Chapter 8

Further into Darkness, Sasuke's Road

Land of Lightning, Ferry

It would be another day until the ferry had reached the island where Naruto would be receiving his training from Killer Bee. During that time, people had become very curious about Tenko, wondering who he was. The fact he looked like a younger Jiraiya, and that Jiraiya didn't have any known sons, was rather perplexing.

Naruto, Hinata, and Tenko sat together as they began to get to get to know each other. It was...rather very awkward, the three didn't know who to begin talking first to start the conversation. Naruto breathed out, deciding to ask first.

"So...uhhh..." Naruto started, rubbing the back of his head.

"...you're...wondering why mom left me with Fukasaku and Shima...huh?" Tenko asked quietly.

"Just...a bit...she never said..."

"...mom...was not as...together as she is now...Naruto," Tenko said, closing his eyes and he breathed out. "She thought she...couldn't handle it...and she was...constantly traveling. It was hard enough to take care of Auntie Shizune that time..."

"..I think Shizune took care of her," Naruto said, remembering the state Tsunade was in three years ago.

Tenko nodded. "Wouldn't be inaccurate...I don't want you to think less of her...she was gonna...bring me in soon. Even though I suck with medical ninjutsu...I could barely even apply a bandage without help."

Naruto grinned. "...how about Genjutsu?"

"...uhhhh...suck at that big time, I...can...uhh...break it! Real well! Living with two genjutsu specialists..." Tenko sighed, hanging his head. "And from what I've heard...you're stronger than me already! I can do a lot of dad's ninjutsus...though not as well," He grinned. "What about you? You spent three years with him! Can you do the Gama Endan? Gamaguchi Shibari...Yomi Numa? YOU HAVE TO SHOW ME!"

"...Uhhhhhhh...even though I spent three years with him...it was mostly to control the Kyubi and...make me into a real ninja," Naruto said, rubbing the back of his head. "He did give me the foundation to create the Futon: Rasenshuriken under Kakashi-sensei's supervision, and perfect Sage Mode with Fukasaku-sensei."

Tenko nodded. "...according to Fukasaku-sensei...I'm not good at Sage Mode for some reason. I can do it...but its at a level that's even below dad. I can't even do Kawazu Kumite (Frog Katas)..." he then leaned back and looked at Hinata. "And you, the beautiful Hyuga-san?"

Beautiful? Naruto and Hinata thought at the same time-to Naruto it was in slight irritation, and to Hinata surprise.

"W-Well...I'm trying to become stronger..." Hinata started, twiddling her fingers. Due to her nervousness, her Byakugan turned on...showing the bloodshot eyes that was now showing around her eye. "I...um..."

"Hinata-chan...your eyes...one's...bleeding..." Naruto said and Hinata gasped.

She raised her hand to her eye and looked to see the blood slowly seeping out. She shook her head rapidly and deactivated her Byakugan.

"I had Sakura-chan check it out...she said not to worry about it unless it starts hurting..." Hinata said, trying to placate Naruto's worries. "I-It doesn't hurt at all...I don't even know when it starts and it stops after I deactivate my Byakugan..."

Naruto nodded. "...alright...if you say so...though tell me first when and if it starts hurting."

"I will, Naruto-kun," Hinata said, breathing out as she wiped the blood from her eye. I really hope its not serious...

"...well I've been thinking," Naruto started, rubbing the back of his head. "I'd like to teach you guys the Rasengan."

Hinata and Tenko blinked. "Huh? Why Naruto?" Tenko asked.

"I want to help Hinata-chan get stronger, and completing the Rasengan got me stronger...so...thought it'd might be a good way," Naruto said, looking at the Hyuga next to him before looking to Tenko. "And the Rasengan is kind of a 'family' jutsu now...my dad invented it, your dad taught me it...and you should learn it."

Tenko grinned. "Okay! Sure!"

"I-If that's what you want to do, Naruto-kun...I'd be honored to learn it," Hinata said, blushing slightly.

Naruto grinned. "Well then the first step is rotation..."

Mountain's Grave

Sasuke was training in the deepest part of Madara's base, slashing through two targets before leaping into the air and tossing several Chidori Senbon at another human-shaped target. His eyes switched to the Sharingan and he ducked and dodged several blades that came down from the ceiling before two logs came crashing down when he landed. His Sharingan morphed to the Mangekyo Sharingan, and the Susano'o formed around his body and blocked the logs.

"Sheesh Sasuke, going to destroy these all again?" Suigetsu asked from the sidelines, sharpening the Decapitating Carving Knife. "You know how hard it is rebuilding it time and time again?"

Karin sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. She was more prepared for battle this time, armed with several bottles on her belt of unknown liquids. She also had several tags in her pack now, each with a different purpose.

"Suigetsu, just let him train!" Karin yelled at him. Hopefully he'll work that dark chakra out of his system...

She put her hand to her cheek, remembering when he had hit her when he went to face Naruto. Sasuke had long forgotten that incident, and had been focusing on training ever since they got to Madara's base. Jugo came walking in, now he had returned to his teenage body.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, and he remembered the strange buzz-saw attack-the Rasenshuriken-which had shattered his Susano'o during his fight with Naruto. He gave a roar, thrusting Susano'o's arms to the sides and launching the logs back into the ceiling. The impact shook the entire compound and his teammates had to cover their heads to protect themselves from falling debris.

Madara came walking into the room. "I know you're training, Sasuke, but I don't think you should wreck up the place."

That move was a Futon...I know it...the extremely fast spinning and density of the chakra increase its cutting power to the extreme... Sasuke thought, powering down and ignoring Madara. How did Naruto create such a technique...? Did Kakashi teach him it? And what about that new form he was in...?

"Sasuke...I'm speaking to you," Madara said firmly and Sasuke looked up. "Good, I finally have your attention. Danzo is far enough away from Konoha."

"Excellent..." Sasuke snarled and he glanced at the members of Taka. "Prepare for battle, we set out immediately."

"Hai, Sasuke!" Suigetsu, Karin, and Jugo all said as the Uchiha slid his sword back into its hilt.

Southeastern Fire Country

The sky had quickly become overcast when Danzo's group had entered the lands where his base was located. This was due to the volcanic eruptions that gave the place its name-the Gates of Fire. Due to the volcanism of this area, the Land of Fire partially got its name from it.

"Danzo-sama, its still following us," Fu said, his hand on his blade.

"Haven't we killed in three times already?" Torune asked as they walked.

"Apparently, the enemy can clone itself," Danzo said and he glanced at the female ROOT member present with them-Sen. "Take care of this one. We're almost to the barrier perimeter."

Sen nodded. "Yes, Danzo-sama," she spun around...paper forming around her hands and she molded them into blades. She then sent them flying at where Zetsu was hiding.

The Akatsuki Spy managed to get out of the first volley before Sen leaped at him...and slashed his head off with two swords made of paper. Landing, the paper returned to her body like it was her skin and she walked back over to her lord.

"My, my, is that Konan's ability..." a new voice said from out of nowhere.

The four ROOT Members went on guard and from a swirling vortex ahead of them...Madara Uchiha appeared. Danzo's eyes narrowed, seeing the leader of Akatsuki in front of them. Fu, Torune, and Sen immediately got in diamond formation in front of Danzo to guard him.

"I thought that girl looked familiar...you're full of surprises, Danzo," Madara said with a smirk. "How long has it been now? Not since the Uchiha Massacre, huh?"

"...Fu, Torune, Sen, I am going to unseal my arm," Danzo told them and they nodded.

"Oh, I don't think you'll be fighting me..." Madara said as he created another vortex. "Sasuke, its time for you to shine now...try not to overdo it."

In front of the ROOT members then stood Uchiha Sasuke, Hozuki Suigetsu, Karin, and Jugo-all wearing Akatsuki cloaks. Sasuke's eyes immediately turned to the Sharingan as he saw Danzo for the first time. Calmly...the ROOT Leader just continued to pull the bolts off of the seal on his arm.

"Suigetsu, Jugo, Karin, take care of his guards," Sasuke ordered, pulling his blade out. "Danzo is mine..."

Danzo looked upon Sasuke and his team calmly as his bodyguards formed a defensive position. Making a small nod to his bodyguards, the three leaped forward at Suigetsu, Jugo, and Karin, weapons drawn. It was at that same moment, Sasuke charged forward, his Sharingan activating. The Chidori flared to life in his hand and he dodged Fu and Torune's strikes, making his way to Danzo.

The ROOT Leader reacted calmly, sidestepping Sasuke's charge as the Uchiha pulled out his Chokuto, aiming to cut off his head. Danzo blocked with his cane and skidded sideways. He had let go of his cane and was flying through the seals.

"Mokuton Hijutsu: Jukai Kotan (Wood Release Secret Technique: Nativity of a World of Trees)," Danzo said, finishing the seals as the ground started shaking. Madara looked interested and he leaned forward.

Mokuton...when did he get that...? Madara thought as huge roots emerged from the ground...followed by several large trees.

In just a few seconds, the entire place was then covered in a dense, large forest. It was at that moment, Fu charged Karin who leaped onto one of the branches to escape the slash of his tanto, very confused at what happened.

"What the hell? How did a forest get here?" Suigetsu yelled, blocking several kunai thrown at him from Torune with his Decapitating Carving Knife.

"Its Mokuton," Karin said, standing up on the branch. "Orochimaru experimented with it...though how does Danzo have it?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as Danzo leaped into a tree, a bolt falling down where he used to be. The Uchiha did several seals, taking a deep breath and he shot out a Katon: Goryuka no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique), blowing it directly at Danzo. The ROOT leader Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique) out of the way of the dragon shaped fire blast, another bolt falling from his cloak. He did his own seals as he fell, sucking in air.

"Futon: Shinkugyoku (Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere)!" Danzo yelled, shooting several small blasts of wind chakra at Sasuke.

Sasuke leaped out of the way, but a projectile of wind chakra slammed into his arm, nearly slicing through the bone. At the same time, Jugo and Karin were engaging Fu and Sen in battle. Wings of paper had formed at Sen's back, entering the Shikigami no Mai (Dance of the Shikigami). Karin was hiding behind a large tree, hand on a kunai breathing in and out.

Calm...just stay calm...so the girl can turn into paper...negating most of your attacks... Karin thought as Sen launched a wave of paper shaped into kunai's at the sensor's hiding place after Fu pointed her out. The paper embedded and cut into the tree, forcing Karin to leap out and toss a kunai that had one of her vials on it.

Sen's wings drew themselves in front of her as a shield, blocking the kunai. The vial however shattered upon impact, dispersing a pink smoke that surrounded the ROOT paper user. Her paper began to 'melt' slightly from the smoke, and she flapped her wings to get out of it.

"Alright Jugo, now!" Karin yelled as Jugo fell from a tree, Fu's tanto buried in his right shoulder. His fists enlarged and several chakra boosters appeared on one, and shot out blue flames.

It accelerated his fall and he smashed his huge fist into Sen, making her cry out and slam into the ground hard. Jugo landed, the Cursed Seal marking spreading around his neck and cheeks. He yanked Fu's tanto out of his shoulder as Karin formed a seal.

Okay...got to find that other ROOT member... Karin thought, activating her Kagura Shingan (Mind's Eye of the Kagura) and she closed her eyes. Suigetsu is fighting the other one...

Her eyes then opened quickly and she dodged a flurry of shuriken that came out of one branch. Fu burst out after her, taking out one of his kunai and Karin's eyes widened as he closed in. Acting quickly, she grab a smoke bomb and a light bomb from her pack and tossed them up. Both burst, sending a blinding light as well as a billowy smoke screen to cover Karin's escape as Fu was temporarily blinded.

That was close...he's a sensor too... Karin thought as she got into a new hiding place. Chakra Suppression Technique!

At the same time, Torune was trying to injure Suigetsu, dodging the massive blade that the Seven Swordsman apprentice was using. He lashed out in a swift kick, smashing it...through Suigetsu's jaw making it burst into water. The Aburame ROOT member leaped back as Suigetsu's head reformed, grinning widely.

"Going to have to try better than that!" Suigetsu said as he threw his sword into the air. His hands turned into a blur of seals, and his cheeks swell. "Suiton: Bakusui Shoha (Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave)!"

He then spat out a massive amount of water from his mouth that flooded some of the area. The massive wave crashed into Torune who crossed his arms in a block. The wave smashed him into a tree before draining away to a little around waist deep level, and he fell. Suigetsu lifted his hand up, catching the Decapitating Carving Knife as it fell back to earth. He gave a sharp toothy grin, and took out one of his water bottles and drank it.

Damn it... Torune thought as he pulled himself onto the top of the small lake that Suigetsu had created. If I had the Kikai Insects, I could drain away his chakra...I picked the wrong opponent...

At the same time, Sasuke was chasing Danzo through the trees, the two exchanging a flurry of kunai and shuriken at each other, as well as trying to hit each other with elemental jutsu. The ROOT leader was almost ready, the last bolt falling...and his arm was completely unsealed. It was at that moment, Sasuke had started closing the distance...as Danzo did three seals.

"CHIDORI!" Sasuke yelled, slamming his lightning covered hand into the ROOT leader's chest. I...got...

Before Sasuke could finished...Danzo faded...and appeared behind him. Before the last Uchiha could even turn his head, the ROOT leader slammed his heel into Sasuke's head and made him crash into the ground. He spat out blood before looking up to see Danzo looming over him.

"Its quite impressive you managed to get that close to me," Danzo said...his arm still mostly hidden. "But this battle is mine, now."

In response...Sasuke gave a roar as his eyes shifted to the Mangekyo Sharingan and the skeleton of Susano'o appeared around his body and smashed a fist down at Danzo as he was about to strike. The ROOT leader's body was crushed...and then it faded away. Sasuke's eyes widened, and he looked back and forth.

"So that's Susano'o...you are your brother's brother after all," Danzo said, now standing up on a tree.

At the same time, Sen was pulling herself up from Jugo's blow, her wings flapping as she righted herself. Blood was dripping from her lip, and she had shedded the paper which had melted from Karin's pink mist, she breathed out through her nose and looked around.

Where did Jugo of the Scales go...? Sen thought flying to above tree-top level. And Fu-sempai...I can still sense his chakra...

She heard an large explosion and turned to see a tree falling. Fu was leaping into the air, blood dripping from his lip as Jugo pursued him. The Cursed Seal template created a chakra rocket pack on his back and he rammed himself into the Yamanaka ROOT Member, hard. Fu spat out blood as he was sent flying higher into the air.

"Fu-sempai!" Sen yelled, flying after him quickly. Sending out her paper, she created a floating 'island' that Fu fell on and catching him. He's alive...but knocked out cold now...

She turned to see Jugo landing on a top branch, laughing maliciously, his other personality having taken over. Sen's eyes narrowed, despite being trained not to show emotion...she was angry at that moment. Creating a massive amount of paper in her wings, she launched them in a flurry at Jugo.

"Jugo, behind you!" Karin yelled as she came out of hiding and Jugo turned in time to see the mass of paper blades flying at him.

"Oh yeah, like that's gonna work!" Jugo yelled, smashing his fists together and he created two cannons. He then fired them at once, sending a beam that burned up the paper that was launched at him.

Sweat formed at Sen's brow and she continued her volley, increasing it more and more as she tried to overpower Jugo's beam of chakra. A virtual wall of paper she sent crashing into the beam, trying to push it back.

Got to...outlast him here... Sen thought as she kept up her barrage.

Jugo beam slowly began to weaken before it dissipated entirely, and the heavy wall of paper that Sen had created to overpower his beam smashed into him, sending him crashing into the ground. He gave a roar of pain before falling unconscious. Sen floated there, panting as Karin saw her chance. She leaped up and tossed two of her vials at the paper-using ROOT member.

Sen blocked...and the vials exploded into a pink and purple mist. She began coughing, having a hard time maintaining her altitude and her paper began dampening and melting like before. She then fell from the sky, falling into one of the trees Danzo had created. She got lucky, managing to fall into the second top branch and not fall any further. Her body turned back from paper into normal, and she fell unconscious.

How...? Sasuke thought as his left eye began bleeding, and he aimed it right up at Danzo. "Amaterasu!"

He roared, a fireball of Amaterasu forming and launching itself right at where Danzo was staying. The ROOT Leader just stood up there calmly...and he was incinerated completely by the black flames. Sasuke winced, putting his hand to his eye and he powered up his Susano'o even more, adding the layer of skin and muscles of its more complete form.

"Amaterasu too, and a higher degree of control than your brother's as well," Danzo said from behind him, making Sasuke whirl around. The ROOT leader then performed several seals...and a Kuchiyoise circle appeared on the ground and grew before exploding in a puff of smoke...revealing a massive Chameleon...with huge gray eye with circles on it, the other wrapped in bandages. It also had a snake-like tail and a wing, as well as a tentacle on its back with black spikes in it.

What? What the hell is that thing? Sasuke thought as Danzo hopped into the chimera chameleon's mouth, and the summon closed its mouth and vanished.

Madara was watching from afar. That's...one of Animal Path's summons...did he obtain one of the body's Rinnegan? He pursed his lips behind his mask. That's a problem...even though those only had a single one of the Rinnegan's powers...they are still powerful.

In response to this turn of events, Sasuke empowered his Susano'o to the highest level. The skin fully spread over the skin, and the crossbow formed. Finally, the armor rose up around the Susano'o's form and 'swallowed' it, completing it. Adding to the defense, Sasuke pulled the embers of his Amaterasu which was suppose to burn up Danzo, and used his Enton to manipulate them around his armor. The black flames provided another layer of protection on the Susano'o.

Danzo watched from his Chameleon, and performed another summoning. A massive dog with multiple heads burst from the smoke, all with the same Rinnegan eyes that he had transplanted into his arm. Sasuke whirled on the beasts, lifting Susano'o's crossbow up and firing several bolts in the span of a single second, each tipped with an Amaterasu arrowhead. The first slammed into the dog, igniting it with the Amaterasu. As it howled in agony...it broke into several smaller clones, all of which slammed into Sasuke's Susano'o.

He gritted his teeth, forming his crossbow into a shield and bashing several away, igniting them on fire. They howled, exploding into smoke as several more continued the attack.

What are these things? Sasuke thought, Susano'o's arm forming a sword instead of a bolt, and Sasuke ignited the sword with Enton. Using the flame sword, the Uchiha slashed and batted away the strange dogs, which kept multiplying. When I hit one, two more take its place...I need to get out of their range!

Danzo watched as the Amaterasu flames disappeared around Susano'o, and Sasuke powered it down to a weaker version-just the ribcage and he bit his thumb, leaping into the air and flying through the seals.

"Kuchiyoise no Jutsu (Summoning Technique)!" He yelled, and in a puff of smoke he summoned a massive hawk which he used to fly out of the attack dog's range.

Sasuke breathed out calmly, his eyes scanning for any trace of Danzo. He heard another puff of smoke above him and a giant bird, its eyes having the same Rinnegan as the dogs in them, dove down at him and his hawk. The Uchiha swore, commanding his own Summon to evade the ROOT Leader's latest. A aerial duel began, Sasuke being buffeted by high winds and g-forces as he got into a turning battle with the giant bird.

On the ground, Karin was trying to hide from Danzo's prowling giant dogs. She was ducked behind a tree, closing her eyes and suppressing her chakra. The dog was sniffing the air, growling as it began to make its way towards her.

She gulped, and then she heard it yelp. Ducking out slightly, she saw Suigetsu's sword embedded in its neck, blood gushing out. It puffed away instead of multiplying, and Karin heard Suigetsu give a 'damn it'.

"Karin! You over there! Can you...toss me my sword back!" Suigetsu yelled, Torune giving him a hard time now as the fight progressed. Shouldn't have used that big attack so soon...

"G-Get your own sword! I'm trying to find Sasuke-kun!"

"He's up there! And it'd be a great help!" Suigetsu yelled back as he saw Torune's fist smash into his face, turning it into water as he fell back.

Torune then began doing seals. "Its been a long while since I've been forced to use my elemental ninjutsus..."

His hands began...charging up with electricity and he grabbed his tanto, and charged it up to a chakra blade infused with lightning. Suigetsu swore at that, and Karin threw him his sword and he caught it just in time to block the ROOT ninja's attack.

In the sky, Sasuke was going through a barrel roll to avoid the punishing winds of Danzo's summoned bird. He began charging up his chokuto with a Chidori, the sound of a thousand flapping birds being heard through the area as he pulled his hawk into a loop to meet the bird's dive head on. His Sharingan traced the bird's path and at the last second, he got his hawk to change its trajectory...and he sliced Danzo's summon bird's wing off. Moving out of a stall quickly, Sasuke coldly watched as the summon crashed to the ground before exploding into a puff of smoke.

Time to find Karin... he thought, diving back down to tree level.

Karin was now being chased by two more giant dogs, having nearly ran out of her vials and explosive tags in an attempt to shake them off. She jumped from tree to tree, barely avoiding being bitten in half by one of the dogs. Using a Shunshin no Jutsu, she vanished and reappeared on top of a tree. The dogs sniffed her out though, and just as one was about to attack her.

"Amaterasu!" Sasuke roared, casting the Amaterasu onto the attacking giant dog as he dove down at Karin. He reached out, grabbing her hand and pulled her on board the hawk. They immediately flew up as the dog howled in pain before it puffed away from the flames of Amaterasu.

"Thank you...Sasuke..." Karin said as Sasuke put his hand onto his eye.

"Thank me by finding Danzo, my eyes haven't been able to locate him in that damn lizard summon of his."

Karin nodded, and she closed her eyes and made a seal, and activated her Kagura Shingan (Mind's Eye of the Sharingan) and began feeling everyone out. Sasuke's chakra signature was dark...she could sense Jugo was unconscious...as were the ROOT members Sen and Fu. She sense in bright blue Suigetsu fighting multiple giant dogs on top of Torune, the former apprentice Swordsman of the Hidden Mist was getting swamped. And then...she pinpointed where Danzo was.

"There, three o'clock low!" Karin yelled, pointing as Sasuke dove, his eye beginning to bleed again.

"Enton: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" Sasuke roared, forming the Amaterasu at his mouth and he blew it out in a fireball which rapidly grown in speed and power.

Danzo's Chameleon tried to get out of the way, but the Amaterasu Great Fireball slammed into it, and the explosion blew black flames all over the forest. Gritting his teeth, Sasuke suppressed the inferno he created and glanced at Karin whose jaw had dropped.

Wow...I didn't know he could do that... Karin thought and she looked around. Closing her eyes again... "Sasuke!"

It was too late though, Danzo had appeared practically out of nowhere, flew through several seals. "Futon: Shinku Taigyoku (Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere)!"

Two huge rings of wind appeared around a vacuum ball of wind that Danzo had blown out of his mouth and it slammed right into Sasuke's hawk. Sasuke and Karin cried out, the two crashing to the ground as the hawk was destroyed by Danzo's attack. The ROOT Leader capitalized on the attack, charging forward and drawing a strange black rod from his sleeve.

Gritting his teeth, Sasuke landed on his teeth, activating his normal Sharingan and blocked Danzo's stab with his chokuto, making the ROOT Leader stumble forward as the last Uchiha used the momentum to flip over Danzo and slam his heel into the old man's head. Danzo crashed to the ground, gritting his teeth and he stood up, Sasuke's Susano'o forming.

"Alright bastard...I have some questions for you!" Sasuke yelled, his Susano'o partially forming and grabbing Danzo as Karin picked herself up, coughing up a pool of blood.

Oh man...that...that really hurt... Karin thought, pushing herself up. She grasped her side, panting weakly.

Ship in the Land of Lightning

Naruto was now in the middle of teaching Hinata and Tenko how to create a Rasengan. The three of them had water balloons in their hands and the young Hokage was teaching them rotation.

"Okay, the first lesson is to use your natural chakra rotation to make the balloon burst," Naruto said with a grin, holding the balloon. "I did it after watching a cat play with it."

Demonstrating, he began putting one rotation into the water and pushed in new rotations with his other hand. Hinata activated her Byakugan and saw the main chakra rotation in Naruto's balloon spinning into a maelstrom, with several smaller ones that he was implanting with his other hand into the balloon. And then, the balloon's sides poked out and bulged before bursting.

Incredible... Hinata thought, looking at her own balloon.

"Alright, until you guys master this step I can't help any further," Naruto said with a grin.

Tenko blinked. "Huh? Why?"

"Since you either do or you don't...at least that's what Jiraiya-sensei said," Naruto replied with a grin.

"Alright," Hinata said and she closed her eyes, activating her Byakugan again and began adding her own rotation to the balloon.

Tenko breathed out. "Okay..." he said and he began adding his own rotation to his balloon.

Hinata's rotation was right, while Tenko's was left. The Hyuga Heiress kept a close eye on her rotation in the balloon, trying to increase it enough for the balloon to pop. Tenko just kept spinning his, trying to get his to pop as well. Naruto folded his arms, watching and waiting. Standing still for a few seconds, the orange tint of Sage Mode appeared around his eyes and he opened them to reveal toad-like pupils.

Alright, time to kill two birds with one stone! Naruto thought excitedly. I can practice staying longer in Sage Mode and sense their chakra rotations at the same time!

He grinned and began observing and counting up at the same time. Six minutes past and neither Hinata nor Tenko made any progress. Naruto began counting up from 360, seeing how high he could get before his Sage Mode ran out.

"Come on come on come on..." Tenko growled, the balloon's insides spinning rapidly...but they weren't popping.

"Almost...almost..." Hinata whispered, sweat trickling down her forehead as she continued to push more chakra into the rotation. "Almost..."

400...both of them are getting it...though they aren't rotating it fast enough to cause a pop...410... Naruto thought, uncrossing his arms. In his mind's eye, he could see their chakra spinning inside the water balloons rapidly, but not just yet. ...420...Hinata-chan seems to be getting it faster than Tenko...

Just as he thought that...a tiny puncture appeared in Hinata's balloon, and water leaked out from her rotation. The Hyuga Heiress panted as her balloon deflated, closing her hand around it.

"Another one Naruto-kun..." Hinata said, panting slightly. "I can do this!"

Naruto grinned and tossed Hinata another water balloon. "Go for it!" Faster than me...that's for sure. Hinata-chan's chakra control is much better than mine though...makes sense. 480...

"Come on you stupid balloon, pop!" Tenko growled, the balloon was now in an oblong shape as the maelstrom spun around inside.

...Ero-sennin's chakra control was awesome...Oba-chan's is the best in the world but Tenko...but he's worse than me... Naruto thought, blinking at that. 520...

At the 520 second mark, his Sage Mode ran out and he began panting from the exhaustion of using it for a significant amount of time. Looking up, Tenko and Hinata were still focused.

"Okay, a little break," Naruto said with a grin, pushing him out from the squatting position. "And a little tip."

"A tip?" both Hinata and Tenko asked.

"Tenko...I think you should start adding a second rotation," Naruto said, explaining. "Remember how I did it? I think that method would work best for you."

Tenko nodded. "Okay...I'll give that a try."

"And me, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked.

"You need to add a little more oomph into the rotation...think of a little whirlpool in the middle of your hand and focus on it," Naruto said and his...girlfriend nodded.

"Okay, Naruto-kun," Hinata said.

"I'll definitely get this down now!" Tenko said, thrusting his arms back and he grinned.

One of Naruto's guards, Aoba Yamashiro was watching while Maito Gai barfed over the edge of the ship. The sunglasses wearing shinobi shook his head, patting the Beautiful Blue Beast's back.

"Why didn't you tell us you get sea sick before, Gai-san?"

"I never..." he started to reply before throwing up again. "Thought it would...come up..."

Aoba nodded as one of the Kumogakure Shinobi watched Naruto, Hinata, and Tenko. Another one was polishing a sword, keeping his eyes on the Hyuga Heiress, his eyes narrowed.

Father...I'll capture her for you... the Kumo Shinobi thought, squeezing his hand into a tight fist. A-sama's orders be damned...I'll capture the Hyuga Hinata and bring honor and prestige to my clan!

Southeastern Fire Country

Danzo looked down calmly at the enraged Uchiha, as if he wasn't worried about being in Sasuke's Susano'o's grip. Karin cradled her side, breathing out as she focused on healing herself. Activating the Shosen Jutsu (Mystical Palm Technique), her hand began glowing green as she repaired her injury.

"What do you want to know?" Danzo asked him, his visible eye narrowed.

"Did Konoha's Higher Ups order Itachi to kill the Uchiha? Answer me!" Sasuke demanded, putting a slight squeeze on Danzo.

"...does it matter if we did or not?" Danzo replied, blood starting to leak from his mouth. "If I say no, you'll call me a liar and try to kill me like you tried several times already. If I reply we did, you'll get enraged and try to kill me anyway. You let your emotions rule you more than even the Kyubi Jinchuriki."

"Answer me!" Sasuke roared, squeezing Danzo's life even more.

"Where did you get a notion like this anyway?" Danzo asked, still strangely calm despite his bone's breaking and blood leaking out of his mouth.

"ANSWER. ME!" Sasuke roared, losing self control and squeezing Danzo into a bloody mist, blood spurting everywhere.

"The answer is a yes," Danzo said, suddenly behind Sasuke with the same black rod and he charged forward.

The rod then negated Susano'o around it, dispersing it with ease like it was disrupting the very formation of it's chakra. It then slammed hard into Sasuke's back, pushing him forward as he gasped in surprise.

"Though I doubt Itachi told you, he wasn't the man to tell secrets," Danzo said, breaking the rod off in Sasuke's back before delivering a kick to his face. "Madara probably told you, more reason for me to get this fight over with."

Sasuke roared in pain, attempting to mold his chakra but it was going crazy. Susano'o burst around his body, only to shimmer and ripple like water before failing, and he fell to one knee.

Damn it... Sasuke thought, Danzo holding a blade up as Karin's eyes widened.

"Like a rabid dog, I have to put you down, Sasuke," Danzo said, sounding both regretful and cold as he formed another rod in his hand. "I had such high hopes for you, as did Itachi."

"Do...not say...Itachi's...name!" Sasuke snarled, his chakra continuing to go crazy from the rod in his back.

Sasuke! Karin yelled, forgetting her own injuries and she ran forward.

To be continued..

Author's Notes:

I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. I worked really hard to change things from canon and give Danzo new powers. Please, tell me what you think so read and review.

Jutsu List:

Enton: Gokakyu no Jutsu (Blaze Release: Great Fireball Jutsu), no rank, Kekkei Genkai, Offensive: An Enton version of the standard Gokakyu no Jutsu, but with much more power due to the flames of Amaterasu.

Futon: Shinku Taigyoku (Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere), A-Rank, Offensive: Danzo expels two rings of wind chakra which whip up a massive sphere he launches from his mouth. When it impacts, it can even damage Susano'o's defense.

Futon: Shinkugyoku (Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere), C-Rank, Offensive: Danzo takes a deep breath and blows several small spheres out of his mouth that act like bullets. They rip through the target with ease.

Kagura Shingan (Mind's Eye of the Sharingan), Hiden, Supplementary: Karin's special technique which she uses to sense chakra. Using it, she survived an enemy attack on her home village, and Orochimaru took her into his service.

Katon: Goryuka no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique), B-Rank, Offensive: Used primarily to fuel Sasuke's Kirin technique, it can also be used to inflict massive damage to the target. Shaped into a dragon's maw, it can burst through even stone to cause massive damage.

Mokuton Hijutsu: Jukai Kotan (Wood Release Secret Technique: Nativity of a World of Trees), no rank, Kekkei Genkai, offensive and supplementary: The Shodaime Hokage, Hashirama Senju's signature move, used to create the forests in Konoha. Danzo, due to his large chakra pool and Hashirama's cells in his body can create a massive forest which can be used to hide to buy time for his mysterious technique.

Suiton: Bakusui Shoha (Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave), B-Rank, Offensive and Supplementary: The user molds chakra in their stomach into water and then expels the water out of their mouth into three massive tsunami waves which crash down on the target and floods the area. Only those with large chakra pools-such as Hozuki Suigetsu or Hoshigaki Kisame can utilize this technique.