Chapter 3

Attack on the Summit

Iron Country

After a three day journey, Naruto, Kakashi, and Neji were hiking through the snow towards the Summit building, a massive fortress with three wolf-like heads naturally carved by wind, snow and ice. The young Hokage was learning from his sensei along the way about the country. It was the only nation on the continent which didn't use ninja-it uses Samurai, who were on par with Chunin and Jonin shinobi, and their Generals could hang with even elite Jonin or Kages.

"Raikage-sama probably chose this country due to its strategic location and neutrality," Kakashi said as they walked.

Naruto nodded, truthfully, he had only been paying half attention to what his former sensei was saying. He was reviewing his decision about Sasuke. Wondering if it was too soon to declare Sasuke a missing ninja...did he know the entire story?

...I'll have my full answer when we meet again...to see if Sasuke really is in Akatsuki...

"Naruto, are you paying attention?" Kakashi asked, waving his hand in front of Naruto's face.

"Sorry sensei...I spaced out a bit," Naruto said with a grin, rubbing the back of his head. I'll know what to do when I see him again...

Kakashi nodded, looking at his former student. "...it's about Sasuke huh?"

"...yeah," Naruto said, breathing out and closing his eyes. "...maybe I should have got the full story from the Cloud Ninja before departing..."

"Sometimes leaders have to make quick decisions without knowing the full story, Naruto," Neji offered as they walked.

"Thanks Neji..." Naruto said as they walked.

"...so what are your intentions to my cousin, Naruto?" Neji asked out of the blue and the young Hokage tripped and fell face first into the snow.

"...where did that come from?" Naruto demanded, picking himself up and shaking his head.

"She did nearly die to save you from Pain, I just want to know your intentions," Neji said coolly.

"I...uh...well we talked about it...and I...well don't know what to do now..." Naruto said, rubbing the back of his head. "And is this really the time?"

"...very well Naruto, we shall discuss in length later," Neji said as they continued to walk towards the Summit building.

Konoha

Sakura, Hinata, and Sai were sitting and talking about recent events. Naruto had been made Hokage, and a few Kumo Ninja had gone to talk to him. The next thing Naruto did, before leaving, was add Sasuke of all people to the Bingo Book. His teammates, Sakura and Sai, had been very surprised about this, as was Hinata.

"...Naruto has the responsibilities of a Hokage now, Sakura," Sai said gently, leaning back. "Whatever Sasuke did must have warranted this."

"I know...I know..." Sakura said, breathing out and closing her eyes. "But...but what? Of all people Naruto should still hold out on some hope..."

"M-Maybe Sasuke invaded Kumogakure's borders or something or killed a few of their shinobi," Hinata said. "It was...probably to avoid war with Kumo..."

Sakura nodded; breathing out as she looked up to see two people coming over-two of the Kumo Ninja on the pond the three Konoha ninja were talking near. One was a dark skinned boy with white hair and a girl with long red hair. The boy pointed at them.

"Tell us everything about Sasuke!" he demanded, pointing at Sakura.

"...what?" Sakura asked him bluntly, looking at the boy directly.

"You heard him, tell us everything," the girl said, putting her hand on her sword. "Or we'll make you tell us!"

Sakura stood up. "What did Sasuke do...?" she started as the Kumo girl charged at her, taking out her sword.

Sakura, Hinata, and Sai leaped out of the way of the katana as the boy also attacked. Hinata activated her Byakugan, and dodged several stabs from the boy as the girl slashed at Sai and Sakura. The ROOT ninja pulled out his tanto, blocking a vertical slash from the Kumo girl and he kicked her away, back onto the pond.

The two Kumo ninja went back to back and began attacking Sakura, Hinata, and Sai in tandem. Sakura dodged a slash from the boy as the girl spun for a kick. Tsunade's apprentice caught her kick with one hand, squeezed the girl's ankle hard and spun and slammed her into the boy. Both Kumo Ninja rolled, tumbling before leaping back onto their feet on dry land.

Sai unleashed a wave of Choju Giga beasts, and both Kumo Ninja began slashing and charging their blades with electricity to destroy the beasts. Hinata and Sakura ran towards them. Both Kumo Ninja were forced fully back onto the dry land as Tsunade's Apprentice and the Hyuga Heiress leaped into the air, and smashed her fist onto the ground, fracturing it and making the Kumo Ninja fall off their feet. Finally, Hinata land, and got into a Jyuken stance.

"Hakke Sanjuni Sho (Eight Trigrams Thirty Two Palms)!" Hinata called out, striking both their attackers 32 times, sealing their chakra and sending them flying back.

Sakura walked forward, lifting up the boy. "Okay, now what the hell has Sasuke done? Naruto put him in our Bingo Books and declared him a Missing Ninja!"

The boy groaned. "He's part of Akatsuki...he took our master..."

Sakura's eyes widened and she dropped the boy. "That...but...why? Itachi was part of Akatsuki...why would Sasuke..."

"Like hell we know!" the girl growled, slamming her sword to the ground to push herself up. "All we know is he...took our master Killer Bee! We don't even know if he's alive or dead!"

Sakura breathed in, looking at Hinata and Sai. She squeezed her hand into a fist. "...if you wanted to know about Sasuke, you didn't have to attack us," she said after a moment.

"...you'll...really tell us?" the boy asked, picking himself up. "...the name's Omoi, by the way."

"...and I'm Karui...damn you hit hard," Karui said, groaning and she looked at Hinata, who was starting to shrink away. "You two, Hyuga..."

"...we don't know fully about Sasuke's powers," Sakura said after a moment and Omoi and Karui looked at her. "...the last time I saw him he was extremely fast, covering a large amount of ground in a short amount of time and had used a new Chidori variant...called it the Nagashi. He also has the Cursed Seal...wields a sword...uses the Chidori, is very skilled with his Sharingan...and uses katons...and probably uses snakes since Orochimaru trained him. If his powers changed since then, I wouldn't know."

Karui nodded as Omoi took notes. "Is...by chance your master a Jinchuriki?" Hinata asked after a moment.

"Yes! He's the Jinchuriki of the Eight Tailed Ox," Karui said. "He taught us everything he knew."

"...then you should focus on saving him instead of going after Sasuke," Sakura said and they looked at her. "There's still a chance that he's alive, Akatsuki wants the tailed beasts, though it takes time to seal them."

"You mean..." Omoi whispered and Sakura nodded.

"...Sasuke is our responsibility," Sakura said and looked at him. "We'll help you save your master."

-

Land of Iron

Back in the Land of Iron, Naruto, Kakashi, and Neji were arriving in fortress where the Summit was being held. A middle aged man with bandages wrapped around his forehead was greeting them, wearing a formal kimono and two swords on his hip. He was the most powerful Samurai in the Land of Iron, the equivalent of a Kage, High General Mifune.

"Greetings," Mifune started, and he looked at Naruto. "Are you the new Hokage? What happened to Tsunade-hime?"

"Yes, I am...Akatsuki's Leader, Pain, attacked the village, putting Tsunade-sama into a coma," Naruto replied, breathing out. "I've been appointed as the Rokudaime Hokage until she awakens. My name is Uzumaki Naruto."

Mifune nodded. "I see, welcome then Naruto-dono."

Naruto nodded and the three walked in. Up in the rafters, Sasuke's group was watching, the five of them had made their way in passed the samurai sentries without being detected. Sasuke's eyes had turned into the Sharingan as he glared down at his old teammate and sensei. Karin's mouth was opened in shock, feeling the young Hokage's chakra levels.

Amazing...these are unreal... Karin thought and she reached out to check the chakra levels of the other Kages. ...Kami...they're all so huge... She glanced at Sasuke who was now squeezing the railing.

The last of the Uchiha was barely controlling his anger as he looked down at his old comrade and Kakashi. ...both of them...living in ignorance of Itachi's sacrifice...dirt...scum...

In the meeting room, Naruto placed his hat down at the seat reserved for the Hokage as Kakashi and Neji went into the bodyguard room. Gaara looked up at him in slight surprise.

"Naruto, I didn't expect to see you here."

"...I kind of just got appointed as Hokage in Tsunade-sama's absence, Gaara," Naruto said, rubbing the back of his head. He looked around to the other Kages.

A was looking at him, trying to judge what type of character the young Hokage was. Mei's eyes had widened seeing Naruto and a slight smirk appeared on her face. Onoki however was frowning, looking at the young Hokage.

...he looks too much like the Yellow Flash... Onoki thought, looking at the young Hokage.

"Put your hats on the table, I will be your moderator. My name is Mifune," Mifune said. "The meeting will now begin."

"I'll go first, please listen up," Gaara said, folding his hands under his chin.

"The makeup of the Five Kages sure has changed; you must be something to have become Kazekage at your age..." Onoki started, looking at Naruto. "...and you Hokage. Kazekage, your father must have taught you right, but apparently he forgot to instill manners in you."

"I guess that's why I'm Kazekage," Gaara said calmly and Onoki growled 'Cheeky brat!'.

"Tsuchikage-dono, please stop interrupting. Kazekage-dono, please continue," Mei said respectfully.

""I am a former Jinchuriki," Gaara glanced at Naruto. "Akatsuki captured me and killed me to extract my beast. If not for Chiyo-baa-sama, I'd still be dead. That's why I believe Akatsuki is extremely dangerous."

"I can more than confirm that. Like Gaara...I'm a Jinchuriki," Naruto said after Gaara gave him the nod. "Konoha has fought with Akatsuki the most out of the Five Great Nations. Tsunade-sama created the Niju Shotai to combat them. Sarutobi Asuma fell to Hidan and Kakuzu, and Jiraiya-sama himself fell to the Akatsuki Leader Pain." He then closed his eyes. "Just a few days ago, Pain attacked the village...and reduced it to a crater."

The Kages, even A's eyes widened. "Pain destroyed the village all on his own?" Onoki asked incredulously.

"Yes, he used a powerful jutsu to do so. He was looking for me, and he had to preserve his secret. Using the technique, Shinra Tensei," Naruto said. "I arrived after the great Toad Sage Shima raised the alarm, and engaged Pain. He used a jutsu to control six bodies, all of which had powerful abilities. With help from Katsuya, Gamabunta, Gamahiro, Gamaken, Fukasaku, and Shima, I was able to destroy five out of six bodies...however the primary body regained its power. I lost...and then in my anger after Pain nearly killed someone I cared about, I was forced to use my Biju...the Kyubi. I went to Six Tails and forced Pain's primary body to retreat...and then as I was about to lose again after Pain bound my body to technique that actually created a small moon...then I went eight tails...but before I could break the seal, the Yondaime Hokage himself appeared in my mind as a fail safe."

"Yondaime Hokage-dono designed the seal to do that?" A asked Naruto who nodded.

"Yes, he repaired my seal and told me that Pain wasn't the true leader. It was a man in a mask who attacked Konoha 16 years ago with Kyubi, Uchiha Madara."

"Uchiha Madara? That's reaching, boy," Onoki said, looking at him. "Madara died long before your time, I should know, I fought him when I was young. Your Shodaime killed him."

"It's hard to believe, I know," Naruto said, and he closed his eyes. "But Madara is alive and well, and is behind Akatsuki and the attack on Konoha 16 years ago."

"There may be some truth to that," Mei said. "Akatsuki was partially formed in Kirigakure, possibly by Yagura, the Yondaime Mizukage. Ao, the leader of our Hunter-nin corps had found out that Yagura was under a Sharingan Genjutsu."

Mei looked at Gaara who looked to have something to say. "...with Naruto's elaboration, I feel the need to tell more of my experience with Akatsuki. My people requested aid from many countries, only Tsunade-sama answered. Though at this point, with so many Jinchuriki captured, it'd be too late to call for aid."

"Humph, if a country had it's Jinchuriki captured, it has no business giving orders! It's an embarrassment! You should have tried to recover it in secret..."

"...it?" Naruto interrupted, grasping the table angrily. "Is that what you call us? Just 'it' or 'thing'? Is that how you regarded the two Jinchuriki that were in your village?"

"Now listen here boy..."

"No, you listen old man," Naruto said, cutting him off. "Its true the only reason why the countries lost their Jinchuuriki is because of archaic attitudes like that. We're not weapons. We're not things. We're PEOPLE. It seems only Konoha, Suna, and Kumo understand that if I'm correct."

Onoki bore his teeth at that and A gave a nod. "The reason why I called this meeting is due to my brother's abduction. Frankly...the only two I trust now are the young Hokage here and the young Kazekage, since they understand what my brother went through," A said, shooting a look at Onoki. "You used Akatsuki many times."

"Yes, for a village doing disarmament, a cheap mercenary force was needed. We haven't inflated our Shinobi Force in times of peace like you did, Raikage-dono," Onoki retorted and A's eyes narrowed.

"...I understand why you wouldn't trust Kirigakure, Raikage-dono," Mei interjected. "But we didn't use Akatsuki and have sent hunter nins after them. We even lost an entire group of hunter nins to Akatsuki who had managed to talk to our former Jinchuriki of the Six Tails, Utakata."

"I see..." A said, calming down slightly.

"Bah, I wasn't the only Kage to use Akatsuki," Onoki said and he looked at Gaara. "Your father used them quite extensively."

"...what?" Gaara asked, his eyes narrowing.

"With all the budget cuts that Suna received back then, you're really surprised?"

"Just because the biju were stolen, there is no reason to be afraid," Mei said calmly and they looked at her. "It takes time and knowledge to learn to control them."

"If Madara is truly part of Akatsuki, that is no longer true. He can control the Biju like they're pets, just like Hashirama, your former Mizukage, and Killer Bee," Onoki said. "So the danger is still there."

"Everyone, calm down," Mifune said calmly before A could explode. "It's clear now that what needs to be done. A united front must be presented against Akatsuki, I propose the Five Great Nations ally for this purpose."

"An Alliance...all five of the great nations?" Onoki asked incredulously. "Such a thing hasn't been seen...ever."

"It is clear that smaller alliances between the nations and the villages by themselves can't face Akatsuki alone," Mifune said calmly. "The only answer is an Alliance."

"I agree," Naruto said and all of the Kages looked at him. "We can't afford to do this on our own anymore. Too many of our people have died."

"Very well then, but who should lead the Alliance?" Onoki asked, grating his teeth at Naruto softly.

"Yes, that is the question," Mifune said, looking at the Five Kages that were present. "The Raikage is too emotional to make an effective leader of the entire alliance, the Hokage and Kazekage are too young, there are trust issues between the Mizukage and the rest of the villages, and Tsuchikage is frankly too old and has used Akatsuki in the past. At first glance, none of you are fit to be leader...however..."

Mifune glanced at all the Kages...and settled on Naruto. "Konoha has fought Akatsuki the longest, and has had the most Akatsuki kills and discovered the two leaders of the organization. For that reason, I believe the young Hokage and Konoha should lead the Alliance."

"Seconded," Gaara said.

"Third," A said, surprising them all. "If Konoha can help catch my brother's kidnapper or save him, I'll gladly support them as leaders in this endeavor."

Naruto blinked. "Wow...wow, slow down please," he said, shaking his head. "I don't think I can lead everyone...I don't even have that much experience..."

"Finally, you're talking sense, boy," Onoki said, smirking as Naruto glared at him. "If either of these two pups lead the proposed Alliance, it'll be doomed."

However, before he could continue…something came out of the center of the room. It looked like a Venus Fly Trap…and when it opened, a pure white humanoid…thing with a yellow eye appeared, and wrapped around its lower body was an Akatsuki Robe.

"Sasuke's here! He's all waiting for you!"

Naruto's eyes widened when the Akatsuki in front of him declared that. The freaky white body and yellow eyed...thing looked around at them, its jagged teeth showing for everyone. He gave a psychotic grin.

"Well come on, lets go get Sasuke!" Zetsu announced, grinning.

"What?" A demanded, his anger reaching the boiling point it was prior to the meeting.

The bodyguards rushed into the room when they heard Zetsu's arrival, and both Kankuro's and Temari's eyes had widened. Chojuro and Ao conversed quietly, both shocked as well.

"He?" Temari gasped, raising her hand.

"Sasuke...?" Gaara asked his eyebrow raising.

"What's he doing here?" Kankuro snarled.

"...the one with the Sharingan..." Mei said softly, contemplating this.

"One of the people who killed Zabuza?" Ao asked aloud.

"...whose he?" Akatsuchi asked, looking at Zetsu.

"A member of Akatsuki, I'm pretty sure of it," Onoki replied, grabbing his hat.

"Wait...Sasuke's here?" Naruto demanded before the A tore through the table at lightning speeds, moving faster than even Kakashi, and grasped the plant-like Zetsu's neck.

"WHERE IS UCHIHA SASUKE? ANSWER ME!" A demanded, squeezing Zetsu's neck.

H-He's really...F-FAST! Zetsu thought fearfully.

"If you don't answer me, I won't go easy on you," A warned, squeezing his hand into a fist.

"Oh...fine...I'll give you a hint..." Zetsu attempted, but the Raikage snapped his neck in his anger.

Immediately, Neji activated his Byakugan, scanning the entire compound. He found where Sasuke was, and gave a signal for Kakashi to follow. Kakashi whispered to Naruto.

"How long do you need to get into that Sage Mode of yours?"

"Five minutes, Neji found him already?" Naruto whispered as Mei yelled at the Raikage that they could have used Zetsu for information.

"Hai, we'll find him and hold him off until you arrive, Naruto."

Naruto nodded, calming himself as he kept seated, and he began to stay perfectly still. Mifune sent an all points bulletin throughout the fortress to search and apprehend Sasuke and any of his compatriots, and Kakashi and Neji slipped out of the room with the Hyuga Prodigy leading the way. A smashed his way through the wall in the opposite direction, and Darui apologized for it before following Shi and the Raikage.

In the lower levels of the fortress, Team Hawk was watching as the Samurai began to scramble around. Karin gasped when she began sensing all the Samurai in the tower fortress start moving.

"What is it Karin?" Suigetsu asked his hand on the Decapitating Carving Knife.

"The Samurai, they're starting to move! They seem to be looking for us!" Karin replied, and her eyes widened. "And I sense the two bodyguards that came with the Hokage coming this way too!"

"...Zetsu sold us out," Jugo said as Sasuke's eyes narrowed, his black eyes changing to the Sharingan.

A short ways a way, a Samurai was checking behind the pillars when he saw the telltale Akatsuki robe Sasuke wearing. Acting quickly, he pulled out one of his special katanas and began his charge. However, before he even made it around his pillar, Sasuke had vanished and reappeared behind the Samurai...and slammed the Chidori through his back, killing him.

"Its no use, there are too many!" Karin said from the new hiding spot in the rafters. "They'll capture us for sure!"

"That bastard Zetsu...I'll get him for this," Suigetsu snarled, grasping the knife.

Just a few short seconds later, Sasuke was surrounded by nearly thirty Samurai. He grasped his chokuto with his blood covered hand as the armored soldiers grasped their own blades, pulling them out.

"Attack!" The leader of the Samurai team ordered, yanking out their short swords. All the Samurai in the room began to channel chakra into their blades, making them extend to a variety of chakra axes, swords, and other weapons.

"...Samurai can use chakra too...?" Karin whispered, watching.

"I had no idea they could use chakra like that..." Suigetsu said, watching.

"Sasuke, what are you doing? Hide!" Karin yelled as Sasuke's chakra took a spike.

"I'm...really pissed off right now," Sasuke said, his Sharingan looking at the enemy samurai. "Come, I won't go easy on you."

"Neither will us!" The Samurai commander announced, launching an X-shaped chakra blade at Sasuke as the others launched a buzz-saw shaped one, and other shaped blades of chakra at him.

Charging lightning chakra through his chokuto, Sasuke drew his blade vertically up and he cut through the samurais' attacks with ease. The Samurai gasped that he deflected it, and just as Sasuke began his charge...

"Hakke Kusho (Eight Trigrams Empty Palm)!" was heard and Sasuke was hit by a vacuum blast of air, and he was sent flying sideways.

Sasuke then looked up to see the Hyuga Prodigy there, his Byakugan on. "Hyuga Neji..."

"Uchiha Sasuke, its been three years, though your chakra is still as black as I saw it during the Forest of Death," Neji said, walking calmly towards Sasuke.

"That's one of the Hokage's bodyguards...where's the other?" Suigetsu gasped.

"Behind you, I recognize that sword," a voice said from behind them, and Suigetsu, Karin, and Jugo jumped slightly and then looked to see Hatake Kakashi behind them. "Jugo of the Scales I recognize, but not you two."

"Samurai-san, file out, you can't handle this opponent," Neji said as he and Sasuke glared at each other. "He's Konoha's problem, we'll deal with him."

The Samurai reluctantly nodded, and fled as Neji and Sasuke squared off on each other. Jugo and Suigetsu attacked Kakashi at the same time, and he lifted his headband up to reveal the Sharingan, and he dodged both of their attacks but Jugo's cursed seal fist smashed the rafter into pieces.

At the same time, Sasuke ran forward at Neji, his Chidori Kusanagi charged up. The Hyuga prodigy had settled into Jyuken stance and just as the Uchiha slashed at him, he put up a partial Hakkesho Kaiten to block the blade, and Sasuke was unable to complete the slash. Neji then spun rapidly, yelling Kaiten to throw Sasuke back.

Gritting his teeth as he was thrown back, Sasuke took a deep breath. "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)!" to blow a massive fireball at Neji who did his own seals.

"Suiton: Mizurappa (Water Release: Violent Water Wave)!" Neji called out, blowing out a massive stream of water at the fireball, and the two attacks canceled out each other.

Neji then saw multiple Chidori Senbon being launched at him and he dodged each of them by mere millimeters. Sasuke roared, charging up the Chidori and he took off towards the Hyuga Prodigy at insane speeds. Neji waited till the last moment, and faster than Sasuke could see, the Hyuga Prodigy slammed his fingers into the tenkatsus in his arms. Just as the Chidori touched Neji, it fizzled out making it a simple palm strike.

Sasuke leaped back, snarling. "So you closed my tenkatsus to save yourself, huh?"

"Give up, Sasuke. Your inexperience with Jyuken means I can beat you here," Neji told him, settling into a deep Jyuken stance. He could see Sasuke's entire tenkatsu system, including those he closed off.

Sasuke snarled, and his anger reopened the tenkatsus in his arms. "I'm going to kill you, you white eyed bastard. You Hyugas have always been inferior to the Uchiha."

With that, Sasuke charged at Neji and launched a punch at him which the Hyuga Prodigy sidestepped. The two engaged in a flurry of taijutsu, however, Sasuke felt himself being overwhelmed by Neji's mastery of Jyuken, his arms and chest being sealed by the Hyuga Prodigy's strikes. The Uchiha was sent flying back by another Kaiten, and he roared in rage.

Sasuke's Sharingan morphed to the Mangekyo Sharingan, the six pointed stars in his eyes focusing on Neji. His left eye then began to bleed, and saw the surge of chakra in the Uchiha's eyes.

"AMATERASU!" he roared, and the black flames of Amaterasu in a fireball form shot at the Hyuga.

Acting quickly, Neji activated his strongest defense. "Hakkesho Cho Kaiten (Eight Trigrams Super Heavenly Spin)!" The blue sphere of chakra surrounded the Hyuga Prodigy's body as he began spinning rapidly, and he made a double layer of the Kaiten.

The Amaterasu impacted the swirling sphere of chakra, and were deflected by the rapidly spinning chakra of the Kaiten. However, the first layer was burned off, but the second layer closer to Neji's body was untouched, as he finished spinning, he launched a Hakke Kusho (Eight Trigrams Empty Palm) at Sasuke, the attack slamming into his face. Neji panted, glaring at Sasuke who growled angrily, blood now dripping from his lip.

The Mangekyo Sharingan...when did he get that? Neji thought, keeping his guard as he looked at Sasuke. Need to keep on my guard...I don't know if I can beat him now...

At the same time, Kakashi had chased Suigetsu, Jugo, and Karin into a small room that was now covered in a mist. The copy ninja frowned, looking around. His Sharingan could only see chakra, a similar impairment he had when he faced Zabuza on the Great Naruto Bridge.

He then dodged the Decapitating Carving Knife by mere centimeters, but Jugo's heavy Cursed Seal fist slammed into him, sending him crashing back. Flipping to his feet, he began doing the seals and took a deep breath, launching a Gokakyu no Jutsu from his mouth to evaporate the mist. Kakashi then blocked and dodged Suigetsu's strikes and lifted his hand, it charging with Lightning.

"Raikiri Okami (Lightning Cutter Wolf)!" He yelled, bringing his hand down as he shaped a wolf made out of lightning that began chasing after Suigetsu, homing in on him.

"Crap!" Suigetsu yelled, running quickly as the lightning wolf leaped at him, and then crashed into him and he gave a loud cry as his body was electrocuted. He dropped to his knees, managing to channel most of the lightning through the Decapitating Carving Knife, and he panted. "Ow...that really smarts..."

Jugo's arm then grabbed Suigetsu from the door, yanking him back. There was Karin, holding a kunai that had a whole assortment of explosive tags on it. She grinned, waving her finger like she was scolding him.

"Sorry Hatake-san, you lose!" Karin yelled as she tossed the kunai with the explosive tags on it as she, Suigetsu, and Jugo began running back towards Neji and Sasuke's fighting area.

Kakashi's eyes widened. "Crap..." He ducked the kunai, and it slammed into the wall as the explosive tags ignited. He flew through the seals. "Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu (Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique)!"

He dove into the ground just as the entire room was engulfed in an huge explosion that blew the roof off as well as blew a hole into the other rooms in the surrounding area.

"Great plan Karin, I guess you've got some uses!" Suigetsu said as they ran as fast as they could.

"Well I knew we couldn't face him head on, given he's the legendary Copy Ninja after all!" Karin said with a grin and she adjusted her glasses. "Nice for a split of the moment plan wasn't it?"

Jugo nodded. "Yes."

Just then, the ground underneath them splintered and Kakashi leaped out, launching a kick at Suigetsu, and his head exploded into a shower of water and he punched Jugo into Karin, slamming them both into the wall.

"You made a pretty good plan, though you should have kept the mist up," Kakashi said with a grin as Suigetsu reformed, and Jugo helped Karin up who was groaning.

At that moment, before Neji and Sasuke could continue fighting, the wall exploded and there stood A the Raikage, as well as his bodyguards Darui and Shi.

Never thought I'd be happy to see this bastard... Neji thought, panting as he looked at A.

"Stand aside Hyuga, Sasuke is my target," A commanded, snarling at Sasuke who glared back, his eyes having morphed back to the normal Sharingan.

"...very well..." Neji said, powering his Byakugan off. A tore his Raikage cloak off, lightning enveloping his body into a cloak.

Sasuke glared at the Raikage, the blood still leaking from his eye and lip, though his resolve was still great. His Akatsuki Robes fluttered in the breeze created by A's Raiton no Yoroi (Lightning Release Armor) flared in challenge to his Sharingan.

To Be Continued...

Author's Notes:

Finally, the chapter is fully finished. I'm sorry I gave you a long wait, my readers! I hope you enjoyed Neji vs. Sasuke and Kakashi vs. Suigetsu, Jugo, and Karin. I worked really hard on them. Neji vs. Sasuke was written to establish that Neji was the Konoha 11's number two in power, with only Naruto stronger than him. He can hold beat Sasuke's base form due to his superior taijutsu, and I threw in the Mizurappa for him to give him an element.

Please Read and Review

Jutsus:

Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu (Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique), canon technique, D-rank-Kakashi's signature Earth Release, he dives into the ground and tunnels underneath it, then yanks the victim up to their head for decapitation, or burrows under the ground to ambush the target.

Hakkesho Chou Kaiten (Eight Trigrams Super Heavenly Spin), original technique, no rank- An enhanced version of the normal Kaiten. First creates a large outer 'shell' rotation, then a smaller, standard one surrounds the user to provide a double defense when needed.

Hakke Kusho (Eight Trigrams Empty Palm), canon technique, no rank-A ranged version of the Hakkesho Kaiten, can send the target flying by the vacuum that Neji creates between his palms.

Hakkesho Kaiten (Eight Trigrams Heavenly Spin), canon technique, no rank-The Hyuga Clan's ultimate defensive technique, first the user pushes chakra out of their pores to form a shield, then begins spinning to expand said shield.

Raikiri Okami (Lightning Cutter Wolf), canon technique (original name), S-Rank- Kakashi creates a wolf made out of lightning that hones in on the target to either fatally electrocute or paralyze it. First used against God Realm in the Invasion of Konoha.

Suiton: Mizurappa (Water Release: Violent Water Wave), canon technique, C-Rank- The opposite of the Gokakyu no Jutsu, the most basic water technique seen in the series