The world of the shinobi is changing. The powerhouse that was the Alliance, founded by Konoha's Third Hokage, Danzo Shimura, has been challenged for the first time since its founding. Their image of undeniable strength was shattered when a group called Akatsuki infiltrated the village during the Chunin Exams, and escaped from the heart of Konoha with no casualties, and even got away with the Land of Wind's Jinchuriki, Gaara of the Sand.

That event caused a second treaty to be formed between the Land of Lightning and the Land of Water. The two countries had never been united since the Third Great Shinobi World War, when they combated the Alliance for the first time. They were led in battle by the Third Mizukage, Saizo Hideyoshi, and the Third Raikage of Kumogakure. That war was lost when Kumogakure lost their Raikage, and appointed the Third's son A as the Fourth Raikage. Kirigakure fought to the bitter end, until they were forced back to the shores of the mainland and back into their country. The two countries have since then been at odds with each other as Kirigakure blamed Kumo for abandoning them, and Kumogakure held Kiri, namely the Mizukage, responsible for the death of their Third Raikage.

After the death of Saizo Hideyoshi, the Jinchuriki of the Three Tails, Yagura, took over as Fourth Mizukage. He was renowned for being just as ruthless, if not more so, than Saizo. Also during Yagura's reign, the country had become shrouded in more mystery as to what the village and their people were doing.

After Akatsuki revealed themselves, and their escapade became known to the world, Yagura sought to rebuild a Union between Kirigakure and Kumogakure. While reluctant to do so, A agreed to join the two countries together in order to stand a chance against the Alliance.

During this time though, the Alliance's leaders weren't just sitting idly on their thumbs. Danzo and Sasori sent shinobi from their villages to keep an eye on Iwagakure, namely the Third Tsuchikage Onoki. While investigating the village, the team sent to the village discovered that Onoki had made dealings with Akatsuki in the past, before the events of the Chunin Exams. When it was discovered that the investigations team had found proof of Onoki's dealings with Akatsuki, he ordered the evidence to be found and destroyed before they got out of the village and revealed this to Danzo.

The investigations team retaliated by heading towards the Tsuchikage's Palace and attacking Onoki instead. After a climactic battle the Tsuchikage, who had grown old and weak, fell to the Alliance.

There were a few factors that kept Iwagakure from retaliating against the Alliance. The first was greatly due to the fact that most of the shinobi who drastically opposed being apart of the Alliance had already left the village and became rogue. The veteran shinobi either knew that fighting against Konoha and the Alliance was a big mistake, or had blamed Onoki for the state the village was in. The latter half was a very small percentage of the village though. The younger generation had grown accustom to being apart of the Alliance, and enjoyed their peaceful days. Another factor was that Onoki skewered his own granddaughter, Kurotsuchi, to try to kill one of the members of the investigations team. Kurotsuchi was nearly loved by the entire village, and had befriended most if not all of the shinobi in the village. The people of Iwagakure became horrified and shocked upon seeing their village leader nearly kill one of his own family, if not entirely lost their faith on the spot.

With the death of Onoki, and a new war on the horizon, the Alliance and Iwagakure made it their first priority to elect a new Tsuchikage. They eventually chose a man named Mao Katsu, a member of the Iwagakure Council, and long respected representative of the village. Mao started off as an Iwa ambassador, and is supportive of the Alliance and cooperation with them. Since Mao took over, Iwa and the Land of Earth have flourished in prosperity as the Alliance became more willing to cooperate with them, as Onoki's loyalties of "the village and Tsuchikage first," always put the Alliance on edge.

There was also trouble brewing in the Land of Wind, as there were rumors that the famed Honored Siblings were leaking information to the enemy about the Alliance. Sasori led an assault on the Honored Siblings' Compound with his most powerful shinobi and puppet masters. While Sasori succeeded in killing Lady Chiyo and Lord Ebizo, Chiyo's apprentice, the puppet prodigy Izumi, managed to escape.

With a new Tsuchikage in office, and a pair of traitors dealt with, Danzo set his sights for one last objective before the war began: the Land of Snow. The Land of Snow had a decent military force at the very least, and had amazing technological advancements that made the other Shinobi Nations look like primitive cavemen. Though Konoha and the Land of Snow have had differences in the past, the country's daimyo, Doto Kazahana, was dealing with a rebellion of their own. Danzo sent a group of shinobi to aid the daimyo to help in any capacity to quell the rebellion.

What Doto didn't expect, and what Danzo hoped for, was the intervention of Akatsuki. Konoha had attempted to capture the long lost princess of the Land of Snow, Princess Koyuki, but the squad Danzo sent lost her to an Akatsuki squad. Danzo predicted that Akatsuki would send the princess back to the Land of Snow to liberate it from Doto's rule, and hoped that he could repel Akatsuki's attempts while gaining Doto as an ally.

The end result was not what Danzo was hoping for. Doto was dead, Koyuki was the new daimyo, and declared her country to be neutral. She also told the Alliance support team that if Danzo or his people set one foot in her country, she would join with and throw all of her support to the Union, which meant another victory for Akatsuki.

While the Land of Snow, now named the Land of Spring, wouldn't be a haven for Akatsuki or the Union at least, it also meant that Danzo had no access to any of their advanced technology. However, the Hokage had much more pressing concerns to dwell on instead of his failed attempt to increase his power. He had to organize his forces, as well as his ally's forces to prepare for war. Once their divisions were divided up, they were minus one capable commander to lead the First Division. Danzo looked to an old veteran, and former follower: Higure Haruno. The retired shinobi was radically opposed to helping Danzo anymore, as expected. He was soon swayed once Danzo manipulated Higure, telling the veteran shinobi that his niece would be put on a surefire suicide mission, led by a less than capable commander if he refused. Reluctant, and having no real choice, Higure agreed to come out of retirement.

With the war starting, the Alliance sends its forces towards the Land of Lightning to catch the first strike against their enemies, while the other half goes towards the shores to protect itself from the Land of Water. The Second and Third Divisions were heading towards the Land of Frost to establish a border to keep the Land of Lightning in its place, while also invading the country to gain some additional ground. The First, Fourth, and Fifth Divisions were all heading in the direction of the Land of Water to set up barriers and blockades to slow down the Land of Water's invasion.

At the head of the group of thousands of shinobi, Higure felt a bit uncomfortable standing next to Hiruko from Sunagakure, and the leader of Amegakure, Hanzo the Salamander. He knew the reputation of both men, but that wasn't what made him uncomfortable. Since the attack on the Honored Siblings, Hiruko's body was horribly damaged, and mostly replaced by puppet parts. He was essentially a walking human puppet. Higure also knew about Hanzo's infamous affinity to poison, and how he had the gland of a legendary Black Salamander in his body. He didn't know how it worked, or where it was stored in his body, but that just made him more uncomfortable.

"Excuse me, sirs." The three Division commanders turned around to see a Konoha Jonin bow his head before his superiors. "Many of the troops were wondering when we might rest. A lot of us back here are collapsing from sheer exhaustion and are being carried or dragged. One soldier almost got trampled to death."

"Then they're weak," Hiruko snapped. "We keep moving until we get to the shoreline!"

"Now, now, don't be so hasty," Hanzo replied evenly. "We'll move forward a few more miles and then take a two hour break. Does that sound fair soldier?"

"Yes sir, thank you sir." The Jonin turned around and molded back into the crowd. The three commanders turned forward and continued marching.

"That was surprisingly kind Lord Hanzo," Higure pointed out.

"It won't do us any good if we're stomping on our own troops before the war even starts. But on the other hand, it will do us even less if we don't get to the shores in time and the Land of Water begins their invasion." Higure nodded in agreement before turning his eyes to the distance. Hanzo then looked over to the Konoha commander with an intrigued look in his eye. "I'm surprised you came out of retirement though. Is it because you have a score to settle with the Land of Water?"

Higure's eyes fell to the ground and narrowed slightly as he remembered the Third War. "If anything…the Land of Water has a score to settle with me."

"How noble sounding," Hiruko spat angrily. "You make it sound as if you were the singular cause of why Konoha won that war."

Higure huffed and turned to Hiruko with a mocking smirk, "Not me alone, no. Hell, I was less than a fraction of the reason Konoha won that war."

"Are the rumors true then?" Hiruko looked over at Hanzo with a curious hum. Higure continued to look forward, ignoring the stare he was receiving from Amegakure's leader. "Were you apart of the team that took down the Third Mizukage, the Demon of the Hidden Mist?" The Suna commander's head whirled around, eyes wide with shock as he looked up at Higure.

The First Division's commander sighed before he put his hands behind his head and looked up at the sky. "I'd rather not talk about it if it's all the same to you sir."

"Acting cryptic won't get you anywhere with me boy," Hanzo said with a warning hint in his voice. Higure continued to look up with an unfazed expression.

"May I ask why the Regimental Commander for the Alliance army is out here with the rest of us? Isn't Orochimaru supposed to be the leader of the Fifth Division?"

"The majority of the Fifth Division is helping to establish a military settlement closer to the battle grounds. Our job is to establish a perimeter, and Orochimaru and his men will start building the settlement within a reasonable location between the battlefield and Konoha. Your village will act as the main source of resources for this war, as they'll be delivered to Konoha from Iwa, Suna, and Ame. The military settlement will act as a middle-ground between Konoha and the battlefield for shipments and reinforcements."

"And Lord Orochimaru is less of a frontline fighter than you? With due respect Lord Hanzo, I feel really safe behind a group of colossal snakes rampaging through the battlefield."

"Need I remind you I bested all three of the Sannin at once by myself," the Ame leader questioned. He shifted his eyes to Higure, waiting for an answer. Higure instead remained silent, conceding the point to the village leader.

Sakura looked back and forth, looking between the countless men and women around her. The concept that all of these people would be fighting alongside her against a common enemy, and that most of them could be killed in combat was something she couldn't get her head around, even at that point in time. She looked to her teammates, Zaku and Dosu, both of whom seemed to be ready to go to war. She wished she had their determination at this point. There was a voice of doubt in the back of her head that told her she shouldn't be here. What made it worse was that she couldn't talk to her uncle at this point to help her through it.

In the pit of her stomach, Sakura was worried, and wondered if she would encounter Naruto on the battlefield again. She didn't know how their meeting would go if they met again, especially if they were in the midst of a full-blown war. Sakura also couldn't help but wonder what Naruto was thinking. Was he as confused as she was about this war?

Naruto was assigned to a reconnaissance battalion, whose mission was to infiltrate deep into Alliance territory and collect tabs on all of the Alliance villages and countries. Naruto was in Nagato's group, which put him in familiar territory as far as teammates went. Much to Naruto's frustration however, he was stuck building a quick, and easily disposable outpost for Akatsuki to take shelter in during their reconnaissance mission.

"This is stupid!" Naruto tossed a piece of lumber across the open yard in annoyance. "Why can't I be out there helping with the reconnaissance?"

"Probably because you can't help but scream if something pisses you off," Kiba snapped. "Kinda like now. I don't get why I'm not out there! My nose would help, no doubt!"

"Nagato-san is infiltrating Amegakure," Neji stated as he carried a crate towards the two. "With the constant raining, from which the village gets its name from, your nose would hardly be able to pick up anything less than a powerful scent."

"So then what's your reason for being stuck with grunt work like the rest of us then?"

Neji smiled at Naruto as he set the crate on the ground, "To keep an eye on you two."

"So then what's he doing here," Kiba asked as he pointed his nose in Hidan's direction. The scythe-wielding priest sat on a distant rock, eyes closed and prayer beads in his hands. The three boys stared at the silver haired man for a second before looking back at one another.

"He's here to stay out of trouble," Neji replied. "And to keep him from going on a massacre in Amegakure."

Kiba huffed as he pushed the last post into the soft ground. Naruto pulled the tarp over the posts and created a couple of clones that sprung up on the posts to nail the tarp over the quickly little hole-in-the-ground they called a fort.

"You think this'll be good enough," Naruto asked.

"We're assigned to build outposts and hideaways for our comrades, should they need supplies or to hide if Alliance forces catch them. We don't need to give them the lavishing furnishes of a palace." Kiba snorted at Neji's comment before picking up his shuriken pouch and tying it around his waist.

"Yeah, cause any of us have been inside a palace."

"Land of Snow's Palace," Neji quickly retorted with a grin on his face.

"Ditto," Naruto added.

"Ya know what, screw the both of ya!" Naruto and Neji both laughed together before the latter turned his head towards the priest.

"Hey, Hidan, we're done here! Are you ready to head out?" The priest nodded and then slid off of his rock. The Naruto clones hopped down from the posts and walked towards the wagon of supplies the team was given to build their small outposts. They started pulling while the other three boys took the lead, with Hidan hopping into and sitting in the back of the wagon.

"So shouldn't there be a bigger outpost where we all meet up at after recon," Naruto asked Neji. "Or are we all just scrambling back to the hideout?"

"There is a bigger outpost, but it's being build by more experienced, and capable men and women," Neji replied. "The four of us, plus a couple of other smaller groups are assigned with building these smaller safe havens for any spies who need to hide if they get caught, or if they need extra food or supplies."

"And we mark their locations on this map," Kiba explained as he made an 'X' over their location. "So Nagato can make a map that shows all of the outposts everyone set up. That way when we have to take care of the harder recon missions, everyone knows where these outposts are at."

"Makes sense," Naruto murmured as he leaned to the side to view Kiba's map. "Really smart too. Don't other villages use tactics like these?"

"Not really. The Alliance reports every little detail to Konoha, and even then Danzo plants spies from his personal branch of the ANBU Black Ops, codenamed Root. Kirigakure is far enough away, and has so many islands in the Land of Water to hide covert activities it's hard to keep tabs on them. And the Land of Lightning is very vigilant about spies in it's country."

"So did we come up with this idea?"

"Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan came up with it when they first started Akatsuki," Neji said. "When you start with an organization with a little over a dozen people, you need to get creative I suppose." Naruto and Kiba nodded silently in agreement. Neji turned his head to look over his shoulder, "Hey, Hidan, how many more outposts can we make with the supplies we have?" Hidan groaned as his prayers were interrupted, but turned around and took tally of the supplies they had.

"Two or three more I'd say," Hidan replied. "Depends on how shitty you wanna make these outposts." Neji rolled his eyes at the priest's comment. "Can I go back to my prayers now?"

"Pray away." Hidan huffed and closed his eyes again, raising up his prayer beads to his mouth. "Let's finish this up and then meet up with the rest of the squadron, right men?" Kiba and Naruto both smiled, the former rolling his eyes with a noisy huff.

"Right-o captain," Naruto exclaimed.

Close to the heart of the Land of Fire, Orochimaru stood on the edge of a ridge as he watched many shinobi destroying the land and building up a military settlement. Standing behind him, Kin held a clipboard and was scribbling something down on paper. "The progress of the settlement seems to be going well Lord Orochimaru. May I ask though, why you're putting so much effort into this one settlement?"

"Orders from our esteemed Hokage," the Sannin replied without so much as turning his head.

Kin raised a questioning brow, "Didn't the Alliance leaders agree to make several similarly sized settlements, that way they could avoid the bulk of their supplies being targeted by Akatsuki or the Union?"

"That was before many of Konoha's citizens 'volunteered,' to help out in this war in the settlements." Kin smirked a bit as put her pen behind her ear.

"Really? Now how ever did Danzo get the Daimyo to agree to that?"

"Same way his Root agents got the citizens to volunteer: genjutsu, mind manipulation, bribery, blackmail, the usual." Kin chuckled as she shook her head and took her pen to write down more on the clipboard. "Oh, Kin, one more thing." The black haired girl stopped mid-turn and looked at her superior. "The settlement in the south, the one closer to the Land of Waves…"

"Yes my Lord?"

"Assign its construction to people I can trust, or any of my sleeper agents within the Alliance."

"The one's Danzo is or isn't aware of?"

Orochimaru turned his head slightly, causing Kin to tense up a little, "Which do you think my dear? I want my own secret outpost in this war. Somewhere I can concoct my experiments in secret."

"And I'm guessing since you'll be busy most of this war, you want me to do the experiments for you and have the findings delivered to you?"

Orochimaru turned his head back to the construction and nodded, "That would be most wise of you my dear." Kin bowed her head and then left Orochimaru on his own, overseeing the construction of the Alliance's main military settlement.

The First, Fourth, and Fifth Divisions had all started their construction of barricades to slow down the advance of the Land of Water when they invaded. The Division commanders all sat together on the outskirts of the construction, watching their men and women running around and hastily building and raising walls up.

"Shouldn't we be helping them," Higure asked, "or at least be directing them?"

"I thought we should've kept moving forward," Hiruko snapped, "Start building barricades on the ocean-line and work our way back."

"We've talked about this. If we did that, and Kirigakure forces attacked sooner than we anticipate then that takes out our first line of defense. If we build a few trenches and barricades in the back and then work our way to the front, then we'll have somewhere to fall back to if the enemy shows up too early."

"He's right Hiruko," Hanzo stated. The Suna commander grumbled bitterly and turned away from his fellow leaders. "If you're so intent on being stubborn, then take your men and start building barricades closer to the shoreline." Hanzo pointed off to the distance, where the vast ocean was in sight. "It's no more than a stone's throw away from here."

"As you wish," Hiruko bitterly murmured as he began to walk towards that direction. "HEY! Any shinobi under my command go to the shoreline! We're going to start building defenses up there!"

Several men and woman immediately followed their commander, and a few even rushed past him to get a head-start on building the defenses along the shoreline. Hanzo watched Hiruko and several of his men head towards the ocean before turning to the other commander. The Salamander stared at Higure for a moment, who was scanning through the crowds of people working and building together.

"Something on your mind commander," Hanzo mused.

"Just…weird to be back here I guess…" Hanzo hummed softly and nodded his head in understanding. Higure narrowed his eyes a bit and sighed. "It seems like all I do anymore is think about the past…"

"Well, these are the bloodiest shores in shinobi history," Hanzo stated. "This is where the last battle of the previous World War took place."

"The battle with Saizo Hideyoshi," Higure murmured. "This wasn't the final battleground of that war unfortunately. That was on the dead and forgotten lands of Uzushiogakure."

"That's the former village of the Uzumaki Clan is it not," Hanzo questioned. Higure nodded and leaned back. "What battle took place there?"

"The battle that me and my former teammates, the Six Paths of Shinobi, fought against Saizo Hideyoshi himself.

"So, those rumors are true. Danzo hasn't told me much about that special little team he made. Who was on it again? You of course, and your sister if I'm not mistaken…"

"Me, Minato Namikaze, Kushina Uzumaki, Saiki Haruno, Satoru Teki, and Junichi-,"

"Excuse me sir," a shinobi called out. Hanzo and Higure lifted their heads up, the former a little irate with the interruption. "How far back are these barricades supposed to go?"

"For at least a mile boy," Hanzo snapped. "Have someone go up to Hiruko and tell him to set traps between this barricade and his!"

"Yes sir," the shinobi replied before turning around, "One mile back men!"

Hanzo turned his attention back to Higure, "All of those prodigies against one man…I'd wager that was no challenge at all for you six."

"You'd be surprised Hanzo-san," Higure murmured. The Salamander hummed softly, slightly more intrigued. "You yourself managed to fight the Three Legendary Sannin and even gave them their moniker. With Saizo though…fighting against him was like fighting another war."

"Do explain. I've never fought the man personally, but I've heard much about his reputation. I haven't heard many stories of anyone fighting him on his own."

Higure leaned back again and sighed heavily, rubbing his hands against his pants. "Well…I'm sure you've heard of his immeasurably oppressing chakra right?" Hanzo nodded once. "That's true. His chakra levels are immense, and inhuman. I was surprised he wasn't a Jinchuriki, or a Bijuu himself."

"Wasn't he one of two known people in history to master all of the Seven Great Swords of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist?"

"He wasn't using the blade Kisame Hoshigaki is using. He was using Kubikiribocho, a sword that regenerates any damage done to itself by harvesting the iron in a person's blood to fix itself. His skill with that sword, his speed, his power, chakra levels…they were all on another level. I can't think of a single human being who could take him on in single combat and live. Even Kushina, who was the former Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi had trouble taking him down when she unleashed some of the demon's chakra."

"I'm sorry Higure, but with the six of you, the Chakra-Leech, the Yellow Flash, your sister the Chakra-Princess, the Hot-Blooded Jinchuriki, Satoru the Mountain Smasher, and…who was the last one?"

"Junichi, the Shinobi of the Sound Waves," Higure replied. Hanzo's eyes widened briefly at the name before shaking his head.

"With those six, you all had trouble taking down one man?"

Higure smirked a little bit and stood up from his rock, "There's something you have to remember about Saizo is that he's not a human…" The commander started to walk away from Hanzo, greatly baffling his fellow commander. Higure turned around, still smirking, "He's a demon." With that, the First Division commander turned forward and walked into the crowds of soldiers building and readying their defenses.

Hanzo huffed before standing up as well, "Nonsense…six fully capable shinobi like that having trouble with one man…"

"What the hell is that?" Hanzo and hundreds of other shinobi all turned their heads to one man pointing up into the sky. Instantly, everyone looked to the horizon, seeing countless black specks dotting the sky. The shinobi of the Alliance stood by, murmuring amongst themselves on what was approaching.

"EVERYONE GET BACK!" Hanzo looked down towards the shoreline, seeing Hiruko screaming at everyone else. "They're attacking!"

"Shit," Hanzo seethed, "Anyone who can use earth style ninjutsu, raise up any type of wall you can make! We need defenses up now!" All the shinobi started scrambling amongst themselves, with the bulk of Iwagakure shinobi heading towards the front. "If anyone has a weapons scroll, bring out any weapons you think can hit those damn things!"

"What are those Lord Hanzo," an Ame shinobi asked.

"I don't know, but I doubt they're friendly if they're in force…"

"Alright you maggots, if you're not ready to attack then at least be ready to die," Hiruko snapped as he clapped his hands together. The half man-puppet placed his palms on the ground, erupting a giant cloud of smoke behind himself. Several other shinobi from Sunagakure summoned their puppets or wind fans ready, including Temari, while the shinobi from other villages grabbed a series of weapons. The smoke cleared behind Hiruko, revealing his signature Scorpion puppet. "Get ready!" The frontline shinobi braced themselves for whatever was to come.

Sakura was knelt down with a weapons scroll unraveled before her, ready to summon her ninja tools at any moment along with Dosu. Zaku knelt down on one knee, ready to use his air tubes to propel the projectiles.

"Aren't there a few members of the Akimichi Clan amongst our ranks," Hanzo questioned.

"Yes sir," a large man stated as he approached the front. "Choza Akimichi, head of the Akimichi Clan at your service."

"Can you or any other members of your Clan in this group use the super expansion jutsu to its fullest?"

"Just me sir."

"Fine, expand your size to its fullest once the bastards get close enough to us, then swat them out of the skies like the flies they are!" Choza nodded then headed towards the back while Hanzo continued to move through the ranks.

"Hiashi Hyuga," Higure called out, standing firmly in his position. The head of the Hyuga Clan quickly approached the commander.

"Yes Higure-san?"

"You and any other member of your Clan are on defensive duty. Your Clan's rotation technique could save some lives here today, got it?"

"Consider it done." Hiashi turned around and walked back into the mass of soldiers, "Members of the Hyuga Clan, come! We're going to defend every single man and woman we can, understand?"

"Anyone else who can't strike from long distance, you're on defensive duty! Earth style users, if you're done with the defenses, head to the back and start building trenches for the medical shinobi to heal our wounded!" Several Iwa shinobi started scrambling towards the rear, while many more stayed in the front to continue build walls of earth and other forms of defense from the airborne enemies.

Hanzo stepped up next to Higure in the center of their troops, most of who were knelt down and ready to mortar their weapons at the enemies in the sky. Higure was looking ahead through a pair of binoculars. "What is it," Hanzo asked. "What're we up against?"

"I'm guessing…shinobi from the Land of Sky…"

"What," Hanzo snapped. "How can you be sure? The Alliance took out that country years ago!"

"Well…judging from the fact they're all in the sky…and flying…and last I checked neither Kirigakure nor Kumogakure ninjas could fly…" Hanzo scowled and shoved Higure violently to the side before storming off to prepare himself for an attack. The First Regiment commander turned and looked at Hanzo before peering back through his binoculars. He quickly lowered his hands and started walking forward, "Any prominent wind style users, come with me on the double!"

The commander ran forward as several shinobi looked amongst themselves before following him. Sakura stared at her uncle with confusion and worry before a sharp whistle from Zaku recaptured her attention.

Hanzo, from the sidelines summoned his giant salamander, which gave off a strange gurgle before its master jumped on him. "Ibuse, get ready to unleash your fire style," Hanzo ordered. The salamander gurgled before a strange rumbling game from its stomach.

A handful of shinobi followed Higure who headed to the other side of the troops, "Alright, listen carefully, because this is going to be a stupid idea and I won't have time to go over it twice." The shinobi all looked to each other with a mutual confused, and worried, look on their faces.

Hiruko's group all braced themselves as the enemy came closer. The Regiment commander himself braced himself on the back of his Scorpion before wiggling his fingers to adjust the tail. The end of the puppet's sharpened tail opened up, revealing a small opening.

"Hold your fire until I make the first shot, understand men," Hiruko shouted. The shinobi all shifted or swallowed nervously. Hiruko narrowed his eyes as his fingers twitched ever so slightly with anticipation. "Steady…steady…"

The front line of the flying shinobi raised up their weapons and aimed them at the shinobi on the ground.

Hiruko twitched his index finger forward, causing his Scorpion to launch a giant ball out from its tail and up into the sky. The ball flew into the center of a group of the flying ninjas before exploding outward into hundreds of needles that flew in all directions. The needles struck dozens of the Sky shinobi, causing them to groan and fall from the skies.

"FIRE!"

The shinobi of the Fourth Division unleashed a barrage of kunai, blasts of wind, shuriken, needles, poison bombs, paper bombs, and in Kidomaru's case arrows up into the skies. The shinobi from the Land of Sky unleashed volleys of kunai from their hand-held kunai launchers, raining down the sharpened blades into their enemies. Other version of the flying devises rained down beams of chakra that exploded in the centers of the shinobi.

Hiruko used his Scorpion puppet to launch concentrated blasts of chakra from the puppet's tail while firing hundreds of needles from the pinchers, dropping countless Sky shinobi like flies. Kidomaru continuously and quickly launched arrow after arrow from his mouth, a few of which would explode outward into a mass of sticky webs that would prevent the Sky shinobi from flying. Temari swung her fan back and forth, either deflecting volleys of kunai or sending up blasts of wind to knock the enemy out of the sky.

The soldiers in the back all grew increasingly nervous as their enemies got past the front lines and were heading directly for them. "Take them all down once you think they're within range," Hanzo shouted from the sidelines. "Ibuse, take them down!"

Hanzo's salamander opened its mouth and unleashed giant balls of fire out in a mortar style into the waves of flying shinobi. While the fireballs weren't exactly accurate, the resulting explosions within the ranks either threw them off balance or set them on fire.

Choza grew into a giant and started swinging his arms and staff into the oncoming enemy. With the Akimichi leader's expansion, the rest of the army started their upward attack into the skies.

Higure watched the battle commence before letting out a quick sigh to steady his nerves. "Alright, everyone better get ready!" The shinobi all nodded and fastened down. "GO!" Higure quickly began to form a series of hand seals as the shinobi all ran past him. The commander quickly took in a deep breath and clapped his palms together. The shinobi all used their chakra to send out bursts of wind from beneath themselves, springing up several feet within the air. 'Wind style…hurricane gale!' Higure exhaled his breath, releasing a wide-spread, forceful blast of wind that shook the ground. The shinobi who had already sprung into the air were propelled even further high and more forward, right into the midst of the enemy shinobi.

The Alliance shinobi landed on top of several flying enemies and quickly began their assault, destroying the flyers or killing the shinobi themselves before springing to another flyer and doing the same.

Higure hunched over and let out a heavy sigh of disbelief, "I can't believe that actually worked…" The commander arched his neck before hopping up and down a little bit in place. "Well, I guess it's my turn!" Higure ran forward before darting into the sky with one jump. He slammed into an enemy flyer, grabbed the wing and causing the shinobi pilot to roll over once before Higure flipped into the air upon releasing him. He landed on the back of the shinobi and sprung off again, but not before placing a paper bomb on his back.

Sakura and Dosu kept throwing their weapons forward and Zaku used his air tubes to propel them forward at tremendous speeds, tearing through the pilot and mechanical flyer both whenever they would hit.

"Excuse me!" The trio turned their heads as a young man scrambled down next to them, "You're a medical ninja right?"

"I know a little bit of medical ninjutsu, yeah," Sakura replied.

"Can you please come with me," the boy pleaded. "We don't have nearly enough medical shinobi in this group!" Sakura turned to Zaku and Dosu, both who nudged their heads towards the boy.

"Alright," Sakura replied with a firm nod. "I'll help!" The pink haired kunoichi quickly got up and followed the young boy.

On the front lines, heavy casualties were being taken from both sides. Hiruko's scorpion helped immensely on the Alliance's side with taking a bulk of the damage, as well as dealing most of the pain to the enemy.

However, while the Alliance on the frontlines were focused on the skies, very few noticed the shinobi from Kirigakure rising from the shoreline and storming the beach. The long-range fighters were quickly taken off guard and overpowered by the savagery and killing efficiency of Kirigakure shinobi, and quickly had to divide their attention to two different fronts.

Hanzo looked to the frontlines while Ibuse still fired his flame mortars and noticed the troubles Hiruko was now dealing with. "Damn it! Ibuse, dig underground and prepare to attack the Kiri shinobi!" Hanzo sprung into the air as Ibuse lifted up his head and opened his mouth. The commander fell into his summon's mouth as it shut it closed and then dug underground.

Higure landed on the back of a single Sora-nin's flyer and looked back to the frontlines, seeing the heavy amount of chaos going on. "Well crap…" Higure slammed his foot at the back of the flyer, breaking off the tail and causing it to nose-dive towards the ground. The commander sprung upward just before the flyer and its pilot crashed into the ground. Higure stood at the head of the army that was taking out the shinobi from the rear. "HEY! Get ready to take the pressure off the frontlines!" A squad at the very front nodded intently at their commander, "Get one of you and spread the word! I'm heading to the frontlines to tell them to take their attention of the skies!" Higure turned around and sprinted down the beach, using chakra in his feet to increase his speed.

Choza swung his staff forward, knocking out several dozen flyers out of the air at once, "Everyone! We're gonna take on the brunt of these flying bastards now! Get ready!"

Ibuse came out from underground, right under the ocean floor where he released Hanzo. The two of them saw hundreds of Kirigakure shinobi swimming towards the shores. Hanzo and Ibuse both darted forward and tremendous speeds, the former readying his blade before they both started a killing spree underwater.

Higure made it to the frontlines where he immediately took out a Kiri shinobi and took his katana, "Focus on the Kirigakure shinobi!" The commander moved between his comrade shinobi, cutting down his enemies while giving orders, "Our allies in the back will take care of the Sora-nin! Focus on Kirigakure!" Higure got closer to the center of the battlefield where Hiruko was with his Scorpion, fighting off a mob of deadly Kiri shinobi. Higure came up behind one and ran the shinobi through, catching the attention of his two comrades. "Hiruko," Higure cried out before going on the defensive from the two Kiri shinobi, "Tell your men to take their focus off of the Sora shinobi! The First and Fifth Divisions will take care of them!"

"Oh yeah, sure," Hiruko shouted as his Scorpion's tail tried to strike a group of enemy shinobi, "Tell the long range fighters to focus on a close range fight! Smart fucking idea Haruno!"

"Would you rather retreat," Higure questioned before blocking a strike from the enemy's tanto.

"LISTEN UP," Hiruko shouted, "Focus on the Kirigakure shinobi! Let the Sky shinobi fly over us so the others can take them out from the rear!" Higure rolled his eyes at his fellow commander's predictability before parrying two more strikes.

As soon as the Fourth Division took its focus off the airborne enemies, the Sky ninja returned the favor and focused on the backline support. More casualties were taken in the backlines with the Sora-nin focusing more on them, but it also forced the Alliance backlines to fight harder.

Dosu tossed up more and more weapons for Zaku to blast upward, eventually exhausting both of them. "This sucks," Dosu quickly snapped as he threw more weapons upward.

"Tell me about it! We're up-close and personal! Not long range!" Dosu paused and turned around to look at his partner with a mischievous look in his eyes. Zaku looked at his teammate and grinned with the same look before they both nodded to each other.

Zaku knelt down as Dosu ran towards him. The masked boy jumped into the air and landed his feet flat against Zaku's palms. Zaku rose up to his feet and released a powerful blast from his air tubes as Dosu shot himself forward with his legs. The resulting combination sent Dosu flying into the air, towards the enemies. The masked boy soared through the air and barely managed to latch onto a flyer.

"Alright, my turn," Zaku told himself. The boy ran straight ahead before diving forward and catching himself on his hands. He pushed upward with his arms and then released another powerful blast from his air tubes that sent him flying into the air head over heels again and again. The boy landed hard on a flyer, causing it to shake a bit. "Holy shit!" Zaku turned his head, hearing Dosu laugh and saw his partner springing from flyer to flyer, leaving a trail of destroyed mechanics behind him.

"This is more like it!" Zaku huffed before destroying the flyer he was on and springing towards his partner. "Bet I can take out more than you!"

"You're so on!" The two boys then started a competition of destruction, wiping out one flyer after another.

Sakura became increasingly anxious in her healing duties. It seemed that every time she finished healing one patient, two more wounded shinobi would show up, along with a dead one. Needless to say, she prayed for a quick end to the violence and bloodshed.

"Get down," someone shouted. Sakura turned her head as a volley of kunai came right at her. The pink haired girl quickly covered the wounded soldier she was healing with her own body. Hiashi sprung between the blades and the medic and quickly used his rotation in mid-air to deflect the blades. The Hyuga Clan leader landed on the ground as the Sora-nin flew above them.

"Are you alright Sakura," Hiashi asked, looking back over his shoulder.

"I'm fine, thank you," the pink haired medic replied. Hiashi nodded then quickly ran to help with additional defense.

The battle continued for what seemed to feel like hours, while in reality it was less than thirty minutes. The Sky shinobi all suddenly started to turn around and retreat. The Alliance shinobi were confused, while others cheered at their seeming victory. As the flying ninjas passed overhead, the Kirigakure shinobi also retreated quickly into the water, using their chakra to swim away quickly.

The frontline shinobi all cheered with relief and in victory at driving their enemies off. Higure simply fell on his rear with a heavy and thankful sigh. Hanzo emerged from the water, looking over his shoulder at the fleeing enemy as he approached Hiruko and Higure.

"How odd that they would suddenly retreat," Hanzo murmured.

"It is getting close to night," Hiruko stated. "Any moron with a brain knows that fighting in the dark is just stupid and bloody. Too much confusion to know if you're cutting down an enemy or an ally."

"It might've been something else as well." Hanzo and Hiruko turned to Higure who stared off at the horizon. "You noticed that the Sora-nin preferred to use those kunai launchers instead of ninjutsu? I also felt a fair number of their chakra levels were pretty low too." Hanzo and Hiruko hummed softly as they looked at their enemy becoming little more than dots in the distance. "I'd wager that those little flying machines take chakra to keep airborne. And seeing that the battle lasted a little less than an hour, I'd bet it takes a lot of chakra."

"Well then, we should get that little bit of information back to headquarters," Hiruko stated.

"First we should salvage as much of the wreckage as we can to send back," Hanzo added. "So they can run tests to make sure. Hiruko, put together a salvage party to find any wreckage worthwhile. Kill any enemy survivors, and have any injured allies taken to the medics immediately." The puppet master nodded then walked towards his men, immediately calling their attention. Hanzo looked to Higure, "You get together our forces to continue building our defenses on the shoreline and beyond. Just because it's about to get dark doesn't me we can't build right?"

"Of course Hanzo," Higure nodded then quickly ran to the backlines. The Salamander followed Higure, intending to get a report of the number of casualties to update their HQ.

Naruto yawned as he, Neji, Kiba, and Hidan all headed back to their central outpost. "Tired," Neji asked.

"Little bit," Naruto replied. "We've walked who knows how many miles and have been building all day. I'll be happy if I can just be allowed to sleep through the night."

"Oh come on, you were all ready and eager to fight a war earlier today," Kiba teased. "How're you supposed to fight when you get worn out from building?"

"I'm too tired to care about responding to you." The team of four got to the top of a hill and saw their outpost where a few Akatsuki shinobi were conversing and pacing about. The boys left the wagon outside before heading towards the entrance. Hidan also got out of the wagon and followed the boys, though he was far less interested in the commotion going on.

As they got to the entrance, Naruto pushed the opening flap to the side and walked down a couple of stairs into a small, central room. Nagato seemed distraught across the room as he was talking with another shinobi. The redhead nodded and the other shinobi left.

"Hey, Nagato," Naruto greeted. The Akatsuki leader looked a bit surprised before he smiled at the kids.

"Hey Naruto. Get everything set up I hope?"

"Yeah, we did," the blonde answered. "What's going on around here?" Nagato sighed and rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"Well…apparently the villages of Taki and Kusa are being hunted by the Alliance, since they've formed an unofficial treaty with one another to cause trouble for them. Basically like we do in Akatsuki." Nagato sighed and placed his hands on his hips. "Unlike us though, they're gonna end up getting destroyed because they can't communicate with one another, leaving their men confused and flighty."

"Are we going to help them," Neji inquired.

"I dunno yet…I've sent the information to HQ where the others will review our findings, then they'll send us back orders on whether or not we should act."

"That'll take forever though," Naruto shouted. "If we help Kusagakure and Takigakure then they'll join and help us out too! We can't just let them get taken over by the Alliance!"

"We're in the middle of Alliance territory Naruto," Nagato stated. "And we're outfitted for reconnaissance, not any form of a war, large or small scale. Believe me, I want to help too, but it's risky. If they send in a large group of reinforcements, that means we have a greater chance of being discovered in Alliance territory. For now, we keep gathering information on each of the Alliance countries and villages and collect as much intel as we can before doing anything risky. Okay?"

Naruto glared at his feet before nodding once, "Alright…" Nagato nodded before walking past the trio of boys to attend to other matters. "This sucks…"

"I'm surprised you actually listened to orders for once," Neji stated. Naruto shrugged and sat on a nearby crate.

"Well…this is important. For Akatsuki, and the whole shinobi world…I realize I'm just a fourteen year old kid and all, and that the adults are more experienced to give me orders and such…" Kiba and Neji stared at their blonde companion with wide, astonished eyes. Naruto sighed before catching his friend's surprised gazes, throwing him for a loop. "Um…what…?"

"Are you sure you're Naruto," Kiba asked as he poked his friend's cheek. The Inuzuka boy then took a deep sniff next to Naruto's face, grossing the blonde out while annoying him. "Smells like him…"

"Let me double check," Neji offered as he activated his Byakugan.

"Oh screw all of you," Naruto exclaimed with a laugh.

"Captain, over here!" The heads of everyone within earshot turned to the cry of a young man. Naruto, Kiba, and Neji all rushed over and out of the outpost to see a group of Akatsuki shinobi huddled around something. Nagato pushed through his men, causing them to part an opening for him to stand over Izumi, Ranmaru, and Izumi all tending to the wounds of a shinobi from Takigakure.

"What is this," Nagato questioned, looking directly at Izumi.

"We found him while setting up outposts, and I couldn't just let him die," the puppeteer replied as she placed a wet rag on the injured man's forehead. Izumi, Ranmaru, and Haku's eyes fell onto the young man and softened. They knew he wasn't much older than fifteen at least.

"He's not going to survive," Nagato whispered. Ranmaru looked up at the redhead in shock while Izumi and Haku's eyes lowered at knowing this fact.

"I wasn't about to let him die in the middle of a field somewhere to be picked off by vultures," Izumi replied evenly. "At least we can make his last few hours comfortable."

"What's he doing so far outside of his home country," one member of Akatsuki questioned.

The injured shinobi coughed noisily, catching Akatsuki's attention, "I…m-my squad was sent to assist our allies in K-Kusagakure. W-we were ambushed by Alliance forces…" The boy started coughing again while everyone else gave him their full attention. "W-we were getting slaughtered…I-I was ordered to leave and tell our leader b-but a team of four from Amegakure followed me. I m-managed to stay ahead of them a-and planned on losing them b-but…there was one woman with green hair…and wings!" The Akatsuki rogue murmured the last word amongst themselves, wondering what the boy meant. "S-she injured me a-and left me to die before joining the rest of the Alliance forces to eliminate my squad…"

"A woman with green hair and wings," Nagato murmured, "That might've been the Jinchuriki of the Nanabi."

"A-A Jinchuriki…? I guess I should be happy I got as far as I did…" The young boy chuckled weakly before it caused him to go into a fit of coughs. As the rogues watched the pitiful sight, the boy opened his eyes. "Y-you guys are Akatsuki…right?"

"We are," Izumi answered with a nod.

The boy let out a couple of more coughs, "P-please…y-you have to help us, Takigakure a-and Kusagakure both!"

"What you see are all the men and women we brought with us," Nagato stated softly, his tone apologetic. "We're not fitted to get involved in a war right now until our leaders send us reinforcements."

"N-no, don't th-throw your men away like that…" Nagato's brow furrowed in confusion at the boy's words. The rest of Akatsuki stared at the boy quizzically as well before he continued. "W-we all know…this is gonna go o-one way…the leaders of Taki and K-Kusa know it. We're just determined to give take down a-as much of those Alliance bastards as we can…"

"Then what do you want us to do," Nagato asked.

The boy coughed again, this time blood came out of his mouth, "O-our leaders a-are moving civilians from Kusa, and other, smaller villages i-into Takigakure. Our village has n-never been successfully invaded, a-and is next to impossible to find…b-but there was one of us a-amongst Alliance troops…a traitor. Th-that's why I was ordered to head back to Takigakure…because it's not longer safe. I-I had to tell them th-that Suien was amongst them…"

"Who," Izumi asked as the boy went into a fit of coughs.

"S-Suien! H-he was th-the former teacher of o-our current leader, Sh-Shibuki…" The boy sat up and coughed fitfully, wheezing after more blood came out of his mouth. Izumi's eyes softened, knowing the boy didn't have much longer. "P-please…tell Shibuki of Suien's siding with the Alliance…tell him you'll help evacuate our people and move them…p-please…I'm not asking you to fight a war…"

Nagato took a step forward and knelt down next to the boy before taking his hand and giving it a firm squeeze, "We'll do our best. Akatsuki doesn't have the best reputation as you know though, but we'll try to make contact with your leader and offer our support."

"Th-thank…you…" The boy started taking in desperate, wheezing breathes. A few moments after, the boy's eyes rolled up into the back of his head and he gave out his last breathe of life.

Nagato released the boy's hand and rose up to his feet, "We have a new objective everyone…we're going to aid Kusa and Taki."

"But Nagato-sama," an older member of Akatsuki snapped, "what about our mission to retrieve intelligence on the Alliance?"

"We're dividing this team into two. All of our smaller outposts are set up right?" The small building teams all nodded. "Good, then you can still use those." Nagato turned to the older Akatsuki member that he just spoke to, "Ken, you're in charge of reconnaissance operations until I get back. Try to make contact with me as soon as we get word back from HQ."

"Yes sir, but who are you going to take with you?"

Nagato turned to the younger members of Akatsuki and put his hands on his hips, narrowing his Rinnegan eyes skeptically, "If I assign all of you to aid only in moving and defending citizens, do you think you can do that?"

"No problem," Neji replied with a nod. Kiba also nodded with a stern, determined look on his face.

"I'll do whatever I can to help," Naruto murmured, clenching his fists tightly. The blonde secretly hoped he would get the chance to fight the Alliance members who did this to the poor Taki boy.

"Alright, Naruto, Neji, Haku, Ranmaru, Kiba, you all are with me. Izumi, Hidan, you'll both be coming with me too."

"Understood," Izumi replied with a nod.

"Aiding and helping people escape death…that conflicts with my beliefs of slaying the wicked you know?"

"You two are coming along for defensive purposes. The boys here will focus on getting civilians out of fire quickly and safely, while you two will help with fighting off anyone who tries to attack us."

Hidan sneered, almost in a wicked sense himself, "That's more like it!"

"Let's go," Nagato ordered before taking the lead down the hill. The five young boys, Izumi and Hidan all followed their redheaded leader. "I'm going to try to use my sensory abilities to find some Taki or Kusa shinobi, and offer our assistance. Nobody act violent towards them when we find them! If they attack first, defend yourself and run away. These people are throwing their lives down on the line to give us and the Union a better fighting chance against the Alliance, we don't need to cause more problems for them, understood?"

"Yes sir," the small squad of seven replied in unison.

In an Alliance camp settlement in the Land of Grass, the men and women in the camp were all getting ready for the night. In the main military tent, the ones in charge of the war against Kusa and Taki were discussing their next course of action.

"This is getting ridiculous," one man snapped before throwing a file across the central table. "They're getting suicidal now. They're costing us more men killing themselves than when they actually tried to fight back." The man wore an Amegakure headband around his arm, hand dark green, spiky hair, and a burn on the upper right half of his face. "You never told us your fellow villagers practiced in the art of kamikaze Suien!"

Across the table, a man with long spiky hair, dark piercing eyes, and a goatee, wearing an Amegakure flak jacket stared calmly up at the angry commander, "I didn't see this coming to be frank with you Kandachi. Shibuki has always been a coward. The fact that he's fighting back at all is a surprise to me. Now, if he's recklessly throwing away his own shinobi to try to kill as many of you as possible, then that means he and his men are ready to die to cause as many problems for the Alliance as possibly."

"We could just employ more long range tactics," Fu suggested from another end of the table. Behind her, four shadowy figures stood silently with their hands held behind their backs. "Trade some of our men to Hanzo-sama out on the frontlines."

"No, I told Hanzo I could handle this," Kandachi snapped. "What do you think he'll do when I start asking for his help to take out a few worms?"

"The major problem is Takigakure right now," Suien stated. "When Hanzo-sama was in charge, he managed to take out Kusagakure easily enough. But now their shinobi are scattered in this country and the next, joining with Takigakure and using guerrilla style tactics to cause as many problems for us as possible. When we take out Takigakure though, and find Kusagakure's leader, all of the remaining shinobi will be lost, wild animals. Stupid and easy to kill off one by one."

"Have you ever tried to find a rat in a maze," Fu questioned. The Jinchuriki then laughed and shook her head, "What am I saying? You are a rat." Suien huffed bitterly, glaring daggers at Fu.

"Enough," Kandachi snapped at Fu. "Suien, you have been holding back the location of Takigakure for some time now…granted thanks to your information we've found many small farmer villages, and hidden outposts that Taki used. But that still leaves the location of the village a mystery. If we can strike at them now then that will take an immense pressure off of the Alliance!"

"You forget that Takigakure has a secret weapon at their disposal…the Hero Water."

"Oh not this crap again," Fu groaned as she rested her chin in her hand, over-exaggerating her tiresome attitude. Suien glared at the Jinchuriki again before turning to Kandachi.

"Hanzo agreed with me when I told him that the Hero Water was dangerous, and agreed that caution was necessary."

"Hanzo is always cautious about everything," Fu snapped as she slammed her hands on the table. "Kandachi, the war against real enemies like the Lands of Water and Lightning have started, and we're out here having a pissing contest with Kusagakure and Kirigakure to see who can take out the most people fastest! We need to deal a critical blow to them and get this little war over with so we can get our asses out on the frontlines!"

"I'll make a compromise with you," Suien offered. Kandachi turned his head to listen to the rogue Taki shinobi. Fu threw her hands up in disbelief before resting her face in her hand again. "One more week, we scout out the lands and find any remaining outposts I may have missed. We watch them for that week and make sure that they don't move to another one and abandon it. Then at the end of the week, we strike them all simultaneously, at night when their guard is down most and when everyone will be back at their bases. Once we take out those outposts, Takigakure's forces will be diminished, and the number of shinobi who will use the Hero Water will be lessened, making our invasion all the easier."

Kandachi narrowed his eyes before staring down to consider it. Fu and Suien watched the man carefully and waited for his response. Kandachi looked at Suien and nodded, "Alright, fine. You're in charge of the scouting parties as usual though. If you don't find at least two outposts by the end of the day tomorrow, I'm going to make you tell us the location of Takigakure anyway. Understand?"

"Yes sir," Suien replied with a smile and bow of his head. The rogue turned around and then exited the tent.

"Fu," Kandachi quickly spoke. The Jinchuriki turned her head to Hanzo's right-hand-man. "While you and your team are out and about…if you find any shinobi from Taki, keep a few alive. Get as much information out of them as you can on the whereabouts of their village, and about this Hero Water stuff. Understand?"

"Don't trust Suien eh," Fu questioned with a sinister smile.

"Hanzo-sama didn't, I don't see why I should." Fu chuckled and nodded to Kandachi. The two Ame shinobi then exited the tent and prepare to rest through the night.

HOLY BUTT-MONKEY! I kinda surprised myself with how war-like all these scenes were lol. And yeah, things picked up pretty fast too…I can't believe this is only the first chapter =P Hopefully it didn't seemed too terribly rushed or anything like that. But I hope you all enjoy this first chapter and the rest of the story to come!

Also, I would like to state that I'm currently hoping to move out of my current household and in with friends. Now, since not a lot of my, myself include, friends moving in have jobs and such (looking for one though) we're going to go without a few things for the first couple of months. This includes internet. And I don't have a laptop, so if the next update takes awhile, it's because I'm either too busy looking for a job, no interwebs at the house I'll be moving into for awhile, and/or no computer to type me stories. Just wanted to let you all know in advance, but I'll try to get chapter two (possibly three, but don't quote me on that) done before I, hopefully, move out.

Again, hope you enjoyed the chapter, and feel free to leave a review.