Naruto POV~

'FUCking WOOD STYLE? How the FUCK does HE have WOOD STYLE.'

"I already hate him."

'You already said that, but WHAT THE FUCK THEY DID THAT ON PURPOSE.'

"Of course they did. There was a very high chance you would be here, after all, and lo and behold they were right."

'Goddammit. I had no idea we had someone like that in Konoha. I thought the first Hokage was the only one.'

"He was the only one. I have no idea where this guy came from."

'Whatever, there's no use worrying about that right now.' I hopped onto a tree branch with a clear view of the lake. It was kinda high up, on top of one of the many cliffs surrounding the vast waters, but the trees were thick and I could see everything going on. Isobu was causing massive waves to roll up onto the land, the so-called sealing team was struggling (there was no way we would let them succeed in sealing Isobu anyways) the Konoha nin were bustling around, either fighting Orochimaru's henchmen or attempting to help the sealing team. Another sharp spike of chakra made me flinch automatically.

'Dammit. Every time that kid Yukimaru does that I startle.'

"Can't blame you."

It took a while, in the end, Orochimaru failed. Same with Konoha. To my dismay, they failed to capture Orochimaru, but at least they drove away his henchmen.

I snuck in as close as I could and listened in to whatever snippets of information I could. 

'Huh. Looks like they'll be sending the ANBU here to try sealing Isobu.'

"All three of us will be gone by then."

'Yeah but I don't understand.' I rubbed my eyes, already tired and frustrated, 'Where are the Akatsuki? Konoha is gone, same with Orochimaru, so why are they taking so long?'

"Do you sense that?"

The sudden urgency in Kurama's voice made me pause. 'No.'

A stream of chakra trickled into mine and my breath caught in my throat, "How about now?"

'Who is that? Was he there the entire time?'

"I don't know. Somehow he hid among the confusion. Not even we noticed him."

'What's he-'

"He's...leaving?"

'From the looks of it?'

Kurama growled, "His chakra. It feels familiar. I can't place it from this distance but I don't think he'll be gone for long."

'What should we do?'

"We shouldn't follow him. I get the feeling he'll be back. Before the ANBU get here, though, get some rest."

'Kura-'

"Sleep, Naruto."

I sighed in defeat. Kurama would knock me out himself if I didn't comply anyways. 'Okay. Fine.'

"Hm. We'll be fine, kit. I'll make sure of it."

I awoke again to the stream of Kurama's chakra.

"Naruto. Wake up."

'huh?' I blinked, bleary eyed. Kurama was sending a gradual trickle of his chakra into my chakra, something he tended to do to get us ready to sync at moment's notice.

"About six miles away, Konoha ANBU are approaching. And beyond that, two figures."

I soured, 'Akatsuki?'

"Probably. That guy we sensed earlier is there too."

I grunted and sat up. The sky was just beginning to lighten, sunrise still a while away. I got up and freshened up as much as I could. There was no telling what I'd face in the next few hours, and I wasn't going to go into this blindly.

'Hey, Isobu? Are you there?'

"Where else would I be?" the voice, same echoey quality as Kurama's but much more distant and detached, piped up.

"Don't get overconfident, Isobu." Kurama snarled, reprimanding.

"I get it, I get it! These stupid ninja won't catch me off guard."

"They better not." Kurama grumbled as Isobu's presence receded.

'Alright.' I crouched on a tree branch, positioned so that I could escape from any direction if needed and could see all around me. 'I'm ready for them. Bring it on, bitches.'

"Shut up and watch."

'Got it.' I sent him a mental thumbs-up, causing him to snort.

The ANBU were beginning to spread out around the area, slowly closing in around the lake. I was pretty sure they had no idea I was here, but I had to be careful. I could take on the ANBU, but there were a lot of them, many of them very experienced and very skilled. Here I was, trying not to draw attention to myself, and considering fighting the ANBU.

"I know. It's a wonder you've stayed hidden for so long."

'Be quiet stupid fox.'

The two Akatsuki members were also approaching. They were good at keeping hidden. I could just barely sense them, and even with Kurama's chakra I only knew where they were because of all my experience locating suppressed chakra and that ability that allowed me to sense negative emotions. Kurama's chakra was weird like that.

Two ANBU were coming my way. I jumped back, slipping into a bush on the ground and masking my chakra. For the time being, I was forced to withdraw Kurama's chakra to avoid being sensed.

Hopefully nothing happened in that time.

I couldn't help the wariness I felt when the two ANBU landed on a branch in the tree above me, looking out over the lake. They started chatting about mundane things, occasionally mentioning  their plans on how to seal the Three-Tails. I listened, if only to make sure they didn't do anything potentially harmful, all while secretly worrying about not being able to sense the others. The Akatsuki members could be anywhere by now, what if -

"That's news to me, hm."

I nearly jumped at the voice, and only my ninja training kept me from doing so. The ANBU had been talking about the fog Isobu made, when they were cut off by the newcomer.

"Fuck."

The cloak he was wearing was black, adorned with red cloud patterns. The guy himself had long blond hair. From this angle, I couldn't see his face, but I knew who he was anyways. The ANBU leapt back, startled. 

I didn't hear what they said next in my panic, but moments later, the ANBU exploded. The sound rumbled across the lake, the bright flash lasting only a second. The tattered remains of their bodies fell to the ground, only a few scraps of their belongings and some streaks of blood indicated they were there at all. Small pieces of a broken mask lay at the blond guy's feet.

Kurama was silent. My breath caught in my throat. 

The blond, who I knew as Deidara, turned around. For a terrifying second, I thought he saw me, but then another figure appeared.

The second person, wearing the same cloak and a swirly orange mask, clapped his hands together. He seemed childish as he congratulated Deidara. Apparently, he'd taken out the other ANBU members too.

I'd never seen mask guy before. I had no info on him. But something about him, despite his childishness, put me off. It was unsettling, seeing this guy act how he was yet at the same time knowing that he was powerful beyond what he showed.

Deidara didn't seem to notice the hidden danger of his partner (I had recently learned that Sasori was dead, to my relief, until I realized it was Sakura who helped kill him) and he went on gloating about how powerful he was and how stupid Tobi was. Tobi, huh?

I got the feeling Deidara knew something was off about Tobi, but he did well hiding it. 

These two...

Kurama was uncharacteristically quiet the whole time. From the rough feel of his chakra, something was putting him on edge. It worried me. Kurama wasn't like this often. Whatever caused him to be so wary, caused his confidence to falter like this, couldn't have been good.

'Kurama? What's up?'

Kurama didn't answer immediately. My concern skyrocketed.

"That guy...in the mask..."

I paused, 'What about him?'

"I know him."

'...you know him.'

"The night...the night you were born. The night I attacked the village - it was...him. He was there. He was the Uchiha who controlled me."

A rock lodged itself in my throat. I felt my own breath begin to quicken, and my heart was already drumming, but I swallowed thickly and forced the panic down. Not now, I told myself. Keep a clear head.

'He's...an Uchiha?'

"He's that Uchiha." Kurama spat. His attitude was coming back, at least. I took comfort in that much. I could sense the dangerous attack-vibes he was giving off, though, his hackles raised like a cornered dog.

'How can you tell? You said you never got to see him, or get a proper feel of his chakra -'

"It's the mask, mostly. He wore a mask that night. It looked like that, a little different, but his demeanor, the way he is...there's no doubt about it."

'Who is he?'

"I don't know that, brat! All I know is that the guy who got your parents killed and the fool standing 10 feet from you are the same person!"

A small needle began to poke at my heart. The longing. 

The pure, unbridled rage.

Kurama sighed, "Sorry, sorry. For all our power, us Tailed Beasts have such crippling weaknesses. The few things that can defeat us take us down each and every time. The sharingan, the existence of Jinchuriki..."

'I know. It's fine, Kurama.' I ground my teeth together, 'Goddamit, it's taking everything I have not to lunge at him right now.'

"Same here."

'That bastard -' I growled, 'He fucking controlled you against your will! Forced you to smash the village! It's his goddamn fucking fault that I'm an orphan!'

Kurama was silent at that. I knew he still blamed himself for the fact that I have no parents, but I didn't blame him.

I blamed this motherfucker Tobi.

"Naruto. They're going for Isobu."

'Should we help him?'

"Definitely. That foolish turtle underestimated them. I know he did."

'K. let's go.'

At this point, I managed to get my anger under control. I let it fuel me, but not consume me. Deidara and Tobi were beginning their attack. I paused before going out, and it was a good thing I did, because then the lake exploded.

'That happens a lot in this place...'

"It's because Isobu lives here. I don't know if he was trying to hide from the world but if so he did a shitty job of it."

'I guess.'

I didn't know much about Deidara, but I did know that he used explosives of some sort. I was guessing he dropped bombs into the lake to get Isobu to surface, but the force of them had rattled the entire area. I had to be careful not to get caught up in that.

It wasn't long before Isobu appeared. With another giant splash of water, the three-tailed turtle rose up, towering above Tobi and Deidara. Deidara, standing atop a big white bird figure that he'd somehow created, rose above Isobu without an ounce of hesitation.

'Do they know about Isobu's weak spot?'

"Maybe. It's not exactly secret. Isobu usually does well at protecting his eye, but if those explosives get anywhere near it..."

I watched the approach the two Akatsuki members took more carefully now. 

"They're attacking."

'Should we go?'

"I suppose."

'Ready?'

"Always."

'Great.' I grinned, almost feral, 'Let's kill those bastards.'