Sorry it took a while to get this out but here is the next chapter!

Disclaimer: Most characters are a property of Kishimoto. This is purely a fan fiction made to entertain and no profit is to be made from it.

Hope you enjoy it and don't forget to tell me what you think!

Akio went through some seals rapidly as his opponent rushed towards him, slammed his hands together at the last seal and yelled out his jutsu. Sharp rocks surrounded him and were then shot out towards the man. The Sea of Death dodged them all and leapt into the air as the last rock sailed underneath him at frightening speed. Going through some of his own seals, the Sea of Death sent a blast of fire at Akio, who simply you used a wind jutsu to cast the flames to the side. The man landed and glared at Akio angry that his fire was so easily extinguished.

With a roar, the Sea of Death blew out five large sized fireballs at Akio in one swoop. Akio noted that the fire balls were smaller than that of the Uchiha's Grand Fireball Jutsu but not by much, and this time he had to counter five at the same time. Instead of dealing with the fireballs head on, Akio buried himself underground and approached the Sea of Death from bellow. The man surveyed the damage with a cruel smile thinking that the lack of Akio's presence meant that he had succeeded. Akio waited until the man lowered his guard and in that split second he used a strong wind jutsu. The wind enveloped the man and sliced him numerous times before it faded away. The Sea of Death staggered, noted the various cuts now decorating his body and wiped away some of the blood that now colored his skin.

"I will kill you!" the man was furious. He clenched his hands into fists and narrowed his eyes.

"You're not very smart, are you?" Akio told him "You fight with only brute strength, are the Akatsuki that desperate for members that they are willing to invite you into their fold?"

"You haven't seen anything yet," the man bragged before he summoned a large eagle and jumped onto its back, taking to the sky. Akio observed for a few seconds as the man circled above taunting him. He came with the conclusion that this battle won't be any trouble at all. After all, Ryuu was much faster.

Akio smirked and summoned Ryuu in retaliation and enjoyed hearing the man's yell of shock once the smoke cleared. Akio climbed onto Ryuu's back and followed the man in pursuit. Both now in the sky, the man tried to knock Akio off of Ryuu's back with a variant of fire jutsu. Akio and Ryuu used well placed fire-wind collaboration jutsus to overpower the man's flames easily.

Not wanting to stay on the defense, Akio began his own attempts of knocking down the man from his partner. But for the first time during this fight, Akio understood why the Akatsuki wanted this man to join them. Although he was a bit dense and fought badly on the ground, once he took to the skies, the man's skills increased dramatically. He dodged all of Akio's attacks with well placed and skillful air maneuvers.

The man started flying lower, his eagle's talons now brushing at the tops of the forest trees below. Akio followed suit not wanting to lose sight of him even if it meant that Ryuu would now have to slow down because he would destroy a lot of the forest otherwise.

"Akio, there's a village up ahead, your opponent wants to force you to use weaker jutsu knowing you won't attack with all your might if there is a chance an innocent bystander might get hurt," Ryuu warned him.

"Then let's catch up to him before he does," Akio ordered. Ryuu raised his wings parallel to his body before beating them down forcefully allowing him to accelerate quickly. The force of Ryuu's wing caused a massive shockwave, alerting the villagers of the danger coming towards them. Akio sighed at the sight of the trees that had toppled over after Ryuu's burst of speed but that couldn't be helped since civilians were now in danger and took priority. Ryuu and Akio passed by the man who had to loop upwards to avoid being hit by Ryuu. Now blocking the man's way towards the village, the Sea of Death had no choice but to fight Akio head on.

In the village a few miles away, all the citizens dropped whatever they were carrying in shock and turned towards the source of the sound. They saw two figures circling near the mountain locked in a fierce battle.

"The gods are fighting!" one man shouted dropping his fish net on the ground.

"Is that the dragon spirit?" a woman pointed towards the larger figure with a shriek.

"Everyone we need to evacuate right now," another man stated "If we get caught in this battle we will die."

"What if this was meant to be?" an old man asked "Many of our brothers and sisters have lost their lives due to the gods, we might be next."

"But a village has already been cleansed, it is too soon," another man argued. A few nodded their heads in reassurance.

"I do not care what is meant to be and what is not, I am taking my children and getting as far away as I can," a middle aged man stated "If this is meant to be as you say, we won't survive either way. But if there is a chance to save my family, I'm taking it."

Many people shouted in agreement and rushed to gather their families so they could get as far away from here as they possible could. After speaking his mind, the man ran home and burst the door open entering his kitchen. "Kikiyo!" he shouted not knowing where his wife is. He heard a response coming from below and the door to the cellar opened.

"Huro, thank goodness you are alright," the woman hugged her husband.

"It's too early to celebrate my love, where are the children we are getting out of here right now. Have Seichi ready the carriage," Huro said as he hugged his wife back. The woman beckoned her children to come out from the cellar as Huro went further inside the house to gather a few essential supplied as quick as he could. He returned to the kitchen to find that his wife has packed some food for the journey.

"Dad, I'm scared," the smallest child, a young girl no more than four cried.

"It's going to be alright Yukino," Huro picked up his daughter stroking her hair to calm her down "Let's go."

Huro made sure his family was safe in the carriage before he took the reins and guided his trusty horse away from the village. Looking around, he saw many carriages and horses heading in the opposite direction of the raging air battle that was still going on. Taking one last look at his home, Huro prayed that his beloved village would remain safe.

Back in the sky, Akio gathered a lot of chakra before releasing a strong gale of wind that toppled even more trees below. Akio watched as the man desperately clung to the eagle as they were both pushed downward at a thirty degree angle. Akio knew that from the man's skills that he would be able to right himself before he hit the ground which is why he immediately sent another gale of wind from above the man.

The man expected this as well which was why he crouched on his eagle lower and charged away before the second gale could hit him. Although he managed to escape, he was unable to maintain balance and his eagle slammed into the ground before forcing its wings to carry them up to the sky again.

Akio was surprised that the man dodged the attack but was pleased to note that the eagle was now injured and thus its movements were now slower. The man cursed and steered his eagle eastward with all his might, away from the village much to Akio's relief.

"He's travelling to low to the ground for us to use a fire justu, that might destroy the forest," Akio muttered.

"He's leading us to the ocean," Ryuu commented "I can smell salt water."

"What's he planning?" Akio asked himself.

"Does it matter, in the ocean I can fly as strong as I want without worrying about the forest or people," Ryuu said.

"Likewise my friend," Akio smirked "It's fitting for the Sea of Death to die in the larger ocean, don't you think?"

"I hate it when you turn all philosophical," Ryuu snorted "Get ready, were nearly there."

"Be on your guard Ryuu, he lead us here for a reason," Akio warned. They soon reached a cliff that overlooked the ocean, Ryuu immediately began flying faster and they caught up to the man and his injured eagle easily.

"I knew you would follow me," the man smirked and executed a justu that woke up the ocean bellow them.

"Ryuu, fly higher," Akio shouted and Ryuu complied. Akio looked down at the sea below as multiple water tornados came into existence. Unlike natural tornados, these man summoned twisters had one destination in mind, Ryuu. Ryuu dodged the incoming water walls without much difficulty; his strong winds no match for the pull of the twisters.

"He's trying to escape," Akio told Ryuu.

"I won't let him" Ryuu assured Akio "Hold on tight."

Akio knew what was coming and secured himself on his dragon's back. Ryuu folded into himself, decreasing his surface area. With air resistance and inertia now at a minimum, Ryuu charged after the eagle at top speed. This time, the man didn't have the time to comprehend the dragon's sudden speed boost much less dodge it. Ryuu clipped the bird with his claws causing the eagle to disappear in a cloud of smoke. Not wanting to give the man a chance to escape, Ryuu grabbed the falling man with his talons and clamped onto him tight. Now that the man was apprehended, Ryuu started flying at a leisurely pace. Akio relaxed his grip and walked down towards the man, his chakra keeping him from falling off.

"It's over," Akio stated taking out a sheathed sword.

"I will gladly die knowing that it mean the death of everyone you love you bastard!" the man spat while he continued to struggle.

"Are you willing to tell me your name now?" Akio asked as he drew the sword closer to the man.

"Like hell I will," the man smiled manically "I am the Sea of Death, that's all you need to know!"

"May you pay for your sins in the afterlife," Akio said before he unsheathed his sword and took the man's life not wanting to hear more of his useless jabber. Ryuu relaxed his grip and Akio watched as the dead man fell into the ocean below. Akio felt at peace knowing that the citizens of the island would now be able to live without fear and so much loss.

"He was surprisingly easy to deal with," Ryuu commented once Akio made it back onto his back.

"As soon as he gave us more room to fly it was over," Akio nodded.

LITM**** LITM**** LITM**** LITM**** LITM**** LITM**** LITM**** LITM**** LITM**** LITM****

"Naruto, I think it's time to take your training to the next level," Jiraya said. Naruto, Jiraya and Kakashi had just finished breakfast and were sitting outside in silence. Well, Kakashi and Jiraya were silent; Naruto was pestering them with accounts on every detail about his training and progress.

"Really?!" Naruto shouted excitedly where as Kakashi chose to just give Jiraya a questioning look.

"Yes," Jiraya nodded a smile on his face "It's time for you to learn how to use Sage Mode."

"What's that?" Naruto asked oblivious.

"It's something taught only by those who have a contract with frogs," Kakashi began to explain hiding his surprise. Although he knew no details about the art, he had a good idea of what it allowed the user to do and how it affected him thanks to Jiraya, "It will make you able to sense chakra on a much more sensitive scale and it will increase your strength by a noteworthy amount."

"Wicked!" Naruto pumped the air exuberantly "Let's start!"

"You did hear Kakashi say it was something only frog summoners learn right?" Jiraya asked and waited until Naruto nodded before continuing "I won't be the one teaching you, the frogs will."

"No way!" Naruto shouted "How will they teach me?"

Jiraya summoned Fukasaku in reply. When the smoke cleared, Naruto saw a small old frog with white haired.

"Did you tell the boy, Jiraya chan?" the frog asked.

"Chan?" Naruto asked in surprise at the honorific used.

"He has lived a long time," Jiraya elaborated with a laugh "To him I am like a child. You get used it."

"Cool, how old are you?" Naruto asked him excitedly.

"That is neither here nor there," Fukasaku replied evading the question.

"Naruto show him some respect, he is one of the two great sage toads," Jiraya reprimanded him.

"Are you sure he is ready?" Fukasaku asked looking at Naruto doubtfully.

"He's going to surprise you," Jiraya smiled proudly and Naruto felt his face flush at the words.

"Well then, shall we get going, Naruto chan?" Fukasaku asked.

"Going where?" Naruto asked.

"To Mount Myoboku where you will learn the art of the sages," Fukasaku answered.

"Ok!" Naruto exclaimed happily even though he had no idea where Mount Myoboku was.

"He's going to reverse summon you to the toad realm," Jiraya decided to save Fukasaku the headache that was sure to come when Naruto found himself suddenly teleported to an unknown land.

"I didn't know you could do that!" Naruto said excitedly.

"I will see you later kid," Jiraya smiled at his enthusiasm.

"Wait, you're not coming with me?" Naruto was surprised.

"Every young sage user has learned to use sage mode by themselves," Fukasaku replied "Finding out how to do it on your own is a test which proves you are ready to use it. Jiraya chan and all other sages have managed to find their own way to becoming sages. If Jiraya was correct in your assessment then I am sure that with the right dedication and determination, you will become a sage as well."

"I won't let you down!" Naruto shouted ready to prove himself.

"Good luck, Naruto, you'll need it!" Jiraya laughed.

"Don't mind Jiraya sama, I'm sure you'll be able to do it," Kakashi smiled.

"Thanks Kakashi sensei," Naruto smiled brightly in return.

"It was nice seeing you again, Kakashi chan. Take care, Jiraya chan," Fukasaku said before disappearing.

"He forgot me!" Naruto started jumping around in panic. Jiraya started laughing while Kakashi simply sweat dropped and counted to five before Naruto disappeared in a similar manner.

"Sometimes I really don't believe that kid!" Jiraya was still laughing and Kakashi shook his head in bemusement, "Now it's your turn!" Jiraya said and gripped Kakashi's left shoulder.

"Huh?" Kakashi was confused.

"Time to learn how to control the White Wolf," Jiraya explained.

"I thought that was what the pools were for," Kakashi pointed towards the various water bodies in the area.

"They help but you won't be able to control him unless you attempt to do it physically as well. The pools will only help you win the mental side of the battle," Jiraya told him.

"You planned this well," Kakashi commented.

"I did, didn't I?" Jiraya bragged and Kakashi chuckled "Let's do this."

Kakashi and Jiraya bounded away until they put a good distance between the pools and themselves so that they won't damage them by mistake. Once they found an open area to use, Kakashi sat down in the middle and prepared to face off against the Wolf once more.

"Back again?" the White Wolf snorted once his jailer materialized.

"Yes," Kakashi replied simply and approached the wolf ready to start taking some of its chakra. Before Kakashi could make half of his way to the wolf, the wolf released its chakra and surrounded Kakashi with it.

"Usually I feed you my chakra slowly and enjoy watching you try to control it," the Wolf smirked and started tightening his chakra around Kakashi "But that also grew boring. Let's see how you handle the sudden introduction to so much of my chakra at once. Better yet, how that miserable Toad Sage outside will."

Jiraya was surveying Kakashi intently from a good distance away as he waited for the familiar chakra of the White Wolf to show. However, the sudden existence of three claws and a fourth already forming surprised the Sennin.

"Akio usually stops the transformation at the arrival of the fourth claw," Jiraya thought watching the White Wolf's chakra dance around Kakashi, "But he never told me that there is a possibility that he would jump to that state immediately. That means that this never happened before. Should I stop this?"

Jiraya prepared the seal so that he could be ready at a moment's notice when the situation called for it. Kakashi, on the other hand, was doing everything in his power to prevent the transformation from going a step further.

"Wait a minute," Kakashi thought "My father may have had to learn to control the demon's chakra, however, in my case; he's a much bigger part of me. His chakra is connected with mine. So to control his chakra, I must control my own chakra."

Once Kakashi's view on the matter changed, he found it much easier to stop the transformation from continuing but could do nothing to make it listen to him. The claws stopped thrashing around and the white chakra stilled. Jiraya didn't let his guard down either way and continued to observe closely just in case he needed to intervene at some point.

"Bastard!" the Wolf roared inside Kakashi's head.

Kakashi paid him no head and continued to put all of his focus on making the claws move in accordance to his will. Unfortunately, the Wolf hadn't given up and was also trying to control the claws. It became a battle of endurance as both parties tried to fight for dominance.

Although Kakashi could feel and understand the white chakra, the Wolf had a much longer time controlling it and after a seven minute showdown, Kakashi lost the battle and the claws began to go crazy once more.

Before the Wolf could even attempt to further the transformation, Jiraya had already jumped into action and forced the white chakra to fade away.

"Kakashi, Kakashi can you hear me?" Jiraya asked Kakashi who was swaying dangerously.

"I feel faint," Kakashi mumbled bring his finger up to his head and massaging his temples.

"That was excellent," Jiraya praised before handing him a bottle of water, "Drink up, it'll make you feel better."

"Thanks," Kakashi nodded his thanks before bringing the bottle to his lips and swallowing a generous amount before handing it back to Jiraya.

"You should lie down," Jiraya commented before supporting Kakashi by the shoulder and leading him to a tree a few meters away. Once Kakashi settled under the shade of the tree and leaned his head back onto the bark, Jiraya began questioning him. "What was different this time?"

Kakashi raised his right arm and laid it down across his eyes before answering, "I just realized that with me being half demon, his chakra and my chakra are merged into one. So all I had to do was control his chakra through my half of the equation."

"I didn't even think of that!" Jiraya exclaimed.

"It just occurred to me right now," Kakashi added.

"Kakashi, I know there is something different about your battle and that of Sakumo's," Jiraya told him "There's more to this than simply being the only host but I can't help you if you won't tell me."

"Actually there isn't," Kakashi brought his hand down with a sigh "Everything that is different comes back to the fact that the only thing stopping the wolf from being free is me. Because of that, he's doing everything in his power to control me."

"What's he doing?" Jiraya asked relived that Kakashi was finally opening up about the issue.

"The Wolf used to willingly help my ancestors use his chakra to make them bloodthirsty, and by default hated and feared amongst the shinobi world. Not only that, but he encouraged them to use his powers to show not only the world, but the other clan members their strength. The reason why the Hatakes died out was because many became greedy with power and they knew that the only way to gain more power was to have less clan members. They started killing each other so that they could attain more and more strength, and in the end, it became easy for other shinobi to finish them off. At one point, my grandfather and dad were all that were left and the Wolf was itching to become free again. But then I was born and I delayed his return, the one he has been waiting centuries for. So now the Wolf is trying everything to make me fail and this time it's not only reason that's driving him, this time it's personal. That's why my fight is different, he's trying to stop me at every turn," Kakashi explained.

"Why are you telling me all of this now?" Jiraya kept his voice neutral as he tried to soak in all of the information.

"Because I can't fight him alone," Kakashi admitted "In all honesty, Jiraya sensei, I have no idea what to do."

Jiraya noted the transition from sama to sensei. Kakashi hadn't called him that since Minato's death and Jiraya knew that Kakashi was asking him for guidance. Not advice or kind words, he needed someone to help him come up with a plan of action. Kakashi was a genius and so by the time he became ANBU captain, he was able to always access the situation and come up with a game plan by himself. On the other hand, Kakashi was now unsure about how to proceed and that terrified Jiraya more than he thought it would.

"I don't have all of the answers either, Kakashi," Jiraya sighed "But between you, Akio and myself, we're going to beat that Wolf, you'll see."

"We can beat him momentarily, but don't forget, once I die he's free unless I have children," Kakashi stated "I never really thought about having kids before, but I know that when I do, I don't want to place this burden on them."

"I'm sure Minato was feeling the same way when he sealed the Kyuubi into Naruto," Jiraya told him "I thought about Minato's actions over and over again and only one thing came to mind. Minato trusted Naruto, he believed in him. He believed in him more than any other child which is why he sealed the Kyuubi within Naruto with a heavy heart. Naruto wasn't conveniently there, Minato chose Naruto, I believe that with all my heart. There is something Sakumo told me when I chewed him off for training you at a young age, 'My job as a parent isn't to shelter my child, it is to make sure he is ready to face whatever comes his way. Kakashi is born to be a skilled shinobi and skilled shinobi will always be targeted. If saving his life means that I have to take some of his childhood away, then I'll do it in a heartbeat. Someone always has to be stronger, and I know that my son will be stronger more often than not. Being skilled is both a blessing and a burden, but because he's my son, I know that he can handle it.'"

"My dad said that?" Kakashi was surprised. He never really thought about why his father wanted him to start training at a young age, it never really mattered to him before.

"It was the first time I realized that being a parent is much more complex than I imagined. Parents have so many worries and they each face them differently," Jiraya nodded "What I'm trying to say is that if you decide to have kids, it will be your responsibility to teach them how to deal with this. Besides, if you don't want to have children do you think we'd just stand by and let the Wolf go wild?"

"You probably could seal him again but not before losing a few casualties," Kakashi replied.

"There will always be casualties no matter what you do," Jiraya explained "If you have children, they will most likely become shinobi and they will kill a fair amount of enemy ninja in their lifetime. The end result will be the same."

"What if another nation seals the Wolf before Konoha?" Kakashi couldn't help but find flaws in Jiraya's way of thinking.

"You got me there," Jiraya admitted.

"So I have to have children is what you're saying?" Kakashi asked for a clarification.

"It would be preferable but nobody will force you into doing anything," Jiraya replied "Besides are you more worried about having kids or the Wolf? I can't even tell."

"I think children are a much bigger nightmare than the wolf," Kakashi groaned "I'm not good with kids."

"You'll be fine," Jiraya chuckled "But I should warn you, if you start a family only because of the Wolf, I will be very disappointed."

"Why?" Kakashi asked "It's for the good of Konoha."

"But is it for the good for your hypothetical wife and kids?" Jiraya questioned rhetorically.

"This conversation is going nowhere," Kakashi muttered "If nothing else you gave me a hell of a lot more to think about."

"Better than you diving blind," Jiraya replied.

"What you basically said is that I have to decide whether to put Konoha or family first. Problem is, I know how I feel about Konoha but how can I even predict what my feelings towards my hypothetical family will be?"

"You mean you don't know which will be stronger, right?" Jiraya commented.

"Exactly," Kakashi nodded "If I have a child for the sake of the Wolf and end up hating myself for it and feeling guilty, I'll be miserable."

"Why does it have to be about the Wolf," Jiraya said "If you want kids the Wolf comes with the package, not the other way around."

"But it is the other way around because before I knew about the Wolf I had wanted nothing to do with love, family or children," Kakashi replied.

"Well then something good came out of having the Wolf sealed inside you after all," Jiraya smiled.

"You're insufferable," Kakashi sighed before heaving himself upright again.

"One last word of advice," Jiraya called to Kakashi's retreating back "Talk to Akio, he understands this stuff much better than I do."

"Will do," Kakashi nodded and started making his way back to the lodge. "I'm such an idiot," Kakashi thought "I can't believe I asked Jiraya out of all people about this. I must be losing my common sense."