Alright guys! Here we are, chapter 20! If you hadn't noticed already, this story has hit 100 reviews! I'm so happy! Thank you guys so much for your devotion to the story! You guys rock, I couldn't do it without you! The reviews really make this all worthwhile, even the ones as simple as "Great chapter, update soon" or "please have my babies". They make it so gratifying! Anyway, thanks for reading guys, I really appreciate it!

So, I've started to do a bit of a summary thing at the beginning of my chapters, just cuz it's kinda fun. Gives you a clue as to what goes on, as well as a bit of a wrap up from the last one.

The group has all escaped Orochimaru's and Akatsuki's clutches, and are headed back for the land of fire. Naruto and Hinata struggle with the thought of battling those they treated as brothers and sister; Sasuke and Lee mourn the loss of Raiden and Yugito, and grow to hate akatsuki and orochimaru even more; while Shikamaru, Ino, Chouji, along with their new partners in crime, Temari and Konkuro, recover from their battle with Udon and Kimimaro, from which Shikamaru has yet to wake up! What will happen next? Oh, the suspense is killing me! I guess I'll just let you guys read. Enjoy!

"The others are late…" Sasuke said as he and Lee sat on chairs in the tavern they had left the day the group split up.

"Yes, noticeably so! It has been three days we have been waiting here, and we were a day late ourselves!" Lee said as he stood up and paced across the floor. "Sasuke, do you think something may have happened to them?"

"I'm sure something happened to them, just like things happened to us. The number of organizations that hate us is beginning to grow. Orochimaru and his men, akatsuki, and now the Village Hidden in Stone isn't too friendly either, now that they've allied with Orochimaru."

"We should go find them!" Lee shouted as he turned to Sasuke.

'I don't think that's a good idea, we can't really look for all of them at the same time without going it alone, and then if we did go looking, one of the other groups might get back here, and be worried because they think we are late."

"I see your point. I just do not like standing around and waiting, doing nothing!"

"Well Lee, there is one thing we could do to pass the time." Sasuke said with a light heartedness not often found in Sasuke's tone. Lee beamed back at him.

"Chidori!" Sasuke shouted an hour later as he rushed across the field at Lee. (NO I was not making Sasuke and Lee gay for each other, how dare you think that! Actually it was the first thing I thought of after writing that, I hope there wasn't any misconceptions haha) Lee stood his ground, in his typical stance, waiting for the attack to come. He sidestepped quickly around Sasuke, striking out once at Sasuke's back. Sasuke leaned forward and fell into a roll, which he leapt out of, and landed facing Lee. They grinned at each other before continuing.

"Sasuke, I know you have been developing a new technique! Show it to me!" Lee said as the two stood face to face, matching each other with various taijutsu strikes, parries, and counters.

"You really want to see it, then?" Sasuke said as he lashed out with a head level kick, which Lee avoided by dropping into a crouch. He popped back up to standing and the two commenced their battle.

"It would be my honor to be the first test subject of your attack!" Lee shouted back.

"Alright then, you've got it. It's a little difficult to control at the moment, but sure." Sasuke leapt back away from Lee, standing straight up. He bent over double, and fell to his knees as bony protrusions grew from his shoulders. The wings exploded from his back, stretching to their full span. His hair was white, the wings were black, and his expression was that of a rush. "I'll never get used to that." Lee smiled determinedly, looking back at him, ready for the attack. Sasuke, crouched, then leapt straight up, his wings folded tight at his side. He brought a chidori to his right hand, and then the fiery chidori to his left hand. He had a look of extreme focus while maintaining both of these jutsu. He reared both hands back until his arms were level with his shoulders. "How did you know I'd been training a new technique, anyway?"

"You are not the only one who trains by moonlight, Sasuke." Sasuke nodded, and resumed his focus. He abruptly forced the two jutsu together, and it formed a sphere between his two palms. He slowly rotated his hands from being on opposite sides of the sphere, to both being between himself and the dense ball of chakra, holding it at arm's length. He rotated his wrists so that they touched, his fingers grasping either side of the sphere, and he closed his eyes.

"Does this technique have a name, Sasuke?"

"It doesn't. I haven't gotten that far." Sasuke pulled his arms in tight to his chest while holding the same form, letting the sphere remain where it was. He suddenly forced his hands outward, forcing an intense amount of chakra to go through the sphere, and it erupted into a brilliantly colored beam of fire and lightning chakra. The colors swirled together as the beam rocketed towards Lee. He leapt aside as the beam crashed into the earth, searing the ground it touched. Sasuke began to turn his body, and the beam followed his will, following Lee's movements slowly.

"That is some technique indeed, but you will have difficulty striking an opponent with that!" Lee said as he outpaced the beam by jogging.

"I don't intend to use it against an opponent."

"Then what good is it?"

"I intend to bring Orochimaru's home down over his head." Lee nodded solemnly as Sasuke released the beam, dropping to earth as he allowed his wings to fade.

Boredom found Lee and Sasuke sparring each day until Naruto and Hinata arrived, two days after Sasuke unveiled his technique.

"Sasuke! Lee! Any luck with recruiting?"

"The Land of Lightning is with us, even more so now that Orochimaru's allies had a hand in the death of the Raikage's two children."

"You're kidding…" Hinata said sadly.

"No." Sasuke said. "Two ninja dressed similar to my brother attacked us while we were at the land of lightning, but we won, and they attacked once again when we were at the land hidden in stone, this time claiming the lives of Yugito and Raiden, the raikage's children, who had traveled with us to stone. It turns out that stone is allied with Orochimaru, but won't likely get involved in the war unless Orochimaru makes his move, because their Kage is dead as well."

"Wow… Sasuke you didn't leave much less than rubble behind you, huh?" Naruto said as he smiled, closed his eyes, and rubbed the back of his head.

"I didn't kill the Tsuchikage, one of the two that had followed us from lightning did."

"Oh…Well, the land of waves has signed on, but they don't have any formally trained ninja just yet. We also found a small underground resistance led by Ibiki Morino, and the land of waves is sending their people there to be trained."

"And how did it go in mist?" Sasuke asked. Naruto clenched his fist and began to speak when Hinata placed a hand on his chest and interjected.

"They weren't as receptive, and Naruto is having a tough time not being angry with them." Hinata said with a smile.

"I see."

"And we met up with your brother." Sasuke's eyes snapped to attention as he glared at Naruto.

"Naruto…I don't know how much control you have over the demon inside you, but if you killed Itachi…"

"I didn't kill him, I barely fought him. As soon as I fought back, he and his friend ran off."

"Alright." Sasuke said as he calmed down a little. "Good. If you see him again, Naruto, don't kill him. He's mine…"

"I cared about Sakura too, Sasuke!" Naruto shouted.

"This isn't just about Sakura, Naruto!" Sasuke shouted back.

"Then what is it about you and him, Sasuke? Why do you want to kill him? We've been friends since we graduated and I hardly know anything about you!"

"He killed my entire family, Naruto! He killed my entire family, and left me there, alive! I walked in on him as he killed my mother and father!" Naruto's eyes went wide and he took a step back. "Are you happy now, Naruto? Now you know." Sasuke said as he walked away.

"Sasuke, I'm sorry, I didn't know."

"Well now you do." Sasuke said as he stopped walking. He turned back around and walked towards the group. "Have you guys seen Shikamaru's group?"

"No, they aren't back yet?" Naruto asked.

"We thought they must have been back already." Hinata said quietly.

"No, they aren't. Do you think something happened to them?"

"Well, they were going to Sunahagakure, where Orochimaru once ruled, so it is possible that he found them!" Lee said loudly.

"Shikamaru and Chouji are strong, but against Orochimaru…They just don't have that kind of strength." Naruto said as he hung his head. The group looked at the ground as they stood in a circle in the center of the little village, imagining what Orochimaru would've done if he'd found them.

"What's wrong, guys?" Chouji said as they strolled into the village.

"CHOUJI!" Naruto shouted as he ran over. "You guys are alright! Wait, Temari? Konkuro?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, we decided to come with Shikamaru and Chouji."

"Wait, where is Shikamaru?" Hinata asked.

"Oh, well Orochimaru sent some people to try and reclaim the village." Temari said sadly. Naruto, Hinata, Sasuke and Lee looked at them in disbelief.

"He's in here." Konkuro said as he pointed a thumb to the package on his back.

"You're lying…There's no way they killed Shikamaru!" Naruto shouted. He ran over to Konkuro and lifted him off the ground, gripping his vest tightly. "You're lying…" Naruto said in a low growl.

"Put me down, and I'll explain everything." Konkuro said, restraining himself. Naruto put him down and took a step back. Hinata ran to his side and wrapped her arms around his torso. He placed his right arm around her and looked at Konkuro.

"So?" Naruto asked angrily.

"It happened like this…" Konkuro related the story of the 2 successive invasions of the sand village, and the end of Shikamaru's battle with Kimimaro.

"So..he sacrificed himself to save the village?"

"No…" Konkuro said as he rolled his eyes.

"So that Udon kid came back and killed him?"

"No, just listen a second." Konkuro said as he held his hands up, in an attempt to calm himself.

"Just tell me! Give it to me straight, how did Shikamaru die!" Chouji and Temari shared a look of disbelief at Naruto's thick headedness as they shook their heads.

"I'm trying, but you won't let me talk…" Konkuro said, getting a little flustered.

"Tell me! Tell me who killed Shikamaru so I can find them and give those bastards what they deserve!"

"You idiot…"

"What, you don't think I can beat this Kimimaro guy, or Udon? I've got control over the nine-tailed fox now! If Orochimaru was here I'd give him a run for his money!"

"No, that's not it, Naruto. Just shut up a minute and listen."

"Who killed Shikamaru?"

"I never said he died, idiot!" Konkuro shouted, finally losing his temper. He clocked Naruto once, downward across his skull, in a way that was very reminiscent of Sakura, and Naruto had a blank look on his face for a few moments. Konkuro sighed as his anger was released in that one brutal punch. "Shikamaru isn't dead, why do you think he's dead? I never said that."

"You're the one who's got him wrapped up like a mummy!"

"To protect him from the elements. He hasn't woken up since his fight, and we had to cross miles of desert. He's breathing, but he won't wake up."

"Don't they have medical ninjas in Sunahagakure?"

"Of course they do, why do you think we were late? They fixed his hands, and by all means, he should be awake, but they can't do it." Konkuro looked like Naruto was trying his patience. "We brought him here so we could find your Sannin."

"Oh, Lady Tsunade…" Hinata said as she realized the full situation. Naruto was a bit behind, but caught up a few moments later.

"Alright, first order of business is to find Lady Tsunade!" Naruto shouted as he pointed a finger into the sky.

"How are we going to do that?" Chouji asked. "It's not like we have Kiba or Akamaru's nose to track her down, and even if we did, her trail is months old."

"That's not even considering the fact that she may not want to be found."

"If she's with pervy sage, we may not want to find her…" Naruto said, a little grossed out. The others looked at him quizzically, and then realized what he'd said. They all shared the shudder of disgust. The group stood there, thinking of a way to find Tsunade, with no luck. "If Shikamaru were here, he'd figure something out…" Naruto said quietly.

"If Shikamaru were here, we wouldn't need Tsunade, loser." Sasuke said with much contempt.

"What did you call me?!" Naruto said as he snapped to attention.

"I called you a loser." Naruto 's eyes blazed with fury.

"Don't insult me! I'm going to be the greatest Hokage!"

"You do know there isn't a Konaha anymore, right?" Konkuro asked. He looked to his sister, pointing a thumb at Naruto, and shaking his head. She shrugged her shoulders.

"Right…sorry, force of habit."

"Naruto, your such an idiot." Sasuke said with a sigh. Naruto glared once more.

"I think I've got an idea." Hinata said quietly.

"Don't call me an idiot!" Naruto said as he ran towards Sasuke, with a fist pulled back. Sasuke moved to meet his charge head on, but Chouji stepped between them.

"Expansion Jutsu!" Chouji cried, and the two ran head first into a very plump, very circular Chouji. They bounced backwards, Naruto landing on his rear end and tumbling head over heels, while Sasuke landed nimbly on his feet, sliding back.

"Guys, I think-" Hinata tried to start again.

"Chouji! Don't get ion my way! I'm trying to pummel Sasuke!" Naruto shouted.

"Pummel me? Naruto, you've been miles behind me since the academy."

"I'm tons stronger than you!" Naruto shouted.

"With the fox, maybe, but who knows how much control you have over that. You wouldn't risk destroying this town just because I called you a loser." Naruto opened his mouth to speak, but stopped, his jaw open, as if the words had been stolen from him.

"My rasengan would beat your Chidori anyday!" he finally spat out.

"Care to give it a try?"

"Guys, if you'd listen just a second…"

"I don't know, Sasuke, think you can handle it?" Naruto grinned.

"Chidori…" Sasuke said as he lowered his right arm.

"Rasengan!" Naruto shouted, summoning it without the use of a clone. "Pervy sage said this technique made Chidori look like childsplay!" Naruto cried out.

"Guys, wait a second, I have an idea…" Hinata said quietly. Temari started shouting at the two feuding boys, while Konkuro held Sasuke back, and Chouji did the same to Naruto. They pumped their legs furiously, trying to hold them back. Chouji doubled in size, anchoring Naruto in place, while Konkuro summoned Karasu to wrap around Sasuke's body, holding him still.

"Let go!" Naruto shouted.

"Konkuro, don't make me hurt you…" Sasuke snarled.

"I've got an idea! Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto shouted, and several clones came into existence, pulling Chouji off Naruto.

"Guys, that was my idea…" Hinata said, still speaking quietly.

"I tried!" Chouji shouted as he was pinned by a dozen Narutos. Sasuke kicked out at Karasu's leg, knocking it away from him before wriggling free. The two boys continued their headlong charge.

"Loser!"

"Jerk!"

"Guys, wait a second…"

"LOSER!"

"JERK!"

"GUYS, STOP!" Hinata shouted. Naruto and Sasuke looked at her just before they met, missing each other completely, but as they passed each other, their feet got hooked, and they both fell headlong, their jutsu crashing into the ground. After the smoke cleared, the two boys lay facedown in the dirt.

"Hinata?" Chouji asked, bewildered.

"Sorry…" Hinata said as she blushed. Chouji sat down on Naruto, while Konkuro went to do the same to Sasuke. Sasuke stood up quickly, pushing Konkuro aside.

"Get away from me…" Sasuke said as he distanced himself from Naruto.

"What was your idea, Hinata?" Chouji said with a big smile as Naruto struggled under his super-sized body.

"Emme odda har!!" Naruto tried to say, but his face was pushed into the ground.

"Naruto could use his shadow clones…He could search and we'd stay here, waiting for him to come back."

"They have a limit on their distance…" Sasuke said with a sigh.

"O dey nont!" Naruto cried out, his hand stuck out from under Chouji's body. Chouji stood up, letting Naruto speak. "No they don't! I heard Iruka sensei and Kakashi sensei talking about it once when they thought I was asleep!" Naruto giggled triumphantly. "Kakashi said I didn't know how great of a technique I had! Apparently, if I sent the clones out in different directions, they could all train, or learn, and then when I released them, I'd get all that strength and knowledge! I could even send them as dispensable scouts into distant lands!" Naruto said happily. "Hinata, why didn't you speak up earlier? That's a great idea!" Hinata sighed.

"Oh, Naruto…"

"What?"

"Nothing." She said with a smile. Naruto shrugged his shoulders.

"So…" Chouji said after they stood in silence for a minute or so.

"What's up, Chouji?"

"SUMMON THE CLONES!" The group all shouted in unison. Naruto stumbled as they all shouted in his ear.

"Alright, alright…Sheesh guys. Multi-shadow clone jutsu!" Naruto shouted, summoning hundreds of clones. "Alright, guys! Go find Tsunade!"

"Alright! Let's go!" They shouted in thunderous unison. It sounded like a stampede as they rushed away to find the sannin.

"You loser…" Sasuke said under his breath.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" Naruto shouted.

"NOTHING!" The remainder of the group answered for Sasuke.

So, what did you think? I know, there wasn't much combat, and to all you Naruto fans out there, I'm sorry I dumped on him like that, but after all the misery and warfare, I just HAD to add in a comic relief chapter! (This goes double for those of you who read my other story, and know how awful and violent it has been! Poor Hinata ) I tried to advance the plot somewhat as I crapped all over Naruto, and I hope you guys enjoyed! By the way, if you are now suddenly interested in reading my other story to figure out what happened to Hinata (the poor girl) its called By Any Means Necessary, and I'd like to see it get to 50 reviews! Anyway, thanks for reading, guys! Review! Thanks, I love you all!!

Also, I'm always open to potential plot twists, ESPECIALLY since the shippuden chapters recently ruined my idea for Orochimaru….I was going to make him the 8-tailed snake jinkurichi, based off of the Japanese legend, called Yamato no Orochi, but no luck. Anyway, if you want to see your ideas used, let me know! They are usually pretty good! For those of you that liked what I did with Hanabi, THAT was a reader suggested plot device, so it DOES get used if it fits (and if its good. No offense if yours doesn't get used.) OK so I'm rambling cuz my internet is down here, cuz the sprinklers went off and doused the IT room at my college XD. Alright, ill go now! I hope you guys enjoyed, see you later!