You probably noticed that Naruto is a bit introverted, pretty much opposite as he is in the manga. Keep in mind the environment he was raised in. While Kaizo and Sai were brought in as children, Naruto's entire childhood has been around ANBU-level ninja. He wasn't going to be the same. Don't worry, though. He will show more personality as he interacts with others. But it will happen slowly.

Standard disclaimer applies.

Ch. 4: Confrontation

"I see the master has sent a lackey instead of showing up himself? How shall I take this, hmm? Is it an insult? Or is Danzo simply afraid of me?"

"Danzo-sama is very busy, Orochimaru-sama, but I am his second-in-command. Danzo-sama reveres our alliance."

The snake sannin laughed at that statement. "Do not try to flatter me with false pretenses, Yusuke-san. It will likely get you killed."

Yusuke planned to take that lesson to heart. Here was one man that, under any circumstances, he was unwilling to fight. If half the stories about him are true, then I don't have a chance in hell.

"Orochimaru-sama, please. We have other business to attend to."

"Kabuto, you take care of this. If that decrepit fool deems that I am not worthy of his presence, then I shall extend the same courtesy."

Yusuke watched as the Otokage teleported out of the room. He focused his attention on the young man who now took over the negotiation.

"I apologize on Orochimaru-sama's behalf."

"I too apologize on the behalf of Danzo-sama. It was not our intention to insult Orochimaru-sama."

"As long as we reach a proper agreement, there will be no trouble."

The threat veiled by that comment did not go unnoticed by the jounin. If our terms are not to their liking, Naruto and I are going home in body bags.

As if reading his thoughts, Kabuto said, "Are you sure your subordinate should be around for these proceedings? We are, after all, about to trade delicate information."

Yusuke nodded and turned to Naruto. "Naruto, return to the camp. I will meet you there after I have completed our mission."

"Hai, Yusuke-senpai." Naruto turned to leave when Kabuto appeared in front of him.

"Now, now, being blind as you are, we wouldn't want you getting lost, would we? Shinji will escort you outside." On cue, the said henchman appeared, taking Naruto by the arm and leading him out of the meeting hall.

"Now that that has been taken care of, let us continue with our discussion. Orochimaru-sama wishes to know the specifics of the Chuunin exams, and about a genin in particular…"

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It was not how Itachi expected his mission to develop, but he wasn't complaining. He had looked for the Kumo-nin in the area that the villagers said they had spotted them.

The clearing west of the village was deserted. Tall grass was prevalent in the area, obstructing his view of anything signs of a campsite. Along some paths the grass had been stepped on, but these areas were well-worn. It was impossible to tell if the tracks were by ninjas or the villagers. If there were ninjas here, they covered their tracks well.

After an hour of fruitless searching, Itachi was ready to return to Konoha, and report this mission failure. He was about to do so when he saw the sun reflecting off a headband in the treetops…

Lucky for me, they decided to return to that clearing. Now he was following the group in to what seemed to be Rice Country. Perhaps that is where they are based. It would explain the relative ease of their incursions.

They were speeding up. Apparently they decided that they had no pursuers. Now is a good time to capture one. Itachi pumped chakra into his legs.

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Lightning Country had never forgotten the damage that Uchiha Madara had caused its reputation. The only survivor of the mission sent to capture Madara, Hyuuga Takumi, came back a gibbering mess. All he spoke of was a red-eyed demon, one that was coming to killing them all. The depth of his fear was so great that Takumi literally ripped his own eyes out.

"Now I'll be fine. He'll still come, but he won't recognize me! You'll all be dead, but I'll be just fine! Hahahahaha!"

The Raikage had no choice but to put the main house member into the mental ward of the Kumo hospital. The damage had been done, however. Takumi had been a high-ranking member within the Hyuuga clan, well respected. To see him broken down so thoroughly shook that family to its very core. The clan head, a woman by the name of Hyuuga Tomoko, was especially concerned, most likely due to the pregnancy she was going through. If such a monster was coming to Kumogakure, it would recognize any Hyuuga, and probably slaughter them first. Her fear was no doubt irrational. How could one man, one not even an official ninja, kill off an entire clan? Many of the clan elders tried to assure her that the family was safe, and that Takumi was an exceptional case, but she would hear none of it. As long as the Hyuugas stayed in Lightning Country, the monster would kill them.

Most of the Hyuugas disagreed with the decision of their clan head to escape Lightning Country because of the whims of their emotional clan head. However, in the past, only the clan leader held the knowledge of the cursed seal used on the branch house members.

Everyone in the branch house was compelled to follow Tomoko, and without those members of the Hyuuga, the Raikage would be more willing to kidnap main house members for his eugenics programs. The clan agreed, reluctantly at best, that leaving the village was for the good of the clan.

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Feel the air around you. Listen to the changes in the environment. Map them in your mind's eye.

It was a mantra that Naruto always chanted while training. He had moved some distance from the campsite, settling into a familiar fighting stance. The leaves rustled, the grass stirred, and the wind blew across his face. After years of practice, he used his senses and his chakra affinity to describe the forest around him. The clearing to the Sound base is to the north. There is a squirrel in the tree behind me. I'm alone. Taking a deep breath, Naruto began his exercise.

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"Sakura, look at me."

This was hard for her. Everyday at the academy, she was made fun of by the girls because of her wide forehead and even by some of the boys too. It didn't help that such teasing opened the door for other routes of attack, like how she would never have any friends, or no boy would ever like her, or even that she was just plain ugly. Until Ino came along, that treatment was breaking me. Because of that, it was hard for her to take criticism, even the constructive kind.

"You have the basics down, but you have to practice more. Your taijutsu is quite abysmal."

"Hai, Kakashi-sensei," replied Sakura dejectedly. For the past several days, their new instructor seemed to be only scrutinizing her, as she was the one to receive the bulk of the reprimands. It was just like Itachi-sensei.

I thought it was just because Itachi-sensei was mean, but now that someone else has the same opinion…

How does one cope when she feels that the whole world sees her as useless? Sakura was so depressed that she failed even to ask Sasuke out, something that alarmed both of her teammates. They both genuinely cared about her, and despite Sasuke's continuous rejections of her advances, he didn't want to see her hurt. He ran up to her.

"Sakura, all you alright?"

Even the fact that Sasuke was concerned about her did not lift her spirits up. "I'll be fine, Sasuke-kun, just need to think a few things over." Like whether or not I'm cut out to be a ninja.

"Hey, Sakura, don't let ero-sensei get you down. Prove him wrong! Yeah, that'll show him! In fact, I'll help you with you taijutsu. Whenever you want!" Keiko was jumping up and down by this point. Wow, she can still do that after training? Still, it gave Sakura a modicum of comfort that her teammates saw some worth in her. Who knows, maybe she'll take her up on her offer.

"Maybe some other time, Keiko. Thanks, though." Sakura started walking away from the group, her troubled thoughts festering inside her.

"I hope she'll be okay."

"She'll have to be, if we want to succeed in the Chuunin exams."

"Sasuke! How could you say that?"

He turned to his teammate. "It's the truth. If she doesn't deal with whatever problems she has, it'll mess our team dynamic. That can be deadly during the exams."

"She's our friend too, ya know. Don't you care about her?"

"Hmph." Sasuke started walking back towards the Uchiha compound.

Keiko's shoulder's slumped, and began to walk towards her home.

"Of course I do."

Keiko's head whipped back to the boy, a small smile gracing his face. He turned around and continued on his way.

Keiko's heart leapt. She spun around and walked back home, and if one looked closely, they would see a ninja with a little skip to her step. You're not alone, Sakura. No matter what, we'll help you get through this.

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The thrill of the hunt is something that Itachi strived at. His extraordinary ascension into the ranks of the ANBU as a teenager was a mark of that. Everyone could see how that ninja flawlessly completed any mission handed to him. So great was his success that he was elevated to the status of ANBU commander at the age of thirteen.

Even that wasn't much of a challenge. Itachi, in his continuing boredom, asked the Hokage for harder and harder assignments. Unfortunately, the Sandaime, with his misplaced sense of compassion, ordered him to take some time off. Itachi wasn't sure what would have happened if that order had been enforced.

Good thing Tou-san stepped in. Itachi wasn't naïve; he knew his father's protests were not out of concern for his eldest child. If that were the case, Uchiha Fugaku would have ceded to the decision of the Hokage. No, the objection was due to Itachi raising the Uchiha clan above the other 'noble' families of Konoha. The fame that Itachi's exploits carried caused many of those on the council to the wishes of his father. It didn't hurt that he was also the ANBU commander, and likely to be Hokage, if he so desired.

The Hokage relented to the wishes of Fugaku and the council. Even though he was aware of the bullying caused by the elder Uchiha, he had no power over the workings of the council. So Itachi and his father got their wish; Itachi stayed on as the ANBU commander, receiving missions that were, in the Hokage's mind, suicidal. For the genius ninja, they were challenges to be overcome, just as this mission was.

The Kumo-nin had crossed the Rice Country border a few minutes ago, yet they weren't heading directly towards the Lightning Country border. Are they trying to shake off pursuers? If that was the case, they were exceptionally poor at it. Leaving a trail a mile wide, Itachi had no doubt they were heading straight for their destination, wherever that may be. He could still feel the chakra signatures of the group, and they seemed to be slowing down. Matching their speed, he dropped to the lower branches, quieting his approach. The further he traveled, the more certain that he sensed an additional, increasingly large chakra signature…

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Side-kick, thrust-punch, downwards knife-hand block. As Naruto went through his practiced routine, flowing from one move to another, he recalled the words of Megumi-sensei. Let the power flow through you, Naruto. The strength within you will only reach its full potential if you allow it. Roundhouse kick, back-flip, block. He paused in his routine.

There were some men coming, Naruto realized. He could feel six chakra signatures surging towards him, as well as another slowly gaining. A straggler? Or perhaps a pursuer? Oh well, it didn't really matter, because no doubt they have already noticed him. Naruto felt around in his weapons pouch, pulling two shuriken into each hand, hiding them behind his back.

He could hear the six nin land next to the tent. An awkward silence held for a few seconds before one of the strangers broke it.

"Are you an Oto-ninja, boy?"

Naruto listened as the familiar scraping of kunai from their holsters echoed around him. He turned to the speaker.

"Sorry, I am not. Are you Kumo-ninja?" It was a pointless question. Naruto could already tell that they were. For all of the small time Naruto has been in the outside world, some things had not escaped his grasp. Until he left Konoha, he wasn't aware that people from the same countries bore similar scents. People from Fire Country had a woody aroma about them, while an Oto-ninja's odor was stale, as if staying underground for too long. These men had no such scents, and the only others with business in sound territory were Kumo shinobi.

"The entrance to the Oto base is to the west of here. If you hurry, you can catch you to Shinji-san. He'll show you."

The ninja still seemed quite wary, but returned the kunai to their holsters. "Show us the way then."

"Sure. But maybe we should wait for the straggler."

The shinobi who spoke first, presumably the leader, barked out an order and all dispersed, camouflaging themselves within the tall grass, with one heading in the direction Shinji left.

"There is no straggler. Stay with me, boy. We must confront our pursuer."

Naruto gulped nervously. A real battle…he did not want to hurt anyone, but he would if it would help Danzo-sama and his allies. Anything for the Tree to thrive.

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They've stopped. And right next that enormous chakra…no now one is leaving…Kuso! They know I'm here. And that dissipating chakra signature was obviously going to get reinforcements. If I'm going to capture one, I need to take them out now! Sharingan activated, Itachi burst towards the clearing.

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"This your first fight, boy?"

"…Hai."

"Don't be afraid. It's six against one, and reinforcements are coming. Whoever it is won't stand a chance."

I'm not afraid of our opponent…

You are afraid of yourself… the engine of destruction that you have become.

The enemy ninja shot out of the forest and into the clearing.

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Hope somebody is enjoying reading this, 'cause I like writing it. I can't promise constant updates, but I'll try. Until next time.