Dance of the Hidden Leaves

Chapter Four

a/n I do not own Naruto. If I did, it might go something like this and be less popular for the masses.

Let me have men about me that are fat;
Sleek-headed men, and such as sleep o' nights:
Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look;
He thinks too much: such men are dangerous.

-Julius Caesar by Shakespeare

The sense of smell is more closely connected to memory than any other sense. That wasn't just a myth, Kabuto proved it with a number of subjects, and he had personal experience. It wasn't the color of the walls or the doors, but the clean, sterile smell that reminded him of past visits to the hospital.

Being made leader of a four man cell excused him from most of his medical duties, but he still had business in the building. It wasn't long before he found who he was looking for. It seemed like the old man never left his office.

"Hello, senpai."

Kabuto's friend looked up suddenly. "Kabuto?" he said getting up, cracking a few vertebrae in the process. "What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to drop by and tell you that I've been put in charged of a trio of genin. What the higher ups were thinking I cannot imagine."

He sat down again, rather heavily. "They were thinking that you'll do a fine job. And you will. So who's on your team?"

"First there's Hyuuga Hinata."

"You got a Hyuuga? Wow. They're supposed to be the best, aren't they? Someone must really like you."

Kabuto shrugged. "Yeah, well, we'll see. And I've got Kaguya Kimimaro."

"Kaguya…Kimimaro?" he repeated. The name wasn't familiar. "Is he from around here?"

"No. He was found by an ANBU a couple years ago and ended up in Konoha."

"Like you."

Kabuto continued, barely ruffled. "And then there's Uzimaki Naruto."

Kabuto wouldn't say that he enjoyed provoking his old friend, but he would say he knew how. "What? Isn't he the…"

"Yep."

"But…but…what sort of idiot would make that a shinobi? What were they thinking?"

"They were thinking that he'll do a fine job. Though I'll admit they may be poor judges in that field. Oh, by the way, I understand you have the medical records for all the academy students."

"Yes…"

"And you know that I take my background research seriously."

"Oh."

"So can I look at them?"

"Kabuto," he sighed. "Patient medical records are confidential. Do you know what that word means, confidential?"

"Of course. I won't tell anyone." His senpai glared at him. "Look, I just want to know what sort of shinobi I'm dealing with so they don't end up here."

He yielded. "Fine, fine. They're in the cabinet, far left."

"Arigato, senpai." Kabuto took out his deck of cards and rummaged through the files. Alphabetically, Hinata's came first. Her injuries were sparse and mild, she didn't get into things she couldn't handle. Kabuto took her cousin Hyuuga Neji's file right next to it for something to compare it to.

"So, what sort of thing are you going to have them do?"

"Well, I'll have to get to know them first," said Kabuto, putting the Hyuuga files back. "I'm going to put them through an ordeal at six tomorrow morning to see how they deal with pressure, danger, deception, each other, the works."

"You're sick."

"No, if I was sick, I'd have them abducted by missing nin for a few weeks, but there's really not enough time." Kabuto scanned Kimimaro's record. Not surprisingly, there were no broken bones. Kabuto was set to observe Kimimaro for a few weeks after he arrived for suspicious activity. He didn't find anything suspicious, but he did pick up a few stray finger bones.

They were like nothing he had ever seen.

"But in all seriousness," Kabuto continued, "such procedures are customary for new teams. Most of the other sensei are doing something similar."

"Just because they're doing the same thing doesn't mean they know what they're doing. You got to do what only you can do and what's best for your team and no other."

"Yeah," Kabuto said softly. "I know." He took out Uzimaki's records and noticed that Uchiha's were right next to them. Those might be interesting, too.

"Don't underestimate yourself, Kabuto. You may be the youngest one there, but you can hold your own against the best of them."

You just don't get it. Kabuto let him keep talking as he looked through Naruto's file. There were several pages of the kid's injuries alone. At first they were just training problems, he tried to do a jutsu he couldn't and ended up straining something. But a couple years ago, he seemed to grow more…aggressive. Almost every week for the past two years, he ended up with something, not just in sparring matches but in fights in general. The kid has no sense. But then Kabuto noticed that Naruto managed to break the same arm twice in two weeks. When someone breaks an arm, it usually is in a cast for longer than that. But if it was recorded as two separate breaks…How fast can you heal?

Kabuto copied anything interesting into his deck and put everything away. "Have a good day."

"Kabuto, don't underestimate yourself. You weren't put in your position just because they were understaffed."

Kabuto turned around, smiled politely, and waved. "Arigato, senpai." Clueless.


He stood in a field of long, dead grass, scattered trees, and mud. From where he stood, Kimimaro could see three suns, each on its own horizon. The purpose was the destination, and the destination lay at an end of this world. If he was going to pick an end, he would end with another beginning, but the life of the day began and ended with the blood soaked sun.

It was a metaphor for life.

Not that it mattered. The sky was red, but the suns weren't. Kimimaro jumped off of a rough, dark branch and felt the brittle blades of grass crumble as his feet were sucked hungrily into the mud. He picked a sun and ran towards it. None of the suns were red. They were—

His world vanished in a loud noise. He stumbled out of bed and turned off the alarm clock. Kimimaro's mind wandered sluggishly for the reason he was up so early. Kabuto-sensei. Right. Kabuto-sensei told him to be at training ground eight at six the next morning. Kimimaro was commanded, and he would obey.


Naruto had never been up that early in his life. He didn't know that the streets could be so quiet, so empty, with no sign of another living thing for miles. It was dark and misty, but the starlight and moonlight were enough to walk by, and there was nobody around to give him dirty looks or point and whisper that, yes, it was that thing, that monster. The ramen shop wasn't open this early, but, all the same, he had to admit that he liked this time of day.

When he got there, it was just like yesterday. Kimimaro and Hinata were already there and Kabuto-sensei was yet to show up. Kimimaro was leaning against a tree with his eyes closed as though he was asleep. If anyone can sleep standing up, he can. Hinata was curled up right next to him. She looked up when she heard him coming, then quickly pretended to be sleeping.

That bothered him, not that he let it show. For the past two years, she had been staring at him, as though he was about to explode in a burst of demonic fury and start killing people. She was nice enough to him, but she was nice to everyone and she was always the first to break eye contact and during those few times she spoke to him, she looked like she wanted to be far, far away.

When he sat down next to her, she tensed up visibly. If he put an arm around her, she'd probably scream. Instead, he stretched, closed his eyes, and waited for Kabuto to get there.


It was the sunlight that woke her. That and the uncomfortable position of her neck. Hinata looked around, and besides the position of the midmorning sun, nothing had changed. Kimimaro was standing in the exact same position as he was before and Naruto was snoring contentedly next to her. And Kabuto-sensei was still not there.

"Kimimaro-kun," she said urgently, "Naruto-kun, wake up!" Kimimaro opened his eyes and Naruto rolled over.

"What's wrong?" yawned Naruto. "Woah! It's morning! When did that happen?"

"He should have been here by now," muttered Kimimaro.

"ARGH! We go and get here before the sun rises and he forgets to come!"

"Maybe he didn't forget. Maybe he had to attend to one of his other duties."

"Or maybe he meant six in the afternoon."

"No, I remember you making a big deal about having to get up early."

"Hm." Naruto sat down to think. "So I guess we should just do nothing and wait for him to get here."

"I suppose."

"No, we shouldn't. We should start without him!"

"What?"

"Yeah. He's supposed to train us and make us stronger, so if he's not here, we should get stronger on our own. So how about it, Kimimaro? Want to spar?"

Hinata wanted Naruto to win, but she'd seen Kimimaro fight, and he was one of the best, and Naruto, well, wasn't. Sure enough, Kimimaro stepped out of everything Naruto could give him without even blocking, jumped over him, tripped him, and kicked him in midair. Anyone could see that it was over, but he got up and kept going anyway.

Naruto never gave up.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" One became twelve, and twelve as one rushed their one opponent. Kimimaro looked with interest at the unfamiliar jutsu, and with amusement when they started throwing shuriken in his general direction. He noticed vaguely that Naruto managed to surround him.

"You're taking this a bit seriously," said Kimimaro conversationally. "Don't forget, this is only a sparring match."

Naruto grinned savagely in reply. "I take everything seriously." They charged him, but it didn't work. Kimimaro didn't take out any of them, but he couldn't be touched, either. Hinata wasn't sure if he was trying to gauge Naruto's strength or if he was just toying with him, but after a few moments, Kimimaro grew irritated and took out all the kage bunshin almost instantly.

Hinata noticed something about Kimimaro's fighting style. He was obviously a talented taijutsu user, but his brand of taijutsu wasn't just an advanced style taught in the Leaf. His style wasn't a method of Konoha at all. In fact, with its measured steps and flowing grace, it seemed to resemble the Jyuuken slightly. If she was right, then his taijutsu would be made for a special weapon, or a bloodline, or something. She'd have to ask him about it sometime.

"You're better than Sasuke," growled Naruto, getting up. "I'll give you that much."

"Of course," replied Kimimaro. "So are you." He may or may not have been referring to skill, but Naruto took it anyway.

"Kimimaro," he grinned, forming a hand seal, "I like the way you think." He was already beaten soundly twice, but he wasn't finished yet.

But Kimimaro, on the other hand, was. "Hold it," he said. "Why don't you spar with Hinata?"

What?!

"What? Hey, I'm not done with you!"

"Yes, I know, but you need to fight against different people, for the, uh, experience in different styles of fighting." He seemed to be making it up as he went along, but Naruto bought it.

He gave her a smile that made her insides turn to jelly. "Hey, Hinata," he said. "Want to spar?"

"O-okay." She hated her voice. Someone could tell she was pathetic just by listening to her. She didn't have her father's voice, a voice that could command respect and fear. The only thing her voice ever commanded was pity from those outside her clan and disgust from those within. Naruto already thought she was freaky, and if they were going to be on a team together, eventually he would know she was a coward, too.

But not yet.

Hinata ran through a set of hand seals and activated her Byukagan. Every time she did, it made her feel a little dizzy, like looking at the world through a drop of water. When she activated her kekkei genkai, so to speak, she didn't change her eyes, but redirected her chakra circulatory system, flooding her eyes with power, letting her see things that others could not.

One of those things was a not stuck to the tree left by their caring sensei.

Team,

Change of plans. Meet me at training ground nine instead, same time.

-Kabuto

"What is it, Hinata?"

Wordlessly, she handed Naruto the note. "Oh crap!" he exclaimed. "How'd we miss that? It was right there the whole time!"

"We had better hurry," said Kimimaro.

"Do you think he's still there?" whispered Hinata. "He probably left by now."

"Do you have a better idea?" Hinata shook her head and Naruto started off. "Right! Let's go!"

"Training ground nine is that way," said Kimimaro.

"Right! Let's go!"


When they got there, they found Kabuto lying down in a patch of dead grass. He looked up when he saw them. "Hey, team, you made it." He glanced at his watch. "And you're only four hours late. Good job." Kimimaro waited nervously. Kabuto-sensei should have been disappointed and he might punish them, but he didn't. He seemed mostly just amused.

"So, uh, what happens now?" ventured Naruto.

"You're official Leaf ninja now, so you will be performing a number of missions as a team," said Kabuto. "As you know. But first we have to find out what, exactly, that team is." He turned and looked toward the trees. "About one kilometer that way, two rivers become one. Meet me there. The order in which you arrive will determine who remains a genin." He adjusted his glasses, which were sliding down his nose. "And who is slowing the team down. Go."

In a flourish of wind and leaves, he vanished. Kimimaro sped off into the forest. He was commanded, and he would obey. Leaping through the branches in the trees, he was aware that he was leaving his team far behind. But that, too, was Kabuto-sensei's will. Cannibalism. That's our punishment. Not a consumption of another's flesh, but of their dreams, a bitter bite of their red heart.

Kimimaro felt something triggered by his footfall, and before he knew it, he was dangling in the air with a rope around his ankle. Traps. Lots of them. From where he hung, he could see that the forest was filled with them. Some, like his, were just annoying. Others…he saw Naruto run across a wire, unleashing a shower of shuriken in his direction.

It could have ended right there. Even if it didn't kill him, he would have been too injured to keep going. He would have been eliminated from the race. It could have ended.

But it didn't.

As he stood, frozen, in the face of danger, Hinata came right behind him and knocked him down and out of danger. It was then that Kimimaro realized how lost he was. He had been in Konoha for years, and he still had no idea what it meant. He thought that they were supposed to claw their way through each other's carcasses for the strength and reputation of their village. But if that was not the case…

Follow their lead.

Kimimaro noticed that Naruto was doing something stupid. He was playing with the trap to see how it worked, but from where Kimimaro was hanging, he could see that it was the kind of trap that could be sprung twice. He sprouted a spear out of his left hand and cut the rope and formed a layer of bone under the skin in his back. The shuriken bounced off of him futilely as he swung under the branch that Naruto and Hinata were standing on.

"What the—how'd you—what is that thing sticking out of your hand?" Naruto sputtered.

Kimimaro showed him the spear as he retracted it into his palm. "My kekkei genkai. Shikotsumyaku."

"Why'd you help me?"

"I don't know."


Naruto wasn't going to be the last one there. He was always the last one in the academy, dead last, but those days were over. The hitaiate on his forehead proved that. But, dang, Kimimaro was fast. I'm not going to be left behind, he thought. I am not going back to the academy.

No matter what the price.

It was by chance that he stepped on that particular branch, and it was by chance that that particular branch was trapped, and, when he triggered the trap, it was by his own poor reflexes that he froze. He closed his eyes and threw his arms in front of his face, relying on chance to save him. It wasn't much of a strategy, but it worked. Hinata plowed right into him, knocking him over, out of the way, and nearly off the branch.

"Arigato, Hinata." She backed away quickly. Naruto would probably never understand that about her, but oh well. "You know, I think Kabuto-sensei may have forgot to mention that he was trying to kill us," he said, examining the trap. It seemed to be a basic string trigger thing, so that when you pull the string, it triggers something. "But then again, if we die, that makes his job a lot easier." He tugged on the string to see where it went and heard some shuriken whistle. "Crap!"

It could have ended right there. No matter how slow Kimimaro and Hinata might be, he couldn't limp faster than them. It could have ended right there, but by yet another incredible chance, it didn't. Naruto saw a flash of…something, heard a clang, and then there was Kimimaro standing right beside him.

"What the—how'd you—" he sputtered before he saw a long, white shaft sticking out of Kimimaro's hand. "What is that thing sticking out of your hand?"

"My kekkei genkai," he replied calmly as that white thing, it looked like it was made of bone or something, got sucked up into his palm. "Shikotsumyaku."

"Why'd you help me?" It happened twice, on the same trap, and as embarrassing as it was, it still didn't make any sense.

"I don't know."

Well, that's helpful. "Arigato, Kimimaro, but I'm not going to lose to you. I'm not going to get kicked off the team."

"You're aware, of course, that if someone is first, someone must be second, and someone must inevitably be last," said Kimimaro. "And if Kabuto-sensei intends to eliminate the last one there, someone is going to have to take the fall."

"Yeah, well, that's his decision, not mine. And whoever it is, it's not going to be me."

"Tell me, Naruto," he said. "Are you the sort of shinobi who lives each day only for himself, for his own gain, his own ambition, regardless of anything or anyone who gets in his way? Because that is not a shinobi. That's trash."

"I'm going to become Hokage!" he roared. "The greatest Hokage! A ninja legend!" But then he thought of Iruka, and the incredible bout of stupidity that made him a genin. "But being a shinobi won't be much fun if I have to do it alone," he added quietly. He sat down on the branch to think. "I've got it! We should make it so that we all get there at the same time! That way, no one gets there first and no one gets there last!"

"Kabuto-sensei may just think of another way to rank us," suggested Kimimaro. "Or he may consider that insubordination and drop us all."

"Yeah, well, that's his decision," he grinned. "Not mine."


From there the three of them moved as one, as a team. Weaving around and through the trees and traps that filled the forest, it wasn't long before they made it to the rivers. They made pretty good time, too. Kabuto was impressed.

"Yosh! There it is!" said Naruto. He was sweaty and panting, but if anything, that only fueled his enthusiasm. "Kabuto-sensei is probably waiting for us right beyond that river!"

"Good," said Kimimaro. "I was in the mood for a swim."

"Kimimaro, Kimimaro, Kimimaro," Naruto said, shaking his head patronizingly. "You should better than that. The only way to go is with style."

He smiled. "And I suppose you would try to walk on water. Or would you prefer to fly?"

Naruto grinned maniacally. "Uzimaki Naruto Slingshot."

"You're joking."

"No, Kimimaro, I don't think he is," said Kabuto. "But as interesting as it would be, that won't be necessary. This is far enough."

"What the—where'd you—I mean, uh, so what happens now?" asked Naruto.

"Now? Now you're done," he replied.

"What? That's it? Weren't you going to kick someone off the team or something?"

"Of course, not, Naruto. Why would I do that?"

"But you said you would!"

"I only said that if you were slowing the team down," Kabuto responded. "I could tell you that no member of a team slows the team down if they work together right, that there is no such thing a dead weight that wants to help, I could even weave in a metaphor with that river over there." He motioned toward the two rivers that became one and adjusted his glasses. "But you already know that, don't you? And in any event, you probably shouldn't believe anything I say. It's just not a good habit to get into."

Kimimaro knelt down by the river bank and grabbed a handful of mud. "How can we learn from you," he asked, watching the mud ooze and divide between his fingers, "if we cannot trust you?"

"Oh no, you can trust me," corrected Kabuto. "In fact, you probably should. But you shouldn't take anything I say on faith. Deception is the art of the shinobi." He reached into his vest and pulled out a letter. "But enough of that. Right now, the village needs our help. As our first D ranked mission, the Hokage wants us to report to the home of an elderly couple on the eastern edge of the village and

Weed

Their

Garden."


The purpose of the team was not to perform menial labor, Kimimaro soon realized. The purpose of the team was to grow stronger, and to grow stronger as a team so that one day, they might perform their true purpose as the future of Konoha. Most of their actions, under the guidance of their sensei, was directed toward that purpose.

Above all else, Kabuto stressed originality. "No matter how strong or weak your attack is," he said, "it will have the advantage if your opponent is unfamiliar with it." His philosophy applied to training as well. He used his knowledge as a med-nin to acquaint them with the uses of food pills, soldier pills, clotting pills, strange powders to temporarily cripple their ability to use chakra, and he put them through many other training methods he assured them no one else would be familiar with.

"But Kabuto-sensei! I'm too young to drink!"

"This isn't alcohol, Naruto, it's a CMI, a chakra manipulation inhibitor," he explained. "It's like wearing weights, only for your chakra."

The second person most involved with Kimimaro's training was Naruto. After the very first time they fought, Naruto told him that he wasn't done with him, and he stuck with his word. Almost every day, Kimimaro would find himself stabbing, slashing, cutting, and kicking his way through his teammate's one man army, and though Kimimaro was forced to use both his kekkei genkai and his dances on another person, which he had not done in years, he remained untouched.

It wasn't that Naruto was a bad fighter. When he used his head, he could come up with ideas that would even impress Kabuto. But more often he just used blind rage and tried to overwhelm his opponent with numbers. And if Kimimaro was good at anything, he was good at dealing with blind rage and superior numbers.

"That was new," panted Naruto, pulling his mask down off his face. The mask was another of Kabuto's methods, for controlled breathing and simulated altitude. "I haven't seen you use that dance before."

"Karamatsu no mai," he said, reabsorbing the bone and putting his shirt back on. "Dance of the Pines. One of the dances for my bloodline."

"So there's the Yanagi thing, for when it comes out of your palm, and the Karamatsu thing for when it comes out everywhere?"

Close enough. "Hai."

"Is there a dance for your sword too?" Kimimaro nodded. "How come you've never used that?"

"Yanagi no mai, the Dance of the Willow, epitomizes speed and flexibility," he explained. "Karamatsu no mai literally replicates the needles of a pine tree and requires sheer power more than anything else. The dance for my sword is Tsubaki no mai, Dance of the Camellia, which I cannot do."

"Why not?"

"Because the Dance of the Camellia exemplifies perfection. It requires perfect balance, perfect precision, and perfect rhythm. I can never get the rhythm right."

"You know," said Kabuto, butting in, "when people perform dances, it's usually to music. Have you tried that?"

"No, Kabuto-sensei. I did not think it practical to listen to music on the battlefield."

"Sound can get you deeper than you know." For a moment a glare went over his glasses, and in his eyes Kimimaro thought he could almost see… "Naruto, you've always struck me as a percussionist," he continued lightly. "Beat two sticks together in a repetitive fashion. People have found some interesting things about people and music. Take your heart for example. If you're listening to any song with a steady rhythm, whether on every one, half, or third beat, your pulse will try to imitate the song's."

"Oddly enough," said Kimimaro, "my brother also—" That was it! Onii-san had a gift for music, and he was the only one who could perfect the Camellia. And if the rhythm was in the heart…the rhythm of life, conducting the Dance of the Camellia. It was the only solution, because it was the perfect one. It was too perfect, artistic.

He listened to his pulse and found that it was indeed matching the beat Naruto was hitting. "Arigato," he said. "But I think I figured it out now." He left to work on it on his own.

Just learn how to keep your heart steady, he told himself. That's all there is to it.


Kimimaro had run off somewhere and Hinata…Naruto couldn't see her. She was probably off somewhere, too, working on her Jyuuken thing. She usually did a lot off that sort of stuff by herself. He would have to ask her about it sometime.

"So, Kabuto-sensei," he said.

"Yes?"

"It's not that these D ranked missions are boring or anything…"

"Of course not."

"But they are incredibly dull! How long will it be until we get a real mission? One that will let me show off my incredible ninja skills?"

"You know what, Naruto?" he said thoughtfully. "If I remember correctly, you have asked me that after every single D ranked mission we have accomplished."

"And every time you say—"

"And every time, you use the exact same approach, the exact same, blunt, straight forward approach that hasn't worked yet. Do you see what's wrong with that, Naruto? If one method doesn't work, then it means that that method does not work, and you need to try another one. For example, do you know how to manipulate people more powerful than you?"

"No."

"Ah. Well, it's not really an art of a shinobi, but it's a useful skill all the same. In fact, it's a lot like shogi. Have you ever played that?"

"No."

"Oh. Well, some people will tell you that it's a game of strategy, but really it's a game of character." Naruto didn't get it. "Let me show you," Kabuto said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out what looked like one of the most disturbingly large pills Naruto had ever seen. "Here, take this."

"What, am I supposed to eat this?" he asked, making a face.

"No," he laughed. "It's not a pill, it's an ear piece. Stick it in your ear and it will let you listen in."

"Listen in to what?"

Kabuto started walking away, assuming Naruto would follow. "Subtlety is something you need to know, and it is about time you learned.


As leaders went, the Sandaime wasn't that bad. Usually, when people become exceptionally powerful, they become exceptionally childish as well. Kabuto never told them that, because powerful, childish men tend to respond to honesty in childishly destructive manners. Like he just told his student, the key was subtlety, but subtly changing the subject to what he wanted wasn't that difficult because the Sandaime was already concerned about Kabuto's team, possibly more than Kabuto was.

"And Naruto, surprise, surprise, asks me every day for the sort of mission that could get him killed," Kabuto related conversationally.

The Hokage laughed unsteadily. "I would have expected nothing else. Very few young shinobi have no desire to prove themselves, and none have ever matched his enthusiasm."

The second key was to convince the subject that what you want is what he wants. "I used to think that too, Hokage-sama," Kabuto said. "But, like you said earlier, I do not have an ordinary team."

He took the bait. "What do you mean?"

"Kimimaro is the single most skilled ninja his age that I have ever seen, but neither he nor Naruto have any living relatives near here, and their 'home,' so to speak, does not accept them. Even though Naruto was born here, they are both…foreign."

"Like you," he nodded.

"No. No, Hokage-sama, they are nothing like me. I had the chief of the medical staff to back me up, and you don't mess with him. The only one on my team with a family is Hinata, and I think half of them are hoping that she gets killed to make the succession go easier. Kimimaro only has the random guy who recognizes his clan and expects him to start killing people, and Naruto has foxhunters."

The old man sighed wearily though his pipe. "I see. So what is it that you want?"

"In an ideal society, my students would already be trusted," said Kabuto. "This is not an ideal society. They must pay a price, and the only currency Konoha will accept is blood." The Hokage gave him a hard look, so Kabuto hurried on quickly. "Yes, they have something to prove, same as everybody, but they don't have to prove just their worth, they have to prove their loyalty. I suppose the most effective way to let them do that would be a C ranked mission or something."

"Are they ready?"

Kabuto laughed shortly. "No one is completely ready for the first of anything. And if they were, there would be no risk and therefore no point. But they are as close to being ready as they'll ever be, and besides, they need it more. Though, I have a pretty good team, by anyone's standards, and I will get all of them back alive." Already, he could see he had the old man hooked. "I promise."


When Kabuto got back to his team, they were already waiting for him. That was probably Naruto's work. He was grinning from ear to ear in anticipation, the other two were patiently confused and were giving each other worried looks. "We're going on a C ranked mission," Kabuto announced.

"Yes, I know," said Naruto smugly. "I had you bugged. I heard everything."

Kabuto adjusted his glasses so Naruto couldn't see him roll his eyes. "Our objective is to take down…" He stopped. "Actually, team seven already ran into this guy, so let's make this an information gathering exercise. Right. All of you are to find a member of team seven and find out what you can about our target, a C ranked missing-nin named Haku."


a/n Wow, longest chapter yet! I'm starting to write like all those other people I hate because they're better than me. I didn't want to make it two chapters, because then I would have to find another quote, and I didn't want to do that. By the way, if you're not familiar with the play, Cassius was a manipulative traitor who got Ceasar's friends to turn against him, and the thing sort of makes me think of Kabuto, but also how Naruto fights better when he thinks. Oh yeah, and thanks to all my loyal fans who left reviews and made me think that I'm good at this. And the dream that Kimimaro had, that actually is a dream that I had because I wanted to think of a dream and I have no imagination whatsoever. Does it mean anything? Probably not, but he'll think it does, and that's got to count for something. And if I didn't make it clear enough, Naruto thinks that Kimimaro and Hinata know he has the Kyuubi sealed within him, but they really don't. I heard something about dramatic irony some years ago, and I figured this would be a good opportunity to use it ineffectively. And the thing about shogi being a game of character, that's something my brother told my dad after he managed to use his dental surgery to beat him in chess.