I don't own Naruto in an way shape or form.

talking: Ya' know

thinking: Ya' know

jutsu: Flying Raijin Jutsu

Summoning talking: You little runt

Summoning thinking: You little runt

Tailed Beast talking/slight possession: Damn you 4th Hokage

Tailed Beast thinking: Damn you 4th Hokage


Chapter 28: Secrets Revealed and Shikamaru's 1st Failed Mission

-Hokage's office-

Tsunade, Shizune, Jiraiya, Kakashi, Asuma, Guy, Kurenai, Hinata, Ino, Shino, Lee, Tenten, Shikamaru, and Sakura, were all in the Hokage's office. No one, except the 2 Sannin and Shizune knew why they were here. But Hinata suspected why they might be.

Clearing her throat, Tsunade spoke. "I'm sure most of you are wondering why you've been called here. There's no point in beating around the bush. You are being sent on a mission to retrieve Naruto Uzumaki."

Everyone was surprised to hear what the mission was. With the exception of Hinata, who gave a slight flinch. It was Shikamaru who spoke first. "Excuse me, Lady Tsunade. But, why are we retrieving Naruto? Isn't he still in the village after our last mission?" Shikamaru asked.

*Sigh* "Unfortunately, no he's not. Since the academy, the Elders believe that Naruto has grown too strong, too fast. Therefore, he was dropped from the Shinobi Program." After a collective *gasp* and a raised eyebrow from Shino, Tsunade continued. "As a result, Naruto has run away from the village. We're a few hours behind, so we need to get going."

"Why would we need to find him then? He's no longer a ninja, so he can't be classified as a rogue ninja." Asked Shino, curiousity bearly noticable in his voice.

"That's true. And there are reasons for that, but now's not the time for that." Tsunade replied, with her hands laced under her chin.

"With all due respect, Lady Tsunade. But I think we should know the reason, why we're going after a civilian." Tenten countered.

*Sigh* "Very well. Normally, none of you were supposed to learn of this. But I guess it may be best to, just to improve the chances of success." Tsunade replied.

"Why weren't we supposed to learn, uh... well whatever it is?" Sakura asked.

It was Jiraiya who answered. "The 3rd Hokage put a law in place, to prevent anyone from talking about it. This was to give Naruto a chance at a normal life. But until Naruto became a Genin, that didn't happen. It's because many people in this world tend to fear and hate others, who share Naruto's burden. This burden is why you were most likely told not to associate with him."

"What he's getting at is that none of you can tell anyone else, but your teammates, what you here from here on out. Understood?" Tsunade asked, staring very sternly at all of them.

Revieving an acknowledging nod from everyone, Jiraiya continued. "The 4th Hokage didn't kill the Nine-Tails, instead he sealed it inside a newborn child. That child, was Naruto."

Everyone's, except Hinata's, mouth dropped like a stone. Sakura was the first to break the silence. "You mean to tell me that Naruto, is a de..." Sakura began, before she felt a hand on her shoulder.

*SLAP* "Ugh!" *Thud* Once Sakura was, forcefully, turned around. She recieved a hard slap to the face and a kick to the gut, sending her crashing to the floor. Looking up, Sakura realized had hit her. "What the hell, did you do that for?!" Sakura yelled.

Hinata was standing right where Sakura previously stood. Hinata's hands were shaking in quiet rage, and had tears running down her face. After a moment of silence, Sakura was about to repeat herself, when Hinata finally answered her. "DON'T YOU DARE CALL HIM THAT! YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT KINDA OF LIFE HE'S HAD! YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF TO EVEN HAVE CALLED HIM YOUR TEAMMATE, YOU DUMB BITCH!" Hinata yelled, surprising everyone in the room, even Kurenai.

Even though Hinata's confidence has gone up, she'd never yell. "What the hell? Hinata cursed? Who is she, and what did she do to the real Hinata?!" Everyone thought, simultaneously.

"Oh, and what would you know?! Huh?!" Sakura replied, standing up.

Taking out a kunai, Hinata threw it at Sakura's feet. "I KNOW MORE THAN YOU THINK! LOOK AT THE MARKINGS!" Hinata yelled, ponting at the kunai.

Doing as she said, Sakura picked up the kunai. Sakura *gasp*ed, when she saw the fimiliar markings of Naruto's secret jutsu. "How did you get this?" Sakura asked.

"Naruto gave it to *sob* to me before the Ch..*sob*..Chunnin Exams. B..*sob*..but I've kn..*sob*..known about Naruto's s..*sob*..secret jutsu for years. I know ev..*sob*..everything about N..*sob*..Naruto, things you couldn't even im..*sob*..imagine." Hinata replied, as tears continued to fall.

"Pfft. Yeah right." Sakura remarked, not believing what Hinata said.

Grabbing Hinata by the shoulders, Kurenai held her close. "Carefull, Hinata. It may not be a good idea to let everyone know about your relationship with Naruto, don't you think?" Kurenai asked, whispering in Hinata's ear.

Wrapping her arms around her sensei, Hinata replied. "I don't care. I just want Naruto back."

This didn't go unnoticed by the others, since Hinata didn't reply. "Care to explain, Kurenai?" Asked Tsunade.

Taking a quick look in Hinata's eyes, Kurenai asked a silent question. Recieving a nod, Kurenai answered. *Sigh* "Since Kakashi's team returned form their mission in the Land of Wave, Naruto and Hinata have been secretly dating." Recieving wide eyes and disbelieving looks, Kurenai continued. "Hinata continued to act shy while Naruto was around, and Naruto would keep asking Sakura out on dates, knowing that she'd turn him down everytime. Hinata and I didn't like the idea, but with Naruto's reputaion, there wasn't any other options."

"Wow. Naruto's more clever than I thought. Explains why he kept on summoning Gamakichi." Jiraiya commented.

*Sigh* "What a drag. No offense Hinata, Sakura. But, we're gonna need to know what this secret jutsu is. Otherwise, we might not stand a chance against him." Said Shikamaru.

*Sigh* "That's another reason why Naruto must be brought back. He knows a very powerful jutsu. It's the 4th Hokage's 'Flying Raijin Jutsu'."

"WHAAAAAT?!" Ino screamed, with wide eyes. "Are you serious?! There's no way, that Naruto could... Uh N..nevermind." Ino continued, before she was stopped by a very intimidating glare by Hinata.

"You're kidding?! Of all the jutsu the in the village, Naruto knows the most advancedone in the entire village?! Possibly in the world?!" Shikamaru asked, with great surprise in his voice.

"Yes, that's right. Naruto happened to have stumbled upon a scroll that contained the jutsu. Only Naruto and Jiraiya knew the location of the scroll, but only after Naruto discovered it." Tsunade replied.

"You said 'knew'. Is it correct to assume that the scroll, is no longer in that location?" Shino asked, a drop of sweat on his forehead.

*Sigh* "That's right. Once we heard Naruto had left the village, Jiraiya went to see if the scroll was still there. However, Naruto had taken it with him. Making three reasons why he must be brought back."

"Could this be anymore of a drag?! I always knew, Naruto was a pain." Said Shikamaru, with his hand on his forehead.

"Anyway, you all need to get going. Unfortunately, your sensei's can't accompany you, due to the many missions on demand. Now, get going!" Tsunade ordered.

With that, Shikamaru and the others left to take on thier latest mission. While thier sensei's were given their own mission.


-Mid-afternoon, next day-

Naruto had been on the run, since before dawn the previous day. He was physically exhausted, but he had to keep going. He had created a Shadow-Clone and sent it in the opposite direction, in order to throw off any pursuers. Luckily, it had worked so far. But Naruto could sense something wasn't right. Yesterday, he sensed that Hinata threw her marked kunai at Sakura. Not long afterwards, he felt that Sakura and Hinata, no longer had their kunai or tags on them.

Naruto's feeling came true, when he was suddenly stopped in his tracks by a barrage of kunai and shuriken. Looking behind him, Naruto saw his former companions standing on tree branches. Hinata included. Putting on his usual goofy grin, Naruto spoke. "Hey guys, what's up?"

"Don't play dumb, Naruto. You why exactly why we're here." Shikamaru replied.

Dropping his smile, Naruto had a sternish look in his eye. "Yea, I know. I'm surprised it's you guys that came after me though." Said Naruto, not taking his eyes off any of them.

"Jiraiya agreed to go after the other you. So which one are you, the real one or a Shadow-Clone?" Shikamaru asked, keeping an eye open for any signs of an attack.

"Does it matter? It's not like you can catch me either way." Naruto replied.

"Naruto, please. Come with us." Hinata pleaded, tears threatening to fall as she had her hands cupped over her heart.

Looking towards Hinata, Naruto *sigh*ed. "I'm sorry, Hinata. I already told you, I can't go back to the village. Please try to understand." Naruto replied, his lower lip trembling at seeing Hinata like this.

"So it is true, you and Hinata have been dating in secret for quite some time." Shino commented, as he pushed up his sunglasses.

"Yea, that's right." Naruto replied. "Got a problem with that?"

"So the whole time you've been asking me out, it was all for show to keep you relationship a secret?" Sakura asked.

"Duh! If you knew why I'm treated like crap, you'd understand." Naruto answered, rolling his eyes.

"We're well aware of the Nine-Tails, Naruto." Shino replied.

"Then you know that the 'Pervy-Sage' taught me how to control some of it's chakra, right?" Naruto countered, hoping to intimidate them.

"Quit trying to scare us, Naruto. It would be too dangerous, to teach you to use that thing's chakra." Sakura countered.

*Sigh* "Fine. I'll just prove it." Said Naruto. A moment later, Naruto was surrounded by red chakra. "Believe me now?" Naruto asked, with a smirk.

Everyone there was shocked. They've never expierienced feeling this kind of pure chakra in the air before. They realized then, that what Naruto said, was true. "I...it can't be." Said Ino, as the red chakra receeded.

"Oh yes, it can." Naruto replied, in a sing-song voice. "Since you didnt' know that, do you at least know about my secret jutsu?" Naruto asked, pulling out a scroll.

Narrowing his eyes, Shikamaru answered. "Yea, we know you got the 4th Hokage's jutsu. We also know you have his scroll containing his jutsu. Now, just surrender peacefully. None of us want to hurt you."

"Sorry, I can't. Hinata can fill Grandma Tsunade in, once you're back home."


- Meanwhile, w/ Naruto's Shadow-Clone-

"I wonder how the boss is doing?" Said Naruto's Shadow-Clone, as he continued to run.

"So. You're the Shadow-Clone, huh?" Said familiar voice, standing on a branch in front of the Shadow-Clone.

"Heh. Finally caught up, eh 'Pervy-Sage'?" The clone remarked, stopping on the next branch.

"Don't call me that, you brat!" Jiraiya yelled. *Sigh* "I understand why you're leaving the village, but what are you planning to do? You know that the Akatsuki are after you. At least in the village, you would've been safe. So, why'd you leave the village?" Jiraiya asked.

"You got a point. But, I can't stay in the village because of Danzo. He wanted me to fake my death, and join his 'ROOT' ANBU. He'll probably deny it, and there's no other physical proof that I'm right." The clone answered, looking at the ground.

"That bastard. I should've known he'd try something like that." Said Jiraiya, gritting his teeth before continuing. "Unfortunately, you're right about the evidence part. Just give me some time, and I'll be able to get the evidence needed."

"But that could take years. And if I go back to the village, Danzo will make sure I'm imprisoned as soon as he possibly can. Then he'll have an opportunity to make it look like I commited suicide, and then force me to join him somehow. If you ask me, it's too risky for me to go back."

"You know, for a clone, you make some good points. Who're you, and what happened to the real Naruto? Hahaha!" Said Jiraiya, with his boisterous laugh.

"Ha ha. Very funny, 'Pervy-Sage'." The clone replied, his voice filled to the brim with sarcasm.

"Heh heh, sorry. But, what about the Akatsuki? What're you going to do about them, if they come after you?" Jiraiya asked.

"I'll be able to hold my own, by running away. While I'm doing that, I've got someone in mind who could help me out in a pinch." The clone replied, looking Jiraiya in the eye.

"And who would this be?" Jiraiya asked, his curiosity peaked.

"Just trust me on this. Ok, Jiraiya?"

Surprised that Naruto had called him by his name, Jiraiya decided to trust him. *Sigh* "Alright. I'll tell them, you managed to slip passed me. But that means I'll have to tell the Elders about your secret jutsu. Are you ok with that?"

"It's fine. I'll manage."

"Alright. If you need anything, just ask." Jiraiya replied.

"Right. You can start by taking Hinata on as an apprentice, if she's wants to though. And since you've got the seal on you arm, I'll be able to ask for some more upcoming favors. So you better not be peaking at girls when I come flashing by, alright 'Pervy-Sage'? Hee hee." Naruto replied, as he applied a seal to the tree he was on and dispelled.

*Sigh* "I'll see ya around, kid. Be carefull." Said Jiraiya, as he began heading back to the village. Hoping that Naruto really will be alright. "I'll have to look into that document, that Tsunade has the ANBU looking at. Hopefully, that'll speed things up."


-Back w/ Naruto-

"What do you mean, 'Hinata will let Lady Tsunade know when we get back to the village'?! You're coming with us, whether you like it or not!" Sakura yelled, as she charged Naruto.

"Sorry, but I've gotta go." Said Naruto, dodging Sakura's punch.

"Get back here!" Yelled once again, chasing after Naruto.

The others then began to attack as well. Naruto decided to quickly speak with Hinata, while he dodge and parried attacks. "Hinata, I'm sorry. But I have no choice. I'm sorry, but I have to go now." Naruto finished, before disappearing with a yellow flash. Causing Sakura to fly right through where he had just been standing.

"Waaah! Oof." Said Sakura, as she landed on the forest ground. "Where's he go?" Sakura asked, standing back up.

"He may have teleported to where his Shadow-Clone is." Shino replied, a slight shock in his voice.

"Which means, Lord Jiraiya will get him." Said Shikamaru.

"So, that means this was the real Naruto." Said Hinata, as tears fell from her eyes.

"Yea. *Sigh* What a drag. Looks like we failed our mission, we'll just have to return to the village and report to the Hokage." Shikamaru ordered.


-Hokage's office, next day-

Shikamaru and his team had arrived back in the village. It wasn't too surprising that Jiraiya had already returned. Shikamaru had reported to Tsunade that they had met up with Naruto, and had failed to capture him.

"I see. Since Jiraiya had failed to capture Naruto as well, the mission is a failure." Said Tsunade, as she closed her eyes.

"Excuse me. But, shouldn't Lord Jiraiya have been able to capture Naruto? I mean, Naruto must have teleported where his Shadow-Clone was. Right?" Sakura asked.

"It must've happened, after his Shadow-Clone dispersed. I figured you guys would've been able to capture him. I guess Naruto's more clever than he lets on." Jiraiya said, using the excuse he had come up with, for this situation.

"Anyway, what's done is done. Jiraiya will continue his search, within his spy network. *Sigh* You are all dismissed. Hinata. Could you stay here, please?" Said Tsunade.

Once everyone, except Hinata, had left, Tsunade spoke. "Hinata. I'm aware you're upset, that Naruto is gone. But, I'm sure he had no intention of hurting you." Tsunade began. Not getting a response, Tsunade continued. "Naruto requested that Jiraiya take you on as an apprentice."

Hinata *gasp*ed. She couldn't believe that Naruto would ask that of Jiraiya. She knew he wanted to help her get stronger, but she had no idea that he'd do something like this for her. She was angry at him for leaving, but she felt happy that he would do something like this for her. "I..I didn't think Naruto would do this. I guess it's his way of making it up to me. But, he'll have to do better than that. But, that can wait until I see him again." Hinata thought.

"I asume the smile on your face says that you accept?" Tsunade asked, seeing Hinata smile.

Looking Tsunade right in the eyes, Hinata nodded. "Yes. It would be an honor. But, I'm sure my father will have questions about everything that will have to come to light." Hinata replied, worriedly.

"Don't worry. I'll talk to you father tomorrow. Ok?" Said Jiraiya, giving Hinata an encouraging smile.

"Thank you, 'P..Pervy-Sage'." Hinata replied.

Hinata and Tsunade laughed at the look on Jiraiya's face after she called him that.


And there's another one. I'm sure many of you thought that I was going to have Naruto join Danzo. WROOOONG! I hate that bastard, and I agree that he needs to fucking die. But now is not the time. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Thank you and please review.