Author's Note: This idea has been dancing around in my head since the beginning of time. So far I've seen nothing like it, but something close to it? Yes. Actually, I have no idea when this takes place. I'll have it set a little after Naruto comes back from training with Jiraiya. I'm fairly new with this whole fan-fiction business, so I ask that no one flames this; as they will be used to melt ice that has accumulated behind my ears. Critiques; however I can take. :3 This story will contain slash. Which means you homophobes have no place here. Begone ye who does not love yaoi!

Disclaimer: I make no money from writing/typing/thinking up this fan-fiction. The Naruto franchise belong to it's rightful owner. I DO however, own this idea. -sigh-

"Speaking."

'Thoughts.'

~~~~Onwards~~~~~

Location: Unknown Cave

"Impossible."

"I also believed that. However, I couldn't entirely disregard this after reading the old texts." A seemingly transparent figure spoke, apparently addressing someone else in the cave.

"How long had that jutsu fooled us? And to be able to disregard the Rinnegan's powers?" The phantom took a long pensive moment of silence. "Konan, we will travel back to the Hidden Rain Village."

"Understood." Came the reply.

Among the eleven transparent figures present it seems only their leader, and whomever he addresses, will speak."Zetsu. Head for the Village Hidden in the Leaves, infiltrate their database, and gather as much information as possible by any means possible. It seams the Elders are hiding information more important than even the Village's security-"

"Uh, that's if what the scroll says is true!" A high-pitched voice interrupted, clearly not aware of the unspoken rule.

"Idiot! Then why would it be hidden by a jutsu so strong it can bypass the power of the Rinnegan? Ugh, think, Tobi, think, hmm!" Another voice followed, this time from a phantom with only a single pale-blue eye visible. Said eye drooped closed and the ghostly figure sighed whilst shaking his head. "It must have been a real work of art, even if it wasn't true art, hmm.."

"Sorry, senpai.." Came a dejected sigh.

The wielder of the Rinnegan eyes looked to the transparent form beside him before dismissing his audience, save for one. An silent agreement passed between them both.

"It's true the visual justu that kept the scrolls hidden deactivated, but... something is keeping the scrolls from leaving the room in which they rest dormant." The leader nodded to the female voice. This will likely cause problems, but the information they could gather from this is indispensable. It just might be worth whatever complications arise in the near future.

"..." Both of the translucent figures stayed in silence for a brief moment. "Let's go." With that said both figures disappear thus rendering the cave now empty.

~~~~Scene Change: Konoha; Inuzuka Residence~~~~

"Kiba!" Came an authoritative feminine, yet slightly rough, voice from somewhere in the Inuzuka household.

"Yeah?" He shouted back. 'What could she want now?' Kiba Inuzuka thought with a scowl. 'More chores no doubt... urrggggh!' As much as he wanted to keep the groan withing his thoughts it seemed his mouth thought otherwise and decided to make his frustration apparent with a low growl. As soon as it escaped his mouth he could have sworn he could hear his mother's eyebrow twitch. 'You've got to be kidding me! Please tell me she didn't hear!' Whatever higher being he was praying to decided to answer his question with a definitive: OOOO~ NOPE, YOU'RE BUSTED. Or perhaps that was just Akamaru teasing him.

"Don't you growl at me! Get your ass down here and give your mutt a bath!"

Kiba looked over to Akamaru and wrinkled his nose. Why today? He was going to enjoy today and develop a new technique! Unfortunately, his mother was alpha and she left no room for dispute when giving orders. When he looked over to Akamaru he was about to say something when he realized his companion had high-tailed it out of his room. "Buddy?"

To say that looking for his friend was somewhat entertaining was more-or-less along the right lines, seeing as how the Inuzuka find him in the most irrational of places. Kiba wanted to ask this to the canine God if there was one, but: how in the hell could a 4 foot tall, 310 pound dog climb a tree 20 feet above ground and not be noticed by anyone? The Inuzuka gave a prolonged sigh bracing himself for about.. a half-hour of searching. Sigh.

It's safe to say Akamaru's choice of locations to hide never fail to get an amused chuckle from his master. 'He must get his crazy side from... us. Keh!' Shaking his head he jumped onto the roof of one of the near-by buildings and took a look around. Nothing. Out of the ordinary, that is. It would seem normal, only if he had forgotten that it hadn't rained yesterday. The brunette stalked forward, all the while looking at a guilty puddle of water situated off to the side of the spacious roof. Smirking, he walked over to it and looked at himself in the reflection. "Boy, you're getting awfully smart Akamaru... but the Inuzuka nose never lies. Heh." Kiba crouched by the puddle and he slapped it, not at all surprised to see a puff of smoke and a gigantic white dog named 'Akamaru' laying before him, whining.

"Hehe, I would've never guessed you'd actually know how to transform into something else other than me!" The dog-nin barked his retort followed by a low growl. Kiba sighed. "You know I can't not give you a shower. Mom'll skin me! C'mon boy." The brunette pat his canine companion's head in sympathy.

The gigantic dog gave the closest thing to a sigh it could and made to get up, licking his master's marked cheek. Kiba also stood and mounted his best friend who (with reluctance) made his way to the Inuzuka Compound for... a bath...

~~~~Time Skip~~~~

Now that he had finished washing a very energetic (using that term loosely, mind you) canine, Kiba wasn't so sure he wanted to train after all. Bathing the dogs was training in itself! You must use every ounce of your strength to suppress fleeting horse-dogs into submission. Laying on his bed Kiba turned to look at his canine companion resting against a wall. Akamaru lifted his head at the feeling of being analyzed and glanced at Kiba. The dog gave a friendly bark and wagged his tail at his master.

"Then if you feel so damn comfortable after taking a bath, why don't you let yourself be bathed! I swear, Akamaru... you have the inept ability to cause me trouble don'cha?" At this the dog gave an answer of along the lines of: What are friends for? Kiba groaned and lay back down on his bed. He was bored. And... booorrrred. Deciding that taking a walk to the nearest park was better than becoming a bed potato for the rest of the evening was a better idea he jumped from his bed and out the window with his canine friend on his tail.

~~~~Scene Change: Hokage's Office~~~~

The tension in the air was so thick one would say it's palpable. Tsunade groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose. Why in the hell had they decided they needed to disclose this information to her now? She should have been told this earlier! As in 'when-they-came-up-with-this-idea' earlier!

"Lady Hokage, we only had suspicions towards this matter at first, please. We only need to run analytical tests to conclude our research. It's of utmost importance. The council would like to hear your answer within the week. I beg your leave Hokage-sama." The ninja before her bowed her leave, shut the door behind her, and leaving the Hokage to her musings.

Couldn't they at least address this matter with her? 'Ugh! Decrepit council members. How dare they request and answer from me, the Hokage! Grrr, I should teach them why I am Hashirama's descendant... to all of their... faces!' Thinking straight wasn't something that one could describe Lady Tsunade's condition at this particular moment, and the Sake was to blame for that. Being a Hokage wasn't as great as one would think it be: with all the damned papers to be read and approved, the meetings, the 'no fooling around', and above all taking care of Naruto! Speaking of which, 'I sure hope Naruto's prepared for this. Knowing him; he's most likely not. Hehe, whelp.'

However, the matter at hand is severe and requires a stable mind; now was not the time to filling out this- or any paperwork. Who knows what crazy things she might sign for law in her drunken stupor. "Shiz-!" Tsunade was about to call in her loyal friend when she decided that she didn't need an I've-heard-too-many-times lecture about drinking while on duty. Blah, blah, blah... Slowly she swiveled her chair to look at her village and closed her eyes. 'Eh, I'll think about it later. Perfect time to take a much-deserved rest... Still, I didn't think we'd have another one, and for him of all people! But it makes sense in a way..' And with that, the busty blonde elderly woman drifted into a Sake-full dream.

~~~~Scene Change: Konoha streets~~~~

The perfect day, and he had to lack motivation... 'In this beautiful weather?' The whiskered teenager thought to himself. The one day in his life to lack motivation it had to be today? 'I feel like Shikamaruuuu! Damn it!' By now the blonde ninja visibly pouted. Motivation lacking? Yes. However, craving for ramen lacking? What kind of question is that? No! Naruto made his way to his favorite place of all time. When he entered he was greeted by one of his closest companions, and his daughter.

"Oi, Naruto! How are ya'? Now that you've returned from training we can finally make more money! Oops, did I say that out loud?" The old man teased Naruto, only to have his daughter scold him and ask what Naruto would like today. "The usual, eh? Coming right up! You know, we missed you while you were gone. My daughter has cried and prayed to the beings above that you one day return, I of course, prayed as well. Hahaha!" Joyous laughter filled the tiny restaurant as a feminine voice huffed inaudibly.

"Father, you know I didn't do that. You did! And, I still remember what you said too! What me to tell Naruto?" Ayame gave a knowing smirk. At this, the boisterous laughter of the elderly man ceased immediately.

"Euh, honey why don't you go prepare the noodles? I'll make sure the rest is done, alright? Great, off you work!" Teuchi left no form of argument behind as he pushed his daughter, and himself, into the kitchen where they would finish preparing ramen for who knows how many hours.

~~~~ Time Skip~~~~

Naruto. Felt. Satisfied. Eight bowls wasn't his best, but it sure as hell hit the spot! Now, to wander around the village and see whom Naruto will encounter throughout his expedition. Walking through the streets gave him a feeling of home, but it also brought about the unnecessary past he had endured. It confuses him why people still look at him like that. He thought that if he grew stronger people would at least be smart enough to avoid giving him those death glares now that he wasn't completely vulnerable.

'Gaara, I wonder how he is being treated by his people...' The renegade thought crossed his mind without reason and he didn't mind at all. Gaara... he was something special to Naruto, closer than even the bond he and Sasuke had when they were younger. Gaara knew pain, he knew suffering, he knew how Naruto felt. That's why he had him close to his heart. They were so much alike. Meeting each other was, quite literally, a life-changing experience for both of them. If only he was here, he'd be sure a sparring match with the younger man wouldn't be too bad, though he might end up losing... badly. Damn that sand. He's glad he made friends with the red head. Wouldn't want to get on his bad side... again. Looking for other people to help him regain his motivation by fighting them sounded like a good idea. Okay list! Sakura; pass. Shikamaru; probably with Chouji, Chouji; probably with Shikamaru, Ino; just nooo, Neji; one candidate... that's most likely already training with Hinata or something... sigh! Lee; hmmm, with Gai no doubt, Tenten; 'Ehh, not really my type of fighter,' Shino; creepy, noooo. Kiba seems to be the only one that he doesn't have a problem against. 'But, maybe he's on a mission. Haven't seen him all day, sooo that's the most likely case.' Great, and he was getting into the notion of training...

Transmogrification into lazy Shikamaru-type ninja is under way! 'I'll just sleep it off or something.' As impossible as it seems Naruto was actually lost in thinking! And a thinking-lost Naruto spells out: 'Will soon become actually lost because of the lack of attention he is paying to his surroundings.' Still, he really wanted to train with Neji, Kiba, or even Hinata! But, such is life. Maybe he could use a clone and transform them into one of them? Nope. Not gonna work. He's only seen his friends, he doesn't know how much their fighting style has actually changed. 'I want to train, but I don't wanna. Damn it, make up your mind Uzumaki! Training makes you stronger! Training equals new justu! Training equals fawning ladies. C'mon, traaaaiiiinnnnn~!' As much as Naruto tried to keep his excitement hidden from the public he couldn't help the loud 'Yeah!' and a fist pump that erupted from the seams of his new-found motivation. With that embarrassing little outburst out of the way, Naruto made his way to the training grounds with an excited grin plastered onto his face.

~~~~Scene Change: Konoha Green Park~~~~

Kiba decided that a walk was just what he needed. It was calming. In fact, he didn't know he was smiling the entire time until Akamaru asked him if he was fantasizing about a certain someone. Hearing this Kiba raised a quizzical eyebrow and chuckled to himself. "C'mon, boy. You know I decided that I wasn't like that. Honestly, I'd rather want to find myself 'the one' then I'll fantasize, keh. After all, we're like wolves, see? We mate for life. Wouldn't wanna fall for the wrong one now would we?" Akamaru had made up his mind: As much of a brash, arrogant, cocky, loud-mouthed, dunce... euh, what was he saying again? Oh yeah! Beneath all the tough exterior, Akamaru had concluded that at heart Kiba was really a special one. Like the ones he'd heard Hana talk about. The brunette glanced down at his dog friend who nipped at his hand. "Hmm? What! I'm not! I'm neither of those things! Don't mistake loyalty for softness... or a weakness, hmph!" The canine barked his laughter at the blush dusting Kiba's cheeks.

"Grrr, c'mon we're gonna go see who's right." If the white horse-dog didn't know any better he'd say his master was tryna' weasel his way out of this conversation, but still followed his best friend to the training grounds. With a sly bark the dog-nin decided to rile his master before the training to gain an upper-hand; so he insulted Kiba's sexual preference. Oooo~ this was going to be gooood.

"Wh-what? The hell I do! Where'd ya get that from?" The brunette knew Akamaru and what he was thinking, but he couldn't control his reactions! How dare someone insult his macho credibility? The white dog couldn't help the smile crawl onto his face, so far it seems Kiba was falling for it. "What'dya mean unsure? Grrr, Aka... I'll give you half a second to start running... now." Needless to say Akamaru took Kiba up on his offer and sprinted away knowing fully well Kiba won't catch up. Besides, he had an ace up his sleeve- err, fur? For now he'll let Kiba struggle in catching up.

'Damn that Akamaru, had to go and insult me. Hmph, for that I'll get extra dirt onto his fur. Heeheeheehee.' Kiba couldn't believe how lame that sounded. Really? An Inuzuka surely had to think of something better than that! 'Ehh, sounded better in my head, wait... ugh! Never mind all of this! I'm confusing myself. For now; Akamaru's fast but, honestly, the Inuzuka Clan fought along side canines for a reason!' He was not about to be out-done by his own mutt. And sure to his word he caught up with his friend, but Akamaru wasn't trying; Kiba knew it. 'What's he up to?' No sooner had he finished that thought had Akamaru summoned forth... clones? What the hell? And shadow clones too! When'd he get so smart? Damn it! This makes it all the more frustrating! 'Akamaru! You will get it... hard! Just wait 'till we get there...'

~~~~Time Skip; Scene Change: Training Grounds; POV: Kiba~~~~

Honestly, Akamaru had seriously advanced. He wasn't necessarily tired, but finding out which was the real dog-nin was tedious. Now he was looking forward showing Akamaru who the hell is in charge here. He, of course, caught up to his pet much to the dog-nin's astonishment. Just remembering how Akamaru's speed faltered once he saw his brunette owner running beside him gave him a major ego-boost. Speaking of faltering; that's exactly what the grin on his face did when they arrived at the training grounds only to notice that someone else was practicing. Looking at his trusty canine companion Kiba nodded and went forward to confront the other being. Looks like Kiba'll actually get to train with someone this time. 'Hmph, Akamaru got lucky this time.' He couldn't help the smirk as he thought of what he'll do to the dog-nin in repayment for all his trouble.

~~~~POV Change: Naruto~~~~

He supposed that he had indeed gotten stronger. He didn't remember his clones being this tough! Well he was at a handicap of 4-to-1 but that didn't matter seeing as how each of his clones had about one-fourth of his chakra capacity. He didn't feel stronger... Well yes, only a little though! Okay, no. He knows he's gotten stronger. 'Perhaps just enough to bring him back to the Village.' No, he had to think that he was even stronger than him. That's the only way he'll get Sasuke back safely. As he was in a stare-down with all 4 of his clones; one of them (the one directly across him to be exact) straightened his pose and squinted to something behind his summoner (Naruto, the original one.)

"Is that Kiba?"

Naruto didn't expect to hear that from his clone so in startled bewilderment he turned around to see what it was exactly his clone was talking about. After registering two figures off in the distance he did in fact deduce that they were both Kiba and his pet Akamaru. The hell? He thought they were off on a mission. How could they have avoided each other for so long? The last time he saw the brunette was when he'd arrived from the vigorous training Jiraiya had put him through. Dispelling his clones he began to walk towards the two now-nearer inu-ninja.

"Yo, Naruto! Ya trainin'?" He supposed Kiba had somehow lost his common sense.

"Nah, I'm eating the grass. What'd it look like I was doing! Of course I was training, mutt face." At this Kiba let out a chortle seeing as how Naruto was taking this lightly.

"Sheesh princess. Didn't mean ta get on your nerves so quickly. Anyway, how 'bout a sparring match?" Now Kiba was talking his language. Heheh! He'll beat him for sure; just like at the Chunin Exams. Pfft, how hard could he be?

"Alright, Kiba. I'll train with you. And then I'll show you who the real princess is, heheh!"

"Hm! You're too funny Naruto. I don't think you'll be laughing once your face hits the dirt!" Now Kiba asserted a fighting pose, as did Naruto. Kiba in his usual 'close-as-shit' to the ground pose... made Naruto wonder how he could fight like that. No matter! He was finally going to show someone how much he's really grown. Too bad it was Kiba; he liked the brunette's face where it was right now. He'll certainly make sure that after this match Kiba will run and never challenge him again. Alright, now both were ready. They were staring at each other intently, waiting for the time when mother nature told them to begin. The now-falling leaves of a near-by tree swirled in a tiny twister-like fashion between them: this will be the indicator. The wind died down letting the leaves fall down to the ground slowly. All three had their eyes on the last leaf as it slowly fell in a graceful fashion; joining the rest of it's kin.

Now!

~~~~POV Change: Omniscient~~~~

Kiba smirked, as he almost-teleported 10 meters in front of Naruto and still closing in on him all the while weaving a complicated amount of hand-signs. 'The hell? When'd he get so fast? I don't remember Kiba ever using hand-signs!' Too many questions crippled his mind for just an instant leaving his body to act on instinct alone. And his instincts told him he better get the hell away from Kiba. Jumping back a couple meters gave him enough time to summon forth two shadow clones. They each stood in front of Naruto unsheathing kunai and shuriken. Kiba, on the other hand was howling to his mutt and let out a loud roar of laughter. No sooner had they both rushed forward and spun into their signature move, Fang-Over-Fang.

Panicking, Naruto summoned 5 more and sent them to attack his assailants too try and at least slow them down. Unfortunately, it seems that the blonde was just wasting chakra as the spinning mock-tornado easily took care of the clones. Damn it! 'Just jump right into attacking, right Kiba? Heh, big mistake.' Naruto looked to one of his clones beside him and nodded. The clone began to charge a Rasengan. Kiba was no less than 5 meters away from them and Naruto started to doubt his clone will finish in time. Faster than he had ever done before; Clone Naruto had the completed Rasengan in his hand and immediately shoved it into the ground beneath them; creating a medium-sized crater. However his chakra input was far too great to remain in reality, so the clone disappeared. This turn of events, of course, had faltered Kiba and Akamaru's advances and they ceased their jutsu in favor of not wanting to crash into one the the huge boulders that flew upwards when the Rasengan came in contact with the ground beneath them. Everything seemed move in slow motion; with varying sizes of rock in the air. The air space was clustered with debris but not enough so to cloud each other's vision of the other ninja.

While everything was falling down around Kiba; an above-average sized boulder settled in front of him acting as a shield but also blinding him of Naruto's movements. Kiba walked closer to the boulder and placed his back to it. Listening intently for any suspicious sounds. He couldn't help but notice a sound like that of burning paper. Realization hit him hard. 'A fucking paper bomb!' The inu-ninja had only less than a second to react in this situation. "Akamaru!" He yelled for the dog to get away as they nearly teleported into the forest surrounding their training area. After securing safety behind a tree he silently cursed Naruto. 'Is he seriously tryna' kill us?' Then, an idea popped into his head. Perfect, he thought. 'Let's see Naruto react to this..' The brunette looked at his companion panting beside him and smirked.

With Kiba in the forest the blonde ninja won't have to worry too much about the Inuzuka signature jutsu. He thought he overdid it when he threw the explosive kunai at the boulder Kiba was hiding behind, but it worked nonetheless. He had let out a breath he had subconsciously been holding. 'At least he has those quick reactions.' He wasn't sure if tailing the dog ninja into the woods was a good idea seeing as how Kiba and the dog-nin trained in the forest in the first place. Abruptly shoved of his contemplations, he ducked as an incoming kunai was thrown from the forest's shadows straight to his head. Naruto expected a sneak attack of some sort, but what happened next had his mind working on a way to react; needless to say, he was grateful for having almost primal-like reflexes. The kunai behind him had let out a sound akin to that of a summoning jutsu. Turning around he noticed Akamaru in place of the thrown kunai, and the dog was rapidly charging at him too, with teeth bared.

"Fang-Over-Fang!" Naruto heard the voice from behind him, and getting closer. In the short, utterly-confusing, moment for Naruto he was able to sneak a glance behind him and see Kiba making his way out of the forest to him. The blonde shinobi had two ravaging twin cyclones coming at him from both sides, and if he tried to side-step one, the other would punish him. In an effort to evade both attacks the blonde gathered chakra at his feet and leaped a towering distance into the air. He watched in anticipation at what the dynamic duo will do next. He had to start thinking of a way to turn the tides of battle.

Kiba and his dog-nin certainly did stop but what confused Naruto was the smirk on Kiba's face. What the hell was he thinking now? The brunette rapidly wove hand-signs and stopped to take a deep breath of air. "Wind Style: Air Bullets!" Wait, what? When had the Inuzuka learned how to use Ninjutsu, let alone the Wind Release! Doing the only thing he could do in the air; Naruto crossed his arms and legs in front of him effectively blocking some of the assaulting wind bullets from reaching any of his vital organs. The force of the assaulting jutsu, however, was enough to propel his air borne body into the vast expanse of the forest behind him. It seems Kiba got him into the woods anyhow. He couldn't stop the compliment wanting to burst from his lips. 'Fucking ingenious.' This will be troublesome for the blonde...