Howdy folks!

The evil one is back and still doing business and I must say business is good.

Well...business is adequate but that is much better than it was if y'all get my drift.

Anyway...I am in good spirits and I haven't gotten any ugly reviews that would fill me with hate and vitriol...so nothing to complain about. Yet.

LOL

Give it time...I am sure it will happen again after this chapter.

Anyway this public service announcement was brought to you by Yamanka Flower shop. Buy your honey a bouquet of flowers just because and have your mind scrambled for free…because doesn't everyone want to be a 6 year old girl at some point or another?

What If?

Chapter 20

Naruto bit back a snarl of frustration at the man in front of him, but he knew one thing for certain...if Itachi was here, he was probably not alone, and it wasn't for good reasons. Since the Uchiha massacre rumors of his exploits, although most were unconfirmed, spoke clearly of which side of the light he wasn't on.

Last told Naruto had heard of the renegade Uchiha being part of the Akatsuki organization…the very same one that was "collecting" the jinchuriki.

While Naruto knew next to nothing of the organization...what little he did know made him wary, and even if he knew nothing from Jiraiya and Tsunade, he knew for a fact that Itachi himself was dangerous and not to be taken lightly.

The rumor was that he slew his whole clan in one night...by himself. While the new intelligent side of Naruto found that next to impossible to believe, the side that grew with that rumor, the core personality knew that whether true or not, the nuke nin was not to be glossed over.

The Uchiha blinked before he gave a stale smirk to Naruto before painting on an anemic hurt expression. "What, no Itachi-nee Naruto-kun? I'm hurt. We have not seen each other in many years and I thought at the least you would give me a better greeting than that."

Naruto still frowning took a step back from the man, keeping Hanabi behind him but did not remove his eyes from Itachi. "I'm sorry if I seem distant to you...but you did wipe out your clan, and you are an S rank missing nin." At these words Itachi frowned again, but made no move against Naruto as he spoke again. "While I would like to think you're hear on a friendly term, I somehow don't think you are...or is Akatsuki no longer looking for the tailed beasts?'

Itachi's eyes narrowed at Naruto's words of the secret organization, but his demeanor didn't change. "Yes I do still work for Akatsuki Naruto-kun, but I am not here on official business...yet."

Naruto nodded once in acknowledgment but did not relax his stance any and did not stop looking at Itachi. "Then why are you here?"

Itachi sighed but waved his hand in what seemed a bored manner in front of himself. "This...all of what has happened in the land of rice has been of some concern to my organization...as well as the reported death of Orochimaru." When Itachi saw a light of recognition come to Naruto's eyes he smirked slightly. "It seems that you know something of this. Perhaps we can share information under a flag of truce for the time being?"

Hanabi hissed behind Naruto so only he could hear. "Master do not trust him...please I think he means you no good."

Naruto chuckled lightly before he relaxed his stance slightly. "Of course he means me no good. His organization wants me because of the Kyuubi, and I'm positive they will take her by any means possible...but Itachi has one thing that works in our favor...his sense of personal honor." Naruto smirked as he stood straight, still keeping himself between Hanabi and Itachi. "If you give your word you will make no move against us, both of us, and then we can talk."

Itachi took a deep breath then let it out with a suffering sigh. "I give you my word that I will not make a hostile move against you or your female companion."

Naruto nodded before he gestured to a nearby table and waited for Itachi to sit down before he sat across from him, Hanabi standing behind him to the right. "Now Itachi-nee, what would you like to know?"

Itachi took in the female with Naruto and smirked slightly. "A Hyuuga? Are you on a mission with her?"

Naruto shrugged as Hanabi giggled. "Do you want to know about my companion...really?"

Itachi shrugged before he folded his hands in front of him. "Very well. Do you know what has happened here in the land of rice?"

Naruto still smirking pulled slightly on the sleeve of his jacket before he looked askance at the wayward Uchiha. "I believe I've heard that an army invaded...the same army that took out Kumo and now Iwa. They have moved in a short time and have laid waste to some of the great powers here in the elemental nations...for what purpose I cannot say." Naruto could say because of course it was his plan…but he was now playing ninja against one of the most devious opponents he had yet faced. Common sense said to tell the man as little as possible.

Itachi nodded in thought as what Naruto answered matched closely with what he had heard from other sources.

While the organization had a very impressive spy network, what they couldn't seem to get was information on the leadership or any of the members of these forces.

Itachi's thoughts were interrupted as Naruto asked a question of his own. "What is the nature of Akatsuki?"

Itachi smirked before he leaned forward. "Straight to the point eh? Very well. Akatsuki's sole purpose is to gather the tailed beasts under one banner. That is all I know at this time about the purpose of leader-sama and the reason he formed Akatsuki."

Naruto frowned as he was told pretty much the same by Tsunade and slightly from Jiraiya, he was hoping for a bit more but he would try more probing questions as they went.

"What do you know about the whereabouts of Orochimaru? Do you know if the rumors of his demise are true?"

Naruto nodded slowly as he considered the missing nin in front of him. "As far as his whereabouts, probably hell...sick pedophile freak. As far as him being dead, yeah he's done. I watched as Anko sawed his fucking head off!" Naruto spat in disgust, though if real or feigned Itachi could not tell.

The Uchiha frowned and finally a hint of emotion came to his face and eyes. A mixture of shock, surprise, and finality before his eyes narrowed at Naruto again. "Are you sure about that? There is no mistake?" Before Naruto could answer Itachi blinked as his words completely registered. "Wait...Anko Miturashi? His old apprentice?" Itachi's head dropped in thought with a slightly confused look on his face. "I had not realized she was strong enough to kill him, let alone hurt him."

Naruto shrugged as he leaned back in his chair. "Oh I'm positive...I'm the one that mailed his head to Tsunade back in the leaf...I'm sure she was made happy by it." Naruto looked at the nails on his left hand briefly before he smirked at Itachi. "Anko's strength to beat the bastard obviously came from her hatred of him...you know all about hatred being a driving force don't you Itachi-nee?" Naruto said in a low voice.

Itachi's face seemed to close in on itself briefly as his mind went into overdrive from this information and he immediately began to get conclusions to what he had suspected. The extra poke about what he told his brother the day he slaughtered his clan barely registered to the missing nin but the information about Orochimaru's death gave Itachi pause. So deep was his thoughts that he almost missed Naruto's next question. "When you get a jinchuriki, what happens if you extract the demon?"

Itachi frowned at this and his eyes glanced up to see Naruto starring hard at him but at this time saw no reason to deceive him. "The host dies." He said matter-of-factly, but what surprised him was the smile growing on Naruto's face. "So...you want to pull the Kyuubi from me, and kill me in the process?"

Itachi's face was once again the mask of neutrality as he nodded his head. "It is regrettable, but gathering the beasts is for the greater good."

Before Naruto could respond Itachi struck quickly with a question that caught Naruto's attention and made him wonder. "What happened to Orochimaru's possessions...in particular a gold ring with a lavender gem?"

Naruto frowned for a second as he considered where said item was then mentally shrugged. He was sure it was still in the artifacts they had recovered from the snakes possessions and within his base...but why would they want these items...and in particular this specific ring?

While looking at Itachi Naruto's eyes strayed to the man's hands and he saw immediately the almost gaudy gold ring on his hand with a blood red jewel mounted on it before he looked into the Uchiha's eyes again, deciding to leave the question of jewelry for another time. "So you are just a pawn of your leader then? Doing his bidding blindly much as you did for Konoha?"

Itachi frowned deeply at the barb but shrugged it off before it could define anything within himself or Naruto. "We all serve in one way or another. My time with Konoha is done so now I serve a new more powerful order...in the hopes that eventually people like us will no longer be necessary."

Naruto's grin reached old school proportions before he shrugged. "And how do you know that for sure? How can you say for sure that this "leader-sama" of yours will actually use the power of the demons for the 'greater good'?"

Itachi stood slowly until he was no longer seated at the table and stepped back. "Irrelevant. I will only ask you this once Naruto-kun...please come with me. I will not harm you, as I have given you my word, but I ask you to come with me of your own free will."

Naruto also stood and took a step back from the table as he pressed a spot on his jacket that seemed completely random and then brushed his jacket off as if it was dirty. "So that you can kill me by removing the Kyuubi from me? I don't think so...but thanks for the offer."

Itachi frowned and a look of sadness came to his eyes. "I am sorry to hear you say that." Itachi raised his hand before he shouted out, "Kisame!"

Naruto felt a strong breeze rush past him and he looked in the direction of Hanabi's squawk of surprise and glared at the blue shark like man that now held Hanabi around the chest with one arm, and held a giant oddly shaped sword in his other hand. "Hey kid," he said in a deep, gravelly voice." don't make me shave your girl...I'm sure she won't be as pretty once I'm done."

Naruto growled audibly as he expanded his vision to keep both Itachi and Kisame where he could see them as he also took a step back. "Is this how you honor your word Itachi? Half truths and deception!?"

Kisame laughed as he continued to menace Hanabi with Samehada, while Itachi shrugged. "A word is only good if the person dictating the terms is smart enough to see all the angles. I told you I would not harm you or your companion...I said nothing of my partner. Now...you have two options. You may come with us willingly, or you can come with us after Kisame has had his fun with your companion. While I would prefer the innocent to remain thus, I have no qualms of watching Kisame pleasure himself...although his pleasures have the tendency to be quite messy and…permanent to the recipient."

Kisame leaned down and licked Hanabi across her neck making her shudder in revulsion as he glanced at Naruto with a feral grin. "Please...go with the second option. It's been a while since I've given anyone a nice, close, shave." The fish man said in a low husky voice, his face uncomfortably close to Hanabi's neck again.

Naruto glared at the Uchiha before he looked at the shark man and smirked. "Actually...I think I'll go with the third option." He said as he felt a light "ping" sensation against his collar bone.

Itachi quirked his eyebrow in surprise as Naruto seemed to yell at his collar, "NOW!"

What surprised Itachi was how Naruto's clothes began to shift and change, transforming into something larger and man shaped but very bulky. His left hand became mitten like, and he instinctively knew that there was great power in that limb, but he also knew he had a job to do and had no time to worry as he heard Kisame grunt in pain as at least nine thumping sounds struck him in the back before his arms fell, he dropped Samehada, and Hanabi turned and laid him out with a rising uppercut, before as she came down and split his forehead open with an axe kick that made Naruto grin in pride.

Itachi wasn't sure what was going on, but he knew that if he were to stand a chance, it would only be if he had Naruto as a hostage.

Moving faster than his old ANBU days, Itachi came in directly and slashed at Naruto with his katana. While not meant to kill, it would wound the boy enough that he would not be able to struggle and Itachi could subdue him before the Kyuubi healed him.

Itachi couldn't help a small smirk of triumph as the blade came down on Naruto and would easily cut the hand off at the wrist. The missing nin was quite proud of his blade; he had paid quite a bit of his salary back when he was still in the leaf to have it forged by one of the great masters that still lived at the time. The blade had cost a fortune, and while it would have made some of the richest merchants goggle eyed if they heard how much it cost, Itachi knew it was worth every coin that went into its creation.

Made of the rarest materials, able to conduct chakra or his primary element, the blade itself was folded over three hundred times and reputed to be unbreakable...at this moment Itachi wanted his money back as Naruto raised the mitten like hand, and the blade shattered like glass with a horrible screeching sound as it made contact.

Naruto smirked in the confines of his helmet as he watched the blade warp then shatter in the field of energy surrounding his power glove before he pointed the finger of his right hand at Itachi. "You seem to be outmatched, outmanned, and outgunned Itachi..." Naruto said as red light dots appeared on Itachi's chest, stomach, and one appeared on his forehead. "And I guarantee that if you move, you will end up like your sleeping companion if not worse. Now YOU have two options...join me, or be given a burial in an unmarked grave. Your decision."

Itachi looking down saw the dots of light and he stared at them in wonder for a second, before he heard feet hitting the road and running in their direction and realized he was almost out of time. Glancing once at Kisame and realizing there was no way he could retrieve him he made a decision as he smirked at him. "Ah Naruto-kun...you are as unpredictable as ever...and I am most impressed by whatever this new jutsu you have is." He said with a rare smile. "But in your own words, I think I will take the third option..."

Itachi shifted to the left then quickly spin flipped to the right and took off at a speed Naruto found hard to believe as he shouted to his ratlings, "Bring him down! I want him alive!"

And the sound of their silenced rifles firing over and over again was like music to his ears, but he knew for a fact that the missing nin unfortunately, was gone.

Itachi was reputed the fastest nin in the leaf at the age of fourteen when he became ANBU captain...how much faster must he be then four years later?

With a huff of irritation he turned and checked on Hanabi and was surprised to see she was standing over Kisame, and the man's eyes were open and he was trying to stand, unfortunately Hanabi's curse of anger at being made a hostage, and her fourth kick to his crotch was stopping him short each time.

Naruto removed his helmet as Anko appeared with a contingent of what was now known as chaos ninjas and checked with Naruto. "Warlord, we got your message, any injuries?"

Naruto shook his head before he looked down at the struggling form of Kisame with interest.

"Not bad kid," the big blue man slurred as it was obvious his eyes wouldn't quite focus. "Itachi said we should have came in a little more cautious, but I never liked all that waiting crap."

Naruto chuckled as he looked down at Kisame. "So…do you want to be any more open with you're answers?" he asked.

Kisame frowned then gestured with his head for Naruto to come closer. Without a thought or a worry Naruto squatted down next to the large blue man and cocked his head to the side as if to listen, before he winced and closed the eye closest to the man as a large glob of mucus and spit hit Naruto on the side of the face. "Suck on that shrimp. I ain't telling you shit!"

Naruto reached up and wiped the spit off before he stood and smirked. "Hanabi?" he said with the sound of a question in his voice, and his smallest companion reared back and kicked Kisame in the balls like she was kicking a field goal!

Kisame grunted and groaned in pain as he grumbled over and over again how he would kill the little pale eyed bitch, but no one seemed too worried about his words. Naruto looked at Anko with a smile as he was still wiping away the shark man's sputum. "He seems to have quite a bit of stamina to shrug off the snipers tranc darts...excellent." With an over head gesture he spoke into his mic with a grin. "Hit him again...I want him out and in the machine in the next hour."

With a nod Anko and her men stepped out of the way and a series of darts hit Kisame in the back again, and finally the big man's head fell in the dirt as he began to snore loudly, eyes rolled up in his head.

Anko looked at Naruto and frowned slightly. "Should we go after Itachi?"

Naruto looked off in the direction Itachi ran before he shook his head. "No. Itachi wasn't called the weasel for nothing when he was in ANBU. He could get in places that were supposedly impenetrable, and get out of places that were said to be escape proof. He may have gotten away, but the biggest prize I have here is his partner, and the fact that in this battle, we lost no one."

Hanabi skipped over and glomped onto Naruto's leg and before he could say anything she moved her loin piece aside exposing her bare crotch and began to grind it against said leg armor before looking up at Naruto's face with a lascivious grin before Naruto grinned back. "Master you are so powerful…watching you in action just makes me so horny!" Naruto smirked as Anko snickered as he turned slightly towards her. "Search the surrounding area for two miles, if nothing turns up return to normal search and defense, but keep everyone alert for him to return. Now if no one minds I have a date to finish." He said with a grin as his armor receded and he was wearing normal clothes again. Anko shook her head at him before giving her men orders to take Kisame to the beehive, and after a mishap where one of her men got his hand impaled by Samehada's defense, it was eventually picked up and transported back to base by other more conventional means.

O

Itachi frowned at the dart like object that he had pulled out of his left thigh, and sniffed it before he shook his head and staggered off. Whatever was in the dart was now in his system and trying to incapacitate him. He didn't recognize the smell of the poison, but its effects were unmistakable as he shook his head again.

Silently he cursed himself for not switching with his clone sooner. If he had then he would not have gotten hit at all.

Itachi knew he had taken a major risk to get away, but he was sure if he tried to kawarimi or switch with said clone, the results would have been far worse and he might even now be in the hands of whatever enemy this was.

Still unsure of who this army was, he felt it had to be formidable to be able to take out the snake and his forces and then Iwa and Kumo as well.

One thing was certain, Naruto was a definite part of this force and with the alacrity that the others responded to this signal he must be of some import to them...possibly also because of the Kyuubi.

The possibility was also there that they had laid a trap for him...but he almost immediately discarded that idea as he continued to stagger through the forest.

They would have almost no reason to want him or Kisame...if they had even known about the two of them being together."No..." he slurred out loud. "Naruto-kun must be...an intricate part of this new...force."

Whatever the reason this did not bode well for Akatsuki's plans.

Itachi was beginning to fade in and out of consciousness, but his body kept moving as he had trained it to until finally some miles away he collapsed beside a tree, his body no longer being able to move but he smirked up at the Venus flytrap looking body as it loomed over him. "What the fuck happened to you Itachi?" And a darker voice came from his side. "Looks like somebody ate his lunch."

Itachi couldn't move or speak now but he was satisfied as the plant man instead of eating him, slung him over its shoulder before it lumbered into the forest. "Well looks like I'm gonna save your ass Itachi...you better appreciate it later. "He probably won't." The darker voice said as they disappeared into the forest.

O

Tsunade frowned at the strange looking man in front of her as Jiraiya and Kurenai stood nearby. "So you have information that could help us?"

The man nodded but didn't speak as he seemed to move a bit uncomfortably in the chair..
Tsunade didn't know what to do with him...he looked like someone's worse nightmare brought to life. Close to seven feet tall, broad shouldered and hands heavily scarred with war wounds, she was sure the rest of his body looked the same if not worse.

What bothered her the most was the face mask that was melded to his skin as if it had always been there. It was horrifying to look at and from where she sat she couldn't tell where the mask started or where his face started.

Tsunade suppressed a shudder before she started questioning him again. "What do you want in return for the information concerning this enemy?"

The man grinned, which was almost worse than looking at his face in a relaxed state. "Amnesty for starters, This warlord is not a forgiving person and I have seen what he has done to those that betray him."

Tsunade nodded as she considered before she waved at the man to continue his speech. "Also I would require the good will of you and your people. I do not know how long I will stay, but I do find the site of your village and it's walls comforting...almost like coming home."

Jiraiya frowned at this and Tsunade thought she heard something familiar in the way the man spoke but mentally shrugged it off before she spoke next. "You realize that you could not walk around freely as you are? While I could tell my people to accept you and to treat you as normal...you are far from normal."

Oro laughed...a cringing metal on metal sound before he looked at Tsunade again with a smirk. "Yes I am well aware of my looks and the effect it has on people around me. I would be willing to clothe myself so as not to disturb your people." The large man crossed his hands in his lap, something that didn't look normal for him as he leaned back in the chair making it groan in protest. "I would also assume that I would be watched and escorted around for a time until you feel you can trust me...as standard procedure?"

Tsunade nodded before she leaned forward with a frown. "Yes that would be the normal protocol. I hope you understand...I will also have to have you questioned by our interrogation division...as standard procedure."

The man known only as Oro nodded as he smirked. "Of course. It is no less than I would do."

Tsunade nodded and with that two Anbu dropped on either side of the chair Oro occupied. "Take him to Ibiki. He is to be questioned but not harmed."

The Anbu nodded before they placed a hand on either of his shoulders and all three disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Tsunade frowned as she let out a breath and Jiraiya huffed his breath out in annoyance.

The 5th hokage looked at him before she spoke irritably. "Spit it out you old fool!"

Jiraiya glanced at Tsunade then frowned before he folded one arm behind his back and grasped his chin with his opposite hand. "I don't like it...this is too easy. He just happened to flee from a superior force to join us, an obviously weaker force for his own safety? It stinks like three day old mackerel."

Tsunade glowered at Jiraiya before she leaned towards him from her desk, eyes narrowing dangerously. "Are you saying our forces are weak?"

Jiraiya hearing the dangerous tone in her voice looked at her than waved her off. "Hime stop and think. The things I have told you I have seen...the things you have seen...the way your own ninja are disappearing...They are vastly superior to us! I am not insulting us by any stretch of the imagination...but we have lost our only ally, Suna who has either gone over to their side or at the very least become neutral to the enemy and cold to us, They have wiped out Iwa and Kumo and destroyed our greatest adversary Orochimaru in a ridiculously short amount of time! Do you honestly think him coming over to us is logical? Konoha is geared toward peace...not war! If Iwa, the war driven village hidden in the rock, and Kumo a village that sported one of the most powerful kages and TWO jinchuriki could not stand against them...what could we do and why would he come here?" The sage finally finished red faced and leaning over the desk almost nose to nose with the hokage.

Undeniably Jiraiya's speech was filled with passion and after a few minutes of huffing and puffing Tsunade deflated in the face of his logic before she sat in her chair again.

Everything he said was true as much as she hated to admit it, and she had few choices of what they could do. If she accepted this stranger...then she was opening the village up to a potential saboteur...or a subversive that could help weaken them from the inside. But they needed the information he had on the enemy forces if they were to stand any chance against them!

Tsunade's confidence seemed to battle within her, desperation versus cold hard facts, and thus far cold hard facts were winning the battle.

When Jiraiya said nothing else she looked at the genjutsu mistress with a slight frown. "What are your thoughts on this Kurenai?"

Kurenai frowned as she looked at the floor for a minute in thought. "I do not like it Lady Tsunade. Master Jiraiya is right. This...man's motives make no logical sense. He would turn traitor from a force that so far has beaten everything they have gone up against, we don't know the enemies numbers but we have seen its power and it is far beyond anything I have ever seen before."

Kurenai's eyes looked haunted for a moment and she hugged herself before she shook it off and continued. "I was forced to watch the sacking of Iwa. It was...horrible." She said with a slight tremor in her voice. "The weapons...the screams...the death..."

Kurenai might have seemingly folded in on herself if not for the voice of the hokage snapping her out of her thoughts. "What of your team?"

Kurenai seemed to refocus then shook her head. "I..I don't know. As soon as we crossed into rice we were caught outside of Oto. We never had a chance. They knew where we were and took all of us down without a fight. They have weapons...the likes of which I have never seen before...we never knew they were there...Shino's bugs, Kiba's senses, none of our advantages helped us. One man carried a weapon that made a hole in the ground as big as Sakura's head when she thought to try something! We were all separated, if not for Jiraiya-sama I would still be there." Her brow seemed to crease in thought before she looked at Tsunade again. "The only thing I can think is they wanted us for some reason...if they wanted they could have killed us...easily. Instead they chose to capture us so I hope my team is still alive."

Tsunade's frown got deeper and deeper as Kurenai spoke and she felt her desperation growing, something rising in her like a cobra flaring it's hood and waiting to strike. Tsunade nodded after a few minutes before she took a deep breath and let it out quietly. It seemed bad news would only continue to keep coming in and now she would have to explain to two more clans and one parent that their children aren't coming home. "Very well Kurenai...go get some rest and recover. I'll expect a full report on my desk tomorrow."

Kurenai nodded before she disappeared in a swirl of leaves from the room.

Tsunade rubbed her eyes tiredly before she looked at the last occupant in the room with her.

Jiraiya's look of extreme concentration had only intensified before Tsunade quietly called to him. "Jiri? What has your brain smoking? I can smell it over here."

While the joke was a bit lame and overused, it served to bring the toad sage out of his musings. "I would keep watch on Kurenai."

Tsunade frowned before she blinked in surprise and a helpless shrug of her hands showed her confusion. "What? Why?"

Jiraiya looked at his fellow Sannin before he shrugged. "Have you ever known her to be so nonchalant about her team? About anyone she was working with?"

Tsunade stopped and thought about this as Jiraiya hammered his point home. "Even when I rescued her...she made no mention of trying to find her team or seeing if we could rescue them...completely out of character if you ask me."

Tsunade blinked again as she considered then had to agree. In fact she was surprised now that she considered. She expected Kurenai would have demanded a team to go with her to try and rescue her team, or at the very least to go by herself if she had to. "Are you saying she may be a spy too?"

Jiraiya shrugged as he considered before he shook his head. "Anything is possible Tsu-hime...just...watch her...to be safe."

Tsunade put her face in her hands and groaned loudly as she mumbled about the responsibilities and the fact that everything was falling apart around her.

Jiraiya seeing her crumble did what he had always done best in the past.

He poured her a dish of sake and smiled at her before he opened the window. He put his thumb up and looked down it as if aiming then licked his finger and tested the direction of the wind before he turned back to the suffering hokage nodding to himself. "Here...drink this, in a few minutes I guarantee you will feel better and have a plan of action."

Tsunade drank from the dish a little hesitantly but sighed as the liquid burned itself down through her system. It did help brace her and when he pulled her to her feet facing him and the open window behind him, she was less confused than before. "Thank you Jiri."

Jiraiya smiled at her as he thought to himself, This is gonna hurt...he thought as he smiled. "You're welcome Hime."

As she reached to give him a hug both of Jiraiya's hands shot up and latched onto her enormous breasts and he screamed out as he squeezed, "HONK HONK!"

With an instant rage response that the slug sannin was famous for she lashed out with a right hook that sent the toad sannin flying out the window towards the north gate with a scream of both pain...and of course pleasure.

Tsunade hmphed when she saw a small cloud of dust appear in the distance before she shut the windows. "Perverted bastard always knows how to make me feel better." She grumbled quietly as she began to think of what can be done about her possible spies amongst her forces. After a few seconds an Anbu appeared in front of her desk and she smiled. "Neko...good. I want you to follow Kurenai Yuhi...just keep her under surveillance and tell me if she does anything suspicious."

The Anbu hesitated for a moment before mumbling, "Permission to speak freely?"

Tsunade nodded and the Anbu removed her mask revealing the swords woman Yugao. "Kurenai is my friend Hokage sama...is she in some kind of trouble?"

Tsunade took a deep breath...her millionth for the day, before she let it out. "Kurenai was recently on a hard mission and possibly lost her entire team on it. I say possibly because her team is in enemy hands or may be dead. We need to keep an eye on her in case she is suffering from mental trauma or she has been compromised."

Yugao's eyes blinked in shock before she schooled her features...her duty to the hokage foremost in her mind. "As you wish Hokage sama."

Tsunade was glad the woman was a consummate professional as Yugao put her mask back on and disappeared when she quietly mumbled, "Dismissed."

Tsunade desperately was hoping for a break from everything that was going on...she would have been surprised if she knew one was on its way...from a surprising source.

O

Naruto had called a hasty meeting and pulled all of his commanders in despite what they may have been doing.

Hinata had a slightly annoyed look on her face, but she realized Naruto would not have called it if it wasn't important.

The ex Hyuuga heir had been in the middle of interrogating a nin from their next target and she felt she had him on the verge of breaking when the summons came.

While she wasn't pleased, she could always take her displeasure out on the nin when she returned.

The warlord looked around the table with a smirk, capturing each of his commander's eyes with his own, letting all of them realize this was something serious and they had better pay attention. "As you all know by now I was attacked by two missing nin while out earlier today, one Itachi Uchiha and Hoshigaki Kisame. What you didn't know I will now try to enlighten you. They are from a group called Akatsuki and their purpose is to extract the tailed beasts from their hosts. Unfortunately this kills the host. Now what their purpose for having the beasts remains unknown to us, what I do know is they will stop at nothing to obtain them...can anyone tell me what this means for us?"

Anko growled as she sat back in her seat. "It means we have someone else's balls to bust."

Naruto grinned as he gave Anko a thumb up. "Exactly! And I know how much my commanders love to bust balls."

Everyone at the table chuckled but Naruto's face became serious again. "Now when Kamira was still sealed inside of me…this would have been considered something bad for me…but since she isn't why would I care if they take the rest of the tailed beasts?"

Kamira smirked as she twirled one of her tails around. "Because we can screw up their plans?"

Naruto chuckled but waggled a finger at her. "That's partially true…but to be honest I had a stronger reason. We don't know what the Akatsuki are up to, and to be honest having all of that power at their disposal is probably not meant for good things. Since I don't want another despot dictator taking over or attempting to take over the world…Akatsuki has to go."

Many of the heads at the table nodded as they took the facts in. "Now we don't know much about their members…yet…but we do have an inside source being converted. Mindy?"

Mindbender nodded before she took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. "Yes…the subject Kisame has not been easy. Despite his brutish exterior and manner he has a surprisingly strong mind. The average time for conversion and education in the machine is three hours. Based on his resistance is more likely to be around twelve to thirteen…but I guarantee you warlord, he WILL be converted."

Naruto grinned as he took his seat. Just three hours shy of my record. Tough bastard. He thought before he nodded at the scientist. "Thank you Mindy…I knew my faith in you wasn't misplaced."

Mindbender blushed cutely before Naruto looked at his nails on his left hand before he looked back at her from hooded eyes. "And your other project?"

Mindbender blanched slightly before she shrugged. "Tenten and I have been burning the midnight oil, but we still have no idea why the ammo feed on Tosatsu's cannon doesn't work as designed. We can fit your personal guards with the armor, but if they use their weapons they will be stuck with the same ammo. I'm sorry Warlord."

Naruto sighed but waved it off. "Keep at it Mindy. As I said earlier I have faith in you. Now does anyone have anything else before we get into the planning?"

Tsume cracked a beer before she grinned widely at Naruto. "Warlord…your little project that has been in the tender mercy of my bully boys is ready when you are."

Naruto immediately clapped his hands before he stood. "Great! In that case everyone we will meet back here in thirty minutes…smoke em if ya got em!"

Naruto grabbed Kamira's hand and Hinata's and pulled them along as the rest began to talk amongst themselves, and Tsume and Anko clinked beer bottles together. "You think he's gonna do it?" Tsume asked before taking a big swig of beer.

Anko snickered before she gulped from her bottle and answered her. "Of course. He stopped being the same goofball in the academy a long time ago. Pinky has a surprise waiting for her if what you told me is true."

Tsume grunted as she took another swig of her beer.

O

Hinata and Kamira both held onto a hand as they walked down the familiar hallway to look in on the fallen Sakura. Naruto not looking at either asked quietly, "The sand siblings?"

Kamira with a slight smile squeezed his hand lightly. "Temari is down in the armory, she seems to…LIKE that big armorer…Gelda?"

Naruto cleared his throat and tried not to glare at the demoness as she let out a snicker. Hinata sensing something stepped in before Naruto would get riled up at their respective partner. "Gaara and Kankuro left for Suna right after you and Hanabi went on your date." Hinata's words seemed to stress slightly on the word date or so Naruto thought but shrugged it off as they turned a corner. "Any word from Shino or his mate?"

Kamira answered again as they approached the kennels. "Not as of yet warlord…but as soon as word comes in, I will inform you."

Naruto nodded as they finally walked upon and stood in front of the viewing area to the kennels and while there was some slight sympathy for her, no one made a move to step in and help the poor broken thing on the floor.

Sakura's body was literally a mess. She lay there in a pool of what looked like her own waste tainted with blood, as it ran out of her, minotaur semen, and only kami knew what else was there. Her head didn't raise and only one hand scratched slightly at the floor as her voice hoarse from screaming only muttered the same thing over and over again. "Sorry…Naruto…"

Hinata while never liking Sakura found this to be a bit disturbing for some reason. She was never friendly with the brutalized pinkette, in fact she couldn't stand the sight of her or the sound of her voice because of the way she treated her Naruto-kun…but it was possible that maybe this punishment was a bit too much.

After a few moments Tsume arrived and nodded at the girl on the floor of the kennel. "What should we do with her warlord?"

Naruto chuckled as he looked down at her again and shrugged. "Take her to mindbender…she'll know what to do."

Hinata frowned briefly, a sense of irritation coming to her before she turned and began to head back to her section of the base for the torture and interrogation section of their army. "I will finish interrogating my prisoner. I'll let you know if he gives me anything useful." She replied over her shoulder before walking swiftly away.

Naruto turned and watched her go before his eyes narrowed for a moment.

As if to answer an unasked question Kamira leaned against him, eyes following Hinata as well. "Take her on a date as well. She may be feeling neglected."

Naruto still frowning nodded once as he considered what he could do.

O

On the back of his juggernaut a few days later, Naruto watched with a satisfied smirk as the small band of ninjas and warriors fled in horror from what Naruto had unleashed on them.

One of the smaller villages thought they could come up hard and fast and possibly do a preemptive strike and take out the force that seemed to be heading towards them.

The fools.

Naruto and his forces had no intention of even looking at them cross-eyed, only to pass near their village. Now…after their warriors were slaughtered he would destroy them utterly, he would raise the village to the ground!

But…that would have to wait.

What Naruto threw at them was beyond belief and frightened the enemy to the core before they even got within hand to hand of the enemy force. Three huge figures had waddled and, crawled or slithered out of the underground entrance to the warlord's base and when they came to light no one knew what to do. One was the body of a large corpulent man, which had to have been in the range of seven hundred plus pounds. It was propelled by eight scorpion legs, but the legs seemed to operate with a mind of their own making the thing appear to be waddling back and forth in sometimes random directions. One immense eye was in the very front of the body, and tentacles that sprouted from its back pulled anything within reach into a large maw on the same back.

The second one looked like a giant ball with an equally large mouth full of row upon row of razor sharp teeth. It had four legs but these were so badly misshapen that the only way they could move was on their knees as if it were crawling.

The final one was the one that broke their moral after the first set of losses. The immense body of a giant slug slithered across the ground, and anywhere it's slime was deposited a hiss and the sound of dissolving grass and or whatever was in contact with it was heard. On top of the body were no arms, but a giant head with an immense forehead and a mouth that covered the rest of the face. There were no eyes, no ears, no nose but every time the mouth opened an inhuman shriek would rip forth, destroying objects in its wake and killing any who were close enough to experience it. At the same time even more fearsome was the way the long pink strands of what appeared to be hair would whip out and whatever it landed on would be ripped asunder as if they had a bad encounter with mono fiber.

As the slug continued to shriek Naruto chuckled humorlessly before he whispered out loud. "Oh Sakura…what would your Sasuke-kun think of you now?"

O

Next Episode: You can't do this without me.