Chapter 249 - Cap 233: Losses

". . ." - Jiraiya remained silent as he watched the redhead appears next to the core and destroy it with his hands, only to have the rocks that were beginning to float fall one after another.

" It's done, everything is solved" - answered Kurama as he disappeared from the place.

"That guy..." - murmured Jiraiya before releasing a cry of terror because he remembered that he too was on one of those floating rocks.

* * * * *

"B..." - muttered A as he looked at his younger brother's condition - "Please tell me you're still alive..."

"At least for now," said Kurama as he frowned upon arriving at the scene.

"Uzumaki Kurama..." - said A as he squinted - "I wish you would have shown up much earlier"

"Do you want to blame me for Akatsuki's attack on Kumo?" - asked Kurama coldly - "Before you answer, I want you to remember that I'm the one who killed all those sons of bitches of Akatsuki, even when Yugito and the others were on their way to Konoha... and as an additional fact, I'm not the nanny of the Elemental Nations, I don't have to show up at every f.u.c.k.i.n.g place when there's an accident, much less when I'm busy with other kinds of things"

A was silent when he heard this as he shook his head - "I'm sorry about that... tell me my brother is okay"

"The seal I gave him is still present... but the Gedo Mazo did not extract the Gyuki from inside B-san like the other captured Jinchurikis, but rather pulled it out directly" - responded Kurama with a scowl - "Normally B-san should have died by now but the seal we gave him made some Gyuki Chakra remain inside him, saving his life in the process"

". . ." - A was silent as he watched the redhead put his hand on his younger brother - "What are you going to do?"

"Make sure he's still alive" - answered Kurama with a scowl as he cast a glance at the Raikage - "Now I ask you to be quiet... what I'm going to do is something that needs absolute chakra control"

"Sorry" - replied A with embarrassment as he felt the aura around Kurama begins to turn dark.

"I recommend that you leave me alone... a Bijuu's chakra in its pure state is lethal to ordinary humans" - answered Kurama as she closed her eyes - "By the way... I would like you to inform Kushi-chan and the others that I am going to use a technique that takes time and that is why they should return to Konoha"

"Okay, I'll inform them myself" - said A seriously - "Please help my brother"

"Take it easy... that's what I plan to do" - replied Kurama as he continued with his eyes closed.

* * * * *

Kushina and the others were arriving where they felt Kurama's presence, only to see A walking in her direction with an almost melancholy expression.

"A-dono?" - Kushina asked in surprise.

"Uzumaki Kushina..." - said A as he looked at those present - "I suppose you are all together except the Uchiha"

"Sasuke went in pursuit of that plant-like thing," answered Tsume as she frowned at how all her enemies had escaped - "But let's leave that for another time... What happened?"

"My brother... they managed to capture his Bijuu and now he is on the verge of death" - answered A with fury while his hatred for Akatsuki grew considerably - "Uzumaki Kurama is right now trying to save him... he said that he would be delayed during the treatment and it was better that you return to Konoha to prevent accidents"

". . ." - Kushina was silent when she heard this as she struggled to find an argument to stay. She wanted to see her husband but thinking about the situation they were in, the most logical response was to return to Konoha to prevent Akatsuki from kidnapping any of them, especially Kushina herself - "Ok... we will return..."

"Kushina-san?!" - exclaimed the girls of the Uzumaki clan but remained silent when they noticed the serious look on the redhead's face.

"I know that you also want to see Kuro-chan but you have to understand that our current situation is not the best" - responded Kushina while looking at each of her clan sisters - "With us, in this place, we will only make Kumo suffer even more, after all, the last two Bijuu left are Matatabi inside Yugito and Kuro-chan himself"

". . ." - the girls were silent when they heard this because there was no argument they could use to refute the redhead's words.

"I know it's difficult but it's our only option unless you want to stay and be caught," Kushina said coolly.

* * * * *

"We managed to accomplish our mission but..." - said Zetsu as he looked around and noticed the current state of his fellow group members.

Pain, or rather Nagato, had only one body left to control and with the current state of the Uzumaki, he would not be able to create new bodies and recover them for use again, leaving the redhead quite restricted in what to do in the future.

Menma had lost the Reibi and was now struggling to keep his Chakra stable, making it useless for their plans at the moment.

Obito was resisting the urge to tear out his right eye with how much it hurt, and from the looks of it, he couldn't use his Kamui for a few weeks.

Zetsu had lost much of his White Zetsu army although they could be regenerated with sufficient 'resources'.

Finally, there was Konan, who of the five, was the only one who had not had any losses, although this was because she had not participated in the battle.

"According to my calculations, we won't be able to get the Kyubi or the Nibi for at least a few months" - said Zetsu seriously as he watched the expressions of his companions grow darker and darker, with the clear exception of Konan - "What I propose is to speed up our plans a little...".

"Which one?" - asked Obito coldly.

"To get rid of Orochimaru and take control of not only his village but also of his experiments," answered Zetsu with a sadistic smile on his strange face.

A grim smile appeared on Menma's face as he remembered the past - "You don't have to repeat it twice, I'm in.

"Hmm... That elusive snake was always a nuisance in our sandals" - answered Pain with neutrality - "It's time for it to disappear once and for all"

"I've always been disgusted by that man... I guess making him disappear will calm me down a bit" - snorted Konan even though she honestly knew she wouldn't participate in the next operation either.

"Hmm... I've had a few issues with that snake myself," said Obito as he burst out laughing darkly.

"I guess we all agree that Orochimaru is our next target," said Zetsu as a dark glow appeared in his strange eyes, after all, Orochimaru had something he needed for the third phase of his plan.

* * * * *

". . ." - Kurama slowly opened his eyes as he frowned at how much of his chakra had disappeared.

"What happened to you, Kurama Boy?" - Fukasaku asked when he noticed this.

"My clone used a technique that drains a large part of my chakra to regenerate the power of another Bijuu..." - replied Kurama seriously - "That means only one thing, that Gyuki was captured by Akatsuki and Killer B-san is in a serious condition..."

"This is bad... very bad..." - Fukasaku murmured in terror because he knew what it was all about - "I have to tell Ojiji-sama about this"

"Darling, what's wrong?" - Shima asked worriedly when she arrived home and saw how her husband was upset.

"I'll tell you later, honey," said Fukasaku before he disappeared from the site.

"Ma... how is Tsunade-chan?" - asked Kurama with concern.

After the incident in which he had not rested, Shima decided that she would watch Tsunade-chan every other day so that Kurama would at least have the time to meditate or rest even a little, although this could only happen because it was the same big-b.r.e.a.s.ted Blonde who had decided to accept it, and because of her attitude, it was obvious that she would not take no for an answer.

"She is in perfect condition there is an apparent improvement in her training... I guess it is because she is Hashirama's granddaughter, and as such, she has a great affinity with Senjutsu" - answered Shima with a smile but her expression quickly changed - "But let's leave that for later, I want to know what is going on"

"Ok..." - nodded Kurama as he explained the situation.

"I understand... that's why Pa was so upset. - Shima muttered as she squinted - "Okay, now that I understand the situation I can be calmer"

"Anything I need to know?" - Kurama asked seriously.

"Ojiji-sama had a new vision..." - Shima responded as she thought about whether it was a good idea to continue talking - "In it, he could see great darkness surrounding a sphere of light... we still don't know what it meant but the catalyst was the death of someone important..."

". . ." - Kurama was silent as he felt a bad feeling.