"That was the last one," Kisame said as the body of another bounty hunter fell limp on the ground. He and Itachi were currently on a mission in the Water Country, gathering up as much criminals as they could so Kakuzu could trade them for money in the designated centers. They weren't valuable corpses, but at least they could provide sustenance for their organization.

Itachi looked at the dead bodies surrounding them and let out a sigh. Now they would have to carry the corpses to the nearest hideout so they could meet with Hidan and Kakuzu and hand them over. "Where is Zetsu when we need him?" Kisame let his sword fall against the ground, forming a small crater on the impact. "It's going to really be a bother if we have to carry these things back with us."

A falcon chanted on the sky, making both members of the Akatsuki look up. Itachi immediately recognized Hayabusa and raised his arm. Hayabusa plummeted towards him and perched himself over Itachi's extended limb. "I still don't like you but Hanako sent you this," the bird said monotonously. Itachi looked at his leg and found a tied note. He untied it and read it. Kisame figured it couldn't be good because of Itachi's facial expressions.

"Something wrong?" he asked. Itachi shook his head and crumpled the piece of paper into a ball.

"Let's hurry and take these bodies back to the hideout, then we need to go back to Konoha."

Hayabusa nodded and pushed himself up and back into the sky. Without saying anything, he flew back to where he had come from. Itachi regarded the bird as it got away and gripped the paper in his hand. Orochimaru was planning an attack on the village. Itachi just hoped he could be there on time.

* * *

Sasuke cursed lowly when his body became paralyzed by the curse mark. He had wasted his chakra using the Chidori thrice, and now the mark had taken over his body. Sasuke was forced to deactivate his Sharingan as he lay immobile on a branch of a tall tree, Gaara had been taken over by whatever was sealed inside of him, and now half of his body was made of sand and took the form of a raccoon. In a moment, Gaara attacked Sasuke and the Uchiha pursed his lips. He couldn't move to avoid the attack, so he just waited for the impact. But it never came.

Hanako stood in front of Sasuke, she had kicked away Gaara —making him crash against another tree. "I thought you would be in trouble," Hanako said, eyeing closely the almost possessed redhead. She was standing over another branch in front of the Uchiha boy. Sasuke scoffed. "You know," Hanako smirked and looked at the Genin from over her shoulder, "a thank you would be nice."

"It's too early for acknowledgements," he muttered looking at Gaara intently. "What the hell is he?"

"An interesting individual called a Jinchuuriki. There is a chakra monster sealed inside of him, which is slowly taking over. As you can see, it has already possessed half of his body," Hanako explained. Her eyes slowly drifted back to Gaara, who had already recovered from the impact. Sasuke tried to get up, but he collapsed at the try. "Don't push yourself," Hanako nagged. "Let me take care of the rest."

Gaara stared at Hanako and lifted his sand-covered arm towards her. Sand bullets were shot in her direction, but Hanako summoned the Susanoo's thoracic cage and protected herself and Sasuke. Gaara growled at the failure of his attack and decided to lounge himself head on. Hanako produced the arm of the Susanoo and tried to grab Gaara, but he moved fast and avoided it. Hanako clicked her tongue and undid the summoning. The Susanoo disappeared into thin air. Gaara landed in a branch close to them and looked up at the brunette with intense hatred in his eyes.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura's voice called Hanako's attention. The pink haired girl had reached Sasuke's side with Naruto tailing behind her. Pakkun stood on Hanako's shoulder.

"Glad to see that you are already here," Pakkun said. "Now I won't feel bad for leaving these kids on their own."

Hanako nodded. "You've done a good job, Pakkun." The dog nodded back.

"Guys, I'm not equipped for fighting so I'll just watch from here," said the dog before jumping back towards Sasuke's location.

"Yeah, that was clear from the first moment we saw you." Sakura rolled her eyes, her hands were all over Sasuke. Hanako sighed and returned her attention to Gaara.

"It's seems like you're letting the Shukaku control you, Gaara. Never thought you would be so weak," Hanako said.

"That is none of your concern..." Gaara hissed lowly, in a voice that was barely his.

"Gaara?" Naruto's voice had become shaky. "That thing is him?! You...you have got to be kidding me! We have to leave right now or else—"

"Technically, it is my concern." Hanako smirked, bluntly ignoring Naruto's words. "Right now, you're a threat to us, unless you get a hold of yourself." Hanako uncovered her bandaged arms, revealing her summoning tattoos. Both Sakura and Naruto gasped when they stared at the black markings covering her forearms. Hanako took the ANBU cloak off—dropping it to the ground —and let out a sigh. "So..." Fire surrounded her hand and took the shape of her scythe. "How are we going to do this? The easy way..." Hanako smirked wider and looked at Gaara with her shining red eyes. "Or the hard way?"

"Right now I have no interest in you," Gaara launched more sand bullets towards the Uchiha girl, forcing her to jump away from her branch into another. Gaara took the chance to finish off Sasuke, even though the latter was already out of commission. "DIE, SASUKE UCHIHA!" Naruto almost felt his heart stop when Gaara passed by his side and continued his way towards the Uchiha. Sakura reacted in light speed, and stood in front of the boy with a kunai in her hands. She had a determined look on her face, she wasn't going to let Gaara lay a finger on the one she cared about, and sure as hell she wasn't going to let Gaara murder him.

Gaara didn't have mercy. He launched one of his sand arms towards her and crushed her against a tree. "Stay out of the way!" Gaara screamed, landing on the same branch Sasuke lay on.

"SAKURA-CHAN!" Naruto was the first one to react. Hanako pressed her lips and clenched her fists. She could only watch as Sakura was ripped from Sasuke's side and crushed with sand against a trunk.

"Going after the weak ones isn't going to bring you satisfaction," she said, calling Gaara's attention. "Trust me, I know about it."

"Want me to set her free?" he asked cynically. "Then make me, Hanako Uchiha."

Hanako scoffed. "As you wish." She made a couple of hand seals, finishing in the tiger seal. "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" A huge fireball emerged from her mouth. Gaara simply protected himself with his sand.

"Stop," Sasuke said weakly towards Hanako. Pakkun lay his small paw over the boy's back, preventing him from moving and hurting himself more than what he already was. "Nothing is going to work, only the Chidori works against him... His sand creates an absolute defense to physical attacks... Nothing harms him..."

"Absolute defense?" Hanako raised an eyebrow, looking back at the Uchiha boy. Sasuke coughed blood, alarming Hanako. "Sasuke, are you okay?"

"The Chidori is the only thing that can get past his sand...buy me some time...and I'll finish him."

"No way," Hanako shook her head, looking at Sasuke with a frown. "Are you out of your mind?! You can't even stand and you expect your chakra to recover in a few minutes? Sasuke, it will take at least a few days for you to walk again!"

"No, I have to do this..." Sasuke coughed again, "I have to be prove myself I'm strong enough to defeat him." Hanako clicked her tongue. This wasn't Sasuke's fight for his pride, it was for his brother. For himself to prove that he is worthy of being the clan's avenger. Hanako pressed her lips and clenched her fists.

Gaara chuckled, the sand around his body melted into dust. "That's right," he said towards Sasuke, "let your hatred consume you. Let it make you stronger..." Gaara stopped mid-sentence and held his head as he gasped in pain, closing his eyes. Naruto took the opportunity to move Sasuke away from the branch, which Gaara now occupied.

With Naruto and Sasuke away from Gaara, Hanako decided it was time to let her bland side away. It was more than clear that Gaara wanted a fight to death, and probably so did she. She could feel the blood flowing furiously through her veins, filling her body with adrenaline. Her breath hitched at the thought of murder, at the thought of a reason to fight and she smiled.

"Is that...a killer intent I see in your eyes, Hanako Uchiha?" Hanako could feel her eyes gleaming at Gaara's mockery. "Do you want to trade places with Sasuke and become my entertainment instead?"

Hanako couldn't help but laugh. She was suddenly so excited, and she didn't know why. It was the first time in a while she had fought someone who excited her that much. "You know," she started to say, looking at Gaara with her Mangekyou in full display. "I still remember the last time I was this excited. It's been a long time." Gaara turned his head. "He was a monster, just like you. He almost killed me but I killed him before that." Hanako smiled wickedly. "Do you know what happens when a Jinchuuriki dies? Do you know what happens to the beast?" Gaara narrowed his eyes and growled. "It is freed," she hushed. "It becomes furious, like a starving animal deprived from his food."

"Hanako-chan! Now it's not the time! Sakura-chan is—" at that moment, the sand crushed Sakura a little more, making her gasp in pain.

"I know," Hanako looked at Naruto, taking in his fear and concern. Her eyes then moved slowly back to Gaara. He was still holding his head, and observing her with firm eyes. 'To use Essence, I have to get near him,' Hanako thought. 'In this state, I can't do anything. Approaching him would be far too dangerous, and I can't risk a serious injury just to learn about this kid's background. I have to let the beast gain full control on his consciousness, so that I can control him. But, how long will that take?

"Uchiha..." Gaara muttered despite his pain, and Hanako looked at him firmly. "What are these three to you?"

Hanako looked around at Naruto, then at Sasuke, and lastly at Sakura. She narrowed her eyes and looked back at the Sand Genin. "Right now, they mean nothing to me." Gaara gritted his teeth and crushed Sakura a little more, making her scream in pain. Hanako's features didn't even flinch.

"What are you doing, Hanako?!"

"If they mean nothing to you, then why are you here?" Gaara asked. "Why did you stop me from killing Sasuke Uchiha?"

"I just can't stand non-sense killing. Which is what you're doing right now."

"Is that your reason for fighting me, then?" he questioned. "Come."

"You bastard," Naruto launched himself at Gaara, who used his sand tail to whip him away. Naruto landed over a branch, gasping in pain.

Gaara laughed. Hanako clicked her tongue. "So, I see you fight for someone else," he spoke to Naruto. The blond got back into his feet. "That's why you're so weak. You don't need a reason to fight. Only the victor can feel the value of his own existence. Now, forget about your stupid friends and fight for yourself."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Stupid friends?"

"People who carry useless feelings to a battle end up dead," Gaara continued.

"Continue your babbling all the time you like," Naruto gritted his teeth and clenched his fist towards the redhead. "I promise I will defeat you!" Naruto pulled out a kunai out of his weapon pouch and launched himself towards Gaara. The Sand Genin smiled, waiting for the blond's attack.

"You guys don't know the true meaning of strength," Gaara muttered to himself.

"Shut up!" Naruto yelled, readying the kunai for the attack.

Pain struck Gaara again, and he gasped. Hanako noticed the opening and jumped towards Sakura, gluing her feet to the trunk with chakra on her soles. Her hand was placed right over his transformed arm and images ran in her head and at the same time in Gaara's. Sakura's determined look when she protected Sasuke, Gaara's surprised face, a man protecting a girl from a sand attack, that man looking at Gaara with questioning eyes, the same look that was on Sakura's eyes. 'Why are you doing this?' Hanako asked herself.

Hanako returned from her trance when Gaara broke the connection and slapped Naruto away with his tail. "You got into my head..." Gaara slowly turned to look at Hanako from over his shoulder. He scoffed. "Do you understand now? Why I need to kill you."

Sand emerged from the arm trapping Sakura and wrapped itself around Hanako's waist. "Shit!" Hanako cursed at the same time she was lifted and thrown against the ground. Hanako's body crashed so hard against the earth it formed a crater.

"HANAKO!" Naruto yelled.

"What's wrong?" Gaara looked at him. "Didn't you fight for your friends?" Naruto pressed his lips. "Come at me." And he crushed Sakura a little more.

* * *

When Hanako opened her eyes again, Gaara had already transformed once again, letting his sand cover the entire top part of his body. "Aren't you an idiot... why did you let his sand get to you?" Pakkun, who got to her side as soon as she landed, asked when she regained consciousness.

Hanako chuckled. "I discovered something...he just wants to feel loved..." She slowly sat up. Hanako gasped in pain when she tried to exert force in her arm, only to notice it was broken. Most bones were broken, but she was slowly healing. If it weren't for that special ability, she knew she would already be dead.

"I'm honestly surprised you're still alive," Pakkun said, looking at her with analytical eyes. "You're just as hard to kill as a cockroach."

"I'd rather not have you compare me to a disgusting insect," Hanako rested her arm against her chest, lying back down. She let out a sigh as the pain started to fade and her bones snapped back to place. Hanako closed her eyes and breathed slowly.

"Are you sure you should butt in?" Pakkun asked. "You should step back and recover."

"And let Naruto have all the fun?" Hanako asked. "Not a chance. I'm just buying some time. At some point, Gaara will let the Shukaku take over, and when that happens I will step in."

"You think you can control the Bijuu?"

"I don't think," Hanako looked at Pakkun. "I know I can. I just want to see how far I can control it, and for how long."

"That sounds too risky, Kakashi wouldn't want you to—"

"Risk my life?" Hanako scoffed and looked at the sky. "Kakashi doesn't get to decide for me, only I can. And if I have to risk my life to prove a theory, I would gladly."

The Uchiha smiled when Naruto summoned 2000 clones and attacked Gaara. They were all amazed at the amount of copies that hit Gaara at once, don't even letting him process what was going on. "This isn't possible, this can't be happening..." Gaara hissed lowly as the sand slowly melted around him. "I can't lose to the likes of him!" A loud growl was heard, and all clones were destroyed at once before a cloud of smoke covered the region. Hanako grinned and closed her eyes, reopening them with the Mangekyou.

"There it is."

The Shukaku had transformed completely. Its shadow covered them entirely like a black mantle, Hanako looked down at Pakkun with a smile. The dog was shaking in fear, looking up at the Bijuu with big bright eyes. "Is it the first time you see a Bijuu?" Hanako asked.

"Isn't it yours?" Pakkun growled back. But Hanako only smiled and looked back up at the furious beast.

"I can't believe you forced me to take this form!" Gaara yelled in excitement.

"No, it's not...I have seen a Bijuu before, back when I was still with Orochimaru," Hanako finally said. Pakkun looked at her with narrowed eyes and sighed.

"Is there something else you are hiding from us?" he asked. Hanako just looked at him and smiled wider.

"I think it's a little too late to be asking that, don't you think?" The girl was finally able to stand up and moved all of her limbs just to make sure nothing else was broken. The blond had summoned Gamabunta, the chief toad of Mount Myouboku to fight against the Bijuu. The Shukaku had gone on a riot, and was using his wind bullets to destroy most of the woods around them. Hanako closed her eyes when a wind bullet passed right beside her and collided against a group of trees, destroying everything.

Pakkun covered himself with his paws and looked up at the girl. "Is this even safe?"

"Safe?" Hanako raised an eyebrow and looked at the ninja dog. "What does that even mean?" After saying that, she jumped back into the tree tops. Sasuke had somehow managed to sit up and looked up at Naruto's fight. "Oh?" Hanako awed when she looked up. "I'm surprised Naruto managed a summoning of that caliber. Isn't it amazing, Sasuke?" She looked at the boy beside her.

"Shut up..." Sasuke muttered softly. He might have been able to sit up but he was still aching, making it hard for him to speak properly.

Hanako chuckled and returned to look at the Bijuu. She felt four familiar chakra approaching them and closed her eyes. "It took you long enough..." she commented into the air, calling the attention of the Uchiha.

"Well, you didn't quite exactly tell us where you were. It was just a coincidence Yuu was attracted by the Bijuu," Kai's voice spoke clearly. Sasuke turned around with narrowed eyes. Kai was standing right behind him with Yuu, Miyu and Doku following closely behind. "The woods are clear. There are no more Sound Shinobi around."

"Is that something like that giant turtle you mentioned once?" Miyu asked, looking at the Shukaku fighting the toad chief with curious and amazed eyes.

"Yeah," Yuu nodded. "Hana-chan once fought a thing like that. It was really destructive. Never had I felt so desperate for getting away from somewhere or something."

Chakra could be felt like a dense cloud around them. "What a powerful chakra..." Miyu commented, bracing herself. "I can almost feel it crushing my bones."

"RUN!" Temari, Gaara's older sister yelled at them from a faraway tree. "If you stay here, it will kill you!"

Hanako looked at the side. Sakura was still being crushed by Gaara's sand. She then looked at the ground, Pakkun had hid himself out of fear inside some bushes. She then looked at Temari, who looked at them with worried eyes full of terror. "I'm sorry, but I can't do that. Running away goes strictly against my principles, and I certainly despise those who do."

"What are you saying?!" Temari retorted. "Are you guys serious about fighting that monster?!"

"That 'monster' is called Ichibi no Shukaku," Hanako said. "And yes, I intend to fight him if that means saving your asses. We can't certainly leave him like this, he might go back to the village and cause a greater damage. Although, I suppose that was the original plan of Konoha's destruction?"

Temari pressed her lips together and looked away. Hanako rolled her eyes and looked back at the Shukaku. Gamabunta seemed to be having trouble fighting it. "Well, I guess it doesn't matter anymore." Hanako still had the Mangekyou activated and she looked back at Kai. She smirked when she felt Temari's chakra furthering. She had run away. "Kai, launch me towards Naruto."

The boy looked at her in surprise. "What?!"

"Do it. Now."

There was a spectral silence among them, until Hanako widened her eyes and she suddenly choked and wrapped her hands around her neck as she closed her eyes tightly. "Hanako!" Kai reacted and approached her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright?!"

"This...chakra..."

"YAHOO! FREE AT LAST!" Hanako looked at the Shukaku. His chakra had been released all at once, and such tension was unbearable for someone as sensitive to chakra as she was. "Here I am!" The Shukaku looked at Gamabunta. "Hope you are ready to die!" The Bijuu launched a wind bullet towards the toad, but Gamabunta jumped just in time, countering him with a water jutsu.

"Kai, do it!" Rain fell over them, caused by the fight between the giant toad and the Shukaku. Kai gasped with a frown but obliged to the Uchiha's wishes.

"I just hope you know what you're doing..." Kai started to wrap his silver around Hanako's waist but she stopped him by putting a hand to his shoulder.

"No, I won't get there on time. Launch one of your silver balls, I'll just switch places with it." Kai clicked his tongue and unwrapped the silver from Hanako's waist, forming it into a sphere and launching it towards Gamabunta. Hanako focused her sight on the sphere, and once it was close enough, she switched places. Sasuke gasped with wide eyes when he saw the silver sphere back in Kai's hands.

"Where's Hanako?!" he inquired.

"Up there," Kai responded, his eyes never leaving the figure of the chief toad. "That's one of Hanako's abilities. She can switch places with any object on sight in a second, no matter the distance. It's a type of space-time ninjutsu only she possesses."

The Shukaku launched one last wind bullet, which Gamabunta couldn't reach to dodge. He covered himself to wait for the impact. He heard a blast and landed on the ground, but he wasn't hurt. "What?" When he opened his eyes, he was surrounded by a green chakra formed into a large skeleton surrounding him. Hanako was standing right beside Naruto, panting, and with her eyes focused on the Shukaku. A cloud surrounded Gamabunta, temporarily hiding them from the enemy.

"Are you guys okay?" she asked.

"Uchiha?" Gamabunta asked. "What are you doing here?" He looked up at her.

"I guessed you could use my help, besides, there's something I want to try." Pain suddenly struck Hanako's eyes and she was forced to close them for a moment. The Susano'o lost a bit of its structure but managed to maintain. "This can't be..." Hanako hissed lowly when her vision started to become blurry. "Time's running out, huh... This is the second time today I summon the Susano'o, it certainly won't do me any good later..."

The smoke cleared and the Shukaku focused his eyes on the Susano'o. Miyu gasped when she observed Hanako's technique, "Is that...?"

"Yes." Kai smirked with pride. "That's Hanako's Susano'o."

"THIS CAN'T BE!" Shukaku exclaimed with a laugh. "SAMARA? IS THAT REALLY YOU?!"

"Samara?" Yuu asked.

"I'm just as surprised as you are..." Miyu replied. The four members of Genso looked at each other and back at the green chakra surrounding the toad.

"No," Yuu shook her head. "I know that name. Orochimaru mentioned it quite a few times while talking to Kabuto, I think he was referring to Hanako..."

"So... Orochimaru knows something about Hanako that we don't?" Kai asked, looking at Yuu seriously.

The girl bit her lip. "I kind of think he knows almost everything and we know nothing."

"SAMARA!" The Shukaku repeated. "Have you come to have fun with me?"

"Hanako-nee, why is that monster calling you Samara?!" Naruto inquired with agitation. Hanako only stared at the Bijuu with narrowed eyes.

"It's a long story..."

"Come at me, Samara!" The Bijuu repeated excited.

"After we win this, we'll have time for you to tell me then..." the blond said, focusing his attention back to the Shukaku. Hanako smiled at that with a nod. "So, what do we have to do to defeat that thing?"

"I will paralyze him with my Sharingan," Hanako said, "After I do that, I need you to wake Gaara up."