It's been two days since we left the Akatsuki hideout to search for the Eight Tails. When we got to the Lightning Village, Suigetsu attacked the first shinobi he saw alone.

"So where's this eight tails?" Suigetsu questioned the man.

"Don't underestimate our clan...I have no intention of telling anything to the likes of you! No one in the Yotsuki clan will ever betray our comrades that's-" He exclaimed but stopped once Sasuke stepped towards him using his Sharingan putting him in a genjutsu.

"That's enough, Suigetsu. Sasuke's using his genjutsu." Karin scolded.

"Man, and I was just about to have my fun tormenting him....." Suigetsu sighed dropping the man then walked towards us.

"Tell me where the eight-tails is." Sasuke ordered.

"In the lightning cloud gorge training." He answered which I found funny since he just said he wouldn't betray his comrades.

"Shit," Sasuke cursed under his breath when the man passed out.

I activated my eyes looking around for the gorge that the man mentioned seeing a single man there training. There were two small mountains one right behind the other that he was training on.

"He has eight swords on his right shoulder," I told him as I shifted my weight to my left leg.

"And how do you know that?" Karin questioned.

"My eyes," I blatantly said pointing to them.

"Let's go," Sasuke said cutting off Karin who was about to speak.

"This guy better be good, I'm itching for a fight." Suigetsu said who was on my right.

"He's a Jinchuuriki, of course he'll be strong. We must work on our teamwork with this one. Don't go at it alone or you'll be dead in a second." I said as I watched our target. "He's already waiting for us." I saw a smile on Suigetsu's face when I said that. "You can't kill him Suigetsu, that's why this will be hard."

The gorge wasn't that far of walk so we made it there in no time. The Jinchuuriki had dark skin, like most people from this area, a tattoo on his cheek and another on his shoulder. As he looked at us, I saw nothing but confidence in his eyes.

"Are you the eight tails Jinchuuriki?" Sasuke questioned once we were close enough.

"Don't you mean, excuse me, are you the great eight tails? Or are you the great and powerful Jinchuuriki?" He replied with a mocking tone.

The way he spoke caught me off guard. I never expected a Jinchuuriki that was laid back like this, never on their guard like I'd assumed. He had no defense leaving him wide open and sounded like he was trying to sing or something when he spoke.

"I think he's mental or something," I whispered to Karin.

Suigetsu started to crack up while a small smile appeared on Karin's face.

"You're coming with us," Sasuke said ignoring me. "I'll capture him, Suigetsu go right, Jugo left, Karin stay behind me, Ko cover me." Sasuke ordered.

"Time for some in battle in action advice you little shit!" The Jinchuuriki shouted.

Suigetsu ran towards the Jinchuuriki taking a swing at him but it was blocked. The force of the sword made the dirt rise into the air but I could see he had missed. The smoke cleared which revealed the Jinchuuriki holding Suigetsu's sword.

"I'm the only one who's allowed to hit myself. Fuck off ya little shit. Eat a punch while you're at it!" He rapped making us sweat drop at his calm demeanor as he rapped.

Suigetsu's sword went flying into the air only to be caught by the Jinchuuriki.

"Get back Suigetsu," Jugo warned quickly rushing to his aid. Juugo activated his curse mark as he ran towards the man but was quickly taken down and tossed towards us.

"When you've got power to spare you shine you glare! The eight tails is the quintessential Killer Bee! Hip hip hooray! The fight has begun you're gonna get owned but before we turn this mother out." Killer Bee rapped.

"What is with this guy? This freak took Jugo out?" Karin gasped but I only shook my head at their arrogance.

"I'll handle this." Sasuke said taking a step forward.

"Work together Sasuke, two of you just tried to take him out and got beaten easily." I scolded.

"You got served, bitch! You should listen to the little lady. Who are you kids, ya punk ass shits?"

"This guy....is freaking crazy..." Suigetsu concluded.

"Who are you cats? Why are you after me?"

"That's none of your business." Sasuke replied.

"Weird looking dude, terrible rhymes...this job blows." Suigetsu said.

"Don't underestimate him Suigetsu." I warned.

"This is the fastest way for us to gain more power. If you don't like it, go home." Sasuke answered Suigetsu. "I want to know if what we were told about the Bijuu is true or not and I want to know now."

"You're going to get yourself killed if you aren't careful Sasuke."

"And either way, we're the ones using Akatsuki. Try to keep that in mind." He said ignoring me drawing his sword.

"Now shut this guy up. If I have to hear another lame rap I'll kill myself." Suigetsu said.

"Please don't." I told him but of course they didn't listen.

"SAY WHAT?! THESE ARE THE HOTTEST RHYMES IN THE WORLD BITCH! AH YEAH!"

"I'm fed up with this nutcase! You can't rap for shit!" Karin said.

Sasuke lunged towards Bee with his sword while Bee grabbed Suigetsu's sword blocking Sasuke's attack. Sasuke jumped back while Bee swung the sword around gaining momentum. Sasuke blocked the attack but was getting pushed back from the force managing to lunge forward putting his sword into the hole of Suigetsu's. He swung for a kick landing it just under his chin but Bee wasn't fazed. He dropped the sword and took out a notebook starting to write down some more raps catching Sasuke off guard.

"This is just embarrassing," I commented putting my hand on my face.

Sasuke flung Suigetsu's sword back to Suigetsu which he caught.

"Now I'm jacked up. Thanks, bro you gave me an idea for a real badass rhyme. And since I'm bored baby, you can taste my sword, and I don't mean maybe!" Bee reached for his many swords flinging them upward.

"Watch it Sasuke! He's an incredible swordsman! He's no ordinary ninja!" Suigetsu warned.

"No shit, that's what I've been trying to tell you." I said starting to get irritated.

Bee caught all his swords in one swift move. One on his shoulder, one in each of his hands, another under his arm, in his mouth, his thigh, and by his knee.

"Damn, that's so cool." I commented wishing I had more swords to wield.

"I'll make you jam out to my hook."

"What's that weird stance?" Suigetsu asked.

"Bad news, that's what." I replied getting in a fight stance and taking out my own sword.

Bee jumped into the air spinning followed by lunging towards Sasuke with all the swords slashing at him. Swing after swing Sasuke dodged returning a few counter attacks but wasn't landing a hit. Their fight went into the air and just as Sasuke landed, Bee threw three swords which he dodged then picked them back up with ease. Sasuke was able to hold his own for a while but soon was starting to get cut on his arm and cheek. With three swords he attempted to stab Sasuke, but he jumped away just in time earning a scratch on his cheek.

"He's lucky to have the Sharingan," I told the others.

"Why?" Suigetsu questioned.

"Would you be able to read the swords movements?"

"Um not really, it's hard to follow."

"Exactly,"

"Sasuke are you alright?!" Karin yelled just as he was pushed back and fell to the ground.

Bee advanced forward towards us making me spring into action. I fought him with my own sword which came in handy. I was lucky that Father had taught me how to use the sword when I was a child or else my attacks wouldn't have worked. When three swords were about to bare down on me, I commanded the sword to extend blocking all three.

I was in the same situation as Sasuke unable to land a hit on Bee but at least I was distracting him while the others recuperated. I could tell that Bee was getting frustrated since he wasn't landing a hit on me. I wished that I could end this now with the technique Hikaru had taught me but of course we needed him alive.

"His movements are so unorthodox I can't read his swords at all." I heard Suigetsu say from behind me.

Finally, there was an opening so Sasuke made hand signs for Chidori grabbing his sword then slashed towards Bee while I jumped out of the way. He managed to deflect it with his own chakra sword. I looked over at the others knowing we were in trouble, they weren't ready for this.

"I'm the Hachibi, you can't hit me, I float like a butterfly." Bee rapped.

"Sasuke! Watch out!" I shouted as I saw Bee's attack hit Sasuke seconds before it happened.

I quickly tossed my chakra strings towards Sasuke attaching them onto his limbs. I pulled with all the strength I had to get him out of harm's way then made him go high into the air so the swords didn't touch him. He flew back towards me after only getting cuts on his legs.

"Sasuke!" Karin yelled as Sasuke's body collided with me knocking me down.

"And this'll finish you off." Bee shouted as he jumped into the air ready to strike down at Sasuke but everyone ran forward blocking the attack.

Bee poured chakra into his sword making it ignite with lightning making Suigetsu struggle against it. I shoved Sasuke off me picking up my own sword leaping into the air making Bee focus on me. As I swung down at him, he released Suigetsu's sword ready to block my attack. While he was distracted, Jugo came up from behind and punched Bee in the face. Karin dragged Sasuke out harm's way while we dealt with the Jinchuuriki.

I had intentionally landed behind the man as Jugo had managed to put enough force into his punch to break the ground creating smoke.

"Sasuke!" Karin shouted with concern.

"Karin," I called, "now's the time to use your medical ninjutsu. It shouldn't be hard to heal his wounds."

"Thanks Karin." Sasuke said after a few moments of her healing him.

I looked back at Bee who was standing on a rock while Jugo, Suigetsu, and I surrounded him.

"Let's all four go after him, Sasuke. To be honest he's insanely strong. Forget about trying not to kill him, we've gotta fight to kill! Then we should be able to defeat him without killing him." Suigetsu said.

"We can't kill him, if he dies then the beast will be unleashed, and we'd have to deal with that." I reasoned.

Jugo and Suigetsu then surrounded Bee distracting him from Sasuke and I. Bee then punched Suigetsu making him go into his liquid state. I looked over at Sasuke whose eyes were on me.

"Level 5," I said which he nodded in return.

We leapt into the air creating seals. "Ninja art: Lightning Fire!" We shouted as I released fire and his lightning combined heading towards the Jinchuuriki.

The massive fireball was surrounded by streaks of lightning heading towards Bee. The attack managed to hit Bee's stomach once Suigetsu caught him with his liquefying form. Bee fell to the ground, so I ran towards Suigetsu and supported him as Jugo came down to hit Bee. When the smoke cleared, it looked as if Bee was nowhere in sight.

"He's gone...." Jugo warned he scanned the surrounding area.

I got out my sword pouring chakra into it making it glow blue then turned away from the group to face Bee's hiding spot.

"Wind style: Slicing blade!" I shouted as I swung the sword down.

I could see Bee jump lower to the ground as my attack struck the mountain slicing it in half. Jugo used his strengthened arm to propel Sasuke towards Bee.

"All right, time for number eight! Whheeeeeeeee!!!" Bee shouted.

"Fuck, GET BACK!" I shouted as Bee started to transform.

His body started to be the eight tails cloak making me bite the inside of my cheek; we were in trouble.

"Just seeing Naruto go into his form was terrifying but this guy can control it? This is bad."

In a blink of an eye, he jumped towards Sasuke who saw through his attack swiftly dodging it. He looked back towards Sasuke but then headed towards us with a smirk on his face.

"First, you guys will be torn apart!" He shouted as he got closer to us.

"Get ready!" I shouted to the others who got into a fighting stance. "Work together!"

Jugo grabbed us propelling us off the platform avoiding Bee's deadly attack which blew up the whole thing. We slid down the small mountain towards the river below which is what Suigetsu flew into.

"Are you alright?" Sasuke shouted to us once he landed.

"Yeah, more or less." Karin replied.

"Ko! Predict his movements! Keep me informed of his location at all times!" Sasuke ordered so I only gave him a thumbs up.

"He's coming now," I informed him just as Bee jumped through the smoke towards us.

Sasuke remained calm as he looked at the man flying towards him but then Bee simply fell to the ground.

"Genjutsu," I pointed out to the others. I gasped once I saw Bee about to get up and attack. "Sasuke, duck!" I shouted to him but it was too late. He was struck in the chest making blood pour from the wound as he flew towards us. Jugo jumped up catching Sasuke bringing him back to the ground. "Let him bite you Karin, that wound is serious."

Karin was about to heal him but Jugo stopped her pointing out she should save it for another situation and that he would heal Sasuke.

"I'm going to distribute my body and chakra to Sasuke by merging with him." Jugo explained as his curse mark spread across his skin.

I stepped forward in front of the team putting my sword away. "Take care of Sasuke, I'll hold him off."

"In order to break the illusion, I need a partner who can disturb my chakra and snap me out of it. My partner is the beast inside me. Illusions won't work on a host who can control their beast. Disillusionment and destruction await. That will be your fate. When I transform into my true form, a beast you must meet, yeah."

He then transformed into the ox/octopus monster making my heartbeat quicken. I've never faced a tailed beast before and it was intimidating but I couldn't let it show. Even though this was the most terrifying battle I've been in so far, I had to remain calm.

"Cower before the power of the beast! Eight tails will pee your pants, you lil' ants! To spear my foes, my glorious longhorns! Wheeeeeeeee!!!!" The beast lifted up his tentacle ready to attack but Suigetsu rose from the water in a sea creature form. "So you're a water ninja...you have the advantage here." The beast said.

"I'll handle this. You guys get out of here while you can!" Suigetsu shouted as he faced the beast.

I stood my ground knowing Suigetsu wouldn't be able to handle this on his own. I had to use the curse mark despite my inexperience with it. My training with Sasuke did help but I still didn't know the full abilities of my transformed state. I took in a deep breath focusing on the mark letting it spread across my body. I felt my body transforming and could feel my power getting stronger.

"Come on, Sasuke!" Karin said supporting him.

"I won't let you get away after what you've done, you fool, you jerk!" The beast shouted.

He then made a giant orb from his mouth gathering as much energy as he could. Suigetsu and I sprang into action and blocked the attack with water while I used my rock shield. The blast sent Suigetsu back making him dissolve into water. I landed on my back but quickly got to my feet and stood my ground making hand signs.

"Wind style: Air bullets!" I shouted summoning chakra to my palm making a ball of wind.

As I released the ball, more and more shot out of my palm hitting the beast sending him back. I noticed the jutsu had more power than ever before thanks to the curse mark. He fell to the ground, but he wouldn't be down for long. I shot more and more balls of air from my palm feeling an endless energy as if I could keep this up all day. I could see two shinobi running towards the battle ground watching the battle unfold.

"We've got company!" I shouted to the others, but they were too focused on Suigetsu.

The beast got back up propelling his tentacles towards me which I easily dodged thanks to my eyes. One tentacle came down on me, but I caught it. Using my strength, I swung him around tossing him away from us. As he started to get up, I weaved hand signs.

"Wind style: Beast Tearing Palm!" I shouted as I jumped towards the beast shredded the tentacles that were heading for me.

He screamed in pain but still managed to hit me with one of the remaining ones. I was unable to dodge in midair so I soared to the ground burrowing into it with great force.

I groaned in pain when I tried to move but I knew I had to keep fighting. I looked up to the sky and figured that I was pretty deep under here. I felt a stinging pain in my back, but I had to ignore it for now. Cuts and scrapes covered my arms and legs which looked pretty bad, but I had to finish this battle. As I rose to my feet, the pain I felt was starting to dim which I believe was thanks to my curse mark. I poured chakra to my feet and leaped into the air landing on the ground. He started to aim his attack towards Sasuke, so I made more hand signs.

"Wind style: Barrage tornado!"

Soon, many tornadoes came from the sky surrounding the beast but then came together forming one big one. It sucked up the beast but only to my disadvantage to be blown back at Sasuke. I quickly ran over to him and pushed him and the others all out of the way. My eyes widened as it was too late to get out of the way so I weaved more signs.

"Earth style: Earth wall!"

A large sturdy wall appeared in front of me, I knew it wouldn't be effective but at least it would help. He crashed through the earth wall to colliding with me landing right on me breaking most of my bones. His heavy massive body on my little fragile one.

Soon I felt the pressure get off me. I opened my eyes to see that it has risen to its feet. I looked over to where Sasuke was and saw that his eye started to bleed then opened them. Black flames spread onto the beast causing him to scream and fall into the water. Sasuke covered his eye with his hand. It went berserk starting to flail its tentacles around. Karin knocked Sasuke and Jugo out of the way of one putting herself in danger. At the last second before she would get hit, Sasuke used his Chidori stream to slice the tentacle in half.

"Karin, run!" Sasuke yelled.

Too late, the inflamed tentacle hit Karin causing the black flames to inflame Karin's back. Sasuke advance towards Karin but Jugo held him back.

"Shit! The black flames!!" Sasuke cursed.

"Karin's done for, let's get out of here before it gets us, too!" Jugo said.

"Wait Jugo,"

"It's no use."

I got up feeling an unbearable immense pain shooting through my shattered body threatening to make it worse. My body made the pain numb once more but I couldn't look down at my body to see my condition, all I knew is that I had to save everyone. Even though I couldn't feel the pain, I could smell the sweet, gruesome metallic blood flowing out of my body.

Everything seemed to go into slow motion as I ran towards the team. Jugo extended his arm grabbing Karin while Sasuke used his Sharingan to get rid of the black flames engulfing the Jinchuuriki. As I ran, I made seals releasing my suppressed chakra in my necklace. I needed more chakra to heal myself but it felt as if there was no time to heal. Kabuto taught me how to heal without using my hands but it was always difficult for me so my wounds were only healing slowly.

"Looks like...he's still alive." Jugo said out of breath.

"Now...we don't have to kill him...let's hurry and get him out of here." Sasuke panted.

I felt relieved when the Bee was unconscious, so my mark started to recede bringing all my suppressed pain back to the surface. I fell into the water from the pain, I could hardly move it was hard to breathe. I looked over to see Jugo advancing towards me with worried eyes. Jugo knelt beside me to check my pulse for I was not moving. I heard him sigh in relief to me being alive but just barely.

"Shit, this is bad; you're in worse condition." Sasuke said with a bit of concern in his voice.

"H..hey don't.....wo...worry about......me." I painfully reassured wanting to hide my weakness but it wasn't working.

"Why did you protect us?"

"We're....a team,"

"Rest for now, we'll get you to Madara."

Sasuke carried Karin and I to the base while Jugo was holding Suigetsu and the Jinchuuriki.

"Looks like it takes a lot out of you. Even after Orochimaru's cursed seal was gone, the wounds Itachi gave you didn't heal." Jugo observed.

"Yeah, I never thought we'd have this hard of a time, though. I should've listened to Ko." Sasuke replied glancing at me.

I couldn't help but replay a scene in my head, when the Jinchuuriki got away. We were too injured to fight again and I didn't want to capture him. He knew how to control the tailed beast so maybe Naruto will learn from him also. After five hours walking, Sasuke decided to rest so he sat down on the ground still holding me then placed me next to him.

I started to heal my wounds properly giving them the attention they needed but I was falling asleep in the process.

"You're sure you're okay, Sasuke?" Jugo asked.

"Yeah, let's just go. We're almost at the rendezvous point." Sasuke replied. Finally, we reached the rendezvous point where Sasuke literally dropped off Bee. "Here's the Hachibi, just as we promised." Sasuke said tossing the body at Madara's feet.

"Excellent work; I knew you had it in you." Madara congratulated as Sasuke turned to walk away. "Where are you going?"

"First we're going to heal up and then....to Konaha." Sasuke replied.

Edited: 2/26/2021