Thank you for the support. Hope you continue it.

Sorry for the late update, was tied up with some real life events past few weeks.

Chapter 6

Special Operations

Kakashi Hatake was a veteran of many battles.

Having survived the horrors of the Third Great Ninja War, he had a deep understanding of the battlefield.

Right now as he watched the incoming army, he couldn't help but doubt the chances of the Sand village's survival.

He looked at his squad assembled around him, their determined eyes boring into his own.

"We carry out our mission. Under no circumstances can we allow the Akatsuki to get anywhere near the Kazekage!" he announced, earning firm nods from all members of the team.

His sole surviving student also nodded her consent at his command making the veteran Jounin think about the other two he had lost. Neither of those two boys would have agreed with his plan, in fact they would have wanted to fight the enemy approaching towards them.

He felt their loss once again as a comforting hand was placed upon his shoulder.

Kurenai gave him a reassuring smile, one which he gladly returned with his own. The confidence she had in him made the veteran Jounin push those dark feelings at the back of his mind. Made him remember that there was still hope left in his life.

He had not been able to forgive himself for not being able to save Naruto and Sasuke. He had failed as their teacher and he only realized the gravity of that loss when he saw those two boys buried in that same cemetery where all of his former friends, parents and mentor were laid to rest.

Despair had overwhelmed his heart until he found another kindred soul in Kurenai who had also lost her lover Asuma in the same period thanks to the Akatsuki. He had been present in that battle when the Sarutobi heir had fallen to Kisame Hoshigaki's sword while protecting Kurenai from a fatal attack.

Having suffered the same pain, him and Kurenai became each other's bedrock in an effort to endure their respective tragedies.

She helped him get back on his feet and focus all his talent in training his last surviving student, Sakura Haruno. Made him believe that he could still make something right by becoming the mentor he was meant to be. He made her feel the same towards Team 8.

Now as he looked at the threat approaching towards them, he made a decision that his dear friend would not like at all.

"Secure the VIP on my command. Kurenai, you shall take the lead in this task. Take Neji with you" he instructed,

"What about us, Kakashi-sensei?" asked Sakura quickly, earning a nod from Ino as well.

"Sakura, you shall join me in the village's defense. Ino, with your sensory powers and telepathy technique I want you to help Baki and his group take down as many of the Iwa Explosion Corps as you can"

Both female Jounin's nodded firmly and joined his side to follow that order. Kurenai on the otherhand glared at him without mercy.

"Kakashi..." she protested,

"Those are my orders" he reiterated harshly, making her grimace and take a step back.

Thankfully, she was a ninja first and his dear friend later but the look he received from her was more than enough to convey that he was in for a lot more trouble later if they survived this ordeal.

But he was willing to bear it if they succeeded in protecting the Kazekage and if she remained safe.

They saw a small army of Sand ninjas had gathered at the front gate of the village ready to meet the enemies approaching from the ground. The Kazekage on the other hand was standing upon his sand proudly waiting for the Iwa Explosion Corps flying towards him.

On the walls, Baki and other veteran Jounin were busy getting the aerial defenses ready for a counter-attack against the incoming enemy forces from the air.

"Remember we must save the Kazekage! But we must also ensure the Sand doesn't fall or else our village will be facing this army at its doorstep soon enough" said Kakashi fiercely,

The four Jounin's under his command nodded resolutely at him as he removed the headband unleashing his Sharingan.

He focused his chakra and felt the familiar sensation of his Mangekyo Sharingan coming to life.

His gaze settled precisely upon the flying Kazekage and the Jinchuuriki gasped when without any warning he was sucked instantly into a pocket dimension. Before the Sand shinobi could even register their shock, Kakashi performed the same jutsu on Neji and Kurenai making them reach the designated safe zone where he had sent the Kazekage a moment ago.

Chaos did not take long to spread across the already weakened Sand forces, the presence of their Kazekage had been the only thing giving the shinobi of this village any courage to face the foes approaching them.

Kakashi quickly gestured Ino who nodded at him before vanishing towards Baki who was desperately trying to take charge of the situation and prevent further chaos from affecting his comrades.

"Was that wise, Kakashi-sensei?" asked Sakura, his battle partner.

"We can't let the Akatsuki capture the One Tail. There are a lot of things on which I do not agree with Danzo, but in this matter his orders were correct. Regardless we will give every last ounce of our strength to defend these people, are you with me?" said Kakashi seriously,

"You bet" she answered confidently,

Together the two of them joined the defenders on the main gate and waited for the enemy to arrive.

Several miles away from the Sand Village, a lone pale colored bird flew swiftly across the vast skies. On it was present one of the elite LCU's.

In the aftermath of Orochimaru's invasion and the subsequent Sound Invasion launched by Danzo, the need for specialized shinobi to team up became more and more adamant.

It was why Danzo established the Special Operations Command (SOC) and placed the Anbu Blackops directly under its control. Even among them, the Leaf Commando Units became a force to be feared.

Trained in carrying out Surgical strikes deep behind enemy lines with devastating results, they soon came to be feared in the ninja world.

One such team was now enroute to the aid of the beleaguered Sand Village.

"I still think this is a mistake" warned Captain Yamato,

"Our orders were to take out Iwa's Explosion forces invading the Sand's border territories with the Stone. We did liberate an entire village believed to be their stronghold only for the corpses to melt away moments after their demise. Their liquefied body masses not matching with any human residue" advised Sai seriously, even as he guided the bird towards their new destination.

"Shithead, if the Akatsuki are attacking the Sand and directly going for Gaara then it's the last place you would want to be considering they are also after you" said Tayuya hesitantly as she looked at the lone blonde of their group,

Sasuke looked at his blonde friend and saw him silently listening to the concerns and warnings of their team members. His fists were clenched and he was eerily silent but the Uchiha could feel something was troubling his friend.

He looked at the other three and couldn't blame them for not being able to understand Naruto's feelings.

Granted, they were going against their mission directives and taking a huge risk but it was either that or let Naruto go rogue for there was no way in hell he would leave Kakashi or Sakura to face the Akatsuki and Iwa's forces alone. The blonde had accepted a life in the shadows and cut all ties in order to keep those two safe from those hunting him down for the power inside of him.

"You are free to back out but we are going" said Sasuke without hesitation, squashing any further scope for protests and earning a grateful nod from Naruto and three disgruntled sighs from the others.

"Mouse, did your recon birds managed to gather some intel?" asked Naruto, speaking for the first time in quite a while.

"Yes. They managed to catch a tail of the Explosion Corps...we'll be reaching the battlefield in less than an hour" answered Sai,

"We must hurry''

Even as he said those words, the blonde couldn't help but worriedly look in the direction of his target and pray for the safety of his comrades.

"Fire Style: Wild Blaze!"

Kakashi watched the twin enemy chunin burn to death in his flames as he grabbed a kunai from piercing his throat before twisting the attacker's hand backwards and burying the same weapon deep in his heart.

Beside him, Sakura performed a set of hand seals before slamming her right hand on the ground.

"Earth Style: Mud Swamp!"

The female Jounin turned a large portion of the nearby sand into sinking mud as a dozen enemy got caught trapped. Kakashi's chest swelled with pride when he watched his student not waste any time and launch herself into the sky directly above the mud pit with her hands already finished with the hand signs for her next attack.

"Lightning Style: Divine Wrath!"

Sakura launched hundreds of lightning bolts down upon the rogue ninjas incinerating them to cinders.

Kakashi's eyes widened in horror when he saw something which his student hadn't yet.

Sakura was surprised when she saw her sensei's familiar teleportation appear behind her and before she knew it she found herself transported right beside her teacher as a series of explosions tore apart the spot in the air where she was flying a moment ago.

"Thanks, sensei" she said gratefully,

Kakashi nodded even as the two of them watched a dozen loyal Sand shinobi be torn to shreds as the Iwa Explosion Corps rained down an army of explosives from the skies. Despite their best efforts they were yet to breach the perimeter and harm the village thanks to Baki and his group's continued launch of aerial artillery weapons from atop the village's walls. Ino's powers providing the Sand loyalists some much needed precision to fend off the enemy.

Even so the tide was slowly but surely turning against them.

Kakashi's gut feeling was proven correct when a blonde man dressed in Akatsuki robes surged forward fearlessly uncaring of the arrows and explosives launched at him by the Sand loyalists under Baki's command. Within seconds, he caused a massive explosion on the eastern wall and blew it to ashes.

"I'll reinforce that area. We can't let them reach the village!" said Sakura urgently, earning firm nods from the few Sand loyalists around them.

Kakashi was about to protest before his student vanished in a quick shunshin making him growl in frustration as more enemies descended down upon his flank.

Sakura grunted in pain as she rolled across the sand dunes swiftly in order to avoid the barrage of senbon launched in her direction. She watched in horror as her entire squad of Sand loyalists fell one after another as they weren't fast enough to avoid the enemy's attack. Their bodies turning blue instantly thanks to the poison laced upon those weapons spreading through their nervous system and killing them in a heartbeat.

She looked at the enemy who did this and her heart froze.

Dark robes with red clouds upon it covered his weird hunch backed body as his merciless eyes glared straight into her very soul.

"Akatsuki" she whispered,

"Leaf Ninja. I'm surprised your Hokage sent you here to die" replied the man coldly,

Sakura carefully looked at her opponent and her eyes widened as she recognized him to be one of the rogue ninjas from the same village that she was trying to protect.

"Sasori of the Red Sand"

"My reputation precedes me I guess. No matter, you'll be dead soon" said Sasori calmly,

"We'll see about that" retorted Sakura as she grabbed a kunai from her pouch earning a deep chuckle from the hunch back S-class ninja in front of her.

She was horrified when the portion of the village walls from which Baki and his defenders were putting up a fight against the explosion corps from Iwa was blasted to oblivion, the shockwave threatening to knock off her own balance.

"Ino" thought Sakura worriedly,

"That Deidara, always going overboard. At the least this should help us get this over with sooner. Girl, tell me where the Kazekage is and I might let you live" suggested Sasori calmly,

"And why would I do that?" asked Sakura coldly,

"You and I both know this alliance that the Leaf has with the Sand is nothing but a farce. The moment it will appear that the Sand's fall is imminent your Hokage will wash off his hands from the people of these lands completely. Why die for such a lost cause?" questioned Sasori,

"Because if we don't stop you here then sooner or later our own village will be facing such attacks. More than that, farce or not the Sand and the Leaf are still allies. Until we are told otherwise, each of us shall lay their life on the line to defend them" answered Sakura defiantly,

"Smart, I'll give you that. Very well, then die for that conviction"

Before Sasori could launch his attack he was alarmed when the ground beneath his feet started shaking. Looking back his eyes widened when he saw a massive sandstorm on the far horizon.

And it was approaching right towards them.

Even from this distance, he felt the raw energy in that storm.

It wasn't natural.

"Wind Style: Gale Dance!"

Sasuke's eyes widened in surprise when he watched Four Tails worth of Nine Tail chakra emerge from Naruto's back before quickly seeping back into the blonde's body as he unleashed his jutsu.

The red eyed Jinchuuriki had a feral determination in his eyes as he made the very earth of these lands to rise at his command.

"What is this..." whispered Tayuya in shock, as she watched an entire sandstorm rise all around them but their bird still flew towards its target without any harm.

"He's the strongest Wind Style user in the entire Land of Fire, perhaps one of the best in the world. Even so I never imagined..." answered Captain Yamato in disbelief,

"My scouts have detected the presence of two Akatsuki. One on the ground and the other in the air, preliminary reports suggest they could be Sasori and Deidara" reported Sai, as he read the message from his scout birds as they splashed the message against the scroll he had placed below his feet.

The five Commandos looked at each other seriously now that they had received a confirmation about the presence of their dreaded foe's on the battlefield.

"Let's split into two teams. You guys assist the ones on the ground and handle Sasori, I'll take care of Deidara and the Explosion Corps in the air" suggested Naruto,

"Shithead, that isn't a team" taunted Tayuya with a smirk,

She smiled when he twitched at her remark but when none of the others objected to the plan, she relented as Sai formed another bird upon which all of them embarked, leaving Naruto upon the original bird.

"Be careful, Naruto" said Sasuke, earning a nod from Sai and Tayuya as well.

They all were quite surprised when Yamato changed his mind and instead joined Naruto back on his bird.

"I'll be your backup"

The way he made that statement alongwith his determined stare that bore into the blonde's red eyes left no room for argument from anyone. Yamato was pleased when Naruto accepted his decision with a short but respectful bow of his head as Sasuke did the same for his group. It went to show the two boys whom he had trained as their Anbu instructor still held the same level of respect for him even if all three of them were Captains in their own right.

"If you get blown up, I'll curse you in the afterlife" whispered Tayuya,

A gentle smile came upon Naruto's masked face as he saw through the feelings of his comrade even if her words were less than savory.

"Wouldn't miss your sweet tongue for anything. See you soon, Tayuya-chan. Stay safe"

The redhead blushed crimson at that nickname and before she could retort the blonde had already taken off with Yamato over his bird.

"I think he likes you" commented Sai with an eye smile,

"Shut up, Dickless!"

Sasuke sighed at the antics of his comrades even as he silently guided their bird towards their respective targets.

Yamato watched as Naruto unleashed the sandstorm and sent it right across the Sand village swarming each and every fighter in less than a minute. While not life threatening, the attack severely disrupted everyone's vision especially on the ground which was exactly what they were hoping for since they needed their ground squad to reach the battlefield safely from the skies without any counterattack launched by the enemy at them.

The two of them on the otherhand saw the Iwa Explosion Corps recognize the new threat and zeroed in on their location. Swiftly the entire company turned in their direction under the leadership of none other than Deidara.

"Get ready, Naruto" he warned,

"Today they die, Captain" promised Naruto without mercy,

"Let's go with Combination D"

Naruto nodded at his request as both of them performed their respective set of hand signs even as their bird sped in the direction of the approaching targets.

"Wood Style: Deadly Splinters!"

Yamato unleashed two large branches of wood from his arms that expanded rapidly before breaking apart into dozens of pieces in mid air as his student finished his own move as well.

"Wind Style: Destructive Wave!"

Naruto unleashed a deadly shockwave of air that sent those wooden shrapnel at an exponential speed towards the Iwa Explosion Corps approaching their way. A series of explosions was launched from their end in defense but it only served to make the attack more deadlier as Naruto's powerful wind style attack overpowered the fire chakra in those explosions as the wind laced wooden shrapnel were now set on fire and collided mercilessly against their front line.

The two Konoha Anbu Captains smiled as a dozen Iwa bombers fell to their deaths on the ground instantly as the ones behind them scrambled in other directions.

Only one continued his defiant approach.

The one wearing the Akatsuki trademark robes.

'"Back me up" said Naruto seriously, as he made a familiar hand sign.

"Always" promised Yamato,

A dozen wooden branches emerged from Yamato's body and continued expanding outwards as Naruto created an equal number of shadow clones with each of them grabbing on to one of the branches.

Together the Naruto army was now sent directly towards a madly grinning Deidara.

"KATSU!"

Yamato managed to steer away a few of the branches as others were caught straight into the explosives launched by the rogue bomber from Iwa.

"Wind Style: Vacuum Bullets!"

Even as more than half of Naruto's clones were killed in an instant, the remaining clones alongside their original peppered the blonde Akatsuki's entire body with holes as air bullets tore through muscle and bone without mercy. The full power of Danzo's teachings towards a fellow wind user coming to its complete fruition.

Yamato grimaced when Deidara and his bird vanished in a puff of smoke.

Shadow Clone.

His disappointment rose further when he saw the real Akatsuki laughing at them as he removed the henge and made his position visible among the remaining Iwa explosion corps.

"Tiger, get ready" warned Yamato to his student, as the entire enemy force charged towards them once more.

Naruto slammed his palms together and gathered a large amount of chakra earning an understanding nod from his teacher who pulled back the wooden branches back inside his body.

Much to the approaching enemy's shock, the Konoha Anbu Captain now flew in the air alongside his remaining clones.

A cold and determined gaze visible in his demonic red eyes.

"Let's dance then"

Sasuke gave one last glance towards his friend's battle in the sky before focusing upon the ground as their bird descended from the skies.

"Mouse, go aid Kakashi and the frontline" ordered Sasuke,

"Acknowledged" replied Sai with a firm nod, as he took out his tanto in one hand and standard Anbu issue sword in the other.

"Fox, rescue the shinobi trapped in the rumble at the main entrance. Gather remaining defenders and reinforce the main entrance, once the enemy enter the village the battle is lost. Don't let that happen" commanded Sasuke,

"I'm on it" promised Tayuya,

"Where will you go?" asked Sai,

They both saw their Captain pointing his sharp sword straight towards the direction of the other Akatsuki on the ground currently being engaged by Sakura.

"Roget that, Captain. Stay safe" agreed Sai,

"Kick his ass" wished Tayuya,

Sasuke smiled at the redhead as he nodded at both his comrades even as their bird touched the ground.

"I will"

Naruto found himself facing Deidara alongside the rest of the Iwa Explosion Corps. The rogue terrorist bomber looked at him curiously before chuckling out loud.

"Finally someone worthy of my art. Was getting tired of killing weak imbeciles!" said Deidara excitedly, even going so far as to make his voice echo across the entire village and the battlefield on the ground.

"You would think the Sand ninjas would be more of a challenge but they are as weak as people say. Can't even defend their village without the help from Konoha" spat Deidara, ensuring his words reached each and every fighter-allied or otherwise across the battlefield.

Naruto clenched his fist when he saw the fighting on the ground pause momentarily as those words pierced through the ninjas. He saw the way in which quite a few Sand ninjas were angered by those insults but more alarmingly, quite a few took a hesitant step back from the enemy and felt their will to fight crumble.

"Sunagakure...is strong!"

Kakashi looked up at the skies and saw several Konoha Anbu's flying in the sky, on closer inspection with his Sharingan he found all of them except for two to be shadow clones facing the rest of the Iwa Explosion Corps.

He saw the way in which Deidara's words had a demoralizing effect on the Sand loyalists who had lost their confidence with their village's strength dwindling year after year thanks to Danzo's decisions. Now with their Kazekage missing right before the start of the battle...

"Sunagakure...is strong!"

He was surprised when all the clones of the flying Anbu yelled out in unison making each and every Sand loyalist look up at him.

"What nonsense. You'll watch as we slaughter everyone of you tonight and get the Jinchuuriki" yelled Deidara furiously,

"Do not underestimate the shinobi of this village. You maybe strong, you may have killed many of us and injured many more, you may have hurt this village but you can never break our will. Through Action men become heroes, through death heroes become legends. And this village has plenty of heroic legends!" countered Naruto fiercely,

The blonde Anbu looked down upon the battlefield and pointed his sword right towards the Sand loyalists.

"Fight for your Kazekage's!"

Kakashi saw even the most youngest Sand loyalists standing a bit taller after hearing those words.

"Fight for your heroes!"

The rogue ninjas saw a fanatic look arriving in the eyes of their opponents and took a step back hesitantly.

"Fight for your home!"

Weapons were unleashed once more as more and more Sand loyalists joined Kakashi's side.

"Fight to the DEATH!"

The battlefield was engulfed in the deafening roars unleashed by the Sand loyalists who charged forward fearlessly and crashed upon the enemy forces like a raging tidal wave.

Kakashi saw Deidara snarl and launch himself at the blonde Anbu and prayed for the warrior's safety as he also joined the fray once again with a renewed determination.

Those words had give him and everyone hope, something which they had lost in the face of the overwhelming and sudden attack of the enemy.

Now it was time to fight back!

Sasori had watched the tide of the battle starting to change and had instantly unleashed a hundred puppets to launch a full scale counterattack. If they were destroyed on the ground, they were as good as dead.

He cursed when lightning bolts tore through a quarter of his puppet army making them explode to pieces in the blink of an eye as a Hawk masked Konoha Anbu landed in between him and the pinkette.

"Reinforcements" cursed the puppet master,

"You're done here, Akatsuki" stated Sasuke calmly, as he pointed his sword straight at the rogue ninja challengingly.

"Another loudmouth. No matter, Deidara will deal with your partner and I shall deal with you" countered Sasori, as he aligned all his remaining puppets to launch hundreds of poisoned needles.

The Hawk masked Anbu didn't move an inch and instead sent countless sparks of lightning from his right hand vaporizing each and everyone of the incoming weapon to dust.

Sasori was mildly impressed and saw the Anbu staring at his partner fighting in the sky with an unwavering confidence.

"That guy is strong. Your partner will lose as my own will put everything on the line including his own life to save this village and our comrades. I shall do the same" promised Sasuke, as he awakened his Sharingan.

Sasori took a step back when he saw the infamous dojutsu burning in those fierce eyes.

"You're..." he whispered in shock,

"Sakura, go and aid the wounded. They need help desperately" requested Sasuke without looking back at his stunned former teammate.

"How do you know my name?" she asked,

"Hokage-sama briefed us about your team while sending us here. Now go and save our comrades. We will handle these guys, I promise"

Sakura couldn't help but feel that she knew the masked Anbu in front of her from somewhere. There was something about him that felt familiar but his voice and fighting style were completely different from the boy she had once known. It couldn't be him...

She looked to the skies and saw the blonde Anbu engaging the Akatsuki and the Iwa explosion corps in a fierce battle and the feeling in her heart only grew more stronger.

She didn't know why but her heart wanted to trust them completely even if she didn't know them.

"Be careful" she wished him sincerely, earning a firm nod from the Anbu.

"You too" he whispered,

She quickly took off in the direction where Ino's last position was bombed by the Akatsuki, her primary concern was to save her childhood friend in case she was injured and keep her safe.

Yet even as she moved further away, her eyes couldn't help but look back at the two Anbu and a smile came upon her lips.

Thank you.

Author's Notes: End of chapter.

Hope you guys liked it.

This story will be a bit different from the others that I have written so far, it will still have elements that people identify my writing style with but also some fresh twists. Having said that for those of you who are reading my work for the first time, I want to clarify a few things:

I don't write sunshine and roses like story and especially the endings, so expect hardships and heartbreak but there will also be happiness and warmth along the way, maybe even love.

Pairings are important for me, it's why I would like to admit I am yet to choose between Tayuya and Sakura as main pairing for Naruto. Other pairings simply won't fit in with the plot and the character that he is in this story, hell I might just choose both. It will depend on how the plot progresses...I am stating this so if readers who are not comfortable with this are aware but I would still request you to give me a chance if you feel I can give you something new to read about. Otherwise, I understand.

More important for me is the friendship between Naruto and Sasuke, trust me if everything goes according to plan you will enjoy their bond more than anything else. It may even reduce some of you to tears by the end...

I will try to update as fast as I can but I also have a full time job and a family to manage, so please bear with me in case there are delays but rest assured I will complete this story. Considering it will not be as long as my other works, it will be finished.

That's all I wanted to say.

Please feel free to let me know your thoughts, I enjoy your reviews and support for this story completely.

Until Next Time,

Blackwolf501

PS: Stay safe