Wow, this is me just back from college and the first thing I'm doing is posting this. Let me clarify, it is 12pm right now (midday), and I woke up at 4pm, yesterday. And yet I don't even feel like getting sleep, it's been a while since I've been like this. I've recently been considering ways to proerly introduce an OC, since I failed with Rika. Hopefully that's not the case here, and that I've learned from that. Let me know if I have, I need to learn how to properly use OCs anyway, so it would be a great help.

Disclaimer: Does anyone else see the insane amount of puppet-style fighters in Akatsuki? Sasori, Kakuzu, Pein, Deidara (after that god awful filler fight scene, it looked like a massive cumshot!), what's with that?


Final arrangements

"Naruto-sama, it is time." said one of the guards.

"Ok, thanks." Naruto replied, closing his door. The person before him looked to be a Chunin, judging by the flak jacket and slacks. He wore his forehead protector like a bandana, his dirty blond hair sticking out in clumps. He looked down at Naruto with tired eyes, though his stance showed the respect Naruto didn't feel he deserved.

"I'll take you there." the Chunin said, turning towards the stairs. Naruto nodded, before following him.

They descended several floors in silence, the Chunin slouching as he walked. Naruto gave the man an odd look, he seemed way too tired to be working.

"So what's your name?" Naruto asked, in an attempt to make conversation.

"Eh?" the Chunin muttered, looking back with a raised brow, "Oh, it's Deisuke."

"Nice to meet you Deisuke-san." Naruto said.

"Yeah, same to you Naruto-sama." Deisuke replied, turning his head back to the front.

"Hey, isn't Gaara-san coming with us?" Naruto asked, glancing up.

"Gaara-sama's already down there." Deisuke replied, "He was already waiting when the first team got there."

"Wow, somebody's eager."

Naruto nodded in agreement, it was obvious why. Chances were that Gaara was getting itchy fingers, anticipation for the war he'd been promised. He was having to settle for this at the moment, so he was probably keen to get straight into it.

"So do you know anything about what this meeting's about?" Naruto asked, with a curious look.

"You don't?" Deisuke countered, looking back with a serious expression. Naruto realised the implications of what he'd said, and hurriedly corrected himself.

"Well yeah, it's about Hanzo." he said, "I was just wondering what you know about it."

"Well, now that I know it's about Hanzo, I guess it's time to attack." Deisuke replied, looking forward once more.

"Damn, are all Ame nin this sneaky?" Naruto thought, with weary eyes.

They finished their descent several minutes later, when Naruto had lost all sense of space and no longer knew which floor he was on. They came out into what looked like a warehouse, though it seemed to be more like a large basement. There were several loose cables protruding from steel panels that ran in rows across the ground, as if there was supposed to be heavy machinery down here.

The place was very dark, even the light seemed to be but a shadow, coming from the weak bulbs high above. Along the walls, large vents were in place, creating a continuous groan of exhaustion as air was allowed to circulate, there really was no way to tell how deep down they were right now.

Off to the other side of the room, the light was the strongest. Four fluorescent tubes cast their headache inducing light upon the small stage along the wall. Around that stage, there were a crowd of what appeared to be ninja just like Deisuke. There were several wooden crates in that part of the room, all of which were being used as seats by some of the more weary Shinobi and Kunoichi. Deisuke looked at them all passively, but let out a sigh of relief.

"At least they didn't start without us." he commented, as he and Naruto made their way over to the crowd.

Almost everyone in the crowd glanced up at the two newcomers, most of them looking down at Naruto. They seemed surprised to see him, though they didn't seem to recognise him.

"Another kid?" one of the Kunoichi said, "What's going on here?"

"If you'll all take your places, I can answer that." replied a voice.

Konan stepped out from the side of the room, what she'd been doing there was anyone's guess. But everyone bowed down to her, suggesting that they at least knew who she was. She stepped up onto the stage, standing before a large, covered canvas and faced the crowd.

"The schedule has been pushed ahead, the attack will start two days from now." she said, looking around the faces that stared back at her.

"Two days?!" a Shinobi exclaimed, "But we're nowhere near ready! How do you expect us to manage?"

"Your roles have all changed." Konan explained, "None of you will be involved in the direct attack. You will all cause diversions over the village to distract the opposition."

Naruto shifted his way through the crowd, having spotted Gaara's gourd. He joined the red haired boy, who barely acknowledged his presence.

Konan turned around and pulled the tarpaulin aside, revealing a large map of Amegakure to occupy the canvas. On the map were several numbers, placed in seemingly random positions.

"It will be your goal to take out as many of the opposition as you can from these positions." Konan continued, "At each point is a safe house, where there are all the necessary tools you need in multitude. Stock up as much as you can, then use the flares inside that should attract the attention of Hanzo's soldiers while the main force makes the attack on Hanzo himself."

"Main forces?" Deisuke repeated, rubbing the back of his head, "Isn't that why we're here?"

"A change of circumstance." Konan replied, "Rather than an assault, Hanzo is to be assassinated."

The crowd tensed, looking up at Konan incredulously. Naruto noticed the peculiar reaction and looked around with a raised brow. Was there a reason that was such a surprise?

"Is that really possible?" called someone, "Who could do that?!"

Gaara folded his arms, closing his eyes. He seemed to be growing tired of the talking, and wanted to get on with it.

"I assume then, that it will be Pein-san who will be performing this task?" he asked, rhetorically, "We are only distractions… this is a waste of time."

He turned around and passed through the crowd, locking cold eyes with anyone who stood in his way. Naruto watched him in surprise, he seemed quite apathetic considering how early he showed up.

"Gaara-san." Konan called, looking straight at the boy, "Your teams position is placed in the most heavily guarded section, your team will most likely have the most enemies out of all."

Gaara stopped, looking over his shoulder. He didn't seem interested, but he was no longer leaving.

"Civilians?" he asked.

"As few as possible." Konan replied, "The attack is planned on the day of a festival, so most of the villagers will be out of the way."

It was impossible to tell if Gaara was glad of this fact or not, at least judging by his expression. But everyone in the room could feel his killer intent, it was enough to make them stare.

"Which team?" he asked, staring directly at Konan.

"Team Kohaku, number one." Konan replied, earning surprised looks from some of the crowd, but all of the remained silent.

Gaara glanced up at the map, focusing on the point marked with the number one. He then turned away, and left silently. As soon as he was gone, attention returned to Konan, with several bewildered looks.

"You're putting that kid in our team?!" demanded a disbelieving Kunoichi, "He'll die for sure!"

"Both Gaara-san and Naruto-san will be placed in your squad." Konan replied, "There is no discussion about it. You all have your orders, you will take position at midday of that day."

With that, she left the stage and disappeared back into the shadows. Naruto was left wondering just where she'd disappeared to, it didn't look like there was a door there, just another vent by the sound of things.

The crowd around began to disperse as most of the ninja took their leave. Four people stuck around, two of them with their eyes fixed on Naruto, who had the strange feeling he was to stay.

"So you and that other guy are gonna be on our team huh?" asked a muscular man with a shaved head. He sat on a crate with his elbow resting on his knee, and had the way of moving his lips like someone who smoked a lot of cigarettes, "What the hell's a kid like you doing involved in this?"

"Uh… well I…" Naruto stammered, taken aback by the welcoming.

"Watch you mouth Jirou." said another man, stepping out from behind a couple of stacked crates, "This kid works with Angel-sama."

Naruto stared at the man, and already knew who he must be. Those eyes were the same, a deep shade of blue that none of the others had.

He was an averaged height man, pretty plain build as well. But he had grey hair, with perhaps the slight tint of blue in it, that hung down his face messily. He had narrow eyes, and sickly looking skin, coupled with a weak chin covered in a thin layer of stubble. Like most of the people there, he looked quite tired, as if he'd been overworked.

"You sure about that?" asked Jirou, with a cocked brow, "This kid looks like he barely knows how to piss standing up!"

"Shut up Jirou." muttered a woman with long, black hair. She seemed to be sitting behind Jirou, with her back pressed against his. She also seemed to be sleeping, judging by how the back of her head was against his shoulder, "You don't want Kohaku to stab you, right?"

"For the last time, I don't stab people." Kohaku sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He then looked over at Naruto, before dropping his hand, "So you're Uzumaki Naruto right? The kid from Konohagakure?"

"Wait a minute, he's from Konoha?!" exclaimed a different man, who stepped forward with an aggressive look in his sharp brown eyes. His dark, gelled up hair shone slightly in the light, his broken nose and goatee made him look quite rough. He was by far the most muscular, and judging by his bare arms, quite hairy, "How the hell did a Konoha nin get in?"

"Easy Isamu." Kohaku said, raising his hands to calm the large man. But then he gave Naruto a hard look, "Though I'd like to know the answer to that as well."

"Oh, well… you see…" Naruto stammered, with his hand behind his head, "Technically, I'm not a Shinobi. I never actually graduated."

He suddenly began to feel nervous as three pairs of bulging eyes stared at him, the woman seemed to be asleep again.

"You never graduated." Jirou repeated, his brow raised in disbelief, "So then that makes you a civilian."

"If Angel-sama gave him that headband, he's a ninja." Kohaku sighed, "Soon her word will be law anyway, so it might as well be accepted now."

"Damn it, I don't like this." Isamu muttered, sitting next to Jirou in a hunched position, "Hey kid, you better not hold us back."

"Uh… I'll do my best." Naruto nervously replied. His words seemed to have the opposite effect of what he intended though, he seemed to rather annoy them in fact.

"Tch, "You'll do your best"?" Jirou repeated, pressing his palms against his knees. He then began pushing himself to his feet, "That's it-"

Thud.

"HEY ASSHOLE WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING!" the woman yelled, propping herself up on her elbow and glaring. Naruto couldn't help but marvel at her pretty face and crimson eyes, they were like rubies.

"Sorry Haruka." Jirou said, wincing. Haruka muttered a few curses to herself before rolling onto her side and closing her eyes again, "Anyway, I want you to hit me with your best shot."

This time everyone winced as a dull thump filled the air, soon followed by Jirou's groans of pain.

"Sorry, thought you were talking to me." Haruka said, though by her twitching brow it seemed she had other motivation.

"Damn it… Haruka…" Jirou gasped, collapsing to the ground with his hands between his thighs. Kohaku pinched the bridge of his nose again, sighing once more.

"Haruka…" he said, in a no nonsense tone.

"Yeah yeah." Haruka muttered, waving her hand obnoxiously.

"Guess I'll take the shot." Isamu muttered, getting to his feet, "Come on kid, show me what you got."

Naruto, who was still tense from the sudden attack by Haruka, looked at Isamu bewilderedly.

"You want me to hit you?" he asked, unsure of what was going on.

"Hit me, throw a shuriken, use a Jutsu, I don't care." Isamu replied with a shrug, "Just try not to trip over your own feet."

Naruto looked warily at Kohaku, who had so far tried to keep order. But in this case, he just leant against the stacked crates and folded his arms.

"It's best you get this over with." he advised, "Don't let their attitudes fool you, they really are this stupid."

Naruto was a little shocked by the cruel words he had passed to his own team mates. Because of that, he missed Isamu and Haruka's smirks, which would have told him that it had been a joke. As it was, he was left to take on a stance, and look uneasily at the golem before him.

He hesitated, still trying to figure out if he should go through with this. But from the looks he was receiving from both Isamu and Kohaku, plus the small pool of drool dripping from Jirou's gaping mouth, these guys were pretty brutal. In the end, he knew he'd have to go through with it.

"So, you gonna use me, or Kage Bunshin?"

Naruto didn't answer, though he already knew what he would say. He was pretty confident with his Kenjutsu, but he knew he was nowhere near perfect. Plus, this guy wasn't exactly a lightweight, he looked like he was used to getting in close and personal. Kage Bunshin didn't really count as a single attack either, using them would only result in a counterattack he was sure he'd feel for a while. That left only one choice. He clasped his hands, and channelled his chakra.

"Futon: Reppusho!" he called, pushing forward with his hands. The blast of wind was strong, since he was only a few metres away he could focus on the power of the attack. The gale blasted straight at Isamu, who didn't even flinch as he was struck by it. Dust billowed in every direction, and the stacked crate shifted slightly from the wind that got past the target. But Isamu stood straight, not moving even an inch. The gust subsided, leaving only an annoyed Haruka with her hands over her head. Isamu barked out a laugh.

"Futon huh?" he asked rhetorically, "Been a while since I was hit with that. Didn't do very much though, is that really your best attack?"

"I'm gonna kill that kid!" Haruka growled, pushing herself up slightly.

"Easy Haruka, calm down." Kohaku said, straightening himself up, "We got what he wanted. We'll use him as bait."

"Bait? Ha!"

"What the hell's that supposed to mean?!" Naruto exclaimed, stepping forward. He then blinked, wondering where that outburst had come from. Isamu seemed curious too, judging by his cocked brow.

"Looks like the kid's got some fire after all." he commented, "But he's just a scrawny little shrimp!"

"Scrawny little shrimp!"

Naruto blinked again, as he was hit with a strange sense of déjà vu. But he shook it off, looking straight at Kohaku.

"I got more than that!" he said, forming a hand seal, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

He summoned three clones around him, all of them holding the same seal as he was. He looked at the elder ninja for their reactions, and was definitely satisfied. Even Jirou looked up, his brow raised in surprise.

"He can use the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu?" Isamu said, his surprise evident, "Isn't that a Kinjutsu?"

"Yeah, from what I hear." Kohaku replied, stepping forward, "And he can summon three, that's pretty impressive."

"Pfft, I can make more than three." Naruto muttered, folding his arms with an annoyed look.

"More?" Kohaku repeated, with a sceptical look, "You shouldn't push yourself, more is too dangerous."

"Oh yeah?! Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto called, engulfing the room with smoke.

The four Ame nin began coughing loudly, there wasn't enough circulation in here for the smoke to properly dissipate.

"I am gonna kill. That. Kid!" Haruka growled again, squinting through the fog. But like the others, her jaw soon dropped as the smoke slowly cleared. There were easily over a hundred Naruto's filling the room, all of them grinning broadly at the four in the middle.

"How d'ya like that?" the clones asked in perfect unison.

Kohaku and the others all stared around, awestruck at the sudden masses. Even Haruka seemed wide awake, looking around dumbly as she tried to work out what she was seeing.

"Ok… so the kid's got a lot of chakra." Isamu commented, with a perplexed expression.

"That's more than a lot." Kohaku replied, with the same look, "It's too many, he shouldn't have this much chakra."

He turned his gaze, somehow locking eyes with the real Naruto. He looked sternly, folding his arms again.

"I think you've got some explaining to do." he said, in a strict tone.

Naruto's grin turned into a nervous laugh, as he suddenly got another feeling of déjà vu. The clones all disappeared, and once again smoke filled the room.

"Uh… how do I put this?" he said, with a slight sweat.

"You just had to show off."

* * * * *

"… So Angel-sama is enlisting the help of these "Jinchuriki" then?" Kohaku asked, before sighing, "This could be a problem."

"What a pain." Haruka grumbled, resting her head on Jirou's shoulder.

"So then that other guy is one too?" Jirou asked, not daring to move lest he instilled Haruka's fury again, "Damn, he looked like he really wanted to kill somebody."

"I dunno, I'm not buying it." Isamu said, folding his arms. He and his team mates all sat on the crates, while Naruto sat on one that had been placed down not far in front by a couple of Kage Bunshin, "What are the odds of one Jinchuriki finding another?"

"Better if it was planned." Kohaku replied, scratching his chin, "Angel-sama wouldn't have sent him out without a lead. If it needed to be Naruto-san here, then I wouldn't be surprised if she took every precaution."

Naruto, who had the strange feeling he had just been insulted, looked between the four with an interested expression. It looked like they had been a team for a while, judging by how close they were. Was that because of their personalities, or was it the way things just ended up? Either way, he couldn't shake the sense that this scene was somehow familiar to him, since he knew no one like these four. Well, Isamu was a little like Kisame, but not enough to properly compare.

"Whatever, so he comes with an army." Haruka said, before yawning loudly, "So he acts as a distraction while we take out the enemy."

"That would be the best plan." Kohaku agreed, "Though the problem with Kage Bunshin is that chakra gets divided equally, so the more he has, the weaker he is."

"So what?" Haruka asked, "If the enemy thinks they're surrounded, they're still gonna panic."

"Yeah, but it only gives us a short window." Kohaku replied, "Once they work out what's going on, we could lose our advantage."

"Geez, it almost sounds like you don't wanna survive." Isamu muttered, his jaw sitting in his hand, "Lighten up would ya? We're not even in battle yet."

Kohaku shook his head, a look of exasperation on his face.

"So you want to save planning for when we're in the middle of a war zone?" he asked, "You can never prepare enough. Our advantage lies in the fact that our opponent isn't expecting us, but that's only a fleeting grace. We need to milk it for all it's worth."

"Alright!" Haruka groaned, slouching forward with her arms on her knees, "So Jirou scouts out beforehand, we'll find the guards positions and lay traps. Since we're a distraction, we don't want to take them out too quick. We want them to be able to alert other patrols, but not too many that we're overwhelmed. So we'll only take out the guards who move in close formation, and any large groups."

"Assuming that patrols won't change because of the festival, that's fine." Kohaku replied, "We all know our roles, but what about Naruto-san and Gaara-san?"

"Kid, you got anything else up your sleeve?" Haruka asked, looking at Naruto with tired eyes, "Just those two?"

"Well, I got this." Naruto replied, turning so they could see Ekokaeten.

"A katana huh?" Isamu noted, "Then his Kage Bunshin will have it is well, that makes a hundred sword wielders."

"What about the other one?" Haruka asked, lazily.

"Uh, he uses sand." Naruto replied. Haruka looked at him expectantly, waiting for more, "Well uh… he uses it kinda like a Suiton type ninja uses water, expect he crushes stuff with it. It also gives him a fast acting shield that's hard to break through."

"Ok, mid to long range." Haruka muttered, "Since it's sand, we'll need to hope it doesn't rain. If it does, he'll need to cover the buildings and stay inside, which isn't much good if the enemy stays outside… Alright, if it rains, it'll be your job to watch over him. If it doesn't you two stick together, you'll be acting as bait."

"Damn it…" Naruto thought, though decided against voicing that statement.

"I'll work out anything else later, I'm going home." Haruka said, getting up and leaving.

"All right, see you later then." Kohaku replied, nodding at her back, "I guess that pretty much covers everything."

Jirou and Isamu nodded, before getting up and taking their leave as well. Naruto and Kohaku were left on their own, but Naruto had the feeling he was still to stay. When the others left through the door, Kohaku spoke again.

"Pein-sama summoned me a few days ago." he said, looking Naruto in the eye, "He asked me something very personal. You wouldn't happen to know what that was?"

Naruto's brow raised at Kohaku's question. From what he had guessed, the people working for Pein all believed Konan to be their leader, suggesting they knew little about Pein. But Kohaku not only knew of him, he had spoken with him. And about a personal subject.

"Could that be… Rika-chan and Yuuka-chan?" Naruto wondered, as he considered that option. If the truth was based on what Naruto knew of the Sakai family, then that would be the only answer. But in this case, he couldn't say why Kohaku was asking him about this.

"I don't know." he replied, "Why?"

"It's nothing, forget about it." Kohaku replied, turning to the door, "Meet us down here tomorrow morning, and bring Gaara-san. We'll run a drill."

"I don't know if Gaara-san will come, but I'll definitely be there." Naruto replied, with a smile and a nod. Kohaku returned it, minus the smile, before he began making his way out, "Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead." Kohaku replied, pausing and looking back.

"Most of the guards here have been calling me "Naruto-sama"." Naruto explained, "I'm not conceited or anything, but I was wondering-"

"You were wondering why we're not on our knees, praising your footsteps?" Kohaku finished, "Respect is something you earn. In battle, your team is your family, it doesn't matter about your blood or heritage. You fight for them, and you better be willing to lose blood for them. If you can't do that, then you've got no place in our regard. And absolutely, under no circumstances, is your life worth more than your comrades. Don't ever forget that."

Naruto stared at Kohaku, his eyes wide as he was filled with a strange feeling. He should have felt frightened, or at least worried by the way he was being looked at, but he wasn't. This man, he was so cool. He was the kind of person Naruto wanted to be just like, strong, confident and determined.

Kohaku looked ahead and continued on his way, but stopped again as Naruto spoke.

"That's great!" he said, feeling a fire in his gut, "That's fine with me!"

Kohaku looked back again, showing his surprise. It didn't seem he was expecting that response, he looked unsure of how he was supposed to react.

"You're fine with that?" he asked, disbelieving.

"Hell yeah!" Naruto replied, getting to his feet, "Don't doubt it!"

Kohaku stared a few seconds longer, before shaking his head with a weak smile.

"Fine, have it your way." he said, as he headed again for the door, "See you tomorrow kid."

"Right!" Naruto replied, nodding with a confident smirk. Kohaku disappeared through the door, and Naruto was left staring at the wall.

"… You really look like an idiot right now."

Naruto's hands dropped to his sides, his expression falling.

"Not even then…" he muttered, with a depressed look, "You couldn't let me have that, could you?"

"That's just the way it goes."

"… Bastard…