Disclaimer: I hate doing this, but whatever. I don't own Naruto, you know who does.

A/N: Here's chapter 4. Hopefully I end up writing this one with a little more fun and less exposition. But we'll see, since I write this part before I write the actual chapter. I hope you enjoy it anyways! D

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Naruto walked lazily through the nearly empty streets of Konoha. There were always a few early risers, and for the most part, he was on good terms with them. There were a few whom he wasn't very popular with. That man that threw the orange at him the day before, Hanu Sabu, was one of those who detested Naruto. The boy always felt a little saddened that they hated him so passionately when they didn't even know him. It made him disappointed in human nature, to hate what one doesn't understand. He had learned over the years to simply accept it.

"Good morning, Sabu-sama," Naruto greeted the disagreeable man warmly, as he did every morning. All Sabu did was glare at him from his porch, and after a minute or so went back to sweeping it. Naruto smiled to himself; the man was hopeless.

He passed other various people and places, always greeting his friends and enemies alike. For all that people hated about him, they all admitted (whether to themselves or actually to Naruto) that Naruto was a decent person worthy of some level of respect. He cared for those that hated him, and that set him apart. Sometimes it even made him wonder about himself.

I'm too nice for my own good, he thought to himself. Instinctively, his left hand rose to hold onto his right shoulder, as if to comfort that area of his body. He hadn't really noticed himself do this, because he seemed to do it all the time. Time heals all wounds, but sometimes, time takes its sweet old time. And though Naruto didn't notice it consciously, his subconscious was getting impatient. The frequency of this occurrence was steadily getting higher and higher. Why, he didn't know, for whenever he noticed, he also noticed the residual pain that accompanied it. But he usually brushed it off as an ache from over-training. That was the only reason he could ever think of.

Lost in his own thoughts, he barely noticed himself begin ascending the steps to the Hokage's office. The route was all too familiar to him. This was almost a daily routine for both him and the old lady. Getting to the top of the steps, he rounded the corner and started walking through the circular halls to her office. He had not yet lowered his hand; he usually did once he needed both of his hands to push open the Hokage's doors with the most drama. And that time had just approached. With a great heave of both hands, he "struggled" to get the doors open, and, not at all to his surprise, he found Tsunade asleep, her head resting on her desk, drool getting all over whatever she had been working on, and inevitably soaking ink into her skin for all to see when she awoke.

He took in a deep breath, and then he let it out in his favorite way. "TSUNADE-BAA-CHAN!" he shouted forcefully. "WAKE UP!"

"Wha? Whozere?" she shot her head up stupidly, her glazed eyes scanning the room. He had been right; something about restricting the number of missions a single ninja can do was written (mirrored) on her left cheek, which happened to be the one she liked to sleep on.

"It's me, of course!" Naruto said happily, a huge grin on his face. Tsunade gained her composure and wiped her eyes and cleaned off her face with a rather dirty rag and then smiled at him.

"Whattya want, brat?" she asked sarcastically and jokingly. This was part of their routine; she loved Naruto's morning visits that wake her up from her slumbers after having passed out from too much paperwork.

"What do you think I want, granny?" he threw back teasingly.

"I don't know, that's why I asked, punk."

Naruto chuckled a little bit, and she joined him. It was a good laugh; not long, not loud, but good. Warm would be the word she'd use to describe it. It was a good word, she thought.

"I think you know what I want. I want..."

"To know if you have a mission today, right?" she finished his sentence for him. He just put his hand behind his head, the typical posture he made after she'd finish this sentence, and giggled a little bit.

"You guessed it!" he said through a laugh. She just smiled at her adopted brother. She loved the warmth he gave to the overly cold room after a chilly, early winter night.

"And..." she hesitated to add drama, "it just so happens..." he was on the edge of his seat, "that..." his eyes were huge, "you do..." his eyes lit up, "not have no mission today!" she finished. He couldn't help but laugh. And since he couldn't help it, she couldn't either. She found his laughter annoyingly, yet satisfyingly, infectious. And even when he wouldn't stop, it wasn't annoying it grew on you. It was insidious, and the most intriguing thing about Naruto's laugh was how much it told you about him if you knew its secret. The only thing infectious or insidious about him was the way everyone loved him after they got to know him.

"Old lady, old lady, what is it? Huh?" He bounced up and down excitedly in his chair as he asked his usual question. She chuckled a little as she smirked, and pulled out the D-rank list of missions that had yet to be brought out for actual use.

"Hmm, let's see..." she said, casually browsing the D-rank mission list.

Naruto looked scandalized, "What? A D-rank mission? You must be joking, Tsunade-baa-chan. You must be!" His usual repartee was right on cue.

"Oh," she said, as if he had jolted her back to reality, "you're right." Rummaging through the massive paper pile, she pulled out a list with purple "E"s instead of green "D"s.

Now Naruto was angry, "Oh no you don't! You put the Academy level missions back where you found them, old lady Tsunade!" His fake irritation managed to make them laugh. They liked laughing, so it was ok.

"Alright, alright," she said, pulling out the B-rank list, which made Naruto's eyes light up, "today you and your team have an expensive B-rank mission, not unlike your mission to the Country of the Wave about two years ago. You are to escort a lost traveler, also an old friend of mine, out of the village and beyond the east border of the Wind country."

Naruto looked quite excited as he asked, "Who is this person? Huh? Who is he?"

Tsunade was amused, "His name is Kusari."

Naruto looked puzzled, "Is that it?"

Tsunade now smiled big, "Nope. You'll probably faint from hearing the last name."

"Tell me, tell me!" he asked eagerly.

"His full name is...Raikou Kusari."

She had been right, he had nearly fainted, but instead of fainting, he had merely toppled out of his chair, his forehead protector set slightly askew. "The Raikou Kusari? The one who can slow down time so drastically he could kill hundreds in one second? The one who can manipulate people using the electric pulses in their bodies? The only person to ever defeat Uchiha Itachi?"

"The one and only," Tsunade said, smiling.

"But, I don't understand. Why would we need to escort him?"

"Simply put, he's hurt. Badly. He is unable to use his time manipulation technique, and his fight with Itachi a few months ago left his chakra circulatory system in shambles. It's because the fool had mercy on Itachi and didn't go all out just to kill him fast. He wanted to fight and have fun."

Naruto didn't understand how anyone could have fun fighting Uchiha Itachi, but from what he's heard about Raikou Kusari, anyone twenty-five years old with that ability had to be not just scary like he'd heard, but horrifying.

"But why are you assigning a Genin team to escort him?" Naruto was being uncharacteristically business-like. Just like every morning, Tsunade thought with a smile.

"Why? He requested it. He's posing as an innocent traveler. The Akatsuki is after him since he has put their strongest member out of commission for who knows how long. They want revenge. But they won't look for him if he's beyond the Wind country's border. Nobody really goes out there who has any real business in the world. But just be careful. I saw him last night and he's a little...odd right now. He's not himself, and though he's normally kind-hearted, his bad side seems to be a lot more noticeable, so watch yourself. I'll tell Sakura, Sasuke, and Kakashi the same thing when I officially give the mission later today. Now scoot, brat!" she said jocularly, and Naruto smiled and jovially exited the room.

Too bad, she though, he won't be here tomorrow morning.

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Well, I hope you liked it! Please read and review!

Raikou Kusari means "Lightning Chain". Its significance has been touched upon, and will be fully explained later.