Disclaimer – I don't own Naruto.

Summary – After a 2nd failed attempt to rescue Sasuke, Naruto returns home, once again empty handed. But all is not lost. The mission has taught Naruto where his true power lies. As it awakens, so does Naruto, and he wakes up to more than he expected…

Pairings – NaruHina (Main), SasuSaku, ShikaTema, NejiTen, ChoIno, LeeOC, IruShizu, KonoHana

Author's Note (A/N) – This is my first fan fic. Please R&R. I hope you enjoy it!

HELLS YEAH! Over 200 reviews! You guys ROCK! Thank you!

For those of you who guessed Tales of Symphonia (or any Tales game for that matter) as the origin for the Ruby, you are correct. Damn, I'm such a hopeless romantic…

This chapter is for the pairing lover in all of us. All pairings for this story are confirmed and finalized, including Shino's. All pairings that this story and its sequel have will be in this chapter.

As you may have noticed, I have added three new pairings. I had planned on adding IruShizu and KonoHana for a while, but I found inspiration for a LeeOC pairing in the form of a test. It was my Language Arts benchmark test, and there was a poem on it called "The Lotus Flower." When I saw "Lotus," I immediately thought, "Lee!" Then I read the poem, and I came up with a wonderful idea for a LeeOC pairing. It's gonna be great!

I also was inspired to include several more plot twists. You probably won't catch on until the sequel, but, trust me; none of you will be expecting it. But that's a long ways off. This is now.

It's time. For the action. The romance. The awakening.

You know, I'm a little nervous. I built up a lot of hype for these coming chapters, but…what if they're not up to expectations? AHH! THE PRESSURE! Wait, calm down… Self-doubt is the first step to breaking under the pressure. I just gotta be confident. Besides, even if it's not up to snuff, I shall write on!

ON WITH THE STORY!

Naruto's Awakening

Chapter X – Calm Before the Storm

Gaara stood atop the wall surrounding Konoha, next to the East gate, staring into the rising sun. He stood in silence, brooding about the sense of impending danger his instinct had developed. He frowned. An ANBU on patrol appeared next to him.

"Is…something wrong, Kazekage-sama?" He asked. Gaara closed his eyes in a brooding manner.

"Something is coming…"

X-X-X-X-X

Naruto closed the door to his apartment, locked it, and made his way toward the ramen stand for lunch. He slept in, so it was already after noon. As he walked down the street, he spotted a familiar Hyuga girl. 'Hey, it's Hinata-chan!' He than remembered the pervious night. He wanted to ask her about it, but, in a rare moment of insight, decided it would be best to leave the subject alone for right now. "Hey, Hinata-chan!" He said, waving and running up to her. Hinata turned around at the sound of her name.

"Oh, h-hello, Naruto-kun!" She said with a small smile. 'It's Naruto-kun! I…I wonder if he'll ask about last night… I hope not…' Naruto stopped and felt his face warm up slightly.

'Uhh… Did it get warmer all of a sudden?' He thought, confused. He shook it off and smiled. "Hey, uhh…" Naruto started, looking anywhere but at Hinata. 'What's wrong with me?' He thought. "Do you wanna get some ramen or somethin'?" He asked. Hinata swore she had just seen Naruto blush for some reason, but quickly put it in the back of her mind.

"S-sure." She replied with a small blush of her own, following Naruto as they made their way to the ramen stand. They arrived and found Shino, Iruka and Shizune there, as well, waiting for their ramen.

"Hey, Iruka-sensei, Shizune-ne-chan, Shino!" Naruto said, greeting the said shinobi. They greeted him back as he and Hinata took a seat.

"Hey, Naruto, Hinata." Iruka said. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Grabbing some lunch!" Naruto said happily as he and Hinata ordered their ramen. Teuchi started preparing their order as Ayame brought Shino his ramen.

"Here you go, Shino-kun!" She said with a bright smile. Shino nodded and thanked her, grabbing his chopsticks. Naruto swung around at what he just heard. He got up and sat next to Shino.

"Is there something I can help you with, Naruto?" Shino said. Naruto smiled slyly.

"Shino-kun?" He said, nudging Shino with his elbow, sly grin still in place. "Now I see why you like the ramen so much…" Shino just ignored him and remained silent. Naruto sighed and returned to his seat between Iruka and Hinata. He turned to Iruka.

"So, Iruka-sensei… Why is Shizune-ne-chan here with you?" He asked.

"I could ask you the same question about Hinata." Iruka replied. Naruto blushed and turned away.

"Fair enough." He said.

X-X-X-X-X

Choji and Ino were walking through the center of Konoha, having nothing to do since all of Ino's shopping was done. "Where'd you reckon Shikamaru went?" Choji asked. Ino just shrugged.

"I dunno. It's not my job to keep up with the lazy bum. He just said he had to go meet someone."

"Oh…" Choji said thoughtfully. He had an idea, but decided to keep it to himself. "Well, it looks like it's about to rain. Wanna go grab somethin' to eat?" Ino turned to her teammate. She blushed very lightly to the point it was unnoticeable.

"Oh… Sure." She said. Choji started walking toward the East gate in the direction of their favorite BBQ restaurant. Ino sighed. She didn't remember when it started happening exactly, but she started having these weird feelings when she was around Choji.

Ino guessed it started shortly after the failed mission to retrieve Sasuke. When Shikamaru and Choji had disappeared that morning to leave for the mission, she had been shocked by Sasuke's betrayal and terribly worried for her teammates' safety. Shikamaru had come back relatively unharmed, but everyone else was a wreck, especially Choji. He had returned on the brink of death, and his condition only continued to worsen. Thankfully, he had recovered, and she had been overjoyed. She had nearly suffocated Choji when she hugged him when he woke up. Shortly after that, these strange feelings had appeared, and they had only strengthened over the years.

But she couldn't, for the life of her, figure out what these feelings were. She had figured it was some sort of affection for the bulky shinobi, but she hadn't thought anything of it at the time. Now however, she was beginning to second guess herself.

Could it be? Could this be--

"You comin'?" Choji asked, bringing Ino back to the real world. She nodded and followed him to the restaurant.

X-X-X-X-X

Lee stood at the entrance to the Hyuga compound. He was waiting for Tenten to get Neji, so they could go to the training fields. Tenten sure was taking her time. Lee had been waiting out here for more than ten minutes now. What was she doing? Lee sighed. He was tired of waiting, and bored. He dropped down and started doing one-handed push-ups to warm-up, seeing as how he had nothing better to do.

"Thirteen…fourteen…fifteen…sixteen…" Lee huffed as he continued his workout. "Sevent--!"

Suddenly, someone walked around the corner and tumbled over Lee's prone form. Lee shot up and crouched down next to the person who he had tripped.

"Ah! I am sorry! I did not mean to trip you! I should not have been training--"

"It's okay." The person said, picking herself up. She stood up and straightened her clothes, picking up the package she dropped. "I should be the one apologizing. I should've been watching where I was going."

Lee blushed lightly, partly from embarrassment, and partly because of the young woman in front of him. She was a fairly attractive girl, with a slim figure, much like many females of the Hyuga clan, but with visible curves. Like the rest of the clan, her eyes were silver and pupil-less, and her hair was black. Her hair was fairly long, reaching down to the bottom of her back, and it was pulled into a long ponytail, much like Ino's hair. She was wearing a traditional Hyuga kimono that most branch member females wear inside of the estate. She was around the same age as Lee, and a head shorter than him.

"Ah- It is okay, umm…" Lee started.

"Tsuki." She stated. "Hyuga Tsuki, of the branch house." She pointed to her forehead, where a black Konoha headband was visible, clearly hiding the curse mark from sight. This surprised Lee.

"You are a shinobi?" He asked.

"Yep!" She said, smiling widely. "Surprised?"

"Well…yes." Lee replied. Tsuki took up a thoughtful pose.

"Well, I guess it is kinda unusual…" She said. "I don't know many female branch members who actually partake in the shinobi lifestyle…" She smiled again. "But a life as a household maid really didn't suit me, so I became a shinobi with Hiashi-sama's permission."

Lee smiled. "I see. Good for you."

"Yeah, things have been getting better around here, ever since the Chunin Exams three years ago…"

"Yes, thanks to Naruto-kun, Hinata-san, and Neji-san." Lee said.

"You know them?" Tsuki asked, surprised.

"Yes." Lee replied. "Neji-san is my teammate, along with Tenten-san and Gai-sensei, and Naruto-kun and Hinata-san are good friends of mine."

"Hmm… I see…"

"If I may," Lee began, pointing toward the package in Tsuki's hand. "Why are you carrying that package?"

Tsuki gasped as her eyes widened. She slapped herself on the head. "Damn, I forgot! I'm supposed to get this to Hiashi-sama! I really need to go!" She said, running at top speed towards Hiashi's study. "I'll see you later!"

"Wait!" Lee said, catching up to her. "We will go much faster…" He picked Tsuki up, bridal style. "…like this!" He sped off, using his incredible speed to fly through the halls of the Hyuga estate and arrive at Hiashi's study in record time. Lee set a shocked Tsuki down and smiled.

"Th-that was amazing!" She managed.

Lee blushed lightly. "Thank you. I apologize if I went a little too fast…"

"No, it's okay…" Tsuki then smiled. "Thank you for your help."

"No problem!" Lee replied, giving his "nice guy" pose. Tsuki giggled at his antics and walked into Hiashi's study.

Hiashi was sitting at his desk, looking through various papers and scrolls, managing various documents and doing other such activities required of the clan head. He looked up when Lee and Tsuki entered.

"Here are the documents you requested, Hiashi-sama." Tsuki said, handing the package to Hiashi. Hiashi took it and looked at Tsuki.

"If I may, what took you so long?" He asked.

"Oh, well, I--"

"It was my fault, Hiashi-sama." Lee butted in. He bowed and righted himself again. "I accidentally tripped Tsuki-san in the halls, and engaged her in friendly conversation. I was unaware that she was running an errand. Again, please accept my apologies."

Hiashi raised his eyebrows briefly. "Is that all? It's quite alright, Lee-san, Tsuki-san. However, I would ask you to save the friendly chit-chat for after Tsuki-san has finished her duties."

"Of course, Hiashi-sama." Lee replied. "Thank you." Tsuki looked at Lee, surprised. He had handled that situation very well.

Hiashi then smiled gently. "Don't dwell on it. In my time, I've learned that many, if not all, things happen for a reason. Perhaps this is one of those moments." Lee and Tsuki gave him a questioning look. Hiashi smiled knowingly. "Don't dwell on it. You are dismissed. Tsuki-san, I have no more tasks for you, so you may have the rest of the day to yourself."

Tsuki bowed. "Thank you, Hiashi-sama." And with that, Lee and Tsuki exited the study.

Tsuki turned to Lee. "Umm… Thanks for your help back there, uhh…"

"Rock Lee." Lee replied.

"Lee." Tsuki smiled. "I didn't know you had such manners."

"Gai-sensei taught me. He always said that I should respect my elders and superiors."

"You must really look up to this 'Gai' person." Tsuki said.

Lee smiled. "He is a wonderful man! He is like a father figure to me, and I look up to him a lot."

"Hmm…"

"He is very strong and has taught me everything I know." Lee added.

"So you must know lots of Ninjutsu and stuff." Tsuki said. At this, Lee's head drooped and his smile faltered.

"Well… Actually, I am incapable of using any Ninjutsu or Genjutsu." Lee said. Tsuki's eyes widened in shock.

"R-really?"

"Yes…" Lee said. But then his head perked back up and his smile returned. "But Gai-sensei helped me overcome that and achieve my shinobi way: To be a splendid ninja, even without being able to use Ninjutsu and Genjutsu!"

"Really?" Tsuki asked. "So you use Taijutsu?"

"Yes."

"So you must be really good?"

"Yes!"

Tsuki smiled. "Well, then I think you are a splendid ninja already!" She declared. Lee stared at her. "I mean, to be able to overcome something like that and still be a ninja, let alone a skilled one, must me extremely tough. If you've already done that, then you're already more than just a splendid ninja; you're some sort of genius or prodigy!"

Lee stared in shock. Did she really think that? "Tsuki-chan, thank you." He said, smiling softly. Tsuki merely smiled her smile, which Lee was slowly growing to love.

"It's true!"

X-X-X-X-X

Tenten stood outside of Neji's room. She sighed. What was wrong with her! All she had to do was go in there and talk about it. Nothing too difficult, right? Apparently not, as Tenten had been standing outside the door for at least twenty minutes now.

'Damn it! Come on, pull yourself together! All you have to do is go in there and ask a few simple questions. Then you and he can forget about it.' She thought to herself. Why was she having such a problem?

Tenten's dilemma revolved around that little prank Naruto had pulled on them during their sparring match almost a week ago. Ever since then, things had been awkward between her and Neji. Why should it be? It's not like they liked each other or anything…

But there is the problem.

Tenten loved Neji.

But what were Neji's thoughts on the incident?

All she had to do was ask. Was that so hard?

'Just do it already!' Tenten scolded herself. She took a deep breath and prepared to walk in when Neji walked out of the room and spotted her.

"Uhh… Tenten, what are you doing outside my room?" He asked. Tenten jumped back in surprise.

"N-Neji-kun! Ahh… I-it's nothing!" She stuttered. "I was just gonna ask… Uhh…"

Neji was feeling a little awkward. Ever since that incident during the sparring match…

Tenten braced herself. 'Here goes nothing!'

"I…I was just wondering…you know…a-about that little incident that happened during the sparring match…"

Damn! That was not what he was hoping to hear. Crap. What now? "Oh… Umm, well…" Neji looked anywhere but at Tenten. "Let's just…forget about it. I mean, it's not like we like each other, or anything like that… Why should we let it affect us?"

Great. Just great. That wasn't really the response she wanted. Well, it's not like she was expecting him to confess his eternal love for her, but she wasn't expecting him to give an answer that didn't answer the question she really wanted to ask. 'I guess…the only way to resolve this, for me, at least, is to tell him…'

"Well, Neji…" She began. "Actually, th-there's something I need to tell you…"

Tenten felt her heartbeat increase rapidly and the heat start to rise on her cheeks.

Neji's voice was caught in his throat. What was going on? Does she…?

"I…I-I--"

X-X-X-X-X

Sakura stood atop the North gate, looking out into the horizon. She would come here to dwell, dwell upon all that's happened to her, to Naruto, to…Sasuke.

Sasuke. She missed him. She missed him dearly. And the fact that they had seen him again after three years, only to lose him again, made the pain ten times worse.

"Sasuke…" She mumbled.

"You really love him, don't you?" Came a voice from behind. Sakura turned to see Kakashi standing there, hands in his pockets, bored expression on what she could see of his face.

"Kakashi-sensei…" Kakashi walked to stand next to his student.

"I'm not saying I understand how you feel, as I have never quite been in your situation, but I miss him, too. Sasuke…" Kakashi looked to the horizon. "But I'm not worried. Naruto gave us his word, didn't he?" Kakashi's visible eyed curled into a smile. "I trust Naruto with all my being. If he can't bring Sasuke back, no one can."

Sakura just continued to stare off into the distance. Then, she smiled gently. "I know, Kakashi-sensei. Naruto never goes back on his word."

"That's right."

"I trust him, too. He'll get Sasuke-kun to come back." She turned to her teacher. "I'm just thinking. About what to do next. About how we're going to get him back for sure next time."

Kakashi just stared at his student. Then, his visible eye curled up into another smile. "You've really grown, haven't you, Sakura?" Sakura smiled.

"I try, Kakashi-sensei. For Naruto. And for Sasuke."

X-X-X-X-X

"Well, I'm stuffed!" Naruto said, putting down his empty ramen bowl (number twelve). He sighed satisfactorily. "Have I ever told you how good your cooking is, old man?" Naruto directed at Teuchi. The old cook chuckled good-heartedly.

"All the time, Naruto, but it still makes me smile whenever you say it."

"Well, it's true!" Naruto said. "It's the best, right, Hinata-chan?"

Hinata turned to Naruto and smiled. "Y-yes, Naruto-kun." Naruto felt his cheeks warm up. Something about Hinata's smile had that affect on him. Naruto gave his trademark grin.

"That's a little biased, I think." Iruka butted in.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto asked, annoyed. Hinata blushed lightly at the comment.

"Nothing! Nothing!" Iruka said, grinning knowingly while waving his arms in front of him.

"Whatever." Naruto said, getting up. "Let's go, Hinata-chan." Hinata rose from her seat as Naruto lay down the payment for both his and her meal.

"Y-you don't have to, Naruto-kun…" She said quietly.

Naruto smiled. "Don't worry about it, Hinata-chan. I want to." Hinata just smiled gently (earning a light blush from Naruto) and nodded. They turned and left. Shino, too, got up to follow them, paying for his meal and bidding farewell to Ayame.

"Naruto-ni-san!" Came a voice from behind the trio. They turned to see Konohamaru running towards them just before Naruto was tackled to the ground from a hug from the excitable kid. Hinata giggled as she watched the two wrestle on the ground. Shino turned to see Hanabi walking towards them.

"Good afternoon, Hinata-ne-chan." Hanabi greeted Hinata with a small smile. Hinata turned towards Hanabi and returned the smile.

"Good afternoon, Hanabi-chan." Hinata replied. "What are you doing here?"

"I just finished my missions with my team, and I decided to walk through the market." She then turned toward the wrestling couple. "Until, that is, this buffoon came and interrupted it." She said, directing her annoyance toward Konohamaru. The said Genin heard this and jumped up.

"Hey! Watch how you talk to the future Hokage!" He yelled at the younger Hyuga. Hanabi scoffed.

"You? Hokage? Yeah right." She said, crossing her arms and sticking her nose in the air.

"Yeah!" Naruto said. "I'm gonna be Hokage, not you, shrimp!"

"Hey!" Konohamaru yelled, tackling Naruto again as they began to wrestle on the ground again.

"They're both crazy." Hanabi said. Hinata giggled at the actions of the two 'brothers' on the ground.

"I believe that Naruto-kun will be Hokage someday." She said with a small smile. Hanabi gave her a questioning look.

"Really?" She said. "What makes you think that?"

"Well, Naruto-kun is very strong and determined, and never goes back on his word. He cares about the village and everyone in it, and does everything in his power to protect it." Hinata said absentmindedly, lost in the world of dreams, where she and her Naruto-kun lived happily together.

Hanabi put on a sly smile. "Really?" She said rather loudly. "You must really like him, huh?"

Hinata sighed dreamily. "Yeah…"

This statement caused Naruto to freeze where he was, while Konohamaru continue to pound him on his head, unaware of the recent development. Hinata seemed to realize what she had said, as well, as she blushed a deep crimson and put a hand over her mouth. Hanabi smiled mischievously, apparently satisfied with the results. Shino raised his eyebrows. The fact that Hinata was smitten with Naruto was old news to him, but he was surprised that Hinata had so carelessly revealed her affection for the blonde. It made him wonder about certain things…and a certain person.

Hinata recovered first and began to stutter an explanation. "I-I mean, you know, I-I really like him a-as a friend and he's a-a very good person and a v-very likable person…"

Part of Naruto was delighted that Hinata liked him, another part refused to believe anyone, especially Hinata, could like someone with a demon in him. He jumped up and waved his hands in front of him.

"Y-yeah! We're just friends! Besides, who would like someone like me?" Naruto said sheepishly.

Part of Hinata was thankful for Naruto's help, but another part of her was saddened at Naruto's words. 'Someone like me, Naruto-kun…' She thought to herself. She nodded in agreement to Naruto's statement.

"Suuuuuure…" Hanabi said, disbelievingly. Konohamaru seemed to finally catch the flow of things and smirked.

"Heh. Come on, Hanabi. We're not going to get much more from those two. They're just too wimpy to admit it." He said, walking off with his smirk still in place. Hanabi played along and followed him.

"Yeah. What wimps!" She agreed.

"Hey, you little punks! Get back here so I can kick your asses!" Naruto yelled, blush on his cheeks as he chased after the laughing Genin. Hinata smiled at the sight. Even if it didn't look it, Naruto was very good with kids. This thought led to others, of which contained similar subjects.

Naruto walked back towards Hinata and Shino, catching his breath. "Those two are faster than they look…" He said between breaths.

"Indeed." Shino agreed.

On the outside, Naruto looked like the event had never happened, and he had forgotten and had moved on, but on the inside, it was a different story. Part of him was disappointed that Hinata didn't like him as more than a friend, and the other part of him was wandering why he felt that way.

X-X-X-X-X

"Do you think he's figured it out yet?" Iruka asked, looking at the backs of the retreating teenagers.

"No…" Shizune answered.

"How dense is he?" Ayame sighed. "Anybody could have figured it out by now…"

"Really, you can't blame him." Teuchi spoke up. Everyone turned toward the aged cook. "It's not his fault." He said, smiling at the back of the retreating figure that was Naruto. "He's had a rough life. No one was there for him in his early years, you know? He never new the care of a guardian, the pride of a teacher, the love of a parent. Love is a foreign concept to him. He does not know what it is, therefore he cannot recognize it. As obvious as Hinata's affection for him is, he can't compare it to anything, therefore he cannot label it. It's a new thing." Teuchi smiled sadly. "It…really is sad, when you think about it…"

Everyone remained quiet for a while. Ayame then spoke up. "Well, then, I guess Hinata-san will just have to show him, huh?"

"Looks that way." Teuchi replied.

"But could Hinata really be able to do that?" Iruka asked. Shizune looked at him like he was crazy.

"Are you telling me you haven't noticed?" She asked incredulously.

"What do you mean?"

"Hinata-san's growing affection for the boy…" She sighed. "I can tell. She's in love with him."

"Love?" Iruka stuttered.

"Yeah…" Shizune continued. "The way she looks at him, talks to him, acts around him, talks about him… She's completely and utterly in love with him."

Iruka just sat there. "W-well…I never thought of it like that…"

"It's sooooooo romantic!" Ayame said with a dreamy look. "I wish I had somebody like that…" She added as her thoughts drifted to a certain person.

"Yeah, it is…" Shizune agreed with a smile.

"How long you reckon she's been…in love with him?" Iruka asked.

"For a very long time." Shizune replied. "Yes, it may have started as a crush, but I'd be willing to bet it was only like that for a short while."

"I still don't get how you know all this…" Iruka said with a confused look.

Shizune merely smiled. "Let's just say it's women's intuition." And with that, she touched the tip of Iruka's nose with her index finger and left. Iruka just sat there, blushing lightly.

'I'll never understand women…' He concluded as he, too, left, heading toward the East gate.

X-X-X-X-X

'How troublesome…'

Shikamaru was walking down the street, in the East side of the market, heading toward the East gate, to the food district, where many of the restaurants were. He sighed. Women really were too damn troublesome. And he didn't even know why this time. Temari had said to meet her at some food place here. And for once, Shikamaru was at a complete loss as to what Temari's reasons could be. He may be a genius, but women were a whole different 'bag of chips,' as Choji would say. Temari had dragged him off at the party and demanded that he meet her. She gave no reason, and Shikamaru was to lazy to argue.

'Damn Suna woman. Of all women, she may be the most troublesome…' He thought as his expression grew even more sour. Well, it's not like he had anything better to do, seeing as there were no clouds to watch, as it was too cloudy. He looked up and saw lighting flash against the sky. It was going to rain soon. 'Great. Troublesome weather to go along with a troublesome situation…'

But somewhere inside of him, he found that he really didn't find it too troublesome. Wait, hold on. What was he thinking? Of course it was troublesome! It was the most troublesome thing in the world! Well, maybe not… No! Yes, it is!

'What's gotten into me?' Shikamaru asked himself desperately. 'These past years… I've been thinking more and more about her. Sometimes I can't stop thinking about her! And then I get this weird feeling in my stomach sometimes… AHH! What the hell is going on!' He yelled to himself in his head, a pained expression on his face. 'These emotions… What are they? I mean, I can't POSSIBLY feel any sort of attraction for that damn woman…' But a part of him didn't think it was so outrageous. 'Ahh… This is too damn troublesome…'

X-X-X-X-X

Temari was sitting at a table in a far corner of the diner she chose. She kept fidgeting, waiting for Shikamaru. She never remembered feeling so nervous. But, this was something she had to talk to him about, something that she had to tell him. She couldn't keep it to herself forever, or she might never have another chance. Best to do it now…

'Mmm… What's taking him so long!' She asked herself. Why'd he have to pick today of all days to be extra lazy? She was getting impatient, as well as more nervous.

As if that wasn't the only thing, it was about to rain, and she had this sense that something was going to happen, like a calm before the storm. Of course, that was probably the atmosphere inside the entire village, seeing as a storm was brewing.

'But…this feeling won't go away.' Temari thought. 'Shikamaru… Hurry up…'

X-X-X-X-X

"Looks like we're here, Itachi."

"Hmm…" Itachi looked up to see the village in the distance. "Very…interesting."

"What's interesting?" Hidan asked with a questioning look. Kisame and Kakuzu also looked interested.

"This feeling…" Itachi said, closing his eyes in a thoughtful manner.

"Feeling?" Kakuzu asked. "What the hell are you talkin' about?"

"I feel…" Itachi started. "I feel like I'm finally coming home."

"Finally…coming home?" Kakuzu repeated with a raised eyebrow.

"Perhaps it is a sign." Itachi said. "Today should be very interesting."

"You're creepin' me out with all this 'feeling' bullshit…" Kisame said, looking at Itachi like he was fairly insane. "I'll never understand you…"

"Then let's go." Hidan said. "It's not our job to understand each other. We're here for the Kyubi."

"Yeah, yeah…" Kakuzu replied, following Hidan. Kisame followed soon after. Itachi looked back up at the village.

"We're coming, Naruto-kun." He muttered. "I do hope you're ready."

X-X-X-X-X

"Hmhmhm…"

"We're ready, sir."

"Good. Strike when it starts raining. It'll add some drama to the invasion."

"…Yes, sir."

"Drama, sir?"

"Well, my invasion of this pathetic village should be memorable."

"As you wish, sir."

"Hmhmhm…" The figure smiled evilly. "Today, your interference with my plans stops…

"Today, you die, Uzumaki Naruto!"

X-X-X-X-X

Choji stopped eating. He put down his chopsticks and raised his head. Ino looked at him questioningly.

"Is…something wrong, Choji?" She asked. Choji looked at her and gave her a small smile.

"It's nothing." He said. "It's just started raining, that's all…" But looked down at his plate with a troubled look. Ino could tell something was wrong.

"Choji…?"

Suddenly, there was a large explosion that shook the restaurant.

X-X-X-X-X

"N-Neji… I…I-I--!" Tenten began.

Suddenly, Neji clamped his hand over her mouth. "Shh!" Tenten looked at him, surprised. Neji's face was dead serious. He dropped his hand and activated his Byakugan.

What he saw made his eyes widen in fear.

"Shi--"

Then a loud explosion overcame the southern end of the estate.

Then, all Neji knew was darkness.

X-X-X-X-X

"So, then, Gai-sensei--!" Lee stopped his story and perked his head up. Tsuki gave him a confused look.

"Lee, is something wrong?" Lee's face went serious as he answered without moving his head.

"I sense many chakra signatures. Too many. Something is not…not…"

Suddenly his eyes widened as a huge explosion rocked the estate.

X-X-X-X-X

Shikamaru spotted the diner that he was supposed to meet Temari at. He sighed.

'Here goes nothi--!' His head shot up. He felt something. Something he'd, in his career as a shinobi, come to associate with trouble. Big trouble.

Shikamaru turned this way and that, trying to identify the source of the chakra burst he had just felt. "What's… What's going on?" He said nervously. "Damn it… Damn it!" He muttered, rushing to the gates to warn the ANBU on patrol.

But he was too late.

BOOM!

A/N – Holy crap. I am so sorry for this late update. I have no idea what happened. One week, I was on vacation (with no computer access at all, I might add), and the next week, school started, and the chapter fell apart. I'm really sorry. I know how much you guys hate late updates, and I apologize. You guys can thank NewSon for e-mailing me to get off my lazy ass. Thanks, NewSon! Again, I apologize. Well, I guess that's enough excuses…

On a lighter note, this is the longest chapter I've written so far, in retrospect to this being the longest time it's been since I've updated.

And a cliffy. Don't worry, though. I'll be sure to get the next chapter out much sooner than this one. I swear on my honor as an author, shinobi, and Narutard.

And you all met Tsuki-chan this chapter. She actually popped into my head one day, while I was taking a test. It was my Language Arts benchmark, and there was this poem titled "The Lotus Flower." I instantly thought, "Lee!" I read it, and I came up with a wonderful idea for a pairing for Lee. Thus, Tsuki-chan was born! If you've ever read the poem, and you know what "Tsuki" means in Japanese (moon), then you'll get it.

And as I said before, all pairings for this story have been confirmed, and all the confirmed pairings appeared in this chapter. So, think of it as one less thing to worry about.

I also have pretty much laid out the rest of the story in my head, so that will be less of me thinking, and more of me typing. So, hopefully, updates will be sooner.

I also have the plotline laid down for the sequel. I say that now because it has the one of the biggest plot twists in Naruto history. At least, that's my opinion. None of you will ever guess what it is. Just be prepared for several surprises in times to come…

Anyway, once again, I apologize for this extremely late update. There is no excuse for such tardiness, and I will make it up to you guys, even if it takes the whole story.

Well, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, especially since it's so late. Thanks for being so patient, and I dearly hoped you enjoyed this chapter.