She sensed someone with chakra coming down the street. Karin quickly ducked into the nearby alley and knelt down behind some trash cans. She had on an old grey cloak with a hood. She had the hood up and was deliberately covering her face. She didn't dare use a henge to disguise herself. That was for the very good reason that a henge would give off a slight trace of chakra that an experienced ninja might notice. She could only completely dampen her chakra signature and her presence if she didn't use her chakra.

Hiding behind the trash she saw a light haired man walk past without so much as a glance in her direction. He had on a Rain hitai-ite with a deep gash down the middle. Does he just happen to be here or is he looking for me? Despite the attacks on Earth and Grass there still seemed to be Rain ninja everywhere. She'd originally planned to make a dash for Fire country and safety, but with the war on the borders had been sealed and were being patrolled. If she ran into any rain Ninja she was dead. I'm not a fucking fighter! I'm a fucking researcher! Her one gift was to be able to expertly sense the chakra signatures of others from a long distance, and to be able to disguise her own. So far that ability had kept her alive. But she knew it was only a matter of time before her luck ran out. She had to get out of Rain country!

She'd come to the town of Nawi near the Fire country border in search of help. During her years of work first with Orochimaru and then with Akatsuki she had made all sorts of interesting acquaintances. Out of desperation she had reached out to a couple of them. It was dangerous, but if she didn't do something she knew she was doomed.

Sensing the ninja was far enough away she got up and hurried back down the street. Like a frightened animal searching for a safe haven.

XXXXXXXXXX

I wish Jiraiya were here, Sarutobi thought. What I need above everything else is information about this strange new threat. The Hokage would have contacted him and ordered him to return to Konoha except for one slight problem, he didn't know where he was or how to reach him. Konoha's spy master made it a point to never let anyone know his whereabouts or his intentions. He'd left over a year ago to spy on Akatsuki and uncover what they were up to. Their sudden disappearance and inactivity had alerted Jiraiya that something major had to be going on. Jiraiya's instinct had proven right, but he'd sent back very little despite his effort and time.

What the Hokage had to go on right now were reports from the field, and those were not promising. Organizing an army, even a relatively small one, was not something that could be done instantly. Even working at a breakneck pace it had taken a few days. In that time the patrol he'd sent to Grass had sent back a couple reports by messenger bird. He'd also received three additional requests for aid from Grass, each one more desperate than the last. In the last war Kusa had resisted a powerful surprise attack from Iwa and held out until relief forces from Konoha had arrived. The Grass nin had proved themselves quite capable in that war. Despite heavy losses they had successfully defended their village.

Sarutobi had expected nothing less this time around. Especially since early estimates put the size of the invading force as being quite small. He'd thought Kusa would easily be able to hold the enemy at bay until his ninja could again come to their relief. But there was disturbing evidence that the Grass army was coming apart. All signs seemed to suggest they'd been smashed in every engagement against the enemy. His field reports from his scouts spoke of burned out towns and villages deep in Grass country and battlefields littered with scores of Grass dead but only a handful of Rain bodies.

The mounting desperation in the notes from Grass also made it obvious they were beginning to panic. Can such a small force really be so powerful? It was a troubling thought and had forced him to hurry the formation of the expeditionary force. He would have preferred spending a little more time preparing it and mapping out a general strategy for it once deployed. Unfortunately circumstances demanded it get in the field as fast as possible.

The scouts he'd sent to Earth had not reported yet, that was a very bad sign. It likely meant his people had been killed, by whom and under what circumstances he could not guess. Unlike Grass no further messages had come from Iwa. Rain had sealed its borders the moment war began and had made no announcements about the fighting. So right now no one outside the actual combatants had any idea how that fight was progressing. Sarutobi wasn't sure what to make of the silence from the Tsuchikage, hopefully it was a sign he felt his forces would not need help after all.

XXXXXXXXXX

The Tsuchikage stood atop the Tower of Earth looking out at his magnificent village. The huge stone buildings rose high into the sky and proclaimed the glory of his people and his homeland. Behind him there was a swirl of air and dirt. Motsuwa, his spy master and one of his most trusted aids appeared.

"Report," the Tsuchikage commanded.

The small man licked his lips and spoke carefully. The Tsuchikage's fury was a frightening thing. "Tsuchikage-sama, the city of Tarumizu has fallen." He waited fearfully for the response.

The Tsuchikage did not turn around. He continued to look out over his home village. "I ordered Tarumizu be defended at all cost." It was the largest city in Earth country with over a million residents. Its loss was shocking, especially after only a couple days of fighting. At the very least it should have taken weeks for an enemy to capture. "General Yoshiro will pay for this with his head." Despite the hard words the Tsuchikage did not raise his voice, he seemed outwardly calm.

"General Yoshiro died in the fighting, Tsuchikage–sama." Motsuwa informed him.

The Tsuchikage nodded, not really surprised. "Well at least he had that much sense. Obviously if he lost so quickly he must have been incompetent."

Motsuwa spoke very carefully. "I don't believe that was the case Tsuchikage–sama, all reports seem to indicate the men were well deployed and fought well."

Now the Tsuchikage did turn around to face him. There was cold fury in his grey eyes. "Then tell me Motsuwa, how were they defeated so quickly?" His voice was still calm but held a deadly threat.

Motsuwa took a deep breath; his next words might be his last. But his duty as a Rock ninja required him to speak the truth. "Tsuchikage–sama, I believe the enemy was simply too powerful for our forces to defeat."

His master glared down at him and his hands became trembling fists. Motsuwa lowered his head and calmly waited for whatever would happen. After what seemed a lifetime he heard his master's voice. "How many of our ninja escaped and are still available?"

"A little more than half," Motsuwa answered quietly.

Two thousand ninja had been sent to hold Tarumizu. He'd lost roughly a thousand of them, a fifth of all his forces, and they'd only been able to hold the enemy back two days. He turned back to look at his village. "Tell general Tamotsu I have full confidence in him and that he is to defend our homeland to the best of his ability. Inform him he will get all the reserves we have as quickly as we can get them to him."

"Yes, Tsuchikage–sama."

"Also, send a message to the Daimyo, Tell him I am formally requesting he raise the levees and call out the militia. They are to assemble here, in Iwa."

"You wish to call out the militia?" Motsuwa was shocked. It was generally accepted that any Genin was the match of at least twenty armed and well trained me. A Chunin was a match for fifty, and a Jonin at least a hundred if not more. The militia were nothing but raw barely trained peasants who were mainly expected to deal with local riots and such. All serious fighting was left to ninja or sometimes to the small professional army of a few thousand the Daimyo kept. Even in the tens of thousands the poorly armed and trained peasants would be slaughtered. It would be murder to send them up against any ninja army, let alone the fearsome ninja from Rain.

"Are you questioning my orders?" The Tsuchikage asked quietly.

"No Tsuchikage–sama!" He answered quickly.

"You may go, you are dismissed."

"Hai!" Motsuwa wasted no time in vanishing.

Alone again the Tsuchikage continued to look out at his beloved village. He wondered how much longer he would be able to.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Please be careful Naruto-kun! Don't take any foolish chances!" Hinata was hugging him with a surprising strength. The army had finally been assembled as was about to leave for the front. Hinata had not been one of the medic nins chosen to join it.

Naruto was squeezing back and giving her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry Hinata-chan! When have I ever done anything foolish?"

She simply looked at him.

"Heh, forget I said that," he leaned in and gave her a very long sweet kiss. Once doing this in public would have caused his girl to faint dead away. She really had grown much more confident, both in herself, and in them. When he came up for air he smiled down at his beautiful girlfriend. "For luck."

"For luck," she agreed and kissed him again. She wanted to give him all the good fortune she possibly could.

XXXXXXXXXX

From a short distance away Sakura looked on silently. She was among the many Genin selected to go to battle. Looking on she wondered about what might have been if she had been just a little kinder to her former teammate when they were younger. Despite her best efforts she had been left behind. She had tried to win him over but had come to understand that she was too late. He loved Hinata and there was no room for her in his heart anymore. She knew he would always care for her, but only as a friend.

XXXXXXXXXX

As the expeditionary force left the villagers came out to cheer for them and wish them all safe return.

As they moved they spread out to give everyone plenty of room. Spotting Kakashi Naruto decided to go up alongside and talk to him.

"Does your ass still hurt?" Naruto asked with a straight face.

Kakashi looked over to him. "Sorry, did you say something?"

Naruto had a sudden urge to start railing about Kakashi's hip attitude but held back.

A moment later Kakashi spoke again in all seriousness this time. "You've become quite a ninja Naruto, and I'm not ashamed to say you've become more powerful than me."

"Thanks Kakashi-sensei!" Despite some hard feelings from the past Naruto did respect Kakashi and hearing that really made him fee l good.

"It's only natural," Kakashi stated. "Each generation surpasses the one before it. It's a law of nature."

Naruto looked really excited. "I can't wait for the chance to show everyone what I can do!"

"Don't be so eager Naruto," Kakashi cautioned. "War isn't something to look forward to."

"Hey! I've seen war before, I'm a veteran!"

Kakashi's one visible eyebrow rose. "You are a veteran Naruto," he conceded. "But your war experience lasted exactly one day. I expect this is going to be a little different.

"Whatever happens I'll definitely be able to handle it!" He was staring at Kakashi and proudly thumping his chest.

Kakashi looked at him with a hidden smile. "Look out for that tree."

"Huh?"

Smack!

As Kakashi sped past he called out over his shoulder. "Even with great power Naruto you still have to pay attention to what you're doing."

Pulling himself off the side of the tree he'd just run into he rubbed his aching forehead and shouted in Kakashi's direction. "That was for the ass poke wasn't it?!"

XXXXXXXXXX

Karin was sitting at the bar. She had to force herself not to run as the man came over and took the seat next to hers. He was dressed as nothing but a common day laborer. Despite that she could sense immense chakra coming from him, she was also aware that he had a henge on. She had contacted some people about getting out and they had put her in touch with 'Nanashi' who claimed he could take her to Konoha safely. Meeting this man was an awful risk, but she was desperate.

Nanashi brought a beer to his lips and whispered to her before drinking. "I understand you worked for the leader here and have information about his troops."

It doesn't matter; if he's a Rain nin I'm already dead. She put a hand over her mouth and whispered back, "That's right. If you can take me to Konoha I have valuable information for your Hokage."

He was about to reply when he stopped and turned around in his seat.

She knew why, she'd felt it too, a pair of very strong chakra signatures had just appeared outside the bar. She turned around as well and gasped in horror and two figures in black robes with red clouds entered. She recognized them as Sasori and Deidara.

And worst of all they recognized her.

"At last," Sasori said in his baritone voice. "Come with us now, we have some questions for you."

Oh kami this is it, I'm fucking dead. She knew there was no way she could escape them now.

The man beside her calmly finished his beer and set the empty glass down on the table. "It's a real shame," he said. "I liked this place." He put his thumb in his mouth and bit down and then performed some hand signs. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu."

There was a massive puff of smoke and Karin cried out in surprise at the sudden jolt of being about fifty feet off the ground. She looked about in startled wonder. "A… a giant frog?"

"Who are you calling a frog?" An angry voice boomed out. "I'm a toad obviously!"

She looked over to the man she had just met his appearance had completely changed as well. He looked older now with spiky white hair and red lined running down from each eye. "Who… who are you?"

He looked at her with a broad smile. "The one and only Jiraiya, legendary toad sage." Looking out he saw the blonde ninja from earlier rising into the air on the back of a giant clay bird. "Now hold on, things are about to get a little rough."

XXXXXXXXXX

Omake

It was the day before the expeditionary force was set to leave for the new war. Naruto and Hinata were alone on his couch making out.

"Naruto stop!" She slapped away his over eager hand.

"Aw come on Hinata-chan!"

"Naruto-kun you know I'm not that kind of girl."

He looked at her with big glistening eyes. "I know Hinata-chan, it's just that," he took a deep breath and turned to her staring deep into her lavender eyes. "I'm going off to war tomorrow and anything could happen. I'd hate to leave with any last regrets."

Smiling back at him she gave his hands a gentle squeeze. "Naruto-kun, I love you and I will go to the temple every single day to offer prayers and sacrifices for your safe return." He moved in closer. "We're not having sex though."

"Aw come on Hinata-chan! Please!" He whined and pleaded.

"Not until we're married," she said firmly.

He dropped his head in defeat.

"But," she said and pulled off her shirt revealing a bulging black satin bra. "Maybe there's something I can give you since you are going off to war."

He looked at her very nervously and felt his heart pounding like crazy. "Wh… what?"

Smiling she reached behind her back and he could hear the snaps as she undid her bra. "Want to have a PG-13 relationship?"

"Huh?"

Her bra fell away and for the very first time he was able to gaze upon Hinata's glorious breasts. He stared at them for a second.

"Hinata-chan you are the best girlfriend EVER!!"

He pounced and she giggled as they both enjoyed themselves.