Team ROOT

Chapter Three, Part One: Family, Graduation & C-Ranks

(A/N: I feel I should probably mention that unless otherwise stated, Naruto and Hinata usually have henge over their ears and tails so that they don't unnerve people when walking around. This is the reason that nobody seems to be commenting on them usually. Also, this is an announcement for anybody looking for a sequel to Both Sides of the Kunai. Yes, there will be a sequel. No, it will not air just yet. Yes, I am writing it. Now kindly stop sending me private messages asking; as much as the average of five people a day asking is awesome and quite flattering, it is getting somewhat irritating. Now enjoy the chapter!)

Naruto, Hinata and Sai had now been at the Academy for half a year, and were currently working through their homework for the weekend when there was a knock at the door.

Naruto went to answer it, and was surprised to find three people he recognized from Danzō's files on Konoha's clans: Hiashi Hyūga, the clan head; his wife Hitomi holding a girl of about two years old (and already had the instantly recognizable Byakugan eyes blinking curiously at Naruto's twitching fox-ears) and his twin brother and head of the Branch family, Hizashi Hyūga, who also had his hand resting on the head of a boy about a year older than Naruto and Hinata.

"Hello," said Hiashi politely (though Naruto did not miss the slight moment of startled shock he saw the man give his ears and tail), "May we come in?"

Naruto opened his mouth but at that moment Hinata appeared behind him, "Who is it, Naruto-kun?"

Hitomi Hyūga gasped, "She looks exactly like me!"

Naruto stepped backwards to compare for himself. A few seconds later he nodded, "You do look very similar…"

Hiashi frowned, "Our first-born daughter was snatched from her crib only a day after she was born. We named her Hinata."

Naruto grinned, slipping an arm around the shoulders of his bonded partner, "Well what do you know? Looks like we found your family Hinata-chan! Now if only we could find mine…"

Hizashi leaned backwards and scrutinized the boy, "He does resemble…"

Naruto's eyebrow rose, "Who?"

Hiashi shook his head, "I'll need to check with the Hokage to see if it's true, Hizashi. May we come in?"

Naruto stepped back with Hinata to allow them entrance.

Once everybody was seated in the lounge area, Hiashi cut to the chase, "Hinata, given that my other daughter Hanabi is currently too young to take up the post of heiress, I would like to extend an invitation to you, as the rightful heiress despite your initial disappearance, to move into the Hyūga compound and take up the mantle as heiress."

Hinata's eyes widened before a tear slid down her cheek. Naruto reached over and squeezed her hand as he felt sadness come through their mental link.

Hitomi picked up on the tear, "Is something wrong?"

Hinata shook her head, "I… I can't. Don't get me wrong, I want to but I can't. Not without Naruto."

At Hiashi's understandably puzzled expression, she continued, "The person who took us both… he did some kind of experiment on us. We ended up able to converse without words… but as a side effect we can't be too far apart at any given time. At present, the maximum range we can get away from each other is fifty feet."

Hitomi frowned, "Why don't you tell us the full story?"

Hinata swallowed and began to speak, Naruto and Sai occasionally butting in to add details she had missed.

When she was finished, Hiashi looked livid, "So this ROOT group, you say that the Yondaime specifically told Danzō Shimura to shut it down and he ignored him?"

Naruto nodded, "Yeah. Danzō seemed to take a great amount of interest and pleasure in telling me how he flouted "the great Yondaime Hokage". I'm not quite sure why."

Hizashi cast his brother a significant look, his thoughts obvious on his face; "It's because he's the Yondaime's heir!"

"Anyway," said Hitomi as she looked fondly upon Hinata, "Even though you must turn down the post as clan heiress, you will always have the support of the Hyūga, my daughter."

Hinata nodded, "Okay."

Neji sat up straighter in his chair, "I refuse to acknowledge her!"

Hizashi smacked him on the back of the head, "Neji, be polite!"

Hinata gave him a small smile, "Okay then. If you'll come with me, Neji-san, we can see about giving you a demonstration of my skills."

Neji stood up and followed her towards the door to the gym area. Naruto grinned, "You all may want to watch this. Hinata's going to destroy him."

Hiashi glanced at his brother for a brief second before all the Hyūga adults stood and followed Naruto and Sai towards the door through which Hinata had led Neji.

-TR-

The battle was short and brutal. Neji tried his best but was utterly thrashed in about a minute.

Finally he rolled over and groaned with pain, "How… how did you? You're a Hyūga! Underhanded strikes and jutsu should not be in your repertoire!"

Hinata bent over him, casually jabbing a few pressure points to immobilize his limbs, "That would be true if I had been raised a Hyūga. From what I was taught by my sensei, the Hyūga Elders believe that it is a disgrace to the Hyūga for them to use more than just their Jyūken in combat. This is a mistake. It gives the enemy a perfect overview of the Hyūga in question's abilities and therefore they will know how to counter it. That is how I defeated you, because I used what I know about the Jyūken to anticipate your motions and defeat you."

Hiashi exchanged a glance with his wife and brother. Naruto could tell at one glance that the man was startled by Hinata's knowledge of real battle tactics. He grinned, "Beautiful how good she is at this; isn't it?"

The three adult Hyūga could only nod, dumbstruck as they watched Hinata pick apart Neji's tactics and expose the flaws in each of his moves.

-TR-

"This is an outrage!" yelled one of the Hyūga Elders as he stood up and pointed at Hiashi, "I order you to go over there and seal that girl's Byakugan before she becomes a threat to the clan!"

Hiashi allowed himself a small smile, "I'm afraid that is out of the question. You see, our long-lost daughter is now at the stage where she would make a good heiress to the clan, yes. Regrettably she cannot, however; and I will not tell you her secrets out of respect for her and her boyfriend and partner. What I can say however, that you are welcome to try sealing her yourself; but expect to come back to the compound either severely wounded or dead. Her, her boyfriend and their other friend are not the kind to suffer fools."

The Elder bristled at being called a fool before he said, "Very well, we will do it ourselves. It should not be difficult, we are Hyūga and they are children."

Hiashi smirked as the Elders stood up and headed for the door, "You have no idea…"

-TR-

Naruto opened the front door to find several Hyūga who seemed older than Hiashi on the doorstep. "Hello, can I help…" Naruto began to say before a chakra spike to the chest sent him crashing to the floor.

Hinata appeared out of the kitchen, "Naruto-kun?"

One of the Hyūga pointed at her, "You! Don't move!"

Hinata's eyes flashed before the veins around her eyes expanded and she settled into a Jyūken stance.

At that moment, all four Hyūga Elders collapsed, revealing Naruto and three of his Kage Bunshin standing there, their hands outstretched to where they had just pinched the pressure points on the backs of their necks.

Naruto wordlessly made another Kage Bunshin, after which the Bunshin gathered the Elders and carried them from the apartment.

They would all be found later that night, hanging from the Shodaime and Nidaime's noses; completely naked, bound and gagged.

(A/N: This is actually what happened to Sasuke in the previous chapter; it was actually a Kage Bunshin that put him up there but I just forgot to state that it was a Kage Bunshin. Naruto never actually left Hinata's side apart from walking out of sight to make the Bunshin and give it its orders.)

-TR-

When they walked through the Academy gates the next day, they found that Iruka was already leaning against the wall by the doors. This was a surprise since all three of them tended to turn up very early to get in a little extra training before starting the day's work.

As soon as the scar-nosed chūnin saw them he walked over, "Nice to see you three. I'd like to ask you about something."

Naruto nodded, "Do tell."

Iruka folded his arms, "You do remember last week, when I explained to the class about some of the atrocities committed by ninja?"

Hinata nodded, "We do. We've had to do more than a few of them back in ROOT, if I recall."

Iruka nodded, "Well I was planning something special for today. This is what I was going to do…"

A sly grin crossed Naruto's face, a second later crossing Hinata's as well, "Oh, I'm sure wecan think of something…"

-TR-

Excited chatter filled the air as the class were led up behind the Hokage Monument on a field trip to see the Memorial Stone.

Iruka walked at the head of the throng with Naruto, Hinata and Sai almost directly behind him, and as he turned to face the class he briefly locked eyes with Hinata and gave a barely perceptible nod.

Hinata returned the nod and began to silently form handseals.

"Iruka-sensei," said Naruto, drawing their teacher's attention, "I need to take a leak."

Iruka nodded, "Okay Naruto, just hurry back."

Naruto nodded back and headed off into the trees.

The rest of the trip towards the Memorial Stone was not eventful, though Naruto did not return and a couple of the students started picking up on Iruka's concerned expression as he looked around for the absent blond. That was when it happened.

Around thirty Kumo-nin dropped into the clearing, their expressions predatory as they surrounded the class. "Well, well, well," sneered one, evidently the leader, "What a pleasant coincidence. A whole lot of Konoha's Academy students. This lot will fetch a pretty price back in Kumo!"

Iruka stepped in front of his students, "I will not let you harm so much as a hair on my students. Help should already be on the way."

The Kumo-nin laughed, "Help? Ha! Nobody knows we're here; we killed the boy who went off to the bathroom since he tried to fight back!"

Hinata gasped, "N-Naruto-kun?"

One of the Kumo-nin dispensed something he was carrying over his shoulder onto the floor, and Hinata gave a cry of horror and fell to her knees as she saw Naruto lying limp on the ground, his chest riddled with bloody stab wounds and a look of horror still frozen on his face. Numerous cries came from other students as Hinata crawled to Naruto and began crying on his chest. One of the Kumo-nin dragged her up by the hair, "Hey, this one's a Hyūga! And a pretty one at that! Think we could have a bit of fun with her before we hand her over to become a breeder, taichō?"

The man shrugged, "Might as well; it's all she'll be good for from now on. Same with the other girls."

One of the other Kumo-nin reached out and stroked Ino's hair before taking a quick feel of her ass. She tried to slap him but missed, "Pervert!"

Iruka chose that moment to mount an attack, but all it brought was death as the Kumo-nin plunged a hand covered in lightning chakra through the chūnin's heart. Blood sprayed the students who were standing behind him, causing the girls amongst their number to scream. Sai was next, hitting the ground with a katana buried in his chest and his tantō dropping from limp fingers.

Sasuke attacked the Kumo-nin, but was brought down by a punch in the gut before the captain of the Kumo squad bent over and dragged him up by the collar, "An Uchiha! He'll be useful, though we might just transplant his precious Sharingan if he's going to be stubborn! I'm sure some real Kumo-nin could use them better!"

Sasuke swore and spat into the Kumo-nin's face, only to be slammed into the ground a second later and knocked out with a hard stomp to the head.

Akamaru and Kiba attacked, but Akamaru was kicked into a tree and Kiba was dropped just as Sasuke had been. After that the Kumo-nin tied their wrists and set them marching north, all the time whispering to the girls about how much "fun" they were going to have breaking them before they got to Kumo. Sasuke and Kiba were carried, and Hinata was dragged by two other Kumo-nin since she was too stricken with grief over Naruto's death to resist.

Before they'd got too far however, their surroundings suddenly faded into mist and the Kumo-nin disappeared.

Shikamaru and Shino, the two smartest in the group, were the first to work it out. Shikamaru thought for a second before he said, "Whoever's doing this genjutsu, come on out!"

There was a moment's pause and then the mist disappeared, revealing their surroundings exactly as they had been, with Naruto, Hinata and Sai all standing in front of them with Iruka.

The chūnin nodded, "Very astute, Shikamaru."

"I knew it was a genjutsu the whole time; I just played along!" boasted Sasuke to cries of, "Sasuke-kun is so cool".

Naruto snorted, "Sure you did. I imagine if you'd had your Sharingan it wouldn't have fooled you, but as the only one who could've detected the genjutsu at once was actually the one DOING the genjutsu…" he gestured towards Hinata, who smiled and waved.

"Now," said Iruka, "I hope you all learned a valuable lesson from this. Just because you are children does not mean that enemy ninja won't kill you or do terrible things to you. Once you put on your hitai-ate, you are legally adults and have to put up with all the associated responsibilities." He pointed at the Memorial Stone in the clearing nearby, "On that stone are engraved the names of every shinobi who has ever given their life for Konoha. The Shodaime and Nidaime Hokages are both there, as is the Yondaime for his sacrifice to destroy the Kyūbi no Kitsune."

Naruto met Hinata's gaze as Iruka continued, "Will you do that? Are you willing to lay down your lives for Konoha? Because that is what it means to be a proper ninja."

-TR-

Three and a half years later.

"Alright, Naruto," said Iruka, "For this last test you need to make a set of Bunshin."

Naruto grinned, "Does it matter what type they are?"

When Iruka shook his head Naruto's hands flew to a cross seal, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Eight solid clones appeared around him, four on each side.

Iruka grinned as he made a quick mark on his clipboard and threw Naruto's headband to him (the three of them having given Iruka their headbands to give back once they passed the exam), "You pass. Congratulations Naruto!"

Naruto grinned, tying his headband back in place around his forehead and smirking as he walked out to rejoin his friends.

-TR-

The next day, the trio walked in and took their usual seats at the back of the class, where they sat and talked until Iruka walked in with a clipboard and said, "Alright all of you. Your teams are as follows, and I'm only going to say this one so make sure you listen."

The students started paying attention and Iruka looked down at his clipboard, "First of all, Team 11. This team will comprise Naruto Uzumaki, Hinata Hyūga and Sai, and your sensei will be ANBU Neko."

"Hey!" shouted Sasuke, "How come they get an ANBU at that?"

Iruka growled, Sasuke's constantly haughty attitude starting to wear on his last nerve, "Special circumstances and the Hokage's order, Sasuke."

Sasuke scowled, "I guess I'll just have to take this up with the council!"

Naruto snorted, "The Hokage is the ultimate authority in this village. The most that mass of arse-kissers called the civilian council can do is whinge."

"Anyway," said Iruka loudly, cutting off Sasuke's retort, "Team 10 will be Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara and Chōji Akimichi under Asuma Sarutobi. Team 8 will be Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, and Sakura Haruno with Kurenai Yūhi as your sensei."

Sasuke stood up, "What about me? Where's my sensei?"

Iruka frowned, "I don't know. It seems you may need to return to the Academy for another year and graduate next time."

Sasuke went red with fury, "I'M AN UCHIHA! I SHOULD HAVE A SENSEI, NOW!"

"Wow," commented Naruto, "Is he seriously having a tantrum because he didn't get what he wanted?"

"Actually," said a voice from the doorway as five people walked in, "I'm supposed to take him on as an apprentice."

Sasuke instantly looked smug, "Good, no team to drag me down or get in my way."

Naruto and Hinata shared a grin before simultaneously deadpanning, "I find your lack of faith in your comrades disturbing."

"Anyway," said the only one in the group wearing a mask, "Which of you are Naruto Uzumaki, Hinata Hyūga and Sai?"

Naruto raised his hand, "That'd be us, sensei."

The woman nodded and raised her hand to remove her mask, "I'm Yūgao Uzuki, or Neko. I'm going to be your sensei."

Naruto, Hinata and Sai stood up and filed out of the classroom after her as the woman standing next to Yūgao said, "I'm Kurenai Yūhi, where are Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame and Sakura Haruno?"

-TR-

Yūgao met the three genin on Training Ground 11, where the first thing she said was, "I know where you come from, I know your skills and I know that all three of you have been training and running missions since you were about four. I even know about your little secrets…"

Naruto sighed and signalled to Hinata, who dropped the genjutsu around the duo's fox ears and tails.

Yūgao nodded, "I even know that you three shouldn't be genin, chūnin or even jōnin. That's why…" she drew her katana as two other ANBU appeared and drew their own, "I brought these guys to help me test your skills."

Naruto drew his wakizashi, the blades glinting sapphire and emerald in the sunlight as he reversed his grip on Cortana in his left hand and raised Durandel into a blocking stance.

"Those are interesting blades," said the dragon-masked ninja as he took a step towards Naruto while Yūgao approached Hinata and the gecko-masked nin headed in Sai's direction, "Let's see how well you use them."

Metal clashed as Naruto's wakizashi slammed into the dragon-masked nin's katana before they separated again.

"Just out of interest," said Hinata in a conversational tone as she pushed Yūgao's katana back one-handed with one of her tantō, "Do you want us to go all-out and try to kill you? Or should we hold back just enough to avoid that conclusion?"

Yūgao's mask tilted slightly, expressing her curiosity, "I am trying to get an accurate idea of your skills. Going at full-power would be much appreciated."

Hinata smiled happily, "Alright. Hey Naruto-kun, Sai-kun! We've got permission to completely cut loose!"

Naruto, who was currently engaged with the dragon-masked ANBU, looked over and grinned even as the dragon-masked ANBU executed a swipe at his head and he dodged underneath, "Excellent. Let's show these three exactly what we can do!"

Sai whipped a scroll from his belt as a faint red glow began to appear around Hinata and Naruto.

The gecko-masked ANBU suddenly had to dodge a set of ink lions as Sai called, "Chōjū Giga!" while Neko was forced to Kawarimi as a spike of red chakra sailed at her from Hinata's palm thrust.

The dragon-masked ANBU, on the other hand, was now finding himself somewhat beleaguered by Naruto, who was wreathed in red chakra and causing all kinds of hell for him. He had already been forced to unleash his Mokuton in an attempt to restrain him but without some kind of focus on the boy's person, it was having about as much effect as trying to restrain him with wet paper towels. The ground around them was littered with pieces of shattered wood.

Naruto had also begun demonstrating that even in his yōki-fuelled state, he was still fully capable of sneak attacks. As such Ryū suddenly found himself dodging Kage Bunshin emerging from below the ground to attack him, though it was easy to avoid their strikes and deliver his own to get rid of them.

Gecko was trying to keep clear of two ink behemoths with clubs as well as Sai with his tantō, and was having a fairly tough time of it as the pale boy and his golems were excellently co-ordinated.

Neko had just avoided another chakra-powered thrust from Hinata when she froze, the cold steel of a blade against the nape of her neck telling her that the grinning girl in front of her had effortlessly played her into a checkmate.

Sheathing her katana, Neko said, "I yield."

Hinata beamed before springing away to assist her team.

Ryū had just dispelled Naruto's last clone when he sensed something approaching at high speed. He immediately shunshined clear, only just avoiding Hinata as she hit the ground where he had stood before leaping away to join Naruto.

Even as he turned to face them again, both leapt forwards, "Konbijutsu: Kitsune Hayakuchi Omasshō!" (Collaboration Technique: Obliterating Fox Twisters)

Ryū used Kawarimi just in time as the log he swapped with was mercilessly rent asunder by the two spinning genin hitting it before they diverged and circled around for another attack.

The game of impromptu cat-and-mouse continued for another minute until they abandoned the technique and drew their swords again.

Naruto slashed Durandel through the air, parrying one of Ryū's strikes before Hinata darted under his guard and delivered a gentle poke to one of the ANBU's nerve points.

His arm muscles instantly locked up, the katana slipping from numb fingers as Naruto brought Cortana up to rest the razor edge against his collarbone.

As soon as Ryū had given the signal that he yielded, they were off to aid Sai.

Gecko had been able to hold his own against Sai this long, but when Naruto and Hinata brought the number of blades he had to avoid to five he was forced to yield.

Now they stood in front of Neko waiting for her verdict.

"I've seen what the three of you can do," she said, "and I must say I'm most impressed. You pass."

Naruto and Hinata high-fived and Sai smiled, "I need to go and deliver my report to the Hokage. We go for our first mission tomorrow. Dismissed."

-TR-

Naruto's team were the first to arrive at the mission room the next morning, all three of them geared up and ready for the day to begin.

It turned out that their new sensei had declared them already fit for at least C-rank missions, because Sarutobi gave each of them a mission dorm and asked them to pick one to take, any one of which would require at least a day's travel. After all three had spent a few minutes having a huddled discussion at the side of the room, Hinata was elected as spokesperson.

"It appears that the escort and assault missions both take place along the same route, so I propose we take both and bring down the bandit encampment en route to Ta no Kuni."

Sarutobi frowned, "That would mean endangering the client, which is out of the question."

Hinata shook her head, "If we, Naruto-kun and I that is, leave a Kage Bunshin each with Sai and Neko-sensei to protect the client, we can destroy the bandits and return quite quickly. The client will still be safe and the bandit threat will have been dealt with; two birds with one stone."

The Hokage thought it over for a minute. It was definitely a sound plan. "Very well," he said finally, "But your first priority is the safety of the client. If necessary, deliver the client first and then deal with the bandits."

The three ex-ROOT shinobi nodded, "Understood, sir."

Sarutobi sent for the client, who turned out to be an attractive woman in her thirties with bright grey eyes and chestnut hair who introduced herself as Chizuru Yurihime.

One Yūgao had given them instructions on where to meet her, the trio set off to gather the necessary supplies for their mission.

-TR-

When they met Yūgao at Konoha's gates, all three were already fully equipped. Each of them had their weapons strapped securely onto their bodies and each had donned their old ROOT masks. In short, they looked like an ANBU team off on a mission.

Naruto saluted Yūgao as they landed beside her, "Operatives Yōkō, Tenshi and Sai reporting for duty, Neko-taichō!"

The ANBU woman chuckled, "You three ready then? Now we're just waiting on the client."

At that moment, said client came around the corner, "My apologies, I was temporarily held up."

"Held up" was one word for it, Naruto thought, looking up at the stacks of shopping bags stuffed with clothes that an older genin team (including a person he recognized as Neji Hyūga) were carrying behind her.

He exchanged a look with Hinata behind his mask. This mission might prove a little more difficult than they had assumed.

"Ah, ANBU-san!" boomed what was evidently the jōnin of the team from under the biggest pile of bags, "I take it you are this youthful lady's escort?"

Yūgao nodded curtly as her three students moved forwards and began storing the client's purchases in sealing scrolls, "Thank you Gai, you can go."

Gai nodded, beckoned to his students and left. Yūgao turned to look at the client, "Ma'am, are you ready to go?"

The woman nodded and they headed out of the gates.

-TR-

It quickly became apparent to all four Konoha ninja that their charge had glaring attitude issues. She started complaining of fatigue and sore feet after barely half an hour, insisted they get her some food (then turned up her nose at what they gave her) and constantly threatened to not pay them after the mission if they didn't "shape up and provide more adequate service for someone of her station".

Finally she sat down stubbornly on a mile marker and said, "I am not moving another step until all of you have some other method of getting me home! I'm tired, my feet hurt and I'm getting dirt all over my clothes!"

Naruto looked her up and down. "Lady Yurihime-sama," he said, using the title she had insisted on after Hinata had mistakenly called her "Miss Yurihime", thus prompting a tantrum from the 'Client from Hell', "I do not wish to appear rude, but perhaps if you were wearing more suitable clothing…"

She immediately looked offended, conveniently ignoring that he was right; the crimson silk kimono and high-heeled platform shoes she was wearing were hardly appropriate walking attire, "How dare you insult me like this? My husband will have your head!"

Naruto shook his head in exasperation, "And your husband is…?"

The woman drew herself up, "The daimyō of Ta no Kuni!"

Naruto looked over at Hinata, "Blatant lie…"

His bonded partner nodded, "Yes. Not only did her chakra briefly darken but she can't hide the normal indicators of deceit like most politically-connected figures and ninja can. I doubt she's even anything to do with the daimyō of Ta no Kuni."

Naruto smirked. Part of their training back in ROOT had been about reading body language to detect lies, and Hinata had ultimately been far better at it than him since her Byakugan allowed her to see the tiny indicators that even a true master of controlling his body language was incapable of hiding. It had served them well during those years.

Turning his head back towards their client he said, "Nice try, but you're like an open book when you lie. Care to try again?"

There was a pause while the client gaped at them, then she swallowed, "O-Okay, I'm only the daimyō's mistress… but I know he'll divorce his wife soon! I know it!"

Her expression suddenly turned shrewd, "Maybe if I paid you a bit more you could help me? You kill the daimyō's wife and I give you some extra cash, off the books of course."

The four shinobi looked at each other before Yūgao spoke, "I'm afraid that barring unexpected circumstances altering the mission is out of the question."

The woman looked pleading, "But this is unexpected…"

"No. Our job is to take you back to Ta no Kuni and ensure you get there in one piece. Nothing more."

"Come to think of it," Naruto said, "We are getting close to the border. Should Tenshi and I head off for our secondary objective now?"

Yūgao nodded, "You do that, but leave some Kage Bunshin behind."

The two ROOT shinobi nodded, created an exact duplicate each and took off, heading west as fast as they could.

"Where are they going?" Yurihime jumped up from the mile marker and looked after them.

Sai looked around, "To deal with our secondary objective; wiping out a bandit camp near the border. Their clones will be fine to help protect you until they return."

"Let's keep going," Yūgao interjected before Yurihime could reply, "It's getting late in the day."

The group continued on their way.

-TR-

A short time later.

Naruto and Hinata lay on their stomachs, looking down at the bandit camp below the rocky overhand on which they perched.

Hinata activated her Byakugan, "I see between two and three hundred bandits; definitely more than we anticipated."

"Not an issue," Naruto replied, "We've faced worse odds. Remember that time we got caught by a load of Kumo BOLT on our way back from carrying out an assassination some distance outside the capital of Kaminari no Kuni? That was some nasty trouble; we were lucky they didn't see anything that linked us to Konoha and decided to stop at the border or we'd have been doomed."

Hinata nodded and began flicking through seals. A second passed and then all hell broke loose in the camp below them.

-TR-

"I am constantly surprised by the potency of your genjutsu," Naruto commented as the duo walked through the camp five minutes later. The ground was saturated with blood which bubbled up around their boots as they moved and bodies were piled against the tents, some of them having died in the act of cutting others down. Naruto carefully avoided trailing his tail through a huge pool of gore, conscious that cleaning blood out of their tails was something both of them absolutely hated.

Hinata nodded, "Such a waste of human life though, even if they are bandits…"

Naruto didn't respond; he knew what Hinata was feeling. The genjutsu she had used was based on the Yamanaka clan's Shinranshin no Jutsu (Mind Body Disturbance Technique); it made the targets think that those around them were enemies. When used on a scale such as Hinata had just done the result was, more often than not, absolute carnage.

As they finished their search for any survivors and turned to leave they heard a voice, "Honestly, the best they could spare to hunt us down is two kids? Pathetic!"

Naruto and Hinata whipped around and immediately drew their weapons. A group of people stood nearby, each of them wearing a scratched headband.

"Two Kusa, one Konoha, three Kumo and one Iwa…" Hinata muttered.

Naruto nodded slightly before speaking, "I assume you are the leaders of these bandits then?"

"We were," grumbled one of the Kumo missing-nin, who appeared to be the youngest, "until you two came along."

Naruto snorted, "Oh, how my heart bleeds for your misfortune."

The Iwa-nin growled, "Let's just kill them and be done with it!"

Naruto and Hinata reached up to lower their masks back over their faces, having pushed them back up during their search to give their faces some air, but at that moment one of the Kumo shinobi spoke, "Hold on. What is your name?"

Naruto frowned, noting the man's dark skin, black hair and gold eyes, "Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki."

The last Kumo shinobi snorted derisively, prompting the duo to look over at him, "I see. The Uzumaki bitch must have married him."

Naruto's frown deepened, "Who is "him"?"

The Iwa ninja laughed harshly, "Are you stupid, boy? Your resemblance of the accursed Yondaime Hokage can be no coincidence! You must be his spawn, and when I bring you back to Iwa I will be reinstated and inaugurated as the Yondaime Tsuchikage before the day is out!"

Naruto showed no visible reaction, but his mind was racing, "The Yondaime? Well that would certainly explain Danzō always gloating about flouting him… and Hizashi Hyūga's reaction to me the first time we met."

A surge of comforting emotion came over the mental link from Hinata, "Naruto-kun…"

Naruto steeled himself, "It doesn't matter." Out loud he said, "So? Doesn't matter to me; all of you are going to die here today. We'll both make sure of that."

(A/N: Before people cuss me out for cutting it off like this; I'd like to explain that it was necessary. I originally intended this to be a single very long chapter, but when it got past 9.5k and where I intended to cut it off was still nowhere in sight I decided to cut it down and make it a multi-parter. The next part is just over 4k as I write this A/N, and I still have about four or five pages to copy from my notebook… so chances are Part II might be out very quickly. Until then, folks! Leonineus, OUT!)