Ch 6

Three people and one pig sat at a table in a small town near the northeastern border of the Land of Fire. Two women and one man drank in silence as the time passed and only exchange would be a glare from one of the women. Finally not being able to endure the silence, the sole man of the group spoke.

"Tsunade, we need your help," Jiraiya said almost pleadingly.

A scoff was heard from the woman named Tsunade. "Not a chance, you old toad. I told you I cut my ties with that place long ago."

"Well Konoha did not cut ties with you," Jiraiya replied seriously. "Danzo's in charge now, it won't be long until he declares you a nukenin."

"You think I can't handle Danzo's zombies? Who do you think I am, Jiraiya?"

"Is that really what you want?" Jiraiya asked as he took a sip of his sake. "You want to run away as a nukenin for the rest of your life?"

"Better than going back to that place," Tsunade replied bitterly. "You know how much that village has taken from me."

"Yes, I know," Jiraiya sighed. "But those two would never want your life to end up like this."

A fierce glare was sent in his direction. "What the hell do you know?!"

"I knew them well enough to know they would never want someone they loved to end up like a cowardly nukenin!" Jiraiya said heatedly. "You knew what their dream was, didn't you?"

"Yes, I did," Tsunade replied, her glare still ready. "And look what that led them to."

"So you would let their sacrifice to be in vain?" Jiraiya asked. "Sensei's as well?"

"Better than to go to war we cannot win," Tsunade said with finality. "Do you think you and that brat of yours can do anything against Danzo?"

"Yes," Jiraiya replied firmly. "Naruto knows how to end the Root from the inside and find evidence that will turn the village against Danzo."

"And what worth is that brat of yours? He's just some snot nosed genin who barely got his forehead protector."

"A chunin," Jiraiya corrected. "And he's damn strong. He beat the Shukaku by himself and I already have him train on the Rasengan."

"Rasengan?" Tsunade asked with a mild surprise. "Why would you teach him that?"

"Well it is his father's technique, after all."

A gasp was heard from both women.

"Y-you couldn't mean…" Tsunade whispered in shock.

Jiraiya nodded. "Yes I do. Naruto, or should I say Uzumaki Naruto, is son of Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina."

"K-Kushina…" Tsunade brought her hand to her mouth in shock. "How?"

"After the Kyubi attacked and Minato sealed him, a child was found. Their child," Jiraiya said solemnly. "I knew they were expecting but I never knew when he was due. After I found out, I was already out of the village but sensei knew who that child was."

"I-I can't believe it," Tsunade said and a single tear rolled down her cheek.

"If not for Konoha, would you help us at least for him?" Jiraiya asked quietly.

Tsunade stayed silent for a minute. "I-I'll think about it."

"Alright," Jiraiya said as he stood up. "I will wait at the north end of the village in the morning If you decide to come," and with that, he left.

Silence reigned among two remaining women as time passed. Tsunade drank a full bottle of sake by then. Not being able to see her friend droning in sadness and alcohol, younger woman put a hand on her shoulder.

"Tsunade-sama, what will you do?" Shizune asked quietly.

"I…" Tsunade began with a sigh. "I don't know. What do you think I should do?"

Shizune stayed quiet for a moment before responding. "If not for Konoha, then do it for Naruto-kun. You are his godmother after all," she finished with a sad smile. "And I'm sure Kushina-sama would love for you to be by his side."

Tsunade sighed. "You really have a way with words, you know that?"

Shizune only smiled.

They stayed at the table for a while longer, drinking and thinking before they retired for the night.

Xxxx

Two weeks have passed since Naruto woke up after his fight with Kabuto. He mostly stayed indoors, going out only at night and for short amount of time. He had his training and Izumi to keep him busy so he couldn't complain.

He was already in the last stage of learning Rasengan. After finally popping the water balloon, he easily figured out the second step. Overloading the rubber ball was fairly easy with the amount of chakra he had and now he just had to combine the two steps to finish the technique. He managed to do it once but he couldn't contain the ball of chakra for more than few seconds.

He also trained with his mother's tanto. Using shadow clones, he managed to adjust his kenjutsu style for closer combat, moving in an out to deal damage with the blade. When he inspected the blade closer, he noticed that channeling chakra through it was much easier than through his ninjato and he began to add both wind and lightning chakra to the blade. With wind, he gained range and extreme sharpness which could cut through most things. With lightning, he gained extreme penetration abilities as well as cutting power. Now he wanted to be able to switch from one element to the other fast so he could use it effectively in battle.

His relationship with Izumi confused him though. He was sure he wasn't in love with her but he couldn't deny that he liked her. Otherwise, he wouldn't have sex with her almost every night. He knew there wouldn't be any kind of serious relationship after he left since he was a ninja on the run while she was a hostess in a different country. If he had to name it, he would say they were friends with benefits, a term he found in Jiraiya's book. And from what he saw, she didn't seem to mind.

In all honesty though, Naruto was getting restless. His kenjutsu training reached its peak and the only way to improve it further would be through battles. He was also confident that he would finish the Rasengan in few days. After that, he would have nothing to do until Jiraiya returned.

He sighed as another Rasengan failed to form in his palm. Clenching his tired fist, he dropped on the floor and lied down. It was close to midday and Izumi would soon come to bring him lunch. He would have to thank the girl a lot because he would probably go for days without eating.

The sound of doors being opened caught his attention and he turned his head expecting to see the green eyed beauty only to see the familiar figure of Jiraiya.

"Yo," the man greeted with a grin.

"Damn it Jiraiya, I thought you died by now," Naruto replied with a sigh as he stood up and faced the man.

"Right," Jiraiya said flatly. "What if I told you that I wanted to give you more time with Izumi-chan?"

Naruto blushed slightly. "How do you know about that?"

Jiraiya's eyebrows rose as a grin split his face. "I didn't." he replied with a giggle as Naruto slapped his forehead.

"So," Naruto began as his embarrassment faded. "Since you returned, does that mean you found who you were looking for?"

"Of course!" Jiraiya replied with a huff. "I'm Jiraiya-sama, greatest spy in elemental nations! There is no one I can't find."

"Who was it?"

"You'll meet her soon," was Jiraiya's reply. "Now pack your stuff and say your goodbyes. We're leaving."

"I'll be ready in five minutes," Naruto said as he approached the door.

"I'll be waiting on the roof," Jiraiya replied and disappeared.

Naruto shook his head with a chuckle as he entered the room he shared with Izumi. His pouches were on the desk so he strapped them on, as well as the tanto on his lower back. Then he put his sandals on and turned to leave only to see Izumi standing at the door.

She smiled at him as he approached her and wrapped her arms around him in a gentle hug. "Safe travels, Naruto-kun."

Her gentle voice calmed him and he wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "Thank you, Izumi-san."

The beauty giggled. "I told you not to call me that, Naruto-kun. I'm not that old."

Naruto laughed slightly. "Alright, Izumi-chan."

Izumi pulled back and smiled at the blond before kissing him softly on the cheek. "Goodbye, Naruto-kun."

"Goodbye," he replied and they separated. Naruto then left the room and went to the roof.

Jiraiya looked at Naruto as he appeared by his side and nodded. The blond returned the nod and they both disappeared with a Shunshin. They reappeared in a forest outside the town, hidden by the dense trees. Naruto then looked at the bigger man.

"So when will I meet this mysterious woman you took so long to locate?" he asked.

Jiraiya snorted and pointed behind him. "There she is, brat."

And true to his words, a woman appeared, or two to be more precise. Both very beautiful, yet very different. One was a tall woman with blonde hair set in two pig tails. She had brown eyes, a diamond shaped mark on her forehead and a pair of biggest breasts he had ever seen in his life. The second woman was shorter, with a short black hair and black eyes. Her black kimono covered her entire body but her curves were still prominent. She also held a small pig in her arms wearing a red vest and a pearl necklace.

The blonde approached him first. He had no problems watching only her face as he engraved the image of her breasts deeply in his mind. She stopped in front of him with a strange look in her eyes as she stared at his face. He raised a brow in curiosity and was about to ask her what's wrong when she spoke.

"You look just like her," she said softly and Naruto's eyes widened. "You have his hair and eyes though," she let a soft smile as she watched his shocked expression. "I'm so happy to finally meet you, Naruto."

Then she did something that surprised everyone there. She hugged him.

Naruto stood still in shock as a pair of strong, feminine arms wrapped around his shoulders and his face was buried in a pair of soft mounds. He was even more shocked when he felt tears fall on top of his head and the woman shuddered as she choked back a sob.

"I thought you died…" she said quietly, her voice quivering.

Naruto finally regained his composure and with some difficulty, raised his head to look at the crying woman. "Who are you?"

The woman forced a laugh as she released him and wiped her tears away. "My name is Senju Tsunade. I am your godmother."

Naruto's eyes widened in shock. "W-what?"

Tsunade laughed again, this time softer and less forced. "I was a good friend of your mother for a long time. I watched her grow from a feisty little girl to a strong kunoichi she was. I loved her dearly and, when she asked me to be your godmother, I was overjoyed," her smile then turned sad. "I was away from the village before you were born. When I heard of her death, I was crushed. And I thought… I thought you died as well."

"Tsunade…" Naruto said softly. In just two weeks, his life changed greatly. He found out that his parents loved him and that he even had godparents. It was a lot to take in, honestly. "I don't… I don't know what to say."

Tsunade smiled softly and hugged him again and Naruto hugged her back. "You don't have to say anything. Just know that I will be here for you when you need me."

Naruto smiled and shut his eyes tight, preventing tears from escaping. "Thank you."

The other two people stood on the side, watching the heartfelt reunion with smiles. It was a few minutes later when the pair separated and Naruto turned towards the last unknown member of the group. The black haired beauty smiled and approached him.

"It's great to finally meet you, Naruto-kun," she began. "My name is Shizune and I am Tsunade-sama's apprentice. And this is Tonton," she finished, raising the pig slightly.

Naruto smiled at the two and gave them a small bow. "It's nice to meet you Shizune-san, Tonton-chan."

Shizune smiled and Tonton oinked. "You don't have to be so formal, Naruto-kun. Just call me Shizune."

Naruto nodded with a smile. A cough was then heard from Jiraiya and all turned to face him.

"Now that we're all well acquainted, it's time to discuss important matters," he said seriously.

"Of course," Tsunade said. "As much as I would love to spend some time with my godson, I hear he got himself in quite a bit of trouble," she finished, giving Naruto a pointed look.

Naruto huffed. "Not my fault."

Jiraiya chuckle. "Be that as it may, you are in trouble now so we have to plan ahead."

"So what now?" Naruto asked.

"Now, we train," Jiraiya replied. "Tsunade and Shizune will return to Konoha and be our inside informants while the two of us go somewhere else."

"Is that safe?" Naruto asked with concern in his eyes.

"Don't worry, brat," Jiraiya replied. "Tsunade can take care of herself and, now that she will go back willingly, there won't be any problems."

"Won't Danzo be suspicious though?"

"Oh you bet your ass he will," Jiraiya chuckled. "That bastard will have his men watch her every move for a while but he can't outright hurt her for no reason."

Naruto nodded. "What about us?"

"We are going to the Land of Water or more specifically, Kirigakure."

"What?" Naruto asked in slight shock, feeling shared by the women as well. "They are in the middle of civil war now. What could we possibly gain from going there?"

"I know that, brat. We are going there to help the rebels win the war," Jiraiya replied. "And we have much to gain. You'll get battle experience which is more valuable than any training and we can possibly get some allies in the long run."

"And they will welcome us with open arms?" Naruto asked skeptically.

"Not us, you," Jiraiya replied pointing at him. "I'll have to leave you there since I can't let Danzo find out I'm with you, it'll break my cover and possibly Tsunade's. Besides I have a lead on a dangerous organization I need to check out."

"You sure this is safe?" Naruto asked, this time with worry in his voice.

"Don't worry," Jiraiya ruffled his hair. "I know you can take care of yourself."

Naruto sighed and moved the man's hand off his head. "What about my training? Sure the experience is necessary but it's not enough."

"I'll leave you a scroll with some techniques and give you some pointers as well," Jiraiya replied. "You won't stagnate, trust me."

"Fine," Naruto said. "Are we leaving immediately?"

"Yeah," Jiraiya said. "I wish I could give you two some more time to talk, but Tsunade has to get back to the village before Danzo sends his men after her."

"Don't worry, Naru-chan," Tsunade said seeing the sad look in his eyes. "We'll have a drink after you return to the village."

Naruto looked at her in annoyance at the name before smiling slightly. "Sure."

"Well then," Jiraiya began. "Let's go."

Without any more words, four shinobi jumped to the trees and headed south.

Xxxx

Danzo sat in his chair as his hand gripped the report he was holding. It has been over two weeks now ad there was no sign of Naruto anywhere. He had sent out the best tracking teams in Konoha and none of them found anything. He still cursed Orochimaru for failing.

He had another trouble on his mind however. It was time to deal with Tsunade as he couldn't allow her to wander around anymore. She was an important pawn in this game being the strongest kunoichi in Konoha.

Danzo would give her one chance to come willingly. If she refused, she would be branded as a nukenin and hunted down.

"Fu," he said suddenly and a single ninja appeared before him. "Take a team and locate Senju Tsunade and bring her back. Hiruzen may have given her leniency but I will not. if she refuses, you have permission to take her down."

"As you command, Danzo-sama," Fu replied emotionlessly and disappeared.

With the task given, Danzo returned to his thinking. He was already planning on invading some smaller countries but it was still too early to set those plans to motion. Now he had to strengthen his forces to show that Konoha was still strong even without their jinchuriki.

When Naruto was found however, all of his plans could begin.

Xxxx

Team 7 walked through the gates of Konoha after their mission. With Naruto's absence, they were given another member, Sai. The boy was a capable shinobi although his social skills were terrible. The moment he met the team, he gave them weird nicknames and basically insulted them.

His presence wasn't the only change in the team. When Naruto left, Kakashi began to seriously train his two remaining students, focusing on their weaknesses as well as strengths. He gave Sakura training in endurance and genjutsu, while Sasuke trained with and without his Sharingan.

The two genin also changed a lot. Sakura was a lot quieter and she began to take her training seriously. She also stopped pestering Sasuke and spent her free time in the library, reading about any possible skills she found useful as well as finding out as much as possible about the world beyond the walls of Konoha.

Sasuke changed the most though. After Kakashi put him in his place, his attitude changed completely. He no longer belittled his peers and tried to be cordial with them when they crossed paths. He was still asocial and didn't seek friendship but he acknowledged people around him.

Kakashi could honestly say that he was proud of them. In a way, Naruto's disappearance made them better even if the price was high.

He sighed as he thought about his former student. He didn't believe he was a traitor and was glad his students thought the same. He wished he could talk to him and find out the truth but that was impossible. All he could do now was do his best as a sensei and wait.

When Jiraiya returned to the village, he would be sure to talk to him.

Xxxx

Four figures could be seen running across the trees of the Land of Fire. The plan was to travel together for a while before they would split so they could talk about the plan more. Currently, they were just east of Otafuku Gai in a large clearing where they stopped to rest. It was the final point before they went separate ways.

"Take care of yourself, Naruto," Tsunade said as she gave the blond a gentle hug.

"You too," Naruto replied as he returned it.

The two then separated and Naruto went to stand by Jiraiya.

"You know the plan, Tsunade," Jiraiya said and Tsunade gave him a nod. "Now all that's left is-"

His speech was cut short as they all had to dodge a hail of shuriken heading their way. The for shinobi went into battle stances as they scanned their surroundings for the location of the enemy. They didn't have to look for long as two figures appeared.

A tall man with blue skin and a huge sword on his back and a shorter man with long black hair and a pair of Sharingan eyes. They both wore identical black cloaks with red clouds on them.

"Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame," Jiraiya said warily as he stared the two down. Other three tensed immediately as they knew who these two were.

Kisame grinned. "Glad to know we're known around eh, Itachi?"

Itachi said nothing as he merely stared at Naruto. The bond was unnerved at the stare and he could feel something trying to invade his mind. Pulsing out his chakra, he cancelled the genjutsu and lowered his gaze.

"Don't look in his eyes," he said seriously.

"Looks like the brat is smarter than he looks," Kisame said mockingly.

"Indeed," Itachi replied stoically.

"What do two S ranked shinobi such as yourselves want with us?" Jiraiya asked dangerously. If these two were here, the fight was unavoidable. Such criminals did not appear for idle chitchat.

"We care none of you," Itachi said. "It's Naruto-kun that is our target."

"Oh really?" Jiraiya asked. "And why is that?"

"It is none of your concern," Itachi said. "If you would be so kind and allow us to take him, we do not have to fight."

A scoff was hard. "Yeah right. I guess we have to fight then huh?" Tsunade asked.

Itachi glanced at the woman for a moment. "Kisame, take her out."

Kisame didn't wait for even a second after he heard that and charged at the woman with a manic grin. He appeared in front of her in a second with, swinging a kunai. The group tensed and went to help her but before they could even take a step, Kisame was back by Itachi's side.

"Worked as a charm," Kisame said with a grin and everyone looked at Tsunade.

The woman in question was shaking uncontrollably and her face was covered in drops of blood. Jiraiya watched her in shock before looking at Kisame. Blood dripped from his left hand and Jiraiya realized that the kunai wasn't heading for Tsunade at all.

"What's wrong with her?" Naruto asked in slight panic after seeing the strongest woman in the world shivering like a leaf on the water.

"She's afraid of blood," Jiraiya replied curtly. "Shizune stay back and take care of her."

"Are you sure, Jiraiya-sama?" Shizune asked.

Jiraiya nodded. "We'll be fine."

Shizune gave him an unsure nod and grabbed her mentor before jumping away from them. The two ninja now looked at their opponents.

"So how do you want to do this, kid?" Jiraiya asked the boy at his side. He wanted to see how analytical Naruto's mind was.

"I'll take the big guy," Naruto said looking at Kisame. "He is a straightforward fighter who uses his sword and water ninjutsu. I can counter him with my raiton. On the other hand," he glanced at Itachi briefly, careful not to look in his eyes. "I have no experience in fighting against Sharingan and I'm not much against genjutsu."

Jiraiya gave him a proud look before looking at his opponent. "Alright then. Be careful, Naruto. Kisame is an extremely strong shinobi."

"Yeah, I know," Naruto replied looking at the grinning Kisame.

"It seems you ladies finally reached some consensus," Kisame said mockingly. "Shall we dance?" he finished and gripped his sword before charging at them.

Naruto quickly unsheathed his tanto and met his charge head on. Two weapons clashed and Naruto thought his arm would break. Kisame had the strength of a rhino and it took everything Naruto had not to drop on the ground. With a roar, Naruto pushed his tanto forward and deflected the giant sword before spinning and shooting a roundhouse kick to Kisame's head. It failed however as Kisame lifted his arm and blocked the kick.

"That stung a bit," the blue skinned man said and Naruto quickly jumped away to avoid the weapon heading for his head.

"Then I'll make sure it stings even more," Naruto replied and lightning chakra coated his arms and legs as well as his tanto.

Kisame only grinned. "Bring it on, kid."

And the two charged again.

Xxxx

Jiraiya and Itachi took a calmer approach to a battle as they stared each other down. First move was always critical in a fight. It would make it or brake it and only those of highest skill could salvage a failed first attack.

Jiraiya considered his options as he remembered everything he knew about Itachi. The Uchiha was all around a perfect fighter. His taijutsu was great and his ninjutsu as well as genjutsu was on a whole different level as befitting of an Uchiha.

It was a slight twitch of Itachi's hand that warned him and Jiraiya quickly spun around with a kunai in his hand to block the blade of Itachi's clone. With a strong kick, he dispelled the clone but couldn't rest as he had to block another attack from the real Itachi. Itahi didn't give him a chance to retaliate though as a stream of fire escaped from his mouth. Jiraiya quickly used kawarimi to evade the attack and appeared behind the Uchiha.

Itachi jumped in the air to avoid a kunai to his neck and spun around to send a hail of kunai at the Sannin to prevent him from attacking while he was in the air. Landing a safe distance away, Itachi sent a ball of fire from his mouth right at Jiraiya who slammed his hands on the ground and a wall of dense mud rose to protect him.

As the fire died out, Jiraiya channeled chakra to his right arm and punched the mud wall. Blocks of hardened mud were sent at Itachi at high speed, promising heavy damage if they hit. Itachi predicted the trajectories of the blocks with his Sharingan and evaded them all the while making a set of hand seals. A large dragon made of fire escaped his mouth and flew at Jiraiya who spewed a wall of water from his mouth. The two techniques met with a loud explosion and the area around Jiraiya was enveloped with steam.

Itachi carefully scanned his surroundings but he quickly had to jump in the air to avoid a pair of hands that tried to pull him underground. He wasn't given any time of rest as Jiraiya burst out of the ground and sent a ball of fire at him. Itachi was enveloped in fire instantly.

Jiraiya was still on high alert which proved beneficial as he managed to block a kunai that would have sliced his neck. Itachi's cloak was slightly singed but, other than that, he was unharmed. Jiraiya quickly sent chakra to his hair and his pony tail grew in length to wrap around Itachi. The Uchiha pushed his kunai forward making Jiraiya take a step back and jumped away to avoid the attack. He threw several kunai at Jiraiya, which multiplied in dozens, and the Sannin manipulated his hair to wrap around him in a protective cocoon. The kunai bounced off the hardened hair and fell to the ground and Itachi sent another fireball at Jiraiya.

Jiraiya had no time to dodge and this time he was enveloped in fire, his only defense was his hardened hair. It wasn't much but it was still enough to protect him while he charged through the inferno at Itachi. His clothes smoked at the hems and his wild hair flayed around, flying at Itachi again. Itachi scoffed and evaded but that gave Jiraiya a split second opening. Not stopping his charge, Jiraiya channeled chakra in his right hand and a blue ball of dense, spiraling chakra formed. He extended his hand forward, aiming for Itachi's ribs. The Uchiha's eyes widened and, thanks to all of his hard earned battle experience, he managed to avoid a broken ribcage by a hair. He didn't evade it completely though and he was sent flying.

Itach managed to catch himself in the air and land on his feet but his hand still went to clutch his ribs. He could feel at least two broken from the attack. Had the Rasengan hit fully, his ribs would be crushed and he would most likely die. Sparing a moment to wipe a trail of blood of his mouth, he gazed at his opponent.

"You are as strong as they say, Jiraiya-sama," Itachi said stoically. "You are truly a terrifying opponent."

Jiraiya knew his opponent was just fishing for time but did not try to attack as he also needed a moment to rest. It was quite some time since his last high level fight.

"I can say the same thing about you, Itachi," Jiraiya said. "So much power yet you are so young."

"I'm afraid that this fight won't go anywhere if we keep on like this," Itachi said as his Sharingan started to spin. "How about we raise the stakes?"

Jiraiya grinned. "Oh I was hoping you would say that."

Xxxx

Naruto parried another swing of Kisame's sword to the side and raised his lightning coated leg to land a strong kick to the man's face. This time, Kisame didn't block as he knew the lightning chakra would most likely paralyze his arm. He leaned his head back, avoiding the kick, and swung his sword back to catch the offending leg. Naruto saw the action and quickly diverted his leg towards the sword. The leg and the sword met with a loud bang and Naruto kicked off the sword, spinning around with the added momentum, to kick Kisame's ribs.

Kisame grunted in annoyance and jumped away to evade before thrusting his sword forward and charging. Naruto, still in the spinning motion, bend his stationary leg in a crouch to let the sword pass over his head before clashing his tanto against the offending weapon and sending it to the air. Using the created opening, he pointed his tanto at his opponent and thrust it towards the man. Kisame saw the sharp blade heading for his heart and quickly kicked Naruto's hand making him lose the grip on his tanto. The tanto slipped out of his hand and stabbed the ground several feet away. With his weapon lost, Naruto jumped away to gain some distance.

"You're pretty good for a brat," Kisame said while grinning as he leaned his sword on his shoulder.

"And you're pretty good for a fish," Naruto replied with his own grin.

Kisame's grin took on a malicious glint. "Oh I will enjoy shredding you apart," he said as he pointed his sword at the blond.

"I'd like to see you try," Naruto said with a smirk.

Kisame reacted immediately as he spun around to slice Naruto's shadow clone in two, leaving his back to Naruto. That opening was all the original needed as his hands flashed through hand seals and a beam of lightning flew from his mouth straight at Kisame. The bigger man saw the beam from the corner of his eye and smirked. It was a good strategy. Not good enough though.

Naruto watched in shock as Kisame's raised sword absorbed his lightning beam in mere seconds. What more, he could swear he heard the sword groan in delight as if it just had a pleasant meal. His eyes shifted back to Kisame's grinning face.

"What the hell was that?" Naruto asked.

"Like it?" Kisame asked with a chuckle. "This is Samehada. It absorbs chakra. And shreds," he added as the bandages covering the sword were ripped apart. Naruto could now see the sword in its full glory of blue spikes. "I think we played enough, don't you?"

With that, he charged at Naruto again. Naruto barely managed to dodge a swipe that would rip his head off and backflip away to avoid a kick to his chin. Making two shadow clones, Naruto's hands flashed through hand seals as the clones charged at Kisame. The clones were instantly destroyed but they gave the original enough time to complete his technique. Taking a deep breath, Naruto blew a strong gust of wind at his opponent. Kisame raised his sword to protect himself from the attack but he could do nothing as the small wind blades cut up his arms and legs.

As the attack ended, Kisame lowered his sword only to notice that Naruto wasn't where he was before. Sharpening his senses, he barely turned around to block an attack from behind.

While Kisame was distracted by Naruto's previous attack, the blond snatched his tanto out of the ground and attacked the man from behind. His surprise attack failed and now he was pushing his weapon against the much larger sword with all his might. His teeth clenched as Kisame began to overpower him and with a roar of defiance he pushed harder.

Then, bright light engulfed them.

Xxxx

Shizune watched with wide eyes as two battles raged in front of her. She knew Jiraiya was strong and he could match Itachi easily but she never expected Naruto to be able to fight against the S ranked Kisame and survive. The boy held his ground and matched Kisame perfectly but she knew the nukenin wasn't going all out. If he was, Naruto would probably be dead by now.

Tsunade was by her side, still trembling, yet her eyes never left the blond boy fighting in front of her. She cursed herself for her weakness that prevented her from helping him. She hated being useless deadweight but she could do nothing against it. The blood on her face brought all those painful memories back. Dan, Nawaki and all the others that she couldn't save appeared before her eyes again.

She watched Naruto sending a gust of wind at Kisame before attacking him from behind.

Then she gasped in shock as the light appeared.

Xxxx

At first there was nothing. Then a pained scream echoed across the clearing. Jiraiya and Itachi stopped their fight to look at the other fighting pair from where the scream came. Their eyes widened as the light died down and they could see what happened there.

Naruto stood there with a weapon in his hands. It wasn't his tanto however as the small blade transformed. In his hands now was a greatsword, with a straight and wide blade as black as night and as long as he was tall. The blade was connected to a long handle wrapped in white tape with excess tape hanging from the pommel.

And in front of him was Kisame, kneeling. And missing his left arm. The spectators watched in shock as Kisame's arm rolled on the ground and blood poured from his shoulder. The man in question watched the stump in shock as he stopped screaming, barely believing what he was seeing.

Naruto was shocked as well, more because of the huge weapon that appeared in his hands. Even with the bigger size, the sword was still light and he had no problem holding it up. The black blade gleamed in the sun and the blood on it looked almost purple under the sun.

"Ah it's so good to be out again. What's up Kushi-cha- Who the hell are you?!"

Naruto watched his sword in shock as a voice appeared in his head. A voice that seemed to originate from the sword itself. The voice was surprisingly feminine and nothing like one would expect seeing the dangerous blade. He was cringed slightly as the voice began to scream in his head.

"Who the hell are you and why are you wielding me? Where is Kushi-chan?!"

"What the hell…" Naruto muttered quietly.

The voice growled cutely, preparing for another rant when it was interrupted by a much lower and more sinister growl. Naruto looked down at his opponent and saw the murderous glare sent his way. His blood chilled as those small, beady eyes locked with his, promising painful death.

"You…" Kisame growled at the blond. "You bastard. You're dead!"

With a loud scream, Kisame rose and charged at Naruto, swinging his sword wildly. Naruto managed to block each swing with his own giant blade as Kisame seemed slower than before. His face was pale, extremely so, and each swing seemed weaker that before. Blood oozed from his stump like a river and it probably wouldn't stop any time soon.

Blocking a rather weak swing, Naruto pushed Kisame's sword aside and spun around to slice Kisame's head off his shoulders. And Kisame could do nothing to stop it.

Xxxx

Jiraiya watched the scene unfolding with wide eyes, his battle with Itachi seemingly forgotten. He couldn't believe he would see that blade again or that Naruto could use it so easily. He also couldn't believe that Naruto had an S ranked nukenin at his mercy. So lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice his opponent rush towards his fallen teammate until it was too late.

Itachi ran with all his might towards Naruto and Kisame. He appeared before them in an instant, brandishing a ninjato and using it to block Naruto's blade from decapitating his partner. No moves were wasted as he batted the larger blade aside and swung his ninjato towards Naruto.

The blond was completely and utterly unprepared for this interruption and he could do nothing as Itachi's ninjato sliced along the right side of his face. Naruto couldn't even scream in pain as he felt his eye being sliced as Itachi stabbed the ninjato straight through his chest. Naruto's mouth opened in a silent scream as he dropped to his knees with a sword sticking out of his chest.

Itachi wasted no moment as he grabbed his partner's collar and jumped on a huge crow he summoned. Just in time as a chakra coated fist slammed into the ground where he stood only a second ago. As the bird flew away, Itach's Sharingan clearly saw enraged Tsunade glaring at him.

As the two Akatsuki members vanished, Tsunade's rage turned into intense worry as she looked at the boy behind her. Naruto was pale and on the verge of unconsciousness as blood leaked from his chest. She could also see the damage on his face as well as his eye but she couldn't do anything about it. She had to deal with the sword wound or he would die. And she would kill herself before she let that happen.

She gently laid him on the ground and swiftly pulled out the sword from his chest. Her glowing hands immediately landed on the wound, beginning the difficult process of healing. She didn't even notice as Jiraiya and Shizune appeared by her side.

The only thing on her mind was Naruto and his life that hanged on a thread.