DISCLAIMER: Still not owning the Naruto-ness.

First chappy is here! This is where our story really starts!

Just a quickie note: I plan on trying to keep things as close to the canon Naruto universe as possible, but if things are changed they'll be in small, sensible ways (like the role of the Twelve Elite Guardians now being that they protect the Daimyo when he travels abroad instead of all the time. This allows for Asuma to be a Konoha jounin and one of the Twelve at the same time instead of just being a former Guardian).

Having said that, there will be an OC in this fic who will kind of be the 'main character'. I'd like the focus to fall on the Konoha 11 and their age group as a whole, but if it tends to drift toward specific characters more than others… well what can ya do, right?

Anyway, on with the show!!

Naruto Uzumaki wasn't entirely sure where he was, and truth be told, he didn't much care. His apartment could have been on fire. Konoha could have been under attack by a thousand kage-level ninjas. Sasuke himself could have appeared and challenged him to a fight, but none of it would have made any difference.

The only thing he was focused on right now was the wonderful, beautiful, absolutely heavenly sight of Sakura Haruno offering him a bathtub-sized bowl of steaming hot ramen.

The blonde genin thought he might actually pass out when the green-eyed girl he'd had a crush on for as long as he could remember smiled warmly and pushed the giant bowl a little closer to him. "Itadakimasu, Naruto!"

TAP…

"Itadakimasu!!" he echoed, leaping into the bowl without a second's hesitation. He dove his head beneath the surface, keeping it there for several long seconds as bubbles occasionally floated up to mark his location. Naruto finally burst back out, his cheeks bulging from the mouthful of noodles he was chewing. He swallowed vigorously and sighed in satisfaction. "Ahh! This is fantastic, Sakura-chan! Where'd you find such great-tasting ramen?"

"Would you like me to feed you, Naruto?"

TAP…

"Eh?" Naruto opened his eyes and realized that Sakura was sitting right in front of him, submerged up to her shoulders in his ramen bath. He also quickly realized that neither of them appeared to be wearing any clothing. Naruto swallowed once again for a very different reason as his pink-haired teammate lifted a mouthful of noodles with a pair of chopsticks and held it out to him.

TAP…

"Sakura-chan, I thought this day would never come!" he exclaimed joyfully as he leaned forward, eager to accept the tasty morsel (as well as anything else) that his crush was offering…

TAP!!

Naruto was mildly confused as to why this bite of ramen tasted like feathers. Had he been a bit more awake, it might have actually registered that his mouth was now firmly clamped around his pillow.

"Naruto! Naruto are you even up there?" Sakura's familiar voice called out, sounding a little distant and muffled.

"Fling another rock at the window," a second, similarly distorted voice suggested, "maybe this time it'll work."

TAP!!

"Huh?" Naruto pushed himself up, his dog-hat slipping down over one eye as he glanced toward the window near his bed. Puzzled, he pushed the glass panes open and looked down. Sure enough, there on the street below stood the blue-eyed genin's beloved Sakura-chan, as well as Ino Yamanaka and her two teammates, Shikamaru Nara and Chouji Akimichi.

"Naruto!" Sakura scolded when his head popped into view, "Why are you still asleep this late?! Oh, never mind, hurry up and get dressed! Tsunade wants to see us all in her office right away!" The dazed and still incredibly confused Naruto scratched his head and yawned.

"Sakura-chan? What happened to the ramen bath…" he questioned innocently, "and why'd you put your clothes back on?" The blonde genin didn't even see the marble-sized rock the struck him across the bridge of his nose. He fell back onto his bed, shouting in pain and holding his face as he rolled about spastically, while on the street below the members of Team Asuma recoiled in fear from the fuming Sakura.

"Oooooo!! NARUTO!!"

"What does Granny Tsunade want with all eleven of us anyway?" Naruto asked, his voice slightly nasal due to the hand he was still holding over his aching face.

"I don't know," Sakura admitted as the five friends walked through the streets of Konoha on their way to the Hokage's tower, "she just told me to go and gather up everyone from our old graduating class, as well as Team Gai… but you know, I haven't been able to find Lee-san anywhere."

"Didja try the lake?" Chouji asked around a mouthful of potato chips. "I heard that he and Gai-sensei have started swimming laps with weights tied to their arms and legs."

"Idiot, we were at the lake when Sakura found us!" Ino reminded her pudgy teammate. Chouji simply shrugged as if he hadn't understood what she meant, leading the long-haired blonde girl to scowl at him in annoyance.

"Tsunade-sensei gave the impression that this was important," Sakura said as she put a hand to her chin in thought. "Everyone else has already been told. Should we take the time to find Lee-san or should we go straight to the Hokage? What do you think, Shikamaru?"

"Huh?" the black-haired boy shot her a confused glance. "Why are you asking me? You're her apprentice, shouldn't you know which way she'd prefer?" Sakura stopped walking to turn and frown at him, crossing her arms reflexively in the process.

"Well excuse me if I thought the chunin super-genius would have liked to put his two cents in! Aren't you supposed to be equivalent to a military Captain after all, the ones who make tough battlefield decisions?"

"Tch," Shikamaru replied with disinterest. "Pain in the ass. You're the one who was ordered to find us, so you make the…" The lazy shinobi trailed off, glancing around the street.

"Eh?" Naruto asked, "What's wrong, Shikamaru?"

"Where is everybody?" the chunin asked as he shook his head. The others all looked up and down the street, taking note of the various citizens who were going about their daily routines. It was a relatively busy section of town, not too far from Ichiraku Ramen. Though it was hard to count accurately, Sakura guessed that there were between forty and fifty people in the immediate area alone.

"What're you talking about?" the green-eyed girl questioned. "There are people everywhere."

"Yeah," the dark-haired boy agreed, "but none of them are wearing forehead protectors, are they?" The four genin looked again.

"Hey, he's right," Naruto said. Ino nodded as well.

"Most of the time you can't even leave your house without seeing at least a few here and there," the blue-eyed girl said. "All of the sudden it's like we're the only ninja in the whole village."

"Look!" Chouji shouted excitedly as he pointed, "Up there!" All heads turned just in time to catch four people wearing the unmistakable animal masks of ANBU members bounding across the roof of a nearby store. They were gone in an instant, vanishing over the edge like the jounin-level ninja that they were.

"A squad of ANBU… here?" Sakura said aloud.

"They looked like they were in a hurry," Chouji offered. Shikamaru nodded in agreement.

"A full squad of ANBU, out in the open and going around without concealing their movements," the black-haired chunin reasoned with a sigh. "I can already tell it's gonna be a pain in the ass, but I guess we should get to Tsunade's office as soon as we can." The four genin all nodded as they took off once again toward Hokage Tower.

"There you are, Sakura!" Shizune exclaimed when the girl in question pushed open the door to the Fifth Hokage's office. Shino Aburame and Kiba Inuzuka of Team Kurenai stood near the front of the large wooden desk where Tsunade herself was seated, Shizune standing faithfully at her side. The timid third member of Team Kurenai, Hinata Hyuuga, could be seen peeking out from between the boys' shoulders. Across the room, the weapons mistress TenTen and Hinata's older cousin Neji, both members of Team Gai, leaned easily against the wall.

"I'm very sorry," Sakura said, offering a polite bow, "I wasn't able to find Lee-san and-"

"That's all right, Sakura. All of you come inside and close the door." Tsunade said evenly. Once the door clicked shut, the Fifth Hokage laced her fingers in front of her face and looked out over the group she'd assembled.

"Good. Now that you're all here-"

"Hey, Granny Tsunade!" Naruto interrupted, eliciting a low growl from the sannin's throat at the use of the annoying nickname he'd created for her. "Didn't you hear Sakura-chan? Fuzzy Brows isn't here yet!"

"Lee is currently on a mission with Gai-sensei," Neji stated calmly, "one that TenTen and I were informed would take some time to complete."

"That's only partially true," Tsunade said in an unusually soft voice, drawing curious looks from everyone in the room. "I'm sorry Sakura, I should have told you when you left not to bother looking for Rock Lee… he's been in the intensive care unit of Konoha hospital since last night." The shock was immediately apparent on the faces of all assembled. The normally stoic Neji, who knew full well what it would take to put Rock Lee in a hospital, was the first to find his voice.

"Lee was… what happened?"

"He returned to the village late last night carrying an urgent message. Gai deemed it important enough that he gave Lee permission to remove his weights and open the First Celestial Gate in order to return to Konoha as swiftly as possible. He collapsed shortly after arriving and was taken to the hospital to recover."

"The message must have been very important for Gai to ask his student to go so far in delivering it," Shino stated as much as asked.

"We aren't sure of all the details," Tsunade continued, her expression growing grimmer with each word, "but as far as we can tell, Hiro Yamamoto, the Daimyo of Fire Country and his escorts were attacked while on their way to Konoha by a single assailant. Of the Twelve Elite Guardians… only five remain." If the news that Rock Lee had been hospitalized was enough to stun the assembled shinobi, then this very nearly floored them all.

"Wh-what?!" Naruto stuttered, his face absolutely aghast. As clueless as he was, even Naruto knew that only the strongest fighters in all of Fire Country were selected to become one of the Daimyo's personal guards.

"The Twelve…" Sakura started to say, "that means…" All faces in the room turned toward Ino, Chouji and Shikamaru.

"Asuma-sensei…" a teary-eyed Ino barely managed to whisper.

"Asuma Sarutobi was one of the lucky ones," Shizune quickly informed them, "From what Lee told us before he lost consciousness, it sounds like Asuma suffered only moderate injuries during the attack. Somehow the Daimyo himself also survived." A somewhat relieved sigh filtered through the assembled youths.

"Heh," Shikamaru laughed half-heartedly, "Figures that old geezer wouldn't die so easily."

"But still," TenTen spoke up, "how could the Elite Twelve be defeated that badly by just one person?"

"It would take hundreds, if not thousands of ordinary people to even stand a chance against warriors of their caliber," Neji surmised. "Is there any chance that a sizable squad of jounin-level shinobi could have used some type of genjutsu to make it appear as though there was a single attacker?" Shikamaru shook his head.

"A group of ninja that powerful would be virtually impossible to keep secret," the chunin asserted, "Konoha's information gathering network would have heard something about it before now." Shizune nodded.

"That's exactly right, Shikamaru. On top of that, part of the message that Rock Lee delivered was-"

"Suffice it to say we are certain this act was committed by a sole individual," Tsunade interjected, cutting off her assistant in mid sentence, eliciting more than a few raised eyebrows from the assembled ninja. "It's imperative that we locate and detain this person before they can strike again." The Fifth sat forward in her chair and placed her hands on her desk. "That's the reason I've called the ten of you here."

"Wait a minute," TenTen began to protest, "You don't mean-"

"Yes!" Tsunade shouted suddenly. "It is the duty of all Hidden Leaf shinobi to defend their country when called upon, be it in time of war or not!" Shikamaru narrowed his eyes a bit. 'Defend our country?' the shadow-manipulator considered her words, Even if he's strong, does one guy pose that much of a danger?

"Hokage-sama," Hinata asked quietly, "h-how can we possibly fight someone who defeated the Daimyo's bodyguards?"

"Yeah," her teammate Kiba agreed, "shouldn't you be sending jounin or the ANBU out for this type of thing?"

"Oh?" Naruto asked excitedly, sliding up to the beastmaster with a wide grin on his face, "Whattsamatter, Kiba? You scared?" Akamaru yipped twice as Kiba gave the blonde genin a light shove.

"The hell I am! I'm just sayin' this seems out of our league." Several heads nodded in agreement, and even Neji had to admit to himself that such a mission seemed beyond this group's abilities.

"I'm not sending you because I want to," Tsunade admitted with a sigh, "I'm sending you because right now there is no one else." A series of puzzled looks crisscrossed the youths' faces.

"Hokage-sama," Shino said, "we know Konoha has been experiencing a considerable manpower shortage since the chunin exam incident… but my impression was that things were finally getting back to normal." Tsunade sighed again and sat back in her chair.

"Let me put it this way: how many of you, excluding Naruto of course, saw your parents or active-duty family members this morning?" There was a moment of silence as each person thought, most of them shaking their heads

"My mom was working the counter at the flower shop," Ino said, "but she said dad had already gone out."

"I never see my dad in the morning," Shikamaru quipped, "he sleeps in later than Naruto."

"Hey!" the blue-eyed genin exclaimed.

"Hiashi-sama was also gone when I arrived for this morning's training," Neji offered. "Did you see him, Hinata-sama?" The indigo-haired girl shook her head meekly.

"Come to think of it, we didn't see any other ninjas at all on the way here except that squad of ANBU," Sakura realized. Tsunade nodded.

"The ANBU are being kept in reserve to defend the village," she declared. "Aside from them, almost every single available jounin and chunin has been sent to escort the Daimyo back to his castle in Kigaihei."

"All of them?!" Chouji stammered, "That's gotta be like a hundred shinobi!" Tsunade felt the edge of her lip curl up slightly in a smirk.

"The Daimyo was adamant about his protection. What Shino said is very true, but while lack of manpower is no longer a major concern, Konoha is still reeling financially from the aftermath of the invasion by the Sand and Sound," Tsunade explained. "Hiro Yamamoto is not only a wealthy Daimyo, but a respected and influential statesman. The payment he has offered for us to escort him back to his home safely will go a long way to finally restoring our village to prosperity, and his future recommendations will bring even more business."

"I see," Neji said as he narrowed his eyes. "By the same token, if Konoha should fail in protecting him…" Tsunade nodded

"It will effectively be the end of the Hidden Leaf, and most likely the end of Fire Country as well." All of the assembled youths were silent as the revelation set in. "You can see now why defending the Daimyo takes precedence over finding his assailant… however, it is critical that both missions be accomplished. If he strikes again it will look as if Fire Country is too weak to defend itself from a single man, and Konoha's credibility will be shattered. This village would crumble just as surely as it would if Hiro Yamamoto were to die." A long silence pervaded the room. Looking over the downcast, worried faces before her, Tsunade felt a pang of guilt. Perhaps I really am asking too much of them… despite the great things I've seen them accomplish, they are still just kids. Maybe it would be better not to drag them into the affairs of the past…

"Granny Tsunade," Naruto said seriously, raising his head and staring at her with focused determination shining from his cerulean eyes. "If our home is in that much danger… you just make sure that Daimyo guy gets home safe!" The blonde genin set one hand on his hip and pointed the thumb of the other at his chest. "We'll take care of the rest!!" Tsunade looked on in surprise as ten of the Konoha Eleven began to raise their heads one by one, each with the same confident look seeping onto their face.

"Yeah, don't worry about a thing, Tsunade-sama!" Kiba assured her. "By the time Akamaru and me are through with him, this guy'll look like a chew-toy!" His canine companion barked his support.

"It's gonna be a pain in the ass, but I guess we've got not choice," Shikamaru said with a shrug. Chouji nodded as Ino threw her arms around her teammates' shoulders from behind.

"Nobody gets away with hurting Asuma-sensei without answering to us!" the blue-eyed kunoichi declared with a wide grin.

"We will bring this man to justice, Hokage-sama," Neji stated firmly.

"You can count on us all, Tsunade-sensei," Sakura added with a confident nod. Even shy Hinata looked as if she was ready for anything. The Fifth Hokage and her assistant both smiled warmly. Despite having seen the effect Naruto's unbridled confidence could have on other people many times, it never once failed to amaze them.

"There's just one condition!" Naruto declared loudly. Everyone present looked on expectantly as Konoha's number-one unpredictable ninja flashed a wide, mischievous smile. "This mission's rank… you better make it a good one!" Tsunade couldn't help but let a knowing grin sneak its way onto her face.

"Very well, then!" she exclaimed with gusto as she stood. "This… will be an official A-rank mission! Your orders are to locate and pursue the individual responsible for the attack against Daimyo Hiro Yamamoto and his personal guard! Once he is found and positively identified," the blonde sannin paused, her eyes suddenly hard and unforgiving, "you will deal with him… using any means necessary."

BLAH! Much longer than I intended! Sorry for no action yet, but I needed the time to get the story all started. Next time you'll definitely get to see some ninja butt-kicking goodness!

If some story point doesn't make sense, don't worry, everything will be explained in good time… that's what Shikamaru's big-ass brainpan and internal monologues are for! ;D

If anybody seems out of character or a little underused, don't worry about that either. I'll try to give each character their own 'moment in the spotlight' as the story progresses.

Toodles until next time, and remember: More reviews faster chapter updates! I ain't gonna bother writing it out if nobody wants to read it!

See ya! -Chaz