Yeah, I made a bit of a mistake with Sachiko and Nanami in the last chapter…will make sure to fix it up…And no, I hope I don't need to keep saying this over and over and over again… . Naruto isn't mine. And that goes for all the chapters!!! Ha! Take that, you disclaimer demon!! Lol.

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Chapter Six:

"Ohayo," Midori yawned as she stretched her arms and walked into the kitchen where everyone was already seated.

"Get moving, sleepy," Obito teased, "Yesterday was fine to sleep in, but we're going to the lord's estate today."

Midori glared at her team mate, but shrugged and sat down, thanked Nanami who brought her a tray of breakfast and started eating. Kakashi was already finished and simply sat there. It had been a day since he had woken up, and though he still took some medication that the doctor had given him, he seemed fully recovered. She yawned again.

"Where's Kazuma-sensei?" she asked, noting that he and Gamashi was also not there.

"He went out with Kengou a bit before you woke up," Nanami said, sitting down with a cup of tea.

"Hmmm." Midori looked up from her food and a new picture on the wall drew her attention. It was a younger Kengou and Nanmi, crouching on either side of a young girl who beamed out of the photo. Her dark blond hair was tied into two braided pigtails, and her brown eyes shone with delight. Obito and Kakashi noticed her staring at it and turned around in their seats to see it as well. Nanami followed their gazes and smiled gently.

"I found that last night," she explained.

"Is that your daughter?" Midori asked.

"Yes. Has Kengou told you about her?" They nodded, and Nanami went on, "After she left, we were so sad that I had thrown that picture somewhere deep in the storages. But after seeing you three, we seemed to have come to terms. Especially Midori-chan, you remind us so much of our Misa-chan."

"Misa-chan…" Midori muttered her name and continued staring at the little girl. She remembered Kazuma saying that the Iwa Gakure no Sato (1) had broken their deals with Konoha. She took her eyes off the picture and smiled reassuringly. "I'm sure Misa-chan will come back someday."

Nanami seemed somewhat surprised, but her smile quickly returned. "Thank you."

Midori finished her breakfast and the three thanked Nanami before leaving the house. Again, they didn't wear their forehead protectors, and kept only one kunai and shuriken in hidden places. Once they stepped out of the house, they saw Gamashi and Kazuma walking down the street towards them. There were quite a number of people walking in the street, but they paid the three children no attention other than a quick glance.

"Well then, let's get going," Gamashi said, and Midori noticed a drastic change. His voice was cold and demanding, as were his eyes, like the first time they had met. Then it struck her. He was meant to act like this towards them in public. They walked in silence through many various streets, ones that Obito, Kakashi and Midori had rarely come across during their short time in the town. The people they passed became fewer for each corner they turned, until they were alone and looked up at a majestic building built on a low hill.

With a few words from Gamashi, they were able to get passed the many guards and into the threshold of the lord. They went under a large, wooden gate and into a beautiful garden. They were lead to the entrance of what seemed to be the main house and entered. Taking off their shoes, they stepped up onto well polished wooden floors if a typical Japanese household. Gamashi lead them down the corridors, stopping in front of a certain shoji door and lowered himself onto his knees. The others followed suit.

"Hayashi-sama, they are here," Gamashi said.

"You may enter," a deep, cold voice said from within, and Gamashi slowly slid the door open and stepped inside with the others following him. He closed the door again and they all sat down halfway across the long rectangular room. The lord, a tall, lean man, wearing a men kimono, with his greying black hair pulled tightly across his head and tied in a very short and stubby ponytail high up on his head, like how old samurai had worn their hair. His face was drawn, in stress, Kakashi assumed, and age had wrinkles forming at the edges of his eyes. Nevertheless, his almost black eyes were hard and cold, narrowed and almost to an extent of angry. He sat straight with his hands balled on his lap. Beside him on his right was a nervous looking woman, about the same age and wearing the same, rich clothes. Either a very strange advisor or his wife. On his left was a young man, no older than twenty-five, who wore a loose grey shirt and black trousers. His hair was cropped short, his eyes bright yet revealing almost nothing. Beside him were papers and scrolls along with pencils and pens, and it was safe to assume that he was the advisor.

The moment the four ninjas had entered the room, they knew immediately that something was wrong. Midori and Obito stiffened, but Kazuma gave them a quick warning look, and they tried to act relaxed. Kakashi took in the details of the room with a quick glance, and noted that the only exits were the door they had come through, and the open doors that led out onto the outside corridor and past that into the garden. From where they sat, they could see the town below them.

"Gamashi, are these the hired body guards that insisted on meeting me?" the lord asked.

"Hai, Hayashi-sama," Gamashi replied, lowering his head to the ground, "I am very sorry for this."

"And what do you want from me?" Hayashi demanded.

"Only to ask you something, lord Hayashi," Kazuma replied casually. "It will not take long."

"Well then, hurry up and ask."

"How do you see your town?"

Hayashi narrowed his eyes dangerously. "We are poor and people are dying everyday from hunger. It is all I can do to stop the civilian fights and keep other lords off our land. Nevertheless, there are attacks and the town is growing smaller each day. Houses are being deserted and the people are demanded change. And you ask how I see the town?! Can you not see the suffering for yourself?!"

The four shinobi were not too surprised to hear such a contradicting statement to reality, but Gamashi was startled. "But Hayashi-sama – "

"Silence Gamashi," the lord snapped and continued to glare at Kazuma.

"Then perhaps, my lord, you should step out and really see the town for yourself," Kazuma said, bringing his hands together quickly. Kai. Nothing seemed to happen, but the lord's eyes widened and he blinked, getting slowly to his feet and looking all around him. Kakashi, Obito and Midori felt the air become lighter and knew what their teacher had done.

"Lord Hayashi," Kazuma said, "You have been trapped within a Genjutsu, an illusionary world."

Hayashi gasped when he looked out at the town and saw how it really was faring. Kazuma stared at the young man who had sat beside the lord. He clenched his teeth and reached behind him for something. The three young ninjas were already in between the advisor and the lord when the former rushed at the latter with a kunai in his hand. The woman gasped in shock at all the sudden movements, and that got Hayashi's attention. He spun around and what he saw added to his shock.

"Kashin, were you…"

The advisor stopped before he reached the three blocking his way and turned his shoulder a little as Kazuma rose, to half face him as well. "This is the reason I advised you not to allow these ninjas to come, Hayashi-sama," he sneered, mockingly emphasizing the last word. "Yes it was me all along. If you had listened to my advice, then you would have been able to live."

Kashin started to form seals, and it surprised the two Genins and Chuunin. Are you kidding me? Midori thought. He's been keeping up a Genjutsu everyday for almost a year now and he can still perform other Ninjutsu now? She brought her hands together and started to mold her own chakra, and she could feel the other two were doing that as well. But whatever technique Kashin was planning to use, never came. Kakashi quickly noticed his shocked face and saw a thinned shadow connected between him and Kazuma. He sighed and relaxed.

"Wha…Your shadow?" Kashin muttered.

"Haven't you heard of it?" Kazuma asked, "Kage shibari no jutsu. But that's not important. I want to know two things. Which hidden village do you come from and what were you ordered to do?"

"Ha, like I'd go telling you lot everything about myself," Kashin spat.

"You don't have to," Kazuma informed him.

"But it would be better to," Midori finished, pulling out a kunai from her sleeve where she had secured it with bandages. Kakashi pulled his kunai out from under his bandages wrapped around his calves. Obito took a step back and turned around.

"Are you all right, Hayashi-san?" he asked.

"Uh, yes I – " He stopped his sentence when Obito started forming seals. When he noticed the lord staring at him, he smiled and winked before becoming serious again and closing his eyes to strengthen his concentration. Kakashi noted what his team mate was doing, and saw Kashin visibly tense, then grin.

"Like a kid's Genjutsu is going to affect me," he mocked. Obito smiled as he turned around and opened his eyes. Kakashi passed his kunai to Midori and went through similar seals to form another Genjutsu, and a second before it was activated, Obito dropped his. Kashin kept his confident look, still bound by Kazuma's shadow. Obito now activated his, and Kakashi dropped his, and this continued for a while, as they each showed Kashin scenes of his possible deaths. When that didn't bend him enough, they included Midori. In the split second that both Genjutsu were off, Midori threw the two kunais at Kashin, and Obito immediately activated his technique. Kakashi appeared in front of Kashin and caught the weapons and tossed them back to her. The other ninjas lost his smirk and became more serious. The three younger ninjas repeated the steps with the moment of reality becoming shorter and shorter, and also shortening the amount of time the Genjutsu was activated. Once Obito acted as if to use the Goukakyuu no jutsu, and Kakashi finished it with his illusions. Another time, all three of them overlapped each other's illusions, and as Kashin witnessed one of his deaths, one illusion would disappear and he would be faced with another one. Slowly, Kashin's mental mind turned into a turmoil, too dizzy to figure out reality and illusionary. His eyes started to widen and fear stroked his features, cold sweat rolling down his face. He began to shout in alarm and didn't notice that Kazuma had released him.

To those watching all of this, they seemed confused, but didn't miss the gradual changes of the victim. Finally, with a horrified scream, he fell to his knees, his hands grasping his head as he panted.

"Okay! Okay! I'll tell you! Stop this! Leave me alone!" he cried. The three glanced quickly at their teacher, and with a nod, they dropped all their Genjutsu at once and left Kashin to Kazuma. Midori went to Gamashi, Kakashi to the lord's wife, and Obito to Hayashi, just in case Kashin tried to do anything to anyone. Kazuma knelt in front of Kashin.

"Answer the questions," he said quietly, "Which hidden village do you come from and what were you ordered to do?"

"I…was meant to…" Quicker than anyone in the room could follow, Kashin drew forth a kunai and stabbed Kazuma's chest. Except, that Kazuma caught his hand just after he had drawn the weapon and his grip tightened around the wrist. Kashin winced at the surprisingly painful hold and started to glare at Kazuma, but as their eyes met, he froze. As badly as the Genjutsu had gotten to him, the look Kazuma was giving him was almost worse. Before he knew it, Kashin had spoken the answers to the questions. "Kumo Gakure no Sato (2). I was to keep the lord persuaded to follow along with whatever plans that came from my country." Kazuma stared a moment longer at the man, but found no lies in his eyes.

"Then return to your village and report that your attempts have failed," Kazuma ordered. Kashin backed away, then sprang to his feet and without even sparing a glance at anyone in the room, fled from the estate and they could watch him take a direct route out of the town.

"It's surprising how many people underestimate you three because of your age," Kazuma mused, his familiar smile on his face again.

"It does come to our advantage though," Midori said, giving Kakashi his kunai back and pushing up her sleeve so she could fix hers back, though she doubted she would need it again that day. Kakashi bent down to slip the weapon under the bandages again.

Hayashi turned to Kazuma and his team and bowed his head deeply. His wife smiled, came over to his side and bowed as well. "How can we repay you for what your have done for us?" Hayashi asked.

"Simply to take care of your town and its people," Kazuma replied. Obito and Midori smiled, Kakashi kept to himself as usual, and they turned to leave. The lord and his wife bowed low again, and Gamashi followed the four ninjas. They walked in mostly silence back to Gamashi's home, where Nanami was waiting at the entrance. As soon as they came in, she asked how it had been. When she heard the story, she was overjoyed, and promised to make a special meal that evening.

"Gomen nasai, Nanami-san," Kazuma said, however, "We must be on our way. There seems to be trouble in the village, and we have to be back as soon as possible."

"Oh, I see," she said, her face downcast a little, but it lightened up quickly, "If you find peace again, please come again, anytime."

"We will," Midori promised as she and her two other team mates went to gather their things.

Within ten minutes, everyone was assembled at the front door.

"Thank you again for everything you have done for us and the town," Gamashi said. "And sorry to cause you all the trouble getting here."

"It wasn't a problem," Obito replied. Kazuma smiled as they said their goodbyes and thank you. Midori was the last to walk away and when the rest of her team called to her, she nodded and turned one last time to Nanami.

"Next time, I'm sure you'll meet the real Misa-chan," she whispered to the two parents, smiled widely and then ran after her team.

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Translations:

Ohayo: good morning

Kai: it's just the word used to breaking Genjutsu…

(1) Iwa Gakure no Sato: Hidden Rock village

(2) Kumo Gakure no Sato: Hidden Cloud village

Kage shibari no jutsu: aka Kage mane no jutsu. The one that Shikamaru uses. I doubt it's a technique that only that family can use… I took the older name for it.

Gomen nasai: sorry in polite form

Does it annoy people if I keep I keep using Japanese? If it does, I can always stop, but I just thought if you want to learn simple phrases, or see how it's used…(shrugs) Heh, I'm Japanese so I'm not dying to use it, but it's up to you all!

Leilani The sickness wasn't really a sickness, just a simple cold and high fever…Thanks for always reviewing!

HikaruOfArrowthankies!

Forgot to mention before: suggestions are always welcome if you have any!

Thanks for reading!

-Fanyar-