Author's Note:

Hi! Thanks for reading this far! The Horde returns with some nasty tricks up their sleeves! Again, I do not own Naruto. Naruto belongs to the respected author and artist Masashi Kishimoto and Shonen Jump publishing. I do not own Gears of War. Gears of War belong to Microsoft games, Epic Games, and all other respected owners. I take no credit for any of it. I also take no credit for anything that refers to the Band Slipknot. Please review and give suggestions!!

Chapter Fifteen

Hiashi and Neji waited for Hinata to return home but saw no one approach the entrance of the house. Hiashi began to worry. Maybe Hinata was doing something "else" besides just going out on a date.

"Neji, I'm really starting to worry. You don't thing Hinata is in any danger or, I really hate the thought of it, abusing her chastity do you?" Hiashi asked.

"Unlikely. Hinata may have worked up the courage to go out with someone but she is way too shy to do that." Neji said. "Maybe if I use my Byakugan I can tell if she is almost home or not."

"It's worth a try." Hiashi said. Neji did just that after he gave the okay.

Neji looked to the right and immediately noticed his cousin kissing Naruto Uzamaki! Neji fell back in shock, he never imagined that his shy, quiet, and almost isolated cousin would be hooking up and making out! He thought that he would get lucky first! Neji almost wanted to kill Naruto right then and there for being the lucky bastard who not only beat him in a fight three years ago, but also because he was now romantically active before him!

"Neji, what is wrong!? Is Hinata alright!? What do you see!?" Hiashi asked as he got down on his knees and grabbed the startled Neji by the shoulders and shuck him back to his senses.

"Hiashi-ojisan, Hinata is at the side of the house. But she isn't alone." Neji said while still watching with his Byakugan. He was still dazzled by the sight and couldn't stop watching.

"Is she alright!?" Hiashi asked.

"She is fine ojisan, but she is kissing her date out front." Neji said with a smile. It was in a way funny to him. His little cousin was having one of the best moments of her life and his uncle without a doubt would most likely ruin it.

Hiashi activated his own Byakugan to see what his daughter was doing. Hiashi stood up with a look of horror on his face. He could not believe what he was seeing, not Hinata but the young man she was with. Hiashi recognized the boy as Naruto Uzamaki, the Jinchuriki of the Kyubi! Bad memories of the attack on Konohagakure sixteen years ago flooded his head. He saw the death and destruction, his clan members dying before his eyes, the beast's wicked howl, his wife lying injured in the hospital, and the day at the Chunin exams when Naruto first unleashed his demonic chakra. The one being he hated the most was now trying to destroy his family again! He was stealing the heart of his oldest daughter and Hiashi would not stand for it! He would not let the beast take Hinata away! Hiashi dashed off in rage to the home dojo.

"Hiashi-ojisan, where are you going?" Neji asked as he got back up and turned off his Byakugan.

"I am going to slay that demon once and for all!!!" Hiashi said. The images of the Kyubi still flashed in his head. He took a right turn after he ran down a long hallway. Hiashi infuriated.

Hanabi heard her father charging through the house and immediately went to see what was happening. Her father dashed past her and charged into the house dojo where he grabbed one of the clan's most prized katanas.

"Father, what are you doing?" Hanabi asked feeling afraid. She had never seen her father this angry before.

"I'm saving your sister! I am saving my remaining family!" Hiashi shouted. He couldn't contain his rage. He drew the sword from its sheath and ran back to the front of house. Hiashi was going to kill Naruto!

Back out front, Naruto and Hinata were still enjoying the sweetness of the moment. Hinata stopped for a moment. She thought of something that she felt was important for her now even closer relationship with Naruto.

"Naruto, wait. I've dreamed of this moment for years, but it all seems to be going so fast." Hinata said softly while holding hands with Naruto. She didn't want her father to hear her. She did love this moment but she didn't want it to end in some sort of tragedy due to bad timing.

"I meant what I said Hinata." Naruto said quietly. He put his other hand on top of Hinata's. "And I want to be close with you. But I won't force you into this."

"You aren't going to leave now are you?" Hinata asked.

"No, but if you think this is to fast then I'll go at your pace. I don't want to hurt you or doing anything that will make you feel uncomfortable or rushed. I'll wait for when you're ready to deepen our relationship." Naruto said with a smile. "Let's think about it then, and decide if we really want to be together."

"That sounds perfect." Hinata said. She and Naruto then kissed again. "I want to be with you, but let me settle some things with myself first."

"I will. There is an inner demon I must conquer first. When I do, I'll run back to you Hinata." Naruto said. He and Hinata then engaged in one final, sweet kiss goodnight.

Suddenly Hinata felt a very ominous feeling in the air. It was filled with rage and uncontrollable. Blood lust!

"Naruto get back!" Hinata said as she pushed Naruto away.

"Hinata, what is-"Before Naruto could finish he saw a blade zip down in front of him.

"You cur! I'll kill you!" Hiashi said as he attempted to decapitate Naruto! He continued to slash at Naruto who dodged every stroke of the katana. He couldn't believe that Hinata's father was so upset.

"Lord Hiashi I can explain!!" Naruto said as he jumped away from Hiashi's blade. "I'm sorry for not saying anything earlier about your daughter and me, but I was afraid something like this would happen if I approached you openly!"

"I will kill you! You will never violate my daughter again! You will not destroy my family!!!" Hiashi said as he swung his sword horizontally then vertically to try to catch Naruto off guard.

"Father! You're going too far! Naruto didn't mean me any harm!" Hinata said as she attempted to restrain her father. "This is exactly why I didn't tell you about him earlier!"

"You two were seeing each other and you didn't tell me!!!??" Hiashi shouted as he stopped and turned around to face Hinata who now looked into his eyes in fear. Hinata had never seen her father so angry before.

Neji and Hanabi ran outside to see what was happening and saw Hiashi holding a katana and Naruto who then leaped into a nearby tree and stood on a branch to make some distance between himself and Hiashi.

"Thanks for everything tonight Hinata! Talk to me tomorrow! I have to go!" Naruto said as he ran off in fear of his life. He didn't think Hiashi would react like that.

"COWARD!!!" Hiashi shouted as he glared off into the direction Naruto ran.

"Ojisan, are you alright? Was that even necessary?" Neji asked in shock. He couldn't believe his uncle would act the way he did.

"Father, let Naruto go! He didn't do anything wrong!" Hanabi said in just as much shock as Neji. She felt disgusted that her father would act in such a way.

"You hid this from me!? Neji, Hanabi you knew about this too didn't you!?" Hiashi said as he turned his gaze towards his nephew and youngest daughter. "You knew that Hinata was seeing that bastard child and didn't tell me!!!"

"Father there is nothing wrong with him! I knew that you would overreact but I didn't think you would make this much of a scene over my personal life!" Hinata said. "This is why I told Naruto to stay hidden from you!"

Hiashi stormed back into the house; he was infuriated with his daughters and nephew for keeping such a terrible secret from him. Hinata was on a date with the demon that almost ruined his life!

"Father, I don't understand what you have against him!" Hinata said as she followed him. "What do you hate about him!?"

"Do you know who or rather WHAT that young man is!!??" Hiashi said as he looked back at Hinata.

"He is Naruto Uzamaki. I knew him since childhood and I've always wanted to get to know him better!" Hinata answered. She was now just as angry with her father. "I've had a crush on him since I was four years old and my feelings didn't betray me! He is a good person and I don't care what anyone else says about him!"

"YOU THINK THAT BASTARD IS A GOOD PERSON!!!? YOU THINK YOU KNOW HIM!!!? YOU THINK HE IS WHO HE SAYS HE IS!!!?" Hiashi shouted with even more fury. He pictured the Kyubi in his head deceiving his daughter and leading her away from him. "How naïve you are. You know nothing about what he is. You know nothing about what he has done to me and the entire clan! You know nothing about what he has done to your family!!"

"You aren't making any sense dad! The only thing I don't know is what you are talking about!" Hinata shouted. She would tolerate her father saying such things about Naruto.

"YOU ARE NEVER TO SEE OR GO NEAR THAT DEMON AGAIN!! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME!!!!??" Hiashi shouted as he grabbed Hinata by the collier of her shirt and brought her face to his.

"HOW IS HE A DEMON!!? You aren't making any sense! This is meaningless prejudice!" Hinata shouted as she tried to push herself away from her father whose grasp was now tearing the seams of her shirt.

"I SAID DO YOU UNDERSTAND MEEE!!!!!!!!!!??? YOU WILL NEVER SEE THAT MONSTER NARUTO UZAMAKI AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Hiashi screamed at the top his lungs.

"Father that's enough! I won't let you hurt Hinata-onesan just because you don't like the boy she was with tonight!" Hanabi said as she ran up and attempted to make her father let go to Hinata. She was in tears from having to hear him shout the way he did.

"Hiashi-ojisan, I agree with my cousins when they say that you have gone too far! Leave Hinata alone! And let Naruto be!" Neji said as he came up and made Hiashi let go Hinata. Hiashi glared at all of them.

"I won't argue this any further tonight." Hiashi said calmly as he returned to the dojo to return his sword to its sheath. He walked away calmly.

Hinata ran up to her room with angry thoughts running through her head. Tonight was supposed to be fun, a bonding experience, a time to remember, and the night she became closer with Naruto. Hinata put on her night gown and went to bed.

"I hate him! Father! That baka! He is so insensitive! He has no idea what tonight meant to me! He…!" Hinata thought to herself until she couldn't think anymore. She then broke into tears. Why did this have to happen?

"Mother, help me! I don't know what to do! Father hates Naruto and I don't know why! I want to first build my inner strength before I commit myself to him, but now I'm afraid he'll be taken away from me! Please, if you can help me from heaven, give me the strength to see this to the end! That kiss meant something to me and I don't want to lose that feeling! I don't want to be in that cold loneliness again! Please hear my prayer and ask the gods to help me." Hinata cried out in her prayer. She cried herself to sleep that night. She had no dreams and it was hard to taste the sweetness and warmth of Naruto's kiss now.

Naruto arrived home in one piece. He couldn't believe that Hinata's father would try to kill him for kissing his daughter. He could understand why he would be over protective and lose his mind over the incident but trying to kill him was an overreaction. Naruto could only imagine the trouble Hinata was in right now for hiding everything from her father. He wanted to make up for it but he knew that right now would not be the best time since there was a great deal of tension. Naruto decided that the best thing for him to do was see Hiashi in the morning. Naruto went to bed, having nightmares of being decapitated by Hinata's father.

The next morning, Hinata woke up and dressed for a mission. She did not speak to her father or anyone else that morning. She refused to talk to him after what happened last night. Right after she left, Naruto arrived. He asked one of the maids where he could find Hiashi. He wanted to talk to him about last night. He was directed to the dining room where he could find Hiashi. Naruto walked into the dining room with a bow and took a seat in front of Hiashi. Hiashi was not pleased.

"Good morning Lord Hiashi. I am sorry about last night and not meeting you earlier. Hinata and I were nervous about you knowing about us so we tried to hide everything." Naruto said with a smile. He wanted Hiashi to know that he didn't want any hard feelings between them.

"Get out of house and my family's life." Hiashi said with a stern and angry look on his face. "I will not forgive you for what you did last night."

"Look, Lord Hiashi, we both thought that things were going too fast for us so you won't see anything like 'that' again; at least for awhile." Naruto said with a laugh. "Hinata is starting to mean a lot to me and I want to be closer with her. I promise I will treat her properly and show her the affections she deserves. Please accept what we have now."

"Never; you may have fooled her but I know what you are." Hiashi said. The expression on Naruto's face changed.

"That is a very low blow. I would think that you would overlook that fact about me and notice that your daughter is happy with me." Naruto said with a now stern look on his face.

"I remember watching my clansmen dying before my eyes sixteen years ago, my wife terribly injured, and the wake of destruction that night. I see it all embodied in you." Hiashi said. "You tried to destroy me once and now you have come to try it again."

"I am not what you think I am. I am not that monster. If you tell Hinata-"Naruto was interrupted.

"I haven't told her yet, but she will find out soon enough on her own." Hiashi said. "You won't take her away from me."

"I tried to make peace with you and this how you're going to answer? I can imagine that you treated Hinata just as bad last night and this morning." Naruto said. He realized that Hiashi was not going to negotiate.

"Out." Hiashi said as he stood up and pulled out a sword he had hidden under the table. "OUT!!"

"We could have settled this easily Lord Hiashi; I don't understand why you couldn't overlook my past. I care about Hinata. Yet you want to fight me about it." Naruto said as he stood up looking just as angry.

"Leave or I will kill you!!" Hiashi shouted as he drew his katana and chased Naruto out of the dining room. Naruto left feeling very bitter. He hoped that Hiashi didn't say anything to Hinata. He was growing much attached to her.

Naruto wondered through the village thinking about what had happened. He didn't hate Hiashi but he wished that he would forget about the Nine Tailed Fox like everyone seemed to. Naruto was frustrated; he didn't think his relationship in development with Hinata would go like this. He wished that Jiraiya was with him; Jiraiya would have some advice or words of wisdom for him. He continued to walk until he saw Hinata.

"Oh, good morning Naruto." Hinata said with a smile. She was no longer shy when she talked to him.

"Hi Hinata. I tried talking to your dad this morning and things didn't go so well." Naruto said.

"I am so sorry about how he acted last night. And I'm sorry for anything he did or said to you earlier." Hinata said. She still hated him for what he did.

"It's alright. He is a very stubborn man. He doesn't want to negotiate the two of us seeing each other." Naruto said.

"Look, Naruto, about what happened last night." Hinata said looking down. She didn't how say what she wanted to say.

"Hinata, I meant everything I said last night." Naruto said softly as he put his arms on Hinata's shoulders and put his forehead against hers. "But I won't put you through anything you don't want to go through. When you're ready to take things further, I'll be ready too. Just think about it for a while."

"I will." Hinata said with a smile as she looked up into Naruto's beautiful eyes. "Thank you."

The two were tempted to kiss each other, but a warm hug settled the moment. The two felt the warmth of each other's embrace and loved it. Naruto would be ready when he was sure his inner demon side would not emerge to harm the girl in his arms or to sever the bond between them. Hinata would be ready when she was sure that her feelings for Naruto were real and if she cared enough about him that she would be committed, faithful, and be there to heal his old scars inflicted by loneliness. Naruto also wanted to ensure his fidelity, commitment, and his will to come to Hinata in need; he had never done it before and he didn't want to harm Hinata in any way. The two held hands for a moment until someone called Naruto. It was Sakura.

"Naruto! What are you doing? We have a mission. Let's go!" Sakura called out to him. She didn't see them earlier.

"Oh, Sakura. I forgot. Sorry. I'll be with you in a few minutes." Naruto said as he let go of Hinata.

"Naruto, will you see me when you come back home?" Hinata asked.

"I will. Sayonara, for now." Naruto said with a smile as he ran off to Sakura. He had to get ready for his mission today.

"Yes, sayonara for now." Hinata said with a smile. She then heard her own teammates calling her. Hinata followed their voices.

"Hinata! Come on! We need to catch up with Kurenai sensei if we want to receive our mission on time." Kiba shouted from afar. He could smell Hinata and knew that she was close by.

"Sorry! I was talking with someone." Hinata said with a warm smile. She was so thrilled to have spoken with Naruto and was still thinking about what happened last night.

"Why do you look so happy?" Kiba asked. "Was that 'someone' the person you've wanted to see for so long?"

"Mind your own business!" Hinata said blushing. She was trying to hide the fact that she was talking with her love interest who was now returning her feelings but her face couldn't hide it.

"You were, don't try to hide Hinata." Shino said smiling underneath his coat collier. "Who is this guy? Is he someone we know?"

"No! I told you this is none of your business!" Hinata said as she felt her privacy being even more invaded.

"If you talk to him the way you talk to us, he'll dump you in no time." Kiba laughed. He was kidding but he felt like a jerk for saying what he said.

"Shut up Kiba!" Hinata said.

"It was a joke! Don't be so serious all the time, take some time to smile and be happy. If you don't smile enough you'll go back to being depressed." Kiba said as he walked off with Shino and his dog Akamaru.

"Baka. You're going to tell me to smile after that creep from the other night told me about how he carved a permanent smile on his face? That's mean even for you Kiba." Hinata said as she walked behind him and Shino.

"I wasn't thinking about that. Don't take everything so personally." Kiba said as he and the rest of his team headed off to the Hokage's office to receive their mission and meet their sensei.

Meanwhile, Team Kakashi was at the village exit where their captain Yamato was waiting to leave on their mission to the Fire Temple. Naruto, Sakura, and Sai were making their final preparations before leaving for their mission. After that the team set off on their mission. After a half hour of traveling, Sakura brought up a question which had been bugging her for awhile now.

"Hey Naruto, what have you been doing lately with Hinata?" Sakura asked.

"Why do you ask?" Naruto said. He didn't know why Sakura would be so interested.

"It's just that I've seen the two of you together a lot lately."Sakura said.

Sakura didn't want to admit it to Naruto but she was jealous of the attention that Hinata was getting lately. Naruto didn't even know that Hinata existed until he got back home. Why he was spending so much time with her was beyond Sakura's understanding. Why did Hinata deserve so much attention? What was so special about her? When did she start meaning so much to Naruto? Who did she think she was to be taking Naruto away from her? Sakura didn't understand why she herself was starting to care so much about Naruto now. She had always been focused on Sasuke.

"Oh, well… Hinata came to see me one day and we talked to each other." Naruto said. He didn't want to reveal what happened between him and Hinata last night. "I got to know her a bit and I'm really starting to like her."

"Really?" Sakura said. She didn't like what she was hearing.

"Yeah, she has really grown up in the last three years. She isn't as shy anymore and she is a really nice person." Naruto said. He was trying to be modest.

"So how 'close' would you say that you two are?" Sakura asked.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked playing stupid. He knew what Sakura was getting at but he didn't understand why she cared. He was now past his crush on Sakura and now realized that she wasn't the type of person he wanted to be with. She was a good friend but she lacked that gentleness Hinata had.

"You two wouldn't be dating at this point would you?" Sakura asked. She was now feeling incredibly irritated.

"No! We're good friends now but we're not like lovers or anything! I've just gotten to see how much Hinata has changed and I like her now." Naruto answered.

"Yeah, well just remember to look at her face when you talk to her and not her breasts." Sakura said as she walked ahead of Naruto. She was disgusted at him.

"What is that supposed to mean Sakura!? What do you have against her!? That isn't like you and that really wasn't nice." Naruto said. He felt insulted in the worst way. Though it may have seemed hard to believe for most who knew Naruto, he made himself grow up last night and most of his perverted habits and thoughts were gone. He still had his little fantasies but his respect towards Hinata replaced all excess lust in his mind.

"I see your life has become more difficult now that you have a girl on your arm." A voice said in the back of Naruto's head. It was the Kyubi. "What do you think will happen when she sees you, or rather 'us', for what we really are?"

"You are to stay the hell away from her!" Naruto said in his head. "You won't drive her away from me!"

"Like I said in your dream, no one will want to be with you when they see what we really are." The Kyubi said with a wicked chuckle.

"I will prove you wrong. I'll stop you from taking over me. You will surrender to my will and use your power, 'our' power, for the well being of others." Naruto said to the Kyubi.

"If you prove to me that you have the power to control me like a real Jinchuriki then I will bend to your will. Show me your worthy of my power, 'our' power." The Kyubi laughed. He wanted to see what would happen to Naruto with a girl in the picture. He intended to keep his word but he didn't see how Naruto could take control without the power of Mandara Uchiha.

Naruto slipped out his conversation with his inner demon and tried talking to Sakura again.

"Sakura, are you going to answer me?" Naruto shouted to Sakura who was far ahead.

Sakura didn't answer him. She couldn't explain her envy but it still bothered her. She didn't care why but she hated Hinata now. She was coming into Naruto's life and she didn't like how it was taking his attention away from her. She wanted Naruto to herself. At least until she found Sasuke and brought him home. Then she would let Naruto go. She didn't know if what she wanted was morally correct or if it was selfish but she didn't care. Hinata didn't need anything in her life in Sakura's opinion. Sakura only wanted to feel some sort of happiness.

Back at the Hokage's office, Tsunade had just finished explaining Team Kurenai's mission. It was a B rank mission but she thought that it would be fairly easy for them to do.

"You are to guard Tanzaku Town and the following civilian districts from possible Horde emergences. Reports show that the Horde has been getting around through tunnels and burrowing underneath villages. There has been a high seismic reading in the following areas so we need to be careful. You will be one the many platoons guarding the following areas. Please be careful, I need to keep a good number of shinobi alive to be able to guard the village against another attack or possible Akatsuki move." Tsunade said.

"But why civilian districts? Shouldn't we be guarding clan districts instead? That's who the Horde is targeting. And not to mention my whole team is going to be target practice for those bastards." Kiba said. "Members of the Inuzuka, Aburame, and Hyuga clan are just the type of people they would love to fill with those strange projectiles they use."

"Nazo said that people in general would die until we either turn over or kill Hinata's father Hiashi Hyuga." Tsunade said. "And if the Horde plans on turning to acts of terrorism to get us to cooperate then this is our chance to ambush them and show them that we won't give into their demands."

"We understand. We won't fail." Kurenai said as she and her team walked out of the room.

"Good grub hunting to you." Tsunade said.

"I'm sorry but what do you mean by grub hunting my Lady?" Kurenai asked. She couldn't think of what Tsunade was talking about.

"The enemy hides, travels, and attacks from underground like the underground pests called grubs. The name was invented in the Stone Village since they were the first to be attacked by this form of warfare." Tsunade said. "Good luck."

"Thank you." Kurenai said as she and her team left for their mission.

"I have to agree with Kiba on what he said about being target practice for the Horde Tsunade. You should have sent Naruto's team to protect the civilian districts while Kurenai's team handled the Fire Temple." Shizune said.

"That's the point; the Horde will pop out of the ground and be ambushed. This time Nazo's plan will be foiled. He was ahead of us last time but this time we will get him. He'll want to kill off some clans tonight but he and his men will be captured in the process." Tsunade said.

"I hope this plan works Tsunade." Shizune said. She wasn't sure if there was any way to read Nazo.

Later in the evening, Team Kurenai was scouting the area for tremors or seismic readings. Kiba and Akamaru couldn't smell anything between Tanzaku Town and the neighboring district, Shino's bugs didn't sense anything, and Hinata didn't see any tunnels underground with her Byakugan. The team then stopped for a moment to rest.

"Nothing, these guys aren't going to show up when there are ninjas hunting them down." Kiba said. "We're better off just digging for them and kicking their sorry asses out of the Leaf Village."

"Don't let your guard down; they could be planning to pop up anywhere." Kurenai said. Suddenly a ninja from another platoon scouting the area appeared.

"Excuse me; have you guys seen the rest of my platoon? They were supposed to be scouting the area before returning to the rendezvous point. But they left about an hour ago and still haven't returned." The ninja said.

"We'll keep our eyes peeled." Shino said.

"Thank you." The ninja said.

After a minute of resting, Kiba and Akamaru picked up a new scent. It was blood!

"Hey guys, I'm getting the smell of fresh blood close by!" Kiba shouted as he turned to face the direction of the scent. "Its south of here! Let's go!"

"Wait Kiba! This could be a trap. The Horde could be trying to lead us away from the civilian districts so they can attack." Kurenai said. "We should first get to the rendezvous point and inform everyone before chasing that scent."

"It's not that far. If we hurry we could find out who it is and who is responsible." Kiba said.

"Alright, but we can't be too long." Kurenai said. The team and the ninja who approached the team went off to find the source of the scent. They arrived at a tree deep in the woods where the scent ended and nothing could be seen.

"I swear I could smell blood coming from here." Kiba said.

"Maybe it was a decoy." The ninja said.

"No, it's here. I can still smell it." Kiba said as he sniffed around with Akamaru to find the source.

"Be careful Kiba. It's dark here and the Horde could emerge at any moment." Hinata said starting to feel scared. Suddenly she stepped on something that snapped. Hinata fell back in horror as two dead bodies fell in front of her hanging by their necks.

"Oh my god! Those are my team members!" The ninja said. He fell to his knees in shock. He couldn't believe that they were dead. Suddenly a static noise came off one of the corpses. There was a headset still active on one of the bodies. Kurenai took it off the body and put up to her ear.

"Who is this?" Kurenai asked. The static stopped and a voice came on.

"Is this the magic lady from the other night? Who are you doing tonight? How is the Hyuga princess doing?" The voice asked. It was Nazo!

"It's you! Where are you!?" Kurenai asked in rage.

"Sorry I couldn't come in person. My pals and I are sitting in a hot spring with a bottle of sake to go around. But since you're here, let's play a game of I Spy." Nazo said. He let out a wicked chuckle. "I spy southwest from your position now, the remains of that blonde bastard Inoichi and his skank daughter Ino lying out for the animals to pick at. Please send the rest of the Yamanaka clan the Horde's regards."

"Shit! Son of a bitch! Let's move! We need to go southwest of here! The Yamanaka family could be in danger!" Kurenai shouted. She couldn't believe that Nazo was ahead of the Leaf Village again in some sort of scheme.

"I'm coming too!" The ninja who had lost his comrades said. "I'm going to avenge my fallen comrades!"

The party dashed off southwest from where they were and stopped in an open area where there was a small hill and several dead trees lying on the ground and boulders sitting around. There the party saw two ninjas lying dead. They had their faces sacked, a strange emblem shaped like a slipknot carved on their chests, and with their I.D tags pinned to their bodies. Kurenai removed the sacks to find that the victims' cheeks had been slashed and that the corpses were both male.

"Wait a minute; he said that Ino Yamanaka and her father were dead." Kurenai said. She was confused about what Nazo was going at with this.

"Do you think he lied or maybe this is some sort of trap?" Hinata asked.

Kurenai checked the bodies. She saw the names of the dead shinobi. She then picked characters out of their names and saw that they spelled Ino and Inoichi.

"It wasn't that he killed the Yamanaka family, he found two people whose names had characters like Inoichi and Ino." Kurenai said. "But he does have a new target."

"What do you mean?" Hinata asked.

Kurenai pulled an envelope from underneath one of the bodies and opened it for Hinata. It contained a photo of Naruto with a replica of Nazo's mask drawn on his face. The words "you break it you buy it" were written next to his head and "ha ha ha ha" was drawn down his chest.

"No, he wouldn't. I won't let him!" Hinata thought to herself. "I won't let him hurt Naruto! I'll kill him before he does!"

"His next target must be Naruto if he left this here." Kurenai said.

"Then why would Nazo drag us all the way out here? Just to tell us his next victim? Why would he target Naruto? He isn't from any sort of clan and he hasn't done anything personal to Nazo." Kiba said as he sniffed for anything suspicious. Suddenly the earth shuck, holes popped open in the ground on top of the hill and Horde men appeared. They then began to form a circular pattern around boulders on top of the hill for cover.

"We are the Horde's muscle and sharp shooters. You can call us Locusts since you haven't come up with a proper name for us. It's the name Inagojo made for us." One man covered in armor said. "We heard about you ground walkers calling us grubs and that really pissed us all off."

"I have a name for you bastards! How about I just call you all dead!?" The ninja hell bent on avenging his comrades shouted as he charged towards the enemy. But before he could make it up the hill, his head was blown off!

"Not good." Hinata thought as she activated her Byakugan to find the killer. From the left where the projectile hit the fallen ninja, Hinata saw a Horde man or Locust as they preferred to be called sitting in a tree. He was taking some sort of shell out his weapon and putting a new one in. His weapon had an extremely long barrel and some sort of scope on it. Obviously the weapon was meant for long distance targets and was extremely accurate.

"We need to get out of here." Shino said. "We can't fight them when they're on higher ground."

"I don't think we'll be able to escape from here easy Shino." Hinata said. "They have a very accurate distance assassin mounted in a tree who is ready to fire his weapon at us the moment we let our guard down like the ninja who was just killed now."

"That and I don't think they'll be niece enough to let us without a fight." Kiba said.

Locust were armed at the top of the hill guarding every escape corner, a sharp shooter of some sort was one mile away and ready to blow the team's brains out. Team Kurenai was surrounded.