Two figures trekked across the vast desert known as the Land of Wind as they approached the border. The two figures were donning cloaks with the trademark red clouds of the Akatsuki. These two were Deidara and Sasori. Above the two figures was an owl carrying a male with red hair. The male captured inside the owl was Suna's Kazekage, Gaara.

"That boy would have killed you if not for my intervention." said Sasori as he and Deidara continued to walk.

(Flashback: Earlier that day)

Deidara crashed into the ground roughly with several burn marks and a few broken bones as Gaara came to land several feet away in the clearing with him. Sand began to swirl around Deidara as Gaara looked upon him with a stoic expression.

"This is the end for you." said Gaara as the sand continued swirling around Deidara. Gaara was the first to notice Deidara flying over his village on his clay bird. Gaara spotted it easily due to the fact that that type of bird Deidara created did not inhabit Suna. After a long aerial fight against the dangerous bomber, Gaara managed to finally capture him with his sand. Before Gaara could crush him though, Deidara detonated a bomb to escape the prison and was sent careening out of the village walls. Gaara followed him to finish him off.

"Shit." said Deidara as the sand was beginning to cover his upper body. Deidara was running low on chakra and not to mention the fact that Gaara was incredibly strong and left him no ability to fend off the sand by covering parts of his body he'd need to even attempt an escape. Before the sand could reach his entire upper body, it was sent away by a shroud of..Iron Sand?

"I told you not to make me wait." came the voice of Sasori standing next to what appeared to be a Puppet version of Sunagakure's Sandaime Kazekage (Third Wind Shadow). "Then you almost die. Forget going solo, we'll take him together."

Deidara dug his hands into his pouch as the puppet of the Sandaime floated beside Sasori ominously. Despite Gaara's calm outward expression, on the inside he knew that this was an unfavorable match up. His hands were already full against Deidara. And now added to the mix was a puppet master utilizing a puppet of Suna's strongest kage that wielded the strongest Kekkai Genkai of Suna, it just didn't bode well for the young kage.

Despite the circumstances, Gaara still prepared to face off against the two S-rank shinobis.

(Flashback End)

Deidara merely chuckled as they continued to walk across the desert with the Kazekage in tow above them. "Well he is the Kage of his village. Even though Suna is considered the weakest, a Kage is a Kage. Don't forget that he houses the Ichibi while fighting in the sand. Mmmm. I think me and my art did pretty well despite the circumstances." said Deidara. "How long til we get to the sealing area? We're finally out of the sand."

"It shouldn't be too long, by sunrise we should be there. Remember though, it'll take us at least 3 days to finish the sealing. Let's hurry. I don't like making people wait." said Sasori.

(In Konoha, the next morning)

Tsunade sat at her desk with Sakura behind her as they looked over paperwork. Just as Tsunade prepared to sign the final document, Shizune burst through the doors with a note in her hand.

"Tsunade-sama!" shouted Shizune frantically as she handed Tsunade the note. "Suna was invaded by the Akatsuki and Gaara was taken hostage."

"Gaara was defeated first then was seen being abducted by Sasori of the Red Sands and Deidara from Iwagakure, based off Kankuro's viewpoint. He went after the two but was defeated by Sasori and left poisoned." said Tsunade. "They must have struck after Naruto left as there is no way he'd let something like that happen while he was still there. We have to get a hold of him somehow."

"What about the toad that you use to talk to Jiraiya-sama?" asked Sakura as Tsunade nodded her head. Tsunade opened the drawer to her desk to pull out a scroll. After pulling out the scroll and opening it, she pulled out a vial of blood and dropped a few splotches across the seal on the scroll.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique)" said Tsunade, slamming her palm onto the seal. A poof of smoke later and a small red toad appeared on her desk. After writing a small note, Tsunade gave the note to the toad. "Give this to Naruto as quick as possible. Please hurry."

The toad nodded his head before dispelling himself in a puff of smoke. Tsunade then bit her nail as she remembered a part of the letter sent by Sunagakure. "Sasori of the Red Sands. He's a poison specialist and if that's so, Suna may need a medic. A good medic to tend to Kankuro, so Sakura I'll have to send you to aid them...but I can't just send you alone." said Tsunade as she then looked to her window. "Perfect timing."

"Of course. Nothing less. Though Naruto may already be here. That toad may not have been necessary as we can just catch him on his way back." said the ninja on the windowsill without even looking up from his little orange book. "I heard everything so, Sakura I'll meet you at the gate in ten minutes. Don't be late." With that, the silver haired ninja disappeared in a poof of smoke.

Sakura and Tsunade sweat dropped. "Coming from you Kakashi-sensei..." said Sakura as Tsunade shook her head. Sakura then disappeared in a swirl of cherry blossoms as she vanished to get her stuff ready for the mission at hand.

(3 days later)

Naruto and Yugito were speeding through the forest trying to get to where Sunagakure stated the Akatsuki members departed to. They were nearly back to Konoha when a small toad appeared before Naruto giving him the sad news of Gaara getting captured. Naruto immediately made a reverse track back to Sunagakure which took him and Yugito 3 days to get back to. They were joined by Kakashi and Sakura but left ahead of those two since Sakura stayed to take care of Kankuro. They were nearing the place where Naruto could sense a huge chakra, which was probably where the Akatsuki memebers where when he felt two smaller chakra signatures approaching.

"Yugi-chan." said Naruto clad in his anbu uniform without his mask on. "They sent someone to stop us from saving Gaara. Actually two and if it's who I think it is then we'll have some trouble. Be ready."

Yugito was clad in an all black outfit, complete with a face mask identical to Kakashi's own. Yugito pulled her mask down with her hand as she nodded her head. "I'm ready. We can't let those in the Akatsuki take one of us Jinchuriki without a fight. Be careful." said Yugito, sneaking a kiss with Naruto before pulling her face mask back up. Naruto then took off faster with Yugito right behind him.

About a minute later, they arrived in a clearing surrounded by trees to see two figures, both clad in Akatsuki cloaks. One had a pair of Sharingan eyes while the other had blue skin and an enormous, bandaged sword on his back.

"Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki. We meet again." said Naruto as he and Yugito stood parallel across Itachi and Kisame. "But something feels off" thought Naruto about the two Akatsuki members opposing him.

"It's been some time, Naruto-kun." came the seemingly emotionless voice and disposition of Itachi. "And it's a pleasure to meet you finally, Yugito-san."

Yugito nodded back. "Of course it is. Except for the fact that you're killing someone at the moment or that you're an organization hellbent on capturing the tailed beasts, one of which I happen to house." said Yugito back to Itachi as Kisame laughed slightly.

"Well enough of this talking. You're trying to get to your friend and we're here to stop you. Let's get to it." said Kisame as he lunged at the two Jinchurki with a swing of his sword. Naruto pulled out a tri-pronged kunai as he blocked the large sword. While Naruto and Kisame were locked in a battle of kunai vs sword, Yugito attempted to strike Kisame down from his blindside, only to be hindered by the sudden appearance of Itachi.

Itachi and Yugito then engaged in a taijutsu battle as Itachi drifted Yugito away from Kisame and Naruto, leaving the two alone in the clearing.

"Seems that brat I met some 3 years ago in Tanzaku Gai has grown up." said Kisame with a laugh and intrigued smirk. "You're a lot stronger. Strong enough to match me. I'm impressed."

"Heh. Maybe. But then again, you're a lot weaker than I remember." said Naruto, holding a critical eye as he held Kisame's blade away from him with his kunai. "I'd say less than half of what you were 3 years ago. So either you've gotten weaker or it's some kind of jutsu. Nonetheless."

Naruto backpedaled slightly as he and Kisame clapped their hands together preparing a jutsu.

"Suiton: Dai Bakusui Shoha (Water Style: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave)" said Kisame as he spat out a massive amount of water, which immediately covered the area in powerful waves. The waves then rushed out toward Naruto, who preformed his own jutsu to counter.

"Doton: Doryu Joheki (Earth Style: Earth-Style Rampart)" thought Naruto before a giant rampart of Earth began to rise beneath his feet, lifting him out of the waves destructive force. Kisame and his waves crashed into the wall, stopping on impact as Kisame looked up to see Naruto holding the ram seal. Kisame was about to retreat back in case of a jutsu, only to see 3 more walls of earth rise up around him, boxing him in completely. Two wood clones morphed out of the original Naruto's body as he prepared his technique.

"Futon: Gama Yudan (Wind Release: Toad Oil Bullet)" thought Naruto as he spewed out a torrent of wind-enhanced oil thanks to a clone pressing a palm to his back, funneling wind into his Oil Bullet. The high speed oil hit Kisame directly with tremendous force as Naruto's other clone flung an explosive note into the mix.

BOOM!

An enormous explosion erupted from the ground as the corridor of Earth exploded outward from the force of the oil mixing with the explosive note. Naruto and his clones landed on the ground as they checked for signs of Kisame in the rubble.

"Did we get him?" asked one of the clones not seeing a sign of Kisame left.

"Looks like it." replied Naruto's other clone. Not a second after saying that, Naruto looked to his right as he saw what appeared to be a giant, bandaged fin approaching him and his clones.

"Not yet." said Naruto as out of the ground, Kisame appeared holding his sword, unscathed from Naruto's recent attack. "Mizu Bunshin (Water Clone)."

Kisame laughed again. "That was a nice combination. Too bad it'll take more than that to defeat me." said Kisame, placing his sword over his shoulder.

"I have no time to waste. I have to finish this now." thought Naruto before he reached into his pouch and pulled out his Gama mask. Naruto's clones dispelled as he placed on the mask and clapped his hands together.

"So you're using that are you." came the voice of Kurama in Naruto's head. Naruto internally nodded as red markings began to appear on his face, not that Kisame could see due to his mask. "And I'm guessing you put the mask on to keep him from seeing it and possibly reporting back to his leader. Tch. Pretty smart ningen. Though I'm sure that sword of his will sense the power up."

"Damn right it's smart. Plus, I've always wanted to test this jutsu on a real opponent and I can only use it without drawback in Sage Mode." replied Naruto, holding out a hand as he created a Rasengan in a flash. The ground around Naruto began to crumble as Naruto added Earth manipulation to his jutsu. Naruto's Rasengan began to give off a loud, power-drill like buzz as a swirl of brown began to morph around it. Naruto clutched his forearm with his other hand as the Rasengan turned a light brown color with a spiraling spear appearing around it, pointed directly at Kisame. The spear coated Naruto's arm up to his elbow as the tip of the spear was past his hand, which held the Rasengan.

Samehada began to flail wildly as Kisame received the message loud and clear, even without Samehada's warning. "I know. You could probably feel that massive spike in chakra from miles away. And I'm not stupid to not know that that jutsu is powerful." said Kisame before clapping his hands together. "But then again, that thing is made of chakra and I have the perfect jutsu to use against it."

"Suiton: Da-" Kisame was cut off by the immediate appearance of Naruto via Shunshin. "Too Fast."

"Senpo: Doton: Rasenyari (Sage Art: Earth Style: Spiraling Spear)" thought Naruto drilling the jutsu into Kisame's gut. As the spear hit Kisame, a massive shockwave occurred, tearing up the landscape around the two. Samehada attempted to absorb the jutsu but was blown away from the violent explosion of raw power from Naruto's jutsu. As Naruto's jutsu drilled into Kisame, the surrounding land also began to merge into the Rasenyari before exploding outward and sending Kisame flying, creating a deep, cone-like trench with his body at the head of it.

Naruto let his arm go as he shook out the effects of using that jutsu. "Hell yeah! That's even better than when I did it in Myobokuzan." said Naruto with a small smirk. "I can't wait to tell Jiraiya-sensei about this one."

Naruto then performed a series of Shunshin to follow Kisame since he sent him flying to where Itachi and Yugito disappeared to, earlier in the fight.

(Earlier)

"Well enough of this talking. You're going to get your friend and we're here to stop you. Let's get to it." said Kisame as he lunged at the two Jinchurki with a swing of his sword. Naruto pulled out a tri-pronged kunai as he blocked the large sword. While Naruto and Kisame were locked in a battle of kunai vs sword, Yugito attempted to strike Kisame down from his blindside, only to be hindered by the sudden appearance of Itachi.

Yugito didn't stop however and began to throw a flurry of strikes at the stoic Uchiha. Itachi just continued to backpedal and dodge as he led Yugito out of the clearing, away from Kisame and Naruto. Having enough of trying to hit the Uchiha, Yugito flew through several hand seals at a rapid pace.

"Nezumi Kedama (Mouse Hairball)" said Yugito as she fired off a massive blue fireball at Itachi. "Dodge this." thought Yugito as the jutsu broke apart into dozens of smaller fireballs that honed in on the motionless Uchiha. Yugito was in for a surprise when the jutsu hit Itachi full force and sent him back in a blazing, blue fire into a tree. However, upon hitting the tree, Itachi dissolved into crows that began to take flight at Yugito.

"Wake up Kitten. It's a Genjutsu." came the voice of the Nibi inside Yugito's head, forcing her Jinchuriki partner out of a Genjutsu placed on her. Upon being released, the crows that were coming toward her turned into fast-paced shuriken.

"Thanks Nibi." replied Yugito to her partner as she extended her fingernails. With grace and agility, Yugito dodged the numerous shuriken and whichever ones she couldn't, she'd cut through with her sharp fingernails. Yugito sliced through the last shuriken as she then lunged to her right, flying into a nearby bush. Itachi came jumping out of the bush as Yugito mauled straight through it in hopes of getting him.

Itachi landed on a nearby tree branch as he looked on at the female jinchuriki. Yugito smirked as she looked up at Itachi. "Is a member of the mighty Uchiha clan running? I thought that in a one on one fight you should always run from a member of your clan. I guess it's kind of true since one of us is running." said Yugito as her fingernails receded back to their normal size.

Itachi's expression never changed. "It's not a matter of me running away. My job was to just impede you and Naruto-kun. I'm not here to win by any means." said Itachi as he then put a hand to his mouth. "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu (Fire Style: Grand Fireball Technique)" thought Itachi firing an enormous fireball at Yugito.

"I didn't even see him weave the signs." thought Yugito placing her hands in the tiger seal to respond. "Katon: Endan (Fire Style: Flame Bullet)" said Yugito blowing out an equally as big fireball of blue fire. The two jutsus clashed into each other as they fought for dominance. Yugito noticeably began to dominate the Uchiha as her fire was pushing back into Itachi. Then Yugito saw something that shocked her. Another Itachi appeared, jumping from behind the first with a jutsu already prepared. "His seal speed is unbelievable. To be able to create a fireball and shadow clone, how good is this guy?"

"Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu (Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique)" thought the airborne Itachi as he sent out a dozen miniature fireballs at the still fire-breathing Yugito. Halfway to Yugito, her entire body became cloaked in a Jinchuriki cloak. Instead of the normal red, version 2 Jinchuriki cloak, Yugito was instead bathed in a majestic blue chakra cloak. Thanks to the white necklace given to her by Naruto, it helped Yugito tame the potent chakra of the Nibi and turn it into a true jinchuriki cloak like Naruto's.

An arm of chakra appeared from the chakra cloak and swatted away the fireballs with ease as Yugito immediately overpowered the first Itachi in the fireball battle and sent him blazing into a poof of smoke.

"He's good. That first Itachi was the actual clone. He was hiding out this whole time." thought Yugito still in her blue chakra cloak as her chakra arm receded back into her cloak.

"You're right kitten. With those eyes of his he could counter your speed and not to mention the fact of how fast he is already. It's going to be tough but in your Jinchuriki cloak it should be easy to get him now, especially with the increased speed. Maybe you cou-" replied the Nibi before she felt a massive spike of chakra. "Kitten do you feel that?"

"Who couldn't feel that?" replied Yugito as the chakra was incredible. "Is that Naruto-kun? I've never felt something so powerful. It's even stronger than Raikage-sama. Is that the Kyubi?"

"No kitten. There's not an ounce of Kurama's power in there. That's all him." replied Nibi as Yugito stood in awe of the power spike.

"It seems Naruto-kun is finished playing around. He's certainly grown stronger." thought Itachi with a small, unseen smile as he could see a massive wave of earth heading toward him and Yugito. Yugito jumped out of the way while Itachi stayed situated on the tree he was in since he was out of the way. The wave of Earth went flying past them and out of sight, but you could make out Kisame inside of it. "That's an impressive jutsu. And it looks like he's arrived here now."

Naruto appeared materializing next to Yugito in a shunshin, still with his mask on. Naruto and Yugito's hair was swaying due to the wind flowing through the area by Naruto's jutsu as they looked up at Itachi moving the hair out of his eyes. Naruto noticed something weird about Itachi though.

Taking off his mask, Naruto looked toward the Konoha nuke-nin. "That's a serious wind blowing through here right now, so how is your cloak not moving?" said Naruto watching Itachi. Yugito then took notice of that fact as well.

"You know what, you're right. We were fighting and he was moving around a lot yet his cloak never moved. It's crazy now that you made me notice it." said Yugito before that Naruto before her dispelled in a poof of smoke. Another Naruto appeared behind Itachi, stabbing a tri-pronged kunai into his back.

"Heh. I knew it wouldn't be that easy." said Naruto as Itachi detonated on him. The Itachi Naruto stabbed turned out to be yet another clone using the Bunshin Daibakuha (Clone Great Explosion) to explode in Naruto's face. Instead of blood and body parts, that Naruto turned out to be a wood clone. Yugito was in awe of the quick sequences of events and the fast paced actions of the two shinobi.

"Over there. To the left kitten." said the Nibi in Yugito's head as she turned to see what her Bijuu was talking about. Upon turning, Yugito saw another Naruto with his mask on, hitting Itachi directly with a Rasengan. A huge Rasengan.

"Senpo: Odama Rasengan (Sage Art: Big Ball Rasengan)" thought Naruto hitting Itachi directly, the real Itachi. Naruto sent out two clones ahead, both of them dropping Sage mode to keep it hidden while he waited to strike Itachi. While in Sage Mode, Naruto could easily sense where the real Itachi Uchiha was and quickly dispose of him. After blasting Itachi away, Naruto could have sworn he saw a smile on the emotionless Uchiha's face.

Itachi was blasted away from Naruto and sent skidding back through the forest as Yugito landed beside Naruto. Naruto looked at Yugito before nodding his head. Right as Naruto nodded his head, A huge explosion of dust, rocks, trees, and debris exploded into the air. Signs of Naruto's earlier Rasengan into Kisame finally detonating in the distance.

"Damn. That thing just now exploded." said Kurama in Naruto's head. "It's on a scale near a Bijuu dama (Tailed Beast Ball)."

"I mean you can just say it. I impressed you. Go on, I'm waiting." replied Naruto in his head before hearing a scoff from his partner. "Well that's better than nothing. Now to pinpoint Gaara again."

Naruto closed his eyes behind his mask as he focused on his sensing ability. After a few seconds, Naruto found a wave of chakra being released that matched Shukaku's. Naruto opened his eyes to see Yugito still in awe over the Rasengan that just exploded not to long ago.

"Yugi-chan. We have to hurry. I can barely feel Gaara's chakra." came the voice of Naruto, snapping Yugito out of her state of awe. Yugito looked toward Naruto and nodded as the two took off to where Naruto could feel Gaara's chakra. Naruto and Yugito took off in a sprint as they headed to where Naruto could sense Gaara'a weakening chakra.

"Please make it in time." thought Naruto as he continued to sprint at a rapid pace. Yugito was having a tough time keeping up with Naruto, even in her Jinchuriki cloak.

"Did he power up or something? How is he so fast and strong? I'll have to ask him later." thought Yugito barely keeping up with the speed of Naruto. Eventually though, Naruto and Yugito landed in a ravine, facing a huge boulder with a seal tag on it that blocked the area holding Gaara. "That's a five-seal barrier tag right?" questioned Yugito as Naruto nodded his head at her flexing her knowledge of sealing. "Well I mean I do have a Seal Master for a boyfriend and all. But anyway, the only way pass this is by taking off the other four tags and this one at the same time correct?"

"That's one way of doing it. Or we could.." said Naruto before leaping up to the boulder. Naruto reached into one of the ninja pouches on his back and pulled out a paint brush and some ink. Dipping the brush a few times, Naruto brushed over the Seal tag in front of him, placing a seal over it. Naruto looked at it for a second and being satisfied with his work, put his hand in a half ram seal. "Kai (Release)" said Naruto as the tag before them turned blank.

"Sealing is incredible. I see why the Uzumaki clan was brought to near extinction back during the Second Ninja War. It has so many uses." said Yugito as Naruto placed a palm on the rock before them. Naruto funneled a bit of Earth chakra into the boulder as a spider web crack opened up along the entire boulder. Seconds later, the once boulder, broke apart into tinier rocks as they were blasted into the area containing only Deidara and Sasori, the former sitting atop a motionless Gaara.

"Seems like you have finally arrived." said Deidara as he stood up from sitting atop Gaara. "But you're a little late, your friend here is dead." Yugito looked somber at that as even though she hadn't known Gaara for long, he was still a person and even a Jinchuriki at that. Naruto's facial expression couldn't be seen behind the white porcelain of his Anbu mask, but if his face was view able, Deidara and Sasori would be able to see angry, golden eyes beneath his mask.

"We have to get out of here. Leader-sama said that the Kyubi Jinchuriki should not be faced. And from what Itachi and Kisame just said about their encounter with him, it'd be wise to leave this place." thought Sasori as Deidara felt the same way. He didn't want any kind of interaction with the Kyubi Jinchuriki especially since he was sure that he was angry about Gaara. Deidara pulled out a clay bird as he prepared to ditch the area. Before he could make his bird grow into it's full size, Naruto appeared before him in a Shunshin with a tri-pronged kunai in hand.

"Fast like Kisame said." thought Deidara as he and Sasori jumped away from Naruto. Naruto stood beside the body of Gaara as he looked down at the fallen Kage. Pricking his finger on his kunai, Naruto slammed a palm beside the motionless Gaara. A small yellow toad appeared as it opened up its mouth and swallowed Gaara whole before disappearing in a poof of smoke. While that was happening, Deidara and Sasori were already on Deidara's bird as they began to fly above Naruto and Yugito to escape.

That plan was halted however at the appearance of a large, purple barrier. "Shishienjin (Four Violet Flames Formation)" came the voice of four Naruto's situated in a rectangle around the four shinobi. The original Naruto looked up at the two Akatsuki members while taking off his mask. The red markings around his eyes and on his forehead were in full display as he stared down the two.

"I'm going to fucking kill you." said Naruto, cracking the ground as he clapped his hands together. The ground rumbled violently as it quaked at Naruto's power.

"This is not good." thought Deidara as he and Sasori looked on at the Sage Jinchuriki.

(Outside)

"Hurry Sakura. We're almost there." said Kakashi as he, Sakura, and his dog summon Pakkun raced through the forest. Sakura finished healing Kankuro and the two were now headed to back up Naruto and Yugito.

"Hai sensei." said Sakura as she continued to jump behind the two in front of her. As they were jumping, they noticed a giant trench in the ground.

"It seems like Naruto isn't messing around. That's his chakra that created this." said Pakkun. "And he's about one more mile away. I can smell four others in the area as well. One being his girlfriend, Gaara, and two others that I don't recognize."

"It must be the pair of Akatsuki members that you're smelling. We should move faster." said Kakashi as the group of three picked up their speed. "I can't lose another person close to me. Please make it in time."

(Inside the Cave)

"We have to get out of here now Sasori no Danna (Master Sasori). That kid seems hellbent on killing us. We need to go." said Deidara in a panic as a majestic, orange chakra began to cover Naruto that looked eerily like the Nine-Tailed Fox.

"No matter how you look at it, one of us will die today. There's no way we'd be able to get away from that boy, especially considering the Nibi is right there with him." said Sasori from inside his puppet. "I will be the decoy. I'll have a better chance against those two then you would, my abilities would be able to work better. While I distract him, you find a way to dispel this barrier, all you have to do is take out one of the users and it should dissipate. You have to get this info back to Leader-sama about the Jinchuriki's power."

Deidara stared at Sasori for a second before nodding his head at the plan. He was totally right and one of them needed to get the information on the Kyubi back to their Leader for his impending battle against him. Right after nodding his head, the ground under Naruto burst open as a massive Wooden structure appeared beneath him. The two Akatsuki members stared in awe as a Wooden version of the Nine Tailed Fox was created.

"Senpo: Mokuton: Kumiho (Sage Art: Wood Style: Nine-Tailed Fox)" thought Naruto as the orange chakra of Kurama that was surrounding him molded into the wooden fox below him. Once it settled in, the Fox's eyes glowed a vibrant orange as it roared out at the two members of Akatsuki. Yugito, still cloaked in her blue chakra, jumped on top of the Wooden fox next to Naruto.

"Naruto-kun. Don't you think this is a bit much?" questioned Yugito as Naruto never looked at her. His once golden eyes were now orange and slit, a combination of his golden, Sage Mode eyes and Kurama's own red, slit ones.

"Yugi-chan. They killed Gaara. What did Gaara ever do to deserve this?" questioned Naruto right back. As Naruto finished talking, the Wooden Fox opened it's mouth as a gigantic Rasengan formed in front of it.

"Naruto. If you continue this, you'll just kill yourself as it will bounce off the barrier and detonate in here with you." came the calm voice of Kurama as Naruto heard his partner's words. "You'd have to release the barrier if you plan to use that jutsu."

"You're right. It will detonate in here. But me and Yugi-chan will be fine. As long as we're inside the wooden domain of the fox. It'll be able to withstand the power of it." came the reply of Naruto, surprising Kurama that even though he could feel Naruto's hectic emotions.

"I guess that Anbu training really does help. He's gotten a lot better at keeping calm. If this was him a few years ago, he'd attack blindly and be killed. These two aren't an arm less Orochimaru and his goons. They'd beat him if he was just going off of blind rage." thought Kurama about Naruto. Naruto allowed the head of the Fox to open, allowing Naruto and Yugito entrance as it closed them within it's head. The Rasengan eventually finished forming as the fox took aim. No matter where it sent it out, the ball would explode and take anything inside the barrier with it.

"Deidara, be ready!" shouted Sasori as he had pulled out a scroll earlier that just dispelled, summoning 100 puppets in red cloaks around them. All the Puppets then activated chakra shields and surrounded themselves around Sasori and Deidara as Naruto's fox opened it's mouth to release it's jutsu.

"Senpo: Rasenho (Sage Art: Spiraling Cannon)" said Naruto as his Kumiho blasted a violent wave of energy. The barrier held firm like Naruto said it would as it expanded upward to allow the jutsu a small escape to keep the barrier from collapsing at it's strength. Smoke billowed out everywhere as the inside of the cave was shrouded in it. Inside the smoke cloud, Naruto's wooden fox held firm to the jutsu as Naruto and Yugito came out of it unscathed once the jutsu began to die down.

"Yugi-chan. They are still alive. And one of them escaped." said Naruto as the smoke began to leave the cave. Naruto's clones dispelled themselves ending the barrier that surrounded them. "Kakashi-sensei and Sakura-chan are outside. Go with one of them...preferably Kakashi since the poison user is in here and Sakura would be of help here against him. Please hurry and be safe."

Yugito nodded her head as she began jumping out of the cave to get out and chase the escaping Deidara. That was the scene Kakashi and Sakura arrived at to see smoke coming out of the cave along with a man on a clay owl and Yugito cloaked in a blue cat shroud in hot pursuit.

Yugito stopped for a second to acknowledge the two new arrivals. "Kakashi-san, come with me. We're going to get him while Sakura-san goes in the cave to help Naruto with Sasori. Let's go." came the voice of Yugito as Kakashi and Sakura nodded their heads. Kakashi took off with Yugito as they pursued the fleeing Deidara while Sakura leaped into the cave to join Naruto.

(Inside the Cave)

"That was an impressive jutsu kid. It was able to completely destroy my Akahigi: Hyakki no Sōen (Red Secret Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets). But I'm still here." came the voice of Sasori, whose was now revealed due to his first puppet being destroyed by Naruto's jutsu. Sasori was a man of average height with brown eyes and shaggy red hair. The weird thing about Sasori was that he looked the same age as Naruto, if not slightly younger.

"That doesn't make sense. I heard that he was an important fighter for Suna during the 3rd shinobi war. That's how he earned his name Sasori of the Red Sands. So how could he be my age?" thought Naruto before he saw a pink blur appear behind Sasori. "Doesn't matter now. Sakura's got him."

"Okasho (Cherry Blossom Impact)" came the voice of Sakura as pink chakra swirled around her right fist. Sasori's eyes widen upon feeling the full force of Sakura's fist impacting against his back. Sasori's body split apart as it flew past Naruto, leaving him looking at Sakura.

"You okay Naruto? He didn't get you with any of his weapons did he? Kankuro had a mere scratch yet he was close to dying. His poison was like nothing I've ever seen." said Sakura as Naruto shook his head no. Sakura then took notice of the red markings on his face. "Naruto...is that Sage Mo-"

Sakura was cut from talking as Naruto performed a shunshin beside her before spewing out a massive amount of water.

"Senpo: Suiton: Kyodai Tsunami (Sage Art: Water Style: Giant Tsunami)" thought Naruto as an immense wave of water rushed out at Sasori, who was somehow back intact after being split apart by Sakura's punch. Sasori upon standing, fired out two streams of fire from his palms at Naruto and Sakura. Naruto felt him activating it and in turn used his own jutsu that easily trounced the streams of fire from Sasori while sending him washing away with the powerful wave of water.

"We need to hurry. Even though I'm sure Yugi-chan and sensei can handle the other guy, I'd rather know for sure." said Naruto standing atop the water.

"I agree Naruto. But we need to find his weak spot. There's no way anyone, even you, would be able to take a direct hit from my punch and still be able to move." said Sakura as she and Naruto stared down the emotionless Sasori. "It's clear that he's just a puppet but there has to be something powering him."

"You're right Sakura-chan. I think I already know what it is though." said Naruto before whispering something in Sakura's ear. A nod from Sakura later, and the two Jonin of the leaf took fighting stances as they prepared to face off against Sasori once more.

"It's time for me to show you the strongest kekkai genkai in all of Suna. Satetsu (Iron Sand)" said Sasori before pulling one of the scrolls off his back. The scroll disappeared in a poof of smoke as a puppet took it's place. "This puppet is the strongest Kazekage in history, the Sandaime Kazekage (Third Wind Shadow)"

"Well that makes it interesting." said Naruto as an trail of sand seeped from the mouth of the puppet. The sand then began to form a line in front of the Kazekage before protruding with ball like structures.

"Satetsu Shigure (Iron Sand Drizzle)" said Sasori as dozens of balls of Iron Sand rocketed toward Sakura and Naruto. Sakura never moved as Naruto slammed a palm on the ground. A gigantic hand emerged from the ground, big enough to protect Sakura and Naruto from the Iron Sand attack.

"Mokuton: Hotei no Jutsu (Wood Style: Laughing Buddha Jutsu)" thought Naruto as several more gigantic hands appeared out of the ground around Sasori in aim to smash him into the ground. Sasori wasn't having that as he prepared another of the Kazekage's jutsu. The Iron Sand compressed itself into a large sword that the puppet Kage used to slice the hands before they could reach him.

"Satetsu Kesshu (Iron Sand Gathering Assault)" said Sasori as the hands thudded on the ground. The hand that protected Naruto and Sakura in the first place, fell back into the ground revealing only Sakura, who had her arms in an X. Sakura dropped her hands as her skin turned a bright red.

"Hachimon Tonkou: Seimon Kai (Eight Gates: Gate of Life Release)" said Sakura as her eyes gave off an pink glow. Sakura then disappeared in a feat of speed as she approached Sasori. Sakura was certainly no pushover nowadays, she trained hard during her time under Tsunade and even got some help from Rock Lee and Guy Sensei. After a long time training with the two, Sakura now had access to the Eight Inner Gates. She couldn't go higher than 3 gates at the moment but to get to 3 gates is still better than what most could ever hope to accomplish. Not to mention the fact that her speed and strength are amplified due to the Gate's influence. And Sasori certainly wasn't expecting the change but defended against it accordingly.

"Satestsu Kaiho (Iron Sand World Method)" said Sasori as the Iron Sand began to branch out rapidly around him, creating a web of Iron Sand that made it difficult to navigate through. The web nearly caught Sakura before she stopped to avoid the deadly sharp branches. Sakura could also see traces of poisons in the sand meaning that one nick would be enough to kill. Since Sakura was caught, Sasori decided to finish her off while he had the chance.

"Now die!" shouted Sasori uncharacteristically as the Iron Sand prepared to branch out again to skewer Sakura. Before it could though, Sasori felt a sharp pain run through his chest. The sand immediately fell to the ground as blood leaked from Sasori's chest. Sasori looked down to see a tri-pronged kunai sticking through his chest. Sasori turned his head around to see Naruto standing behind him with a kunai buried right into his heart, his only weakness.

"How did you move so fast. You were nowhere near me." said Sasori since he knew Naruto was behind Sakura on the wall and there should have been no way that he could move that fast without him realizing it.

"That was just a clone. I was underground just now." said Naruto, who used his once favorite jutsu, Doton: Moruragakure no Jutsu (Earth Style: Hiding like a Mole Technique) to sneak behind Sasori. Naruto channeled Wind chakra though his kunai before ripping it through the side of Sasori's body, killing him instantly.

Naruto looked down at the puppet that once was Sasori before he pulled out a sealing scroll. After sealing Sasori's and the 3rd Kazekage's bodies away in the scroll, Naruto nodded to Sakura as they took off to catch up to Yugito and Kakashi, who had gone to pursue Deidara. After a long run, Naruto and Sakura eventually caught Kakashi and Yugito standing around an explosion.

"What happened?" questioned Naruto looking at Yugito and Kakashi for confirmation.

"We were pursuing him and he just...exploded." said Kakashi. "He just committed suicide. After I said that we'd capture him and get info out of him, He just stopped running away and blew himself up."

"Wow. I guess members of the Akatsuki are committed." said Sakura as Yugito walked over and placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"Are you okay?" asked Yugito as the markings on Naruto's face vanished at the news of the other member killing himself. It took Naruto a moment but nonetheless he looked at Yugito.

"Yeah I'm fine. I just wish we could have gotten to Gaara in time to save him." said Naruto before feeling someone approaching the group. Naruto hadn't even noticed the person due to his attempt of getting to Yugito and Kakashi.

"We still can." came the voice of an elder lady. "Do you still have his body?" asked the lady as Naruto nodded his head.

"Who are you though?" questioned Naruto not knowing who this lady was.

"That's Chiyo-sama. An elder from Sunagakure." said Sakura immediately recognizing the medic and poison specialist of Suna. Naruto nodded his head before biting his thumb and summoning the toad from earlier. The toad released Gaara from it's mouth as it dispelled itself leaving the body of Gaara on the ground before the group of shinobi.

Chiyo looked at Gaara before taking in a deep breath and kneeling beside him. Chiyo placed both her hands on Gaara's chest as a blue chakra coated her hands and Gaara's chest.

"What are you doing?" questioned Naruto even though he could feel what was occurring. Gaara's chakra was beginning to come back. "Are you restoring his life?"

"This is a kinjutsu that only I know these days. It's called Kisho Tensei (One's Own Life Reincarnation)" said Chiyo as she continued to pour her technique into Gaara in hopes of bringing the young Kage back to life. Naruto looked ready to say something but Chiyo stopped him, "I know what I'm doing and I understand the consequences of my actions. But I've lived a long life and I feel my time was about up anyway. But Suna needs Gaara. And I'm sure with Gaara leading Suna, we'll be able to become a much better village because of it. Especially with a friend like you."

Naruto nodded his head with a smile at Chiyo's words as he could understand. He'd probably do the same if he was in her position.

(The Next Day)

Naruto stood outside the village of Suna's walls with Yugito, Kakashi, and Sakura as they stood in front of Gaara and his Suna contingent of Temari, Kankuro, and a few others. They were all saying their goodbyes after attending Chiyo's funeral. Gaara made a full recovery after Chiyo's jutsu, which costed her her life in exchange for Gaara's own. Even though Gaara was alive again, he still lost Shukaku to the Akatsuki and was now no longer a Jinchuriki.

Finishing off their goodbye, Naruto and Gaara shook hands as the surrounding shinobi smiled at the interaction. "I'll see you around Gaara." said Naruto as Gaara nodded his head before the group of 4 preceded to walk away from Suna.

(Underground somewhere)

"Thank you Deidara." said the spectral image of the Akatsuki's leader. Deidara's actual body was standing across from the image as he just relayed his encounter with the powerful Jinchuriki. "You are dismissed"

After saying that, the image of the leader dissipated, leaving Deidara alone. The actual body of the image in front of Deidara opened his eyes as he looked to his right. "It seems that the Jinchuriki has grown incredibly stronger." said the leader.

"So it seems." came the voice of a man in the shadows. "It would seem that even a God may not be able to stop him."

"No matter how strong the Jinchuriki becomes, he will never beat Pain." came the voice of a blue-haired lady donning the Akatsuki cloak.

"You may be right. But what if I could help you?" questioned the voice from the shadows as it peaked Pain's interests.

"What could you mean?" questioned Pain.

"In due time. In due time." said the voice from the shadows as the shadowed figure vanished.

Omake: Anbu Training (Day 38 of 60)

It was midnight as Naruto and Sasuke had been let out a few minutes at the end of their training for the day. Sasuke just stepped out of the shower and was preparing for bed while Naruto was now cleansing himself. As Naruto was getting ready to leave, he felt a presence behind him.

"Seems my little trainee still hasn't gotten better at knowing when he's in the presence of danger." said Hebi pressing her luscious body into Naruto's own. "Or maybe he has."

Gama was situated behind Hebi, smiling behind his porcelain mask. "The student has become the master." said Gama as the Naruto in front of them turned out to be a wood clone that reverted back into wood.

Hebi smiled beneath her mask as she backed up into Gama. Gama immediately turned red at the position of Hebi backing up into him while still naked.

"This wasn't the best idea, I feel sandwiched...wait?" thought Naruto as he felt himself literally be sandwiched between two Hebis, one in front and one behind him. The Hebi behind him spoke up.

"It seems like you're not the only one who can make clones." said Hebi as Gama gulped at what was about to happen. He remembered last time he was in the shower with Hebi and it didn't end well for the blonde haired Anbu. Now he was sandwiched between two and there was something missing.

A thud sounded as Naruto's clone from earlier was still holding the soap and it finally slipped through it's motionless hands.

"Gama..If you would please pick that up for me? Because you know how we don't like to waste soap around here." said one of the Hebi's as Naruto looked at the soap that was laying down at the drain. And it seemed like the Hebi in front of him wasn't moving to allow him to grab it without going underneath her.

"If there is a Kami...please help me." thought Gama before getting down to grabbing his soap bar.

Both Hebis smiled a smile equally sinister to one another as they watched the young Anbu. And like most nights, Sasuke fell asleep to the sounds of a teenage boy screaming in agony.

"Only 3 weeks left Naruto. 3 weeks." said Sasuke as several more screams continued to go off throughout the night.