Trials Of Faith

Trials of Faith

Karrafear

Summary: SEQUAL to Faith in Humanity and Restoration of Faith; PG-13. 2 and half years have passed and now is the beginning of the trials of Faith. Chapter 4: Fall of the Kuunoki

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Disclaimer: Naruto is an anime and manga series created by Masashi Kishimoto. It does not belong to me; I’m simply using the characters and plot for my own creative devices.

"Demon's talk", /Thoughts/, "Speech", 'Speech emphasis', (FLASHBACK), Titles, (Author's interruptions)

Warning: Violence, betrayal death and mayhem.

Chapter 4

Naruto spent the next 3 weeks resting in Suna. He spent the first week suffering the affects of a strong fever before the fever finally broke half way through the second week, and the final week was used to rest and regain his strength back. Kakashi too, took the time to rest due to the effects of overusing his Sharingan eye. Sasuke utilised this time of tranquillity to interrogate Kakashi on how he managed to acquire his single Mangekyuo Sharingan eye, of which Kakashi somehow managed to dodge by feinting sleep every time he came to visit.

During that 3 week period, Konoha had sent a second delegate team in order to support Suna – namely Team Asuma; while team Gai returned to Konoha to report on the success of their mission. The members of Team Kakashi had remained by Naruto’s side within the walls of Suna, and helped Team Asuma where they could in re-establishing stability in the village of Suna. But then again, with Gaara now back at the helm, there really wasn’t much for the teams to do.

Chiyo and her brother had a small ceremony in order to bury Sasori’s body. Not many people attended the funeral of a criminal, but it eased Chiyo’s mind that her whole family was now finally together again. She then dedicated herself to teaching the arts of puppetry to the future generation of Suna Ninjas as well as teaching Kankuro how to fix and utilise the Hito Kugutsu that was left behind by Sasori.

Ino remained almost permanently attached to Gaara’s side, but the red-head didn’t seem to mind. In fact, he smiled shyly towards her as he held her hand in a tightened grip whenever they walked the streets of Suna together. Temari spent most of her time either as a border guard or reacquainting herself with her boyfriend, Shikamaru; that is, if she managed to lose Kankuro during their rendezvous. Suffice to say, Kankuro still didn’t think that Shikamaru deserved the affections of his sister, but since Gaara didn’t seem to mind, all he could do was hinder their meetings as much as he could.

Slowly, the peaceful days came to an end, and on the day that Naruto was finally strong enough to leave, there was a large contingent of Suna ninjas seeing both Team Asuma and Team Kakashi off on their journey. Naruto still looked pale but he heartily shook Gaara’s hand, strengthening the bond between them as both allies and most importantly, as friends who would always look out for one another.

Ino remained at Gaara’s side while Temari informed them she would make her way back to Konoha a few months later, once she had enough of mothering her youngest brother to death. Shikamaru was a little reluctant to leave Temari but he didn’t have much choice in the matter, and he didn’t really want to stay and be put under the watchful eye of both Kankuro and Gaara at the same time.

The trip back to Konoha was travelled at a slow but steady pace, with Naruto alternatively being carried by Sasuke and Chouji, while Kakashi was helped in his own progress by Asuma. Eventually, they made their way towards the main gates of Konoha and were welcomed back with a Hero’s welcome. But Naruto didn’t seem too happy to be back. His gaze lingered towards the Northern direction and then to the North-west direction. /It’s not over yet. This is only the beginning.../ He thought sadly to himself.

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In a large underground chamber, lit up by only candles, a hissing sound reverberated through the darkened room. A pale figure with long dark hair sat upon his throne with a bored expression. Behind him stood 3 body guards hidden in the shadows; while before him kneeled the figure of our infamous spy.

“Kabuto. What news do you bring?” Orochimaru sat slumped in his chair, as he looked over his nails, not bothering to even look at his loyal subordinate.

“News from Suna is that Sasori-sama had been taken out by his grandmother and a Ninja from Konoha. They buried his body in Sand some weeks ago.” Kabuto stood up calmly and smirked at his master. “I never thought that Sasori-sama would be so weak, that he could be taken out by an old woman and some Konoha weaklings.” While Kabuto gave this statement, Orochimaru’s eyes narrowed.

“I take it Akatsuki had already made their move...” Orochimaru asked.

“Yes. It has been confirmed that the Ichibi no Shukaku is in their hands, but somehow, Gaara is not dead. Supposedly, Naruto-kun arrived just in time to save and revive Gaara from the brink of death, or so I’ve been told.” Kabuto shrugged.

Orochimaru gave a savage smirk when he thought about the Uzumaki heir. “Any further news on the Konoha front or that of the Kuunoki?” He continued to ask.

“Nothing much.” Kabuto stated nonchalantly. “From what I understand, there’s been a bit of an information blackout from within Konoha. I would suspect that Tsunade is heightening her internal security, either trying to find our spy or to wipe out the Root Anbu group of Danzo’s. At the same time, she’s been trying to balance the power play of the Council, but I doubt that she’d be getting much headway in that area.” Looking at his master’s concentrated expression, Kabuto wondered: “Why the interest, Orochimaru-sama? Are you planning on invading Konoha while her attentions are split between the Akatsuki as well as Konoha’s internal struggles?”

“Iie.” Orochimaru answered succinctly. “With Naruto back in the ball game, both the Council and Danzo will not be in power for much longer. Not to mention our spy will probably be rooted out soon enough. Nothing escapes those eyes... the eyes that can see the future...”

From behind Orochimaru, one of the four shadowed figures stepped forward. “Do not fear, Orochimaru-sama. Call on us and we would take out the Seer with ease.”

“Do NOT underestimate him, Kimmimaro. You’re health may have been stabilised, but you will never be at your top form like before. I do not wish to lose the only original member of the Sound Five so early in the game.” Orochimaru threatened harshly.

“Hmp. Tayuya, Kidoumaru, Jiroubu, Sakon and Ukon were all weaklings. Do not compare us to them.” The only female member of the four snorted in contempt. “They lost to fucking Genins! The lot of them deserve to die pathetic deaths!”

“Do not speak ill of the dead, Hito-san (1).” A giant of a man stated calmly.

“Oh, shut it, Juugo. I’m not one of your stupid bird friends that need to be coddled. Give me a target and let me at them. I’ll shatter their minds and make them love being a slave.” The female ninja by the name of Hito snapped back brutishly.

“Quiet! Juugo, Hito, I do not wish to hear your squabbling. Now, tell me, where the hell is Kageru?! She’s suppose to be here as the last member of the Sound FOUR!” Orochimaru ordered in a loud and commanding voice, silencing both Juugo and Hito from any further comments.

Kimmimaro shrugged indifferently. “She and Suzumi left early this morning. They didn’t report where they were going.” He stated monotonously, even as his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

Kabuto sighed, feeling annoyed that the clone seemed to spend so much time with his sister (2). “What is wrong with that girl? Ever since she came back from the Kuunoki, both she and Suzumi have been hanging out a lot together. It’s just not natural to want to spend all that free time together in the same room...” His voice drifts off, only to be interrupted by Hito once again.

“Maybe they’re into each other. Maybe they’ve been fucking each other with wild kinky sex all these years, you never know?” Hito taunted the white haired medic nin, only to be pushed aside with a punch to her should by Kimmimaro, who glared furiously at her. Kabuto didn’t take the insult lightly either, and he too glared heatedly at the short black haired woman.

Glaring at the irritated Kaguya survivor, Hito refocused her efforts at annoying him. “Tch. Feeling jealous that the snake bitch never even gave you a glance, Little bone?” Hito sneered at Kimmimaro, having always known about the bone user’s secret crush on the clone of his master, and not afraid to tease him about it whenever possible.

It was really a strange triangle between Kimmimaro – who had a crush on Kageru, who spent most of her time with Suzumi, who (rumours have it) has a crush on that idiot Suigetsu. And then there’s Karin who wanted to get into the pants of Kimmimaro and hates Kageru’s guts. If it wasn’t so stupid and complex, she would laugh at the hilarity of it all. Unfortunately, Hito didn’t have much time to reminisce about her fellow Shinobi’s twisted love lives, as a hard slap to the back of her head forced her onto the floor followed by a foot to her back. She twisted her head only to glare at a pissed off Juugo, who was fiercely defending his best friend’s integrity.

The curse seals upon Juugo’s body started reacting and he widened his lips into an insane grin before Orochimaru slapped his face. In that instant, the killing intent disappeared from Juugo’s mindset.

“I said ENOUGH of this petty squabbling. Let Kageru and Suzumi do what they want, they are of no concern to me. Now, Kabuto!” Orochimaru looked towards his must trusted advisor and henchmen.

“Hai, Orochimaru-sama.” Kabuto answered immediately.

“Prepare our soldiers’ combat readiness and heighten our defence. I have a bad feeling about the future. At the same time, I want the Sound four (with or without Kageru) to pack up our immediate supplies, we’ll be moving base in 3 days.” The ever paranoid Snake Sannin stormed off and out of the chamber.

Whenever Orochimaru feels even the slightest hint of a threat on his life, he would prepare to move his being away from harm. Such was the natural instinct of self preservation within Orochimaru’s bones. /Something is going to happen soon. Something big! And I’ll be damned if I’m getting caught up in it. Be it Akatsuki, Konoha or the Kuunoki, I will NOT PERISH!/ He thought determinately to himself.

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“Ne, why are we visiting the Southern base? Don’t you have a meeting with Orochimaru, Niisan and the other Sound Four members?” Suzumi asked her travelling companion as she trudged through the foliage of a dense forest.

“Ah. I do not intend on going to the meeting.” Kageru answered in a monotonous voice, void of any emotion.

Beside her, Suzumi signed. “You really don’t get along with Hito, do you? Is that why you’re not doing anything to keep your cover? We are after all, not exactly loyal to Orochimaru anymore...”

“It’s not Hito I’ve got a problem with.” Kageru interrupted but the rest of the explanation remain in secrecy.

Suzumi sighed again, accustomed to her companion’s silences. Ever since they had their spirit and emotions bound together by the seal made by Naruto, and especially after her adopted father (the doctor who created her) died, Kageru had become more and more silent and reserved with time. However, that does not mean that Kageru does not communicate at all. Kageru expresses herself more with her emotions and slight nuances of her face or small gestures on her hands.

Through the spirit link, Kageru could easily express her wariness, her anger, her happiness or contentment, or excitement, or sadness. Instead of using the spoken word to convey herself, she relied almost constantly on Suzumi to ‘speak out’ on her behalf. Hence why many people within the Sound village thought the two were a pair of lesbian couples. Not that Kageru mind the misinterpretation, it just helped her keep up the illusion of needing Suzumi by her side at all times.

Such dependency on another would have been frowned upon in Sound. However, Suzumi had become a proficient fighter with unique abilities through the years, and no one could ever argue that Kageru was weak. As such, the overall impression of the two was that they were two strong Kunoichis partnered together; who would dare go against them? It was due to this reason alone that Orochimaru did not try to separate the clone puppet and Kabuto’s once useless sister. The dynamic relationship between the two worked well and made them a powerful combination. Why break up something that works?

“Fine. So why are we headed towards the Southern base? You know that’s were Karin is right? I thought you two don’t get along either?” Suzumi persisted.

“We don’t get along.” Kageru confirmed and then paused again in her explanation.

“Oh come on, just tell me why we’re going there already!?” Suzumi huffed in impatience. Even she had a limit to her patience with her partner.

“There’s just something there I want to get my hands on. Research that only Karin knows about. It was either Karin or Kabuto, and I prefer talking to Karin.” Kageru answered, satisfying Suzumi somewhat.

Giving a final sigh, Suzumi gave up. “I guess that’s all I’ll get out of you at this moment in time huh?” Shaking her head, she refocussed on the trail before them. “It’s gonna be a long journey.” She muttered under her breath.

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In a darkened cave somewhere, nine figures in black cloaks with red clouds decorated on them stood in a circle, meeting in physical presence for the first time in a long time.

“Tobi is a good boy, Tobi join Akatsuki” Tobi danced on his tippy toes, happy to have finally made it as one of the main members of Akatsuki.

With a stern face, the Leader of Akatsuki ignored the new member’s happy trance as he brought up an important issue. “Having lost Orochimaru, we were already one man short. But with Sasori down for the count, it will start becoming difficult for us to collect the bijyus. At the rate we are going, we will need to recruit at least one other person to become an Akatsuki member.”

“Do you have anyone in mind?” Zetsu’s creepy voice asked.

Still expressionless, the Leader answered succinctly. “Yes, and we will leave tomorrow to recruit her.”

Turning his eyes to focus on the rest of the Akatsuki members, he spoke in a strong commanding voice. “Itachi, Kisame, Deidara, Kakuzu and Hidan, will be coming with me on a journey tomorrow. Zetsu, keep an eye out on the travels of the other Jinchuriki and tailed beasts. Konan, stay and watch over the base.”

“What about Tobi?” The newest member of Akatsuki popped back into the conversation.

“Stay with Konan or do whatever, I don’t care.” The Leader didn’t even turn towards Tobi as he spoke these words.

“Who are we recruiting exactly?” Kisame asked curiously after the selected 5 members left the cavern behind.

“The Lady Oracle herself, Uzumaki Ruri.”

A long silence ensued after the Leader’s announcement.

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Not 3 days later, a rare sight of 8 Akatsuki members, all wearing the infamous black cloaks with red clouds, were spotted trudging through the dense forests on the Raishin Mountain range, making their way slowly towards the Kuunoki village.

“Oi oi! You sure this is the way to the Kuunoki?” Kisame hefted the bandaged Samehade over his shoulder as he trudged along behind Itachi’s light steps.

“We were able to retrieve a scroll map from one of the gennin teams entering the Kuunoki Chuunin exam over 2 years ago. And it has confirmed the path to take towards the Kuunoki village.” One of the Peins spoke up in a calm manner, never turning back to address Kisame directly. This person had long orange hair tied into a high pony tail, and his slim face was littered with black piercings around his jaw, across his cheeks and one large piercing atop his forehead. He wore the forehead protector with the Rain emblem on it. As a missing nin, of course the emblem also had a cross directly across it.

“Well, why the hell are we recruiting this Lady crap? I say we should sacrifice her to the God of Jashin. That would be worth more to our cause!” Hidan snapped passionately from the back of the group. He simply could not understand why they were going out of their way to endanger themselves in order to recruit a single person.

“Indeed. Our time would have been better spent boosting up our finances by hunting a few more prize bounties, instead of this ridiculous endeavour. There is no guarantee that she would even join us! And if she was against us, what would we do then? Have you forgotten that the Jinchuriki for the Kyuubi is her nephew? I can’t imagine that she would willingly betray family in the pursuit of joining our cause.” Kakuzu interrupted Hidan’s rant about the goodness of Jashin with his own opinions on their current situation.

“She will join.” A second Pein answered succinctly. This person also had long orange hair, but unlike the first, he left his hair down. Across his once smooth face, there were also place stub piercings down across both of his facial cheeks, two on his chin and a long thin shaft across his nose diagonally. Like the first, he also wore a missing nin’s forehead protector from the Rain village.

“She has a reason to join us. Only we can give her what she truly wants.” The third Pein followed in the second’s speech without pause as if they were mentally linked. The third leader was physically larger in size than the other two, he had short orange hair and the arrangement of black piercings on his face deferred from the other two. This man had two cones stabbing out of his cheeks, 2 small round studs down his nose and small triangle piercings beneath his bottom lip. He also wore a forehead protector from the Rain village, with a scar across it.

“Oh? And what’s that, un?” Deidara stood languidly on his clay bird with was flapping now and again in order to stay above the ground, and by the side of the main group.

“Freedom.” Itachi whispered quietly from directly behind the three Peins.

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Upon finally reaching the main stairwell that leads towards the Hidden Air village at the end of the Bamboo path, the 8 Akatsuki members did not seem surprised that there was a welcoming party waiting for them. It seemed like the Gate Guardians of the Kuunoki had already been informed of their impromptu arrival and have prepared a special greeting just for them.

“Yare Yare. This certainly brings back memories from 3 years ago.” Kisame commented nostalgically, as he looked over all 10 members of the Gate Guardians standing before him.

“And just like 3 years ago, we will stop you from reaching your goal. You will not get within a hundred yards of Ruri-sama, I can promise you that.” Jubei answered in a calm visage, knowing that he was facing the best of the best from the Akatsuki.

“Hehe. Well, let’s get this on the road. Jashin-sama will be content with this feast of sacrifices, I’m sure!” Hidan was just about rush forward with his trusty scythe by his side when one of the Peins – this one with long hair tied into a high pony tail – held out an arm to stop his movements. “Hey! What’s the big idea? My prayers to Jashin waits for no one, you know?!”

“It is unnecessary for us to fight.” The first Pein stated.

“As the Lady Oracle is already on our side.” The Second Pein followed the comment.

“Hence we do not need to bother with these small fry.” The third Pein finished.

In that instant, a bright purple glow could be seen from inside the Kuunoki village walls. And less then a second later, a huge intricate seal emerged on the ground, encompassing the entire village in closing it, forming a giant half dome. Smaller human size seals suddenly appeared all over the grounds, circling each and every one of the Gate Guardians.

“Ruri-sama?” Jubei stuttered quietly to himself, his eyes widened at the implications. The seals beneath their feet changed from a dark purple colour to black, and Jubei’s legs suddenly felt weak. He fell to his knees and slammed his chest upon the ground. He tensed his muscles but it was for no use, he couldn’t move at all. His chakra was sealed, his body was sealed. “Why?” was the last words that left Jubei’s lips as he felt something foreign invade his mind, forcefully rendering him into an artificial sleep.

“Huh? What happened, un?” Deidara questioned in surprise. Having been one of the few who had fought the Gate Guardians 3 years ago, he didn’t expect that they would find such an easy passage right through the Kuunoki’s front door. It was simply unimaginable.

“A powerful Fuuinjutsu-Genjutsu hybrid technique.” Itachi answered. “It seems that the Lady Oracle had cast a strong, area-wide Genjutsu that attacks only those people of the Kuunoki.

“Indeed. Let’s not waste anymore time. Our real fight is inside.” The first Pein ordered before walking forward and across the gates, ignoring the 10 bodies of the Gate Guardians hindering their path.

Itachi was just about to walk after the three leaders when he felt something grab onto his right leg. Looking down, he was surprised to note that one of the Gate Guardians was still conscious enough to grab onto his leg using sheer will alone. Silently, he admired her strength.

“I... won’t.... let you... through!” With each word, her grip upon his leg tightened to the point of being painful, but Itachi’s face remained impassive.

Gazing directly into her blazing blue eyes filled with desperation and a determination he had not witnessed in many years, it brought memories to his mind. Memories that he thought had left him for all eternity.

Kazeha Akiko’s face slowly faded away, melding into that of another female. This young girl was far paler than the Kuunoki Kunoichi’s own sun tanned skin. Akiko’s fiery blue eyes were replaced by solemn but deep ebony eyes so similar to his own. Yes, he remembered her - his first and only female friend. Uchiha Yumi. She, like all other Uchihas, had died that night that he had forsaken them. Even Yumi, his so called girlfriend, had not been spared. He remembered her tear-stained face so clearly now. Her eyes, filled to the brim with betrayal and hurt of such depth, voice pleading with his deafened ears even as he stabbed through her heart with his sword. It almost brought bile up to his throat; but Itachi forced it back down, and pushed those old and painful memories away.

Blinking slowly, he refocussed his eyes on the red haired girl who had griped his leg so tightly in a futile and desperate move to stop him. For some odd reason, his heart tightened in pain as he continued to look at her determined eyes. Truthfully, he didn’t want to hurt her, he had no reason to hurt her. Making a promise to himself, he reached down slowly and placed a finger gently against Akiko’s forehead.

Slowly but surely, Akiko’s eyes closed due to chakra-enforced sleep. Falling into a deep comatose, her grip on Itachi’s leg slackened, and the Uchiha was finally able to move away. As he walked, Itachi turned around just once to look down on the red-haired Kunoichi one more time before he turned a corner and forced the whole incident out of his mind in order to focus on the upcoming battle at hand.

Truthfully, he did not want the Lady Oracle to join their cause either. Not just because he believed her too much of a wild card, but it was also because with her addition, Akatsuki would become too powerful. And if there was something he feared more than anything else, it was the actual possibility that Akatsuki would succeed.

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As they crossed the lawns, footpaths and by passed houses, they watched silently, impassively as bodies after bodies of the Kuunoki residents littered the grounds. All of the villagers seem to be asleep, or trapped in some sort of Genjutsu. They were unharmed physically; they simply weren’t conscious, and therefore, they were unable to oppose them. It was eerie to walk pass an entire village of silent, none moving people, it even gave Deidara the creeps.

“Un. This is creepy, ne?” Deidara muttered under his breath. But he wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. After all, whatever the Lady Oracle did to suppress her own people gave Akatsuki a huge advantage, as they needn’t waste time and effort fighting their way through the horde of villagers while making their way towards her. “Yo? If you knew that the Lady Oracle would willingly join us, why did you bring so many people along for this particular recruitment? I mean, you only sent Sasori-danna and the Uchiha to go after me, so why put in so much effort for her, if she was already willing to join?” Deidara proposed this question towards one of the three Peins.

“It isn’t her ladyship’s willingness to join our cause that is the problem.” One of the Peins answered.

“It’s the souls that guard her which we must fight.” The second Pein finished right behind the first.

“Huh?” Hidan, being the newest kid on the block (right next to Toby) had no clue what the hell that meant. He was about to demand a better explanation when the group of Akatsuki members finally found their prey.

The Lady Oracle, in her pristine white gown, stood before the 8 invaders. Her pace impassive and eyes bland. She stood right in front of the town river, right next to the bridge that would lead to the Council Tower and Chamber of Prayers (3). A few metres to her left laid the slumped figure of Kaga, trapped in a Genjutsu of his own master’s making.

“You have finally arrived.” Ruri noted emotionlessly.

The three Peins nodded in answer.

“I only have one request.” Ruri’s calm voice interrupted once more. Raising her right hand, the long sleeves of her dress fell down around her elbow, showcasing that she had yet another one of the infamous Tenkun no Buki activated right at this moment in time. Her entire right hand, all the way from the tips of her finger nail to mid way down her arm towards her elbow had become grey in colour. Not only was the discolouration alarming, but the Akatsuki members could clearly see that the arm was actually aging by the second. The skin was becoming brittle and scaly, as if it had been dried in an oven for hours on end, small spots of pigment across her arm as a sign of cancerous cells how growing on her skin. But Ruri ignored the whole spectacle that her arm has become and continued on with what she wanted to say. “As long as the Genzo no Bizu (Illusion Beads) (4) is activated, the Kuunoki villages will not be of any threat to you. I want your word that you will not harm unthreatening bystanders.” She stated her condition.

At first Hidan was about to argue that any sacrifice, threatening or not, was valuable to Jashin, when he was pulled back by one of the Pein (the long haired one without a ponytail). That same Pein answered resolutely. “You have our word.”

Deidara, Kisame and Kakuzu glanced at Pein in surprise. Everyone knew that Pein was the type of person who would kill your entire family, friends, and neighbours if you wronged him. Hell, he would kill everyone you ever cared for even if you didn’t wrong him. As long as you were in his way, you die, and your village burns down with you. His ultimate goal after wall was to bring pain to every single human on this entire planet. The fact alone that he had given the Lady Oracle such a blatant lie was in a way amusing, and in another way not so.

But whether or not Ruri acknowledged his lie or not, they didn’t know, as she turned her full attention to the river behind her. “It will start now. Be prepared.”

“sO YuO hAvE BeTRaBeD UsssSS... RURIIIII!!!!!!” The combined voices of the dead echoed across the entire village as the members of Akatsuki stiffened slightly at the horrific sounds.

As suddenly as the sound rumbled forth from, surprisingly, the centre of the river; the river’s water surface suddenly surged up to form a giant wall of liquid ready to slam down into the invader’s faces, swallowing anything and everything in it’s path. Deidara quickly rode his bird summon high into the hair to avoid the gigantic eruption that was caused by the surprise tsunami against the hard earth atop the mountain range.

Kakuzu used the iron strings within his body to anchor himself to the very ground and managed to stay put against the huge force of water pushing against him. Hidan unfortunately, had not been lucky and was swept away several yards to slam against a building. Kisame, having lived his entire life on the sea, easily jumped and landed on the torrential wave and rode it all the way until it calmed.

The moment the wall of water formed, Itachi had run towards Ruri’s pron form, grabbed her around her waist and jumped away as fast as his feet could take him. Jumping and running for all his worth, Itachi and his captive managed to find a safe haven on the roof of the Gas Tower, away from the destructive wave and the possessed water.

The three Peins had also jumped aside and avoided any damage by landing on nearby rooftops.

That could not be said for the helpless and unconscious Kuunoki residents who had all been washed away in that single moment of impact.

“FUCK!!! What the FUCK was that!” Hidan trudged forward, furious at having been drenched by the sudden wave of water and slammed into a hard surface wall the way he had. “Do you have any idea how much that fucking hurt! I almost broke my fucking neck!” He cursed fluently as his feet slapped angrily against the muddy ground, further staining the bottom of his Akatsuki cloak.

“Shut the fuck up, Hidan.” Kakuzu snapped irritably, annoyed at his partner running off on the mouth yet again. But anything else he wanted to say was cut off by further commands from one of the Pein’s (the one with long hair tied into a high pony tail).

“Deidara! Use your explosive clay to destroy the entire surface of the Kuunoki village. We have to reach the enemy which is deep underground, in the heart of this mountain. We need to blast our way in. Itachi, save your strength for later, when the time is right, you will use the Amaterasu to eliminate our enemy; and keep Ruri with you at all times. I do not trust her not to double cross us. Kakuzu, use wind and fire to help destroy as much of the water vapour as possible. Hidan and Kisame, assist Kakuzu!” Pein, the leader of the Akatsuki gave the orders and the members of the Akatsuki followed.

With that said, the various Akatsuki members split up to do their jobs, including the three Peins. The Pein with long hair tied to a high pony tail quickly summoned forth a large, three headed lizard. Sitting casually ontop of the giant summons head, Pein gave a one worn order: “Burn.” All three heads of the summoned creature opened their jaws. Upon their tongues, a large ball of burning flame grew in size before is suddenly shot forward into the pool of water that was once a calm river. A hissing sound of water vaporising into air could be heard from the centre of the pool.

Suddenly, as if in response to the threat that the Akatsuki pose, the whole body of the water pool itself shuddered in a surprisingly organic way. “DESTROY!!!DESTROY!!! DESTROY!!! DESTROY!!! DESTROY!!!”

A giant hand, formed by the body of water, rose high into the air before slamming down directly in front of Kakuzu and Hidan. Other forms began to emerge from the body of water as well; forms that vaguely took the same of animals and or humans ran out and separated themselves from the main pool to attack the members of Akatsuki. Only to be cut and sliced apart by Kisame and Hidan. However, all their efforts managed to do was slow the creatures down, as even it’s been cut, the water simply gathered together again and reformed its body.

“WHAT THE FUCK! Something is weird with this river’s water. There’s already chakra running through it, and I can’t control it with my own chakra!” Kisame exclaimed in slight panic, having never seen such a thing before in his entire life. “Trying to suck the chakra out of the thing is useless as well, I’ve never seen anything like this!”

“That is the true form of the 7 high Councillors.” The brutish looking Pein answered. “They are the combined souls of the past leaders of the Kuunoki, all sealed into liquid form and stored in a cavern at the heart of this very mountain. Every single drop of water in this place is infused with the chakra and memories of the dead. That is how they remain in this time and place, still ‘alive’ in a sense, but never truly ‘alive’ in the first place.”

“This is true immortality.” The other Pein with long flowing hair continued after the first. “Formless, boundless, fearless, unpredictable and unending. They have become one single conscious entity with unlimited potential and power. And with this power, that is how the Uzumaki’s have developed the Yochigan – the all knowing eye. (5)”

“The only way to defeat this un-dead foe that has no form is to vaporise every single drop of water and vapour in this place. Hence, this is why we much burn it to the ground.” The last Pein, with the pony tail and was still sitting upon the giant summoned lizard, shot forth more and more fire balls at the centre of the pool.

The spirit of the dead however, was not sitting idly by waiting for destruction. Long streams of water injected straight up into the air tried to capture and encase Deidara who was dodging the grasps of deadly water as much as he could, while dropping more and more explosive clay bombs all over the existing building and ground of the Kuunoki. Kisame and Hidan were having a hell of a time causing any damage at more, more often than not, they simply acted as distractions for Kakuzu to use both his Fire and Wind phantoms to shoot forth their combined attacks: “Wind Element: Bleeding Force! Fire Element: Suffering’s Source!”

As for the Peins, the one with the pony tail continued to direct the attacks of his summon at the pool of water. The largish Pein acted as a defender for the first, absorbing any oncoming attacks directed at them, seemingly not concerned that he was being dealt a lot of damage. The third and Final Pein seemed to be doing nothing of importance; however, his eyes were firmly focussed on the Lady Oracle herself. Although he had ordered Itachi to take care of her if she showed any dissention, he wasn’t about to take that chance. This third Pein’s sole role was to watch over Ruri and keep her chained.

From a distance away, Ruri watched in silence as her home was being blasted and burnt to the ground right in front of her. She remained completely still and silent, not a hint of tears in her eyes, impassive as always. Behind her, Itachi too remained as still as a statue, conserving his strength as he was told. But even he could be curious at times. He could not imagine what Ruri’s going through now, as she watched the very village she had led for so long be destroyed. “Do you regret?” He quietly asked. Ruri did not reply nor did she look back at him. Ultimately, this had been her choice, and she had to live with the consequences.

Fire ball after Fire ball, both from the summoned lizard and Kakuzu’s combined Wind and Fire attacks from his phantoms devastate the all encompassing body of water. High above them, Deidara continued to drop massive number of bombs onto the surface, barely missing the remaining Akatsuki members as he went along. The bombs resulted in damage to large number of buildings and created giant craters about 10 metres deep into the mountain. But after only 5 minutes of intense fighting, everyone could tell that the un-dead spirits of the Councillors still have the upper hand. For every gallant of water that made up the main body of the enemy vaporised by Akatsuki’s attacks, a huge mass of water erupted from various cracks on the ground to take its place. It was an unending battle and they could see no victory.

“This is taking too fucking long!” Hidan cried out in pain; as his chest was cut open from a liquid being that had frozen one of its numerous tentacles into a deadly shard of ice. “I can’t even fucking sacrifice these things to Jashin because they don’t fucking bleed or feel pain!”

“For once, Hidan’s right.” The long haired Pein acknowledged before looking up at Deidara who was still dodging the multiple water dragons attempting to kill him. “Deidara! Stop fooling around and get right to it. We need to reach the cavern of souls now!”

“Yeah, yeah... Pushy as always, the lot of them.” Deidara mumbled as he ducked under a horde of ice shards that were thrown at his face. Unzipping his bag of goodies, he pulled out his favourite number. “Let’s see how they handle number 18. (6)”

xxx XXX xxx

Miles away from the intense fighting between Akatsuki and the renowned Councillors of the Kuunoki, Jiroubu carefully settled the last of the Kuunoki villages on the ground, with the rest of the survivors that they’ve found during their escape from the village. “That’s the last of them from the southern side.” He reported as he looked towards their new leader.

“The northern side of town as well as the Uzumaki palace has been secured. Everyone there has been moved here.” Kidoumaru reported as well. In his arms rested a young child, one of the orphans that had been looked after by Ruri.

“Both the Eastern and Western sides have also been secured. The last person we got out was Kaga-san. And other than getting wet, all of them are fine. It was lucky that the Akatsuki didn’t notice us when we were collecting what’s left of the villagers inside the town.” Ukon answered on behalf of himself and his brother Sakon, of whom had separated from his body in order to over more ground and rescue all of the citizens.

“Good. Now, get into position to set up the barrier wall to protect everyone inside. Remember Ruri-sama’s words. Nothing must befall the people of the village. Even if the Kuunoki is destroyed, the citizens MUST BE SAFE! It’s our job to keep them safe, and that means protecting them from the Akatsuki if they come. Let’s do this!” Tayuya ordered and the other three members (Ukon and Sakon and merged back into one body) got themselves into position. Performing the same hand seals in synchronisation, the Ex-Sound Four members erected a family purple barrier in the same of a box all around the slumbering forms of the villagers that once called the Kuunoki home. On top of the protective barrier, Tayuya enclosed a layer of Genjutsu, hiding the shield from any prying eyes. /Now, all we gotta do wait for the battle to finish. And then slip away to Konoha with the survivors. Ruri-sama. Please be safe./ Tayuya’s thoughts drifted away as she went into a meditative state to conserve her energy while still maintaining both the Genjutsu and barrier up.

xxx XXX xxx

“Uh. Is that what I think it is?’ Kisame asked in a strangely fearful manner.

“Che. Seems like we need to get to cover. Now.” Kakuzu wasted no time as he hardened his skin into stone even as he ran away from the giant but ugly looking bomb that had just been dropped by Deidara.

“SHITTTT!!!!” Hidan swore as he ran for his life. Even he, an immortal of immortals, didn’t want his body to be blown to smithereens. “I’ll kill that bastard when I get out of here!”

The large clay bomb smashed against the surface of what was once a river, the impact was immediate. An enormous eruption of fire blasted out of ground zero, the waves of destruction continued outward smashing buildings into rumbles, pulling trees out of their ground. The earth itself shook intensely from the impact and shortly after, the ground collapsed into itself. Giant slabs of earth surface crumbled and dropped further into itself, as if the entire mountain was sinking.

Every single Akatsuki member made it for the air, for it was simply the safest place around now. Deidara was perfectly fine where he was currently admiring his handy work. Upon the three headed lizard summon, which had suddenly sprouted wings sat the three Peins, upon each of the claws of the summon were Kisame, Kakuzu and Hidan. Ruri had protected both herself and Itachi by summoning forth a second Tenkun No buki – the Mugenkyo Nano (Infinity Cloth) (7). The two were now safely protected within the confines of the large expand of cloth of which acted as some kind of flying carpet for them.

As the clouds of smoke and steam cleared, the full damage was revealed. One whole side of the Kuunoki village, namely the mountain (where the stairs that led to the Uzumaki palace and the Library) completely collapsed down the side of the Raijin Mountain range. No building or man made structures remain upon the surface of the Kuunoki village. Simply put, the village itself was no more. All that was left was a vast cavern filled to the brim with clear liquid that looked exactly like water. The cavern itself was several miles wide (as wide as the village was large), and looked to be hundreds of miles deep right into the heart of the mountain.

“That is your target, Itachi. Do it.” One of the Pein’s ordered in a commanding voice.

Stepping to the edge of the carpet cloth that he was currently standing on, Itachi looked calmly into the glistening void that was the chamber of souls filled to the brim with liquid souls of the dead.

“DESTROY!!! DESTROY!!! DESTROY!!!” The combined voices of the dead reached a crescendo in their chants of destruction and betrayal.

Closing his right eye, Itachi closed his hands together in a single hand seal. Calmly, he spoke. “It is said that Amaterasu is the fire from hell which will never disappear until it burns everything in its path (8). It’s fitting that this would the fire that guided your deceased souls into the beyond.” His closed eye started to bleed. In a snap, Itachi’s bleeding eye opened wide and directed into the centre of the cavern of pure water.

Abruptly, a surge of black flames morphed out of no where directly on top of the water’s surface. The flames burned furiously and unrestrained all through out the cavern. A high pitched scream echoed from the voices of the dead. A truly eerie sound when you know that you are literally killing spirits that were already dead, souls that had lived on this earth for hundreds of years. But Itachi never paused, he never wavered. Soon, the liquid water that made up the souls of the dead slowly evaporated into nothing, even the steam was consumed by the ever encompassing Amaterasu.

Eventually, there was simply nothing left in the cavern at all. And only then, did Itachi finally stop his jutsu. The moment he did stop, Itachi nearly collapsed and fell off the flying cloth, had it not been for Ruri catching him and bringing back into the middle.

“It is done.” One of the Peins stated calmly as he looked at the destruction that he had wrought on the once beautiful and lively village hidden in the Air. There was nothing left but waste land.

“Yes, iT has...” All members of the Akatsuki stiffened at the familiar voice of the souls. However, when they looked up from the destroyed chamber all they saw was 7 very faint figures floating directly in front of them in the air (9).

“G... Gh... Ghosts?” Hidan stuttered. Having been a devout follower of Jashin, he firmly believed that once killed, a sacrifice stays dead and their souls are devoured by the great god – Jashin himself. However, to see 7 real life ghosts floating right in front of him not only leads him to question his own faith, but also his own sanity.

“Honourable Council.” It was Ruri who spoke up this time, while still cradling an unconscious Itachi in her arms. The seven figures, though faint, appeared to be all female in form; each one had a covering over their faces. Some were short, others were tall, but each of them wore an outfit that did not fit this time period. In deed, each wore the clothes of their own time period, further implicating that the souls of these seven councillors derived from hundreds of years in the past.

Slowly, the first of the seven councillors, and also obviously their leader as she floated in front of the others, pulled off her hood to reveal a young, almost girlish looking face. Her eyes were pale in the sunlight, almost as pale as Konoha’s Hyuuga’s. The First, as she was sometimes known, gazed unflinchingly at Ruri. “You have brought destruction upon our village. The Hidden Air is no more.” Her voice... was entirely human, and lacked the creepy echo that always accompanied the voice of the dead.

Pausing slightly, the spirit continued. “Without the Kuunoki, the chains that bind you to your ability and responsibility have been cut. The Uzumaki too, are no more. Goodbye, descendant.” With those last words, the spirit faded into nothingness. Behind her, the other forms of the councillors too, faded away into the air, leaving nothing behind.

“Goodbye, Ancestor. And thank you.” Ruri whispered in an achingly quiet voice. Finally, she allowed the tears combined with blood to flow past her eyes. She could feel it, the symbol of unity, the symbol of her responsibility slowly fading from her forehead; and with it, her ability to read the future.

“I am...” Voice breaking slightly, Ruri continued. “Finally free.”

xxx XXX xxx

In Konoha

Naruto slumped tiredly against the internal walls of Hokage building as he felt a surge of pain behind his tightly shut eyes.

“Naruto-kun! Are you alright?!” Having witnessed the blond boy’s sudden pained visage, Hinata couldn’t help but come over to assist. She gasped in shock as tears of red dripped down his face from his enclosed eyes. “Have you overused the Yochigan again, Naruto-kun?” She quickly pulled a handkerchief and moved to wipe the blood from the other boy’s face. But he only moved away and gave a small whimper of pain, which only further unsettled Hinata, having not used to seeing him in pain. “Naruto-kun, does it hurt? Tsunade-sama! TSUNADE-SAMA!” Hinata uncharacteristically yelled for the Hokage to come and help.

Naruto shook his head and tried to stifle both the pain behind his eyes as well as the new silence that surrounded his mind. “I can’t hear them anymore...” He finally whispered when he had calmed down.

“Can’t hear who, Naruto-kun? Are you really alright?” Hinata hugged the slightly shivering boy against her even as her hand glowed with healing chakra, trying desperately to pinpoint the source of his pain and heal it.

“I can’t hear the voices of the dead anymore. They’re gone. They’re all gone... The Kuunoki...” Naruto choked the final words out when he finally let go of the grief that came with that knowledge. “It’s been destroyed...”

End

(1) You probably have all forgotten, but this new character is actually Gojou Hito, Hikon’s missing sister. She is a Genjutsu specialist and a new member of the Sound Four.

(2) For those of you who have forgotten, this is just a reminder that in this story, Kabuto DOES have a younger sister and she is Suzumi. By the way, I’ve uploaded a new image of Suzumi, depicting her looks as a 15 year old teenager. Please go to my website to have a look.

(3) See the map on my website if you’re not sure where exactly I’m talking about.

(4) To learn more about this Tenkun no Buki, go to my website.

(5) Will be explained later by Naruto.

(6) This is the same explosive he used during his battle against Gaara.

(7) To learn more about this Tenkun no Buki, go to my website.

(8) I took this quote directly from the manga. I found it fitting.

(9) You can find an image of this on my website, please go to my profiles page for the link.

Phew, finished my most important chapter of the lot, even though it is a bit short. I’ve been planning this one for YEARS! And you have no idea how good it feel to get this one out. So tell me what you all think by pressing that ‘submit review’ button on the bottom left hand side of the screen. Please review!

By the way no promises as to when I’ll get the next chapter out. My life has been a bitch of a roller coaster ride lately. And No, I’m not giving any excuses. Just be warned that I am not a regular updater.

Thanks all.