I am so sorry this has taken so long to get out. Between college, work, and writer's block, I haven't hardly made any progress on this chapter. I'll try to get the next one out faster.

Here's the next chapter. I do hope you enjoy it, because this is the beginning of the actual plot and the last chapter before I do a bit of a time skip. Please do tell me what you think about the reason for the time skip in a review, by the by. It's a different route than I had originally planned to go, and I would like to know if you guys like it.

Also, as I'm looking this over before posting, I looked up the presence of samurai in the Naruto world. Here's my retcon, because I'm not taking them out: Samurai are not chakra users. They are a standard military elite meant to lead and supplement standard soldiers in the absence of ninjas. They also guard people of high importance. All countries have them, not just the Land of Iron.


Naruto was released from the hospital the next day. As soon as his chakra levels had stabilized at a more normal point, the doctors had given him a once over to check for anything they may have missed the first time they examined him and then all but kicked him out the front door. Regardless of the quick and somewhat rude exit, Naruto hadn't minded being shoved out. He didn't care much for hospitals, and for obvious reasons.

When he was released, the first thing he did was go straight to his apartment. He had missed his bed the previous night, and hadn't gotten much sleep. For some odd reason, while he could sleep most anywhere, beds that weren't his own were almost impossible for him to get any rest in. Even though it was nearing nine in the morning, Naruto was determined to put in a solid six hours of sleep before he did anything.

Of course, no plan survives contact with the enemy. Within thirty minutes of him climbing in bed, a knock on his door woke him from his still-light sleep. Grumpy, tired, and half-clothed, Naruto went to answer the door.

Thud, thud, thud.

"All right, all right! I'm coming already! Geez!"

As he crossed the room, the person knocked on the door another time. Every resounding thud put another chink in Naruto's already sour mood, with each set of three increasing his irritation fivefold.

He reached the door and opened it. "What do you want?" he snapped, speaking before he even knew who was on the other side of the door.

"The Elders want to see us," Said Kakashi. "Get dressed and get a move on. Tsumeki and Shikamaru are already at the Tower waiting for you."

"What? Why do the Elders need us?"

"For the mission that Tsumeki said she told you about. You were supposed to report as soon as you were dismissed from the hospital."

"Yeah, I didn't get that message," Naruto grumbled.

Kakashi's expression remained unchanged. "Get ready and go to the Tower. And try not to take too long."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll see you there." Naruto shut the door. He hoped Kakashi hadn't noticed that his face was swelling red with embarrassment. It was one thing to be late to a mission briefing, but it was another to have Kakashi come and get you. When you were later than he was, you know that there was a problem, whether you knew about the mission briefing or not.

He assembled his fatigues and grabbed his spare mission backpack. He always kept two backpacks ready in case of an emergency mission, loaded with essentials: flint and steel, two canteens of water, powdered electrolyte drink mix, a spare pair of sandals, a change of clothes, a compass and map of the Land of Fire, extra shurikens and kunai, dried meat, a few sleeves of crackers, and sleeping bag wrapped and strapped on top of the pack. He had a whetstone in there too, but he removed it. He didn't have his new sword yet, and he kept his other weapons sharp enough already. He'd break or run out of them before he needed to re-sharpen any. After he returned from this mission, he'd need to restock. His other backpack was currently discarded on the floor, many of the essential items used, lost, or discarded on the Sasuke Retrieval mission.

The thought of the bastard made Naruto want to spit, puke, anything to get the foul taste it left out of his mouth.

He locked the door from the inside and departed out the window. It faced the Hokage Tower, so he'd start off going the way he needed to go, and hopping onto the roof of the next building would be faster than going all the way down through the apartment complex and then making his way through the streets, which were already crowded with people.

Naruto was surprised that the Elders hadn't split him and Tsumeki up. They surely knew that the two were now dating, and while it might not have been uncommon for more experienced ninja who were dating to go on missions together, it was more common that younger soldiers would be placed on separate teams. They usually hadn't the experience, and therefore the wisdom and knowledge, of a higher ranking comrade, and thus might not be able to set their personal feelings aside for the good of the mission, as would sometimes be required. This thought brought the first test in the Chuunin Exams to the forefront of Naruto's mind; he had almost abandoned the mission, even if it was a fake one, to save Tsumeki. That decision could have compromised the whole of the Land of Fire. He thought that that'd be enough reason to separate himself and Tsumeki.

However, this had not been the case. At least, not yet. There had been no word, indication, or even the slightest hint that the Elders planned on dividing himself and Tsumeki between other teams, or even just having them as replacements and fillers for teams missing a member, kind of like Shikamaru was doing for their own team now. Now, by no means was he complaining; he loved Tsumeki and loved being with her. He also knew her skills well enough that they could coordinate pretty well and operate above their own individual maximum efficiencies. When given the chance to actually fight together, they could be a hell of a team. Perhaps that was why they were not being split up. Or, maybe the Elders knew about what Tsumeki was and had no desire for the secret to get out any more than it had to. He had no trouble believing that; they would want to do what was best for the village, and having a Tailed Beast in their service was pretty damn advantageous, especially considering that said Tailed Beast had singlehandedly outwitted the Shukaku and sent him back inside his host. What if she hadn't been there? What would have happened? Would Gaara have even been stopped?

Would there have been a Leaf Village left to defend?

Naruto reached the Hokage Tower and wasted no time by going through the front door. He sprinted up the side of the wall (It seems like an eternity since I couldn't even run up that damned tree) and slid in through an open window near the Office.

The Elders had been running the village since the joint Sand/Sound invasion and the untimely death of the Third Hokage at the hands of Orochimaru. Naruto had kicked himself for that; maybe if he had brought up Sasuke's Curse Mark, or the fight with the strange 'Genin' in the Forest of Death, that tragedy could have been averted. Regardless, the Elders constantly sought a new candidate for the next Hokage; so far, no successor had been announced.

"Naruto, what took you so long?" asked Tsumeki. "Kakashi got here before you did."

"You didn't tell me I needed to show up as soon as I was released," he replied. "I went home and tried to go to sleep."

Tsumeki looked sheepish. "Oh...Sorry."

Shikamaru sighed. "Can't say I blame you. I wish I was still in bed."

"Didn't get any sleep last night?"

"I didn't say that."

They entered the office. Another desk had been set up along the right side of the room to accommodate the second occupant that was now present.

"Kakashi, it seems your lateness has begun to rub off on your pupils," said Homura, the male elder. His voice was laced with scantly controlled irritation.

"Indeed," said Koharu, the female. "When we send for you to come for a mission briefing, we expect you to arrive in a timely fashion."

"I understand."

"Don't let it happen again, Kakashi," said Homura. "Now, your mission."

"People have been disappearing in some of the villages outlying the capitol," said Koharu. "The Daimyo has sent soldiers, investigators, and even some of his Samurai to discover the culprit. Not only have none found anything, but several of the groups – including the whole squad of Samurai – have gone missing as well."

"With all due respect, Elders, what made you think that it was a good idea to send two Genin and a brand new Chuunin to investigate this?" asked Kakashi.

"We have our reasons," said Koharu. Naruto noticed an odd glint in her eye, as if she were studying him. Or maybe Tsumeki; she was standing right next to him.

"Elders, I object to my team being –"

"Your team is perfectly well suited for this mission, Kakashi, I assure you," said Homura. "That will be all of that."

Naruto had never seen Kakashi so deadly serious. "Yes, Elders."

"Your objectives are as follows: You will travel to the villages listed in your briefing file and identify the cause or causes of the disappearances. Afterwards, you will eliminate the persons responsible by any means necessary. The Daimyo wants them dead, not alive. He is very upset about losing his Samurai."

"This is an A-rank mission, Kakashi. We expect you to complete it admirably."

"That will be all. You should depart immediately."


"Sensei, why the fast pace?" asked Tsumeki as they speed down the road. They had left Konoha several hours ago, and Kakashi had just rejoined them. After giving them orders to maintain close to maximum speed on their way to the first village they were going to investigate, he had left the group and gone off for a reason that none of the three could discern.

"I have a bad feeling about this mission," he said. "The Elders are up to something. Did you notice it?"

"Notice what?" asked Naruto.

"I didn't notice anything," said Tsumeki.

"Me neither," said Shikamaru.

Kakashi sighed. "Perhaps it's because you don't know the Elders well. They're always strict and intolerant of any mistakes; they were more so today. Significantly."

"So what?" asked Naruto. "What's the big deal?"

"They're up to something, like I said." Kakashi sounded somewhat irritated. "That, or this has them very, very worried."

"With reason," said Shikamaru. "A whole squad of Samurai. Why are they just sending us? Shouldn't this be an all-Jounin party? Or even an ANBU mission?"

"That's what I thought. And I tried to express that to them. That they shot me down has me concerned. But we'll see what happens. That's all we can do now."


They reached the first village in good time. The sun had three hours left in the sky, at least. The streets of the town were bustling with activity, and one wouldn't think that kidnapping was even on these people's minds.

"All right," said Kakashi. "Here's how this is going to happen. I'm going to go and talk to the town elders and the mayor. I'll see what I can dig up. Shikamaru, I want you moving around the town. Pick up what you can. Naruto and Tsumeki, go and sniff for tracks in the forest around here. I want to know about any movement of more than five people and anything that has signs of a struggle on it. Understand?"

The three younger ninjas nodded.

"Go."

Naruto and Tsumeki turned around and headed back to the forest.

"Do you think he literally meant to sniff the tracks out?" Tsumeki asked. "Do you think he knows?"

"I don't think so. I mean, how would he know? He wasn't hardly at the Chuunin Exams, which was the only time you actually dropped the Concealment."

She shifted her shoulders. "Yeah. I guess you're right." Suddenly, her Kitsune features burst into existence. "Still, sniffing them out will be easier."

"I'll check north and east, you check south and west. Meet back at the town gate by nightfall."

"Right. I love you."

Naruto grinned. "I love you too."

He broke off from Tsumeki and headed north. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Eight other Narutos appeared. They scattered, running off to check the forests around the village. The real Naruto went to a point northeast of the village, where he was central to the two parties of clones scouring the forest. He stopped at a clear patch of ground and dropped his backpack.

"All right, here we go," he said. "Fierce Deity Jutsu!"


"Still nothing, Kakashi."

"I found a trail for a bit, but it was covered up really well."

"We've turned over three villages and haven't a clue why this is happening. Maybe we should call for backup."

"We still have two villages to go, guys. If we don't find anything by then, we'll call someone else in to help."

Naruto sighed. "Are we at least getting some sleep in town tonight? I haven't slept in a bed in days."

Tsumeki rolled her eyes at him. "You're a ninja. How can you handle extended missions in the field if you can't miss a few days of bed sleep?"

"Because in the field, you aren't spitting distance away from an inn when you throw your sleeping bag down."

"No, Naruto, we aren't. We'll be moving through the night to get to the next village, and we're going to camp outside of it."

"Sometimes, I really hate you, sensei."

"Noted."

"How's your jutsu coming, Naruto?" Tsumeki asked.

"I had it the other day. Held it for about ten seconds before it slipped away from me. I feel like there's just another hand sign or two I need to figure out and then it'll be good."

"What's this jutsu even supposed to do?" asked Shikamaru.

"It's a secret. You'll see it when it's done."

"All right, everyone," Kakashi said, pulling his mask back up and turning to face them. "Dinner's over. Let's move out."

"Oh..." Tsumeki said. "Oops." There was still a large portion of noodles covering about half of her plate. "That's too bad," she said. "They were good."

"No, wait!" Naruto cried out. "Don't throw them away!"

Eight seconds, a pair of chopsticks, and some tasty noodles later, Tsumeki and Shikamaru were staring dumbfounded at Naruto, who was patting his stomach. "You're right, they were good! I never knew shrimp noodles could be so tasty!"

"You just ate half a plate of noodles in eight seconds," Shikamaru said.

"Yeah. So?"

"So that's not natural, man! I think I watched your jaw unhinge!"

"It's entirely possible," said Tsumeki, who sounded slightly disturbed.

"Man, even Chouji doesn't eat that fast! How did you – no, wait. I don't want to know."

"Come on," Kakashi said. He sounded annoyed. "No time to waste. Let's go."

They gathered their belongings from beside the booth they had been sitting at, left a tip, and left the village.


The past few days had been more uneventful than Naruto would have ever suspected. For villages whose inhabitants were being kidnapped, they were surprisingly carefree. At least, they were until you mentioned the kidnappings, at which point they told you to leave them alone in hushed voices. No real information had been collected from the villages, and the only evidence of people moving in or out of them was a scent trail that Tsumeki kept getting a nosefull of, but couldn't track for more than twenty yards before it was masked. Whoever was leaving the trail was an expert at not being followed, and did it frequently enough that Tsumeki hadn't been able to even connect two fragments of the trail.

Naruto knew that this mission was supposed to be incredibly dangerous – A whole squad of Samurai! – but he was starting to wonder if something was being pulled over their heads, or, if not that, if the danger was still real and present.

He started wishing for his sword. He missed his nightly routines with it: going through the katas, cleaning off the day's grime, making sure it was properly sharpened and oiled, and so on. Beyond missing the routines, though, it was a comforting weight. Whether worn on his hip or his back, the sword gave him a sense of power and security that no other weapon he currently had could give.

He almost felt as if having a sword was a part of his identity now.

"Sensei," said Tsumeki.

"I see him. Let's sneak -"

Naruto snapped into reality at the same moment that the figure Kakashi and Tsumeki were talking about took off through the trees.

"After him!" Kakashi said.

All four of the ninjas moved to follow the mystery man, but by the time they had gotten onto his trail, he was long gone.

"He's fast," said Shikamaru.

"Guys," said Tsumeki. "This is the same guy who I've been picking up tracks of around the other villages."

Kakashi looked at the ground. "What do you mean? There are no footprints."

"I...have a good sense of smell."

Kakashi turned to face her. "No human picks up scents as light as this one. I have a sensitive nose, too, but I don't smell a thing." He took a step forward. "So, that begs the question...Who are you, and what have you done with my student?"

Naruto stepped between them. "It's Tsumeki, Kakashi. I know it is."

"Naruto, you're probably under a genjutsu. Step aside." He pushed at Naruto, but the blonde ninja didn't budge.

"Kakashi, it's her."

"Naruto, no human can smell that well unless they're an Inuzuka. There is no way that this is Tsumeki Shuro."

"It is, though."

"Genjutsu: Release," Kakashi said. He put his fingers on Naruto's forehead as he said it.

Naruto was unaffected. "Kakashi, I'm telling you -"

"Dear god," said Shikamaru. "What happened to her?"

Naruto turned around. Tsumeki had dropped her Concealment and was quaking slightly.

"You guys can't tell anyone, okay?" she said.

Kakashi's arm had dropped limply by his side. "So the stories are true," he said. "Then the rumors about the other villages having Jinchuriki...They'll be true too, won't they?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. It's possible. I know Gaara has a Tailed Beast in him." Her voice was shaking. "But you can't tell anyone. Please."

"I won't," promised Kakashi.

Shikamaru shook his head. "Yeah...yeah, m-me neither."

"Can we keep going now?" she asked.

"Right," Kakashi said. "Can you follow the scent?"

"Yeah. Follow me."


"He's moving quick, not covering up his scent."

"Is he headed for the next village?" asked Kakashi.

"No, I think he's going around it."

"Maybe he expects us to think he's going there," Shikamaru said. "He probably doesn't know we can follow his scent."

"We aren't sleeping tonight," said Kakashi. "We need to run this guy down."

"What do you mean, not sleeping?" said Naruto. "What are we supposed to do, just ignore how tired we are?"

"Everybody stop for a second. I have some food pills. They'll help you stay awake and fighting." He gave each of the others one of the pills, and then he started running again before they did. While he was facing away from them, he took his own pill.

The ninjas continued on into the night. There was no talking, no distractions. They followed Tsumeki as she guided them through the forest and didn't question a single odd turn she made. A little before dawn, Naruto saw the fourth village through the trees. They continued moving by it. It looked like Tsumeki was right.

They reached the fifth village in the middle of an uproar. Citizens were stampeding lines of men at arms in an attempt to get to the governor's villa. The soldiers were doing their best to pacify the revolt with shields and clubs, but the rioters were gaining ground quickly.

"Nonlethal force," Kakashi said. "Put a stop to this."

Tsumeki, Shikamaru, and Kakashi bolted from the treeline to get to the town, but Naruto waited a moment.

"Shadow clone jutsu!"

With forty more of himself in tow, Naruto followed everyone to the village.

Shikamaru was holding a splinter group of the rioters in place with his Shadow Possession Jutsu. It looked like they had decided to try and go around and find a way up the low walls to circumvent the soldiers. Tsumeki's hands were dancing like a puppeteer's, and judging by the fleeing and cowering villagers, she was working some impressive illusions. Kakashi was shouting something – Naruto wasn't paying enough attention to determine what – and it seemed to be causing some of them to calm down. However, the great majority still seemed intent on getting to the governor.

"Well, he said force," Naruto thought aloud. He and his clones waded into the fray, delivering swift strikes to the heads of the rioters to knock them unconscious. They were successful in reducing the number of rioters at first, but very quickly, the shadow clones and Naruto began to be overwhelmed. Within two minutes, the shadow clones had all been dispelled by various acts of aggression, and Naruto found himself surrounded by rioters whose attention had been focused on him. Put on the defensive, it was all Naruto could do not to be bludgeoned to death.

"ENOUGH!" came Tsumeki's booming voice. A blue ball of flame, about five feet in diameter, appeared above the crowd. The violence instantly stopped as everyone was mesmerized by her foxfire. "You will all stop this senseless violence and be civil RIGHT NOW, or so help me GOD I will beat the living shit out of every last one of you." The foxfire dissipated and the blinking, confused mass of people backed away from the gates.

Kakashi jumped down from his perch on top of the gates. "Team Seven, sound off!"

"Here," said Tsumeki, heading to Kakashi.

"Still alive," said Shikamaru, doing the same.

"Present," said Naruto. He was covered in purpling bruises.

Tsumeki snarled, and the illusion she had concealing herself flickered.

"I'll have you all know," said Kakashi, "that assaulting a ninja is a crime more severe than assaulting a soldier. Of course, from the looks of things, you might have more to worry about."

The collective gaze of those gathered went to the broken bodies of several men-at-arms on the stairs.

"So, if you want any chance of the military not swooping through here and arresting the lot of you, you need to cooperate with me now. Why were you rioting?"

A young man stepped forward. He had a club in his hands. "People have been disappearing from this village for the past three months! Today, we saw a man kidnap my sister, and the scum-sucking governor refused to do a damned thing for it!"

Cheers rose from the crowd, and they started looking like they might go back to rioting.

"That's good," said Kakashi, "because any man who chased him would die."

The citizens quieted down, alarmed.

"This man, or perhaps some of his associates, killed or captured a whole squad of samurai. What chance do a few men-at-arms have?"

Silence.

"Now tell me which way he went, and then I suggest that you attend to the wounded and bury the dead."


"He's got a lead on us by about an hour and a half, if not more," said Kakashi. He must move pretty fast to have been to the village and gone with enough time for a riot to start."

"I can smell him all over this area," Tsumeki said. "His base camp can't be far."

"When we get there, I want you and Shikamaru to keep to the trees, Tsumeki. Give Naruto and I support."

"But I can fight, too!"

"Fighting isn't what we need. Samurai can fight. We need him distracted, off guard. We can't risk simply taking him head on. Keep to the trees."

Tsumeki grumbled her assent.

Naruto was feeling much better than he had after leaving the village. One of the elderly healers had given him a few poultices to reduce the swelling and numb the pain from the bruises. He kept them on by using some of the bandages he kept in his backpack. It made him look like he had just gotten out of the hospital after being run over by an ox.

"His scent goes into that cave," Tsumeki said. There was a small clearing before a couple of large rocks. There was a tunnel between them that went down into the earth.

"We wait," said Kakashi. "Do not enter the cave. That's his home ground. We don't know what's in there."

"So we ambush him when he comes out, then?" said Naruto.

"Yes. The second he passes that old fire pit, jump him."

They waited for several hours before the man came out. He was dressed in leather armor which may have once been black, but was now more of a dark gray. He had long, brown hair which he kept in a high ponytail. At his side was a sword with a vicious hook in it. The second he exited the cave, he stopped.

"Come out where I can see you," he said.

Kakashi shook his head ever so slightly. Naruto stayed where he was.

"Come out where I can see you," he repeated, "or I will go back in there and slaughter every single hostage I have."

Kakashi exhaled sharply and came down from the tree.

"And your friends," he said.

Naruto came down as well. Shikamaru and Tsumeki didn't move.

"I don't have time for games," the man snapped. "There are two more people in the trees. Come down right now."

Reluctantly, the last two members of Team Seven came down from the treeline and stood next to Kakashi and Naruto.

"Leaf Ninja, hmm? So I'm finally enough of a threat to warrant serious military attention."

"You don't call samurai serious?" asked Kakashi.

He scoffed. "Not serious enough. Lack of jutsu means lack of a challenge."

"What village are you from, then? Originally? I don't see a headband on you."

"Were I from a Hidden Village, I wouldn't keep my headband. It's an idiotic practice that only serves to make people recognize you faster. But I am unaffiliated. I always have been."

"Then where'd you learn to use jutsu?"

The man smiled wickedly. "I didn't. I only know how to manipulate my chakra. But it's enough."

With blinding speed, the man drew his sword and attacked Kakashi. The Jounin barely had time to bring up a kunai to deflect the blow.

Tsumeki and Shikamaru scattered to the sides. Naruto created four Shadow Clones, which rushed the man. Kakashi drew a long knife from his belt to better deflect the sword.

"Cowards!" the man said, throwing a kunai at Shikamaru, then Tsumeki. "Come and face me!" He pressed the offensive on Kakashi, intent on destroying the knife. Kakashi was skilled enough to continue to slide the sword off his blade.

Naruto's Shadow Clones were quickly dispersed. The man seemed to be perfectly ambidextrous, and fought Kakashi while easily swatting away the clones. Naruto tried jumping in, but got kicked in the face and knocked back into a tree. It took him some time to get back up; he was thoroughly dazed.

Tsumeki tried sticking to the original plan and started layering illusions onto their opponent, but he didn't seem to care. It was almost as if he could see right through them and didn't even need to worry about them. Shikamaru tried his Shadow Possession Jutsu, but the man retreated from it easily.

"I tire of you!" he yelled.

Before anyone had time to react, the man had thrown his sword at Shikamaru. The only sign that it had happened, however, was that the sword was currently sticking through the Chunin. He gargled and gasped, and blood spurt from his mouth before he fell down.

"Shikamaru!" yelled Kakashi.

Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, the man moved behind Kakashi and delivered a bone-breaking kick directly in the center of his spine. The sound of vertebrae snapping echoed throughout the clearing.

Two Shadow Clones full-body tackled the man. They successfully connected with him, as they approached silently from outside his line of sight. Naruto grabbed Kakashi, and Tsumeki grabbed Shikamaru. They ran from the clearing as fast as they could.

Shikamaru's eyes were filled with terror as they ran.


"He's dead," said Tsumeki quietly. "Didn't survive the trip back. He lost too much blood."

"We couldn't have stopped to remove the sword," Naruto said. "Or to bandage his wounds. We would have died too."

"He was terrified," she said, as if she didn't hear Naruto. "I could smell it. Total fear. He didn't want to die."

"Nobody does, Tsumeki. But we're ninjas. Death happens. We work with it. We can't avoid it."

She began to tear up. "I know," she said. "I just wish that we could have done something about it. Even if he had still died, if we could have tried to save him..."

"I know. There's nothing else to do for him, though." Naruto removed the sword from their fallen friend and sheathed it in the ground. He rolled Shikamaru onto his back and folded his hands over his chest. Over the gaping whole left by the blade. After Naruto shut his eyes, he almost looked peaceful.

"How's Kakashi?" she asked.

"Unconscious," Naruto said. "His back is broken. I don't know if it damaged the spinal cord or not."

Tsumeki sniffed. "We have to kill that bastard," she said. "I just... I don't know how."

A hand sign came to Naruto's mind. It was unbidden, and unexpected, but...

But perfect.

"I do," he said."


"Back for more?" the man taunted. "Did your friend survive? Oh, and did you bring back my sword? I'll be needing that."

"No, he didn't. And no, I didn't." A brief pause. "I swear, I'll make you pay for killing him," said Naruto.

"Oh? And by yourself? I don't smell any of your little friends," he said, grinning. "All four of you were no challenge; how can one compare?"

"Because I've finished my jutsu," said Naruto. "And you cannot stand against it."

"One jutsu will hardly make up for the world of difference between us," the man said.

Naruto saw Tsumeki out of the corner of his eye. She had put up an illusion around herself to contain her scent. She was going to ambush him once Naruto had him sufficiently distracted.

"We'll see about that." Naruto ran through his hand signs. He had tested them before they left; he knew they worked. "Fierce Deity Jutsu!" he yelled. A swirling blue cloak of chakra surrounded him. It took no particular form; it was almost as if Naruto were inside a giant transparent tube.

The man scoffed. "That's it? You'll have to do far better than that." With the same blinding speed he had demonstrated before, the man closed on Naruto and delivered a high kick aimed at his head.

Naruto brought his hands up in a cross guard, and for an instant, it seemed as though the chakra formed up around his head and upper body. The man's foot made contact with Naruto's guard, and Naruto slid back, but no injury seemed to be dealt.

"Wh-what?" said the man, stepping back. "How are your arms not broken?"

"Fierce Deity Jutsu," Naruto replied. He dashed forward and punched at the man, who dodged. However, he dodged left, right into Naruto's uppercut. The chakra focused around his hand, and he caught the man under the chin, sending him flying back into one of the rocks.

"Son of a...bitch," the man coughed. There was blood running out of his mouth. "I'll kill you for that!" As he charged at Naruto again, black chakra seemed to ooze from his body.

"What the-" Naruto didn't have time to focus due to his distraction. He took a full-force punch to the face and was knocked back himself. The blow was still partially absorbed by the jutsu's protective layer of chakra, but it hadn't been totally blocked due to Naruto not refocusing his chakra. In summary: Naruto's jaw hurt like a bitch.

"What kind of jutsu is that?" the man yelled. "Your jaw should be separated from your head!"

"It's my jutsu," Naruto said, "and it's the second thing you should be worrying about."

The man was knocked to the ground by a flying, red, multitailed blur. Tsumeki brandished her claws and raked them across the man's face, leaving deep, bloody gouges. She went to rip out his throat, but he punched her off. Being a Kitsune, she was more resilient than a human, but her stomach still felt like it had been struck with a hammer.

"Kitsune? My master will be most pleased to see you!" he yelled. The black chakra burst from him now, and his eyes became yellow and colored with madness. Before he could move, however, he found himself held by the ponytail and pulled backwards onto the ground.

"You won't ever lay a hand on her again," Naruto said. The man opened his mouth, but Naruto crushed his skull with a chakra-infused stomp. The man's body spasmed, and then stopped.

"Did you get him?" Tsumeki asked as she got up. She was holding her stomach.

"Yeah," Naruto said.

The man's body was suddenly coated in black fire. Naruto jumped back. The body was destroyed quickly, and the fire, which began to resemble chakra, gathered into an orb and shot off into the forest.

"Do we have any way to track that?" Naruto asked.

"Uhhhh," said Tsumeki, staring after the orb. "No. Besides. Kakashi's still alone."

"Yeah. Let's get the villagers first, though."

"Good idea."


"And then," Koharu said, "you searched the whole cave and only found a single hostage?"

"The girl he had taken that day," said Naruto. "Yes."

They were just outside of Kakashi's hospital room. Both of the elders were questioning Naruto and Tsumeki. The waiting room was filled with other ninjas – Guy, Kurenai, and Asuma, to name a few – who waited worriedly for news of Kakashi's condition.

"I see. And she was returned to the village?"

"Yes," said Tsumeki.

"Good. We'll send a report to the Daimyo and inform him of the riot. He'll handle it how he sees fit."

"And we will hold a funeral service for Shikamaru Nara tomorrow," said Homura.

The door opened, and a nurse stepped into the waiting room. "I'm looking for the party of Mr. Kakashi Hatake?"

The entire waiting room raised their hands, save for the Elders.

The nurse blinked. "Um. Okay. Mr. Hatake will survive, but he has had extensive damage to his spine. We...we can't fix it. At least, not enough. Mr. Hatake will never walk again."

A chorus of despairing gasps and noises rose throughout the room. Koharu simply nodded.

"In that case, I have news for you."

Naruto turned around, incredulous. What could she possibly have to say at a time like this?

"Due to the defection and incapacitation of fifty percent of your members, Team Seven will be disbanded effective immediately."

Naruto's heart sunk. Between Shikamaru's death, Kakashi's paralyzation, and now the prospect of not being on the same team as Tsumeki, he didn't know how much more he could take this week.

"However," Homura said, hushed, "we have an offer for you. This mission was a test, you see. We never thought it would go this badly, but you succeeded nevertheless. If you, both of you, want them, there are spots in the ANBU Black Ops for you."

Naruto wasn't sure what to say. Part of him was absolutely outraged. The horrific results of this mission were because of a stupid test! Shikamaru was dead, Kakashi was paralyzed! But on the other hand, ANBU...

He looked at Tsumeki. She looked back. He cocked his head. She nodded. He looked at the Elders.

"One condition," he said.

"Condition?" said Koharu. "What do you mean, condition?!"

Homura raised his hand. "Calm yourself. Let us hear what they have to say. What is your condition?"

"We stay together," said Tsumeki. "We stay a team."

Homura's eyes glinted. "Done."


Finally done! I apologize again for the tardiness of this chapter. Like I said, horrific writer's block. But, it's done now! Yay! Whoopee! Let me know what you think in a review!

Also. The formatting in this chapter went a bit wonky, and I can't figure out how to fix it. There may be some scene shifts without a divider, dividers where they aren't supposed to be, or other wierdness. I apologize for that. Like I said, unsure how to fix it.