Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Word of Honor

Chapter 37: Team 7 Reunites

Tsunade tapped the end of a pencil against her desk as she read over the paper before her for a second time. While she'd accepted her position as Hokage and had been trying to implement her new medical program, there was a surprising amount of opposition to her idea. Money, current lack of the medical teaching supplies she was requesting, and various other complaints. If anyone had told her that it would be this difficult, she wouldn't have thought much of it. Now, she'd be the first to say that politics were just a headache.

Hearing a knock at her door, she groaned. "Yes?"

There was a jiggling of the door handle as though someone was trying to open the door, without much success. A small yelp drew Tsunade's attention away from her paper. Recognizing the voice, she quickly scrambled out of her chair. Pulling open the door, she looked down to see Shizune on her hands and knees trying to pick up the stack of files she'd dropped trying to open the door.

"Shizune, you really need to stop doing stuff like this." Tsunade muttered.

"I-It's fine." Shizune said, frantically trying to replace the papers to their respective folders. "I'm just not used to carrying so many folders at once."

Tsunade sighed tiredly. "Here let me –"

"Yosh! Allow me to assist you youthful Shizune-san!"

Before Tsunade could help Shizune, Maito Gai suddenly blurred into existence next to Shizune. While Tsunade took a step back in surprise, Gai sped around Shizune, picking up and refilling the folders before their eyes. Shizune held up the only folder she'd managed to fully put back together as she stood, shifting nervously as she saw Gai easily holding all of the other files. "Um, thank you Gai-san."

"Don't mention it Shizune-san." Gai said, smiling widely. Shizune blinked in surprise when she noticed a flicker of light reflect off his teeth. "I was simply doing what any other person in their Springtime of Youth would do." Turning to Tsunade, he gave her a quick salute. "Maito Gai, reporting for duty."

"Ah yes, thank you Gai." Tsunade motioned him and Shizune in, requiring both for her next meeting. Once she was seated behind her desk once more, she addressed Gai slowly. "Gai, I understand that you have two students currently on active duty?"

"Yes Tsunade-sama. My most youthful students, Tenten and Neji, are still ready for their active duty." Becoming more sober, he softly continued. "My youthful student, Rock Lee, has not yet been healed so as to return to training and missions as well."

"I see." Tsunade said, motioning for Gai to bring over the folders. Flipping through the files, Tsunade began to scowl. "Okay, I know I asked for this file. Where's the stupid file at?"

Shizune flinched, holding out the one folder she'd picked up. "Tsunade-sama?"

Tsunade paused in her flipping, gently taking the folder from Shizune and opening it. "Thank you Shizune. Now Gai-san, there is a special mission we have need of your assistance with. According to several reports we've received from our ally, Kusagakure no Sato, there have been several cases of their shinobi vanishing. I'm sending you as backup for the tracking team I'm sending to check the area."

"Yosh! I will perform my duty with the full strength of my Springtime of Youth!" Gai said vigorously. A few seconds later though, his expression became stone-like, crossing his arms over his chest as he addressed an issue he'd recognized earlier. "You asked my about my students. Is there something I should know?"

Tsunade nodded, pulling out a separate folder from her pile. "I need to utilize my resources as effectively as possible right now. Your student, Hyuuga Neji, received high marks from the Chunin Exam judges, but only in terms of skill. As such, I'm sending the two of them with a chunin leader on a C-ranked mission to take out a group of thugs who've set themselves up near the boarder."

Gai nodded, flipping through the file. "And you're informing so that I'll know where my students may be when I return?"

"Yes." Tsunade said, taking the file from Gai and handing him his chart instead. "I need you to meet up with your team, and get going as soon as possible. I'll be getting your students in here tomorrow to debrief them on their mission. You're dismissed."

Gai saluted Tsunade, quickly going out the door to find the team he'd be working with. A few seconds later, a new person walked in. "You wanted to see me Tsunade-sama?"

"Ah, Kakashi. Yes, please come in." Tsunade said, motioning him in.

Kakashi stepped in, looking from Tsunade to Shizune. "How can I help you Tsunade-sama?"

"I need you to do something for me." Tsunade said, tapping her desk hesitantly. "Of the rookie teams, you're the only jonin who had two members promoted. You also requested to take some time to train your third member, while one of your team, Uzumaki Naruto, was out on a mission." The corners of her mouth twitched upwards. "Searching for me, ironically enough."

Kakashi nodded. "Yes Tsunade-sama, this is true."

"Good to know." Tsunade said, pausing in mid tap before continuing. "I have a mission I need for you to perform."

-xxxxx-

Sasuke sat on the railing on the bridge where Team 7 normally met, fiddling with a set of bandages wrapped around his right arm. After everything he'd gone through training-wise with Anko, he'd learned that having protective gear of any sort meant he'd be able to cut down on the many times he got bitten by whatever snake she happened to summon in her strange method of helping him train.

Kicking his legs, he tested the weight of the shin guards he'd hidden under his pant legs, remembering how many times they had saved him from being poisoned. He'd thought about adding his chunin vest to help protect his torso, but several training sessions had shown him that it inhibited his movement just enough to frustrate him. And as he'd had it forcibly beaten into him by Anko, him being frustrated meant he made mistakes.

Taking a moment to quickly stretch, he shifted his eyes to the far side of the bridge with a look of curiosity. Slowly, it shifted to a superior smirk as he noted who was walking down the bridge towards him. Hopping down from his perch, he raised his hand in greeting. "Hey there Sakura."

"Oh, hi Sasuke-kun." Sakura said with bright smile, returning his wave with gusto. "How have you been?"

"I've been good, I suppose." Sasuke said, flashing back to the different training exercise's he'd been doing. He winced as he remembered the more brutal styled training regiment Anko had put him through. "I've been learning a lot over the last two months. How about you?"

"I've been learning a lot since the Chunin Exams ended." Sakura said, looking away sheepishly. "It's been a different experience, training for so long, so hard every day. I've really gained a respect for people who dedicate their lives to training."

Sasuke nodded, taking his first good look at Sakura for the first time since the end of the preliminaries. While he hadn't thought much of it, he had noticed that there was a distinct lack of her presence following him around while he trained. Taking a good look at her now, he realized that she'd changed. A lot.

She was wearing her hiate as a headband like normal, with the red cloth she normally kept it a part of. The red dress she normally wore was slightly darker in shade, and had the sleeves rolled up to reveal her arms. To his surprise, it looked like her muscles were more predominant; not in a body builder sort of way, but more of a 'I've been working out' sort of way. The pieces of her clothing that had once been a green color were now black, making her look like she'd stand out less in the middle of the forest. She'd still stand out, but less. Similar to him, she'd gotten a pair of shin guards; unlike him, she also added a forearm guards as well to help protect her limbs. All in all, she looked like a serious, focused shinobi.

"You look…good." Sasuke said, finishing looking her over. To further compound his surprise, she didn't look quite as flustered as she might've been two months ago. While there was a small tint of red on her cheeks when she'd realized he was looking her over, that was the extent of her reaction. Sasuke chuckled. "You look like a serious kunochi."

"Thank you. You look good yourself." Sakura replied, her blush quickly fading away.

Sasuke grinned, leaning against the railing again. "Thanks." His eyes flitted from Sakura to the area behind her as a smirk crossed his face. "Hey, did you hear about the people who got promoted to chunin? Pretty cool stuff huh?"

Sakura nodded. "Yeah, I heard you and Shikamaru got promoted. Congratulations."

"Wait, you just heard about me and Shikamaru?" Sasuke asked, holding back a snort of laughter. "Don't you know there were other people who got promoted too?"

"Wait, really?" Sakura blinked in confusion. "Who else got promoted?"

"Hey guys." A surprisingly tired sounding Naruto called out from behind Sakura.

Sakura turned around to face, a surprisingly bright smile considering who she was about to talk to. "Hey Naruto, how…are…you…"

She trailed off, looking over Naruto in confusion. The only pieces of his outfit from the Chunin Exams that he was wearing were his sleeveless orange haori, his hiate belt, and his goggles. From what she could see, Naruto wasn't wearing the jumpsuit Lee and Gai wore, though he also wasn't wearing a shirt either. In place of the jumpsuit, he wore a pair of near skintight pants that were similar to Kakashi's, and his chunin vest with a high collar on the vest to help defend his neck.

Sakura's mind blanked as she quickly processed the one part she was shocked by; Naruto had a chunin vest.

"Oh my gosh, you got promoted?" Sakura said happily. Whatever happiness she had quickly left though as she realized something. "Aw man, now I'm the only one who's not promoted."

"Don't worry Sakura-chan, we'll help you get promoted at the next Chunin Exam's." Naruto said optimistically. Turning to Sasuke, he grinned. "Won't we Sasuke?"

"Did you say something?" Sasuke asked, ignoring whatever Naruto said out of habit.

A vein on Naruto's forehead bulged out overdramatically. "Hey, I'm trying to help support Sakura-chan. Try and stay focus."

Sasuke looked between Sakura and Naruto in confusion. "What? What'd I miss?"

"I just left a scene like this a couple minutes ago."

Sakura spun around, surprise evident by her expression. "K-Kakashi-sensei! You're early!"

"I'm early?" Kakashi asked, looking around with a mystified look in his one visible eye. "I could've sworn I arrived on time."

"Yeah but, you never arrive on time." Sasuke said, scrutinizing Kakashi carefully.

Kakashi looked between his students, noting the suspicious looks each of them were giving him. Raising his hands in surrender, he laughed lightheartedly. "Hey guys, no need to be suspicious. Tsunade-sama asked me to run a quick team exercise to see how everyone's improved in the last two months." Reaching into his pouch, he pulled out a pair of bells. "Look familiar?"

Upon seeing the bells, the three youth scowled. None of them had a fond memory to remember involving the bells beyond their becoming genin. Naruto shifted uncomfortably, having had the most painful experience of the three with Kakashi using the Sennen Goroshi (One Thousand Years of Death) on him.

"Oh good, you do remember." Kakashi said cheerily. Holding up an alarm clock, he grinned beneath his mask. "Then you remember the rule of engagement, right?"

"Yeah, we remember." Naruto muttered, eyes never leaving the bells as they swung back and forth. He was determined to get a bell this time around, and now he had actual skill to back himself up with.

Plus, after the mental overload he'd recently received, having a viable outlet for his frustration and confusion would do him some good.

"Great. We'll meet at the training ground we held this on previously." Kakashi said happily. With a flourish of the bells and quick wave, he burst into smoke.

Sakura turned from the bridge, taking a brief glance behind her to look between where Kakashi had been and where the training grounds were. "Hey guys? Isn't that training ground on the other side of the village?"

Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other, giving each other a wide eyed glance. Both cursing loudly, they began to race to the training ground as quickly as they could, with Sakura hot on their heels.

-xxxxx-

"You're late."
The members of Team 7 grimaced at Kakashi's horrible sense of humor, knowing good and well that they'd lost time since they'd had to run across the village to get there.

"Bite me." Naruto muttered under his breath, the least winded of the three.

Kakashi raised his visible eyebrow at Naruto's statement. "Do you know what that means?"

"No, but I know it's supposed to be mean." Naruto replied.

Kakashi nodded. "Okay then. Now that you're finally here, let's –"

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique)!"

"…begin."

Naruto's three clones surged forwards, doing what Naruto was originally best known for as they blindly charged forward. In the mean time, Naruto grabbed his teammates by their collars and gave them a light tug towards the forest. He'd worked mainly with his clones, but since they'd had time to have a brief team planning on their way there, they understood.

Kakashi watched in interest as the three of them ducked into the forest, dodging around the clones as they ducked and weaved in and out of his strike zone. 'Well I'll be, Naruto's really grown up since he became a genin. Of course, being a chunin will be a whole other game to play, but I'm glad to see he's improved.'

Meanwhile, Naruto stopped a short ways away, looking back over his shoulder as his two teammates landed besides him. "Okay…what do we know about Kakashi-sensei?"

Sasuke and Sakura exchanged glances, both knowing they weren't going to like how they odds were currently stacked against them. Finally, Sakura spoke. "He's an elite jonin, one of the finest members of Konoha's forces. He has a Sharingan in his left eye, and has used it to copy over one thousand jutsu's. He knows a variety of taijutsu styles, is definitely strong, and is faster then Lee was with his weights off."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the last pieces of information. "I don't remember seeing him use that much taijutsu when he fought all of us."

"He taught me a few things when I asked him to help me improve." Sakura said, restraining a small wince as she remembered how that had gone down. "He was brutal, but the results speak for themselves."

Naruto grinned. "What did he teach you?"

Back with Kakashi, things were not going quite as easily as he thought they would. Granted, he was still going pretty easy on Naruto's clones, but he was currently fighting at the level he'd originally used against Sasuke which was a single step above where he'd been before. The main issue he currently had was that whenever he'd think he'd get a grip on one of them, one of the others would break his grip and they'd back away while the third covered them. Short spaced hit and run tactics; something that no one else could claim to be capable of since to do so would be borderline suicidal.

"Okay Naruto, the kid gloves are off." Kakashi muttered. Reaching to either side of himself, he gripped two of the Naruto's collars and yanked them towards one another. With a crash of their heads, they disappeared into a cloud of smoke. The third Naruto tried to capitalize on this opening, only to find himself running straight into Kakashi's foot. "Now that the distractions are gone, it's time to find the real you."

Heading off into the woods, Kakashi had little difficulty following their scent to where his team was hiding. They weren't quite as conspicuous as they had been the first time they'd done this, but it was still too easy. And they were still discussing their plans, something he'd be sure to take advantage of disrupting.

Leaping down behind them, he looked behind Naruto. Naruto, unaware of his presence, kept talking. "And then we'll sneak up and grab the bells. Kakashi-sensei won't know what hit him." Sasuke and Sakura stared up at Kakashi, ignoring what Naruto had said in favor of being properly concerned about what was behind him. "Oh come one guys, it's a great plan. I mean he won't even see it come…ing…he's right behind me isn't he?"

"Yo."

Naruto yelped, spinning around only to fall onto his butt. He and the other two looked like they were so startled they couldn't speak. When Kakashi smirked in his small victory though, they all started laughing. That in and of itself was strange, but what was truly strange was how they seemed to match each others laugh.

By the time Kakashi realized what was wrong, Sasuke and Sakura had already revealed themselves to be shadow clones, and all three of them had begun to blow themselves up with Bunshin Bakuha (Clone Explosion). Only a timely use of the Kawarimi (Body Replacement) kept Kakashi from singing his eyebrows.

"What the hell?" Kakashi muttered. That particular kind of tactic was potentially lethal, and was not at all what he'd been expecting.

"What's the matter Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto's voice echoed from all around him, though Kakashi quickly picked where he was hiding. "I thought one of the rules was come at you with the intent to kill?"

Kakashi laughed sheepishly. "Ah, that's right. But then, you guys didn't really have lethal attacks like that back then."

Sasuke charged out of the underbrush, spitting out balls of fire as he went. Kakashi ducked around the fire, moving in to stop Sasuke's barrage. By the time Sasuke realized what Kakashi was doing, it was too late. Kakashi drew back his fist, swung it forwards…

…only for Sasuke to disappear into a burst of smoke and a strange new weight to suddenly weigh down his arm.

"I'm gonna win Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said, grinning from his position on Kakashi's arm. Using Kakashi's arm as a pivoting point, he swung his leg viciously into Kakashi's head. Kakashi had barely a second to block it before, he had to twist his arm awkwardly to block the second kick Naruto attempted to strike him with. Drawing his arm away from blocking to strike back at Naruto, he felt the weight transfer from his first arm to his blocking arm a second before a fist managed to hit him in the face.

For Naruto and his team, that was by far the last thing they expected to happen. After all, Kakashi was nigh untouchable during their fight with him; they were amazed to think that they'd really grown so much. So, instead of utilizing that momentary advantage they'd gained, they all stared at Kakashi with wide eyes.

Kakashi scowled, reminding them of what they were supposed to be doing. "Okay, maybe I should stop underestimating you guys." Reaching up, he lifted his hiate that usually covered his left eye, revealing his Sharingan in all its glory. "Let's try that again, shall we?"

Naruto didn't bother responding, racing forwards as quickly as he could. He'd already activated his Sokusensokketsu no Jutsu (Blitzkrieg Technique), so his speed was fast enough to disappear from his teammates sights. To Kakashi, he saw exactly what Naruto was doing, and made to intercept him before he did so. Naruto skid to a halt when he felt Kakashi's presence in front of him, and it was only thanks to his nerve-enhancing technique gave him the moment he needed to bend over backwards to avoid the kick that swept over his head.

Unable to get away, Naruto was forced to engage in close quarters combat with his sensei. Kakashi, being the better taijutsu user, quickly had him backing away from his sensei in an attempt to get more space. Dodging and weaving, Naruto managed to avoid the brunt of the strikes. Not enough to keep him safe by any stretch of the imagination, but enough to allow his teammates some leeway for the next part of their plan.

"Katon: Orochi no Goukakyuu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Grand Fireball of the Eight-Headed Snake Technique)!"

Kakashi paused in his assault, turning to look to where the voice had come from. His eyes widened in surprise as a giant fireball came rushing towards him. The really strange part though, was that instead of simply being a flaming ball of death, it looked to be a mass of serpents intertwining themselves one with another as they raced forwards. Giving Naruto a quick glance, he leapt out of the way of the technique. Before he'd gotten too far, one of the heads seemed to break off from the ball and lash out towards him. With the timely usage of the Kawarimi though, he managed to avoid the flaming snake of death. 'Looks like Anko's been giving him more pointers then I thought.'

Meanwhile, Naruto took a moment to catch his breath. Now standing next to Sasuke, he turned to give him an odd look. "What the heck was that?"

"That was a variant of my grand fireball. If they escape the initial fire, then one of the snakes will break off and try to get them." Sasuke said smugly, knowing that he'd almost gotten a hit on Kakashi. Chuckling nervously, he admitted, "It's got a short range though, so I leave myself open if they dodge and try to counterattack."

"I figured that." Naruto muttered, pointing to where he'd once been standing. "I want to know what that was! How did I go from there to here?"

"Oh that." Sasuke muttered, waving his hand flippantly. "That's not important right now. Right now, it's time to see if we can make Kakashi-sensei bleed."

Sasuke paused, noting his action, and what he'd just said. '…you've got to be kidding me. I'm saying things, and making actions like her too?' Noting Naruto's fuming expression, he hid a smirk. 'Hm, then again, I can see why she finds if fun now.'

"You certainly have gotten better you two." Kakashi said from behind them. Both of them flinched as they slowly turned to look up to him. "But then, I swore you both knew what this exercise was about by now. It seems I'm going to have to remind –"

"Sharrano!"

Kakashi looked upwards, expecting to see Sakura falling from the treetops. Instead, he felt a pain from his left hip, where he'd clearly been hit from behind. Turning to face Sakura, he lashed out with a fierce side-kick that made her fly back through the trees. In that moment, he left himself wide open to Naruto and Sasuke.

A now somewhat familiar weight gripped Kakashi's back, gripping him by the shoulder so as to keep them apart while his legs wrapped around his waist. Before Kakashi could get Naruto off, Sasuke had already begun moving, slamming his fist into Kakashi's stomach. It didn't have nearly enough power behind it though, which left Sasuke open to the heel of Kakashi's foot, which sent him into a tree. Hopping back, Kakashi pinned Naruto between himself and another tree. Hearing the yelp of surprise and the loosening of the arms around him, Kakashi swung around and pinned Naruto to the tree with his forearm.

"Not bad Naruto, but you're still missing the point." Kakashi scolded.

Naruto chuckled, the sound coming out hoarse and raspy. "Nope."

"We already have the bells Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi blinked, turning around to see Sakura and Sasuke grinning with a bell in their hands, bouncing them lightly. Despite how they seemed to be bouncing the bells, there was no sound coming from them. Frowning, he listened for other outside noises.

When he began to realize he couldn't hear any of the outside noises, Sakura grinned. "What's the matter Kakashi-sensei? Missing something?"

"Ketsuraku Onkan no Jutsu (Missing Sense of Sound Technique)." Kakashi groaned. It was a technique he'd taught Sakura at her request, to help defend her against Oto shinobi who used techniques like Dosu had used during the preliminaries. Shortly after he'd taught her the technique, she'd taken to the technique like a fish to water, and had shown him several times that with the natural control she had, it was rather difficult to tell when she'd cast it.

"Yep!" Sakura said, looking quite pleased with herself.

Letting Naruto fall to the ground, Kakashi checked himself for the bells to ensure that it wasn't another genjutsu. After going through the normal methods of dispelling genjutsu, and only hearing the sounds around him returning, he conceded to his students. "Alright, that wasn't half bad. When did you get the chance to put the genjutsu on me Sakura?"

"When you used the Kawarimi to avoid Sasuke's fireball." Sakura replied.

Nodding he tapped where the bells had once been curiously. "And the bells?"

"When I kicked you, Sasuke grabbed them from your belt."

"So, when he punched me?" Kakashi asked, turning to Sasuke.

Sasuke looked away sheepishly. "Uh, before that. I just didn't want to be the only one who couldn't say that I've hit you in a fight."

Kakashi and the rest of the team had a sweat drop of disbelief. Had this come from Naruto, they might've believed it; to hear it from Sasuke, it just sounded surreal.

Shaking off his disbelief, Kakashi motioned for the bells back. "Okay guys, you did great. Much better then you first did." Once he had the bells back, he lowered his hiate over his Sharingan eye. "Now, I want you to tell me what your thoughts are about this test."

"When we weren't acting on our own, we were able to get the bells much faster, and without as much problems." Sakura said first.

Sasuke went next. "Since we know more tricks, had more experience, and more about each others tricks, we didn't second guess what we could do."

They all turned to Naruto, who seemed to be much deeper in thought. After a couple of minutes, he finally spoke. "We need to get stronger, if we want to win without almost losing a member of out team."

There was a moment of silence as they took in what he'd said. After a couple of seconds, Kakashi sighed. 'Naruto, you're truly becoming more like your father every day.' Smiling beneath his mask, he chuckled lightly. 'I have no doubt that you'll be able to do exactly what you want.'

"Alright then," Kakashi said with a clap of his hands. "Now that we're done with that warm up, time for you guys to go get yourselves a mission." Pointing to Sakura, he continued. "You on the other hand, are going to come with me on a few D-ranked missions today."

Sakura blinked, before groaning loudly in frustration. Sasuke and Naruto patted her gently on her shoulder before skipping out to head off to the Hokage's Tower. It was a good day to be a chunin.

-xxxxx-

Hidden away from the city, Izo tapped the arm of his chair angrily. He'd been waiting patiently for the last two months for a report on a small project he'd initiated. While it wasn't uncommon for them to take their time getting back, this particular project was time sensitive.

"Izo-sama."

Izo slowly turned to face the man he'd sent out, a smirk on his face as he recognized who it was. "Ah Ichigo, you have finally returned. What news do you bring?"

Ichigo stepped forwards, a skull-like mask over his face revealed as he stepped forwards and kneeled before Izo. "I apologize for how long I was away, however I had to ensure that my mark didn't recognize what had been done."

Izo nodded slowly. "So, how is our Hyuuga?"

Ichigo smirked. "He's completely unaware of my tampering. I even had time to place the sealing array on the back of his hiate, to ensure that we'll be able to cover all of our bases for this experiment."

Izo nodded. It was expected for all of those who worked under him that they make sure that nothing could go wrong. And with what he'd had Ichigo do, there could be no room for error. If there was an error, the results would likely be catastrophic. "And the original seals condition?"

"Since I placed the seal at the end of the Chunin Exam's, I have yet to see any complications." Ichigo answered.

"Good." Izo muttered. Tapping the armrest of his chair rapidly, he thought over their next course of action. "And how long until we can activate the seal?"

"I'd say a week, maybe a week and a half." Ichigo said, mentally going over how long it might take. "If you want, I can follow him to ensure that when I activate the seal he reacts on time."

"Do that. I want no mistakes from this." Izo said, giving Ichigo a small wave. "You're dismissed."

Ichigo bowed lower, before making his way out. Just before he'd completely left, he ran into a familiar face; a familiar half a face, since the lower half of his face was covered. "Hello Yuudai, how's the hunt?"

Yuudai growled at Ichigo. "Piss off Ichigo. I've got a report to give."

"I'll take that as a 'no', and 'the trails gone cold'." Ichigo said in a smug tone.

Yuudai's growl grew as Ichigo bumped past him, scowling under his facemask as he heard Ichigo chuckle. Marching to Izo, he fell quickly to his knees and bowed to Izo. "I have returned Izo-sama."

"I see that." Izo said, his voice lowering threateningly. "How has the search for Tadao been going?"

"We've made progress, but he has managed to lose us." Yuudai replied, making sure to not laugh out loud as he thought about how Tadao had managed to lose them.

Since Tadao had traveled with him for years, he'd learned a great deal of tricks about the Inuzuka, and their noses. Being out of their scent range was one way to lose them, but Tadao had managed to learn an even better method. During one test mission, he'd taken pieces of his clothing and spread it across the city and on several paths that led out of the city. He'd then hidden himself in the city for several months before he'd reunited with Yuudai on his own terms. It had been a sad day for Yuudai and his tracking companions, but it had also had let Yuudai know something. It had solidified his belief that one day, when he needed a distraction Tadao would prove more then adept at doing so.

"This is inconceivable. How is it, that amongst our finest trackers, he has managed to evade your pursuit?" Izo asked, roughly gripping his chair. Yuudai winced as he heard the armrest of the chair creak in protest to the action; a testament to the older man's still ever powerful strength. Before Yuudai could attempt to quell Izo's anger, Izo took a deep breath and released his chair slowly. "Never mind, that will come later. I need you to do a search of a different sort for now."
"A…different sort of search?" Yuudai asked tentatively.

Izo nodded. "Yes. Our ranks were unharmed, but it has enlightened the youth of Konoha, and opened the eyes of more then a few of them. Now, I need you to go out and find some of those who would be able to serve my purpose. You will find them, ensure they understand the gravity of the situation, and then train them to be ready."

Yuudai nodded. "Of course Izo-sama. May I ask, how long should I plan on this mission being?"

"Two to three years, minimum." Izo replied. "I am no stranger to the slow growth the unmotivated youth of today seem to be going through, and its effect. As such, I give you permission to do whatever it takes to bring them around, and get them to improve as quickly as humanly possible."

"It will be done Izo-sama." Yuudai said, bowing his head.

As Yuudai left, Izo chuckled. "Yes. Soon, very soon, our plans will come into its fullest glory."

AN: More chapter stuff, coming fast. I can't believe I've gotten to this chapter so fast. If I'm lucky, I might be able to get through this arc before the end of August...if the fight scenes don't give me and my muse trouble like they did in the Chunin Exam arc.

The fight scene felt rushed to me, but then Kakashi was expecting them to be better post-time skip, not so much now. Plus, while he did help Sakura train, he was focusing more on the two who he'd seen little of for the last two months. Thus, she got the drop on him...for a moment.

And plot devices! Man, I hope I can type fast enough to get there. The arc after this arc...well...I'm not gonna say anything. Not yet at least, other then it's a twist or two that you shouldn't see coming.

Next time on Word of Honor; The Problem With Hospitals. Naruto visits the hospital, and he learns that not everything is quite as easy as he wishes they could be.