Good news! I'm back. I am sorry to say that I don't know how often I'll be able to post, but I'll try to do it as often as possible. To be honest, I was having a lot of trouble with this chapter, but I finally found my muse for it. Here it is, and I'm a bit proud of it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I don't own Naruto!

Chapter 10

Naruto, the White Ops, Sasuke's Black Op squad, and Kai all gathered at the Leaf Village gate, prepared to leave on their mission. They were all quiet, contemplating the future trials they would face. They checked their supplies, bid farewell to Tsunade, and left through the south gate of the Leaf Village. The group of thirteen did not try to make up any formation. As far as they were concerned, anyone dumb enough to attack wouldn't last long in a fight anyway.

Naruto led the group, jumping swiftly through the trees. He was anxious to start this mission. As much as he wanted to get away, he couldn't help but feel sorry that he was leaving. It was his village. As Hokage, he couldn't bear to leave the village undefended for what would be at least six months. He shook the feelings out of his head. He needed to think clearly if he wanted this mission to be a success.

They set up camp at the foot of the mountains that formed the border between the Old Ninja World and the New Ninja World. Once the tents had been set up and everyone had settled around the fire, Naruto addressed the group.

"Alright, here's what I was thinking. From what I've read, it will take us two days to cross the mountains, even by the easiest pass. That's not including any extra time that we will lose fighting the Mountain People."

"Mountain People?" asked Kai.

"Yes," said Shikamaru. "Apparently, there is a small group of people who live in the mountains. They're supposed to be fierce warriors. Personally, I don't want to find out."

"Once we get across, the closest village will be the Shield Village. No one knows exactly where it is, so we'll have to rely on Neji's Byakugan to find it for us. Shikamaru and I have come up with a plan for investigating."

Naruto nodded at Shikamaru, cueing him to take over the conversation. Shikamaru nodded and spoke to the group.

"Once we get to the Shield Village, I believe we should only send in four people. We'll decide who as we come to each village. This way, we won't risk being caught so easily. Also, those who do go inside the village will have plenty of backup.

"For the Shield Village, I think that Naruto, Neji, Tai, and Kai should be the ones to go in. Naruto, you should already know that this is important. So don't mess it up!"

Naruto grinned sheepishly.

The next day, the group climbed the mountains. Despite the altitude and the cold of the mountain, the team moved very quickly, constantly aware of their mission. They decided to make camp at a small clearing not far from the summit. Naruto was not very happy at the idea that they hadn't even made it half way across the mountains yet. He wouldn't even shut up about it until Shikamaru convinced him that the travel down the mountain would be much easier.

Tai agreed to take first watch, and the rest went to bed. After an hour of silence, Tai heard a rock be kicked.

"Who's there?" he asked. Another rock was kicked. By now, Naruto and the others had emerged from their tents, weapons ready.

"Come out now and we will let you live," said Sasuke, annoyed as usual.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha!" Tai jumped at the bellowing laughter that emerged from the night. "You, kill us? That not be possible, runt."

Sasuke sneered upon being called runt. Tai sighed. Would anger management classes really be too much to ask before one of them got killed? Naruto noted that this voice was deep and obviously male. It also seemed that whoever it was didn't fully comprehend the language.

Another voice addressed the group, this one not quite as deep, but also male. "Drop weapons. We not hurt you if you drop weapons."

"I've had enough of this," said Neji, who activated his Byakugan. In the dim light of the fire, Lee could see his friend and rival's face pale.

"What is wrong, Neji?" Lee asked.

"I can't believe that there's that many of them. There's hundreds hiding behind rocks, bushes, trees, and anything else that can hide them."

"How'd they get the jump on us?" asked Kai, glancing at Tai.

"Don't look at me, they didn't make a sound, and I couldn't sense their chakra either."

"I really don't care how," said Naruto. "The point is, they did. Now, we need to get ready for a fight!"

Suddenly, a large figure emerged from behind a rock. He approached Shikamaru from behind, but he was quickly rendered unconscious by a quick elbow to the face. Another large figure tried to attack Kai, but a spear of stone jutted up and pierced his chest. Next, a group tried to attack Sasuke, but he cut them down with little resistance.

"ENOUGH!" bellowed another large figure, the largest among them. "There is no since in this useless war. They have already proven that they are powerful. I say we settle this in a duel."

The other figures seemed to agree and began to step back away from Naruto and his friends. Naruto noticed that this speaker must be the leader. He was bigger and could speak in full sentences, unlike his accomplices.

As the figure stepped forward, several torches were lit, letting the group see the faces of their attackers. Naruto's first thought was hideous. The figures were all scarred. Their faces were more horribly mangled than Ibiki Morino's head, and that was saying something. Their leader was the most hideous among them. He, like his allies, wore leather armor over what appeared to be thick rags. The only thing that truly distinguished him was his size.

"The rules of this duel will be simple. It will be a duel to the death. If you win, I'll let you live. If we win, you all die. No more fighting. Now, who will face me?"

The group looked at each other. Naruto was about to step forward when Sasuke declared, "I will."

Naruto just shrugged and stepped back, the others followed his lead. They stood next to a large rock, surrounded by the hulking figures of the enemy. The giants laughed as Sasuke pulled out his sword and stepped into the circular clearing that had been designated for the duel. The leader held out his left hand and one of the other figures handed him an axe that was as big as Sasuke.

"My name is Tarron. Let us begin!"

The figures cheered as Tarron swung his axe toward Sasuke. Sasuke jumped over the axe and lashed out with his sword. He cut Tarron's left forearm, but the man didn't seem to care. He lashed out with his right hand and backhanded Sasuke across the clearing. Sasuke regained his footing and threw his sword at Tarron, who caught the sword in his right fist. He threw the weapon aside and charged at Sasuke, axe raised. He prepared to bring the axe down on Sasuke's head, but felt something pierce his back and go through his chest. He looked down to see a glowing hand protruding from his chest. He turned his head to see another Sasuke with red eyes.

"May I introduce you to my newest jutsu: the Silent Chidori."

Sasuke withdrew his hand and shook it to remove the blood. Tarron's eyes glazed over and rolled back into his head as he fell to the ground. Slowly, the shocked figures dispersed, keeping their end of the bargain.

Meanwhile…

The remaining six Sword ninja were trying to get away. Two were running, two were limping, and two were crawling. If they had known that the fifty of them were being sent on a suicide mission like this, they would have ran for the hills. These three Leaf ninja weren't kids, they were monsters. The red head was decimating their forces. He would only howl and they would be blown off their feet. How was the kid howling anyway?

Just then, another howl broke the men from their thoughts. The boy, who was glowing with a silvery aura, had found them.

"YOU WILL NOT HURT KIYOKO!" it roared. The voice was deep and gravelly. The six had never heard such a voice. They began trying to get away, but the red head extended his palm toward them, silver chakra forming in its center. The six then began begging for their lives. Just as the boy was about to release the attack, they heard a girl's voice.

"Kento? Are you over here?"

The chakra immediately left the boy and he stood with his head bowed low. The silver-haired girl rounded the corner, and then ran to the boy.

"Kento! There you are. I was worried. I saw the dozens of dead bodies and thought that maybe they had gotten you." She glanced at the six who were on the ground, staring wide-eyed at the pair. She looked back to Kento.

"Kento, did you do this?"

The boy's head remained low.

One of the six, seeing the opportunity before him, pulled a kunai and lunged for the boy. Silver chakra circled the two teens and the man was blown back into the side of a building. The remaining six ran, limped, or crawled away in terror.

Kento then collapsed.

"Kento? Kento! Are you okay?"

She got no response. She began looking him over and noticed that he was bleeding from a gash in his chest. She removed his shirt and began healing the cut.

She was half finished when he awoke.

"K-K-Kiyoko…"

"Kento?"

"I-I-I-I'm g-g-g-glad y-you're o-okay."

Having finished healing the gash, she ran a diagnostic test and realized that he was fading fast.

"Kento! No! You can't die on me! You can't!" She began sobbing uncontrollably.

"Kiyoko," Kento said, his voice barely audible.

"What is it?" she asked, barely restraining her tears.

"I-I-I…l-l-love…y-y-yo…." His eyes closed, and she felt his heart stop.

Tears fell freely as she screamed at the red-haired boy.

"KENTO WATANABE YOU CANNOT DIE! I FORBID IT!" She pounded his chest in a desperate attempt to revive him. She hit him again and again, but it was no use. The boy was gone. She was now shaking with the force of her sobs. She was hysterical. She was desperate. She would do anything. Anything.

Suddenly, a memory of all of the fairy tells her mother would tell her when she was little came unbidden.

"T-True l-love's k-kiss!" She glanced at Kento. Would it really work?

She leaned down, tears still falling onto Kento's face. She gently pressed her lips to his. She stayed there like that for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, after a few moments, she lifted herself up, her bright blue eyes still full of tears.

"I-I…I love you, too, Kento."

She waited, but nothing happened. Once again, she sobbed uncontrollably. The one she loved…was gone.

I hope you enjoyed chapter 10. I'll update as soon as I can. Sorry about the ending, but it's all part of the plan. I thought that it was interesting that I had never intended Kiyoko and her team to be anything more than filler for this story, but I began to find ways to work them into the plot and I'm happy I did. My original outline for this story didn't even have Kiyoko's name in it, or her teammates, but now I have inserted her and her time and I'm enjoying writing it. Please, review. Let me know how you like it. Thanks for reading. See ya! Princechaz2011.