Author's Note: I only received eleven reviews, but I am still updating. I loved reading your comments, and loved reading your suggestions for the next wielders of the Whirlpool Katanas. (Spoiler) Yes, Naruto will receive one, he will just have to make a very difficult choice to be proven worthy of one, though he already is. Please Read and review, and this time, no freebies. I mUst have fifteen reviews before I update again. Constructive critism appreciated, flames are not, and I still want to hear your opinions and reasons about who should recieve a katana.

Disclaimer: (Alerya hiding behind a tree)

Alerya: I think I finally lost the crazy Pink banshee.

Neji: Are you referring to Sakura?

Alerya: (jumping a foot in the air) Yikes! Why did you sneak up on me?

Neji: Hokage-sama asked me to find you. She has the results of your test.

Alerya: I know I should have told her my parents names. Neji, can you help me with the disclaimer?

Neji: Alerya doesn't own Naruto, even if she looks like him. (smirks)

Alerya: You saw the results, didn't you? (Neji shrugs) Okay, I'll go find Baachan.

Neji: Go to the Hokage Tower. Sakura is waiting to ambush you outside of the hospital. She was saying something about "The female Naruto with Hinata's personality won't let me be with Sasuke-kun."

Alerya: Thanks for the warning! Until next time, people. (Runs off)

Neji: (Under his breath) Yes, she definitely acts like Naruto and Hinata's child. How did she get here?

"Team Kakashi," Tsunade-sama barked out, "I am assigning you an S-ranked mission." Not a single one of us moved a muscle. "There is a battalion of shinobi from Iwagakure that are running patrols into the Land of Fire, for no discernible reason. Two weeks ago, they attacked a team of Konoha shinobi returning from a mission that took them near our border with the Land of Earth without provocation. Fortunately, all members of the team survived, but one was hurt bad enough that he needed his leg amputated."

I gulped, this was not good. Iwagakure and the Tsuchikage were still bitter about losing the Third Shinobi war to Konoha, and now it appeared they were trying to stir things up again and remove their shame. Naruto, noticing my nervousness, took my hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze to reassure me. Sai was looking a little apprehensive (amazingly, he was starting to show emotion), Sakura was looking determined, and Kakashi-sensei's face was unreadable. He had also fought in the war as a young Chunin and Jonin, and lost friends to the Iwas. Even with my skills at reading body language, I couldn't tell what he was feeling.

"What are your orders for us, Hokage-sama?" Kakashi asked.

"I want you and your team to use any possible way to get them out of the Land of Fire and running back to Iwa. If you have to destroy the entire battalion, do it. This could start another Shinobi war, and I don't want to have to live through another one. Use whatever force you deem necessary to complete the mission."

"Will we have any back up?"

"Only if you call for it. Kakashi, your team is a powerhouse team, designed for fighting. With the addition of Hinata and your summons, you now have the ability to track people down, in addition to taking them out. I have total confidence in your team's abilities. I will have Yamato and an additional team standing by incase you need help. Kakashi, your original team under Minato Namikaze specialized in infiltration and sabotage. Time for you to use those skills again." She paused, waiting to see if any of us had any questions or objections. "I want you to leave this evening. The sooner you arrive, the fewer troops you will have to face. Don't let Iwa reinforce their people." We all nodded again and took off to prepare to leave.

Once Naruto and I were back at our apartment, I immediately pulled out the sealing scrolls so we could get to work. "Hinata-hime, are you going to take your katana?"

I glanced at the elegant weapon in its bluish-purple sheath. "I think I will. It seems right that an Uzu katana should face the people who destroyed their former village and home."

Naruto began sealing camping supplies into one of the scrolls. I got to work with our weapons and food supplies. "Are you nervous about this mission, Naruto?"

His intense blue eyes locked with mine. "To be honest, Hinata, I'm terrified. I know that once the Iwas see my face, they will focus on me. I look too much like my father for them to ignore it. That's why I've never been sent on a mission that gets me close to Iwa. I'm also worried about you. I know you are a strong kunoichi, but I still want to protect you, which I won't be able to do if the Iwas focus on me."

"I won't leave your side, that's a promise, Naruto," I replied, resting my cheek against his back. "You will need someone to watch your back." I planted a soft kiss on the back of his neck. "I'm glad I can come, otherwise I would be worried sick the whole time you would be gone."

"Thank you, Hinata. With the two of us, those Iwas don't stand a chance." I smiled at his confidence, knowing it was a mask to help me not worry. We finished packing and headed to Ichiraku's for a pre-mission meal. Teuchi and Ayame both wished us luck, even though they had no idea what our mission was.

"Shall we get going?" Kakashi asked (He was on time for once, we had to check and make sure the world hadn't ended) as we gathered by the gate. "Just remember, if we succeed at this mission, we may prevent a Fourth Shinobi war. Let's move out."

We traveled for two uneventful days, heading toward the northern border of the Land of Fire. Once we were close enough, Kakashi instructed, "First thing, we need to make a base camp. Hinata, use your Byakugan eyes to help us find a suitable place, hidden, defensible, and with a water source nearby."

"Byakugan!" I stretched my eyes to their limit, and quickly found a place that wasn't too far away. "Half a kilometer to the north-east, there is a clearing in a dense patch of forest with a creek nearby. It is secluded and easily defensible."

"Good work, lead us there, Hinata," Kakashi said, and I began leading the team in the direction I had seen the clearing. We quickly arrived and began setting up camp. Sakura had a tent to herself, Kakashi and Sai had to share, while Naruto and I had a tent to ourselves.

After a quick, cold meal, we began to make plans. "There are only five of us, against anywhere from fifty to seventy-five Iwa ninja. We must strike from the shadows, because we cannot face them in a frontal battle. Any ideas?"

"We could create some traps," Sai suggested.

"What about using genjutsus to mislead some small patrols?" Sakura thought out loud.

"Ambushes," I said, "Taking out three to five shinobi will be a lot easier than facing all of them at once. We can also choose the battlefield that way."

"We also need to cut off their supply routes," Naruto added his two ryo to the conversation. "There isn't much they can do without supplies and reinforcements. It will also help demoralize them."

Kakashi nodded, "Good ideas. Let's get some rest; I'll take the first watch. We start hunting tomorrow."

Naruto and I retired to our tent and crawled into our shared sleeping bag. "I've never done anything like this before. I have killed, but this feels different," I whispered to Naruto. "I have never been the person to start a fight, but that is what we are doing."

"We aren't the ones starting the fight," he whispered back, "They are in our country for no reason at all. They started it by attacking that team, and we do need to defend themselves." His hands were gently stroking my hair as we spoke.

"And our team is the first line of defense," I replied, snuggling into his embrace. "I'll be fine. You're right; they made the first move by entering the Land of Fire and attacking that team. We need to stop them before this gets out of control."

"I'll also use the Hiraishin," Naruto whispered, "That jutsu scares them the most, and the only one that comes close to terrifying them that much is the Rasengan."

"Be careful with those tri-kunai, Naruto, you are still having trouble aiming," I replied. "That is a good idea. They gave a 'retreat on site' order for your father because of his abilities. If any of them recognize the Hiraishin, they'll think they are being attacked by the ghost of Minato Namikaze."

"Good, that will scare them even more. Maybe that will get them to retreat back to Iwagakure, if they think I'm his ghost, and not his son." He paused for a moment, "Hinata-hime?"

"Yes, Naruto-kun?"

"Can we name our first son after my father?"

"Sure," I replied, "Hanabi asked me not to name a child after my mother because she wants to. I'd like to use the name Sayuri, after your grandmother. If it wasn't for her, your mother wouldn't have made it to Konoha and you wouldn't exist."

"Sayuri, Lily. I like that. Well, now we have another reason to fight," Naruto murmured, "We need to protect the village so it will remain a safe place to raise our children, once they start arriving."

"Not until after our Jonin trials," I added, starting to drop off. "I love you, Naruto. Sweet dreams."

"Sweet dreams to you, my Hinata-hime. I love you, too."

The next morning, the five members of Team Kakashi set out. I was using my Byakugan and Kakashi had summoned Pakkun and his friends to help us search for any squads of Iwa shinobi small enough for us to take down. About two hours away from our base, we found a group of ten Iwa ninja and began to prepare.

"Naruto, let's have some scare tactics, please," Kakashi said. Naruto nodded and handed each of us a tri-kunai. He also embedded one at his feet incase he need to make a quick escape.

"Throw them into the group, but don't hit them with the kunai. Make sure they get near the oldest of the group. They will be the ones most likely to know what these mean," Naruto instructed us.

"Once Naruto arrives, we'll all jump in," Kakashi said. "Now, don't get cocky and make sure to leave some alive so they can spread the word to the rest of the Iwas."

We nodded in agreement, and let the tri-kunai fly into the group. Naruto disappeared in a flash of yellow and reappeared in the middle of the enemy ninja. There were immediate reactions from the Iwas.

"It's the Yellow Flash!"

"I heard he was dead!"

"I think you heard wrong."

Byakugan activated, I leapt into the fight, Kushina's katana drawn and ready in my hand. I made it to Naruto's side and we stood back to back, fighting together. My katana seemed to move of it's own accord. At times, I felt as though there were another pair of hands on the hilt, helping me use it. It was a strange experience, but one I didn't have time to think about.

We were fighting five ninjas, Kakashi and Sai were handling two each, and Sakura was pounding on one, proving that she is Tsunade's apprentice.

"Rasengan!" Naruto yelled as he plowed the ball of chakra into an Iwa's stomach.

Almost unconsciously, I began channeling my chakra into my katana and said, "Hidden Whirlpool Secret Ninja Art: Elemental Katana!" A wave of water emerged from my blade, soaking two ninja, and throwing them into a tree with so much force I could hear their bones snap. I was struck dumb for a moment, but another shinobi attacked me, forcing me back on defense.

"So, you're a Hyuga," he gave me a greedy, lecherous smile, "of the Main branch. You could come with us willingly and be treated nicely, or if we have to take you by force, we will take your eyes and make use of your attractive body." He licked his lips as his gaze traveled over my figure.

"I don't think so," I replied, attacking him. "I have a husband who doesn't take kindly to people threatening me, and I don't like it either."

"You are outnumbered, Hyuga girl. We will defeat you, and I will take pleasure in your body after your eyes have been removed.

I raised my katana to use the Elemental Katana attack again, but an orange and black clad figure stood in my way. Naruto held a kunai to the ninja's throat, radiating a heart-stopping killer intent. "What did you just say to my wife?"

I quickly scanned the battlefield with my Byakugan and was shocked to find there were no other Iwa shinobi still standing. They were all dead, unconscious, or too wounded to stand anymore. "Kitsune," I said, using Naruto's code name, "Remember Sensei's orders, we must leave some alive. Let's let him go, but not without harm. Gentle Strike!" I channeled my charka through my blade and gently tapped his upper arm with the flat. With an audible crack, his humerus fractured.

"Okay, Hime, but if I see this guy again, he will be dead," Naruto replied, removing the kunai from the ninja's throat and knocking him unconscious. "How many are still alive?"

"Four, but all are injured, two severely. Where are Sensei, Ekaki, and Ikan?"

"I don't know. Our job here is done, let's go find them," he replied, taking my hand as we high-tailed it away from the site. Only fifty feet away, we found Sakura kneeling over an unconscious Sai, her hands covered in healing chakra, desperately trying to close the gaping wound in his abdomen. Kakashi was lying down nearby, bleeding from a wound to his shoulder, his Sharingan eye still uncovered.

"Hinata, come here," Kakashi said. I did as he asked as he pulled a scroll out of a pocket of his Jonin vest. "It is my summoning contract with the ninja dogs. I don't know how long I'll be out of action because I've over used my Sharingan again. I want you to sign the summoning contract with the dogs. That way they still can help you."

"Okay," I replied, cutting my thumb and signing the contact with my blood. Once I was done, I began to treat his wound with the limited medical jutsu I knew. I got the bleeding stopped and the wound bandaged, only to find that Kakashi had fallen unconscious.

"We need to get them back to camp," Naruto said as he created a few shadow clones to help us carry Sai and Kakashi. We took our time, Naruto leading the way, Sakura in between the litters holding Kakashi and Sai the shadow clones were carrying, and I was the rearguard, using my Byakugan to make sure we weren't being followed. When we finally made it back to camp, Sakura checked her two patients.

"They are both stable, and none of their wounds have reopened yet," she reported. "Sai has lost a lot of blood, but I gave him a plasma pill which will help him get it back. Kakashi's wound isn't as bad as Sai's, but he has fallen into a coma due to overuse of the Sharingan. Once his chakra had recovered, he'll wake up. I'd feel better if we were at a hospital, but I am confident if we don't move them, they will recover just fine."

"Good," Naruto said, "But what should we do about the mission? We've just lost two people for who knows how long. Should we send a message to Tsunade-baachan to send the back up team and not do anything until they come, or keep setting up ambushes so we can still do our job in the meantime?"

"Who'll guard the camp if we're away and let us know if either Kakashi or Sai take a turn for the worse?" Sakura replied.

"Our summons could," I replied. "Naruto has signed the contract with the toads, Sakura, you have signed with the slugs, and right before he passed out, Kakashi had me sign with the dogs. What other option have we? It's only the three of us, so we have to make use of all of our resources."

Sakura nodded, "Okay, Hinata, try to summon Pakkun so we can send him with a message to Tsunade-shisho. We do need backup, no matter what."

Naruto talked me through the seals, and I easily performed the jutsu. When the smoke cleared, Pakkun was shocked to find out that I had summoned him.

"What do you mean Kakashi is on a coma?" he asked, "Which is why he had Hinata sign our contract?" We all nodded. "Okay, I don't mind, I like Hinata. What do you want me to do?"

"We need you to carry a message back to Konoha so the Hokage knows that Kakashi and Sai are injured and we need back up," Sakura said.

"Please, Pakkun, can you take this to her?" I asked, handing him the message.

"Sure, Hinata, I'll get it there as fast as I can." He took the message and ran off to the south, toward Konoha.

"What should we do in the mean time?" Sakura asked.

"We could continue our plans, just attack smaller groups and leave plenty of traps for the Iwas," Naruto replied, "I've got some good ones that any ninja will fall for."

"How?"

"Being a prankster does come in handy on occasion," Naruto replied with a sheepish grin. "We can do little bits every day to demoralize them and whittle down their forces. I can always leave a shadow clone or two when we leave, and if one of them gets dispelled, I'll have their memories, so we'll immediately know if there is trouble here."

"Hinata, what do you think?"

"I think both of you have a point," I chose my words carefully, "but I think we should continue to ambush and attack. Once they hear of this ambush, more troops should arrive and we'll be more outnumbered than we are now, even with Yamato-san's reinforcements. We have to continue to reduce their forces so we can fight on more equal ground. We also have to find the Iwas base camp in the meantime. We might have to strike against it to get them to leave."

Sakura nodded, seeing the logic in my words. "Okay, I'll be sharing a tent with our two injured teammates just incase something happens. Who will stand guard tonight, since we are all exhausted?"

Naruto created a couple of Shadow clones, "You guys know what to do, if there is any trouble, dispel so I will wake up and we can take care of the problem." The clones nodded without arguing and left. I quickly fixed a small meal for us while Sakura got Sai and Kakashi situated and IV's running. After dinner had been cleaned up, we all retired for so much needed sleep.

"Naruto," I whispered, "Do you think we will be able to succeed in this mission? We've already lost two of our people taking out ten ninja. Can we do it?"

"We have to, Hinata," he replied, "because currently there is no one else to do the job. We must hold out and stop the Iwas, with or without Yamato's reinforcements. It will be fine, we've both survived fighting against Pain, so this should be a piece of cake."

I gently pressed my hand against the scar on my abdomen, remembering how fighting Pain to save Naruto had nearly killed me. He saw what I was doing. "Don't worry, Hinata, it will be okay." He held me tight in his arms, trying to reassure my fears.

"How do you do that?" I whispered, "I can tell you are scared to and plagued by the same doubts as me. How can you ignore them and reassure me?"

"I just don't listen to them," he replied, "I have to think positively, or I would have died from hopelessness a long time ago, Hinata. Get some sleep; we are going to need it for the next few days."

I quietly nodded, "You, too, Naruto. We both need it." I gave him a kiss and closed my eyes. It still took a long time for me to fall asleep, and I could tell he had the same problem. Sleep finally claimed us, however, and we slept soundly, preparing our bodies for the coming battles. I just prayed we would survive them, the odds weren't in our favor.

EVIL CLIFFHANGER JUTSU!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A/N, take two: Okay, the code names they are using are Kitsune= Fox (Naruto), Hime= Princess (Hinata), Sensei = Teacher (Kakashi, it would be too obvious to call him Copy Cat), Ekaki = Artist (Sai) and Ikan= Medic (Sakura). Remember, no finding out what happens next until you hit that little green button at the bottom and leave me a review, even if it is just to say I liked it, or please update. I do like reviews. Jia You (Taiwanese saying, means Keep it up)