I cannot express how sorry I am for this incredibly late update.

Trying to find time to update any of my stories is really proving to be an almost impossible feat. There is just so much studying I have to do, not to mention going to work, that I hardly have any time to think anymore. But that doesn't mean I have given up on my stories!

I will update LTBL as soon as some free time pops up. The next chapter is a climax chapter so I need a good amount of time to write it.

Hopefully this update can put some of that fire out.

~~Meddlesome Jutsu~~

"There was a little something else," Orochimaru began to say, eyes directly cast at the ceiling overhead while his ebony orbs admired all the light fixtures as if they were one of the most dazzling things he had ever seen. "Ah…a side effect that may or may not have occurred, depending on your spawn's behavior."

"Spawn?" Kushina growled loudly, disliking the pale man's choice of words. "Who the hell are you calling Spawn?"

Not missing the tightening of one strong, female fist, Orochimaru gulped and innocently lifted his hands to his face as a makeshift shield.

"No one!" He blurted, only realizing now that maybe he should choose his words a little more carefully if he wanted to preserve his neck in its current state.

"Indeed," Fugaku sneered in return. Calling his child some of spawn was a direct insult to him if anything and would warrant a complete and painful beating in the very fast approaching future.

Sighing dramatically, Orochimaru let his hands cross at his chest before taking a deep breath and continuing.

"When I extracted chakra from both Minato and Fugaku, it contained traces of chi from your ancestors going all the way back to the Sage of Six Paths. As a result, when the two shared themselves with one other, their chakras leaked out resulting in a mixture of both lines, each containing the chi of their ancestors. Now, along with their chi, was your chi. Undiluted, unhindered by the restraints of the living world. It began to fuse with both Sasuke's and Naruto's chakra, serving as an ovum if you will. The Kyuubi that was visible to all was the result of the fusion."

Minato narrowed his eyes, theories and questions piling in his brain to the heights of Mt. Fuji. "What are you saying exactly?"

"He is saying," A voice from across the room echoed, "That the Rinnegan is back."

All further noise was cut short as heads turned to stare at the approaching form of the first Hokage, his long red cloak billowing behind him as he stepped forwards.

:::

Tsunade stood to her feet, eyes not leaving the swirling chakra surrounding the two immobile shinobi. Between their two forms, as if feeding off their chakra was a growing ball of purple light, spinning so fast it was hard to even look at let alone peek within.

"What is that?" Sakura repeated once more, lip still trembling as her emerald eyes remained staring at the purple sphere of chakra as if held captive there by an invisible force.

"Good question," Tsunade retorted, brows creased as she continued to stare at the phenomena as well.

Kakashi peered at the swirling ball, deciding to try and get closer and feel for himself what sort of barrier would spring forth. Once he was within a two foot radius, a crushing force assaulted him, pushing him backwards as easily as a wind blowing a leaf from the ground. Almost missing his footing, Kakashi balanced himself upon one knee and inhaled deeply, frustration trickling down his sides like streams of sweat.

It's not going to let us get close," Tsunade growled, crossing her arms across her large chest. If neither of them could get close enough to see inside there was only one option left. "Get a Hyuuga here immediately!"

:::

All heads bowed as the first Hokage stepped into the small semicircle standing by the far left wall of the observatory.

"This child will bring back the Rinnegan," the first Hokage spoke; his voice penetrating right down to the very core of all those present. "And all this made possible by the fusion of the Senju, Uzumaki and Uchiha clans."

"I do not understand," Jiraiya shook his head, his white mane swinging from side to side. "How can these two even create a child?"

Orochimaru wrinkled his nose in exasperation. But in all honesty he wasn't surprised. Jiraiya had always been a little slow on the uptake, even when they were kids. "I told you. The extraction I took from both Minato and Fugaku served as an ovum. Since they are not part of the living world, their essence is neither male nor female in its making. It's all just energy and chakra."

"But then why are they fading?" Kushina asked in confusion pointing to her husband's arm.

The first Hokage looked at the two men, "They are not fading," he responded. Warm brown eyes wrinkled at the sides as a small smile appeared across the Hokage's face. "They are merging."

:::

Neji stood beside Kiba, Byakugan activated and scrutinizing the vast battlefield where bodies of both friend and foe lay scattered across the blood soaked planes. To his right stood Sai, doodling on his scroll while sitting atop one of his painted tortoises, a look of heavy concentration displayed on his pale features.

Curious as ever, Kiba picked at his teeth as he took a gander at what Sai was so engrossed in. Once his eyes landed on the intermingled forms of his close friend and fellow shinobi, he grew slightly green around the gills. A cough erupting from deep within his chest cavity causing all within a five meter radius to jump at the perplexing sound.

"Dude," Kiba turned his head away, disgusted. "You are messed up. You know that?"

Sai looked up from his drawing, a confused expression on his face. "I thought Naruto would appreciate this." He replied innocently. "He was always mentioning this 'bond' he had with the Uchiha. I thought I would just commemorate it in a drawing he could hang up somewhere and look at whenever he felt upset."

"I doubt he'd want to stare at that." Kiba said, shivers going down his spine at the thought.

Neji grimaced, one eye accidently catching sight of the painted scroll. "You know that it's not to scale. Right, Sai?"

The ex root member grinned, "I know. Naruto's dick isn't that big. I just wanted to make him feel better."

Slapping a hand across his face, Neji shut his eyes tightly.

That had not been what he meant.

Memories of the gay lovemaking forever burned into his mind's eye.

"Neji!"

The small group looked to where the voice had come from, all on alert. Kakashi was quickly approaching the trio, beckoning the shinobi to draw near. Nodding to himself, Neji quickly jumped into action, closing the distance between himself and the jonin in a matter of seconds.

"What is it?" He masterfully asked.

Kakashi sighed, "I need you to come with me. Activate your Byakugan."

Nodding, Neji replaced his Byakugan and sprinted after the jonin, determination set in his battle worn features.

:::

"Merging?" Fugaku repeated in shock.

The first Hokage nodded in affirmation. "The two of you will slowly fuse together and return back to the world of the living as the child with the Rinnegan."

"How is this even possible?" Kushina rubbed her forehead in disbelief, not knowing which string of unfeasible to grab onto first.

Orochimaru cleared his throat. "It wouldn't have even been a thought in any given normal situation. However, this jutsu is only able to work due to the fact that there is a rift existing now between our two planes because of Kabuto. Once he cast the forbidden jutsu, our hand came into play. As he extracts souls from our world, we can send souls back down."

"Correct," the first Hokage nodded, "That is why you are now fading in and out of this world. Slowly, the two of you are being reborn as one down in the world of the living. At the end of the cycle, you will disappear from this plane and reappear down below as the child born with the Rinnegan."

"Are you saying this war will last until this child you speak of is capable of using his Rinnegan?" Minato paled. Images of bloodshed and innocent lives being lost plagued his features as his mind reverted back to the days of war.

The first Hokage rubbed the back of his neck. An unreadable expression playing across his features. "It's a possibility."

"This is absurd!" Fugaku growled as he threw his hand in the air.

"However," the first Hokage stressed, "I have a plan on how we can access the Rinnegan before then."

"And dare I ask how you plan on doing that?" Fugaku rumbled, rubbing his eyes tiredly. This situation finally taking its toll on his fried nerves.

"That is where your wives come in to play," the first responded.

"Me?" Kushina's eyes bulged.

The first Hokage nodded, "Yes. You."

:::

Neji stood inside the guarded tent, slack jawed at the sight before him. "What the hell is that?" He pointed at the sphere of chakra swirling between Naruto and Sasuke.

"We were hoping you could tell us." Tsunade said as she took a step closer to the chakra sphere. "Every time one of us gets too close, a forceful barrier sends us back. I want you to tell me what you see inside that sphere."

"I can't see anything," Neji replied in shock. "It's j-just black."

"What do y-you mean?" Tsunade faltered, "You can't see inside?"

Neji nodded his head slowly. "Something is blocking me from gaining access within. All I can say is that whatever is going on in there is sucking up a lot of chakra at an incredibly fast rate. It's like something is growing inside there, but I can't see what."

:::

"You and Mikoto will try and penetrate into the world of the living."

Kushina furrowed her brow, "How are we supposed to do that?"

Orochimaru butt in again, enjoying this more than he should. "Since you have a direct line to Naruto and Mikoto has a direct line to Sasuke, you can penetrate into their world by gaining access to their dreams. The dreamscape is a world that is neither part of the living nor part of the dead. It exists in between."

"You will have to gain access into their dreams and have them learn how to access the Rinnegan through their child. The one big problem we have is Sasuke."

"Why?" Fugaku asked, growing more concerned and uneasy with each word passing through the Hokage's lips.

"He is fighting against Naruto at the moment," the Hokage reminded. "After he wakes, he will revert almost completely back to the way he was before the jutsu was cast. He may want to use the Rinnegan to annihilate the Leaf as well as the allied Shinobi forces."

"That fool!" Fugaku snarled and lifted his fist, slamming it hard against the wall only to give a small yelp of surprise when his fist went through the wall as smoothly as water.

Minato looked up at the first Hokage, brain whirling at an incredible speed. "So when we are born as this child, we will have no access to our past memories, correct?"

"I'm afraid so."

Jiraiya paled. "So what you are trying to say is that the whole world rests on the single hope that a mother can convince her rebellious son not to do something stupid."

"Correct."

"Shit."

All heads looked towards the door in unison to see Itachi Uchiha standing there, arms hanging at his sides like a rag doll.

The young Uchiha hung his head in despair. "We are so screwed."

Hope you guys liked it!
Reviews and Favs are greatly appreciated!

If you'd like to see any characters or something interesting happen just let me know. I have a lot of wiggle room with this plot so almost anything can happen ;)

-Smartcat