Chapter 28

The first sign anyone had that something was wrong was when several construction workers working on the edge of town went missing. They were supposed to have come back several hours ago, yet none of them had returned from the forest. A group of chunin had been dispatched. The chunin had returned with the workers in toe and everything went back to normal. No one had thought much of the incident.

Then other people started disappearing.

The first person to disappear was a shop worker. Her manager asked her to fetch something from the storage. She'd gone to do as asked but never returned. Several hours later, the manager had gone back to search for her, only to discover no trace of the woman. It was as if she had vanished from thin air.

This was not a singular incident. Several people across Konoha vanished around the same time, one after the other. There was no sign of anything having happened to them, no clues that could lead anyone to determine where they'd disappeared to. In order to keep the rising panic from spreading, the Hokage dispatched shinobi to each scene.

That was when the trouble truly started.

XXXXXXXXXX

Iruka had always been an average ninja. He'd never aspired to become a jonin. Thanks to the stains on his past, he believed that he could better serve Konoha by teaching future generations of troublemakers like Naruto Uzumaki and Konohamaru Sarutobi. What's more, the pride that he felt at seeing shinobi that he'd personally taught reach heights most ninja never achieved was indescribable.

Despite not being a jonin or even a special jonin, Iruka did possess an innate danger sense. Even before the disappearances started occurring, he could tell that something was wrong.

The school was off that day, and so Iruka was working in the missions department, where he handed off lower grade missions to jonin with genin squads. He was actually the first shinobi to have discovered the missing person problem when several concerned citizens came in claiming that so and so individual was missing.

"Iruka-sensei," a voice called out, causing Iruka to look up.

"Ah, hello, Sakura," Iruka said to the bubblegum-haired girl as she walked into the room. "Did you need something?"

"I was just checking in to see if there's been any progress with the missing person cases," Sakura said. "The hospital has been placed on high alert since we don't know what's going on and want to be ready. Have you heard anything new?"

"None, I'm afraid. We-"

"Trouble!"

The doors to the mission room burst open and a young teenager stumbled in. He was holding a hand to his torso. Blood stained his fingers and expanded across his shirt. His heavy breathing and the sweat covering his pale skin showed how much effort he'd put into coming here. He looked ready to pass out.

"Udon!" Iruka said in shock. "Are you all right?"

Udon nodded, though it looked like the action took a lot of effort. Sakura came over and helped him stand, slinging one of his arms around her shoulder while putting her own arm around his torso.

"I'm okay, but you have to help Konohamaru. He's being… attacked by an unknown group of ninja!"

"What?!" Iruka and Sakura shouted at the same time.

Konoha was one of the most secure hidden villages. This was due to the barrier, which alerted them to any foreign chakra signatures that were not registered into the seal that controlled it. The system had been created and upgraded by Naruto Namikaze, and it had already alerted them to numerous spies trying to enter Konoha unnoticed. For someone to sneak through the barrier…

"Sakura, take Udon to the hospital," Iruka ordered as he stood from his seat. "I'm going to alert the Hokage to what's happening."

"Right."

Iruka was pleased when Sakura didn't argue with him. After checking to make sure that he had all of his equipment, Iruka rushed out of the room and headed for the Hokage tower.

I need to hurry.

XXXXXXXXXX

Sakura was concerned.

Udon was bleeding a lot more than a normal person should have. While she couldn't see the wound as she helped carry him, she could feel the blood soaking into her shirt. That meant that whatever had injured Udon must have cut one of his veins. Unfortunately, because of the delicate nature when it came to healing internal injuries like a severed vein, she couldn't perform more than basic first aid until they reached the hospital.

"Hold on for just a little while longer, Udon," Sakura said.

Udon nodded, though he could have also just been slipping in and out of consciousness. His head bobbed up and down as she half-carried him into the hospital. As the doors closed behind her, she ignored the patients standing around and rushed further into the building.

"I need a stretcher!" Sakura ordered the nearest hospital staff member, a young woman who she'd worked with on occasion. The woman took one look at Udon, her eyes widened, and then she ran off.

It didn't take long for a stretcher to arrive. Sakura laid Udon on it and had the woman her as she rushed through the hospital.

Having already memorized the layout, staff numbers, and which hospital rooms were currently occupied, Sakura was able to not only find a room but also purloin aid in helping her stabilize Udon.

"Sari, I need you to take off Udon's shirt and clean his wound."

"Yes, ma'am."

The young woman who helped her was not a medical ninja like herself, but she was very skilled in medicine, and she wasn't squeamish. Whenever Sakura had to deal with a particularly brutal case, she would get this woman to help on the off-chance that Shizune couldn't.

As the woman set about doing what she had asked, Sakura rushed over to the cabinet. While medical ninjutsu worked wonders for healing, there was no jutsu to disinfect wounds. When out on the field, disinfecting wounds normally had to be disregarded due to a lack of supplies. However, in the hospital, there was no need to be so stingy.

A strangled gurgle that came from behind her caused Sakura to turn around. Surprise shot through her like a lightning jutsu as her mind tried to comprehend what she was seeing.

Sari stumbled forward, her hands on her throat, which gushed blood from a slash wound. The wound was clearly fatal, and she would bleed out in seconds. She sent Sakura a pleading look before she fell face-first onto the floor. Sakura would have rushed to help her, but at that moment, Udon leaped from the table, a bloody kunai in hand, and lunged at her.

Sakura reacted. Moving to the left, she avoided the initial lunge. She then reared her fist back and slammed it into Udon's spinal column. For good measure, she pumped her chakra into his spine, disrupting his ability to move. As he fell to the ground like a puppet without a puppeteer, Sakura rushed over to Sari.

Kneeling down, she turned the woman onto her back. Sari had already bled a lot. Her sightless eyes were staring at the ceiling. However, she was still alive, and that meant that Sakura could save her.

She went through a set of hand seals, activating her healing jutsu. As her hands glowed an ethereal green, Sakura placed them over Sari's throat. There was no time to clean and disinfect this wound. If she didn't do something now, then the woman was going to die.

Sweat poured from her brow as she concentrated, focusing all of her efforts into healing the damage. The kunai had bitten into more than just Sari's throat. It had slit a vein in her neck and cut through her esophagus. Blood welled up in Sari's lungs, but Sakura worked quickly to heal the damage before the woman could suffocate on her own ichor. Next, she healed the damaged veins. By the time she was done, not only was she exhausted, but Sari had turned a ghostly pale from having lost so much blood.

"Blood packs," Sakura murmured to herself as she rushed over to the cabinet for some blood packs. Udon tried to get up again, but she slammed her fist into his back. The ground underneath him dented as he was smashed into it.

Grabbing a blood pack and an IV drip, Sakura went over to Sari and attached the IV to the blood pack, which she hung from a rack. After her task was finished, Sakura leaned back and wiped the sweat from her brow.

"There," she sighed, "she should live. Now, to find out what's wrong with… U… don…?"

Sakura stared at the person lying face-first on the floor-a person who was most certainly not Udon. His skin was unnaturally white; not just pale or even albino, but a chalky white that went beyond mere skin disease or lack of pigmentation. What's more, he had a lot of mutations. Half of his face was missing-merely lumpy flesh. He had spiky knobs protruding from his shoulders, and his left arm and leg were twisted and barely looked like limbs at all.

Regardless of how this guy looked, it was clear that this person was not Udon.

This person's chakra signature is the exact same as Udon's, though. Does that mean…?

Sakura felt realization strike her like a heavy fist to the gut. If this person's chakra signature was the same as Udon's, then it meant that he had somehow mimicked Udon's signature… and if this person could mimic Udon's chakra signatures, then it stood to reason that he, and maybe his allies-if he had any-could mimic other people's chakra signatures as well.

This was not good. If there were people running around who could change their appearance and mimic chakra signatures, it meant that Konoha had been invaded without them even knowing it. Who knew how many enemies were running around, disguised as people that she and the others knew, that they trusted. She could already picture the massacre that would happen if she didn't do something.

I need to inform Tsunade-Sama about this.

After calling on several ninjas and ordering them to take not-Udon to a secure location, Sakura rushed out of the hospital and towards the Hokage tower.

She hoped that she could make it before they incurred any more casualties.

XXXXXXXXXX

After Sakura informed Tsunade about how someone had been impersonating Udon, chakra signature and all, an alert went out to all shinobi. Yet even with the knowledge that there were people impersonating Konoha shinobi, there was little anyone could do to defend themselves. The impersonators were virtually indistinguishable from the original. Their appearance was the same, their chakra was the same, there was nothing different to help others identify who was and wasn't being impersonated.

Many shinobi were killed within the first few minutes after being alerted to what was happening. Chaos reigned as, all across Konoha, shinobi were stabbed in the back by people they trusted, or rather, by the ninja impersonating people they trusted.

Matters only became worse when, without warning, multiple shinobi had white deformities grow on their bodies. The deformities soon turned out to be from spores, which drained people of their chakra. Many shinobi were killed by all of their chakra being drained.

"H-help!"

"What are these things?!"

"I feel… so weak… someone…"

Aoba, a jonin of average ability, tried to help one of his comrades as spores grew on him. The frightened chunin screamed as he tried to move to no avail. Whatever these things were, they not only drained a person of their chakra but also restricted their movement. Cutting it didn't work. Whatever this stuff was, it had hardened to the point where kunais simply glanced off it.

"Aoba… sensei…" the person he was trying to free gasped. "B-behind… you…"

Turning around, Aoba barely had a second to raise his kunai in defense, as a creature with white skin attacked him. Clang! His arms were jarred and an arm bared down on him. Twisting out of the way, he moved into the white creature's guard and stabbed it in the chest. No blood came out, but the creature did rear back as it was injured. Not wanting it to escape, he went through a set of hand seals, ending on the tiger seal.

"Katon: Gokyakyu no Jutsu!"

A massive ball of fire flew from his mouth. It hit the creature, which howled in pain as it was burnt alive. Flailing around, the creature eventually fell to the ground, writhing in tormented agony before it eventually ceased moving altogether.

Aobo sighed and wiped the sweat from his forehead, feeling the way his arm shook from doing so. He didn't have much chakra, so B-rank jutsu like that exhausted him.

"Aoba-sensei! Look out!"

The warning came too late. Fire lanced through his back like a spear. He could feel his spine being severed, hear the sickening squelch! as his spinal column was sheared.

The last thing he saw before dying was several white creatures converging on his comrade.

XXXXXXXXXX

Fu didn't know what was going on.

When the alert went out, Shino had told her to remain within the Aburame Clan compound. He'd said that it would be safer there. While she wanted to go out and help, she also knew that doing so when no one knew what they were facing was dangerous. For all they knew, the person attacking Konoha could have been Akatsuki.

So, Fu had stayed at the Aburame compound. There were several other people with her, guards, whose job was to protect her. The three shinobi protecting her were Muta, Shikuro, and Tatsuma. She didn't know much about them. Aburame were all stoic individuals, so they didn't talk much, and the only one she'd held extensive conversations with was Shino. Still, she was grateful for their presence. Fu didn't want to admit it, but with everything that had happened and was happening, she was worried.

"If you keep pacing like that, you'll burn a hole in the carpet," Shikuro said softly. He was reading a book-probably one about bug raising-which he periodically flipped the pages of.

"S-sorry," she apologized.

"There is no need to apologize. I am merely stating that I'm worried about you."

"S - I mean, thank you."

The Aburame were a strange bunch. They were all so stoic, and they rarely ever spoke, and when they did speak, it was hard to tell if they were being serious or not. Fu didn't mind their generally emotionless attitudes. These people had taken her in. Still, it did make it hard to know what they were thinking.

"Suiton: Dai Bakusui Shōha."

Neither Fu nor the Aburame clan members had a chance to do anything as several tons of water destroyed the wall and slammed into them. Fu screamed as she was swept up in a massive tide of rushing water. She was dragged underneath the water's surface. The world spun around her. Everything was passing by in a blur. She felt a sharp pain stab into her back, and she released a cry before she could stop herself. As all of the oxygen in her lungs was expelled, her body instinctively tried to breathe more oxygen in, which caused her to choke as water filled her lungs.

She must have blacked out. The next thing Fu saw was a clear blue sky. She blinked several times, trying to figure out what had happened to her. Lying to her left, she saw Shikuro Aburame. His form was inert. Was he dead? Muta and Tatsuma were also there. They were lying naught several feet away. They also weren't moving.

"Hmm…" a voice hummed. "That wasn't as fun as I thought it would be. I was expecting them to put up more of a fight."

Fu coughed several times, expelling water from her lungs. Nanabi's chakra helped her. She could feel it rolling within her, pushing the water out and evaporating what couldn't be pushed. With a gasp, her lungs were free, allowing her to take in several deep breaths.

MOVE!

Her eyes went wide as she rolled away from her current position-not a moment too soon. Mere seconds after she moved, a large object crashed into the ground, shattering the earth. Fragments and rock shards flew everywhere. Fu scrambled to her feet, covering her body with her chakra-coated arms to protect her vitals. As the dust settled, Fu lowered her arms, and she was finally given her first look at the person who'd attacked her.

He was a very tall shinobi. She couldn't see much of him, because he was covered in a black cloak with red clouds, but he towered over her like a colossal giant. His blue skin gleamed with a strange slickness in the light. Eyes like a shark's stared at her with a predatory gleam. His clothing rustled as he grabbed the object, which she realized was a sword wrapped in bandages. He hefted the sword up with ease and set it on his shoulder.

"So, you're the Nanabi gaki who I'm here to take, eh? You don't look like much."

Fu didn't know whether she should be insulted or not, but she knew that this person was trouble.

"Hiden: Rinpungakure no Jutsu."

After going through a series of hand seals and taking a deep breath, Fu exhaled massive quantities of fine powder. The powder contained a luminesce quality. So bright was the powder that Kisame screamed in surprise as he was blinded, which allowed Fu to act.

She quickly pulled on Nanabi's chakra. An intense aura engulfed her, bubbling over her skin, which became completely covered in blackish-red energy that took the shape of a bug.

"Mushikui!"

Fu charged at Kisame, who still appeared to be blinded. She was almost on her opponent when, without warning, Kisame stopped stumbling around like a blind man and slammed his sword into her face. Agony exploded as her nose broke with a loud crunch! With a shrill cry, Fu was sent flying backward, pounding into the ground and rolling across it like a ragdoll. Her transformation slipped as pain overrode her senses. Lying on her back, Fu struggled to sit up.

"Heh, it's just like I thought. You might be a jinchurikki, but you don't really know how to use all that power inside of you." Kisame grinned as he let his sword rest on his shoulder again. Fu glared at him, but he just chuckled. "And now it's time to-eh? What the hell are these bugs doing here?!"

Kisame's advance was halted when dozens, maybe even hundreds, of bugs crawled up his legs and latched onto him. He flailed around, swearing and cursing as he tried to fight them. It proved useless, and there was soon a legion of tiny insects crawling all over his skin.

"What the fuck?! These things are eating my chakra! Where did these damn things come from?!"

Kisame's flailing soon grew weaker and weaker, until, finally, he collapsed onto the ground and remained still. Fu stared at the bug-covered lump, unable to believe what she had just witnessed. During this time, Shikuro, Muta, and Tatsuma all walked around from behind a line of trees. While their clothing was soaking wet, none of them appeared to have been injured.

"Y-you're alive!" Fu exclaimed in shock and relief.

Shikuro adjusted his glasses. "Of course we are alive. An attack of that level wouldn't kill us. Are you all right, Fu?"

"Um, yes," Fu said. "I'm a little unsteady, but I'll be okay."

"I am glad to hear that. Now, let's leave. This place is no longer safe."

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that," a voice said from behind them.

Before anyone could do anything, the body that had been covered in bugs exploded, sending water flying everywhere. Seconds later, a voice rang out all around them.

"Suiton: Suikōdan no Jutsu."

A large shark burst into existence. Its watery skin revealed its origins as a powerful water jutsu. With a length that was several times longer than a human was tall and rows of sharp teeth, the creature looked like something straight out of a nightmare.

Muto and Tatsuma leaped out of the way, but Shikuro, who'd been helping Fu stand, didn't have the time. He shoved Fu away from him, thereby sealing his fate. Fu watched, horrified, as the gigantic jaws of the shark clamped down on the Aburame shinobi. She could practically hear the sound of his bones being crushed over his screams of pain. Not long after that, the shark finished biting straight through him, sending the two halves violently careening away from each other.

While Fu screamed at the sight, Muto and Tatsuma attacked Kisame without hesitation. Bugs burst from their cloaks, whole swarms of them, which rushed to devour their shark-like foe.

Kisame grinned. "Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu."

The bugs stood no chance. As water shot from Kisame's mouth in a powerful torrent, the bugs were blasted away, and because they'd been doused with water, their wings had grown too heavy to keep them uplifted. All of them fell to the ground and remained there.

"Not yet! Suiton: Bakusui Shōha."

After kneading more chakra in his stomach, Kisame spat out a great volume of water, which surged and swelled like a massive tidal wave. The shark-like man rode atop the wave. He was grinning.

Fu could do nothing as the water loomed over her. In the face of such an overwhelming technique, her mind had gone blank. She didn't know how to deal with this. She didn't know how to defeat a monster like this.

Unlike her, Muto and Tatsuma did not seem to hesitate. They responded quickly. Tatsuma grabbed Fu and lifted her over his shoulder. He and Muto then leaped above the water as it crashed into the ground, engulfing everything in foamy white tides.

"Suiton: Goshokuzame."

Kisame placed his hands on the water, and from his fingers, five sharks emerged. As Muto and Tatsuma landed on the water, the sharks burst from its surface and attacked. While Tatsuma moved out of the way, Muto did not. He unleashed a swarm of bugs to attack the sharks, making them feast off the chakra that kept the shark's body together. Unfortunately, he didn't have enough bugs to catch all the sharks. One of them clamped onto his leg and pulled him under.

"Nooo!" Fu screamed as Tatsuma retreated with her still over his shoulder.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Man, what the hell are these things?!" Kiba shouted as several white creatures tried to attack them. He leaped back, then drilled several with a Gatsuga, causing them to fly everywhere.

"Does it matter?" Shino asked rhetorically as he spread his arms. A horde of bugs blasted out from his sleeves, engulfing several of the creatures and draining them of their chakra. The white monsters went down, twitching and spasming until they laid still.

"Don't answer my question with another question! Let's go Akamaru!"

"Arf!"

Just like the others, Team 8 was fighting against uncertainty and the new white creatures, of which they knew nothing about. However, they were a bit better off than a lot of others. While Hinata's Byakugan could not distinguish chakra signatures, she could tell them what was happening in a 360-degree view around them, thereby warning them of possible approaching danger. Thanks to that, they'd been able to root out several enemy shinobi that had been disguised as Konoha shinobi.

"Gatsuga!"

Leaping into the air, Kiba and Akamaru spun around like a pair of drills. They slammed into the white horde, decimating their ranks, sending bodies flying left and right as they were torn apart. However, no matter how many enemies they destroyed, more filled the ranks.

"Man, how many of these guys are there?! What are these things anyway? Demented clones?"

Hinata, who'd been using her Byakugan to the best of her abilities, shoved her left foot off the ground to spin around in a circle. Chakra emitted from her body at various points. The chakra eventually formed a dome of pure energy, which several members of the white horde slammed into. The white creatures were flung away. Some of them struck walls while others simply tumbled down the road. Hinata stopped spinning, dust filling the air around them.

"I do not know," she answered, her breathing heavy. "However, all of these people have the same chakra, so I think they might be clones."

"No two people can have the same chakra," Shino added as his bugs returned after consuming all the chakra of his enemies.

"Then why do some of these guys have the same chakra signatures as our shinobi?!" Kiba demanded to know.

"Were you not listening?" Shina inquired rhetorically. "These people are mimicking the chakra signatures of our shinobi. It is likely a talent unique to whoever these copies belong to."

"Damn bastards!" Kiba scowled. "Don't think I'm gonna let you people get off lightly for this! You hear me!"

As Kiba launched himself into the mass swelling of enemies, Shino sighed.

"Idiot," he mumbled before backing up his comrade.

XXXXXXXXXX

Deep within Konoha's underground prison, Sasuke sat against the wall. His knees were drawn up to his chest. He ignored the darkness, the coldness, and everything else. With his revenge complete, Sasuke had nothing left. He was an empty shell without a purpose.

Movement caught his attention. He looked up as a figure appeared within a black portal. It was a man with a strange spiral mask, and he wore the same cloak that Itachi had worn-black with red clouds.

"Sasuke Uchiha," he said, and Sasuke felt like he was being dissected as a single red eye stared at him through the mask hole. "You're not at all what I expected. It is hard to believe that someone like you could have beaten Itachi."

Sasuke said nothing. He didn't care what this person thought.

The figure chuckled. "Not much of a talker, I see. That is fine. I don't need you to talk-only listen."

And the man began to talk. He spoke of Itachi and the Third Hokage. He spoke of sacrifice. He spoke of things that made Sasuke pay attention. As Sasuke listened, rage boiled within his heart.

"What will you do, Sasuke Uchiha?" the man who called himself Madara asked.

Sasuke closed his eyes. When he opened them again, his eyes gleamed with purpose and a desire for vengeance.

On that day, Sasuke made a choice-one that would affect more than just him.

XXXXXXXXXX

While Konoha mounted a defense against the strange creatures, Konan went straight to the Hokage's office.

She'd seen the enemy that the Konoha shinobi were battling. While she'd never realized that the two sides were capable of splitting apart, she knew who this person was-even if he was missing half of himself.

"Hokage-sama!" she said as she rushed into the door without ceremony.

Several people were already in the room. Konan did not recognize all of them, but she knew at least three; Kakashi Hatake, Sakura Haruno, and Shizune also stood within the room. There appeared to be a meeting of some kind, which she had just barged into.

"Konan," Tsunade grunted as everyone stopped talking and turned to her. "I'm sorry for sounding brusk, but if there's something you need, then please wait. We're in the middle of a crisis right now."

"I know. That's why I'm here." Knowing that time was of the essence, Konan walked into the room and got straight to the point. "I know who's attacking you. He's a member of Akatsuki-a creature known as Zetsu."

"So, the white creature attacking us is called Zetsu," Kakashi said. While his Sharingan eye was covered, his visible eye was sharper than a raikiri. "I thought he was supposed to be a man who looked almost like a plant."

"He is supposed to, but it seems like his white half and black half somehow became split. I did not know that was possible, but there is no mistaking that the creatures you've been fighting are Zetsus."

"Can you tell us anything about him?" asked Tsunade.

"I can tell you know what I know, but I don't know how much help it will be," Konan admitted. "Zetsu is a strange creature. He should have a light and dark side-physically speaking, I mean. One side of him is supposed to be black while the other is white. I saw a few of those Zetsus on the way here. It looks like someone took Zetsu and ripped the black side off. He also seems to have several abilities that I was not aware of, and the Venus flytrap that Kakashi mentioned surrounding him is mysteriously missing."

Tsunade's scowl deepened. "Well, that's just great. So we're dealing with a mostly unknown entity. Do you have any information that could prove useful?"

Konan knew that Tsunade was not angry at her. She understood that. But the tone in the Hokage's voice, the harsh quality it possessed, still made her flinch.

"I can tell you that Zetsu has always worked with Tobi, one of Akatsuki's members." She frowned. "Tobi is merely an alias, however. The one who goes by that name is actually Madara Uchiha."

Her words sent everyone who'd been present into shock. A hushed silence fell over the crowd. It was like a ripple. Konan could practically feel the fear rolling off them.

"Madara is dead," Tsunade said with finality. "He has to be. My grandfather killed him."

Konan shook her head. "I do not know what to tell you. I don't know if the first Hokage simply thought he'd killed Madara, or if the person calling himself Madara is an imposter. I only know what I've been told. Tobi calls himself Madara, and he is undeniably skilled. He also has the Sharingan."

"I can attest to that," Kakashi added. "When we confronted him in the forest, I saw his Sharingan."

Tsunade cut into the frightened whispering that broke out. "Let us go under the assumption that he is Madara Uchiha. Do you think he is here?"

"Hard to say," Konan admitted. "He does not like to fight unless he has to. If anything, I would say that we should worry more about what Zetsu's goal is for attacking."

"His goal?" Sakura asked.

"Zetsu has never been a fighter," Konan explained. "His talent has always laid in spying. Even if he has strange abilities that I haven't seen until now, he's still weak. An attack of this level will not defeat Konoha, which means there is another reason for him to attack."

Everyone fell silent. Konan also grew introspective as she tried to deduce Zetsu's real purpose for being there. Truthfully, there didn't seem to be much reason for him to be there. Yes, he was currently sowing chaos, but now that everyone knew what to look out for, defeating him would be a simple enough matter. So, why would he do something like this, attack when there was no purpose, create panic when there was no reason, unless…

Unless his reason is to cause a distraction!

"Hokage-sama! Where is Fu?" Konan asked.

"Fu?" Tsunade frowned. "She should be on the Aburame Clan… grounds…" Her eyes widened as she began barking orders. "Kakashi! Sakura! Head over to the Aburame Clan grounds and locate Fu!"

"Yes, Tsunade-sama!" the two said at once.

"I'll go with you two," Konan said, only for Tsunade to disagree.

"Actually, I would like you here. I need you to help coordinate our defenses since you know the members of Akatsuki the best."

With all due respect, Hokage-sama, there is little that I can do to help. Zetsu has apparently been hiding several abilities of which I know nothing about. However, even if my knowledge of Zetsu is no longer reliable, my knowledge of whoever is working while Zetsu distracts us will be."

There was truthfully only one person who could have been attacking at this point. Kisame. Everybody else was dead, having been killed by Naruto.

Tsunade debated with herself for a moment, then sighed reluctantly and nodded. "Very well. Go and help Kakashi and Sakura. If the person going after Fu is who I think it is, they will need help anyway."

"I'm at your disposal, Hokage-sama."

"Good!" Tsunade clapped her hands. "All right, people! Let's do this!"

XXXXXXXXXX

Fu and Tatsuma stopped running after they reached a thickly forested area. Trees covered almost every square meter, and shrubs ran along underfoot. They were likely in one of the outlier training grounds that surrounded Konoha's circumference.

Sinking to the ground, Fu felt her entire body shaking in exhaustion, fear, and guilt. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

Tatsuma, who'd been standing near a tree and releasing a steady stream of bugs, turned to her. "Sorry for what?"

"For what happened. Muto and Shikuro died because of me." Bringing her legs up to her chest, Fu wrapped her arms around them and tried to ignore the way her body shook. "This is all my fault. If I had never come to Konoha, this wouldn't have happened. I…"

Tatsuma's glasses glinted in the low light that broke through the canopy. He tilted his head, as if considering her words, then he turned back to the tree and continued releasing bugs.

"We Aburame run on logic," he said after a time. "An Aburame will never act on their emotions. The hive mind of our insects does not allow us. Perhaps, more than any other shinobi in Konoha, we understand what it means to be a small part of a greater whole. And just like we understand that, we also understand that things happen in war, things we don't expect, things we don't want. People die. Loved ones are lost. As an Aburame, we know this, and we accept this, which is why I can honestly tell you that what happened here is not your fault."

Fu looked up in shock. "But, if I had never come to Konoha-"

"Then Konoha would have eventually been attacked anyway," Tatsuma said. "If not because of Naruto Namikaze, then because we would have opposed the people calling themselves Akatsuki anyway. This was bound to happen sooner or later. It was just bad fortune that it happened while you were here."

Fu didn't know if Tatsuma was trying to make her feel better, or if those were his real thoughts. Because his face was completely covered, and what parts of his face could be seen revealed nothing, she never knew what he was thinking. However, she was grateful for his words.

"Aw, ain't this a touching moment," a mocking voice rang out around them.

Fu stiffened while Tatsuma directed his bugs toward an area near their position. The bugs swarmed over there, but they were destroyed by several large water bullets slamming into them.

A large object, a sword, suddenly shot out from behind a large bush. Left with little time to prepare, all Tatsuma could do was create a wall of bugs. It did little good. The sword smashed apart the bugs and slammed into Tatsuma, who cried out in agony as the bandages tore and spikes suddenly jutted from the weapon. As blood ran down his body, the sword seemed to purr.

Gigigigigigigigigigigigi!

Tatsume tried to pull the sword off, but the moment he touched the handle, spikes erupted from it, impaling his hands. Tatsuma screamed as the protrusions went through his palms and out of the back of his hands. The purring also grew louder, then, without warning, the sword wrapped around Tatsuma, and a large mouth appeared at its point.

Fu could do nothing but sit there, terrified as the sword chomped down on Tatsuma's head, then slowly ate the rest of his body. She quaked as blood splattered the ground. Her breathing became so harsh she might have been hyperventilating.

The sword, engorged from having eaten somebody, purred in a satisfactory manner and released what sounded like a burp. Chuckling, Kisame knelt down and lifted his sword by the handle.

"How was that Samehada? Was it good eating?"

Gigigigigigigi!

"Good. I'm glad you're satisfied." Standing up to his full, intimidating height, Kisame grinned at Fu. "I guess it's now time to deal with the squirt. I think I should chop her legs off so she can't run away anymore."

Before Kisame could get any closer to Fu, several hundred shurikens made of paper sliced through the thick foliage. Kisame brought up Samehada, blocking his vitals with the large sword. Several shurikens still penetrated his flesh, hitting his thighs, arms, and stomach. Blood ran from the wounds, but Kisame seemed unbothered.

"Well, now," Kisame started with a grin as several people landed in the clearing. "I never expected to see you again… Konan."

Standing protectively before Fu was Konan, Kakashi, and Sakura.

XXXXXXXXXX

Naruto wiped the sweat from his brow as he looked at the afternoon sun.

It was midday. The sun overhead was bearing down on him and the others as they worked. All around him, Konoha and Yuki ninja searched for survivors. They hadn't found many, which was expected considering the amount of damage that had been done to this place, but they had found a few survivors.

"Naruto!"

Yugito's voice alerted him to her presence. They'd split up a while ago to cover more ground. While Naruto was worried about her, Koyuki was staying by the woman's side in case she had a relapse.

Turning to her, Naruto saw that she looked surprisingly happy for some reason. There couldn't have been many reasons, and he quickly deduced that they'd found another survivor. Running alongside her, trying to keep pace with the more athletic woman, was Koyuki. The queen looked close to collapse. On any other occasion, Naruto would've chuckled.

"Yugito," he said as the woman in question rushed up and grabbed him by the arm.

"Naruto! We found a survivor! It's Samui!"

Remembering the young woman with the abnormally large bust, Naruto allowed Yugito to pull him along with her. They traveled over debris, walked around massive structures that had collapsed, and raced over once towering pillars that had been destroyed by the Rinnegan's power, eventually reaching an outlying section of the village. There wasn't as much destruction this far out. The Rinnegan attack that destroyed Kumo had been localized to a single point. However, there were several buildings that had been decimated, gutted, and ruined. Among the pile of debris, Yugito dragged him to where Samui was being helped by several medical ninjas.

Her skin was marred with cuts and bruises, and Naruto could see blood leaking from her mouth, leading him to believe that she had internal bleeding. As the medical ninja cut off her shirt and checked for broken bones or ruptured organs, Naruto noticed the slow rise and fall of her chest.

"Samui!" Yugito said as she knelt beside the woman. The medical ninja ignored her presence and continued working. "Samui, it's me! It's Yugito!"

Samui didn't respond. Naruto looked at Koyuki, who noticed him and turned her head, gracing him with a sad smile.

Naruto wrapped an arm around Yugito, pulling her close for comfort. She didn't resist him. Her body shuddered against his, causing him to lean forward and kiss her forehead.

"Don't worry, Yugito. Samui will be fine once she gets medical attention."

"I know." Yugito turned in his arm and buried her head in his face. "Thank you."

Naruto didn't know why she was thanking him. He'd done nothing to be thanked for.

"You're welcome," he said anyway.

Sometimes, simply being there was enough to earn someone's thanks.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Suiton: Suikōdan no Jutsu."

"Suiton: Suikōdan no Jutsu."

Two large sharks burst into existence, their identically watery forms clashing together and blasting liquid everywhere in a misty spray. Konan, who stood several feet as Kakashi and Kisame clashed, casually blinked at the incredible display of prowess that the copy ninja was wielding.

I know of the Sharingan from Itachi, but this is my first time seeing it being used up close. It truly is a fearsome dojutsu.

"Heh, you wield the Sharingan well for someone who isn't an Uchiha," Kisame complimented as he grabbed Samehada by the hilt and swung it forward.

"Thank you." Kakashi leaped backward, avoiding the attack. He threw several shurikens, which went wide of Kisame, who kept rushing in until Kakashi yanked on the wires in his hands and entangled the missing Kiri ninja. "Coming from someone who was partnered with Itachi, that is a high compliment. Chidori."

Lightning traveled along the wires, sparking and crackling. Kisame grunted, his muscles straining as he broke free of the wires and leaped back. Grinning widely, he placed Samehada on his back and went through even more hand seals.

"Suiton: Daikōdan no Jutsu."

Streamers of water gathered swiftly and formed a massive shark that was nearly ten times bigger than his previous one. Thrusting his hands forward, Kisame sent the shark at Kakashi, who'd already completed his own hand seals and flawlessly performed the same jutsu, thereby negating the attack.

Seeing her chance, Konan launched several paper shuriken at Kisame, who saw them coming and dispatched them with Samehada. However, those shuriken were not normal, and the moment they met his sword, all of them exploded in a spectacular manner.

Kisame burst out of the explosion, his skin blackened but not truly burnt. He was wearing a maniacal grin as he raced toward her.

"I had almost forgotten about you, Konan!"

He tried to slash her apart with Samehada, but Konan had already taken to the sky. Wings made of paper carried her forward. The wind whistled in her ear and rustled her hair. Before traveling too high, she threw several paper bombs at Kisame, who leaped back as they exploded, blasting apart the ground.

"Raikiri!"

The sound of loud chirping proceeded Kakashi's appearance. Lightning covered his hand as he darted forward, stepping Kisame's guard and plunging his lightning-coated fist into the shark man's chest-only for Kisame to burst into water, and for that water to entrap Kakashi within a dome. Kakashi then burst into smoke and a log took his place, revealing that he'd used the replacement technique; Kawarimi.

"Hehe, this is pretty fun," Kisame said as he and Kakashi reappeared several meters away from each other. He went through a string of hand seals. "Let's make this even more fun. Suiton: Dai Bakusui Shōha."

Water spewed from Kisame's mouth in vast quantities. The water rose over everything, crushing waves looming over the forest of Konoha like towering mountains. Konan knew of this technique, and she knew that Kakashi wouldn't be able to escape from something with this sort of area-wide effect.

Swooping down, she flew right at Kakashi and grabbed him just as the waves threatened to crush him. Whoom! The waves slammed into the ground. Several trees were crushed underneath the water, splintering into thousands of pieces before being swept away by the tide.

"Thanks for the assist," Kakashi said.

"You're welcome."

Down below, Kisame, who was now standing on the crashing waves, wove more hand seals. Knowing that whatever he had planned couldn't be good, Konan rushed to ascend even higher. If she could just move out of the range of his techniques…

"Suirō Sameodori no Jutsu."

Oh, no.

Konan felt panic as a dome of water engulfed her and Kakashi. The massive dome expanded quickly. She felt herself becoming trapped within the dome. Not only could she no longer breathe, but because her wings were made of paper, they quickly became soggy and broke apart.

What do I do now?

This was not a good situation. All of her jutsu were paper-based, but paper was useless unless prepared in advance like the technique that had gotten Madara. This technique, which was controlled by Kisame, made her helpless.

Kakashi tapped on her shoulder, garnering her attention and pointing at something. Konan looked at where he'd pointed and felt her worry increase. Kisame was rushing toward them, and his appearance was very different from what she remembered. His blue skin had picked up a grayish pallor. Large fins covered the back of his arms, and his hands were webbed and clawed. Gills ran along his trapezius. His head was no longer shaped like a human's, but was long and sleek, almost like a real shark. A long-tail jutted from his tailbone. Samehada was nowhere to be found.

He's fused with Samehada. This isn't good. He has us at a complete disadvantage.

Kisame closed the distance. She and Kakashi swam out of the way, but his tail slammed into Kakashi, who he must have deemed was a larger threat. Fortunately, Kakashi still seemed capable of using jutsu. He replaced himself with another log.

Staring at her current companion, she pointed at Kakashi, then at the other side of the water prison. Kakashi must have understood what she wanted. He nodded, and they split up and traveled in opposite directions. After a moment's hesitation, Kisame chased after Kakashi.

The water prison technique that Kisame was using had one glaring weakness. Once the technique had been activated, it altered its position in order to reflect the direction of its user's movements-in this case, Kisame. While this was great for one on one battles, it was not so great when there were two or more opponents. Kisame could only follow one person, which meant that if she and Kakashi split up, it would be easier for one of them to escape. After that, they could break the technique from the outside.

Konan's lungs burned as she swam towards the edge of the technique. She'd already been inside of that water prison for what must have been 60 seconds, and she was running out of oxygen. Her vision was becoming blurry, her arms felt like they were weighed down by lead, and her legs were growing tired.

Just… just a little bit… further!

With a startled gasp, Konan burst out of the water prison. She landed on the ground, bending her knees to absorb the impact. Stand up, she turned around to see the water dome. It truly was a massive thing. She didn't know how large it was, but judging from her observation, she'd say that it was around one kilometer in circumference at least.

How do I destroy a technique like that?

"Konan-san!" Sakura called out to her.

Konan turned around to see the pink-haired girl leaping down from a tree. "Sakura. Where is Fu?"

"She's with Tsunade-sama and Shizune-san," Sakura said, huffing. "What is that technique? And where is Kakashi?"

"Kakashi-san is currently fighting Kisame inside of that technique." Konan turned back to the dome of water. "We need to find some way to destroy this dome, however, I lack the power necessary for such an endeavor."

She might have been able to destroy the technique if she used a bunch of paper bombs, but there was no guarantee that would work. While bombs created incredible force, especially when used in conjunction with several hundred other bombs, the water was being held together by Kisame's chakra. What's more, setting up enough paper bombs to demolish that technique would take time. They didn't have that much time.

"So… you need to destroy that water prison somehow," Sakura murmured, her expression thoughtful. "Do you think you can fly me over the dome?"

Konan didn't know if she could. Would her paper work, or was it too wet? Turning her head, she channeled her chakra and formed a pair of paper wings on her back. Flapping them experimentally produced decent results. Her wings were wet, but they appeared to be in working order.

"I should be able to," she announced, grabbing hold of Sakura and taking off into the air.

Her wings felt heavy, and Sakura's added weight didn't help any. Konan channeled more chakra into her wings, hardening them further, allowing her to ascend higher. It wasn't long before they were hovering over the large dome of water.

Konan could see Kakashi battling with Kisame. Thus far, the copy ninja managed to remain alive via judicial use of his Sharingan, but he had to be running out of breath. She could see that his movements were getting sluggish.

"What do I do now?" Konan asked Sakura.

"Drop me."

"What?"

"I said drop me. Let go and I'll take care of the rest."

Konan didn't know what Sakura had in mind. She must have been crazy for thinking up a plan like this. However, it wasn't like they had any other plans.

Konan let go of Sakura, who plummeted toward the sphere of water like a rock. The pink-haired girl reared back her fist. Was she actually planning on punching this thing?

"SHANNARO!"

She was, apparently. Konan could only blink as Sakura yelled out a strange battle cry and slammed her fist into the dome of water. She expected the young woman to simply sink into the water. What happened next shocked her.

Starting from the point of impact and spreading across the entire prison was a large ripple. The dome soon began to undulate. Then, without warning, the entire thing exploded. Water flew everywhere. Konan closed her eyes as she was struck in the face with enough water to drown a dragon. Her wings, thoroughly soaked, were unable to remain cohesive and broke apart. As she fell, she channeled chakra to her legs and feet, softening the fall so that she didn't break her legs.

Looking around, she saw Sakura standing on the ground, her fist still extended in the punch position. Kisame and Kakashi were also there. The Akatsuki ninja looked utterly flabbergasted to see his technique destroyed, and his shark-like face had morphed into an expression of astonishment. On the other hand, Kakashi looked quite proud.

"That was a good punch, Sakura," he complimented.

"T-thank you… Kakashi-sensei," Sakura said with a tired sigh.

She destroyed one of Kisame's most powerful techniques with a single punch, Konan thought in shock. Truly, the younger generation of shinobi was quite fearsome.

"Heh… I didn't expect that," Kisame muttered. "You're pretty strong, little missy. I didn't think you were packing that much power."

"I've… been trained by… Tsunade-sama herself…" Sakura wheezed. She must have used up most of her chakra. "Don't underestimate me…"

"Duly noted."

Konan, Kakashi, and Sakura surrounded Kisame, who didn't seem bothered at all. In fact, he wore a rather wide grin, which made his current shark-like appearance all the more frightening. Despite this, Konan was confident that they could beat him. His best technique had just been destroyed, and it was now three against one. Even for someone with Kisame's monstrous reserves, this would be a hard-fought battle.

"Kisame," a voice said as a black creature appeared out of the ground.

Zetsu?

Konan was startled to see Zetsu without his white half, but if the white half had, indeed, split as it appeared, then it made sense that the black half was on its own too.

"What do you want, Zetsu? Can't you see I'm busy?"

"I can see that, however, there's no more need to fight anymore. We've already accomplished our objective."

"Tch, so we're leaving already, are we?" Kisame looked annoyed but resigned. "Well, fine. I've had a good deal of fun, so I guess we can head out."

"You say that like we're just going to let you leave," Kakashi said. However, it wasn't the Kakashi in front of Kisame, but the one directly behind him.

"Raikiri!"

Kakashi plunged his lightning-covered hand into Kisame's back, but rather than blood coming out of the wound, it was water. The Kisame that he'd "killed" dispersed into a puddle, which Konan deduced came from the remains of the water prison.

"Don't worry, Copy Ninja. We'll finish this battle later," Kisame's voice echoed all around them. "I hope you're looking forward to it as much as I am."

Silence reigned in the clearing for a moment. Then Kakashi sighed, breaking the silence as he placed his headband back over his Sharingan eye.

"It looks like this battle ended in a draw," he said. Konan got the feeling that Kakashi had been hoping to eliminate Kisame-not that she couldn't understand why.

"What should we do now?" asked Sakura.

"We'll go back to Konoha and help them drive off the white Zetsus."

They began to move. Because Kakashi had used up a lot of chakra, they didn't travel as quickly as they could have. The drain on his reserves must have been phenomenal.

"The White Zetsus have probably all retreated by now," Konan said. "Zetsu told Kisame that they had completed their objective."

"I wonder what he meant by that?" Sakura asked.

Neither Konan nor Kakashi answered her. They wanted to know the same thing.

XXXXXXXXXX

When Konan, Kakashi, and Sakura returned from battling Kisame, it was to discover that the battle had already reached its conclusion. What was going on now was simply clean-up.

The battle hadn't caused much collateral damage. Most of the buildings were still completely intact-some were even pristine. What the Konoha shinobi needed to do was not help with repairs, but locate the dead bodies of the ninja and civilians who'd been impersonated by the White Zetsu's. Unfortunately, there were a lot of them.

Konan stood in the Hokage's office with Tsunade and several others. She'd decided to lend aid by offering the Hokage whatever expertise she could. It wasn't much. Zetsu apparently had more powers and abilities than either she or Nagato had been aware of, which meant that Akatsuki was even more divided than she had assumed. It was becoming clear to her now that she and Nagato had merely been tools for Madara. Though she didn't know what his ultimate purpose was, she understood that it likely wasn't the goal that Nagato was aiming for.

This situation has become even harder to grasp.

Several people came into the office, a ninja who'd been helping with the clean-up. Konan didn't recognize them, but that wasn't surprising.

"Status," Tsunade said while keeping her fingers laced in front of her as if to try and shield herself from more bad news.

"We've located the bodies of more than two-thousand civilians and one-thousand five-hundred shinobi, though the numbers appear to be rising. Considering there were a total of five thousand civilians who went missing, chances are good that we're going to have more than eight thousand casualties."

"I see…"

Konan wondered if the pained look that Tsunade wore was being mirrored on her own face. What happened was horrible, and there was very little they could do to recover right now, especially after the Kumogakure incident. She wondered, almost absently, if this disaster would have happened if Naruto had been present.

I don't think there was much that even he could have done.

Naruto was an excellent fighter, but he didn't have any sensor capabilities. Although his sage mode might have been able to distinguish chakra signatures, but not having any sensing abilities of her own, she wasn't sure if even that would have worked.

"Please keep me informed of how the search is going," Tsunade said after several long moments of silence.

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

As the man left the room, Tsunade slammed her fist on the table. "Damn it! That Akatsuki really played us for fools this time."

Konan felt guilt hit her like an earth jutsu to the gut. She had once been a member of Akatsuki.

"I'm sorry," she apologized.

Tsunade grunted as she went about arranging her desk. "It's not your fault. This kind of situation would have surprised anyone," she said, though Konan felt like Tsunade was, indeed, blaming her for what happened. It might have just been her own guilty conscience playing tricks on her, but she could've sworn that Tsunade's voice was incriminating her, as if to say, "it really is your fault. You should have been more proactive."

"If there is anything that I can do to help…"

"Don't worry. I'll be sure to let you know. Right now, though, all we're doing is counting the number of casualties."

Konan said nothing. Fingering the kunai in her pocket, she wished more than ever that Naruto had never left for that mission to Kumo. Even if what happened here was inevitable, she would have felt better if he'd been with her.

"Hokage-sama!"

A Konoha ninja rushed through the door, gasping for breath. He looked like he'd run across the entirety of Konoha to get here.

"What's the problem now?" Tsunade asked with a scowl.

"It's Sasuke Uchiha, ma'am," the shinobi gasped. "He's missing from his cell!"

XXXXXXXXXX

Altogether, they had found 2,365 survivors.

Considering Kumogakure had once boasted a population of about one hundred thousand, 2,365 wasn't that large. But when Naruto took the amount of destruction into consideration, they were probably lucky to find even that many.

Kumo hadn't just been destroyed. It had been annihilated. The very mountain range that it had been built on was gone. The fact that there were any survivors at all was a miracle.

They'd been forced to dig deep underneath the mountain range's rubble to locate anyone. Naruto had made liberal use of his shadow clones to help in this task. While some survivors had been near the surface and easily found, there were just as many who'd been buried underneath tons of rocks and dirt. The mountain had collapsed in such a way that it had created pockets of space where the people hadn't been crushed.

Under his direction, Konoha had built a temporary base stationed just outside of the village. They'd built several tents for the citizens to sleep in. There were also medical tents for the medical ninja, who'd been working all day tending to the injured. Naruto felt almost out of place.

He wanted to do more for the people here, but there wasn't anything else that he could do. He was no medical ninja. Just about the only thing he was good for during times like these was manual labor.

Walking among the tents, Naruto continued moving to the back, until he reached a specific tent. He pushed the flap aside and entered. Like all of the tents, this one was bare. It contained only a small cot resting on one side of the room. There were three people inside already; Yugito, Koyuki, and Samui. Of the three, only two were conscious.

"How's Samui doing?" Naruto asked as he walked up to them.

"She's still unconscious," Yugito said softly, not looking up from the other blonde. Naruto realized that she was running her hands through Samui's hair. "Though I've been told that she'll wake up soon."

"That's good."

Naruto looked at Koyuki, who caught his eye and shook her head. He sighed, walked up to Yugito, and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you feeling guilty for what happened here?"

Yugito didn't answer at first, and he didn't rush her. He let her take time to formulate an answer, knowing that her feelings right now must have been contradictory and mixed with self-loathing.

"I know, in my head, that I couldn't have done anything even if I had been here," she said at last. "I understand that, but at the same time…"

"Your heart is telling you that you should have been here and done something," Naruto finished when Yugito trailed off. She didn't say anything, but her silence was more telling than any words she could have said.

Sitting down next to her, he placed a hand over her free hand. He didn't say anything. There wasn't anything that he could say to make her feel better. He could have told her that it wasn't her fault, that she couldn't have done anything, but that wouldn't have changed how she felt. Yugito knew that she wasn't responsible. However, sometimes, just because someone knew that in their head, that didn't mean the guilt, the feeling of being responsible, would go away.

"Nnnggg…"

A groan caused all three of them to turn their heads. Samui stirred. Slowly, her eyes fluttered open, revealing cloudy blue irises. She blinked several more times. The woman looked around, her head tilting slightly as if she was scanning her surroundings before they landed on Yugito.

"Yugito…"

"Samui," Yugito whispered, her voice filled with emotion. Tears stung her eyes. "I'm so glad… you're all right. I was… when I found out what happened to Kumo, I…"

"Kumo?" Samui whispered. "W-what happened to Kumo?"

Yugito opened her mouth, then closed it just as quickly. She tried again, only to get the same results. Samui, fortunately, seemed to realize what she was trying to say.

"I should have known this would happen. The Raikage… is he still alive?" Yugito said nothing. "I see…"

Samui closed her eyes for a moment, her face etched into an expression that made Naruto uncomfortable. It felt like he was getting a glimpse of something that she shouldn't have seen.

Naruto could sense that Samui was on the verge of losing it. Yugito also appeared to be withholding her tears. He looked over at Koyuki, silently seeking her advice. She tilted her head toward the door, then gestured to themselves. Naruto took the hint.

"Yugito," he said, leaning over to speak softly into her ear. "Yuki and I are going outside to check on how the other survivors are doing. Are you two gonna be okay alone?"

Yugito turned her head. She gave him a watery smile before leaning over to kiss him on the cheek. "We'll be fine. Thank you."

Gracing her with one last smile that he hoped was reassuring, Naruto took Koyuki by the hand and led her outside. Several seconds after the flap closed behind him, the sound of despairing twin wails echoed from the other side. He placed a silencing seal over the tent. Whatever happened in there was no one's business but Yugito's and Samui's.

Neither of them spoke for a long while. They walked through the series of tents, watching as Konoha and Yuki ninja traversed the small area doing whatever they could to lighten the Kumo survivor's load. Several saluted or bowed to them as they passed. A line of people could be seen several meters away; the refugees of Kumo that were conscious. Even though they were carrying plates of food, courtesy of Koyuki's chefs, their expressions remained despondent.

"What are we going to do about all of these displaced people?" Koyuki asked Naruto. He was grateful for the chance to speak.

"I'm not sure yet," Naruto admitted. "We certainly can't do nothing, which means we'll need to see if there are any nations willing to take them in. I wouldn't mind letting them come to Konoha, but I'll need to clear that with the Hokage, especially since there are so many people."

If it was just one, two, or even one-hundred, there wouldn't have been a problem with relocating them to Konoha. However, with 2,365 survivors, that was too many to consider relocating without deciding on other factors that would come with such a large population increase.

There would, first and foremost, be the issue of housing. With so many refugees, they'd need to find a place for all of them to stay. This was on top of things like provisions and several other issues, not the least of which was having all of them undergo psychoanalysis to see anyone might be suffering from PTSD or other mental illnesses due to trauma and stress. There was a lot more to consider than simply "should we" or "shouldn't we."

"The Land of Snow will be able to take some of the refugees," Koyuki said. "Now that we have the heat generators, we're not short on supplies. We've recently even advanced in the study of agriculture and have a surplus of food, particularly rice. I'll talk it over with my advisers to see how many we can take without putting a strain on our resources."

"And I'll see about asking Tsunade-sama if we can allow the rest to take up residence Konoha," Naruto said.

They stopped several meters outside of the encampment. He turned to Koyuki and slid his arms around her waist, pulling her close. In return, she placed her arms around his neck. Holding her like this, Naruto enjoyed the way she felt in his arms. His only regret was that she was wearing so many clothes that he couldn't feel the lithe curvature of her waist.

"Thank you for doing this," he said, presenting her with a soft smile.

Koyuki shook her head. "You know that I'm more than happy to help. What happened here is a tragedy, but it would be even more tragic if those of us in positions to help did nothing."

"Spoken like a true daimyo."

Naruto leaned in while Koyuki tilted her head up and stood on her toes. Slowly closing his eyes, the last thing that Naruto saw was Koyuki doing the same.

"Naruto-taicho!" a voice rang out, causing him and Koyuki to jerk away from each other as if they'd been standing next to a paper bomb.

"What is it, Izumo?" Naruto asked, hiding his scowl.

"We've just received a letter from Konoha. It's addressed to you," Izumo said, holding out a letter.

Frowning, Naruto took the letter and undid the clasp holding it closed. Reading the contents, he felt a sudden sense of exhaustion well up inside of him.

"What's wrong?" Koyuki asked.

In response, he handed the scroll off to Koyuki. It was technically a breach in protocol to reveal something that was meant for his eyes only, but since everyone would know about it soon, he didn't see the problem. Koyuki read the scroll and gasped.

"It seems Konoha had some problems while we were away." Naruto wore a mirthless smile.

XXXXXXXXXX

They had gathered.

Pain looked down at the people who'd come at his behest. He saw the headbands of numerous shinobi villages; Takigakure, Getsugakure, Hoshigakure, Ishigakure, Shimogakure, and many others. All of them were looking up at him, waiting for him to inform them of why he'd asked for this meeting.

He stood on the balcony of his headquarters in Amegakure. The rain didn't poor that day. He had stopped it for this meeting, though that did not mean that he wasn't keeping an eye out. His eyes saw more than anyone present could have expected.

"Since the founding of the hidden villages, five villages, in particular, have stood at the top," Pain started. "Konoha, Kumo, Kiri, Iwa, and Suna. These five villages, which have been known as the five greatest hidden villages, have not only stood at the top, but they have trampled the smaller villages, like yours, underfoot."

Pain paused, listening to the way the shinobi down below him muttered. They were discontent. That was good.

"For decades now, the minor hidden villages have been trampled on by wars waged by the Five Great Nations. We've suffered more casualties than anyone else-not because we took part in their wars, but because we were in the way. Our people have been butchered, caught in the crossfire between the uncaring shinobi villages who speak of peace but wage war."

The discontent mutterings grew. He could see it on their faces, the anger at their situation, their rage at the five great nations. He would turn that rage into a bonfire of hatred, and then he would forge that hatred into a sword, which he would wield at the five great nations.

"However, the time of the five great nations is coming to an end. Less than a week ago, I destroyed Kumogakure no Sato." His proclamation was not met with silence, but with more whispering. No doubt they knew this already. "If one man can destroy a single hidden village, then what could an army do? If one person can defeat one the most powerful nations ever, then what could we do if all of the minor villages banded together?"

He could see the way they responded to his words. Some were nodding, others appeared contemplative, still not on board but willing to listen. That was fine. By the end of this night, every one of these people would join him, or they would die.

XXXXXXXXXX

Shibuki never could have imagined that something like this would happen.

Unlike the others, who'd been swept up in the euphoria that Pain's words had caused, he was calm enough to understand that this man only spoke half-truths. It was true that the Five Great Nations often waged war. It was also true that the minor nations and villages were sometimes caught up in these wars. However, just as there were two sides to every coin, so, too, was there another side to this story.

While the great nations waged war, they also helped the smaller villages, even going so far as to risk themselves for the safety of those they were allied with. Takigakure's alliance with Konoha was a prime example of this. Despite having once sent an assassin after their first Hokage, Konoha had helped his village many times in the past, especially recently.

Of course, the others weren't interested in hearing this truth. They only cared about what this meant for them. Prestige. Power. Many smaller nations wanted the power that the Five Great Nations wielded. When Pain ended his speech, asking those gathered to join him in his "righteous" crusade to crush the Five Great Nations, a raucous cheer went up from everybody present-everybody except Shibuki.

I need to warn Konoha about this.

After Pain's speech, Shibuki traveled to his hotel, which was where all of the foreign shinobi were staying. He'd ignored them as they spoke in tones of hushed excitement. All of these people were fools. A person like Pain clearly didn't care about the other nations. Whatever his plans were, whatever his goal was, it was clear to Shibuki that he was only using minor nations for his own purposes.

Entering his room, Shibuki quickly packed all of his belongings. The two ninjas that he'd brought with him stood vigilantly by his side.

"Are we leaving so soon?" Yōrō asked. He was a tall man, and one of his village's stronger jonin. Shibuki also trusted him with his life. "Would it not draw suspicion for us to leave early like this?"

"It might," Shibuki admitted. "But if we don't leave now and inform Konoha about what's happening, then we may never get another chance."

"Should we really inform Konoha about this, though?" asked the other jonin that he'd brought. "Wouldn't it be better if we didn't inform them?"

Shibuki paused. Slowly, he turned to Kegon, whose face remained impressively blank. He didn't get angry but considered Kegon's words for what they were.

"What do you think would happen if we went to war with the Five Great Nations?"

"You mean the Four Great Nations," Kegon pointed out. "Kumogakure has been destroyed. Our spies have confirmed that."

"Very well. What would happen if we went to war against the remaining four nations?"

Kegon took several moments to consider the question. "I imagine that many of us would end up being destroyed in the fight. Also, it would be even worse for us, because our jinchurikki is under the protective custody of Konoha, who currently has powerful shinobi such as Tsunade Senju and Naruto Namikaze."

"That's right. Our position is untenable. Even if I agreed with Pain, which I don't, our village would suffer greatly. Besides, this man calling himself Pain is a member of Akatsuki. Not only did Akatsuki attack our village to try and abduct Fu, but they had also recruited Kakazu, the most reviled missing ninja from our village."

Kegon and Yōrō stiffened at the name. Kakazu was one of their village's greatest failings, a shinobi who'd held much promise but was exiled after failing to kill the first Hokage. Many people of their village hated Kakazu for his failure, but Shibuki knew that it was their own failing that had resulted in Kakazu's betrayal.

Neither of his jonin argued with him after that. After he'd packed everything, Shibuki and his two jonin waited until nightfall to leave. They slipped out under the cover of darkness and slowly made their way through Amegakure. Large structures of steel towered over them on all sides, which did little to block out the rain that now poured down on them. The dull gleam of cold steel combined with the gloomy sky gave Shibuki a bad feeling, but he ignored it and pressed on.

As they reached the halfway point, Shibuki's danger sense, which had been prickling at the back of his mind, suddenly went haywire.

He, Kegon, and Yōrō leaped back when something crashed into the ground before them. A pained grunt caused him to snap his head toward Yōrō. His eyes widened when he saw his shinobi being impaled by a metal rod from behind. Not only that, but Kegon was lying on the ground, motionless, and had someone standing over him, holding something wispy and ethereal in their hand. The two figures both had the same Rinnegan eyes that Pain did.

D-damn it. Who are these two?!

Shibuki began making hand seals for one of his signature jutsu. Unfortunately, he would never get to cast his technique.

The last thing he heard were the words "Bansho Tennin." The last thing he saw was the wall rushing to meet his face.