Target One

Normal Monologue

Thoughts

Inner Sakura

Jutsu

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

"Can we please stop?", Sakura asked, lagging behind. Naruto turned, about 10 yards away from the slowing pink-haired girl.

"We have to keep a consistent pace if we want to make it to Suna by nightfall. Besides, something tells me Gaara's not going to be enthusiastic about this mission.", Naruto answered, starting to move again. Sakura's jaw dropped.

"Nightfall!? Are you insane? Suna is a three day walk from Konaha and we're only about a fourth of the way there!!", she cried. Naruto thought this over for a minute.

"Then I guess we better move faster.", Naruto answered, forcing some of his chakra into his step. That was the end of the line for the medic; she dropped to the ground, exhausted.

"Then I'll catch up with you in two days, cause there is no way in hell I am going to be walking any faster.", Sakura panted. Naruto sighed, turning around and sitting down next to his team mate. He was tired too, but he knew he had to keep going; his energy supply might be going down, but his persistence sure wasn't.

"We'll stop for a while, but then we're hauling ass, ok?", Naruto bargained, glancing at the girl beside him. She nodded, shakily getting to her feet. Naruto led her through the trees, veering left and right until they arrived in a small, secluded meadow, hidden from the road. A small waterfall poured over the side of a wall of rock, pouring into a miniature lake.

"How did you know this was here?", Sakura breathed, in awe at the beauty of the place. Naruto smiled softly.

"I found it while I was traveling with Ero-sennin. It was on the way back to Konaha. You know, the minute I saw this place, I thought of you.", Naruto explained. A light blush danced across Sakura's face and she smiled, flattered that a place such as this reminded the blond of her. While submerged in his memories, Naruto remembered the scrolls that Kakashi, Iruka and Jiraiya had given him before he left. He hadn't yet taken a look at any of them closely, and he decided now was a great time to do just that. He walked over to a small maple tree, placing his pack near the base. Searching through the carrier, he quickly found the three scrolls, and opened the first one, which just so happened to be Kakashi's.

Sakura wandered over in curiosity and glanced over his shoulder. Her eyes widened when she was what was written on the white paper.

"I've read about most of these! They're strong jutsu that only people like the ANBU, the Sannin, and the Hokage have acquired, because of their rank. They're rumored to be almost impossible to master.", Sakura commented, scanning down the paper. Naruto shrugged.

"Kakashi gave me this one. He must've pick up these techniques with his Sharingan. He could have gained them while he was in the ANBU, but who knows.", Naruto answered, unraveling the scroll until it reached the bottom. The girl behind him lashed out with her arm, pointing to the last move on the parchment.

"Holy shit! That's the Raikiri!", Sakura yelled. Naruto chuckled, smiling widely.

"Kakashi thought I was ready to learn it. He said I've earned it.", Naruto replied, the mere thought of his sensei's words making him smile. Sakura was smiling too; she completely agreed with the jounin. Naruto had shown miraculous growth over the years, proving to many people that he was trustworthy and true to his words. Her face fell a little as she remembered another team mate of hers that had learned a less powerful form of the move. Naruto noticed this and quickly snapped the scroll shut, pulling out the one Iruka gave him.

It wasn't as big as the one Kakashi gave him, probably only about a third of its size. But it held some of the most powerful taijutsu in the Five Great Nations, including some of Lee's famous moves. What was at the bottom surprised the boy the most; the first five gates and how to open them. Naruto had only seen the gates in action once, during the chunnin exams with the fight against Lee and Gaara. It does damage to your body, and gets worse the more gates you open, but it greatly extends your abilities and chakra reserves.

"That'll be useful.", Naruto muttered, smiling. The words broke Sakura from her memory daze and brought her focus back to the boy in front of her. She realized what he was looking at and again she was surprised.

"Kaimon, Kyuumon, Seimon, Shoumon, and Tomon? Aren't those the first five gates?", Sakura asked. Naruto nodded.

"Can't wait to break those out.", Naruto answered, smiling his infamous grin. He then took out the last scroll, the one from Jiraiya. Attached to it was the note from Tsunade, but he decided to save that for last. Opening the scroll in an easy movement, he saw there was instructions how to control the boss toad, Gamabunta. After that was some of the strongest elemental moves a ninja can learn, plus a few that only the Yondaime had learn.

"I am going to have so much fun with this.", Naruto exclaimed, itching to start training right now. Sakura was a little uneasy about all the power everyone was handing to the boy; it could go to his head and make him another Sasuke. But she quickly slapped herself. The blond would never be like the dark Uchiha boy. He was everything Sasuke wasn't and in a lot of ways, it was a very good thing.

"Oh yea, the message from Baa-chan.", Naruto said, unfolding the piece of parchment. Both Naruto and Sakura bent over and began to read.

Naruto

I assume by the time you read this, Sakura would have caught up already.

Naruto scowled and Sakura smirked. So the Hokage had already figured she would be tagging along. Now the blond didn't have an excuse to bring her back.

She will be very helpful on your mission, being a medic, a strong kunochi, and a close friend of yours. Both of you have a long journey ahead, and Jiraiya, Kakashi, Iruka, and me all agreed that a little assistance would do you some good. What I will teach you is a little like the mark I have on my forehead, what I call the Diamond of Recreation. Stored behind my forehead is a secret reserve of chakra that I save up over the years. Seeing you were never taught medical techniques, you will not have the ability to use this chakra to heal your body, but instead you will be able to use it when you are out of chakra in your regular storages. You can place it anywhere on your body, but I suggest a place where there is a lot of space. The mark will disappear once the chakra has been used, but will reappear when you add more chakra to the place.

I know you accomplish this mission Naruto. Even though you don't have the Kyuubi's power to help you, you have a determination beyond all others, an amazing sense of courage that keeps you going. You can be strong without the nine-tailed fox, you always were. I believe in you, I believe in you both. Please come back in one piece.

Tsunade

"Wow.", Sakura whispered after a few moments of quiet.

"I know. The Infuuin • Kai Souzou Saisei technique.", Naruto muttered, proud that Tsunade thought he could be trusted with her secret forbidden jutsu.

"Well, now we can both learn it. You with the extra chakra reserves and me with the healing ability.", Sakura said. Naruto nodded.

"By the time we meet our first Akatsuki member, we are going to be kick ass!", Naruto exclaimed, smiling widely. Sakura giggled.

"Not to mention we'll have the help of eight former containers.", Sakura added.

"Although without the bijuu, who knows exactly how powerful our team will be.", Naruto pointed out.

"Yeah, but a shinobi's power shouldn't come from a demon. It should be their own.", Sakura reminded the blond, smiling. Naruto sighed; he knew she was right, but that still wouldn't make it any easier. The blond stood up in a swift movement, throwing the scroll into his backpack and heaving the object onto his back.

"Hey! I thought you said we could take a break!", Sakura commented, realizing that the boy was preparing to leave.

"Sakura, the entire world is counting on us to destroy the Akatsuki before they destroy us. I feel that the sooner we get to Suna, the better.", Naruto replied, a new burst of energy rising up in him. Sakura sighed.

"This isn't going to be fun.", she whispered, running after the retreating shinobi.

A Day Later; Suna's Front Gate—

"I can't believe we made it here in only 24 hours.", Sakura gasped from her position on Naruto's back. She had passed out some hours before due to chakra exhaustion and the constant pace the boy had been keeping.

"Sorry about the speed, I just felt…that we needed to get here fast.", Naruto apologized, glancing back at the pink-haired girl. Sakura smiled.

"No problem, sorry that I'm being such a burden.", she replied, staring ahead at the looming gate.

"You're not a burden.", Naruto whispered quietly. The girl hopped from his back and walked by his side the next few meters till they reached the guards at the gate.

"Halt! Who are you and what is your purpose here in Suna?", the guard with light red hair demanded, raising a hand against the two.

"We are here to speak to your Kazekage.", Naruto answered. The two guards exchanged a glance before they burst out laughing.

"What?", Naruto asked, watching as the two fell to the ground, clutching their sides.

"You seriously believe that we're just going to allow you have an audience with the Kazekage without a summon?", the blond one choked out in between laughs.

"We're friends with Gaara. He knows us.", Sakura insisted, attempting to help her comrade in persuading the guards.

"Everyone that shows up at our gate says that. Now beat it before I call for the elite guard.", the rose-haired one ordered.

"Alright, we'll leave, but one thing first.", Naruto calmly said. The guards scoffed.

"What is it?", the light-haired on asked, obviously bored with the two already. Suddenly, the two tensed up and their eyes widened. Without warning, they fell forwards, out cold.

"You should stop being such bastards.", Naruto said, appearing from where the duo once stood.

"Naruto! What the hell! We could get in serious trouble for taking out the cities guards!". Sakura exclaimed, staring at the two's fallen forms.

"Come on Sakura, they were asking for it. I mean really, a meeting with the Kazekage is all we asked for.", he whined, dismissing the clone that was stationed at Sakura's side. The medic's eyes widened.

"When did you make the shadow clone? I never saw you do it.", Sakura asked, bewilderment shining in her eyes. Naruto smirked.

"While I was training with Ero-sennin, I found that the shadow clone technique is very useful in all finds of situations. I learned how to perform the jutsu so fast, no one even sees me doing it.", Naruto explained, glowing with pride. Sakura was defiantly shocked; she never knew the boy could complete a jutsu so fast.

"Now, shall we?", Naruto asked, pushing the gate open.

"How'd you open that, it needs to be opened from…the…inside…you didn't.", Sakura said, realization dawning on her. Naruto chuckled.

"I had to get it open somehow. Not like anyone saw me anyway.", Naruto replied. Sakura shook her head, rolling her eyes.

"Whatever, let's just go.", she said, walking through the gate. Both were one their way to their first target.

Hokage's Tower—

Gaara was signing the Kazekage's signature on the last piece of paperwork when a knock sounded from the door.

"Come in.", Gaara said boredly, not bothering to look up from his work.

"Long time no see, buddy.", a familiar voice laughed. Gaara's eyes widened; he hadn't seen the boy in almost four years. He raised his head and sure enough, the blond and his team mate were standing in his office.

"Naruto Uzumaki. What brings you here?", Gaara asked, smiling one of his not-so-rare-anymore smiles. Naruto smirked in return.

"Gaara, I have a mission for you."

A/N: Ok, my last update before I leave for Michigan. Next update is due for 7/19. I want to thank everyone who's been reading so far, for the reviews, the favorite adds, and the alert adds. I makes me feel happy. D

Next Chapter: Gaara

"My answer is…"

Infuuin • Kai Souzou Saisei: An S-rank jutsu that only Tsunade knows. She stores a large amount of chakra in the space behind her forehead and unleashes it when she sees fit, causing her body to create new cells to replace the ones she's lost. Although this jutsu is extremely useful, it shortens the user's life-span.