experiment, the essence of many subjects being distilled into a single substance in a jar. Computers beeped here and there, an irregular but ordinary noise to ensure they were still functioning, crunching numbers and running theoretical tests. They weren't perfect, and even if they all agreed that a certain experiment should yield a positive outcome, it wasn't certain that the computers were accurate. But they still did a good job of weeding out the useless experiments.

Just as the Snake Sannin was finishing up the records of the day's test, one of the computers began to beep quickly, an urgent tone signaling a successful result. Closing his lab journal, he walked across the room, turning on the screen to see what it said. He had so many experiments going at one time, he couldn't recall what each machine was testing. But this one was about the Sharingan. Specifically, how to enhance it. He'd started with the knowledge acquired by Tobirama, the Second Hokage, and had isolated the chemical excreted by an Uchiha brain in moments of great emotional stress, the chemical which awakened the Sharingan. But this body's Sharingan was already awake. No, what Orochimaru was looking for now was knowledge of how to reach the next level. Although the stress required was far greater, the loss their traditions dictated they suffer much more personal, in the end it could all be reduced to chemistry. He'd already tried a few variations on the initial "awakening chemical" in hopes of unlocking the Mangekyo, but it was in vain. For months now, he'd been running programs on the computer to try and decipher the riddle. And now, it claimed to have found an answer.

"It might work," he mused out loud, examining the proposed compound. It wouldn't be an easy thing to create, however. Still, it was his best lead yet. Pressing a button on the closest intercom, he leaned over to the microphone. "Kabuto, report to the main lab at once."

He stepped away, waiting for his follower's arrival. Kabuto's expertise would speed things up tremendously. Naruto would make sure Oto kept running smoothly for the next few weeks while they focused on this test.

#

Two weeks later

The six Genin waited anxiously as Gai approached them. He'd changed in the past few months from his old, green jumpsuit and flak jacket to a black turtleneck and cargo pants outfit, with a grey flak jacket. Lee had adopted a similar attire, but with a grey shirt and pants, and a bandoleer instead of a jacket. His nunchucks and extendable bo staff were both held in the bandoleer for when he needed them.

Neji wore more loose clothing than before, with a white T-shirt and a grey jacket worn open. Black shorts with multiple hidden pockets rounded it out, and he'd cut his hair to shoulder length, though he still used his headband to hold it out of his eyes.

Tenten had gone the opposite route as Neji; instead of dressing more casually, she now wore a relatively fancy red shirt with an Oriental dragon design in white embroidery. Her pants were also kept neat and clean, made of silk, though of course they concealed some good armor plates on her legs. Her hair was still done up in its two buns style, but even that looked more fancy and deliberate than before. She'd splurged once they began making more money, and had stuck with the look since. Her weapon scrolls were kept in concealed pockets all over her outfit.

Shikamaru had already dressed simply, though he'd replaced his old grey jacket with the Nara symbol with a flak jacket, opting for a sash with his clan symbol, much like what Asuma had worn. He had two more weapon pouches, and all three were stuffed with goodies. He was the only one of the group to wear boots instead of ninja sandals, having bought a pair of heavy, steel-toed boots that he could deliver a good kick with. His hair was still in its pineapple style, but he'd let it grow, and it was beginning to droop down now.

Ino had gotten more conservative, living out in the big world with less to protect her from the leering gazes of men. Her outfit was still colorful, incorporating purple and white, but she wore a long-sleeved purple shirt under an armored vest like Konoha ANBU had once worn, and steel greaves like Anko's covered her forelegs. Her white pants were stretchy, not compromising her flexibility, and continued under the greaves. Most of her gear was kept in a weapon pouch on her side.

Choji, meanwhile, had gotten his hands on a set of samurai-style armor. He and Gai had worked tirelessly to figure out a training regimen that would enhance his strength while allowing him to maintain the layer of fat that enabled his clan techniques. Once they'd gotten the right balance down, he had begun wearing more armor as he'd become able to handle the weight. It was bright red, his clan's color, and the same style as the First and Second Hokages had worn. However, it had been adapted with the seal array described in his clan's scroll of secret techniques so it would grow with him.

All seven still had one thing that hadn't changed at all since leaving Konoha: their headbands. Every one of them continued to proudly display the metal plate with the leaf symbol. While it had never been discussed, none of them wanted to lose that tangible connection to their old home.

"It's promising," he told the teenagers. "The mission is one that would be classified as B-Rank. We have to deliver cargo from here to a town in Earth Country."

"How long do you think it'll take?"

"Nine days at most, four each way to get there safely without wearing ourselves down, and one to meet with the minor noble receiving the cargo and make sure it gets taken off our hands safely. I've already agreed that we'll take it."

"The cargo?"

Gai shrugged. "He says it's pocketable. Most likely it's been sealed in a scroll for easy transport, and someone there will unseal it. It may contain information or goods that are valuable, there's a chance of being attacked for it."

"But you think we can handle it?" Neji asked.

Gai nodded, flashing them all a gleaming smile. "I do. You have all grown stupendously lately, and I have complete confidence in you!"

That made them all, even Neji, smile a little. They'd learned that, while Gai was often exuberant and encouraging, he wouldn't lie to them regarding their ninja skills. So it meant a lot for him to believe in them like that.

#

Neji ducked behind cover with Ino as the fireballs shot past them. "I was always jealous of fire-types," he confided in her. "But right now I just hate them."

"You're not the only one," she said. "Any chance I can get a clean shot at one?"

He paused, observing the situation with his Byakugan, then shook his head. "No, but it looks as if Lee's about to make a counterattack."

"We can't rely on Lee all the time," Ino stated. "And he can be hit in the back while he's focusing on one enemy."

"True." He paused, looking again as Lee opened the First Gate and charged at one of the heavily cloaked ninjas. "The fire-type is gathering chakra," he said. Pointing directly at the man, he added, "Eleven point two meters away from you."

Ino stood up from behind the rock, hands already in position for her clan technique, unleashing it in the same moment her target became visible. It wasn't the simple Mind Body Switch either; she hit the man with the best technique she knew, the Mind Suppression Technique. It pitted the strength of her mind against her opponent's, but while it was active she could completely shut down his mental faculties and keep him from doing anything whatsoever to stop Lee's assault. It was a better option than the Mind Switch because it activated at once, not requiring her to project her mind through a fairly slow-moving projectile.

As Lee battered one enemy into submission and Ino held down another, Neji guarded her vulnerable body while also calling out a direction and distance for Tenten. No sooner had he pinpointed the third enemy's location than Tenten had unsealed and hurled a small armory's worth of projectiles at their hidden foe. The cloaked lady escaped the assault, but then Choji came crashing out of the underbrush, already in his armored Meat Tank form, aiming to run the woman over. She dodged for a few seconds, but Choji had expertly guided her to a shadowy area where she found herself locked in place by Shikamaru's Shadow Strangle. A moment later, she was ground into the earth.

Lee finished pummeling his target, and Shikamaru switched his technique to Ino's captive, strangling the man until he suffocated and died of oxygen starvation. That left only one enemy left, and Neji quickly reported him fleeing the battlefield.

"Well done, all of you," Gai congratulated them. The elite Jonin hadn't joined in, preferring as he often did to let them have the first crack at enemy ninjas.

"I hate it when this happens," Tenten said, looking sadly at the bodies of their enemies.

"We will cremate them," Gai said solemnly. "It's only proper."

Looking at the corpses of two Aburame clan members, and another man wearing a Konoha headband, they all agreed wholeheartedly.

#

"Well, not everything that happened was good," Gai said. "But we did succeed at our mission."

It wasn't as impressive as it sounded. They had been a team of seven, and only encountered a traditional team of four, leaving the numbers on their side even without Gai's assistance. However, they'd only gotten the mission by accepting the payment for a typical squad, meaning the pay for four was now split up among seven. It may have been the single best paycheck they'd received since leaving Konoha, but it still wasn't fantastic.

"It's the start of more," Shikamaru said firmly. They all looked to him, but he didn't back down under their scrutiny. "We'll do more missions like this and people will hear about us. We'll start getting requests for us specifically, and we can ask for better rates. Eventually, we'll be able to insist on standard pay for all seven of us, good pay even, and then we'll really be doing well." He smiled at them, displaying a confidence that he didn't entirely feel. "You'll see."

#

Haku smiled as Naruto approached them. The blond boy was grinning vibrantly, as he often did since Konoha fell. He and Zabuza had been away for almost four months, and it had been a grueling time. He'd killed while working for Naruto and Orochimaru, and had even grown accustomed to it. But war was something else altogether. Anyone could die, at any moment, including you. The constant tension was unimaginable to anyone who hadn't experienced it personally. It was rather nice to leave that behind and go somewhere safe.

"This better not take long, boy," Zabuza growled.

Clearly, Haku's opinion was not universal.

"Orochimaru-sensei has a mission for the three of us."

"Yes, we heard. Details?"

Naruto chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "Well, I tried sneaking into Kumo recently, but it didn't go so well. We're hoping that with your help, it'll go smoothly."

"And why are we sneaking into Kumo?"

"Sensei wants us to steal the Amber Purifying Jar."

He was met with dead silence. Both mist ninjas were waiting for him to bust out laughing and tell them it was a joke. Naruto just smiled at them.

"The Amber Purifying Jar. One of the Five Great Ninja Treasures, created by the Six Paths Sage himself," Zabuza said. "And you want us to sneak into the most powerful ninja village in the world and steal it from them?"

"Yes."

"I think we should go back to our war."

Naruto shrugged. "The payment is ten mil."

That stopped them again. Zabuza groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose between two fingers. "Brat, there are some things not worth the money. What you're proposing is suicide."

"Well, sensei is studying the Sage. There's not much left from his time, and that's the only Treasure available. He needs it, and I intend to go get it."

"Naruto, you're going to die."

"I already tried once, and when it went south I bolted. Made it out without a scratch. I'm sure we'll be fine, even if we don't succeed."

Haku twirled a lock of brown hair around his finger as he thought. "Sensei, we are running low on mercenaries. Ten million more in the war chest would be a great benefit right now."

"Yeah, and we need to keep paying espionage agents," Zabuza admitted. "Fine, dammit, but send the whole payment to Mei, tonight, before we leave. Understand? You know us, we'll do our best work, but even if we die, the army gets that money."

"That sounds fair," Naruto agreed. "I'll get it taken care of." Then he grinned broadly. "Now, shall we start plotting?"