By the time they got back to the Curry shop, the sun was just setting. 

" Hey!" Naruto shouted as they got closer, they saw the three guys chopping up wood. They ran inside to talk to Grandma Sansho.

" Grandma Sansho, I'm back," Naruto announced once they got inside.

" And Karashi is here as well," Lee added. The boy took a few steps forward.

" Oh mother," Karashi breathed as he fell to his knees. " I'm so sorry. Please forgive me."

" Please, pardon his behavior, ma'am," Lee requested as he stood beside Karashi. " From now on he is a changed man. He will devote himself to taking over the Curry of Life restaurant if you will let him." She turned around and shoved a plate in front of Karashi.

" First things first, you've got to eat," Grandma Sansho ordered.

" Huh?" Karashi asked.

" Huh?" Naruto asked happily as he appeared by the plate.  " Oh wow! That looks great! If you're not gonna eat it, I don't mind taking it off your hands.

" Actually, I've prepared a plate for everybody," Grandma Sansho informed. " Well, look at him. My, what a piqued little child."

" Oh yeah," Aceso breathed as she looked back to see Ranmaru asleep on her back. " You mind fixing up a plate for him too?

" Make it as mild as possible," Neji requested.

" Actually, I'd like mine to be mild as well," Tenten requested politely. 

" As you wish," Grandma Sansho smiled happily. 

" Mother," Karashi began as he got up and took his seat. " Thank you for the food." He picked up his spoon and scooped some food in his mouth, his face grew a bright red from the spice.

" That's my 300% Special Punishment Curry," Grandma Sansho said. Karashi began to eat it more, his cheeks grew red, his lips got big, and tears streamed down his face.

" Spicy," Karashi commented. " So spicy. But it's good. So good, mama."

" Dig in," Grandma Sansho insisted. " I made enough for everyone. They all happily ate their food, soon night came, and Ranmaru was staring at his plate of food. He looked really sad. Naruto and Acseo sat at the same table as him.

" It's ok," Aceso assured. " She made it real mild." He shook his head. 

" Hey, by the way, when you were traveling with Raiga, you were with the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, weren't you?" Naruto asked. " Did you ever meet a guy named Zabuza?

" Uh--Zabuza?" Ranmaru asked as he tried to think about it. " No--I've."

" Oh! I've got it," Naruto insisted. " There was this one with a huge sword wrapped in some bandage thing. And he has these fish eyes."

" Oh yeah, you mean Kisame," Ranmaru recalled.

" Yeah, right, Kisame," Naruto confirmed. " So, do you happen to know where that guy is or what he's up to?"

" Uh-uh," Ranmaru denied. " I heard that he slipped away from the Mist Village. I know his face, but I don't know anything more than that."

" Oh well," Naruto sighed, then he looked at the food. " You still haven't eaten. You want me to ask our host to make you something else?

" I don't need it," Ranmaru denied. " I'm not really in the mood to eat right now."

The next morning came and the others were on the way back to the village.

" Thank you so much for your help," Hachidai thanked them.

 " Yeah, you solved everything," Sangoro added.

" Go on home and make your village great again!" Naruto shouted as they waved goodbye. " For everyone!"

" Neji, where's Lee?" Tenten asked.

" His mission still isn't complete yet," Neji laughed. They looked over to see Lee and Karashi running, Lee still going while Karashi looked like he was ready to collapse.

" Please, wait, Lee," Karashi panted. " I'm gonna die."

" Ok we will take a short pause here," Lee agreed. " So we can do 300 push-ups!"

" What?" Karashi exclaimed as he looked over to see Lee doing pushups. They looked up to see that a storm was rolling in. Lee and Naruto cut down some trees so they could put a protective barrier around the shop.

" We'll be ready even if a huge storm blows in," Naruto smiled. " With these logs, we'll form a protective barrier around the shop."

" Thank you all," Grandma Sansho smiled. " You didn't have to."

" No, ma'am, we owe you for your curry," Lee insisted.

" Oh my word, compared to you, my Karashi is so idle," Grandma Sansho sighed.

" Hey, Tenten," Neji spoke in a whisper. " I'm worried about Karashi and Ranmaru alone at the shop. We're fine here. Why don't you go back and check on them." Not long after Tenten left, a big bolt of lightning flashed in a distance.

" Guess that storm's going to be here soon," Aceso noted.

" We should hurry back to the restaurant, then, " Lee insisted as he picked up a tree.

" Oh dear," Grandma Sansho panicked as they hurried back with the trees that they cut down. When they got back to the shop, they began to put up the barrier, soon it started to rain.

" The rain finally got here," Aceso noted as she sat on a log with Naruto, above the ground. Naruto was on one side and Aceso was on the other, both hammering in nails.

" Good thing," Lee said as he walked over to her. " Now that we're almost done." He held out his hand, and Aceso grabbed it, she hopped off the log.

" Yep," Naruto agreed as he hopped off and the three went over to Grandma Sansho. 

" My goodness," Grandma Sansho breathed. " Look at this. You kids sure did a lot of work for this old lady."

" Come quick!" they heard Karashi yell.

" Huh?" they asked as he ran over to them.

" You'll never believe what happened," Karashi revealed as he grabbed onto his mom. " Oh, it was horrible, mom."

" Horrible? Karashi what are you talking about?" Grandma Sansho asked.

" It's Tenten," Karashi answered. " She--" They all gasped.

" What do you mean? What happened to her?"  Lee demanded. 

" She-" Karashi began. " She fell off a cliff.

" What?" Naruto exclaimed. " What are you talking about?"

" We were both running, Tenten and I. Lee was still busy, and she told me I could train with her," Karashi explained. But then when we got to Lightning Pass a bolt of lightning hit a tree and knocked it towards us. And Tenten, Tenten fell off the cliff, all the way to the bottom." He pointed in the direction of the cliff.

" How awful," Grandma Sansho cried. " Hurry back and help the poor girl."

" We have to go," Lee urged. " Tenten needs our help."

" Yeah!" Naruto agreed.

" Take us to her," Aceso added. Karashi then looked at Neji who was staring him down hard.

" Uh, go on," Karashi urged. " And I, I'm going to go grab the first aid kit." Neji and Aceso exchanged glances. " I'll be right behind you. I promise."

" Very well," Neji said. " Aceso, Naruto, Lee, let's go."

" Right!" they agreed as they took off running towards the cliff. As they got closer to the cliff, more lightning struck.

" Would lightning in some tree really be enough to send Tenten over a cliff?" Neji asked.

" Huh? What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

" I don't know," Neji said. " Perhaps Karashi's training didn't stick.

" That is my fault," Lee blamed himself.

" Then what?" Naruto asked.

" Maybe, maybe it's some kind of trap again," Neji proposed.

" Or someone is threatening him," Lee added.

" Or both," Aceso suggested.

" But we already beat the Kurosuki family," Naruto reminded them.

" Maybe my eyes were clouded," Neji said.

" No way," Naruto gasped. " It's him." They picked up the speed towards the direction of trouble. They jumped out of the trees, and down below standing on the cliff was alive.

" Raiga," Neji breathed.

" He is alive," Aceso said.

" You were right," Lee said to Neji.

" Come on, Raiga," Naruto growled. " Let's do this thing. And this time, you're going down for good." He roared and lightning-sparked all along with his blades. Naruto's kunai sparked as he aimed toward Raiga.

" Lee!" Neji called out as he and Aceso stopped on the ground. Lee jumped up and collided with Naruto, pushing them both. Knocking the kunai knife out of Naruto's hand.

" What are you doing!" Naruto demanded as a big bolt of lightning struck the knife. They landed back on the ground. " What's going on? His lightning's way stronger this time.

" He was using sheer chakra before," Neji said. " So there was a limit to the power he was wielding."

" But this time, he's using real lightning as his source," Aceso added. " If he can draw upon the power of nature itself, truly harness it, there's no stopping him." Raiga's whole body was surrounded by lightning as he roared angrily. 

" Get down, now!" Neji ordered. They all laid lowered on the ground. Two bolts of lightning shot down like lasers, and Neji rolled out of the way. " Byakugan! If we can dodge his attacks, and take the battle right to him--Naruto!"

" One step ahead of you," Naruto said. He got up and ran, dodging the lighting, and stopped. " Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Four more Narutos appeared. They got struck out by lightning as they ran forward. " Shadow Clone Jutsu!" More appeared and they struck out again by the lightning. " Shadow Clone Jutsu! Shadow Clone Jutsu! Shadow Clone Jutsu! Shadow Clone Jutsu! Shadow Clone jutsu!" All the shadows clone kept getting struck out, but the plan worked, Naruto now stood right before Raiga.

" Excellent work, Naruto, now Aceso" Neji complimented as he stood behind Raiga. Aceso did her jutsu and her ropes wrapped right own around Raiga, squeezing his arms to the side. " Gentle fist." Lightning struck down right on Neji and Aceso. Both were unconscious. 

" Neji! Little Sister!" Naruto cried out as Neji and Aceso fell backward. The ropes fell off Raiga easily. Naruto got struck by lighting and cried out. 

" You brat," Raiga laughed. " Are you really that dumb? This isn't extraordinary chakra I'm blasting you with. It's actual lightning." Naruto fell forward unconscious. " You really are that dumb."

" Stop it," Lee demanded. " How dare you disrespect an opponent who fought you with all he had?" Raiga looked over at Lee, who stood bravely. 

" Oh, I remember you," Raiga smiled. " On second thought, no funeral. I'll just kill you." Lee took off his leg weights and dropped them, the whole mountain shook."

" I am very angry," Lee warned. He glanced at all his friends and then looked his eyes at his target. Raiga raised his arms up and lightning came down towards his rods. The two began fighting.

" I hate this kid!" Raiga growled as Lee dodged the lightning. Soon Lee kicked Raiga right in the stomach. Raiga positioned his hands on the rods, and raised them up roaring, lighting powered all around him. He then pointed forward, Lee dodged it at first, but then the lightning eventually engulfed him.

" I'm still standing," Lee groaned as he steadied himself after the blast. 

" This kid is unbelievable," Raiga stated. Lee swayed as he walked up towards Raiga. " Why? Why do you go so far?"

" I welcome become so strong that Gai-sensei can smile at me with pride," Lee answered. " Because that is my way of the shinobi."

" I see," Raiga breathed. " That explains it. Your whole life is devoted to this sensei of yours. Well, maybe this Gai person can be the one to hold your funeral! What with all your hard work and devotion I'm sure he'll shed a tear!" Lighting shot down to his rods." Lee held up his arms protecting himself from the debris. " Ninja Art Thunder Dragon Tornado!" A giant dragon appeared in tornado form, it had red angry glowing eyes. Lee got hit with it and big bolts of lightning were sent rolling down the mountain and out of sight. Moments later Aceso woke up to her mouth on fire, she sat straight up in alarm, and she looked over to see Tenten and Naruto next to her.

" Tenten?" Aceso asked as her face start not to be so hot anymore.

" Glad to see you're awake," Tenten said. " We are going to need a doctor after this is all over."

" Why is my mouth on fire?" Aceso asked. Her eyes fell down to a plate of curry. " Oh." They then went and peeked around a rock to see Raiga standing a few feet away from Ranmaru. " Where is Ranmaru?"

" It's complicated," Tenten explained. " He offered up his own chakra to Raiga and brought him back to life.

 " What?" Naruto gasped.

" But all of that effort wiped Ranmaru out," Tenten added. " Raiga found him unconscious and assumed he was dead."

" So that's what he was raving about," Naruto concluded. " He kept talking about Ranmaru looking down on him from above"

" There is a silver lining," Tenten informed. " I got Ranmaru back to the Curry of Life shop at least."

" Thanks for filling us in," Aceso thanked her.

" Nothing will ever separate us again, Ranmaru," Raiga said t the little boy that sat on his shoulder. " Now, let's off these brats and get back to strewing mayhem, like we've always had."

" Whatever you say Raiga," Ranmaru smiled at the man. He stared up at the sky, his eyes glowed red and a thick mist formed around the two. They watched the circle of fog start to move away.

" They're heading right for that steep cliff in front of them," Tenten said.

" I don't get it," Naruto said. " What the heck does Ranmaru think he's doing?" Tenten then gasped.

" He wouldn't-- Is he trying to atone for his sins with Raiga?" Tenten questioned. " I think he plans to lead them both over the cliff to their deaths!"

" Are you kidding!" Naruto exclaimed as Aceso gasped.

" What's your problem?" a voice asked from the distance as Naruto jumped over the rock. " Jerk! Ah!" Aceso's eyes went a little wide, she recognized that voice, and from the sound of it, the person was drunk.

' Not again,' Aceso groaned to herself. They looked to see Lee standing in front of the swirling fog, drunk as a skunk, and ready to fight.  He swayed just like he did the last time.

" Hey there," Lee slurred. " How's it going?" Everyone watched for the next move. "Here I come!" Lee then took off towards the two at the edge of the cliff. He tripped, fell on his face, got back on his feet, and took even faster. He kicked and punched right through the fog clearing it away.

" What is he doing?" Raiga asked. He blocked a few kicks and punches. " You little brat!" Lee then made eye contact with his elbow, Raiga stepped back and a piece of the cliff crumbled under him. " You are pretty quick to recover, huh?" Lee spun around, giggled more, then bent over as if he was going to throw up.

" Quit playing with me!" Raiga roared as he shot a rod in the air, dragging in more lightning. He shot line right at Lee and he dodged it with ease. " What?" Lee kept dodging all the lightning strikes being thrown at him. He then shot toward Ranmaru and Raiga all while dodging more attacks. He kicked him right under the chin, sending Ranmaru and Raiga flying.

" He's fast," Raiga breathed. 

' And drunk,' Aceso thought to herself.

Ranmaru screamed as he fell over the cliff while Raiga fell right back on the lege, he sat up in a panic." Ranmaru? Ranmaru, where are you?" Raiga angrily got up as Lee appeared in front of them. " You little--You'll pay for this!" He connected his rods. " Ninja Art Thunder Armor!" He spun it over his head, as it glowed with lightning. Soon Raiga was covering in it.

" Bring it on," Lee insisted as he danced around, trying to keep his balance.

" I'll destroy you!" Raiga shouted as he charged forward. 

" Here I go," Lee urged. He rolled around on the ground before shooting forward. The two collided and smoke rose up, the two-shot out from the rising smoke in two separate directions, Aceso blinked. As scary as he is, Lee is quite impressive when he is drunk. The smoke cleared, and Raiga lay in a hole. 

" That was quite a blow," Raiga said as he sat up. " If I hadn't donned my Thunder Armor, I'd be giving myself a funeral." He got out of the hole and stared down at Lee as he lay on the ground. " So that I always remember how hard you fought here, I'll take care of your funeral!"

" " You stay here," Tenten whispered. " I'll go see what's taking Neji and Karashi so long." Aceso nodded as Tenten left.

" Not so fast!" Naruto yelled as he jumped out of nowhere with Ranmaru on his back and landed in front of Lee. Ranmaru got off of Naruto and stood in front of Lee, putting out his arms.

" What do you think you're doing?" Raiga asked.

" I've brought you the Curry of Life," Ranmaru answered. " I want you to try it." 

" What?" Raiga asked.

" If you do, you'll understand you're not alone," Ranamru explained. "Its spices blend together like the feelings of all mankind."

" What are you saying?" Raiga asked.

" We've hurt too many," Ranmaru answered. " Please. We have to stop."

" No!" Raiga denied. " That's enough! You've always been my eyes and ears. If you don't spouting this selfish nonsense, we can no longer be as one."

" Strike me with your lightning then," Ranmaru offered. " If I die, the mighty Raiga falls as well. For we will always be as one."

" Ranmaru," Raiga breathed. " I won't be able to remember you the way you were anymore." He held up his rods. " I have to give you a funeral!" Lightning struck down on the rods, there was so much power, that energy shot out in waves, and rocks flew up. Aceso got in front of Ranmaru holding out her arms.

" Raiga, stop it!" Naruto ordered as he got in front of Ranmaru and Aceso. " Right now. Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Loads of Narutos all appeared.

" That is a lot of Narutos," Lee groaned as he woke up and looked. " I--I must have been out of it for a little while." He then grew very sick and passed out again.

" You little snot!" Raiga growled. " It doesn't make a difference how many of you there are!"

" This kid risked his life to save you," Naruto growled. " You'd really kill him by your own hand?"

" Ranmaru betrayed me," Raiga cried. " He broke his promise to stay at my side forever."

" That's because he doesn't want to be by himself anymore," Naruto said. " Ranmaru has people that care for him now. He knows his life will be better laughing with the rest of the world, instead of crying with you."

" Naruto," Ranmaru breathed.

" Look, Ranmaru," Naruto huffed. " You were planning on ending your life with this guy, weren't you? You put that out of your head. You're free now. Trust me, I'm not going to let Raiga hold any more funerals. Not for you or for anybody!"

" Hey," Raiga grunted. " I've heard just about enough of your crap, you little pipsqueak!"

" What did you say?" Naruto demanded.

" Don't underestimate me," Raiga warned. " You stand before Raiag Kurosuke of the Mist, once counted as a member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. I don't take orders from the likes of you."

" Yeah, that's right, I almost totally forgot," Naruto recalled. " A long time ago, you were one of the Seven Swordsmen. You never did answer my question before. Kisame, you know him, don't you?"

" Kisame," Raiga repeated the name. " I can't stand that lowlife. Next time I see him he's getting a funeral for sure."

" What?" Aceso asked.

" I despise him," Raiga answered. " I hate all the Seven Ninja Swordsmen! Ranmarym you're the only one who's ever been a friend to me in this life. But you don't need me now. You've made other friends. We'll bever two halves of the same soul again."

" Raiga," Ranmaru breathed sadly.

" Impudent wrench!" Raiga yelled as he raised his rods up. Bring down more lightning. " Who was it that taught you about the outside world to begin with?  A funeral it is!" He shot down lightning everywhere, taking out all the Narutos, Aceso's eyes glowed green, she did a few hand signs, and a green cube formed around the four of them, protecting them from the lightning. Lee opened his eyes a little to see what was happening, he grew sick again before passing out. Once the lightning stopped, and smoke rose, Aceso released the Jutsu and then her eyes went back to normal.

" Clone spinning ax kick!" Naruto shouted as his clones appeared out of the smoke and kicked Raiga repeatedly. " Shadow Clone Body Slam!" They all leaped forward and slammed into Raiga. This sent the man stepping backward, dropping the rods, he leaned over spitting out blood. The clones landed a few punches on the funeral man.

" You're finally free now," Raiga breathed as he flew over the edge.

" Raiga," Ranmaru gasped.

" Come lightning!" Raiga called. " Give me a funeral worth remembering!" The heavens opened up, and streaks of lightning all blasted Raiga with everything all the power they had. The blast was so bright and powerful that it lit up the sky. Naruto, Ranamru, and Aceso all went over to the edge, they didn't see a single sign of Raiga. The lightning must have obliterated him. They all gathered to go home, Aceso picked up Lee and put him over her shoulder, Naruto had Ranmaru while Tenten and Karashi got Neji. 

***

The next morning came and Aceso was already awake and getting ready to leave with the others. She walked past a room and heard groaning, the door opened and Lee stuck out his head, he looked like he was in pain.

" My head was killing me," Lee groaned.

" All that curry you ate yesterday accidentally got mixed with some wine," Aceso informed. " You had a lot of alcohol." 

" How shameful!" Lee cried out as he looked at the ceiling, tears flowed out of his eyes. " My youth! A shinobi should never drink underage!"

" You should never drink in general," Aceso laughed a little.  

 " I second that," Tenten agreed as she walked up. " You can be quite the handful when you are drunk."

"I am so sorry!" Lee cried more. Tenten and Aceso looked at each other and smiled. Lee then cringed, he closed his eyes as he held his head. Aceso put a hand on his forehead and focused her chakra, till it glowed green. " Thank you, Red Rose." Neji appeared behind Lee, he looked ready to go, he made eye contact with Tenten, and she gave him a weird look. They looked back at the other two, and slowly the looks on their faces turned into little smirks.

" Just because you accidentally drank under the age, doesn't mean it'll hurt your youth," Aceso informed. " A lot of people in their youth tend to break that rule sometimes to embrace their youth even more. You are still very youthful and in the prime of it as well."

" Your words are so sweet!" Lee cried out jets of water as Aceso removed her hand. They then all packed up, they stood by the door so they could say goodbye to the others. They were in the kitchen making curry.

" Grandma Sansho?" Lee asked.

" Huh?" they all asked as they looked at them.

" It is time for us to get going now," Lee reported.

" Thanks for your help," Neji thanked them.

" We really appreciate it," Aceso added.

" Yeah, I know you'll take good care of Ranmaru," Naruto smiled.

" He's in good hands," Grandma Sansho confirmed as she held up a spoon. " His training will be merciless, but before you know it, he'll be cooking the Curry of Life."

" Ranamru, Karashi, best of luck to you," Tenten wished them.

" Thanks," they breathed with a smile.

" Hold on a second," Grandma Sanshi urged. " The Village Hidden in the Leaves is more than just a hop, skip, and a jump away, you know. I've whipped up a special batch that gives you 10,00 times the strength you'll need for the journey. Now have a seat and get some food in your belly."

" Huh?" they all asked as they looked at her. On the table were five things of bright red, steaming curry. They all stared at it in wonder and horror.

 " That's the reddest curry I've ever seen in my life," Tenten noted.

" Yeah, no kidding, my eyes are burning just looking at it," Naruto added.

" My nose burns just from the smells of the spice," Aceso said.

" Wow!" Lee cheered as he fell out of the horror stance and fell in love with the plate of food. " Such culinary delights!"

" What the?" they all demanded as they looked at Lee.

" Lady Tsunade will kill us if we don't get back soon," Neji informed.

" Oh, yeah!" Naruto agreed. " Yeah! Yeah!" the two grabbed leave and headed out the door. " We're really sorry, but we better get going."

" Wait up you guys!" Tenten cried as she followed after them.

" Is there a possible chance to take that to go?" Aceso asked as she heard in the distance about curry.

" That's not a problem," Karashi agreed. She got a container to go.

" Thank you," Aceso smiled. " See you again." She then left to catch up with the others. 

****
When they got home, it was a little late and everyone returned back to their places to put their things down. After Aceso finished she went over to the apartment buildings with the take-out container and knocked on a door. The door slowly opened revealing a sad-looking Lee.

" Is everything alright, Lee?" Aceso asked.

" The curry," Lee cried, Aceso smiled. It was nothing too serious he was sad over. " What are you doing here?"

" You always tend to show up at my room...so I thought I would do the same today," Aceso said.

" Huh?" Lee asked, coming up the steps down a little were Hinata and Neji, they both stopped and hid behind the wall. They used their byakugan to look.

" Besides, I asked Grandma Sansho if I could take some home," Aceso said as she held up the container. " I know it's not the same when it's first made, but it should taste the same if you heat it up." Lee's eyes grew big and happy as he put his hands together, staring at the box.

" You're the best!" Lee cried as he took the box. He put it down before engulfing her in a hug and spinning around. He set her down, kissed her on the cheek, and then closed the door to go enjoy the spicy curry. Aceso's face turned bright red, perhaps redder than the curry, she then touched her cheek. She felt weird inside, but she liked it, it was a very warm curry, as if she ate the spicy curry without even eating it.