Disclaimer: i dnt own narto or wow…omg…srsly…


The return trip to Konoha took the full three days this time, for Kakashi refused to travel through the night. His body, apparently, was still weak due to his use of the manipulated Mangekyou Sharingan. This provided for much of the amusement of the journey, something that was well needed after such emotionally trying days. At numerous points, Kakashi would humbly ask Kurenai if he could carry him, to which the woman would respond in a calm and simple manner.

"No."

Kakashi would never ask further than that. Whether it was because of the ire of Kurenai or one of his students, it was unclear. So the majority of the time, he would plod along beside a pair of Naruto clones, who would help him over especially trying obstacles.

The reason for his excessive weakness was made known to everyone after the first day, just as they had crossed the desert. They were crowded around a small campfire, built by Kiba and Naruto, and Kurenai asked the question.

"Why are you suddenly so weak?"

Kakashi set down a tin that just a moment before had been filled with food. Nobody had seen him eat, yet again. "Ahh. It's a bit of a story, much of one that I'm not at the liberty to tell you all, so I'll shorten it a bit. A year or so ago I began experimenting in different ways with the Sharingan. After several months, I was able to increase its power to a level that I had previously thought impossible. It focuses chakra—my chakra—to such a degree that it creates an small pocket in the air, infinitely small, at a varying distance in front of me—the max is, I think, around ten meters. This point is essentially a vacuum—a small hole that is capable of sucking in a massive amount of matter. I do not know how much matter can be compressed into this hole, but it is quite a lot. It creates what I like to call a black hole."

"A good name," Sakura said, rolling her eyes.

Kakashi chuckled. "It is, isn't it? This vacuum is so powerful that even things like light can't escape it. Unfortunately I can't keep it open for long, as the amount of chakra needed to keep it open is immense, completely beyond my capabilities for more than a few seconds. It also injures my eyes, and hinders my ability to see for a while. On top of that, it's hard to aim. But when I can use it properly, it's an extremely deadly technique, or so I like to think."

"How can someone without Uchiha blood," asked Sakura, frowning, "manipulate the Sharingan like that?"

"Who knows? Perhaps blood doesn't activate this ability. I can't say for sure yet, though I have several theories, none of which I will divulge to you."

Naruto glowered. "You're a great storyteller, Kakashi-sensei," he muttered.

"Thanks!" Kakashi said, with a hidden smile, apparently choosing to ignore the sarcasm.

When they reached Konoha, Kurenai's team immediately parted from them. Kakashi said that he would deliver the mission report to Tsunade by himself, so that they could get some well-deserved rest. And they did just that, after a not-so-healthy dinner of ramen at Ichiraku's.

The next few days passed as such; calm and quiet, in which Naruto saw nothing of Kakashi or Yamato, and heard nothing from Tsunade or Benedictus, and thus found it impossible to get much training done. He met with Sakura frequently, worried when he saw the bandage that still bound Sakura's arm up.

"It's nothing," she said, waving her arm, smiling. "Tsunade-shishou already looked at it. It'll be fine."

But the girl knew nothing about the Hokage's dealings with Benedictus. He also spent a lot of time with his friends, none of which had missions at that point. Lee danced with joy upon seeing Naruto, commenting how powerful and filled with the spirit of youth he seemed. Neji half-smiled and half-glared in his usual way, saying nothing, and Tenten greeted Naruto cheerfully, determined to be as good a friend as her teammates were.

The young Hyuuga invited Naruto and the rest of his friends to the Hyuuga estate. They sat in a small circle in one of the many dining rooms it held, usually reserved for members of the Branch House. It was decidedly traditional—with tatami mat floors, sliding screen doors, and many scrolls depicting feudal scenes decorating the walls. It was small, but cozy, and everyone seemed to enjoy it. Both Hinata and Neji were dressed finer than normal, in pretty, yet simple, white kimonos; but that was customary of their family.

"How long are you staying?" Neji asked, sipping his tea.

"Huh?" Naruto asked, frowning strangely at the boy.

"You seem to hold considerable connections to this world," Neji said. "When do you plan to return?"

Naruto glanced at Sakura, a frown on his face. "I dunno. I was gonna go back when Benedictus did, and I think that's gonna be whenever Tsunade-baba decides what to do. I haven't seen any of them for a while."

"You're only going to stay this little while?" Chouji asked.

Naruto scratched his head, a little embarrassed. "I'm not gonna be gone long, I don't think. But if Tsunade-baba gets this alliance worked out, I may be gone for longer. I kinda made a promise to help Kira-chan…"

"I see," said Neji, nodding. "And if no alliance occurs?"

"That won't happen," Naruto said, confidently. "I'm sure of it."

"You're ignoring the extreme ramifications this alliance will have on our way of life," Shikamaru said, blowing on his tea and glancing over at Naruto, from where he sat four places to the blonde's left. "It's not so easy to decide, even for Tsunade-sama."

"I'm not saying that," Naruto said. "But she'll decide to do it, in the end." Naruto shrunk a little in his seat, frowning. "How many shinobi does Konoha have?"

"A little over a thousand active members, including genin, chuunin and jounin," Sakura recited, as if a book containing the exact data lay open before her. "Why?"

"Well, that's a lot, right? And Konoha is still strong, even after Orochimaru attacked us. Yet both he and Akatsuki still pose a threat, don't they?"

"That's hardly because of their size," Shikamaru said. "Their true strength lies in their ability to hide from us, and the extreme power of what few they do have. We have almost no way of preparing for an attack against them, which means there is more of a chance that when they do attack, a lot more people will die." He stared at Naruto. "But I don't see what you're trying to say."

"Well, I'm just saying, that even though we are strong, we aren't strong enough yet to defeat them. If we were, we'd be able to find them and do it, right? They know our tricks as well as we do, probably. I mean, they are all shinobi, right? Tsunade-baba knows that if we allied with Kira-chan and the others, there'd be so much more for us to use against them that we'd be able to crush them despite their strength. Even though they seem to have some idea about Kira-chan's world, they probably won't know as much as the actual inhabitants. They won't know every trick or ability that they have, 'cause there are so many to choose from. Old man Benedictus knows this, and so Tsunade-baba knows this now as well." He gave a satisfied nod. "That's why she'll accept."

The entire retinue was silent for a moment, most of them staring at Naruto, impressed. Shikamaru coughed, attributing the blonde's newfound ability to logically argue to his superior knowledge of the subject.

"But how do you suppose they discovered this place?" Shino asked. "It would seem that it is not the most easily accessed place."

"It isn't," Naruto muttered. "But maybe the go the same way I went, the first time. Maybe they have more of those special stones. Come to think of it, I dunno even what the stone was, other than it belonged to Kira-chan's mother."

"It is difficult to say," said Shikamaru. "But given that they do have access, it means they have more of an advantage than we do. They have several powers of both worlds, and perhaps they might even have members from this one and the next; if that is so, then it will take knowledge of both sides in order to defeat them. So I suppose you're right," he conceded at last, with a sigh. "But even with this alliance, it will hardly put us on a level playing field. They will still have the advantage. They have a smaller group, and thus it is easier for them to move around without being seen. They also have a number of abilities that are unknown to us, as evidenced by your fight against their 'minions' of the Sand."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah. But I think we'll still come out on top, in the end. They're just one group—they don't seem like the type to ally with anybody, right?"

"They seem too audacious and confident for that," Sakura said frostily. "They hardly act like shinobi, unless they are posed with an adequate threat. They fight like samurai or warriors, and just attack in the open, despite the extreme advantage they might have."

"They'll quit that now though," said Kiba. "After what Naruto did to that clay bomber guy, and how much of a fight Sakura put up against that puppeteer."

"And they'll most certainly use whatever they need to in order to achieve their goal," said Shikamaru. "I don't know the specifics, but they seem to be after things like Shukaku—the demon within Gaara."

"Yeah," Naruto muttered. "They're after all the demons, it looks like. Even mine."

"Yours?"

-----------------

Naruto froze. He glanced around, realizing what he had just said.

"Naruto," said Neji, frowning, "did you just say…?"

"Yes."

Heads swiveled to Sakura, who had spoken the word. The girl was looking firmly at Naruto.

"Naruto is the container of the Kyuubi no Youko. That's why he had to use extra caution during that battle, because they were after him as well." She looked around. "Is that at all surprising to anybody?"

There was a moment of silence.

Finally, Kiba gave a shrug. "Nah, can't say I am. It'd explain how he got up after all my Gatsuuga's during the Chuunin Exam."

"And how he overcame my hakke techniques," said Neji, nodding.

"And how he healed so quickly despite all the damage he took," said Chouji.

"And why none of our teachers liked him during the Academy," said Ino.

"And why he can use Kage Bunshin s-so well," Hinata said.

"And how he was able to defeat Neji-kun," said Tenten.

"And Gaara-san," added Lee, nodding.

"Does anybody feel different about it?" Sakura then asked, frowning hard at everyone.

Everyone looked at each other for a second, then back at Naruto.

"Nope!"

Sakura looked back at Naruto, and gave him a satisfied nod. "See? You had no reason to worry."

But Naruto had already moved past that. "Hey! I beat Neji by myself! And Gaara, too! I just used the fox to help me! 'Sides, I can't use it well anymore, anyways! I could still cream all of you!"

"That a challenge, Naruto?" Kiba asked, flexing an arm.

"Yeah, bastard!"

"Then you will fight us. All of us, at once, if you are so confident in your skills." Neji smiled in a evidently mocking way, while the others grinned at Naruto in varying degrees. Their mock fight lasted for a few moments, in which the males pinned Naruto the ground in the middle of the circle, while Ino and Tenten moved in and tickled him mercilessly until he yielded. Sakura and Hinata watched, and noted the warmth and gladness in Naruto's smile, as they all laughed at the absurdity of the situation.

------------

When it was all over, Ino said suddenly, in a sly voice:

"You talk a lot about this 'Kira-chan' girl. She must be pretty special, hmm?"

"Eh? I guess. She's a princess, you know."

"So she is," said Ino. "I mean, you've talked a bit about her in your messages, but never gone into much detail." She nudged closer to the boy, leaning across Chouji, who sat to Naruto's immediate left. "Do you like her?"

Naruto blinked. "She's my friend."

"That's not what I asked."

Naruto blinked again, and followed this with a blush. "Oh…"

"You just have to turn everything into gossip, don't you, Ino?" Sakura muttered.

"Ohhhh? Is that a little smattering of jealousy that I hear in your voice, Forehead-girl?"

Sakura reddened. "Shut up. That's not it at all."

While Ino and Sakura continued their usual trading of insults, Lee immediately bellowed out what he had been holding inside for quite a while.

"Naruto-kun! You must take me with you on your next journey!"

Naruto turned to Lee. "You wanna come? That'd probably be fine, but you'd have to ask Tsunade-baba first, probably." The others began expressing loudly and cheerily at the prospect of going. Azeroth, the world Naruto had gotten so strong in, fascinated them all. Shikamaru, being the realist he was, pronounced that Tsunade probably wouldn't allow all of them to go at once, given the number of shinobi that would cost her, for little reason at all other than to just sightsee. While this was true, Naruto promised to ask Tsunade as soon as he could.

"You're not leaving me behind this time, Naruto," Sakura said, at the end of things.

Naruto returned the smile twice over. "You guys are gonna love this place!"

His eyes grew distant.

"Just as much as me."


A day later Tsunade finally contacted them and were ordered immediately to come to her office. Sakura and Naruto met at the bridge where they had always met before, and hurried to the Hokage's office. They arrived a little after ten, taking the elevator to the top, and finally hurrying down the hall into Tsunade's spacious and bright office, where she, Kakashi and Benedictus all stood. Surprisingly, Yamato was there as well, standing in a corner by himself, looking up when they came in.

Tsunade greeted the boy of them with a nod, though when her eyes fell on Sakura, they seemed to harden and become cold; Naruto only saw it for a moment, and he saw Sakura flinch slightly as well. But it passed in a second, and Tsunade had taken her seat again, her eyes drifting back to Naruto.

"Good," Tsunade said, with a nod. "You're here. We can start now." Her eyes went to Benedictus. "Why don't you break the news, old man?"

"I'd be delighted," Benedictus said, whispering something unheard by the rest under his breath afterwards, which was undoubtedly an insult. He turned to Naruto, smiling widely. "We have reached an agreement—an unorthodox one, to be sure, but one that will still benefit both parties considerably. I recall you told me a little of how the concept of a shinobi village works, yes?"

Naruto nodded.

"Well, Lady Tsunade has told me the rest of it, and both of us were struck with an idea; one that would hopefully work in the same way as an alliance, but get past the Council of Konoha, who would most certainly oppose such an abrupt alliance with someone from another world. It is simple. We will give you a mission."

Naruto frowned. "Whaddya mean?"

But Sakura immediately caught on. Her eyes grew wide. "You plan to do something that big?"

"It's the only way," said Tsunade, resting her chin on the back of her palms and staring at her student. "The Council wouldn't agree to it otherwise."

"What are you guys talking about?" Naruto asked, looking at Sakura and then at Tsunade. "What kind of mission?"

"A mission, dear boy," said Benedictus, before either female could, "that does not just extend to you or your team, or even your closest friends—but a mission that extends to the entire village. A mission that calls for arms against our enemies."

"A mission that pays extremely well, and is obligatory to most acting shinobi," Tsunade said, her face growing hard. "I will hold a meeting with the entirety of the village, and explain this to them. It will be an S-Class mission, and pay as such to all those who take part. It will be optional only to those with genin teams; those who don't believe their teams are ready to fight in such a war can call off at any time. But as of now, we are bound to the city and people of Stormwind—they are now our clients, and will be until this war is over.

"Of course, seeing as you our still our ally, we will have a bit more insurance than one normally would in a deal such as this," said Benedictus. "I do not think that any of the other kingdoms would stand for a true mercenary army, whose loyalty lasts only as long as our coin. Though we still must pay, it is in retrospect a much safer deal, for a much better price. I do not believe we will find many better warriors than the one's in this village." He talked with such knowledge of Konoha that he might as well have lived their all his life. Naruto now had an idea of what he had done during the days he had not seen the old man.

"But is this alright? To hire all of the shinobi in the village would cost a lot. Would your kingdom be able to handle it, in the long run?" Sakura asked.

"I should think so," Benedictus said, lightly. "Stormwind is among the richest kingdoms in the world. While much of our coin has been spent in its repair, there is no doubt that several of our allies will come to our aid—if not Thrall's Horde, then the dwarves and gnomes of our region would gladly lend aid." He paused, and a small, glad smile appeared. "It seems that all of us are learning once again to trust each other. I do not believe we have ever been closer than now. But I honestly think that with Konoha's addition to the war, it will make all the difference in the world."

"What about the Sand?" Naruto asked. "Gaara wanted to help as well."

"He's already sent word about that," Tsunade said, holding up a piece of paper, one of the many that lay splattered across her desk. "But he still has to talk about it with his Council. He promises to tell me as soon as anything occurs."

Naruto nodded firmly. Hope began to swell greater than ever in his heart—they had done it. It hadn't been what he had expected, but that didn't matter any longer. Kira-chan would be so happy, and they would be one step closer to ending the terror of the Scourge. He did not bother to hide this explosion of sudden joy, in the form of the biggest smile to ever grace the Hokage's office and sudden cry of exultation. The resulting shockwave set off several others as well—Benedictus beamed like a kind grandfather; Kakashi behind his mask; Sakura widely; and even Yamato needed to smother a small one.

Tsunade hid her own expertly, which refusing to show any sort of weakness to Benedictus; though they seemed to be on good terms with each other, both knew otherwise. She had since learned to control whatever human outbursts she might have had in his presence.

"And this brings us," Benedictus finally said, "to the reason you two have been called here. I would like your team, Naruto, to accompany me back to Stormwind, so that we may deliver the news to Kira in person. I think she will need some good news, as I doubt she has gotten much in the time we have been gone."

Naruto suddenly appeared even more excited—perhaps more than he meant to. Sakura frowned slightly in his direction, but he didn't notice. She could not, however, fully suppress her own thrill.

"But Sakura will not be joining you."

Sakura froze, mouth agape, her feelings shattering like weak glass.

Naruto stared in horror as well, but that quickly became anger. "Hey! What the hell do you mean by that, baa-chan!"

Tsunade stared with hardened eyes at Sakura, who shrank into her seat. "Her arm."

Naruto swiveled back to Sakura. He saw that Kakashi was looking at the girl as well, a flicker of worry in his calm eye.

"What about her arm?" Naruto demanded. "What's wrong with it?"

"It's too damaged," Tsunade said. "Whatever pathogen affected it was so devastating that a number of the nerve cells were completely destroyed in that area. Her arm is essentially dead weight at this point, and if it is left like that longer, it will begin to decay and become infectious."

Naruto slammed his hand onto the table, his face white—a mixture of fear and anger. He snarled, "Can't you fix it? Can't she fix it? What the hell is going on?" He turned again to Sakura, his face softening slightly. "Didn't you say it was fine?"

Sakura was silent for a moment. She could not meet Naruto's eyes.

"I lied," she finally said, her voice soft. "I had no reason to worry you. Besides, it wasn't definite until yesterday. Tsunade-shishou did all she could to heal it, but the disease had damaged the area so much that not even my technique would work on it. So now…" She swallowed. "…Now, in order to prevent it from becoming gangrenous, it must be removed."

She finally mustered the courage to glance piteously at the blonde.

"I'm sorry, Naruto." She then turned her eyes away again. "I guess I can't go."

Naruto was at a loss for words. He glanced back and forth between Sakura's slumped form and Tsunade, who would not meet his eyes either. He looked back and forth for a few more seconds, his eyes slowly becoming darker and his posture becoming slumped. He may not have been the best at the Academy, but he knew exactly what it meant to have an arm cut off.

It meant that she'd no longer be a shinobi.

Because a shinobi with only one arm could not do half the jutsu that was required of a normal shinobi, and even if they managed to overcome that, most would look upon them with derision and disgust, or worse, with pity. They would become crippled—an outcast. A shinobi with one arm was not truly a shinobi at all.

But then something struck him.

"Wait!" Naruto's eyes grew suddenly wide, and the melancholy mood was lifted and replaced with confusion. "What about troll's blood potion!"

"What?" asked Tsunade.

"I got a couple bottles of it from Vol'jin-nii…it can regenerate limbs!" Naruto immediately began to dig around in his jacket and pouches, rummaging through everything he had in them, but to no avail. The others remained in slight shock, wondering exactly what the blonde was doing.

Benedictus explained.

"Nerve damage isn't so permanent in our world as it is in yours, Lady Tsunade. Though there are no techniques to demonstrate this, there are medicines that can regenerate lost tissue at any level. The trolls, for example, have a unique ability to re-grow limbs. Their blood contains a multitude of this special substance, and when infused with several other herbs, can create a potion that can regenerate any matter of tissue, including nerves. However, to both spare her the trauma of it being removed, and the pain of it being re-grown; as unfortunately the potion nullifies any anesthetics, as far as we know, and the pain of re-growth is as immense as losing it; but it's hardly something to cry over."

"Yeah!" Naruto said. "See, it's not that bad!"

Sakura stared for a moment forwards, as if in shock. A second later, she turned, and clocked Naruto in the head with a curled fist.

"Why the hell didn't you say that before!" she roared. Naruto fell forwards with such force that he smacked his head on the table with enough force to crack it, and stun the boy. Naruto lay like this for a few moments, while everyone in the room sighed.

'Should've expected as much,' thought Kakashi, rolling his eye. He glanced at Sakura. Despite her apparent annoyance, he could see that her eyes were smiling.

"Where is it?" asked Tsunade. "Did you bring it back?"

"I thought I did…" Naruto said, as he gradually recovered. "It may be at my apartment, though I could have forgotten it back in Stormwind." He cocked his bleeding head to the side. "I don't remember packing it…"

"It's probably for the best," said Benedictus. "I wouldn't use the potion in its pure form in any case. Keep in mind the pathogen that destroyed her arm was of Hakkar the Soulflayer, a blood-god of the trolls. It is highly likely that it has evolved in such a way that it requires a bit more to fully overcome the effects. But worry not. We shall be able to overcome it, I'm sure of it."

"Fine, good then," Tsunade said. She sighed in relief, but veiled it in a cough, and gave an apologetic look to Sakura. The girl smiled back, and all was forgiven. Sakura glanced over to Naruto and saw him giving her the same apologetic look at several times the intensity. She just rolled her eyes.

But all was forgiven anyways.

"But that doesn't mean that there aren't going to be changes to your team." She glanced at Kakashi.

"I won't be coming," said Kakashi, giving a little wave. "I've got other things to do, unfortunately, per Tsunade-sama's orders. Yamato-kun will be filling in for me."

"Don't say '-kun', Kakashi-senpai. Our age isn't that different," Yamato said, stepping forwards.

"Yamato-san is…?" Naruto muttered, frowning. "Is he going to continue my training?"

"That's partly why," said Kakashi. "You'll also be getting a new team member. He'll join you tomorrow, when you leave."

"A new team member? Who is it?" asked Sakura.

"Nobody you know," muttered Tsunade, rather displeased. "Yamato will introduce you to him." She glanced around. "Now, that should be everything. Benedictus-san, you're going to be briefing Sakura and myself in every possible way about this medicine that will cure her. I want to know it outside and in. The rest of you can leave. Yamato, Naruto: be ready for tomorrow. You'll meet at the gate at dawn."

"What about the others?" Naruto suddenly asked.

"What others?" Tsunade said, frowning.

"Everyone wanted to come," said Sakura. "To see the other world."

"No," said Tsunade. "You'll be the only ones going, at this point. I can't risk anybody else leaving." She glanced around. "It isn't a vacation, you two. This is important business."

"You're preaching to the choir, baa-san," Naruto said, frowning. He sighed. "But I guess you're right."

"Good," said Tsunade. "Now go, there's still a lot to be done."

Naruto nodded. He exchanged a glance with Sakura, giving her quick nod, but smiling to show his relief for her situation. She smiled back in the same fashion, for she was just as happy as he; she would never be a burden to him again.


The next day came swiftly. But Naruto was able to get a remarkable amount done. He contacted all of his friends, telling them the news, discovering that they were already aware of this, as it was common sense, and then saying a quick goodbye to all of them. He didn't think a quick goodbye would suffice for long, but he promised them he'd come back as soon as possible. They didn't contest, for they knew this as well.

After that, Naruto, followed closely by Tsuwabuki, met with Kakashi for a final time. They met at the bridge where they had always met in the past, and they had walked short distance away, into the forest, into a large training plot that looked long unused. It was completely clear save for a pair of stumps in the middle, one of them large enough to serve as a makeshift punching bag, the other small enough to sit on. Kakashi walked over to the bigger stump and leaned against it. Naruto stood by the small stump, waiting, and Tsuwabuki lay down beside him.

"I'm going to give you that training technique I said I would, now. Make a clone. Good." Kakashi placed his hands together, and created a clone as well, which stood by Naruto's in the same fashion that Kakashi now stood.

"Okay. My clone is going to whisper something to your clone. Cover your ears; make sure you don't hear a thing, okay?"

Naruto nodded, clapping his hands over his ears, while Kakashi's clone leaned in and whispered something into the clone's ear. A moment later, the Kakashi clone leaned back, and vanished in a puff of smoke. The Naruto clone stood still, a rather strange look on his face.

"What now?" Naruto asked, curious to know what his clone now knew.

"Dispel your clone."

Naruto did so with a frown; but as second later, his eyes went wide. Then, the same weird look crossed his face, and he looked dubiously at Kakashi.

"You're creepy, Kakashi-sensei," he said.

'I don't understand what he said,' Tsuwabuki exclaimed. 'What does that second word mean?'

"I'd rather not say," Naruto said, glancing at the fox.

"But you know the basic idea of the technique now, don't you?" Kakashi said, smiling, oblivious.

"Yeah," Naruto said, scratching his head. "That's weird, I never noticed it before…clones give you the information they know when they disappear."

"It was created as a spying technique. You're the only one who can probably use it in the way that you often do—as a staple attack, using many clones to overwhelm your opponents. And because of that, you're the only one who can use this little trick to its desired effect." Kakashi said. "The point is that due to the sheer number of clones you can summon, you can absorb an enormous amount of knowledge and experience in a very short time. By using as many clones as possible, you'll be able to quickly learn techniques and abilities that would normally take weeks, months, even years; or perhaps never. It's a little regrettable that we don't have enough time to go over it together, but I have things to do, and so do you." He scratched the back of his head. "I'm not going to teach you anything more; I'll leave that to Yamato. He knows his stuff, and from what I can see, you've already got a base handle on it."

"What are you talking about?" the blonde asked.

"Do you know what elemental chakra is?"

Naruto paused, frowning. "I think so…Ero-sennin mentioned something about it when he was training me. So did Thrall. I didn't fully understand it, but I know it's what allows me to use fire jutsu, water jutsu, earth jutsu and lightning jutsu…"

Kakashi blinked at the boy. 'He can't really use all of those…can he?' He repeated the question aloud.

"I'm not very good with lightning or earth or water," Naruto said, sighing. "But I'm pretty good with fire, and I can do some ice as well."

"Ice?" Kakashi said, his eyes widening. "That shouldn't be possible."

"Why not?"

"Because to use ice, you need to have a certain ability that you don't have, Naruto. You remember Haku?" At the boy's confused nod, he continued. "Haku had a kekkai genkai, right? Only through a kekkai genkai can one use elements like ice or wood; by combining two of the five central elements—wind, water, fire, earth and lightning."

Naruto blinked. "But…I still do have one ice jutsu. Does that mean I have a kekkai genkai?"

"No," Kakashi said, now frowning intensely; his eye gripped Naruto like a vice, preventing him from moving even and inch. It was clear that Kakashi had not expected anything like this, and it confused him that such a knowledgeable person—usually the font of information that Naruto was accustomed to—was at a loss. The silver-haired man was silent for a few more moments, just staring at Naruto.

"Show me the seals you use to do the jutsu," Kakashi finally said.

Naruto nodded, showing them in order as slowly and expertly as he could manage. The jutsu was not his favorite, and one that he still found difficult in using effectively. It was cool and flashy, exactly to his style, but it was still hard to manage, especially in larger battles.

"Ah," Kakashi said, his eyes widening. "I expected as much. What seals are those called?"

"Moon," Naruto said, making the first, his hands forming a large circle in the middle. "Then Soul, Wisdom, Arrow, and Frost." He then looked up at Kakashi. "I know they're not normal, but these are some of the one's they use in Azeroth. They've got a lot more than we do, from what I saw."

Kakashi stroked his covered chin, and contemplated for a few more seconds. He then reached into a pouch on his vest, and pulled out a small piece of paper, three inches long and four wide. He held it out to the blonde, who took it, again looking perplexed.

"Put a bit of chakra into that, Naruto. I just want to be sure of something."

Naruto nodded, sending a sliver of chakra into the small paper. It soaked it up readily, at then remarkably, split in two as if it had always been.

"I thought as much," Kakashi said, visibly glowing with interest. "That's incredible. It seems we do have a lot to learn about this world. I think I've found the explanation."

"What is it?"

"Those seals are far different from any seals we have; we have a total of twelve hand-seals, not including half seals. Others have been discovered, but they are completely dependant upon the village you come from—we have four more hand-seals, which form solely Leaf techniques. But you've just proved that there are so much more to yet be discovered, and still so many abilities that we've yet to tap into." He nodded to himself. "Okay, first off, that piece of paper was specially designed to react to elemental chakra. Everyone has a basic elemental affinity, one that above all others you learn, that will be the strongest. Yours, due to the splitting action, is wind. If it had burnt, it would have been fire; crumpled, lightning; gotten wet, water; and torn, earth."

Naruto blinked. "I'm best at wind…?"

"Yes—do you know any wind jutsu?"

Naruto thought a moment. "Hmm…I guess air-grasping would be that, and maybe Kazaashi, as well. Tsuwabuki can do some with me, too, I think—her Yajuu Dogou is wind, I think. But I don't remember Thrall explaining anything about wind elemental chakra when he described how to do those. I just did it how I thought it would work, and from watching him."

'I recall something mentioned, about elemental chakra when we trained with Rexxar. I believe that I must share wind, as well.'

Naruto informed Kakashi of Tsuwabuki's words, and Kakashi nodded.

"It makes sense. Your bond must be strong, from what I can see. I saw the air-grasping during the last fight. It's impressive, and definitely uses a very rudimentary wind-based chakra. But it doesn't commit the true function of the wind chakra, but that I'll explain later. The ice jutsu, however, is what I really wanted to explain. From what I can see, your use of the special seals, combined with your affinity for wind—as well as your prior knowledge and use of water jutsu, allows you to combine wind and water chakra to create ice. You've duplicated a kekkai genkai in its most basic form." He smiled, shaking his head in amazement. "It's amazing. That world is really so much more developed than ours; they must have been practicing jutsu for centuries, perhaps even longer, in order to have discovered how to do so much."

It was rare to see Kakashi so passionate or excited by something other than porn, Naruto thought.

"But what's the primary function of wind?" Naruto asked. "Don't I need to train in that?"

"The basic principle of wind is cutting. Those who can use wind jutsu specialize in hand-to-hand combat and cutting their opponents up. They are the strongest weapon users as well. But it seems that you have an affinity for fire as well. Fire is destruction, burning, and is the most combat-oriented of the elements. It is rarely, if at all, used for defense-based jutsu. I'm rather skilled in fire, though my primary is and always will be lightning. You're going to have to train on your own for wind; it's not as common as the rest, for some reason."

"What about Yamato-san?"

"He's earth and water, but his ability allows him to combine them to form wood—something that only the Shodai was able to do before now."

Naruto nodded slowly, frowning. "So that's it? You're just gonna tell me I have it, and not tell me how to use it?"

"You have to figure that out for yourself. I've given you all you need to learn; use the Kage Bunshin training technique as much as you can in the time before you leave, but do it is relative obscurity." The man's last words were softer and sharper than the rest of them; his eyes went deadly serious.

"Why?" Naruto asked, suddenly slightly worried.

"Don't ask at this point, I'm not allowed to tell. Just promise me this; Yamato will no doubt be there to help you anyways, and knows to keep it a secret." Then, his seriousness faded, and he smiled. "I'll miss you. I'd like to go, but Hokage-sama's orders come first. I'll most likely see you when you get back, or perhaps I may join you; who knows?"

Naruto nodded, smiling back. "Okay."

They parted ways, and the rest of the day Naruto spent testing out the new training technique. He then went to Ichiraku's, said goodbye to his two favorite ramen chefs, and went back home.

Finally, after a restful sleep and a morning of hurried packing, Naruto met with Sakura on the bridge, and the two of them walked to the massive gates of Konoha, which less than a week before they had just passed through on another mission. Benedictus was already there, dressed in his familiar golden, flowing robes, smiling benignly. He seemed excited.

"Ah," he said when they came up. "Hello!"

"You're excited," Naruto observed.

"Indeed. I am positively thrilled to return, especially since I will be able to tell Kira this good news. Are you not excited, my boy?"

"Of course!"

"Good," the old man said. Then he frowned, and looked about. "Where is that fox of yours?"

"She's not coming," Naruto said, frowning in annoyance. "She just told me this morning, too."

Sakura looked at him. "What'd you do to her?"

"Nothing! She just said she wanted to stay here 'cause she found it more peaceful than Stormwind, and she could be my eyes and ears here." The blonde nodded. "I thought it sounded reasonable."

"It will certainly test the limits of your bond," said Benedictus. "We'll have to see if it extends that long."

"I think it will," Naruto said. "It worked from across two continents in Azeroth. I'm not worried about her, either. She says she'll hang around and learn a thing or two from Kiba and his dogs, and will probably stay with Baa-chan or something. Baa-chan knows that I can communicate with her, and will say stuff to her to tell me."

He was a little bit worried, however. If it didn't work, then he'd have no contact with Tsuwabuki for a while. The fox had been around him for so long that it would be weird not being able to contact her with but a thought.

"Well, it certainly is helpful, and better than those strange toads you have always used," Benedictus said. Before Naruto could comment, he heard a very strange noise.

It sounded like a mass quantity of blood hitting the stone ground with surprising force, and then another series of liquid-sounding noises rapidly growing louder, approaching from behind. Naruto spun, pushing Sakura back, as a massive black panther slammed into him.

The panther was nothing like anything he had seen—it didn't appear real. Its body was an outline of hazy, blurred black, its eyes twin splatters of black surrounded by wide orbs, its teeth jagged and blotchy, and its body reminded him of a hastily painted picture. It smelled exactly as a wild animal should, but looked nothing like one.

Naruto took the brunt of the force, steeling his body with Kongou. He cried out, thrusting the beast to the side, and drawing his sword in a swift and powerful cut, removing the beast's right foreleg. It crippled into a heap, suddenly becoming nothing more than a black, oozing puddle.

He whipped his head up, only to have two more strange, inky creatures—both large, terrifying birds, slam into him, bowling him onto the ground. Their claws gripped him tightly, but did not pierce the dragonhide jacket he wore. He snarled in rage, ripping free and bounding to his feet, his blade swiping at the birds, which took into the air before they were struck. They circled above, and attacked again. Naruto cut one in half, his blade slicing through it cleanly and effortlessly, turning it into a black puddle, which nearly fell atop the boy. The other clawed at his face, but he ducked low and kicked it in the bottom, dispelling it.

He whirled. Benedictus and Sakura stood still—Sakura was breathing heavily, and Benedictus appeared unruffled; black pools lay at their feet.

Naruto turned again, just in time to see a murder of black birds erupt from behind a sloping roof at the side of the main street into the village. With swift, powerful bounds, Naruto charged towards the roof, bent down, and flung himself atop. The birds descended on him in a moment, but Naruto ignored them; none of the blows pierced his flesh, the dragonhide jacket absorbing all of it. He descended on top of a boy—perhaps his age or a little older, whose eyes were clear and black, staring up at him with a poor representation of surprise. The boy twisted, kicking upwards, but Naruto smashed the leg out of his way and caught the boy by the throat. He touched the ground a bare moment before he was off again, still clutching the youth by the neck in a vice. He landed on the opposite side of the roof, smashing the boy into the tiles hard enough to shatter the ones beneath him.

"Who are you?" Naruto grated out between breaths.

The boy did not answer. Instead he smiled. It was the fakest, most plaster cast smile Naruto had witnessed in all his life. There was no hint of emotion behind it, within it, or about it. It appeared so foreign that it was a blemish on his perfectly smooth, feminine face.

Naruto was thoroughly disgusted by it.

Then he spoke, in a soft, almost feminized lilt.

"My. You must have a big dick."

Naruto could only respond:

"Huge."


Three days passed, and they were already well into the forest, nearing the ends where the desert began to meet it. They traveled swiftly enough, considering they had Benedictus, who moved as swiftly as a dammed river. It would take them by Benedictus' estimation another day and a half to reach the area where the portal was. He was the only one among them who found no fault with it.

The boy, called Sai, couldn't have been a more strange or irritating teammate to have around. His introduction had been shocking and annoying, and it had made Yamato very angry with him. He had apparently disobeyed Yamato's order to stay put and wait for him, and had decided to investigate his teammates all on his own. After being soundly beaten by Naruto, he had introduced himself with that disturbing, hollow smile to Sakura and Benedictus.

From that point, Naruto had he had been on bad terms. It was not only his sudden attack, but also his second sentence to Sakura: "My, you're a very ugly girl."

It had taken both Naruto and Benedictus to restrain the girl, who looked like she had wanted to murder the boy in a single blow. It had taken until Yamato had arrived, to calm her sufficiently to let go. Since, however, she had let go of her anger. That was something that Naruto was incapable of. Everything the boy did—his actions, his words, his dainty and pretty boy looks—with his smooth black hair, perfectly done; his big black eyes, his smooth, feminine face, and even his weird clothes: a pair of black pants and a small black skin-tight shirt which exposed part of his belly—but most especially that smile which he would occasionally pin on his face, even at the most inappropriate of times, served only to annoy Naruto.

But luckily, Naruto rarely spent time with him. In travel he would always move as far away as possible, hoping that whatever Sai said would be carried away by the wind. During their nightly and morning camps, he would refuse to speak to the boy in anything other than terse words, fearing that prolonged conversation would lead to another fight.

But often during these camping sessions, Naruto and Yamato would vanish into the forest, with Yamato's strict orders for none of them to follow. Benedictus had no particular care, and spent most of his time asleep, or if awake he would stare off into the distance, leaving Sakura and Sai alone.

Sakura, though annoyed in general by Sai's difficult personality, tried to be friendly as possible. The first day they had been together, Yamato had said to all of them:

"I want you to be coherent team. I realize that you have only just met, and it hasn't been on particularly good terms," he glared at Sai, "but I want you to be a team. That's an order. Try to be friends, that's all I'm saying."

Being the good girl she was, she attempted to do just that.

"So, Sai—do you have any family?"

The boy smiled. "No. They are dead. I did have a brother once, but he's dead too."

Sakura frowned, mostly because the boy said everything without emotion, as if he had rehearsed it, or read it from a book. "I'm sorry…" she said, however.

Another smile. "It's fine. He wasn't even my brother by blood." He cocked his head. "What about you?"

"Both parents are alive, but I don't have any brothers or sisters," she said.

"I see."

"When did you become a chuunin?" she asked.

"Two years ago. But I'm not a real chuunin." He said, still smiling. "I'm part of a special ANBU group."

"Like Yamato-taichou?" Sakura suddenly asked. Kakashi had told her a little about the man after the meeting that had sent them on the trip.

"No," Sai said. "Different. We are more…secretive."

"Oh…" she responded.

Their conversations never got farther than that. All she learned about him were what new classmates learned about each other on the first day of school. It didn't seem to be going any farther, either. Sai seemed unable to spark any sort of lasting conversation, and with each one, Sakura became more disturbed by him. She was sure Yamato saw it, and Naruto and Benedictus too.

This boy had no emotions.

"You're doing better."

Naruto collapsed, exhausted. He dropped the leaf he was holding to the ground, and glared at it as if it were a demon. "Stupid leaf. Just fall apart."

"You've got the technique and the mindset. You just need to train a bit more. Remember, it takes most months to learn this. You'll probably have it by the end of the week, shorter, if you can find a place suitable to as many Kage Bunshin as you can."

Naruto and Yamato left camp every night for one or two hours, and in that time Yamato oversaw Naruto's elemental training. The boy had a great grasp of it already, but only in certain forms. He seemed to have convinced himself that he could only use it to enhance his speed to a degree—and even that was mostly leg strength with a slight chakra boost. Yamato had limited him to fifty clones, not wanting to draw attention to their training, or make Sakura—or worse—Sai, investigate.

"Why can't they see this?"

"I can't answer that just yet," Yamato said. "You'll know soon enough."

Naruto paused a moment. "Why the hell, then, is that guy…" he couldn't even say Sai's name without becoming irritated, "even here? What the hell is wrong with him?"

"I don't know. He has always been like that, since I have met him." His eyes narrowed. "All I can say is that try to be friends with him. The worst thing for a team is a fracture like this. You should know."

Naruto bit back whatever he was going to say. The man was right.

"And what's with his weird abilities?"

"We all have our strong points. His happens to be his artistic ability. I don't know anything more about his power other than it uses special ink to animate drawn pictures. Rather like summoning, I suppose." He looked back. "Let's return. Unfortunately we won't be able to train once we reach the desert—it's too open."

Naruto couldn't obey Yamato's words. He knew it was wrong, but he couldn't stand Sai. The boy seemed to go out of his way to annoy Naruto. He had no concept of social interaction, and Naruto couldn't get out of his head the boy's first words. What kind of weirdo said that to someone he'd just met?

What kind of weirdo said that at all?

They traveled for the next two days. The desert days were hotter than Naruto remembered, and the nights were even colder. The portal was some distance away from the Sand, so they caught no sight or sign of civilization for some time. People spoke less during the march through the desert; but the only ones who seemed unaffected were Benedictus and Sai; Benedictus walked behind them, and seemed wrapped in perpetual cool air; and Sai, who never stopped his queer smile and annoying actions. Naruto would never go on a trip like that again.

Only his excitement in returning to Stormwind kept him sane.

It was just an hour before noon on the fifth day of travel that they finally reached their destination. It appeared as a black dot on the horizon, and slowly grew larger and larger, gaining shape and even beginning to move. Naruto began to smell humans and the oily smell of gnomes in the distance, and increased his pace. Surprisingly, so did Benedictus, striding ahead of all the rest, until they reached the small settlement.

The portal loomed, foreign, above everything else. There was a glossy sheen within it, depicting the massive chrome room beyond of Gnomeregan. Surrounding it were small metal houses, large enough just for a man to fit in. A group of Sand-nin stood in the middle of the largest row of houses, which led up to the portal. They were talking to a group of gnomes before them.

"Oh, you've come back!"

One of the gnomes, with a short, graying beard, rushed immediately up to Benedictus. His eyes were wide and worried. "We didn't think you'd come so quickly! We just sent out the missive two days ago!"

"Pardon?" said Benedictus, frowning at the gnome. "What do you mean? Is something wrong?"

"Very," the gnome said, before he caught himself. "I mean, yes. Something is very wrong, Archbishop, sir. His Highness the High Tinker needs to see you. Right away. Something bad has happened in Gnomeregan."

Benedictus frowned deeply. His golden eyes darkened, and he held himself upright suddenly. He turned briskly to Yamato. "It seems we must make haste. I will lead the way."

Yamato nodded, slightly put off by the old man's sudden presence. It was oddly familiar. "Of course." He nodded to his team. "Let's go."

------------------

There was hardly time for any of the shinobi save Naruto to be surprised by the massive room they entered. The portal had been a strange experience—their bodies had tingled as if their limbs had gone to sleep, but they didn't fall. But otherwise, it was not unlike stepping through a wall of falling water. They simply stepped through, and the hot air vanished, replaced by the cool interior of Gnomeregan. The desert winds stopped blowing. The sounds familiar to them vanished. Replacing them was everything mechanical. It was like stepping into a giant, ticking clock, filled with thousands of other clocks. There were no humans in the room save them; all the rest were gnomes and strange mechanical beings shaped like gnomes, but made of red metal and beeping loudly. It smelled almost of a blacksmith's shop, only cleaner and cooler. Immediately upon stepping through the portal, they were mobbed by a group of gnomes, all yammering in distressed voices.

Mekkatorque's voice broke it up. "Clear off! I have business with them!"

He sounded distressed, and Naruto was reminded a little of the Mekkatorque he had first met: the biting little creature that had lost faith in everything. Mekkatorque walked, unimpeded, up to Benedictus.

"You were in transit, already, weren't you?"

"Indeed. It seems we were fortunate enough. What has happened?"

"I'll tell you later. We must make haste to Stormwind, of course. Lady Kira will no doubt need her advisor at this point. We shall take the tram."

He nodded briefly to Naruto, looking desperate, smiled as best he could at Sakura (with a worried glance at her arm), and gave nods to both Sai and Yamato, whom he had never met. "Forgive me," he said. "That we could not meet on better terms. But there is a crisis that cannot easily be solved."

"What's going on, Mekkatorque-ossan?" Naruto asked.

"Your old friends, boy. The Scarlet Crusade. They've stolen my plans for this portal. It seems they wish to get into your world, and I am at a loss at what to do."


There's nothing much to say about this chapter. I don't expect to get many reviews for it (though a few would be nice…hint hint), but I did enjoy it. Sorry for being late, I have no excuse other than laziness for it.

It gave all sorts of explanations in this chapter about the nature of jutsu and chakra, and about Kakashi's ability. I doubt Kakashi's ability is activated in the same way, but I don't care enough to wait, and it seems natural that an explanation should be given about it. I thought I should explain the ice jutsu thing as well, and at least get Naruto started on his elemental training.

Sakura's wound will not be resolved that easily, of course. It will have an immediate consequence. You'll see next chapter. That one will have a little more action in it, hopefully. It will also truly begin the arc.

Sai—yes, he's here. He is canon, for those who don't know. I don't like him, but I feel I should use him, anyways. He'll play a larger part, later. The next arc will hopefully be a thousand times better than the previous. I can only hope.

For all that I did in this chapter (which was not much, to say the least) I enjoyed it. I felt I explained a few things that needed explaining, even if it took me quite a while to explain them. Tell me if it was too long. It probably was, but I tried to get rid of as much extraneous stuff as I could. It was a rather light-hearted chapter, overall, and set up a bunch of things to take place later in the plot.

Kyuubi revealed. Nothing special here.

Lastly—Sai's famous quote: I've been wanting to do that for ages, in some form of story. It's not a Naruto-esque response, but it's one of the two responses for that situation.

Well, that's it. Hopefully see you next week, though I might not—I'll be gone all weekend, without access to a computer. If I do a shorter chapter, I might, however.

Seeya!

General Grievous