Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Sorry for the slightly late update, I was out all weekend at a coding festival and you know nothing works when you have an audience so yeah…but enjoy this one? Oh yes, I have a little competition on now. What does C.D.C. mean and why did Naruto choose it? It'll run for ooh let's say five chapters and I'll stop it then. First prize is that you can ask any question about the future plot and I will answer it honestly. Second prize is that you can come up with a character and I'll try to work them in. Third prize is a digital plate of cookies.

Yagura found Gaara in the library between two dark alcoves with the only light being a flickering candle. The younger Nin looked up face lit in an orange light and snapped his scroll shut. The shadows of the shelves and the gleam of the fire off the decorated ends of the scroll sent scattering chinks of green and purple across his cheeks like freckles and the Mizukage idly wondered why the youngest son of the Kazekage would prefer to sit on the floor between two cramped bookcases than on a table.

"Can I help you Mizukage dono?" Gaara asked politely.

Yagura sat down opposite the younger boy and surveyed him. Shukaku's host stared right back not intimidated in the slightest.

"What do you think of him?" Yagura asked abruptly. "Of all of them?"

Gaara let out a sigh and stared at the shadow painted ceiling. The candle flickered with the sudden gust of air.

"Truthfully." Gaara admitted. "I hate him."

Yagura felt one of his eyebrows rise in mild shock.

"He forced me to face reality in one of the most brutal and painful ways possible." Gaara continued. "And for that I will always be grateful. But I hate him for it. Does that make sense?" His finger trailed down the cover of the scroll. "But we need him." And there was a weight to his words that Yagura didn't understand. "This world needs him. And so I will follow him to its end if I need to."

"What kind of loyalty is this?" Yagura asked slightly confused.

Gaara shook his head at him, green eyes luminous. "Not loyalty. Concern."

Yagura felt his satisfaction grow. Concern for the world, concern for Naruto, the young Nin had grown from the reports of the bloodthirsty monster he had on his desk.

"Sasuke is…" Gaara searched for the right word. "He was revenge driven, and I think he still is but that edge has dulled I'd say. His team has tempered him and as an ally I'd say he's one of the best you can have. Sakura is not someone I have interacted with much but the fact that she is underestimated is a weapon she uses often. They're all tricky people Mizukage dono."

Yagura grunted. He could not deny that.

"Why?" Gaara turned his attention back to his scroll.

Yagura snorted. "If I am to work with them I would like to know what kind of people they are. It's quite simple."

A silence fell between them with neither party being sure what to say.

"He called you little brother." Yagura remembered suddenly.

Gaara snorted not looking up from his scroll. "Just wait until he does it to you. Technically he's the big brother of everyone but Sakura and Sasuke."

…..##############################################################...

"You expect me to believe all this?" Yugito asked scathingly. She unwound to her feet and paced angrily up and down the ruined courtyard. "Juubi, this conspiracy plot! This is just you trying to separate Kumo from two of its greatest military assets!"

The fact he is here means that Kurama believes him. Matatabi pointed out delicately running a tongue down the edge of a sharp claw. If Kurama, the human hating hot headed baka believes him, I'm not going to disagree.

Matatabi was really reasonable for a Biju who had been locked up for a few generations Naruto decided. It made for a really nice change from Kurama. Then he vowed never to let Kurama hear that thought.

"You're just sentient chakra!" Yugito snarled at Matatabi, "I have no reason to even consider that your logic and priorities are the same as humans."

Well they're not. Matatabi pointed out bluntly. But the dreadful truth is the Biju are starting to agree. The cat stood up and it seemed bigger than before and far more threatening.

For the first time in about a century we are being gathered in one place. Matatabi laughed his excitement into the sky. You really think the world is not going to feel the ripples from that? Even more. His voice darkened. We are doing it willingly. It's when human vices all agree on one matter that you humans should start to worry Yugito-chan. The Cat God laughed again, voice darkening and roughening until his voice resonated in Naruto's bones.

Naruto coughed. "If it helps you make up your mind, we have the Fourth Mizukage and the children of the Fourth Kazekage on our side."

Yugito froze in shock. "But they…are enemies…?"

"I told you." Naruto spread his arms. "This is more important than the squabble going on now. Enemy, ally…they all need to be redrawn for the war that's coming. Yugito, why would I try to trick you with such an outlandish story?"

And Yugito believed him. He could see it in the subtle horror and glee rising up behind that composure.

"What do you need me to do?" She asked warily. "I'm their second target."

Naruto let out a sigh of relief and beamed at her. "Well." He coughed in slight embarrassment. "Sakura and Sasuke are taking your body to our base right now so you should wake up there. I kind of need you to stay there until all of us are collected and we can sort out plans for action."

"You kidnapped me!" Yugito snarled so viciously Naruto felt his hair stand up on end.

"Well part of the plan to unite the world is to make them completely dread C.D.C." Naruto explained very quickly holding his palms up in a sign of peace. "What better than seemingly kidnapping all the Jinchuuriki?"

"We have," Naruto counted off, "Six of us, and there's one of us, Team 7 by the way hi, for each one who's left."

Yugito was staring at him. He blinked at her and she looked away looking utterly baffled.

I admit I do want to see my siblings again. Matatabi purred. It is so much fun driving them up the wall.

"Well now that we have you as an ally." Naruto told Yugito brushing dirt off his trousers. "If you wake up and there's no one there sorry but you'll have to wait. If you do wake up and there's a girl with pink hair or a boy with dark hair around tell them 'Seven suns off the horizon of sand'. They'll let you out. I am going to go talk to Bee."

"Silver slaying moon cutter." Yugito told him as she clasped his hand in a farewell. "That's the code given for Kumo Nin to drop everything and listen."

Naruto nodded his thanks. "Matatabi can you let me out now?"

Yes…go join Kurama…The cat hissed in laughter. Offer him a bowl of milk from me. I'll see you later Kurama's human.

And the smell of wild flowers grew so strong his vision blurred with tears and when he opened them again he was soaked head to toe and in a tree twenty feet off the ground.

HOW dare that mangy cat?!

Kurama's voice roared through his head and he was instantly nursing a blinding headache.

Do you have to yell? Wincing Naruto dropped out of the tree landing lightly on top of the watery mud.

Kurama's answering roar sent a white stab of agony through his head. Grimacing he settled to hearing the fox rant knowing that any useful information could not be obtained until then.

…..########################################################...

"Waaah!" A hand shielded an orange swirled mask from the glare of the sun. "Look Sasori senpai! Your home village!"

The veiled and lumbering man beside him merely shifted his posture. "If you insist on chattering away, at least get your facts correct." The man told the first man boredly. "I left Suna. It is no longer my home."

Temari didn't wait to hear the rest of the conversation. She grabbed her beloved tessen from the side of the bed and blasted a gust of wind through the image playing over her bed. After Gaara had left, she had been using her considerable mastery over wind to bend light around Suna into her room. And today, they had come.

And it was her job to get them to believe Gaara was here, alive and well. The two men were still a fair distance from the village, she could head them off before they got anywhere near.

"Careful." Naruto warned her. "One of them is very likely to be Sasori, and the other might be one of the most dangerous men you ever meet. Don't meet them head on, the second man may have a Sharingan so you'll have to deal with that."

Temari wanted to laugh. This was Sunagakure! Their defence was the landscape itself.

The gate Nin recognised the daughter of the Kazekage immediately and opened it for her no questions asked. Three years of war had turned Temari into a lean, terrifying force to be dealt with.

These were the men who had nearly killed Kankuro. With a grim smile she slid the tessen from her back and swept in a ridiculously powerful blow.

This was for you Kankuro.

The sand leapt up around her; ten feet, twenty feet, fifty feet.

Temari reappeared in the desert a mile from where her spy image had shown her the men to be. With three vicious blows from the tessen the entire area erupted in sand, dust and dirt in a howling chaos of a sand storm. It wasn't quite a fully blown sand storm but one by one Temari latched the struggling winds to her. The pressure of the winds trying to escape nearly tricked her but she kept them trapped and the area swirled in a contained whirlpool of sand.

Karura was her mother too.

The sand shrieked once in defiance but settled into a humanoid shape which further solidified into a picture perfect replica of her brother. The effort of controlling the wind so that it formed the sand into the necessary shape was draining and far more difficult than anything she had ever done before. Breathing hard she willed it to move and had to quickly apply a genjutsu to hide some of the sagging sand. She coloured it in with her chakra until she was satisfied.

Then with a sweep of her hand, the billowing sand cloud enveloped her and just Gaara was left in the middle of the contained sand storm.

"Waaah!" Came a shout from not that far off. "Look senpai! A miniature sand storm! It might be him!"

Temari smiled very coldly hidden in her cocoon of billowing wind and sand. This she would do with pleasure.

The replica of Gaara blinked coolly at the two dark robed men before a terrifying expression crossed his face. Drawing inspiration from Gaara's demon period Temari set the sand storm to attack so that her brother was hidden.

What idiot used a legendary dojutsu or even exposed their eyes to a sand storm?

The man in the mask shrieked and just as expected covered his eyes. The other one was the puppet Temari remembered.

Fine. She'd just deal with him too.

She let her winds slip loose.

A howling, screaming tornado of wind blasted away from her location gaining velocity and momentum shrieking as it hurled up sand and rocks. Shadows fell over the whole area as the sun was blocked out. Temari could hardly see anything what with her eyes tightly closed and even with the tight protection of the tessen she felt blood streak down her flesh from friction hot stings and scrapes. The towering column of shrieking sand and darkness even seemed to give the two Akatsuki pause.

"Let me rip the hearts from your chests." Gaara's disembodied voice resonated from the centre of the sandstorm and the blood thirst in it brought back familiar but not fond memories.

"Senpai…" The masked man took a step back.

"This is my old village." Sasori answered not sounding worried in the least. "The sand will not harm me. Go."

And to Temari's amazement the masked man vanished in a swirl of reality. Where did he go?

Then she remembered Kankuro putting a special slippery coating on his puppets to protect them from sand based attacks just in case Gaara snapped one day. She would bet anything the puppet the master was hiding inside had the same treatment only a thousand times more effective.

Feeling quite irritated Temari honed the wind into blades and the storm did her job for her; slicing into the puppet causing irreparable damage. The shock in those eyes couldn't be seen but she liked to imagine it was there.

Honestly had Sasori forgotten their village was the frontier for Wind specialists?

But Temari knew not to get carried away with small successes. If Uzumaki had told her to be wary of them, she would be. She couldn't let them realise it wasn't Gaara and both of them were master shinobi, her illusion wouldn't hold up if they got one good look at it.

She sent the sand clone veering sharply to the left and Sasori followed the movement like a hunting predator. Three puppets sprang into being in front of him and she shivered at the variety of deadly looking appendages and the quality of the workmanship.

The Missing Nin took off after her retreating clone into the middle of the storm a weird wind protecting him from the worst of it. Temari let the storm flow as it wanted and shift over the great dunes of the desert. She really wanted to see the Missing Nin try and track an illusion through the desert.

Cruel thin fingers dug into the back of her neck and her breath caught in her lungs and turned into ice.

"Hello, little girl." The masked man greeted conversationally tightening his grip on her neck. "Being naughty are we? Tsk, tsk, very bad girl."

She hadn't even seen him reappear!

Was this where she died? Just miles from her home village in her own territory. It was shameful! She wouldn't stand for it!

"Why were you out here with the Jinchuuriki mm?" The man asked her, nails digging into her skin. His goofball persona was still there but now was more muted.

"He wanted someone to show off to." Temari answered a small idea burning in her chest. "Are you going to kill him?" She leaked some hope into her voice.

"Oya, oya what's this?" The man seemed to tilt his head. "You want the guy who dragged you out here to impress you dead? What a nice girlfriend you are."

Temari nearly gagged.

"I hate him." She hissed tapping into very old resentments. "He killed my uncle. Because of him my brother is dead. Are you going to kill him?"

"Unrequited affection." And the man's voice was sombre for the first time. A wistful note touched it making it melancholy. "Yes…I remember that feeling very well."

And amazingly the fingers around her neck vanished. She spun around tessen bared but there was no one there.

There was a knife under her ribs.

There was a hand on the hilt which released it.

"Let's play a game little girl." The man told her. "If you can survive I'll leave you alone, if you die I'll mock your boyfriend with your corpse. But either way that boy is ours. Understand?" He patted her on the head and mockingly pointed towards the direction of her village.

Red hot rage overcame Temari for one brief second.

The man's eye was wide in shock as she grabbed the collar of his robe and dragged his face down to her level.

"Listen here you disgusting specimen." She hissed letting the scorching heat of the desert into her voice. "Human lives are not a game. Gaara is going to annihilate you and I am going to help him. Hate or no hate. Do you understand?"

She yanked the blade out of her chest but she didn't bother trying to stab the man, who knew if he would disappear again? The pain in her chest grew worse and her front was sticky and glistening.

"Do NOT engage."

Naruto's warning flashed through her head and gritting her teeth Temari shunshinned away perfectly happy that the two of them would be chasing an illusion for miles.

She choked blood as she landed among white tiles. Barely hearing the panicked shouts Temari let herself point out the knife just in case of poison and blacked out.

…..#####################################################...

Unaware of his sister's dangerous condition Gaara looked up from his scroll at the sound of the great hall door opening. Putting his scroll away he wandered up to the room, curious to see if they had actually succeeded.

Sasuke was stripping his gloves off by his seat and he sent Gaara a mild greeting as the red head entered. Sakura let a bound woman down in the seat to her right and collapsed in her seat.

"You got her then?" Gaara moved to examine the second youngest in their little parody of a family.

"Yes." Sasuke answered him checking on his stock of shuriken. "Naruto was a necessary sacrifice, I'm sorry." Only the slightest flash of humour in his face betrayed the fact he was joking as Gaara shot him a hidden look of alarm.

"Oh?" Yagura wandered in, sounding like it was all a big coincidence that he had just happened to walk in at that moment. "The hellcat's here."

Sakura grinned at him and ripped the seal off Yugito's mouth.

"Finally." The woman groaned. "Seven suns off the horizon of sand. Now let me out of here!"

Gaara stared. "Seven babies approaching the gate?"

Everybody stared at him.

That was what the code meant. It was a code used by the Suna puppeteers when on a mission, Kami he had heard Kankuro use it enough times to pick it up.

"It's a secret yes?" Sasuke asked warily.

Gaara nodded not entirely happy Naruto went and divulged a Suna code to a Kumo Nin even though it seemed like she had no idea what it meant. Sasuke nodded sharply and the bindings fell apart in one slash. The dark haired man extended a hand to the blinking blonde.

"Welcome to the group."

Yugito clasped it eyes hard like little pebbles. Her gaze flicked to Sakura and something frozen emerged under the surface of her eyes.

Something had happened then. Not as bad as the obviously disastrous meeting between Yagura and Sakura, but enough to sow a seed of dislike.

Sakura noticed. And her green eyes narrowed in thought.

"Hello." She shoved Sasuke out of the way who just sighed and let her do what she wanted. "We didn't really meet before properly." And the girl smiled. It was a soft, sweet smile and it lit up her face like the sun. "It's very nice to have another girl in the place." Sakura told a slightly staring Yugito sweetly, bowing a few inches.

Gaara knew Yugito knew the power of Sakura's sealing. He knew she knew that Sakura was very high up in an organisation made to make the world fear them. And yet he knew the woman was utterly taken in by the younger girl's charm. It was probably the first time she had been told it was nice to meet her. Jinchuuriki didn't lead nice lives.

There was something warm in his chest as he watched the two women clasp hands. Maybe this could be a home for all of them.

He heard Yagura sigh behind him and realised that they had to fight with their own prejudices as well as others to make use of this chance.

"How positively sweet." Yagura muttered a poisonous note running through his sarcasm. "If there's nothing better to do, I'll take my leave." The older man turned away in a billow of robes.

"Wait." Gaara interrupted and the Mizukage turned back slightly eyebrow raised. "Can I have a spar?"

Yagura's eyes narrowed in an idle approval. "If you think you can hold up against me for more than five minutes." He barked. "I don't waste my time-" Then he fumbled as Gaara had no last name and he obviously didn't want to use his first name.

"Gaara." The red head offered. "We're related in a way aren't we?"

…..###############################################################...

Needless to say by the time Naruto managed to track down Bee while ignoring all the ranting in his head he was in a foul mood. The mountain village of Kumo was a dark rising shadow in the rain and all he could see was a watery curtain of dark grey and spray.

Tell me he's being rebellious for once and isn't in the village. He almost snapped at Kurama.

Right in the middle brat. Kurama answered sourly. You can't just walk in.

Watch me!

Naruto was tired and really did not care anymore.

Wait! You-

Naruto tuned Kurama out and dropped out of his cover and strode up to the giant gate in the wall. He was allowed to approach, fifty feet, twenty feet then ten feet. Only because they probably couldn't tell if he was one of theirs or not.

"Identif-"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "How about no? Oodoma Rasengan!"

The giant viciously swirling ball of spinning cutting chakra smashed into the gate as he leapt at it. Releasing the technique midway sent a giant blast of wind speeding away from him, hit the ground with enough force to dent it and Naruto was sent flying over the top of the gate.

If there was a man sized hole in the gate and if the guards were panicking and trying to attack who cared?

He landed neatly on the other side, calmly applied henge and slipped into the mass of Kumo Nin searching for him.

I can't believe you actually broke into Kumo…

I am one of the leaders of C.D.C. Naruto formed ferociously concentrated rasengans on the tip of three fingers and let them loose sending wood planks and stones flying. Another Rasengan he flicked into a CIRRUS agent's chest and watched him fly in an arc across three streets to land with a sickening smash.

I have to make an impression.

Five Kumo Nin came at him.

Naruto raised an eyebrow, were the fools actually-?

With an incredulous eyebrow he wove the wind so that no rain droplet touched him. The lightning the idiotic Kumo Nin brought to life arched and hissed with a thunderous peal before electrocuting most of the Kumo Nin near the moron.

Dear Kami, what trash did the Raikage have to deal with on a daily basis?

Naruto grinned and struck a kunai off the stone wall as he walked past. The spark ignited the electrolysed gas and the section of the wall with the hole in exploded. Fire leapt up on the walls, the rubble hissed and smoked but the water tipping from the heavens soon put an end to that. The flying rubble smashed through houses and stalls and very soon there was a lot of screaming as civilians tried to escape the intruder. Naruto could hear the Cloud Nin mobilising and decided to waltz out of there before Bee never forgave him for wrecking his home.

Which way Kurama?

Centre. As I said gaki.

Naruto leant down and plucked a CIRRUS mask off an agent before attaching it. His black pants were nearly identical to what the Kumo Nin were wearing so he left those alone. However he did steal a breast plate to conceal his dark orange shirt and feeling slightly ironic he took a katana from some poor kunoichi.

Just in time. Three CIRRUS agents landed in front of Naruto in a shadowy flash.

"Just in time!" Naruto barked. "Your response timing is shit. Well what are you waiting for? Split up and search through the area! He can't have got far, the Raikage will have our heads if we let an intruder run free!"

He got three abrupt salutes.

People really didn't suspect their own intelligence agents did they? Never mind the masks were so easy to steal.

A quick seal formed four kage bunshins.

"Chaos." Naruto ordered smiling slyly.

"You got it boss!" And they too disappeared into the dark and thundering water.

Naruto took off towards the centre of Kumo feeling free to bark out orders to oncoming CIRRUS agents just to confuse the lot. Really it was their fault for not even doubting he was of a higher rank.

Kumo was a mountainous area and the building reflected that. They loomed over the street with narrow bases and wider roofs, all the shops were shut at that time of the night but civilians were still up and working to keep the water from reaching dangerous levels. They all stared at him in slight fear, no doubt having heard of the intruder but Naruto smiled and reassured them they were on the case. Before going any further Naruto formed a clone and henged it into a fleshy face replica which he covered his own face with. Doing the same for his hands he plastered his hair down knowing that the rain would make it seem darker than it was so he could leave it alone.

"Hey!" A familiar voice stopped him from approaching the heart of Kumo any further. Darui stood on the ledge of a high building, arms crossed tightly over his chest and eyes sharply fixed on Naruto.

"The commotion is the other way shinobi." The dark skinned man drawled not paying the slightest lick of attention to the ominous rumble and crack of lightning off in the distance.

"The intruder is after Bee-sama." Naruto barked out crisply. And apparently people were listening in on the conversation because from behind Darui came a very angry roar like an angered bull.

"Whaaaaat!"

A, the fourth Raikage of Kumogakure burst through the side of the building like a cannonball. Darui didn't even step to the side or look ruffled as he came within inches of being knocked off his perch.

"Bee! If you leave that room I will use Iron Claw on you!" The man roared behind him as he leapt over the rooftops. "Trying to take my brother…I'll show you WHY that's a bad idea!"

"Brother." Came an exasperated groan. "I'm the container for the mighty Hachibi, I'm pretty sure I can take care of me."

There were three almighty explosions from the left hand side in three domes of light and fire. They died out very quickly but Naruto was still startled at the level of mayhem his clones were causing.

"That's funny." Darui frowned. "You wouldn't think intruders after you would use fire in such rain like this. It's pathetically easy to put out. Bee I'm going to check this out, something doesn't feel right."

Bee waved a hand lazily.

Kurama, just broadcast very subtly to Gyuki that you're here and want to talk. Naruto bowed slightly as Darui took off towards the destruction.

Bee's head snapped towards Naruto. Some of the rainwater down his back suddenly felt quite cold.

"You must have wanted to speak to me real bad if you went to all that trouble." Bee cocked his head. "Could have just asked you know. Come in and I'll hear you out."

Naruto dropped into the room as Bee made a complicated sign with his fingers. Flickers of colour at the shadows were the only indication people had moved.

Bee was smiling. "I didn't know Konoha had a fully realised Jinchuuriki, I'd have faced you on the field much sooner if we had yahoo."

"No you wouldn't have." Naruto reached up to his hairline and peeled off the layer of bunshin flesh. "Because like it or not, Gyuki and Kurama are brothers and I doubt they'd let us fight seriously." The fake skin slid off his nose and mouth and he had the sudden image of Orochimaru laughing his head off after Naruto had got stuck in his own mask one day a few months into his training.

A strange voice spoke directly into his head.

Kurama has never got on with his past hosts. This is…unexpected.

Gyuki. Naruto sent the Octopus God a mental smile.

I never told you my name either.

Oh get out of my host's head. Kurama snapped. If you're only going to leave your host to guess; bring him here or leave.

Then Naruto was suddenly speaking into another mind that was definitely not his own and felt strange as if there was cling film wrapped around his voice box.

What's with the swapping heads? He asked dryly.

Yooo, not even Yugito could mind harmonise with another Jinchuuriki! Have you ever been on the island belong to Aniki?

Naruto shook his head. Come on; that was the best rhyme you came up with? And uh mind if I-?

With a yank he pulled both Gyuki and Bee into his mind where Kurama snarled at Gyuki for 'accidentally' leaving him behind.

Imbecilic Teriyaki.

No, I'm not playing guest when you came to see me Yo.

This time Naruto and Kurama spoke into Bee's mind at the same time.

We're on quite an important mission you know.

For Kami's sake!

I'm going to have to say no to letting you use my brother's island.

Well-

Bee you can't trust either of them, either the boy has tricked Kurama into agreeing with him or Kurama is manipulating him for his benefit.

Kurama snarled softly. You think I would be deceived by a slip of a brat? This slip of a brat?

It's ok partner. Bee grinned in reality in the silent room. All the damage they did is easily fixed, you planned it that way didn't you? I'll hear you out, you're interesting!

Naruto gave him the summary fully expecting a storm of protests and criticisms. He did feel a bit weary arguing with all of them.

Pause.

"Alright." Bee said agreeably. "You got a plan?"

The sound of Naruto's jaw hitting the floor was quite loud in the silent room.

"WH-what?" He spluttered out loud before catching himself. "You believe me?"

Bee leant forward and held his fist out.

"You have perfect synchronisation with your Biju." He grinned. "There can't be a single speck of darkness in you and so I'll believe whatever you say. If you say there's an organisation trying to kill me I'll believe you."

Naruto reached out and tapped his knuckles against Bee's fist still disbelieving.

"What I'm asking of you will put you against every single ninja country. Against your brother." He clarified just in case Bee's brain hadn't quite realised. "You're agreeing this easily?"

Bee grinned and flung his arms out.

"I gave you my word, I'll follow you for a thousand feet then a mile. Brother could stand to have a heart attack once in a while. I can recognise this war needs to be stopped as soon as possible so I'll help you."

Ah good old Bee. A step ahead and to the side as always.

CIRRUS agents flooded the room, kunai brushed against Naruto's throat as he whirled away and landed framed against the open window. Had Bee played him?

No, that didn't fit his character. He had sensed no deceit from the Raikage's brother.

With one smooth motion he kicked upwards knocking away an attacking appendage and punched a man in the face.

He erupted into ink coating Naruto from head to toe.

Chuckling slightly Naruto spat out some of the foul tasting ink.

"Did I pass your test Bee?"

The man cocked his head and grinned toothily. The ink clones stopped immediately. "Yahoo, if you give me the address I'll meet you there."

A second test. That was ok, he'd prefer to pass a million tests than to lose the trust of one of his siblings. Both were tests of trust and Naruto intended to pass.

"Matatabi, Chomei, Kurama, Shukaku, Matatabi, Isobu and Son."

Bee laughed long and loud. "Expect me." He spoke simply.

Naruto grinned fiercely before leaping back through the window.

…..#######################################################...

Kakashi spied a light pressure behind him and immediately spun around and had a kunai at his assailant's throat.

A pale man bared his throat in recognition and trust. A green haired slender woman watched with narrow eyes as Kakashi drew the dangerous blade away nodding.

Sai and Fu bowed slightly to one of the legends of the war.

"Hatake-Taichou." Sai murmured. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"Is that so?" Kakashi murmured walking past them and motioning for them to follow. "I do tell people I occasionally get lost in the road of life after all."

"Why was I called?" Fu demanded from behind him. "Why did your student call me?"

"Why did you come?" Kakashi retorted fingers tapping on the rock face. "Surely just like me you felt that he had a reason. A reason good enough to cooperate in the middle of this war, Konoha and Taki are not enemies Fu-chan."

Sai just stopped Fu from reacting explosively to that nickname, eyes swirling with outrage.

"It's fine." He told Fu. "I've worked with Naruto before and I have worked with Sasuke for the last three years. The request came from both of them."

Fu let out an explosive breath. "I remember." She answered sourly but her mouth twitched into something friendlier.

Kakashi nodded in approval before the rock face opened up leading into a set of steps into the dark.

….#########################################################...

"Sensei!" He heard his kunoichi first and a pink haired blur slammed into his left while Sasuke raised a hand in greeting from a seat at a circular table.

"Sai." Sasuke greeted cordially and Kakashi felt the old urge to hit them with his book rise. Who greeted an ANBU comrade before their old sensei? Sasuke was still such a brat.

"Hello Sakura." Kakashi smiled and his eye turned into an upside down U. "What have you been up to?"

"Kidnapping the Fourth Mizukage and the Hellcat of Kumogakure." Sakura chirped, green eyes shining with a dark humour, as she drew away.

The young looking man at the seat next to where Sakura had vacated sneered in response. The blonde woman two seats down rolled her eyes and both of them pinned Kakashi with experienced eyes. The Copy Cat ninja let his own eye darken and stared back not intimidated in the slightest.

"Wow you must be weak for a team of genin to kidnap all of you." Sai commented bluntly as he and Sasuke clasped wrists.

Yagura's lips pulled back over his teeth. "Restrain your comrade's tongue before I rip it out Uchiha."

"Play nice." Sakura frowned. "He's usually like this right?"

Yagura sent her a not very nice look.

"Or would he preferred it grilled instead?" Yugito asked politely fist flickering with a dangerous looking flame. "That's also perfectly possible."

Gaara shrugged at Fu and stood up to shake her hand. "I was like you." He told her. "I came willingly, no aspersions on my strength because of that."

"I only came because of Naruto promising his vow to me would be fulfilled." Fu shook her hair out surveying her brothers and sister carefully.

"Ah yes." Sasuke plucked a piece of paper from the seat next to him. "I have a message for you from him. I'll go one step further than having the Hokage and the Tsuchikage agree Fu-san. I'll make the world agree on one thing. Won't you stick around for that?"

Kakashi had a good idea what was going on, Naruto had explained to him before, and he enjoyed watching the two other members of his squad slowly bring the irritable Jinchuuriki over to their side and embed them there.

"Shall I update you on the real world?" The white haired man offered drawing an ankle up on his knee as he slouched in an empty chair.

All of the eyes except Fu and Sai's snapped to him.

"Mist has retired from the war entirely." Kakashi counted off on his finger and Yagura let out a sardonic laugh.

"You're welcome." The Mizukage spoke dryly.

"Instead they've put themselves in lockdown, currently no one even knows you're not in Mist Mizukage-dono. However that means with the waterways open once again the coastal countries are free to take those routes to attack each other. I know that there are rumours of the Kazekage's youngest son fleeing from captors."

Gaara grinned faintly but said nothing.

"The news about the Hellcat and Fu should break sometime tomorrow and that should cause some worry especially yours Hellcat."

"What of the Triangular Junction?" Sasuke asked referring to the point where Iwa, Konoha and Suna all met.

"A complete war zone." Kakashi answered grimly tapping his fingers on the table. "I was stationed in River with your classmate Hinata, with the Suna-Iwa semi alliance it's tough there. However many of the smaller countries bordering the junction is on our side and we have far more ease of access than we have normally and we can hold both major powers in check. Rain is completely untouched strangely."

"Rain?" Yugito tilted her head. "What's so special about Rain?"

Sai answered this one. "Any troops even crossing the border has not come back. Not a single one. So we left it alone as it seemed equally as likely to attack Iwa and Suna troops."

"Hinata alright?" Sakura asked warily. "She's not the most aggressive of people."

Kakashi remembered how long it took for him to get the Hyuuga princess into anything resembling competent and chuckled.

"Have some faith in your sensei, I kept all of you alive didn't I?"

Just three Jinchuuriki left now! Then we get into the main plot for the time skip arc, Hehehe! Leave a review on the way out?