Review Reply:

Artemis-kibasgirlfriend: Well Sasame makes her return in this chapter, there will be more of her to come so don't fret.

SwordofMagus: No, no Zankoji last chapter…he's in this one though. Him and his sadistic glory!

NarutoFanBoy4Life: Well you're secret wait is all over because chapter 29 IS HERE!!! Also the fact of Naruto's Geninness hasn't been addressed in Shippuden I'll have to think of what to do with it when I get there.

CelticHero: n I didn't mention Sasame for a reason, it's the first scene in this chapter so read on and keep reviewing!!!!

Fefisgbf13: Whoa, I don't remember saying anything about Kumo.

Nina Natsu: Actually my keyboard sucks and it doesn't put the letters down sometimes so I really have to do a good job when I edit it, since I don't have a beta I have to do it myself.

Digitaldestiny360: Yeah I thought my take on Naruto's want to see Kakashi's face would be quite funny. I mean with two people who have Byakugan, you'd think that they'd get curious and take a look!

Deadly spike: Yes, yay for swords indeed!

Cloudfightback: Get your arm better and get your writing done! I want to get a crack at it!

Chosha Kurenai: Yeah I knew that Ookami means wolf, and that's factored into his Ookami Gatsuuga. But I used the other way of saying it for his Ninja name. Also, no…Arashi has no clue that he's engaged.

Royal Snaza: Okay, thanks it should show up soon. Get on AIM and we can discuss it further. I have some stuff on it I want to talk to you about.

The Elven Spear: Haha, no…it eventually dos, haha.

Trueswipe: That was a goof on my part, this is the new chapter. Yes this is a new original arc. The Rai Daimyo Arc.

Raiton77: All your questions shall be answered!!!

Static44: YAY!! You're back! What jutsu were you talking about in your last review?

VioletSnow: Well Zankoji isn't going to strike in this chapter.

Animeskid: It was really that funny? What parts did you find so funny?

RasenganRendan01: Oh, well you're person will either be next chapter or the one after it.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto, just Arashi and any other OC that appear.

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"BOOOM!!!" Was the sound Tsunade heard as her door was suddenly kicked down and a very pissed off red headed girl was standing in the door way. Her hair poking out of a hole in the top of her black beanie in a ponytail, a sleeveless light purple jacket, dark brown shorts, and a black cloth around both of her forearms much like how Sasuke used to have around his before he changed to his newest outfit. With a furious look in her eyes the girl stormed over before the Hokage's desk and slammed her palms down on it and looked Tsunade right in the eye. "You BITCH!!!"

Suddenly she felt two long blades resting against her neck, shakily looking to her side she realized that she was now surrounded by half a dozen ANBU and two of them were in a position to end her life with a mere flick of their wrists. "It's okay, I'll handle this." Tsunade said dismissingly, the ANBU then disappeared just as suddenly as they had appeared. Now once again alone in the office Tsunade looked intently at the girl. "And who might you be? And what have I ever done to you?"

"I'm Sasame Fuuma…Naruto-kun's girlfriend!!" It was that title that made Tsunade realized what the girl was upset about. "You send my Naruto-kun off on another mission the day after he gets back from an extended one!!! That's what you've done to me! I hadn't even seen him yet and you send him off again for who knows how long!!" She yelled before she quickly held her hands before her heart and whimpered slightly. "I've missed him so much…when our clan moved here I thought I could spend more time with Naruto-kun…but now…it's just like how it used to be, I'm all alone waiting for a chance to see him again…" Tsunade just watched the girl as her shoulders began to tremble and a few tears escaped from her chocolate colored eyes. "Do you know what it's like for the one closest to you to be always gone?"

What came next was possibly the exact opposite from what she was expecting, Tsunade let out a small laugh at the girl. "Try having those people die years ago…there's no chance to ever see them again. If you can't get it through your head that as a Shinobi Naruto will be gone on missions…then don't date one."

Tsunade then got up to leave the room as Sasame stood there shocked at the Hokage's words. Had her dreams all been simply dreams? Did she not deserve to be happy and make Naruto happy as well? Had she even made the right decision in falling in love with the blond? 'No! I won't let her sway my heart!' She thought with determination and refusal in her eyes. "Then let me join Konoha's Shinobi force!"

Tsunade chuckled to herself at the girl's declaration, turning back she stared the girl down almost as if to make an impression on her. "You do realize that the situation might reverse if you are allowed to become a Konoha Shinobi? That you might be on a mission while he is here in Konoha."

"Hai! Even if I can't spend my time with Naruto-kun, I can at least be closer to him in spirit by helping him serve and protect the village he loves so dearly! I'll make Naruto-kun proud!"

Tsunade turned with a smirk and made her way to the broken door. "You sound just like Shizune when we left…you're evaluation will be in a week, I'll see if you're even fit to wear our mark…" With those words she vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving the girl to dwell on her message.

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It had been a couple days since they had set off and nothing had really happened. Naruto mainly kept to himself while shooting Getsurei dirty looks every now and then. Hinata and Arashi would walk together, simply enjoying their time together and talking about various things. From telling her the story of their past mission to listening about what all had happened in Konoha, they were just enjoying each other. Hayate would strike up random conversations with Getsurei ranging from questions about the Land of Lightning to the weather. It was hard to really get anything out of the robed man; he was constantly looking up at the sky and was extremely dismissive of anything directed at him. All around Naruto and Arashi saw him as a pompous, arrogant, stuck up, royal pain in the ass. "Geeze, you'd think he was Shikamaru or something. The way he keeps looking at the clouds." Arashi said more or less under his breath to Hinata.

"No, he's different. S-Shikamaru-kun just gazes with that lazy l-look of his. B-but Getsurei-sama h-has a totally different look in his e-eyes, m-more focused and observant. Like h-he has something on his mind, while Shikamaru-kun w-watches the clouds to relax and escape his duties. I actually d-don't think he's looking at the c-clouds…more l-like he's looking p-past them." The Hyuuga said, her stutter still slightly there, but not as bad as she had once had it. Her mind would always flash back to the thought of telling Arashi about the marriage and it would play tricks on her concerning his reaction. Despite being one of the people who knew him the best, second only to Naruto, she couldn't figure out how he's react to the news.

"This is turning out to be really boring." Naruto said loud enough that everyone could hear him. "I mean I thought at least there would be something exciting to do, but nothing, not a thing has happened since we left."

"That is because we are still within the Land of Fire, fool." The pony tailed man said calmly, gaining a very pissed off look directed at him from Naruto.

"And what's that supposed to mean you bastard!?" He erupted back at the man with his fist shaking.

"It means that whatever Getsurei-sama needs our protection from isn't from our country." Hayate said before he coughed a couple times. "And that's why I'm here…we got a report of a rather odd person showing up outside Konoha." The baggy eyed Jonin got a steely look in then as he looked over at their client suspiciously. "Would you care to tell us why a member of the Guard Ninjas for the Land of Lightning was asking around about Arashi?"

Arashi and Naruto just looked at Hayate oddly, having never heard of a Guard Ninja before. Hinata on the other hand had been taught by her clan all about them. "G-Guard Ninja!? W-What do they want w-with Arashi-kun?"

"I don't know, but judging on how Getsurei-sama specifically asked for him to be on this mission…they were probably trying to find his weaknesses so they can carry out their mission." Hayate then stopped completely and faced the man. "What exactly do you need protecting from?"

Brushing past Hayate, he completely dismissed his question and continued down the road. "My father…come on now, don't make me wait all day. I'll have a more fitting discussion with you tonight; I don't know who else might be listening."

Arashi was now thoroughly confused, but with a nod from Hayate he knew he still needed to lead the team. "All right, let's go. We'll have a talk with Getsurei later I guess, but for now we still have ground to cover."

The five continued on for a while, each of them lost in their own thoughts on what was going on. This was until Hayate coughed violently, getting concerned looks from everyone. "I'm fine, but I think we've covered enough distance for the day." Trekking off the road they were using they soon found themselves a nice clearing in the forest and began setting up a camp to use later in the day.

Once everything was set up Hayate sent the three younger ones off to gather supplies like water, firewood, and any food they could find. "What are we doing? It's 3-o-clock!" Getsurei asked more annoyed than worried about their situation.

"We're still a bit away from leaving the Land of Fire, so there's no need to go rushing into whatever you have waiting for you…we're completely safe here. Besides a Shinobi shouldn't go to long without training, I need to see where those three are, and I have some certain things I 'cough' need to do with them. But I'm sure you know all about Shinobi, being the son of the Daimyo you must know all about Kumo." Hayate said, as he turned greet the others as they returned.

"Y-Yeah…" Hayate heard behind him in a disheartened voice, keeping his reaction in the back of his mind he left, leaving Getsurei by himself to either decide to watch their training or spend the rest of the day at the camp. 'That bastard…' He then thought to himself with clenched fists, as the Shinobi walked off and into a secluded area deeper in the forest.

The two Genin and a Chunin now stood before Hayate, the sword bearing Jonin looking them over as if they were livestock. "You three haven't had any training with any sort of weapon have you?" Getting a shake of their heads he smiled happily. "Perfect…then I can work with you a bit on my art of choice. I've read all you're files and I think I have an understanding of your fighting styles." Reaching into his back pocket he took out something small and tossed it to Naruto. "You're style Naruto; is one of a close quarters fighter. So with that in mind, Brass Knuckles are the perfect weapon for you."

Looking the metal devices over, Naruto smirked and simply tossed them back to Hayate. "Sorry, but I don't need those. I can make my own." With a couple hand signs he brought his hands up and slammed them into the ground, plunging them in up to his wrists. "Doton: Tetsukobushi no Jutsu." Pulling his now balled fists up they seemed to be coated in a dark metal, hitting the fists together the clang of metal could be heard. "With my Iron Fist I don't need those things as you can see." Dispelling the jutsu with a smirk, Hayate watched as the iron crumbled and fell from his fists.

He then tossed the knuckles back to the now surprised boy. "And what would you do if you were over water? Or if you needed quick use of your hands…idiot…" Turning from the disgruntled Naruto, his eyes set on Hinata. "But you my girl are perfect as you are, there are instances where weapons complicate things, and your Juuken is a prime example. You're fine the way you are, just keep working of what you would normally do."

"What about me?" Arashi asked, seeing that despite Hayate's want to teach them weaponry the other two really weren't suited for it.

"I was getting to you Arashi…" With a swift movement of his hand he whipped the Katana from his back and now held it in a battle ready position. "From your file, you are a mid range to close combat fighter. A katana would be perfect you, plus it would make me very happy to teach your mother's art to you. But I read that you've activated the Shekkeigan…do you have any way of using a sword from it?"

"Yeah I can actually…" Arashi's eyes then light up in their distinctive silver color, getting an intrigued look from Hayate as he felt the air around Arashi quickly grow colder. Grabbing his right wrist he held his hand out in front of him as his eyes shown with concentration. "Hyoton: Hyoken no Jutsu!" As he said this, water from the already humid air concentrated in his hand quickly and sprouted into a large broadsword. With a long hilt and a wide cross bar, it had a long and wide double sided blade on it. It wasn't like a Katana but more like a Claymore.

But while Naruto and Hinata looked on in awe at the forming of the large blade, Hayate simply laughed. "You 'cough' call that a sword?" He then held up his own Katana horizontally before his face, a gleam ran down the curved blade that made Arashi feel slightly uncomfortable. Then suddenly in a flash of blinding speed, Hayate's sword moved and sliced through the air. Everyone looked on in shock as the only thing that could be heard was the crash of the ice sword Arashi was holding hitting the ground. "Until you can make a sword that can stand up to mine, you will use a fitting blade." He then looked down at his blade and smiled. "This was one of the many swords your mother made and my favorite, Mizuki…" Then suddenly, with a sweep of his arm he now held in back behind him while he stood perfectly straight. With a crash the nearest tree suddenly fell to the ground, leaving a stump with a perfect edge, cut with such precision that the exposed core of the tree looked like it had been polished smooth. "This is what a sword truly is." Hayate remarked with a smug smirk on his face that gleamed with pride for his skills.

The three just stared in awe at his display. "Awesome!!" Naruto yelled as he ran over and looked the stump over, running his hand over the wood he was amazed at it. "So Arashi could do that?"

The Jonin let out a small laugh as he slid Mizuki back into its Saya. "After a decade or so of training…yes." Flipping open one of the pockets on his flack jacket he took out a small scroll and after biting his thumb, he whipped a bit of his blood down the paper. Soon following the puff of smoke that came from the scroll, a beautiful sword could be seen in Hayate's hand. It had a black lacquered Saya, its hilt was in a traditional style but with hints of silver outlining the wrapping on it, and an odd design on the butt of the hilt and the same symbol on the guard. "This is your mother's masterpiece, Heijin…she gave it to me so that one day I could give it to you. When she first found out she was pregnant she made this sword and instructed me to give it to her child when the time was right. It's your's now Arashi, learn to use it well."

He then tossed the blade to Arashi, who caught it and just stared down at the sword. In his hand he now had something to tie himself back to his family, an actual object that his mother had made specifically for him. Pulling the blade out his marveled as it sang upon being drawn, the distinctive sound of a blade being drawn was the only sound echoing through the forest. Looking the blade over closely, Arashi saw the word Himura etched into the base, and at the very moment a single leaf floated down from an overhead tree and was cut in half by just touching the blade. Shocked at its sharpness he slid it back into its saya, and then took more notice of the symbol that made up the guard of Heijin. It was an image of three triangles, one was large, white, and in the center. The other two were black and set to each side of it and behind it, making them look smaller than the first. They were all ringed by black, the blade came out of the center of the middle triangle, and a silver background, but on the butt of the hilt it was unblocked by the blade. "It's beautiful…but what's this symbol?"

"That is the symbol of the Himura, the Three Peaks…"

This instantly caught Naruto's attention. "Ero-Sennin and Shizune-neechan were talking about that, how can someone live their life by a symbol?"

Hayate then burst out in laughter that soon changed to coughs. "It's not just a symbol, but an ideology that was universal within the Himura. The Three Peaks represent the three qualities that every Himura was taught were of utmost importance their entire lives. These qualities of loyalty, honor, and love. It's kind of like the Will of Fire, it's a philosophy that the Himura lived by to be the kind of person whom they believed was best suited for protecting their loved ones and the village."

Hearing that, Hinata blushed slightly. It really sounded like something Arashi would believe in, and she could only smile at the look on his face as he looked at the sign of his family. Her thoughts were then interrupted by the coughing on Hayate. "Well then, let's get some training done you three. Naruto and Hinata…I want you to spar together and do anything else you see fit to do as training. I'll be teaching Arashi the basics of Kenjutsu today."

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A man in a hooded gray cloak was walking down a corridor while on his way to the large room at the end of it. As he bumped past the people in his way he was having a blast just laughing in his own demented way. Stopping in front of the door he grinned widely as he flipped his hood back and flipped his hair back behind him. With a kick the massive door flew open to reveal a lavish room decorated with paintings, sculptures, and all sorts of objects covered in gold. In the middle of this room sat a man in a large throne chair, but was blocked from view by a low overhang that kept his features bathed in shadows. Taking a knee, Zankoji bowed his smiling head before his master. "What have you found out Zankoji?" The man said calmly as he flipped a gold coin between his fingers.

"Getsurei-sama has indeed chosen Konoha no Kogane Urufu, or Arashi Himura and his team as protectors for his journey back here. I have also discovered that the boy has awakened the legendary Kekkei Genkai of his clan." Getting back up he looked his master straight in the eye while wearing his demented smile. "It appears they left Konoha about two days ago, Master. When do we strike? When can I carve up the brats?"

"Soon, once they enter the country you and the others will make your move. This is our country's business and I will not risk it happening outside our borders. Gather the other two and make preparations." With another bow, Zankoji turned and left. Leaving only the sound of his chains clinking together and the sound of his laughter.

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"Damn Hinata, you've gotten a lot stronger!" Naruto said while panting as the group made their way back from their training area.

She giggled and blushed slightly at his compliment, but the winced in slight pain and grabbed her bruised shoulder. "You're Kage Bunshin have gotten stronger as well…faster too. You're just about as fast as A-Arashi-kun."

Behind then Arashi was dragging himself around, slight cuts could be seen on his hands. But he still had a proud look on his face as he continued to look down at the new addition to his outfit. Heijin was strapped to his belt and sat on his left side and strangely it seemed to look as if it belonged there. Hinata blushed deeply as she looked on at him while he talked happily with a hacking Hayate. It was then that Naruto leaned in close to her. "There's something up with you, your stutter is back and you can't stop blushing around him…I'm expecting you to explain yourself soon." Hinata gulped audibly but still nodded to Naruto, in truth she had wanted to tell him, but slightly didn't want to due to Naruto's rare slips of information.

Upon reaching the camp they were met with a very bored looking Getsurei, sitting down and poking the fire as the sun began to set. "About time you showed back up!" He then took in their appearances and scoffed at them. "So trying to kill each other counts as training to you guys?" But he did raise an eye brow to the sight of Heijin swaying back and forth on Arashi's waist.

After a dinner of ramen, the five sat down on some logs that had been arranged around the now bright fire. "Well 'cough, cough' I think it's about time you fill us in on what's going on. We had to leave so fast we couldn't even get a full explanation from Hokage-sama."

"As you have been told your mission is to protect me until my 21st birthday in less than three weeks. Where I will be named the new Daimyo of the Land of Lightning…the law of our country is that upon reaching the age of 21, the first born of the current Daimyo will take his place as leader of the country. It was first intended so that any bad rulers would be taken out of their rein."

"Yeah, well you don't exactly seem to be the benevolent leader type to me…" Naruto said under his breath.

After giving Naruto a death glare he straightened himself and continued. "So in knowing that I would one day rule my father, Ieyasu Raikou, has been putting his beliefs on ruling into my head since I was little. This is where the problems start…my father is a very corrupt man, he taxes far too much, has no regard for the safety of our people, and worst of all he is in with some bad trading. Once I got old enough to understand what he was doing, my entire view on my future was changed. I developed my own views on how I would rule…and that was when my father decided that I wasn't fit to rule in his place. He's been planning this for quite a while, ever since his drug trade was destroyed by the death of his associate…"

"Who was that?" Hayate asked, trying to delve into what was going on more.

"It was a man named Gato I believe."

Instantly the three younger Shinobi froze at the name. "Did you s-say G-G-Gato?!" Arashi stammered out in a shocked voice.

"You've heard of him as well?" Getsurei said, not fully understanding why they looked so shocked.

"Yes, we were there when he was killed by Zabuza Momochi. It was our mission that lead to his death." Naruto said, getting a shocked look from the robed man who finally thought hard on their names.

"Naruto!? I can't believe I didn't make the connection sooner, so you're the one!" He was instantly met with confused looks. "You're the one that The Great Naruto Bridge is named after!"

"THEY NAMED THE BRIDGE AFTER ME!?!?!?!" He erupted, flailing around until he was promptly whacked on the head by the Jonin present.

"I had thought it was a strange name when I first heard it…but anyway. I eventually heard of my father's plans to assassinate me so that my younger brother could rule in my stead once he came of age. I then discovered that upon my return from the Chunin Exams, my father's orders would be carried out. That's why after seeing the two of you, especially you Arashi…I refused to return without body guards." His fists clenched up on his knees and a frustrated look swept across his face. "I…I refuse to let my brother become Daimyo, he's even more corrupt that my father! That's why I needed you guys."

"B-But why Arashi-kun?" Hinata asked meekly, still not getting why he couldn't have gotten anyone else for the mission.

"For one, he is powerful and so is Naruto. I hadn't seen you fight so I don't know, but if I got Arashi, Naruto would come with him…and I was hoping to had Kopi Ninja Kakashi here as well." The pony tailed man said while shooting Hayate a look. "But secondly…as a shot at my father's pride." This gained confused looks from everyone save Hayate. "Your father was the bane of many of our Shinobi during the last Great War…the name of Himura has been cursed hundreds of times within the walls of my home. To have the son of Sano Himura be one of those to ensure my ascension to Daimyo, would be devastating to my father." With a sigh, Getsurei leaned back and looked up at the stars. "I just want to do what's best for my people…and living under my father's rule of my brother's is Not what's best for them." Standing up he whipped the dust off of his robe and yawned. "Enough of this, you got your information, I'm going to bed." He said as he stood and dusted off his robe, then proceeded into his tent for the night.

Once their client had gone, a silence overtook the four remaining Shinobi. Each of their heads swimming with the information that had been told to them. After a minute or so, this silence was broken by Naruto when he softly laughed to himself. "You know…he's not so bad once you find out a bit about him." He then turned to the chronic coughing Jonin seated near him. "You're taking the first watch Hayate-sensei?" After getting a nod from him and letting out a yawn of his own, Naruto also went and got in bed.

"You two should go to sleep also 'cough' we don't know when we could be attacked. You should rest up as much as possible."

"Hai." The two said before also retreating to their tents. Upon getting into his tent, Arashi sighed at the sight o Naruto putting on his trademark sleeping cap. "You still wear that thing? You do know you look ridiculous with it on…" The Himura muttered as he placed Heijin next to his bed roll.

"Yeah, so what? I can wear what I want, just because you don't have a wonderful night cap doesn't mean you have to be jealous of me!" He said before he stuck out his tongue at the Himura, mockingly.

"Baka…" Arashi retorted before he flopped down on where he was going to be sleeping. Then with a quick change of attitude he gave Naruto a look that he instantly picked up on. "Naruto…I…I want to tell her…" The Kyuubi container's eyes shot open at the realization of what he was really saying. "I want to tell Hina-chan about him…but…"

Laying back Naruto looked hard at the roof of their tent. "I know…"

"There's no way around it Naruto, I can't tell her without mentioning Kyuubi. I don't think it's right to tell her about you, you should be the one to do it."

Putting his blanket over him, Naruto rolled to the side facing away from Arashi. "I know…I want to tell her too…if anyone deserves to know about us, it's her…I'll get to it." He said half heartedly before closing his eyes and trying to fall asleep. 'But how?'

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Gatsuuga!!" The spiraling vortex of claws and fangs slammed into a dark wall, that upon looking closely was actually moving. After being held at bay by the thick wall of bugs, the spinning attack ripped through it and slammed into the ground behind the mass of bugs. Once the dust cleared the form of Kiba could be seen smirking as he stood over Shino, who had been knocked to the ground from the attack.

"I see, by increasing the velocity of your attack you kept any of my Kikai from attaching to you. Quite a smart move Kiba…quite rare for you to think that far ahead."

"What's THAT supposed to mean bug head!?" The Inuzuka roared as he tried to land a furious blow on his now dodging friend's face.

The other two available members of their team were off to the side of the training ground they were using at the moment. "Is something wrong Sakura? You don't seem to be really into training today…"

Lifting her head to look at her sensei, Sakura had to admit to herself that she had been troubled lately. "Hai Sensei…it's just…" Lying back in the grass she took on a concentrated look, as if trying out find the right words to say. "What if someone told you that all they wanted was for you to be happy?"

Kurenai's eyebrow raised high at the realization that this wasn't about Sasuke, because she knew full well he'd never say anything like that to the pink haired girl. "I'd consider myself lucky to have someone who cares about me that much…is that all that's bothering you?"

With a reluctant shake of her head she sighed. "And what if for someone you care about to be happy…they have to do something you don't like?" She said quietly under her breath.

This caused Kurenai to frown deeply, it turned out that it wasn't about Sasuke on the surface. "Listen Sakura…I don't think anyone can change Sasuke's mind on his brother…not you, not me, not even Hokage-sama. But the closest thing to an answer I can give you is to make him enjoy things how they are…so that if an opportunity came for him to act on…he would rethink it."

"H-Hai…" She replied with a worried mind.

Elsewhere in Konoha a certain pineapple headed guy way lying down on a slope near his team's meeting grounds while he watched the sky. 'A deer… a fan…a ring…a baby?' He thought as he looked at the clouds, trying to see any shapes in them. Sitting up he irritably scratched his neck, where his new jacket had been rubbing all day.

"Shikamaru!!" He then heard echo around him, and in the most effort he had done all day he dodged the incoming haymaker destined for his face, making it slam into the ground where his head would have been. "You bastard! You were supposed to meet everyone at the restaurant two hours ago!!" Ino screamed as she shook her fist before her face.

"Settle down Ino-chan…" Chouji said defensively of his friend as he took hold of her balled fist and lowly brought it down to her side where he opened it and laced his fingers with her's.

They were all interrupted by a chuckle from behind them and a thick smoke in the air. "Now don't you look so much more important Shikamaru?"

"This is so troublesome…how can you stand to wear this Asuma-sensei? It keeps scratching my neck."

"Well you're not supposed to wear it simply over what you used to wear baka."

"Yeah…yeah, I like what I wear and don't want to give it up. Besides, wearing it proves that I've at least done something…it at least gets my mom to shut up and I didn't want to be like Arashi and simply not wear it." He said, much to the surprise to his other two team mates.

"So he made it too…it looks like Kurenai's predictions were right…again" The chain smoker said with a disappointed look on his face. "Come on you three, let's go celebrate already. If I'm going to pay for this I'd like to not waste my whole day on it." But much to the Jonin's displeasure, the Nara on the ground didn't budge an inch. "How about this, you get up off your lazy ass right now and I'll give you the day off tomorrow…"

In an instant Shikamaru was gone from the spot he was at and half way down the street. "You coming you guys?" He said, while Asuma gapped at him, like he was on fire or something.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"KUSOOOO!!" A yell echoed through the forest, birds took flight at the sudden noise. All of the flocking away from a blond haired Himura who at the moment was panting heavily, several balloon shreds surrounding him. "Kuso, kuso, kuso KUSO!!" Pulling out another balloon he blew it up and tied it. Closing his eyes he concentrated with all his mind. He could feel the Rasengan form in his right hand as he held it out in front of him, everything was perfect. But despite the power and rotation being just right, he was once again failing at creating a perfect shell around the torrent of power. The balloon could be seen vibrating, almost yearning to rip apart and infuriate Arashi even more.

"Pop!" The balloon shredded apart, sending Arashi's chakra flying in every which way and knocking him down to the ground. "Kuso…what aren't I doing!? How can I master this? I've been stuck at this stage for a week, I've hit a plateau and no matter what I do I can't get further than where I am now!"

Shaking his fist he stood back up to his feet with a fire in his eyes. "Enough with these damn balloons! Time to try it like Naruto!" The orb of power spiraled into existence in his hand, growing in size and speed. "Rasengan!!" He yelled as he slammed the attack into the nearest tree, making it erupt in a shower of splinters and dust. "Haa…haaa…haa" He panted, but as the dust cleared he frowned to see that the attack had been a mix of what he had seen Jiraiya demonstrate a couple weeks prior. It had gone in like it should have but halfway through the drilling action it ripped through the shell and blew up, making a spiral cut into the trunk of the tree. "Almost…I just need to work on it some more…" With a sigh he walked over with a frown, picking up Heijin he slid it into his belt and turned to make his way back to their camp where everyone should still be sleeping. He had specifically gotten up early to work on the Rasengan the best he could.

But unknown to him not everyone was asleep. Still sitting in her tent, Hinata sat with her Byakugan active and facing the direction Arashi was now heading back from. "Rasengan?" She was lucky that he had been so consumed with training the jutsu, otherwise he probably would have noticed the distinctive feeling of being watched by a Byakugan. 'Oh Arashi-kun…what would make you struggle so hard? It looked like you almost had it too.'

She was suddenly pulled out of her thoughts by a tap on her tent opening. "Hinata-chan, you awake?" It was Naruto, and Hinata had a bad feeling about what he could want with her. After telling him he could come in she was greeted warmly with his beaming smile. "Ohayo Hinata-chan…" Then his face shifter into a very serious look. "Now what's up with you? Did something happen when we were gone? Was in Neji…Arashi and I will kick his ass if he laid a finger on you!!"

Despite the seriousness of his face and the subject he was asking about, she couldn't help giggling at the blond. "No…no, nothing like that…" Her eyes instantly fell to the ground, and she started poking her fingers together. "It's j-just…Otou-san…"

"What about you're father!?" Naruto blurted, he knew that her father had always been a bad subject and was now worried about what he had done to the girl.

"N-No, it's…Arashi-kun…we're…" She was a stuttering mess and was shaking all over, gaining a concerned look from Naruto. But despite her present state of mind, she had a smile of bliss of her face that Naruto had never seen before. "We're…going to…we're…" With a large gulp she was determined to tell him. "A-a-arranged to be…m-m…married…"

She had finally said the truth and looking up she was met with the sight of Naruto staring bug eyed at her with his jaw on the ground. "NANI!!!!?!?!?!" He bellowed once his brain had reset to normal. "When!? How!?! What!?"

"Sandaime-sama and O-Otou-san arranged i-it some time ago…b-before the Forest of D-Death…"

There was a silence for a moment as Naruto seemed to still be processing the full weight of this revelation. His head was swimming with several thoughts, first and foremost was a huge smile at the achievement of what he knew was one of Hinata's biggest dreams. He was truly happy for his two of his best friends, but for once in his life he didn't have a clue how Arashi would react. Normally he would have a precise guess on what Arashi's reactions to things would be, it's how he normally got away with all his pranks on the boy. But in this situation he had no idea what so ever how he would act. But reaction on his first thought he smiled brightly and threw his arms in the air. "I'm so happy for you Hinata-chan!!"

Before he could scream anything else Hinata covered his mouth and looked around their position questioningly. "Arashi-kun should be back a-any minute…we should p-pack up and get Getsurei-sama up so w-we can go soon." With an acknowledges nod he slipped out of her tent and over to Getsurei's. 'Was telling him a bad idea?'

Outside her tent Naruto was a grinning fool as he stepped next to the older man's tent. With a swipe of his hands the two base steaks on the side he was standing on were ripped from the ground and the tent fell down on the man inside. "WHAT THE HELL!!!?" He yelled inside as an outline of him struggling to be freed from his tent prison. Finding the entrance he jumped out and thwacked Naruto over his head while he was cracking up. "You little SHIT!! How dare you wake me up like that!!" He screamed as he now gave chase to Naruto as he laughed his head off.

"What's 'cough' going on?" Hayate asked as he rubbed his eyes groggily.

"Who knows…Naruto just likes to piss people off sometimes." A voice behind him said, startling the Jonin.

Turning around he was met with a laughing Arashi while he watched Naruto run around with Getsurei on his tail. 'I didn't even feel him behind me…' He thought before he took in Arashi's full appearance. He had splinters on him in several places, and looked pretty beat up, like he had been training for a couple hours. 'Was he training? What could get him this worn out this early?'

After settling the soon to be Daimyo down and getting everything packed back up, the group once again found themselves walking the road they had been on the day before. Naruto and Hayate were on either side of Getsurei in a protective formation as Hinata and Arashi were up a couple feet, covering the front. As this was going on Naruto was keeping an eye on the two before him. The thoughts on what Hinata had told him had resurfaced and were swirling around in his mind once more. He searched his memories for any thing that could come close to what the revelation of this information would do to Arashi. But then Naruto started to feel an odd feeling, it was like a sort of frustration. 'What is this…' He thought as his gaze narrowed and he began to bore holes in Arashi's back with his glare. 'Is it…jealousy?'

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Somewhere in a dark and shadowy room a short man in the same grey cloak that Zankoji wears and metal contraption attached to his back, was kneeling before a figure hidden in the deep shadows of the room. "Zankoji set out this morning…he couldn't contain himself any longer. We tried to stop him, I'm sorry my Master." The man said while in his kneeled bow.

"It matters not…my plans will continue without fail. After all that Chain Freak is the weakest out of you three…let's see how he does." He then chuckled lightly, his voice full of malice. "If they can't defeat a person like Zankoji…" His grin grew large and could be seen from his position within the shadows, from his grin a small amount of light illuminated the shadow slightly. Where a Kumo headband could distinctly be seen. "What hope do they have against you, the strongest of the three…Oki…" The man kneeling light up in a grin at the sound of his name.

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Sorry for the short chapter, I've been really distracted with several other things so it took a while to get this chapter done. I recently got addicted the Tenjou Tenge so that was a distraction, and the Naruto Marathon…even thought it was the dub I couldn't help but watch. Also there is a link in my profile to what the Three Peaks look like, it's on my deviant art page!

Next time! The clash of Konoha and the Guards begin! A new jutsu is revealed! Judgment is questioned! And the Eyes of Hate open again!

Everyone review! If you've read any of my chapters you know I love reviews! So everyone review or you'll get hit with a cloud of C4!!

Jutsu List:

Doton: Tetskobushi no Jutsu – Doton: Iron Hand no Jutsu

Hyoton: Hyoken no Jutsu – Hyoton: Ice Sword Jutsu