Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does. I just added my own tweaks to it.

Later when the rain cleared up, the group landed on a rooftop quietly.

Kakashi spoke first, "Starting now, our main target is Itachi Uchiha. We capture him and take him into custody."

The group agreed and then Kakashi continued, "Akatsuki's goal is to gather Biju; it is believed that they already have the Sanbi. According to Jiraiya-sama, it is possible that they had infiltrated the Land of Fire to target Naruto. Itachi in particular is originally from Konoha; three years ago he had attempted to take Naruto because of his status."

Naruto looked off to the side at that statement; he could never forget the calm, cold, glare from his eyes when he first encountered Itachi all those years ago. It was also the moment on just how hellbent Sasuke was about his revenge.

His thoughts were interrupted when Ino interjected, "So if that is the case, he might come to Konoha as well as Sasuke, who is after his brother."

Naruto gave a subtle, determined glare and promised himself "I'll catch up to Sasuke no matter what."

Kakashi spoke again, "Let's go over the this building as the central point, we will search in all four directions for five kilometers."

Ino interrupted, "Five kilometers? Our radios would be out of range and we'll be too far apart from each other; it's too dangerous."

Kakashi then stopped her proclaimed, "Just watch…"

He weaved through hand seals and then placed his hand to the ground. Smoke had suddenly appeared and then when it blew away, a pack ofninja hounds appeared.

Pakkun exclaimed, "Our voices travel even farther than the radios and our noses can instantly sniff out danger; we'll protect you."

Then Kakashi explained further, "Let's go over the team formations. This time there will be two ninja hounds assigned to each member."

Two dogs each had gone ahead and stood by the sides of Ino, Shino and Sai to start with.

Naruto then asked, "What about me?"

Kakashi answered, "Since you're the Jinchuriki they are targeting; you will be teamed up with Yamato and Hinata."

Then Pakkun added, "Along with Big Bark Bull."

Naruto turned to Hinata as she said, "Let's work together, Naruto-kun."

Naruto smiled at her and replied, "Yeah."

Finally, Kakashi gave the conclusion of the plan, "And being ninja hound users; Kiba and I will have one dog."

Then he instructed, "Listen everyone, you will track Itachi and Sasuke's scents. If you find either of them, verify their location and then return to this spot. Especially you, Naruto, don't go running off by yourself." Naruto nodded his head in understanding.

Kakashi then declared, "All right, let's head out! Go!"

All at the same time, they scattered in every direction, beginning the mission.

While at the same time Sasuke was with three other people and he told them, "Juugo, Suigetsu, Karin you all go and gather information about Akatsuki."

"Alright, I'll get going," Suigetsu, a white-haired young man declared.

While Juugo, a tall young man with orange hair, mumbled, "Itachi Uchiha, huh? I hope we can find him."

And then they both took off in different directions, although Karin, a red-haired girl, had other ideas.

She latched herself onto Sasuke and squealed, "Sasuke, I'll stay with you…"

He cut her off , "You too, get going."

She scoffed before leaving as well.

Meanwhile with Ino…

She concentrated while walking, hoping to catch some trace of Sasuke or Itachi.

One of the dogs named Bisuke spoke up, "If you don't wipe that solemn look on your face, you'll scare off the boys."

Ino abruptly glared down at him and inquired, "What?"

He continued, "The more you chase, the further they run away. You're a female that keeps on pushing aren't you? Why don't you try pulling away at least once?"

Ino retaliated, "How ridiculous!"

And then she murmured, "Sasuke is someone I care about… but I'm already with someone else."

Shiba chastised his comrade, "Hey now, stop being so rude."

Bisuke scoffed while Ino added, "I only want Sasuke to know how we all feel. Everyone is waiting for Sasuke to come home; Sakura especially."

Then Bisuke exclaimed, "Fine, then why don't I try sniffing?"

He lowered his nose close to the ground and sniffed; he flinched in shock.

"What is it?" Ino inquired.

He answered, "I caught Sasuke's scent."

Ino's eyes widened and her mouth hung open in shock.

They had continued on, following the scent into a small village, watching for any sign of Sasuke.

Ino looked down at Bisuke asking, "Anything yet?"

"It's faint, but it is steadily getting closer…" Bisuke replied.

Ino kept a slow pace, looking all around at the different residents of the village for Sasuke but she couldn't see him. She tried to search for his chrakra signature to see if maybe he was in disguise; no such luck.

Shiba whispered, "Ino-chan, do you see Sasuke anywhere?"

Ino searched around once more but as they kept walking, she still couldn't find him. Coming the opposite direction, Karin was walking towards Ino and the pair of dogs.

But as they passed each other, Shiba suddenly proclaimed, "No good, the scent is getting further away."

Ino furrowed her brow in frustration; she also couldn't sense him either. She briefly noticed a small occurrence of chakra but it wasn't strong enough to be Sasuke's so she ignored it.

Meanwhile…

Naruto's group was walking as they searched for Itachi and Sasuke.

Until Yamato suddenly whispered, "Naruto, Hinata, you feel that?"

"Yes…" Hinata answered and Naruto added, "Yeah…"

Then Yamato threw some shuriken towards the person behind them.

A voice spoke, "So, you have sensed me and you've grown, Naruto-kun…"

The figure revealed himself, he wore a purple cloak with half of his face hidden. He revealed himself to be…

"Kabuto Yakushi. You've got guts approaching us by yourself, " Yamato exclaimed.

He responded, "I wanted to have a chat with Naruto-kun."

"You're not getting away this time; we're taking you in," Yamato objected.

Then Naruto shouted, "Hey Kabuto! Where is Sasuke?!"

Kabuto chuckled, "Still hung up on him, are you?"

"Is it true that Sasuke killed Orochimaru?" Naruto asked warily.

Kabuto didn't respond right away but then he answered, "Yes… it's true."

Naruto glared at him, he hasn't seen Kabuto in years but he believed that he was still the same cunning shinobi he always was.

Then Kabuto spoke again, "More importantly, I have a present for you, Naruto-kun… "

From his cloak, Kabuto pulled out a small book and handed it out towards him.

Naruto looked at the book in confusion, he asked, "What's that book for?"

"It has information that our organization has gathered regarding Akatsuki; it's yours. You can have it, Naruto-kun."

They were perplexed but then Yamato interjected, "Now that Orochimaru is dead… Are you trying to negociate with us?"

Kabuto rebutted, "No. I don't' think it would be that easy to negociate with something like this…especially with Konoha."

Yamato asked, "Then why? Unlike Orochimaru, the Akatsuki isn't after you."

"It's a simple gift to Naruto-kun; a token of my gratitude. Plus, the Akatsuki are after you," Kabuto explained.

Naruto watched him in confusion, "Gratitude?"

Kabuto continued, "After Orochimaru-sama died, I lost sense of who I was. I never knew who my parents were or what my homeland was. The enemy found me and from the time I was young, I moved around the lands and the villages as a spy. Lands and villages didn't mean much to me. That is, until I began serving Orochimaru-sama, but now he's gone too."

He tossed the book until it landed at Naruto's feet. He added, "Just who am I? The agony of not having and identity… You can understand, can't you, Naruto-kun?" Naruto didn't say anything but he continued to listen.

Kabuto chuckled, and then said, "Are you Naruto Uzumaki or are you the Kyuubi? In the past, you were shunned and regarded with loathing. You must have questioned yourself about who you really are. However, you had faith in your strength and told yourself that you were Naruto Uzumaki… and you boldly overcame their views of the Kyuubi…"

Hinata whispered to Yamato, "What does he intend to do with Naruto-kun?"

Yamato only replied, "I can't figure out his motives…"

Kabuto kept speaking to Naruto, "And that's why you are sure of your identity and you found friends who accept you. But instead of overcoming Orochimaru-sama, I still clung to his power. I'm really able to understand how you feel now. You made me realize… that I want to be like you."

After he said this, he pushed the hood of his cloak off of his head and then took off his glasses.

"So now…" Kabuto slowly turned his head to face them again. Only, as he turned, he revealed to them that a part of his face was pale-white and his left eye was yellow with purple markings around it. Each of them had a horrified expression on their faces due to this transformation.

With a crazed look in his eyes and a malicious grin on his face, he finished his explanation, "I'm going to surpass Orochimaru-sama whom I absorbed, and discover a new, stronger self."

"I'll find my new self, and you have given me a hint to finding it. That's why I'm grateful, Naruto-kun. Orochimaru-sama is the symbol of reincarnation. He continues to live on inside me, as an existence that I must overcome." Kabuto explained further.

Naruto inquired, "Took into your body?"

"It was just a small segment of Orochimaru-sama's corpse after Sasuke killed him which I transplanted into my own body," He rolled up his left sleeve to reveal his white arm that had a scaly appearance.

"But his life-force is amazing, it's steadily trying to take over my body." Kabuto chortled.

Yamato murmured, "How disturbing…"

Hinata then used her byakugan to see exactly what he was talking about. She looked on in shock as she thought, "A third of his body has already been taken over…"

Kabuto shouted, "But I have been fiercely resisting this takeover! I can feel this part of me that's trying to overpower Orochimaru-sama!"

The air was tense and no one said a word, only the sound of the wind blowing through.

"Is that all you wanted to say?" Naruto commented. Kabuto said nothing.

Then Naruto scoffed, "Well then, give it everything you've got! In a cell in Konoha!"

He sprinted forward and attacked while Kabuto blocked each strike with precision. But then Yamato came up from behind Kabuto and had used his wood to trap him.

Hinata yelled, "Behind you!"

Naruto and Yamato turned to see that Kabuto had escaped and was laughing.

Naruto cursed, "Damn it!"

Kabuto then exclaimed, "When I'm able to control Orochimaru-sama's power, I will fight you again, Naruto-kun. But you come later. First, it will be Sasuke-kun who brought down Orochimaru-sama."

Naruto shouted at him, "What are you going to do to Sasuke?!"

Kabuto murmured while he weaved a sign, "Until we meet again…"

They watched Kabuto as he dissolved away, leaving them with a sense of forboding.

I have finally gotten the motivation to continue my stories after so long. For those who are following my stories, I deeply apologize for the the long delay for new chapters. My life had gotten hectic and I put those as my first priorities but that doesn't mean I will give up on these stories. I will eventually finish them before moving onto new projects. There will be planned one-shots here and there about my favorite couples soon. So please, if you liked the chapter, please feel free to leave a review. Thank you for your patience and I will keep my resolution on updating constantly.