Drunken Shinobi

"Speaking"

'Thinking'

"Summons/Demon speaking"

'Summons/Demon thinking'

A/N: Wow! Didn't expect such a strong response from everyone! Guess I forgot how popular this story was… Any who! Yes, I plan on making this a Naruto Yugito pairing because A) It's not done that often, B) This particular Naruto needs a woman like Yugito. It was either her or Temari, but I feel that Suna isn't exactly… adventurous? Idk, more interesting characters in Kumo I suppose and C)… honestly, I feel there's a much more interesting love development between these two than any other, at least in this particular story.

Also, Roboguy45… I haven't seen that filler arc, but you might just be on to something… hmm… Oh yeah, definitely on to something there…

Ok! Let's start this next chapter, and let's hope it's long! I own nothing but my own original ideas, no more, no less!

Somewhere in the Land of Lightning

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Yugito screamed as she clung desperately to Naruto's back. Peeking over her shoulder, she yelped in surprise as a beer bottle nearly hit her.

"I didn't even do anything!" Naruto slurred back as he drunkenly fled from the mob of angry people,

"You punched a man through the wall of the bar and then used his friends to demolish the town hall!" Yugito shouted back.

"They were drinking my sake!" Naruto protested, nearly tripping over his own feet as he turned right.

"You drank every lost drop of alcohol in the bar! What the hell were they supposed to drink?!"

"Well they can drink pissh for all I care!" Naruto replied, stumbling to the left as several bottles barely missed smashing into his head.

"DON'T EVEN MENTION THAT! That was the most vulgar and disgusting thing I've ever seen!" Yugito screamed.

"Ah, cummon, it washn't that bad,"

"YOU RELIEVED YOURSELF ON THEM AND THE WRECKAGE FOR A FULL MINUTE!"

"Heheheheeheh- OW!" Naruto yelped as Yugito finally got a fistful of his hair and began yanking, "Owowowow! Whatcha doing that for! Leggo!"

Yugito ignored him as she kept pulling, "It's not funny! Now run faster!" she screamed, digging her heels into his sides for emphasis.

Naruto gave another yelp of pain as he put on a fresh burst of speed, leaving the angry townspeople behind as he dashed off with his companion into the night.

It was sometime before Naruto stopped running and the two finally stopped in a small clearing surrounded by trees. Yugito got off of her traveling companions back, making sure to kick him a bit as she did, and began to chew out the drunken missing ninja, "What the hell is wrong with you?! We were supposed to just spend the night in the town then move out the next morning! What in the name of all that is holy were you thinking?!" she demanded, whirling around to confront him, only to just stare in disbelief at the passed out and snoring figure of Naruto Uzumaki.

Yugito closed her eyes; fingers coming up to gently massage her temples as she fought back the urge to maul the man in his sleep. The two had been traveling for about two days and in that time, Yugito had learned very little about her savior.

Releasing a long sigh through her nose, the blond woman opened her eyes and studied Naruto's unconscious form. Naruto had passed out facedown, legs and arms sprawled out with his right cheek resting against the ground as he snored loudly. Rolling her eyes, the kunoichi rolled the man over on his side, just in case he vomited in his sleep, her nose wrinkling in disgust as the smell of alcohol and sake flooded her nostrils.

Content that the man wouldn't suffocate in his sleep, Yugito sat down next to him and stared intently at his face, or more specifically, his headband. The slash that went so neatly through the spiraling leaf symbol engraved in the metal intrigued her for some reason. Unconsciously, she reached her hand out and brushed her fingertips along the slash, pushing a few stray spikes of hair away as she did. 'Such a simple mark, yet such a deep meaning' she thought to herself.

She had not yet asked what Naruto had done to abandon his village, but she was sure it was an interesting tale. Nuke-nin always left their village by choice, because no shinobi village would let any one of their forces be exiled. To exile a shinobi was to basically give away village secrets. 'Yet what did you do to make you turn traitor?' she wondered.

All sorts of different scenarios went through her head as she tried to figure out just what made the man in front of her turn traitor? 'Did he kill someone?' she thought, 'did he reveal village secrets? Abandon his team? Just what would make him turn traitor?'

Nuke-nins, at least in her experience, were always cruel, selfish, evil, merciless or something of a negative nature that made them go against their village for their own personal reasons. All of them were scum in some form or another, a kind of evil that made anyone they met disgusted or frightened. The two Akatsuki that had captured her were prime examples, but as for Naruto…

He wasn't anything like the typical nuke-nin. From what Yugito had seen, Naruto wasn't malicious in any form except for the one instance where those men taking his sake provoked him into a drunken tantrum. She couldn't call it a rage because of just how ridiculous the whole thing had been!

Naruto was also kind. As soon as they had entered the town, Naruto had taken her to a clothing shop so she wasn't in the rags of her old uniform anymore. He had then taken her to a medic to be checked out for any serious damage. While she was still pretty fatigued from her ordeal with Kakuzu and Hidan, the doctor had announced her perfectly fine. Even then, the blond had still insisted on carrying her on his back to the motel they planned to stay at.

Then the man had gotten drunk at the bar.

Sighing in annoyance, Yugito glared at the sleeping Naruto, "Just what are you playing at?" she whispered. Despite the kindness shown to her, Yugito couldn't help but think that there was a motive behind his actions. Maybe he was trying to lure her into a false sense of security. Maybe he was trying to win her trust so it would make it easier for him to move around Kumo. Maybe he was just pretending with this whole nice guy act, so that she, and no one else, would be prepared for when he betrayed them. Maybe-

Naruto gave an extra loud snore before rolling over, mumbling something about ramen with sake broth as he did. Yugito sweatdropped as she watched his prone form snore away without a care, maybe the fact was that this guy was just an alcoholic, kind, missing ninja. Looking at him like this, Yugito couldn't really associate Naruto with any of the theories in her head. He was either a really good actor, or just exactly what he appeared to be.

Deciding to think about it later, Yugito made herself comfortable against the trunk a tree not far from where Naruto was sleeping. Closing her eyes, Yugito allowed herself to drift off to sleep, oddly lulled by Naruto's snores and the ambient noise of the forest's night life.

At the same time, at Konoha

Tsunade frowned over the mission report on her desk, a hand idly swirling the bottle of sake in her free hand. 'Orochimaru… still fixed on getting the Uchiha I see…' Tsunade thought as she reread the details of the report.

It had been a fairly simple mission and had had more than enough manpower to complete, but as with all missions regarding Team 7, it had been complicated.

Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura along with two other ninja, a former ANBU by the name of Yamato and a ROOT ninja named Sai, had been sent to capture the spy Sasori had mentioned. The spy had turned out to be Orochimaru's right hand man, Kabuto Yakushi.

To make a long story short, the meeting had been a trap for Orochimaru to kill Sasori. Team 7 then engaged the snake and his lackey in combat. As usual, Orochimaru had toyed with his prey and once again attempted to take Sasuke. Fortunately, the snake failed and was forced to retreat back to his base. Sai had followed, abandoning his tem in order to "join" Orochimaru so that he could later kill the rogue Sannin in his sleep or some such bullshit.

Tsunade snorted at that. "Danzou underestimates his enemy," she muttered before downing a portion of her bottle. Eventually the rest of team 7 caught up with Sai and foiled the assassination attempt. While bad for the leaf that the snake was still alive, there was the bonus that they ended up destroying the base and any research he might have had there.

Sighing, Tsunade took one more look at the extra notes that both Kakashi and Yamato had filed along with the regular report.

Watch Sasuke closely, request missions restricted to inside the borders of Hi no Kuni

Apparently the snake was still able to get inside the Uchiha's head with the promises of power and a chance for revenge against his brother. Comparing Sasuke's skills to both Naruto and Itachi proved to push the boy very closely back to how he was before Naruto beat him. If this wasn't dealt with soon, there'd be no Naruto to stop the Uchiha this time.

"Yo! Tsunade-hime! What's up with the late night meeting?" a voice called to her, slightly surprising the buxom blonde. Whirling around, the fifth Hokage glared at her teammate who was casually perched on the windowsill.

"Damn it Jiraiya! Why don't you ever use the god damned door?!" she scolded the white haired man. He merely shrugged in response before going over to sit comfortably in one of the chairs across her desk.

"So really, what's the with the midnight rendevous?" Jiraiya asked, his grin turning suggestive, "Maybe you've finally taken me up on my off-" before he could even finish, Tsunade threw the sake bottle right at the pervert's face.

"That's not why you're here and it's never going to happen!" Tusnade boomed, "The reason you're here is because I need to discuss something serious with you," she stated.

Jiraiya raised a brow at that, but listened nonetheless. "You're aware that Team 7 just got back from their mission right?" she asked.

"So? From what I've heard, it went as expected," Jiraiya replied, already starting to dismiss the seriousness of the matter. Really what did he care for team 7? With Naruto gone from it, there wasn't much for him to care about regarding that team, except for Kakashi.

"Orochimaru still knows how to get inside the Uchiha's head," Tsunade stated.

Jiraiya just gave her a disinterested look, "That curse mark of his is as sealed as we can get it, I guess I could try to upgrade it, but i-"

"I want you to start training him," Tsunade interrupted her old teammate, watching in small amusement as the white haired man nearly fell out of his seat.

"Say WHAT?!" Jiraiya asked, getting back in his chair, "Why the hell would I-"

"Sasuke is hell bent on going after Itachi, but in order for him to do that, he needs to get stronger, and I'm afraid he'll leave the village in order to get that." Tsunade explained, keeping calm and cool while Jiraiya grew outraged.

"And whats to stop him from leaving anyway?! The gaki already has a teacher, one with a sharingan! I'm not just going to go out there and hand over all my techniques to some power hungry, traitorous brat!" Jiraiya shouted.

Tsunade glared at him, "I'm not saying for you to give him everything on a silver platter Jiraiya, I'm just asking you to train him the way only a Sannin can," she spoke calmly.

"Why the hell should I?! He abandoned the Leaf once for the sake of power! What's to stop him from doing it again?" Demanded the white haired man.

"That's why I'm asking YOU to train him," Tsunade stated, still keeping a calm and even tone despite Jiraiya's growing anger, "No one is more loyal to this village than you are, and if you're the one to teach him than we won't have to worry about his escape, plus you'd be there to make sure his curse seal-"

"There is no way in hell that I'm helping the traitor that put a hole through my apprentice!" Jiraiya finally snapped.

Tsunade slammed her fists through her desk, finally reaching her own breaking point as she screamed back at him, "We're running out of options!" Jiraiya looked in surprise as Tsunade leveled a glare full of self-loathing and anger at the man, "We need to have stronger ninja Jiraiya! I can't afford to lose what could be the only person to save this village from the likes of both Orochimaru and Akatsuki!" standing up she whirled around to stare bitterly through the window, "I can't afford to let this village fall, and as much as I LOATHE the idea… our best bet is in that Uchiha," Tsunade stated.

Jiraiya frowned, "Oh come on, Naruto would –" just as quickly as he had said the name, the old pervert wished he hadn't as Tsunade whirled around once more, this time chucking her bottle of sake at the man.

"I know that!" she screamed, the bottle crashing into the wall and leaving a mess everywhere. Jiraiya ignored it though as he stared into the tearing eyes of his teammate, "I know Naruto would be the better choice! I know that he was probably the strongest one out of all of us! I know that! But that- that- that FUCKING COUNCIL!" she screeched, her fist smashing into the window behind her, cracking it, "I know I'm the hokage, I know I shouldn't have let them force me into that position, but Danzou… that fucking war hawk!" Tsunade slammed her fist into the window again, this time shattering it into millions of pieces, "He would have started a rebellion, would have started killing people… how can I be Hokage if I choose one shinobi over the rest of my village?" she sobbed.

Jiraiya looked on in surprise as Tsunade had her meltdown. He had not seen her cry like this in a long time…not since the day Dan died. He frowned as he considered her words.

While he was disappointed in her bowing to the whims of the council, Jiraiya could not deny that there would have been problems in the village had she not. Danzo would have instigated a rebellion, a coup, and that was never a good thing.

Sighing to himself, Jiraiya walked over and wrapped the female hokage in a tight embrace. She didn't try to move away and instead buried her face into his chest and wept freely. The toad sage let her weep, and once she was done, he asked, "Did the council ask you to do this?"

Tsunade shook her head, still not leaving her teammate's embrace, "No… It was my idea," she stated softly.

"Why?" Jiraiya pressed, his voice soft, but commanding.

Tsunade gently pushed Jiraiya away so she could look out over the village from her shattered window, "Because… we need all the help we can get," she stated, "I can feel it… dark times are coming and we'll need strong shinobi to get us through it," her hand formed into a fist at her side, "And as much as I HATE to admit it..." her hands shook as she spoke, "That Uchiha-gaki is our best bet at keeping Konoha safe,"

Jiraiya frowned at her words, "We already had a best bet," he muttered, glancing up towards the portraits of the former Hokage, "A guarantee…" he mumbled, his gaze lingering on the Yondaime.

'That brat… You'd better be safe, wherever you are' he thought.

The next morning, Back with Naruto and Yugito

Morning Sunlight streamed through the canopy of leaves, quiet and warm rays landing on the sleeping face of one Yugito Nii. Her closed eyes twitched at the feel of the sunlight against her face. 'Morning already?' she thought groggily, moaning in protest she snuggled into the firm trunk of the tree she had fallen asleep against. 'I'll wait for the drunkard to get up first' she decided, a happy sigh escaping her mouth at the comfortable feel of her improvised bed, "This has got to be the most comfortable tree I've ever slept against," she mumbled, slowly drifting off back to sleep.

Her eyes immediately flew open when the 'tree' gave a giant snore.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" she screeched, jumping away from the blond like a terrified cat, "You… HENTAI!" she screeched once more, only this time, it was with raw feminine fury.

By born instinct, Naruto woke up just in time to witness Yugito leaping at him with what looked like elongated and clawed nails, "Oh… no…" was all he got out before he was viciously clawed to near death. The rest of his words were screams, shrieks and shouts of pain.

Eventually Yugito had calmed down enough and stopped attacking Naruto, which was lucky for the blond man, because a few more lacerations and not even Kyuubi would be able to help him.

Huffing in anger, Yugito shook the excess blood from her nails and glared at the blond, "Pervert! It's not enough that I take you to my village, but now you try to take advantage of me in my sleep?" she accused.

Naruto slowly sat up with a look of utter confusion on his face, "Say what now?" he asked.

"You heard me!" Yugito shot back, "I wake up and you're snuggled right next to me, drunken pervert!"

Naruto blinked, scratched his cheek in confusion then said, "Huh… well that's a new one,"

Yugito blinked, "Eh? What do you mean new?" she asked, completely confused and put off by his comment.

"First time I've ever woken up from a blackout with a woman next to me," he answered casually, "Ne, since I can't remember the details, can you at least give me an evaluation?" he asked, his face mildly eager.

"E-Evaluation?" Yugito asked, now completely confused.

"Well yeah," Naruto replied, "I mean, I'd like to know how good I was while intoxicated," he answered.

"How… good you were?" Yugito asked, her voice low and dangerous. If he meant what she thought he meant, his first beating would look like the work of a kitten.

Naruto frowned slightly, "Well yeah, what? You don't remember having sex either?" he asked.

For a while not a single sound was heard, and the world seemed to grow just a few shades darker. Yugito glared at Naruto with eyes of pure fury. Her nails grew sharp and lengthened several inches as she stood up slowly and walked towards Naruto. A purple aura of death surrounded her, and it was this sign that made Naruto realize his folly.

"We… Didn't have sex, did we?" he asked, slightly hoping that yb acknowledging his mistake he'd escape punishment.

Poor, wretched fool.

"No, we didn't," Yugito spoke, her voice akin to a death toll. Naruto gulped once and then screamed in agony as Yugito pounced.

After what seemed like an eternity of agony for Naruto, the two-tailed jinchuuriki stopped her assault and stepped back, her arms crossed beneath her breasts as she glared her fellow blond "Now, care to tell me why you decided to try and take advantage of me in my sleep?" Yugito asked.

Naruto groaned in pain, his wounds slowly healing as he sat up once more, "What are you talking about? Last I remember is passing out right here," he answered indicating the patch of flattened grass where he slept.

Scoffing, the woman placed her hands on her hips, "Then how come I woke up with your arms wrapped around me, perv?" she accused.

Naruto frowned, "Well where did you sleep last night?" he demanded.

Yugito rolled her eyes and pointed towards the tree a few feet away from them, "I slept against that tree," she answered.

"Then how did YOU wake up in MY sleeping spot?" Naruto asked in confusion.

Yugito blinked at that, all her angry thoughts replaced with confusion as she considered his words. 'How DID I end up over here?' she wondered. Looking from Naruto's sleeping spot to hers she came up with two theories.

The first one was that Naruto had woken up in the middle of the night, grabbed her and taken her back to his sleeping place, but there were a couple holes in that explanation. First, Naruto had been passed out completely and there was no chance of him getting up in the middle of the night with enough clarity and energy to find her, pick her up and get back to his own sleeping spot. Second, there was absolutely no sign of Naruto having moved from his position during the night. The grass would have been a perfect outline of his sleeping form had Yugito not been sleeping there as well. Lastly, Yugito had been on top of Naruto, who had been wholly ignorant of her presence.

That left her second theory, which, much to her horror, seemed the most true. In the middle of the night, Yugito must have gotten cold and sought out the nearest heat source, which- though she wouldn't say it out loud- was Naruto.

Her face turned crimson as she realized that the only logical explanation was her second theory. She was the one who cuddled up to him, not the other way around. That didn't mean she was happy with it… or that Naruto was off the hook.

With a huff she glared at Naruto, who was still seated with a look of utter confusion on his face, "Let's just get moving," she stated, looking away from Naruto.

'The hell just happened?' Naruto thought as he got up.

"I've been around for the better part of a thousand years kid, and I have still yet to figure out the minds of women," Kyuubi responded.

'Least she doesn't need me to carry her anymore' Naruto stated blandly as he raced after the Kumo kunoichi. 'Ne, speaking of women, are there female Bijuu?'

The Kyuubi spluttered in surprise, which to Naruto was an interesting sound to hear in one's head. After getting a hold of himself, the demon fox answered, "Of course there's female Bijuu! Jeez kid, what brings this up?"

'Well I'm curious, because if there are female bijuu and male bijuu, isn't it possible to for there to be newborn bijuu?'

This time Naruto heard a giant crash in his mind. After hearing the fox begin cursing and spluttering, Naruto could only assume the fox had fallen over in shock. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! That's impossible! Ok, not impossible, but why the hell are you asking all this?" roared the fox.

Naruto merely shrugged 'I guess I was just curious. I mean, haven't you ever though of having a family?'

"Baka! Don't ask questions like that right out of the blue!" Kyuubi berated the boy loudly, causing the blond to clutch his head in protest at the sight headache the fox's voice was causing. "Anyway… it wouldn't really matter if I wanted a family," the fox stated solemnly.

The fox then went silent, and Naruto knew that his tenant had cut off the mental link that allowed them to communicate. He wanted to ask why, but somehow, the Uzumaki knew what the fox was talking about although he couldn't put it into coherent thought.

Grunting in annoyance, the blond missing ninja pushed the feelings away, drowning them with alcohol from his flask. Picking up the pace, Naruto quickly caught up with Yugito. The two traveled in silence, Yugito slightly ahead and leading the way, with the only sound being that of the forest around them and the wind rushing past their ears as they leapt from branch.

Getting annoyed with the silence, Naruto decided to pass the time by talking to Yugito, "Hey, Yugito-san," he called. The woman looked over her shoulder at him, "What's Kumo like?" he asked.

Yugito narrowed her eyes at him in suspicion, but decided to answer anyway, "It's a rocky place with a lot less trees than Konoha," she stated.

Naruto frowned. That was probably the most general answer he'd ever heard, "Ok, but what's it like? I mean, is it hot or cold? Are there any awesome restaurants or bars? What are the people like? The training grounds? The Kage's house? Landmarks?"

Yugito slowed her pace as she regarded Naruto with growing suspicion, "Why do you wish to know?" she asked.

Naru shrugged, "I'm curious, I've been to a lot of places, but never to Rai no Kuni or Tsuchi no Kuni. Closest I've ever gone is the mountains that border them," he replied, "so I guess I'm asking because I want to know about the place I'll be staying at for a while,"

"You'll only be there for a week," Yugito stated, reminding the man of their deal.

"I know, but I'm still curious! Who knows, maybe I'll come back to visit," he answered, "So, what's it like?"

Yugito still didn't trust him so she answered, "I assume it's a lot like Konoha, but with less trees and more rocks,"

Naruto sighed. Looks like he wouldn't be getting a straight answer from her, but it beat traveling in silence.

"Well what about people? Got any friends or family back home?" he asked.

Yugito tensed slightly at that, "I have comrades," she answered.

Naruto noticed her tensing and knew that he had touched a rather sensitive subject for Yugito. He was curious as to why she reacted like that, but he held his tongue. If she didn't want to talk about it, then he wouldn't press it.

Instead, Naruto asked, "Well what about good bars and restaurants? Any great places I should eat at before leaving?"

Yugito turned slightly and scowled at Naruto, "Ok, whats with all the questions?" she demanded. She wasn't going to play this cat and mouse game with him, if he wanted answers, then so did she.

"Well, it's boring to travel in silence," Naruto answered. Naruto had decided a while ago that the road was so lonely because there was no one to talk to. Sure Kyuubi was with him, but the fox was unwilling to share his past with the blond.

Yugito rolled her eyes, "Ok then, how about I ask YOU some questions?"

The Uzumaki shrugged, "Fire away,"

"Fine!" Yugito answered, annoyed with his nonchalance, "What was Konoha like?"

Naruto scrunched his brow in thought for a moment, the silence broken only by their feet leaping off branch after branch. "It was… warm for the most part," he answered, "There were trees everywhere, but I guess that's why they call it the village hidden in the leaves," he chuckled, "Course, as warm as it was, it could get pretty cold at night,"

Yugito narrowed her eyes at the far off look Naruto got after talking about his home. 'Nostalgia for his village? What game are you playing at?' Yugito wondered. The Kumo shinobi still did not trust her traveling companion, not completely anyway. "So what rank were you?" Yugito asked, trying to get an estimate on his power level.

Naruto smiled bitterly at the question, "You really wanna know?" he asked. Yugito could see that he didn't really want to answer that question, but she wanted answers from this mysterious ninja, so she nodded and stared at him, her travel unhindered by her lack of attention.

Naruto sighed as she stared and answered in a gruff voice, "Genin,"

Yugito raised a brow, not sure of what he had said due to his low tone, "Come again?" she asked.

"Genin," Naruto answered back, his voice still low and unwilling.

Yugito frowned as she still had not heard the answer, "One more time," she commanded.

Naruto sighed and answered in a loud and clear voice, "I was a genin before I left,"

That made Yugito stumble in her leaping. Quickly catching herself, she looked at Naruto with a disbelieving expression on her face, "You were a GENIN when you left?" she asked, "Wait, how old were you when you left?" she demanded. Perhaps he had just been a god awful ninja and only recently left his village.

Naruto thought for a moment "I was probably… 13? Maybe 14? Can't remember," he confessed.

Yugito narrowed her eyes, "Ok… well how old are you now?"

Naruto shrugged, "Not a clue. Haven't really kept track of time since I left,"

"What? How do you not keep track of time? Didn't they pound the value of time into your head back at your academy?" Yugito asked in disbelief. This guy was unbelievable!

Naruto laughed, "I barely passed the academy! I was deadlast of my class and as soon as I left that village, I started drinking like a fish," he replied, capping his point by taking a swig from his hip flask.

Yugito stared at him dumbfounded, "Ok, but you must remember your birthday, right?" she pressed. If she could get his birthdate, then she'd be able to get an accurate guess at his age. However, Naruto reacted strangely to her question.

Immediately, the carefree air that surrounded the blond became dark and angry. His light smile turned into a vicious scowl and his blue eyes became cold glaciers, "Yes, I do remember my birthday," he stated, the venom dripping from his words.

Yugito narrowed her eyes. 'This is new' she thought. "Well, would you tell me when it is?" she pressed. Yugito was not oblivious to Naruto's mood, but she was extremely curious, a trait that had often gotten her in trouble.

"No," Naruto answered lowly, his voice gruff and edged with a warning.

Yugito narrowed her eyes. She knew by his tone that he had no desire to continue this conversation, but this reaction was so new, so strange and so far from what she associated with him. 'Perhaps if I just probe him a little bit more' "Oh come on, all I'm asking for is-"

"I said no!" Naruto roared, whirling around to face her. Yugito stopped in surprise, amazed and terrified at the visage in front of her.

Furious red eyes glared at her, pinning her to the ground with fear. Lips pulled back in a feral snarl revealed razor sharp teeth. The thin whisker marks that had complimented a large and drunken grin were now jagged and black, serving only to enhance the overall ferocious face that now faced her.

Yugito could only stare at Naruto, utterly surprised and completely shocked, but not by his reaction. No, it was the revelation that came with it.

As Naruto turned back around, the two continued their journey to Kumo, but the cat like eyes of the Kumo kunoichi were sharply focused on the drunken shinobi as much as they were on the road, brimming with the delight of discovering a deadly and wondrous secret.

'Jinchuuriki' the word repeated itself over and over again in her head.

On another route to Kumo

"Damn it! Why the hell are wedoing this again?" Hidan demanded, disturbing the wildlife nearby with his loud cursing.

"We were told that we need to retrieve the Nibi, leader was not pleased with our last failure," Kakuzu answered, not bothering to look at his partner as they continued towards their destination.

"That wasn't even our fault!" Hidan shouted angrily, "That god damn other guy with the fucking flying vermin was the reason why we lost her!"

"Which is why we're also going to deal with him," Kakuzu responded.

Hidan grinned, "Good! I need to pay that bastard back for disturbing my rituals to Jashin," he stated, eyes shining with a bloodthirsty light.

"We're not killing him Hidan," Kakuzu warned, "Our job is to capture him along with the girl,"

Hidan scoffed, "And why the fuck are we doing that? Can't we just slaughter the little prick and grab the bitch?" he demanded.

Kakuzu resisted the urge to attack Hidan, "Because he's the vessel for the Kyuubi no Youko," he said, keeping his voice calm.

Hidan blinked, then grinned, "Oh yeah! Heh, the Kyuubi jinchuuriki... hope he's as tough as they say he is,"

"It doesn't matter, he will be captured just like the rest," Kakuzu stated indifferently.

"Yeah, yeah, but I want to make this guy bleed before we suck out his demon," Hidan replied.

The two then fell into a silence, their sedate pace bringing them closer and closer to Kumo.

Their mission was clear and their will was absolute.

The jinchuuriki would not escape twice.

A/N: And done! Sorry for the late update, but I'm hoping these 22 pages will satisfy some of you for a time being. Do not despair though action is on the horizon.

Also, to Canisse and those who feel the same as he (or she as the case may be) I hope you're enjoying this story, and will continue to read and review despite the faults of previous chapters.

P.S: Sorry, it's been a while, so I had no idea this chapters end was exactly the same as last chapter's. Well, thats been edited, hope you still enjoy it!

Ja ne.