A/N: Well, I'm back. New stuff's happening. This chapter will surprise you.

Arc two begins now! Enjoy!

Arc Two

Chapter 24: Review

"You're certain?" Shikamaru asked, one brow raised. "I don't see that it matters too much."

Naruto shrugged. "It matters to me."

The three of them – Naruto, Sasuke, and Shikamaru – were seated in Shikamaru's private study, rather than borrowing Shikaku's hall. For the past month, the two pairs had been operating separately, but little had been done in that time.

However, they now approached, in Naruto's opinion, the first of many divergence points. And he therefore had come to speak with Shikamaru.

For in less than a week, Tazuna would be in the village, and a C-Rank mission would be authorized to escort him. And Naruto had every intention of taking the job.

Shikamaru shrugged, turning to the other boy. "What do you think of this, Sasuke?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "I think it's utterly pointless," he grumbled. "We're already taking C-Ranks, so the pay boost isn't an issue. Naruto's obsessing over the idea that he can save Momoichi's henchman, Haku."

"It's A-Rank, Sasuke," Naruto grumbled. "We'll get paid three times as much!"

"If you'd ever bothered to pay attention last time," Sasuke countered, "you'd know that the Council refused to pay for that mission more than for a C-Rank on the grounds that it was completed without authorization, which is true. Like I said, no pay boost."

"Sasuke's right." Shikamaru cut in before Naruto could answer. "I remember looking into the debate when we were overthrowing the Hyuuga, looking for ways to discredit Hiashi. So," he cocked his head at Naruto. "Why do you want to take this one?"

Naruto's shoulders slumped and he looked away. "It was the first real mission we took," he said quietly. "It defined us—or at least me—for years afterward. I don't want to miss it. And," he looked at Shikamaru out of the corner of his eye, "it'll give me a chance to succeed where I failed last time."

"And what happens when you fail again?" Shikamaru asked softly. Naruto's head whipped to face him, glowering. "Some things can't change, Naruto," he told the blond would-be Hokage. "What makes you think you can turn aside from the road at every corner?"

"Because if we can't, then we shouldn't even be here," Naruto ground out through gritted teeth. "We have to try everything we can, Shikamaru. You know this; why are you asking me? The more we change for the better, the better our chances become."

Shikamaru smirked slightly. "Good; you're actually thinking instead of acting on instinct. I'll get the mission for you."

Naruto blinked. "What?"

Shikamaru chuckled. "I have nothing against you taking the mission. I just had to make sure it was for the right reasons. You're right, of course." Here he glanced at Sasuke for a moment as he said, "The destination is the sum of the journey."

Sasuke frowned, recognizing that he was being preached to but not grasping the meaning. He'll work it out, Shikamaru thought. He's smart. "Now get going, you two," the Nara heir ordered. "I've got an appointment with the Sandaime to set up."

Naruto nodded, stood, and stretched. "You got it," he said, grinning. "Come on, Sasuke. Let's leave the guy to his important work."

Sasuke rolled his eyes as he stood. "See you, Shikamaru," he nodded cordially.

"Later, Sasuke," murmured the Nara.

Naruto stopped just outside Shikamaru's door, rolling his shoulders. Sasuke stopped beside him, watching him.

"What's up?" the Uchiha asked.

Naruto shook his head with a slight grin. "That guy always puts me off my balance, that's all."

"You think you've got trouble," muttered Sasuke. "At least he likes you."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Come on. It's almost seven. Don't want to keep Sakura waiting."

And the two made off down the road at a trot.

They reached the training ground with a minute to spare, but their teammate was already there. She waved at them, but didn't move, and Naruto saw that she was in the middle of a form. He smiled slightly at that.

"Hey, Sasuke, could you watch me run through this form?" Sakura asked as they came up to her. "I'm not sure about one point in the middle. Hey, Naruto."

"Hey, Sakura," he said with a grin.

"Sure, Sasuke told her. "Naruto – Taijustu spar after I'm done?"

"You're on!" Naruto treated the Uchiha to a thumbs-up and headed off to a corner of the field to start his training routine.

Sakura watched in awe as her two teammates sparred. They never used Ninjutsu, for some reason, but their Taijutsu was stunning.

She felt frankly that fate had given her an automatic victory over Ino in all competitions simply because she could observe this almost every morning. Sasuke moved like a snake, or a bird – he was never where Naruto struck, always quick and striking with a deadly precision.

But if Sasuke was a serpent, then Naruto was a lion. If Sakura had been told two months ago that she would be admiring Naruto's skill and power in combat almost as much as Sasuke's, she'd have laughed at them.

And then tried to burn them at the stake for sacrilege.

The blond boy utilized nothing like Sasuke's graceful, elegant techniques, opting instead for a much more simplistic – but, for him, no less effective – stratagem of simply rushing his opponent with such quick and repetitive power and stamina that even Sasuke was barely able to hold his own. And that was only for the first twenty minutes of combat.

They scarcely ever fully finished a spar while Sakura was present, or indeed at all, but from those she had seen in full, Naruto almost always won. It wasn't that he was more skilled technically – quite the contrary, Sasuke's technique was flawless while his would make any traditionalist martial sensei wince – but simply a matter of stamina. Sasuke, for all his glorious abilities, was not tireless, while Naruto seemingly was. Sakura had only seen Sasuke win one of their spars, and that had been in the first five minutes of combat. Any later, and Sasuke would be too tired to go on a full offensive.

Sakura felt privileged to be on a team with these two. But if she had one complaint, it was simply that she felt unnecessary. She almost never took part in any sort of combat with the team – that was all up to her teammates. Her only valid contribution was her mind and tactical planning. Admittedly, though, that had helped them considerably on many a mission.

She'd been watching for three full minutes – a long time by a fights measurements – when she realized she was supposed to be working on a form. Sighing ruefully, she reluctantly turned away from the two boys and got back into her stance.

"Are you sure this is wise, Shikamaru?" Shino asked his comrade quietly. He was following the Nara to the Hokage's office where Shikamaru intended to request a specific mission for Team Seven.

"Why wouldn't it be?" the Nara heir asked nonchalantly.

Shino glared at him under his sunglasses. "Shikamaru, if something goes wrong, it could ruin everything! Why are we taking pointless risks?"

"I'm not sure you understand the nature of our mission, Shino," Shikamaru said suddenly, whirling to face him.

Shino blinked. "What do you mean?"

Shikamaru sighed. "The very nature of our mission requires risk-taking. The whole purpose is to take all the deadly risks from before sooner now that we're better prepared for them. In addition, we want to achieve greater success against all our more temporal risks. Such as, for instance, Naruto's mission to the Land of Waves."

Shino cocked his head at him. "Shouldn't we conserve every element of surprise we have for the really important tasks, though? Shouldn't we hide our full strength from the outside world?"

Shikamaru shook his head. "Impossible. We have Naruto."

Hiruzen was just authorizing a massive stack of D-Ranked missions when Shikamaru came in. He looked up and nodded to the 'Genin', though perhaps the rank was erroneous. "Shikamaru," he greeted cordially. Once, he would have added the suffix '-kun', but he had a feeling the Nara would not appreciate the gesture, so he had taken to speaking to the boy as he would any adult Ninja. Because, after all, that was exactly what the boy was.

"Sandaime-san," Shikamaru returned with a deferential nod – but not a bow, because Hiruzen was not, after all, his Hokage.

"What brings you here today?" the Sarutobi elder asked, leaning back in his chair, eager for an excuse to ease up on the D-Rank authorizations. There was more of Tora, unfortunately. He pitied the poor Genin.

"Advice," Shikamaru said. "Or a request. Take it as you will."

The Hokage nodded. "I see. What might it be?"

"There will be a mission from one Tazuna, a bridge builder, in less than a week," Shikamaru said flatly. "The mission, a C-Rank, should be given to Team Seven."

Hiruzen frowned, looking at his desk. "That mission was just requested," he began.

"Good," Shikamaru grunted. "I recommend you assign it to Naruto and Sasuke's team."

"But it's not a C-Rank," Hiruzen finished, looking at Shikamaru pointedly for the interruption. "The payment was for C-Rank, but upon further examination, it was determined that an A-Rank was more correct. Tazuna is in the village and will receive the notification today."

Shikamaru stepped back, looking surprised and perturbed. "Why?" he asked quickly. "Why was it re-ranked?"

Hiruzen frowned. He didn't even need to look at the paper to reply. "Because of the presence of a high-threat S-Rank Missing-nin in the vicinity of the Land of Waves, of course. Was he not present before?"

Shikamaru's eyes widened. "What Missing-nin?"

Hiruzen studied him for a moment. "He's a relatively recent phenomenon," he said, watching the Nara's face for any odd reaction – he wasn't sure what. "His kill count is relatively low, as yet – none of Konoha. But several detachments from other villages in the vicinity of Wave have recently been cut down by a mysterious armored Ninja. He's taken out a full three-man squad of ANBU from Suna already."

Shikamaru stared at him, his mouth slightly ajar and his eyes wide. "Are there any descriptions of the armor as of yet?"

"Yes – three eyewitnesses have survived encounters with this Ninja," Hiruzen said, opening a bingo-book on his desk and flipping through the pages until he found the most recent addition. There was nothing more than a sketch where a photograph should go, but there was a description. He read it aloud. "Armor is silver. Mask appears skull-like. No skin shows. Blue lenses where the eye would normally be apparent. Small red insignia on pectoral – as yet unidentified." He looked up at Shikamaru and was surprised to see the boy shaking, eyes closed. His face was perfectly blank, and Hiruzen could not tell if he was shivering for shock, or fear, or rage or some mixture of all three. "Shikamaru?" he asked softly.

"We will continue this conversation another time," Shikamaru murmured. "I need to consult with my allies." And then he was out the door at a run.

"Hello, children," Kakashi said happily, leaping into their midst.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto grinned, giving the Jounin a thumbs-up. They'd just been starting to work together on forms, and Naruto, who despised forms with a passion, was extremely pleased to have an opportunity not to do them. "Time to get a mission?"

"Yes," said Kakashi. "Come on. Good work on the forms, by the way, Sakura," he added, treating the pink-haired girl to an eye-smile. "You're really improving."

She blushed and ducked her head. "Thanks, Kakashi-sensei. It's all thanks to Sasuke's help, though."

"The greatest teacher can't teach a student who doesn't want to learn," Sasuke said, shrugging. "And I'm far from the best."

"Loving the bonding and all," said a voice overhead, "but there are more important issues."

Shikamaru jumped down into their midst. His eyes met Sasuke's and held them; he didn't even look at Naruto. "I need a word with Naruto and Sasuke, Kakashi-sensei," he said quietly. "Now, please."

"Fine," said Kakashi, shrugging. "Don't kill them."

"No promises," said Shikamaru, and Naruto shuddered inside at the deadly seriousness of his voice. What was wrong?

"Come on, you two," said Shikamaru, gesturing with his head to the thicker woods behind him.

They followed him into the trees. He led them until Naruto judged they were about out of earshot from Kakashi and Sakura, if they spoke normally. Then he stopped, and they did too, behind him.

"Sasuke," Shikamaru said softly. "I want an explanation."

And then he had spun and pushed the Uchiha against a tree, their noses nearly touching, and the Nara had a kunai against Sasuke's gut.

Sasuke spluttered. "What? What are you doing?"

"Hey!" Naruto shouted. "Get off of him!"

"Quiet!" hissed Shikamaru, eyes flicking over to glare at the blond. Turning his attention back to Sasuke, he whispered threateningly, "You need prompting? Fine. There had better be a damn good explanation, Sasuke, for the fact that Contingency Kitsune is wandering around killing people near the Land of Waves."

Sasuke's eyes grew wide, and no one could mistake his expression for anything other than it was – shocked horror. "…What?" he murmured brokenly.

A/N: There. Next chapter we'll continue going over everything pre-mission. The mission itself should start in… oh, we'll say five chapters. Up until then, though, there's plenty in the way, as I bet you can tell.

Now, just so you guys who haven't figured out know, this didn't come out of the blue. You should remember, but if you don't, look back to previous chapters. Lots of you hated it, remember? Yeah, that thing. It's back.

Also, the full story revision's done. Only one major change, and I bet none of you can find it. I'll give you a hint – it's in the prologue. One major point – an actual story point, not just grammar – was changed. It has to do with the ritual and what it does.