Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto nor The Gamer. I own nothing, really.

Cover Art: Kissuli.

Chapter 131

'Come on, come on,' Eiji chanted over and over again as he continued practicing. Jutsu continued being shot without pause, Tsuchigumo more than willing to fuel his unending training. At the start, he'd almost thought it would be easy. He didn't, of course, because he was used to things being more complicated than expected, but it still frustrated him. 'Come on,' he repeated once more, a lightning hound hitting a nearby rock.

The shift from the Land of Wind to the Land of Rain was quite the contrast, Eiji mused, deflating a little. He still had plenty of chakra to go through, but that didn't mean his body could fire jutsu non-stop without feeling the toll of such actions. Just like World Ender and Tsuchigumo couldn't power him in his trip from Iwa to Suna without the strain on his body getting worse and worse.

Thus, he looked around at the sights. Where the Land of Wind had been mostly desert, with seemingly an infinite ocean of sand and air currents, it slowly turned into solid rock ground. From there, the winds had calmed, turned colder and sure enough, they started having more rain than they would have liked. Interestingly, the Land of Rain didn't have that weather all the time, as one would expect, but out of an entire week, the team had five days of constant rain. From what Eiji knew of the place, that was basically how it went on through the whole year.

'The weather in this world is as crazy as the rest of it,' he mused idly. They hadn't even seen the sun in quite a while and they were unlikely to do so until they left. He deflated a little, looking to the side and locking his gaze with one of his clones. Sure enough, it only took it a moment before it dispelled and with him the rest of them.

[Puppet Mastery has gone up a level.]

[Single-Handed Seals Mastery has gone up a level.]

[Skill Maxed: Yin Release: Intermediate Mirage]

[Yin Release: Advanced Mirage has gone up a level.]

[Yin Release: Greater Mirage has gone up a level.]

[Yin Release: Mortal Reminder has gone up a level.]

[Skill Maxed: Lightning Release: Lightning Beast Tracking Fang]

[Shadow Clone Technique has gone up a level.]

[Noxious Trap has gone up a level.]

'If nothing else, this has helped quite a bit on leveling up jutsu that I had somewhat pushed to the side,' Eiji thought with a grimace. An expression that he felt was more than justified. He'd been practicing Mortal Reminder, after all, and on himself. He didn't want to use it on his team ever again, after all. He already deeply regretted those times, necessary as they had been, but now…

Well, he'd take that weight on himself. It was a jutsu that could be useful, after all. He'd have focused on Wit's End, but that was out of his range of possibilities at the moment, as an S ranked technique. Mortal Reminder was scary enough on its own though, despite being easily dispellable. Just that initial shock would be enough if he could max it. Although…

Well, maxing it would take more practice than Eiji thought he could do without driving himself insane. As it was he was only working on it sparingly and it was straining him more than all his other training put together. He would continue though, because… Because not doing so would feel like a waste. A waste that he couldn't afford, considering what was coming.

However, there was only one of those that he really cared for.

[Single-Handed Seals Mastery - Lvl 24

Increase the skill of the user to use Jutsu with single-handed seals.

Usable Jutsu Ranks – E, D, C, B and A.]

'Just one more level, if the trend continues,' Eiji thought, pursing his lips. Taking a deep breath in, he threw his head back and looked up. The drops of water hit his face as he closed his eyes and allowed the sound of the rain to calm him. 'If that's how it works, I should be able to get it done before shit hits the fan. As it is, it'll take a few more days at best for the pieces to start finding their places.'

Opening his eyes, he thought back to the last message he got from Konan.

From what he gathered, which wasn't much, Nagato and her were doing their best to keep Tobi – Read, Obito – at bay. It seemed that the paper technique user was afraid of their hunter finding the messages or something, because they were very vague. The good thing was that they weren't actually fighting or something, which meant he had more time. Not a whole lot, but enough to be able to take a few days and not have to rush things too much.

Eiji hadn't appreciated how much having a few days to prepare stuff was until he'd had to rush through Nations and fight two groups of people in a single day. Now, having a whole week felt like having all the time in the world to work with. Well, not quite like that, but it was a good enough approximation.

"Fearless Leader?" Tayuya asked, walking until she stood next to him. "Four Eyes and Bimbo called off training for now."

"You've been at it for a while," he replied, still looking up at the stormy sky. "Makes sense that they decided to rest. How did it go?"

"As if you didn't have a clone watching the whole thing," she pointed out and he chuckled. "But it went as usual, I guess. Whatever it is that Skitter wants to try out isn't working too well for her though. The Fatass, lucky bastard, is having the time of his life with all this rock. Only better place would be the fucking Land of Earth," she grumbled.

"Makes sense," Eiji said before turning towards her. "Kabuto is back to his tinkering, I'm guessing?"

"Gee, how did you know?" the redhead replied sarcastically. "It's almost like he's been doing that ever since he learned about… your arm," she added, sliding closer to him as she finished. She always seemed to grow a little subdued whenever his arm was brought up in some way.

"You aren't playing," he pointed out.

"Didn't feel like it," she told him simply. "Besides, I like the sound of the rain."

"It's rained before and you've still played," he commented, a smile tugging at his lips.

"Fucking idiot," she grumbled. "You know why I'm not playing, don't you? Dumbass."

"I may have an inkling," he said, grinning a little wider as he turned to look at her. Her reddening face told him that his hunch was probably spot on.

"Shut up and kiss me, will you?" she hissed, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Don't have to tell me twice," he replied, leaning forward.

[}-o-{]

They were getting closer to Amegakure but then again, the Land of Rain wasn't very big, really. It was no surprise that it hadn't taken them all that long, even with a sedate pace. There was no rush, despite the dire situation the world was in without even noticing.

Tobi getting a hold of Nagato's eyes would be… Well, it would be bad. Eiji couldn't begin to guess how bad, but he knew that it was without a doubt in the world's best interest that it didn't happen. Fortunately, Konan and Nagato had the home advantage over the Uchiha and the now regular reports via paper bird were reassuring. They had time, but they couldn't afford to just wait forever.

There was a reason for the deliberate delay though. Eiji had to wait for the Kages to act and that would take time, even for Onoki, who was already in his own village. They had to do this right, because it was a one time opportunity. If they failed…

Well, it would be very annoying if they failed, to say the least.

"I hate this weather," someone complained over his shoulder and Eiji rolled his eyes, even though he had them closed.

"Then go back home," he told Shirakumo. "I told you that the conditions over here were less than ideal."

"But it's been forever since we hung out!" the spider princess whined in a way that was very beneath her station. "You've been training like mad. You don't even summon us to chat anymore. My mother is growing annoyed with you, you know? You could give us that courtesy, especially since we are still holding onto that Uchiha for you."

"I promise you guys will get tired of me once I can afford some time," he said, sighing as he deflated. He'd been just sitting there, cross-legged under the rain while he discussed things with Kage and Hachi. Most of their interactions were strategic conversations as of late and they were a godsend, really, since they took care of keeping Tsuchigumo entertained. He didn't have the time nor the energy to play with her as he did in the past. His everything was being dedicated to preparing for what was soon coming.

"You better keep that promise, Eiji," the spider replied, huffing as she turned to look to the side.

"Be nice, Shira-chan, or I'll sick Tayuya on you," he commented with a slight smile.

"Idiot," she grumbled, but didn't otherwise say anything else.

"Well, I guess that's enough sitting around. I better get back to training," Eiji mused, almost unable to muster the will to stand up and do as he said. It was getting harder and harder to do so, his body and mind growing more and more exhausted as time passed. Fortunately, it wasn't so bad that the twins had to ask him to take a break, but he knew it was a question of time. 'Just a bit more. I just have to endure a bit more and it'll be over.'

In his mind, Tsuchigumo barked, sending a wave of enthusiasm through him. The Chakra Beast's support was one of the things that kept him going some of those days. It was very fortunate that she seemed to enjoy the times when he trained, using her chakra to throw techniques everywhere. He wasn't sure how, but so long as she was happy, then it was good. Not only because he was very fond of her, but also because when she was in a good mood, then he was in a good mood through their connection.

Eiji supposed that was a bit selfish of him, but he was past the point of caring. He'd allow himself to be selfish for once. He'd be selfless later, when he didn't have to worry about his own mental state. 'God, I can't wait to be done with all this shit. I really should have been a civilian,' he thought, looking up at the dark gray clouds that hung over them almost permanently.

"Eiji?" Shirakumo asked, probably wondering why he wasn't… well, doing anything.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm going," he mumbled, before throwing the first jutsu. Idly, he checked on the team with his wires, even if he'd get a report from a clone later on. He just wanted to take a peek himself, for curiosity's sake.

It seemed that Fu had a breakthrough that day, because her new long range option seemed to… work, as opposed to all her failed attempts before. Eiji wasn't sure it qualified as long range though. More like mid range, if he was honest. A technique that let her spit what he would guess was poison. 'Good on her,' he mused with a nod. Things were going more or less as usual for the rest of the team, so he withdrew his wires and focused on his own training.

He was fairly sure that he'd reach the point he needed to with Single-Handed Seals Mastery that very day, if his math was right. That meant that it'd be back to more general training, adjusting his fighting style and training the Nature Manipulations. That was for the future though. For the moment, he still had grinding to do to reach that point.

Once that was done, he'd have one less thing holding him back from actually going after Obito to stop him. 'Soon,' Eiji thought. 'Very soon.' He was so very nervous, but at the same time, he couldn't help but look forward to that. If things went to plan… God, he hoped things went to plan.

He'd prepared for this for practically his whole life. He'd planned, schemed, researched, trained, tinkered and all around worked for that very moment ever since that first day. For the sake of his life and later for those he cared about. It was all for this moment.

Soon, he'd seen if it had all been worth it or if he'd fail in the end.

Soon…

[}-o-{]

'Goddamn finally,' Eiji thought, smiling wearily as Tsuchigumo celebrated in his mind.

[Single-Handed Seals Mastery - Lvl 25

Increase the skill of the user to use Jutsu with single-handed seals.

Usable Jutsu Ranks – E, D, C, B, A and S.]

The last level had been a nightmare. It'd taken a lot longer than he'd calculated, which might have been justified, considering what it unlocked, but still. That didn't mean EIji wouldn't complain about it, no sir.

It was curious that the skill wasn't maxed though, he noted after getting over the rush of finally getting what he'd been working towards. 'Does that mean there's more on top of those? SS? SSS? More than those?' he mused. As far as he knew none of those were a thing. Only thing over S rank was the Kage rank, which was more of a specific designation than an actual rank over S.

It was a thought for another time, however. If there were techniques like that, then they'd likely require a whole lot of work that he just couldn't afford to spend at that moment and probably not in the foreseeable future. Ironically, he'd likely work on that once he got peace, since that'd give him all the time he could possibly need to tinker with jutsu. If not, well, maybe he could dedicate some time to it whenever he had a moment or two to spend, but that would likely mean a long time of doing so.

'Thoughts for another time,' he mused, massaging his tired eyes. 'The rain is nice right now,' he added, feeling the drops hit his back, shoulders and head. It was almost a massage of its own, really, which was very welcome. It was why he hadn't taken Jirobo up on his offer to create some shelter from the weather. The earth user was the one that built them a place to sleep under whenever they had to rest, after all, but Eiji had found that he quite liked the rain hitting him even if it wasn't very comfortable once he got out of it.

'Definitely going to visit here from time to time after everything is done,' he thought, looking at the rainy weather and unending rock ground. In the distance there were some hills, miniature mountains that they were and some cliffs. It had a certain solemn look to it, with its dull colors and the weather making it even more so. However, the constant sound of the raindrops and the sight of those falling to the ground, the water pooling down and the small waves created by the storm… It looked peaceful, and that was something that he certainly could appreciate.

"I like it here," he commented, feeling someone appear close by. "Not sure I like the situation, but this place in general is pretty nice."

"I'd comment on that being weird, but then again, you were never a normal person, were you, Eiji?" the new arrival asked and he chuckled. "I gotta say, I was surprised when I got informed of what you wanted. Didn't expect it, I can tell you that."

"You are here though, so I guess people listened," he pointed out. He wasn't precisely surprised, but he was still pleased to know that had worked out. He hadn't really waited for a message and he hadn't received anything, but then again, he hadn't expected a response. He just trusted that Tsunade and Mei would be able to pull through for him. The rest would be a nice bonus if he managed, but those two would be enough.

"If you knew the storm you've caused this time, Eiji," the woman said, coming to stand next to him. "What's going on? I was told the bare minimum."

"I wonder, why, huh?" he asked drily. "It's not like you are a spy or anything, eh, Yugito?" he added, turning to look at her.

"In my defense, I didn't really get all that much information," the jinchuriki said with a wry smile on her face. "And I really wasn't working against your interests either."

"I really could care less about that right now," Eiji replied, waving the whole thing off, because what he'd said was the entire truth. There were more important things for him to focus on at the moment. "I hope you are ready for training. You've missed quite a bit of it."

"Still the same slave driver, huh?" Yugito said although she sounded more fond than annoyed. "And here I thought things might have changed in my absence."

"Oh, no," he replied with a shake of his head. "Things have changed alright," he added with a wide grin. "I've pushed things up, since everyone was getting better. I hope you can keep up, but you were always better than the rest with the added help you had. I'm sure you'll manage."

Suddenly, the woman was looking a whole lot more nervous, pale and everything. He was sure that it was just the cold of the rain getting to her. Yeah, that was probably it.

"Ah, it's fortunate that the Two Tails has my back, I think," she said, sounding like she was reassuring herself. Eiji then grinned at her in a way that made her gulp. "I mean, can't make training that will tire a jinchuriki, right? The others gotta keep up." Somehow, she didn't sound very sure of her own statement.

"I mean, Tayuya and Jirobo have a better time accessing their Cursed Marks and Kabuto has always been good at managing his energy," Eiji explained, and her nervous expression got worse. "Fu has the support of the Seven Tails and she still has to work for it."

"I think I'm gonna regret all the training I missed."

"Oh, you don't know the half of it," he said, his already dangerous grin growing even worse. After all, he was still pretty annoyed with her, so he'd likely take some of that out on her. It wasn't like it would be too bad. All for the sake of getting her to catch up, of course. "You're gonna have a good time, I promise."

"You are a lying liar, Eiji."

"I learned from the best," he shot back, humming as he started walking back to the group.

[}-o-{]

With Yugito back in the team and Single-Handed Seals Mastery at the level he needed it to be in case he needed to use Wit's End, it was finally time to get things started for real. The Kages were probably still going through with what he asked of them, but that didn't mean he couldn't do anything. He was already roughly where he needed to be and had a constant communication system with Konan and Nagato, if one-sided, which gave him an estimated idea of where Obito was.

With that, he started moving a little more strategically than just "get close to Ame". After all, he needed to be close to the pair when shit went down. That, and he also started setting up a "web" of his own, as the spiders would say. Much like he'd done in Iwa's border, he started setting up clones and spiders to keep watch in case he caught either Obito, or Konan and Nagato, or Zetsu. He had no doubts the plant bastard would be around too, which he'd had to remember.

So far he hadn't managed to find anyone, but every day that passed he covered more ground. He was getting nervous though. Just like he progressed, so did Obito, he was sure. He'd manage to get the better of those two at some point. Eiji had no delusions about that not happening, because he wouldn't be lucky enough to have them escape forever.

Considering his luck, really, he wouldn't be surprised if Obito got his hands on the Rinnegan.

It was a little pessimistic of him, but with how things had gone for Eiji most of the time, he didn't think he had reasons to be very positive, really. Didn't mean he wouldn't do his best to prevent that though, but he was being realistic. Especially because he really didn't have much to work with going by Konan's messages alone.

The Land of Rain might not be the biggest of nations, but it was still a nation. It would take a while to spread enough clones and spiders to watch a significant zone. Especially one as vague as what he had to cover looking for his targets, any of them.

"You are nervous," Tayuya said one day, while they rested. While usually they would sit under a rock roof made by Jirobo, because the rain didn't really play well with her flute unless she took measures usually left for battle, they were now sitting under the storm. She'd taken to going along with that, since she knew that the rain helped him relax.

"I am," he replied, because there was no point denying that. "Thank you for going along with this. I know you prefer to be able to play."

"I don't play all the damn time, you know," she grumbled, but they both knew it was a weak argument. "And don't play dumb, Fearless Leader."

"I just… After so long, it feels like the end is in sight and… I'm nervous it might not be a happy ending. Before, it was fine, because it was a far off thing. Now that it seems so close…" he tried to explain as best he could.

"It's how life is," Tayuya said, leaning her head on his shoulder. "Things can go well and they can go wrong. We just gotta do our best and see what the result is."

"... Wow, and without any cursing. Are you sure you are my girlfriend?" he asked, receiving an elbow for his stupidity. "I know that," he said then, turning serious again. "It's just that the stakes are quite a bit higher than usual now."

"So what? That's what we are good at, isn't it?" Tayuya asked softly. "It's why we call ourselves the fucking Suicide Squad, isn't it?"

"I guess that's right," he replied with a slight smile. "I guess we'll…" he trailed off then, his eyes widening. Behind him, Tayuya remained silent as he stiffened. "Gather the team," he said and she disappeared instantly.

One of his clones had popped and he didn't know why. It took a few seconds for another to do so too, this time giving him the information he needed. Obito had appeared. It didn't take long to know why that was, as another clone disappeared, leaving the message that Nagato was in the zone too. Narrowing his eyes, Eiji considered this information for a moment.

"Leave the web, just in case," Kage told him and he nodded. That made sense. As much as he wanted to flood Obito with clones, it would be better to leave them as a last resort.

"Also because we don't know where Zetsu is," Hachi reminded him.

His team appeared in front of him then.

"Tobi appeared," he told them simply, having already informed them of their target, if not by his actual name. "We just-" He paused, his eyes growing wide as another clone popped, this time on the other side of his web.

There was Zetsu, having gotten his hands on Konan.

'Fuck.'

[} Chapter End {]

Hey guys! How's it going?

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