"Normal speech"

"Thought"/Flashback

"Kyuubi/Other voices"

A/N:

Disclaimer

I do not own Naruto… This is merely for my, and hopefully everyone else's, enjoyment. Thank you!

Recap:

The Leaf shinobi take on a mission to rescue a kidnapped princess but hit several snags. Naruto comes up with an idea to find the princess and picks up on something. This proves to be successful as he finds someone suspiciously sneaking out of the palace...

Mystery Figure

A mysterious hooded figure made its way through the forest. It came to the collapsed path and looked around. It then passed it and headed down a path of thick and smelly bushes. After a hike, the figure came to a mountain. He whistled and a boulder was rolled away by a few soldiers. The figure then entered and the armed soldiers stood guard.

"Ah, you're here," a man with shoulder-length black hair and pencil mustache said. He wore a majestic robe and had a haughty attitude as he was waited on hand and foot by a number of the soldiers inside. "So… how are things on the front?"

The figure said, "Things could worsen rather quickly. The Feudal Lord has hired shinobi of the Leaf Village, and they came close several times as they proceeded to search for this very lair. I suggest that we leave here before we're discovered."

As the two were having their conversation, it went unrealized that a few Leaf shinobi and a tempered princess had appeared outside. As soon as they arrived, a figure slipped into the darkness of the forest with Kohaku questioning this action. Naruto's black eyes changed back to normal as he dropped to a knee to catch his breath. That wasn't the only change to occur as his white hair became blonde and his long twin tails shortened.

Sakura looked worried. "Naruto… What you just did now…"

"It's fine… I'm alright. I'm just not very used to using it in such a way, so I need a little time to catch my breath…"

"Jeez… and just when I was starting to think you were cool, but I guess that once a loser always a loser," Kiba commented.

"What was that?" Naruto questioned with an irritated look on his face.

"You're holding up our process, ya know…"

"Are you kidding me…!? If it weren't for me, that creep probably would've discovered us long ago!" Naruto angrily pointed out.

As the two got in each other's face, Kohaku remarked, "We don't have time for this… We have to find my sister."

As she started to approach the only seen entrance, Neji construed, "It would be nice if we could remain undiscovered."

The blinked their eyes as Neji and Sakura followed Kohaku's lead…

After giving an irritated sigh, the haughty man whined, "Fine… as long as it isn't another uncomfortable, stuffy cave… Can't we just hold up at a nice motel, or maybe someplace better, like my--"

"No!" the figure denied. "If you're seen with the girl then everything will be ruined. What we're going to do is find another place to make a hidden lair and--"

He was silenced by the clanging of armor and the thuds of bodies hitting the ground. The figure peered out the corner of its eye and, along with the snobby man and the rest of the soldiers, was surprised to see intruders at the entrance. There stood Kohaku, Neji, Sakura, Kiba and Akamaru, and a now white-haired Naruto.

"So all clues that we picked up before were just part of a way to lead us into the traps you set up for us so that we would think that our leads had been snuffed out. You probably hoped that we would try snooping around those places when the actually hideout was here," Kiba spoke up with a grin on his face.

Nervously, the man asked, "How-… how did you find us?"

Naruto explained, "I was able to sense your chakra signature and trailed you here…"

"Shit…! And I thought that I had perfectly concealed my signature so that not even the best sensors could find me," the hooded figure thought.

"Now that we found you, we're going to rescue the girl and expose you…!" Kiba exclaimed as he pointed at the hooded figure. After a brief moment, he then said, "Just who the hell are you anyway, you hooded freak!!?"

Everyone looked to Naruto. He responded, "I haven't been able to recognize the chakra as anyone we've come across yet," Naruto disclosed.

"It doesn't matter anyway. We're going to save my sister and bring the rest of them in for questioning!"

Without hesitation, Kohaku rushed into the cave. The hooded figure ordered the soldiers to attack and for the man with the mustache to grab the younger princess and run. A couple of soldiers advanced on Kohaku first. With a couple of punches, she knocked both on their backs. Another came at her with a drawn sword. Kohaku easily disabled him with her spear and planted the rounded end of her staff into the base of his neck. Another attacked with a similar result, as did another and another. She soon found herself surrounded by armed soldiers. With no fear in her eyes or heart, she beckoned them all to come at her…

They slowly began advancing, and with the shout of one, they rushed at her. Kohaku was ready to take them all down but was shocked from her fit of rage as she could hear some of the men in the crowd grunting and groaning. She soon found why as Naruto forced his way into the center along with her, sliding in and flipping any soldier in his way. He met up with her and smiled. Even though she felt that this wasn't the time for it, she couldn't help but smile as well. The two stood back-to-back as Naruto drew his two curved blades.

The group of soldiers attacked. Naruto and Kohaku stood their ground as the first few got to them. With one swing of his blades, he easily cut through the soldiers' armor and into their bodies. Kohaku knocked her couple of attackers away and blocked the third. Blocking with her spear over her head, Kohaku looked for a way to defeat the soldier quickly before another took advantage. She noticed that he had seemingly lost his balance. She quickly shoved him back and readied for the next. As she did, she noticed a familiarly long tail wrapped around the soldiers foot. It then hoisted him into the air and hurled him into the oncoming soldiers on one side. The two exchanged a shy smile once more as another onslaught of soldiers attacked…

Suddenly, the rest of their team burst through and joined them…

"We didn't come here to defeat them all," Neji said.

"Yeah… While the two of you were having the time of your lives, that guy and the freak in the hood headed further into the cave," Kiba told them.

As the countless number of soldiers encircled them once more, Sakura said, "Looks like we'll have to get through these guys to give pursuit…"

Naruto proudly shoved his thumb into his chest as he said, "Just leave these guys to me…"

Before he could do anything however, he found Neji already taking action. Having already taken out a handful, he looked back at Naruto who returned with a scowl. Another tried to blindside him and Neji countered, "Gentle Fist!"

Sakura started to say, "Then we can go after the princess and leave these guys to…"

She and the others were surprised to see Naruto posturing similarly to Neji. He had even disabled a few enemies by hitting them with strikes utilizing chakra. Neji struck another and Naruto responded in kind…

Kiba said in disbelief, "Are they…?"

Sakura flatly nodded her head. Kohaku's perception on this was slightly different, "Wow…! It's like their challenging each other after all of these years!" she thought as her eyes sparkled in amazement.

The three watched on as the two would defeat opponent after opponent and check the progress of the other. They were indeed "flexing" as they seemingly mirrored one another. Even Kiba and Sakura had to admit that they were impressed.

"Eight Trigrams: Sky Palm!" Neji thrusted his hand forward, blowing back several soldiers in one try.

Naruto saw this as he grabbed a hold of a soldier. He stopped as if pondering of a way to contend with Neji's last technique. Something seemed to come to him and he tossed the soldier into the air…

"Stellar Winds!!"

A/N: Naruto originally used this technique to defend against the attacking Sound-nins, Dosu, Kin, and Zaku. He had no real idea that he could do something like it, but his will and determination brought on such a power.

Whitish chakra began to swirl around him before it became circular. In the instant it did, it created a great wind that snatched many of the soldiers from the ground and twirled them around. Naruto ended the technique and those caught up in it were blown to the walls of the cave. Their armor had been scorched and some even slightly melted. Naruto flashed a smile at Neji who responded with a faint smirk. Neji then charged at Naruto, thrusting his palm. As he made contact, Naruto showed a mixture of shock and horror…

He exploded, "WHAT THE HELL, YOU BASTARD!!?"

"Instead of yelling at me, perhaps you should be thanking me," Neji calmly said as the soldier behind Naruto fell over. "You're the one that was naïve enough to drop your guard even though you're surrounded by enemies," Neji snidely put.

It's true that Naruto had dropped his guard, but he had also come extremely close to grazing him as well. Besides that, "I didn't need your help to take care of that guy. I knew he was attacking from behind, and I was gonna take care of it myself!" Naruto snarled.

Neji was about to comment on this, but he was shocked as Naruto suddenly appeared behind him. Neji turned to see a broad smile on Naruto's face as he thrusted his leg out and flipped the soldier over his and Neji's heads. Neji watched and saw that there was another Naruto. He connected with three uppercuts…

He called out, "Dragon's Dance!!" and ended the volley with well placed kicks from both Narutos to the soldier's abdomen. As the soldier collided into the cave wall, the Narutos flexed their arms with another smirk on their faces.

"Ok, enough of this… We have to go after those guys who took Princess Kaede before they get away," Sakura mentioned.

She turned to see Kiba nodding, but Kohaku seemed to be captivated by all this. Not wanting to repeat herself, Sakura led her further into the cave by grabbing her hand. Before long, they came to a several forks in the road. This only slowed them down momentarily as both Kiba and Akamaru followed their noses.

Naruto and Neji were still showing off while they defeated the multitude of soldiers in the cave. Tired of the games, Neji decided to put an end to it…

"Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation!!"

Seeing what he was getting at, Naruto cycled through seals and spun between a large group of soldiers as the other leapt over him, landed a spinning kick to the back of the head of a soldier, and forced him into the other Naruto's awaiting shoulder. Naruto finished his seals to exclaim, "Starburst: Pulsing Nova!!"

An explosion of chakra filled the cave as they collided. As the smoke finally cleared, bodies were strewn all about, and even some outside, of the cave. Standing alone, barely, were an exhausted Neji and a now blonde, monkey-tailed Naruto. They faintly smirked at each other as they tried to catch their breaths.

Kohaku and the others had taken too much time. They were still within the cave and hadn't caught up to the perpetrators. The hooded figure and his accomplice, along with a tied and gagged Kaede, came to another exit from the cave. They bolted out but were surprised by…

"You may as well give up now… You won't be getting by me."

The two stopped and looked around. Standing on a tree branch was Shino. He told them to stay where they were. Not wanting to be captured now, the hooded figure began cycling through seals. Shino acted quickly. He threw up his arms and a swarm of bugs flew from his sleeves. They surrounded the hood and attacked.

Kohaku and the others finally exited the cave to find Shino in the tree as his bugs engulfed the hood.

"Release my sister!" Kohaku confronted the lone man. As he turned, she said, "How could you do this to family, uncle?!"

He cowered as he slowly set Kaede down and slowly backed away. "O-ok… Just… don't hurt me…"

"Uncle…!?" Sakura and Kiba questioned.

"I… I just thought that it was unfair that my brother was given control of this land just because he was born first. Tha-… that whole thing is a crock. He didn't even want to do it to begin with, but now… now he's the Feudal Lord…"

Kohaku walked over to her sister saying, "He was willing to relinquish his title to you but felt that you didn't have the country's well-being in mind… This act is proof that he was right about your selfishness!"

She began untying her sister who, with tears in her eyes, looked happy to see her. As she did this, her uncle slyly pulled out his saber. As he struck, the present shinobi tried to warn Kohaku. She turned to see him slashing at her and her sister. Selflessly, she protected her younger sister and was slashed across her back. She winced and cried as the blade ripped through her skin. He prepared to strike her once more but was grabbed and stopped by a hand. He looked to this hand as it reached from within the swarm. Suddenly, Shino's insects began falling to the ground. With all of them dropping dead, the hooded figure disappeared with Kaede and Kohaku's uncle in a puff of smoke.

"Sister…" Kaede wept. "I… I'm sorry… This is all my fault for not being as strong as you…"

Naruto and Neji caught up as Kohaku shushed her sister. She placed a finger to her lips. "No… I'm sorry for not being there… to protect you… I put becoming a warrior before my own little sister… and this happened… I'm just glad you're safe now…"

She shivered before she was finally still after passing out. Tears streamed down Kaede's face. Sakura rushed over and immediately began treating her wound. She told the others that it would take her time to properly heal her. Unable to do anything more at the moment, the rest stood by as Sakura focused on her Medical jutsu.

The palace…

The rest of the Leaf shinobi had stayed behind to keep an eye on the rest of the "12 Guardians" in hopes of discovering who the traitor was. Yamato and Sai were stationed inside while Hinata was on the roof surveying the outside with her new and improved H.A.L.O. Using it, she scanned the surrounding area for heat signatures.

She found one making its way to the palace and, through a built-in radio, informed those inside, "There's someone coming towards the palace… They're running right up the wall… and they've entered through a window on the third floor… Should I pursue?"

Yamato replied, "No… Leave it to me and Sai. You stay where you are just in case he tries to escape, there are more, or Naruto and the others return…"

"Roger…"

Yamato and Sai split up to scour the palace for someone sneaking about. They checked the third floor but saw nothing. They then decided to search the other floors in hopes of something turning up. Once again they found nothing but an awkward smell. Maybe Kiba or the others would have better luck once they returned. All was quiet as they guarded the Feudal Lord and his wife while waiting for the others to return. Hinata sat on the roof, ever vigilant, when, out of nowhere, a big group of people appeared below. She lifted her visor to get a better look…

Realizing that it was Naruto, she leapt down to greet the group. Her happy expression disappeared as she noticed an exhausted-looking, blonde Naruto, numerous tied soldiers, a crying Kaede, and Kohaku draped over Sakura's shoulder. She informed her fellow Medic-nin that she had managed to close the wound, but they would have to give it time to see if she would fully recover.

Most headed into the palace while others kept an eye on the soldiers. The Feudal Lord and his wife were ecstatic to see that their youngest was now safe. It was unfortunate that Kohaku had been injured in the process, but at least she was alive as well. They rejoiced to have their daughters with them once again.

While they showed their love, the Leaf-nin met in the hall outside, with the exception of Sakura and Hinata who monitored Kohaku and stood guard. The Leaf-nin discussed the events of what had just transpired to come up with a solution to their still dismal problems. They accomplished their mission, but if they were to leave things as they were, there could be a chance that it all could happen all over again… with worse results.

The Feudal Lord overheard this and was livid to hear that his own brother had betrayed him for something as petty as a title and position of power. He pleaded with them to stay and capture those who committed this atrocity. He even offered to pay more to the village. Even though they were going to anyway, they agreed to this. In order to accomplish this, they would have to find some way to track down the culprit that had supposedly snuck into the palace. First they would have to make sure the Feudal Lord and his family was safe. They left Hinata, Sai, and Sakura in charge of this. The rest then began rounding up the suspects. Along the way, Kiba and Akamaru, and Naruto picked up on a scent that they remembered from the hidden lair. They followed it to a room, but there was no one inside.

"Who does this room belong to?" Yamato questioned.

"It's Shin's room," Yuzuki answered, unsure of what they were getting at.

They had their prime suspect in this caper. They gathered the rest and found Shin, Daisuke, Kouki, and Ryou in the halls. They collected them as well and headed outside. They encircled the 12 and informed them of what they had discovered…

Yamato began, "We believe that we have discovered the identity of the one in cahoots with the Feudal Lord's brother… We ask that you make this easy for us because we also have countless soldiers that we can interrogate to find the truth…"

"Wait…! You think it's one of us?!" Kazuki outburst.

"We know it's a ninja and he entered the palace through one of your rooms," Neji informed them.

Eyes began to shift among the "12 Guardians"…

Yamato then revealed their suspect, "Come quietly, Shin…"

Immediately, Shin started cycling through hand-seals. Hiroto and Yuzuki pleaded with him not to let things get out of hand, but… as soon as he finished his seals, he darted by Daisuke, Ayumu, and Kazuki to slash Hiroto with his claws. Before he could even fall to the ground or anyone could react, Shin appeared next to the forest. In a blur, he then disappeared and reappeared randomly as he went further into the darkness.

Their suspect had unexpectedly gotten away. As the other "Guardians" carried Hiroto's large frame into the palace, Yamato began to question the recent events…

"He got away, but could discovering the culprit's identity really have been that easy…? With the ability he just displayed, I don't think that Hinata would've even been able to see him sneaking into the palace… Could it be… misdirection!? Perhaps the soldiers the others captured could shine some light on things…"

He turned to the soldiers but was shocked to find that blood was pooling around a great deal of them. A few were spitting up blood. The rest came to the conclusion that Shin must have done it as he escaped. It was a truly frightening display. Naruto had something else to say to this. He had a feeling that he knew exactly who was actually responsible for the death of the soldiers and perhaps the one who concocted this whole thing…

End of chapter…

The one behind this fiasco is discovered to be one of the "12 Ninja Guardians", but Yamato has his doubts…

Just as the mission nears its close, more chaos occurs to keep it alive…

Next chapter: Out of the wood works…