Kisame's POV
"You idiot! You said he was dead! DEAD!" Tobi yelled at Kisame.
"Relax! I don't know how he survived! I kicked the brat off the damn cliff and he fell down, his bones should've been shattered to the point he died!!" Kisame yelled back.
Itachi watched the two in interest but with a stoic expression on his face. He noticed Tobi's hands were balled up.
Kisame looked at the masked man in anger as he kept a tight grip on his blade.
"I mean cmon Tobi! You sent me there and I gave him a few cuts here and there before kicking him off then I checked-"
Tobi then slammed Kisame against the cement wall, pressing his arm against his neck roughly.
"ONCE! You only checked ONCE to see if he was dead!!" Tobi yelled behind the mask. "Now thanks to you, Deidara is dead. Do you know what this means?!"
Kisame stayed quiet as he tried to move Tobi's arm but struggled.
"Naruto is going be wanting revenge and he won't stop until every single one of us is dead!"
"Get your arm off-"
"Meaning if we're dead, than the plan would've been all for nothing!" Tobi said as he added more pressure against Kisame's neck.
"In case in you didn't know, Tobi, you're the one who sent ME to kill him! You could've sent Itachi or anyone else!" Kisame argued.
"I sent you because you said you'd get the job DONE!! And now you fucked up Kisame.." Tobi said as he released his grip on Kisame's throat. "That brat is out for blood now."
Kisame held his throat, rubbing it a few times before Tobi stepped back. "But I'll give you another chance, Kisame. When you get the chance, find that little shit and KILL him without hesitation! Do I make myself clear?!"
Kisame stayed quiet before going in for a punch on Tobi but it went right through the masked man causing him to almost fall.
Kisame tried to punch him again but Itachi put his arm out and stopped him as Tobi slowly turned around with annoyance and hatred in his eyes.
"Do... I.... make... myself... clear??" Tobi asked and Kisame scoffed.
"Yeah... kill the brat and that's it.. no need to say it again.." Kisame said as he walked out the cave, leaving an angered Tobi and a stoic Itachi.
Naruto's POV
About a day has passed since Naruto had his battle with Deidara. The Kyuubi was finished on healing his burn marks from all the explosions.
Naruto was tired and thirsty, he needed water more than anything. Luckily his prayers were answered when he saw a hot spring nearby and heard people conversing, so he just walked over there instead of running, due to his energy.
Before he walked inside he did a jutsu to change his hair color again so no one here can tie him Naruto Uzumaki, the boy who died when he felt like he failed the village even after bringing back Sasuke.
It was going to be tough though because of the whiskers on his cheeks but then again he hoped someone just thinks its marker or something.
He saw a water fountain and immediately ran over to it. Almost tripping he kept his balance when he grabbed onto the fountain and began drinking fast.
After a few minutes he felt fully hydrated and backed away from the water fountain and wiped his mouth. He then stepped into the mens building which was thankfully empty so he grabbed a towel and quickly changed out of his clothes.
He wrapped the towel around him and looked in the mirror, noticing a few burn marks that the Kyuubi hasn't healed yet, he had few scars due to his battle with Kisame and had gotten quite the build over the past years.
'Told you kit, staying away from ramen helped you become built like you are now..'
'No need to point it out, dattebayo.'
Naruto stepped out the building and noticed two girls, who looked about his age, were looking at him, blushing as they admired his body and how his muscles almost rippling with every step.
Naruto shrugged it off and got inside the water and felt relief overflow him. He was alone in the pool and wanted to keep it that way, all he could hear were girls on the other side giggling and conversing as he sat there letting the water consume his body.
'Hey kit..'
'Hm?'
'Got quite the fans over there, why don't you introduce yourself?'
'No way, I got more important things to deal with.'
Kurama chuckled a bit as Naruto heard the girls continue their conversations and he shrugged it off.
'Hey kit, remember that one pink haired chick from the Leaf? What's her name again?'
'Sakura... and what about her?' Naruto sighed.
'How do you think she's doing?'
'I don't know and I really don't care about her. Hell, she's probably spitting on my fake grave.'
'Heh, how ironic for you to say you don't care about her.'
'What are you talking about..?'
'Everytime you'd make it home it would always be "Sakura this" or "Sakura that." Basically what I'm saying is you were so obsessed with that chick that I had to spend the next two hours or so hearing you go on and on about how much you love her.'
'Yeah well that's in the past. That was the old Naruto Uzumaki..'
'Still annoying to this day how you would go on and on about her, even though she was chasing after that brat Sasuke Uchiha.'
'Like I said that was in the past..'
'Speaking of Uchiha, remember when Sasuke said he had a mission to kill Itachi?'
'Yeah?'
'You should be the one to kill Itachi, and make sure you have my help when doing so. Me and Uchiha have bad history... ever since Madara..'
'Huh? Madara?'
'It was way long ago before you were born kit, that bastard basically controlled me with his Sharingan.'
'Sounds like you had a rough life Kyuubi. And I meant to ask you, what is your TRUE name?'
'Eh?'
'I figured if you know my name then I should know yours..'
Naruto put his head in the water to wash his face bit before Kyuubi responded.
'Kurama..'
'Kurama?'
'That's what I said right?'
'All right then... Kurama.'
A couple of more minutes pass by before Naruto decided to get out of the pool ignoring the same two girls he saw earlier as he head back inside to change into his clothes before he heard a conversation outside.
"Hey, did you hear?" He heard a woman outside say.
"Hear about what?" The other woman responded.
"One of the leaf's jonin shinobi was killed in a battle."
Naruto rose an eyebrow as he heard the conversation. 'Leaf Jonin? Shikamaru? Kakashi?'
"No way! Who's responsible??"
"Apparently they've been saying two members apart a group known as the Akatsuki were responsible."
Naruto's eyes almost widened and he put his sword around his body again and finished putting on his shinobi sandals.
"They said that some man with a long red weapon of some sort, was beheaded but was still alive, as if he couldn't die, and his teammate didn't really do anything."
Naruto then smirked and knew right away who they were talking about and he headed outside.
'Kurama.'
'Huh?'
'I think we've found ourselves a new target, a two for one as a matter of fact'
'And who do you suspect the dead jonin is?'
'Don't know and don't care, all that matters is Kakuzu and Hidan..'
And just like that, Naruto left the hot spring and jumped from tree to tree and headed towards the Leaf to find out where the battle could've taken place.
Sasuke's POV
"Akatsuki member killed?"
"Hai, it's the same person you and Kakashi-sensei were fighting when we retrieved Gaara.." Sakura responded.
"Any idea who the perpetrator could've been?" Sasuke asked.
"Shizune said that people have seen a man in a mask heading the direction where they found the body. They said he had a sword on his back."
"And Tsunade hasn't said anything about it yet?" Sasuke asked.
"She wanted me to tell you while she tells the rest about the situation.." Sakura said.
The both of them were sitting on the grass, in front of the grave of their beloved friend, Naruto.
"Thing's have gotten pretty shitty ever since he left this earth." Sasuke said as he read Naruto's carved name on the tombstone.
"They have.." Sakura answered quietly as she also stared at the carved name. "Do you ever think about how things would've been if he were still here?"
"Everyday..." Sasuke responded.
Ever since Naruto "died" Sasuke and Sakura both have been living in guilt about their last moments with him.
Sasuke always felt guilty about how the last time he saw him, he tried to not only abandon Naruto but also kill him when all he tried to do was help him and save him from falling into complete darkness.
Sakura felt even more guilt everyday because of how she always pushed him around and treated him roughly in the academy and when they were on missions.
But the one that hurt her the most was when she punched Naruto when he brought back Sasuke and the two were on the verge of death.
To this day they'd both give anything back to have their friend back..
"Sasuke-kun! Sakura-san!" They both heard a soft angelic voice call out.
They turned and see Hinata running towards them and when she got there she looked as if she was about to cry.
"Woah.. Hinata are you alright? What happened?" Sakura asked concerned and Sasuke looked at her in confusion.
"A- Asuma-sensei...." She stuttered, she looked as if she was having trouble trying to say her next words.
"A- Asuma-sensei.... h-has been... killed." She finally said.
Sakura's eyes widened. "Was it Akatsuki??" she asked.
"I'm a- afraid so.." Hinata responded.
Sasuke closed his eyes, he may not look it right now but his blood was boiling right now. He couldn't stand that they lost another to the Akatsuki. First Chiyo, now Asuma.
He balled up his fists in anger.
'Ino... Shikamaru... Choji... the pain you all must be feeling..' He thought as he opened his eyes. He walked away and off to where Shikamaru is, and if he can't find him then Tsunade.