"Greed, lust and angry pride- it's the same old same old ride; the smoke and mirrors, visions that you see are just like me..."

CHAPTER ONE: The Will of Funk

It was a trying time in Konoha: the great Shinobi Alliance was beginning to show signs was coming apart, and the legendary Will of Fire had very nearly been extinguished; Naruto himself had tried to turn the tide of the war but Madara Uchiha had almost crippled him as he stated "Your time will come," and it had taken the combined efforts of the Raikage and Tsunade to tear him away from the battlefield and carry him to safety.

It was a relaxing time, in a way. The aforementioned encounter had begun a ceasefire; intelligence missions were still carried out by both sides, but violence was for the most part avoided- both sides recognized they and the other needed to regroup. Shinobi had begun to go back to doing some of the things they did before the war, including that most time-honored activity engaged in by returning warriors and their spouses. Such a perilous conflict naturally drew some couples closer together, and some longtime friends contemplated becoming couples, but all in all during the ceasefire things were almost the same as before the Fourth Great War had started.

Almost.

Tales of a new rogue shinobi began popping up, after he declared he was seceeding from Konoha and forming his own great shinobi nation... which consisted solely of a treehouse and a clearing with a small pond. His act was laughed off until a team was sent to investigate and came back blushing like a young bride, silent and absolutely refusing to explain their early return. Until finally, days later, Tenten spat out a single word: genjutsu.

Currently, Kakashi Hatake and Tsunade were wrapping up a discussion on this new rogue ninja. "Of course I remember that, it wasn't even a month ago- but the team wouldn't be complete without him."

"Well how do we know this rogue ninja isn't secretly in line with- or is a disguise for- Kabuto and Madara?" Tsunade said, hammering her fist onto her desk. "How do we know? I'm just not willing to risk that until we have a substantial amount of intel on this man and his intentions."

"Tenten and the others' claw wounds were self-inflicted; I don't think he aims to seriously injure anyone..." Kakashi leaned back in his chair and clasped his hands over his stomach. "This secession, in my estimation, is purely for political reasons. And, as far as we know, he isn't hiding an army of resurrected Akatsuki in that treehouse of his." Kakashi blew out a sigh.

"Again, my previous point- and self-inflicted clawing wounds? Excuse me but that doesn't exactly sound like playing nice-"

"They blushed," Interrupted Kakashi, waving a finger at Tsunade. "The team blushed before Tenten admitted to genjutsu. Very important note." Kakashi casually adjusted the position of his forehead protector. "And you know... since technically this is an 'independent nation' we're dealing with, I don't have to be asking for your permission specifically. Why, I might just ask the Raikage-"

"Still against it!"

"Well what would Jiraiya say?" The Copy Ninja asked Tsunade, letting the silence fill the Hokage's office. "...I think he would be taking my side. Tsunade... Naruto's becoming a- is a man. He needs this. Put him on the team."

"...And you said you would captain the team, correct?"

-Outside Konoha, in the Land of Fire-

"It's coming up ahead," Tenten pointed out, as she and Kakashi, Sakura, and Naruto raced off to investigate the rogue shinigami's... nation. Sakura cast a quick glance her way, which Tenten knew the still unexplained genjutsu was the cause of.

Naruto was speeding through the tree tops in the lead with Tenten and enjoying his first mission since the debacle that began the ceasefire. He could tell Sakura and Kakashi were waiting for Tenten to speak, and was about to ask what the big deal was when Kakashi signaled for them to split up.

I'm beginning to see the clearing through the trees... and what's that above the canopy? Kakashi was first to drop below and take up his position, soon followed by Sakura, Tenten, Naruto.

But their efforts to remain stealthy were in vain. "I can sense you're there, come on out- no need to hide! No secrets, no secrets here!" Reluctantly, the team showed themselves, and Naruto could barely believe his eyes as he saw the rogue ninja. He was a man of vague age(but leaning towards young), with a mustache and a few day's worth of dark stubble; his plain brown eyes were hidden behind red sunshades with pointy triangular lenses, and he had dark hair cut short. As for his outfit... it consisted of white bell-bottom hakama, and a loose white kimono with a high collar and fringe on the end of the sleeves, and a shiny golden sash, one end of which hung down his left side. "I've been gettin' a lot of visitors lately, thank-you-very-much. Konoha ninja?" He smirked, as he recognized Tenten. "Yes, Konoha..."

There was a moment of silence, and a cicada chirped. Now would probably be too late to tell them about the lights... and the music... Tenten thought to herself. Naruto was blinking and rubbing his eyes, and Sakura wore a bemused expression on her face as she looked from Kakashi to the rogue ninja.

"Oh, visitors?" Kakashi asked nonchalantly. "From what nations?"

"I'm still inside the borders of Konoha, aren't I?" He asked pointedly, despite keeping his smile. "Honestly, it's hard to tell- most of them are wearing masks- but I do remember meeting this one strange man with scales... perhaps you're familiar with him? I'm fairly certain the previous snake-man is dead; I hadn't seen this new one before."

The team shared a nervous look before Kakashi spoke again. "We've heard of him. His name's Kabuto."

Sakura could see the gears turning behind the man's eyes, as he mysteriously stroked his chin. "...It seems the forces of destiny have dropped a viper into the rhythm section... and you can never trust a snake- Kabuto was a tad unfriendly, as well. But, a surprisingly good dancer."

"What do you mean, 'a surprisingly good dancer'?" Naruto burst out. "I tried to picture Kabuto dancing just now, but my mind almost broke..."

"Well, then why don't I-"

"No! I mean- we'll just have to take your word for it, I guess." Said Tenten, instantly regretting her interruption.

"Ha! Where is the Will of Fire now?" Asked the rogue shinigami, putting a hand on his hip and pointing at Tenten. "You're too afraid to let go of your pain, aren't you?" In the blink of an eye, the ninja did a few quick hand signs and called, "Funk Style! Mood Lighting Technique!" The light in the clearing dimmed, and multi-colored patterns of light moved around over the ground. "Ahem. Now, you seem to be reasonable ninja, so I'll explain: this isn't a nation where you hold on to the past! I know you all fight for the perfect peace. But you can't groove to the beat if the worries of yesterday are weighing down your feet. This is the place where you release yourself from all the world, and let who you really are come out! Reject reality and insert your own version of it! That's the Will of Funk, and my shinobi way!"

Aww, he didn't do the Nice Guy pose. And speaking of inserting your own version of reality- "Interesting. And you seem... reasonable as well, so let me ask you this: what was the jutsu you used on Tenten and the rest of her team?"

The rogue ninja noticed Tenten staring at her feet with his peripheral vision, and so slid his eyes from Kakashi to Naruto. The blond ninja blinked and stared back, not realizing what the feeling in his hips was until it was too late...

Naruto watched the colored lights dancing around, and their pattern suddenly made sense to him. His hips should swing this way as that light came nearby, his arms should move like this as he moved a few steps over there; and he began to hear a bass groove(in his mind?)- or maybe it had always been playing and he just now noticed it. This- this is genjutsu? What is this, I don't even... But, beyond all belief, Naruto found his resistance to the strange jutsu was decreasing. He glanced back at the rest of his team as he did a spin move, and found himself saying, "What are you guys waiting for? Come on!"

Sakura watched Naruto dance, his moves so embarrassing they almost weren't funny. "Ha... aha ha ha..." She looked at the rogue ninja for a second, and purposefully strode over towards Naruto, meaning to pull him back by the ear. There was a light, giggly feeling in her chest, but now that they had observed the genjutsu long enough it was time to get serious again. As the pink-haired medic-nin reached to grab Naruto the giggly feeling in her chest overtook her, and the grab attempt spun Naruto to face her, and they began to dance together. Wha- NOOOOOOO!

Grinning beneath his face mask, Kakashi put the recording device back in his pocket. He must be pretty smooth to have caught Sakura in it, Thought Kakashi. Glancing to his left, Tenten had her eyes closed, pinching the bridge of her nose as she sighed. Huh? Ooh- Kakashi quickly whipped out his recording device again: Naruto was standing behind Sakura with his hands on her hips, rocking side to side with her in time to an unheard beat- when suddenly they stopped. It was so quiet in the clearing Kakashi heard a pollen spore drop onto a blade of grass.

"So that's pretty much the same genjutsu I used as last time," The rogue ninja stated.

Sakura slowly turned around, and stared into Naruto's eyes for a moment before slapping him, sending him skidding across the ground for several yards.

"Th- that was the genjutsu doing it, I swear!" Sakura glared at him, then turned and began to walk off.

Kakashi cleared his throat. "I think we've gathered enough intel for the moment. Team, tactical retreat!"

END OF CHAPTER

"There is no easy way, for an honest man today- which is something you should think of as my life boat sails away..."