Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, just taking it out for a spin.

Chapter 8

"Slow down Naruto, you're pulling too far ahead," Yamato cautioned softly as they ran silently through the warrens of Orochimaru's hideout, avoiding the scattered groups of enemy nin thanks to their sensors and the inexplicable chaos in the compound. While they knew Kakashi's general location, navigating there through the three dimensional maze of corridors was proving troublesome, especially with Hinata's byakugan ineffective against whatever barriers Orochimaru had erected.

"Yeah yeah, it's just that we're finally so close ya know," Naruto muttered as Sakura and Hinata glanced at him in concern.

"Letting those emotions of yours get in the way already?" Sai asked scathingly.

Naruto shot his teammate a withering glare, but before he could do any more the wall behind them erupted. A curse sealed man went flying into the wall and let out an agonizing scream as he was nailed into the wall. Naruto's gut froze as a silver haired man clad in a black cloak with red clouds followed and brutally dispatched the man. 'Akatsuki?!'

The intruder suddenly noticed he was standing in the middle of a large group of Konoha shinobi, and turned around and examined them with an eager look on his face. "Why hello there," he said with a predatory smile. "Do you have a moment to talk about our lord and savior Jashin?"

The group stared at the man in shocked and horrified silence. Yamato's mind raced through the implications of his presence at breakneck speed. The Akatsuki didn't seem to recognize Naruto and had arrived before them, so the he had to be after something else. Orochimaru was a former member of the group, so perhaps they had finally arranged a hit to take down a possible loose end. If so, it would be easier to grab Sasuke with Orochimaru distracted, but they would need to get Naruto away before he could be identified as a Jinchuriki.

Yamato exchanged a brief glance with Asuma, who was standing further down the corridor with the bulk of their squad. The bearded man nodded back at him indicating that he had followed the same line of reasoning. "Some of us might have some time to spare," he said casually as he pulled out and twirled his trench knives. "But I'm afraid we're here on some rather pressing business, so we won't be able to listen very long."

Naruto stared in disbelief as Yamato motioned for him to continue down the hall. "Eh? We can't just leave them ya know!" he exclaimed.

"Remember the mission," Yamato replied. "And trust in your fellow shinobi. They'll be able to take care of only one of them."

Hidan burst out laughing as they ran down the corridor, deeper into the compound. "That's right, run you dammed cowards! I'll deal with you after I've taken care of these fuckers!" he boasted with an arrogant grin. Secretly though he was glad they had left. Without Kakuzu as backup a dozen of them could be slightly difficult to kill. Even the seven that remained might give him some trouble.

'Best to rush in and get lots of blood before starting the ritual,' he though and sped forward scythe first. Asuma ran in front of his students and blocked it with a grunt, while Kurenai stood to his side and flung a dozen shuriken to force him back. Choji and Kiba and Akamaru arranged themselves in a row behind them while Shino, Ino and Shikamaru stood ready in the rear.

"Choji, pin him down!" Asuma yelled, and the young Amakichi obliged, expanding his arm and hand until they filled the corridor.

"That's not fair!" Hidan yelled as Choji's arm shot past Asuma and Kurenai, and held out his scythe to block as he was smashed into the wall. As the giant hand retracted and shrunk, the innermost blade carved a thin line of red into it. 'I need more room!' he thought as Asuma raced forward before he could recover, slashing knives alight with chakra which nicked his shoulder as he dodged.

Hidan raced for the hole he had jumped through hoping to enter the larger chamber beyond, but a black wall of roiling insects arose to block his path. Heedless of the danger he crashed through them, emerging into the center of the large cavern chamber beyond coated in bugs. Shino's eyebrows raised in surprise as he felt them feed, and seconds later the cloud of insects fell to the ground dead at Hidan's feet. "It seems my insects are unable to feed on his chakra," he observed worriedly, then twitched in surprise as he noticed Shikamaru had disappeared from his side.

"I guess I'm just not very tasty!" Hidan laughed as he brushed off the dead insects, then froze with a surprised look as he found himself immobilized.

"Kagemane no jutsu: success," Shikamaru declared from the shadows behind Hidan. "Underground is my element. The torches amplify the shadows far more than aboveground. No matter where you go, you cannot escape my reach."

"Fucking brat!" Hidan yelled angrily as he strained against the jutsu.

"Alright that was easy; now let's finish him off Akamaru!" Kiba yelled, as he and his canine partner threw themselves into their signature attack.

"Wait-" Asuma warned them futilely as the twin tornadoes arced above the Akatsuki member's head and tore down directly over his position. As they struck Hidan was battered to the side and they drilled deep into the ground, before breaking through the ceiling of a chamber beneath the room. With twin yelps of surprise, Kiba and Akamaru fell through the void and landed in a heap on the ground below.

Hidan, now free from Shikamaru's jutsu used his scythe, middle blade now coated in blood, to pull himself out of the circular drill hole back into the room. "That wasn't fun brat," he shouted as he sent his scythe sweeping towards Shikamaru, who sunk into the shadow at his feet and reappeared in the shadows behind Asuma.

As the shinobi cautiously filed into the large cave riddled with the gruesome remains of Orochimaru's henchmen, Kiba's voice rang out from the chamber below. "Hey guys, I can smell Sasuke... and it's fresh!"

Asuma groaned at the inopportune timing. Now he was going to have to split the group even further. Still, from what he had seen his team and Kurenai should be more than enough to take out this Akatsuki member. "Just Sasuke?" he asked.

"He's the only recent scent."

"Shino, Kiba, go after him and try to take him down or at least keep him in place. Call the others in to his position." Asuma ordered

"Acknowledged, the insects I planted on them should guide them to us in short order," Shino said as he dropped down through the drill hole to the room below.

"You sure you want to send them away?" Hidan asked mockingly as the duo ran off.

"I think I've got your measure now," Asuma said confidently, holding his trench knives in front of him. The older man sprinted forward, trying to close the distance as the scythe whirled and slashed at him. With a curse Hidan leapt backwards and retracted the scythe to block Asuma's overhand slash, then gasped in surprise as a blade of chakra extended from the bottom of the knife and pierced his heart. "That was easy," Asuma muttered and jumped back warily as the bleeding man slumped down to the ground.

Hidan gurgled and dropped to the floor. "Gah... you got me good," he gasped weakly. "NOT!" he cackled as he suddenly stood up unharmed and swung his scythe at the shocked jonin.

"The hell was that, sensei pierced his heart," Shikamaru muttered in confusion to Ino and Choji.

The Akatsuki member suddenly halted his wild swings and stood still as if restrained, arms twitching. "Genjutsu," he muttered in comprehension as Kurenai walked up behind him and drew a kunai across his neck. "WON'T FUCKING WORK ON ME!" he roared as he whirled around and clawed at the startled woman who jumped just out of range in confusion. "This is the favor of the great god Jashin, I am immortal!"

"What?" Shikamaru exclaimed in shock and horror, as the flow of blood from Hidan's neck slowed and sealed up. "So he used the pain of being stabbed to break free of Kurenai-san's illusion..."

"That's right brat," Hidan said smugly. "You can't kill me, your illusions won't hold me, and your ninjutsu pale before the rituals of the great god! Just repent and give up now, you can't win!"

"Well then, we'll just have to start chopping until you quit healing," Asuma said calmly as he stepped forward. "Stay back you three," he motioned to the chunin. Kurenai leapt forward to distract the scythe, while Asuma darted in low with his chakra blades fully extended. Hidan dodged back from them both, weaving the scythe in front of him to head them off.

As the weapon approached Kurenai, she flinched as she sensed an overpowering foul chakra from nearby. "Kurenai!" Asuma yelled as he positioned himself in between the scythe and blocked it. A tremor rocked the room, and Hidan used the opportunity to twist the scythe away, nicking Asuma in the cheek with the top blade.

"Thanks," she said weakly. "The others must be in a bad way if the Naruto's letting that much chakra loose," she muttered worriedly.

"No time for that, Yamato can handle it," Asuma replied as he made a series of seals. "Katon, burning ash cloud!" he yelled as he blew a large cloud of ash into the area Hidan had jumped to

Hidan grinned and licked some blood from the top blade of the scythe. "Too late for you, the preparations are complete! Now, witness the glory of Jashin-sama!" he yelled as he landed in the center of a strange design made out of blood on the floor. The ash cloud burned the skin from the side of his face, but then Asuma collapsed in pain, a matching burn over his side. "Aaaah, that feeling of shared pain... witness my power, as we feel the depths of pain together!" Hidan trembled in ecstasy as the Konoha shinobi stared in confusion.

Asuma desperately started toward the immortal, but before he could move far Hidan reached into his cloak and pulled out a needle shaped blade. "Pity I don't have time to fully enjoy your death," he said regretfully as he raised the point above his chest. "But I'll be sure to share the sensation with each and every one of your comrades," he yelled as he plunged the blade into his chest.

Kurenai screamed as Asuma collapsed, blood spurting from his chest. "Asuma!" she yelled and ran towards his side. Tears streamed down her face as she knelt by Asuma's side and clasped his hand. The bearded man weakly coughed up blood and moaned her name. Bending down next to his ear, the woman whispered something to him. Asuma's eyes widened in shock, and then closed peacefully as he passed away with a smile on his face.

Kiba, Shino, and Akamaru halted in front of the door where Sasuke's trail ended. With caution honed by years of stealth exercises, Kiba silently inched the door open and the trio slipped into the room beyond. Inside was a large rectangular training room with a high ceiling, dimly lit by guttering torches mounted on the walls and wrought iron chandeliers. In the center of the room Sasuke himself sat cross legged, back turned to the door. Despite their silence, moments after they entered the room he cocked his head. "What do you want?" he asked in a flat, bored tone.

Kiba and Shino glanced at each other uncertainly. "Sasuke Uchiha. We have come to return you to Konoha. Come quietly and we can do this without bloodshed," Shino replied calmly.

"Though I've got nothing against doing this the hard way," Kiba quipped with a grin.

Sasuke looked back over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow skeptically at the two men and dog that had disturbed him. "I would never have guessed they'd send you two, I was expecting Kakashi at the very least. I have no interest in Konoha, so how about you leave now before you get hurt," he deadpanned.

"Don't look down on team eight," Kiba snarled angrily. "I never liked your smug face to begin with, and even if you didn't kill Naruto after all I'll still enjoy pounding it into the dirt!"

Sasuke's eyes widened in surprise, but his placid mask quickly slammed back down. Noting this, Shino tried to reason with the renegade once more. "Your transgressions can still be easily forgiven you know. There is a place in Konoha for you, but the more you run the harder things will become. We are not the first and will not be the last to come after you."

The ground rumbled and shook as the sound of a distant explosion and the sensation of the Kyuubi's chakra washed over the ninja. 'They aren't alone,' Sasuke realized as he stood up and turned to face the Konoha shinobi. "Konoha is merely a distraction from my goals, one which I have no time for," he said, and blurred towards Kiba, fist cocked.

Kiba and Akamaru raced forward to meet his charge head on, the dog running close to the ground while Kiba leapt up high to force him to split his attention between above and below. Behind them, an ominous humming sound and cloud of insects emerged from beneath Shino's coat as he stood in front of the exit. Sasuke jerked to a stop and spun into a low kick to neutralize the canine, but was surprised as Akamaru quickly leapt over his head and doused him in a foul smelling yellow liquid. Above, Kiba pushed rebounded off his partner and aimed a flying kick at the small of Sasuke's back, but the rouge nin twisted impossibly out of the way, sharingan gleaming from beneath his gaze.

Sasuke shook his damp head and growled, sharingan spinning with anger. 'That's it, I'm not going easy against these clowns anymore,' he thought as he turned to lock eyes with the annoying Izunaka, only to find that the man and his dog both had their eyes tightly shut.

"Your genjutsu aren't going to work on us," Kiba boasted with a grin.

"Don't underestimate the sharingan," Sasuke replied with a snort of irritation, but before he could dash forward and utilized his dojutsu's advantage in taijutsu Shino threw a spread of dozens of tagged kunai to cover the room. Mid flight the tags erupted, filling the entire area with dense grey smog and obscuring everything beyond arm's reach. Buzzing insects filled the room; their chakra trails further disrupting Sasuke's vision. Footsteps announced Kiba and Akamaru's attack, but without his vision Sasuke was unable to counter swiftly enough as the man and dog clawed his side and bowled him over before vanishing back into the smoke.

Working more by feel than his senses Sasuke twisted out of the way as the fog swirled and two piercing tornadoes of Kiba and Akamaru's gatsuga blew past him, buffeting him with their violent wind. The background hum of the insects intensified as a swarm of beetles condensed around him.

Sasuke frowned in annoyance; the trio was obscuring his own senses while using the scent of the urine to track him. It was a good strategy, but nothing he couldn't defeat. Best to finish them quickly and leave before more arrived.

Electric arcs spat around him as he ran a chidori current over his body and fried the insects to smoking husks before they could do any damage. As two shadowy forms rushed towards him from the gloom, Sasuke's skin turned grey and wings sprouted from his back as he activated his cursed seal. The wings snapped outward and blew a gust of wind outward as he pivoted and pushed back the smoke to reveal Kiba and Shino's charging forms. While they were off balance from the sudden gust of wind, Sasuke nonchalantly pointed his fingers at them and speared them with two chidori lances.

The two shinobi writhed in agony as the spears pierced their bodies, then burst into clouds of insects just as Kiba and Akamaru dropped down from the ceiling. With his inhuman speed and perception Sasuke dodged their blows and kicked Akamaru out of the way, then sent a light flurry of blows at his partner. 'He moves like his eyes were open... is his hearing that good?' Sasuke wondered as the Izunaka parried and dodged his probes. Trying to test the theory, Sasuke yelled as loud as he could and launched a haymaker at Kiba's face.

Kiba grinned and tilted his head back, avoiding the blow by a hair's breadth. "You think I'd forget that weakness after my match with Naruto? Tricks like that won't work on my nose or ears anymore," he boasted with a cocky grin.

The background hum from Shino's insects intensified as the smoke billowed and began to creep back towards Sasuke. A quick glance showed that a new type of insect had joined the swarm and were assembling for another barrage. "You're beneath Naruto... what makes you think you've got a chance against me?" he replied curtly and blurred forward with more speed than he had shown before. Even though Kiba could anticipate his movements, as Sasuke had learned against Lee years ago it wasn't enough if your body couldn't keep up. Against his curse seal form, Kiba's speed was no match. A swift knee to the gut followed by a sharp chop to the back of the neck later and Kiba was knocked unconscious.

As Kiba hit the floor, a swarm of the new type of insects sped towards Sasuke. Before they could reach him however, he made a set of rapid set of hand seals and blew out a stream of fire while spinning in a circle, incinerating the bugs and the entire floor of the room. He immediately leapt to the ceiling and spying a movement against the backlight on the floor shot a fist right into Shino's surprised face. The Aburame dropped limply down to the floor next to his teammate.

Sasuke reverted to his normal state with a snort of derision at the ease of his victory as he dropped to the floor and started to the door. Behind him Akamaru weakly picked himself up and growled at the rogue Uchiha, but stood guard over his teammates unconscious forms instead of pursuing. Sasuke gazed at their forms for a moment, and turned away. They weren't worth killing, and they had brought him some good news. As he walked through the rapidly clearing cloud of smoke, he coughed violently and his head swam slightly. 'Poison! So that's what the second breed of insects was. Good thing that the fire burnt most of it up,' he thought as he left the room. Time to find Orochimaru and head to the next hideout... or perhaps the Konoha nin would give him an ideal opportunity to rid himself of his useless master sooner than he planned. It was high time to kill Itachi, especially now that he had learned that he had in face escaped the path his treacherous brother set for him after all.

"I really don't like leaving them behind," Naruto grumbled as he, Yamato, Sakura, and Sai followed Hinata deeper into Orochimaru's hideout. He was getting a very unsettling feeling of déjà vu from the last Sasuke retrieval mission, but this time they had Kakashi-sensei and the Akatsuki's unexpected involvement to worry about as well.

"They should be able to handle him, and we needed to get you away from the Akatsuki member before he realized what you are," Yamato reassured him, masking his own unease at the situation. "A good leader must be able to trust his subordinates with dangerous missions. If you ever become one you will have to send your comrades into dangerous situations, perhaps even to their deaths."

Naruto frowned at that. "Yah, I know… but when I become Hokage I'll just create a world where nobody has to die ya know!"

Before Yamato could call him out on his naiveté, a kikachu bug rose from his clothes and began humming agitatedly. "Hinata-chan, what does that mean?"

"It means Shino-kun has located Sasuke-kun," Hinata replied, Byakugan swinging down and to the left in the direction the bugs indicated.

"Take us to him," Yamato ordered the girl. Finally something was going right.

Hidden in the ground behind them, Kakuzu stiffened as he heard the orders. It seemed all he had to do now was follow this group to Sasuke, and Orochimaru would probably be nearby. Then he could finally get out of this infuriatingly large and overtly complex maze of a base and claim the largest bounty of his entire career. Ditching Hidan seemed to be the correct move; with Itachi and Kisame already somewhere ahead of them he couldn't afford the loudmouthed fanatic slowing him down with his lack of subtlety or annoying religious rituals.

Cautiously he poked his head out of the ground he had been tunneling through to get a better look at the group he was tailing. They didn't sound like Orochimaru's men, and he needed to know what he might have to deal with. His eyes widened as he saw the trademark Konoha flak jackets. However, the young girl in the lead whirled around the instant his head became visible with a cry of alarm to her companions. Kakuzu trembled with excitement as he saw just what he had blundered into. Orochimaru, Sasuke Uchiha, and now this… Today had the potential to be the far and away the most profitable in his entire life.

Naruto and his squad spun around in alarm at Hinata's cry, just as a different masked and black cloaked Akatsuki rose from the ground behind them. "I guess there's no sense in trying to hide from anymore," the strange man rasped out in a gravelly voice. "I was hoping you would lead me to Orochimaru, but taking you down will get me something just as valuable." The cloak bulged and squirmed as two masks supported by what appeared to be a mass of black tentacles rose from behind his back.

"Stay back Sakura-chan, Hinata," Naruto said frantically, eyes wide at the sight. "According to Ero-sennin, the tentacle monsters always go for the girls first!"

Sakura groaned and resisted the urge to send her annoying teammate flying. "You idiot, what the hell has Jiraiya-sama been teaching you?" she said with a blush as Hinata and Sai looked on in confusion.

"Quiet, this is no time for chatter," Yamato warned them. Shino and Sasuke would have to wait; there was no way he was going to divide their small group any further.

Kakuzu made several rapid hand seals, and yelled "combination attack, Typhoon!" The masks expelled twin bursts of wind and water which merged into a hurricane like blast.

'Wind and water, just like Naruto but much stronger,' Yamato thought as he stepped in front making rapid hand signs and slammed his hands on the ground. "Mokuton, wooden barrier!" he yelled as interlocked bars of wood rose from the ground and shielded them from the blast. "Naruto, Sai, go around and test his defenses," he muttered to the two boys, who leapt around the sides of the barrier.

Naruto made his trademark cross hand seal and formed several shadow clones to attack the bounty hunter directly, while Sai jumped to the roof and drew a barrage of falcons to attack from above. Almost carelessly, Kakuzu detached his hands on the black tentacles and shot them out to cut down the clones, while dodging the barrage of inky avians.

Kakuzu resisted a strange impulse to dance with joy as long repressed emotions threatened to bubble forth. The concentration of wealth at his fingertips was enough to boggle even his imagination. "A Mokuton user too," he exclaimed in wonder as the Konoha Shinobi spread out to surround him. "Orochimaru's bounty alone is astronomical, but do you know how much money an unmarked main house Hyuga or a wielder of the Shodai's bloodline are worth? I've spent nearly a century amassing wealth, but the fortune I will get for selling you two could easily dwarf that."

Yamato's expression hardened at the Akatsuki's declaration, while Sakura glared angrily at the man. However, Hinata's eyes widened in fright at his implications as vague memories of her kidnapping all those years ago rose to the surface of her mind. But Naruto's angry voice snapped her out of her moment. "You bastard, don't go putting a price on people's lives!" he roared angrily, and his eyes turned red and whiskers thickened. Fueled by his anger, red chakra bubbled forth and covered his body in a shroud, forming a single tail. "I won't let you take my friends!"

'And the Kyuubi jinchuriki too?!' Kakuzu thought eyes wide. Depending on how this turned out he might have to pay more attention to his annoying partner's religious rants; fortune such as this was nearly enough to convert even a hardened atheist as himself. As the enraged jinchuriki charged at him with little concern for strategy, Kakuzu hardened his arm and stopped the first blow forearm to forearm with a loud crack.

The boy frowned at his opponent's monstrous strength, and twisted around with a vicious kick to the ribs. Kakuzu jumped back, but the chakra around Naruto's leg expanded and caught him in the gut, pushing him back several paces. 'A taijutsu style designed to work with the chakra shroud,' he observed as Naruto pressed the attack, cloak bulging and twisting unpredictably to augment his blows. 'This could be troublesome, though it seems he's not completely in control.'

As Naruto furiously attacked the Akatsuki member, Hinata frowned as she examined the man with her dojutsu. "Yamato-taicho, there's something... off about his chakra network," she said to the team captain beside her. "His body looks... inhuman," she said hesitantly. The tentacle like appendages seemed to move around inside the body with little respect for proper muscle or bone shape, and his chakra system was unusually large and distorted with four dense points of light centered behind the four masks on his back.

Yamato frowned in concern as Sakura tried to flank Kakuzu, but instead smashed a large crater into the ground as the agile man dodged. His counter blast of wind from the mask over his back sent the girl flying, causing Naruto to growl in anger and release a second tail with a violent pulse of chakra. "It's probably a special trick of his, hang back for the moment and try and figure out what it is," he replied as Sai drew a mess of snakes which slithered along the floor in an attempt to disrupt that Akatsuki's footwork. "And stay clear of Naruto in this state."

Back in the fight, Kakuzu caught the jonin's look of concern as he dodged a swipe of Naruto's tails which had tunneled underground in an effort to catch him off guard. He was at a disadvantage against so many opponents in a confined area, and couldn't use his most powerful attacks carelessly without risking damage to the Mokuton user or the Hyuuga. 'A Mokuton user with a jinchuriki…' he mused as a sudden idea came to mind. If he could push the jinchuriki far enough that he lost control, half his problems would simply solve themselves.

"Fighting you three reminds me of the first Konoha shinobi I battled, the Shodai Hokage," he said nostalgically. "He was an idealistic fool just like you. Money is the only constant in this world, and the only reason for your existence."

"That's not true! I fight for my friends and for acknowledgement!" Naruto yelled angrily as he rushed Kakuzu and the two locked hands.

"You are a shinobi of Konohagakure, a mercenary organization that serves as the military of the land of fire. You protect the Daiyamo's economic interests in return for wealth," Kakuzu countered calmly as the two struggled against each other, but kept a wary eye on the approaching ink snakes. "Face the truth, for all memory ninja have existed to obtain or protect wealth. Your missions serve to enrich you and your village, in fact the only reason your superiors authorized this mission to retrieve Sasuke Uchiha is to use his reputation and abilities to bring in more money," he said as the snakes started coiling around his legs.

Naruto growled angrily and a third tail appeared in a massive blast of chakra which burst the ink snakes and threw Kakuzu backwards, shredding his cloak in the process. "Well, that's not MY shinobi way, and you're really pissing me off ya know," he snarled thickly, barely maintaining consciousness above the cloud of red that fogged his mind.

Kakuzu smiled behind his mask as he saw Yamato motion to the other ninja to stay back and stared warily at the jinchuriki. 'Just one more push should do it, and the Uchiha seems to be a sore spot with him.' "Foolish boy, that's not how the world works. One's value is measured only in money and time. And since time is money, I can't waste much more time playing around with you. Hopefully I'll arrive in time or to gather some good samples from whatever parts of Sasuke Itachi leaves behind, any village would pay dearly for an Uchiha's genetic material," he said mockingly.

The words had an instant effect on the boy, and his skin began to flake away leaving him coated in a shimmering blood red and black coat. A massive pillar of red shot up to the ceiling as a fourth tail emerged with an overwhelming burst of foul, angry chakra. "Get behind me!" Yamato yelled frantically as he put his hands on the ground and summoned another wooden shell to protect them from the blast, while Kakuzu expelled a large orb of water to cushion himself from the blast. The ground rumbled and quaked as the roof collapsed as rocks were smashed all around the area.

Sakura and Hinata gasped in horror as the wooden shell retracted to the ground. The chakra explosion had blasted a circular crater clean through to the surface, while Naruto, virtually unrecognizable, roared in pain and anger in its center. "Naruto-kun..." Hinata muttered in horror as her dojutsu saw what was happening to him. "That cloak is eating away at his body," she choked out in anguish.

Sakura clenched her fists in horror, sickened at the thought of her friend going so far to save Sasuke. "Naruto... you don't have to do this, I'll save Sasuke-kun for you!" she yelled.

In unison, Hinata and Sakura began running towards Naruto, only to be pulled back by wooden arms as a red tail lashed inches away from their faces. "Stay back! Naruto can't recognize friend from foe in this state!" Yamato yelled as he set them down. "You three hold off the Akatsuki while I deal with this," he said, then cursed as he looked behind him. Sai was nowhere to be found.

Naruto tilted his head back and began to gather red and blue orbs of chakra, but before the bijudama could condense wooden rods erupted from the ground in an attempt to restrain him. Yamato sweated with effort as he poured more chakra into restraining the berserk jinchuriki as Naruto thrashed within the pillars.

Kakuzu chuckled as he dispelled the sphere of water and loomed ominously over the two girls. Between the open ceiling and the jonin doing his job for him, the fight had swung decisively in his favor.

Author's Note: And we're finally back! Sorry about the long delay, the last two months have been insane. There were some major setbacks in my research which made a bazillion things need to be done a month ago, and to top it off I had to take a couple of unexpected road trips because of some sad personal business. Consequently I've been working 12-14 hour days and weekends all month to catch up and haven't had much time or energy for writing. Things are a bit better now, but the pace of updates will probably be slower until the summer.

So, if you were expecting this to be a story where Naruto comes in and pwns with his epic new skills… sorry to disappoint. While he's stronger from training in Myoboku, he's less mature from spending three years there instead of out in the real world with Jiraiya 24/7. As a result Kakuzu is able to manipulate him into losing control. Don't worry though; Naruto will definitely get his moments to shine, just not right now. Hopefully none of you are too mad about how easily he was baited.

Speaking of mad, I got my first flame review! Had a good laugh at it; never been called a "discounted prostitute" before amongst other things. Kids these days, no manners! Anyway, mega thanks to everyone out there who reviewed or favorited the story. Love it or loathe it let me know; you guys are the reason I'm going to the trouble of getting this out of my head and onto the web.

Omake: Hidan's Ultimate Technique

Hidan sized up the opposition warily. Seven on one in confined quarters was hardly fair; it looked like he would have to bust out his ultimate technique. He quickly made a simple hand seal, and a dozen clones popped into existence at his side. The Konoha shinobi stared in confusion, wondering what the man thought he could accomplish with a simple clone technique.

A wild grin spread across Hidan's face. "Jashinist secret technique, blood geyser no jutsu!" The clones simultaneously transformed into a scene straight out of one of Jiraiya's wildest dreams, with sights tailored to arouse any and all opponents. Hidan cackled madly as he was sprayed with seven massively oversized fountains of blood. The heathens always fell for the deviously simple trick, betrayed by their own lusts. As he started drawing the symbol for the ritual, he offered a sincere prayer of thanks to Jashin who had given him the idea so many years ago in the form of a wild young blonde brat.