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Kakuzu couldn’t help but grin wickedly as the island came into view. “So, Sasori’s managed to drag Konan into this mess…no matter.”

“RAWW! Kill them all!” Hidan squawked.

“Precisely,” Kakuzu muttered as he scratched his pet’s head. Yes, he’d wipe out the lot of hem quickly; well, all but two.

The blonde boy, what was his name…Deidara, yes, that’s it! Deidara had taken his map, and no doubt given it to Sasori. The mere thought made the captain’s blood boil-but, no matter. Soon enough, he’d have the duo in his clutches. He’d kill the blonde slowly, and force Sasori to watch as the teen died in agony, before marooning the redhead again on some other island.

Smirking at the thought, Kakuzu returned his attention to his crew. “Prepare for battle!”

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Deidara and Sasori emerged from the room to see the Akatsuki crew dashing madly about, taking orders from the pierced man at the ship’s helm. “Status report, Pein!” Konan demanded.

“They’re approaching fast and have the wind at their backs!” the man hurriedly informed her.

“Damn!” Konan spun around to look at the Suna crew members, who by this time had rejoined Kisame. “Sasori, we’ll come at them from the north. You get back to your ship and attack from the south! We’ll surround the ship and finally give that monster what he’s had coming to him for years!” She turned to her crew. “Who’s with me?!”

Huzzahs were heard from all ship members.

“The woman knows how to inspire,” Kisame admitted.

“Now load the cannons before I pack your worthless hides into them! You heads are plenty hard enough to knock a few holes into that ship!” she barked as she stormed down onto the ship’s deck amidst her men.

“Rather,” Sasori murmured as he ushered his friends off the ship. The trio had barely touched down on the shore before the anchor was raised.

Deidara watched with nervous anticipation as the ship crept out of the safety of its harbor and approached the Sea Hawk. Despite his fears of the ship and the men aboard, he prayed that the Suna would be able to reach them before the Akatsuki was overwhelmed.

As soon as the group arrived back on the Suna, Sasori was assaulted by reports of the Sea Hawk approaching. “Your orders, captain?” Itachi inquired.

“Prepare for battle,” he responded. Groans and nays were heard throughout the men. “The crew of the Akatsuki is aiding us!” More groans were heard, along with shouts of protest.

“They’re captained by a woman!” one man cried. “She’ll bring doom to us all!”

“Hold your tongue when speaking of her!” Sasori snapped. “If you dare say another word about Konan in my presence, I’ll cut out your tongue and force you to eat it!” A hush fell over the men.

“Now listen to me,” Sasori went on. “She may be a woman, but Konan is the finest captain I’ve ever seen! Instead of fleeing and leaving us to our doom, she and her crew have volunteered to help us!”

“I wouldn’ exactly call it volunteerin’,” Kisame muttered to Deidara as the two recalled Konan’s threat.

“They are out there preparing for battle, under the command of a female, while you men are cowering in fear like church mice! If the Akatsuki goes down, their deaths are on your heads!” A sudden barrage of cannon fire assaulted the men’s ears. As one, they turned to see the Akatsuki already engaged in combat, with a few holes in the ship’s side.

“The Suna is going to sail into battle, under my command,” Sasori stated with finality in his tone. “If any of you dare to brand yourselves as cowards to save your miserable lives, leave my ship now and never return. But those of you with a single ounce of honor and courage in your body may stay and fight under my command. Who’s with me?!”

“Aye!” the men cried.

“What was that?!”

“AYE!” they screamed.

“Then weigh anchor and get in position, ya scurvy dogs!” the captain ordered as his men began dashing about. Deidara barely had time to take this in, before Kisame dragged him below deck. “Hey, un!”

“Relax, lad,” the shark laughed. “This time, we’re armin’ ya. But first, we have a few preparations ta take care of.”

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Kakuzu looked on proudly. Through hours of training (and a bit of persuasive threatening) he’d been able to raise the best marksmen in the seas.

The captain could admit, the Akatsuki men were fair shots, but their ship had taken far more damage than his own. It was only a matter of time before the Akatsuki and all the men aboard were at the bottom of the sea. What a shame, though; Konan had been the closest thing to a worthy adversary he’d had in a long while. Perhaps he could keep her skull on his desk-“CAPTAIN!”

“What is it?” he snapped as he glared up at the lookout in the crow’s nest.

“A ship coming at us off the starboard side!”

“What-“ the captain’s question was cut off by a loud round of cannon fire, followed by the Sea Hawk shaking beneath his feet. It had been hit.

He looked to the right and narrowed his eyes. “I’d recognize those sails anywhere…” he grinned. “Fate is kind.” Grinning, he turned to his crew. “Boys, looks like we have more company!”

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“Kisame, what are we doing, un?” Deidara inquired as the two wandered deeper and deeper into the bowels of the ship.

“Don’ talk, lad, run! We hafta get to where we’re goin’ before the Suna hits the Sea Hawk!”

“But where are we going?!”

“I’ll tell ya when we get there!”

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“Everything’s in position, captain,” Pein informed Konan. “We merely await your orders.”

“Wait until we’re near them,” Konan ordered, her eyes still trained on the Sea Hawk. “Closer…closer…”

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“Kisame-“

“Wait for the signal, lad!”

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Kakuzu frowned. The Akatsuki and Suna were moving too close for canon fire now, yet the Sea Hawk was barely scratched. “What are they doing?” he wondered aloud.

“RAWW! Doom approacheth!”

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“Now!” Konan screamed.

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“Now!”

“Now, un?”

“Yes lad, pull the lever now!”

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Kakuzu watched in shock as hooked poles extended themselves from both the Akatsuki and the Suna. The ships suddenly turned and side-swiped the Sea Hawk from opposite angles, hooks digging into the ship and halting the other vessels in their tracks.

Kakuzu nearly fell to the floor as his ship was jerked about beneath his feet, nearly torn in half from the force. He swore to himself. If he wanted to get out of here, he’d have to sink both ships. “Smart move,” he muttered as he drew his sword. “Battle stations!”

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Deidara scrambled onto the deck, sword in hand. He was a lousy shot with a pistol, so Kisame had seen fit to arm the blonde with a blade instead. Almost as soon as he clambered to the topside of the Suna, pirates from the Sea Hawk began to swing in on ropes just as men from the Suna departed for Kakuzu’s ship.

Deidara barely had time to get out of the way before an enemy pirate landed and swung a cutlass as him. When the man lunged again, Deidara was prepared to block him. Still, his inexperience showed, and the duel only ended when Itachi ran the pirate through with his sword. “Deidara, stay on your guard,” he ordered before rushing off to help another crewman in need of aid.

Meanwhile, Konan had finally managed to scramble aboard the Sea Hawk, and was making a beeline for Kakuzu. The man had her back turned, giving the female the perfect opportunity to strike.

Sword poised for the kill, the blue-haired captain rushed towards the man, swung her blade-

Only to have it blocked by Kakuzu’s own sword.

She gritted her teeth, trying to apply more pressure to the blade. No dice. The woman was forced to jump back, hurriedly retreating to a defensive position.

Kakuzu took all of this in with a smirk on his face, and began approaching the female. “Good manners dictate that you don’t attack a person when their back is turned.”

“Good manners also dictate that you don’t raise your weapon against a lady,” the female countered.

“I don’t see a lady,” Kakuzu replied with an even wider smirk.

“And all I see is a devil.”

“You talk too much,” Kakuzu stated as he raised his weapon. “What say I cut out that pretty little voice box of yours?” Konan barely had time to react before the man brought his weapon down, blade connecting with the wooden railing of the stairs. She swore softly; her one chance for an easy win was gone. Now the outcome of this battle was uncertain.

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Sasori saw Konan’s plight from the deck of the Suna. Past experience had taught the redhead that he himself was no match for Kakuzu. If they wanted to take down the scarred man, he and Konan would have to battle him at the same time.

The Suna captain rushed towards the side of his ship, eager to clamber onto the enemy’s ship and save his friend. “RAWW!”

“Gah!” Sasori swore loudly as a silver blur attacked his face, claws scratching at the redhead’s skin. “Beat it, you rat with wings!”

“Raww, damn you to hell, RAWW!” Hidan circled around, and then swooped in for another attack. “ACK!”

Sasori stared in shock as an orange blur leapt down from a nearby rope ladder and pounced on the silver bird, sending them both to the ship’s deck. “A monkey?” he wondered aloud. Suddenly, he turned to look at the fighting masses. “Kisame, when in blazes did we get a monkey?!”

“Pick ‘im up on the island, Cap’n!” the shark responded while simultaneously dueling with two enemies. “Thought he’d be a nice addition to the crew! Looks like I was right, eh?”

“Good work,” Sasori praised. His only obstacle now occupied by a monkey (who was currently beating the stuffing out of Hidan) the redhead quickly departed his vessel in favor of the Sea Hawk.

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Konan was roughly knocked to the ground, landing hard on her back as the sword flew out of her hands. Wincing, she reached out to retrieve her weapon, only to watch Kakuzu kick it away. “Little girls shouldn’t play with swords,” he mocked. Konan glared up at the man as he raised his blade, the tip of the weapon pointed at her throat. “Someone could get hurt.”

“Like you?”

Before the scarred man realized what was happening, Sasori had swung his weapon and sliced off Kakuzu’s right hand, sending the limb and the blade to the ship’s deck.

The scarred captain let out a howl of agony as he clutched his bleeding stump. “Bastard…”

“That was for breaking my fingers and marooning Kisame and I,” Sasori hissed.

Konan suddenly grabbed hold of her weapon and drove the blade through the man’s lower abdomen. “And that’s for calling me a little girl!”

“You…bitch…” Kakuzu panted.

“And this,” Sasori began as he raised his weapon again, “is for torturing my Deidara.” With that, the blade was driven in through Kakuzu’s chest.

For a moment, all the banker could do was gape in horror at the two captains before him. He clutched at his chest, slowly stumbling backwards towards the ship’s railing, until at last his back was pressed against the edge of his vessel. “It…it can’t end…not like this…” and without another sound, the dead body of Captain Kakuzu, scourge of the seas and devil among men, plunged into the ocean, never to be seen again.

For Sasori and Konan, the moment was a mini-eternity. To the rest of the world, however, it was as though nothing had happened. When the duo realized this, they were quick to take up arms again and plunge right back into the heat of battle. The captain was gone, but his crew still posed a threat.