"Fire Style: Searing Migraine!" Shit, shit, shit! That's too strong, too powerful, too hot!

Without much thought, I slung my arm over both Shikamaru and Choji, using the arm around Shikamaru I shot my hand out and snatched Ino's shirt.

Kakashi can avoid it. I don't have faith they will.

So I flickered away, just barely in the nick of time. Not nearly as fast as Flash Step, but it did the job. The four of us are out of the way as the attack shot past where we were.

Like I thought, Kakashi avoided it with little effort. Thank god, I couldn't grab all of them at once. Of course Hidan went after Kakashi, which worries me. It's not like my Sensei can't handle his own, but the guy's totally batshit.

"Seiran . . . thanks." Choji muttered, staring at the melted ground before us. I released them, stepping away. That was the first time I touched Choji since I left. Same with Ino.

Shikamaru's one thing, I never stopped seeing him. But them . . . It doesn't matter. I'm glad I got them out in time. I nodded in response, eyes on the enemy.

Kakashi and Hidan exchanged blows, none hitting either of them. Once they separated we returned to his side to face off against them.

"Kakashi-Sensei!" Choji spoke worriedly. Ino eyed his arms. "Are you okay?" She questioned. Of course Kakashi's eyes never strayed from our foes. "Yeah. Though I've performed the Lightning Blade four times, all while using the Sharingan. Can't let this drag on."

I see. So that's how it is. For him to say it, it must be bad. I can use Chidori, or at least a form. Sasuke never really had time to teach me, but when I had my curse mark I did get the basics of it all.

Of course if I use it it could reveal my identity. Though I'm rather good at most Lightning Jutsu's, so hopefully we can manage.

"They're good. They work seamlessly together." Ino observed, even more on guard than before. "Yeah, but Kakashi-Sensei got him, with the Lightning Blade. And last time, the other person got another."

That's right. But that still leaves a couple more. Those beasts, and possibly his own if they aren't it.

"Yes. I took down one of the monsters in his body. It died in his place."

Shikamaru grit his teeth. "Twice his heart should have been taken, but the fact that there's more is a problem. Look at the way he dodged my Shadow Possession Shuriken. He detached his arm with what looked like a beating heart. And it was moving all on its own. It's exactly as Seiran had told us. They all have separate hearts and yet all five of them were his. Good news is that two are done. Still, they do pose a problem."

Yeah, it really does. But there is one way to win. "We need to take out all of his hearts. Then we'll kill him." I spoke, careful with manipulating my voice.

"Good eye once again. Each of these hearts once belonged to a Shinobi that I faced in battle and got the better of. They can easily be replenished- with your hearts for example." Kakuzu's gravely voice cut through the air.

Now that I didn't see that coming. While the other three Chunin were surprised by it, I wasn't.

Sasori made his worthy adversaries into puppets. It isn't surprising that there'd be others in the Akatsuki like that. He and Kakuzu didn't have any ill feelings towards each other.

Though it doesn't make the situation any less morbid.

So that's how he does it. He taps into the chakra network of the hearts he's stolen, enabling him to incorporate their chakra natures. What a pain.

Hidan moved his large scythe, the first two blades lodging into the earth. "Oh, by the way, you Leaf Ninja. You bury your dead or what? Because it'll be a real hassle if you do. Knowing Kakuzu, he'll totally want us to go digging for that cash cow of his. It was already a downer though. Seriously that guy with the beard went down like it was nothing, you know? Where the hell was the fun in that, huh?"

You piece of shit Immortal. "You talk a lot for a guy whose head went flying." I said, anger seeping into my voice.

Hidan stiffened and snarled in my direction. "Shut the hell up! That was a fluke you bitch!"

I flipped the tanto in my hand and gripped it tightly. "Then it shouldn't be a problem if I try it again." I warned, getting into a stance.

His forehead throbbed but he tried to compose himself some. "You can try. I know you're looking for revenge but you're out of your league here." He moved his scythe to rest on his shoulder, his eyes drifting to the other three.

"I don't know about the man or the ANBU, but you three are just pups. You must've been his students then, huh? Well with a loser like that guy teaching you, you're pretty much screwed."

His words triggered the three and Choji took a step forward, his body tense. "Don't insult Asuma-Sensei!" He shouted. Shikamaru quickly placed his hand on his chest to keep him back. Hidan grinned maliciously at his outburst. "Aw, the loving bond between teacher and student. Heh. What a load." The more Hidan mocked him the redder Choji's face became.

He's doing it on purpose and Choji is doing exactly what he wants. "You piece of-!"

Shikamaru shoved Choji back with a warning. He was close. One more wrong comment and he's going to-

"You're not bent out of shape over that chump? Hm, fatso?"

Oh man.

Not this again.

I glanced at Choji to see the familiar scene of him snapping. I reached out but he already took off at Hidan who was grinning like a cat.

"Choji!" Ino screamed, but it fell deaf on his ears.

His arms expanded as he neared and Hidan got ready to swing. Shikamaru was quick and used his shadow to stop Choji.

Hidan wasn't aware and swung, but touched nothing but air since Choji was stopped. Hidan was surprised but he jumped up and swung down towards Choji.

Kakashi took off before I could and blocked his strike with his kunai. Hidan retreated his blade and spun, landing a kick to Kakashi's side and sending him away.

He chased after him immediately but Kakashi avoided or blocked every swing.

Still, he's away from Choji, that's what matters. Shikamaru released Choji from his shadow, making Choji fall on his behind. "You moron! Don't let him egg you on like that anymore. Okay?!" Shikamaru shouted over at his friend. Choji looked back at us.

At least his face isn't red anymore. "Sor-ry."

I blinked as Kakuzu moved to stand in front of him and Shikamaru paled. Seeing his best friend's face Choji looked back front to see the danger.

"Ah!" He stood and threw a punch with his enlarged fist, but Kakuzu caught it with one hand, only skidding back a bit.

He pulled back and went to swing again, however Kakuzu struck him once, twice, and the third he sent Choji flying into a large tree. Choji groaned at the impact and Kakuzu rushed over to him once again at high speed, standing in front of him once more.

Oh, hell no!

He spun but I flickered over in between them and moved my leg up, blocking his kick. "You again?" He grumbled. But I only saw red. How dare he?!

Don't you touch my Choji!!

I moved fast, landing a punch to his face with enough strength to send him back aways. I didn't stop though. I flickered over and began my assault, lashing both my blade and fist, sometimes making contact and sometimes being evaded.

Kakuzu was getting over his initial surprise and the two of us were locked in combat like Kakashi and Hidan were.

Kakuzu isn't easy to go against, but it's doable. Well, at least it was. Until one of the monsters flew over me and fired off a fire jutsu.

The only way to avoid it was to jump away from Kakuzu, but that just made it focus on me more. In fact it kept chasing me away and leading me to Kakshi.

Lets see, this is . . . I jumped up, flipping over Kakashi and he rolled under me, both of us weaving our hands.

"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Jutsu!"

"Wind Style: Air Bullet Jutsu!"

We shouted, countering the beast's attacks with our own. Hidan lunged at us with a maniacal grin. "Two for one!" He shouted. Kakashi and I swerved, both of us lashing at him. Hidan blocked Kakshi's kunai with his scythe and used his arm to block mine.

Big mistake. I'll lop it-shit!

A fire attack moved and I moved too slow and it burned my leg. Kakashi and I flipped away, running from the fire and Hidan.

In the distance I could hear my friends shouts, but couldn't do much, too focused on Hidan and this damn beast. What should we do? What do we do? I stole a glance at their direction, seeing Kakuzu with his hands wrapped tightly around both Choji and Ino's necks, Shikamaru running from the Lightning one.

Right now, we need to get to them. Huh? Oh no!

Wind moved and we tried to move, but it hit our backs, making us shout out before a fire attack slammed into us and sent us breaking the branches and falling to the base of the tree we were hopping around on.

Kakashi and I lay collapsed in the trunk, eyes closed and in pain. At least, it seemed that way. Hidan laughed hastily, enjoying the sorry state we were in.

"So long. Nice knowin' ya!" He slashed at our bodies and killed us. Well, not really. Smoke erupted and revealed the logs in our place, but by the time it was Kakashi and I were making a beeline for the others.

Shikamaru had used a scroll to create water and used the Lightning beast that was chasing him to electrocute Kakuzu. He wasn't letting those other two go, so he threw a kunai with a paper bomb attached.

Kakuzu had to let the two go to form signs and block the explosion with a water wall. The explosion created a fog cover that we took advantage of.

I dropped down next to Ino and slung her arm over my shoulder before jumping away. Kakashi had collected Choji and we retreated back with Shikamaru.

Kakshi and I moved the two down safely and they coughed madly while also trying to take in as much air as possible. "You okay?" Shikamaru checked on his team while Kakashi and I stood in front of them, on guard.

"Yeah, more or less." Ino answered and Choki made a sound of agreement.

That's good. Now, what about them? While I can't see his face, being with Kakashi enough I could tell from his eyes alone that he's very irked with us. Good.

He can go fuck himself. And so can he.

I glared at Hidan who jumped down next to his comrade, staring at us with an aloof expression. But it soon turned to amusement as he looked at his partner.

"That was pitiful. What happened buddy?" He questioned with a laugh. "You should talk. I wasn't the one who fell for shadow clones." Kakuzu quipped back.

Hidan chuckled, rubbing the back of his head bashfully. "Oh yeah. You saw that?"

Idiot. I'm so glad Sasori didn't have me learn from them first. I'm not sure if I'd even want to. Not that it matters anymore. I'm not leaving until we take both of them down.

"Shikamaru, what now?" Kakashi questioned our unit leader. Which is kind of weird all things considered.

It is Nara though. "First thing we do is we get them on their own. We have got to tackle them individually."

"Agreed." Kakashi and I said simultaneously. "Once their combo attacks are off the table we can focus on destroying the big guys' last three hearts."

Makes sense. It'll be easier said than done. "Okay then. But for that to happen, one of us will have to stall Hidan."

Ino stood, clenching her fists. "I'll take care of it." She volunteered with no hesitation whatsoever. It took me by surprise.

Ino was never really a coward. At least when she decided on something she stuck with it. But she was always the realistic one in choosing a fight. So it threw me off. "Listen, out of the five of us, I've got the most chakra left. And besides, I'm not any good in a straight up fight anyway. With Mind Transfer Jutsu-"

"Forget it. It's too dangerous. Your mind transfer should always follow after my shadow possession. If you miss, you can't get back to your body for a few minutes. No, it's too risky." Shikamaru shot her idea down.

Ino looked down, lips pursed. Well she wasn't wrong. In hindsight it wouldn't be bad only if she could nail her transfer.

As for chakra, I've always had more than others, an Uzumaki trait. The one who is going to slow him down is gonna be Nara. He wants revenge. "I'm gonna do it." He said.

Yeah. Just as I thought. This was always a part of his plan. "I'll get him with possession and head off with him."

The others looked at him with surprise. Especially Kakashi. "You sure? How do you plan on trapping him? We still need some kind of diversion."

Choji stepped up, placing his hand on his chest. "Well, I can take care of that part." Shikamaru shook his head immediately. "No way Choji. If he so much as scratches you and captures your blood, it's all over. It'll just be like last time. A head on attack is the wrong way to go here." Choji looked as if he wanted to argue more on the matter.

"I'll go with Shikamaru and assist." Shikamaru turned to me, ready to argue, but I continued.

"I have a special Kekkei Genkai regarding blood. I assure you, it won't be easy to consume. Besides, you'll need someone to keep him busy. And out of the two of us my close range combat is superior to yours. And I promised Lady Hokage that I would bring you all back alive."

Shikamaru pursed his lips. "But someone will need to help Kakashi-Sensei with the other guy-"

"Choji and Ino will assist. They're not so weak that they can't provide back up. And going off alone is a foolish thing to do. You'll die."

I'm coming with Nara. I don't give a shit what you or anyone else says. I told you. I'll be with you every step of the way. I'm watching your back.

You've always watched mine.

He sighed, but the corner of his lip twitched up. He's probably envisioning the words I'd say if I could.

I'm stubborn as hell. You of all people should know that. "Okay. Seiran and I will get a hold of him. You guys stay out of it."

I stepped up next to him, taking his right side. The others were silent for a bit. Before Kakashi let out a sigh. "Alright. You two have him." Kakashi approved. Shikamaru glanced at me.

Although I still had my mask I tried to give him a reassured look. I've got your back.

Always.

Seeming to have understood he turned and the two of us began walking their way. Hidan smirked, twirling his scythe as the two beasts walked behind them. Shikamaru and I didn't falter though.

"You ready to get the party started?" I whispered so softly that only Shikamaru could hear. "Yeah."

The two of us stopped and Shikamaru quickly moved his hands making his shadow shoot towards them. "Heh. Not that again. Are you scared of my scythe and abilities?!" They all scattered off away from his shadow and Kakashi rushed at Kakuzu, keeping him busy and away from us.

"You're dealing with me right now." I smirked. Same old Kakashi. I flickered behind Hidan and Shikamaru's shadow reached after.

"And you're with us." I slammed my kanto into Hidan's shoulder, making him shout. However if he didn't want to be caught he couldn't fight back and jumped away again from Shikamaru's searching shadow.

He kept nimbly avoiding Shikamaru's jutsu, if you face it enough it's easy enough to avoid. As long as you watch them. "You wish kiddo. As long as I'm watching your shadows I can see where to go." He smirked, avoiding another attack midair by using his scythe.

True. However . . . I lunged at him and grabbed his cloak and pulled back. Go to hell!

My fist collided harshly with his face and I felt a crunch as I flung him down and into the earth. Where Shikamaru's shadow remained. "It doesn't matter if you can avoid the shadows if someone can forcibly put you into them." I stated, landing next to him.

Hidan glowered at me, struggling against Shikamaru's Jutsu but to no avail. "Bitch." He growled.

I couldn't help but smirk. What a dumbass. I walked over to stand next to Nara who had approached us. "Shadow Possession Jutsu complete."

"Shikamaru, Seiran, get going!"

"Leave the rest to us!"

"We're counting on you two!"

I glanced at Shikamaru, keeping my voice low. "You heard them, Nara." He nodded, moving his arm out and opening his hand, forcing Hidan to do the same and release his scythe.

"Come on pal. We're going on a little stroll." Shikamaru and I took off, forcing Hidan to follow after us. As far, far away from them as we can.

I know they can take care of it. Kakashi is there. And with Choji and Ino with him it makes me feel more comfortable. I've got Shikamaru's back. And they have each others.

This mission no one is dying. I promised myself, I promised Granny, and I promised Asuma.

The three of us exited their area and entered the natural and more hidden forest, Hidan swearing the entire time at us. "Where the fuck are we going?! Splitting up me and Kakuzu isn't going to save you bastards!"

Shikamaru and I snickered at his shouts, angering him more.

We don't have time to entertain him. We need to go as far as we can before his jutsu runs out. So we did, going faster and faster until he had to stop. "Mi-Seiran, paper bombs!" Shikamaru began to throw kunai attached to wires and paper bombs all around us and I followed with no questions, creating a minefield and trapping all of us within it.

I ended up using all of mine and stopped, standing next to him as his shadow retreated.

It's going as planned. I slipped him the vial he had given me. It's a part of the time, albeit, adjusted.

Hidan didn't seem to notice. His anger morphed into amusement. He's free afterall. "Your shadow jutsu. It lasts about five minutes if I recall. And it's just the three of us now. You made this one easy for me!"

He reached into his robe and grabbed his strange weapon, whipping it out to full length. The tip glinted with its sharpness.

Here we go.

Hidan rushed at us and I jumped up and onto a tree limb as it soared under me, striking Shikamaru. Making a cut on his cheek.

The blood, although small, was there on Hidan's blade and he grinned like the psycho he is.

Shikamaru looked at Hidan in terror as he chuckled and licked the blood clean off his blade. "No!" I shouted, but didn't move.

It was done.

Hidan's skin began to change color as it turned pitch black with white lines similar to the skeletal anatomy shown.

I jumped down, going for him but he swiped his blade. I narrowly dodged and stabbed his arm, making him shout then laugh. But it was rather creepy, almost like he was aroused by it.

"Thanks. I needed that." He slammed his leg into my side, sending me away and out of the way. The blood from the wound I inflicted on him dripped down and he used it to draw that strange circle and design.

"The preparations are complete." He spoke, twirling the weapon. He held it above his head and his eyes went wild with excitement. "Oh how I've been waiting for this. DIE!" He screamed, swinging it down and impaling himself with it, and with it, the person whose blood he ingested.

"SHIKAMARU!"