Oh, yeah, done! Two chapters so quickly, it's AWEsome, yeah? You'll have to wait quite a bit for the next one, though; juice needs recharging. My imaginary Minato would prefer I don't write half-assed stuff, so I refuse to rush the process.

O.O.O.O

Chapter 10: Similarities And Differences

Lucas' mother, Lena, worked as a seamstress, and knew the best places to buy clothes. She had thus been willing to help outfit the Shinobi, who had arrived with only what they wore on their persons, as long as they paid.

Which, given their cash-strapped circumstances, involved helping run errands. Minato wondered when he had stooped to using the Hiraishin no Jutsu in order to decrease the travel time for fetching cloth samples and delivering custom-tailored clothing to customers, then decided he didn't care.

One thing all of them had wanted was a way to carry the insignia of their respective villages, even Fū, who grudgingly admitted that her own village, at least, had not locked her away. "In memory of where we were from," Sakumo mused. Minato had also suggested they choose a symbol to represent their mismatched group, and they had merely settled on using the kanji for 'shinobi'. "Since we're the only ones here," Tobirama pointed out.

So they all got headbands, minus the metal plate, with 忍 embroidered in silver on the dark cloth, and their village symbols on the long trailing ends. They had sketched the shapes for Lena, telling her it was all part of their club 'thing', and she had happily obliged.

Well into their third week in Sinnoh, Minato, Kimimaro, Haku, Yahiko and Utakata planned their journey. Fū and Sakumo, with the new inclusion of Itachi, intended to go their own way, though were probably planning much the same things. Well used to travelling light, they all needed only a waist pouch and a small backpack each, filled with simple, non-perishable food supplies, first aid equipment, toiletries, a spare set of clothing, weapons and a half dozen Pokéballs each. Yahiko and Itachi each had a standard PokéDex too.

"You could try for the Pokémon League," Riley told Minato, as the combined groups pored over a map of Sinnoh. "It's an organisation that hosts a biannual region-wide competition for aspiring Trainers to prove themselves. The most powerful Trainers are named the Elite Four and the Champion, and the current five have defended their positions for quite a few years now. Of course, the Trainers who fight their way into the top dozen or so receive commendations, which is no small thing given the number making the attempt, but from what I know of your lot, you won't be content with just a commendation, will you?

"For a gauge of how skilled your Pokémon and you need to be, you could try taking on a Gym Leader. Pokémon Gyms are, as the name suggests, training facilities, located in every major city, and there are eight of them, each with a leader, who are pretty good trainers in their own right. You could train at a Gym, but many Trainers just walk in and issue a challenge." He grinned. "Defeating the Gym Leader earns you a badge, and getting all eight allows you to skip the initial preliminary rounds."

"We would see a lot of different Pokémon along the way too," Haku observed. "Which is good for helping Professor Rowan with his project."

"Yes, best not forget about the guy providing our funding," Minato said with a laugh. "Although the task itself is actually quite enjoyable and intriguing."

Senju Hashirama received quite a shock when eight members of the Informal Shinobi Alliance mentioned, quite casually over breakfast, that they were intending to leave on a journey. "Might consider doing so yourselves, Hashirama-sama," Minato suggested, pouring cold milk over his cereal. They didn't have an actual fridge, but a large wooden cabinet with one of Haku's Ice Release jutsu on it served much the same purpose, in much the same way they had rigged up a water supply for the house by way of some careful and inventive application of Water Release techniques combined with wooden plumbing.

"We're packed and heading out as soon as we're done with food," Sakumo added.

"No offence meant, but some of us don't feel comfortable without something to do," Yahiko explained, anticipating the questions. "And some of us have, frankly, gotten used to minimal amounts of companionship."

"Which is why we didn't say anything sooner, because the rest of you would want to come along together with us," Fū elaborated.

"We would prefer to stay friends and keep in contact, of course," Minato said, getting up with his empty bowl in hand. "Except given the mountainous nature of this region, mobile communication devices don't work half the time, or so we're told. In any case, I've inscribed my Hiraishin seal on the back of the front door."

"And if you and the rest do decide to follow us, Hashirama-sama," Utakata chipped in, "we suggest asking the twins to detail the Pokémon League challenge to you; we're going native."

"Not that we're forgetting that we're shinobi," Yahiko said seriously. "I'm going to improve myself so I can defeat you next time, Shodai Hokage."

"I believe Nidaime-sama would like a rematch with me," Haku remarked. "Tell him I look forward to it sometime."

Kimimaro came back down the stairs, carrying a number of backpacks. His Cubone dragged two more backpacks down after him. "Best wishes, Shodai-sama," Itachi told the man with a small, sincere smile, shouldering his backpack. The others echoed his words as they trooped out the door one by one.

Hashirama finally gathered his wits, and dashed upstairs to wake Tobirama. The eight left Twinleaf Town with five shinobi waving them off, including one white-haired boy yelling after them that they had better not disgrace Konoha's name as Pokémon Trainers.

Fū, Itachi and Sakumo took their leave of Minato's group at Sandgem Town, heading off down Route 202 while Minato and the others stayed to wait for Riley, who had agreed to meet them outside Rowan's research centre. Ten minutes after the three figures had disappeared down the path – and ten minutes after the agreed time, the double doors flew open to reveal the Aura user in an interesting state of agitation.

"There are more of you!" was his first exclamation on seeing them. At their collective raised eyebrows, he calmed down somewhat, taking deep breaths. "Professor Rowan just received a call from one Professor Birch, who is a Pokémon expert currently working in the Hoenn region," he explained. "It was supposed to be just a discussion about work, but Rowan mentioned the lot of you; as a passing joke about people showing up from nowhere, he said. Except Professor Birch has had the very same thing happen."

"You mean shinobi have shown up from nowhere in this other region?" Minato demanded.

"Exactly. They're still on the line, actually; come right in."

The five immediately rushed in. Apparently, in this world long-range communication technology had improved sufficiently for the person on the other end to not just be heard, but seen on a screen in real-time. So Minato recognised one of the two persons on the screen instantaneously.

Standing beside a man with a square-ish, bearded face and brown hair, was a round-faced girl with grey-blue eyes and long, fiery red hair. "Minato?"

"Kushina?"

O.O.O.O

You didn't think I'd actually have excluded Kushina, did you? That would be just mean to Minato.

Also, if anyone can suggest one dead shinobi from Sunagakure that deserves a new shot at a new life, do tell. I will be grateful, and so will Suna, because they haven't got a single representative in the Pokémon world yet.