Naruto POV~

I shifted slightly on the tree branch as I waited.

'This is much too close to society than I like.'

"You just infiltrated Suna and made it out without getting caught. This is nothing compared to that."

I sighed, 'That was way too close for comfort, and I'm still recovering.'

"Stop whining."

I sighed and watched the caravan of (real) merchants walk painfully slowly down the path. I sat there for at least twenty minutes before I was certain no one was around. 

'Finally. At least this lake isn't close to people.'

"Isobu did say that a couple people visited once in a while."

I scowled. 'Not a normal person, for sure. What civilian would go to a sketchy-ass lake like this for fun?'

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

I nodded, approaching the foggy area on light feet, stopping every once in a while to make sure I wasn't being followed. 

'The Akatsuki will show up here eventually. I'm pretty sure, as long as our presence here isn't known, they won't send more than a few people. We can get Isobu to help us take out two members of the Akatsuki, prevent them from taking him, then go find the other Bijuu.'

"That plan isn't very good."

'Well, what can we do? The best we can do is investigate and rally up all the Tailed Beasts to help. We can't let anyone catch us either, so we have to be careful. Once we're ready, we can smash the Akatsuki one by one.'

Kurama sighed, "I suppose. Don't forget, though, if you went up against too many of them at once..."

'I know. That's why we have to be cautious. And patient. But we can't wait for too long, otherwise it'll be too late.'

Kurama huffed, but I noticed the slight spike in his chakra at those words.

I crouched in a tree, peering through the branches at the lake shrouded in mist. 

'Isobu is down there?'

"Yes, from what he told us." 

'Hm.' I withdrew all of mine and Kurama's chakra, blending into the surroundings best as we could. I couldn't feel it before, but now I did; the slight hum of chakra surrounding us, emanating from the lake. 

"This is a hallucinating mist that Isobu made. He knows we're here, so you have our chakra protecting you so you don't have to worry about it affecting you."

'Thanks, Kura.'

I watched for a few more minutes before slowly making my way towards the lake. I reached out my senses, my chakra mingling with Kurama's, and immediately froze. Without a single rustle, I slipped back into the shadows, giving me a clear view of the lake without being seen myself.

Someone was approaching. Two someones. One of them seemed very familiar somehow, and the other felt...weird. There was something different about his chakra.

It was when they came in view when I realized.

'Is that...fucking KABUTO?'

Kurama growled, "That's not good. I don't like what I'm seeing here."

'What could he possibly be doing? And whose the kid?'

"I don't know. But if they're here, that means they know Isobu is here."

I clicked my tongue, fear and anger coursing through my body as I watched them. 'When did Orochimaru get involved?'

"I don't know, but this isn't good. If that snake bastard is nearby, not only do we have to deal with the Akatsuki but we have to watch out for him too."

'Fuck. Orochimaru used to be a member of the Akatsuki too. I don't know if we could beat him in a fight. We probably could in full Bijuu mode, but we don't know how many lackeys he has with him and I don't want to draw any attention.'

"Naruto. You do realize that eventually there will be no way to win if we spend the whole time trying not to draw attention to ourselves?"

'I know, I know. It won't be possible for us to remain completely discreet once the time comes. But until then, I don't want anyone to know we're getting involved if possible. The more secretive we can be for now, and the more focus that's taken away from us, the better.'

"Hm. There's something strange about that kid's chakra."

'I know. I wonder what they're up to.'

Kabuto and the kid got into a boat and were currently on their way out to the lake. I noticed the way Kabuto kept an eye on his surroundings. Slowly, I slinked forward and moved up closer to the lake, keeping hidden just within the tree line. 

Then the kid exploded.

I reeled back in shock at the sudden outpouring of chakra. He didn't literally explode, but his chakra billowed out in such large amounts that I could see it, a bright column of pure power flaring up in the distance. It was so bright, and I shuddered as the waves of chakra came over me. 

Huh. This must be how it feels to other people when they're in the presence of Kurama's chakra.

The sudden surge of chakra distracted me, though, from the way the lake rippled. I watched, only now noting the disturbance in the water. Giant waves began to splash onto the shore as the calm surface was troubled, and I could see the giant bubbles and rocking of the boat out on the lake.

"It's Isobu. They're using the boy to get to Isobu."

Sasuke POV~

We made it back to the village quickly, without a single interruption along the way. The whole time, Sai hadn't said much. In fact, one of the only things he did say was apparently an insult to Sakura (which, of course, he hadn't even realized he'd done) and nearly got himself killed again. By her. I don't know what he said and I don't want to know. 

Once we arrived and reported to the Hokage tower, I slunk off to the old training ground before anyone could stop me. I avoided the main streets, not wanting to deal with people, and arrived at the grassy field before long.

It was the training ground where Naruto and I had met up those years ago. Back during those short weeks where he was the Hokage's "bodyguard" and spent all his time avoiding the rest of the genin. Both of us were avoiding them, actually. I still do.

Just because I agreed to stay in the village didn't mean I planned on becoming all buddy-buddy with everyone.

I activated my sharingan for a quick moment, de-activating it as soon as I was sure no one was around, then settled down on the grass. I lay flat on the ground underneath a tree, resting my head on my arms and staring through the leaves at the sky.

Naruto had done this a lot. Simply just...watching. After he'd gone, I visited this training ground often, taking up the position he did automatically. 

I would take this to my grave, but I missed him. I missed him, because he was the one person who understood me and had what it took to actually help. I never got along well with others, never truly had friends, especially after the Uchiha massacre. All the fangirls, all the teachers, they seemed so...fake. Some pity here, some admiration there, nothing even close to true friendship. Until he came along.

I sighed, closing my eyes in an attempt to quell my rising emotions. 

Before he came along, I wanted nothing more than to kill Itachi. Now here I am, laying around in the Leaf village to keep a promise to my best friend. I let out a soft scoff in amusement. What a change in priorities. 

"Oh. Didn't think I'd find you here."

Frustration sparked in my chest, but all I did was turn my head slightly to look at whoever approached. Shikamaru approached, a slight slump in his shoulders and droop in his eyes that had come as an identifying feature. 

I let out a breath and made to sit up. I shifted back to lean against the tree instead, refusing to let this lazy pineapple hair chase me away.

Shikamaru didn't even bother to sit down properly, choosing instead to plop down against the tree beside me. I didn't look at him, resolutely staring at the sky instead. Of all the annoying people here, he was one of the more tolerable ones, if only because he didn't bother with petty things like small-talk. So, we sat in the closest thing to companionable silence that I can manage. Until he spoke, that is.

"I'm pretty sure Naruto is hunting the Akatsuki himself. But you already know that, right?"

I was slightly startled by the question, but just gave him a small "hn," in acknowledgement. He was right, anyways. I already knew that, and wasn't happy about it.

Shikamaru just nodded. He always was blunt about everything, and I had no problem with that. It got irritating when people always danced around topics before getting to the point.

He leaned his head back against the tree, eyes fixed on the clouds above. Although he was lazy, I've seen how observant he is, sharp eyes instantly analyzing and picking apart everything that he paid even the slightest attention to. It was slightly unsettling sometimes but only made him easier to deal with, since he could easily catch up to anything without me having to explain twice.

"You know, nothing we do is going to stop him." Shikamaru continued, "As soon as they found out that he was in danger - well, not really that. When they found out the Akatsuki was going to get their hands on the Nine-Tailed fox, the first thing everyone wanted was to get Naruto back to the village to protect him. Or, rather, protect their greatest weapon, as some people think."

With every word the rage I was trying to push down threatened to resurface, but I listened without interrupting.

"But no matter what they do, none of them realize that it won't stop him." he breathed a laugh, "Naruto is going to escape and hunt down the Akatsuki even if we lock him up, and nothing is going to prevent him from doing that. So the least we can do is offer a bit of support in taking down the organization."

Only then did I look at him, surprised. I couldn't find a response to that that didn't sound stupid, so I stayed quiet.

Shikamaru had been looking at me the entire time, his eyes not missing a single thing. He may as well have the sharingan for how observant he is of little details.

I narrowed my eyes and asked, "What exactly are you suggesting? Anything I haven't thought of already?"

At this Shikamaru just smiled, to my confusion. "That's for you to figure out. And, well, of course you thought of it. After all," he looked at me again, "everyone is saying that you didn't find Naruto on your last mission. After all this time, I'm sure you didn't, but in a way, that's a lie right?"

Not many people are able to shock me, but this damned lazy asshole managed to do just that. After a second I worried that my careful blank expression broke, but Shikamaru had already looked away by then.

"Well, I should go report to the Hokage." he stood and stretched, snapping the tension that he created, "Something about Orochimaru."

My breath caught in my throat. Shikamaru just waved as he left.

Fucking asshole. He did that on purpose.

I take back what I said about him being even semi-tolerable.